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This Week

Sunday October 5, Communion at Marden

Tuesday October 7, Discussion at Wares'

For future plans see the >> Meetings << page.

Some >> Useful Links << here

The Foyer

Let us sing…

Do you have a favourite hymn? How about your congregation? Are there hymns you love to sing together? Are there hymns that have a habit of reappearing on your order of worship?

We’re a group that loves to sing. Lately we’ve been taking particular notice of our hymns, what they say, how their melodies speak to us. It’s not unusual for someone to ask for a hymn to be repeated, or to ask if we could please sing the hymn just used as a prelude piece.

Last week we discovered an old familiar hymn printed in our current hymnal with new words! It surprised some of us who had thought we could sing this particular hymn without looking at the words. But no. They were new words.

This launched the conversation in our Tuesday group. What was the origin of this hymn? Was it one of “ours” and how did these new words come about? We learned from Jane Gardner’s article in the Herald that the practice of “correcting” hymns began at the very beginning of our church’s history. WW Phelps was assigned to correct Emma Smith’s collection. In discussing our experience with the various editions of the church’s hymnals we recalled many examples of familiar songs being changed, updated or discarded altogether when their words no longer fit the current theology or identity.

We’ve come to pay particular attention to the lyrics of our hymns, both the new ones and the old familiar ones. Very often the words of one our hymns provide the main message for the day. As we launched our new season Hymn 237 formed the foundation prayer. With the words of God Renew Us By Your Spirit we prayed for renewed energy, revitalized dedication to our mission and a sense of joy and celebration to share with all we meet. I find myself returning to the words of this hymn as I plan activities and worship for the months ahead.

Oh, in case you’re wondering, the hymn whose words changed was #127, We Gather Together (in Hymns of the Saints it was #11) in case you’d like to look it up. It’s a traditional Dutch hymn translated by Theodore Baker and “corrected” by Ruth Duck.

--MS

Advice for Tomorrow

Our Tuesday discussion group has roamed far and wide, but the last couple of weeks mostly circled around the theme of “prayer.” As I’ve reflected on our conversations I’ve also noticed that we also explored the idea of how important it is to us, as a group, to have these discussions. We’ve considered how much we’ve learned from each other over the years. We’ve appreciated the deepening relationships that come our of the experience.

I really don’t have a final conclusion to an idea that I can tie a ribbon on and offer up as a “lesson for the day.” But I did find a poem I wrote many years ago that feels somehow connected to last Tuesday’s discussion. Here it is:

Advice for tomorrow

Know that what you seek
will not be what you will find;
what you learn will not be
what you’ve been taught;
what I might tell will not be
what you will hear.

But do not stop seeking
or listening or learning,
because there will always be
more to it than you first imagined
if you are willing to let it grow.

Today’s knowledge is
tomorrow’s mystery
and tomorrow’s mystery
may turn to wisdom
or understanding
or joy.

Today’s pain may turn to courage
or insight or compassion.

Whatever happens
don’t stop living
until you die.

Marion Smith

Unity In Diversity

Our discussion group this week focused on “prayer.” It was not a “prayer service” per se but a discussion about how we thought, or believed or practiced prayer. We considered the place of prayer in our congregation; we looked at differences and similarities in the various attitudes we were willing to own around how our group prays. So interesting!

Our conversation roved far and wide. We talked about sacraments, invocations and benedictions, our practice of praying for friends and family, even the blessing of food at potlucks and picnics. We learned that some of us “pray” the hymns we sing. Some of us “check out” when prayer is offered because we think we don’t share understanding of “what prayer is supposed to do for us.”

Which comes to the point of this blog. How do we know what we understand if we never talk about it? How did we learn about prayer if we’ve never told each other what we think? So our discussion moved into our practice of prayer as children. We spoke of bedtime prayers and table blessings. Do some of us feel that food that hasn’t been “blessed” is less holy or less nutritious or really shouldn’t be eaten without an official “table grace”?

How has our understanding of prayer evolved? How does it evolve without intention? What do we do with this difference? Do we use different language in our public prayer? Do we judge people who pray differently, who pray “wrong”?

One of the valued gifts of our congregation is that of prayer shawl ministry. It is a regular occurrence for us to bless one or more prayer shawls that various members have made as a blessing for those with specific needs. We think of these handcrafted shawls as a warm hug for someone who needs one, whether because of ill health, or loneliness or grief. And we add our congregation’s prayer to those who made them.

Someone might ask just what happens when we pray this blessing. Is it magic? Must we lay our hands on the shawl, or is a virtual touch enough? Is the whole idea a “placebo?” How do we explain the testimonies of “success”?

This really just scratches the surface of our conversation. (We’ll probably talk some more in future.) One of MY main learnings from Tuesday’s discussion is up there in the title. As we talk about our theology we realize that we’re all on a journey and that we mostly take different routes. And yet we also know just how much we value and care for each person in our group. No matter what they believe! In fact we may value their “difference” more than we imagined. And we didn’t know that until we talked about it.

Who knew it was even possible to think of God as a mother until someone addressed their invocation to “Mother God”? Maybe this new thought began a significant moment in my faith journey.

But this might require a further conversation in a congregation like ours. I am so thankful that this is part of our identity. We’ll love you if your ideas are different but we hope you’ll be willing to talk about the difference because it’s those conversations that tie us together.

Gather Us In

Our leadership team met this Tuesday to begin planning for the new season. We’ve had a summer to rest and recharge and now it’s time for us to get back to work. Ten of us gathered to remind ourselves of where we are, how is our budget doing, how have our circumstances changed while we’ve been apart and what do we want to do next.

I’m thinking of last week’s foyer conversation about prophetic people, shared leadership, the need for dialogue and decision-making as we pick up the things we must do if we are to fulfill our mission to represent Community of Christ in this community.

Our identity has two parts: we need to look outward and feel the needs of our neighbours, and the need to gather together to support and strengthen each other.

