Minister's Annual Report for 2020

Well that was a year to remember! Or possibly a year we might want to forget? At any rate 2020 was a year that was different than any other in my lifetime.

A year ago as I sat down to write my annual reflections I would never have expected that within a few short weeks I would be preaching to a camera and uploading to YouTube and not seeing people every Sunday morning. But that is sort of the defining image of the year – an empty (or almost empty) church and a camera and a computer screen.

So what have we learned in this year of being the church during a pandemic? What were the highlights of the year?

I think the biggest thing we have learned is that we can adapt and change pretty darn quickly when we need to. As an institution the church is not noted for being adept at change, but on March 15 schools were closed and at a special Council meeting on March 16 we agreed that we had to suspend in-person services. By March 25 we had a plan for how that would look, we had a plan for a phone blitz to be in contact with people (especially those for whom we did not have an e-mail address), and we had set up a Zoom account so we could have gatherings in virtual space as needed. Over the next few months we came up with a plan for getting extra cleaning done while the church was not being used, various groups got more comfortable with using Zoom for their meetings, we started weekly (actually twice weekly at first) on-line coffee gatherings. We had communion in a virtual space. We developed and implemented a plan for how we might resume in-person services. And then we turned back and moved into an online-only existence again at the end of the year. As a congregation a lot of changes happened this year – largely without any major bumps. This is something to celebrate!

Some of the changes we have made this year will not go away. The biggest piece that will not go away is that now we are a church that shares our worship services not only with those in the building but online. Last February live streaming our worship was not high on my “to do” list. It was on the radar but not a priority. COVID changed that. There is no going back now. I wonder what new opportunities that might open up for us?

There is at least one more highlight for me this past year. Our stewardship stepped up. I am not thinking only in terms of dollars and donations, which kept constant despite everything else. I also think of those who volunteered for our Garage Sale, and those who delivered and made phone calls and those who shared videos and photos for worship events. And so many other things that happened this year only happened because people shared their time, talent, and treasure. Thank you for all of it!

2020 was a very strange year. We had to do things very differently. Some of it felt (and still feels) very strange. But we were there for each other. And God was there in the midst of it all. There are, I am sure, many non pandemic-related items to talk about from last year but really my focus for the year was reacting and adapting to COVID. To be honest I am not sure I have finished processing it all for myself. And so I think I will close with these words from Scripture:

"I have much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink;
instead I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face."
3 John 1:13

Be blessed my friends.
Gord.

Looking Ahead to February 28, 2021 -- 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year B

 The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Mark 1:14-15
• Mark 8:31-38

The Sermon title is Is It Time?

Early Thoughts: When? Now? Tomorrow? Last year?

And what will we do about it?

According to Mark's Gospel Jesus starts his ministry with the words "The time is fulfilled". Some other translations read "the time has come".  It is probable that the arrest of John precipitates this. But time for what? The time for the Kingdom of God it is here, now among you.

A few chapters later Jesus is pushing his friends about what it means to live into the Kingdom of God which has come near. He talks about arrest and suffering and death and life. He talks about losing life to save it. He talks about taking up an instrument of execution. His friends are less than impressed.

Is it time for the Kingdom? Is it time to give up life to save it? Is it time to pay a price for a larger goal? In 2021, entering the 2nd year of a global pandemic (and I write this on the day when the USA is expected to pass 500 000 deaths due to Covid-19), what is it time for? 

I think there are many possible answers to go with that last question. But first a digression. Whenever I read about time in Scripture I call to mind two words: chronos and kairos, Greek words that talk about two different understandings of time. Chronos is the word that would talk about time as we usually  talk about it. It is the root of words like chronological or chronometer. I think that when we talk about the Kingdom or Reign of God we are talking about kairos. Kairos speaks about the time being right, about the opportune time.

So if the kairos is fulfilled or come what is it opportune for? Here in  2021 what is it the right or opportune time for? Is it time for the cross that leads to life?

Sometimes the time is right but the people are not ready. I think this is where Peter finds himself in the second passage for this week. Peter is not yet ready to hear what it means to champion the Reign of God in the midst of the Reign of Caesar.What Jesus describes is not what Peter thought he was signing up for (although I often wonder if Peter had a clue what he was signing up for that day by the sea).

