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 13, 2026 -- Creation Time 1

 AS this Sunday marks the end of my Sabbatical we will be celebrating the sacrament of Communion this week. All are welcome to the table!

For a few years now we have been encouraged to take time in September to mark Creation Time, a season where we take seriously our call to be caretakers of creation. This year we will take the last 3 Sundays of September to do just that. The guiding verse for these Sundays is Romans 8:22 "We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labour"

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Romans 8:22
• Romans 14:1-12

The Sermon title is We’re In This Together

Early Thoughts: It has been an interesting summer, weather-wise. Edmonton and area had massive amounts of rain in June and July. Northwestern Ontario has massive fires in the boreal forest. Europe was HOT and dry, in the great rivers "famine stones" were starting to appear. A famine stone is a rock that only appears in exceptionally dry conditions when the river is really low, the name comes from the reality that for most of history a year that dry means crop failures and famine would follow. Then to end the summer Nepal was hit by massive flooding as a result of a glacier collapse.

All creation is groaning indeed.

How are we called to respond?

There are probably many ways to answer that question. We could complain about stormwater systems that are overwhelmed by 1-in-200 year storms and insist the municipal government is incompetent. We could complain that smoke from a devastated area is making our lives uncomfortable. We could look at the wider picture of climate change and either deny it is happening or insist that it the cost of 'progress' or 'economic growth and prosperity'.

I am not sure those responses are helpful, caring, or faithful.

During the 1992 US Presidential election Bill Clinton used the catchphrase (coined by political strategist James Carville) "it's the economy stupid". 34 years later I think Carville was only partially right. Politicians have to run on economic platforms, the economy hits each and every one of us. The economy often determines who lives and who dies, who eats tomorrow and who has a roof over their heads. We can not deny that.

But it is not, and never has been, only about the economy. (And even when it is about the economy I am not sure we use the right metrics to determine health -- is it about everybody's well-being or how well the stock market is doing?) As people of faith, called to listen to the groaning of creation, commanded to "in the garden of Eden to till it and to keep it" (Genesis 2:15) we have to consider the ecology as much as the economy. We are called to ask how they interact, and how they might interact better.

We are also called, as people of faith, as people who are created as part of a giant interactive system, to worry about parts of creation that are not us. The commandment to love our neighbour kicks in again, if only because we are all in this together. Loving our neighbour means our human neighbours and also our canine and ursine and equine neighbours. As the Lorax taught a couple generations of children it includes the forests. 

Paul reminds the people in Rome about lifting up the whole community. Paul reminds them that they are God's and so are our neighbours. In that reminder is the reality the we are to hold each other up even when we disagree, even when we disagree on things that feel really important. We are, after all, in this together, part of a larger whole.

So how do we respond to the groaning of creation?

I suggest we start by focusing our attention more broadly than what benefits us. We also need to get past the language of "but it is my right!!!!" and into asking "what are my responsibilities and obligations?". Those two things will, I believe, push us to remember that we are all in this together, that what we do impacts others (those alive now and the generations yet to come).

I don't actually believe it is a question of economy vs. ecology. I think it is a both/and. Are many or most of our current Western assumptions about what makes a healthy economy problematic? Yes. The march toward unfettered capitalism is very damaging to God's creation both human and non-human. Luckily there are other ways to build the world. It may not mean as much economic growth. In a place like Canada the has historically relied so heavily on extracting resources (oil, coal, minerals, lumber) from the ground it may make for some difficult conversations. But there must be ways that we can move forward and tend to the need of all creation.

AS the summer has moved on this idea of "we're all in this together" has morphed a bit. In the Spring when I set the thigs for Creation Time I was seeing it solely in economic and ecological terms. But there is a referendum coming up in Alberta and I think the premise that we are all in this together holds in how we approach those 10 questions, particularly the 5 dealing with immigration.

