Gather Round

You’ve probably noticed our congregation has made some changes. Unless you’re gathering with us you’ll most likely think the major change is our departure from our building. And, of course, that’s a big one. But the longer we work on figuring out our new identity, the more things we notice that are pretty much NOT about a building at all.

One such transformation began with the pandemic. (We share that with lots of people, for sure.) When we returned after many weeks of being locked out of our space we found our numbers had declined, but we were so happy to be back together that we re-arranged our chairs into a semi circle. Rows with front and back just felt wrong. It wasn’t long before that semi circle evolved into a full circle. We wanted to see those beloved faces, masks and all.

Our sharing time got longer and longer as we talked about ways we were noticing the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our community. We talked about joys and concerns. There were always plenty of both.

As new folks joined us we’d scooch our chairs out and expand the circle. We got to be excellent scoochers. Nobody was left out of our circle.

Our first visit to the Arbor Trails chapel was lovely. We were welcomed into a beautiful comfortable space. Except one thing felt odd: the chairs were arranged in rows with a podium and microphone at one end of the room. We carried on – for that one day. Next time we got there early and arranged the chairs into a circle.

It seems we’ve transformed into a “round church.” We shouldn’t have been surprised. The Temple and the Auditorium are round. As campers we’ve been gathering round the campfire for generations. Our practice of shared leadership works best in a circle, not in a hierarchy. Our demographic of mostly older folks feels normal as the grandparent reading a story to a collection of little ones gathered round.

When we gather in a home the circle fits best. Even in the park or at the Arboretum those chairs shape up in the round. It’s the shape of a community, a community of joy, hope, love and peace.
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Music Excursion

 Hey, guess what? The foyer moved this week. It’s what happens when you’re in “nomad mode.” You can do excursions. And what a great day it was for an excursion!

A few of us went to visit one of our congregation’s most favourite projects. We’ve been sponsoring a program for early childhood music education at the Guelph Youth Music Centre. As longtime supporters of Guelph Children’s Foundation food programs it occurred to us that families that struggle to afford breakfast and meet summer food needs for sure don’t have extra money for music lessons.

Ours is a group with a long musical history, many gifted musicians, singers and instrumentalists from ‘way back. We also have a firm belief that we’re “called according to our gifts.” And we are very much aware of the many, many benefits music brings into the lives of children and of families. All this led to our decision to establish a music bursary to give some of our neighbour families the chance to experience some of those benefits. Families can apply through the Children’s Foundation or directly with the GYMC (Guelph Youth Music Centre).

Sunday we had the opportunity to see a demonstration class with three little ones, their moms and GYMC’s amazing teacher. As one of us said “Carmen is a star!”

What fun we had. And it was such a joy to experience the rhythms, the singing, the dancing, the story telling, the drums and the xylophone. We got to be the beaming grandmas and grandpas receiving smiles and waves and general glee in the room.

We’ve been invited back. If you missed it, you really must try to come. Maybe next time we’ll bring our instruments and play for the children.

If you agree that this is an amazing project we’d love to direct your donations to this Music Program. We’re more committed than ever to continue our support to this community of JOY.

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Prayer Shawl Ministry

 I once heard of a gentleman who wore through his prayer shawl and his daughter had to mend it. I’m not sure just how one wears out a prayer shawl, but apparently this is a true story.

There are lots of prayer shawl stories. You might even call them “testimonies.” It’s one of the things the makers of prayer shawls do: they share testimonies they hear from the recipients of prayer shawls they’ve given away. (We’re careful about privacy so no names here.)

Prayer shawl ministry has been part of our congregation for years now. It all began when Pat was visiting with Barb and they had the idea of making prayer shawls for people who were sick, or sad, or facing some struggle in their life that an actual warm hug just might help. So they found some patterns and started to knit or crochet. Each time they’d work on a shawl, they’d think about a person who might receive it; they might pray or just imagine the warm hug that person needed. It would represent God’s love for them. And that healing spirit was doubled by a special prayer by the group or the congregation.

Pretty soon they set up a Facebook page. You can still find “Prayer-filled Stitches” if you like. More yarn workers joined up. A group of them met in Guelph but others from farther away wanted to join, so they began to meet on Zoom – long before the rest of us found it during the pandemic.

Shawls have been hand delivered by someone in the network, or mailed miles away. Donations began to come in to cover postage. Folks donate yarn or money to purchase it. Our congregation added prayer shawl ministry to our budget to cover any shortfall. This is one ministry we never want to abandon.

Today’s Foyer chat was about the blessing felt by the makers of all those shawls. It never fails; while they’re working to bless someone else they can’t help but feel that warm hug themselves. They’re still meeting every month to share testimonies and build community. One more of those communities of joy, hope, love and peace.

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A reminder from Dorothy:
This holiday season is filled with joy and excitement for us but not for many. So far 1700 families have asked The Children’s Foundation of Guelph Wellington for help to give their children gifts and to buy much needed food for the holiday season. Please help us to raise at least $3000.00 by Dec 1st for Adopt- a -Family. This is the special Christmas fund by The Children’s Foundation of Guelph Wellington. Let’s make this a good Christmas for some families! Make a cheque out to Community of Christ and on the memo line write Adopt-a-Family. Bring your cheque to a worship service or mail to our Financial Officer, Sharon.

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Give Thanks

An eccentric opinion from Dennis's blog: Give Thanks for Bad News

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Climate Change

Dennis reporting:
At our meeting October 1, with the help of Stassi Cramm in a Zoom archive, we made like Jeremiah and took a prophetic look at how we are responding to the climate change emergency. Here are some links.
At the Crossroads: Igniting Faith and Justice in a Time of Change: Stassi Cramm, The Climate Colloquy, September 2024
Community of Christ Climate Emergency Statement Update

We hear bad news and good. Dorothy and I attended the Tuesday afternoon Seniors for Climate Action Now gathering at the City Hall: great speakers and even some great music urging us to be engaged individually and collectively in working for a better future. My showers are down to two minutes, and I shave in cold water. Next step maybe a water heater that uses a heat pump rather than natural gas. We continue to chill the ears of politicians who can't think past the next election. Make a plan and make a difference.

Check back next week. Marion will pass along more talk in The Foyer.

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