Dear Friends

We are so grateful that the church remains a hub of meaningful activity for you and the wider community throughout the seasons of advent and Christmas. From our children’s craft day in late November through Women’s Advent Service, Blue Christmas, Christmas Hampers, Christmas Eve, up until Lights for Lives, Charleswood United Church has been a destination for gatherings of depth and difference. Thank you to everyone who in many ways participated so actively in this life we share.

At the start of the new year we want you to be aware of a few things of great importance that may have been lost in the holiday rush. Here are three which spring to mind:

GRANTS RECEIVED

Because they came in December we were not really able to celebrate the good news that CUC was the recipient of two grants which were applied for during our roofing project. The first came from Church Development Inc. (CDI) and was for $50,000. CDI is a granting body of the United Church Prairie to Pine Region which utilizes resources from former churches for the development of existing ones. The second grant at the end of the year was for $17,000 from Efficiency Manitoba, a Crown Corporation supporting energy efficiency such as that represented by the new insulation level of the replaced roof.  We are grateful to these agencies for supporting our initiative and to the members of our planning team who worked on these applications.

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 2025

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is a week-long series of worship events beginning and ending with city wide services (https://www.weekofprayer.ca/ ). Charleswood United Church is going to host one of the neighbourhood gatherings on Wednesday, January 22 at 7:30 PM. Pleas join us for this mid-week worship celebrated the unity we have in Christ with Christians of all denominations.  

LET’S TALK 2025 – MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS – Dementia Care

Last year we held our first mental health awareness evening to coincide with the Bell Let’s Talk Initiative. We are returning this year with a new topic and a guest resource person. On Tuesday, January 28  at 7:00 PM we will welcome Jennifer Licardo, Education Manager of the Alzheimer’s Society of Manitoba. Jennifer’s presentation is going to be on the topic We all have a reason to care. She writes: Currently, more than 19,600 Manitobans have Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. This number is growing at an alarming rate. It is important that people gain awareness and understanding about the disease, its impact on the person and their family and how we as members of the community can extend support to those who are affected.

Please join us for this night of important information.

Remember you can always visit our website www.charleswoodunited.org for more information on programs and activities at the church.

Grace and peace,

Michael