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Hello Everyone,

Week 4 of social distancing and I am saving so much money not going to Starbucks, and buying gas! How are you doing?

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Congratulations to Ursula and Herman  who are celebrating their 66th Wedding Anniversary on Apr 9.

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A message from Pr Vida: Pastor Vida wants to remain available and accessible to us in this time. She has initiated:   

Office Hours by Telephone Tuesdays, 10:30-12:30pm and Wednesdays, 7:00pm-9:00pm  

Phone the church office to get her personal phone number.  Give her a call, she would love to hear from you.

Church Office is still Open - Shelley is still in the office Tues – Fri until 1:00pm

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NEWS from the ELCIC newsletter  

COVID-19 physical distancing strategies bring about new ways to come together as community

Over the past few weeks, the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has changed how we function in our day-to-day lives drastically. Working from home is now a reality for many. Visits have become phone calls, while gym memberships have turned into home workouts. But what has happened to traditional church worship? Read more here: http://www.elcic.ca/news.cfm?article=553

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 Reading to Escape Isolation (from the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal)   

We are all cut off from the world right now, given the social and physical distancing and confinement measures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In this troubled time when we are isolated, but also bombarded with stressful information, we must find solutions to entertain ourselves and escape (if only for a moment) from this reality. Could reading be a solution?  

Research clearly shows that reading promotes pleasure, relaxation, a better understanding of oneself and one's social identities. As a form of entertainment, it can also help people to “escape” troubled times, but also to open up to other cultures and points of view. Reading also promotes empathy, social inclusion, self-esteem and community cohesion.

Finally, some studies show that reading books can also improve memory and attention.

  • Take the opportunity to immerse yourself in books that have been waiting for you;
  •  Revisit the classics [including the Bible! ]  that have influenced you (and that have been sleeping in your collection of reading materials for a long time);
  • Visit the website of your public library (many of them offer digital loans of books and audio books); North Vancouver Public Library - https://nvdpl.ca  and West Vancouver Public Library - https://westvanlibrary.ca 
  • Join a virtual book club to share your thoughts about what you are reading or to listen in on a book being read by others; or
  • Share your passion for reading by reading to other people using video applications like FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, Messenger or others (for example, if you are a long-distance caregiver why not read to your loved ones, or if you are an older adult, why not organize “story time” with your grandchildren).

Peace,   Lin

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Sent to me by a friend this evening:

Kathleen O'Meara (1839–1888), pen name Grace Ramsay, was an Irish-French Catholic writer and biographer during the late Victorian era. She was the Paris correspondent of The Tablet, still a leading British Catholic magazine. This poem appeared in her second novel, Iza's Story, about the struggle of Polish patriots against Russian, Austrian and German occupation. The book compares the Polish-Russian situation to the Irish-British situation and praises the revolt of a small nation against a powerful neighbour.

And people stayed home and read books and listened

and rested and exercised and made art and played and learned new ways of being

and stopped and listened deeper

someone meditated

someone prayed someone danced

someone met their shadow and people began to think differently

and people healed and in the absence of people who lived in ignorant ways, dangerous, meaningless and heartless,

even the earth began to heal and when the danger ended and people found each other

grieved for the dead people

and they made new choices and dreamed of new visions

and created new ways of life and healed the earth completely

just as they were healed themselves.