Bloor Street United Church
300 Bloor Street West M5S1W3 Toronto, ON, Canada

Lots going on at Bloor Street this week! From yoga to book club, Bible study to worship service, all are welcome. More info at www.bloorstreetunited.org/events/

Yesterday marked the first full day of Spring. The promise of new life is here indeed!

Today's Lenten Reflection comes from Gathering, a worship planning magazine for ministers and lay leaders, music directors, and United Church of Canada worship committees. Lent 4 Numbers 21:49... A bronze serpent heals the people. Psalm 107:13, 1722 (VU p. 831 Parts One and Two) God’s steadfast love endures forever. Ephesians 2:110 We are not saved by our own doing, but by grace. John 3:1421 For God so loved the world. To Ponder: When have you experienced healing in your life? How did it come to you? Spark: The Covenant of Healing We are writing this in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our world has radically changed. No one is exempt from the limitations and resulting fear. Churches are being called to find new ways to live love. No longer can colonial attitudes prevail. We are being called to embrace God’s love lavished on all. Reflect. Written by: Fern Gibbard, Penticton, B.C.; Sandra Stickney, Naramata, B.C.; and Laura Turnbull of Penticton, B.C.. Gathering, LE 2021, page 12. Used with permission.

Whether you come to church once a week, once a year, or once a decade, you are welcome to join Bloor Street United Church for Holy Week and Easter! All services will be held on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2305537702 Or phone in to 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588, and give ID 230-553-7702, followed by # #... Palm Sunday: Sunday, March 28th, 10:30am Maundy Thursday: Thursday, April 1st, 7pm (bring communion elements) Good Friday: Friday, April 2nd, 10:30am Easter Sunday: Sunday, April 4th, 10:30am (bring communion elements)

Happy Spring! As the seasons change it's a great time to look at our Green Tips album, and check out this year's For the Love of Creation Faith-in-action campaign, running until October 4th! Get all the details at https://united-church.ca/news/love-creation-nows-moment

All are welcome to join Bloor Street United Church for Holy Week and Easter! All services will be held on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2305537702 Or phone in to 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588, and give ID 230-553-7702, followed by # #... Palm Sunday: Sunday, March 28th, 10:30am Maundy Thursday: Thursday, April 1st, 7pm (bring communion elements) Good Friday: Friday, April 2nd, 10:30am Easter Sunday: Sunday, April 4th, 10:30am (bring communion elements)

Here's what's happening online this week! Have questions about what's on, or something you'd like to see happening? Message us! Chair yoga link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82908339880 Lectionary and Sunday Service link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2305537702... Or phone in to 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588, and give this ID 230-553-7702, followed by # # Dream workshop registration: https://dreamworkcanada.squarespace.com/

The Social Justice Committee is pleased to announce that Sandra Bucerius and Daniel Jones will be the 4th Sunday Speakers next Sunday, March 28th, 2021 at 11:45 am. Their topic is Prison as a temporary refuge: How Canadian society fails some of its most vulnerable members. Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2305537702 Or phone in to 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588, and give ID 230-553-7702, followed by # #... Dr. Sandra M. Bucerius is a Henry Marshall Tory Chair at the University of Alberta, the Director of the Centre for Criminological Research and a Full Professor of Sociology and Criminology in the Department of Sociology. She deploys extensive qualitative and ethnographic research to reveal the intricacies of settings that are difficult both to access and understand: prisons, police organizations, and marginalized street and newcomer communities. Bucerius is the Director of the University of Alberta Prison Project an extensive multi methods study on prison life in Canada. Many of you will remember Sandra as a part of our congregation while she and her husband were part of the University of Toronto. Daniel J. Jones has worked in the justice system for 25 years. He earned his Master’s Degree at the University of Cambridge in Applied Criminology receiving the Wakefield Scholarship. He is currently a PhD Candidate at the University of Huddersfield where he received the Secure Societies Institute Scholarship. Daniel is working in collaboration with the University of Alberta on the University of Alberta Prison Project. He is also a sessional instructor at the University of Alberta in the Sociology Department. His focus of study is the Victim-Offender overlap and how research and evidence-based practice can create positive systems change.

