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THE EMMAUS EUREKAWeek of Sunday June 14th, 2020…..Edition #14NEW RULES FOR COVID 19 REOPENINGS We’re all aware that the past three months have been different! A lot of businesses and other things have been closed and the things that were open like grocery stores had restrictions on the number of people who could enter at any given time. This was the first stage in the battle against Covid and we are now moving into the second stage of that battle. Ontario has allowed most of the province to enter into stage two of the Covid 19 reopening and Algoma District is one of the areas allowed to do that. As of Friday June 12th the following places could re-open, usually with restrictions.Outdoor dine-in services at restaurants, bars and other establishments, including patios, curbside, parking lots and adjacent properties.Daycares, with limits on the number of children at each facility. Select personal and personal care services, including tattoo parlours, barber shops, hair salons and beauty salons.Shopping malls under existing restrictions, including food sevices reopening for take out and outdoor dining only.Tour and guide services, such as bike and walking, bus and boat tours, as well as tasting and tours for wineries, breweries and distilleries.Water recreational facilities, such as outdoor splash pads and wading pools, and all swimming pools.Beach access and additional camping at Ontario Parks.Camping and private campgrounds.Outdoor only recreational facilities and training for outdoor team sports, with limits to enable physical distancing.Drive-in and drive-throut venues for theatres, concerts, animal attractions and cultural appreciation, such as art installations.Film and television production activities, with limits to enable physical distancing.Church reopenings….see below. THE NEXT SECTION OF THIS ARTICLE DEALS WITH CHURCH REOPENINGS. PLEASE NOTE THAT ANGLICAN CHURCHES IN ONTARIO WILL NOT REOPEN UNTIL SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2020 AT THE EARLIEST FOR ANY REASON. AS REPORTED IN LAST WEEKS EMMAUS EUREKA THE ONTARIO HOUSE OF BISHOP’S HAS DETERMINED THAT THIS IS NECESSARY FOR THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF ANGLICANS IN ONTARIO AND I AGREE WITH THEM. THE NEW CASES OF COVID 19 IN ONTARIO ARE DROPPING BUT THEY ARE STILL PRETTY HIGH AND THINGS ARE BEING ALLOWED TO RE-OPEN NOT BECAUSE IT IS NOW SAFE TO DO SO BUT BECAUSE THE MEDICAL FACILITIES CAN NOW CARE FOR THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE BEING INFECTED. -1-CHURCH REOPENINGSBefore Covid 19 a church building had a posted maximum number of people that could be in the church worship space. Churches may now re-open but no more than 30% of the church space’s rated maximum number of people can be present and social distancing must be practiced. Indoor weddings and funerals can also take place with more people attending. The same rule applies of no more than 30% of what the venue is rated to hold in attendance. Outdoor weddings and funerals can be attended by a maximum of fifty people.Any receptions following such services can be attended by no more than ten people to allow for social distancing. SOCIAL CIRCLESThe Ontario government is now allowing people anywhere in the province to build “social circles” of up to ten people that can include family and friends. At present a person can only be a part of one circle, in order to limit contact while still allowing individuals to see more of their family members or close contacts. Within any given circle, social distancing measures are not necessary. The province says that to form a safe social circle, Ontarians should follow these steps:Start with your current circle: the people you live with or who regularly come into your household.Step 2: If your current circle is under 10 people, you can add members to your circle, including another household, family members or friends.Step 3: Get agreement from everyone that they will join the circle.Step 4: Keep your social circle safe. Maintain physical distancing with anyone outside of your circle.Step 5: Be true to your circle. No one should be part of more than one circle. So there are the new rules as laid down by the province of Ontario as of the end of last week. Some new things allowed, some restrictions and quite a bit still waiting for things to progress to the point where other businesses and services can also open. Read and heed and, as always, stay safe!PARISH PRAYERSIn our parish prayers this week we uphold Don and Joan Vardy, Pat Vaughan, Gary and Mary Jane Venn, Linda Wallace and Keith and Phyllis Walls and Sarah Walls. Remember to pray for these Emmaus Family members /The Emmaus Prayer Chain leader for this week is Pushpa Matthew at 705-942-3047. If you’d like prayers said for yourself or others please contact Joan and she’ll