Weekly Wire for February 13, 2013

Happy Valentines Day!

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
My hunger for her explains everything I've done
To howl at the moon the whole night through
And they really don't care if I do
I'd go out of my mind, but for you

Sister Moon – Sting

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Upcoming Events at a Glance

February 15-17 Nurturing Spirit Weekend Calgary

February 23 Samish Island Kitchen and Cabin Work Day

March 1-3 Nurturing Spirit Weekend Samish Island

April 24-28 Fine Arts Retreat Samish Island

Apr 29-May 3 Samish Island Work Week

May 4-5 Ribstone Enrichment Weekend

May 12-13 Hills of Peace Camp Opening

May 24-26 Arts on the Lake Hills of Peace

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Kitchen and Cabin Work Party – Samish Island

Saturday, February 23, 2013 9:00a-4:00p

You're invited to come participate in preparing the kitchen, dining hall and cabins for another wonderful camp season! Please wear work clothes and join us for a fun day of whistling while you work! We'll provide lunch, just drive on over and bring a friend or two.

Come meet the new caretaker family, The Brady Bunch!

Please RSVP: Jen Watson 360.766.6372 ianjen.watson@gmail.com OR Don Brady 360.766.8125 dscbrady@wavecable.com

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Nurturing Spirit Weekend Calgary

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Valentines Party and Dance in Vancouver

Valentine’s Cake courtesy of Robert Peters. This was a fudgy, strawberry, creamy delight!

Left Vic and Marilyn Suddaby, Right Inez Thederahn and Helene McDonald

Don Smith taught the men

Kim Smith taught the ladies

They danced for us

And then we danced!

The band came on and we danced some more!

Listen to Moon Glow Swing Band here

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Nurturing Spirit Weekend at Samish Island

Nurturing Spirit Weekend Video

MP4

Flash

Nurturing Spirit Class Descriptions

Yoga is essentially a practice of “embodied prayer”. It is a way of being at peace and ease in our bodies, inviting a sense of peaceful acceptance to every movement, every moment, every breath. (Please bring a yoga mat if you have one. Chairs will be provided for those who cannot sit or lie on the floor.)

Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening: Based on the work of Father Thomas Keating, Centering Prayer is a form of Christian contemplative practice that is simply a silent, trusting opening of ourselves to Divine Presence using a chosen word connected to breath.
“Silence is God’s first language.” St. John of the Cross

Walking Meditation (Peaceful Steps upon the Earth):
Walking Meditation is a natural extension of our meditation and prayer life, a way of “praying without ceasing”. Whether we are walking inside, or outside in the beauty of nature, we can use it as a time to slow down and connect back to “being” in God’s presence.

Dream Therapy Learn how to work with your dreams and experience group dream interpretation, using "The Storytelling Method".

Singing Meditation We will close our Saturday time with a singing meditation that encourages us to breathe, listen, sing and be at peace. We will share sacred readings, in music that has simple tunes and meaningful texts, and in silence. By singing simple songs over and over, we allow our minds, emotions and bodies to make room for the sacred within.

Spiritual Practices Every day in my teaching job people ask me how they can better remember what they learn in our sessions, my response is always the same: "Practice, practice, practice." For thousands of years Christians have used various ways to remind themselves of God's presence, practices to carry us through even the hardest of times. Together we will explore some of these ways of remembering God's constant presence in our lives - spiritual practices.

Meals prepared by Jared and Tara Suddaby Our fare will include love-infused salads with hearty, unctuous soups and local breads. Fresh and satisfying vegetarian creations prepared with love. West Coast Gratitude Food.

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Peace and Justice

Help Strengthen Canadian Field Peace/Justice Efforts !

Consider helping the Canadian Field in its Peace/Justice Efforts!  The Canadian Peace/Justice Committee is forming subcommittees to help address some of the issues that swirl around us.  Do you feel particularly drawn to any of the following issues?

- Canadian justice system and its current policies;

- Mental Health and the current Canadian system’s inadequacies;

- First Nations Issues;

- Immigration / Refugee Assistance;

- GMOs;

- Human Trafficking;

- Foreign Aid /  International Development (not ready yet);

- Military / Peacekeeping (not ready yet);

- Inter-Religious Relations (not ready yet);

- Others? Child Poverty, etc. – let us know your area of concern.

We are creating subcommittees to explore the above issues.  So please contact a committee member, listed below,  if you feel you might be interested in being part of this impactful effort.  As a church committed to the pursuit of peace, there are many ways that we, under God’s Good Spirit, can join with others to help further God’s desire for true shalom for all!

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Betty Williams	Canada West	williamsbetty@shaw.ca
Caitlin Ball	Canada West	caitlinball@hotmail.com
Don McLeod	Canada West	dw.mcleod@shaw.ca
Rod Downing	Chair	rdowning94@shaw.ca 604-535-6550

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HOP Family Reunion Planning Committee

Contact Greg today!

Would you like to help plan reunion this year?

Do you have ideas for classes, activities, worship and more?

Our first HOP Reunion Committee meeting will be Thursday February 28th via skype @

7pm Alberta time and 8pm Saskatchewan time.

RSVP to greg@communityofchrist.ca

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Samish Island Reunion Planning Committee

The summer is sneaking up on us and it's time to start planning Reunion 2013.

Our guest ministry is Art Smith, Apostle designate and current Mission Centre President in South America. He will be attending, hopefully with his family. He has been in touch with Don Compier, our guest minister last year, and is very excited about the opportunity to get out west for a week to be with us.  There will be a reunion planning session in the upcoming couple of weeks. If you interested in attending, please contact Chris Phelps chrisinlangley@gmail.com and I will try to find a time that works for all interested.

