tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47851040479660847612024-03-05T06:40:32.704-08:00The Fifth Page... is the place for what does not make it into the sermonMost weeks I prepare a 4 page sermon for the United Church of Canada congregation I serve in Oakville, Ontario. This blog is a place for the "good stuff" that does not make the final cut.Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-65123219314243118062012-11-16T09:34:00.005-08:002012-11-16T09:34:59.491-08:00The Fifth Page is moving to a new siteI am moving to a new site for The Fifth Page. You can find it at: <a href="http://thefifthpage.wordpress.com/">http://thefifthpage.wordpress.com/</a><br />
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I will maintain this site for the old posts.Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-17418392037878394702012-11-01T17:17:00.000-07:002012-11-01T17:17:03.882-07:00Managing Polarities in Church Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMo0Fj-0qbqwPL4OUTTlEbccTfuEArlIhZ-_FJ2p64bDO2smb9RQIWCvv7XuZMka0DBHJhWrrJMxpFs4vz2MfboUZnnJQu2KcBZaKfy4xaN9tKJOq8m8thQf-Ay7EQXrHtzhz_sqOetDA/s1600/polarity+drawing+rotated.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMo0Fj-0qbqwPL4OUTTlEbccTfuEArlIhZ-_FJ2p64bDO2smb9RQIWCvv7XuZMka0DBHJhWrrJMxpFs4vz2MfboUZnnJQu2KcBZaKfy4xaN9tKJOq8m8thQf-Ay7EQXrHtzhz_sqOetDA/s640/polarity+drawing+rotated.tif" width="640" /></a></div>
I made this drawing while I was thinking about my sermon for Reformation Sunday. I was trying to make use of what I remember about "Polarity Management". It is normally challenging to preach on Reformation Sunday- how to give a glimpse of a fertile and volatile period in church history, that gave birth to so many important movements and theological tangents, without bashing the Roman Catholic Church as it now exists? How to highlight the importance of reforms that were achieved, without resting on the laurels of the past? How to remind myself, and the listeners, that we are part of a denomination that is not just Reformed, but reforming?<br />
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The drawing attempts to illustrate the tension that may exist between the extremes of "Don't fix it, even if it seems broken", and "What do we believe/think/do this week?". Polarity management theory helps us to see that often, neither extreme position is the "correct" one. We can identify positives and negatives about preserving tradition, and about making progressive change.<br />
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The "infinity" symbol, or bow-tie like figure in the middle represents a pattern of movement. When the positive aspects of reform begin to be weighed down with negative effects, it may be time to follow the green arrows up and over to the positive aspects of valuing tradition. When the positive aspects of following tradition begin to be weighed down by the negative, it is time to move back into reform. <br />
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Can we manage this kind of polarity, or does the gathered community make the necessary shifts without being steered or guided? After more than 20 years in pastoral ministry, I am still not sure how this happens. <br />
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The value I find in looking at a tension as a polarity is that when we remember that there are positive and negative effects of both extremes, it is more difficult to demonize the people who seem to be my polar opposites.<br />
<br />Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-8700689186313554772012-07-14T15:07:00.002-07:002012-07-14T15:07:13.725-07:00Wedding Sermon for Jacqueline Kalina and Markus Noach<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Good afternoon everyone. My name is Darrow Woods. I
serve as the minister at Trinity United Church, where Jacquie and Markus are
both active members. When they asked me to be involved in today’s celebration,
I was quite pleased, and honoured. I know this chapel, and Appleby College mean
a lot to Jacquie and her family. I am grateful to Canon Lennox for his gracious
hospitality, in inviting me to speak the sermon on this occasion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Markus and Jacquie told me that this service is being
live-streamed, by way of the internet, to viewers in many different places, who
are not able to be with us in person, but who desire to share in the joy of
this day. So I take a moment now to greet the people in the Czech Republic, and
France, and Germany, and Greece, as well as California, Kentucky and
Saskatchewan, who are with us in spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Maybe we can get the people here to say hello. Can I
ask the congregation to say, “Hello Live-streamers!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Do you think they are answering back, with their own
shouts out? I would like to think so. We can’t hear them, but we can perhaps
feel their love, in the silence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It actually seems very appropriate that these unseen,
and un-heard friends are connected to us in this way, on this day. Last
evening, Jacquie’s mother, Diane told me that there were many evenings during
their long distance courtship, when Jacquie would be in her room in the family
home here in Oakville, and Markus was in his room in Germany, and they would
both be quietly studying, but they could see each other, and hear each other
flipping pages, and scratching notes on paper, because they were connected by
Skype. Through the wonders of technology, they could use their laptops, their
wireless routers, the internet bandwidth, the phone lines, and probably more
than one satellite or transatlantic cable, to be together, even though they
were thousands of kilometres apart. (Just as we are connected to all those
live-streamers out there!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I love the idea of Jacquie and Markus being with each
other that way. I wish this had been possible when my wife and I were dating 20
years ago. At that time, we lived in the same province, but about 6 highway
hours apart. She was in a little town called Belmont, near Brandon, while I was
in the Swan River Valley, on the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border. Those references
will make sense to folks from the prairies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What touched me most deeply about Diane’s description
of Jacquie and Markus was that for most of the time, they would just be
together in silence. There is something beautiful about this. It’s a good sign
for their future that they can be content sitting together in silence. Think of
the older couples you know, who have been married for decades, and do not
always even need to speak. They already know- they know their beloved so deeply
that the words are superfluous. The silence speaks for them. The silence is
laden with love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I am reading a book called, “In pursuit of silence:
listening for meaning in a world of noise”, by a psychologist named George
Prochnik. Prochnik believes, as many artists, and mystics, poets and lovers
have proclaimed for centuries, that silence is necessary, and sustaining,
nurturing and healing. Silence gives us space to be, to think, to grow, to
love. Neuro-scientists have determined that our brains use moments of silence
to prepare to receive and process new information. An implications of this is
that as our lives are increasingly noisy, it becomes more and more difficult
for us to actually think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I have a friend who is both an Anglican priest and a
jazz musician, and he says that without silence, there is no music. Silence
makes rhythm possible. He also says this is evident in the story of the
creation of the world. There was nothing, then God spoke, and there was
something. A cosmologist might say there was total stillness, then there was a
Big Bang. Nothing, then something. Silence then a word. In music, it is the
spaces between the notes that make it possible for us to hear a song, rather
than just endure a cacophonous noise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The scriptures of many religious traditions describe
the presence of God as breath, or spirit. Breath is life. We inhale. We pause.