Pandemic restrictions have led us to give up many things in the name of short-term pain for long-term gain. It may not be to the level of taking up a cross but it is still a level of sacrifice that many of us would not have chosen back on February 28, 2020. We do it not only because we are ordered to, we do it because we love and care for our neighbours. It is my belief that if we are acting faithfully as citizens of God's Kingdom than everything we do needs to be done for the fulfillment of the Kingdom, and of the love which underpins that Reign. When we give things up, when we take things on, we do it for the sake of the Gospel -- each in its' own time.

Walking on the road with Jesus is not always fun. Sometimes Jesus leads us into dangerous, even scary, places. But Jesus calls us to follow in the service of a larger gain. Maybe it is time after all?

I wonder how all these thoughts will coalesce into a sermon in 6 days? But I have some time after all....
--Gord

Looking Ahead to February 21, 2021 -- 1st Sunday of Lent, Year B

 The Scripture Reading this week is Genesis 9:8-17

The Sermon title is Rainbow People, Covenant People

Early Thoughts: In recent years the Rainbow has taken on a deep meaning within the LGBTQ+ community. Since 1978 it has been the image used on the Pride flag, but it seems to me that it really only hit the mainstream within the last 10-15 years or so. The rainbow, has also been used as an image of diversity and inclusion in racial issue (such as Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition). These are great uses of the effect created when light passes through a prism. Scripturally speaking however, there is a far older meaning for the rainbow.

It goes back to the story of Noah. The story of Noah is, in many ways, the story of a capricious God. God determines that the human experiment is not going well and decides to wash most of them away. But then it appears that God repents. God seems to realize this was not a healthy reaction to the brokenness of human and promises never to flood and destroy the earth again. The symbol of this promise is the rainbow.

The rainbow continues to remind us of our covenant relationship with God. The rainbow continues to remind us of God's promise. This is one of the great covenants in Jewish Scripture. It is a covenant with the whole of creation, including humanity. As the text says, this covenant is everlasting. It is still in force.

We are all people of covenant. We are all people who live in relationships based on promises. We are all people bound to each other not only by contracts but by the holy language of promise and commitment and covenant.

What does it mean to live as covenant people, living in the shadow of the rainbow? I think it encompasses both the Pride flag and the Rainbow Coalition -- and many other things. In the verses just before this week's reading humanity's part of the covenant is laid out -- an injunction against murder. To live as people of the covenant means that we do things that facilitate life and that we choose not to do things that lead to death. It is a whole life commitment.

We are covenant people. Let us live out our part. God will remain faithful to God's part
--Gord.

Looking Forward to February 14, 2021 -- Valentine's Day, Transfiguration Sunday

 The Scripture Readings this week are:

• 1 Corinthians 13
• 1 John 4:18-21

The Sermon title is Love Transforms

Early Thoughts: Fear casts out love. Love is patient and kind. Love rejoices in the truth.

It is easy, perhaps especially on Valentine's Day, to get overly romantic and schmaltzy when talking about love. When we read about love in Scripture romance and schmaltz need to disappear form the discussion.

Scripture talks about the love that changes who we are and how we are. Scripture shows us the powerful force that love is in the Reign of God. Scripture reminds us that to truly love another is commanded, is holy, is an essential part of being a mature child of God.

Paul's hymn to love is often read at weddings. In large part because it is a beautiful discussion of love. In part (I believe) because people hear it at one wedding and decide they want it at theirs -- which then becomes a continuous process. But I often wonder if people really listen to those words at a wedding -- okay basically I doubt people are really at a wedding for the Scripture Reading and message in the first place. The love Paul describes in the middle of that hymn is almost utopian. It is almost other-worldly. No wonder he ends by saying the greatest of these is love. Love like that described in this hymn is truly transformative.

This Valentine's Day let us pause to consider the powerful nature of love. Let us ask ourselves how love has transformed our lives (and how we have resisted love's transforming power). This transformation is both personal and communal. Let's put aside the flowers and candles and intimate dinners of two this year and talk about the fullness of love.

And we don't need to be afraid to embrace the power of love. Because love casts out fear.

--Gord

Looking Forward to February 7, 2021

 All are reminded that we are continuing with online only worship until at least the end of February (Council will re-evaluate at our February meeting) Sunday Worship can be found on our You Tube Channel.

This being the first Sunday of February the service will include Communion. You are invited and encouraged to have elements available as you join in the worship service at home so we can all eat and drink together.

The Scripture Reading this week is John 1:35-51

The Sermon title is Come and See

Early Thoughts: It is a story about invitations. It is a story about seeking people out, finding them. It is a story about curiosity, and also one about skepticism. It is a story about recognition.

