Easter FANFARE 2021 - SILOAM United Church

Easter FANFARE 2021
Siloam is Reopening for In-Person Worship Sunday, April 18th at 10:30am
         (full list of COVID-19 protocols listed in our newsletter)
                  Also In This Edition of Fanfare……
   • Letters from our Ministry Staff and Stu Cunningham
   • Holy Week Services (Virtual and on Rogers TV)
   • Delightful musicals from “Dreams Come True” Music Studio and
     “Siloam Family & Friends”!
   • Special Thanks & Special Request!
   • Exciting New Givings Campaign
   • 2021 Lenten Project – Indwell
   • Good News – Grants Approved!
   • Urban Garden Project and Grand-Opening
   • Love to Help People? Check Out Outreach & LIRSA News!

A Message from our Lead Minister, Rev. Dr. Sheila Macgregor….
      “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” – Luke 24:5

Dear Friends,

Over the past few weeks I have received several
messages from members who are feeling deeply
unhappy about the fact that our church will not be
open for in-person worship on Easter Sunday. How
can we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord if there
is no worship in our beautifully decorated sanctuary?
It doesn’t seem right. As one person said to me, “An
Easter newsletter that tells us that the church will not
be open for worship on Easter Sunday is not Good News.” I can definitely
relate to this individual’s words! I have often felt the same way. But I also
know that it is important for us to stay safe and if we can hang in there for
another few weeks, we will be in a much better position to gather again.

Well, sometimes life seems very bleak and lonely. Certainly, many of us
have been feeling very isolated over the past year during which the
pandemic has raged in our land and around the world. We miss seeing
family and friends and doing all the fun things we used to enjoy, as well as
those activities that brought our lives meaning and purpose. While the
future looks much brighter and more and more people can soon expect to
be vaccinated against Covid-19, we know that it may still be several months
before things return to any form of normalcy. It is a long time to wait.
Where is the Good News in that?

This is why I love what Stu Cunningham has written in his message below.
Stu quotes famous basketball coach John Wooden, who told his players:
“Good things take time. We shouldn’t expect things to happen overnight.”
Stu includes a number of wonderful scripture verses that remind us of the
need to remain patient and to wait on the Lord because the Lord is
trustworthy. He also observes that Covid may have destroyed many things
but “the one thing it cannot destroy is love.” Please scroll down and read
Stu’s wonderfully encouraging message. You will find lots of Good News to
celebrate.

Then there is the message from Rev. Ann Corbet, whose visits many of us
have had the great pleasure to enjoy in person and, since Covid, via phone
and Zoom. Read about the delightful program Ann planned for February at
Siloam. Ann knows that laughter is one of the best forms of medicine and
so she planned a special program each Friday afternoon for anyone who
wanted to join her in a time of Holy Humour. Check out her message in this
newsletter. It will remind you of God’s good gift of humour and how we all
have the capacity to bring joy and laughter into the lives of others. This is
Good News!

Then there are the messages from our Children and Youth Ministry team,
Jen Prince and Allison O’Connor. It never ceases to amaze me how much
joy Jen and Allison bring into the lives of our young people and their
families through their various programs. Covid has not stopped them
either. Jen continues to offer Youth Café, Messy Church, Confirmation
classes and other activities via Zoom, while Allison delights us with her very
creative and fun musicals. Talk about Good News!

And what about all of you who have donated so abundantly to our Lenten
Mission Project this year? I have been blown away by your unstinting
generosity. Think of all the people who will now have a safe place to call
home, a place where they can feel like they belong. Because of your
donations to Indwell, our Easter Ham Drive for ELUCO, and your

continued giving to the work and witness of Siloam, we have much Good
News to celebrate!

                            But of course the real reason we celebrate is that
                            Jesus is risen. After the crucifixion of Jesus his
                            followers fell into a time of deep despair. How
                            could they ever again experience the Good News
                            that they had known when Jesus was alive and
                            walked among them? Nothing would ever be the
                            same. The future was bleak indeed. Their
                            beloved friend and Messiah had died a most
cruel death. So it was with heavy hearts that the women approached the
tomb on Easter morn. Upon their arrival at the tomb, a stranger asked:
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Is this not our tendency also? We look for the living among the dead. We
look at what is not going well or we focus on our losses and
disappointments. We all do this. I do it. You do it too. But these are not the
places where love lives. No. Love loves in the generosity of God’s people
who seek to feed the hungry and give shelter to those who have no place to
lay their heads at night. Love is in the wonderful intergenerational musicals
and joyful programming for our children and youth. Love is in the Holy
Humour sessions and caring pastoral visits – however we receive them.
Love is in the beautiful worship services orchestrated by our
Communications and Spiritual Life & Worship teams. Love is in the
wonderful music shared by our organist Dave Buckley and guest soloists.
Most of all, love is in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
promises each and every one of us that we too will be raised at the last day.
Such Good News cannot be destroyed by Covid because, as Stu reminds us,
you cannot destroy God’s love. And that’s the best Good News of all!

