The Observer is the official publication of the United Church of Canaada. Our church receives a discount subscription rate because we participate in the "Every Family Plan". This Plan provides a discount rate for churches which have at least 80% of their member families on the subscription list.

We are coming up on the time when we submit changes and updates for our list. if you do not presently receive The Observer and would like to, please let Tina Melvin know. Similarly, if you no longer wish to receive copies of The Observer, please let Tina Melvin know and she will reallocate your subscription to a new family.

Your church pays for these subscriptions from the Local Fund. Since the Local Fund operations are supported in large part by weekly offerings, please take this into consideration when making your plans for your weekly offerings.

if you would like more information about The Observer, check their web site using our Links page.

Photos of Munster Church, members worshipping during that time, and scenes in Munster have been added to the site. To view them, follow History - Munster Photos - Special.

If you are new to Munster Church, we welcome you and thank you for choosing to worship with us. If we don't know who you are, please introduce yourself to one of us.

If you are not a member of the congreation and would like to be, please speak with our minister Matt Gallinger or Liz Hale. You might find it's as easy and straightforward as arranging a membership transfer from another church where you hold membership.

If you would like to have your weekly offering count toward a tax receipt, please speak with Rorry Harding to arrange a set of offering envelopes. A numbered set of envelopes will be issed to you for your use. In order for us to be able to accurately issue a charitable tax receipt in February of 2009 for 2008, we will require basic information about you (name and address).

Check the Pastoral Charge events page to find out more about the 'Monday Morning Study Group' and the 'Monday Evening Study Group', what they are talking about, dates and times, and any changes to the schedule. In addition to the time of day differences, one meets weekly and the other every second week.

Our nursery is all set up to meet your needs. It's in the kitchen and is separate from the rest of the basement common room and it has a supply of toys to be used on the floor covering. There's a speaker in the room so you can continue to listen to the service.

From the 'Either you are not aware of ' or 'A Reminder' department:
We tape services regularly - almost each week. There are only a few services not recorded to tape. We tape services so anyone not able to attend the service or who is involved in the Sunday School or nursery with the kids , can hear the service.

We rotate approximately 15 tapes so you can go back a little ways in time for your needs. If you wish to borrow a tape, please let Pat or Keith Lindsey know which service tape you would like to borrow.

The Session has set up a hymn suggestion box at the back of the sanctuary. Please feel free to use it, and Matt and Pat will take all of your suggestions into consideration when they next choose hymns.

It is time again to recognize the fact that the Richmond Food Bank is in need and we can easily support it and area families. We would appreciate it very much if you would bring items for the Food Bank to church any or every Sunday. Non-perishable items such as canned fruits and vegetables, pasta along with toiletries and baby products (formula, diapers, etc.). If you'd like to give Gift Cards, we have $10, $25, and $50 (as well as the higher denominations), these can be turned into needed items easily by the Food Bank. If you have any questions or would like to clarify or confirm whether any item you think of might be suitable, call Shannon Morrow (838-5413) or Rhonda Fields (838-2651).

And you ask about the easy part? We have a volunteer who will take all donations and deliver them to the Richmond Food Bank each Monday. You bring your donation items to the church on Sunday and the next day they arrive at the Food bank. The Food Bank benefits with regular arrivals of goods to allow them to have a regular supply of items to issue.

Another successful frozen berry drive took place in the fall of 2007. We appreciate all the support and interest shown by all our purchasers. As with every drive we ordered a few extra bags to cover ourselves in case of bag breakage when handling the berries on the order pick up day. And again this year all bags purchased were intact. If you were expecting to purchase one of the extra bags, they have all been purchased or spoken for.

We look forward to serving your needs with another frozen berry drive around October - November 2008. If you want to make certain you are notified and wish to be notified by email, send us a message and request your name be added to the list for email notification. From the menu at the top of the page follow Contact Us - Pastoral Charge - then look for the last line to send a message to Keith Lindsey. He will pass your information along to Pat Lindsey who coordinates contacting people by email, amongst other responsibilites for the sale. And, you email address will not be shared with anyone else or any other organization and you can request removal of your address at any time should you no longer be interested in purchasing berries.

The Stewards are looking for any and all creative ideas for events that you would like to see in the life of this community. Please speak to a member of the Board of Stewards, or write your idea down and put it in the suggestion box, signed or unsigned. We will be looking through the box and talking on Sunday mornings about the ideas received.

Also, if you make a suggestion, you don't necessarily have to be the one who carries out the idea. Of course, if you are interested in participating with your or any other idea to help it come to reality, we won't ignore your interest or offer to help.

