May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be always with you!
Yesterday morning, when I was driving over to Summerville for my weekly office hours / quilting, the landscape was so spectacular that it took my breath away. (Literally. I had to stop to catch my breath... and take a picture which some of you may have seen on Facebook.). The snow that followed the rain on Monday night was clinging to the trees that were lining the hills. The sun was still fairly low on the horizon rising in front of my, capturing the snow in some place while other spots were still in the shadows. And there was no wind and no traffic (other than me) and the stillness of the morning reflected the reverence that I felt surrounded by the glory of God's creation.
It has been a tough couple of weeks for so many of us, and for so many people around the world. I have had a very challenging couple of weeks. And so I received yesterday morning as a powerful reminder that the world that we live in is such a beautiful place. The world that God created is full of so much beauty and goodness.
Yesterday morning was a reminder to me not to get mired in the fear and the sorrow that are so much a part of the world. I don't think that I'm free to ignore it, just because it doesn't touch me personally (at this time). We need to be aware of injustices and suffering if we want to play a part in God's work of ending them. But at the same time, we need (or at least I need) reminders of all of the beauty, of all of the goodness, of all of the love that really is all around us in the world.
As I often say in funerals (and at other times too), God is love. God doesn't just feel love, God doesn't just do love, but the very essence of God's being is love. Which means that all of our human love is a reflection of God. And when my senses are open to the love in the world around me, then my senses are open to perceiving God's presence.
When the world is going through challenging times, I think that I might need to be more intentional about looking for "God Sightings" - not just on Sunday morning, but every single day. Maybe even every single hour. Where am I especially aware of God's presence right now? How do I notice God working in the world right now?
Because I think that it is an awareness of God's presence that will help us to get through any challenges we might face. For in life, in death, and in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God!
Moving on to announcements this week:
Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Summerville and 11:15 at Westfield. This week, Steve (our student minister) will be preaching, so I invite you all to make a special effort to be in worship this week to encourage him. (He is also going to have specific feedback forms on his sermon from the school that he will be asking some of you to complete.) I can't tell you a teaser of what he is going to say, but I do know that he will be preaching on Luke 5:1-11 - Jesus calling his first disciples.
Stop! In the Name of Love - the Westfield United Church Choir Valentine's concert is just over a week away! Thursday February 13, 7pm, admission by free-will offering. The music will explore all of the different sorts of love in the world. You can see the full poster by clicking here.
Annual Meetings: A reminder of our upcoming annual meetings:
Long Reach Congregation: Feb. 16, 9am, woven together with worship
Westfield Congregation: Feb. 16, 11:15am, woven together with worship
TRPC Official Board: Feb. 19, 7:30pm at Westfield United Church
Bayswater-Summerville: Feb. 23, 9am, woven together with worship
Annual Reports - printed copies of the annual report are now available at Westfield and Long Reach, and will be at Summerville this coming Sunday. I will be circulating an electronic copy of the report soon, if you would prefer to save the paper and just have the electronic report instead. A huge thank you to everyone who submitted their reports, and another huge thank you to Elaine for compiling and printing them.
Thank you to everyone who shared their time and talents last Saturday at Joanne Yorke's funeral. As a church, we were able to offer a welcoming and compassionate space for her family and friends. Ushering, music, reception, livestreaming - all of these are important parts of our funeral ministry, and I know that Joanne's family very much appreciated it on Saturday.
Asking the Big Questions: Our February gathering will be on Tuesday February 18 from 4:30-6pm in the parlour at Westfield United Church (with pizza). This month's big question will be "God is great?" and we will have different prompts and activities to explore this big question.
Bulletin Covers - Elaine is continuing to solicit pictures (photographs or any other form of visual art) to use for our in-house bulletin covers. These can be seasonally themed (e.g. Easter, Pentecost, Christmas), or they can be seasonal. The only requirement is that they be "portrait" orientation rather than "landscape." You can e-mail digital photographs to the church at wuc@nb.sympatico.ca or drop off physical artwork at the church office.
And I think that's it for announcements this week!
For a closing thought, one of my colleagues asked on Facebook this week, "What is in your spiritual 'go-bag'? The things that you reach for quickly in case of a spiritual emergency. What favorite verses of scripture or inspirational quotes or poems will you reach for? What songs are you singing? What memories are strengthening you to face this moment?" I replied sharing a link to a song that was written for the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, that I listen to any time that I need an injection of hope - "We are Bringing in the Light" by Gathering Sparks - you can listen by clicking here.
But I'm also wondering if there is some way that we can curate a collection of all of the things that we, collectively, use to get our souls through a spiritual crisis; if there is some way that we can collect and share all of the art and music and poetry and scripture that uplifts our souls. (I'm serious - if anyone has any thoughts on the logistics of how we might collect and share these things, I'd love to hear your ideas!)
Blessings to you and yours, today and always,
Kate.
Rev. Kate Jones
Two Rivers Pastoral Charge
(506) 757-2201 (office)
(506) 343-1307 (mobile)
Pronouns: she/her/hers
"Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the law?"
Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "You must love your neighbour as you love yourself."
(Matthew 22:36-39)
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