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 just got home last night after spending a week with my family in Ontario. We were gathered to celebrate my father's 80th birthday, and he and his wife gathered together their 5 collective children and 9 grandchildren, and we spent the weekend together celebrating and enjoying each others' company.  And then on Monday my mother's siblings got together (Mum died in 2003, but she has two sisters and a brother who are still living), and there was more family time.

I know that family can be a contentious issue for many people.  Some people are fortunate to have an unconditionally loving family, but in other families there are tensions and dysfunctional ways of relating to one another.  Which can make the phrase "church family" a complicated concept.

We know what we mean when we talk about our "church family" - it is a place where we try to become the ideal of a family, a place where we love each other unconditionally the way members of that ideal family do.  But for someone who comes from a "family of origin" that is full of dysfunction, how might the term "church family" sound?

The phrase can also make us ask questions.  How does our "church family" react to newcomers? In actual families, people can enter the family through marriage or through birth, and each family has its own way of receiving newcomers. How does our church family react? Is there a test (usually informal) that someone has to pass before they can be accepted? (In my family of origin, the "test" for potential partners is usually a family dinner with all of the uncles - who have a tendency to tease - present. If the potential partner doesn't run away after that, then they are part of the family!)

Who are the matriarch/patriarch of the church family?  Who sets the tone for the family and whose approval (not necessarily explicit) is required for any new projects?  And the flip side:  who are the 4th cousin Matildas who only show up every couple of years at a family reunion, but are still part of the family?

And then the shadow side of "church family" is that they hold the power to cause hurt just as much as your actual family do. Because the people we love have the most power to hurt us, if we aren't careful.

All of this to say that it isn't wrong to talk about our church family, but we should also be aware that the metaphor is more complicated than it might appear on the surface.

Dr. David Deane, one of my professors from AST (and now the academic dean of the university) once preached a very powerful sermon about "agape" or the universal love of God that is (should be) mirrored in the church.  And he told us that the implications of this are profound.  If any member of the church is hungry, we should all take it as seriously as we would if a member of our actual family was hungry.  If any member of the church family is struggling in any way, we should be as concerned with their welfare as we would be if it were a member of our actual family.  Because love is more than a feeling - love is something that we live in practical ways.

Some of my thoughts on family, after spending a week with mine!

Moving on to announcements for this week:

• Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Long Reach and 11:15 at Westfield and on Facebook Live. We are continuing our Seussian Summer, and this week we'll be reading Horton Hears a Who!  (This is a very long book, so I'll be condensing it somewhat for reading out loud.) The scripture readings that I've paired with this story are Psalm 33:13-22 and Matthew 10:26-31.

• Movie Nights - there is one more Tuesday before Labour Day, which means one more movie night! Next Tuesday, September 1, we'll be watching "Catherine Called Birdy" - a 2022 film based on a YA novel originally published in the 90s. If you want to read more and watch the trailer, you can click here. The movie will start at 7 in the parlour at Westfiled United, and the popcorn will be popped!

• Bible Study - our Wednesday morning bible study will resume after Labour Day (ie Wed. September 9). I am also still asking around to see if there is any interest in an evening bible study, open to anyone but especially for the benefit of people who work during the day. If you are interested, please let me know!

• Broadview Magazine Subscriptions - if you are a current subscriber and would like to renew your subscription, OR if you would like to begin a subscription, please get in touch with Daniel in the church office before October 1. The cost of a subscription is $30/year.

• Future Dates - grab your calendar!

  Visit from the Moderator of the United Church of Canada:  Thurs. Sept. 10, 3:30-5:30

  Church Picnic:  Sunday September 13, 11am

  Session and Official Board Meetings:  Wed. Sept. 16, 6:30 (Session) and 7:30 (OB)

  Stone Soup Takeout:  Saturday October 3

Thank You Corner - this thank you is 2 weeks late as there wasn't a Mid-Week Message last week, but a huge thank you to everyone who made this year's VBS at Long Reach such a great success! We had 34 kids show up (including some of the older youth who helped with the younger children), so thank you to everyone who brought your children and grandchildren.  Thank you to Gwen and Sarah for organizing the day, and thank you to everyone who stayed to help for part or all of the day - Joan, Beth, Treva, Betsy, Donna, Cathy (and I hope that I haven't forgotten anyone else!).

For a closing thought this week... when I opened my inbox this morning after a week away, one of the things I found there was a prayer for our bodies written by Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber. I fell on the weekend while I was away and have been grumbling about my middle-aged body that doesn't bounce back (literally or figuratively) as quickly as it used to; and her prayer reminded me of just how amazing our bodies actually are.  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)