HIGHLIGHTS June 14 2020 - Highlands United Church
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HIGHLIGHTS
June 14 2020
Between: Standing on the brink of the unknown
“We stand on the brink of the unknown, which is to say that things are
normal, and good, and permissive of joy!”
- Daniel Berigan
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the
questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a
very foreign tongue.”
- Letters to a Young Poet (public library) by Rainer Maria Rilke
Highlands United Church, 3255 Edgemont Blvd. North Vancouver, BC V7R 2P1
604-980-6071 churchoffice@highlandsunited.org
www.highlandsunited.org Rev. Will Sparks, Lead Minister
Silver Linings—True Stories
During the COVID 19 Pandemic
Shelter to Home is a volunteer organization
that provides furniture and household goods,
free of charge, to people in need, on
Vancouver's North Shore. Over 12 years
we've assisted 1700 people as they
established new homes after a difficult period their work came to fruition. IKEA donated
in their lives. We work in cooperation with $2,000,000 worth of furniture and household
North Shore agencies which assist people in goods to Furniture Banks across the country,
need, including Lookout Homeless Shelter, and Shelter to Home was one of two BC
Women's North Shore Crisis Center and its Furniture Banks to be included in this donation.
residence, Sage House, Hollyburn Seniors' Shelter to Home received $25,000 worth of
and Family Services, Vancouver Coastal, couches, beds, dining tables and chairs, bed
Health, Canadian Mental Health Association, linens, dishes, cutlery, pots and pans and
and others. more. With our church closed due to COVID
COVID 19 brought our program to a halt. 19, our Shelter to Home team received this
Social distancing meant that we could not go incredible donation on May 26th and the
into homes of donors to assess the furniture Church gym became a workshop. A team of 8
they had to offer. It also meant that we could people began building couches, beds and
not invite clients into our small storage facility tables. A team of 3 assembled household
to choose what they needed. Since March 14, goods, requested by clients, into big IKEA bins.
2020, we have received no donations of gently And then clients and moving companies
used furniture, electrical appliances. dishes, started arriving to take away the contents of
pots and pans etc from the community. our clients' new homes. We have already
been able to fill the requests of 9 households!!
Then a wonderful thing happened. Shelter to
Home is a member of the Furniture Bank The Shelter to Home team is filled with
Network (FBN), a network of furniture banks gratitude for this unique donation from IKEA,
across Canada. Dan Kershaw, chair of FNB and to the people from IKEA, Furniture Bank
and Annalee Sawiak, CEO of Furniture Link, Network and Furniture Link, who made this all
which facilitates connections between happen. We are also in deep appreciation for
business, government and non-profit our team of volunteers, who put in countless
organizations, to power the Circular Economy hours assembling furniture, working with
for social good, were approached by IKEA to clients, and organizing the project in a safe
assist them to distribute donated goods, on a way.
national basis in response to the COVID 19 Sincerely,
crisis. Right in the middle of this pandemic Ruth Kershaw for the Shelter to Home Team
A Work in Progress
(Circle of Care Housing)
What a privilege it has been for me to see the
At the end of May an Outreach Worker contacted
community come together to help all these
Shelter to Home. She was seeking to completely
people, and some others as well, in an
furnish a 5 bedroom home. The Circle of Care
intensive 12 day period, in the midst of the
Housing is a joint project of Vancouver Coastal
COVID 19 crisis. We send our gratitude to
Health, Canadian Mental Health Association and
IKEA, the Furniture Bank Network and
the Alliance Church in North Vancouver. So now,
Furniture Link for this incredible opportunity to
Highlands United Church, through Shelter to
help level the playing field for vulnerable
Home, will join this project. Using both our IKEA
people from our community.....a single Mom,
donation and second hand furniture sourced from
Seniors, a First Nations couple, a person with
the community, this home will be ready to receive
disabilities, immigrants, a refugee, people living
5 formerly homeless men on June 15. The men,
with mental illness and a person from the
all of whom live with mental illness, have been
LGBTQ+ community. Acts of compassion, at a
chosen for this home. It is believed by the social
critical moment, can change the course of a
workers that, once they have stable housing, they
person's life.