make sure the request gets out to the prayer group. This week Norma Hankinson celebrate her 90th birthday! Congratulations Norma! We also remember the 54th anniversary of Mary McDonald and Eric Sillanpaa on June 17th, the 50th anniversary of Jack and Sherry Denneny on June 13th, the 31st anniversary of Liz and Norm Hamel on June 17th and the 29th anniversary of Vicki and Dan Fritz on June 15th. Congratulations to you all from your Emmaus Family! -2-SIX WEEK BIBLE STUDYLay Pastoral Associate Susan began leading a 6 week bible study called “Listening to Your Life” last Monday. If you missed the first meeting but would like to attend this virtual study contact Alison Weir at alisonweir19@ and she will arrange for you to take part in the rest of the Zoom bible study. You could also phone Emmaus at 705-759-2545 and leave a message and someone will get back to you to arrange it.PART OF THE FAMILY. This weeks highlighted Emmaus family member is Liz Hamel. Liz (and husband Norm) are very involved in many things at Emmaus Church Here in her own words is the story of Liz’s Journey: I was born into a Christian home and was baptized and raised in St. Paul’s United Church in Temiscaming, Quebec.? My family attended church regularly and Sunday school, choir, Canadian Girls in Training, church bazars, teas, white gloves and Easter bonnets were the norm.? I held a very simple faith growing up instilled by my parents – I believed in God and that he was good. ? As I became a young adult, I started to ask some deeper questions and tried to understand all of this “God” stuff.? At this time in my life, I can distinctly recall two significant incidents that had an effect on my faith journey.????We had a camp on Lake Temiscaming and, on Sundays, the Roman Catholic priest from the town would drive up to Crescent Lodge resort to offer mass.? All denominations were welcome.? In a small, primarily French speaking community, you can appreciate that being protestant did certainly not align you with the majority.? Most, if not all, of my friends were Roman Catholic.? My mom, her husband, and I would attend the services at the lodge.? Mom was a devout Christian woman with a firm belief that faith was in your heart and not dependent on which church you attended…as long as you could praise God!? And praise God we did in that resort setting.? The services alternated between French and English; the hymns were joyful and invigorating and begged for participation.? One in particular has stayed with me these many years later.? I can distinctly remember the first time I heard it and how it seemed to wash over me and fill me with the goodness of God.? The chorus was simple and was sung in French – but the translation is this:? You are there at the heart of our lives; And it is you who makes us alive, Jesus Christ!Several years later, I participated in a Tenebrae service during Holy Week at the church I had been attending – Trinity United in North Bay.? During and following that service, I felt like God was speaking directly to my heart.? I decided it was time to pursue confirmation and renew my baptism vows, which I did in the United tradition in 1982 as a young adult.But, as the seeds that fell and were smothered by thorns in the parable of the sower from Matthew’s gospel, experiences and difficulties in my life choked the growth.? I was not able to put faith into action.? I held a genuine faith and continued to attend church, but I was full of questions and trying desperately to find some answers.?Norm and I were married in 1989.? He was a regular attendee at his parish and I was a regular attendee at mine.? He had been raised in the French Roman Catholic tradition.? Prior to our marriage, we discussed how our differing religions would affect our relationship and any children we had.? He was open to being married in the United Church as there were many -3-hurdles involved in marrying in his church.? We decided we would worship together and raise any children in the Roman Catholic tradition.? We believed our children needed a church family and in his tradition we could worship together as a family – well almost – I could not receive communion.? We became very involved in our church after moving to Sault Ste. Marie.? He played guitar and I was in the choir.? Our two girls received the appropriate sacraments as their ages dictated – reconciliation, first communion, and confirmation.? We were on the baptism team providing home visitations to prepare parents for this special time in their lives with their children.? Our faith grew but something was missing.? We never felt fully “at home”.? We always felt outside of the “family” because we were both not of Roman Catholic heritage.? Following a number of disheartening incidents, much discussion, and soul searching, we decided it was time to leave the parish. We did not attend a church for many