Our Celebrations: Connie Vaillant

Connie Vaillant, a long time member of our church celebrated her 86th birthday on Feb. 3.

Christmas Eve, 2011

the Advent wreath

The night was still and quiet, the lights in our little church shining out into the dark. One by one, cars pulled up, their tires crunching on the blanket of snow. Pretty soon the lot was full, and yet more people arrived.

Inside there wasn't much room left, either, as friends and families gathered together for this Christmas Eve service. Some came from this community, others came from afar, visiting relatives.

A buzz of excitement filled the sanctuary as people recognized and greeted each other. But that wasn't the only excitement there that night. It was also a sense of anticipation to hear the old story of the birth of Jesus Christ, to sing again the cherished carols, and to experience the warmth of this faith community - if only once a year.

Tenor soloist William Parker (right) and concert pianist Eugene Tchougounov (left) - with young admirer

Same as last year, we were fortunate enough to have two wonderful musicians adding their musical talents to our service: tenor William Parker and concert pianist Eugene Tchougounov. The three pieces of music they contributed were received enthusiastically!

Also, Jacomyn's recorder provided a beautiful accompaniment as it soared high over the familiar carols, together with Sharon's organ music.  

And once all the candles had been lit, that magical moment came when the lights went out and "Silent Night, Holy Night" once again announced the birth of Jesus the Christ and peace on earth for all.

"Silent night, holy night..."

To repeat that night's blessing: 
The Story has been told, the Baby is born.
Having heard the story and sung the songs,
we now go out to "share the good news, 
which shall be for all people." Amen!

Merry Christmas to all!

2011 Christmas Tea and Bazar

It was a perfect day for a Christmas Tea: a sunny blue sky over a crispy white blanket of freshly fallen snow. And inside Kakabeka Central United church: the hustle and bustle and excitement of dozens of people enjoying delectable home baking, tea (and coffee) that just kept flowing, and tables full of home made gifts, baking, knitting and crafts.

It was one of our most succesful Christmas Teas in years, thanks to not only the weather but also the many hard working volunteers, the local business support we received for our raffle prizes, and the local community itself. Folks just kept coming in until the very last drop was poured and the bake table sold out.

Old friendships were renewed, new friendships were forged. Stories exchanged, laughter shared and everyone went home satisfied.

The annual Christmas Tea is one of the bigger events for most country churches like ours. Sure, it helps raise some money for the coffers, but more importantly: this sharing of food, laughter and stories is a wonderful opportunity for community building.

Thank you everyone for your support that made it the success it was! More events will follow in January and February, so check back often for details!

Christmas Tea Nov 20

We will have our Christmas Tea Sunday Nov 20 after noon,

12:00 - 2:30 pm.

Every one is welcome. Always fun to have a cup of tea, taste the goodies have a good chat and a browse through our white elephant tables. We are located on Clergue St. in Kakabeka Falls. See you there!    

Adults $4.00 - Children under 8 - $2.00

Craft/Bake/White Elephant tables

Presbytery Is Fun...?

Twice a year our church is part of what's called Presbytery Meetings: 28 congregations in the Cambrian region coming together to meet, think, discuss, decide and worship for 3 days. It's always a full agenda and always at a different church in this vast region (the size of Spain - except not nearly the population).

This year it was in Emo-Devlin, near Ontario's West border (a 5-hour drive from here). Usually Dayle is the person who represents us, but this time around we had a larger delegation with Jacomyn and Hubert joining as visitors.

Dayle has been our delegate for over 15 years now, a real dyed-in-the wool Presbytery rep who has seen and heard it all. Hubert and Jacomyn are relatively new to the process; Hubert had to be there to be confirmed as candidate for ministry, so he'll be back lots.

Don't think Presbytery is nothing but 3 days of talking and paperwork, though. There's meaningful worship, great presentations, good food - and lots of laughter and music. And who knew: Dayle plays not only the piano, but a mean bongo, too!

It's a wonderful opportunity to hear about other congregations, new things and technology to try out, meeting new people and making new friends - and returning home energized and inspired.

Thank you Dayle, for your commitment to this ministry and for sharing it with our congregation. May you be playing many a bongo at future meetings!

Show Time

It's been a busy week for our Central United church, even though technically we're on our 3-week summer break and not due to be back in full swing until September 4th!

On the 17th we were present at the first Rural Health Fair, together with 66 other organizations that in some shape or form are involved in physical and mental well-being. Obviously we were there for the mental well-being part, together with 2 or 3 other rural churches in the area.

It was good to see there's still interest in a faith community like ours. And it was such a treat to hear the stories of a few folks with old ties to our little church. Central Kakabeka has a long history with our rural community, with still strong ties to many people here.

Then this weekend the annual Kakabeka Street Fair came along again. We always have a booth there with a rummage sale and an ever-popular bake table full of delectables.  Even though this is more of a fund raiser, it's good to have our name out and answer any questions people may have about us.

Both occasions were energizing and a lot of fun. If you weren't able to make it out to one of them: hope to see you next year!

(Re-)Baptised By Immersion

It's always one of the year's highlights: the pool party at Nancy and Rolf's. We start the morning off with an informal service around the pool outside, after which the BBQ and the sauna get fired up, and wonderful pot-luck food seems to appear out of nowhere, together with bathing suits and trunks.

The location is just perfect for this annual event, and somehow we always have a hot, sunny day for it. A big thank-you to Rolf and Nancy for having us again and for sharing their wonderful home, pool and sauna with us! Also a thank-you to all who brought scrumptious food - there even was a separate table for dessert alone (for some of us an inkling of what heaven can be like...)!

Our congregation is now taking a few weeks off for the summer, we'll be back in church September 4. See you then!