We exhale. Between the thousands and thousands of inhalations and exhalations
of each day, there is a silent, resting pause. When I teach people to pray, I often
begin by asking them to pay attention to the rhythm of their own breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The same rhythm governs the beating of our hearts, and
the pulse of blood moving through our veins. The pause, the silence in between,
makes the rhythm possible, just as breath makes life possible.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When I walked in this beautiful chapel yesterday for
the rehearsal, I remembered how much it reminds me of Hogwarts from the Harry
Potter movies. It was fun to think of walking in today wearing my robe, like
one of the old wizards. The design of this chapel resembles the chapel at
Mepkin Abbey where I like to go on silent retreat. It is a Trappist monastery
in South Carolina, where most of the monks, most of the time, live in
contemplative silence, except when they come to chapel, and sing and speak
their prayers. They sit in choir stalls facing each other, the same set up as
here. The monks believe God is always with them, but it is in the silence we
quiet ourselves enough to listen beneath the clutter of our own lives, to hear
God’s voice, and to know God’s love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This makes me think of the words of one my favourite
United Church hymns, called “Come and find the quiet centre”. The second verse
says,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><em>Silence
is a friend who claims us,<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><em><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>cools
the heat and slows the pace,<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><em><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>God
it is who speaks and names us,<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><em><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>knows
our being, face to face,<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><em><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>making
space within our thinking,<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><em><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>lifting
shades to show the sun,<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><em><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>raising
courage when we're shrinking,<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><em><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>finding
scope for faith begun.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In just a few moments, a few heartbeats from now,
Canon Lennox will lead Jacquie and Markus through their wedding vows. Beneath
the ancient words of promising, and joining, and blessing, there will be, for
them, and for us, a sacred silence, that God will fill with presence. God is
with us, and just as our hearts beat to move blood through our bodies, God’s
spirit breathes life, and love into this moment, and all the moments of our
lives.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There is a language deeper than words. We heard about
it in the scripture from First Corinthians, that Janet read in English, and
Andrea offered in German. Beneath the tongues of angels and of humans that
Saint Paul was talking about, is the language of love. The love that underlies
all things, and is perhaps easiest for us to know in silence, comes from God.
We might even say that love does not just come from God, it is God. The love
that flows like a quiet breath from the maker of all things, that gives us
life, and fills our hearts, is God at work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We can see God at work, here and now, in the lives of
Jacquie and Markus, who have already learned to sit together in silence. Thanks
be to God. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Amen</b></span></div>
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<br /></div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-31824168909697408432012-07-07T19:19:00.001-07:002012-07-07T19:19:27.572-07:00Spiritual Well-Being<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think that when people make the effort to come to worship in the summer time, it is good to match that effort, by trying to offer something special. Here is the announcement that appeared in our congregation's bulletins and newsletter, leading up to the month of July:</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There will be a 5 part Teaching Series
in July called “Spiritual Well-Being”. Each Sunday, Rev. Darrow, who is a
certified spiritual director and experienced retreat leader, will offer a teaching
time about a spiritual practice that can enrich our lives, and deepen our
awareness of God’s presence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">July 1: Opening ourselves to the Holy through
sacrament and silence.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 8: Breath and the movement of our
bodies can be prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 15: The practice of Centering
Prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 22: Growing in awareness of God
present and at work within us, through Lectio Divina.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 29: Walking the labyrinth as
spiritual exercise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Each of these teaching times can stand
alone, so don’t worry if you cannot be at church every Sunday in July.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These special services might be the
perfect occasion to invite someone who thinks of themselves as “spiritual, but
not really religious”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-4799058946246649042012-06-09T20:41:00.003-07:002012-06-09T20:41:35.559-07:00Hands On<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Last Saturday
evening, I sat with my family, and some long-time friends, in a large meeting
room at a retreat centre in Port Elgin, on the shore of Lake Huron. The room
had been transformed into a worship space. There were hundreds of people there,
many from United Church congregations from the 6 regions within our Hamilton
Conference, which stretches as far south as Niagara Falls, and as far north as
Tobermory. The occasion was the Celebration of Ministry service, at which 6
people were ordained to serve as ministers in the United Church, and one
minister was welcomed from another denomination. We sat near the back, and
watched as the room filled. I can usually distinguish the regular crowd from
the guests, who may be relatives, or church friends of the people being
ordained. They are often better-dressed, and they seem to glow a bit with love
and pride, anticipating what is about to happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I have been to
more than 20 of these services, including one where I was ordained, which took
place in a hockey arena in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, in May of 1990. Each
time I attend, I am reminded of that day. When I hear the candidates answering
the formal questions, and making their promises, I silently re-affirm my own
vows. It is an encouraging, and re-focusing moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There was a
married couple being ordained this night, with 2 children close to the ages of
our kids. Joel and Naomi spent the weekend with these kids, who are named
Andrew and Naomi. So they had a big Naomi, and a little Naomi in the program
for children and young teens. I found it quite emotional to be sitting with my family,
while we witnessed these parents making their promises of faithful service to
God and God’s people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</w:wrap></v:imagedata></span></v:shape><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When a candidate is ordained, they are allowed to
choose some of the people who will lay a hand on them, for the blessing and
ordination. You can see what that looks like in this photo from an ordination
service from a few years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The person
being ordained kneels, and is surrounded by people who each place a hand on
them. Some of those hands belong to official representatives of the United
Church. But each candidate also chooses people who are important in their
lives, and in their faith journey, to take part.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When the married couple were each ordained, they chose
to have both of their kids take part, by laying hands on them. It seemed a
powerful acknowledgement that God is at work in our lives through the people
closest to us. It also seemed right to involve their children in this next step
in a process that has already changed their lives, and will continue to do so.
Lynda and Gordon and their children, Andrew and Naomi, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>will be moving to rural Newfoundland this
summer, to begin a new adventure in a community very different from the one
they have known.</span><b><span style="font-family: "TimesNewRoman,Bold"; mso-bidi-font-family: "TimesNewRoman,Bold";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-58154711524812271302012-05-05T21:29:00.002-07:002012-05-05T21:29:54.568-07:00Thoughts about Giving, Part 1<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Does it worry you when you see the
minister is going to talk about giving? Does it worry you even more when you
see the title is “Thoughts about giving, Part 1”? How many parts are there
going to be? Is he going to tell me that I need to give more to the church? Is
he going to try to manipulate, or guilt me into something?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I plan to talk on this subject 2 more
times. I am reluctant to tell you when, because you might not come to church on
those days.!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I am not going to try to manipulate you,
or guilt you into giving more to the church. Even if I thought it might work I
would not do that. I would see that as an abuse of the power of what we do here
together. Our worship services are meant to gather us together around the sense
that God is with us. We are here as a faith community to quiet ourselves enough
to sense God’s presence, and to hear and see what God has for us, and how we
are to respond to God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">It all begins with God, and what God
gives to us. God gives us all that we really need to live. So much of what God
gives, comes to us freely, with no strings, or obligations, or price tags attached.
