CONCERT: EdMetro Chorus @ FPC (May 17 @ 3pm)

Edmonton: Ten Years of Our Lives – Reunion Concert

May 17, 2015 at First Presbyterian Church (Edmonton) in Edmonton, AB.

Edmonton Metropolitan Chorus and Artistic Director David Garber celebrates its 10th Anniversary Season with a series of events during the Victoria Day long weekend, culminating in a concert, “Ten Years of Our Lives” on Sunday, May 17th, 3:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church, 10025 – 105 Street.

 The weekend commences with reunion rehearsals on Friday and Saturday, in which current members of the chorus will be joined by former members. The celebration continues on Saturday, May 16 with a formal GALA Banquet at Edmonton‘s beautiful Chateau Louis Conference Centre (entertainment, reminiscences, door prizes).

The final event is the concert “Ten Years of Our Lives” on Sunday, May 17. The concert features favourite repertoire as chosen through an online poll by current and former singers, plus audience members. This will include folk songs (“Danny Boy”, “Shenandoah”), spirituals, medleys from “Les Miserables” and “West Side Story”, plus classical compositions by Mozart (“Ave Verum Corpus”), and Gabriel Fauré (“Cantique de Jean Racine”, and “Libera me” from “Requiem in D minor”). The concert also includes two much-loved songs by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins “Adiemus”, from “Songs of Sanctuary” and “A Celtic Prayer,” from “The Peacemakers” (which the chorus recently performed at the Winspear Centre for Music).

A highlight of the concert will be current and former members of EdMetro Chorus joining to perform three beloved gems by Canadian composers, “Four Strong Winds”, “Fare Thee Well Love”, and “We Rise Again”.
Performing with Edmonton Metropolitan Chorus… pianist Remi Do, soprano Janet Smith, alto Mireille Rijavec, tenor Matthew Dalen, bass David McCune, guest organist Jeremy Spurgeon, and Celtic harpist Gordon Ritchie.

See this event on Evensi

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Scaffolding goes up at the Great West Window

Last week scaffolding went up on the 105th Street side of First Church.  This is sign of work to start on the Great West Window repair.  At over 600 square feet, it is the largest leaded window in Alberta, and consists of seven main lights with shaped heads and thirty shaped traceries of various sizes.

Ross Lepard...organizer of the FPC Community Dinners

Ross Lepard, seen stirring a pot in the picture, has said it more than once, and to more than one group, “The community dinners are like a drug to me, I just can’t get enough.” The dinners started in 2013 and are held on the fourth Saturday, but an occasional month is missed during the year. 

Ross finds the enthusiasm intoxicating, absorbing the enthusiasm of the 30-40 volunteers and the earnest appreciation of those who come to dine. He knows 90% of those who come now – some as early as 4:30 p.m. They know they can find coffee, tea or juice and a welcoming chair. Newcomers may be drawn to the event by the “ad” on the electronic sign or by strategically distributed flyers announcing the event. 

The team never knows whether the numbers will top 100 or be closer to 60. In 2014, near Christmas, when the number went to 110 for the first time, the pots were emptied of food. Helpers went rustling through cupboards looking for canned and packaged foods – anything. Everyone ate that night, but not everyone ate the same meal. 

Each month, preparation starts with the menu, which varies remarkably. Groceries are purchased, totaling $250, with meat costing half the total. Desserts are made Wednesday evening. Then on Saturday, Ross starts early and volunteers come in shifts. Eight come at 10 a.m. for the paring and cutting of vegetables, potatoes and ingredients for green salad. 

They depart and Ross and Chris Sali, a consistent volunteer, are there from noon to 2 p.m. with their tasks. Table setters, who also cut cake, arrive next (2:00-4:00 p.m.), then 8-10 meal servers (4-6 p.m.), followed by 6-7 on the cleanup crew. The goal is to head home by 7 p.m. At that point, Ross, and likely a few others, can’t wait to do it all over again. He says 100 guests is a good size and manageable. If the turnout was low Ross drives by the Youth Emergency Shelter on his way home so he’ll drop off food there – one night it was two roasts and salad. He says the Shelter’s cook doesn’t seem to have a menu, it depends on gifts. 

