Looking Ahead to November 15, 2026

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
• Matthew 24:1-8

The Sermon title is The World Rebuilt: Tear Down the Old

Early Thoughts: Sometimes to rebuild you need to do some tearing down first. Of course that is harder to accept when you don't know what is going to be torn down -- or when it is going to happen

Even worse is when we get the impression something we love deeply is on the list of things that have to go.

The Second Temple was a massively impressive structure. It was the religious heart of 1st century Jewish worship. And yet Jesus says it will be destroyed -- "not one stone will be left upon another". And it doesn't get any better. The rest of the passage details more chaos, more destruction. The rest of the chapter continues in the same tone, not the cheeriest residing you might find. 

The reading from 1 Thessalonians isn't much better. It too promises chaos and disturbance. It tells us to be awake and alert because it is coming but we don't know when. It also stops short of offering a word really strong of hope or consolation about the chaos that is to come. 

How do we prepare for the world to be rebuilt? Are we willing to admit that there may be some destruction or chaos in the process?

Or maybe we need to ask ourselves what it is that might need to be torn down to make way for the transformed new world?

God is at work in our midst. Part of that work is to challenge a mindset of "that's just the way the world works". Jesus talked about a building being torn down (and to be fair Matthew is writing his Gospel after that exact thing has happened, with only one wall still standing). Is it a building that gets in the way of God's Reign coming in full flower? OR is it some other type of structure?

I do believe there are things that need to be torn down. Sometimes because they don't work. Sometimes because they are working exactly the way they are designed but that design is not in accordance with the Reign of God, the Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus. I am pretty sure we might not all agree on the list of things to tear down.

Disruption is coming. For good or bad disruption is coming. It might be a terrifying thought. But we are encourages to face the disruption with faith and love and hope. We are encouraged to build each other up as we face it together. WE live in hope that the rebuilt world beyond the disruption will be worth the birth pangs  of labor as the new world is born.
--Gord

Looking Ahead to November 8, 2026

In the last few weeks of the liturgical year (a new year begins on the first Sunday of Advent - November 29) we find ourselves musing about the world as it could (or possibly should) be if we all took seriously the words "Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven". This year, for the last three weeks of the year we will be working with the theme The World Rebuilt as one year ends then we will begin our Advent preparations with an invitation to Sing Toward Christmas.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Joshua 24:14-25
• Matthew 25:1-13

The Sermon title is The World Rebuilt: Commit to the Journey

Early Thoughts: God is at work in the world. God is at work rebuilding and transforming the world. God is at work building the Reign of God in our midst. And God invites us along for the journey. How do we respond?

I think these two readings this week highlight a couple of reasons we might be tempted -- or more -- to give up on the journey. Sometimes it seems easier to give up and go along with how the rest of the world seems to think/believe/operate.

Source

In the Matthew passage we read about the wise and foolish bridesmaids. I am not sure that the so-called foolish  group really gets a fair shake though. After all the bridegroom was late (or delayed). They had prepared for the situation as they understood it. The wise ones might have been called over-prepared if the bridegroom had arrived on time. [They might also be challenged on their attitude around surplus]

What happens when the journey takes longer than we expect? Do we keep struggling forward or do we give up? Do we have enough energy to keep the lamp burning when things take longer than we expect?

So the delay in results might be one reason we tire of the journey, why our commitment fails.

Source

Then we have the Joshua passage. AS Joshua nears the end of his life he calls all the people together. He reminds them of how they got there. He also challenges them to remain true. He calls them to put aside all other gods: the ones their ancestors worshipped and the ones they are encountering in this land they have taken over. Serve the God who has led you to this place and time. And the people pledge they will do so.

But Joshua is dubious. He knows that the temptation to waver and wander will be strong. Indeed the rest of the history recounted in the Old Testament is full of stories of how the people do in fact wander and serve other gods. Joshua knows how easy it can be to be diverted from the path.