In case you were wondering what happened to the photos Keith Lindsey took at the service and picnic in June, they've been posted on this site since about a week after the event. You can find them at:
History -> Ashton photos -> Church Year OR
History -> Munster photos -> Church Year

At the bottom of the page you'll find twelve links. They are categorized into specific activities or events because there are very many photographs. Each link opens in a new window and you can start a slideshow in each.

Fair Trade Coffee and Tea
New fundraising program in place at Munster Church

March saw a great deal of work on the part of Jennifer Turk, Pat Lindsey, and Matt Gallinger. Jenn and Pat spearheaded the new program for introducing sale of Fair Trade Coffee and Tea. The idea to proceed was approved at the annual congregational meeting.

Munster United Church uses and sells Fair Trade Coffee. Fair Trade benefits over one million farmers and farm workers in 58 developing countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Fair Trade certification enables comsumers to vote for a better world with their dollars.

Fair Trade principles include:

- democratic and transparent organizations,
- community development,
- environmental sustainability,
- fair prices,
- fair labour conditions, and
- direct trade.

We offer a variety of coffees and teas. You can choose from ground coffee or beans and regular or decaffeinated.
Prices are:

You can place an order with either Jenn or Pat at church, at Wednesday Coffee mornings, or by telephone. We try our best to have some stock on hand, but with the popularity of Fair Trade coffee and Teas, we might not always have your need on hand. If that is the case, we will add it to our next order and it will arrive within a short time. You can also send us an email on the Contact Us page to request information or place an order. We will soon have a means of sending a message directly to the Fair Trade coffee and tea coordinator, but in the meantime, send a message using the Contact Us menu item above then Pastoral Charge -> send an e-mail message to Keith Lindsey. Keith will forward all Fair Trade messages.

We look forward to having you join the Fair Trade supporters and to serve your needs.

Are you a collector of works of local artist Ben Babelowsky?
Do you like to display colour prints of local architecture?
Are you a collector of church prints?
Are you looking for that certain special Christmas gift?
Do you know someone who attended Munster United Church or were married or baptized in Munster Church?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above, then you’ll be interested in a limited edition, numbered colour print by local artist Ben Babelowsky. These prints are approximately 18 inches by 13 inches. They are an attractive addition to any wall and capture a winter moment. Inthe front right is the old school house, later the Orange Lodge in Munster, and later the tea house then pub.

The price is $30 each. The choice is your for framing to suit your room or the person for whom it will be a gift. Contact Pat or keith Lindsey or any member of the Stewards. We have a number of this still available.

If you purchase food and other items, conside buying gift cards from your community church. The gift cards are from National Grocers and are as good as cash at Loblaws stores, Loblaws SuperStores, Independent Grocer stores, Valu-Mart stores, and other stores farther afield. Contact Carmen Thompson, Lynda Bell, or Pat Lindsey for more information or to purchase. Every dollar raised goes toward our daily operations including outreach programs in the community.

And for you coffee and tea drinkers, we sell Fair Trade coffee and teas. For information about what is available from each church, check their Current Events page.

Rev. Matthew Gallinger

Our, full time minister, Rev. Matthew Gallinger, works in the church office at Munster United Church several days a week. If you would like to meet him or have a pastoral need visit him or call him. Better yet, join us in worship Sunday morning, listen to a message as part of the worship service, and meet him.

If you know of anyone who is ill, in hospital, or in need of a pastoral visit, please let us know (613 838-3463). Telephone messages are a great help for Matt to keep curent with the latest happenings. We do appreciate hearing about people in need of a visit, attention, or care.

Ministry and Personnel Committee

The M&P committee is a confidential, consultative body that supports pastoral relationship. in the United Church we describe ourselves as "being in ministry together". We welcome your interest. Representatives for Munster are:
   Lynda Bell,   Jennifer Turk,   and   Ray Melvin.

Pre-Authorized Remittance of Givings

Some of you have heard about our PAR program or Pre-authorized remittance. For those of you not aware, you can arrange with the United Church of Canada and your bank to have a specific amount of money withdrawn from your account each month. The money, your monthly offering, will go directly to the church's local fund to support daily operations.

There are benefits with this arrangement. You benefit by not needing to find your offering envelopes each week before you head off to church. You also benefit by not having to 'double up' your offerings if you are away for a period of time to get caught up with your planned offerings. The main benefit for your church is that it helps provide a regular, steady flow of funds, especially during the summer months when some people are away and offerings on the plate would typically be reduced.

A number of families and individuals are onthe PAR program presently. If you would like to find out more about this program or you would like to sign up, please contact Rorry Harding or Carmen Thompson or any steward. Your information relating to PAR will remain confidential.