My wife and I went for a long after supper walk last evening. The sky was a
shining robin’s egg blue. There were clouds cutting puffy furrows across the
sky. The contrast of blue sky and white cloud was dazzling. We walked streets
in the neighbourhood around our home, and saw purple, and pink, and white
lilacs, and tulip trees in full glory. We saw other trees budding and leafing
out. There were people out walking, and talking. There were kids at play in the
park. There is so much that is good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">We live in a society in which everything
is turned into a commodity - packaged to be sold as a product. We humans can
manage the land, and decide what grows where, and we can build fences and
barriers to limit access to different areas. We can convince ourselves that we
are creators, or controllers, of the world around us. But the truth is that we
did not make any of it. This world, and its beauty, and the life that persists
and thrives, often in spite of our human activities- all of it is this amazing
generous gift from God. The fact that we breathe, and live, and move, and can
see and appreciate all that is, the gift of life itself- comes from God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Seeing how amazing this world is, and
remembering it is all a gift from God, is a good place to begin when thinking about
giving. We have really have nothing to give, that did not first originate in
God’s gifts to us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">How incredible it is that God gives
everything so freely. Part of my role as your minister is to somehow represent
God’s grace, and God’s generosity. But there is no danger that you would ever
mistake me for God. I am clearly not as free and generous with my love as God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Having cleared that up, this morning I
want to do something totally out of the box. What I am about to do is my doing.
I do not have the permission of the worship committee, or the church council,
or anybody- because they do not actually know what I am about to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">What I have here in this box is enough
loonies for all of you. Everybody gets one. I wish it could be a toonie, or a
ten dollar bill, or something even bigger- but this is what I am able to do!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">(Wait until everyone has one.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">You can tell that I am not God, for lots
of reasons. Today especially you can tell that because there are limits to my
generosity. I decided that my limit for today was that I could give everybody
here only a dollar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">But there you have it. A totally free
gift. No strings. It is yours. A reminder of the generous God who gives us all
so much more than money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Each of us is able to give of ourselves,
because of all that God gives us. When we give our time, our attention, our
love, our work, our loyalty, our friendship, our compassion, our patience, and
yes, even our money- we are able to do our giving, because of all that God has
freely given us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">How does it feel to have that free
looney in your hand? I know it is not much, but please accept it as a symbol of
all that God gives us every day. Later in the service, we will share the bread
and cup of communion, and be reminded that these are sacramental symbols, of
all that God offers and gives us through Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">When we practice giving of ourselves, what
we give can be like a sacramental symbol of God’s love. It can be a celebration
of all that God has given us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">When we give, it can be an act of
worship, of gratitude to God. It can also be an act of rebellion, against the
forces in the world that would have us believe that selling is better than
giving, and buying better than receiving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I prayed about this out of the box thing
we are doing here today. I prayed that I could feel free and joyful, and
generous, as I handed out money. (Please know that this is money from the coin
can in my house, and is not coming from the church. My wife knows what I am doing
today.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In the Jewish religion it is taught that
giving is a relationship between God, the receiver, and the giver, in that
order of importance. You can’t really be a giver, unless there is someone to
receive. And without God, there would be nothing to give or receive in the
first place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The act of giving can be transformative.
When I give something away, the very act allows me to embody God’s generosity,
and follow God’s command to give. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jews
and Christians call that “imitatio deo”, the imitation of God. The same idea is
expressed in Islam as “taking on the qualities of God”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">One of the ways churches, and
synagogues, mosques, and temples, and other places of worship help the
faithful, is to give them a way to channel their generosity, in ways that can
also be effective at doing good in the world. Jews call this righteous giving,
and it is meant to show devotion to God. There are similar concepts in Islam. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">It seems to me that in Christian
churches, the idea of righteous giving- giving because it helps us be better, more
God-like people as we practice generosity, gets lost in all the anxiety over meeting
a budget, or paying the bills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">We lose track of something very
important when we reduce the notion of giving to meeting a budget. In our lives
of faith, and God’s work in us, and in the world, giving is not only about
keeping the church going. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have mostly
moved away from giving as a spiritual practice that is good for us, and fallen
into the habit of seeing giving as an obligation- something we would rather not
do, but do grudgingly, if absolutely necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The other problem with making that
strong connection between what is needed to run the church and its programs,
and what we give- is that it actually sets a limit on how generous we should
be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">God does not set limits on how blue the
sky is, or the brilliance of the pink and purple and white lilacs that are in
bloom this week. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God does not hold back
on beauty, giving us only enough to get by on. God just gives, and gives, and
gives. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Amen<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-52893172320099559792012-04-26T08:31:00.000-07:002012-04-26T08:31:22.646-07:00Compassion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/QwqlurCvXuM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I recently returned from a conference held outside Boston, Massachussetts, entitled "Cultivating Compassion". It was a gathering arranged by Spiritual Directors International. There were spiritual directors, and others interested in the life of prayer, from many different faith traditions, and from many places around the world.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of my learnings at the conference, which I have been been making an effort to put into practice in my daily life, comes from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The Youtube clip I have inserted above is of Pema Chodron a teacher from Nova Scotia, who explains the practice very well.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It is called Tong Lin. As I understand it, Tong Lin is a kind of prayer that is meant to cultivate compassion within us, by increasing our awareness of the suffering of others.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the last few days, when I have found myself in a conversation, or situation, in which I knew that the other person was suffering some hardship, or difficulty, or sadness, as I have listened to them, I have also been doing this practice.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As I breathe in, I have imagined myself accepting their pain and suffering. (I tell myself that I am passing this suffering on to God, who is the source of all compassion and comfort and healing.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As I breathe out, I do so with the intention to direct love, and peace towards the person I am with. My understanding is that the Spirit of God is like an endless stream of love, that desires to flow through each of us, out towards others.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I cannot speak to the effect this has on the other person. My hope and prayer is that they feel relief, and feel heard, and loved.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What I can say is that this prayerful practice seems to soften me from the inside, and open my awareness of the condition of the people I am with.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When this practice was being taught at the conference, I was wondering about how to connect it to the idea of Jesus' self-giving, and his willingness to participate in, and take on the sufferings of the world. I wonder if this kind of practice can help me better understand what it might mean for me to "take up my cross" as a follower of Jesus.</div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-85582023422170713572012-03-26T12:01:00.000-07:002012-03-26T12:01:59.079-07:00Don't pull too hard or something will snap<span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The Desert Fathers and Mothers lived near Scete, on the banks of the Nile, in Egypt, in the 4<sup>th</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup> centuries. Around the time that Christianity was gaining prominence as an official religion in the Roman Empire, people were heading out into the desert, to live in caves, and practice solitude. There is a collection of wisdom and stories from that time called “The Sayings of the Desert Fathers” even though history is clear that women were also attracted to the developing monastic life. