Category Archives: church

November 17, 2010 · 12:28 am

It’s been a bit of a long day

and now it seems as if  sleep eludes me.  So here I sit at the computer fiddling with my header and such.

First news this morning was that oldest son had rolled his vehicle on his way to a town about 4 hours from PA.  Made me very concerned for him as well as for my own travels home from Alberta. 

But he is OK, spending the night in hospital though.  I guess it is prudent for a hospital to make sure the young lawyer is adequately observed so as to avoid any pesky questions later.  He does have a broken collarbone and I guess is pretty sore. 

My trip home was uneventful.  There were some slippery sections along the way but nothing my trusty tires couldn’t handle.  And I really did not want to put them to the test so I was careful.

Made it back in good time for tonight’s council meeting.  Maybe that is what left me sleepless – not that it wasn’t good but sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed at the things there are that must be done.  Oh, volunteers, where are you?

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Filed under church, Day to Day, Family, Travels

October 30, 2010 · 5:33 pm

Country Store

The women at our church go all out for a bake and craft sale once a year in the fall winter.  It was a frosty day but the sale went on and here are a few pictures.IMG_2794

Getting ready and then the crowds came.  The soup was good and we had a fun day.

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It is always about this time of the year that I swear that  for next year I will have gotten my act in gear and made some crafty little stuff.  However… I usually end up buying lots and not getting much made.  Next year…

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September 28, 2010 · 9:36 pm

What a day

I have discovered that it is less tiring to go away to work in an office where you work for 8 or 9 hours at a stretch than to be semi-retired. 

For one thing, you have a neat(more or less) schedule to follow at work and you don’t fit in more than it is possible to do in those 8 or 9 hours.  When one is doing a bit of this and then a bit of that and then taking the grandkids for a spell before rushing off to a meeting in the evening there is barely time to squeeze in the required assignment that has to be posted by the next day for the on-line class.   

And I do not have a receptionist to tell me when the day ends.

Ahh, the life of a pastor wanna be.

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July 7, 2010 · 9:17 pm

The Party

We had such a good time last evening.  There were more than enough burgers for all and I still have a few bags of buns.  There were veggies and salads and lots of dessert. 

Best of all were the good friends.  Two couples celebrating anniversaries and visiting friends (the Friesen’s)from out of town. 

Sharon has some pictures posted over at her blog that are worth checking out. 

I was trying out a little Flip video recorder but haven’t perfected that technique yet.  And I have no idea how to post a video here.  Not yet anyway. 

Tonight was a party of another sort.  We had our first Kid’s Club for kids from the neighbourhood around the church.  Pizza!  There was a pretty good group out.  Not huge but maybe it is better to start out a bit small so we can handle it.  I had the privilege of telling the story.  We’ll see how it goes next week – story duty again.  Stories with kids can be fun – or not.  Tonight qualified as fun I think. 

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May 13, 2010 · 7:00 am

Work day at church

Last weekend we were busy as could be getting the church and yard into good shape.  Some of the work was inside, some outside.  I spent a couple of hours disinfecting toys in the nursery.  Everything is looking pretty ship shape now. 

Some of the guys were a long way up doing their thing.

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More pictures here.

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April 2, 2010 · 5:26 pm

Good Friday

Today Leo and I took part in something a little different.  We went on the Outdoor Way of the Cross that is put on by the Catholic parishes and the Ministerial Association.  It took place at 14 stations around the downtown core in our city. 

Just so you get an idea, I’ll give you the locations and the theme of our prayers for each of the stations. 

1. Jesus is Condemned to Death – Power and decision makers – out side city hall.

2. Jesus carries his cross – Homelessness – outside the Salvation Army

3. Jesus falls for the first time – For those suffering from addictions – outside the Liquor Board Store.

4. Jesus meets his mother – for those in poverty – outside the food bank

5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross – Christian unity – steps of the Presbyterian Church

6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus – healing of relationships – outside the Friendship Centre

7. Jesus falls the second time – for refugees and immigrants – outside the Multicultural Centre

8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem – better distribution of world’s wealth – cul de sac out side the Gateway Mall

9. Jesus falls a third time – for those who are unemployed – in front of the Federal Building (employment office)

10. Jesus is stripped of his clothes – trust in God – the bank corner

11. Jesus is nailed to the cross – Youth – outside the Margo Fournier Centre (youth centre)

12. Jesus dies on the cross –Justice system – outside the court house

13. The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross – Environmental stewardship – outside the Forestry Centre

14. Jesus is laid in the tomb – peace in the world – at the Cenotaph by City Hall.

Some of the best parts of the experience? Walking around to places that have been part of the downtown for years and seeing them and what they represent in the light of the cross.  Also the group walking was so ecumenical and so multicultural.  It was a beautiful day and by the end of the walk I think we had actually increased in size to well over 100.