Happy Easter, friends.

Blessings,
Sheila

                                   *****

Our Palm Sunday, Good Friday and
                                            Easter Sunday Services will be
                                          available online this year and will
                                           also be broadcast on Rogers TV.
                                           Please watch your email for links
                                            to these services and also check
                                                your local TV listings for
                                           broadcast times on Rogers TV!

                                   *****

From Stu Cunningham (modified from the March
15th edition of “Stu’s Ramblings”)…

If you are a fan of college basketball, you will know
the name John Wooden, the coach of the UCLA
Bruins from 1948-1975. His teams won 10 National
championships. Some people have suggested that
the inspiration for this song came from John
Wooden. Before one game, John said the following
to his players, “Good things take time. We
shouldn’t expect things to happen overnight.”
There are many Christians who expect an
immediate answer to their prayers; however, there are many questions to
ask and we need time and effort to reflect carefully and prayerfully as we
read the Scriptures. As you are aware, there are many encouraging verses in
the Bible that, if read, will give us strength, hope, joy and guidance.

A sports fan was watching a football game with his grandson. He had just
turned seventy-five and was feeling a little wistful. “You know,” he said to
Nick, his grandson, “it’s not easy getting old. I guess I’m in the fourth
quarter, now.” “Don’t worry, Grandpa,” Nick said cheerily, “maybe, you’ll
go into overtime.” As the song says, “Don’t give up! Don’t give in.” If you
think that nothing is impossible, have you ever tried to slam a revolving
door? This past year has been difficult for most of us; daily events have
been hard, painful and seemingly unfair. Yet, we try to remember that we
are not alone and that we are loved by God, our faith communities, our

families, our friends and neighbours. Religious leaders have been preaching
messages of calm, compassion and connectedness. One minister stated that
most places can now be a church because of live-streaming, even though we
aren’t physically connected. Father Martin stated, “Lots of things have been
cancelled by the COVID-19 virus but love isn’t one of them.”
Have you ever thought that maybe there should be some earthly rewards
for doing the right things and for being a Christian? The book of James tells
us that trials are a necessary part of our spiritual growth, that we should not
blame God when we encounter hard times and that God is good all the
time, even during our toughest times. Some faith communities have learned
that there were things that we thought mattered a lot, some things that we
thought were important but they really don’t matter. We learned that there
were things that we took for granted but we shouldn’t have. The pandemic,
combined with social unrest, has produced many people who are fighting
stress, anxiety, depression and fear. As a result, there is an increase in the
number of people experiencing mental health problems. Alex Dimitrie M.D.
states, “Toxic positivity is essentially the denial of negative feelings, a forced
positive attitude that attempts to negate any negative statements." Facing
reality is often challenging! Nehemiah 8:10 b states, “and do not be grieved,
for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Today we may not be enjoying the
journey, finding it difficult to smile, to laugh, to relax or to enjoy ourselves.
Finally, remember the words of Abraham Lincoln, “The best thing about
the future is that it comes only one day at a time.”

TO THINK ABOUT:
“The biggest wall that you’ve gotta climb is the one which you build in your
mind.”

~Stu Cunningham

                                    *****

                        From Rev. Ann Corbet…

                         This winter, the Healing and Wellness Team sought
                         to bring refreshment to folks who were experiencing
                         the stress and isolation brought on by the pandemic.
                         We created a Zoom event which we called “The Half
                         Hour of Holy Humour.” Every Friday in February we
                         invited folks to join us on Zoom to discover humour
                         in scripture, (yes, there is some!) to learn about the
role of joy in the spiritual life, and to enjoy some good clean jokes! We had
a total of 15 people participating in this event. It’s interesting to note that

only half of our audience were Siloam members. We rejoiced that we were
able to minister to people beyond the parameters of our congregation. (The
Healing and Wellness Team members are Janelle Towle, Janice Faith,
Janet Liefso, David Dillon).

In March, the Pastoral Care Team will be busy sending out 55 Easter cards
to our Siloam friends who are housebound. In December Karen Moffat
designed our Christmas card, and this month, Judi Emery has handcrafted
our Easter cards. Our other two team members are Lorna Carnegie and
Rick Prince.

This year, more than ever, Easter will symbolize a time of re-birth. The
vaccination process has begun. We can delight in creation with Ralph
Waldo Emerson who quipped, “the earth laughs in flowers.” Christ is Risen!
Hallelujah!

~Ann

                                   *****

From Jennifer Prince…

Easter Greetings from the Siloam Youth Ministry
team!