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">One of the “Desert Fathers” who spoke about silence, a man called Abba Antony said, “The person who abides in solitude and is quiet, is delivered from fighting three battles- those of hearing, speech, and sight. Then they will have but one battle to fight- the battle of the heart.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">There are lots of sayings by Antony, and also stories about him. One day he was out in a field with some of the younger monks in training. They were telling him about their dreams, and asking for help in understanding them. The conversation was quite lively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the midst of all of this, a hunter came out of the nearby brush, and showed his displeasure- he seemed to feel like the monks should be acting more holy, and having less fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He may have thought they should be silent all the time. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Antony responded to the hunter’s displeasure by asking him to take up his bow, and place an arrow in it, and draw it. The hunter did so. Antony said, ”Draw it further:” and he drew it. He said again, “Draw it yet further:” and he drew it. The hunter said to him, “If I draw it too far, the bow will snap.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Abba Antony answered: “So it is with God’s work. If we go to excess the brothers quickly become exhausted. It is sometimes best not to be rigid.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The hunter was penitent when he heard this, and profited much from it. And the brothers, thus strengthened, went home.<o:p></o:p></span>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-2179472065572887052012-02-13T12:02:00.000-08:002012-02-13T12:02:36.509-08:00Surprised by surpriseThe parables of Jesus are invitations to view our reality, and to relate to the world we live in, in a new way. I should not be surprised that I end up being surprised when I spend time with these holy and subversive stories. They are dangerous because they undermine conventional thinking, and inspire dis-ease- a lessened sense of ease with the way things are.<br />
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A week ago I preached on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. What I took away from my prayer and study around that story is that "who is my neighbour?" is actually the wrong question. (At least when asked in a legalistic, help me define the limits of my responsibility for others, kind of way.) Questions more faithful to the way of Jesus might be, " How do I be a real neighbour? " "How can I live with compassion?"<br />
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This past week I worked with the Parable of the Prodigal. I began with the idea that I would use the story of the younger son to talk about what classical Christian spirituality called the Threefold Path. In our journey towards God, there are three aspects: Purgation, Illumination, and Union. <br />
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Purgation is overcoming the distractions and compulsions of the world, by becoming aware of their hold on us, and developing a disciplined life so that we are not bound by them. (The Prodigal Son spends his inheritance on riotous living, and is left with nothing to show for it. He ends up doing hard labour on a pig farm, and longing for the comforts of his family home.)<br />
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Illumination is the beginning of our consciousness that there is more to life than we once thought. It is as if we are waking up to the spiritual depth and meaning present in everything. (The Parable says the younger son "came to his senses". He decided to seek his father's forgiveness, saying that he had sinned against his father, and against heaven.)<br />
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Union, also called contemplation, or mystical prayer, is the gift of God's presence with us. (The father rushes out to meet his prodigal son on the road, and the parable describes the joy of a great celebration.)<br />
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My difficulty with re-telling the parable in terms of Purgation, Illumination, and Union was that when I read the story, it did not seem to me that the younger son had done enough in the Purgation phase, to warrant his Union, or Re-Union, with the God-figure in the story, his father. <br />
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I took my sermon in another direction, about the father's loving acceptance and grace towards both of the sons, because I recognized within myself that like the older brother, I still wanted to judge the prodigal. He didn't deserve (at least, not yet!) the forgiveness, love, and acceptance of the father.<br />
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That was the surprise for me this week. The whole point of the parable is that grace, love, forgiveness, when given freely, purely, by God, are absolutely unearned. And God offers them anyway.Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-69042206426937731522012-01-24T07:26:00.000-08:002012-01-24T07:26:15.788-08:00"Origin Stories"<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A baby is lovingly placed by his father in a cozy niche, within a capsule that is about to be propelled into space by a powerful rocket. The father is a scientist who had predicted his home planet was unstable, and would soon explode. The planet’s rulers had ignored the scientist’s dire warnings. The planet was doomed. There was no longer time to save its people from destruction. All the scientist could do was to send his son to a safe place. For years he had been observing a distant planet. The scientist believed that on this planet, bathed in light from its bright yellow star, his son would have amazing powers. The infant would be safe, and could grow to maturity. He could use his powers to protect the people of his adopted planet.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even as mountains crumbled and seas frothed violently, and a quake caused the ceiling above the baby’s rocket to crack open, the scientist father remained focussed on his task. He kissed his baby, and whispered a blessing. The capsule closed, and the rocket was launched. The last survivor of the planet Krypton was headed to Earth.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s the “origin” of Superman. Comic book creators often craft an origin story to explain how the hero gained their powers. They also use the origin story to provide insight into their hero’s motivation. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The origin is an important part of the myth. It provides a pretext for the reader to suspend their disbelief, and enter into the fantasy. If the reader can’t do that, they won’t enjoy the story. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Origin stories have also had a function in religion. Preachers and teachers have used stories of wonder and magic to bolster their claims. It seems to me that in the case of Christianity, we have tended to look back to the time of the first followers of Jesus, and the first few generations of the church, as a time when God was more “hands on” with people. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is a tendency to suggest, or even come right out and say, that God guided the minds and hands of the human writers of scripture, so that the end product would be perfect. All the claims that the Bible as we know it is “God’s Word, exactly” depend on the “origin” story that God dictated the script to these holy secretaries.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think I understand why this has happened. People like to be right about things. We want to know that we are on track with God. A confident preacher that can tell us (usually in a booming voice) precisely what God requires can win a huge following. But how does the preacher know? What makes their religious claims any more valid than the preacher down the road, or on a different tv channel? The preacher needs a source for their “rightness”, their moral authority. That’s where the “origin” story of the Bible comes in. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But that “origin” story is just that, a story. It has no basis in fact. More than that, it demeans us, puts us down, in an insidious way. The underlying message of the story is that in the past, God spoke directly to people, but in our time, the only way to know God is through the Bible. This elevates the Bible from being a book, to being something we worship. It suggests that people in our time are not holy, or faithful enough to have the kind of relationship with God that early Christians had, even before the Bible existed.</span></div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-4229270328043434392012-01-14T19:15:00.000-08:002012-01-14T19:15:18.545-08:00An Epiphany Thought In the early Christian church, there were two major festivals. Easter was celebrated every time Christians gathered on the Sabbath. The other major festival was Epiphany. I find that this year, I am relishing this season of light, and finding great hope and meaning in the story of the magi. Part of the reason for this is that I have written, with two able collaborators (my kids!) a short puppet play that tells the story of three Hogwarts students who follow a certain star. It will be performed at Trinity on January 29.<br />
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The Epiphany story is also a natural choice for anyone interested in contemplative prayer and the ministry of spiritual direction. I love the following quote from an article by Wilkie Au, from the Review for Religious, in 1989:<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>God is to be enjoyed not only at the end of the search, but all along the way. The Christmas story of the magi illustrates this truth. God was present to them not only when they joyfully arrived at the cave in Bethlehem, but also in the original stirrings that sent them off in search of the promised Messiah. God’s presence was also experienced in a guiding star that directed them through dark nights and in a dream that warned them of Herod’s threat. They experienced God’s support, too, in the encouragement they gave each other throughout an uncharted search that took them miles from home. God is more present to us than we think.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div><em> </em><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Our search for union with God is life-long, often a strenuous trek punctuated by dark passages. If we are to persevere, we must take courage in God’s abiding presence all along the way.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div><em> </em><br />
