May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be always with you!
This morning, at our Wednesday morning Bible Study, we had a great conversation about "liminal time." I am a bit of a language geek, and I love words, especially words that express something that no other word can do. Liminal time is in-between time, it's threshold time, it's waiting time. When you are in a liminal time or space, you have left something behind, but the new thing that is coming isn't here yet.
A good example in the church year is Holy Saturday - Good Friday is over, but Easter Sunday and the resurrection aren't here yet. I also think that Advent (waiting and preparing for Christmas) and Lent (preparing for Holy Week) are also liminal seasons in the church year.
We were also talking about how this time of Covid is a liminal time. We have left behind the world as we knew it a year ago, but the world that is going to emerge post-pandemic isn't here yet.
Liminal times can be frustrating times - there is a sense of uncertainty, a sense of unknowing, a sense of wanting the uncertainty and waiting to be over to just get on with things. It's like being stuck in a thick fog, not able to see the path in front of you.
But sitting through liminal times can also be a deeply spiritual practice. To be able to sit in the unknowing and uncertainty, to simply be without trying to do things, to know that God is with us even in these uncertain times - all of this can help to deepen our relationship with God and with our neighbours.
As this liminal season of Covidtide drags on, we start to get glimpses that the world that is coming is drawing closer. I let out a little cheer every time I hear of someone receiving the Covid vaccine. Each needle in an arm is one needle closer to the end of the pandemic! But still - I wish that I had a crystal ball to be able to know when the pandemic will be over (or even when we will be able to move back to yellow).
In the meantime, we continue on in our journey through Lent. On Sunday, we will be reading the next of the covenant stories in the Old Testament - this time, the covenant that God made with Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16). This is a covenant that required a long period of waiting, but a promise from God that stretches across time and space, to every generation. Sunday will also be a communion service - I invite you to have some bread or a cracker, as well as some juice, water, tea etc. prepared so that we can eat and drink together, even as we are separated by physical distance.
Next week, I will be on vacation (March 1-7). Rev. Susan Gamblin (Welsford Pastoral Charge) will be available in case of any pastoral emergencies - if you need to get in touch with Rev. Susan, you can call Margaret Stackhouse at 721-4307 and she will connect you. Session has arranged for Kathy Roy to offer pulpit supply on March 7 - worship will be in the same place as it is each week, on the Two Rivers Pastoral Charge Facebook page at 11:15am. Because of my vacation, there will be no mid-weekmessage next week, and our 1pm check-ins on Facebook will be pre-recorded instead of live.
Finally, a reminder of PIE Day on March 14! (See last week's e-mail for details.). Have you thought about what type of pie you might make for your social media posts? Have you thought about why it is important to you that Two Rivers Pastoral Charge is an Affirming community of faith? Have you thought about your own personal connection with being Affirming? I'm still looking for a couple of volunteers to be "interviewed" on our PIE Day livestream about your own personal connection with being Affirming!
The last announcement I have for today, I'm passing along on behalf of the Moss Glen Branch 62 Legion. They are running their Volunteer Income Tax program this year, with Covid-19 restrictions in place. If you have a non-complicated tax return that you would like help with, you can click here to see their poster with more details.
And that is it for today! I'll be in touch on Saturday with the bulletin for Sunday's service.
Blessings to you and yours, today and always,
Kate.
Rev. Kate Jones
Two Rivers Pastoral Charge
(506) 757-2201 (office)
(506) 343-1307 (mobile)
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)