A long-standing tradition continues: please join us for our 2024 Village Fair with something for everyone.
Visit unique shoppes for handcrafted items, including a queen size quilt, gift baskets, white elephant, home baking, costume jewellery, classic treasures, books, Christmas decorations, plants, and children’s items.
Enjoy a hot lunch in our café!
Please help the environment by bringing your own shopping bags.
For more details, contact the church office.
Buy your tickets now for the one-person play The Knitting Pilgrim taking place at GCPC on November 16 at 7:30 PM!
It is a fascinating presentation of one man’s efforts to understand and educate others about the similarities and differences of the three Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He uses a beautiful three-part tapestry that he spent years knitting.
Pay by credit card, debit card with Visa or Mastercard logo, or by PayPal account if you have one. Your tickets will then be held at the door for pick up from 7:00 PM (showtime is 7:30 pm).
Find out more about the show or buy tickets.
See you there!
—Nurture and Education Committee
A version of this message appeared in the Sunday, September 8, 2024, edition of Tidbits.
Congratulations to Rev. Chuck on his 3rd anniversary with us!
Dear Friends,
It’s hard to believe we are already heading into September. Many activities will be resuming, and here are the starting dates for some programs:
Thomas à Kempis prays:
Grant me the grace, O God, to know what I should know, to love what I should love, to praise what pleases you, and to cherish everything that is precious to you. Keep me from judging simply by what my eyes see, or my ears hear; help me to know the difference between appearance and spiritual reality. Above all, may I have the grace always to seek your joy.
Amen.
May this prayer be our prayer as we enter the season of new beginnings. May God give us peace and strength as we journey together. May God deepen our trust in Him and our love for each other.
—Rev. Chuck Moon
A version of this message appeared in the Sunday, September 8, 2024, edition of Tidbits.
Dear Friends,
Thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to spend time away from the ministry. This time allowed me to spend meaningful moments with both my immediate and extended family. It also gave me the chance to travel, rest, read, reflect, and worship.
During the last five weeks, I realized that although I was physically away from here—our faith community—a part of me never left. My heart remained here, and I came to understand that this place has become my spiritual home—not just where I work, but a home that nurtures my soul. It is my prayer that all who come to our faith community may experience the spiritual home I have found, feeling the same sense of God’s grace and welcome that has nurtured me. It is far from perfect, but God’s presence is here.
I believe that, like all of us, I am a traveler, a sojourner, and a pilgrim, seeking God’s grace each day. It is my prayer that all who worship with us be nurtured by the abundant grace of Jesus Christ.
—Rev. Chuck Moon
A version of this message appeared in the Saturday, August 24, 2024, edition of Tidbits.
Dear Friends,
Thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to spend time away from the ministry.
This time allowed me to spend time with both my immediate and extended family. It also gave me the chance to travel, rest, read, reflect, and worship.
This Sunday, I plan to briefly share what I have learned during the time away and reflect on God being the living bread for our souls (John 6:51–58). It is my prayer that all who worship with us be nurtured by the abundant grace of Jesus Christ.
—Rev. Chuck Moon
A version of this message appeared in the Friday, August 16, 2024, edition of Tidbits.
The Search Committee appointed by the Nurture and Education team has recommended that Lorelee Sankarlal be appointed as Children’s Sunday School Coordinator. We are pleased to announce that the Session has accepted this recommendation with thanks.
Lorelee, along with her daughter Madisen and son Samuel, have been attending Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church regularly for three years. Lorelee has served as a Sunday School teacher at Guildwood, and also brings broad experience in teaching and organizing Sunday School in various Presbyterian churches over the past 12 years. She has a passion for teaching, a strong track record of implementing Sunday School programs and curricula, and a great number of creative and innovative ideas regarding the Sunday School ministry.
Lorelee started her role on July 1 and looks forward to welcoming children and their families back to Sunday School in September.
The Session thanks the Search Committee — Christianne James, Rev. Helen Smith and Steven Szeto — for their work in searching for and identifying the right candidate for this key position in our church family.
—Bruce Morrison, Clerk of Session
A version of this message appeared in the Saturday, July 20, 2024, edition of Tidbits.
Dear Friends,
As we head into the summer months, some of us are preparing for new beginnings: a new school, a new job, new friendships, and new journeys. For others, it is a time to rest, play, read, listen, garden, walk, connect, and pray. In our church community, we will continue to worship on Sundays, but many small group activities and programs will pause for the summer and resume in September.
We pray that those in need of rest will find the rest they seek; those looking for a new beginning will find it; and those in need of healing will find the healing they require. Whatever our plans for the summer, may God guide our journey, and may we deepen our love for God and one another. May this prayer of peace not be lost in our hearts.
As the fever of day calms towards twilight
May all that is strained in us come to ease.
We pray for all who suffered violence today,
May an unexpected serenity surprise them.
For those who risk their lives each day for peace,
May their hearts glimpse providence at the heart of history.
That those who make riches from violence and war
Might hear in their dreams the cries of the lost.
That we might see through our fear of each other
A new vision to heal our fatal attraction to aggression.
That those who enjoy the privilege of peace
Might not forget their tormented brothers and sisters.
That the wolf might lie down with the lamb,
That our swords be beaten into ploughshares
And no hurt or harm be done
Anywhere along the holy mountain.
—By John O’Donohue (Irish poet, 1956–2008)
—Rev. Chuck Moon
Reverend Chuck Moon will be away on a well-deserved vacation from July 8 to August 13, 2024. See information on our guest ministers during that time.
A version of this message appeared in the Sunday, July 7, 2024, edition of Tidbits.
Reverend Chuck Moon will be away on a well-deserved vacation from July 8 to August 13, 2024. We are pleased to welcome the following guest ministers to lead our Sunday worship:
Please note with apologies that there will be no live-streaming of services while Rev. Chuck is on vacation.
— Bruce Morrison, Clerk of Session
A version of this message appeared in the Sunday, June 23, 2024, edition of Tidbits.
Dear Friends,
In the upcoming year, we plan to start a monthly ‘grief sharing’ group if there is enough interest. A grief group is not a counseling group but a peer support group. We have all lost someone or something sacred to us, yet we don’t always have enough places to share, process, and pray together. Our culture too often approaches grief as a problem to be fixed or solved instantly. We are taught to ignore or bury our need to grieve. It is our wish to create a safe space to share, listen, pray, and reflect on our life journeys. I plan to facilitate each meeting prayerfully. Each meeting will consist of silent prayers, sharing, listening, and reading.
We plan to hold the first introductory meeting on Wednesday, October 16 at 7 PM. Please invite those who could benefit from this time of sharing. If you or someone close to you (they do not need to be a church member) think that such a group might help, please speak to me directly or send me an email.
May the Risen Christ continue to bless and strengthen you every day.
Your webmaster has taken the liberty of adding several other events. They appear with their dates inmedium brown.
—Rev. Chuck Moon
A version of this message appeared in the Saturday, June 1, 2024, edition of Tidbits.
Our church is once again hosting a pancake breakfast as part of the Guildwood Day celebrations on Saturday, June 1st. Pancakes will be served from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on the east lawn (or inside the hall in the event of rain). Suggested donation of $5.00 per person and $10.00 per family. Hope to see you there!
A version of this message appeared in the Saturday, May 25, 2024, edition of Tidbits.
