Mid-Week Message - October 7

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 planned to write about something else this week, but after Sunday, I have another reflection to share instead.

A lot of Jesus's parables begin with him saying, "The Kingdom of God is like..." and I have one for you this week.

The Kingdom of God is like a church...

... where people of all generations, from babies to 80mumble year olds gather together around the light of Christ

... where a 6-year-old hams it up in the front pew through the sermon, then stands quietly at the front helping to serve communion, offering the cup of blessing to everyone gathered

... where a baby is passed from person-to-person as she learns from the very beginning of her life that she is loved by the whole community

... where a teenage beginner organist picks out the melody for all of the songs, and is praised and thanked for sharing his gifts

... where someone makes their way to the front of the church with their walker to read scripture and proclaim the Word

... where everyone brings their differing gifts to the gathering - some chairing committees, some organizing fundraisers, some preaching the Word, some making sure that we are feeding our neighbours, some seeking peace and seeking simply to be nurtured by the Word

... where together we celebrate joys in community, and grieve our losses together

(If anyone was at Summerville United Church on Sunday, you might recognize this description!)

The difference between my description of the Kingdom of God and Jesus's descriptions of the Kingdom of God is that when Jesus is telling his parables, he is comparing God's kingdom to something that is not God's kingdom, but shares some characteristics - the kingdom of God is like a farmer who sowed good seed; is like a mustard seed; is like ten bridesmaids taking their lamps.

What I wrote isn't really a parable, and I might have been better off beginning, "The kingdom of God is a church..." When we are churching (yes, I like to use "church" as a verb!), then we aren't like the kingdom of God - instead we are living the kingdom of God in the here and now.

One of the gifts of the church is that we have the opportunity to show the world - not only with our words but also with our actions - that a different way of being in the world is possible. We have the opportunity to live out God's vision for the world, even if only in a small way.  (Trusting that some day this vision will become reality not just within the church, but for the whole world.)

And what is that vision?  I believe that the Kingdom of God is a place/time where we are truly in community with one another; where everyone shares their different gifts but where your status doesn't depend on the gifts that you offer; where age and ability and gender and all of the other things that tend to divide us in the "regular" world no longer matter, but where we can come together in community; where everyone is loved by the community, and the love of the community is so mixed together with the love of God that is is impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins; where joy and peace and caring and kindness are the only way of being.

On Sunday morning at Summerville, I truly felt as though I was in a Kingdom-of-God gathering, and I could feel the Holy Spirit dancing in that place.

Can't you just imagine a world where this was the norm?!

Like I said, I truly believe that church is a place where we practice living out the kingdom of God until some day it will become the only reality.

Anyways... moving on to announcements for this week!

• Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Long Reach (including Sunday School) and 11:15 at Westfield and on Facebook Live. This is Thanksgiving Weekend, and our service will be connecting gratitude with generosity. Our scripture readings (for those of you who like to read them in advance) will be Deuteronomy 8:7-18 and Luke 17:11-19.

• Thanksgiving Gratitude Exercise - This Sunday in the bulletin you will find an activity that will allow each of us to connect our Thanksgiving gratitude with generosity, sharing with neighbours who are less fortunate than we are. More details to be shared on Sunday! (Summerville folks received it in their bulletins last Sunday; and it will also be posted on the church Facebook page on Sunday morning.)

• Bible Study - we continue to gather on Wednesday mornings at 10am in the parlour at Westfield. Everyone is always welcome to join in, and we always have really engaging conversations!

• Church in the World Gathering - there is going to be a gathering of people interested in outreach, in being the church beyond the walls of our churches, next Tuesday, October 13, at 7pm at Long Reach United Church. This is going to be a brainstorming / planning session, and all ideas, new or old, are welcome!

• Sandwiches for Romero House - a reminder that we are making sandwiches next week, Friday October 16, for Romero House. On Saturday and Sunday, Romero House gives out soup and sandwiches "through the window" - most weekends they serve close to 500 people each day (and some weekends even more), including children. Each sandwich that we are able to make is one sandwich that their volunteers don't need to make that Friday. For details on what each church is making and pick-up times, you can check out last week's Mid-Week Message.

• Shift Youth Group - another reminder of the regional United Church youth group that is being formed this fall. The first gathering is going to be on Sunday October 18 from 6:30 - 8 at St. David's United Church in Rothesay. You can see the poster by clicking here.

• Cool Chicks and Ugly Doclings - Verbal announcements were made at both churches on Sunday morning (thank you Elizabeth and Joe!) about an upcoming Cool Chicks concert in support of Kingston Peninsula Heritage - Saturday October 17 at 7pm in the St. Bridget's Hall (Summerville). You can see all of the details on the poster by clicking here. (Note that tickets are cheaper when purchased in advance rather than waiting to buy at the door!)

• No Scents Makes Sense - a reminder that, as we move from summer into fall and start to gather more frequently as a church, no scents makes sense. It's not that we don't love the smell of your perfume/cologne/hand cream, it's that for some people the chemicals that produce the smell can trigger a physical reaction. For me, it is severe headaches. For other people, it can be breathing problems or even an asthma attack. For people with severe reactions, they aren't able to be around people wearing scented products, and this can prevent them from being part of a gathering. So please save your perfume/cologne for date night and be mindful when you are coming to church gatherings!

• Upcoming Dates:

  Sunday Oct. 18, 2pm - Covenanting Service at Portland United (I will be going after the Westfield service and have room in my car for passengers)

  Sunday Oct. 25 - Cinnamon Roll Social (Round 2) following worship at Westfield!

  Wednesday Nov. 11 - Turkey Dinner at Westfield

Thank You Corner - this week's thank you goes out to our Harvest Garden committee for the Plant Sale / Bake Sale / Stone Soup takeaway last Saturday. Thank you for organizing this event that brought our community together! And thank you to everyone who contributed to the Stone Soup, and who came out to buy plants and baked goods! Cathy tells me that they raised $655.65 that will go towards purchasing soil and seeds for next summer's garden.

For a closing thought this week... did you know that I used to write a book blog? (From 2008-2013.) This afternoon, at the gathering of the Grand Bay Writers Group, we didn't do any writing but we were swapping recommendations of books to read and someone said something that reminded me of the review that I wrote of Twilight back in 2009 so I found it and shared it with the group. I despised Twilight, but I had been dared to read it (by my cousin) so I was determined to read it, then had great fun writing my review. And because nothing ever disappears on the internet, if you would like to read my very snarky remarks about Twilight that I wrote 17 years ago, you can find my review 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)