Mid-Week Message - September 9

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

Last Sunday, in our Seussian Summer, we read the story of The Lorax, and I shared how this book influenced my youngest sister to become an environmental engineer. The story of the Lorax can feel a bit bleak - we see the environmental destruction, the cutting of trees, the smog filling the air, the waste polluting the pond, but in the book we don't ever get to see the land restored.

But even still, the book ends with a note of hope.  The land is not beyond the ability to be repaired.  Even though we don't get to see it on the page, there is still a single seed that can grow into a single tree, but that tree can then produce more seeds which will grow into more seeds.  The famous couplet of the book:  "UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot / nothing is going to get better. It's not." could be flipped around to read, "AS LONG AS someone like you cares an awful lot, still, / the world is going to get better. It will."

Hope isn't something that has already happened.  If The Lorax had ended with the forest regrown and the birds and animals and fish returning, then I wouldn't say that the book ended with hope - that would be fulfillment.  Instead, hope means trusting in something that hasn't happened yet.  Trusting that the forest will regrow.  Trusting that the wildlife will return.

When I look around the world today, I can't help but think that hope is as important now as it ever was.  The focus of The Lorax was on the environmental crisis, which has only worsened since the book was first published in 1971.  Can we still hold on to hope? Can we trust that everything will get better?

But the same is true in so many other places.  Even though the Cold War ended several decades ago, (as we talked about a couple of Sundays ago when we read The Butter Battle Book) the threat of nuclear war remains in our world. Can we still hold on to hope?  Can we trust that we humans won't destroy the world in our quest for power?

What about the proliferation of every-day technology being used in less-than-helpful ways?  Can we still hold on to hope?  Can we trust that we will be able to retain the essence of what makes us human?

The thing about hope is that it is at the heart of who we are as followers of Jesus.  The story that is at the heart of our faith is a story of hope turned into reality.  Every year on Good Friday when it seems as though the forces of death and pain and evil have won, when it seems as though the story is over - every year, Good Friday unfolds into Easter and resurrection.  The Christian hope that we hold on to isn't airy-fairy, pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking.  Our hope is grounded in the resurrection, because we know that every Good Friday is followed by Easter, and new life will always have the final word.

And with that, let's move on to announcements for this week!

• Worship on Sunday - this week is our church picnic! We won't be gathering in any of our church buildings this week; instead we'll gather on the beach hosted by Anne and Ross Titus at their cottage. We'll gather at 11am for worship, which will be followed by "the best potluck of the year"!

  Directions:  31 Titus Lane. If you are coming up from Westfield, turn left on to Gorhams Bluff Road (turn right if you are coming down from Kingston). After 1.4km, turn left onto Titus Lane (just past the Titus Farm, if you are familiar with this landmark), then follow the land down to the cottages. Anne will be putting out signs on Sunday morning for you to follow.  Westfield folks - carpooling is strongly encouraged - you probably want to be leaving the church/Brundage Point no later than 10:15 to give yourself time to get over and parked and down to the beach.

  To Bring:  lawn chair to sit on; potluck dish to share; plate/utensils; water bottle and/or beverage of choice.

  Final Notes:  Kate Dickie will be driving the side-by-side in case anyone would like help getting down to the beach. There is also a large deck if you would prefer to stay up top. And don't forget a hat/sunscreen if it is a sunny day!

• Bible Study - we have resumed Bible Study on Wednesday mornings, and had a great conversation this morning! Everyone is welcome - 10am on Wednesdays in the parlour at Westfield United.

• Temporary Change in Office Hours - as most of you know, I started my Doctor of Ministry this spring. The course that I am taking in the fall semester meets (on Zoom) on Tuesday mornings, which would normally be my Summerville Office Hours. So for the next couple of months until Christmas, my office hours each week will be:

  Westfield - Mondays from 1-3:30

  Summerville - Tuesdays from 1-3:30

  Long Reach - Thursdays from 9:30-12

• School Supplies for MacDonald Consolidated School - through the month of September, we will be collecting school supplies for MacDonald Consolidated School in Kingston. These can be left at the back of the church at Long Reach or Summerville (or in the small upstairs kitchen at Westfield). Their wish list this year is:  notebooks; duotangs; scissors; pens; pencils; markers; white board markers; pencil crayons; erasers. Thank you for your support of our local students!

• Welcome to Joshua Rice-Sawyer, Organist at Summerville United! This past Sunday, we were delighted to welcome Joshua at Summerville. It has been 3 years since Peter moved to Fredericton and had to stop playing for services, and it is good to have a live musician again instead of singing to recorded music.  When you see Joshua, please join me in welcoming him!

• Moderator's Visit - so far, I've only got one person joining me tomorrow when I head down to Scotch Ridge to meet the Moderator of the United Church of Canada; which means that I still have lots of space in my car if you would like to join us! I plan to leave Westfield around 2pm, as the event starts at 3:30. This is an amazing opportunity to meet the spiritual head of our denomination! (Funny story:  The Moderator serves a 3-year term, and a new Moderator is elected at General Council. Our current Moderator, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Kimberley Heath, was elected last summer when General Council met in Calgary. The evening after the final ballot, she was trying to take a taxi somewhere, but then had to try and explain to the taxi driver why everyone around her was so excited and cheering her on. She tried to explain what the Moderator was, and finally one of her friends popped in with, "She's our new pope! She's just been elected pope!")

• Upcoming Session and Official Board Meetings - a reminder that Official Board and Session have their next meeting next Wednesday at Long Reach United Church - 6:30 for Session and 7:30 for Official Board.

Thank You Corner - this week's thank you goes out to all of you who have been visiting our friend who is currently at Bobby's Hospice. As I mentioned on Sunday, as her brother was heading home to Calgary on the weekend, he expressed deep gratitude to our church for all of the love we have and are showing to his sister.  This is truly church - being siblings in Christ as we love one another with the same love that God shows to us.

And finally for a closing thought this week, have you seen the new Heritage Minute that was released last week? With the 25th anniversary of 9/11 coming up on Friday and Come From Away returning to Saint John next week (along with it's popularity in so many places), the new heritage minute is about the response of the people in Gander when they received all of the diverted flights and thousands of passengers on September 11, 2001. You can watch it by clicking here.  (If you remember these Heritage Minutes from the past, do you have a favourite?  My most memorable Heritage Minutes are probably Dr. Penfield and the burnt toast, as well as the Halifax Explosion and the telegraph operator diverting the inbound train.)

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)