There are still a lot of temptations out there. There are a lot of other 'gods' vying for our attention, loyalty, even worship. What does it mean to stand in the world today and say "but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord"?

So another reason we might give up on the journey is simply that we find it too challenging. It calls us to be different than those around us. It calls us to have different priorities. And when it gets hard we might find it easier to just go along the popular road.

God invites us to join on the journey to a world rebuilt. It will take longer than we want it to. We might feel that we are running out of energy. There will be distractions along the way. We might start to think a different path would be easier. It is almost certain that we  will be tempted to give up at times. Still the invitation is there, challenging as it is.

How will we respond?
--Gord

7 Teachings, 7 Animals, 7 Words to Live By

 

I first learned about the 7 Sacred Teachings when one of the teachers at North Star School (who was also a part of the congregation of Riverview United) in Atikokan was doing the illustrations for this book. Kristy was actually Sarah’s teacher for Senior Kindergarten and she was really excited to come home on the first day of school and say that her teacher “is an illustrator!” because Kristy was just finishing up the pictures for this book. The book has text in both English and Ojibwe. When it came out every student in the school got a copy of the book – so we should have two copies but at present I have only located one. (you can see Kristy's illustrations here)

To be honest in fact pretty much all I know of what is meant by the 7 Sacred Teachings in indigenous culture comes from flipping through this book. To really learn about how they are understood in any of the Indigenous communities across the country one would best be served by talking to an Elder, or more importantly listening to an Elder.

The teachings themselves are words common to our culture as well: humility, honesty, respect, courage, wisdom, truth, and love. These are qualities that many cultures would find important, even sacred, as we learn how to live together. In Indigenous tradition the teachings are each tied to an animal: Wolf, Kitchi-Sabe or Raven (the book names both), Buffalo, Bear, Beaver, Turtle, and Eagle. You can find these in posters hanging in the sanctuary or the Friendship Room.

As I said, these teachings are common to multiple cultures. It is always, I believe, helpful to learn what meaning they have to different cultures. The same words can have different connotations in different places. As named in the preface, this book addresses the teachings using “many of the beliefs of the Ojibwe/Chippewa/Anishnaabe”. The peoples of this part of Turtle Island might have slightly different understanding even though the teachings have great universality.

Over the next several newsletters we will be invited to reflect on these seven words, seven teachings, seven qualities that build a healthy life. What do they mean to you? What do they mean to our neighbours? How do we live them out? How do they shape who we are?

I will have the book in my office for any who want to take a closer look – or listen as it comes with a DVD as well.

--Gord

Sing Toward Christmas

 There is an Advent hymn written by Shirley Erena Murray that has these words to begin the first 2 verses:

Look toward Christmas! Advent is here:

welcome December changing the year,... (verse 1)
Set the world singing, make the world glad!
Now is good reason not to feel sad,... (verse 2)

As we come to the end of November Advent has arrived once again. Time to ramp up our preparations for Christmas. How do we prepare for this, one of the central festivals of the church year?

There are, of course, many ways to answer that question. We decorate. Some people engage in a frenzy of baking. Some spend hours buying that perfect gift. Some make travel plans to see family. And probably a whole lot of other things I can’t think of right now.

What about in the church? How do we prepare ourselves for Christmas?

We light candles and remind ourselves of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Choirs practice special music. Plans are made for the Christmas Eve celebration. Some places still plan for the Christmas Pageant. Personally as a worship planner I like to find some unifying theme to carry through the season, just to focus myself. So what about Advent 2026?

As long as I can remember a big part of the Christmas season has been music. Being the child of a choir member might have something to do with that but I am pretty sure I am not alone. So this fall I had the thought that maybe we could use songs of the season as our touchstone as we march through Advent. I got Alison on board and came up with the theme Sing Toward Christmas.