It is my hope that this letter finds you all well.
Wishing one another well these days has a whole new
level of meaning, and a year into the pandemic, we
are beginning to see new hope that our new normal is
dawning. I am reminded of the feeling of seeing the
first robin or daffodil; and of course, the news once again that the tomb is
empty.

It is this hope that has kept Siloam inventing new ways of continuing to
worship. The Children and Youth at Siloam have continued some of our
previous programs with modifications and invented a couple of new ones.
For the third time, Siloam Friends and Family are hard at work under the
direction of Allison O’Connor and young Denver Milner to bring you
another musical theatre production over Zoom. Reserve your virtual seat
for our production of “The Big Inning” on April 16th by visiting the website,
and enjoy this musical about how baseball ties in with celebrating the MVPs
of our faith.

Over Lent, families and youth have enjoyed a casual social gathering on
Zoom, that we call “Joy Finders”, every Sunday morning from 10:15 to
10:45. After such a long time apart, it has been indeed joyful to “see” one
another regularly again, hear one another’s voices, and share the everyday
things in our lives. Allison and I also had fun taking orders for our “Holy
Week Family Worship Kits”, putting them together, and delivering them to
people’s doorsteps. Watch for news of our Holy Saturday Photo Scavenger
Hunt contest winner!

Virtual Faith Formation sessions for JK-Gr 6 kids, and Youth Café sessions
for Grades 7-12 continue through email each week. We have been sharing
content with the fine folks at First Saint Andrew’s United, and regularly
have welcomed new families to our emailing lists. If you are one of these
who have joined us in the last year online, we are so blessed to have you
with us!

Coffee House continues over Zoom in partnership with Y.O.L.O. We meet
on the last Wednesday of each month from 6 until 8 PM. The youth enjoy
getting to laugh and also talk about the serious challenges that the year has
brought their way. Some of us sing, play an instrument, share art work or
read poetry with the group; and we have a very fun game of Kahoot!, which
I have discovered I am very competitive at. Two youth each month have
enjoyed an opportunity to win pizza delivered to their house, and they
thank Siloam for this treat every time we meet. We received grant funds
this year, (thank you, Catherine Glover and team!) to expand this program
and expansions are underway! We are hoping to add some equipment to
make our live events more accessible for all abilities, and to give budding
chefs a chance to offer their talent at these events as well.

To meet some of the youth that help run this program, watch for Chinmayi
Manda in the “Siloam is Family” video. Also, watch for Chinmayi’s artwork
that will be coming to us for our Children’s worship table in the Sproule
Library and in the youth classroom; and keep an eye out for Ishok Darjee, a
talented young man and musician who has performed for our worship
services in the past and eagerly looks forward to doing so again.

Have you seen the “Siloam is Family” video, produced by some of our youth
and families with Allison and Cameron O’Connor? Visit our Facebook page
to check it out! Thank you to all of the youth and families who participated
in this project.

As we look to the future, there are exciting prospects before us. As an Easter
people, we know that God continually makes things new, and offers us an

opportunity to be part of the excitement. I look forward to the journey
ahead. It is a pleasure to serve with the community of Siloam.

Many Easter Blessings to you and yours,

~Jennifer Prince, Ministry of Children, Youth, Young Adults and Young
Families at Siloam

                                  *****

                         From Allison O’Connor…

                          Lent is a season of reflection and preparation
                          before the celebrations of Easter. I am grateful to
                          be surrounded by such wonderful people at this
                          special time of year who strive to make a
                          difference.

                         Two amazing musical groups have been
                         rehearsing these past several weeks and I hope
                         you are able to come witness the magic of Music.

Dreams Come True Music Studio proudly presents the musical ‘Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs’ on Friday, April 9 at 7 p.m. Come see how we
make a difference with Music! #inclusion #abilitiesfirst #singyoursong
#musicaltheatre #donationswelcome

Click the link below to reserve your spot! (Reserved Zoom Link will be sent
out the week of the show!)
https://www.dreamscometruemusicstudio.ca/snow-white/

The following week, Siloam Family and Friends will present the musical ‘In
The Big Inning’ on Friday, April 16 at 7 p.m. Click the link to reserve your
virtual seat! https://siloamunitedchurch.org/in-the-big-inning/