How good it felt to be together again. To complete the circle and hear the updates each one had to share. The good news of new grandchild, the thank you note from the excited new camper, the report of the various new adventures of various extended family knitted us together. But also the health challenges, the hospital experiences, the sports injuries and the car accident also belong to us all and we are glad to be part of each other.

So here we are at the beginning of September, not exactly “back to school” but back to the familiar routine of gathering as a community, a reborn congregation. We’re in our familiar spaces surrounded by familiar faces and grateful for our shared mission, in our president’s words “to live as citizens of God’s diverse, Spirit-driven community—not for the sake of the church alone but to help restore the world to God’s vision of shalom.”

If you’ve been missing our gatherings, by all means consider this your invitation to come back. Watch for weekly updates of where we’ll be and come along. You’re welcome to join our circle; in fact, we’ve got a place just for you.

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Rebirth

This week our Tuesday discussion group looked at President Stassi Cramm’s opening letter in the latest edition of the Herald. She spoke about the world conference experience and about how the church is set to be reborn, set up to begin a new era with energy and hope. It felt very much like a reflection of what our small group has been experiencing in the past year, and more.

Her reflections on the conference and on the gathered community rang true for us. “We don’t feel like a church that is dying, but one that is being reborn.” As we sold our building and moved into the neigbourhood we fielded many such comments about our future. Friends commiserated and offered sympathy for what they believed must be our sadness. But we weren’t sad. We felt only hope and possibility as we moved into the unknown. And now we hear those feelings echoed in this letter from our new prophet-president.

She speaks of a need to live inside the surrounding culture, to exemplify what it means to live our enduring principles, not just affirm or preach them. To signal how compassion and sharing and advocating for justice can change us all.

References to a new way of operating felt encouraging too. Leadership must be shared. Our decisions come from dialogue, of consensus building, of trying out new ideas and projects that change our extended community for the better.

Resolutions emerging from World Conference were different. They didn’t give instructions on “what to do” but should be seen as “beacons, guiding our path” and calling us all to find that prophetic voice in ourselves. The call to live as “a prophetic, collaborative people.”

Next week we will pick up the traces and get busy on our new season. Our leadership team, which really represents the whole group will work on plans for the rest of the year. Our budget will be modified to add things we want to do. And our gatherings will get plugged into the calendar. Hopefully we can live up to the guidelines Stassi offered: living as possibility people, imagining new and hopeful futures, with the momentum to respond to the Pentecost experience.

Not because we are better than the community that surrounds us but that we are part of that community. We all have access to that Spirit if we are open to it. And as prophetic people we choose to show the way.

Back to School

It seems that everyone is obsessing with going back to school. Even those of us who left school decades ago. It’s in the air. Stores are filled with ”bts” shoppers. Traffic patterns are changing as people leave work early to get to those malls before closing. (Do they ever really close?) And woe to those of us who forget and get caught on our trips out to the doctor or other normal appointments. Must remember to avoid every route around this “move in weekend” at the university!

All this to say that it seems there’s nobody chatting in the Foyer this week! Nothing to say. Must be all the distractions of end-of-summer, back-to-school time. Sorry folks. Maybe next week.

Good luck!

Laugh and play and sing

We had our church picnic at the farm last Sunday. We missed you. It was great! The rain overnight meant that the humidity had broken and the sun was not so hot. Plenty of shade and big fluffy clouds made it the perfect day for a picnic. What a time we had!

Cheryl and Gladys won the mother/daughter three- legged race. Though Jennifer and Diana and Marion and Barbara were close behind. Ed easily took the sack race. Must be his farming background. And Dennis was the clear canon-ball champ. Dorothy stayed on the stilts for the longest time while Diana caught the most caterpillars. Who did I miss?

The food was perfect for all our crazy gluten-free, vegan, no sugar needs but there was also plenty of everybody’s favourite picnic food. And the rain clouds went around us while we visited in a cozy circle for a couple of hours. Thanks to Jennifer and Jacob and Danny for the wonderful hospitality.

Last week we talked about the very serious team that gets serious things done. But this week we remembered that any team also needs to take the time to have fun. And fun we had. We try never to forget to “Be faithful to the spirit of the Restoration, mindful that it is a spirit of adventure, openness, and searching. Walk proudly and with a quickened step. Be a joyful people. Laugh and play and sing, embodying the hope and freedom of the gospel.” D&C 161:1.

We’ll do this again. We hope you can make it next time.

Where Do Ideas Come From?

I happened to catch a Massey lecture about Ursula Frankin (an amazing Canadian; look her up) that gave me an idea for this week’s Foyer posting. Where do our ideas come from? We’ve had many new ideas in the last year, and the years leading up to our reinvention of our congregation. People have asked this very question. Where do you get your ideas?

Ursula was clearly a genius who worked across a number of fields – physics, pacificism, journalism, feminism, education. So she had lots of ideas and even wrote some about where she got her ideas. He response reminded me of our little group, particularly our leadership team.

One critical element was conversation. She advocated for lots of discussion among people with varying perspectives; then go deep to find the kernels you haven’t noticed before and elaborate. We do this all the time. If you follow us here you must have noticed that this is key to our new identity.

The next thing she spoke of was also interesting. She called her Quaker faith with its emphasis on silent worship vital to her MO. We need this regular practice of sitting in silence, waiting upon God, as important. It creates space for ideas to come. She didn’t wait “for” God to give her ideas, but of creating space to let the ideas in.

Our leadership team is great at ideas. We could sit around and come up with ideas all day long. It took us some time to discover a couple of other key components. We’re lucky to have these as well. But ideas alone don’t do it. An idea is not enough.

We’ve got an encourager; someone who routinely reacts to our ideas with a “Great idea! You guys are amazing! Yes, yes, we should do it! How can I help?”

Now you would think that should be enough. But it isn’t and it wasn’t for a very long time. Because we didn’t have enough “do-ers.” We had willing workers, helpers. But our idea people were already lining up a new set of ideas that would be fun or interesting. And our encourager would love them all.

