Mid-Week Message - June 11

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

Yesterday, June 10, was the 100th Anniversary of the United Church of Canada! On June 10, 1925, United Church people packed the Mutual Street Arena in Toronto to worship God and celebrate the birth of a new denomination that brought together the Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (or, I should probably specify, 70-ish% of the Presbyterian churches), and the Congregationalist Church.

There was much excitement and anticipation and hope that day. It was thought that by bringing these three very different denominations together, we were working to build the kingdom of God on earth - a kingdom of peace and unity. Even today, our United Church of Canada crest includes the words (in Latin) from John 17:21, "That all may be one."

(That isn't to say that there wasn't a shadow side to church union. There was also a thread of colonialism - at the time, western Canada was being settled, and it was thought that a united Protestant church would be more effective and efficient at "Christianizing" the new country.  And there was also a thread of anti-Catholic sentiment - fear that Roman Catholic immigrants were soon going to outnumber any of the individual Protestant denominations, and by coming together, there could be a stronger Protestant presence in Canada.)

I am sure that the people who gathered in that arena 100 years ago were filled with dreams for their church; filled with dreams for the future.  And the amazing thing to ponder is that WE are the fulfillment of their dreams!  We are the living, breathing, worshipping, serving church of 2025 - the church that our ancestors in faith only dreamed about 100 years ago.

If you could name a wish or a hope or a dream for the church 100 years from now, what would it be?  Dream big!  Our dreams can never be bigger than God's dreams!

I dream of a church that continues to keep Jesus at the heart of who they are and what they do.  I dream of a church where everyone has a place to share their gifts with the church and with the world, and so service becomes a joy.  I dream of a church where faith is shared between generations - young, old, and in-between - with everyone (of every age) sharing and with everyone (of every age) receiving.  I dream of a church that doesn't end at the walls of the building (if there are still church buildings 100 years from now); but instead is a church that is fully integrated into the community where it is found. I dream of a church that cries out for justice - that points out injustices in the world, then leads the charge to heal and repair and restore.

What about you?  What is your dream or vision for the church of 100 years from now? If we are the fulfillment of the dreams of our ancestors in faith; or descendants in faith will be the fulfillment of our dreams.

Moving on to announcements for this week:

• Worship on Sunday - it's finally here, our Southwest New Brunswick 100th Anniversary Worship service! If you want to see the poster, you can click here; but here are the essentials of what you need to know:

  *** Saint John High School auditorium, 10:30am

  *** Please carpool! There is street parking around the school or at Pugsley Wharf. Alternatively, you can park at TD Station (west end of the parking lot), and a Transit bus will make a trip up to the school at 9:45, 10:00, and 10:15 (with return trips after the service)

  *** There will be offering plates for a loose offering, with all money collected going to Mission & Service. (Many of our church members are on PAR - if you normally give by envelope, hang on to it for this week and put it in the plate next week; or drop it off at the church some time and we'll get it to the envelope counters.)

  *** While most people will be attending in-person, if you aren't able to get there, we will be livestreaming the service on the Two Rivers Pastoral Charge FB page (same as we do on Sunday morning, but starting at 10:30 instead of 11:15).

  *** There are going to be activities for children (or anyone else who likes to colour during the sermon or who would like a worship bingo card to keep their ears and brains engaged) - this is truly going to be an all-ages service.

• If you are seeing this soon, a reminder that the Chroma Workshop on how we, as a church, can be better allies to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community is this evening from 5:30 - 8.

• Asking the Big Question - Next Tuesday, June 17; 4:30-6pm in the parlour at Westfield. This month's question will be:  "What does the future hold?"

• Ida's Walk - due to the rain last weekend, Ida's Walk was postponed to this coming Saturday, June 14, at 10am at Seadog Cove Nature Preserve. You can click here to see the updated poster.

• Strawberry Supper Drive-Through - the UCW at Westfield are doing another cold plate dinner with strawberry shortcake on Thursday July 9. There are only a limited number of tickets this year, so you will want to pick one up early. They are $15/person, and available at the Grand Bay Home Hardware. To see all the details, you can click here for the poster.

• Flower Service dates:

  Summerville - July 13 at 11am

  Westfield - July 20 at 11:15am

  Long Reach - July 20 at 2pm

• I am going to be on vacation for 3 weeks, beginning on Monday. For pastoral emergencies, please contact Margaret Stackhouse at 506-721-4307 and she will connect you with the minister who is covering. (Our next Mid-week message will be on July 9.)
  

Thank You Corner - this week, I want to extend a thank you to the dedicated folks who maintain the cemeteries at both Summerville and Long Reach. I had a burial at Summerville this afternoon, and they had the grass freshly cut and the hole properly dug. A lot of our cemetery work goes on behind the scenes, but thank you to John Qigley and Richard Fullerton at Long Reach (and David Jack and family who do most of the mowing); and to Gord Gamble and Robert Gamble at Summerville.

For a closing thought this week, here is a link to the picture I have on my desk at Westfield called "It's Always Pride" by Naked Pastor (aka David Hayward) - you can see it by clicking here. All of his work is amazing and thought-provoking - while you are on his site, you may want to peruse his other cartoons and watercolours.

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)