Mid-Week Message - July 22

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

Happy Pride Week, to all of us in the Saint John Area! The flag was raised in front of City Hall last Friday, the lights in Grand Bay-Westfield's Veteran's Peace Park are shining the colours of the rainbow, and there is a whole schedule of events that are happening in Saint John and the surrounding area this week.

Which means that this week, for my opening reflection when I explore something that is going on in the world, it might be a good time to dig into some Queer Theology. (Knowing that Queer Theology is too broad of a topic to fully explore in just a couple of paragraphs, so I'll just be skimming the surface here!)

There are many different layers to what is known as queer theology.  The first layer that you might encounter is the layer that tries to undo all of the harmful theology that has happened in the world.  This is the layer that digs into the so-called "clobber verses" - ie the verses in the bible that have been used to clobber queer folx - and dig into their context to look at what they were intended to say, and how that isn't necessarily how they are used today. (e.g. what we know as consensual loving homosexual relationships didn't exist in the times when the bible was written, therefore none of the verses in the bible can or should be applied to relationships today.) In this layer, you can also proclaim that homosexuality is NOT a sin (though homophobia and transphobia are).

If we were to move beyond the "undoing harm" layer of queer theology, you might come to a place of positively building up queerness within theology. This is where you will encounter the image of a queer God, where all people, of all sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions are created in the image of God.  This is where you will also encounter PIE - a Public, Intentional, and Explicit statement that God's love is for everyone.

And what if we wanted to move beyond this to an even deeper layer of queer theology? Queer Theology, at its heart, is a way of speaking about God (theology = theos-logos = God-word) that emerges from the queer community, using the language and experiences of the queer community.

Like all liberation theologies (including Feminist Theology, Black Theology, Womanist Theology, South American Liberation theologies, among many others), queer theology is a theology that comes from the margins - in other words, these theologies don't come from the centre of power, or the centre of society. Theologies from the margins (including queer theology) tend to be liberating, because they are working from an understanding that God is found primarily in the margins, and not in the centres of power.

So what does queer theology look like in practice? Again, this is a question that is too broad to cover in a single email, but in practice it is usually a theology that focuses on joy, that is body-centered (after all, God loves human flesh so much that God became human flesh and blood), that proclaims liberation for anyone who is oppressed by the powers of this world. It is a theology that questions the "accepted status quo"; that challenges and resists traditional authority; that embraces unknowing.

And so Happy Pride Week, and let us celebrate a God who queers our experience, who pushes us away from the status quo, and who literally turns the world upside down!

Moving on to announcements for this week:

• Pride Parade - a post appeared on the Two Rivers Pastoral Charge Facebook page this afternoon, with all of the details that you need for Saturday's parade, but I know that not everyone uses Facebook so I'm going to repeat the details here:

  When:  We will be gathering between 12:15 and 12:45. (Make sure that you give yourself time to park and get to the gathering point!)

  Where:  The parade is assembling in the parking lot below the Diamond Jubilee Cruise Terminal (see map). We are entry 17 in the parade, "Affirming United Churches."

  Parking:  Parking for parade entrants is available in the parking lot between the Marco Polo Cruise Terminal and the Diamond Jubilee Cruise Terminal.

  What to Bring:  Comfortable shoes, a bottle of water, any affirming signs/flags you have, and your energy and joy! (Iwill be bringing all of the rainbow flags and signs from the church, so don't worry if you don't have any.)

  What should I wear?  Whatever you are comfortable in. There is usually a lot of bright vibrant clothing, but ultimately Pride is a celebration of being yourself!

  I can't walk that far - can I still participate? Yes! This year, we will have a pick-up truck as part of our parade entry, and you are welcome to climb aboard. Another option is to find a spot along the parade route and cheer the parade along as we pass.

  I'm not a member of the 2SLBGTQIA+ community - can I still be part of this? Yes! The Pride Parade is for queer folx as well as allies; and as an Affirming Church, our members who aren't queer try to be good allies. This is one way that we can be PIE (Public, Intentional, and Explicit) in our message of God's expansive and inclusive love.

  I've never been to a Pride Parade before - what should I expect?  You can expect a lot of queer joy! This is a celebration where people are free to be exactly who they are. Walking in the parade, you will find everyone from large corporations to small groups of friends walking together. You can expect lots of colour, music, and shouts of "Happy Pride!" (Pride is also a protest - pushing back against a world that still tries to discriminate, carving out space for queer existence - but the pride parade is a place of joy!)

  
  

• Worship on Sunday - Continuing the theme, this week we are hosting the other Affirming churches (and friends) for this year's Pride Week Worship Service! This means:

  *** There will only be one service this week - 11am at Westfield United Church (with livestreaming on the Two Rivers Pastoral Charge Facebook page). Peninsula folks - please consider carpooling!

  *** We will be having a social time after the service in the St. Giles Room (lower level) to extend hospitality not only to each other but to our visitors too. We are asking Westfield people to please bring sandwiches; Long Reach people to please bring sweets; and Bayswater-Summerville people to please bring anything else to fill the table (e.g. veggie tray, fruit, chips and dip, cheese and crackers etc)

  *** Our guest preacher is going to be Daniel Wheaton (yes, the same Daniel who is our office admin and financial officer!) - if you want to read part of his story, you can click here to access his blog.

  
  

• Youth Leadership Animator - next week, we will be welcoming T.J. Munikwa, a student from Moncton who is part of the United Church's Youth Leadership Animator program. This is a summer internship for young leaders in the church. T.J. will be shadowing me for the week, then participating in our worship services on August 2. She wants to see how leadership works here at Two Rivers Pastoral Charge, so I may be reaching out to some of you to see if you would be willing to have a conversation with her next week. I asked her to introduce herself to you, and this is what she wrote:

  
  

  "Hi, I’m T.J. Munikwa. I am a high school student who lives in Moncton, New Brunswick. I have been a part of the United Church ever since my dad became a minister and moved our family from Zimbabwe to Canada. I started in Newfoundland, then moved to Ontario, and now live in New Brunswick. Throughout those moves I have always been involved with the United church, which has allowed me to see and meet a multitude of people, which I am grateful for. When I got the offer to become a Youth Leadership Animator, I took it because it was a great opportunity to learn more about the United Church and explore my future options. So far it has led me to meet so many amazing people and friends, and I hope to meet more."

  
  

• Summer Movie Nights - we are continuing our summer movies, and next Tuesday, July 28, we will be watching Remarkably Bright Creatures - a 2026 movie about an unlikely friendship between an elderly widow, a young musician, and an octopus. If you want to read more and watch the trailer, you can click here.
  

Thank You Corner - this week's "thank you" is to everyone who provided the flowers and helped to build our bouquets of memories at our three churches at our Flower Services. At Westfield, thank you to Cathy T. and Natalie P. At Summerville, thank you to Martha C., Bette A., and Eddie M. At Long Reach, thank you to Anne T. (and to Kate D. for the music!). If you want to see pictures of the three bouquets that we built, click on their respective church names.

For a closing thought this week - today is the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene! In the Protestant church, we don't usually celebrate the feast days of the saints (with a couple of notable exceptions - St. Patrick and St. Valentine come to mind!). But I am fascinated with Mary Magdalene, and especially with some of the contemporary research that is being done on her. If you missed the Theology Thursday Facebook post about her from last week, you can click here; and you can read today's newsletter from Diana Butler Bass (a champion of Mary Magdalene) by clicking here. Happy feast day to Mary the Tower!

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)