Finally the one we needed arrived and went to work. When the encourager said, Yes, great idea, and the followers lined up to help, the Do-er stepped up with the right questions to form a real plan; the budget issues and questions got dealt with and the idea people moved from one more good idea to “Give me job and let’s begin.”

It took us all to move us all. “Do-er” readily admits they don’t know where the ideas come from. “Encourager” will always support and encourage everyone (I suspect even a bad idea, but of course we’ve never had one of those.) We have willing helpers, and if we don’t have enough of them, “do-er” will figure out how to get the job done with the resources we have.

So there is the secret sauce for how to reinvent your congregation. Put the right people on your leadership team and let them get to work doing what they do best.
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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

Remember

This is an important word for us as Christians, as members of the community. At our recent communion we remembered the last supper; we repeated the prayer words “that we might always remember Him, that we might always have His spirit to be with [us].” We recall the story where Jesus said “Do this in remembrance of me.”

We recently spent a discussion hour thinking about “Remember the Sabbath day” and instruction to “keep it holy.”

I’m using lots more quotation marks than usual today. Because there are plenty of phrases we use exactly the same, every time, word for word to ensure we “remember” their significance. The communion prayer, the baptism statement, the essential sentence in the marriage ceremony. Some are unique to our denomination, some we share with other Christians.

Other Christians use other remembering tools: crucifixes, rosaries, head covering, forms and numbers of sacraments. But essentially their function is the same. They help us remember who we are, whose we are. They are all for us to internalize our identity as followers of Jesus. And the variations have developed over the centuries to nail that identity firm and fast.

Why then are Christians so quick to criticize the very same, very human tendency to create words, and rituals and symbols of other faith groups to do the same thing? So many practices that we ought to easily recognize are often the very things we object to.

We make rules, even laws, against wearing veils, turbans, religious symbols. We regard things like mezuzahs, prayer beads, karas, and kipahs with suspicion. We judge people who observe Fridays or Saturdays as special.

I once had a conversation with a dear friend, a priesthood member, who was very critical of people who use a rosary as a prayer aid. He could not believe the repetition of memorized words could ever be considered “real prayer.” He actually called it a “pretense of prayer.” And yet more that half the world’s religions remember who they are when they run their prayer beads through their hands, and familiar words through their minds. Who am I to deny that?

That turban-wearing bus driver doesn’t expect anything of you at all. That elderly woman on the park bench quietly saying her rosary to herself isn’t expecting any change in your behavior. That girl in a head cover playing soccer doesn’t’ deserve the jeers from the Christian dad on the sidelines. They are all just remembering who they are. Just like we are when promise to “always remember him and keep his commandments.,,,” Commandments like “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

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Scripture

Last Sunday we met for our “summer communion” service. Circumstances put us outdoors, in a picnic shelter. It was hot, but we were shaded and it was lovely to be together and surrounded by nature, by sacred creation..

Our presider was well-prepared and we experienced the tradition of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper and a familiar exploration of the scriptures. We’d been apart for a few weeks, as you know, and it was good to remember these important bits of our identity.

Of course, our conversation continued on Tuesday when our discussion group met. It was a good reminder of just how scripture has helped shape us as a group, as a congregation. It’s another area where we have been intentional about reinventing ourselves. We agreed with Affirmation One ( you can find it here Sharing in Community of Christ) that our first allegiance is to Jesus as the one to whom scripture points. But we have also found reason to agree with Affirmation Five, that scripture is “vital and essential to the church.” Not as a law book or code of conduct, but as a trustworthy anchor that nurtures a life of discipleship.

We don’t do lectionary sermons much in our little group but we try to remember to return regularly to scripture and we have often found in those “ancient words of scripture “ something revelatory for our time and place, something new, not seen or heard before.

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History

 

We were a small group at Discussion time this week, but that doesn’t mean we don’t talk about big subjects. This week it was History.

What is history? When does it start? When does it end? Does it end, really, ever? Why all of us participating in the conversation were alive for the entire Volume III of the latest version of official church “history.” Does our story count as history or is it just memories that may or may not be recorded anywhere? When do we pick up the thread of history and just add more story? And how will our memories become part of the history if we don’t share the story? So many questions.

While I was thinking about all this (Note; the discussion never ends when we walk out the door.) I remembered a bit of recent history. something that possibly I am the only one who remembers.

Some years ago I was part of the Mission Centre staff and we were dealing with the need to reorganize the various reunions. Volunteer help and resources had begun to dwindle and it just wasn’t practical or even possible to operate three big traditional family camps for the three former districts that used the Ziontario property. This was going to be a big change and there was going to be pushback.

Two of us (one other who may remember this too) were on one of those long car rides together. We did a lot of important work on those rides. This one, I think, qualifies as “historic.” For miles and miles we imagined and envisioned what it would be like if we stopped calling the reunions by the geographic names and instead created two events with different characteristics. They would still be true to the nature of reunion but they would emphasize different things.

One would be most like the camps we knew and knew how to plan and support. Lots of families with lots of kids and schedules full of familiar activities like worship and classes and volleyball and canteen and campfires and visiting around the trailers and under the trees. Many people wanted this kind of camp and they came to be fed, like to crowds who came to Jesus.

The other one would also feed the people who came. But this reunion would fucus more on the individual, the tired or traumatized or the burned out, the ones most interested in reflection, meditation, spiritual renewal. Oh there would still be support with sympathetic ministry and fun, but the campfires and morning meditations might have a quieter tone, might even be completely silent, except for the sounds of nature.

People would choose according to their needs. Some might do both or alternate years. But their choices would reflect something other than their geography.

The names of the two events came out of the scripture rather than off the map. And “Loaves and Fishes” and “Healing and Freeing the Spirit” were born. Driving down the road unwinding the story of history.

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It's Too Hot

...to do most anything. “Forty” is NOT a word I want to hear in a weather forecast.

Oh well. No deep thinking today folks. I’m sitting in the shade on my deck. I’ll take you for a slow walk around. This is what I’m seeing from my lovely wicker rocker:

I share this space with my houseplants, brought outside to enjoy the summer air and light. The Christmas cactus is thriving. It may have doubled in size. All my spider plants are happily producing babies. And the snake plant actually has THREE flower stalks growing amidst those hard green leaves that I faithfully ignored and withheld water for three months last winter (the secret to getting them to bloom I’ve read).

