Mid-Week Message - August 20

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be always with you!

I got home from Calgary and General Council last Thursday, had a whirlwind of a weekend with a wedding rehearsal on Thursday evening, a wedding on Friday, the Saint John Pride Parade on Saturday, and then our shared Affirming worship on Sunday morning. And now, almost a week later, I think that I'm finally getting my bearings again, and am over the jet lag!

It was a fun weekend around Two Rivers, as we marked the end of Saint John's Pride Week.  At the parade on Saturday, we joined together with folks from Harmony United Church and Quispamsis United Church (the other two Affirming Pastoral Charges in the area) as well as Portland United Church (on their way to becoming Affirming). We walked from Long Wharf, up Union Street, down St. Patrick Square, ending up at the Area 506 Container Village.  Along the way, we wished people "Happy Pride," we waved rainbow flags, and we carried signs that proclaimed "Love Always Wins," "Love is Louder," "God is Proud of All Their Children," and "God Loves You!"

(You can click here to see a picture of most of the United Church walkers at the end of the parade route.)

And then on Sunday morning, we joined together with those same churches to hold a shared Affirming Worship Service, hosted this year by Quispamsis United Church. We sang songs of Affirmation, we heard from guest preachers H and Jeannie Rice-Sawyer (who shared a reflection that made me tear up, about their individual journeys, as well as their journey as a family, figuring out church and identity and God as a rainbow family), and we shared the bread and cup of communion.

In our Affirming "bubble" of Two Rivers Pastoral Charge and the United Church of Canada, we can sometimes forget how important actions like this are.  Other churches, and other denominations still condemn homosexuality naming it as a "sin" rather than celebrating divers gender identities and sexual orientations as part of God's beautiful creation.  (You can check out some of the comments on this Facebook post on the Two Rivers Pastoral Charge page for an example of this. As of right now, I am choosing to engage with this person, but if the comments become threatening or more hateful, I will delete them.)

Two weeks ago, the United Church apologized for the harm that the church has done to 2SLGBTQIA+ people, mostly people within the church at the time of harm, but also to people who were outside of the church who were harmed.  In recent decades, we have heard painful stories from both clergy and church members who were threatened, kicked out of the church, abused spiritually, and placed on "do not hire" lists, just for being queer.

If you want to read the full apology, you can click here. (There is a short preamble, then the apology starts about 1/4 of the way down the page.)

I was present in Calgary when the apology was offered, and it was presented very well in the context of a worship service.  There were many tears that morning, and it was a healing moment for many people.  My one remaining question is around action. An apology without action is just empty words, so how are we, as a church, going to follow up this apology with action? Action towards reconciliation with people who have been hurt; and action to make sure that the hurt does not continue to be perpetuated.  (Yes, we are in our Affirming bubble, but I do know of places where our beloved United Church of Canada continues to cause harm to queer folx.)

I made a short video for Facebook right after the apology (you can click here to watch it if you missed it) - at that time, I said that I was still processing the apology, and I continue to do so.  (And if there is any interest in sitting down as a group to read through the apology and ponder the words and the implication of the words, please let me know. Theology, or talking/thinking about God, happens best in community rather than isolated from each other!)

Anyways, moving on to announcements, and there are a couple of new ones added to the list this week:

• Worship on Sunday - we're getting towards the end of our "Wait?! What?! That's in the Bible???" series. This week we get to read a story from the middle of the book of Revelation - the part of the story where a dragon appears.  Yes, a dragon.  (Though, as I ponder this story, I suspect that it is less of a story about dragons, and more of a story about hanging on when life gets tough.) If you want to read it ahead of time, you'll find it at Revelation 12:1-17.

• Movie Nights - there is one more Tuesday in August, so next week will be our last movie for this summer.  We're going to be watching Marie Antoinette, the 2006 film starring Kirsten Dunst about, well, you've probably guessed it, Marie Antoinette. If you want to read more about the movie or watch the trailer, you can click here. The movie starts at 7, and the popcorn will be popped!