Ross came to his current role as a member of the FPC Board of Managers, but he may have acquired a taste for it at the famous Josephburg chicken dinners (1700 dinner guests was a Guinness record). Josephburg is a hamlet close to Fort Saskatchewan. Ross cooked the chicken and he can tell you a tip about fried chicken that is worth knowing. He says the dinners, held annually for over 100 years (until 2013), started as a church’s chicken dinner and he knows the church that wrote the cookbook very well. His wife, “Cath” Lepard, or more formally the Rev. Catherine Lepard, was ordained at and served as the minister of the Josephburg United Church of Christ in Canada, a denomination with long-established working relationships in North America and globally with the United Church of Canada. Catherine earned her MA in theology, following her training as a nurse. 

The Lepards, married for 52 years, have a grown family, three born to them and three adopted, that is growing larger. For years they lived in Fort Saskatchewan, where Ross, a SAIT grad, worked for Sherritt Gordon. Now they live in Edmonton in the home where Ross grew up.

Book Launch - "Maryann" by Jim Flatman

On Friday, April 10, Jim Flatman, local author and First Presbyterian Church member, launched his new book titled Maryanne. Jim says the book is a “horror - romance about fundraising for a university”.

The event took place at Audrey's Books (10702 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton).

PCConnect - April Edition released

PCConnect - April Edition

The Rev. Karen Horst is Nominee for Moderator The name of the Rev. Karen R. Horst, minister of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Orillia, Ontario, will be placed as the sole nominee to be Moderator of the 2015 General Assembly, which begins on June 4 in Vancouver.

Highlights from the Assembly Council Meetings Curious about what happened at the recent Assembly Council meetings? Read more about the discussion on strategic planning, the pension plan and much more.

Canadian Ministries Gathering From March 16–19, leadership from a variety of ministries gathered in Mississauga, Ontario, for education, worship and leadership development. Leaders from across the country represented the camping ministries, National Native Ministry Council, new congregational development, presbyteries, renewing and sustaining congregations, social ministries, and college students.

Responding the Vanuatu Disaster The Presbyterian Church in Canada is responding to the emergency situation in Vanuatu, caused by Cyclone Pam, through Presbyterian World Service & Development.

New Resource: Becoming an Elder in the PCC Becoming an Elder in The Presbyterian Church in Canada is a new resource prepared by Canadian Ministries to provide information about discerning a call to eldership—to discern one’s own call or to nominate others who might be called.

Prayer Resources for Healing and Reconciliation Healing and Reconciliation Sunday is May 24. Aboriginal Day Sunday is June 21. Congregations are invited to mark each of these, and each Sunday in between, with prayer, using  bulletin inserts prepared by Justice Ministries.

New Records Management Resources from the Archives Two new records management resources for congregations are now available. One is meant for day-to-day records management. The other is for dissolved congregations trying to discern which records to send to the Archives.

More News... Job applications are now being accepted for the position of Director of Presbyterian World Service & Development. The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance has been re-established under the World Council of Churches. Please take a few minutes to let us know how PCPak is working for you. Did you see the Moderator's Easter message? New pew cards highlighting the benefits of becoming a gift annuitant are available for order. There's still space available to attend the NACCP Christian philanthropy conference in Kansas. Members of the World Council of Churches are praying for the Middle East on May 29. The Rev. Dr. Carol Woods of the Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee was interviewed for an article on freedom of expression vs. religious sensibilities.

Now ready.....FWTN Newsletter for March 2015

Click on the picture above to read the latest FWTN issue. Highlights include:

• Keep Calm and Carry On? – At FPC It’s “Stand Firm And Raise Funds”
• Faith Without Works Is Dead
• Our Downtown Is Growing Up! Population Boom in the Core!
• Ross Lepard is More than Delighted to be Organizing the Community Dinners at First Presbyterian
• Notes from FPC Session
• Do You Wonder How You Could Help? You could raise $10,000 if you have 33 friends!
• Obituary for Mary Kathleen Delaney (1917-2015)
• Obituary for Eileen McCallum (1927-2015)
• June 13 — The Ladies Aid plans a “Boot Sale” (Call it a Trunk or Tailgate Sale)
• Meet John Law
• Festival City Winds is “at home” in First Church
• Wendy Grasdahl...Honoured at Edmonton’s 2014 Salute to Excellence
• Small Bits Of FPC History
• Connect...You are not alone!
• 2015 Burns Dinner

REPOST of Gilroy Glass Blog on FPC Stained Glass Project

First Presbyterian Church, Edmonton

Gilroy Stained Glass Blog #1 of 29

April 6th, 2015 - 07:46 PM

I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Easter.


