Some times life just seems to get so busy that we can't remember what it is we are supposed to be doing or saying. Does this ever happen to you? It certainly does for me. We had a great bible study this week, but for the life of me I can't remember the specifics. So, a sermon had to come from somewhere else. I want to thank my friend Kim for a story that started me on my writing on Friday. Some weeks the sermon comes so easily, others, not at all easy.
This week was especially busy with two funerals. My love and prayers go out to the Rovey family and the Abbot family. It is very hard to love someone you love, even if they are growing old. Some times we lose the ones we love at a younger age and this seems especially hard. So today's writings go to all those who are experiencing grief in the midst of their lives. I highly recommend reading Warren Hansen's little book, 'The Next Place' which has some wonderful words, especially to help children with the complex issue of death. I often quote it at funerals, especially if there are children involved but I think it helps adults as well. So if you are suffering grief today, or perhaps you have gone past the initial stages of grief and are just missing someone you love so much at this time of year, know you are being held in love today. May there be a bright spot in your day where you can see the presence of all that is holy in our world.
Namastè
Sunday, 18 October 2015
Sunday, 11 October 2015
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
It's a breezy beautiful day in Eston today and days like this remind me of back home in Cape Breton. The breeze is strong, the sun is shining and life feels good. As I write this, I am sitting at my desk before church begins and missing my family very much. It is lunch time there for them and I hope they are getting ready to enjoy a wonderful turkey dinner.
I am so blessed to live the life I am living. I read a question the other day that said if you had the past three months to live over again, what would you change. And for me, I would change nothing. Isn't that great. It certainly made my day when I looked back and realized that. Often I think things like 'if life would only get better' well for me, life is great. I have everything I need and want. Certainly being closer to family would be nice but they are only as far away as my phone or Face Time. I can see my grands grow up just by picking up my ipad. Technology is amazing.
So as I sit here today, remembering and being grateful, I can't help but think of all those in our world who are separated from their families and friends, those who have no home to live in anymore, those being forced to flee from their countries. What about those right here in our province and our country who don't have enough, who won't get to enjoy a beautiful meal with family today. Those who through no fault of their own are alone. May my eyes and ears be kept open to see where I might share my bounty with others.
I was reading a book this week by Mary Jo Leddy entitled Radical Gratitude that talked about us acting on our gratitude. So will we act on the sense of gratitude that we feel today? She says, "Gratitude is the beginning of our faith and hope in the possibility of creating something new in the world, of becoming someone new".
So go forth into this day, creating, becoming and giving thanks!
Namastè
I am so blessed to live the life I am living. I read a question the other day that said if you had the past three months to live over again, what would you change. And for me, I would change nothing. Isn't that great. It certainly made my day when I looked back and realized that. Often I think things like 'if life would only get better' well for me, life is great. I have everything I need and want. Certainly being closer to family would be nice but they are only as far away as my phone or Face Time. I can see my grands grow up just by picking up my ipad. Technology is amazing.
So as I sit here today, remembering and being grateful, I can't help but think of all those in our world who are separated from their families and friends, those who have no home to live in anymore, those being forced to flee from their countries. What about those right here in our province and our country who don't have enough, who won't get to enjoy a beautiful meal with family today. Those who through no fault of their own are alone. May my eyes and ears be kept open to see where I might share my bounty with others.
I was reading a book this week by Mary Jo Leddy entitled Radical Gratitude that talked about us acting on our gratitude. So will we act on the sense of gratitude that we feel today? She says, "Gratitude is the beginning of our faith and hope in the possibility of creating something new in the world, of becoming someone new".
So go forth into this day, creating, becoming and giving thanks!
Namastè
Sunday, 27 September 2015
Warm days and cool nights!
Well September was filled with beautiful days as well as a little rain which the farmers didn't really need, but it certainly has made our countryside green. It is very unusual to see the leaves falling from the trees and green grass underneath. September to me has always been a time when I start to settle in. The summer is done and fall is upon us and I love the cooler nights and warm days. Things start to get back to normal, whatever normal happens to be.