will be able to move on to productive, independent
lives. After taking stock of what we needed, I
realized that the main item we were missing was a
Sincerely,
dining room table and chairs for 6 to 8 people. I
asked myself how we could find such a table Ruth Kershaw
during this time when our operations are closed. I For the Shelter to Home Team
didn't have to ponder long. The phone rang and
the familiar voice of one of the ministers at
Highlands United Church said, "Can Shelter to A couple of items are still needed for this
Home use a big dining table and 6 chairs. One project—if you are able to donated the
problem, we have to get it out of the house following, please let us know:
tomorrow, because the new owners are moving in
5 bedside tables
soon". And so, we met the CMHA social worker
7 table lamps
at this house on the North Shore, and the first
2 living room end tables
piece of furniture was put in place. For me, this is
and a Bar-B-Q
more than coincidence that everything we need is
falling into place, and I am filled with gratitude. Many Thanks!
Pandemic: Poems, Prose and Ponderings…
An Anthology of the Moment
How has this Pandemic
affected you?
What have we learned from this
experience, what has changed in
us that will not go back, but
move forward into a new way
of being?
We invite you to share your stories,
poems, artwork, handicraft, photography,
blog or whatever creative thing you do to
express yourself. It doesn’t need to be
perfect, it just needs to come from inside
of you.
Many of us write in our journals, we draw
in our sketch books, we doodle on scraps
of paper and write song lyrics, we create
art projects and plant flowers—these are
all expressions of our souls, it’s the way
we communicate what’s in our hearts
This Pandemic has touched all of us in
many different ways, the way we respond
to situations and people, how we are
adjusting to the new normal, what we’ve
Send your submission to Anna-Lisa Jones at
had to give up and what gifts we’ve
jonesalj62@gmail.com or call 604-374-0639.
received.
Your stories, your poems, your drawings, Happy Creating!
paintings, photos are all welcome. We now
have 3 submissions and hoping for more.
It is our hope that we can share (with your
permission) your creations on our website
starting next week!
This is an extraordinary year; and is, for Highlands, the
“Year of Living Courageously” - be bold with us and share how this
Pandemic has touched your lives...
Congratulations to all our Highlands
& St. Andrew’s Wesley Grads!
Lianna Rushworth who is graduating from UBC with
a Bachelor in Kinesiology
Michelle Lovely, graduating with a Masters of
Science of Nursing from UBC
Kendrick Rutherford graduating from GLC
Fritz Rehmus graduating from Point Gray Mini School
Emily Anderson graduating from Handsworth Secondary
Chiara DeMarni graduating from Eric Hamber Secondary
Ella Winham graduating from Van Tech Secondary
Cat Kinghorn graduating from TLA High school
Carl Steffens, graduating with Bachelor of Education from UBC,
Gabriela Dodge Graduating from Van Tech
Ken Lawrence graduating from Kitsilano High school
Colleen Chambers graduating from UBC with a degree in Health and Society
Graham Whyte graduating from UBC with Electrical Engineering degree
Madison Blackman graduating from Howe Sound Secondary
Andria Irwin graduating from Vancouver School of theology with a Masters of Divinity
HUC Book Circle
This open-to-all circle is continuing over the summer this year since most of us are sheltering at
home. Our meeting place, like most summer activities, is weather dependent in that we will meet
via Zoom if it is raining and in a private garden if it is not.
Therefore, in order to get the venue information, please contact Phyllis at phyl_ferg@yahoo.ca
if you have any questions and/or to indicate
if you plan to attend.
We meet on the Last Monday of the Month.
