We had a lovely afternoon at the High Tea Party at the Village Church in Ormstown.
About 60 beautiful women and 15 little ladies participated in this sweet time of food, drink, and fellowship.
We would like to thank Chana for the lovely decorations and special desserts also the Sandy who brought us an inspirational talk, Laura and Karine for the song, Brenda and the
« Rose of Sharon Fellowship Team »: Judy, Sherree, Dianne & Johanne.
A big thank you to all the volunteers who participated in the clean up…
On November 19th, 2022 the Village Church in Ormstown was transformed into a cruise ship from the 1920s. The goal of this event was a mystery family reunion dinner, as a fundraiser for the youth attending Village Church. The amount of $1096 was raised. Bravo!
As the guests arrived the actor participants were given their scripts and were escorted to their tables. The mood was set under candlelight and the guests were offered a cordial sparkling drink.
The “Nazarina” cruise ship counted 70 passengers and 11 staff members on board. The evening incorporated a three-course meal, during which the actors introduced themselves.
The clues started to come out and the pressure was on. Everyone looked fabulous in their 1920 attire and they played their roles as real professionals. The evening was a refreshing reminder that taking time out can be fun!
We would like to thank all those who came out, Juanita, Chantal, Roberto, and Nova center for the decorations, Diane, and the youth servers. The organizing team, Dianne, Gregg, Wayne, and Johanne, and Captain Pastor Randy and his lovely wife Brenda.
This past Friday morning a group of men got together to make 2 large picnic tables in our church back yard by the river.
Randy provided the leadership, Paul the craftsmanship and Dale the wood. The rest of us were the assembly assistants. Finally, but not least, Ali arrived with the Tim Horton essentials to any work site.
A sunny day, enthusiastic workers and a solid leadership ensures many future and varied projects.
For the month of March, international women’s month the community came together to honour women in need. The initial objective for the month long project of collecting gently used purses filled with love was 100 purses. However, with our community’s generosity there were 187 purses in total donated.
Achieving and surpassing our collection objective was so motivating and a reminder of how generous people can be. One young man who was celebrating his birthday asked for purses filled with beauty products instead of presents and donated over a dozen purses. Then there were three young brothers who put together three purses in honour of their mother.
This simple project brought friends and family together to help those in need at several shelters such as Residence Elle, Accueil Elle, the Way out, Chez Doris, Resilience Montreal and Ukrainien refugee women.
God bless the women who receive these purses filled with love.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
The Franklin Church of the Nazarene now elevator accesible
This new addition to our church will make the building accessible to everyone of all ages and abilities.
The elevator will hold two people plus one wheelchair and extends from the basement to the sanctuary upstairs. A door on the left side parking lot accesses the elevator between the two floors.
Funding was raised over the past 5 months through multiple donations
The Franklin Church of the Nazarene is located at 52 rue Lambton, Ormstown, QC. J0S 1K0, programming begins at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Call 514-702-2822 for more information.
Retiring missionaries Roland and Linda Daoust recognized by Pastor Randy and Brenda Barrington.
The Franklin Center Church of the Nazarene was pleased to celebrate the ministry of retiring missionaries Roland and Linda Daoust. This being Covid 19 times creativity was necessary. The event was held February 7, 2021.
Pastor Randy and his wife Brenda drove out to their home in Hinchinbrook, Quebec and on behalf of the church presented a statuette given by Global Missions in recognition of their 20 years of service in the mission field. This was followed by a parade of church members who with enthusiastic honking drove by the front of Roland and Linda’s home.
Roland and Linda served as missionaries for 20 years in Vietnam and their Franklin church family would like to express its deep love and appreciation to them for their selfless dedication to God and for all of those whose lives have been impacted by their ministry
Thank you, Linda and Roland, for the sacrifices you have made all these years to faithfully bring the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
And our house was full of people coming to hear once more the miraculous story about the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, Emmanuel (God with us). I never grow tired of hearing this Christmas story.
After our Pastor Randy finished welcoming everyone, we started off with the singing of The First Noel, a wonderful Christmas Carol to reflect upon and put people in a festive mood.
Then there was a Christmas skit put on by the youth of our church, acting out the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem on a donkey. They arrived at the inn keeper’s door only to be told there are no rooms available, but space may be made for them in the smelly stable. After the innkeeper shuffled around the sheep in the stable, the teenagers dressed up like sheep engaged in a hilarious dialogue complaining of being shoved out of their sleeping space. Finally, Mary and Joseph entered the barn, more hilarious talk among the animals about what they perceive is happening. Then the proud parents emerged with the infant Jesus. Mind you all of this was done with very little rehearsal time, with the young actors forgetting some of their lines and missing their cues. Add to this the awkward, overacting which brought gales of laughter from the audience. Now that’s entertainment!