We are seeking applications for a full-time Minister to lead our engaged and committed faith community! Bloor Street United Church is a thriving church in the centre of Toronto. We are an Affirming congregation with a long history of strong preaching and community outreach. This is a stable and financially strong congregation with active lay participation in all aspects of the work of the church. We are about to enter the critical construction phase of a property redevelopmen...t process. Strong ministerial leadership will ensure growth in faith through programs and services that bring people into relationship with God. We believe a minister with strong leadership skills should provide equality and inclusion to our urbanized community, which is like a second home. A formal posting and more information will be available on Church Hub at the beginning of February. Confidential enquiries can also be sent to [email protected]

We'll have today's sermon on our YouTube channel tomorrow, but in the meantime, here is a quotation from Rev. Martha's sermon. How can you share net-breaking love?

We that you can join us at Bloor Street United ZOOM Church this morning. We will be reading the story of Jesus' invitation to fish for souls. 'Doors open' at 10am, and the service begins at 10:30am. After the service, you are invited to stay for our 4th Sunday Seminar - Ronald Macfarlane will be speaking about Advocacy for Climate Change. Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2305537702... Pass: zoomchurch Or phone in to 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588, and give this ID 230-553-7702, followed by ##

Hi, Bloor Streeters and friends! Here's the music for tomorrow's 10:30am Zoom service - check your e-bulletin for more info. What song are you looking forward to tomorrow? #setlistsaturday

New Zealand’s wind-swept Otago Peninsula; seems out of our reach, right? Luckily, a live bird cam allows us to observe the magnificent Royal Albatross soaring, nesting and possibly hatching towards the end of January. Experience the thrilling sounds of wind and noisy seabirds, all from the comfort of our computer screen. Don’t miss a minute! Check it out for yourself at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/royal-albatross/

It has become a Bloor Street tradition to have our ministers meet with lay people to gather insights concerning what a particular passage may be saying to a cross section of the congregation. In the process, those who meet find they learn quite a bit about the context in which the passage is written from both the perspective of events of the time and the purposes of the writer. Here are selections of those passages, followed by the full passages we discussed. What are your thoughts?

Here it is! All are welcome to join Bloor Street on Zoom for Advent! We've got Sunday services, a pageant, informal Wednesday coffee hour, Carols in a Minor Key, a Christmas Eve service, and more!

Bloor Street United Church is a community exploring faith, seeking justice, and living with respect in creation. These days we're gathering on Zoom, but our building is at 300 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M5S 1W3. Find out more on our Facebook page or at https://bloorstreetunited.org/.

All are welcome to join us for Lectionary (Bible study) for a time of learning, discussion, and reflection, tomorrow morning from 8:45-10am. We'll be discussing the texts that will be used in Sunday's service: Isaiah 64.1-5, 9, and Mark 13.24-37. Bring your thoughts and questions! Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2305537702 Pass: zoomchurch... Or call 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588, give ID 230-553-7702, then ##

The next book for our anti-racist book club is Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernardine Evaristo. We'll meet on Tuesday, December 15th from 7-8:30pm on zoom. Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2305537702 Pass: zoomchurch... Or call in to 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588, and give this ID 230-553-7702, followed by # #

Hear Moderator Richard Bott's Advent message at the link below, and keep an eye on this space for Bloor Street's Advent Announcements and schedule for 2020! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LABIYLZWtr8

We're grateful for Sara's presentation this morning on "Reconciling the Church". We'll get the full presentation up soon, but in the meantime, in order to understand and take to heart the calls to the church, check out: https://www.united-church.ca//indigenous-mini/calls-church

Join us today for worship at 10:30am, followed by 4th Sunday Speaker Sara Stratton at 11:45 am. Her topic will be Reconciling the Church. Find us online at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2305537702 (pass: zoomchurch) or phone in to 647-374-4685 or 647-558-0588, and give this ID 230-553-7702, followed by # # . Sara will outline for us where the United Church of Canada is in dealing with the Calls to Action of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the direction a...ll of us and the church can take as we move forward. Everyone is welcome. Sara Stratton has served The United Church of Canada as Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice Animator since 2015. Prior to that she worked for 16 years as an educator and communicator for the ecumenical agency KAIROS, and taught history. She is a Newfoundlander, raised in Corner Brook (Qalipu M’ikmaq territory) and shaped by her family’s almost 300 year history in Northwestern Bonavista Bay, part of the traditional territory of the Beothuk. Sara holds a PhD in history from York University, and in her spare time cooks, gardens, and watches birds. She is married to Kelly, who is a librarian. For those of you who would like to review the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada please follow these links: TRC site: http://www.trc.ca/ Summary of the report: http://nctr.ca//Final%20/Executive_Summary_English_Web.pdf Calls to Action: http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf The Survivor’s Speak: http://nctr.ca//Final%20Re/Survivors_Speak_English_Web.pdf