We need volunteers. If you would be willing to take on one of the following roles, please contact Chris ASAP. For more info about any of these positions, please call or email.

Class Teacher -coordinator - to find teachers for the following classes

Preschool/Kindergarten

Primary (grades 1-3)

Junior (grades 4-6)

Junior High (grades 7-9)

Senior High (grades 10-12)

Young Adult

Worship coordinator - to find presiders and arrange worship services for:

Sunday Communion

Sunday Evening

Monday Evening

Wednesday Evening

Friday Evening

Junior Church – 4 Evenings

Campfire director - to arrange intergenerational campfires for 4-5 evenings

Recreation director - to arrange recreation activities each afternoon from Sunday to Friday

Morning Worship coordinator - to lead or organized 15-20 minute morning worships from Monday to Friday

Early morning meditation leader - to create spiritual meditation time prior to breakfast as many mornings as is desired

Creative Activities coordinator - to arrange for a broad variety of creative activity opportunities each morning from Monday to Friday

Photo coordinator - to collect and edit through pictures throughout the week and arrange a beautiful slide show for the final Saturday morning gathering

Jobs coordinator - to assign and follow-up on all job assignments throughout the week

COOKS!!! - if you are interested in cooking for the week of reunion, please sign up ASAP - food is one of the most important ministries that can be provided at Reunion.

There are about a thousand other jobs/roles that people can take on at Reunion - please consider how you would like to give of your gifts this year and send a note to suggest what roles you'd like to take on.

One other thing to consider - as this will be my last year directing reunion for a while, please think about acting formally as an assistant director this year with the goal of taking on the director role for 2014.

I am looking forward to seeing you all at Reunion this summer - save the dates now - July 13-20. Chris Phelps - CWM Samish Island Reunion Director. chrisinlangley@gmail.com or 778-233-2809

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World Conference April 13-18

Early Registration Deadline is Friday February 15!

Have you considered attending World Conference this year? Follow the link to get all the details. Early Registration deadline is February 15th. We have two delegate spots open for the CWM and 36 alternates, but of course anyone can attend. If you are registered as a delegate and your plans have changed, please let Debra know debra@communityofchrist.ca

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Will you be at Canada West Mission Conference August 30-September 1st this year? Do you have a creative activity that our entire group could participate in? We are accepting submissions now. Send your ideas to debra@communityofchrist.ca Please include in your submission:

description of the activity

tools/supplies needed and approximate cost for 100 people

space required to do the activity

time required for the activity

Last year Linda Phelps’ activity was the ‘Signal Communities’ Art Project pictured below. Thanks Linda, you did a great job!

Tiles were painted by individuals, then Linda assembled them in the frame to make us all look like artists. This was presented to the Regina church. Visit Regina to see it in person!

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Summer Volunteer(s) Needed - Samish Campground

Samish Campground located in the NW corner of Washington State is seeking an individual or couple with an RV to serve as grounds and maintenance volunteers during May through August, 2013. The position entails mowing and maintenance of the
grounds, some handyman work and stocking shelves when food orders arrive, etc. An RV site with full hookups will be provided. Telephone and wireless Internet are
available in dining hall. Meals are provided during camps ( approximately 85%
of this time).

Application Form and Proforma Employment Agreement including Job Description are available by contacting Glen Fishel, Board President, at (360) 757-4559 or by e-mail at glen.mar@comcast.net or, if he is not available, Donald Brady, Camp Manager at (360) 766-8125 or by e-mail at samishislandcamp@gmail.com.

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2013 Camping/Event Calendar

February 15-17 Nurturing Spirit Weekend Calgary

February 23 Samish Island Kitchen and Cabin Work Day

March 1-3 Nurturing Spirit Weekend Samish Island

April 24-28 Fine Arts Retreat Samish Island

Apr 29-May 3 Samish Island Work Week

May 4-5 Ribstone Enrichment Weekend

May 12-13 Hills of Peace Camp Opening

May 24-26 Arts on the Lake Hills of Peace

May 31-June 2 Camp Genesis (8-9 yrs) Samish Island

May 31-June 2 Adult Spiritual Retreat Hills of Peace

June 7-9 College Age Young Adult Retreat Hills of Peace

Jun-08 Samish Island Work Day

June 8-14 Adult Reunion Samish Island

July 1-6 Canada West Youth Camp

June 30-July 6 Camp Mungai (10-11 yrs) Samish Island

July 6-12 Family Reunion Hills of Peace

July 14-18 Junior Camp (8-11 yrs) Hills of Peace

July 13-20 Family Reunion Samish Island

July 20-27 Spectacular Graceland University

July 22-28 Camp Planning Retreat - Hills of Peace

July 21-27 Camp Kluane (girls 12-14 yrs) Samish Island

July 28-Aug 3 Camp Chimacum (boys 12-14 yrs) Samish Island

August 9-11 Young Family Weekend Hills of Peace

August 4-10 Camp Kimtah (15-18 yrs) Samish Island

August 11-17 Singles’ Reunion Samish Island

Aug 30-Sept 1 Canada West Mission Conference Edmonton AB

September 27-29 Men’s Retreat Hills of Peace

September 27-29 Singles’ Retreat Samish Island

October 4-6 Young Adult Retreat Samish Island

October 4-6 Women’s Retreat Chilliwack

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