Now Snow in Spring reminds me of living back in Nova Scotia, where it snowed yesterday as well. I headed out yesterday to go to Saskatoon with my daughter, Tracey, and had on jeans, rolled up and sneakers, no socks, and a lightweight sweatshirt. I knew it wasn't going to be hot but I never dreamed there would be 3 or 4 inches of snow and I would get wet cold feet. It is way too late in the season for snow.
On a brighter note, it is Sunday, a time for us to gather together as a church family in this place in Eston and remember our responsibility to our neighbours, to our world and to ourselves. There has been a exceptional outpouring of love and compassion in our town this week as we joined together to help a member of this community whose home burned to the ground last Sunday. It makes me proud to be part of a community that can band together so well to help.
My daughter Tracey was here this week and she loved Eston. She said the people were so friendly and nice and if she didn't have such strong ties to the east, a family and a husband who is a lobster fisherman (hard to do that here) she would move here in a flash. Wouldn't that have been great for me. I would love all my family to move closer. Tracey was so amazed by the prairie landscape, the wildlife, the river valley, she loved it. So thank you to all of you who made her feel so welcome.
ON a more practical note - work wise... I will be going away on Tuesday for a combination of a course I am taking, Prairie Jubilee, in Beausejour, MB at the Sandy Saulteaux Spiritual Centre and meetings in Regina and Saskatoon. I will be back on May 9th just in time for mother's day. If there is any kind of emergency, please contact the office and Dianne will put you in touch with Jim who is covering for us during this time. Gail Bevill will be leading the service next Sunday and we thank her for that. There will be no bible study on April 29th but there will be on May 6th. Stay safe and healthy everyone,
Sunday 26 April 2015
Thursday 9 April 2015
How honest should ministers be? A question to ponder!
So, I came across a question in my research for my sermon today. The topic was doubting Thomas. So the question is: "how honest should minister's be to their congregations?
Should ministers tell folks just what they learned in seminary, should they be truly honest about what they think and what they believe or should they just keep compromising what they believe to make church a safe place for people to never have their faith challenged, just a nice place to visit on Sunday morning so we can feel better for the coming week.
So I am putting this out into the world, I wonder what folks really think about this. How would you feel about your minister, or any minister, standing up in the pulpit on Sunday morning and telling you about something that he or she no longer believed in. Would it change the way you felt about them, would it put their job in jeopardy. I think many ministers as they learn and grown have their faith grow with them and often they are left trying to decide what they can still say with integrity to a congregation of folks who aren't still studying and learning. For most of us our faith grows as we grow and mature throughout our lives, but for people who study a lot, who read a lot and who are challenged by their peers a lot, their faith may grow in leaps and bounds and have a huge impact on their lives. What happens then? Where is their place in the church? Does this change their ability to be a pastoral minister. Would you still want this person to be your minister. I think this is the struggle a lot of clergy have in our world today.
Just some thoughts running in my mind this day. What do you think? Talk to me sometime if you see me out and about or stop in and have a visit at the office. I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.
Have a great Spring Day!
Should ministers tell folks just what they learned in seminary, should they be truly honest about what they think and what they believe or should they just keep compromising what they believe to make church a safe place for people to never have their faith challenged, just a nice place to visit on Sunday morning so we can feel better for the coming week.
So I am putting this out into the world, I wonder what folks really think about this. How would you feel about your minister, or any minister, standing up in the pulpit on Sunday morning and telling you about something that he or she no longer believed in. Would it change the way you felt about them, would it put their job in jeopardy. I think many ministers as they learn and grown have their faith grow with them and often they are left trying to decide what they can still say with integrity to a congregation of folks who aren't still studying and learning. For most of us our faith grows as we grow and mature throughout our lives, but for people who study a lot, who read a lot and who are challenged by their peers a lot, their faith may grow in leaps and bounds and have a huge impact on their lives. What happens then? Where is their place in the church? Does this change their ability to be a pastoral minister. Would you still want this person to be your minister. I think this is the struggle a lot of clergy have in our world today.
Just some thoughts running in my mind this day. What do you think? Talk to me sometime if you see me out and about or stop in and have a visit at the office. I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.
Have a great Spring Day!
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