So each week we will have a song whose story will be told at Children’s time and will probably get worked into the service in some other way. Here is what is planned thus far:

• November 29, Advent 1: Sing Toward Christmas: The Melody of Hope with the song being “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”
• December 6, Advent 2: Sing Toward Christmas: The Pealing Bell of Peace with the song being “I heard the Bells on Christmas Day”
• December 13, Advent 4: Sing Toward Christmas: The Trumpet Call of Joy with the song being “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”
• December 20, Advent 4: Sing Toward Christmas: Love’s Soothing Lullaby with the song being “O Little Town of Bethlehem”

Come join as as together we sing our way to Christmas!

Looking Ahead to November 1, 2026 -- All Saints' Day

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Hebrews 11:1-3, 39-12:2
• 1 Thessalonians 2:8-13
• Luke 22:24-30

The Sermon title is And We Come After...

Early Thoughts: Who makes up the cloud of witnesses that led us to become the congregation we are today?

I have always loved that image from the letter to the Hebrews, the great cloud of witnesses. The writer spends all of chapter 11 reminding the readers of the great heroes of faith who have come before them  and then uses that image of the cloud. They seem to suggest that all those who have gone before us, preparing the way, leading us to where we are now, continue to surround us, giving us hope and courage, urging us forward.

We have inherited (for better or worse) the work of many many who have gone before us. As our congregational history book reminds us, they got it started and we come after to continue the work. How do we best honor those who have gone before while living in a different world than they knew? That is a hard question for the church, an organization so deeply bound by tradition.

Re-reading those verses from 1 Thessalonians this morning I found myself asking: "what would those who founded and led this church before us say to us today?" Would they, like Paul does with the Thessalonians, commend us for how we continue to live out the faith they passed on? Would they fret about some of the choices we have made? A bit of both?

I think that to honor the saints who have gone before us, the cloud of witnesses is to think seriously about what they have passed down to us. Then we seriously ask what we do with it. Some things we pass on unchanged. some things we let rest. Some things we adapt to a changing world or changing understandings. Honoring and thanks those who built the path does not need to mean we are handcuffed by what they built. Historian Jaroslav Pelikan once said: Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. We mark All Saints' Day, we celebrate the cloud of witnesses with the former not the latter. Maybe the best way to handle the tradition is a bit like jazz -- we take the base theme and add new interpretation, new modifications as best suit our current need.

SO who are the saints of McQueen Presbyterian/St. Paul's United over the last 115 years? Who are in our congregational cloud of witnesses? How do we carry on the work they started?

One of the answers, for me, lies in the Luke reading this week. We are the heirs of those who chose to serve. They followed the One who self described as "I am among you as one that serves" and chose to serve their community in turn. However we live out our faith in 2026 and in the years to come we need to continue to worry about serving our community. It will look and sound different than it did when people like Alexander and Agnes Forbes or I.V. Macklin first started building this place. It will look and sound different than when the 'White Church' opened in 1926, or when the current sanctuary was built in 1956-57, or when the West Wing was built in 1986-87. It will build on the work of those who were here before us, but it will be our work. We will help shape what gets passed on to those who come after us.

--Gord

Looking Forward to October 25, 2026

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• 1 Corinthians 3:5-9
• Matthew 9:35-38

For Children's Time I am adapting "Canoe Vespers", an idea I learned at camp this summer.

The Sermon title is Teamwork Makes...

Early Thoughts: What Team(s) are you a part of?  Why be part of a team at all?

Paul understands it. Paul knows that it is not all about him (in this instance at least--there are other times when I wonder about that). Paul knows that it takes a team to grow the Beloved Community. 

Writing to a church that, it appears, has deep divisions within it Paul wants them to get past their divisions and soak into the unity of Christ. There had been another teacher, Apollos, in Corinth besides Paul, apparently after Paul had been there. Now some members of the community are claiming allegiance to Paul while others to Apollos. In and of itself this is a relatively normal thing in human communities -- people are more bound to one leader or another for a variety of reasons. But it gets to be a problem when it becomes a source of competition or division. Especially when in the end, they are all on the same team.

