Mid-Week Message - October 2

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

I had an... interesting... experience this morning.  I was with Joan and the Long Reach Singers at the Snow Centre in Hampton leading a worship service for the residents when the fire alarm went off. And it kept beeping at us as a Code Red was called.

What do you do in a situation like that?  None of us work at the Snow Centre, so we haven’t been trained in their protocols and plans.  The doors to the activity room where we were gathered automatically swung shut, so we assumed that we should stay where we were.

The phrase “Keep Calm and Carry On” comes to mind.  We carried on with the service, reading scripture, praying, and singing, trying to ignore the incessant beeping.  (I even joked, as we began the last hymn, “Jesus Loves Me,” that if we could sing loud enough, maybe we could drown out the alarm!)

When we got to the end of the service, Gloria (the Recreation Director) confirmed that we were, indeed, stuck in that room with all of the residents until the All Clear was called. Again, what do you do in a situation like that?

Joan came to the rescue, and initiated a hymn sing as we waited, playing hymns that we called out to her as the Long Reach Singers led the singing. We actually sang one extra hymn after the beeping stopped and the All Clear came over the PA System – the choir wanted to sing “Shall We Gather at the River” before we left!

This was a very small-scale emergency (fortunately nothing was actually on fire today other than an outdoor barbecue that was supposed to be burning), but it begs the question of what do we do when we face a crisis or emergency in our lives?

We can’t go backwards to a time before the crisis happened. Time moves forwards, and we have to keep on going forwards through the crisis. Running in circles and panicking usually doesn’t help anything, and sometimes contributes to more chaos.

Maybe the best way that we can travel through a time of crisis is by singing and praising God as we navigate and move through whatever comes our way. And hopefully, like today, we’ll still be singing when we get to the other side. And always praying that “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding” will keep our hearts and minds grounded in God. (Philippians 4:7)

Moving on to announcements for this week:

• Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Summerville, and 11:15 at Westfield and on Facebook Live. We’re beginning a 2-Sunday journey through the book of Job (this week and two weeks from now on the 20th – we’ll pause Job next week for Thanksgiving weekend) – this week, we’ll be reading Job 1:1, 2:1-10 which introduces the story of Job. This is a challenging book in the bible, as it makes us confront questions like “why do bad things happen to good people?” and “what is the meaning in suffering?” (And I’ll give you a heads-up that I don’t believe in one of the ways that Job can be interpreted, which is that God doesn’t care when we suffer.)

• Student Minister – if you were in church last Sunday (in-person or virtually), you would have heard the announcement that we are going to be welcoming a student minister from AST from October through April. Steve Harding is from Sussex – he is in his first year of studies, and will be doing an 8-hour-a-week placement with us as part of one of his courses. He is a high school teacher – he will be taking the second semester off from teaching so will have more flexibility with his hours after January, but between now and then he will be completing his hours on evenings and weekends. I hope that you will all join me in giving him a warm welcome on Sunday!

• All Candidates Debate – as I mentioned last week, we are going to be hosting an All Candidates Debate for the Kings Centre Riding on the topic of Poverty Reduction next Tuesday, October 8, at 7pm. (And thank you to those of you on Sunday who caught me announcing September 8 instead of October 8 – even now, I’ve just caught myself trying to type September!) The poster has now been shared on Social Media – you can share the post from the Two Rivers Facebook page by clicking here; or download the poster to create your own post by clicking here. I’m looking for volunteers to help with the event (e.g. greeters, sound system), so if you are interested, please let me know; and please help us get the word out to your friends and neighbours!

• Bible Study – after taking this week off for our Snow Centre adventure this morning, we will resume our weekly bible study next Wednesday at 10am in the Westfield United Church Parlour. Everyone is always welcome to join us – no prior bible study experience is necessary!

• Asking the Big Questions – our next gathering to discuss some of the big questions in life will be on Tuesday October 15 from 4:30-6pm (with pizza provided by the UCW). The topic for this month will be “Why are we here?” (Variations on the same question include “What is the meaning of life?” and “What does the Lord require of you?”) People of all ages and all diversity of faiths are welcome to join us as we have discussion prompts and activities to engage with this question.  Last month, it felt a bit like Sunday School that adults were invited to join too!

• I Believe You: Responding to Sexual Assault – as was announced on Sunday at the Westfield service, a community forum organized by a couple of our church members is going to be held on Tuesday October 15 at 7pm at the Brundage Point River Centre (4 Ferry Rd, Grand Bay-Westfield). From the organizers: “The I Believe You Forum is a safe space to raise awareness, discuss, and learn how to respond compassionately to disclosures of childhood sexual assault. Together, let’s create a community that believes and supports survivors.” The evening will feature presentations by and conversations with mental health and law enforcement professionals. (You can find the group on Facebook and Instagram.)

And I think that’s all for announcements today.

For a closing thought this week (just for fun, and with absolutely no connection to anything church), one of the YouTube channels that I enjoy is The Welsh Viking. He is Welsh (though he currently lives in England), and as a historian, his specialty is the Viking era. One of his recent videos was “A Very Short History of Pubs” – if you would like to watch it, you can find it by clicking here.

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)