Mid-Week Message - July 17

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

My sister and two of her kids were visiting me for a few days last week (she is a teacher so is off for the summer - they left her husband at home in Ontario, working, and her eldest child is currently backpacking in South America with friends as they celebrate their high school graduation), and on Saturday morning we went to Timbertop Adventures at Dominion Park to play on their climbing and zip line courses. (Side note - I don't think that adults spend enough time playing!)

Even though my muscles were sore for a couple of days after, it was a morning filled with laughter and excitement and adrenaline and challenge.

And it has had me thinking about how we think about our bodies.

God created us with bodies - we aren't just ethereal spirits, but we are embodied creatures. And when God created the first humans, bodies and all, God named us as "very good." (Genesis 1:31)

In fact, God loves humans (and our bodies) so much that God chose to become human flesh and blood in the person of Jesus. Because of Jesus, God knows what it is to have a body, to be embodied. God knows what it is to feel thirsty, to be hugged by a friend, to be able to move freely, to have our body let us down.

And so I invite you, this week, to find a way to celebrate and relish the body that you have been given! You don't need to walk a highwire between the treetops - you can go for a walk and appreciate the way that your arms and legs move; you can go for a swim (or even just float in the water) and appreciate the sensation of the water pressing and moving on your skin; you can sit outside in the summer air and use your senses to perceive the world around you - what can you see; what can you hear; what can you feel; what can you smell; what can you taste?

And then give thanks to God for the body that you have been given, with all of its uniqueness, with all of its strengths, with all of its weaknesses. For our bodies truly are wonder-filled things!

In terms of announcements this week, I have a handful:

• Worship on Sunday will be 9:15 at Long Reach and 11:15 at Westfield and on Facebook Live. This week's sermon will be linked with yesterday's movie, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The people who watched the movie last night were very curious about what angle I might take with it, so I'll give you a hint:  the scripture readings on Sunday will be Romans 7:15-20 and Romans 8:9-11. (And if you want to track down the movie to watch before Sunday, it is available for streaming on Disney+)

• Our Upcoming Movie/Worship schedule will be: "Turtles All the Way Down" (watch Tues. July 23; sermon Sunday July 28) "Toy Story 3" (watch Tues. July 30; sermon Sunday Aug. 4) "Frozen" (watch Tues. Aug. 6; sermon Sunday Aug. 11)

• Dungeons and Dragons - if you cast your mind back to last fall, you might remember that Ken, our Youth and Young Families Ministry Coordinator, was starting up a Dungeons and Dragons campaign at the church. This proved to be so successful that he had to split the group into two groups and they have become a group that has gone beyond being people who play together and they have become a supportive community. If you are D&D curious, or if you would like to play but can't commit to a regular campaign, Ken is going to be offering some single-evening campaigns over the summer, and he welcomes all players of all levels of experience! The next one is coming up this Sunday - if you would like more information, please get in touch with Ken: kennethfury@gmail.com or 506 654 6992. These campaigns are inter-generational, and open to all ages from middle-school-ish to seniors!

• Thank You to the organizers of the Strawberry Drive-Through Dinner, to everyone who helped in any way, to everyone who donated to the dinner, and to everyone who purchased the dinner. It was an overwhelming success every way you look at it!  (Even the rain stopped after the first 20 minutes or so!)

• And Thank You to everyone who helped with our flower services over the last couple of weeks; with a special thank you to Anne Titus (Long Reach), Brenda Brooks (Westfield), Natalie Parish (Westfield), and Martha Crabbe (Summerville) for the flowers. All three bouquets of memories were beautiful and unique; and as I mentioned in the service, it is beautiful to think of all of the memories and all of the love that each of the bouquets held. If you missed the Facebook Post, you can see all three of this year's bouquets by clicking here.

And that is it for announcements today.

As a closing thought, I want to share this week's newsletter from Nadia Bolz-Weber that speaks of hope in anxious times. She is writing in the context of the US political situation, but I think that her words resonate in any situation that is causing fear or anxiety or pain. You can read it by clicking here.  (If you are unfamiliar with Nadia Bolz-Weber, she is a Lutheran pastor who is best-known as the founder of the House for All Sinners and Saints, a church in Denver known for reaching people on the margins of society. And for her tattoos! She is a brilliant writer, so if you like what you read in this newsletter, you can subscribe - for free - using the button at the bottom of the page.)

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)