Outdoor Service - July 9 (in-person only)

Join us for an in-person only service on Sunday, July 9th at Prairie Presbyterian Church, 590 University Crescent. We'll take our regular service outdoors with worship, music, and a message from Jon Klassen. There will be refreshments and the opportunity to gather as a congregation in creation; a topic of focus for us over the past few weeks at church. 

Folks are welcomed to bring their own lawn chairs and blanket, and anything else you may need to worship outdoors. Some chairs will be provided and set up outside the East church doors. 

If you don't often come to church during the summer months, this might be a great service to mark on your calendar! 

For those unable to join us in person, we invite you to check out Prairie’s YouTube channel that has almost 200 livestreamed worship services to choose from! Click here to view our list of worship videos.

Welcome Jon Klassen

During this morning's worship service we welcome Jon Klassen to Prairie Presbyterian Church. Jon will be preaching throughout the summer months at Prairie while Rev. Matt is away on his intermission leave. 

Jon Klassen was born in Winnipeg and grew up in Point Douglas. His family later moved to Vita, Manitoba, a small farming town about an hour and a half southeast of Winnipeg, where his parents still farm to this day.
 
Jon met his wife, Lynette, at Steinbach Bible College, where they both completed their studies and were then married. The Klassens have two sons and live in Vita where they attend Vita Bible Church.
 
Jon has been studying at Providence University College and Theological Seminary since 2019, where he is presently working toward a Master of Divinity degree, with the hope of graduating next year.
 
We are pleased that Jon is able to be with Prairie Church this summer - welcome Jon!

Rev. Matt's Intermission - June 5 to Sept 4

Dear friends in Christ,

In a few short weeks I will be starting my intermission. I want to thank you again for being so incredibly supportive of this opportunity. I want to share with you some specific details about Sunday Services and who to contact in a pastoral emergency while I’m away.

As a refresher, I will be away from Monday, June 5th to Monday, September 4th. I will return to working at Prairie on Tuesday, September 5th. My Intermission is completely self-funded through my Continuing Education Allowance; so, paying for pulpit supply while I am away will not be an additional cost for the congregation to bear other than what is already budgeted.

During my Intermission, I will be completely unavailable. This is to ensure that my time away is not interrupted so that it can be a rejuvenating experience for me. Any pastoral concerns can be shared first with one of the elders on the Session: Erin Whittaker, Bruce Wiebe, Conrad Schellenberg, Bonnie Zimmer, Janet Simpson. Should you require a minister, the Rev. Dr. Rob Dean is the primary contact during this time. The Session will not be meeting over the summer, which is not unusual, but if they need to meet they can coordinate a session meeting themselves.

We are blessed to have a student from Providence Seminary who will preach twelve of the thirteen Sundays I am away. Jon Klassen was in Rob Dean’s homiletics class and came to us through a recommendation from Rob. I know you will welcome him, help him feel at home at Prairie, and trust that you will learn from one another over the summer weeks. There may also be opportunities for some of you to provide feedback to Jon which will be valuable to him as he grows his skills as a preacher.

We are also blessed to have Ashley Boychuk in her role of music director and Wes Keeley in his role providing Audio Visual Technology support. These roles have continued to be so important in the worship life of our congregation. Erin Whittaker will also continue to lead liturgy through most of the summer providing stability and familiarity while I am away. We are deeply grateful for Erin and her gifts that she freely shares in this way on a regular basis.

I trust that you will not consider this time as a kind of limbo for our congregation… instead I would hope that you might treat it as an opportunity for Prairie to pull together even stronger. Indeed, the New Beginnings Implementation Team continues to meet and will be working on several things, including the further development of relationships with WICM, strategic planning for the fall, a special outdoor service in July, and a welcome back BBQ in mid-September which I’ll be thrilled to attend! I remain confident that you will continue to support and encourage each other and I look forward to hearing about your shared life together upon my return.

In Christ’s Service,

Rev. Matthew Brough

 

Email Contacts

We tend not to provide phone numbers through online communication. If you need a phone number, please contact one of the elders.


Conrad Schellenberg conrads at cmds dot ca

Janet Simpson janets151 at shaw dot ca

Bruce Wiebe bewiebe at shaw dot ca

Erin Whittaker xerinjoyx at gmail dot com

Bonnie Zimmer maeellen2003 at hotmail dot com

Rev. Dr. Rob Dean robert.dean at prov dot ca

Ashley Boychuk Ashley at prairiechurch dot ca

Prairie's Paraphrases of Psalm 23

Throughout Lent in 2023, we spent time reading Psalm 23 and we encouraged you to try writing your own paraphrase inspired by that Psalm. Here are a few of your versions. Thanks for sending them in!

This first one, was a beautiful group effort worked on together by small group members: Sheila Anderson, Bonnie Bruneau, Liz Cox, Aileen Huss, Leila Sheocharan, Janet Simpson, Evelyn Sutton, Sylvia de Vlaming, and Bonnie Zimmer.

The Lord is my life guide.
You give me everything I need.
You provide times of relaxation when I can lie down in the beauty of nature, in safe comfortable places of tranquility, and in calm environments.
You direct me along right paths bringing honour to your name.
Even when I have sadness or life difficulties, you comfort me, lift me up and provide the tools I need to carry on.
In all circumstances, your generosity is overwhelming, even in front of those who wish me harm.
You treat me like royalty. You have blessed me abundantly.
I am confident that your mercy and blessings will be with me throughout my life, and I will live forever in God’s house.

