This Summer’s series of noon-hour concerts has been announced! From June through August, every Tuesday at 12:30.

These positions have been filled.

General Information:

St James United Church in downtown Montreal is recognized as a National Historic site of Canada and part of Quebec’s religious heritage. As you can see from our website (www.stjamesunitedchurchmontreal.com) it’s a very special place.

Project & Job Objectives:

With our own resources and the cooperation of the Young Canada Works program administered by the Canadian Museums Association, we are adapting our striking 19th century building into a major downtown Montreal tourist attraction midway between the shopping and business district of uptown Montreal and the festival neighbourhood a couple of blocks to the east. Summer student employees can play a key role in this. In one three-hour period in July 2010, for example, our church volunteers greeted nearly 1,500 people in French, English, German and a variety of other languages, particularly Spanish.

Description of Tasks:

Each student will spend at least three days a week with church volunteers greeting visitors, guiding them around the sanctuary, answering questions and working in our small boutique. They will also spend up to two days a week on a self-directed project that may involve research into our history or helping us to develop a virtual tour of the church (a project we have set for ourselves this year) or a document suitable for use by visitors as a self-guided tour. We also need to develop our relationships with other major actors in Montreal tourism.

Workplan:

The first week of employment will involve basic orientation and training on the job given by the program coordinator and senior church volunteers. Also, in this period skills will be assessed in detail to make future assignments more effective.
Students work a seven-hour day, five days a week with statutory holidays off. They will not work alone. They will be given regular feedback and become as big a part of our community as they wish.
But since most our visitors come by on the weekends, they can generally count on being on the door every weekend.

Employability Skills to be gained (Marketable Skills):

Whoever gets through a summer “on the door” at St. James has gained enviable confidence in their so-called people skills.
Their fluency will grow in whatever languages they have mastered or even simply studied.
And they will have a chance to put into daily practice many lessons from their field of study.

Candidate Profile:

The ideal candidate will be fluent in English and French to the extent that they can carry on a detailed conversation in both languages. Knowledge of a third language is a definite asset. We have an increasing number of visitors speaking Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and various Asian languages for example.
The ideal candidate can come from any academic background. What we look for is an inquiring mind and an openness in spirit to the vast range of humanity that comes through our doors. A willingness to be helpful, useful and part of a team is also appreciated.

YCW Web Site Job Poster:

The job begins in late May and continues until the end of the Labour Day weekend. It lasts for 14 five-day weeks. Pay is $10 an hour per seven-hour day.

Orientation and training:

While the first week of employment will involve basic orientation and training on the job given by the program coordinator and senior church volunteers, training and learning will continue throughout the summer until the last day on the job. Students start off learning about the history of the building and the past of the community and expand their knowledge about the daily life of the church and its neighborhood.
They will be given some reading material and visual aids and be expected to improve on them throughout the summer.
There will be regular conversations to this effect with the program coordinator, senior volunteers and other members of the church.

Supervision:

Students will be supervised by the Open Door Program coordinator.

How to apply:

Once a student is registered with the Young Canada Works website they should submit their cv and the names and contacts of two references to the church, to the attention of Mr. Robert Bull, coordinator of the Open Door Program.
For more information contact the church office at james@qc.ainbn.com or phone (514) 288-9245. Job interviews are tentatively scheduled for the week of May 23rd.

These positions have been filled.

General Maintenance Staff Person (GMS)
Job Status : Full Time

Work place

St. James United Church Montreal
1435, City Councillor
Montreal (Québec)
H3A 2E4

Summary

The GMS position provides basic maintenance work on the church building and grounds and assists in providing security on the premises.

Essential Functions

The GMS is responsible for:

• providing daily maintenance ( mainly cleaning) of the church facilities
• providing safety and security of the premises, staff and users of the facilities;
• interacting with courtesy with all users of the facilities;
• taking part in the preparation of events (special events, church events, outside client events), under the supervision of the Maintenance Supervisor (MS);

