Looking Forward to January 3, 2021 -- Epiphany Sunday

And now we change the calendar (when I first typed the title of this post I did in fact put 2020 and had to go back and correct it). As this is the first Sunday of January we will be celebrating the Sacrament of Communion. As we are still worshiping on-line only the Communion will be virtual. You are invited to have bread and juice (or some equivalent choice) available as we join together on YouTube for worship.

In the flow of the Church Year Epiphany always falls on January 6 (after the 12 Days of Christmas). That puts it on a Wednesday this year. Many of us often choose to tell the Epiphany story on the Sunday before the 6th since we do not have worship on the feast day itself.  That is what we are doing this year.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Isaiah 60:1-6
• Psalm 72:1-14
• Matthew 2:1-12 (this will be the basis of our Children's Time)
  

The Sermon title is Light Has Come, The World is Changed

Early Thoughts:  Visitors from afar, whose wisdom has lead them to this place. Wise ones who come in search of the King, and whose wisdom helps the look beyond the normal expectations (eventually at least).

Why did they come? What hope was evident in this new king?

I'll be honest, I sincerely doubt that there was an actual historical visit of the Magi. I think the early Christian community developed the story as something that could/should/might have happened based on their experience of Jesus of Nazareth and amplified by their experience of the Risen Christ. They then saw passages like this one from Isaiah and developed a story about visitors from far away. Isaiah was also not talking about the visit of the Magi as we know the story. But it is possible that Isaiah was sharing a vision, a hope, an expectation about what it would be like when God was enthroned on Earth. When the Reign of God is made real than people will flock from all directions to the kingdom.

At my first reading, Psalm 72 appears to be written for a coronation. Certainly it is written to celebrate the King, to pray for what the King will be, sharing hopes about what the kingdom will be like under his reign. It is an easy thing to do to apply many of those verses to the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed.

"Joy to the World! The Lord has come! Let earth receive her King!" So says the Christmas Carol. What kind of king will he be? What kind of kingdom will he reign over? Will the nations come from far and wide to celebrate the new king?

--Gord

A Pastoral Letter

 December 15, 2020

Friends in Christ,

This year has brought all sorts of changes to how we thought things were going to go. Some days it seems that just when I think I know how things are going to happen something changes those plans. I have decided that a good motto for 2020 would be Robbie Burns’ lines “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley”. The past week has been no exception.

Within the wider church there has been an on-going debate about the wisdom of meeting in-person for worship or only offering worship on-line. As COVID numbers in Alberta increased through November some of us were pondering that very question more and more intently. A week ago the Worship Team was asked to discuss it at our meeting scheduled for December 10^th. Then the Premier made his announcement on December 8^th, an announcement which added a bit of a twist to the discussion.

When the Worship Team met we, with heavy hearts, recommended to Council that the best way to be a faithful loving community at this time was to move all of our worship services on-line until the end of January. Council met on Saturday and after some discussion accepted that recommendation. We will re-evaluate at our January meeting to see if the time period needs to be extended. We are not doing this because we are required to, places of worship can continue to meet at 15% of their capacity (for us that is about 50 people). We are choosing to go above and beyond the requirements because it is, we believe, the way we live out Jesus’ commandment that we love our neighbour.

This is not the Christmas plan we thought we had. It is not the Christmas plan we wanted. It is, however, the Christmas reality that we have. Christmas worship will not involve a sanctuary full of people singing carols and passing the light of Christ from one to another. Instead it will be families gathered in front of a screen singing carols and sharing the old old story. In fact the silver lining to this particular cloud (they say every cloud has one) is that with online worship we can all join in the singing – something not possible when we gather for worship in person right now.

This means that all our worship services for the next month will be available on our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-aWw0Tc165vh6Epdr-XBxw (or search for “St. Paul’s United Church Grande Prairie”). Because we now have our new A/V equipment installed we can do this as a live-stream, with the video then remaining available for those who wish to worship later. We will still have choir members coming to sing hymns, with words on the screen so you can sing along at home. All the power point slides will be on screen so you can join in the responses. Hopefully it will be, as they say, the next best thing to actually being there. Or some might say better since this way you can come to church in your pyjamas, or bring a glass of eggnog to Christmas Eve worship. Again the YouTube link is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-aWw0Tc165vh6Epdr-XBxw .

As I continue to prepare the Christmas Eve service I have a request. Usually at this time of year when we gather together we share Christmas wishes with each other. Obviously we can’t do that this year. So I am asking people to send me a picture, or a short (5 second) video of themselves with a Christmas wish from your household to the rest of the congregation. These will be stitched together into a video that will be a part of our Christmas Eve worship. Please e-mail these to me by this Friday (December 18^th) so I have time to make the video.

Earlier this year we realized that we were missing chances to connect with each other because we could not get together. One of the things we were missing was post church coffee. So we started meeting for coffee on Zoom Sundays at 11:30. We are still doing that. If you want connection information please contact the office and we will ensure you get it (that might be easier than trying to get all the information in this letter).