Then we have the Matthew passage. Jesus sees the need and responds. Immediately after these verses, at the beginning of chapter 10, Jesus commissions the inner circle of 12 to go out and proclaim that the Kingdom of heaven has come near. The task is too much for one person (Jesus) alone, it takes a team to get it done.

To be in community means to, well, be in community. The life of faith is not something we do alone. No one person is responsible for keeping the community going. It is a team endeavor. Only when we work together, sometimes with disagreement to be sure, but together we make the community function. Together we make things possible.

I wonder.... how many of you automatically finished the saying begun in the sermon title? What is the dream we are trying to make work in the faith community we call St. Paul's? In the wider communities of Grande Prairie, or Alberta, or Canada? In the wider church of the United Church of Canada? In the wider community called Christianity? What is the dream? Who makes up the team?

One of my favoured readings for weddings comes from the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 4:

9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up the other, but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Over and over Scripture reminds us of the importance of not trying to go it out alone. As a team we support each other, we pick each other up, we share laughter and tears. We are stronger when we recognize that, as Paul says, "[one] plants and [another] waters but God gives the growth".

I believe this is a stewardship question. I believe that it is the best use of our resources, our energy, our gifts to pull together as a team, with God as team leader/coach.

SO who is on your team?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to October 18, 2026 -- 21st Sunday After Pentecost

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
• Matthew 22:15-22

Source

The Sermon title is How Shall We Give?

Early Thoughts:  Cheerfully or begrudgingly? To chase a dream or to fulfil an obligation? Building a  hope for the future or maintaining what was before?

How do we give? How could we give? How should we give?

In this week's reading from 2 Corinthians Paul is talking Stewardship, a topic that began at the beginning of chapter 8). The Christian community in Jerusalem is struggling and Paul is asking his friends in Corinth to take up a collection to support them. You can read more about this collection here (among other places, Google about Paul's collection for Jerusalem to learn more). It is possible this is the first written account of a stewardship drive within the Christian church. He also makes mention of this collection, with some concrete ideas of how to build it up, in 1 Corinthians 16.

It is interesting to see how Paul motivates the people to support this cause. At the beginning of chapter 8 he seems to be playing one community against another, telling them how wonderfully generous the churches in Macedonia have been, and encouraging the Corinthians to meet that output. It sort of reminds me of a number of telethons I watched when I was younger where there were constant challenges to "meet or beat" a pledge. But here in chapter 9 Paul speaks to the Corinthians differently. Here he reminds them of abundance, he encourages them to give out of gratitude and giftedness. He reminds them that God provides with abundance. Even more important he tells them to give cheerfully, as they have decided not to give out of a sense of compulsion. Earlier in 8:8 he has already told them that he is not commanding them to give. Paul assumes the people want to do something and provides a way for them to respond to that desire.

I can think of many church stewardship campaigns in my lifetime that could have learned a thing or two from Paul. Paul does not use guilt as n incentive. Paul does not say "if you don't give this terrible thing will happen". Paul invites and encourages gratitude and generosity. Paul speaks about abundance rather than scarcity. He does use language like "testing of this ministry" in both chapters but one does not get the sense that it is a test with a risk of failure.

Then we have Matthew and "render unto Caesar". To be honest I find this a less helpful teaching for building stewardship. Where Paul encourages generosity and not giving under compulsion Matthew's Jesus could easily be seen, in this passage, as commanding giving whether one is cheerful or not. More of a tax (and the question he is asked is all about taxation) than an act of generosity. At the same time, however, Jesus' answer does push us to ask what belongs to God and what belongs to Caesar. That in and of itself might challenge our assumptions of "whose is this" and "who gets to use this". That could be a Stewardship question in and of itself.

Source

SO... how shall we give?

On one level that is a question of process. If someone wants to give a gift but doesn't know how to do so the gift might be wasted. So we could answer the question by talking about offering plates, or PAR, or e-transfers, or our Tithely giving portal, or simply by directing folk to the Donations page on our congregational website. We could talk about opportunities to volunteer. WE could offer to connect folk with partner agencies who are looking for volunteers with specific skills. All of that could be one way to answer the "how do we give" question.  And there is certainly a place for all of that.