That is a lot for 17 verses....

[Scene 1] We start with John the Baptist recognizing who Jesus is and pointing him out to the people with John. This starts some curiosity, which leads people to go and talk to Jesus. Jesus then invites them to come and learn more. This starts some excitement and leads Andrew to go find his brother Simon. Andrew shares what he has recognized in Jesus and invites Simon to come and learn more, upon which Jesus recognizes Simon as someone special and renames him Peter. [EndScene]

[Scene 2] Jesus finds and invites Philip to follow him. Philip goes to find Nathanael to tell him what Philip has recognized in Jesus. Nathanael is skeptical that anything out of Nazareth is worth a fuss so Philip says, in essence, "come and see for your self". Then we have this odd discussion about the fig tree and signs and symbols. [EndScene]

What makes us recognize that something special is happening around us? What makes us recognize the God has entered the building? What makes us curious enough to look closer and see what is happening?

Once we come to that realization what do we do? Do we go out and find others we have to let in on the secret? Do we invite others to come and join in? If we are invited in what might make us skeptical? What might counteract that skepticism?

We are called to be curious. We are called to search for people. We are called to invite others to come and see for themselves what we have found.
--Gord

February Newsletter

 Called to Be the Church....

This year our newsletters will encourage us to reflect on lines from the United Church Creed (also called the New Creed). I can’t remember which line Sharon asked for reflections on this month so I made my own choice.

Asking what it means to be called to be the church leads in many directions. The one I am thinking about today is tied to this last verse from the Marty Haugen hymn (#1 in More Voices) “Let Us Build a House”:

Let us build a house where all are named, their songs and visions heard
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith and songs of grace,
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter.
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

What implications might it have to put those words into action? As it happens I have reflected on this question many times over the years. Here is a column I wrote for the paper in Atikokan on that theme:

Who is Welcome?

The brightly lettered sign on the door said “All welcome, come as you are”.
Pete looked at his his wheelchair and asked “even me?” and then he continued down the street. How would he get up the stairs?

Next came Sue and Cathy. They looked at the sign, and the beautiful stained glass windows and for a moment thought about going in. But then they remembered the last time they had been, and the clear message that folks like them were “bad”. They knew they weren't welcome as a couple.

Next down the block was a young family. “Let's go see!” shouted the youngest. But the kids tended to be noisy, they had trouble sitting still. Not wanting to cause trouble the parents quickly walked away, dragging the kids with them.

Finally came Fred and Alice. They thought it would be nice to have a warm place to sit and maybe a cup of coffee. But they looked at their shabby clothes and their unwashed faces and knew that their presence seemed to make others uncomfortable. So they went down the street to try and find a meal.

Meanwhile, oblivious to the people passing by and wishing they could come in, the congregation sat looking around the half-empty sanctuary and asked themselves: “Why aren't there more people here? We are such a friendly group?”

The Gospel message is clear. The love and grace of God are offered to all of God's people. But even then we see the struggle to understand what that means. Even Jesus has to be taught about God's amazing welcome. It takes a foreign woman challenging his prejudices to show Jesus that, as an old hymn says, “the love of God is broader than the measures of the mind” (see Mark 7:24-30).

And still the world struggles. Every church I have attended has described themselves as warm and friendly. Every church wants to believe that all are welcome in their midst. But the reality people experience is far different. The story told earlier plays itself out over and over across this country. But God is still calling us to a new way.

God is calling the global community to be a place where all are welcome. All. Regardless of age, or physical/emotional/mental ability, or gender, or race, or social background, or economic status, or marital status, or sexual orientation, or any of the multitude of other ways we have of dividing people; despite all of that you are welcome in the Family of God.

This is the challenge for the world, to live out God's amazingly broad and open welcome. We will sometimes fall short. Sometimes we fall short intentionally, sometimes we don't even know it. If we are going to do better we need to be challenged. Otherwise we are as oblivious as the congregation in the story. What barricades do we put up that keep others out of our clubs, our businesses, our communities? How do we go about breaking them down?

Elsewhere in this newsletter are some words from our Affirming Task Group. They too are asking questions about who feels welcome in this place, about what it means to say that all are welcome to belong to this congregation. As Marty Haugen says in the opening of that same hymn: “Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live”. We are called to be the church, the Body of Christ, the community of love. Welcoming is part of living out that call.

Looking Forward to January 31, 2021 -- 4th Sunday After Epiphany, Year B

 The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Jeremiah 1:1-10
• Isaiah 6:1-8

The Sermon title is I'm Not Worthy! 

