Mid-Week Message - October 30

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

My apologies for getting this email sent out a day later than usual. I was in Sackville for two days of meetings on Monday/Tuesday this week, which has thrown off the rhythm of the rest of my week.

Right now, we are on the threshold of a number of holy days in many different traditions; and in so many traditions, it seems as though the curtain that separates this life from the "afterlife" (by whatever name you want to call it) has thinned a bit.

In the Celtic tradition, Samhain is on October 31 / November 1, and this is a festival mid-way between the Autumnal Equinox (Sept. 21) and the Winter Solstice (Dec. 21) that marks the beginning of the darker, colder half of the year. The door to the Otherworld was open, and bonfires were lit for protection and cleansing.

In the Christian Tradition, All Saints Day is on November 1, followed by All Souls Day on November 2 and these are both feast days in the church calendar.  In the original practice of these days, all of the named, formally recognized saints were honoured on November 1, while all of the rest of the souls were honoured on November 2. In the Protestant tradition, we have tended to combine the two, as we recognize all followers of Jesus as saints, and not just the ones that the church formally recognizes. Many churches have a tradition of reading the names of people who have died in the past year on All Saints Day (or All Souls Day), sometimes ringing a bell or lighting a candle in their memory. (Here at Two Rivers, our Flower Services serve a similar purpose in the church year as an All Saints Day service.)

In Mexico, Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is celebrated on November 1 and 2. This is likely a combination of the Christian All Saints/All Souls commemoration with pre-colonization practices. Families build altars on the graves of their loved ones, and place the favourite foods of the deceased loved ones, flowers, toys (if it is the grave of a child), pictures, and other memorabilia there, in an attempt to entice their loved one to visit. It is a time of feasting and celebration, even in the midst of symbols of death.

In Canada and the US, we mark Hallowe'en (literally All Hallow's Eve, or the eve of All Saints Day) on October 31, with connections to both Samhain and All Saints Day. Jack-o-Lanterns (originally carved out of turnips rather than pumpkins!) are lit, just as the bonfires were lit for protection.  Costumes are worn to try and scare away any evil spirits. And it is a time of feasting and celebration.

(I'm not going to go down the path of Reformation Day, October 31 - the connection here is that Martin Luther expected a large crowd at church on Nov. 1 for All Saints Day, so he chose October 31 to nail his 91 theses to the door of the cathedral!)

In so many traditions, the curtain or the veil is thin, and we can remember our loved ones who came before us, and maybe take an opportunity to sense their presence. Do you have any rituals of remembrance or celebration for this trio of holy days?

And a fun picture from the Long Reach Sunday School who are celebrating Hallowe'en by "Fall-o-ween" Jesus!

Moving on to announcements for this week:

• Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Summerville and 11:15 at Westfield and Facebook Live. We aren't going to be doing an All Saints Day service - as I mentioned earlier, we have our annual Flower Service each year to remember the saints who came before us.  Instead, we will be reading the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) and asking the question, how can we do good when the world feels so broken these days?

• Time Change! Don't forget that the clocks fall back on Saturday night. Many clocks change themselves these days, but make sure that you double-check to avoid the catastrophe of arriving an hour early at church on Sunday!

• "Sock it To Me" - This Sunday, at both Summerville and Westfield, we will be collecting our new gloves and mittens for Romero House. As in previous years, I will be standing at the front with a box, and you will have a chance to "sock it to me" as you toss your mittens and gloves into the box!  (Long Reach - your turn will come next week.)

• Queerly Beloved - some of you may have seen the post on our Facebook Page, but we are starting a monthly "Queer Spirit" gathering for anyone who is searching for queer-centered spiritual community. This will be on the first Sunday of each month at 7pm in the parlour at Westfield, and is open to anyone who identifies as "spiritual but not religious" or "spiritual AND religious." It is a queer-centered gathering, but is also open to cis- and straight friends and family members. You are welcome at this gathering, if this is something that would feed your spirit; and please feel free to pass this invitation on to anyone in your circle who might be looking or longing for a gathering like this. The first gathering will be this Sunday, November 2. You can see the poster by clicking here.

• Westfield Sunday School - Last Sunday was Ken's last week as our Youth and Young Families Ministry Coordinator, as he shifts his focus towards his full-time job (and unfolding career) at Brenan's Funeral Home. As most of you know, we have a handful of children who have been attending worship regularly this fall, and it would be a shame to lose the Sunday School momentum that we have been building. I am hoping that we might have a handful of people step forward to offer a ministry of Sunday School leadership in this in-between time when we are without a Y&YFMC. You would always be in pairs - if we have 6 people step forward, your turn would only come up once every 3 weeks; if we have 8 people step forward, your turn would only come up once every 4 weeks!  A corner of the parlour will be set up for Sunday School, with resources, materials, and a weekly format - you wouldn't need to do any planning (unless you are a creative sort of person with some great ideas who wants to do this, in which case, go ahead!). Please speak to me, so that we can get something set up for the younger members of our congregation sooner rather than later.

• Westfield Turkey Dinner - tickets are now on sale at the Grand Bay Home Hardware for the turkey dinner on November 11.  Eat-in and Take-out options are available for both 4pm and 5pm; and tickets must be purchased in advance - $20 each, cash only. (And from past experience, these tickets usually sell out early, so don't delay!)

• Bible Study - we continue to gather every Wednesday morning in the parlour at Westfield from 10-11:30. We always have very good conversations, but they seem especially so recently as we are reading stories of exile and culture clash that feel so relevant in today's world. Everyone is always welcome - no previous bible study experience is necessary!

• Looking Ahead:

  Tues. Nov. 18, 4:30-6 - Asking the Big Questions

  Wed. Nov. 18, 6:30 Session and 7:30 Official Board

  Sun. Nov. 30, Advent begins!!!

Thank You Corner - This week's thank you goes out to everyone who helped at Chris Pattison's funeral last Saturday, reflecting the love of Christ to her family and loved ones. Thank you especially to Rev. Elizabeth for presiding at the funeral when I was on Study Leave, to her UCW sisters for the reception, to Bertis and the choir members for leading the music, and to Session members for offering a ministry of presence and welcome.

Thank You Corner, part 2 - Thank you to everyone who made sandwiches for Romero House last Friday, and to Bette Ashley for collecting them and delivering them. As a pastoral charge, we made 850 sandwiches for Romero House to serve over the weekend. God's love in action!

For my closing thought each week, I usually share something that I've read or listened to recently that isn't directly connected with my church work, but something that you might be interested in too.  I have been fascinated by the different manifestations of AI (Artificial "Intelligence") that have been popping up in recent years.  I have not yet tried ChatGPT; Meta's version of AI is often laugh-able (usually because it doesn't recognize humour); and I usually end up with Google's AI by default, though I always take the results there with a big pinch of salt.  (And I have learned that you can turn off the google AI either by adding -ai to your search terms, or by including a swear word in your search!) I am fascinated by the social and theological implications of the growing influence of AI.

This week, I read a short article on AI companions, given how many people are turning to AI rather than to real people for companionship. You can read it by clicking here.  (The tl;dr of it is that human relationships are reciprocal, but a relationship with AI can only ever be one-way.)

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)