Another change over the next few weeks is that Carla and I will be working from home as much as possible, in keeping with the announced work from home mandate. This means that the office is closed to the public even if one of us happens to be in (there are some things we have to do at the church itself). The voice mail will be checked on a regular basis so feel free to leave a message or e-mail one of us and we will get back to you.

I am aware that the next 3 weeks is a time of year when many people either make their annual donation or look at their personal finances and realize they can give a bit more for the year. With the office closed there are still ways to make that happen. One way is by e-transfer . If you are unsure how to do an e-transfer please give Carla a call. She has gotten quite proficient at walking people through the process. Another on-line option is to use CanadaHelps (https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/36020). Or you could remain old school and either mail a cheque to the church or drop an envelope through the mail slot in the door. Any donations received by December 31^st will be processed for this year’s tax receipts.

It can seem that this Christmas will be less merry that we wanted it. After everything else that has happened this year I think many of us really needed a time when we could get together and celebrate and support each other. That time will come. We just aren’t quite there yet. In that spirit I share with you these lyrics from the song “Have yourself a merry little Christmas” as sung by Judy Garland in the movie Meet Me in St. Louis”

Once again as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Will be near to us once more
Someday soon we all will be together
If the fates allow
Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now

The Christ Child will still be born, the angels will still sing, the shepherds will still marvel. Christmas is still there, it is just going to be very very different.

Because we follow God’s commandment to love each other we are doing things differently for awhile. We are physically distant now so we can be together again. We just have to muddle through this tough part of the journey – somehow.

Please join us for worship Sundays at 10:00. Please join us for worship on Christmas Eve (likely at 4:00 but we will share the time when it is confirmed). If you don’t join us “live” then you can join us later. Hold each other in love and have a Blessed Christmas and New Year. Once again that YouTube link is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-aWw0Tc165vh6Epdr-XBxw .

God’s Peace, Hope, Joy and Love be with you,
Gord

Looking Forward to December 20, 2020 -- 4th Sunday of Advent

 A reminder that we are now having our services in an online-only format, live streamed at the regular service time on our YouTube channel.

The Scripture readings this week are:

• Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26
• Luke 1:26-38 (We will hear this told through song: To a Maid Whose Name Was Mary -- #14 in Voices United)
  

The Sermon title is Embracing Love

Early Thoughts: The story of faith is, in the end, a love story. The rule of faith is, in the end, all about love. The actions of God are, Scripture reminds us, signs of God's steadfast love.

Mary is invited to join in the love story. The promised Messiah will come as a sign of God's steadfast love for God's people. And Mary is invited/asked/chosen to be the one through whom this love will become personified.

Mary says yes, "let it be with me according to your word". Mary says yes and the love story continues. The child will be born.

The child will grow into a man. And the man will teach us that we are loved. The man will exhort us to love each other as we have been loved.

We are now invited to join in the story of love. We are now invited to take our place by embracing God's steadfast love and then passing it along.

It is not always easy to take our part in the story. Sometimes it makes us do things that are difficult -- like social distancing at Christmas. Sometimes loving others brings pain -- such as the grief we feel after a loved one dies. Sometimes it means we sacrifice our comforts or our preferences for the service of others -- the examples are uncountable. Still we are invited/urged/commanded to embrace love and take our part in the story.

There are countless songs about love. Some of them are rather trite, some are deep and complex. But there are so many songs because of the importance of love in the functioning of a healthy society.

Will you embrace love? Will you take your place in the story?

--Gord

Looking Ahead to December 13, 2020 -- Advent 3B

The Scripture Readings for this week are:

• Psalm 126
• 1 Thessalonians 5:15-24

The Sermon title is Seeking Joy

Early Thoughts: Sometimes it is hard to find Joy. For many people 2020 has been a year with a lot of things that take joy away. Cancelled vacations, no social gatherings, anxiety and worry, missed connections with family and friends. Where is the Joy in all that?

Our two passages this week talk about joy. Using an agricultural image, the psalm shares a hope that those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. Writing to the church in Thessalonica Paul calls the people to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, to give thanks in all things.  Does that seem like hard advice to follow these days?

If we are honest we know that this Christmas season will be very different for many of us. Last night at supper we realized that every other year we would have been having a quick supper and then off to the CGIT Vesper service. Christmas Eve worship will feel weird without a church filled with voices singing the old carols.  Families will have Christmas dinner with small gatherings around the table where some years there would have been as many as could fit. Our spirits could very easily be quenched. 

But still we are called to seek joy. Not just in the Christmas season but in life generally we are called to seek joy.

I think it is, in part, a matter of perspective. The joy we seek is not just being happy. It is not based on everything going the way we want it. Joy is based on our being grounded in God's presence, in God's love, in God's activity in our lives.

Where will you seek joy this very different Christmas season? Where have you found glimpses of joy over these last 9 months of COVID-tide?  For what are you thankful (because I am pretty sure that gratitude is a big part of seeking and finding joy)?

--Gord

PS: now that I have read that Psalm I have the song "Bringing in the Sheaves" as an earworm....