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February 15, 2010 · 8:32 pm

A couple of quotes

From Roxburgh and Romanuk (The Missional Leader) on the changes a congregation must undertake to move from church as we know it to becoming a church sent into the world:

God enters among people who don’t get it, who are often compromised beyond hope, and there God calls forth new imagination. Christian imagination is about announcing that God does a new thing by entering into the very real places where we are formed, to transform them. p31 

And this one:

Culture change happens in a congregation when God’s people shift their attention to elements such as listening to Scripture; dialoguing with one another; learning to listen; and becoming aware of and understanding what is happening in their neighbourhood, community, and the places of their everyday lives. Instead of seeing these places and relationships as potential for church growth, they come to be seen as the places where God’s Spirit is present and calling us to enter with listening love. This shift sees God at work in one’s context and seeks to name what God might be up to. It is about seeing the church in, with, and among the people and places where we live, rather than in a specific building with a certain kind of people. p 63,64

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February 7, 2010 · 10:43 pm

My Saturday Blessing

As a congregation we go to make and serve soup about every 6 weeks or so at the Salvation Army Outpost down on Central Avenue. Yesterday this was our responsibility again. MJ was there early making the soup. I got there at about 10 am. There are things to do ahead of time – buns to cut, butter and prepare. Tables to set up, coffee and juice to make. There were about nine of us – all ages pretty much – getting ready.

We served 150 or so bowls of soup. It was great soup too. I had a bowl myself sometime in the course of the day.

At some point in the process of serving bowls of soup, I sat down to chat with an older woman who had brought her own package of what looked like chicken strips and fries. Maybe she was just there for the coffee, who knows. But she was there and not a real part of the usual street people crowd. I made some small comments about the weather asking how she was doing, etc. Just small talk to say how are you.

She began to chat, telling me about her husband who was now up in a nursing home. Perhaps her own memory not so sharp any more since she couldn’t remember the name of it, just that it was by the hospital. She had children who “followed the Lord” going on some mission trip to someplace that she couldn’t remember either. She sort of rambled on for awhile and I found myself having to make a deliberate effort to give her my attention.

I wondered a bit if I should take my leave from her and get back to my business of serving soup but she seemed lonely and needing to talk. So I figured that talking to some lonely woman was at least as important at that moment as serving someone food. So we talked and as I finally got up to go back to work, she thanked me for the visit saying, “I don’t get to talk to someone very often. I’m just an old woman and most people don’t bother to be nice.”

That was my blessing for the day.

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Filed under church, Day to Day, Reflections

January 23, 2010 · 12:55 pm

Gateway’s Business

Today is a snowy day for our church’s annual meeting.  We meet in a few minutes and I am sure that the business we will deal with will help us in our activities for the coming year. I think we have some new members joining us this year and that is a good sign.

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But are we ready to get out of the building and really get out into our community?  I hope so.  There is much to do in this city and our faith needs to be translated into ways that can be understood by those who do not know the life changing activity of Christ.  And they can’t know if we don’t live it out ourselves.

So, here goes.  The organization that we call Gateway Covenant is really more of a community and yet we do this business stuff, which is not very exciting unless we can translate that into action.

I guess I may be elected again to council too. 

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January 13, 2010 · 7:47 pm

Hi there!

One thing for sure, the kind of thinking required to do well in a seminary class is very different than the kind of linear, logical, technical thinking of dentistry. 

And it is good, different as it should be, I suppose since the consideration of how we as Christians are sent out into the world is anything but technical.  We have shared reading from texts, discussed the changing face of our world and neighbourhoods and listened to great teachers from a variety of backgrounds.  We’ve spent hours preparing presentations of our own – for class on Friday – and that has been fun and challenging.  Advertising – the “air we breathe” as one aspect of pop culture.

So my brain has been expanding – sometimes close to exploding. but the challenge to the grey matter is likely not harmful.  It does take a few classes to get into the groove of a different way of thought.

Tonight I have been re-reading a booklet and writing my reflections into a paper due on Friday.  The library is a great place to work.  And there is internet.  Of course, how can one work these days without it?

And the weather here – well it is probably better than travelling down to Florida – is fairly balmy and today the sun was shining.  Of course we were all inside around tables and not outside in it.  Such is the life of a student.

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