January 10, 2025
Dear Friends,
After a week’s holiday it is good to be feeling a little more rested and ready to engage the new year. My thanks to Samantha who led our worship service on January 5th. My congratulations also to Sam with passing her examination to become a registered psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. It is great to see all of the hard work and study come to fruition, and we wish her much success as she begins to establish her practice.
This week we welcomed Andrea Franco as our new office administrator. Andrea is being mentored by Samantha over the month of January. We also continue to pray for Andrea and her family as her father and brother are recovering from Covid (Both her father and brother had a hospital stay over Christmas).
This Sunday we will begin a new sermon series focusing on the Life of David. I enjoy preaching from the Old Testament and believe that the Holy Spirit uses the stories, like that of David, to reveal God’s purposes to us and for us even today. Leadership, humility, repentance, integrity, perseverance, forgiveness, and prayer all combined in David’s life to make him a “man after God’s own heart” and his kingship and charisma foreshadowed the reign of Jesus as the risen Saviour and King. Our text this week will be taken from 1 Samuel 16:1-13 which focuses in on Samuel’s anointing of David as a young shepherd boy. The message is entitled “The Unlikely King”.
Just a reminder for those who are interested in becoming members of GPC please contact me. We are planning a membership seminar on Saturday February 8th. Members have the specific and important roll of voting at all congregational meetings including our annual AGM. Members can also be nominated to Session and/or working committees of the congregation. Adherents can be asked for an advisory vote at congregational meetings and can sit on congregational committees. Both members and adherents are assigned an elder (session member). Several people have already indicated an interest in becoming members of GPC so thank you for letting me know.
My thanks to the volunteers from Glenbrook who helped to provide and serve a hot meal at the Open Door this past Thursday. It is much appreciated.
The EMCC Board (Erin Mills Church Campus Board) met on Tuesday Jan 7th and they are still pursuing through Permit World an application to the City of Mississauga for a minor variance on our church road sign. The Campus Board want to thank both congregations for your patience with the delay in the process. Ingrid Brown (Campus Administrator) will be following up with Permit World to see if the EMCC can get some action from the City of Mississauga concerning the variance application.
St. Thomas a Becket Anglican Church have two Interim Priests serving their congregation as they (along with the Bishop of the Dioceses of Toronto) are beginning the process of searching for a new priest after the departure of Rev. David Matthews last December. The Rev. Renata Kok and Rev. Paul Walker are sharing administrative and worship leadership responsibilities.
Have a lovely weekend.
Pastor Ian