Early Thoughts: Are you worthy? When God comes along and says "I have a job for you" do you think you are worthy?  Why did you answer the way you did? What might make you change your answer?

Isaiah and Jeremiah both thought they were not worthy, that they were the wrong choice. Isaiah because he was not pure enough to stand in the presence of God, Jeremiah because he was too young. In Luke's version of the calling of the four fishermen Peter's first response is "Go away...for I am a sinful man" (Luke 5:8). When Moses has his chat with the burning bush he is sure God made the wrong choice because Moses could not speak well (maybe he stuttered?). Scripture is full of people who feel unworthy of the trust God has placed in them. Looking back several centuries later what do we say about their worthiness?

There are, I suspect a number of reasons we think we are unworthy. But in the end it is not our call. The scandal of grace is that God declares all of us worthy. The God in whose image we are created sees us differently (both the positive and the negative) than we see ourselves. So when God comes calling what should we say?

I do note that God does not simply dismiss or ignore the objections Jeremiah and Isaiah raise. God takes transformative action to move them past those objections. [Interestingly in both cases it involves touching of the lips, a very intimate act.] How might God move us past our objections, our feelings of being unworthy?

Here, today, in 2021, in the middle of a pandemic God is reaching into the hearts of God's people and asking them to take on some task or another. God is asking us to share words of hope and challenge with the world around us. I will note that God does not promise either Jeremiah or Isaiah that the words God has for them to share will be popular or even that people will listen -- if anything the opposite is true. We can not assume people will like what God reveals to us about the world. Still we are challenged to proclaim.

What does God want us to say to the world in the face of COVID-19? In the face of economic inequality? In the face of the building climate crisis? What part of our lives make us specially suited to the task that God has asked us to do?

Our culture is good at telling us that we are not worthy, that we should not get 'uppity', that we should stick to our assigned lanes. God tends to tell us the opposite. God tells us we are worthy. God raises us up. God pushes us into another lane (or erases the lanes altogether?). God calls us to serve the causes of God's Reign. How will we respond? How is God making us ready to respond?
--Gord

Looking Forward to January 24, 2021 -- 3rd Sunday After Epiphany

 The Scripture Reading for this week is Mark 1:14-28

The Sermon title is The Adventure Begins...

Early Thoughts: Would you do it? What would make you jump up and join a new adventure without knowing where the path would lead?

I suspect that this is one of the stories of faith that is harmed by familiarity. It is a story that we hear every year. Those of us who grew up going to Sunday School likely heard it throughout our childhood. And we hear it as a nice story about people by the sea many centuries ago. Do we stop and ask about what it might mean for us today?

I am sitting and typing this on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I was just looking on Twitter and found the hashtag #RadicalKing. Dr. King has, in white Christian circles, largely been domesticated. We share the uplifting energizing quotes that are safer. We try to forget that Dr. King was denounced from many a pulpit. We try to forget that he was advocating for a whole-hearted changing of the ways within the United States. He challenged poverty and racism and militarism. He lived out of a vision of how the God revealed in Jesus Christ desired people to live together. He joined the adventure. I am sure there were days when he thought it might have been easier to remain a simple preacher in a neighbourhood church. But he joined on the adventure.

Right after the four fishers leave their nets and follow the adventure begins.  No period of training, no 'cooling off' period when they could reverse their decision, no gradual easing in to a new life, BANG things start to happen. Teaching happens, healing happens, confrontation with evil happens. Did the four know what they had gotten into? Did they wonder if this was a good choice?

We are invited to join in an adventure. Jesus meets us where we are, in the midst of our lives, and offers on opportunity to be part of the remaking of the world. It is not a choice to be made lightly. It is a choice that could change (probably should change) who we are and how we live forever. It may lead us to challenge various assumptions and attitudes and activities that the culture around us takes for granted. It may lead us to stand in the face of the storm and yell into the wind. It may lead us to name things as evil or wrong.

Following Christ on this adventure is about our whole lives. It can change how we interact with our neighbours, with our environment, with our economy. I can see lots of reasons why the rational choice would be to say "No thanks" and go back to mending our nets (or whatever the equivalent might be for us). Will we have the courage, the holy foolishness, the strange wisdom to jump in with both feet?
--Gord

Looking Forward to January 17, 2021 -- 2nd After Epiphany

The Scripture Reading for this week is 1 Samuel 3:1-20

The Sermon title is Who's There?