AS we move into the future, as we dream about a changed economic model, as we advocate for better or different protections for the created world, as we ponder how we will vote on October 19, let us all remember that we are all in this together. Let's keep in mind that we all need to flourish. Let's lift up the idea that what lifts up neighbour is good for me too.  I close these opening thoughts with one final meme harvested from Facebook:

We are in this together, all of us, human and non-human alike. May God help us live as if that was true.
--Gord

Looking Ahead to October 5, 2025 --Worldwide Communion Sunday

As this is the first Sunday of the month it is our monthly day to highlight our Local Outreach Fund, the designated gifts which allow us to support our neighbours here in Grande Prairie.

Also as it is the first Sunday of the month we will be celebrating the sacrament of Communion this week.

Oh and it is the beginning of Thanktober, so our Tree of Thanks will be up and ready for folk to hang some leaves.

For Worldwide Communion Sunday this year we will be reading John 6:5-14, 35, 48-51 which is from the "Bread of Life Discourse".

The Sermon title is Daily Bread, Daily Thanks.

Early Thoughts: It is one of the most basic of foods. Ground grain, water, a little salt, usually some sort of leavening agent.... bread.

Bread has long been a staple food.  It is energy dense. When made with whole grains it provides a variety of nutrients. It is fairly easy to make.  Here is a list of links about bread as a staple food. Many communities would have had large bread ovens either for communal use or the earliest commercial bakeries.  Bread is a big deal!

In the sixth chapter of John's Gospel we hear a lot about bread. First we have the feeding of thousands with five loaves and two fish --staples that turn a hungry crowd into a giant picnic, with leftovers to boot. Then Jesus spends almost 40 verses talking about the bread of heaven. Twice in this discourse Jesus describes himself as the Bread of Life, and then also the living bread that comes from heaven.

Jesus, in this passage, links himself with a daily staple, a basic part of life. Jesus is part of maintaining life, and that in abundance.

Sometimes I think we might take bread for granted. It is a danger for those of us who seldom have to worry about it being there. At most when we think about bread it is more "what kind of bread do I prefer?" (white, whole wheat, sourdough, naan...). But what does it mean when we pray "Give us this day our daily bread"? What does it mean to stop and give thanks for that daily bread?

AS we enter into October, the month when we will celebrate Thanksgiving, I invite us all to reflect on this common staple food.  Why are we thankful for bread? I also invite us to consider what it means to give thanks daily, to look for things that make us thankful on a daily basis. How might that feed our souls?

AS we gather at the table of faith I invite us to consider what it means to hold up a loaf and say "the body of Christ, broken for you. What does it mean to consider Jesus as the bread of life, broken and shared? How are we fed at the table, how are we fed by Jesus' presence in our lives?

--Gord

Looking Ahead to May 4, 2025 -- 3rd Sunday of Easter

 

This is the second of three weeks when we are hearing stories of the Risen Christ appearing to his disciples. This week we walk along the Emmaus road as told in Luke 24:13-31. As it is the first Sunday of the month we will also be gathering together at the table of faith.

The Sermon title Seeing Christ At Table

Source

Early Thoughts: From the beginning people have known that gathering at table is one of the places we meet Christ. Which makes sense when we remember that one of the accusations levelled at Jesus in the Gospels has to do with his habit of eating with sinners and tax-collectors.

In one of his books, (I think it was Resurrection: Myth or Reality) the late John Spong talks about a few of the things he believed about Easter. One was that it did not happen all at once, that it was a series of experiences not a single event that first morning. One was that it happened in Galilee (in ore than one Gospel the women at the tomb are told to go to Galilee "where they will see him"). Another was that experiencing resurrection involved the gathering at table.

Indeed we can tell the link between Easter/experiencing the Risen Christ and the table was strong by the fact that from the beginning one of the things followers of Jesus would do as the gathered together was share a meal.

So anyway, we have this story of the Emmaus Road. This is the first time the Risen Christ, the Resurrected Jesus, appears in Luke's Gospel. The story of Easter morning contains an empty tomb and a heavenly messenger but no Jesus. Later that day (as the text tells us) a stranger joins a couple along the road and they start to chat. The stranger proceeds to remind them what Jesus had taught and to give a Bible Study along the way, showing how the Hebrew Scriptures could be applied to what has happened that weekend. Then only when they stop for the night and gather at the table do the travelers realize who has been walking with them all day.

