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Mid-Week Message - October 16

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


I am writing this from my office at the Westfield church, and just had a new experience. I heard a noise that almost sounded like light hammering, except, as far as I knew, Elaine and I were the only people in the building. I called over to her office and asked if she was tapping her feet or the nails. She said no - she thought the photocopier might be running a cleaning cycle.


But then I saw a little woodpecker fly away from the back door and perch in the tree right outside my window. I had heard him tapping on the back door - asking to be let in, maybe?


Any time of year is a good time to talk about the Theology of Creation, but in some seasons, the abundance and diversity of creation are more in-your-face than other seasons.  Right now, we see birds beginning their migration, squirrels and other critters building up their stores for the winter, mice beginning to seek out the warmth of homes (alas!) ahead of the colder months, leaves painted every colour of the rainbow, and oh, the October blue of the rivers!


When we turn back to the very beginning of the bible, we see God creating everything - literally speaking creation into existence - and then we see God naming everything that They had created as "good."  (I do have some questions for God when I have a chance to, face-to-face, as there are some parts of creation like blackflies where I struggle to see their goodness; but I'm sure that God will eventually be able to make it all clear to me.)  Yes, we humans are very good at messing up the goodness of God's creation; but at its essence, creation is good.


And God didn't just create as a one-off deal - God is still creating, and caring for all that They have created.  This Sunday, we're going to have two scripture readings (Psalm 104 will be woven into our Call to Worship, then Job 38 will be our main scripture reading) that both talk about how God cares for and provides for all of creation.


And God calls us, as humans, to be caretakers of creation.  We are part of an inter-connected and inter-dependent community of creation. We aren't the pinnacle of Creation, but rather we are "creatures" - one of the created things, along with rivers and rocks and woodpeckers (and yes, blackflies). And just as God has given a role to all parts of creation, one of our roles as humans is to use the resources entrusted to us to care for other members of the community of creation.  And together, alongside the other members of the community of creation, we can worship our Creator.


Maybe when that woodpecker was tapping at the church door, I should have invited him in, saying, "Welcome, fellow Creature! How can I care for you? And how can we worship God together?"


In terms of announcements this week:

  • Worship on Sunday will be at Summerville at 9:15 and at Westfield and on FB Live at 11:15. As I mentioned earlier, we will be reading Job 38:1-7 34-41.  We'll get the conclusion of Job's story that we started two weeks ago - a story that began with tragic loss, and now we'll see God's response to Job's suffering.

  • Sandwiches for Romero House - a reminder that this is the week! Bette will be collecting the sandwiches on Friday morning and dropping them off to town. A reminder to put the sandwiches in individual baggies, then stack them back in the bread bag. Here are the details for each church:

    Bayswater-Summerville: Bologna (no condiments); pick-up at the church inside the church door Friday at 9:30am

    Long Reach: Ham and Cheese (no condiments); pick-up at Fullerton's Store on Friday at 10:00am

    Westfield:  Egg Salad (no onions); pick up at the church on Friday at 10:30am (Bette has a church key, so if you want to leave them in the fridge ahead of time, she can get them from there)

  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - we are going to be doing a church "field trip" to see Saint John Theatre Company's production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring our very own Bertis Sutton as Willy Wonka. We will be going on Wednesday November 27 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $62 (adult), $57 (senior), and $36 (student). If you would like to join the group, please let me know (how many tickets, and whether they are adult/senior/student) by the end of the day on Sunday so that I can get our tickets next week!

  • Bible Study continues every Wednesday at 10am in the parlour at Westfield. (We've decided that the story of King David reads more like an adventure story or soap opera than a bible story!) Everyone is always welcome!

  • Looking Ahead:

    Cool Chicks and Ugly Doclings - concert at Westfield United Church on Saturday October 26 at 7pm. They always do a fun concert!

    Sock it To Me - collecting socks for Romero House, Outflow, and Coverdale - Nov. 3 at Summerville and Westfield; Nov. 10 at Long Reach

    Westfield Turkey Dinner - November 11 (2 seatings plus 2 take-away time options); tickets are $20 and are available at the Grand Bay Home Hardware. This dinner always sells out, so don't wait until the last minute to get your tickets!

And that's it for announcements this week!


For a closing thought, I know that I have in the past shared Nadia Bolz-Weber's newsletter with you, and the one that appeared in my inbox this morning I thought was very good too. She is talking about prayer, and what does it mean when a prayer isn't answered, and also touches on the thing that we've been wrestling with in worship the past couple of weeks - why do bad things sometimes happen to good people. If you want to read it, you can click here.  (Mild content warning for language.) If her writing speaks to you, there is also a button on this page to subscribe and you can receive it weekly by e-mail.


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)

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