I just wanted to let you know about an exciting upcoming project. Starting next month, we're going to be removing and restoring the 103 year old Great West Window in First Presbyterian Church, Edmonton. At over 600 square feet this is the largest leaded window in Alberta, and consists of seven main lights with shaped heads and thirty shaped traceries of various sizes. All of the lights are pointed directly into the surrounding stone mullions which, while challenging, won't be a problem for John as it is just what he is used to from our work on churches in the UK (I think there's something in the genes, having a Great Grandfather who was a stone mason). We're really looking forward to getting stuck into what will be an engrossing project covering approximately 18 months. We have been so pleased to see first hand how well the congregation of FPC, Heritage Alberta and the City of Edmonton are working together to enable the restoration of this amazing window, and how seriously they take its preservation for future generations.

We will keep you updated as we go, and you'll get to see the restoration process at each stage. You can see here an exterior photo of the window, to give an idea of the scale, and a photo of the church newly built in 1912.

Source: http://fineartamerica.com/blogs/first-presbyterian-church-edmonton.html

OBITUARY for Mary Kathleen Delaney (1917-2015)

On February 26, 2015, Mary Kathleen Delaney passed away at 98 years of age. Mary was active in politics and the community and was a proud recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

She is wearing the medal in this photo. Mary was predeceased by her husband Hugh Delaney and her stepson Bruce Delaney. She is survived by her step-children Warren Delaney and Maureen Bowers as well as grandchildren and great grandchildren. An internment ceremony was conducted at Forest Lawn Memorial Park 3789 Royal Oak Ave., Burnaby B.C. on April 7, 2015 at 12:45 p.m.

Pulpit Exchange (May 3)

On May 3, 2015 The Presbytery of Edmonton-Lakeland has arranged a pulpit exchange, whereby all of the ministers will be taking the service at a different Presbyterian church. Rev. Harry Currie will be at Westmount, Rev. Mark Chiang will be at Millwoods/Strathcona, and Rev. Elaine Nagy will be here at First Presbyterian.

Please join us to hear Rev. Nagy preside over that Sunday's service.

Sermons online

Listen to Rev. Harry’s sermons online!  It is like old-time radio!!!
You can always read the sermons on the church website but why not try listening to them.

To listen, go to https://SoundCloud.com/FPCedmonton

Car Boot Sale (June 13)

On June 13, the Ladies Aid (LA) plans a “Car Boot Sale” (call it a trunk or tailgate sale). To participate you will be asked to register a truck/car with Ladies Aid secretary Dorothy Stoutjesdyk to be assigned a stall in the church parking lot. On the day of the event, please bring your vehicle with the sale items, i.e., your “white elephants” and sell them from your tailgate for an LA benefit.

More details soon!

CONCERT - Organo Extraordinaire! ....Duo Majoya and friends (Mar 21 @ 7pm)

Saturday, March 21, 2015
7:00 pm

Holy Trinity Anglican Church,
10037- 84 Ave., Edmonton

Organo Extraordinaire!
New and Newish Music for Organ, Piano, Saxophone and the occasional Accordion. Marnie Giesbrecht, Joachim Segger, Charles Stolte, Reinhard Berg and Debi Harris.

The concert will deliver an extraordinary program of works by Edmonton composers for organ, organ/piano, organ/saxophone and [in a work called Genesis] for organ, piano,

accordion and two speakers.

Jointly presented by Edmonton RCCO and New Music Edmonton

Tickets: $20 (general - at the door)
$15 (students, seniors)
$10 (members)

History Talks (Mar 29)

Starting on Sunday March 29, 2015, the History & Archives Committee will begin delivering monthly 2-minute talks about the many archival items and artefacts that adorn our Church. 

The talks will begin a few minutes before the prelude is played at the Service of Worship. 

The first talk will be about the "McTavish Book" which rests in the small showcase on the south side of the front of the sanctuary.

Stewardship and Planned Giving Workshop (Mar 14)

This workshop is being held on Saturday, March 14 from 10:00 am to 4:00pm at the Millwoods Presbyterian Church located at 6607-31 Avenue NW.  The facilitator is Rev. Herb Gale.  Lunch will be provided.  The registration fee is $10.  Please inform them of any dietary needs.

Please RSVP via email to Rev. Charles McNeil at crmcneil@hotmail.com.