I just got back from my third residential course of my Prairie Jubilee Program in Spiritual Direction. What a great week, lots of hard work, but so much learning. This term we are working on contemplation, discernment, imagination, transformation. Easy things like that, ha... I will be needing a couple of people who would like to take spiritual direction to work with me this winter, once a month for an hour. So if you are interested, call the office and we can talk. Spiritual Direction is the process of discovering where the spirit is working in your life and also discovering your own ability to discern with some direction the answer you may need to a burning question. So if you have decisions to make, concerns to think about, or just want to explore more about where and how the spirit works in your life, this may be the process for you. I am still in training so there is no charge for spiritual direction right now. When I meet with my spiritual director, we always have lots of think about and discern. She gets me to look at life in a different way and I am more clear on what it is I need to do or think or perhaps process for a while.
I am also interested in contemplation and would be very open to having a Contemplative service once a month if folks are interested, so once again, call the office. In a world such as we live in now, we all need to be able to take the time to breath. Just to be and not have anything else we need to do at that particular moment. Often life's demands don't allow us downtime. Perhaps if we form it in the shape of a church service, in an evening, we can actually give ourselves permission to take the time we need to do this. So, let me know if this is something you are interested in.
Have a peace filled Sabbath all!
Namastè
I just got back from my third residential course of my Prairie Jubilee Program in Spiritual Direction. What a great week, lots of hard work, but so much learning. This term we are working on contemplation, discernment, imagination, transformation. Easy things like that, ha... I will be needing a couple of people who would like to take spiritual direction to work with me this winter, once a month for an hour. So if you are interested, call the office and we can talk. Spiritual Direction is the process of discovering where the spirit is working in your life and also discovering your own ability to discern with some direction the answer you may need to a burning question. So if you have decisions to make, concerns to think about, or just want to explore more about where and how the spirit works in your life, this may be the process for you. I am still in training so there is no charge for spiritual direction right now. When I meet with my spiritual director, we always have lots of think about and discern. She gets me to look at life in a different way and I am more clear on what it is I need to do or think or perhaps process for a while.
I am also interested in contemplation and would be very open to having a Contemplative service once a month if folks are interested, so once again, call the office. In a world such as we live in now, we all need to be able to take the time to breath. Just to be and not have anything else we need to do at that particular moment. Often life's demands don't allow us downtime. Perhaps if we form it in the shape of a church service, in an evening, we can actually give ourselves permission to take the time we need to do this. So, let me know if this is something you are interested in.
Have a peace filled Sabbath all!
Namastè
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Getting Desperate!
Well Good Sunday Morning everyone, it is a chilly damp day here in Eston.
Today in church we are going to look at the gospel from Mark and the letter from James. In the gospel story we hear two cases of healing and in both bases, the folks who bring the people for healing are desperate for this healing to occur.
Where in our world today do we see folks desperate for healing and What it is we can do about it. Do we every get that desperate life and death feeling here in our lives, I certainly hope not. At least not for ourself or our family and friends but I certainly hope we can get that feeling for the people in our world who are suffering. I think sometimes it is hard to put ourselves in the position of a woman or man in places like Syria or Libya who are so desperate to save their families that they would do anything, risk everything to leave their country. How about the people in Budapest, Hungary this week trying to get on the trains to leave. I am not sure we can even imagine that desperation. Living in such a beautiful country where we have freedom of speech, the freedom to get a job, or to live safely, without fear for our lives, it is very hard put ourselves into their place. But perhaps we need to, we need to hear the stories, see the pictures and react as the outraged people we can be when we see things harming other people. We have been so fortunate to have been born in a country where peace prevails, but so many people have not had that opportunity. So please, do what you can, do things like sign petitions, write letters to the government, here in Canada and in other places, and make donations to reputable places to help make the world a more safe and secure place for everyone to live. Let's all get a little desperate.... So much of our world is falling apart right before our eyes.