One step down is my salad garden with lettuces, parsley, kale, dill, cucumbers, thyme and oregano. Blooms and aromas abound in this mostly shady spot.

The birdbath garden is a busy place. Squirrels, chipmunks come to drink along with all the birds. The birds don’t care. As long as there’s space and time and fresh water for their them. Robins keep the shasta daisies watered with all their splashing, and I must get up from time to time to keep the bath refilled.

Zinnias, petunias, salvia, coleus, day lilies, snap dragons and various unnamed annuals collected from the end-of-season-will-you-give-us-a-home tables at the nurseries, the garden centres, the grocery stores all blooming happily and not minding the heat at all.

Off to my right is another aromantic corner. There’s a pot of basil and a beautiful happy lovage that I must keep pruned or it would be six feet tall. (I did let it go one season just to see: six feet is where I drew the line.) So all this pruning releases its lovely celery aroma, alongside the lemon balm that happily shares its bed.

There’s raspberry patch just there, beside the garden steps. Not a good spot for it as it doesn’t really get enough sun and it’s hard to reach. But never mind, The chipmunks love to climb up the canes and harvest the garden candy it produces for them. And on the other side of the step is the prickly pear garden. This plant followed us from another house to this little hillside where it is so happy it makes copious new paddles and has decided to reward us with blooms! So we keep it and avoid touching any part of that garden. It can inject its nasty little prickles even inside what felt like the most impermeable glove. But leave it alone and it will do amazing things. (Prickly pear is a cactus that is, in fact, native in this part of Ontario, so we prize and protect it.)
Maybe another day I’ll walk you on up the steps to the tomatoes and vegetable garden. But not today. It’s too hot.

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Can I Get A Witness?

This is an idea I’ve been playing around with for a long time. Years, even. If you’ve been following me you might have seen some of my musings about it. (Do you have these questions that keep coming back and demanding you chew on them some more? I do.)

When I was growing up in the church we had things called “witnessing weekends.” The basic concept, as I recall, was that a group from one congregation would visit another congregation and team up to make several visits to potential new members or folks we were trying to “bring back to church”? Is that what you remember? I don’t know if it ever worked.

It seems that the key concept upon which real “success” depended was the the ability to WITNESS. I wasn’t much of a witness. How did you do? I’m not sure I even knew what it meant. How do you learn to witness? Do you remember having witnessing classes? We would import some fab witnesses from time to time. Really exciting preachers; story-tellers to be more accurate. You likely remember some names. Impossible standards! I’ll never be that kind of witness. I’m a failure before I even begin.

I lived with that notion for decades. Then I had a new idea. I realized that as I went out into the community I often saw examples of the Holy Spirit at work in the world! When I looked for the helpers during times of trouble or tragedy, I had no problem at all finding them. Where there were folks in need I found all kinds of people already working to make things better for them. They were almost always more than willing to let me help!

One thing that got more obvious, the more I looked, was that we could head off some of those problems-in-the-making if we did something to keep it from happening. So we got busy feeding breakfast to kids who came to school hungry. Same principle with our music grants. Kids with music in their lives do better, have fewer of those life problems to be fixed.

Now one thing that is essential to MY idea is the need to be out and about. We need to go where the people are. And we need to be noticing that Holy Spirit at work in the world. We need to be actively witnessing where it is happening, or where it could be or where it should be happening. Can I be this kind of WITNESS? You bet!

Now, what about a new kind of witnessing weekend?

When we come back together after a nice relaxing summer camping or traveling or visiting we’ll have had plenty of time and places to Witness. We’ll be so excited to tell each other what we’ve observed. It will be so easy to share this kind of story. We’ll be full of ideas about ways we can help. We may have met new people already engaged in projects just waiting for us to join in. We’ll be excited to introduce our new friends and lobby for the ways we want to help next.

What do you think?

That’s where my mind has been this summer season. Now, can I get a witness?
.

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Conversation

We were a small group this week. But we were operating on the “where two or three are gathered” principle. So our discussion group met as usual on Tuesday morning. Without a specific topic we talked about “conversation.”

I confess the discussion touched several subjects and took lots of detours, but on reflection I’ve decided that the main point we made was the importance of conversation! It’s how we establish and maintain relationships. Conversation is how our understanding evolves and grows. True conversation is more than just talking. It has long periods of listening.

We try to keep our conversations generous. Not every thought is fully developed and ready to share. But there is grace in our sharing. We’ll help with the word that escapes and wait for a point to clarify. We definitely do not just wait for a turn to speak and we’re patient as we listen to the same point we’ve heard last week or something that’s coming round yet again – a favourite theme. Because sometimes we notice a slight change, a new emphasis, some nuance that wasn’t there before.

Conversation can be the way we change our minds. It’s definitely part of the identity of our little congregation. It’s how we’re reinventing ourselves. I guess you might say that the chats we have in the Foyer play a serious and important role in who we are. And when we miss our regular times to get together and just talk, we miss something critical to who we are.

I’m looking forward to hearing from those who are at reunion this week. And at least part of the reason is that you’ve had the opportunity for lots of conversations, chats under the trees or around the dining tables. I’ll be listening for ways you’ve changed or things you’ve learned from your conversations.

We’ll have lots to talk about when we meet again.

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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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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Lessons From The Seasons

Finally the good weather is starting to show up. Our group is feeling the pull in many directions. There are end of season recitals, start of season soccer games, family visits that didn’t happen in winter weather, the call of the open road…

Last Sunday a few of us went to a local nursery. Oh the pansies! Forty varieties of day lilly! Lavender and sage and racks and racks of seeds! It was wonderful. We sat by the fountain and listened to the spring sounds. We thought about the sacredness of creation. We meditated on all the lessons of the peace lily. We imagined future garden projects. We looked forward to even warmer days and more sunshine.

