News and Views

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The Coming Week

June 29: no gathering in Guelph.

Loaves and Fishes Reunion at Ziontario.
More on the >> Meetings page <<

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The Foyer

Summer
It feels as if it’s really summer!

Oh I know it was officially summer last week sometime, but really this week real summer begins. For example, the first few days of this week were really, really HOT. It’s the end of Pride month with parades and festivals (which are always hot). School is finally finished. Exams are done, over, in the rear-view mirror with fun times ahead. For some it was even a graduation. Next week is Canada Day. Break out the maple leaves and the red t-shirts; get that barbecue ready or whatever food does it for you,

Vacations plans are being finalized. I’ve got grandkids en route for a much anticipated visit as I write this. And another with their plane ticket ready. I’m hearing every day of planned camping trips, an island escape, two weeks with girlfriends.

And some of you are going to reunion! Loaves and Fishes begin this weekend. But if L&F is here, can Healing and Freeing be far behind? Or Erie Beach, or Noronto? Almost all of us have some reunion memory. Some have years of memories just waiting to add some more.

We all look forward to hearing from you on the other side. Go out into your summer, make memories. Be blessed and come back refreshed and ready to share your stories.

(If you have a minute and you’re so inclined you can drop into the Foyer. We’ll be here every week. Probably not too serious or deep subject matter though – after all, it’s SUMMER .)

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Useful Links
Community of Christ World Headquarters
Canada East Mission
Herald House Worship Resources
Daily Bread
Toronto Centre Place
Brian Carwana: ReligionsGeek
Encounter World Religions
World Accord
Children's Foundation of Guelph and Wellington
Hope House
Suzuki Early Childhood Music Classes

The Self-preaching Sermon

I’m not sure I can adequately tell you what I want to tell you this week; but I can’t seem to think of another topic, so I shall try.

We had a very special gathering last Sunday. I have been thinking about it all week. Of course it was fathers day, and that was part of it. We had a room full of children and grandchildren who are part of our extended family, and who were there to honour their father/grandfather. As it happened their “baby brother” was in charge. It was the first time he had agreed to take charge and organize the service. Imagine his feeling as this whole troop of his siblings began filling up the empty seats around the circle.

Now I’ve told you before that our services tend not to be traditional. Our hymn sandwich every Sunday days are behind us. We don’t have a lot of formal “sermons” but every so often, a sermon shows up. Somehow, I think the Holy Spirit just decides to step in. It’s what I have come to think of as a self-preaching sermon.

We were welcomed to our familiar circle by our presider and introduced to the theme for the day—God’s Peace.

We lit the peace candle and had some words about the great need for peace in today’s world. One person couldn’t let the moment end and spoke further about what we, a little group of Christians in a little Ontario town could do to bring peace to our big troubled world. He spoke about the need to step up, to speak up, to do the things we know we can do. Another took up the thread and reminded us that real Christians cannot let the distorted idea of Jesus become the prevalent story. Jesus is about Peace and about looking after the suffering and we need to also be about making peace and ending suffering.

Remember that big circle of children and grandchildren? They began to share too. The sermon grew and evolved. We agree that we cannot remain silent when words spoken in our presence distort Jesus‘ message, or actions do not care for the marginalized and the suffering. We need to speak and act for Jesus.

One of the daughters told of her work place, an extended care home, where every day she watches as caring people take care of their charges. Others shared similar stories. It is good to know that these peacemakers bring compassion and concern where it is needed. We can pray for this army of caretakers and caregivers at work everywhere there is suffering. We can send them resources, or support, or prayers wherever they are working.

Brother in charge then read the scripture he had chosen, which summed up the sermon perfectly, the sermon the circle had preached to itself. I’ve got to think his prayerful preparation helped make it possible. I know I’ve been thinking about it all week. Now we don’t always have this kind of service, but every so often the Holy Spirit steps in with such a sermon.

The offering for the day was dedicated to World Accord and the jar was filled to overflowing. One small thing we can do to bring peace to the world.

Summer Plans

Our leadership team met this week to nail down our summer plans. It has become our habit (we’ve had exactly one summer of experience) to give ourselves a long rest and time to recover and build up energy for a serious season of business ahead. Here’s what to expect:

We launched our summer season with a picnic in the Marden pavilion. Our Fathers Day gathering will be inside our Marden room and next week we meet at Sharon’s house to reflect, discuss, review the whole World Conference experience. Sharon, as our official delegate, will host and lead the conversation.
Then our schedule loosens up considerably. Some of us will be attending reunions; some will be enjoying home and family, and gardens and company. There are community festivals, and day trips. Some will be preparing for surgery or recovering from treatments or illnesses. Some will be welcoming new grandbabies. Of course there are always soccer games and tournaments.

We have a Summer Communion gathering planned at our Marden room at the end of July. And we expect to get together, some of us, for midweek discussions. We are determined not to lose track of each other. Our regular weekly e-mails and Foyer conversations will continue so you all can follow our meanderings through the warm days of summer.

We’ll get together at the Rowe farm in August for some socializing and rejoin for regular congregation gatherings in September. Communion service to start our fall season is on September 7.

