Mid-Week Message - September 26

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

I’ve had a week that has been all about ecumenism.  (If “ecumenism” or “ecumenical” are words that are new to you, they are all about churches working together, beyond denominational lines. If you are a word nerd like me, the origin comes from the Ancient Greek “oikoumene” meaning the whole inhabited world.)

Many of you got to be a part of it on Sunday morning when Rev. Douglas Painter from the Anglican Parish of Kingston and I exchanged churches for the day, and he led worship at Two Rivers, and I led the Anglican worship service in Kingston. I’ve only heard good things from those of you who were in worship; and I certainly felt warmly welcomed in Kingston.

My ecumenical weekend went further than that, as I spent Saturday morning at the annual retreat of the Board of Governors of AST (the Atlantic School of Theology). AST was founded as an intentionally ecumenical school by the United Church of Canada, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Roman Catholic Church (though students come from even more denominations than that). The faculty at the school come from the three founding denominations (there are rules in place about maintaining the balance of faculty so that all three remain well represented). And the Board of Governors is made up by people appointed by the three denominations – 5 Governors (including me) are appointed by the United Church of Canada, 5 are appointed by the Anglican Church, and 5 are appointed by the Roman Catholic Church.  Even more than that, the position of chair of the board rotates between the three denominations – right now, our chair is UCCan, our past chair is ACC, and our chair elect is RCC!

And while I was in Halifax, I had a chance to visit with some of my AST colleagues – I met up with an Anglican friend for tea on Friday when I first arrived in the city, then I stayed the night with a Baptist friend and her wife.

I talk a lot about God’s vision or dream for the world – a vision that we trust is unfolding, even if it is taking longer than we want it to.  And I believe that healing a divided church has to be part of God’s dream for the church. As one of my professors from AST, Dr. David Deane (a Roman Catholic), often says, the divisions in the church must make God weep.

When we find ways to work together and build relationships that bridge the differences, we can be a part of God’s unfolding plan.  (Along those lines – yesterday was our first Grand Bay-Westfield ministerial since the spring, and we are planning to do another ecumenical potluck lunch on the Sunday after Christmas. Stay tuned for more details closer to the time!)

In terms of announcements this week:

• Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Long Reach and at 11:15 at Westfield and on Facebook Live. Our scripture reading this week will be Mark 9:38-50. I was just talking to someone today, commenting on how the readings from the Lectionary at this time of year (September through to the start of Advent) include some of the most challenging readings of the year. This week brings us some hyperbole from Jesus about cutting off hands and feet and eyes, and my job is to try and find some good news in there to proclaim God’s love.  (I haven’t written the sermon yet, but I suspect that I’m going to be focusing in on verse 40:  “Whoever is not against us is for us.”)

• Orange Shirt Day – next Monday, October 30, is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The church office will be closed to honour the day, and watch the Two Rivers Pastoral Charge Facebook Page for Indigenous voices throughout the day. You are also invited to wear your orange shirt to worship this Sunday as we remember children who were taken from their homes and families – the ones who returned, and the ones who never returned.

• Bible Study – there will be no gathering next Wednesday; we will resume on Wednesday October 9.

• Sock it To Me – one of our most fun outreach events last year was donating socks to the Romero Van. I stood at the front of the church holding a box, and all of you had a chance to throw the donated socks “into the box.” Our Church in the World Committee has picked dates for you to sock it to me this year:  November 3 at Summerville and Westfield, and November 10 at Long Reach. Now’s the time to start looking for socks on sale to donate! (My one request this year is that if you are buying multi-packs of socks, please take the socks out of the package and fold them together in individual pairs. Last year, I was thumped by a couple of multi-packs…)

• All-Candidates Debate – Another Church in the World initiative! We are now officially in a provincial election campaign, and our Church in the World Committee is going to be hosting an all-candidates debate for the riding of Kings Centre (the riding where all three of our churches are located). All three of the currently registered candidates in our riding have confirmed their participation (and I will be reaching out to any other candidates who register by the October 1 deadline).  The theme of the debate will be Poverty Reduction, something that all parties can get behind, as well as something that we, as followers of Jesus, are concerned about since poverty isn’t part of God’s plan for the world. So set aside Tuesday October 8 at 7pm at Westfield United Church, and invite your friends and neighbours to attend! I will be looking for volunteers for the evening – greeters, people to collect questions from the audience, sound system etc. – so please let me know if you would like to be part of this!

• The Cool Chicks and Ugly Doclings are coming back to do another concert for us on Saturday October 26 at 7pm, admission by free-will offering. You can see the poster by clicking here. They always present a fun concert, so help us spread the word!

• Remembrance Day Turkey Dinner – the Westfield UCW met yesterday afternoon, and the turkey dinner is going to be a go this year! There will be sit-down and take-out options – stay tuned for more details (and a call for volunteers).
  

And I think that’s it for announcements today.

For a closing thought, let me return to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30). I plan to spend the day listening to Indigenous voices – authors (I’ve had Laughing with the Trickster by Tomson Highway on my TBR for a while), poets (I picked up a copy of Epekwitk: Mi'kmaq Poetry from Prince Edward Island by Julie Pellissier-Lush when I was on PEI in June), and musicians (Shy-Anne Hovorka, Jeremy Dutcher, William Prince, and Morgan Toney among others). Lots of links to click today!

How do you plan to spend the day?

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)