Mid-Week Message - August 26

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

I'm sending out this email a day early, because tomorrow I'm going to be busy with VBS (Vacation Bible School) at Long Reach and won't be on my computer! (More on VBS later...)

It is the last week of August, and even though summer doesn't officially end for another almost-4 weeks, the beginning of September is the unofficial end of summer. Don't get me wrong - autumn is probably my favourite season - but there is something that feels a bit melancholy about saying goodbye to the "lazy hazy crazy days of summer."

On Thursday, there is going to be a #TheologyThursday post on the Two Rivers Pastoral Charge Facebook Page about transition times, and taking this opportunity to do some soul-searching or examination of our spirits to see what we need spiritually in this moment in order to flourish.

And in the same vein I want to take this opportunity to share some Adult Christian Education opportunities with you.  In September, we will be resuming our usual weekly bible study on Wednesday mornings, as well as our monthly Asking the Big Question gatherings (aka all-ages Sunday School).  But there are other opportunities outside of what we are able to offer locally that some of you might be interested in!

• Licensed Lay Worship Leader Training - this course is now offered completely online, so no need to travel! It is offered as 4 "units" that can be done in any order - the unit being offered this fall is on Prayer. This program might be of interest to you if you would like to develop the skills to lead worship in United Churches, and you can find more information by clicking here.

• Atlantic School of Discipleship - this is another fully-online course that is designed to support church members on their path of discipleship - how to be a better / more engaged / more grounded follower of Jesus. It is a 10-month program that focuses on a different topic each month with readings and 2 Zoom gatherings per month to discuss the topic. For more information, you can download the brochure by clicking here, or check out the website by clicking here.

• Diploma of Theological Studies - this is a 2-year diploma offered fully online by AST for people wanting to go a bit deeper than the Atlantic School of Discipleship. There are 4 courses (one is offered each fall and winter term) that can be done in any order - Old Testament, New Testament, Introduction to Theology, and Introduction to Pastoral Ministry. (I'm a bit biased towards this program, as I got to teach the Introduction to Pastoral Ministry course last winter!) This program is designed for lay leaders to deepen their theological knowledge and skills as leaders in their congregations. For more information, you can go to the website by clicking here.

• Certificate of Stewardship - as the name implies, this is a certificate program for people interested in stewardship! It covers 7 dimensions of stewardship:  Time, Talent, Trust, Treasure, Terrain, Theology, and Thanks. It is an approximately 30-hour commitment, and the course can be worked through on your own at your own pace; or if there were a group of us interested, we could register as a group and work through it together. For more information, you can go to the website by clicking here.
  

As disciples or followers of Jesus, one of the things that we commit to is to deepening our faith so that we can follow more faithfully; and there are many, many ways that we can do so, either on our own or through structured programs!  I will also mention that if you are sensing that you might be called to ministry as a vocation, I am always open to a conversation, or you can check out the United Church website by clicking here.

Moving on to announcements this week:

• Worship on Sunday will be at Long Reach at 9:15 and Westfield at 11:15. Last Sunday's story had a dragon, and this Sunday's story includes a talking donkey - I'm starting to feel like I'm in the middle of a Shrek movie; all we need now is an ogre! Anyways, if you want to read the story ahead of time, you can find it at Numbers 22:20-35. Heads up that this is a really bizarre story (you might have guessed so, based on the presence of a talking donkey), so rather than giving a teaser about what angle I'm going to take on Sunday, I'm going to leave it to your imaginations. If you were to preach on this story, what message would you want to convey?

• Vacation Bible School (VBS) - a reminder that this is happening tomorrow, Wednesday August 27, at Long Reach United Church (3232 NB-845) from 9am-4pm. All children are warmly invited to participate - all you need to bring is a water bottle and a swimsuit/towel (and lifejacket/floaties if needed) - we have a lfieguard for a couple of hours in the afternoon so will be swimming at the wharf.  Our theme this year is water - we'll be reading some of the stories in the bible about water, and have activities and experiments planned involving water. (Alas, we have had to cancel the slip-and-slide plans - hopefully only postponed to next year - as the current drought means that we are worried about running the well dry if we left a hose on.)

• Movie Nights - tonight (Tuesday) is our last movie night of the summer, and we'll be watching "Marie Antoinette" - 7pm in the parlour at Westfield United Church. To read more about this movie or watch the trailer, you can click here.

• Wedding Invitation - those of you who were at Westfield on Sunday heard the invitation, and I'll repeat it here for anyone who missed it!  Joanne Luck and Steve Cooper are getting married this coming Saturday (August 30) at 3pm at Westfield United Church; and anyone who would like to celebrate with them is invited! Church weddings when it is church people getting married are always fun!

• Church Picnic - I need to apologize for the typo in last week's mid-week message (and thank you to Anne for catching it!). The picnic will be on Sunday August 7 at 11am at Anne and Ross Titus's cottage, 31 Titus Lane. (NB-845 to Long Reach; turn left on Gorham's Bluff Road, turn left on Titus Lane, then look for the signs for parking). If you have mobility challenges, feel free to pull right down and park by the cottage, and there will be a side-by-side for anyone who needs a bit of help getting down to the beach. Please bring:  lawn chair, a potluck dish to share, plate and cutlery, and your beverage of choice.

• Harvest Garden - a reminder of the Artisan Market coming up on Saturday October 4 from 12-4pm! If you are a Maker (crafter, baker, gardener, etc) or represent a community non-profit group with information to distribute, you can register for a table by clicking here - it is $15 for Makers and free for non-profits, and the registration deadline is September 15.

• School Supplies for Macdonald Consolidated School - supplies are being collected at the back of Long Reach and Summerville (and Westfield peeps - if you have supplies that you would like to donate, you can leave them in the small kitchen on the table and I will transport them cross-river for you). This year's wish list includes:  math sets, duotangs, pencils, erasers, Hilroy notebooks, computer paper, Campfire notebooks, glue sticks, and small binders.
  

Thank You Corner - this week's thank you goes out to Paula Smith who stepped in on Sunday morning to help out and guide Brenda Bryan who was greeting and reading for the first time in our church. When we all share our skills to guide or mentor others, the world is a better place!

In my closing thought each week, I usually share something that I have watched, read, listened to etc. This week, I have been listening to an audiobook titled Jesus and John Wayne that explores how the evangelical church in the US ended up where it is today.  (Spoiler:  by worshipping a "Jesus" who they created in the image of John Wayne - a warrior Jesus rather than a "blessed are the peacemakers" or "turn the other cheek" Jesus.)  It has been fascinating, and I've had several aha moments of insight into why things are the way they are in the world today.  If you don't want to dive into the whole book right away (it is available through the library as well as through the usual booksellers), the author was interviews last year on CBC's Ideas, and you can listen to the interview with her that gives a good overview of the main points of the book - you can listen to it on the CBC Website by clicking here (the play button is just under the top picture), or by searching the CBC Listen app for the Ideas episode titled "How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation" or by looking in your usual podcast app for the episode titled "The Power of White Evangelical Christians in MAGA Politics" - I have no idea why they changed the title between the app and the podcast!  Wherever you find it, it is worth a listen!

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)