May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be always with you!
If you are on my Facebook, you might have seen that I went out on the Nerepis with my canoe on Monday. I had funerals on Friday and Saturday which meant that I didn't get a weekend, so I took Monday as a day off instead.
Being out on the water for a couple of hours fed my soul. It was quiet; it was calm; there were eagles overhead and ducks and herons at water level; fish were jumping (though not when the eagles were around!); and the rhythm of paddle, paddle, repeat felt like a meditation.
When God began to create the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1-2:3), God worked for six days then rested on the seventh; and when God gave the ten commandments to the people, one of the commandments was to take sabbath time. God knows that we need time to rest, and we need time to be present with God, with God's creation, and with loved ones. We can flourish better as humans when we take sabbath time. And I think that, especially in today's world, taking sabbath time is counter-cultural - we can push back against the dominant cultural narrative that says that we should be endlessly busy, constantly available to others, and always grinding away at the materialist and capitalist machine.
God knows that we are more than just producers and consumers. God knows that we are human beings rather than human doings; and taking sabbath time honours the "being" part of ourselves.
How have you been carving out sabbath time for yourself this summer?
I have a couple of announcements for stuff going on in the Pastoral Charge this week:
Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Summerville (outside, weather permitting) and at 11:15 at Westfield (with livestreaming to Facebook). We are continuing our look at "Things Jesus Didn't Say" - this week, the phrase we are examining is "When God closes a door, somewhere they open a window." I'll give you a hint - what do you think of when you hear this expression? If your brain contains the same pop culture contents as mine, then the thing that you associate with this phrase is actually the phrase's origin.
This week's Church Family Movie is Dreamgirls - tonight (Wednesday) at 7pm in the Westfield parlour. This is a 2006 movie set in the Motown music scene, and is loosely based on the experiences of The Supremes. Everyone is welcome!
One of our Westfield members, Ginny Shaw, died back in early May, and her funeral is going to be next Monday, August 16, at 2pm at Fundy Funeral Home. There is going to be no visitation, but the service will be followed by a reception catered by the Westfield UCW.
If you like being able to do some forward planning, I have a couple of dates for you to add to your calendar. The September issue of Broadview Magazine is out - it arrived in my mailbox last week - and we will be gathering on Monday September 13 at 10am in the Westfield parlour for a discussion of this issue. Even if you aren't a subscriber, you can still read many of the articles in the issue if you click here.
And finally, our Pastoral Charge picnic is scheduled for Sunday September 12 at 11am at the Sherwood's cottage on Admiral Lane (Long Reach). Watch for more details closer to the date, but we are hoping to see all of you on the beach (and any prayers for good weather that day wouldn't go amiss!).
I hope that you are all having a good summer!
Blessings to you and yours, today and always,
Kate.
Rev. Kate Jones Two Rivers Pastoral Charge (506) 757-2201 (office) (506) 343-1307 (mobile) www.tworiverspastoralcharge.com 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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