June 29th: The Children Act by Ian McEwan (2014) -
multiple copies are available at the North Van District
Libraries
July 27th: anything written by LM Montgomery (1908-39)
A message from Highlands Local Connections Committee
Our two partners in the DTES are suffering the most since the COVID19 outbreak in March. We at
HIGHLANDS quickly got funding to FIRST UNITED & WISH in April & they were so appreciative of
that. They both have had an increased number of people using their services. Just this week, we had
another plea from WISH to say “Women in our community are facing the worst series of
compounding crises (Opioid & Covid) that we have ever seen”. Women are experiencing more
violence, more fear, and are needing more help. WISH has expanded services: extended drop-in
service to 24 hours a day, expanded daytime MAP van
hours to 18 hours a day with trained staff to support sex
workers across Vancouver, installed washroom trailers in
parking lot, introduced peer witnessing to prevent
overdosing & other related risks.
WISH serves over 9000 meals a month. They have started “The Courage Campaign” for increased
support. If you are able to help WISH in these critical times, please go on their website
“WISH DROP-IN CENTRE SOCIETY” and follow the info to DONATE directly.
In the month of JUNE your donation will be doubled by a corporate sponsor. You will help build the
resilience & courage of this community & the safety, autonomy & well-being of some of the most
vulnerable among us. If you can help, it would be so appreciated.
Thanks,
Highlands Local Connections Committee
Online Security and Privacy
...a Highlands Video Series
It is no surprise that we have been finding ourselves online more
than ever before in these last few months. With
COVID-19 changing the ways we live outside, we have had to change the
ways we do things inside — everything is online now, from our socializing
to our shopping.
Join our online minister, Andria Irwin, in a series of conversations with
local computer engineer and Highlands monitor, Ken Brough, about how
we can best protect ourselves and our machines in this time.
Each video is about 25 minutes long and covers topics such as why we
should care about online security, the basic things we should be putting in
place to protect ourselves, common and current technological scams,
how to create the perfect password (and why!), what privacy means these
days, and basic configurations to keep our information safe.
The first four videos of this 6-part series are up already on our YouTube
channel at www.youtube.com/HighlandsUnitedChurch
The healing hands ministry team is offering instructed me that at 7:30 I should find the
distance healing sessions each week. Here most comfortable position I could in a chair or
are some responses that may help you on the bed and try to relax. Some minutes
understand the potential of these sessions: after, I started to feel more relaxed, and half an
hour later I was almost asleep. When I got up I
“My spirits were lifted.”
was feeling much better, could sleep better that
“I felt so relaxed I fell asleep. I never sleep in night and was much less stiff in the morning. I
the afternoon!” believe that healing session was the turning
point in my recovery.”
“My sorrow has released and I feel joyful.”
If you wish to experience this form of healing
“It was as if the cloud of my sad feelings had
prayer or want more information:
been lifted and vaporized away somewhere.
I feel happier.” call Sharon Yetman 604-988-5827
“I damaged my lower back by too-strenuous
digging in the garden. My back was very stiff
and painful, especially in the mornings, and I
was having a hard time finding a comfortable
sleeping position. After a week, Sharon heard
about this and invited me to have a distance
healing session the next evening. She
Highlands United Church
Notice of Congregational Meeting
June 28, 11:30am via ZOOM
(Zoom invitation will be sent out closer to the date)
Drawdown – Getting into Action!
Starting ONLINE June 3, 7 pm.
Learn and research and plan with others how you can
act against global warming.
Sponsored by Highlands and St Andrew’s Wesley, a 5-
part online series using Zoom. We recommend taking
the Introduction to Drawdown first, offered online
here: Pachamama.org/engage/drawdown (unless you’ve
taken it before).
Our leaders Jim, Sandi and Ross are just winding down
their first online series, sponsored by NVan City Library.
They report, "We've been delighted to discover how
interactive the classes can be, and how well we can
create community even when we’re not physically
present. These workshops lead participants deeper into
the Drawdown solutions, introduce them to what’s new in
the Drawdown Review 2020, and allow each person to
figure out the answer to the question, “What is mine to
do?” Most of all, together we become part of a
compelling movement towards a better future for the
planet.
Quicklink for Intro Workshop: https://www.pachamama.org/engage/drawdown
Quicklink for Getting into Action: HighlandsDrawdown2020-06.eventbrite.ca
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