Life of the Church: Joy’s and Concerns (March 2024)
Here is what our members had to share with us this month. To learn more about this please go here.
To share something with us, please send an email to: prayers@mcdunited.com
March News
Palestinian Refugee Family Special Appeal: Week 4: Over the past few weeks the McDougall United/Christ Moravian refugee group has made a special appeal asking people to donate to enable Mustafa, the father of a Palestinian refugee family we supported, to help his extended family in Rafah to buy food and their necessities. Here is a picture of Mustafa’s family, the man we have been helping. He lives in Calgary with his immediate family. Continue reading on website.
Reflections by Rev. Grant Dawson: Some thoughts on stepping outside. One of the most life-giving experiences we can have is to step out from an enclosed space into the open air. Continue reading on website.
Thank You: I would like to thank our church family for the outpouring of support shown to Dave and me during Dave’s dementia journey. The conversations, notes, meals, visits to Dave, hugs and thoughtful deeds provided comfort during this difficult time. I am grateful to be a part of this kind, caring, thoughtful community. Warm regards, Linda D.
Soup’s On Sunday: Back April 6: Thank you to everyone who came out to enjoy a bowl of soup after the service on Sunday, March 3. The event would not have happened without our amazing volunteers who helped prepare the soup on Saturday and then served on Sunday, thank you! Now that we have had a trial run, we are looking forward to bring it back each month with a few changes. Continue reading on website.
Karina H - Competition Update: Many of you might be wondering how Karina H did at her latest Powerlifting competition. She has graciously shared this update with us. Thank you to all who supported this competition. Continue reading on website.
Reflections by Rev. Grant Dawson: Some thoughts on making mistakes - I have never known anyone who has begun the day by saying, “I think I will just go out there this morning and mess everything up today.” Continue reading on website.
McDougall United Church is collecting financial donations for the Easter Feast for the Stoney Nakoda First Nation on March 28: If you can help, E-transfers can be sent to office@mcdunited.com. Please include “ Easter Feast, 2024” in the message box. Everyone is welcome to attend. For more information or to sign up as a volunteer please contact Rev. Tony Snow.
Wrap Up - Special Appeal for Mustafa’s extended family in Gaza: Mustafa’s brother Mahmoud sends this message to us: “I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you once again for standing with us during these challenging times. You were there for us when I arrived in Canada 7 years ago, and today, your support is helping our family survive this genocide. You demonstrate that humanity knows no boundaries of religion, ethnicity, or color. You are the true face of Canada." Continue reading on website.
Reflections by Rev. Grant Dawson: Some thoughts on unknowability In 1970, I was assigned for the summer to the Peers-Pella Pastoral Charge, north of Highway 16 on the road up to White Court. As a city boy from Ontario, this move to a very small town in Alberta was a true adventure. Continue reading on website.
Thank You! My family and I thank all our McDougall friends for their support during Tom’s illness with comforting words, cards, emails and expressions of sympathy upon his passing. I apologize for my belated message of appreciation – but – have been away. I also sincerely thank Rev. Bill for his pastoral visits and words of tribute to Tom as well as Rev. Joanne for her caring thoughts. And to the Choir and Tanya for their musical support. Helen F.
Holy Week Walk Through, With an Artist’s Eye: Using an eclectic group of artworks, inspired by scripture over the past 1,700 years, we will seek to provide an experiential event that is interesting to both doubters and the devout. Laid out in a Scriptural timeline of visual images, you will walk through the entire story of Holy Week. From Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem to Good Friday, you will see the diverse depictions of several different artist, on each of these stories so core to our faith traditions. Continue reading on website.
From Strangers to Neighbours: There was a great article published on the Calgary Interfaith Council website on March 15th that is worth reading. You can see the original article here, it has been copied below. It was written by Jessica Ryan. From Strangers to Neighbours: Calgary, with its stunning beauty, serves as a home to a diverse community of many ethnicities and faiths who have lived as neighbours for many decades, fostering mutual respect, understanding, care, and compassion. Continue reading on the website.
Refugee Support Group - Palestinian Family Update: Mustafa said that he is hoping their 14 family members will be able to leave Gaza and go to Egypt on April 9 or 10. This would enable them to truly celebrate EID, the Muslim holiday at the end of Ramadan, which falls on those days. Family members have an apartment there. We will keep you posted.
Congregational Survey Responses: This week, McDougall Leadership Council members reviewed the Summary of Responses (provided by Google Forms) to our recent Congregational Survey. We are pleased to report that 93 members of our community of faith submitted a response to the survey and 20 respondents provided their name and contact information for follow up discussions, thank you! Continue reading on website.
Pie Day - Thank You: The Affirming Team would like to thank everyone who brought a pie, sliced pies and/or helped serve pie on March 10. Your kindness and generosity of time was so appreciated and made PIE Day 2024 a success. Marilyn Bates on behalf of the Affirming Team: Jean MacEachern, Alex Bradley and Marilyn Agnew
Reflections by Rev. Grant Dawson: Some thoughts on Easter Easter is not about life as a continuing exercise in having happy times. There will continue to be periods of sadness and stress, but there will always be the strength we need to face them. Continue reading on website.
Volunteer Opportunity: Operations Convenor Are you interested in learning more about the inner workings of the church? Are you organized and looking to meet some amazing people? If so we have a very important volunteer position that we would like to direct your attention to: Operations Convenor. Continue reading on website.
This list will continue to be updated as they are provided. Make sure you send in your news!
See what happened in February here.
