Bridge Street United Church

There are silver linings in COVID and one of them was the online Children's Christmas Pageant staged at Bridge Street Church Sun Dec. 27. Elizabeth Ewashkiw was the storyteller and a number of children too on roles with others inside their family bubbles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc-tb7kgQWE

Christmas Services coming up Dec. 20 Advent 4 at 10:00 am Dec. 24 Christmas Eve 7:00 pm Dec. 25 Christmas Day 10.00 am Dec 27 Family Christmas Service with... Children's Pageant 10:00 am All services will premier on Rev. David King's Youtube Channel at the given start times. Click on the link below to find them all at the right times. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt8ig2IpQ8ILzRfKjNmcuSw The Children's Nativity Pageant was acted out in family bubbles and videotaped. A post-Christmas gift from the children of Bridge St. Church. See more

The Christmas Pageant at Bridge Street United will be offered virtually on Christmas Sunday, December 27, at 10 a.m. and following on Our YouTube worship service. All done with social distancing, of course! See you there!

November 20th has traditionally been our Anniversary Service, not for our building (1877) but for the congregation that built it and that started back in 1815 at a Methodist meeting in the home of Pastor John Reynolds There have been many changes in location and name since then, but we are still here 205 years later sharing Christ's message of love and hope to the community. Please consider making a special Anniversary gift to continue the work of the church. Think 205! 205... nickels ($10.25) 205 dimes ($20.50) 205 quarters ($51.25) 205 loonies ($205.00) or any amount in between. Donations can be sent by mail to Bridge St. Church, 60 Bridge St. East, Belleville K8N 1L7 or etransfered to [email protected]. Thank you in advance See more

Again we will be worshipping online this Sunday, December 13 at 10:00 pm. Please click on the link below to access Rev David's Youtube Channel where all the Bridge St online services are saved. The actual service will not be visible on this site until just before 10:00 on Sunday morning but will stay up to review after that point. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTA0Ghdq7HU

During the week of November 9, Meal Program volunteers prepared, packed and froze 240 traditional turkey dinners for our take-away lunch guests and members of the congregation who live alone and may not be able to enjoy a... Christmas dinner with friends or family this year due to the pandemic. Also, thanks to the generosity of spirit of our meal program volunteers, take-away lunch distribution will continue through the holidays, including Christmas day, 11:30 a.m. 1 p.m. THANK YOU MEAL PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS for helping to make Christmas during a pandemic special for everyone! See more

This week's online service will be conducted by Rev John Miller. The service will premier on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 10:00 a..m. on Rev. David King's Youtube channel, where you can view all the previous online services at Bridge St. Church since the start of COVID19, Rev. David King will be back in the online pulpit for Sunday, Nov 22. A sincere thank you to Rev. John Miller and Rev Gary Magarrell who have filled in during his absence and to Rev. Bill Perry who has been voluntarily serving as our minister of Pastoral Services in recent months. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lb8ndWbwAY

Bridge Street Church UCW is still actively supporting the church locally, regionally and nationally. Earlier this year a gift of $500 was donated to Camp Qui-Mo-Lac for much-needed renovations. It has also made donations to Three Oaks Women's Shelter and to the Grace Inn Homeless Shelter. This past week they donated $3000 to the United Church Mission and Service Fund. As Covid19 has stopped their major annual fundraiser, the Fall Bazaar, the UCW are asking for donations to th...eir annual Christmas Stocking fundraiser to support their 2021 outreach projects for the church, the community and beyond. You may mail or drop off your cheque payable to Bridge St. UCW to Bridge St. United Church 60 Bridge St. E. Belleville K8N 1L7 or you can call Isabelle H. to pick it up, at 613-966-6581. If you prefer to use your bank's online e-transfer service make your donation to [email protected] and include the message - For UCW. Thank you for your continued support of the United Church Women. See more

There is another Bridge Street Church in Brooklyn, NY run by the African Methodist Episcopal Congregation. You can visit their page on Facebook. The most recent election in the US not only saw the election of the first Black/Asian Vice President but also the highest percentage of black voter participation. On their Facebook page last week, they posted this video that reinforced the power of the desire to vote through generations despite years of voter suppression in many states. It seemed appropriate to share this and remember that voting can change the world.

Beautiful November 6, 2020 Autumn evening with our Church surrounded by this beautiful Sunset. The sad part is no one is worshipping in the building on Sunday's right now due to Covid 19.