Paul, I think, pushes the question in a different direction. Paul pushes us to look at motivation, at the emotional side of giving. We can make really good logical arguments about why giving is needed and still miss the mark. We need to ask ourselves, and ask each other, in what spirit we give. We who are asking for gifts need to take seriously how we ask. Are we building cheerful generous givers or are we (possibly inadvertently) using guilt or fear to encourage giving? Are we spouting budget numbers or are we inviting people into the vision, the hope, the dream of what the gifts can accomplish?

How shall we give after all?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to October 11, 2026 -- Thanksgiving Sunday

The Thanksgiving Scripture Readings this year are:

• Psalm 65 (we will read the Responsive version from VU782)
• Deuteronomy 8:7-18

The Sermon title is Hey God! Thanks!

2025 Tree of Thanks

Early Thoughts: How do we say thank you? What are we thankful for?

The flow of the Scripture story often reminds us to be thankful. There are whole passages in Jewish Scripture where the author reminds the reader of those things that God has done for God's people [it is worth pondering why those reminders might be needed]. Within the book of Psalms we find a category of praise and thanksgiving psalms.

To be the people of God is to be a thankful people.

So what are you thankful for this year? In our sanctuary stands our Tree of Thanks, a place where we can hang a leaf with a few words written on it, a place where we name what we are thankful for. In a prayer this week the young at heart, and everybody else, will be invited to say thank you for something. 

Thanksgiving is not, in the big picture, something we do one Sunday a year. Thanksgiving is meant to be a part of our daily practice. If we are honest, we might not quite meet the daily piece but we can make an effort to say thanks more often.

So what are you thankful for this year?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to October 4, 2026 -- World Communion Sunday

As this is the first Sunday of a new month it is our regular Communion Sunday. However the first Sunday in October is also marked out as World (or Worldwide) Communion Sunday. This is an idea that grew out of a Presbyterian congregation in the US in the 1930's as a way of fostering Christian Unity.

As always, on the first Sunday of the month we also like to highlight our Local Outreach fund and the tradition of a "Second Offering" where dedicated gifts are given to that fund. This fund is used to work with our partner agencies here in Grande Prairie to support our neighbours in times of need.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Exodus 12:3-4
• 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33

The Sermon title is A Banquet for All

A Place at The Table

Early Thoughts: From the beginning one of the markers of Christian worship was to gather at the table. We are told about it in the early chapters of Acts. We are told about it by Paul in 1 Corinthians. They gathered at tables, often a full meal that included what we now call Communion/Eucharist/Lord's Supper weekly. You would think with that sort of history this would be a unifying practice for the church.

Well maybe not. In the end the history of the church consists of many many arguments about communion. Who can receive? Who can serve? What gets served? What does the liturgy look and sound like? How often is the meal celebrated? How should it be served?

Sometimes these arguments take place between different denominations. Sometimes they take place within the same denomination. Sometimes they take place within the same congregation.

Still it is the meal to which Jesus invites us. It is the table where God is the host. I firmly believe that when we gather at the table we are getting a foretaste of the "eschatological banquet", the banquet at the changing of the world when the Reign of God comes to full flower. If that is true then surely it must be a place where all can gather?

Indeed, my preferred words of welcome and invitation to the table is the "all who seek to follow the Way of Jesus Christ are welcome to eat and drink".

One of the things that many of us are proud of in the United Church is that we offer an open table. This wasn't always so. There was a time when only confirmed members in good standing were expected to partake of communion. In my last year of seminary I interviewed a man who had been a visiting elder and remembered making those pre-communion visits to the members in his district. In the early 1980's I remember being at church during communion (I think the Jr. Choir had sung earlier in the service and we had not been taken over to the school where Sunday School was meeting) and my sister and I just automatically going up to be served with the rest of the crowd. Later my father made it clear that this was not proper as we we not yet confirmed.