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</div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-19963343570270432592012-01-03T14:21:00.000-08:002012-01-03T14:21:46.005-08:00For-GIVE-ness is a gift from God<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What I <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">have seen, in my own life, and in the lives of people I love, is that when we feel guilt and regret over things we have done, or things we believe about ourselves are dragging us down, we look for the worst in others, and for reasons to judge others- not necessarily to condemn them, but as a way to not feel so bad about ourselves. </span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Forgiveness for sin is the way the church has traditionally talked about the problem, but I think the more looming question is how do we accept ourselves, faults and history and all? If we can find the way to self-acceptance, maybe we can be more loving, and accepting, and forgiving of others.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Any resource, any program that can help people move forward in the vital task of self-acceptance, and towards regarding ourselves with even a fraction of the love that God has for us, is worth a look.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">One of the most profound books on the shelves in my study is called "The Spirituality of Imperfection: Modern Wisdom from Classic Stories", by Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham. I originally bought it because it contains over 100 stories drawn from ancient spiritual traditions. I thought it would be a treasure trove for sermon illustrations, and for years, I did not really read the book, I dug through it, seeking gems that would add lustre to my preaching efforts. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFzk0VbGwaZVMgPaaRFiLyCzuK7m8QazRWBi3IWVvaMG3SQZcDBk8UTtojauAI0fBzXnhRqlplinTHmmdUf_IUOS71mZPkcRitN7NdFJnvjfeLeUsSWoLHJQpEoWESY2rQIR4U60U9DOg/s1600/the+spirituality+of+imperfection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFzk0VbGwaZVMgPaaRFiLyCzuK7m8QazRWBi3IWVvaMG3SQZcDBk8UTtojauAI0fBzXnhRqlplinTHmmdUf_IUOS71mZPkcRitN7NdFJnvjfeLeUsSWoLHJQpEoWESY2rQIR4U60U9DOg/s320/the+spirituality+of+imperfection.jpg" width="203" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I actually owned this book for almost 20 years before I realized why "The Spirituality of Imperfection" contains all those great stories. It is because the purpose of the book is to show that Alcoholics Anonymous is a contemporary embodiment of many aspects of those ancient spiritual traditions. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">When I began to read the book rather than just browse it, I discovered that the stories are not the only treasures within its pages. There is a lot in this book on the topic of forgiveness:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><em>"The main spiritual shift that takes place in the event of being forgiven/forgiving is thus a new experience of self; blaming others falls away, and we begin to accept primary responsibility for who we are. Forgiveness comes when we let go of the feeling of resentment by surrendering the vision of self-as-victim. If we have been injured, we no longer experience the injury as a barrier to relationship. Instead, we see the injury in the perspective of our own imperfection: how can we expect anyone else to be perfect if we ourselves are imperfect? Within that understanding comes the profound realization that that we have been forgiven for our own imperfections. And then there follows, in time, a second and equally profound internal transformation: we understand that we have already forgiven others.</em></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><em>Thus it is that we do not forgive; instead, we discover forgiveness in both its forms- both that we have been forgiven and that we have forgiven. Spirituality's mutuality holds true here as everywhere: We are forgiven only if we are open to forgiving, but we are able to forgive only in being forgiven- we get only by giving, and we give only by getting."(page 222)</em></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There is a reminder here that forgiveness is a grace, a gift that comes to us from God, and is meant to flow through us:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><em>"we are capable of forgiveness only if we are acted on by some reality outside of, beyond, and in some way greater than ourselves." (page 223)</em></span></span></div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-57959580011198921452011-12-23T10:05:00.000-08:002011-12-23T10:05:51.071-08:00Merry Christ-Myths!If a preacher wants to keep their job, and not unnecessarily tick people off, there are two topics they carefully skirt around, when preaching on Christmas Eve. For the purposes of this blog entry, I am calling them "Christ-Myths", mostly because I like the word-play.<br />
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Myths get a bad name in our culture. We use the word "myth" in a dismissive way, to say that something is untrue, and therefore unworthy of serious attention. But myths are more than that. A myth is also a story that carries meaning that matters to us.<br />
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The story of Santa Claus is one of the myths that I am careful with on Christmas Eve. (Actually for the whole Advent and Christmas season.) The story of Santa is a fantasy, only loosely based on the story of the historical figure Saint Nicholas. This does not prevent us from using the story to pass on meaning that we think is important. We especially want the children in our life to live, if only for a few years, in a world in which magic is possible, and in which such a kind and generous figure could exist. We are attracted to the idea that Santa loves all the children of the world, and visits all of their homes on Christmas Eve. This is a much happier idea than the the reality that many of the children in the world do not have homes, and will most certainly not receive a special gift from a magical benefactor.<br />
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Myths are powerful things. They have positive and negative aspects. The downside of the Santa myth, in my opinion, is the "naughty or nice" piece. It strongly suggests to a child that does not receive all they hoped for at Christmas that it is their fault. I don't like the implication that Santa's generosity, or love, is conditional upon the child's behaviour. What about the kids who won't receive much, whether or not they behaved well?<br />
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The other "Christ-Myth" that I approach with caution is the Virgin Birth. A good friend asked me this week if I planned to talk about it. They said, " What if this part of the Jesus story, which is so hard to take seriously, is the barrier or obstacle that is stopping a person from taking the person and message of Jesus seriously? " (Okay, I am paraphrasing their question, but that was the gist of it!)<br />
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For those who are surprised to read that I would classify the Virgin Birth as a myth, I recommend "Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Birth of Jesus", by John Shelby Spong. In this book, Spong adds his voice to that of a chorus of Biblical scholars who recognize the beauty and the power of the New Testament stories of the birth of Jesus, without reading them as literally true.<br />
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In my own sermon preparation work this Advent, for the "Children of Promise" series, I have been struck by how many times in Bible stories, God is at work changing the world through the birth of a vulnerable child. Isaac, son of Sarah. Moses, son of Jochabed, Samuel, son of Hannah, John, son of Elizabeth, and Jesus, son of Mary are all examples of "miracle" babies, who either were almost not born in the first place, or narrowly managed to survive their infancy.<br />
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In a real sense, every child is a miracle baby, even if they are not the hero of a Bible story. Do we need a "bigger, better" miracle in the case of Jesus, in order to take him seriously?Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-404251815535910212011-11-29T20:33:00.000-08:002011-11-29T20:33:10.780-08:00Free light and crystal ducks<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(This reflection was written on Cyber Monday, and will also appear in the Christmas edition of Branches, the newsletter for Trinity United Church in Oakville.)</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”</em> Gospel of John 1:5 </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I have been putting up the outside Christmas decorations at our house. We have a small collection of items that are meaningful to us as much for who gave them, as for what they are. Over the years of our marriage, I have noticed that as we accumulate more things in general, we are more hesitant than we used to be to acquire new items. Where to store it all? What precious, or formerly precious item would need to go, to make room for the new thing? (I think people are like that with ideas and traditions as well- do we really want to give up what is familiar, in favour of something to which we don’t yet feel connected?)</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have been gradually replacing our older lights with energy efficient L.E.D.s. This year we took a further step, and bought a few solar spotlights, and a string of mini sparkly lights that have a solar panel, that generates electricity stored in rechargeable cells. I love that at least some of these decorations shine at night, because of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>light we saw in the day. I don’t know if we are actually saving money (especially if I factor in what I spent on the new items) but there is still something satisfying to me about “free light”.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it gets dark (Which these days seems like about 10 minutes after the kids get home from school!), the solar lights, which are controlled by ambient light sensors, turn themselves on. The rest of our lights, the more conventional plug in ones, come on with a click of the remote control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lights that draw current from our house, and set the power meter whirring with excitement, are much brighter than the little solar powered ones. The glare from these “not free” lights reaches the sensors on the solar lights, and they turn off.