Looking for a way to meet more St. Paul’s members and make new friends? Why not give us a try?

The St. Paul’s UCW is a vibrant, active, and multi-age group of women joined in a community of faith. We are supporters, doers, and pray-ers, actively involved in worship, learning and fellowship. We have been an important part of the St. Paul’s community from the very beginning over 50 years ago.

You will find UCW members organizing events at St. Paul’s such as rummage sales (held twice a year), the Poinsettia Tea and Bazaar, and interesting speakers and programs. Our members can be found serving the community through funeral receptions, anniversary and shower parties, making casseroles for sick and shut-ins, knitting afghans for seniors, greeting at the door for Sunday services, and visiting members with flowers and support.

UCW General Meetings are held on the second Tuesday most months except during the summer. Our meetings are open to all and we encourage women to join us at 7:30 p.m. for a short business update, worship, followed by an interesting and engaging program. Over the last few years, we have had speakers about important community agencies and outreach efforts, have taken members on trips to a wide variety of locales through travel documentaries, and have learned how not to become a victim of fraud.

UCW members are organized into smaller “units” that meet each month during the morning, afternoon or evening, for fellowship, worship and programs.

We are actively seeking new members. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact Sue Robertson at 905-849-7695 or srobertson66@cogeco.ca for meeting times and locations.

As well as traditional membership, we are also experimenting with a “Virtual Unit” of UCW for the women of St. Paul’s who may not be able to attend meetings or join a unit, but who still wish to receive notices about meetings and events, and offer their help with a variety of tasks organized by the members. If you are interested in this new venture, please send your e-mail address to Sue Robertson at srobertson66@cogeco.ca.

Men's Club
St. Paul’s Men’s Club is a group that plans and conducts special events for the enjoyment of the congregation, and also provides assistance to other groups in putting on functions as needed. In the year 2007 the Men’s Club hosted a Bean Supper, an Easter Breakfast, a Barbeque & Corn Roast, two Golf Tournaments with an out-of-town Men’s Club and has provided assistance to other groups at the Pancake Supper and the Congregational Picnic.

The club plans to be even more active in 2008 and has already given the members a taste of what to expect with a roast beef dinner and children’s talent show conducted on February 29.  It was enjoyed by about 170 people in spite of a winter storm, which raged at the time.

In recent years St. Paul’s Men’s Club has been an informal organization, pulling together to rise to the occasion whenever the need arose.  Beginning in January the club has resumed association with AOTS and will hold regular meetings.   The re-organizational meeting was held on Friday, January 25 when the following slate of officers was installed:

President  - Bill Sprung                                       Vice President – Bud Farris

Secretary Treasurer – Wally Macdonald               AOTS reporter – Howard Wills

The evening was highlighted by a special presentation by Don Wilding featuring his hobby of model airplane building and flying in Oakville.  A tentative schedule of events for the balance of the year was approved setting specific events each month, the first of which was the Feb. 29 Roast Beef Dinner and Talent Show.

Book Club

Do you like to read? Would you like to meet with others and casually discuss a book you have read in common? If so, then please come and join us!

The St. Paul’s Book Club meets on the first Thursday of every month.  You may join us at either 1:30 in the afternoon or 7:30 in the evening. If you have finished reading the book we ask for a $1 donation.  If you didn’t get the book done, we ask for a $2 donation. All the money goes to the St. Paul’s Library.  

Summer Reading Suggestions from St. Paul’s Book Club

The Secret Life of Bees: Sue Monk Kidd
Mermaids Chair: Sue Monk Kidd
Not Wanted on the Voyage: Timothy Findley
Possessions: A.S. Byatt
In the Beauty of the Lilies: John Updike
The Year of Living Biblically: A.J. Jacobs
The Monk Upstairs: Timothy Farrington
A Change of Heart: Jodi Picoult
The Book Club: Mary Alice Monroe
The Color of Water: James McBride
Run: Ann Patchett
Remember Me: Sophie Kinsella
The Pillars of the Earth: Ken Follett
My Sister’s Keeper: Jody Picoult
Moloka’i: Alan Brennert
Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven: Fannie Flagg
The Glass Castle: Jeanette Walls
The Girls Who Went Away: Ann Fessler
A Thousand Splendid Suns: Khaled Hossoini
The Girls: Lori Lansens
A Gentle Axe: R.N. Morris
The Inheritance of Loss: Kiran Desai
Sun at Midnight: Rosie Thomas
Fifth Business: Robertson Davies
Three Views of Crystal Water: Katherine Govier
Deafening: Frances Itani