Aileen Huss contributed this wonderful version, which she shared with her small group. You can see what her group incorporated from Aileen’s composition.

The Lord is my life guide
I have all that I need
He lets me rest in soft comfort
He keeps me safe in busy streets
He energizes me
He shows me the correct way to honour His name.
Even when I walk through the darkest places
I will not be afraid, Because you are beside me
Your gentle arms hold and protect me
You have a banquet for me
While my enemies watch
You treat me like a special guest
Putting oil on my head
My heart overflows with your blessings
I am sure your love will always be there
And I will live forever in God’s house.

Ann Brough contributed this lovely paraphrase, starting it with a line from a favourite hymn:

All I have needed your hand has provided.
I am still! I feel you near me.
Your peace washes over me like cool water, and I am comforted.
When I read your word, you remind me that you love me.
Even on the darkest days you whisper assurance that you are God and I am your beloved daughter.
Your love will be with me for ever.

Erin Whittaker wrote this powerful version, which she shared with the congregation at the beginning of Lent.

God takes care of me. I know that I’ll have the things I truly need as I need them. When I trust God, I can be at peace, knowing that despite all the worries and stresses I am taken care of, loved and cared for. When I run at full steam, God is there, waiting for me, to come to him, breathe, drink, and rest.

When I follow God’s path, spent time with him and with the church, I find strength to make decisions and take actions more inline with his plan for me and for our world. I can do the big hard scary things knowing that God is with me and all of a sudden, they’re over.

My brain creates monsters, spends time thinking of problems that haven’t even happened yet, and then God says, come, eat, fill yourself on the things that matter, and remember all that you have received. I smile, I am full of joy, and I can’t help but share that joy with others. Living this way feels right. This is how I want to live my life. Basking in the goodness and mercy of God. Forever and always.

Presbyterians Read - We Are Pilgrims

Individually or with a group

5 Sessions

Group Meets on Zoom - Thursdays at 1:30pm - April 20 to May 18

Join Presbyterians across Canada for a journey of praying, walking and reflection this Spring, using the Presbyterians Read: We Are Pilgrims study guide together with Jim Forest’s book The Road to Emmaus: Pilgrimage as a Way of Life.

The Rev. Amanda Currie, Moderator of the 2019 General Assembly, who serves as the minister at First Presbyterian Church in Regina, is the author of this study guide. We Are Pilgrims comprises an introduction and five sessions.

You are encouraged to do this in community:

(Though you can also go through it individually)

Resources

 

Welcome Ashley - New Music Director

Prairie is thrilled to have Ashley Boychuk take on her new role at Music Director for the congregation.

Ashley is a classically trained coloratura soprano and dynamic arts administrator. Over the past several years her career has taken her across Canada, the United States, and Europe. She deeply believes in music as a vessel to enhance our lives and to create community. An arts education advocate, she understands the transformational experiences music provides. Following her Master of Music degree at the University of Minnesota, Ashley has had the privilege of teaching voice and piano, supporting youth leaders and music outreach programs, coordinating national music celebrations, and has worked to uplift awareness in the contemporary classical sector. She believes in the power of music. Ashley is thrilled to be part to Prairie Presbyterian Church to facilitate the wonder of music and worship with both in-person and online setting.

Contact Ashley at ashley@prairiechurch.ca

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New Beginnings - RSVP Today!

We Need You To Be Part of Envisioning the Future

Earlier this year we began a visioning process for the ministry of our congregation called New Beginnings. As we return to the overall process this fall, you will all have the opportunity to look at the assessment that was completed in the first phases.

Open Workshop - Sep 23

On Friday, September 23 in the evening, you are invited to meet our New Beginnings’ coach, Rev. Ian Fraser, who will be guiding us through the next phases of the process. The coach will be leading a workshop to help us understand how ministry has radically changed over the past few decades and to help us get excited about new possibilities for ministry. The number of people who participate greatly impacts the outcome of this process. So, we need you to let us know whether you can be there or not.

Click here to RSVP

Ian will also preach at Prairie on Sept 25th, which you won’t want to miss!

Groups for New Beginnings

We need everyone to be involved! This is were you are invited to really unpack our congregation’s assessment, wrestle with its implications and help to choose a future story for Prairie!

We have had some small groups operating at Prairie for the last few years. Some of these groups will be starting up again in the fall, but their usual mode of meeting will be put on pause in October because there is also a group phase that is part of New Beginnings.

It involves meeting 4 times over a 4 to 6 week period with the same small group. You will need to register for a group and let us know about your availability. We will get you more details about this, when we get close to the time that the groups will start in October.

We are prioritizing in-person meetings as much as possible. We are finding that having productive and creative conversations is far easier in person. We will also provide Zoom access for all meetings but ask that you consider coming in person if you are able and are comfortable.

Our congregation is located in Winnipeg, which is on Treaty One Land, first entrusted by Creator God to the Anishinaabeg, Anishininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Denesuline, Nehethowuk nations, the homeland of the Red River Métis.