Central United Church
160 Spring Street P6A 3A5 Sault Sainte Marie, ON, Canada

This afternoon Doug Ford announced that the province of Ontario will be moving into emergency shutdown beginning this Saturday and lasting 28 days. The rules of the shutdown still allow churches to hold in-person religious services, funerals and weddings at 15% capacity (down from the 30% capacity presently). Because of the generous size of our sanctuary, 15% capacity allows us to have 45 persons attending in-person worship. This means we will be able to continue with our ...in-person worship services during the month of shutdown and safely stay below the 15% capacity allowed. Therefore, we WILL BE OPEN FOR EASTER SUNDAY SERVICE on April 4. Please note that we are also having an in-person GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE on April 2 at 10:30am at Central. While we must limit religious service capacity during shutdown, we cannot HAVE ANY OTHER SOCIAL GATHERINGS AT THE CHURCH during this time (meetings, study groups, UCWs etc). Fortunately, this should only be for the next 28 days. For the 4 weeks of shutdown, office hours will be reduced as well to Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am to 1pm. Please contact this office if you require access at any other time. As always, for all of you who are not comfortable attending worship in person, video links for the Sunday services will be sent out with the Friday E-Letter each week. See more

Services at Central for Holy Week will all begin at 10:30am: Palm Sunday, March 28th Good Friday, April 2nd... Easter Sunday, April 4th

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER will take place on Friday March 5th at 2pm. Westminster Presbyterian Church will host this event virtually. They will be live on the Sault Ste. Marie Westminster Facebook page. The link is: http://wwwfacebook.com/SSMWestmin

We are excited to welcome you back to church worship for the first Sunday of Lent, FEBRUARY 21 at 10:30am. As we have done all fall, we ask you to be mindful of social distancing and please wear a mask. It will be good to be together again!

Happy Family Day

CHRISTMAS BOOK CLUB SELECTION: THE SNOW CHILD by Eowyn Ivey the perfect book to read with friends in the snowy Christmas season. It captures the story of Jack and Mabel, two newcomers to the harsh land of Alaska, that are breaking apart like thawed ice as the stresses of being childless and overworked wears them down. But during the first snowfall, the two build a child out of snow, and the next day it's gone only to be replaced by a small ...blond girl running through the wintry forest. Over time, the couple come to love this fairy-tale snow child as their own, only to be reminded of how quickly things disappear in this violent Alaskan climate. MEETING DATE: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15 AT 10am

Don't forget to set your clocks this Sunday!

WORLD FOOD SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18THWorld Food Day is designated to raise awareness and action for those struggling against hunger around the world. We invite you to bring a non-perishable food item for the Food Bank! Some ideas: pasta / sauce; canned fruits / vegetables; cereal / oatmeal; canned milk / juice; peanut butter; jam / jelly; crackers; granola bars and baby food.

FALL BOOK SELECTION: THE PULL OF THE STARS by Emma Donoghue How could we not read a book about a flu pandemic? This one is set in Ireland during the Spanish flu epidemic. In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new Flu are quarantined together. Into Julia's regimented world step two outsiders -- Doctor Kathleen Lynn, a rumoured Rebel on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney. TENTATIVE MEETING DATE: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28 AT NOON

With caution and great joy, we will be returning to in-person Sunday Worship at Central. We have worked hard to make sure we are following appropriate health guidelines so that we can all be safe and enjoy worshipping together. So the following protocols will be in place Sunday mornings: Entry and exit will be through the SPRING STREET DOOR only. You will be required to WEAR A MASK inside the church. You will be guided to the sanctuary entrance from Edwards Hall where... there will be table at which you will sign in (required for potential contact tracing), place your offering in the offering plate if you wish, use hand sanitizer and pick up a church bulletin. In the sanctuary you are invited to be mindful of socially distancing from other groups. HINT- this is your opportunity to sit closer to the front! Worship will include hymn singing with masks on but no choir for now. There will no children’s story or Sunday school for now, but these will be included later in the fall once we get into the swing of things. There will be no coffee hour for the time being, but we are working towards this as we see how everything unfolds through the fall. You will be invited to leave by the Edwards Hall doors to the Spring Street exit. See more

FLEA MARKET EVERY WEDNESDAY FROM 10AM 2 PM for the month of September. Public Health measures will be followed including the need for masks, hand sanitizing and a limit of 20 people inside at one time. Come out and get all the great bargains. New items will be added weekly.

With the well-being of our congregation, staff and the community in mind, the difficult decision has been made to suspend all services, activities and group functions until further notice. Unfortunately, this includes our Silent Auction, which is postponed to a later date. We will revisit this decision in a few weeks to determine when we may resume. We will keep you informed as best we can. Thank you for your understanding at this time.

This Sunday, March 8, set your clocks ahead one hour.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROJECT sponsored by Arthur Funeral Home in support of local women’s shelters and International Women’s History Month. A need has been expressed for cleaning supplies, household items and non-perishable food to help in giving women in these shelters a fresh start. You are invited to be a part of this project for the month of March, we will be collecting items here at Central (boxes on table in Edwards Hall) to be collected by Arthur Funeral Home at that time. All items collected will be distributed between Women in Crisis, Phoenix Rising, and Pauline’s Place. Your help and support for a great cause is greatly appreciated.

The church office will be closed on Monday, February 17.

SOUP & SANDWICH LUNCH hosted the the UC Men's Group. Stay & enjoy fellowship and a warming lunch following service on Sunday, February 16th. Free-will offering.

CENTRAL BOOK CLUB NEXT SELECTION Educated : A Memoir by Tara Westover "A searing, unforgettable memoir in the tradition of The Liar's Club about a young girl who, raised by Mormon survivalists in the mountains of Idaho and forbidden to go to school, defies her family and earns a PhD from Cambridge University." NEXT DATE will be Thursday, March 5 at 11:00am

Paul Dingle joined Central United Church as the music director in the fall of 1999. Today he was recognized for his 20 years of service and dedication. We were joined by wife Agnes McCarthy, son Liam and daughter Emma to help celebrate this momentous anniversary! Paul was presented with a beautiful watch to mark the occasion by the Music/Worship on behalf of the congregation. After the service, we all enjoyed fellowship with a large delicious cake! Thank you to Rev. Laurie along with Kristina Murtonen and Lori Leclerc for organizing this event which was fittingly included as part of Advent 4 - Lessons and Carols! What great people work on behalf of and with this loving congregation!!

A promotion from Business Matters! Thanks Randy!

Please join us for Advent IV - our annual Lessons & Carols service on Sunday, December 22 at 10:30am.

MEMORIAL POINSETTIA You are invited to bring a poinsettia in memory of a loved one to decorate our sanctuary on Sunday, December 22nd. Please let Martha know by Thursday, December 19th so it can be listed in the bulletin. Poinsettias may be taken home following the service or can be left to decorate our sanctuary for the Christmas Eve Celebration Service and taken home following.