Another Beautiful Day

It is another beautiful day in Eston and we are looking forward in hope that Spring has indeed sprung. It is another warm day in Eston. Today in church we are going to be looking at our gospel from the writer John. We will be asking ourselves how it is we experience god. Our passage includes the famous line, 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but may have eternal life'. What does it mean to hear that god gives.... Another question to ponder this day.

It is family Sunday here at St. Andrews and all are welcome to come and join us for our service at 10:30 and stay for lunch after.

As I sit in my office typing this message, I can hear the choir practice for the Easter Cantata which they will offer during our morning service on March 29th. Beautiful music and words to tell us the story of Jesus last days and the wonder of resurrection.

On Tuesday, some of the choir and others will be going to Heritage Manor to sing some Irish songs in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. If you know some Irish songs and you would like, you can come and help us sing. We will share in a time of refreshments and community after.

About the United Church, the Comprehensive Review Task Group has presented it's final proposal for General Council. If you go to the United Church's Website united-church.ca you can find the entire report. It is important that we know what is happening Nationally in our church and it is important that if we have concerns about this report that we direct them to one of our commissioners to General Council. For Prairie Pine Presbytery we have submitted three names to go to General Council. Hopefully they will be selected to go. So if you have time and would like to be part of this decision for so many changes to our United Church structure, please read the report and come talk to me.

Have a good week All!

An Early Spring

Well it has been about 4 weeks since I wrote anything on this blog. I have been crazy busy on Sundays which is when I usually write. It feels like Spring is upon us, yesterday it got as high as 14 and it was only the 10th of March. Wouldn't it be nice if the winter was at an end and we could just look forward to nice weather, warming up and enjoying the outside.

It is Wednesday just before Bible study and I am writing. We have had lots go on in our church in the past month and there is a lot more coming. This Thursday the United Church has the responsibility for the Lenten Lunch. These lunches are all hosted by the Full Gospel Church this year but each week a different church does the lunch and the service. Well tomorrow is our day. So I am speaking on the scripture Ephesians 2: 1-10. Not an easy scripture to read or to listen to or even to write about. It is talking about some hard issues. It is talking about being compassionate, loving, forgiving and a justice seeking person even if you don't feel the person you are looking at deserves. This was written at a time for the Jews and the Gentiles, each of whom thought the other was not worth the time of day. So, how do we forgive, be compassionate to, love and and seek justice to someone who we deem as unworthy. And is it our job to chose who is worthy or not. So, the cost of being a disciple according to the writer of Ephesus is a very heavy one. Can we do it?

On Sunday we will have the gospel reading from John 3: 14-21 and a reading from the collection of stories in the book of Numbers 21: 4-9 as well as Psalm 107: 1-3, 17-22. Our Bible Study this morning will be exploring all these scriptures as well as the one from Ephesians and seeing what they mean to us in today's society. Our resource from Seasons of the Spirit that we use for Bible study suggests that we are invited to face our fears and anxieties remembering that we don't have to face them alone. That we are surrounded by all the help we may need in our living and although we may travel through the desolate and deserted places of our life, we can continue to have hope. Where do we get our support, how do we know we are not alone when life seems to be just way too hard for us to handle. These may be a few of the questions that we will ponder in bible study today.

Eston is a very busy little town. We enjoyed the Winter Carnival this past Sunday and all the young people who were part of the skating club put on an Around the World themed program for us. It was great? From the 3 year olds to the teens, they did a great job.

So, have a great week this week, and remember "Don't let the things you want make you forget the things you already have".

Barb

We are the Light!

Today is Family Sunday so we will gather for lunch after our gathering this morning to share some time as a community of faith. Everyone is welcome to come and join us.

We will be reading the story of the Transfiguration today and trying to find the relevance for us in our lives today. This is one of those stories that we are not quite sure what to make of. Did it happen? Does it matter? What is important for us when we read it? Do we every have experiences like this? These are the questions I asked myself this past week as I was trying to figure out what to say this week. What I discovered is that we all have times when we feel a sense of the sacred very close to us and other times where we don't feel anything at all. Either way we have lots to offer one another and ourselves. We all have light and love in us and it is that light and love that helps bring the sense of the sacred closer in our living. My friend Kim reminded me of a Leonard Cohen song called Anthem which I used to think of all the time when I was feeling down but haven't thought of in a long time. However, it has very powerful words for us to learn from. The chorus has these words:

Ring the bells that still can ring,
forget your perfect offering,
there's a crack in everything,
That's how the light gets in.

These words just remind me that I am a vessel of light to everyone I meet, I just need to stop trying to be perfect all the time and allow the light to shine from me in whatever I am doing. It also gives me comfort that when I am having a very hard time, that same light can enter whatever I am doing and remind me that I am part of the light. None of us are perfect but it is in our trying to be all that we can be when our light shines the brightest. So go, shine your light, be the best YOU, you could ever be.