• Church Picnic - Labour Day weekend is early this year, which means that our church picnic (the weekend after Labour Day) is also early! Sunday September 7, at 11am, we'll gather at the cottage of Anne and Ross Titus to worship on the beach, then share in a potluck lunch.  Please bring:  lawn chair (or something to sit on), a dish to share for the potluck, your own plate, fork, etc, and your water bottle (or other beverage of choice).

  The cottage is at 31 Titus Lane - turn off NB-945 onto Gorhams Bluff Road, and just past the Titus farm, turn left on Titus Lane. Look for signs pointing you to where to park.  (For anyone with mobility challenges, you are welcome to drive right down to the cottage; and in addition, Anne and Ross's granddaughter Kate will be operating a side-by-side for anyone who needs additional assistance getting from their vehicle down to the beach.)

  For folks coming from Westfield - it is about a 25-minute drive from Harding's Point to the cottage, and you will also want to factor in time to get across on the ferry.

• School Supplies for MCS - it's that time of year again! This year, MCS is asking for:  math sets, duotangs, pens, pencils, erasers, Hilroy notebooks, computer paper, campfire note books, glue sticks, and small binders. Donations can be left at any of our 3 churches - at Summerville and Long Reach there will be a box at the back, and at Westfield if you leave things in the small kitchen by the office, I'll transport them over to the Peninsula.

• Harvest Garden Community Market - The Harvest Garden at Westfield is going to be holding a fundraising "makers' market" on Saturday October 4 from 12pm-4pm. Anyone with something to sell (that they have made or grown), or who wants to share information about a community group, is welcome to rent a table for the afternoon. Homemade birdhouses; jams, pickles, and preserves; paintings; knitting - the sky's the limit!

  Tables are $15 for artisans selling their goods, and free for community groups wanting to share information. You can register for a table by clicking here. Registration deadline is September 15, and if you have any questions, you can contact Marijke at marykegeurts@gmail.com

  And please share this with any Makers or Growers that you know who might be interested!

  (I'm planning to rent a table for the afternoon to sell some of my homemade bread and rolls etc, and maybe some homemade cookies too, so I'll see you there!)

• Chairs for Westfield United Church - this fundraiser has been going on through the summer, but I know that some of you haven't been around this summer and may have missed the announcements Joe has made.  The Stewards at Westfield United are in the process of replacing the wooden chairs in the basement (that have a tendency to bite behinds and rip clothing) with padded folding chairs. If you would like to sponsor a pair of chairs, two chairs (plus tax) comes to $53, and the Stewards are working on having a way that you can dedicate the chairs in someone's memory if you would like to do so. You can donate a pair of chairs by giving $53 through any of the usual donation routes - in the offering plate, dropped off at the church, or by etransfer to westfielduc@gmail.com - just make sure that you indicate that the money is for chairs!
  

Thank You Corner - this week's thank you goes out to the Long Reach Singers (and friends) who contributed to the music ministry at our shared service at Quispamsis United Church on Sunday. As we were planning out the service, someone suggested a song that might be sung by a group from one of our churches, since most of our church choirs take the summer off. When nobody else offered, I said that I would approach Joan and the Long Reach Singers to see if they would be willing to learn it; and Joan said yes! With only a YouTube video and a print-out of the lyrics, the Long Reach Singers (plus a couple of members of the Westfield Choir) learned a new song, then sang it during the service, accompanied by Tracy Friars (who also had no sheet music to work from). If you want to see a picture of them in action, you can click here!

And for a closing thought, I read an interesting article on the CBC website this week about US ministers moving to Canada and serving United Church of Canada congregations. The United Church of Canada and the United Church of Christ - a US denomination - are in "full communion" with each other, which means that clergy can move freely between the two denominations; but the article deals with immigration challenges that these ministers are facing.  You can read it by clicking here.

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)