One of the things that jumps out is that the first step is reminding and remembering. This hearkens back to the empty tomb when the messenger reminded the women of Jesus' words and then they remembered. One of the ways we experience the Risen Christ is by being reminded and by remembering. And so we continue to remind each other, to help each other remember.

Another thing is that it is not words that really wake the travelers up. In is an action -- the breaking and giving of the bread. Within Christian circles this is a clear memory of another table in an upper room (so I think we can assume Cleopas and his companion had been at that table). But to me it also reminds me that humans are visual creatures, that actions and rituals can add to our words. That action opens their eyes and gives meaning to the words shared along the road. Sometimes I recognize that our Western culture has become very word-focused and maybe we need to lift up visuals, actions, and rituals as a way to bring meaning (but I am a real word guy so that is where I always go first).

Then there is the response of Jesus. In none of our post Easter appearance stories does Jesus condemn people for not understanding, for doubting, for taking time to come to believe. Jesus meets people where they are and leads them to a new place (much as Jesus did in his pre-crucifixion ministry). Unlike the Dark Lord of the Sith, Jesus does not appear disturbed by a lack of faith. 

If, as I suggested last week, one of our key roles as a faith community is to lead people to an encounter with the Risen Christ what can we learn from this story?

• WE have to remind and remember, we have to tell the story, to explain the meaning we find in it. We need to invite people to explore the story for themselves, to see what meaning they find in it as they remember
• WE need actions and rituals that help us remember. Gathering at table together has many levels of meaning. It reminds us that all are welcome at the table, it reminds us of Jesus who ate with tax-collectors and sinners, it pushes us to ask who might not feel welcome at our table. It is my belief that one of the signs of God's Reign breaking into the world is a great Banquet. Maybe it is  a communion table, or a picnic table, or a hospital food tray -- something special can happen when we remember and break bread together.
• WE need to meet people where they are in their doubts and questions and disbelief. We don't invite people into an experience of and relationship with the risen Christ by judging or condemning them. They may be at a different place than we are. Their journey may be taking a different path than ours. That is fine, meet each other where we are and go from there.

Easter is a time of stories. Easter is a time when people's worlds were changing. It came in a variety of ways. How do we see Easter in our lives? What meaning does it have to break bread as we remember the story?

May the 4th be with you!

--Gord

Looking Ahead to April 17, 2025 -- Maundy Thursday

We will be gathering at 7:00 this Thursday for a brief (about half an hour) service to mark Maundy Thursday.  Communion will be celebrated.

The Scripture readings for this service are:

• John 13:1-9, 34-35
• Luke 22:24-27

The Reflection is titled Love and Serve

Early Thoughts: Maundy Thursday is a day when we remember the Last Supper, and so it is a day we traditionally gather at the table of faith. But the name "Maundy" has little to do with the table....

Source

There is another story traditionally read on Maundy Thursday. It is from John's Gospel and it tells of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, over the strenuous objections offered by Simon Peter. [There is a tradition in Rome where  the Pope washes the feet of inmates to remember this story, Pope Francis has made news over his reign by including Muslims and women in those events. I wonder if he will be able to take part in this tradition this year given his health challenges.]  A few verses later John recounts Jesus giving a "new" commandment to his disciples -- they are to love each other as they have been loved. This in fact is where the title Maundy comes from, it is related to the Latin mandatum which means commandment.

In fact I think this is the most important thing to remember as we head into Holy Weekend. The commandment to love each other given in the context of Jesus modelling how to serve each other. In Kingdom/Gospel logic the world is routinely turned upside down. The last shall be first, the least shall be greatest, the poor lifted up and the rich sent away empty. To love each other as Jesus loves his disciples is to serve each other, to be willing to be servant and friend instead of master.

