May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be always with you!
I've been thinking a lot about community this week. Yesterday I had a day that was filled with people from our community - both our community of the church and the wider community of where we live. I started the day at Summerville United Church where the quilters were gathered (and yesterday they finished the quilt they had been working on and will be taking a couple of weeks' break before starting the next one). Then I went up the road to St. Bridget's Church where Kingston Peninsula Heritage had their most recent gathering to look at the history of churches and cemeteries on the Peninsula. And in the afternoon, I had a couple of one-on-one visits with members of our church family.
Being part of community is important - we are created for community. Remember back in the Genesis 2 creation story, after God had created the first human but before God had divided the first human into two, and God said, "It isn't good for the human to be alone."
And if you go back to the Genesis 1 creation story, you will see that we are created in the image of God. And when we think that the God in whose image we are created is community within themself - the Three-in-One and the One-in-Three - then we are created in the image of Divine Community.
It isn't good for us to be alone - it is good for us to be part of community, however or wherever we might find community. Community can be found within our church family; community can be found within wider community groups (one of my friends has done some research on the community that is built in community choirs); community can even be found in online gatherings and groups as we all learned during the various Covid lockdowns.
Where are you finding your community these days? What strength and support do you gain from that community?
In terms of announcements this week:
Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Summerville and 11:15 at Westfield and on Facebook Live. Our hymn this week will be one of my personal favourites - "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" and we'll be pairing this with the story of Moses leading the people through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Specifically we'll be reading about the death of Moses, just before they crossed the Jordan River to leave the wilderness behind, in Deuteronomy 34:1-12. What does it mean, that Moses worked so hard for God and for the people, but didn't get to see for himself the Promised Land? (I've linked to a Welsh choir singing, since the hymn tune, Cwm Rhondda, is a Welsh tune.)
Movie Nights - we still have two more movie nights before Labour Day! Tonight (August 24) we will be watching "Yesterday," a movie centered around the music of The Beatles. Next Wednesday (August 31) we will be watching the newest Disney animated musical, "Encanto" and learn why "we don't talk about Bruno-no-no-no." (Click here if you don't get that reference, of if you want an earworm for the rest of the day!) Movies start at 7pm in the Westfield parlour - the popcorn will be popped, and feel free to bring your beverage of choice with you.
Plans continue for the Church Picnic on September 11 at 11am at the Sherwood's cottage (100 Admiral Lane, Long Reach). The worship service will include a baptism as well as communion; there will be games and activities organized for the children; and I hope that you are thinking about your favourite potluck dish to make for our lunch afterward! Please bring your own lawn chair, plate, and fork as well. (And also please note that we won't be having any services at any of our churches that week; and due to the logistics of being outdoors, we won't be able to livestream the service on Facebook that week either.)
A reminder to Peninsula folks - please drop off your supplies for MCS at either Summerville or Long Reach church before Labour Day. If you've lost the list of what they are looking for, you can click here and scroll down through last week's mid-week message to find their wish list.
And finally, a huge thank you to everyone who helped out with VBS (Vacation Bible School) at Long Reach last Thursday! We had 22 children aged 3 and up; and despite the drizzly weather we had a blast exploring the stories of Jonah and the Whale and David and Goliath through storytelling, games, and crafts. We had a lifeguard for a couple of hours in the afternoon and a few brave souls spent the full 2 hours in the river!
And that's it for announcements this week. I've already shared a couple of song links in this e-mail so here's one more as a closing thought. I've been listening to this song on repeat over the summer, especially since Lisa LeBlanc (an Acadienne musician from New Brunswick) made the shortlist for the Polaris Prize for her album, Chiac Disco. Click here to listen to "Pourquoi faire aujourd'hui," an ode to procrastination.
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)