Church Access

The church building is closed and most in person gatherings continue to be cancelled until further notice. See the "Other Communications..." section further down this page for further details.

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Should you have any questions or inquiries please call the church phone number at 519-752-8549 and leave a message or email office@fairviewunitedchurch.org.

Live Streaming of Sunday Services.

Due to the COVID 19 Pandemic, we will continue to livestream a Sunday Service each week until our in-person worship services can resume.

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Live Streaming will continue to be presented on the churches Facebook page using Facebook Live. Shortly after the service is completed it is also posted to Fairviews new YouTube Channel. Links to both our Facebook page and the new YouTube Channel can be found on the right side of the main menu at the very top of each page. 

 

Audio (sound) recordings are no longer available on the Ministries/Service Recordings page of this site. A link is now provided on that page to the YouTube video of each service.

Other Communications related to COVID-19.

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This Message was sent Friday, September 4, 2020 by email.

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Hello!

This week is the last week of a combined worship service with Sydenham-Heritage.   If you missed the service from last week, you can watch it by clicking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhB8WJd-bU4

 

The Wednesday Morning Scripture Discussion Group via Zoom is starting up again on Wednesday September 9th at 9:45 a.m. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/200037094 Meeting ID: 200 037 094 or by phone +1 647 374 4685 in Canada  or +1 647 558 0588 in Canada.

 

Do you miss seeing and chatting with your Fairview Friends?  We are offering a couple of times when you can drop by the church, gathering outside under the trees to chat with others.

To start with there will be two times next week: Tuesday, Sept. 8th 9:30 - 11:00 am  and/or  Friday, Sept. 11th 1:30 - 3:00 pm

These Fairview Outdoor Social Gatherings are open to all Fairview friends and you can come to either or both.  We will gather under the trees outside the Fairview building so dress for the weather.  Everyone is to bring their own mask, chair and coffee/tea/water etc.  Please be wearing your mask when you arrive and while you get your chair set up.  We will be enforcing social distancing and there is NO access to the building. You can drop in and leave whenever is convenient.  If you have questions, comments or want more information, contact Fiona Amiro at fbma@sympatico.ca or 519-753-2953.

 

Linda, Morley Roswell’s daughter, wanted his Fairview family to know:

"A celebration of Morley Roswell's life was held August 28th, 2020 (Morley's 90th birthday) at Roswell Park where the family placed a rock and plaque dedicating two pine trees that were previously planted in honor of Morley and Betty.  Unfortunately, due to continued Covid-19 restrictions attendance was limited.  The family wish to thank those who have expressed condolences over the past six months and invite them to visit the park to see the living legacy honoring their parents."

You an read his obituary and see a video tribute to Morley by clicking on the link https://beckettglaves.com/tribute/details/3640/Morley-Roswell/obituary.html

A celebration of Morley’s life and his involvement with Fairview United Church will be held at a later date at the church when it is safe to gather together to honour his life and contribution to Fairview.

 

Happy Labour Day Weekend.  Please keep all the teachers and students as well as the parents and grandparents of those starting school next week in your prayers for peace, safety, health, guidance and protection.

 

Lynne

L. Marshall-Best

Office Administrator

Fairview Community Centre/United Church

This message was sent Friday, August 28 2020 by email.

 

As summer draws to a close, folks are asking what is happening at Fairview? The answer is: Lots! The Board met on August 20th; other committees have also met over the last couple of weeks. Here is a summary.

Building and grounds:

• When is the building reopening? Thank you to everyone on the reopening working groups who worked very hard to develop guidelines for reopening the building when the time is right. At the Board meeting on August 20 the following was decided:

  • After thoughtful discussion, the Board decided that for now the sanctuary will only be used to produce the online worship services until at least the beginning of October. There will be no in-person worship. Reasons for this decision included:

    • Currently, Fairview does not have the capacity to simultaneously produce online worship services and in-person worship. If in-person worship resumed, our current method of online worship would need to stop. The Board strongly supports continuing online worship and supports investigating what equipment is needed to simultaneously produce both online and in-person worship.

    • In order to follow the guidelines for safe in-person worship, the number of people able to attend would be limited.