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am trying to find an arrangement on our front lawn that will allow both kinds of light to shine at the same time- but it’s a challenge. The plugged in lights (which I am starting to think of as representing the more commercial, consumerist aspect of Christmas) are so bright, that my noble little “free power” solar lights (symbolizing all that money can’t buy) simply cannot be seen. </span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> In the culture we live in, money is so often used to measure the significance and the worth of things. “Time is money!” “Act now for big savings!” “When you care enough to send the very best!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“No payments, and no interest for 36 months!” To suggest that the deeper meaning of this Christmas season cannot be bought or sold, and is probably not on display next to the Swarovski crystal duck with the 24 carat gold beak, is a radical, counter-cultural statement.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it’s also absolutely true. What we are meant to celebrate at Christmas is the presence of love in our human reality. We see in the birth of Jesus God’s passionate desire to tell us that we are all precious, loved, needed, and accepted, no matter what messages we have absorbed from the world about our value.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are ways in which we can use our resources and money to communicate our love. But there are also ways in which spending money actually seems to take the place of really showing a person that we love them, and that our interest in them goes farther than checking their name off our “to buy” list.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had an inspiring conversation last week with a man who is one of the wealthiest people I know. We were talking about Christmas. He said that the thing his family most loves to do in this season is find a family that is having a really hard time, and find ways to support and help them. Sometimes that means giving them money. Sometimes that means paying to fix a car, or a furnace. Sometimes it means having them over for supper, or bringing a meal into the family’s home, and sitting down with them to enjoy it together.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When my friend was talking about the joy his family finds in finding ways to be useful, and to bring light into other people’s lives- his face was glowing with excitement. Our world needs more of that kind of light, that may involve spending, but which cannot be bought.</span></div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-28443466810223904112011-11-15T10:11:00.000-08:002011-11-19T10:50:40.044-08:00Who laughed?<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">My pre-Christmas teaching series, “Children of Promise” began with a look at the moment at which Abraham and Sarah learn that they will be parents. There are two versions of the story in the Book of Genesis. It is exactly this kind of thing- multiple versions of essentially the same story, with variations in detail and style, that over a century ago led Biblical scholars to the idea, now widely accepted, that the Old Testament is a compilation of material from several streams or traditions. (The question of why this is still ignored by many Christian teachers and preachers might be a blog for another day!) These stories were told in different ways by different people, and were likely passed along orally, like folk tales.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I was recently at a family gathering at which I heard three different versions told of a story from my childhood. I can’t tell you which is the “true” or “truest” version. I only know which one I remember hearing most often.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In Genesis chapter 17, Abram has a conversation with God, who invites him into a covenant relationship. God is not described in this story, which leaves me wondering if this is a dream or a vision, rather than a physical encounter.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">God gives him a new name, and says that his wife will bear a son. This child will be the first in a long line of descendants, numerous enough to form a new nation. They will be given the whole land of Canaan in which to settle. As a sign of the covenant, Abraham, and all the males in his household, and all of his male descendants must submit to circumcision.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Abraham takes the prospect of circumcision in stride, but is incredulous that Sarai, now to be called Sarah, will bear a child. The story says, “Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Despite Abraham’s laughter, God reassures him that within the year, Sarah will bear a male child, and that God will be back to see that this promise has come true.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In the very next chapter of Genesis, the encounter with God is less dream-like. God appears as a trio of strangers, who are offered the hospitality of Abraham and Sarah’s encampment. (They already have their new names, but do not yet have knowledge of the upcoming birth.)</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Abraham calls for water to be brought so that the strangers may wash their feet. He goes into his tent and instructs Sarah to get flour to bake bread. He then selects a tender calf from his herd for the servants to slaughter and cook. He fetches curds and milk to eat with the other food that will be prepared. Abraham fulfills the requirements of hospitality that were common to nomadic peoples in this region.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would not eat until after his guests needs were met.</span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">“While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><br />
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</div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">9</span></sup></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";"> “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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</div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">“There, in the tent,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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</div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">10</span></sup></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";"> Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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</div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. <sup>11</sup> Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. <sup>12</sup> So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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</div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">13</span></sup></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";"> Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ <sup>14</sup> Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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</div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">15</span></sup></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";"> Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.” </span></i><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">(from Genesis 18)</span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">In this version, Sarah is listening when God issues the promise of a child to Abraham. She laughs, which is what Abraham did in the first version of the story. (The name Isaac comes from Hebrew words for “she laughed”.) The figure speaking for God (one of the three strangers) asks why Sarah laughed, and echoes the promise made in the first version of the story, that within the year, God will return to them, and Sarah will have given birth to a son.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">The promise is the same, but the manner in which it is delivered is quite different. I don’t really know what to make of all the differences, except that they support the existence of variant traditions of how the story was told, over the generations, before the stories were collected into the form we now have them in the Old Testament.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">I do find it interesting that in the New Testament, Matthew’s Gospel describes Joseph being told that Mary would bear a son, and the news is delivered in a dream. In Luke’s Gospel, it is Mary who first receives the news, from an angel. I am also curious about the identity of the three strangers who visited Abraham and Sarah- did they come from the East, like the Wise Men? Or were they angels, as suggested by the New Testament letter to the Hebrews:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">”</span></sup></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";"> Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";"> (Hebrews 13:2)<span class="citation1"><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><br />
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</div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-32597830754335895792011-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:002011-11-07T08:00:36.863-08:00Memoral Service for my favourite cousin<div style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1pt 4pt;"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="border: currentColor; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0cm;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></span></v:shapetype><v:shape alt="http://mi-cache.legacy.com/legacy/Images/Cobrands/DignityMemorial/Photos/13c8a466-1547-4a29-b81d-64dbacfd0c54.jpg" href="http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/modals/image-gallery.aspx?n=Scott-Stec&lc=3139&pid=154460487&mid=4874527" id="ctl00_ctl00_MainContent_MainContent_ctl00_Panel_PhotoImage" o:button="t" o:spid="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 131.25pt; margin-left: -3pt; margin-top: -2.25pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 92.55pt; z-index: 1;" title="""" type="#_x0000_t75"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <v:fill o:detectmouseclick="t"> <v:imagedata o:title="13c8a466-1547-4a29-b81d-64dbacfd0c54" src="file:///C:\Users\DARROW~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg"> <w:wrap type="square"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:fill></span></v:shape><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Peacefully, after a courageous battle with cancer, at the Ottawa General Hospital , on Friday, November 4, 2011 at the age of 32 years. Beloved husband of Elfrida Tsandev. Loving son of Edward and Bonnie Stec. He will be fondly remembered by his many friends, who he loved and cherished. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><br />