September 2008: In the Beauty of the Lilies

October 2008: Fifth Business

November 2008: Deafening

December 2008: The Secret Life of Bees

January 2009: To be Announced

February 2009: The Color of Water

March 2009: To be Announced

April 2009: The Year of Living Biblically

May 2009: To be Announced

June 2009: Summer Reading List

Faith Journeys

The Long Range Planning Committee is a small group at St. Paul's that meets informally and functions with guidance from our minister, Dr. Paul Crittenden. We discuss possibilities for the future of our church and we sometimes act as a catalyst for special programs. One such idea developed early in 2002 when one of our number proposed looking at other religions and the idea of examining other faiths was born.

It was a very personal beginning. One member of the LRP group has a daughter-in-law whose family background is Hindu. As a group we organized the first Faith Journey, an examination of the Hindu Faith. The program had two parts: the first was a slide presentation followed by a discussion of her faith by a beautiful young sari-clad lady whose Hindu family came to Canada some years ago. On the second evening, members of our congregation visited a nearby Hindu Temple. The format worked well and became the prototype for succeeding programs.

The three subsequent Faith Journeys were led and organized by members of our congregation who volunteered to be the "spark plugs" and whose personal connections to other faiths have added depth and understanding to the presentations. Following our introduction to Hinduism, we have examined Judaism, Islam and the Bahá'i Faith. Each of the programs has involved a lecture in some form, followed by a visit to the place of worship.

Following four previously successful Faith Journeys, one of our members suggested, in late winter of 2005, that we embark upon a study of Buddhism. In April, 2005, such a project was successfully undertaken. As in the past, the program unfolded on two separate evenings. In early April, Buddhist monk, Kelsang Sangdrub presented an “Introduction to Buddhism” to an audience of about 40 people at St. Paul’s. Sangdrub outlined the essentials of Buddhism: meditation and compassion. Later in the month, we visited the Kadampa Temple and Meditation Centre in Mississauga. We were led through a period of meditation by Kelsang Delek, an ordained nun, and then taken on a tour of the temple. The bright and inviting facility in Mississauga is classed as a Buddhist World Peace Centre, one of only three in the world, the others being located in England and in New York State.

It is a tribute to our minister, Dr. Paul Crittenden, that such a program has been possible. The congregation at St. Paul's has had an opportunity to appreciate the diversity of faiths that exists within our immediate community.

Singles’ Fellowship

This group meets in the Friendship Room at 7:30 p.m. on the fourth Friday of each month, from September to June.  We have approximately 23 members, mostly from our congregation but from other local churches as well.

Some of our meetings take place away from the church property.  Recent outings included a visit to the Burlington Art and Cultural Centre followed by a lakeside walk and dinner at a local restaurant, and a tour of the Halton Regional Museum, followed by dinner.

At Christmas, we celebrate with a gathering at the church, which offers appetizers and a pot luck dinner, a gift exchange around the tree, followed by Christmas readings and the singing of carols.

The wind-up in June takes the form of an outdoor barbeque or ‘pot luck’ at members' homes.

We are a non-profit group but support the work of St. Paul's as well as local charities.  We invite all singles to join our friendly, welcoming group.

Bridge

The St. Paul's Bridge Club is a group of recreational Contract Bridge players of all skill levels.  We also have a group of enthusiastic spares who play when regular members cannot attend.

For information about joining us, call Diane or Andre Wolder at 905-825-4155.

Badminton

Bowling

A group of us meets each Wednesday night over at Hopedale Bowl. We call ourselves The St. Paul’s Bowling League. Actually, we are made up, not only by members of the church, but spouses and friends have also joined our teams. We average about 27 bowlers a week. Some of us are good bowlers and others just come out for a good time. Before Christmas, each year, we enjoy a festive buffet as we bowl the evening away. Bowling starts in September, and we always end our season in May with a bowling banquet and awards ceremony at a local restaurant.

For more information about The St. Paul’s Bowling League, contact Bev Holmes at 905-845-2934.