This Sunday's service is available online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7nFVWNYY0g&feature=youtu.be Please join us at 10:00 when the service premieres or at any convenient time in the week

Rev Gary Magarrell will be leading our Remembrance Sunday Service on Nov 7 at 10:00 a.m. . This online service can be found on Rev. David King's Youtube channel with all the previous BSUC's online services. This will be Rev Gary's online debut. Rev John Miller will be returning next Sunday to fill in for the last week of Rev David's study leave. It has been almost miraculous how professional our minister and our retired ministerial friends have managed online preaching Bless you all for tackling this important learning curve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCVMpn_22P0

Please join us for worship online Sun. Sept 20 at 10:00 am https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwf0YU9C2Eo

Join us for online worship on Sunday, Sept 13 premiering at 10:00 a.m. An end of Summer Hymn Sing. https://youtu.be/V0_WM7bTaEs

There will not be an online service from Bridge St. United Church this Labour Day weekend. Rev. King is on vacation. You are encouraged to visit the online services of the other United churches in the Bay of Quinte area. However, for those who really wanted to head to Atlantic Canada this summer but weren't allowed in their COVID - free bubble, you might enjoy this long weekend service prepared by Regions East of the United Church of Canada. A delight to the heart of any homesick Maritimer. https://drive.google.com//16wcQtBggWwwQyeTwkKCIyK7db/view https://drive.google.com//16wcQtBggWwwQyeTwkKCIyK7db/view

Please join us for worship with Rev. David King this Sunday at 10:00 a.m https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv4vXKgSMek&feature=youtu.be

Join us this Sunday for a online service beginning at 10:00 a.m. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv4vXKgSMek&feature=youtu.be

Some local Facebook pages worth visiting or liking Anti-Racism Quinte and The Grace Inn Shelter. Change is happening.

Rev. David was on vacation this Sunday so we had no online service. This is an opportunity to visit with other United Church congregations in the Belleville area such as Eastminster, College Hill and St. Mark's. You may reach their online services from their Facebook pages.

The INSPIRE FUTURES trainees were busy this morning putting together salads & 210 various sandwiches for the Bridge Street United Church & Gleaners Belleville ...Community lunch programs. They are in the final week of their program and have been working with our job developers to prepare for job placement and sustainable employment. COHORT 3 begins on August 31. WE STILL HAVE SPOTS available, so if you are passionate about food and have considered a career in food services but don't have the certifications and experience, give our training team a call at 613-969-8874. EMPLOYERS - if you are looking for food service employees, or currently have staff who might benefit from some FREE additional training in the kitchen, our team can work with you. We can create a custom training opportunity to meet your needs allowing current staff to advance or achieve more hours. Possible training units include: Food Safety Training Basic Knife Skills Advanced Knife Skills Commercial Kitchen Skills WHMIS, FIFO, and HACCP Customer Service Training Cleaning & Sanitization Smart Serve Training Mental Health 101 Soft Skills Solutions True Colors Personality Identification Anger Management Psychological Health & Safety in the Workplace #InspireFutures #foodservices #SustainableEmployment #ONjobs

Please join us for worship online Sunday August 09 at 10:00 with Rev. David King Click on the link below to find the service on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl2OeaZxzXk&feature=youtu.be

Preparing for our daily lunch program during the pandemic. Numerous volunteers like Joe Culp have given up their vacations to turn up regularly and keep this program going to help the people in our community during the Covid 19 epidemic thank you one and all for your work.

Join us for worship online this Sunday at a new time 10:00 a.m. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaUzC3JnbHA&feature=youtu.be

Wendy Waller has asked to share the information about the ongoing fundraising needed for Camp Quin- Mo-Lac, the United Church summer camp that has served thousands of children and families over the years as well as being a retreat space for the church community. https://www.canadahelps.org//team/captain/team-belleville/

Online worship this Sunday at 10:30. Click the link below to join Rev David King and the Congregation of Bridge St. Church in worshiphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a4EjVBGL8E&feature=youtu.be

We are back online this Sunday. Please join us for our virtual church service on Youtube Sunday, July 19 at 10:30 a.m. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JUxmLusOBo&feature=youtu.be Click on the link above or the picture below.

Steve Van de Hoef along with volunteers Lisa Norris and Joe Culp were among many Bellevillians who have received Community Hero awards for their leadership for the free lunches handed out by the front steps of Bridge St UNited church between 11:30 and 1:00 seven days a week.