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Memorial Service for Scott Stec<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Monday, November 7, 2011 at 1:00 p.m.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">McEvoy and Shields Funeral Home,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">1411 Hunt Club Road, </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Ottawa, Ontario<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">Greeting and Welcome:</span></u><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">Good afternoon. My name is Darrow Woods, and I am Scott’s cousin. I am also a United Church minister. I met a number of you on July 16, when we gathered for Scott and Elfrida’s wedding. On behalf of all sides of Scott’s family, I welcome you here, and thank you for coming. We see you all as living signs of the impact Scott has made in the world, and how he is loved, and respected, and will be missed. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">We gather to mourn Scott’s death, and celebrate his life. We are also here to laugh and cry together, to hold and comfort each other, and look to faith for hope and meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">Please take a moment now to make sure that your cell phone is either off or set to vibrate.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">Opening Prayer</span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">:</span><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">Loving God, we live and breathe, and love, and create, and change, and grow, and suffer losses, and grieve. We nurture love, and we help each other. We seek meaning, and look for signs of hope. We grumble, we sigh, we laugh, we cry out in despair. We pray, we sing, and we offer you thanks and praise. Our hearts beat, and the blood moves through our bodies. All the living we do, we do in your presence. You are always with us, God, whether we know it or not. In this time, we quiet ourselves, limit our distractions, so that we can look for you in our midst, and hear your voice, and feel your peace. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Amen<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus was speaking to people who lived on the fringes of society, who had suffered enormously, and who may have felt that God, had abandoned them. He wanted them to know that this place of desolation and confusion is exactly the place where God meets us. At the place in life when we feel most let down by life, God is there to hold us up, to sustain us, and to give us not just what we think we need, but what we actually need, to live.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This passage I think also speaks to the kind of person we have known Scott to be- one who valued people above possessions, and getting along above petty arguing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-outline-level: 4;"><u><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matthew 5:1-9<o:p></o:p></span></u></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-outline-level: 4;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1-2</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said: <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">9</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif";">First Letter from John, chapter 4:7-12, 17-19<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></u></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7-10</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11-12</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love! <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b><sup>17-18</sup></b>God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us….There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b><sup>19</sup></b>We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. God loved us first. “<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">May God help us make sense of these words, and in them, find hope and meaning. Amen<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Speakers in order:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1)<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2)<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3)<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Special music</span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sermon: <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">We gather together to celebrate Scott’s life, and to give thanks to God for him. We also make our prayers, and ask God to take care of him. While we are talking to God, it may be that we have some questions. Why did Scott have to die, in this way, at such a young age? It doesn’t make sense. We hate this. The only meaning we see in it is that at least his suffering is over. If it wasn’t going to get any better for Scott, at least now it does not get any worse. But that does not answer our questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The questions are very human, and natural, and for the most part, unanswerable. We don’t understand many things about life and death, and really, I am not sure how helpful the answer to the “why” questions would really be. It may be that the only thing that might relieve the grief and confusion and anger of these moments would be if time could go backwards, and Scott never became sick in the first place.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I think the “why” questions are just our mind trying to catch up with what has happened. Our minds can’t cope with the pain of losing a precious loved one, so we cry out why, in protest.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I don’t think there is an answer that makes the pain go away. The pain is real, and natural, and a consequence of loving someone.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The last time I saw Scott was just before Labour Day. My family was not able to be with us for Scott and Elfrida’s wedding, so we all came here at the end of August. I am so glad we did. My kids had not seen Scott for years, and they had not met Elfrida. They treated our family to a great supper one evening, and we made plans for the next day. While Elfrida was at work, we picked up Scott, and took him with us on our family expedition to the Museum of Science and Technology. It was a great day. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My kids got to explore, and play in the museum with their gentle giant of a second cousin. That went well, because even at 32, Scott still had the heart, and sense of delight and fun he had when he was a boy. I know this, because I was 18 when he was born, and I knew him when he was young. I almost said when he was little- but you know…<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My wife is also a minister. When Elfrida and Scott took us out for supper, they asked us “What’s the hardest part of your work?” They were being careful, I think because of the presence of our kids, who are 10 and 13. But the unspoken part of that conversation was about death. That was the beginning of one of those conversations that happen a bit at a time We dance carefully around the subject of death, rarely daring to come close. We don’t like to dwell on it. There is probably a fear that we might hasten the reality of death, by talking about it- so we avoid it. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But it came up again between Scott and I. The two of us were in the Railway Hall of the museum of science and technology, seated on a bench beside a huge black steam locomotive. I noticed that the steel wheels were taller than Scott. When you have a cousin that tall, you notice things that are even taller. Not many things are. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><v:shape alt="http://sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/collection/images/rail/fig17.jpg" id="Picture_x0020_4" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 91.5pt; left: 0px; margin-left: 1.5pt; margin-top: 2.05pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; text-align: left; visibility: visible; width: 159.75pt; z-index: 2;" type="#_x0000_t75"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <v:imagedata o:title="fig17" src="file:///C:\Users\DARROW~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"> <w:wrap type="square"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></span></v:shape><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It kind of fit that we were sitting in the railway hall, in the shadow of this massive locomotive. Scott and I both grew up in Thunder Bay. It’s a place many know about only because the lake freighters go there for prairie grain brought on the railroad. Historically the rails have been like veins and arteries carrying our country’s lifeblood. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Scott’s dad worked for many years at a big paper mill in Thunder Bay. Trains brought pulp logs in to the mill, and carried away the huge rolls of newsprint made there. The railway, and steel wheels are part of our spiritual landscape. My first job out of high school was as a brakeman. I remember the sights, sounds, smells, and the feeling of riding on diesel locomotives.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Scott and I are sitting on this bench in the locomotive hall. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it was cut down from one of the long pews they used to have in railroad stations. He asks me, “How do you do it? How do you talk with a family when someone dies?” Suddenly, there is something even bigger in the room than the massive locomotive. Now we are sitting in the shadow of death. I feel it, like it’s barrelling down the track towards us. In my heart, I feel my own dread of death, and particularly, my dread of the death of this man with the beautiful spirit, who has always, absolutely, been my favourite cousin.