Zion United Church, Moose Jaw

PLEASE NOTE:
Due to the ongoing heat wave, the Zion Church work/cleaning bee will be rescheduled to sometime in August.

This is what our guest speakers, Rom and Robbie, were doing the presentation on on Sunday June 23rd at our Service

Could making friends help solve your medical issue? Social prescribing looks beyond medicine to non-clinical methods of treatment

If you can’t make Tuesday’s work bee, there will be another one on Thursday, July 25 (same time).
Hope to see you out!

Zion will be closed for the month of July, but Sunday services will be happening at St Andrew’s church just around the corner (60 Athabasca St E).

Expressing our deepest condolences to Jeannette (Zion’s administrative assistant) and family on the passing of her brother, James. 🙏
James’s celebration of life service will be on Tuesday, July 2 at 11:00 am at Moose Jaw Funeral Home. 

Happy Canada Day long weekend!
We are grateful to those who were able to join us for the Make a Joyful Noise fellowship time this morning. Special thanks to our musical guests, Desperate For Haggis.

PS: the potluck buffet did not include any haggis, but we sure enjoyed a variety of food!

The hymn books and the offertory bags have been set out. We are just about ready for the Make a Joyful Noise Fellowship on Sunday!
Come on down to the Social Hall between 10:30-11:00 and join us for the morning! (Remember to bring a pot luck item and, if you wish, a percussion instrument.) Not a member of Zion, Minto or St. Andrew’s? You are still welcome to attend ☀️🎶

☀️ Things to bring to this Sunday’s “Make a Joyful Noise Potluck Brunch & Sing Along”

1. A potluck dish to share (we’ll provide coffee, tea, juice, and water)
2. Your appetite (because brunch is the best meal of the day!)
3. Your voice (so you can join in the sing along)
4. A percussion instrument (this is optional — but why should only Jimmy Fallon have all the fun playing )
5. A friend, a neighbour, a grandchild, a coworker (basically anyone who likes to eat and would enjoy hearing our musical guests, Desperate for Haggis 🎶)

Starting the week right with a beautiful morning and a fresh dose of motivation!

You are welcome to join us this at Zion as we Worship together on this beautiful Sunday morning at 10:30.

Rev. Tim attended the Living Skies Regional Council held in Saskatoon this last week, Thursday June 13th through Sunday June 16th. Below is one of the hi-lights of the meeting:
The Great Mod-Debate!
This was such an wonderful and enjoyable experience at this year’s Living Skies Regional Council Meeting.
The Very Rev. Jordan Cantwell and The Right Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne are facing off for a theological debate on whether AI (Artificial Intelligence) that has gained self-awareness can be ordained or commissioned within the United Church of Canada. Jennifer Janzen-Ball and Cam Fraser moderated the CBC De-baters-style comedy-debate. It was full of fact and funny. The topic was chosen by the Youth at the meeting.
Jordan is arguing in support of AI. Leading with the strong case that as an Affirming Region, we should recognize self-hood of all, including to AI.
Carmen argued against this, noting that AI doesn’t have compassion, empathy or discernment. Can an algorithm provide care and support for people in our Church?
The real winner of the debate was Mission and Service Fund. Over $5,000 was donated to support it's important work across our church.
You can watch it by clicking on this link:
https://www.youtube.com/live/7tH8HHLRoEQ

Zion will be closed for the month of July, but we are planning a fun summer send-off! We look forward to gathering with our friends from Minto and St Andrew’s on June 30. The food will be good (potlucks always are), and the music will be joyful (Desperate For Haggis will share some of their toe-tapping music). We hope you can join us for this time of fellowship!

Life’s journey is meeting all different kinds of shoes and learning to love them for who they are. 🌈

Special Purpose For Sale — 60 Athabasca Street E Moose Jaw, SK | Canada | Colliers This beautiful building is located one block east of Main Street. Though classic in design, the property does not have heritage status. There are many redevelopment opportunities for the property.Moos

PLEASE NOTE: ANYONE ATTENDING SUNDAY PLEASE KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE NO POWER. SASKPOWER HAS PLANNED A POWER OUTAGE FROM SUNDAY FROM 10:AM TO 1 P.M.

THERE WILL STILL BE A SERVICE ON SUNDAY.

JUST A REMINDER WHEN THERE IS NO POWER. THERE WILL BE NO LIGHTS IN THE WASHROOMS NOR ANY OTHER AREAS, NO ELEVATOR, NO MUSIC, NO SOUND SYSTEM TO RUN THE MICROPHONES AND NO LIVE STREAMING FEATURE ON SUNDAY.
YOU WILL BE ASKED TO SIT CLOSE TO THE FRONT, SO THAT YOU CAN STILL HEAR TIM SPEAK. YOU MIGHT WANT TO BRING A FLASHLIGHT OR HAVE YOUR CELL PHONES CHARGED TO USE THE LIGHT FEATURE IF YOU NEED TO SEE THE BULLETIN.

