The Scripture readings this week are:
- Psalm 133 Acts 2:42-47
- Hebrews 10:24-25
- Romans 12:15-18
The Sermon title is A Thankful Community
Early Thoughts: In the end we are a communal species. Certainly we are a communal faith. Really human life, Christian life is about how we function in community.
I may not always have believed this. There may well have been a time when, speaking out of having been consistently hurt by a specific community, I thought that the Simon and Garfunkel song I Am a Rock sounded like a good motto. Or at least that is what I told myself at the time. It felt safer to be alone behind walls. (On reflection I am not sure I had myself totally convinced even then.)
I still understand the impulse. Bit in the end we are a communal species and Christianity is a communal faith.
Over and over again when you ask people why they go to church some part of the answer is "the community". Together we dance and celebrate. Together we weep and lament. Together we complain about how the world is and dream about what the world could be. It may be a cliche but together we are more than the sum of our individual parts.
Our Scripture readings this week talk about the blessings of community. They also talk about the importance of being in community. They talk about the importance of supporting each other in community.
5 years ago we were pushed to re-think how we are as a community. How could we continue to be a community when we didn't gather in one place? We learned how to be community not only in-person but on Zoom as well. 5 years later we are still a different type of community. Some of us gather together in a room on Sunday morning, others join us online either in real time or later that day. We have people who have joined us for Sunday worship from other towns, even other provinces. We are a community that expands well beyond the walls of our building or even the boundaries of the city. AS time goes by the community grows and reshapes, we find new things that re important about how we are community together. Still we see the importance of community.
This week, in the middle of Thanktober, I ask you all a couple of question. Why are you thankful for the communities of which you are a part? How do our various communities make a difference in the world (both local and global)? What difference does it make to be in community --both when it is easy and when it is hard, when it feels safe and when we feel really vulnerable?
--Gord













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