Specific Responsibilities

• Cleans and does routine repairs and maintenance such as dealing with blocked toilets;
• Assists the MS in more complex maintenance activities ;
• In the absence of the MS, oversees the heating system
• Cooperates with the MS by performing any other duties when assigned or instructed;
• Assists with lawn mowing, trimming, weeding and fertilizing, tree and shrub pruning, repair/re-seeding of damaged areas;
• Assists with spring clean-up around property, flower planting and care, cutting grass, cleaning steps, picking up litter, emptying garbage cans, clean-up outside windows, raking leaves and exterior painting;
• Daily cleaning and maintenance of the exterior of the church and surrounding grounds with particular attention to the stairs;
• Cleaning of the common areas of the Church building and of the church offices removing the garbage as needed;
• Assists with winter maintenance duties: removal of snow, spreading of salt and sand, installation and removal of wooden steps for winter;
• Assists in event organization:  set-up for meetings, concert clean-up, dusting for Open Door Programme, and floor washing and stripping;
• Greets and refers visitors and users of church to the appropriate resource(s);
• Answers the doorbell;
• Secures the building at all times including being watchful about those visiting;
• Runs errands for the Administrative Assistant as required

Working conditions

• Full Time (40 hours/ week)
• Flexible scheduling to cover church events
• Reporting to the Maintenance Supervisor, and to the congregation through the M&P Committee
• Eligible for United Church Benefits
• Vacation: earned at 1 day per month or two (2) weeks after one year of uninterrupted service

Professional abilities and competencies

• General familiarity with cleaning techniques, plumbing, electrical code requirements and trade practices as necessary;
• Ability to show initiative and work autonomously;
• Ability to function as a part of a team;
• Ability to complete tasks in a timely manner;
• Communicates effectively in French and in English;
• Respecting the values of the Church Mission statement;

Required Experience

• General maintenance and cleaning
• Security training

At a press conference held today, St. James United Church in Montreal announced that it has received a $410,400 grant under an agreement with the Conseil du patrimoine religieux du Québec.
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March 15, 2011 — Our hearts reach out to brothers and sisters in Japan as they face what Prime Minister Naoto Kan describes as the most severe crisis since World War II. Our immediate response is to wonder what we can do for our brothers and sisters facing this devastation.

Pray

Pray for all those caught in the devastation, those who grieve for families and friends dead or missing, those who struggle to respond in the face of great challenges, those first responders whose expertise and training are so essential.
Pray for those around the world whose personal connections to Japan make this situation particularly poignant and difficult.
Pray for mission partners in Japan. The international ecumenical community is an important place of solidarity and support for the Christian minority in Japan. Pray for United Church of Canada overseas personnel—David and Zenora Rackham, Shinji Kawano, and Rob and Keiko Witmer. All personnel are well and safe and working within their communities to help and sustain others as they are able.

Send Messages

Add messages of support and concern to the United Church’s Facebook page and Wondercafe. Communication systems remain a challenge in Japan at this moment. Land lines are still affected and the rolling blackouts mean Internet and cell phone access are intermittent. At this point in the emergency, partners need to keep their own e-mail inboxes clear to receive communications about the emergency. But we’ll let partners know where they can access these online messages.

Donate

The United Church of Canada will work with partners in Japan to support on-the-ground relief and reconstruction. It is important to remember that while these immediate moments of crisis are the ones that tug at our heart strings the needs in Japan, as in any place of crisis and emergency, will continue long after relief efforts have ended and the memory of the devastation faded on the world stage. The United Church works with partners over the long term. Any donations received at the General Council Office, designated for “Japan Earthquake Relief and Reconstruction” will be gratefully received and used to support United Church partners in this work. Donations can be made online or mailed to:

The United Church of Canada
3250 Bloor St. West, Suite 300
Toronto, ON M8X 2Y4.

As part of The United Church’s Emergency Response Fund, 85 percent of your donation will directly fund an emergency response in Japan. Fifteen percent will be used to support emergencies that do not receive intense media cover and response. No administration fees will be deducted from your donation.

Montreal, September 6th, 2010 — St. James United Church is pleased to welcome the Montreal Chamber Orchestra. The MCO’s 2010-2011 concert season will be held in the church sanctuary. The first concert, by oboe virtuoso Tamas Balla, will start at 8 pm on Thursday November 4th.

The Montreal Chamber Orchestra is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free classical music to Montrealers since 1974.

Founded and directed by Wanda Kaluzny, one of Canada’s first women conductors, the MCO is accredited for introducing new Canadian talent, composers and works alike, to the classical music scene as well as for launching the careers of many now famous soloists. The MCO’s mandate is to provide free classical music to the widest possible audience and has successfully done so since its inception.