years.? We felt hurt and somehow broken.My position with the Diocese of Algoma allowed me to experience church in the Anglican tradition.? Norm and I started attending the Anglican parishes in Sault Ste. Marie actively searching for a new home.? Although our faith was firm, we realized that we both were missing a church family and a community of faith.? We wanted a place where we would both be welcome and one where we could participate and grow.??It was at this time, I was invited to attend a Cursillo weekend.? When I returned from that weekend, I was emotional, overwhelmed, and filled with God’s presence in my life.? I was so incredibly thankful to God that Norm was open to listening and sharing in my epiphany.? Together, we found a new church home at Emmaus.? We felt welcomed and comfortable.? We started participating in the life of the church again.? Norm enjoyed the Anglican tradition and felt comfortable worshipping, as did I.? He began playing guitar again and we joined the hospitality team.??As most of you know, last year I was confirmed and Norm was received by Archbishop Anne.? We are involved with our church family and we have found friendship and love abounding in your midst.? I am currently a lay reader in training, a member of your Advisory Board, a member of the Concurrence Committee, and am thankful to be part of the online worship team as we bring God’s word into your homes on Sundays in this time of strangeness in our world.? Our lives have changed to lives of prayer and gratitude to our God who made all of this possible.I thank you all for your encouragement and warm-heartedness in welcoming us into the Emmaus family.? I look forward to learning and growing with you all as we live out our baptismal promises and continue to be “the church” in wonderful and creative ways.? We are truly home!??OUR VIRTUAL YARD SALE: There are two items for the virtual yard sale this week. A Patio Set suitable for a small deck/patio consisting of a round table, umbrella, 4 chairs with cushions and two footstools in good condition is available for $65.00 from Jack Denneny who also has 50-60 weeping tiles worth about fifty/sixty dollars for sale for $25.00. Call Jack at 705-942-5038 if your interested in either item. Proceeds go to Emmaus Church. -4-SERMON FOR JUNE 14TH, 2020. Matthew 9:35-10:8. The people were like sheep without a shepherd.-an elderly man is in the hospital, very sick, sinking fast and his priest, knowing it is just a matter of time goes to visit and pray with the man and see if he wants to talk about things...all that kind of stuff-and he finds the old guy is having a good day, propped up in bed, lucid, able to talk and they talk about his life and how things have been for him and all that kind of stuff and the fellow finally says: “Well, I’m not afraid of dying. I’ve tried to live a godly life and now I’m all ready to die a Christ-like death.”-well the priest has often heard people talk about living a godly life but he’s never had anyone speak of a Christ-like death so he ask: “How will you die a Christ-like death?”-“When I feel the end is near and I’m very close to breathing my last my two business partners are going to come and sit one on the left side of my bed and the other on the right side”-the priest is as mystified as ever. “And how is that a Christ-like death?” he asks.-“Well I thought it would be obvious to you.” says the man. “Christ died between two thieves.”-I’m sure we get the point…the elderly man in hospital doesn’t think too highly of his partners-God has partners-us! He has made us co-creators with him in helping create a new world order that’s good-but I wonder sometimes what he thinks of us, his partners when he sees some of the things that go on-when my kids were small and Christmas was coming they were so excited and they got up Christmas morning and opened their gifts and were so, so happy at the presents they received-they didn’t give presents yet, they were too small to understand that part but that changed over time and we’d start receiving gifts they’d made in school, ornaments for the tree, decorations, things like that-in time they had money and started buying gifts for some people in their lives…parents, siblings, friends-and now Christmas giving for them is about their children and families and people important in their lives-they still receive presents but most of their effort goes into gift giving and pleasing others-it went from “all about me” to “I’m included but so are others and it’s all about all of us”-they willingly took that up and it’s a big part of their celebration and I’m I’m glad. I think it’s right.-in the Genesis creation which we read last week after God has created everything but us he says: “Let us make people in our image and let them have dominion over all things on earth” So God created men and women and said “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and look after it.” And God saw that it was good.