A recent message sent to our church ---Good Morning I was out last night running some errands when I saw this rainbow shining out of (or onto) Bridge Street United. Every time I drive past the port-o-potties I think "that is a group that has given real, honest thought to what people truly need." It's not glamorous, it's not for show, it is a raw and heartbreaking need that you have met.

Some good news for members of Knitters United and the whole BSUC congregation. Marilyn B a knitter, greeter and frequent reader at our church has successfully come through liver transplant surgery. The Knitters have lost three founding members of their group in the past year so it was wonderful to receive blessed good news for a change. Please keep Marilyn in your prayers as she moves through the slow stages of recovery.

Rev. David King is off for some much-needed vacation time this week and so there will be no online service this Sunday. You do have options if you look up Bridge St. United Church on Youtube you will see all our services since April, so catch up on any you may have missed. The Maundy Thursday Service is particularly moving, with the beautiful videography of the interior of the church as well as the usual excellent service and music from Rev. King and Music Director Mitchell Cox. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcO1W813ZJM Rev David McMaster at Eastminster United Church has also extended an invitation for Bridge St United congregants to visit with their congregation on Sunday July 12. Go to their Facebook page and click on the link to this Sunday's online service which will be posted as soon as it has been uploaded to Youtube.

Lunch Program Update We have served more than 7500 lunches from the front steps of the church since late March, and are now into the 15th week of our daily lunch program. We are now serving an average of 92/day up from 73/day in early June. The Meal Program Coordinators agreed that the daily lunch program will continue until at least mid-September as part of Bridge Street Church's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision has been made in consultation with other charitable food and meal providers in Belleville,

Camp Qui Mo Lac is putting together a database of its alumnae. so they can be found and updated more often. Please pass along to anyone from the United Church that may be able to get the word out. We are looking to form a database of QML alumni and supporters. . http://quin-mo-lac.org/alumni-supporters

Online services continue throughout the summer starting at Sunday, July 5, at 10:00 for summer hours. The video will remain up on Youtube for the foreseeable future, Click here to join us.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXz7byee0t4&feature=youtu.be

Once again we will be following Covid19 precautions and worshipping online this weekend Log into the service on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi6IP7b5za8&feature=youtu.be at 10:30 Sunday morning or any time after that. The service will stay up on Youtube for viewing over the coming weeks. If you missed last week's service it's well worth a look or even a second look.

We will continue to worship Online throughout the summer. Our summer services traditionally held in the Sills would only be able to let about 25 people in for social distancing preferably wearing masks. Singing and responsive readings. would not be permitted. For this reason we will continue our virtual services. They will premiere at our traditional summer hours of 10:00 am. and are recorded on Youtube so are accessible any time convenient to you throughout the week. Links to our services and the bulletins for each service are on our website at https://www.bridgestreetchurch.com/ Tired of Netflix? Binge on our last two months of services. They are extremely interesting and faith-filled.

Lenore Dixon, a well-known church organist in Belleville and a member of the Bridge St. Church choir, was interviewed by Sandy Barnes, the host of Quinte Cares, a new community program highlighting good news stories arising out of the Covid19 crisis. for COGECO 4/700. Not only was Lenore interviewed but she was also asked to compose the theme music for the show. This is not the first time Lenore has composed music for a pandemic. When the AIDS epidemic was decimaring the po...pulation of Lesotho in southern Africa, she was helping to fundraise and publicize the disaster. Her composition, Tebollo Lesotho, became the theme music for the campaign for which she received a medal from King Letsie lll of Lesotho. This story is part of the interview which will be aired on Cable 4 several times this weekend including Sat. June 20, at 8:30 pm and twice on Sunday, June 21 at 9:30 am and 9:30 pm See more

We continue to worship online this Sunday, June 21 at 10:30 a.m. Bridge St Church will not open its doors for services this summer. A decision regarding a reopening in the fall will be made in late August. It is customary for us to meet in the Sills airconditioned auditorium during the summer heat and we could not guarantee sufficient social distancing. Please join us on line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6JHl9_qnD0

Join us for a virtual church service led by Rev. G. David King at Bridge Street United Church. Sunday, June 14, 10:30 am https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpYja6eju5o&feature=youtu.be

Please note despite our change of picture to reflect support of equal justice for people of colour. The reference on the sign is incorrect, the building will not be open for worship on Sunday at 10:30 this week. We are still running virtual online services, until we have formulated how best to allow services within our building again. Stay tuned we are looking at all our options. In the meantime go to Youtube.com and search for Bridge Street United Church to find all our recorded services so far.