    • With schools reopening in September, there is a potential for the COVID numbers to increase. The Board felt that for the safety of the congregation, it would be wise to wait a few weeks to see what impact, if any, the reopening of schools has on the pandemic.

  • The question about in-person worship will be revisited at the September Board meeting. If you have any comments or concerns, please speak to a Board member,

  • Discussion will begin with specific community partners (AA, Good News Company, Guides) about the exclusive use of specific spaces.

• The installation of concrete curves around the parking lot flower beds and the paving of the parking lot is scheduled to take place early in September.  While many funds have been received, we are still welcoming donations.

• Over the summer, the Tracey/Gellner family stripped and then waxed the hall floor. A huge thank you to Sharon Tracey (our former office admin person and current bookkeeper and her mother, our former custodian) and their family! It looks amazing.

• We have a new-to-us sign and organ (not yet installed). Both were donated by Trinity United Church in the Hannon area of Hamilton who have made the difficult decision to close after more than 170 years of serving their community.  We thank them and hope to express our thanks more formally at a service in the future.

• The rebranding working group continues to meet and investigate how we can use our building and property to continue to support our mission.
   

Outreach:

• Thanks to a great deal of hard work on the part of Sherrie Milla, Fairview has received a grant of $20,000.00 from New Horizons to support seniors in isolation. There is already a small pilot underway helping a limited number of seniors learn how to use iPads to connect to our worship services, groups and with family members and friends.  This grant will allow Fairview to expand on this project and to reach into the community. It will also support the purchase of equipment to allow the online services to continue once in-person worship resumes.

Fairview Family:

• Volunteers needed! There are several varied opportunities. Please contact the church office (519-752-8549) if any of these are of interest to you.

  • Jane Baxter and Allan Rey have stepped down as Fairview’s representatives to Horseshoe Falls Regional Council. Fairview United Church needs at least one representative. This is a Board position. Thank you to Jane and Allan for their representation of Fairview at Erie Presbytery and now Horseshoe Falls Region.

  • The Board would like volunteer(s) to organize a few opportunities for small groups to meet outside and socialize in a safe manner. An example of a group already meeting is the Men’s Friday morning coffee group. A couple of people are needed to work out the details and help organize these social gatherings.

  • Does research interest you? The Rebranding work group needs help looking at what other churches are successfully doing to encourage online donations, use of social media, etc.

  • The group working with the grants received from New Horizons and the City of Brantford to support seniors in isolation needs your help!   This is an exciting opportunity for outreach to seniors in our community.   If you’d like to join our team as a committee member or mentor or would like to learn more about the program for yourself, a friend or family member, please let Jennifer know at fairviewunitedchurch@gmail.com or leave a message on the church machine at 519-752-8549 and she will get back to you.

  • Anyone have a background in marketing? The Rebranding work group could use a consultation! We need help in marketing Fairview!

  • As always, if you think there is something you can help with, a committee you would like more information about, please speak up!

1. Fall discussion groups

   • The lectionary Wednesday morning discussion group will resume via Zoom after Labour Day. Watch social media and the Fairview Happenings email for more information about exact time and dates

   • The Sydenham Heritage minister, Paul Shepherd, is hosting a one-night discussion on the book, Biased, by Jennifer L Eberhardt. Some of you may have read this book and be interested. Rev Paul has said that everyone is welcome. Details are on the Sydenham Heritage website.

   • Faith Formation is planning a discussion group after Thanksgiving. If there are topics you would like to see included, please let the office know.
      

Learning to live the “new normal” of a global pandemic is hard. Many of us are tired and/or stressed by the changes COVID has brought and continues to bring to our lives. Many are feeling isolated.  Please be patient with yourself and others. Decisions that are right for you, might not be right for someone else. The Fairview Family has an amazing staff and group of volunteers who have kept the church “open” since March. Thank you to everyone for everything you have done and continue to do as we head into the busy, but this year very different, fall season.

If you have a personal event (significant anniversary, move, etc.) that you would like included in the Fairview Happenings email, please let the office know. If you have questions or comments, the church office answering machine is always on (519-752-8549). Rev Jennifer can be reached at 613-334-6549 or fairviewunitedchurch@gmail.com.   Your house leaders and members of the Fairview Board are always willing to hear comments or answer questions.
 

Sincerely,

Beth & Jennifer

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