Early Thoughts: A voice calls in the night. And at first nobody, it seems, knows whose voice it is.

Eli is a leader in Israel. He has been entrusted with the care of the child Samuel, the miracle baby born to Hannah. Eli was a priest. Eli's sons were priests (though they have already strayed from the faithful past and are causing trouble in the land). But we are told that "the word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread". Has Eli lost touch, lost contact with the God he serves? Is that why it takes him so long to discern whose voice it is the Samuel is hearing?

We could stop this passage at the halfway point. We could stop reading at verse 11 where Samuel, now aware of whose voice he hears in the night, says "Speak, for your servant is listening". That is a great story. There is a great sermon in there, a chance to reflect on if the word of God is really rare or if there is just too much noise for us to hear/recognize the voice, or if we simply choose not too hear. There is a great sermon on pausing to listen and pushing ourselves to respond as Samuel does.   We could do that.

But then we miss half the story.

Having opened himself to listen to the word of God Samuel hears some hard words. His first task as a servant of God is to tell Eli (his teacher, mentor, caregiver) some hard truths, to essentially tell Eli that he has been fired, that he has lost favour with God. No wonder when Samuel gets up the next day he is afraid to tell Eli about the experience. (As I read the passage I get the sense that Samuel is trying to avoid the older man until Eli calls him directly).

Sometimes choosing to open our hearts and souls and ears to listen for God's word leads us into difficult territory. That may well be the sermon we need to hear, the sermon we need to share with each other. It is not enough to say "here I am". We need to be ready to follow through as well, even when the word we are called to share is more than sweetness and light. God does call us to remind each other that we are loved and that we are lovable. God also calls us to be accountable for our actions, God also calls us to hold our neighbours and or culture accountable for their actions (and attitudes and beliefs and priorities).

What hard words does God have for us to hear and share these days?

Samuel will grow into a great leader, a man close to God, a man who will anoint two kings of Israel. It starts because he is willing to speak into the darkness saying "Speak, for your servant is listening" and then is willing to share the words he heard. It starts because his mentor is willing to urge the student to do what is right. Sometimes we are Samuel, sometimes we are Eli. Are we willing to listen?
--Gord

Looking Forward to January 10, 2021 -- Baptism of Christ Sunday

Currently we have suspended in-person worship. Instead we invite you to join us for our live streamed worship on YouTube 

The Scripture Readings this Sunday are:

• Acts 19:1-7
• Mark 1:4-11

The Sermon title is By Water and the Spirit

Early Thoughts: John came to the Jordan and baptized. John's baptism is described as "baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" and it appears that John is wildly popular. But John knows that someone else is coming...

In this passage from Acts we see some of the growth in understanding within the Early Christian Community. Some (it is plausible that the earlier teacher in this case was Apollos)  have been teaching a different version of the faith than Paul and others have been. Apollos, it seems, may have known much about Jesus but his understanding of Baptism was limited to John's baptism for repentance, a Baptism of water but not of the Spirit.

Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins is a good thing. The idea of repenting, of changing direction to go a new way is crucial to being a follower of Christ. The reminder of being forgiven (one old image is that the act of Baptism washes away those sins) is crucial to our ability to change direction. But, our faith story suggests, it is not enough. The water is an important symbol. The being washed over by and filled with the Holy Spirit is what transforms us.

That is what God invites us to in our baptism. We are named as God's beloved children. We are called and invited to join in the quest for the Reign of God. We are commissioned and empowered to be agents of God's Reign. Water by itself can't do all those things.

A large part of why we Protestants consider Baptism to be a sacrament is because Jesus was baptized and because the Risen Christ (at the end of Matthew's Gospel) command us to go out and Baptize. But for me Baptism is sacramental because something special and mysterious happens. Officiating at Baptisms is one of my favorite tasks in ministry. Something happens that makes me feel God's presence in a different way as I hold that child and put the water on the head and say the words. As I bless the child with words like "the power of the Holy Spirit work within you, that being born of water and the Spirit, you may be a faithful witness of Jesus Christ" there is a holy space created. Baptism matters.

We are called to be a baptized and baptizing church. We are called to share the water and the Spirit for the growing of God's Reign. Baptism in water and the Spirit is not [just] about repentance for the forgiveness of sins, it is about being transformed. The power of Baptism is in that transformation, a transformation that grows and develops throughout our life of faith.

God calls/invites/challenges us to be transformed by the washing over of the Holy Spirit. Will we accept?
--Gord