This is what our passage from Luke reminds us (a passage that appears immediately after Luke recounts the words of institution, where Jesus tells us to break bread, share cup and remember him) of this call to love through service. 

AS I look at the world today in the midst of tariff/trade wars, and a Canadian election and all the news about Trump-ordered deportations I say we need a big reminder. We need to remind ourselves, our neighbours, our leaders that the highest calling to to love and serve. Jesus proclaimed the coming of God's Reign. One of the markers of that Reign is servanthood and love. What better way to prepare for the world-changing event of Easter than to remind ourselves how we are called to be in the world?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to October 1, 2023 -- Worldwide Communion Sunday

 

For many years now the 1st Sunday of October has been called Worldwide Communion Sunday. The spirit of the designation is that on that Sunday Christians all over the world will celebrate communion on the same day as a sign of unity. Practically speaking it appears that it may be more of a North American thing, with maybe some European buy in. Also it really speaks more to those traditions (such as Presbyterianism) that do not already gather at the table of faith every week (Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran for example).

At any rate, many United Churches, including St. Paul's, have made a concerted effort to mark Worldwide Communion Sunday over the years. Which mean that this Sunday we will gather together at the table of faith to eat and drink together. If you are joining us online you are invited, or even encouraged, to have bread and juice available so we can all eat and drink together across the electrons and miles.

The Scripture Reading this week is 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

The Sermon title is Table Fellowship

Early Thoughts: There is something special about eating together. It can be a great way to create and build community. Discussion over food has a slightly different feel to it somehow.

When done well that is.

Paul has heard that the people in Corinth have got the idea of table fellowship all wrong. The old class distinctions are showing up at the table of faith. Privilege is leading some to eat really well while others get the crumbs. And he is a little bit annoyed about it!

From the beginning of the Jesus movement eating together has been a key feature of the community. Indeed Jesus was routinely criticized for eating and drinking with the 'wrong sorts of people'. Table fellowship in the early church appears to have included that piece we now call Communion/Eucharist/Lord's Supper but also a whole meal where the community gathered, likely in the evening after the day's work was done, to eat at the same table. And this is where the Corinthians have gotten it wrong.

All evidence suggests that the Corinthian church had a mixture of free folk and slaves, wealthy folk and those who served them. From what Paul says it seems that the wealthy, those who have a more leisure-filled life, show up early and start the feast. Then those who have to work longer show up and the best food and wine are already gone. Paul has been trying to bring the Corinthians into a vision of the Kingdom, where there is no longer slave or free, Jew or Greek, man or woman (to borrow from his letter to the Galatians). In the Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed and Paul shares there is no place for some to feast and others get crumbs. Table fellowship in the church needs to mean that all are welcome to eat and all have an equal share in what is served.

In part this is why I see it as so important that we have what is called an open table. In some traditions only members of that denomination, or even of that congregation, can be served when communion comes around. Indeed within United Church history this has been the case. When I was growing up the expectation was that only confirmed members would take communion (though I don't think there were gatekeepers standing there with lists), with some people having memories of the Elder coming to visit before the quarterly communion service and leaving a communion card or token showing that one was in fact a ember in good standing. But our understanding of communion has changed over time and by the time I was a young adult the common language of United Church invitations tot he table reminded us that the table belongs to God, not to the church. Because it is God's table and God is the host all who seek to live in God's way are welcome to eat and drink at it. The gatekeeper is the person making the choice, not some church official. Paul exhorts the Corinthians about those who partake in an unworthy fashion (it is my understanding that this is part of why Roman Catholics are supposed to go to Confession before being served at Mass) but the determination is left up to the people themselves.

There is something special about gathering with friends at the table of faith. It might be an intricately carved high altar in a medieval cathedral, or a rickety table in a mud hut, or a flat rock along the riverside, or even a folded down tailgate. The flat surface itself is less important than the fact that people of faith gather together, share prayers, remember Christ, and eat together as beloved children of God.

Shall we gather at the table?
--Gord