Ralph Connor Memorial United Church
Weekly
Friday, July 9, 2021

Kindly submit your Newsletter items to office@ralphconnor.ca
by Thursday at 11:00 AM

We will have a simplified Newsletter for the month of July, with fresh content each week ~ please refer to the June 25th Newsletter click here~.
WORSHIP CONTINUES
~ONLINE~ IN JULY
Sunday, July 11, 2021

Our guest preacher this Sunday is Rev. Sarah Bruer. Sarah is a past Minister of Rundle Memorial United Church in Banff, and we are so pleased that she can lead worship this Sunday. The service will be posted to our Ralph Connor Canmore YouTube Channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi8loA1BP8lNAppSRR9_aQQ

Depending on how everything goes with Alberta’s Stage 3 summer reopening, we are tentatively planning an outdoor in-person worship service for Sunday, August 15th. More details once August arrives. 

As always, the regular Church expenses (utility bills, salaries, etc) continue 12 months of the year and your ongoing support is greatly appreciated. If you wish to make a financial contribution to Ralph Connor, please go to http://ralphconnor.ca/giving/ or for Rundle, http://rundleunited.ca/donate/.
EVERY CHILD MATTERS
Each week, we continue our presentation of the calls to the nation, and calls to the Church, that were issued in 2015 as a result of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Last week, we highlighted Calls #43 and 44 about the adopting of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP)… but what is UNDRIP?

UNDRIP, passed by the United Nations is described by the Indian Rights Law Center as “a monumental statement of individual and collective rights created with the participation of the rights holders themselves – indigenous peoples. Though the Declaration is not legally binding on countries in and of itself, it sets the rules for the treatment of, and obligations of states toward, indigenous peoples and individuals.” Canada started the process of endorsing UNDRIP in 2010 and made a big step forward to its implementation in June of this year. 

To read the UNDRIP document itself, go to https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf
or for a good two-page summary,
Tipi at NWMP Grounds
In the spirit of reconciliation, there will be a tipi on the NWMP grounds this summer. Traditional stories and knowledge are shared and crafts, games and traditional skills are demonstrated as part of the Barracks' new Indigenous Stories tipi program at the NWMP Barracks. The program runs daily Thursday to Monday, June 26 to August 30, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm with a Stoney Nakoda cultural interpreter, Leandra Beaver. The program is offered in partnership with Nakota Tipi n Rider Style Craft from Eden Valley.  
On Saturday afternoons at 2 PM, we've resumed BELL RINGING at RCMUC as a thank you to Health Care Workers, Teachers, Servers & Frontline staff who have been faithfully on-the-job for public benefit throughout the pandemic.
$  Good News from the Stewards  $
Plate givings were...well...non-existent during the past year and a half when we could not be in church together!!

How blessed we are to have so many members of our congregation signed up for the Pre-Authorized Remittance (PAR) donation system.
Pastoral Care Committee needs your help
Calling all nature photographers...please submit your favourite 2 photos taken in the Bow Valley in the following categories:
  1. water
  2. mountains
  3. skies
  4. wildflowers
  5. sanctuary window scenes

Why? RCMUC/RMUC Benevolent Fundraiser
What? Sell 'Sacred Places' notecards with spiritual notecard images in packages of 5.

With your permission to use the photo, please email images to office@ralphconnor.ca as follows:
  • landscape jpeg 3.5"H x 4.75"W
  • full name of photographer
  • location of image
  • season or date and year image captured
  • category 'Sacred Places' (water/mountains/skies/wildflowers /sanctuary scenes)
  • send images by Monday, July 26 to be selected for "Members Only Trial" of 50 packet trial available for purchase at planned August 15 outdoor service.
  • When supplies sell out, next 250 notecards of 5 in package will be printed. We will continue printing new batches of 250 notecards as the project continues to thrive.
  • Another opportunity to submit photos will be offered in the fall before printing timelines are established.
RCMUC Prayer Circles
We have two prayer groups at RCMUC: The Healing Pathway Prayer which meets on Wednesdays and Fridays, and Tuesday's “Morning Prayer” group (is on hiatus for July). 

To share a prayer concern, please email Val Goodrow at v.goodrow@me.com.

We request that the person gives consent to have their name mentioned in prayer as privacy/confidentiality is of utmost importance. We also would appreciate knowing when the situation changes and we can release them from our prayers or update the prayer to a changing need.
AFFIRMING MINISTRY
Our gratitude to Robin Slater for offering the following feature in our weekly Newsletter, as part of our efforts to be a more broadly inclusive, and affirming, Community of Faith.


ROBIN'S WEB
CONNECTING DIVERSITY

Are we thinking about 15 months of lost time or 15 months of lessons or 15 months of reflective experience??

“Sometimes I go about
            pitying myself, and
    all the while I am being
           carried across the sky
     by beautiful clouds”         Ojibwe proverb

Walrus Talks at Home: Resilience. Vinita Srivastava, Justin Many Fingers, Dr. Philomina Okeke-Ihejirika, and Jeff Adams discuss personal and societal resilience, its flawed implementation as a policy, and its importance for individual growth. Check out the full video here~.
 
Cardus white paper: What have we learned, and where should Canada be focusing post-pandemic?  In the days after prior crises, people questioned and re-imagined their worlds. Some historians say the Protestant Reformation had its roots in the bubonic plague of the 14th century. The global re-imagination after the Great Depression and WWII largely built our world today and reshaped our modern values.  Click here~.

Science News: the latest roundup of COVID facts and findings from research and scientific  journals gathered by Hakai Magazine and The Tyee. “Covid Rules: Who Breaks Pandemic Rules Most? Bored Conservatives.”  Click here~.

Taking action for vaccines: Please share this link to spread the message that millions of refugees and forcibly displaced people and their families need, and deserve, equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Send a clear message: We can only be safe as a global community if all of us are protected. There is power in numbers.  Click here~.

Stewardship of global collective behavior: The digital age and the rise of social media have accelerated changes to our social systems, with poorly understood functional consequences. Click here~.
The wonders of nature are endless.
Photo by John Thorburn captured on
Thursday, June 17, 2021, at Canmore, AB.
Ralph Connor Memorial
United Church (RCMUC)
CONTACTS

Administration: Trish Campney
Ph. 403-678-5354 - office@ralphconnor.ca

Minister: Rev. Greg Wooley
Ph. 403-493-4923 - minister@ralphconnor.ca

Rev Greg Wooley is on holidays for the month of July, returning to lead worship on Sunday, August 1; Rev Michael Ward, email here~ will be covering pastoral emergencies.

Music Director: Tanya Sullivan
Please send all Office emails to office@ralphconnor.ca

The old canmoreu@telusplanet.net and canmoreu@telus.net addresses are now defunct.
Incoming: office@ralphconnor.ca
New Outgoing: ralphconnormemorial@gmail.com

Please also note: if you are sending letter mail to RCMUC, please include “Box 8901” in the address to make things easier for the folks at Canada Post. 
Rundle Memorial
United Church (RMUC) Contacts
The mail, email and phone messages will be picked up regularly.

Administration: Nancy Murray
Ph. 403-762-2075 - office@rundleunited.ca

Mailing address: P.O. Box 1086
Street address: 102 Banff Ave
Banff, Alberta, Canada T1L 1B1

To volunteer at Banff Thrift Store - thrift@rundleunited.ca

RMUC Website: http://rundleunited.ca/
Ralph Connor Memorial United Church
Mailing address: P.O. Box 8901
Street Address: 617 Main Street
Canmore, Alberta, T1W 2B1
403-678-5354 | office@ralphconnor.ca