Watch this week’s service on YouTube by clicking:
Join us following worship in the Van Roon Community Hall for the He/SheBrews Café.
- The annual Girl Guide Cookie Sale will be on Sunday, September 28 and again October 19. We are glad to support this wonderful organization and the members of our church who are involved with it.
- For news and events please have a look at Life & Work on our website: Life and Work
Dear Friends
Welcome to worship for Sunday, September 21, 2025.
Signs of the times. Wisdom for this age.
Our Charleswood Church Council is a tremendous group of people. In addition to each carrying out their respective responsibilities as outlined in our constitution, they meet together five times a year to have discussions and make decisions about the direction of this ministry. The conversations are lively. The tone is always respectful. And the decisions are consequently wise and well considered.
As I told them at our most recent meeting, the sudden and unexpected problem with the boiler in the spring was a great example of a healthy system of leadership by which we are all well served. The ‘crisis’ arose. Solutions were vetted. Time was given. An answer provided. And a resolution chosen. All in a calm and respectful manner. These folks primarily work in the shadows but we are deeply grateful for their commitment and their abilities.
Our September meeting yielded two decisions that are very important even if they are issues that fly under the radar. Matters that all of us should be aware of. The first is that we have made a decision to lock the doors of the church ten minutes after the service begins. It may surprise you that we have been concerned about security during worship and talking about it for several years. Security overall is nothing new. We have long had an alarm system and are likely to begin a security camera system within the next year. Nothing has ever happened during worship to cause us concern and there may be a tendency to think that we are never more safe than when we are together.
But the truth is that there is no line of sight from the sanctuary to the front door. And with the church school in the Van Roon Hall there is a vulnerability that didn’t exist when they met in the basement. While we never want to give the message that church isn’t open and welcoming, there are uncertainties we cannot control. The event in Minneapolis in August (like others before it) demonstrated that a worshipping community is always vulnerable to a certain degree. So Council has made a decision to lock the doors of the church after we begin. But do not fear coming late…there is a doorbell and an usher to welcome you.
The second decision we made two weeks ago was to approve our own Respectful and Safe Environment Policy for Charleswood United Church. Once again this is gladly not arising from any particular incident but is seeking to be proactive in defining terms and common expectations for how everyone in the church is treated. It makes clear that this is a policy that applies to all aspects of the church’s life and addresses staff, volunteers, and congregants equally. It is especially progressive in the ways it lays out a process for dealing with complaints, wherever they may arise, that makes no presumptions but seeks out the truth and resolution. A copy of the Respectful and Safe Environment Policy is posted on the bulletin board across from the office. Electronic copies are available by request.
On your behalf I want to express our church’s deep appreciation to our Council for the work they do and the leadership they offer towards making us the most vital and vibrant congregation we can be.
Grace and peace,
Michael
- Share the service with friends by forwarding this email or using this link: https://youtu.be/XBGedXAcmyc
- Read this week’s scripture lesson here: Luke 16:1-13
- Did you know you can support this ministry by e-transfer, automatic withdrawal (PAR), and gifted securities, in addition to weekly or monthly cheques? For Offering Information please visit: https://charleswoodunited.org/support/ Thank you for your generous support.
