Mid-Week Message - October 8

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

I don't know about you, but I am very grateful for the rain that is falling as I write this email. (And I'm also grateful that I grabbed my raincoat as I headed out the door this morning, otherwise I would have gotten soaked coming back to the church from a lunch meeting!)  A lot of the time, we are grateful for sunny skies and warm days, but in 2025, a day of good rain is what we have been longing for and what we are grateful for!

I am reminded of when I lived in Tanzania. In the place where I lived, close to the equator, there were 4 seasons in the year; but instead of being tied to the temperature the way our Canadian seasons work, seasons on the equator are linked to rainfall. Each year, there were two rainy seasons and two dry seasons. I remember when I first arrived, I reveled in beautiful sunny days and got frustrated when the rain would turn all of the roads and paths to mud.  But the longer I lived there, the more that I learned that rain equals life. Things can't grow if there is no rain. And by the end of my three years, I would celebrate the first rains in September and again in March.  And the one year when the rains didn't come - the hospital where I worked was full of children with malnutrition and associated illnesses.

Today, we celebrate the rain. Tomorrow, we will celebrate the return to blue skies and sunshine.  Thanksgiving - not just the day/weekend, but the whole practice of giving thanks - often makes me think of the book of Ecclesiastes. Not necessarily the most famous passage, "For everything there is a season, and a time for everything under heaven," but the book taken as a whole.

One of the main messages of Ecclesiastes is that everything in this world is ephemeral or temporary - "Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity!"  Things come and things go, and there is no point in trying to prolong the moment - this is "chasing after wind" as the author says - an exercise in frustration.

Instead, the author of Ecclesiastes recommends appreciating what we do have, rather than longing for what we don't have.  "This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us; for this is our lot."  We give thanks for food to eat, for a roof over our heads, for a purpose to our being, and for the rain today and the sunshine tomorrow.

And this, to me, is the true meaning of Thanksgiving. It is about giving thanks for the simple gifts that we all have.  And then we can turn around and use our gratitude to inspire generosity to share, so that others might have the same.

This weekend, many of us are going to sit down to groaning feast tables with people we love, and we will give thanks.  As you do so (or even if you don't), I invite you to consider how you might make gratitude a daily practice rather than a once-a-year practice.  Ask, what am I thankful for today? And then tomorrow, ask again, what am I thankful for today? And then the day after tomorrow, ask again, what am I thankful for today?

For this, turning back to Ecclesiastes, helps us to make meaning out of the "vanity of vanities," and to be grateful for every season of our life as it comes.

Turning to announcements this week:

• Worship this Sunday will be at Long Reach at 9:15 and Westfield and on Facebook Live at 11:15. Worship this week will be Thanksgiving-themed; and if you want to read the scriptures ahead of time, we will be reading Deuteronomy 26:1-11 and John 6:25-35. Sunday School will be offered at both churches!

• Westfield Choir Concert - staying with a Thanksgiving theme, the first concert in the Westfield United Church Choir concert series is coming up tomorrow, October 9, at 7pm at the church (133 Nerepis Road). This concert, titled "My Grateful Spirit Sings," will include anthems of gratitude, along with brief reflections from choir members about what they are thankful for this year.  I know that some of you have already purchased a series subscription that includes all 4 concerts, but if you haven't yet, you aren't too late! At the door, there will be 2 different ticket tables - one for people who only want to buy a single concert ticket for $30, and the other for people looking to buy a series subscription for $100.  (And, as Cindy mentioned on Sunday, if you buy a single concert ticket and decide that you want to upgrade to a full series subscription, we are willing do do so - just talk to one of the choir members after the concert!)

• "Sock It To Me" - we've announced this a couple of times (including back in the spring), but this year Romero House has asked us if we could please collect mittens and gloves instead of socks. (Last year, they had more than enough socks, but not enough mittens and gloves to go around.)  So start looking for those sales!  On Nov. 2, we will collect them at Summerville and Westfield, and then on Nov. 9 we will collect them at Long Reach, and our Church in the World committee will deliver them to Romero House after that.  (And yes - even though we are losing the pun this year, I will still be standing at the front of the church holding a large box to give you a chance to throw the mittens and gloves "into the box" as you "sock it to me"!)

• Youth and Young Family Ministry Coordinator - I know that many of you already knew that Ken Fury, our current Y&YFMC was planning to step down from his position as his career at Brenan's has been taking off, and he has submitted his letter to the church. His last date in the role will be Sunday October 26, though as he says in his letter, that won't be the last we see of him! He is planning to continue to facilitate the Sunday night Dungeons and Dragons group (but it will be as a group that meets in this space rather than a ministry of the church), and will still be involved in the Asking the Big Questions gatherings.  We receive his resignation with gratitude for all he has brought to this church, and wish him well in his new vocational calling.  The Official Board and Ministry and Personnel Committee will be doing some work to figure out next steps for this position; but in the meantime, if you run into Ken in the next couple of weeks, please join me in wishing him well!

• Crochet Classes - some of you know Brittany Johnson-Ross, a local primary school teacher in Grand Bay-Westfield. For the past couple of years, she has offered crochet classes in the parlour at Westfield United Church on Saturdays. The next classes are coming up on October 18 and 25, 9am-11am for beginners, and 11am-1pm for a sock class. The cost is $15/class/week. You can click here to read more. 
  

Thank You Corner - this week's thank you goes out to the organizers of the Harvest Garden Artisan's Market last Saturday - Natalie, Marijke, Cathy, and Marlene (who also happen to be our Harvest Garden coordinating group).  It was a great afternoon with lots of people coming and going from the church - I even got to connect with one of my favourite (now-retired) funeral directors who I haven't seen in several years since he retired.  Thank you to the group of you for all of the work that you put in to organizing and promoting the market!

For a closing thought this week, here is an article I read recently, all about curiosity. It wonders if we, as a society, are losing our curiosity in favour of certainty. When I was at AST, one of my professors always said that curiosity is the most important skill needed for pastoral ministry.  He would say, "Be curious about people!" You can read this article 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)