Times change. In the later 80's many United Church congregations had conversations about children being welcome at the table. There were objections about "they are too young to understand" and counters like "how will they ever understand if they don't take part" or "I don't fully understand but I still take part".

I believe that God is constantly calling us to broaden our understandings, to find a way to make this a banquet for all. the challenge is how do we do that? How do we balance the traditions and traditional understandings that bring people comfort with new ideas, new understandings that open the door a bit wider? How do we mix "the way we always done it"  with "this is how we did it in my last church"? 

There is no one simple way to answer those questions.

This Sunday we will sing "For everyone born, a place at the table". In song we will remind ourselves of a call to "build a longer table...feasting together stranger turns to friend".  As we gather on this World Communion Sunday I invite us all to consider how this meal can become an even better symbol of the whole Body of Christ gathered together. As it happens, in my searching this morning I found some thoughts on the United Church website on that very topic. 

I believe we need to celebrate how we welcome all and how our welcome has broadened over time. I maintain we also need to ask what limits we may have placed (intentionally or not) on who gets to participate fully. When are those limits good to maintain, when do they need to be pushed, when do they need to be dropped? Again the answers are not always clear, and not everyone will answer the same way on any of them.
--Gord

Looking Ahead to September 27, 2026 -- Creation 3

 This week we continue passing through Creation Time. As a reminder our theme verse for Creation Time this year comes from Romans: We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Romans 8:22
• Exodus 17:1-7 
• Matthew 6: 25-34

The Sermon title is God Will Provide

Source

Early Thoughts: Do we have that kind of trust? Over and over Scripture advises or encourages us to trust that God will provide. Jesus almost makes it sound like a commandment or instruction. Do you have that level of trust? I don't think I do. What might life look like if we did? What happens when we don't have it?

In my reading last week I was reminded that people who are starving tend to develop an fixation on food. They will not be sure that there will be food tomorrow. They are more apt to save or even hoard it. I strongly suspect that the same thing happens when we starve, feel the deep lack of, for other things in our lives.

Is that a side effect of a lack of trust?

What would it look like if we lived life trusting that we would get what we need? Would we indeed get it or would we be trodden under the wheel of economics?

To be honest, when I read the Matthew passage for this week is get a bit of a "don't be such a pollyanna" response in my core. Now admittedly I lean more to Murphy's Law, or pessimism or even catastrophism (by which I mean expecting the worst possible outcome) in my philosophy of life so I may not always be the best judge of such things. Still it appears that Jesus is not being altogether realistic, particularly in a 21st Century context. Lots of people are consumed by those worries for the simple reason that they do not have these things.

Source

The people in the desert are justified, I think, in at least some of their grumbling and complaining. They were hungry and thirsty in a setting where food and water were not easily found. I think they have valid concerns. But God answers those specific concerns. Last week we heard of the provision of quail and manna, this week we have the provision of water. The same God who heard the wailing of the people in slavery hears them in the desert and God responds.

How does God respond to our worry and complaining today?

I note that Scripture doesn't mean "sit back and do nothing" when telling us to trust in God. Jesus does not tell his friends to do nothing, he tells them not to worry. God provides for God's people as the people need and meets them where they are. God also tells the people that once they are out of the wilderness they need to build in practices to care for their neighbours. That is part of how God provides for God's people. Some years after Jesus preaches the Sermon in the Mount Paul will take up a collection for the Jerusalem church in a time of hardship. Trusting in God to provide may take many different faces.

Trusting in God allows us to not worry. I think that trusting in God's providence allows us to  be more comfortable with a smaller safety cushion. It helps us think differently about how much we need to save "just in case". I think that this might make us healthier as individuals and as a society. It might help us respond in different ways to the many different reasons all Creation is groaning.

This does not mean it is easy to have that level of trust. Some of us find it so much easier to worry.
--Gord