Page 31 - Presbyterian Connection

Connection
GATHERINGS
Through the exceptional support of the PCC Refugee Sponsorship Program, the Minto Refugee Settlement Committee, spear- headed by Knox-Calvin Presbyterian Church in Harriston, Ont., welcomed Ahmad, Henan and their six children to the Harriston community from a refugee camp in Turkey in October 2016. It has been a life-giving journey for the congregation to welcome the stranger into their midst! Now, five years later, in November 2021, the Committee welcomed a second family—Ahmad’s brother Obid, his wife, Nival, and their five children. What a joyful reunion of families! The one with the happiest smile is Henan, who now has someone else who speaks her language. The Committee is so glad for her.
During Veterans Week each year, St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Char- lottetown, P.E.I., hosts an “Honouring Our Veterans” service. In order to ob- serve ongoing pandemic gathering lim- its, the congregation hosted two back- to-back services. Each service featured special music, an Act of Remembrance, and a drama written and performed by Major Rev. Dr. Tom Hamilton. Each year, Dr. Hamilton researches a dif- ferent individual who served during a time of war and shares their story. This past November, the story featured Capt. Norman Donaldson, a Canadian Presby- terian, who served with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada in the Second World War. “We owe so much to our veterans, past and present, and it’s an honour and a privilege to be able to share their stories so they are never forgotten.” Pictured left is Major Rev. Dr. Tom Hamilton portraying Capt. Nor- man Donaldson during the service, and pictured above is Sergeant (ret’d) Scott MacDonald, veteran and elder at St. Mark’s, laying the memorial wreath.
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We give and receive so we can give more. That was the case before Christmas at St. Matthew’s Presbyterian Church in Grand Falls-Windsor, N.L. As part of the church’s community outreach program, an outdoor food and clothing drive was held. Non-perishable food items were taken to the local food bank. Donations to the Community Clothesline, which included a basket of socks, undergarments, gloves, toques and toiletries, were presented by elder Lynne Allan to Daniel Kelly, Coordinator of Community and Family Services with the local Salvation Army. Soon after, an email from a knitting group at St. David’s Church in St. John’s arrived, asking if St. Matthew’s could use some knitted items for community outreach projects. When the box arrived, it contained baby sweaters, caps, mitts, booties and slippers. There were 79 items in all, enough to divide among several groups. Lynne couldn’t resist making a little clothesline for the photo op.
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