Welcome to the October 2009 issue of the St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Ottawa, e-newsletter. Please take the time to review the details of our upcoming events and information items. If you need more information on any of these events, please contact the church office at 613-235-2551. Also, if you would prefer to be removed from the e-newsletter list, reply to the church office.

Keep up to date on the news: The weekly order of service is available each week at www.stgilesottawa.org

COMING EVENTS

Sunday October 11th, Thanksgiving Sunday - Readings Joel 2:21-27; Psalm 126 refrain1; Matthew 6:25-33. We will also be collecting canned tuna or salmon for the Emergency Food Centre as part of the offering for Thanksgiving. Please bring a can or two so we can fill our baskets for this special offering.

Saturday October 17th, - Rummage Sale 9:30 am to 2 pm. There will be treasures for everyone - tell your friends to drop by and explore!

Wanted: books, clothes, small furniture, toys, household items. No textbooks, big exercise machines, computer parts or manuals, they don't sell. Call ahead for drop off on Weekday or Sunday mornings. 613-235-2551. On the day of the sale help is needed at 2pm to help pack up and take down tables. The people who have been working to set up and sell are tired by then and really appreciate a fresh group of volunteers! You can also come by on Friday 16th morning to help with the set up.

Sunday evenings, Oct. 18 though to Nov.22 at 7 p.m. SUNDAY NIGHT SPACE FOR GOD
Catch Your Breath…
…God’s Invitation to Sabbath Rest
“The hectic pace of our contemporary life makes the idea and practice of Sabbath rest enormously attractive. To pause, to be quiet for a moment, and to be aware of the presence of God can be spiritually refreshing and helps refocus our lives.” Catch Your Breath" is written by Don Postema and will serve as our guide for those who wish to learn and practice
Sabbath rest. Over six weeks we will be led deeper into the subject, encouraged to reflect and respond to the ideas presented and to develop a pattern of spiritual rest. Come and deepen your relationship with God, with others and with yourself. To buy a study book go online at www.amazon.ca or www.chapters.indigo.ca. If this is not possible we can do that for you. Speak to Ruth for more information.

Wednesday Oct. 21 at 7:30 pm Labyrinth Rev. James Murray, minister at Dominion Chalmers United Church will lead us in a brief workshop about this ancient spiritual tool (see more below). There will of course be a labyrinth for you to walk.

Saturday, October 24th - Potluck lunch at noon followed by Presbyterian Missionary Mary Gorombey speaking about her work in Hungary.

Sunday, November 8 - Remembrance service with participation of the Cameron Highlanders. There will be a simple lunch following the service and a quick presentation on the Aboriginal weekend held at Gracefield last Fall.

Saturday November 14 - Christmas Bazaar 9:30 am to 2 pm - Baking, Jams and Jellies, Deli, Knitting, Crafts, Flea Market and Children's Corner, Luncheon

Sunday November 15 - Aboriginal Awareness event at Knox Church with participation of St. Andrew's and St. Giles. Starts with an Aboriginal lunch (roast corn soup, venison sausage, bannock, blueberry dumplings) at 12:30 pm so lots of time to walk/drive to Knox at the corner of Elgin and Lisgar after our morning service. At 2pm following a drum amd purifying smudge ceremony we will learn about the history of European colonization through the "blanket exercise". There will be stories from residnetial school survivors and a reading of the Presbyterian Church confession. Leaders include native elder Karen Manitawabi, PCC Healing and Reconciliation Animator, Lori Ransom, Presbyterian minister Rev. Tom Gemmell, and Ed Bianchi of KAIROS.

In preparation for this event you can see photos of the Aboriginal event held at Gracefield in October 2008. Following our service on Sunday 8 Nov. there will be a bunwich lunch downstairs then the photos will be projected while participants, Jean, Stan, Prisca and Carole are on hand to explain.


CONGREGATIONAL NEWS

HARVEST HOME DINNER . A wonderful evening with 200 guests enjoying good food and a warm welcome. Thanks to the many hands who planned, shopped, prepared, served and washed up. A total of $1808 was raised.

PRESBYTERIAN SHARING SUNDAY is a time to reflect on being part of the wider church across Canada and how, working together, we can bring positive change in the world. This year, St. Giles was even more connected as the national resource was written by our own Rev. Ruth Houtby.

The complete worship service highlights the mission and ministries of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. It includes a sermon, children's story, scripture, hymn suggestions and prayers. It is designed to be used for Presbyterians Sharing Sunday ? September 27, 2009 ? but can be used for any Sunday of the year that you would like to highlight the work we do together through Presbyterians Sharing.

The material is built around the theme of "Beautiful Feet" - that we do not stand alone, but rather, our talented feet are joined with those of our brothers and sisters in Christ to make a beautiful pattern. Together, our feet join in the graceful dance of the people of God.

Take a look for yourself at www.presbyterian.ca/resources/online/4535

MISSIONARY VISIT On Sat. 24 October at 12 noon you can meet Presbyterian Church in Canada missionary Mary Gorombey at St. Giles. We will start with a pot-luck lunch then Mary will talk about her work with refugee youth in Hungary. You can bring anything at all for the lunch or if time/funds are short just bring yourself – there is always too much food!

CARLETON ECUMENICAL CHAPLAINCY The Presbytery of Ottawa held a Service of Recognition for Rev. Wayne Menard as the incoming Chaplain at Carleton University. Rev. Menard was previously the Minister at St. David and St. Martin Presbyterian on St. Laurent Blvd.

VERNON WOMEN'S MISSIONARY SOCIETY Invites us to share in their 120th anniversary celebration. Sat Oct 31 from 1:30 to 4:30 pm. See notice on our board downstairs by the coffee table.

LOOKING GOOD ! Thought you'd never say that about the kitchen floor at St. Giles. Well its time to take another look at the latest project by the Board of Managers. Thanks to Bob Fourney, Don Tate and Isaac Ives for all their work on this.

The Labyrinth Story ~ The origins of the labyrinth are still mysterious. It can be traced back over 4,000 years. The labyrinth has crossed cultural and religious traditions. Medieval pilgrims traveled to cathedrals to walk the labyrinths built into the floor as a substitute for making the hazardous pilgrimage to Jerusalem to walk in the footsteps of Christ.

The 11-circuit labyrinth in the Cathedral in Chartres, France, built around 1201 survives in its original form. The labyrinth is being reclaimed as a contemplative tool and is now found in permanent or portable forms in churches, health-care facilities, retreat centres, prisons, schools and public parks.

The Labyrinth is a ~
spiral and circle, basic forms found in nature and the circle a powerful and ancient symbol of harmony, wholeness, grace and transformation.
single path that leads to the centre and back out again.
sacred space for reflection, renewal, walking meditation, moving prayer.
wondrous pathway that may become a mirror and metaphor for our own lives and our spiritual journeys.
safe, deeply healing container where we can touch our joys and sorrows.

Walking the Labyrinth is a ~
healing practice that incorporates the body as well as the mind
spiritual discipline of following the path
heart-led exercise to help us find our way; it is not an intellectual exercise that could get us lost like a maze.
calling forth of our intuitive symbolic mind and creative meandering spirit
pilgrimage to the holy place inside us, deeper knowing of ourselves and the Divine.


CONCERTS / EVENTS at St. Giles this Fall
o Glebe Community Association Enviro-Conference Sat 7 Nov. Talks / displays open to the public.
o Ottawa Classical Guitar Society concert Sat 21 Nov.
o Tone Cluster Choir concert Sat 28 Nov.
o Cameron Highlanders concert Wed. 16 December
o Four Classical Harpists concert, Fri 18 Dec.