Special Events

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Supper    6:00 PM
Movie & Discussion to follow

When his son Rowan was diagnosed with autism, Rupert Isaacson was devastated, afraid he might never be able to communicate with his child. But when Isaacson, a lifelong horseman, rode their neighbor’s horse with Rowan, the boy improved immeasurably. Isaacson was struck with a crazy idea: why not take Rowan to Mongolia, the one place in the world where horses and shamanic healing intersected?
THE HORSE BOY is the dramatic and heartwarming story of that impossible adventure. This is a deeply moving, one-of-a-kind story of a family willing to go to the ends of the earth to help their son, and of a boy learning to connect with the world for the first time.

Please let us know you will be joining us by SIGNING UP


Sunday, September 5, 2010

9:30 AM

In the event of rain,  we will move to the gym – pets & their people!

“…all creatures great and small ….in love God made them all”

Join us for an outdoor service celebrating God’s special gift to us – our pets. All pets ~ from Australian cattle dogs to Zippy the Turtle and all creatures in between ~ along with their people are welcome . Please ensure your pet is on a leash or in a carrier. The service will take place on our labyrinth. Bring a lawn chair, relax in the shade, and celebrate the love of pets with us!

A BBQ “brunch” will follow.


Sunday, September 12, 2010

Bring a bag lunch and join us in the parlour after Gather ‘n Gab (coffee time) to discuss our latest selection. Everyone is welcome to join us, whether you’ve only just started reading the book, or finished it some time ago.
Do you have a friend or neighbour who loves to read? maybe someone who worships at another church? Bring them along, or have them meet us at noon at SJR – there’s always room in our discussion circle for at least one more!

About this book:

For Katherine Givens and the four women about to become her best friends, the adventure begins with a UPS package. Inside is a pair of red sneakers filled with ashes and a note that will forever change their lives. Katherine’s oldest and dearest friend, the irrepressible Annie Freeman, left one final request–a traveling funeral–and she wants the most important women in her life as “pallbearers.”
From Sonoma to Manhattan, Katherine, Laura, Rebecca, Jill, and Marie will carry Annie’s ashes to the special places in her life. At every stop there’s a surprise encounter and a small miracle waiting, and as they whoop it up across the country, attracting interest wherever they go, they share their deepest secrets–tales of broken hearts and second chances, missed opportunities and new beginnings. And as they grieve over what they’ve lost, they discover how much is still possible if only they can unravel the secret Annie left them….


Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Dinner 6:00 pm
Movie & discussion will follow

Our “host” for the evening is SJR’s Hong Seang. This movie is difficult to watch …but imagine how difficult it was to live. Our post-movie discussion will be enriched as Hong shares some of his personal experiences growing up in, and eventually escaping from, Cambodia.

About the movie:
Roland Joffé’s unflinching drama recounts the true story of New York Times journalist Sidney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) and Cambodian journalist and translator Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor), who found themselves trapped in the nightmare of the Khmer Rouge revolution in Cambodia. While stationed in Phnom Penh in the early 1970s, Schanberg and Pran become close friends and confidants, negotiating and writing many groundbreaking stories. When the ruling Lon Nol government is overthrown by the Khmer Rouge, the country is turned upside down–killing is common in the streets, and children become gun-toting informants. Schanberg is forced to flee the country, with his fellow American photographer Al Rockoff (John Malkovich) and British journalist Jon Swain (Julian Sands). Despite their exhaustive efforts to free Pran, they have no choice but to leave him behind. Pran is forced to endure excruciating agony at the Pol Pot death camps, where any shred of individuality or dissent is beaten out of the prisoners. After years of brutal torture, Pran manages to escape and begins a long odyssey to Thailand and the border refugee camps. As Pran struggles to stay alive, Schanberg endures life in New York wracked with guilt over the loss of his good friend, desperately attempting to locate him. This haunting drama is epic in its portrayal of a war-torn country devastated by mass genocide. Images of both great horror and beauty resonate with awesome power and honesty.

Please let us know you are coming! Sign up online today. Sign up sheets will be available in the Narthex in September.



Sunday, October 31, 2010

Bring a bag lunch and join us in the parlour after Gather ‘n Gab (coffee time) to discuss our latest selection. Everyone is welcome to join us, whether you’ve only just started reading the book, or finished it some time ago.
Do you have a friend or neighbour who loves to read? maybe someone who worships at another church? Bring them along, or have them meet us at noon at SJR – there’s always room in our discussion circle for at least one more!