Today in church we are going to look at the gospel from Mark and the letter from James. In the gospel story we hear two cases of healing and in both bases, the folks who bring the people for healing are desperate for this healing to occur.
Where in our world today do we see folks desperate for healing and What it is we can do about it. Do we every get that desperate life and death feeling here in our lives, I certainly hope not. At least not for ourself or our family and friends but I certainly hope we can get that feeling for the people in our world who are suffering. I think sometimes it is hard to put ourselves in the position of a woman or man in places like Syria or Libya who are so desperate to save their families that they would do anything, risk everything to leave their country. How about the people in Budapest, Hungary this week trying to get on the trains to leave. I am not sure we can even imagine that desperation. Living in such a beautiful country where we have freedom of speech, the freedom to get a job, or to live safely, without fear for our lives, it is very hard put ourselves into their place. But perhaps we need to, we need to hear the stories, see the pictures and react as the outraged people we can be when we see things harming other people. We have been so fortunate to have been born in a country where peace prevails, but so many people have not had that opportunity. So please, do what you can, do things like sign petitions, write letters to the government, here in Canada and in other places, and make donations to reputable places to help make the world a more safe and secure place for everyone to live. Let's all get a little desperate.... So much of our world is falling apart right before our eyes.
Sunday, 23 August 2015
a long break!
It has been a very long time since I posted anything on this blog. I always sit in front of the computer and draw a blank on what to write. But this morning I will just let my fingers tell the story. Jim and I drove to Nova Scotia for our holiday this year. It was great so see family and friends again. We spent a week at my sisters on the Mira River, beautiful spot and even though the weather wasn't great, we all had such a good time. It is so great of my sister Sue and her partner Dana to open their home to all of us. There were 19 in total this year. We seem to be growing each year. Then Jim and I went to Margaree for 6 nights. It was great to see so many people even though we didn't see everyone we wanted to see. It is so little time and so often people are busy with family or away on vacations of their own. We ended up in Amherst for a night for a reunion of Jim's mother's family, The Christies. We got out of our truck in River Hebert and a man beside us said, Saskatchewan, what town, well I said Eston and he said No Way. Paul and David Christie, relatives of the Hartsooks, also cousins of Jim. It sure is a small world.
Now that we home and both back to work, things are starting to get busy. I have been working on the Sunday School Curriculum. It is called, "Me and My Faith". It is lectionary based and we are using hte stories of Jesus to help teach the children that our work as church doesn't stop when we walk out the church doors, it continues into our community and our world. We will be doing lots of fun things. It is being held on Wednesday afternoons right after school. All children are welcome ages 4-12. The registration is on September 8th from 5-7. We also have registration forms on our website so download one and fill it out and drop it at the church.
This morning in church we will be talking about where we find God in our lives. So come and join us for our service!
Now that we home and both back to work, things are starting to get busy. I have been working on the Sunday School Curriculum. It is called, "Me and My Faith". It is lectionary based and we are using hte stories of Jesus to help teach the children that our work as church doesn't stop when we walk out the church doors, it continues into our community and our world. We will be doing lots of fun things. It is being held on Wednesday afternoons right after school. All children are welcome ages 4-12. The registration is on September 8th from 5-7. We also have registration forms on our website so download one and fill it out and drop it at the church.
This morning in church we will be talking about where we find God in our lives. So come and join us for our service!
Sunday, 17 May 2015
LONG WEEKEND
Well it is the long weekend and I am sure lots of folks are gone away but for us here at St. Andrew's it is family Sunday. It is our time to gather for a meal together, to share fellowship.
In church this morning I am going to be using my favourite little theological book called, "Faith, Hope and a Bird called George" written by Michael Morwood. It is a great book that I think everyone should read. I still have a few copies if anyone wants to borrow one. We are going to focus today on Prayer. Do we pray the right way? Is there a right way? And whose way is the right way? Have you ever thought about how and why you pray?? Are you praying to a God who is out there somewhere just waiting to hear your prayer and decide if you are worthy enough to have it answered, or do you pray to help strengthen yourself and the person you pray for, not to a supernatural deity out there somewhere but to the divinity that resides within us all. Strange, most of us don't think about this at all. We learned how to pray at our parents knee or in Sunday school or from a book even, but do we think about why we do it and what happens when we don't get the answer we think we need to have.