Have an amazing Sabbath!

Time Outs!

It has been very quiet in the MacNaughton household this week since our baby grandson and daughter went home. We are missing them already. It is amazing how quickly you get used to having a baby around again. I miss his giggles in the morning. They are home safe and sound and reunited with Cody and Hannah. Can't wait until July when we see them again. All of you who have access to your children and grandchildren consider yourselves very lucky and give them a hug and tell them you love them often. I so wish I could do this.

Anyway, it is a beautiful day outside, the coffee is on, the church is warm so come and join us and find out what "Time Out" means for you. When was the last time you were given a time out, or perhaps handed one out to someone yourself? Is this the way of punishment or a way of renewal? Let's explore this together today in church.

Family

Well this week has been a wonderful one. My daughter, Amy and my grandson, Xander are here visiting. Sadly they leave tomorrow. It has been so wonderful having them here. What fun to have a baby in the house for a visit. I am hopeful my daughter Tracey will make the trek next. It is a long trip from Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan and not particularly flight friendly There are no direct flights from Halifax to Saskatoon or Regina. So Amy and I spent some time visiting, cooking, and quilting. Amy made her first quilt and completed it. It is ready to go home except for the label which we will put on it today. So not only do I get to visit with my oldest daughter and youngest grandson, I also get to spend some time teaching her my favourite pass time, Quilting.

So this week in church we are going to look at the gospel of Mark and talk about what it is that sets people free. Do we have demons in us that need to be liberated. The story in scripture today tells of Jesus setting a man free from an unclean spirit that has been part of his life. The surprise to me is no surprise from the folks in the story. The thing that shocks them is the authority that Jesus seems to have to be able to exorcise an unclean spirit. This was something only the children of Gods or archangels could do. So as well as a story about liberation, it is also a story about honour and authority which was a very important thing in the time of Jesus. As westerners we don't understand that culture, but still today in parts of the middle east, honour and authority are totally important. You must do things correctly so as not to offend another person. Perhaps that is why Jesus was always getting himself into so much conflict, he didn't give a hoot about authority or honour. He went against the societal norms of his time to do what he felt was just and loving. Are we living that way today? Is there more we could be doing? Maybe we should spend some time thinking about what it is we do in our lives to make the lives of others around us better.

So come and join us for coffee before church and our service, enjoy the music, talk and fellowship of our service. All are welcome!

Not So Cold Now!

What an unbelievable January. The weather is so mild, it is almost like March. Hopefully this doesn't mean a terrible spring. But what ever happens, we will live with it. Every day we wake up and live in this beautiful place is another day of grace. I am getting so excited my oldest daughter, Amy and my youngest grandson, Xander are arriving on Tuesday. I can't wait to see them and spend some time together. WHen you live so far away from your children and grandchildren you miss out on so much. No matter how many pictures or emails or text messages you exchange, there is still so much you don't enjoy. For instance, someone asked me yesterday if my grandson is crawling, and I have no idea. I guess I will find out on Tuesday. I want to thank everyone who loaned me baby things, it will sure make our visit easier.

Today in church we are reading the story of Jonah telling the people of Ninevah they need to repent and the story of Jesus calling his first disciples, Andrew, Peter, James and John. Do you think you could be a follower of Jesus in today's world leaving everything behind as the disciples did. So much has changed in our world since the time of Jesus. It certainly makes it harder to do like the first followers did. For so many in today's world the following of Jesus is all about personal salvation and I think Jesus would say, my message is to help make the world a better place for everyone, not just for me so get off your duff and get going. Help others. Do something and do it now. So, that's my spiel for the day. I hope everyone has a wonderful sabbath.

The coffee is made, come and joins us for church.

EVERY WEEK!

So each week when I am writing my sermon and preparing the service for Sunday I try and imagine what might inspire people to do or think something different in the coming week. This is very hard to do and I know it doesn't always happen, but I do try.

The mark of an effective church is not how many people come but how many people who live differently as a result of being there. I sure hope there are folks for whom this happens. I think this is the challenge to every worship leader. To try and come up with something that will affect people in such a way as to help them live life in a different way, no matter how small the change is. Sometimes it happens slowly, other times it comes to us in a flash. However it happens, I hope it happens to you at some point in your life whether from the service at St. Andrew's or just from something you read somewhere, I hope your life is changed in such a way that you are able to live in a way that shows transforming love each day. Today we are going to talk about the transforming love and also about thin places. For the disciples, Philip and Nathanael I think Jesus was just such a thin place. May thin places be part of your lives today and every day.

May you have a great day today and may you feel the spirit gently surround you in such a way that you feel light and love surround and hold you each moment.