About this book:

We have a problem with Stuff. In the U.S. alone, 5 percent of the world’s population is consuming 30 percent of the world’s resources and creating 30 percent of the world’s waste. If everyone consumed at this rate, we would need three to five planets!
Leonard’s message is startlingly clear: we have too much Stuff, and too much of it is toxic. Outlining the five stages of our consumption-driven economy — from extraction through production, distribution, consumption, and disposal — she vividly illuminates its frightening repercussions.
With staggering revelations about the economy, the environment, and cultures around the world, alongside stories from her own life and work, Leonard demonstrates that the drive for a “growth at all costs” economy fuels a cycle of production, consumption, and disposal that is killing us. It is a system in crisis, but Annie Leonard shows us that this is not the way things have to be. It’s within our power to stop the environmental damage, social injustice, and health hazards caused by polluting production and excessive consumption, and Leonard shows us how.
Expansive, galvanizing, and sobering yet optimistic, The Story of Stuff transforms how we think about our lives and our relationship to the planet.


Sunday, June 27, 2010
immediately after worship

Please join us for a lunch reception honouring our ministry together
with the Rev. Wendy MacFadzean.

Be with us as we
Celebrate,
Say Thank You,

and wish her God-speed as we prepare to go our separate ways …

Lunch will be a delicious variety of summer salads, cold cuts & buns, relish trays and of course, Cake! A free will offering (to help cover costs) will be accepted.

Please help our planning committee by letting us know you will be joining us.
Sign up here on or before June 25th.


Friday, June 11, 2010        7:30 pm

Pelatiah’s Stewpot! won’t you please say a prayer or two for the newly-ordained Rev. Clarence Woodside who has been recently called to serve Chiselhurst Presbyterian Church. It is 1924, less than a year away from the birth of the new “Union Church” and not only must he navigate his divided congregation through the choppy waters of this sea of change, but evidently there is a union of his own in the making with one of the ‘brides-in-waiting’ in the congregation. As he is driven from pillar to post by the pillars of the church who are bribing him with brides and butter tarts, will the Holy Ghost manage to get an inspiration in edgewise and instill Clarence with the ‘right union stuff?’

Adults $10
Children (12 & under) $5
Family maximum $25

For tickets email:   mail@sjruc.ca  Please put ‘Church Play’ in the subject line

Proceeds from the play will be donated to the Mission and Service Fund of the United Church of Canada.
For more information on the many good works of the Mission and Service Fund, click here


Friday, June 11 – Sunday, June 13

Join us for a FUNraiser! Come for an afternoon, a campfire, a night or a weekend at Country Gardens campground in Petersburg (owned by John/Marg/Peter/Jan Bingeman). Come and enjoy the great outdoors with members of our church family, and only have a short drive from home. A great opportunity to kick back, relax, and get to know each other a little better.
The campground offers fully serviced sites suitable for both tents and trailers. If you would like to stay overnight, but need a tent, let us know and we’ll do what we can to help!

Whether you can come for an hour or the weekend, please sign up here to let us know you are interested by Monday, May 17 so that we can contact you directly with details and book our sites.



PicnicSunday, June 13, 2010

Worship 10:30 a.m.

Where: Forest Heights Collegiate Institute,  255 Fischer-Hallman Rd.
Map to Forest Heights

Rain location ~ 11:00 a.m., Trinity United Church, 74 Frederick St. (Park in Market Square parking garage)

Everyone is welcome to attend this joint picnic and worship service.  Our speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Paul Crittenden (from SJR).

You are asked to bring:
* chairs or blankets to sit on
* food to contribute to the potluck lunch (no method of heating available)
* reusable cutlery, plates, glasses, napkins and mugs
* your congregational name tags
* sunscreen, umbrellas and hats (the congregation will sit in the shady area this year, but you may wish to move into the sun)
* in respect of creation, we ask you NOT to use materials which pollute our environment such disposable plastic water bottles, styrofoam plates, or disposable plastic cutlery

Join us and celebrate being part of the wider church!
This special event is hosted by the nine Cooperating Kitchener United Churches.


Thursday, June 10, 2010

Come to Toronto with us to celebrate the 85th Anniversary of the United Church of Canada. Meet the Moderator – Mardi Tindal, the General Secretary – Nora Sanders, and other General Council staff. Take part in a Bible study, workshops and much more! There will be archive tours, music, fun and lots of birthday cake.
Everyone is invited: clergy, congregation members, children, UCW groups, youth groups, choirs – EVERYONE!

We’ve rented a bus and we’d love you to come along with us! The bus will leave from the South lot of the Kitchener Auditorium at 9:00 AM (on June 10th). You’ll enjoy a relaxing ride to Toronto on a bus full of friends; bring a bag lunch, or eat at the food court, and spend a fun-filled day at the party. We’ll arrive back home by supper time.
Cost of bus: $25 p.p. (non-refundable)

Sign Up here to reserve a seat on the bus.

Click on the poster for details.