The plaque on the fountain invited us to “learn the lessons the season can teach us.” I’ve thought about this in the days since Sunday. Our planning group also met this week to work on our calendar for the next quarter. Where? What? When? Who? Oh the questions were flying about. Some had answers; some didn’t. But that’s OK. I was reminded to think about the lessons we’ve learned in the year we’ve come through. Some of those lessons learned from the seasons.

Everybody brings what they can. It takes us all to do the work. But not all at once. Some things won’t get done. Or, plans will change when one (or more) of those “W questions” don’t work out. We won’t fall apart if plans change. We need to stay in touch with each other and not be apart for too long. But if we need to take a trip, or a day off, or just need to say “No” it doesn’t mean forever. We’ll be back when the sun shines.

We have much to celebrate and we’re putting celebrations into our calendar. We’ll also allow time for rest. So there will be spaces but we’ll try to keep communication lines open. Drop into the Foyer for news any time.

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How To Be Resurrection People

8 Mitchell Street long ago

8 Mitchell Street a year ago

8 Mitchell Street now

It’s been a year since we walked away from our church building on Mitchell street. Some of us went kicking and screaming. Oh not literally, but certainly it was really, really hard. None of us made the move easily. It is hard to face death. And any way you look at it, we were facing a death.

Our congregation had met for generations in that building. It was a big part of the identity for children who had grown up there. They gathered on Sundays got married there, brought their children to be blessed and grew old with their families around them. Many of us could look back at memories like this. As with any life nearing its end, we focused on those happy memories and we hung on to life as we’d known it forever.

But it was time to let it go. It was not what it had been. And we spent far too long clinging to what had been. It was time to imagine ourselves into a new future. It was time for a new life with new energy and new vision. It was time to become Resurrection people.


We’d been listening to sermons about the Easter event, the resurrection of Jesus for all those generations. It was time to take the message to heart. To test our belief. To see what it really means to lay down that old life, take up our cross and pass through the experience of death and move on.

This week, they knocked down our old building. While there was some sadness, it’s not the sadness that marks our identity this Easter week. Because we have been resurrected to new life. We’re almost a year into our new being. We’ve had fun imagining ideas like buying a bus and painting a sign “Nomads for Jesus” on the side as we drive around to pick up members wherever they live, chatting and singing along our route to drop them off again.

We never did that though it’s still a possibility. Anything is possible to this group watching for ways to be real in and for this neigbourhood. Our eyes are fixed firmly on the future and what we can do to make it the best it can be for our neighbours. After all, and finally, we are Resurrection people!

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Being In Community

You’ve no doubt heard the illustration of the people in a mad rush to pull babies out of the river. They call others to come, set up rescue chains and look for more resources to help with their urgent task. Until some one, eventually, realizes the need to go upstream to stop whoever is throwing babies in the river!

Last Sunday we had a guest. Karyn Kirkwood, the executive director of the Children’s Foundation of Guelph Wellington came to share some of her experiences with the various programs and projects benefiting the children of our community. She spoke about little children who come early to school for breakfast they don’t have at home. She told of school principals who tell her that it’s the breakfast program that KEEPs many youth coming to school who would otherwise have quit! She shared lots about Adopt a Family and the summer camping benefits. She reminded us of those inevitable questions “What did you do for summer vacation?” or “What did Santa bring?” Hundreds of children who didn’t used to, now have answers to share.

She came to thank us for our fourteen years and thousands of dollars of support for these and various food programs, but expanding through the years to include others. One important thing we learned was the number of other groups, organizations and partners collaborating with them. We are certainly not alone in our belief in the importance of investing in the children of the community. Remember? Look for the helpers when there’s a BIG task to be done. We are grateful to live in a community with so many helpers!

We are grateful for all these people who have made it their business to keep those babies out of the river. And we count it as part of our mission to pursue peace to be involved with this great organization and all the staff and volunteers. Do look to the list of links at the bottom of the page to learn more about them—our partners for more than fourteen years.

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Stepping Up

Energy levels ebb and flow. When we feel a bit low someone else in the group will step up. This week was one of those times.

Thanks to all the step uppers…the steppers up…the up steppers.

That’s how it works in community.

Thanks to all those who stepped up.

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Day Off

I recall driving to church on Sunday mornings in my childhood. We’d go past many fields where our neigbhours were out in their fields, ploughing or cultivating, even harvesting. I would always feel sad (or lucky) that they had to work while our family got the day off to go to church.

Even in times when the rest of the week we were hurrying to complete whatever task the season called for, my dad always said “There will be time.” And as far as I can remember, there always was.

Now that I’m retired and every day is a “day off” I still feel something missing if I don’t have that time to be heading down the road to church. This week we were contending with ice, so we wisely avoided the road. And we don’t feel the least bit guilty. We’re not so foolish to believe that the mere act of getting to church is some kind of rule or commandment to be obeyed.

But there is something about being together, about the chance for mindfulness about the values that unite us, even the notion that “where two or three are gathered” the feeling of Jesus in our midst is there.

If someone needs to miss this gathering time for extended periods there is real joy when they return. We hope never to shame those who’ve missed meeting, only real rejoicing when we see them again. We try to make this one essential characteristic of our little group. If you ever want to drop in, know you’ll be welcomed with love as we scooch over to make room for you in our circle.

Sacrifice

Our conversation about Lent continued this week. This is really just one small piece of a much longer discussion. A question arose about “sacrifice” – what is it? Is it necessary? How does it relate to our lives?

One thought was that if we’re living our lives every day making smart choices, not wasting, taking care of the earth by not buying too much might “look like” a life of sacrifice but it really isn’t.

This reminds me of an essay I read recently by one of my favourite authors, Ann Patchett: My Year of No Shopping. Challenged by a friend Ann decided to not buy anything for a year. Oh not necessaries like groceries and shampoo. But all that other stuff she was buying just because she likes things like a new sweater, some perfume, a snazzy purse or even an extra kettle (because who knew they even made red kettles?)

