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Dear Visions Friends,

We will be cancelling our Spirit Gathering tomorrow, March 15^th, and the remaining Sundays in March.

We will keep you updated as new decisions emerge.

Your leadership executive made the decision this afternoon in concert with most of our sister United Churches in Moncton/Riverview. The consensus is to suspend worship services in response to the requests made by Public Health and The United Church of Canada to practice social distancing in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In case of pastoral emergency please contact Rev. Shawn Redden directly by phone or email (506-588-0326 or by email: minister@visionsunited.ca).

We will email you in the coming week with an update of how we will seek to keep in touch as a faith community over these coming days and weeks, and offer each other spiritual support and prayer.

Please hold in prayer all those working in our health care system, our government decision makers, and especially the most vulnerable in our community and world, who because of health challenges or life circumstances face particular insecurity at this time.

Please see attached "A Ritual of Prayer and Reflection" from Rev. Shawn Redden, offered so we may gather with each other "in spirit" tomorrow, March 15th.

Your CLT Executive,

Jim Slupsky, Anna Peters, Cecil Briggs, Peter Lightfoot, John Russell, Terry Hawkes, Rev. Shawn Redden.

History would tell us Father's Day began around 1909 in Canada. A day to celebrate fathers, grand-fathers and great grand-fathers.

Small gifts, cards and time together are the activities often used to celebrate the day.

At Visions United we honour the men in our congregations with words and music.

Neighbourhood Consultation Session – Wed. June 13, 7 p.m., Visions United Church

You are invited to attend a consultation about the future of the church building owned by Visions United Church of Canada, and formerly known as Stilesville United, located at 1270 Gorge Road.

Visions United has outgrown the church building. To meet our growing needs and ensure sustainability, Visions is seeking a partnership with another like-minded organization, potentially at an alternate location. We’re exploring the possible future of the current church property without a congregation operating the facilities.

We know that for many this building represents many fond memories and a place of community gathering. We want to hear from you to understand your thoughts and concerns.

If the building is not to be part of Vision’s future, we want the community to understand the path forward and we want to understand what it means for those who have an attachment to the building.

We are looking to explore all possible uses of the property including:
- Partnership ideas to share the property with Visions United
- Interest in community ownership of the property
- Potential listing and sale of the property

This decision to seek a partnership and different location was not made lightly. The decision of what to do with the property and building will not be made lightly either. We understand it has the potential to affect people who live in this area.

Please join us in conversation:
Wednesday, June 13, 7 p.m. at Visions United Church, 1270 Gorge Road
Light refreshments will be served.

Sincerely,
The leadership of Visions United Church

Wear or bring a hat! May 20, we celebrated our Family of Faith on Mother's Day, also known as Christian Family Sunday.

Everyone was invited to wear (or bring) a hat - any hat that tells a story of you. Maybe it's a hat that was given to you... maybe it's a hat you wear running or fishing or gardening... maybe it's a nursing cap or grad cap, a ball cap or hockey helmet... maybe your hat has a logo that means something to you like your workplace, or favorite sports team or special place you visited... maybe you just like hats!

We will celebrate the diversity of our family of faith with our hats and the stories they represent.

This Advent our spiritual preparation for Christmas included an exploration of the gifts of hope, peace, joy and love through creativity and the arts. Each week we welcomed someone from our faith community who shared their creative gift and how their art form is an expression of their own spirituality and the Advent gift we celebrate on that Sunday.

The Congregation also participated in a congregational art project. Each week as part of our Advent Journey Supper Gatherings we coloured giant murals telling the story of the Advent journey to Christmas.

On November 30 about 50 people gathered for a meal, some singing and colouring.

Advent Journey Supper Gatherings – Thursday, December 7 - 5:30-7pm
Who: You, your family, friends, neighbors.
What: Supper (meal provided), singing, and conversation as we color our way
to Christmas.
When: Thursdays during Advent (Dec 7, 14, 21 at 5:30-7pm)
Where: Stilesville Campus. All ages welcomed.
Come once or come every week. RSVP each Wednesday by noon with
numbers & food allergies. Please bring your own plate, mug & cutlery to help
with our clean-up. This week's menu: Lasagna. We hope to see you there!

Seeds are sacred. Seeds are a constant reminder the Creating Spirit of God is always at work in ordinary and extraordinary ways. During our Spirit Gathering on World Food Sunday (Oct 15th) we created this sacred circle or mandala as a visual prayer.

We also celebrated our contribution to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank over the past year through our support of a Maritime Grow Hope project, partnering with the school in River Hebert.

Seed Blessing Prayer

We hold these seeds in our hands as a present and future gift.
Their existence reminds us of the power of dreams to grow in unexpected ways.
Their growth will help us celebrate Life, and Promise for a world where all are fed and all are loved.
May these seeds remind us all, that we, too, are sacred seeds planted in the Creator's garden.
Thanks Be for the gift of these seeds!

As we promised in the fall when we planted the "Canada 150" tulips, we now have a number of them blooming.  Thanks again to PAM who began this initiative last fall!