222nd Anniversary Sunday

Welcome

Call to Worship (Psalm 50:1,2)

Come bless the Lord!

Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
  praise him in his mighty firmament!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
  praise him according to his surpassing greatness!

Praise the Lord with the sound of trumpet

Worship and Music

2023 was an exceptional year for worship and music. We worshipped with joyful singing. We sang in many languages, learned many new hymns, offered our praise in many old hymns we loved dearly.

Mr. David Cowan came monthly to help us sing our praises by playing the organ. Joan and Mike and their friend Jon Libera helped us to worship with their musical gifts. Most of all our own trio of John, Catherine and Rebekah faithfully served God each Sunday as we raised our voices in praise. Catherine brought her talent of music by presenting ocarina solos on Mother’s Day service as well as at the Christmas time.

2023 Lent Devotions were a great time of joy for many people who came for worship as well as for fellowship. Each week in the Café was a time of meditation and restoration. Gail, Linda, Ruth and Sandy provided wonderful hospitality.

Holy Week services were also meaningful and well attended. Easter Sunday with the parade of hats was something to behold, indeed.

Mother’s Day worship was followed by lunch with Mike and Joan bringing their friends, Jon and Chris to entertain especially mothers. Chris sang his own Birthday song since Mother’s Day service coincided with our monthly birthday celebration.

It may be a blur to us today, but our special worship services such as Thanksgiving, Remembrance, Advent, Christmas Eve and Christmas services were memorable and exciting. Of course, everyone decorated the Christmas Tree together during our worship service as usual. It was also at this exciting time, Jedida came and asked if she could do a presentation. As we say, her ask became a part of important worship history.

After the wonderful Christmas Sunday with Mr. Cowan playing the organ to the full, we followed it with the Christmas Eve worship service with the help from Mike and Joan.

As usual the session provided four worship services where communion took place.

We give God thanks for so many different ways of worshipping in 2023.

Prayer

Dear God,
You bless us always without fail. Your love and grace always welcome us into your presence. This day, we come with thanksgiving as we give you thanks for 222 years of being here to serve you and your people. Be glad and receive our praise and thanksgiving. We pray in your Son’s name. Amen.

A new commandment I give unto you

Pastoral Care

Our care for members and adherents is provided in various forms. Personal visits, phone calls and online worship services as well as weekly e-newsletters bring our care to everyone who belongs to the church. Sadly due to many activities in person visits by the minister decreased, however, all other means of connecting with church family continued. We thank our secretary Debbie for calling people as often as we are able to keep everyone in the loop.

In 2023 Carol Hetherington, Jenny Graham, Rev. Gordon Hastings, Rev. Steve Johnson, Margaret Calder and Sandy Detenbeck passed away. We give God thanks for their services to God and their neighbours throughout their lives.

We witnessed and rejoiced together as Luna Louras, Lennon Louras and Colton Terpstra were baptized.

In this pastoral care spirit, in the first half of the year Cinnamon Bun Tuesday invited people to come and enjoy hot cinnamon buns, coffee or tea and fellowship on Tuesdays hosted by Gail, Linda, Ruth and Sandy. This weekly gathering was very filling for some people as they enjoyed the endless supplies of hot buns.

We thank God for all those who made Drummond Hill a place where one could truly experience God’s love.

Scripture: John 15: 12

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Word in Action (Reaching Out)

2023 turned out to be an extremely busy year for us in terms of sharing Christ’s love. Yet, the beginning was quiet and gentle. Soon, the floodgate opened.

We began with Friday Evening Get Togethers for those who were new to Niagara Falls. Every Friday, we came together, cooked our own supper and shared together and had games and conversations. We found good friends. We also found out how some of us were extremely competitive and did not want to lose a single game. Some from different countries began to serve us their own food, too. This get together continued until the summer months. Lynn showed them how to handle food safely. Chuck, Lorraine and Sonia provided goodies.

Every Saturday many people came to enjoy learning to draw together watercolour paintings. Under the watchful eye of Bob, many learned to paint for the first time. They drew trees, flowers, farm houses, birds and a lighthouse, too. These drawing times became a time of peace and tranquillity from worries and fears.Though Bob insisted that he was not a teacher, he did guide them by offering tips on how to paint shades, etc. Soon it became obvious that everyone could express themselves with colours.

Of course, we partnered with Welland Heritage Multicultural Centre to help newcomers who were seeking asylum to be processed in the church hall every Wednesday. IRCC, Service Canada, Ontario Works, Legal Aid and many other groups came and provided services to those who were located in many hotels around us. On some Wednesdays, the church was packed with people waiting to be served.

On our part, we started English programs for those who were Turks, Kurds, Afghans, and many Spanish speakers from Latin America. At one point we were providing as many as 6 different English classes in mornings, afternoons and evenings until most people found jobs or were called to attend English classes provided by Adult Schools run by the school boards and English as Second Language classes set up by the Y and other groups.

In the meantime, we have been providing English classes for those who could not attend these classes for reasons such as having little children and working. With help from volunteers like Norma, Graham, Polly, Sandy, Linda, Idania, Rydder, Muriel, Olga and Linda from St. Catharines, we managed to provide all these classes to people who were trying their best to learn English.

Thankfully August and September were a bit quiet in terms of reaching out to those who are in need with God’s love. By then, the first group who came to us through Roxham Road as well as through Pearson International, were able to find jobs or moved to other cities. Quite a few still remain in the city and many families became part of our church family.

As we began to relax, God had other plans. In November, we had to adjust all that we were doing. This time, we began to welcome those who knew English well and were also majority Christians. We had to adjust quickly because needs and concerns were totally different from those who were with us until the summer months.