Following this our Pastor performed a baby boy’s dedication. This is the third child of a young family to be dedicated on Christmas Eve, such a beautiful family tradition. Every Christmas shall bring back fond memories for them.
Our Pastor’s Christmas sermon was different, designed to get the congregation thinking about the birth of Jesus. He talked briefly about all the people involved and their part in the Christmas story. The angels announcing the amazing news to the shepherds; God who chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus, announced by the angel Gabriel; Joseph the stepdad to help raise Jesus to a man; Elisabeth, Mary’s aunt, who became pregnant at a ripe old age to give birth to the forerunner, Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist, the one crying out from the wilderness. Randy left us with a thought-provoking question, what part do you play in this miracle? Do you believe and accept Jesus as your savior and son of God? Do you wish to become a part of this glorious mystery? Or is it just a nice Yule time story? Well, what part do you play in all of this?
Communion was then served to all of the people gathered together to celebrate the birth of Christ. Partaking of the elements reminds us of what took place at the last supper. On the night Jesus was to be betrayed, He gave thanks, broke the bread declaring this is my body broken for you. Then He picked up the wine goblet saying this is my blood shed for you, and Jesus passed around the cup. It may seem strange to some people to tell this cruel story of crucifixion during the celebration of Christ’s birth. However, the two are tied together. The cradle and the cross are inseparable. Without the cross, the cradle becomes just a story about a poor Jewish boy born about 2000 years ago. We are all saved from our sins because of the cross.
We ended with a candlelight circle around the church, singing Silent Night. May the joy of this Christmas season bring peace and love into your hearts.
Our annual church picnic was held at Judy and Dale’s, we had a little service follow for some good music and for sure food and more food. Family members and friends joined us as we celebrated with hot dogs, hamburgers provided by Dale, tasty side dishes, and desserts by everybody who attended members and guests from our church.
The annual picnic has become a tradition almost as old as my younger daughter Vianka and she is 7 years old. It began as a simple gathering sharing food for church members and now we are so happy to see family and friends getting together.
Fond memories include comments such as, “I looked forward to it each summer,” or great food, or I can’t wait to jump in the pool.
My family and I were so happy to be there this time as every year, we ate, we drank, we sang, we got to hear a nice message from our preacher, we used the pool, and we ate again, and we had so much food at the picnic that we were able to bring some home.
Who does not enjoy a really good, old fashioned bonfire? Not too many people that is for sure, no one that I know. Fire holds a fascination with man that goes way back. The first offering to the Lord ever mentioned in the Bible happens right after the fall in the garden. Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden for sinning against God. Their
two sons Cain and Abel are the first-ever mentioned to bring their first fruits unto God.
Cain offered crops from the ground. Abel offered firstborn lambs. Although the word “fire” is not mentioned, most offerings to the Lord are burnt offerings. God preferred Abel’s offering. Cain in a jealous rage killed his brother Abel. The Bible is full of interesting stories. For early man fire offered light and heat in the dark. The fire kept the wild animals at a safe distance. All beasts with the exception of man have a deep fear of fire.
The use of fire enabled man to forge metals, and on it goes.
Our neighborhood bonfire was a time to gather together. Friends who have known each other for years reconnected with a good chat. New people got to meet some of their neighbors. Children and dogs scampered all about the grounds. Everyone brought some delicious food to snack on, and coffee was served. At around 9:00 p.m. we set fire to a huge pile of wood. Most of the wood comes in the form of driftwood when the ice on Trout River breaks up in the springtime. It is surprising how much wood from broken up trees flows onto the shore with the ice.
I am sure that people two counties away observed an orange glow in the sky. The flames were as high as the surrounding trees. Some people from our church also showed up to enjoy the bonfire. This is a good thing. Secular people mixed with believers get to witness that Christians are just like everyone else. We enjoy the same things and perhaps, just perhaps, they saw something in us that they would like to have for themselves also.
This is one of the reasons why our church hosts a community Christmas meal every year. So people can rub elbows with people of faith. It is important for Christians to know that we are in this world, but not of this world. Brow beating people with religion does not work. However, if people see something in us that they rarely see elsewhere, then they just might be attracted to check us out. A community bonfire is a good vehicle to get people together, and hey, it is loads of fun, so easy to do.
By David Jowle
Movie Night
October 20th at 7 pm, at the Village Church.
School Supplies
We are gathering school supplies for local schools
Coffee and muffins
Free for all, Wednesday at 10 am.
Bible Study
Bible study. Every Wednesday 7 pm at the Village Church
Men’s Group
Every Friday all men are invited to the Village Church at 9 am
Christmas Dinner
December 9th, from 5 pm to 7 pm at the Village Church.