We have a wonderful group of volunteers who serve lunches on Mondays to strangers (and strangers who have become friends). This Kate Bowler blessing is for them. ❤️
(See photos in the comments for a few of our dedicated volunteers.)

You as re welcome to join us at 10:30 this morning here at Zion as we gather for Worship and Communion.

The service on Sunday, June 2 will include Communion. We hope you can join us starting at 10:30 am.
Everyone is welcome to the Communion Table at Zion.

Did you know?
Zion was constructed in the years 1906-07 as Zion Methodist Church at a cost of $65,000. Additional funds were required for the organ and the pews. The building was patterned after Zion Methodist Church in Winnipeg. The design of the sanctuary forms an almost perfect square with the dome in the centre and is reminiscent of the Pantheon in Rome.
Sadly, Zion church in Winnipeg was destroyed by fire in 1970, leaving Zion church in Moose Jaw as the only remaining church with this particular style in Western Canada.
(You can read more about the Winnipeg church in the Manitoba Historical Society Archives.)

Do you know someone who is 80 years or older?
Register them for the Celebration Tea on Sunday afternoon. It is a lovely opportunity for them to enjoy a bit of entertainment and some dessert! ☕️ 🍓 🎶

You are invited to join us this morning at 10:30 as we Worship here under the Dome at Zion. As today is traditionally celebrated as Trinity Sunday we will explore the Trinity and Lady Wisdom.

It’s the day of Pentecost, join us as we Worship in the Spirit at 10:30 this morning here at Zion.

Just had to share this great article written by Gordon Edgar of Discover Moose Jaw. We feel so blessed that Zion will be the venue for such a gifted and gracious person as Iryna who now makes her home in Moose Jaw. I hope everyone that is able comes out to enjoy what promises to be an amazing concert and to support Iryna as she continues to make a new life here.

LOCAL NEWS
Ukrainian Folk Orchestra musician to perform first concert at Zion United Church
Written by Gordon Edgar Tuesday, May 14 2024, 5:00 AM
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Iryna plays the bandura for a newcomer meet-and-greet at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery (photo courtesy Christy Schweiger)
Iryna Levchenko played the bandura in Ukraine’s National Academic Orchestra of Folk Instruments for 20 years, but she and her daughter fled their country in 2022 after Russia invaded, and she hadn’t even hoped she might play again.
Thanks to a local charity group, however, she is back to practicing and has announced her first concert will be at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 at the Zion United Church on Main Street.
Admission is by donation and will be rush seating.
A group on Facebook called ‘Ukraine help and exchange in Moose Jaw’ helped Levchenko and her family settle into life on the Prairies, as they’ve helped scores of other families.
Iryna, her daughter Zlata, and her sister and nephew now call Moose Jaw home. She is putting on the concert as a thank-you to the friends and community who have welcomed and supported her family.
“Thank you to everyone who did this for me,” Levchenko said. “Please come to my concert on May 18th, I will be glad to see you.”
The idea of reuniting Levchenko with a bandura seemed impossible at first. Traditional, orchestral banduras are made almost exclusively in Lviv, Ukraine.
Nevertheless, ‘Ukraine help and exchange in Moose Jaw’ has developed a wide-ranging network, and group organizers like Christy Schweiger decided to see what could happen.
“We found out that in Saskatoon, they have a whole group of people learning how to play the bandura, and there’s a bigger community of bandura players there, but (all the banduras) seemed to be taken,” Schweiger explained.
“Another community member named Anatoly, who teaches English for Iryna, he did a lot more research and found out there was a bandura being restored in Edmonton ... It took, I think, about three months to get it totally restored and they made a connection in Saskatoon, and she played it to make sure it was the instrument she wanted.”
Overcoming that first step to find a Lviv-made bandura was amazing. However, the complex, many-stringed treasure came with a price tag of $3,500.
That hurdle, too, was overcome with support by community members. A private donor stepped forward to give Iryna an opportunity to play again and give back to the community. The bandura is uncommon to most who live in Canada, but its sound is deep-seated in Ukrainian culture.
The concert will bring familiarity and joy to many displaced Ukrainian people living in Moose Jaw and other parts of Canada. There are also many, many Moose Javians with Ukrainian roots who will be glad to hear the bandura.
“I’m definitely looking forward to the concert,” Schweiger added. “It’ll be quite emotional. Iryna had a practice performance at a newcomer meet and greet, and there were some people only recently come to Moose Jaw.
“And she played the Ukrainian national anthem on the bandura, and one of the ladies got really teary-eyed. ... It’s definitely a cultural thing, how symbolic and important an instrument it is to people from Ukraine.”