It didn’t take her very long to notice that she had lots more time. And that there was more money in her last year’s purse. But what surprised her was her emerging sense of people who had much less. It was as if the “extra space in her brain made room for the poor.” Her friend too had continued the practice of not shopping and discovered that “Our capacity to give is huge.” Patchett discovered in the end “I still have plenty. I know there’s a big difference between not buying things and not being able to buy things. Not shopping for a year hardly makes me one with the poor but it’s put me on a path of figuring ot what I can do to help.”

I compared this way of thinking to what happened to us as we gave up our church building and approach Lent this year a little like a group who’ve become “homeless.” Like Ann we’re by no means anywhere near the real homeless, but we’ve become more aware of what it means to truly be without things we might have taken for granted before. And all the things we truly didn't need. Our capacity to help grew larger, but more important our desire to help expanded.

That’s where my Lenten meditation leads me today.

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A Word About Worship

I recently read a post suggesting that worship in smaller congregations might be challenging because those who had the task of “planning, presiding and preaching” were probably older and thus would have less energy and capacity for connecting with community. The writer went on to offer a perfectly viable option for such groups.

I’d like to tell you what our group did when we faced this dilemma. We took another look at worship.

More than two years ago now we realized that the leadership in our congregation really had got to a point where the dwindling numbers of “preachers, presiders and planners” were indeed running low on energy. And that our building and worship responsibilities got in the way of our concern for our neighbours. We were out of synch with our mission and had little time or capacity for the enduring principles we claimed.

So we came up with a new Worship Template.

We don’t have any quarrel with the traditional service, usually centred around a sermon by one of our priesthood leaders. But that model wasn’t working for us anymore and was burning out the very ones we looked to for leadership.

We put together a new “recipe” for our gathering times. From a new list we choose the bits that fit the theme or suit our needs or current projects. Usually there are enough elements that the planner really wants to do that we end up with pretty well-rounded worship experiences. And because we’re all committed to “noticing” we find many opportunities to encounter the Divine in our times together.

Here's our list: (select one or more; never all)

Welcome, Greet the Community
Peace prayer, or peace lesson
Music (vocal, instrumental or recorded)
Mission lesson (some lesson or sermon consistent with a mission initiative or scripture theme)
Enduring principles Lesson (illustrate via story, video or scripture)
Disciples Generous Response (may incorporate stories/ prayer)
Prayer or Spiritual Practice (from the whole range available)

Our worship experiences have been more varied and interesting as each planner has the whole range of things to choose from. We’ve gone for spirit-filled walks thinking about the “sacredness or creation” or dwelt on the words of a challenging hymn. We’ve heard members tell of their passion for elephants or honey bees. Our ESL teacher shared about their work in a richly diverse group of international students. It was evident to us all that she/they truly are building a community of joy, hope, love and peace together.

We do table church too, and enjoy the “work” of worship while we talk about the needs of our neighbours and plan next how to serve them. This kind of worship energizes and nurtures us for our mission.

(Send a message if you’d like to hear more about our New Worship Template and some examples.) It's a long one this week. Hopefully folks will stick around to read it all

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March Break

Sunday marked the beginning of March Break and daylight saving time.

We decided to take a little break too. So we gathered at 11:30 instead of 10:30. (I’ve long wondered why our group of mostly retired people needed to lose an hour’s sleep and stress about being late when all we had to do was change our start time.)

We chose instead to meet for a potluck brunch at Sharon and Daniel’s. It was lovely to share good food and lots of visiting around their big dining room table. We took the time to read some of the “thank yous” we’ve received and celebrate some of our recent projects.

From the Guelph Children’s Foundation came a long newsy letter. We’re long-time partners and love to hear about the more than 1600 families helped at Christmas! We especially liked this paragraph:

“How wonderful is it to know that you gave so much more than a tangible gift? You gave hope. You gave relief. You gave connection. You gave a parent or caregiver the opportunity to show their child that they love and care about them. You reinforced for a child or youth that they have people in their lives that truly and deeply listen to and care about them.

As we move into the warmer months ahead, please know that your generosity continues to resonate throughout our community. The impact of your kindness extends far beyond the physical gifts—it creates moments of joy, builds confidence, and strengthens relationships.”

And in response to our underwear project came this:

“It’s amazing how big an impact can come from small acts of generosity. As we often say, “the value of one, the power of many.” Your Jan-uwear-y, Feb-uwear-y project is a perfect example of that, and we are beyond grateful.

Thanks to you and your church community, we received more than 80 undergarments.

These essentials will go directly to those who need them most, providing comfort and dignity to our community.”

“Comfort and dignity” are really good words that made us smile. Here we are delivering five bags of underwear to Hope House.

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Lent

I’m writing this on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent in the liturgical calendar. Here are some of my thoughts as I consider what these things mean to our little community and what we’re doing as a congregation in this special season.

We started up our weekly discussion gatherings yesterday. It’s been more than a month since this group was able to get together. Winter weather, snow-packed roads and nasty viruses all conspired to keep us apart. But we determined to meet this Tuesday. Reflecting on our conversation I realize that we didn’t really think about Ash Wednesday. Maybe that could stand as an example of “confession” that IS part of the Ash Wednesday tradition. What we DID talk about just what do the traditional prayers we use in our various services mean. What do we mean when we promise to “take up on us” Jesus name? What are we really doing when we pray the “peace prayer”? Is it enough that we’ve been praying a peace prayer for many, many years?

Then we examined our efforts to do more than talk about those things. Our budget, recently passed, includes three items labelled “pursuit of peace.” We took a hard look at those three things and asked ourselves if our intention to pursue peace is actually moving the bar. The three things were support of Encounter World Religions, our bursary in support of music education for young children and our Prayer Shawl ministry.

Encounter recently reported projects to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, police education and the importance of religious literacy in work places, schools, and more. We uphold these things and we continue to support and follow Encounter’s work.

Music education gives young children a tool for finding joy and peace in their own lives and helps model participation and interaction between parents and children and, we hope, promotes peace in families.