Rev. Dr. Aruna Alexander, a familiar face at Bridge St. Church when she's not in the pulpit elsewhere, has been honoured with the Paul Harris Award by the Belleville Rotary for her efforts promoting diversity in the Belleville area. https://www.thebellevillelocal.com//celebrating-diversity/ ar

Today is the 95th anniversary of the United Church of Canada. Over the years, we have had many historical firsts in acceptance to ministry and organizational leadership: Lydia Gruchy, the first woman minister in 1936; Wilbur Kenneth Howard, the first black minister in 1941 also the first black Moderator 1974; Dr Lois Wilson, the first woman Moderator in 1980; Sang Chul Lee, the first Asian Canadian Moderator in1988; Tim Stevenson, the first openly gay minister in 1992; Dr Stan McKay, the first Indigenous Moderator in 1992; Gary Patterson, the first openly gay Moderator in 2012. Women's Rights, Black Lives Matter, Ethnic Rights, First Nations Rights and LGBTQ rights, We have been there for 95 years. walking with the fight. Our motto Ut Omnes Unum Sint - So All May Be One. Please share.

Know Where to Turn....Bridge Street United Church #COVID19 #StrongerTogether #FlatteningTheCurve #CommunityChampions #LocalLove

It's hard to find familiar faces in a crowded parking lot of people wearing masks but the feeling of support and rightness of the event among the crowd of hundreds who showed up, made the people of colour there aware, some for the first time, that they were not alone and people did support them.

The United Church has stood for Human Rights for years. We have sponsored refugees, worked with Indigenous reconciliation, supported LGBTQ rights and the rights of the poor and the homeless. Sometimes, quiet behind the news support is not enough. We need to stand firm and be counted when a tipping point in social justice is reached. If you are able, we urge our congregation to put on their masks and gloves and remembering social distancing guidelines, join in. You may choose to walk starting from the Salvation Army Thrift Store around 7:00 p.m. line Front St to support marchers or go directly to stand for the Vigil at Belleville City Hall at 8:00 p.m. Sunday night and be a witness that Black Lives do Matter and that equal, just and fair treatment before the law and in society is not dependent on the colour of one's skin.w

Online Service for Bridge St. Church led by Rev. David King this Sunday at 10:30 a.m on Youtube. Our choir will be performing their first video anthem, Breathe on me Breath of God. Everyone is welcome to watch https://youtu.be/Wgrm5kElwKo

An article in the Intelligencer told about care packages with bear hugs going to the residents of Hastings Manor and residences in Belleville. The bear hugs were these Izzy bears that Knitters United and other knitting groups across Belleville have been involved in. Knitters United have the patterns, wool and if needed needles available for anyone who would like to knit them for this cause. Call Elizabeth Ewashkiw, the only Ewashkiw in the Belleville telephone book and she will arrange a package for you to pick up.

On March 27th, all existing no-cost/low-cost lunch offerings in Belleville were suspended given concern over COVID-19. The Bridge St. United Church Meal Program responded by developing a daily noon-hour meal for the duration of the acute pandemic response in coordination with other community partners, Quinte Mental Health, Community Development Council of Quinte, The United Way, The Salvation Army Belleville Community & Family Services and Thrift Store as well as Gleaners Foo...d Bank and Belleville and Hastings County Social Services. As at May 22nd, 3693 takeaway lunches with hot soup, a freshly-made sandwich, hand-held homemade dessert, milk or water or fruit juice, and a piece of fruit have been distributed to those with need of meal support; the team has also given out 688 additional lunches through Grace Inn and the Not Alone Team.A total of 4,381 lunches have been distributed in the 54 days since March 27th .

Please join us for online worship this Sunday May 31, starting at 10:30 a.m. The service will remain available on Youtube throughout the week for those unable to attend at 10:30 a.m Please click on the link below for the service https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD42soJg2gQ

Please join us for our online service on Youtube this coming Sunday, FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 24, 2020 AVAILABLE ONLINE beginning THIS Sunday @ 10:30 a.m. LOGIN IN DETAILS: Click on the link below or the picture https://youtu.be/V4vEByizhKg