Choir

Important COVID Update – December 18, 2021

This morning the Covid Response Team held an emergency meeting to consider the latest Ontario regulations and Covid numbers and trends. The team has made several difficult decisions recognizing that the Omicron variant has significantly increased risk, even for those who have had two doses. Until further notice, we will no longer have in-person worship in the church building. Our worship will continue to be available on both Zoom and YouTube.

We will have our 3pm In the Wild gathering on Sunday, December 19, but will not hold our 5pm Choirs and Carols Christmas Eve service – both because the new restriction on outdoor gatherings is 25 and because we do not believe we can safely distance everyone who might want to attend.


This is hard. I (Emily) wanted nothing more than to sing with you outside and to gather as the hybrid community we have been forming this fall. We are asked to adjust once again to this new variant and how it is upending things in another wave just when we thought we were getting things figured out. We know to keep one another safe we need to pull back once more, but it doesn’t make it easy to do so.

Once again we are in this Advent space, this space of waiting and expectation. But although it might not fit all of our longings, Christmas is still coming. And along with it is the promise of God’s presence. In the birth of Jesus, God becomes a part of our vulnerable human lives, suffers and struggles with us, and connects us with love.

Rev. Emily Gordon

If you have any questions, please contact Emily at emily@leasideuc.com or 647-303-6709, and she can pass them along to the full team.

Advent II Peace – Sunday December 5th, 2021

Advent II Peace

Our weekly service will be shared as a livestream on YouTube and Zoom as well as in-person. Registration is no longer required for in-person worship, but proof of vaccination must be shown each time, masks must be worn at all times, and we encourage you to distance from anyone you do not consider part of your bubble.

This Sunday we move from hope to peace. We plan for our service to include the Junior Choir Anthem originally planned to be shared in November – “Child of God” by Mark Miller. We will also hear the leads sing the anthem “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree” by Poston.

Our scripture reading will be the first of two weeks when we hear about John the Baptist, and we will have the chance to sing “There’s a Voice in the Wilderness” as well. We will also continue praying with our bodies as well as our words, as we did last Sunday.

Watch the Stories and Makers Nest at 9:55am on Zoom, or any time on YouTube.

Please note that despite last week’s internet challenges, we were able to record the Nov. 28 service, and post it on YouTube later that afternoon. You are welcome to watch it any time here.

Then, this week we look forward to the Christmas Tea on December 8th, our Third Sunday of Advent Service (Joy) the morning of December 12th and our joint Carols by Candlelight service that evening!

Carols by Candlelight – Sunday December 12th at 7pm

Leaside and Northlea United Church Choirs collaborate on a Carols by Candlelight concert on Sunday, December 12th at 7pm via Zoom and YouTube. Donations in support of Out of the Cold.

All are welcome, watch your email for the Zoom links.

Watch the service in full here:

Advent I – Hope, Sunday November 28th, 2021

May we approach Advent this season
as if it were our first-ever Advent.
May we come to God new and vulnerable,
with open and willing hearts, ready for fresh insights.
May we find Jesus wherever there is distress
and rely on the Holy Spirit to be with us
on every step of our Advent journey. Amen.

[Written by Joanne Stenerson. Gathering, Advent/Christmas/Epiphany 2019/2020, page 31. Used with permission.]


Our weekly service will be shared as a livestream on YouTube and Zoom as well as in-person. Registration is no longer required for in-person worship, but proof of vaccination must be shown each time, masks must be worn at all times, and we encourage you to distance from anyone you do not consider part of your bubble.

Last Sunday the A/V system decided to take a vacation, meaning we couldn’t livestream – or use the sound system in the sanctuary. This past week our A/V team have been busy making sure that the system is back and ready for Advent!

We start Advent by lighting the candle of hope. Where in the world do we find Hope these days?

Sunday Worship – Recorded

Stories and Makers Nest

Make an Advent Wreath today!

Watch the Stories and Makers Nest at 9:55am on Zoom, or any time on YouTube.

Please mark the following dates in your calendar as we prepare for our Advent and Christmas services.

Celebrate Christmas with Leaside United Church
inside, outside and online!

Advent Services
Nov 28, Dec 5, Dec 12, Dec 19 at 10:30 am
In-person, Zoom & YouTube

Carols by Candlelight
A joint musical celebration with Northlea United Church
& Leaside United Church, in support of Out-of-the-Cold
Dec 12 at 7 pm
Zoom & YouTube

Quiet Christmas
This reflective service offers space for all of the emotions we carry this Christmas season at the end of a challenging year
Dec 16 at 7 pm
In-person, Zoom & YouTube

In the Wild Carol Sing
Dec 19 from 3-3:30 pm
In-person on Church lawn

Carols and Choirs Christmas Eve Service
An opportunity for all ages to sing together
and celebrate Christmas!
Dec 24 from 5-5:30 pm on Church lawn

Christmas Eve Service
Dec 24 at 8 pm
In-person, Zoom & YouTube