Prayer shawls continue to provide that much needed warm hug in time of personal illness or distress and, yes, lack of peace for individuals.

So what do these have to do with Lent? Lent is time of personal reflection and intentional spiritual work. We confess where we have fallen short and work in a mindful way to make necessary change. This is the time we take honest stock of ourselves and repent where we can. We leave behind practices done out of habit only and try to get in synch with our truest, best intentions.

I confess that I didn’t give Lent a thought yesterday, but on reflection I think what we did do can well fit into a Lenten basket. And I hope you’ll join me as we embark on the journey toward Easter with intention and resolve.

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Look For The Helpers

We’ve all heard this advice from Mr. Rogers. When things are bad or bad things happen or even if we just wonder how to cope with some accident or disaster these words echo in our memories.

This week we finally got to our budget meeting. It’s been postponed because of various “winter conditions” for several weeks. So I’ve had a bit more time to think about our process. Here’s what’s different about our congregation’s budgeting philosophy. We used to start with our fixed expenses. How much for heat and hydro and telephone and security and insurance and yard maintenance… Then how much is left over for helping our kids go to camp, or buying new candles for Advent or Lent, or ordering resources for classes or preaching? Oh, and let’s put out a jar for spare change so we can support the food bank.

This year, our first full year without a building our process was quite different. We started with our mission plan. What did we mean to do as a congregation? One big thing was to be a force for good to our neighbours. We want to get serious about the mission to “abolish poverty and end suffering.” But really, what can a small group of mostly seniors do to work on the clear problems of the homeless and food insecurity of families and children growing up in those families?

Answer: Look for the helpers!

So our budget shows clearly what we found. Our budget swelled in the areas of support for the Children’s Foundation who run serious breakfast programs, summer vacation food for families, referrals for counseling services for mental health needs, parenting classes and new parent support. We continue our support for music for young children because we know how music education enriches the lives of children and their families.

Our Jan-uwear-y, Feb-uwear-y project to collect much requested new underwear for the homeless is a case in point. We didn’t then go in search of recipients. We delivered them to Hope House because they have the means and the relationships already to get them to the people who need them. They’re the helpers we found when we looked.

Some of the underwear contributed during Feb-uwear-y

I know many congregations put energy into attracting children to their churches. I know this because we did it too. “How can we attract families with children?” we used to ask. We still love it when children come to our activities, but we also realize that our job is to consider the long game. How can we contribute to making life better for all the children in our community? What do all the children need and who is working on that?

Even what causes are our children involved in that we can support? It's why we’re interested in climate protests, soccer tournaments, hockey, horses, youth orchestra performances and gardening. Who knows what we’ll be interested in next? We’ll let you know.

Pretty Quiet in the Foyer

Things are pretty quiet in The Foyer these days. We’ve been dealing with viruses and snow. Trying to keep warm and get healthy. Hopefully we’ll be back together this Sunday because we have a budget to pass. More than that we miss everybody!

Maybe next week we’ll have more to share.
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We have received this encouraging note from Carman T.

Dear Guelph/Elora friends,
I want to express my appreciation and admiration for your efforts to improve the lives of people in your community. While we often think and talk about making a difference, you are actually doing what you can. Well done!

Our little Kitchener group also has a sock program, etc. but we never thought about collecting underwear. What a good idea! We sponsor and support a Young Peacemakers program for children and a Coffee and Congregation group which is well attended and appreciated by people looking for meaningful connection with others, but we still struggle with what else we can do.

I find your efforts inspiring and encouraging and just wanted to send a note to say thank you.
Blessings to each one,

Carman

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Some of the underwear donated during our Feb-uwear-y project.

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Feb-uwear-y

Here comes another storm!

I got out this morning ahead of the predicted snow to buy another bag of underwear. Do you remember “socktober”? We all gathered up socks to donate to our unhoused neighbours. Then as the weather worsened we assembled mitts and hats and scarves and overcoats. Things are not much different for people seeking shelter beds or places to get out of the weather.

They don’t have showers, or washers and dryers or places to store their “extra changes of clothes.” Imagine for a minute what life is like not to have those things.

So we have declared February to be “Feb- u wear -y”. If you’ve got the means to buy some new, clean underwear (the “u-wear” in February) for men or women, get it to church on Sunday or take it directly to one of the places handing these donations. Underwear and socks are still the most requested clothing items. Any donations that come to church will be donated on your behalf. And someone, whose life is unimaginably hard will at least have something clean and new to start the week.

Because next week it will still be winter. And those people are still our neighbours.

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Message From Carmen

Today I’d like to share with you a message from Carmen who teaches the early childhood music classes we sponsor. 

As a reminder, here is a link to our
>> October 22 Music Excursion << 

Carmen says “Happy New Year to you! The new term of the baby and toddler program did start again this week. We are thrilled to again have three classes running per week-Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Some of the students from the fall are continuing, and there are also several new students joining. I’m also excited to see that a few students that had taken the class either last winter, spring, or in one case actually two years ago have returned to class after a break. It’s so nice to see that while we might not have worked in their schedule for some time, they did keep us in mind, and come back when it was possible”

She goes on the say that so far this year Eight families are benefiting from the bursary money we provide. And that, she says, is very exciting!

We are invited to visit again and we will plan another “music excursion” sometime after Easter.

How great to hear this good news about our music project—a bright spot in the middle of a cold winter. Join us in supporting our 2025 budget coming soon. That meeting is currently scheduled for February 16. See what we’re planning to spend money on, now that we’re not maintaining a building.

And join us in one of the most fun things we do. Watch for our invitation to visit later in the spring. Meet Carmen and the little children and parents enjoying the benefits of music in their lives.

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The Deep of Winter

Here we are in the deep of winter. Oh I know that technically we’re on the upswing. Days are getting longer. But it still feels mighty cold and we’re dealing with lockdowns and long coughs and bad driving weather. Every Sunday we’ve got some empty seats in our circle. I call that “deep winter.”

