Orchard Valley United Church

Clocks SPRING Forward

Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 14.
Please remember to turn your clocks forward one hour
Saturday night, March 13

In the event that one or more of our Sunday Worship services is cancelled due to weather, a message will be left on the OVUC phone line and website. We will also do our best to send out an email (but cannot guarantee this option will be available). We also endeavour to place cancellation messages with all the local radio stations. In the event of a power outage, your first source for cancellation news should always be our phone line – 902-681-0366.

You are invited to attend our Zoom “Coffee Time” each Sunday, from 11:30 am to 12:00 pm. You may join us online or via phone. We hope you can join us!

Join the Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83474107986?pwd=SnlFeWNtWDZPeHJHMjIzQVg1bUo2QT09

1-855-703-8985  Canada Toll-free

Meeting ID: 834 7410 7986
Passcode:  019067

Each day in Lent, Rev Don will choose a scripture passage and prepare a video recorded reflection about it.

Click on the link below to go to our Video Recorded Worship Services page, THEN click on the tab on the far right called Lenten Reflections.

Video Recorded Worship Services

The men of OVUC will hold their next monthly gathering at the Irving Big Stop on Sunday, March 7, at 7:45 am for Men’s Breakfast. Come early to get the early bird special. All men of the congregation are welcome.

Sunday, March 7, will be our next Food Bank Sunday. Please bring your non-perishable items and leave them in the shopping cart after the Worship Service. Please remember to stay physically distanced from one another.

The Congregational Life Committee will meet on Sunday, March 7, following the Sunday morning Worship Service.

Our Easter Newsletter will be published on March 28, the beginning of Holy Week. If you have an Easter-themed article or a story you would like to share with the congregation, please send it to the office no later than Sunday, March 21. We would love to include stories from our congregation.

This is a reminder that the Affirming Committee will be meeting via Zoom on Tuesday, March 16, from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm. Rev. Don will forward the Zoom link prior to that date.

Thank you to everyone who supported the Junior Youth Group’s toque fundraiser. We raised $500 for Open Arms!

Many thanks to Valerie Mosher for knitting the toques and Heather Hennigar for selling them at Hennigar’s Farm Market!

The Junior Youth Group will do a walk in Kentville on Saturday, March 27 (the walk will include a tour of the Kentville Open Arms’ location, their thrift shop and hopefully an Inn from the Cold location). Please consider sponsoring an OVUC youth by making a donation to Open Arms via Orchard Valley. Donations can be given to the youth, dropped off at the church, mailed to the church, or made online on the church’s website. Please note on your envelope, cheque or online gift that it is for Open Arms. We would like to receive all donations for the walk no later than Saturday, March 27. Sponsorship donations are tax deductible.

Want to know when the latest “Fruit from the Orchard” video is released? Or the upcoming daily “Lenten Reflections”? One way is to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Simply select the ‘Subscribe’ button the next time you are watching one of our videos or during the Live Streamed Worship Service. (Please note that you must have a Google account in order to subscribe.) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEW4VOpk_znrA5qevOqCr9Q

We are looking for a couple more people for the Communications and Property Committees. Anyone interested in joining a committee should contact the office – 902 681 0366 ext 1, AdminOVU@bellaliant.com.

The benevolent fund has received a request from a family of four for assistance.  They are looking for a small BBQ and a bicycle for a 10 year-old boy.  If you can help, we can arrange to pick-up the item.  Please contact the church office – 902-681-0366 ext 1, AdminOVU@bellaliant.com.

Rev Don has prepared video recordings of our worship services, to be shared with our church family.

Please view our video recorded services by hovering over Worship Services on the ribbon above and then clicking on Video Recorded Messages OR by clicking on the following link:  Video Recorded Messages.

Fundscrip cards make excellent gifts and are a very convenient and easy way to shop. To place an order, please contact Ian Godfrey, Cecil White or Bruce Smith for an order form. Thank you for your continued support.

Since the decision in Council to support the M&P recommendation to acknowledge the Admin Assistant position as part time (to better reflect the actual duties of the position), several members of our congregation have communicated their concern for the timing of the decision in these difficult times.  We wished to reassure the congregation that the Council has responded to that compassion by approving a charitable proposal from the Finance Committee to continue to protect our Admin Assistant’s income at its current level, even as she transitions into her new hours, for an extended period of time.

Respectfully Submitted,

Mindy Vinqvist-Tymchuk
Chair, Ministry & Personnel Committee

For those in the congregation who would like to continue supporting the church financially while we are experiencing our temporary closure, we have several ways you can donate:

• Mail your post-dated cheque(s) to the office (OVUC, 130 Cornwallis Ave, New Minas, NS B4N 3M7);
• Drop your offerings into our mail slot. It’s located on the outside of the OVUC building, on the left corner. This is a secure, internal mailbox;
• Click the DONATE button on our website;
• Transfer funds to us via bank e-transfer. Please contact the office for details; or
• Sign-up for PAR. Please contact the office for details.

Regardless of the method you choose, you will receive a tax receipt in 2021 for your donation(s). For more information or assistance, please contact the office (902-681-0366, ext 1, or AdminOVU@bellaliant.com).