When: July 25, 2010, at 7:00pm
Where: St James United Church

Several concerts planned at St. James United Church, June 25th to July 2nd, 2010

Montreal, June 15th – A unique concert organized by the Montreal International Jazz Festival, a rousing performance by an award-winning gospel choir and several sessions by a young Montreal pianist, are scheduled for St. James United Church, the historic downtown landmark, at the end of June and in early July.

The Jazz Festival, in a concert in its TD Jazz Beat series sponsored by CBC Radio 2 (93.5 FM) and supported by the British Council, presents British saxophonist John Surman accompanied by organist Howard Moody at St. James – 463 Ste-Catherine St. west in downtown Montreal — at 8 pm July 2nd. Tickets ($32.50) are available at Admission and Ticketpro networks or at the Place-des-Arts box office.

A Festival statement says: “One of the most important British saxophonists and composers meets a church organ virtuoso with innovation on the brain and a new way of jazz thinking is born. For their second collaborative album — Rain on the Window – Moody and Surman . . . blend saxophone and clarinet with organ to create a new form of jazz. Unexpected combinations generate a harmony of surprising beauty.”

On June 26th, at 7:30 pm, the award-winning People’s Gospel Choir of Montreal will raise money for the St. James Drop-In Centre in a rousing concert at the church. The choir, directed by Kim Sherwood, won the Vibe Award for the best gospel cd in Canada for its first recording live at St. James and is preparing a second cd in studio. It has performed to great acclaim across Canada and participates frequently in worship at the church.

The Drop-In Centre, located in and founded by but independent of St. James United Church, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. It offers a safe day-time community for people in the downtown city core facing a variety of issues including homelessness. Tickets — $20 per person — will be available at the door.

On Friday June 25th, Saturday June 26th, Wednesday June 30th and Friday July 2nd at 12:30 pm, pianist Jean-Rene Scott will play his own arrangements and compositions on the sanctuary grand piano in a free concert series sponsored by the church’s Open Door program. Scott, who first came to St. James to visit the Drop-In, has played frequently at the church in the last few years to the delight of visitors. Offerings will be accepted.

For information about the Jazz Festival concert call (514) 525-7732. For more information on the other concert, call the church office at (514) 288-9245 or Rob Bull at (514) 483-2343.

Montreal, June 10, 2010 — In a rousing concert, the award-winning People’s Gospel Choir of Montreal will raise money for the St. James Drop-In Centre, Saturday June 26th at 7:30 pm at St. James United Church.

The choir, directed by Kim Sherwood, won the Vibe Award for the best gospel cd in Canada for its first recording live at St. James and is preparing a second cd in studio. It has performed to great acclaim across Canada.

The Drop-In Centre, located in and founded by but independent of St. James United Church, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. It offers a safe day-time community for people in the downtown city core facing a variety of issues including homelessness.

Tickets — $20 per person — will be available at the door.

When: June 26, 2010, 7:30 pm

Where: St. James United Church, 463 Ste-Catherine St. west

For more information, contact Alain Spitzer at the St. James Drop-In Centre at (514) 288-0039 or Rob Bull at (514) 483-2343

The Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities, Yolande James, awarded the ‘Jacques Couture Citizenship Prize 2010 for the Promotion of Intercultural Rapprochement’ to Montreal City Mission at an awards ceremony on May 31st. Ms. James praised the exceptional contribution made by MCM to the development of Quebec.

Montreal City Mission (MCM), celebrating its centennial this year, is a community organization of the United Church of Canada that assists new arrivals in Quebec, in particular refugee claimants. This organization of hospitality and support is very active. In addition to participating in many community working groups, MCM has developed various programs such as Project Refuge, a residence for newly arrived refugees, Camp Cosmos, the Every Kid Choir and Stories Without Borders that bring together children and young adults from different backgrounds, and Just Solutions, a legal information and accompaniment clinic for immigrants and refugees in need of assistance and support to defend their rights and better understand their responsibilities.

Montreal City Mission is proud of the work accomplished over the past century that has helped thousands of immigrants and refugees. These individuals along with their descendants have helped build the Quebec of today.

Montreal City Mission invites all its fellow citizens to the launching of its centennial celebration on June 20th, World Refugee Day. The ceremony will take place at St. James United Church, 463 St. Catherine St. West. Worship service: 11h – 12h; Cocktail on the Square: 12:15 – 13:30; Presentations, premiere of the short film ‘The First Door’ and African Dance/ Music 13:30 – 15:00.

For more information please contact Paula Kline: 514-844-9128 202 or Sylvain Thibault 514-575-8873, info@montrealcitymission.org.