We’ve been talking about the lessons of the liturgical year. How the rhythm of the year actually mirrors the life of Jesus and teaches Christian lessons! We talked about the obvious ones of Advent and Christmas and even Epiphany. But what about this short, ordinary time between Epiphany and Lent? How do we spend that time that falls in deep winter? Do we just hunker down and long for spring? I don’t think so.

I read somewhere that this short season is nicknamed the season of illumination. This is a time to watch closely to see what we can learn now that Jesus is here. (Remember that call to Notice.) It’s a good time to catch up on my reading. I’ve gone back to Marcus Borg’s “Days of Awe and Wonder,” I know Dennis, our resident blogger, is watching important videos and sharing his thoughts on the climate emergency with those who follow him. Last Sunday, Teacher Jane shared with us so many lessons learned from her community of students in her ESL classes. Tonight I’m watching one of the many CIMM lessons available via Zoom; I might even learn something.

Yes, it’s cold. But there’s more sunshine every day. Some of us are spending more time than we’d like home alone. Let’s try to use that time to keep learning. Because the Holy Spirit never stops teaching.

Words To Live By

We started Ordinary Time by thinking about words to live by. It seemed apt. After all here we are, a little congregation in process of trying to make an impact in our community. We’ve grown together through half a year without a building, feeling our way from space to space, paying attention to the enduring principles, setting goals for mission and meeting them, staying flexible when plans needed changing. Our Advent and celebration of Christmas were different, but familiar. And now with Epiphany behind us we’re launching into the new season, a season of action with our best intentions—and words to live by.

It was lovely to go around the circle, getting to know each other better and hearing how each of us intends to contribute. How very much I appreciated each one’s sharing and anticipating the coming year together.

Let me tell you about a word that has been bumping in to my experience. It’s an old word – one we’ve considered before – but it’s back. One day on CBC’s "The Current" I listened to a long interview with a professor telling how to get through hard, cold, winter days by “noticing nature.” She shared her own experience of noticing rabbit tracks in snow, of snow outlining the shape of bare branches of trees, the particular shades of blue or gray or white of the winter sky. She told us that part of the practice is also to notice how it made us feel. We don’t need to go out in the cold (but we could, of course) it works through a window just as well.

The word showed up again in the sermon this week Beyond the Walls. The first and essential element of the sign of the turning of water into wine at the Cana wedding was Jesus’ mother “noticing” that the wine has run out! She noticed, she got involved, she enlisted others who might help. All this before Jesus stepped in.

>> “Notice” has become a key word for our group <<; we might even call it a word we live by. What needs doing? Can we do it? Who do we know who might help? If we don’t know how or don't have the resources, do we know of a partner who could? If all we can do is notice and tell someone else in our circle, that counts. Now as we enter the season of Action, let’s do it!

Down to Business

The leadership team held its first meeting this week via Zoom. This was the first planning meeting of the new year and it was very, very exciting! We talked about the schedule and the budget! Doesn’t that sound like fun?

Well it really was. We talked about some of the things we want to do, plan to do, hope to do. We imagined where we might go, people we might invite, new things we had hoped to do last year but really will get to this year. Projects we’re moving from the back burner to a place up front. With our mission plan in one hand and the calendar in the other scheduling can be an adventure.

Oh yes, the other hand held the budget worksheet. (How many hands is that? Good thing we’re a team.) Because we’re also thinking about how much money we’ve got and how we’ll spend it. How many projects can we take on and how many people can we help this year?

This was also the first time we saw the full financial report from last year. We saw how much was donated and just how generous our folks were and how many we were able to touch last year. In some cases we doubled our expectations! We set some goals based more on reality than on hope. We realized that people really DID give more to actual people and projects that truly helped than they’re willing to give to the roof, the windows, the heating, the snow plowing…

Stay tuned as we finish some of those plans. The budget will be ready next month for all to see and vote on. And as the schedule rolls out you can follow us, or better yet, join us as we adventure together in 2025.

Partners

Have you noticed that list of “Useful Links” down there are the bottom of the page?

Really it’s more than a list of “usefuls.” Those are special folks who have a particular status with our congregation. You might even call them “partners in mission.”

A small group like us can’t really change the world alone. And we make no bones about it; our mission is to change the world. To make a more just, more compassionate, more peaceful place to live. Anything that ambitious needs lots and lots of partners.

If you look at the mission statement of any one of those people or groups in that list, you’ll find what we found. They’re also trying to change the world!

We’re helping them. Or they’re heling us. It goes both ways.

Have a look. Pick one or more of the “helpful links” and read about what they’re up to. We’re very proud to be associated with these partners in mission. In times when we’re low on energy we can be assured that one or more of our partners are still on task.
Marion

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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

Suzuki Early Childhood Music Classes

Happy New Year From The Foyer

We’ ve come to the end of an eventful year for our little congregation. We packed up and moved out of our building – much loved for more than a hundred years! And all of us felt the sad emotions of leaving. But we felt it was the right decision after much discussion and many delays it was done.

But we resolved not to dissolve the congregation. We still felt connected and we still felt that our mission in this community was not done. We recognized the many advantages of our new nomadic identity and we set about figuring out how to be a blessing.

We’re still in process of inventing ourselves as a congregation without a home base. We’ve already figure out that we bring our sacred space with us wherever we meet. We’ve felt the spirit in living rooms, in a borrowed chapel, in a picnic shelter, in a garden…wherever we’ve formed our circle and expected to meet God together.

Our projects to nurture children and families have expanded. We’ve thought about feeding hungry bellies and nurturing spirits with our music grant for young children. We even found the holy spirt at our >> gathering at the Music Center. <<   We’ve learned, or relearned, that as we feed others, we feed ourselves.

So now we greet a new year. We’ll continue our intention to be a blessing in the communities where we’ve been planted. We’ll be moving around and trying to pay attention to the needs of our neighbours. We send all our good wishes to those who are following our adventures in these postings. And we invite you to join us as you are able. If you’ve ever wondered how to “pay it back” for all the blessing you’ve received you can check in with us to see how we’re doing.

Happy New Year from the Guelph Elora Community of Christ, blessed to be a blessing!