-we believe that we are different from the other things that God created and that He has a special relationship with us and views us as partners and stewards of the earth and the good that he saw at creation-we’re not just something He made...we’re partners, co-creators who have accomplished many things-we’ve grown...gone from being simple hunter/gatherers, to farmers, to people who can do all that takes place today-in Canada we have grown wealthy and have much, we’ve accomplished much but we don’t seem to have moved too far down the path of “It’s all about me” to “I’m included but so are others and it’s all about us”-I think God intended us, His partners to develop a wider world view and responsibility than we have -we seem to be killing the world with our accomplishments and the business we pursue and the waste and destruction that we create and I wonder sometimes if, like the old fellow in my opening story God sees us, His partners as thieves-our reading today says that Jesus went intro the cities and villages teaching people and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd so he called his disciples and said “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” and he went on to give power to do many things to the disciples and he sends them out to proclaim the good news that God’s kingdom is come -1--I believe the disciples did what Jesus said, they asked God to send labourers to work in the harvest. He did and it’s us! -so how are we doing with that?-a honeybee once fell in love with a butterfly...it was unusual but you can’t help who you fall in love with-and like all creatures in love the bee followed the butterfly around and mooned over her and pestered her but she ignored him totally and wanted nothing to do with him-one day though the bee screwed up all of his courage, got down on his five little knees, took the butterfly by the hand and said: “Oh butterfly, will you marry me?”-“I will never marry you!” said the butterfly haughtily, “For I am the daughter of a Monarch and you are a son of a bee!”-there is the flaw in much of our work in the world’s plentiful harvest! That belief, that attitude that we often project. -“We are the children of a Monarch....and you are a son of a bee so listen up and do what we tell you!”-well, it is becoming obvious that it isn’t working out too well!-the earth is warming ....there have been more and more drastic weather events...the world has climate refugees and more people are constantly being displaced. And God says: “Partners, what are you doing about this?”-corporations and systems wreak havoc with the wealth and the peoples of the world... repeated financial crisis occur caused by greed. The rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer. And God says: “Partners, what are you doing about this?”-the means of production...the very farms that produce most of the food we eat are controlled by just a few powerful people....in the United States, for example, there are more inmates in Federal Prisons than there are farmers in the whole country...farmers in developing countries are forced off their land... agricultural practises in many places are ruining the earth ... we’re trading our birthright, what God gave to us so that we can buy cheap goods at Dollarama-and God says: “Partners, what are you doing about this?”-and today’s pandemic needs no comment…we all know what we and all the world are up against with that one-and God says: “Partners, what are you doing about this?”-so there is the question for us to ponder today and in the days to come-as workers called to gather in the plentiful harvest of souls that Jesus speaks about what must we do?-realize that we are a blessed people, well off by most standards and chosen by God to help in the harvest and I think most of us do realize this and we’re grateful for all that we have and all that we are and all that we can be-most of us wouldn’t want to live anywhere else---we know we’re well off—we’re pleased and we’re not ungrateful-but our partner, God, wants more action---he has many children in the world who aren’t in our shoes—who are in want-the world he created is going downhill...many things are getting worse...there is more trouble up ahead-and He’s prepared to do something about all that, working through us, His partners and co-creators-it’s time for payback....from those who have been given much, much is expected-and we have been given much-so celebrate your blessings today...remember all that you have received with a grateful heart-and then consider what God calls you to do to move from “it’s all about me” to “I’m included but so are others and it’s all about all of us” Figure out what you can do about that.....and then do it! AMEN-2- ................
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