This is what today's service is about.
This year at our United Church Conference of the Saskatchewan conference we are having what is being called Spiritual Nurturing times as opposed to Worship times. This is a term I like much better than worship. What is worship anyway? Well another question for another blog.
Hope you will come out and join us at 10:30 and hopefully you will find this a time of spiritual nurturing. All are welcome!
In church this morning I am going to be using my favourite little theological book called, "Faith, Hope and a Bird called George" written by Michael Morwood. It is a great book that I think everyone should read. I still have a few copies if anyone wants to borrow one. We are going to focus today on Prayer. Do we pray the right way? Is there a right way? And whose way is the right way? Have you ever thought about how and why you pray?? Are you praying to a God who is out there somewhere just waiting to hear your prayer and decide if you are worthy enough to have it answered, or do you pray to help strengthen yourself and the person you pray for, not to a supernatural deity out there somewhere but to the divinity that resides within us all. Strange, most of us don't think about this at all. We learned how to pray at our parents knee or in Sunday school or from a book even, but do we think about why we do it and what happens when we don't get the answer we think we need to have.
This is what today's service is about.
This year at our United Church Conference of the Saskatchewan conference we are having what is being called Spiritual Nurturing times as opposed to Worship times. This is a term I like much better than worship. What is worship anyway? Well another question for another blog.
Hope you will come out and join us at 10:30 and hopefully you will find this a time of spiritual nurturing. All are welcome!
Sunday, 10 May 2015
MOTHER'S DAY
Good Morning Everyone, it is a beautiful day here in Eston, a little chilly to start out but it will warm up. It is mother's day and with my mother living so far away I just want to say thank you to all the people here in Saskatchewan who help me in my life. But a special thank you to my Mom, for all she does for me, even all the way from Cape Breton!
I just got back from 12 days away. It was way too long to be gone. I had meetings and the second residential for my Prairie Jubilee Course on Spiritual Direction. it was a very intense week of study in Beausejour at the Sandy Saulteaux Spiritual Centre. What a beautiful place. I was surrounded by nature and by a group of folks who were so supportive and welcoming. The staff at the centre were amazing, the cooks spoiled us with great food. So the topic this week was Soul Work. What is our soul, how does our soul work, how do we communicate with our soul, how do we know what is the soul filled thing to do. Do we live from our soul, or from another part of ourselves, not quite ready to delve deep enough for soul work. So much to think about. So it was difficult deep work, but totally worth it. I learned so much about myself and about why I act the way I do sometimes. I learned that our memories from our past play an important part in our living today along with our hope for the future. So it is all intertwined.
It is a pleasure to be home and back in this wonderful little town that I have become part of. Take care all,
Barb
I just got back from 12 days away. It was way too long to be gone. I had meetings and the second residential for my Prairie Jubilee Course on Spiritual Direction. it was a very intense week of study in Beausejour at the Sandy Saulteaux Spiritual Centre. What a beautiful place. I was surrounded by nature and by a group of folks who were so supportive and welcoming. The staff at the centre were amazing, the cooks spoiled us with great food. So the topic this week was Soul Work. What is our soul, how does our soul work, how do we communicate with our soul, how do we know what is the soul filled thing to do. Do we live from our soul, or from another part of ourselves, not quite ready to delve deep enough for soul work. So much to think about. So it was difficult deep work, but totally worth it. I learned so much about myself and about why I act the way I do sometimes. I learned that our memories from our past play an important part in our living today along with our hope for the future. So it is all intertwined.
It is a pleasure to be home and back in this wonderful little town that I have become part of. Take care all,
Barb
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