Mid-Week Message - July 23

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

I don't know about you, but I'm finding that this summer is slipping by faster than I would like. I don't know how it is July 23 already!

We have been gathering on Tuesday evenings in the parlour at Westfield to watch movies together, as we have done for the past several summers, and this year we've watched some that have sparked some good conversation afterwards.

Last night we watched Flow - an animated movie that won both the Oscar and the Golden Globe for best animated feature this year.  It is set in a post-human world - there is evidence of relatively recent human presence, but there are no humans in the world. The main character is a cat who has a routine of hunting and escaping being hunted and then returning to an abandoned house with a comfortable bed to sleep and be safe. Until the water suddenly rises, like a dam bursting, flooding the known world.

The cat finds relative safety on a boat, alongside a yellow lab, a capybara, a secretary bird, and a lemur.  (There is definitely some surrealism in the movie, including what part of the world it is set in, since there is no place where these animals live side-by-side!) Together, these animals try to stay alive, and gradually learn to trust each other.

I was once at a writing festival and one of the speakers said that the secret to writing a good children's books was to find a way to get your main character stuck up a tree (usually metaphorical rather than real), and then find a way for the character to get down again; then you get your character stuck up an even higher tree, and work out a way to get them down again etc. This principle holds true for this movie too, as the animals face bigger and bigger challenges together.

There are no words in this story.  The animals behave like animals rather than humans (for the most part), and make the noises you would expect animals to make. (And as someone who has spent a lot of time around cats, I could tell that the animators have too, as the cat moved just like a real cat. I can't vouch for the other animals, but I suspect that the same is true.)

I first heard about this movie in a Facebook group that is my favourite part of the internet - a group called "Clergy with Cats" - and the person who posted about this movie said that there were probably a couple of sermons lurking in this movie, and I have to agree.

The theme that calls out to me most strongly is the theme of community.  When disaster struck, the little grey cat couldn't go back to the way things were but could only go forward.  And the little cat couldn't make it on its own - it had to learn to trust the other animals because it was only in community with each other that they could survive.

At the end of the movie (and skip this paragraph if you don't want any spoilers), there is a touching scene where the cat comforts a dying whale so that the whale knows that it isn't alone.  And in the end, the 4 remaining animals that we have followed through the story choose to stay together, despite their differences, knowing that they are better off together than they would be apart.

Which, to me, makes me think of the church and how we can come together despite our differences, knowing that we are better off together than we would be apart.  We can love each other, and support each other, and celebrate together, and mourn together, and serve the world together, and always, always know that we are never alone.

And to put a theological spin on it, humans are created in God's image, and if we understand God to be Trinity (who is a community unto Themself), then we are made in the image of community.  We are made, not to be isolated individuals, but to be in an interconnected, interdependent community with one another.

(It really is a great movie - beautifully animated, and a story poignantly told without words. If you have a subscription to Crave, it is available for streaming there, or it can be rented through the usual suspects. I checked the library - unfortunately they don't have any copies of it yet.)

Moving on to announcements for this week:

• Worship on Sunday - with our 2025 flower services over, we are back to our regular worship schedule.  On Sunday, worship will be at Summerville at 9:15 - outside in the cemetery, weather permitting, so bring your lawn chair - and at Westfield and on Facebook Live at 11:15. Continuing our summer theme of "Wait?! What?! That's in the bible???" our reading this week will involve snakes and a little bit of magic. If you want to read the story ahead of time, it is found in Numbers 21:4-9. (I promise not to bring any snakes - real or toy - to church on Sunday!)

• Tuesday Movie Nights - next week we will be watching Maudie, the 2016 film about Nova Scotia artist Maud Lewis.  The movie starts at 7pm in the parlour at Westfield United Church, and as always, the popcorn will be popped and you are welcome to bring your beverage of choice! If you want to read more about the movie and watch the trailer, you can click here.

• United Church of Canada General Council - two weeks from now, I will be in Calgary as one of the commissioners at the United Church's 45th General Council. Each of the 16 Regions across the country elected 15 commissioners last year to be a part of this meeting that happens every 3 years.  At this meeting, we will be discussing and deciding on issues that impact the church's doctrine/theology, the church's polity and practices, the church's strategic direction for things like justice etc. We will also be electing the next Moderator who will serve as the head of the church for the next 3 years. I'm hoping to give daily updates on General Council on the Two Rivers Pastoral Charge Facebook Page while I'm in Calgary, and I also ask you to keep the church in prayer while the meeting is going on (Aug. 7-11).

• Upcoming Dates (grab your calendar!):

  Saturday August 16 - Saint John Pride Parade. Meet in the Red Rose Parking Lot at 12:30, as the Affirming United Churches walk together and proclaim God's all-encompassing, unconditional love.

  Sunday August 17 - Affirming Worship Service. The three Affirming Churches in the Saint John area are collaborating on a shared worship service as part of the Saint John Pride celebrations. This will be at 10am at Quispamsis United Church (with Zoom available for anyone not able to make it in-person). We will be worshipping there, rather than in any of our buildings, that Sunday

  Sunday September 7 - Church Picnic.  This year, we are going to have a change of venue, and Anne and Ross Titus will be hosting us at their cottage on Titus Lane (just off Gorhams Bluff Road). But the rest will be the same - we will worship together on the shore of the Wolastoq River, and then share in "the best potluck of the year" (to quote many). Stay tuned for more details as the day draws closer!

  
  

Thank You Corner - this week's thank-you goes out to everyone who make the flowers for our flower services happen!  At Bayswater-Summerville, thank you to Martha Crabbe for providing the flowers, and to Crystal Gamble for overseeing the building of the bouquet.  At Westfield, thank you to Brenda Brooks and Amber Taylor-Bonham for both providing the flowers and overseeing the building of the bouquet. And at Long Reach, thank you to Anne Titus for providing the flowers, and to Kate Dickie and Grace Cochrane for overseeing the building of the bouquet. All three bouquets of memories were spectacular - feel free to click through to see the final bouquet at Summerville, Westfield, and Long Reach!

For a closing thought this week, returning to the theme of cats that I (sort of) began this newsletter with, this morning I came across a digital comic strip from the fabulous purr.in.ink that made me smile. You can click here to see it (and make sure that you click or scroll through all of the panels to the end).

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)