And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

~Allison

                                  *****

Siloam United Church Will Be Reopening for In-Person Worship
                Sunday, April 18th at 10:30am
Here is what you need to know when we reopen:
  • We will be following all Public Health Guidelines and COVID-19
     safety protocols which relate to gatherings in a Church (masks, social
     distancing, hand sanitizing).
  • Occupancy for Live Worship capped at 50 people to allow for social
     distancing.
  • Door will open at 10:00am.
  • Masks will be required upon entering, during the service and while
     leaving the building.
  • You must pre-register to attend by Friday at noon either by emailing
     or calling the office: office@siloamunitedchurch.org 519-455-9201
   **Please provide the following information: your name and telephone
    number, number of people in your party and names of each person**
  • You will need to check in when you arrive.
  • There will be no handshaking or passing of the peace.
  • There will be music but no Congregational singing or humming.
  • Hand sanitizer stations available.
  • Doors will be propped open to avoid touching handles.
  • You will be ushered to your seat prior to Worship and from your seat
     at the end of the Service.
  • You will exit the building immediately after Worship.
Thank you!
                                  *****

                         Special Thanks!
Thank you to Dorothy Coolman who has found our Sunday morning
scripture readers! Since Dorothy is retiring on May 30th, we are looking for
                     someone to fill this volunteer position beginning in
                     June. All you need is a phone, a comfortable chair and
                     a love of people. A list of past scripture readers is
                     provided. If you are interested, please contact the
                     office.
                                  *****

                 Easter Givings Campaign
As you are no doubt aware, the pandemic limited the majority of Siloam’s
fundraising activities in 2020 and the Annual Report, which is being
distributed in the next week, will show just how significant that impact was.

Furthermore, when Council determined the budget for 2021 it was assumed
that most of the COVID restrictions will continue to be a strain on such
events for at least the first 6 months of this year. Council also determined
that it was fiscally prudent to undertake a Giving Campaign to lend
stabilization to 2021 financial results and consequently, the Congregational
Resources Committee will introduce such a plan effective on Easter Sunday.
Council’s budget goal was established as $20,000 and, like the last such
campaign in 2019, this one will feature a matching challenge. In that
regard, we would be able to attain the budget target if we could engage
enough challenge donors to match congregational givings up to $10,000.

With respect to the foregoing, we are extremely pleased to announce that a
generous challenge has indeed been proposed to initiate the process by
donating $5,000. The Congregational Resources Committee is hopeful that
a few other members will take the opportunity to support the church as
challenge donors in this manner. If you should wish to contribute to the
campaign as a challenge donor, we would ask that you match or exceed
$500 if you can and that you forward your challenge details to the
Committee chair, Dick Huffman. As a footnote, those of us who enjoy travel
may find that the threat of continuing virus mutations world-wide will
make it too unattractive to plan many trips in the coming year. Hence, a
portion of the funds otherwise used for travel could be available for this
challenge. We look forward to sharing the exciting results of the challenge
as it progresses through the campaign to its conclusion on Mother’s Day on
May 9th. Click Here to support this campaign!
                                  *****

Siloam United Church will partner with Indwell (a Christian charity that
creates affordable housing communities that support people seeking health,
wellness and belonging) to furnish affordable supportive housing units. The
Embassy Commons project is located at 744 Dundas St., London, ON with
72 units expected to open in 2022. Each unit costs $2,500 to furnish with
Siloam’s 2021 goal to furnish at least two units. For more information and
to donate, please follow this link:
www.siloamunitedchurch.org/indwell/

*****

                     Good News to Share!
Siloam is the grateful recipient of three grants from the UCC Foundation:

   - $5000 for the Boomer & Older Adult Ministry
   - $5000 for Youth and Young Adults
   - $2500 for the Garden Project
Siloam is also the proud recipient of a $25,000 New Horizons for Seniors
grant for our Audio-Visual Production Facility!

These grants are assisting us to live out our mission to be Christ to Each
Other and God’s World.
                                   *****

During the Fall of 2020, Siloam became involved in another exciting
Visioning project. We are developing an Urban Garden on the vacant land
at the back of our church property. We have formed a partnership with
Urban Roots London, a non-profit organization that revitalizes underused
land in the city of London for agriculture.
We will be holding a Grand Opening Ceremony on Sunday, May 9th at
11:30am. Due to outdoor gathering limitations, please RSVP if you plan to
attend this event. Contact the office at office@siloamunitedchurch.org or
leave a message at 519-455-9201.

                                   *****

Thank You!
The Outreach Committee would like to thank the Siloam congregation for
their generous donations to Camp Kee Mo Kee over the last three years. A
total of $9601.90 was donated by the congregation, which has been
matched by the trustees for a total donation of $19,203.80. This donation
will go a long way in helping Camp Kee Mo Kee achieve their reconstruction
goals. This Spring, Camp Kee Mo Kee will finish the reconstruction of the
washroom buildings and some smaller projects in response to new Covid
procedures.
                                 *****

              LIRSA Needs New Members
If helping new people from another country who have been declared
refugees by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees get settled in London is something that appeals to you, LIRSA
needs you! Our current committee of eight people is looking for
reinforcements. Contact Peggy Rivard at 519-433-7465 if you would like
more information.
                                 *****