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Watching World Conference

I’ve been watching for you. Eyes peeled to see familiar faces in the crowds. Lots of opportunities as had been promised. I know some of you are also watching from home or some of those remote sites. We’ll have so many notes to compare when we get back together.

I’ve got lots of ideas for Foyer conversations. Look for them in future posts. But for now I’ll just let them pile up because you can’t decide too soon what it all means. So many images, prophecies and poetry. Some of them even expressed in words.

I don’t ever remember a World Conference with so many personnel changes at once. Do you? We are indeed in for a new future. Are you ready?

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World Conference

This week the church is gathering for World Conference. And we are part of that gathering. Just like in every other area this is a first for our little group, so we’re trying out new or different ways to participate in a gathering church.

Of course, we’re not the only ones trying out different ways to be a global church meeting in conference. Some of us will be delegates in remote locations linked by the internet. Some will observe from those remote sites and enjoy a new kind of fellowship. This remote site is one of a few in different parts of the world. Travel restrictions, cost, distance, technology, disabilities, even fear and uncertainty all enter into individual decisions how to participate and our little group is very, very grateful that our global church has worked so hard to make those decisions possible.

Our wee group of nomadic church people have talked most about finding our way as a congregation in this community where we find our selves planted. But our conversations don’t end there. We regularly talk about our place in a world wide church. We feel so enriched by the opportunities we have to learn about, and from brothers and sisters in other countries. We appreciate the stories shared by our apostle; we love meeting travelers who have come our way to share with us. We look forward to the speeches and presentations that are central to the conferring process. We know that there are other ways to look at almost any question, many that we haven’t though about.

We have learned that our faith journey is indeed just that—a journey. And that what we think today may be different next year, or even next week. We are grateful to be associated with a church without borders and we pledge to play our part is figuring out how to make it work. This week, and next, that will be our focus. We’ll see you at World Conference, one way or another.

Discussions

Every Tuesday morning, if we possibly can, a small group of us gets together for a focused discussion. I’ve mentioned this before but it’s awhile since I talked about it. So here I go with the impossible task of squeezing a ninety minute conversation into three or four hundred words.

We took a little different tack this week. To give us some direction we listened to a segment from CBC’s “The Current” about birdwatching! Now you might not imagine how we could then spend an hour in a useful conversation about birding, but we did.

The science writer whose life experience led him to take up the new interest in birding spoke of the radical change, of finding what makes him whole –an experience of joy and wonder. His pandemic time of greater isolation, of anxiety over friends and family’s difficulties with mental health, his own feelings of angst and emptiness completely, radically changed with the discovery of birding. He recognized in himself what he called “a search for meaning in the midst of the chaos.”

We found ourselves reminded of conversations we’ve had before. The importance of nature in a complete life. The sacredness of creation and our responsibility to protect and defend the world around us. We spoke of our tendency to be overwhelmed by the world’s problems and the futility of “fixing” everything that needs attention. We acknowledge that our time cannot stay with need and brokenness but must be balanced with intentional seeking experiences of joy and wonder.

Birding is one possibility, but not the only one. We talked about our experience with gardening, or insects, or bees or fish or frogs or rocks. Taking time to be in the natural world is essential to living a whole life. Walking or sitting out side with eyes open to the expansive life that comes with truly experiencing nature.

There you have it. Not everything we talked about, but a taste of how we spend our Tuesday mornings.
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I've Got A Cold

This means that I’m “shut in” for the time being. So I don’t have a nice, inspiring little story about our group; what we’re doing, where we’re gathering, what wonderful plans we’re making for summer. I hope to have some of this good news to share soon.

But for now, I’m living in the whole world. What a world! It comes into my living room via too much news! Just this morning I’m involved in a new war in India and Pakistan. How many strikes, How many deaths. Yesterday, all day, I considered what would happen when our prime minister entered that famous oval office to sit on those famous yellow chairs. As I’m writing this the slow procession of cardinals is walking under that amazing ceiling to select the next pope. They’re about to lock the doors and we’ll wait for white smoke.

I’m aware of many more world conflicts, many tragedies, catastrophes as news stories compete for my attention via countless news sources. I have to choose.

My choices have to include not to be engaged at all. Not to worry about what I cannot influence in any way. Not to notice what new threat has appeared in some distant time zone since I last looked. Not to notice what red tape has been cut, or what environmental regulation is set to be ignored, whose care will be next to sacrificed in the name of necessary development.

I can choose to look in another direction. I can follow the hockey season, nearing its end. Or I can keep one eye on the rising popularity of women in sports as new soccer, basketball and hockey. Surely a positive trend?

So what is my point as I sit here with my Kleenex in one hand and my remote in the other? Every life is shaped by a series of such choices. An infinite number of such choices we make every hour of every day. Of course, even the choice not to choose is to choose. How do I make those choices “responsible” ones? One of our enduring principles is to make responsible choices. Where I sit today, with my cold, brings this value close to me. Perhaps too close.

I’m reminded of that principle of the conflict between the circle of concern and the circle of influence. Balancing those circles is important. Choosing to look away to protect my own mental health is also important. Because I need to preserve the energy to tend to the needs where I have the ability to help. One day this cold will subside and I’ll turn off the world that could paralyze me into inactivity if I’m not careful.

Join me in making the responsible choice to do what I can, where I am.
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