Yes, as we continued to do some of the activities of sharing Christ’s love, we shifted to welcoming many brothers and sisters in Christ toward the end of the year. What a roller coaster of a year God led us through. Yet, God provided sufficiently and we were able to serve God and new neighbours as best as we could, glorifying and enjoying God.

Towards the end of the year, with the help from the House of Light Band, we were able to put on a concert. The entire idea was predated with a small band Rob Whitelock put together to put on a worship service where a different kind of music than the organ music or traditional church music could be used to praise God. In the spring, Rob’s group took part in worship. In November, the concert was put on and neighbours were invited. This was another way we tried to reach out especially to those who are not part of Christ’s communities.

Word in Action (Mission/Discipleship)

Truly, 2023 has been a remarkable year. It was the year where we really had to walk the talk and put our money where our mouths were as Christians.

We began the year responding to the needs of those who fled the war in Ukraine. We heard that over 300 families from Ukraine were settled in the Niagara Region. We partnered with the Ukrainian group on Sylvia Place and began collecting kitchen utensils, clothes, small kitchen appliances and so on. We also sent a notice to all Presbyterian churches in the Niagara Region to help. Our church became the centre for Presbyterians to bring their donations. In the meantime many of our church family helped. We shared in the effort of helping not only those who were settling in our neighbourhoods but also those in Ukraine.

Providing emergency food has been a mainstay. During the COVID lockdown the church shared many take-away lunches. In 2023 we continued to share food items with those who needed emergency food. Those who come to us this way are also encouraged to register with the ProjectShare Foodbank. What we did within our own means was to tie them over until they could find more help. In this way we did help many people in the spirit of sharing Christ’s love. Of course we also collected food for ProjectShare and raised funds for them.

In the meantime, ladies of the church were busy knitting. They provided shawls and scarves to be shared with those who are in need. At Christmas time, they also brought knitted and collected mittens, scarves, gloves and socks as part of the Mitten Tree project to help those who were in need.

In 2023 we continued to have great success with the Take Away Table program where many household items like dishes and plates were placed for anyone who wanted to take them away. Each week it needed to be replenished because it became so popular.

All these and more were done to share God’s love with one another and with our neighbours. We thank God for blessing us in ways that we could share freely. It is our prayer that in 2024 we will continue to be those whom others say, “Look at those Christians how they love one another and their neighbours!” Of course we do not do all these to be noticed. Afternall, we do our best so that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Today, however, as we start off our 222nd Anniversary, we give God thanks and remember how God allowed us to participate in these numerous ways of God’s ministry. It is our prayer that God will continue to call us to participate in God’s work in this part of God’s world.

We also give God thanks for all of you. Some of you helped by bringing all your coins when we did coin drives, others gave generously when we did fundraising concerts like the one that Mike and Joan put on with his friends Jon and Chris and many of you came to share in our Christmas Turkey Dinner put on by Deanna with help of many. Not only so many of you actually contributed by leading and serving, but many shared so generously to make God’s love shine in this place. On this 222nd Anniversary, we start by thanking God and you for all that we did in 2023.

It is time for us to thank all the elders. We also thank God for Debbie the secretary, Ed the custodian and John the manager of the facilities for all their work in 2023.

Prayer

O God, how we thank you as we celebrate this day.
As you have blessed us, we have shared your Gospel on this hill for 222 years. Before this church was called to be, you moved the hearts and minds of those faithful ancestors. In your love they were gathered by your Spirit and were formed into a community of witnesses. In your grace, we continue that tradition of being your living witness here. We honour and glorify you this day!

With our faith ancestors as well as companions, we offer you thanks for this very life and the future with you that awaits us. Give us insight to see how you have led us in the past in order for us to be faithful today and follow you without reserve tomorrow. Always open our hearts, minds and souls in ways that we discern your will according to your love.

We lift up our voices for Isla in the Sick Kids, Joy who is awaiting surgery in Kenya and all those children suffering without medication and medical care everywhere in our world. May your presence bring not only a possibility, but also a genuine healing for Isla, Joy and others. As we pray, endow us with your love to share faith and hope with all these children.

On this day, may your Spirit enter into all who are worshipping today. Through your Spirit give each one hope that is only possible in faith, fortifying, strengthening, encouraging and life-giving as each one seeks opportunities to work, provide for their families and find peace as you have done with all your followers throughout time.

O God, once again we bring thanks for continually bringing us into your presence. May our work be the expression of our grateful offering to you.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Offering/Offering Prayer

Announcements

Next Sunday, March 10th is the day when the time changes. We will lose one hour of sleep. That means the clock springs forward one hour. That means if it is 9 o’clock today, the very same time will be 10 o’clock next Sunday. Please make sure you check the clock on your phone next Sunday and come at the right time.

Next Sunday, I will be preaching at the Chippawa Presbyterian Church. The minister, Jared Miller, from there will preach here. Please come and see.

On Sunday, March 17, I will be exchanging the pulpit with the Rev. Anita Van Nest of Stamford. I will preach at the Stamford Presbyterian Church. I will be back here preaching on Palm Sunday, March 24 and Easter Sunday March 31.

Remember on Palm Sunday we are having communion.

The session will meet on Tuesday, March 5 at 6 pm.

We thank all volunteers who painted the church hall, those who cleaned the kitchen, those who are cleaning and preparing the sanctuary, church hall, washrooms, etc. every Saturday, and those who are doing many other things like marketing, helping others, computing as well as helping with Sunday slides.

All the way my saviour leads me

Benediction