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I understand, in that moment, what Scott is asking, is not so much for words of comfort for himself. He is asking whether there will be comfort and hope for those he loves. I hear, and feel, the deeper questions underneath his words. It’s like the rumbling you feel when a train is coming, even before you can hear it, or see it. Death, or at least our shared awareness of the possibility of Scott’s death, was a powerful force in the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But it was not the only powerful force in the room that day, and it is not the only powerful force in this room right now. The more powerful force is love. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Instead of answers that probably would not satisfy us anyway, God gives us love.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">It is love that makes our lives livable, even in the face of illness, and hardship, and death. It is love that gives us the ability to carry on, even when change happens that we would not have chosen. Love helps us through the times that shatter us, and make us cry. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">When it comes right down to it, nothing else matters much, outside of love. I am not talking about the way we say we love a new smartphone, or ipad. I am not talking about romantic affection, or our feelings about a perfectly grilled steak. I am talking about love without strings, love without ego, love that is about nothing except total acceptance and good will. This is the love that conquers fear, and makes life possible, even when the tracks are rumbling.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">There are moments like that time on the bench in the locomotive hall with Scott, when we get glimpses of pure and real love. Love that is better than most of us humans can manage on our own. Love that flows through us, to another person, or through another person, to us. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I think that this kind of love originates not with us, but with God. That kind of love does not end with death. The love we have for Scott is not diminished by death. The love he showed the world did not end when his physical body died. All that love remains, and is real.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">What I have come to believe is that God’s love never ends. It has no beginning, and no end, it just flows on and on. The glimpses we have of real love in our life, can give us confidence that love comes from somewhere beyond us. Love comes from God. Actually, that love is God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we die, we return to be fully with God, the source of all that made life livable in the first place. And in love, God takes care of us, forever. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Amen<o:p></o:p></b></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Prayers of Thanksgiving and Concern<o:p></o:p></span></u></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God of grace and glory, <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">we are so thankful for Scott Stec <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who touched the lives of those gathered here, <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and who now has died.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He will be remembered in so many ways. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a son, and husband, as a son-in-law, and as a cousin. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a housemate, as a fellow student. As a co-worker. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a floor hockey champion. As a golfer, and sports fan. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the only person I ever met, who wore size 18 shoes. I remember his parents having to drive from Thunder Bay to Duluth, Minnesota to find him shoes and clothes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a gentle, loving, positive man who looked for good in life, and in people, and who did not complain, even when illness made every step, every moment, and sometimes each breath, a painful challenge.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We thank you for the friendship he gave <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and for the strength and peace he brought.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We thank you for the love he offered and received.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We pray that nothing good in Scott’s life <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">will be lost, but will be of benefit to the world; <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that all that was important to him <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">will be respected by those who follow,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and that everything he valued<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">will continue to mean much to us now that he has died.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We ask that he may live on in our hearts and minds, <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">inspiring courage, informing conscience.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We ask that those who were close to Scott may now, <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">because of his death, be even closer to one another, <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and that in peace and friendship here on earth, <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">we may always be deeply conscious of your promise <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">to be faithful to us in death.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We pray for ourselves, who are tested by this death,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that we do not try to minimize the loss,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">or seek refuge from it in words alone,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">nor brood over it so that it overwhelms us <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and isolates us from others.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God of grace and glory,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">grant us courage and confidence. Amen<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Lord’s Prayer:<o:p></o:p></span></u></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our Father, who art in heaven,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">hallowed be thy name.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thy kingdom come,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">thy will be done<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">on earth as it is in heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Give us this day our daily bread;<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and forgive us our trespasses,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">as we forgive those<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">who trespass against us;<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and lead us not into temptation,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">but deliver us from evil.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For thine is the kingdom,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and the power, and the glory,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">forever and ever. Amen<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chapel Commital: <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In a moment the service will be over, and you are all invited to join the family in the reception area.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To offer a sense of completion, I am going to now say the words of committal that we would use if we were at a graveside today<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Dotum;">Words of Committal:</span></u><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Dotum;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Dotum;">Into God’s keeping we commend Scott Stec here departed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Dotum;">Earth to earth, Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Dotum;">Trusting in God’s great mercy by which we have been born anew<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Dotum;">To a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blessing<o:p></o:p></span></u></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On our hearts and on our homes, the blessing of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In our coming and our going, the peace of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In our life and our believing, the love of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At our end and new beginning, the arms of God welcome us home. Amen</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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</div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-12770995550301581362011-10-29T15:44:00.000-07:002011-10-29T15:44:00.481-07:00Is Hallowe'en Evil?<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">There are two top times for the stores that sell house decorations. Christmas and Hallowe'en. The greatest growth in recent years has been with the Hallowe'en business. The experts say that this is because Hallowe'en is thought of as a kind of generic, multi-cultural holiday that people from all different backgrounds can have fun with. The Christian history kind of gets lost- I guess that is a lot like Christmas, when you think about it.</span><br />
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<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">In the past few years I have noticed that some of the more fundamentalist churches have taken to condemning the celebration of Hallowe'en as being inspired by the devil. Personally, I think this is a real stretch, and that it is really an exercise in trying to get attention by being against something. I think it may also reflect a lack of awareness of the real roots of the holiday.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">How many here have Irish or Scots or Welsh blood? I have some Irish in me. The Celts are ancestors of Scots and Welsh and Irish people. The Celts had a highly developed culture, and literature, and religion long before the coming of Christianity to their lands. Their religion, like ours, not only addressed concerns about behaviour and morality, it provided a way to understand all of creation. The Celts had four major religious holidays in their calendar, called festivals of fire, that marked important times.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The most important of the fire festivals was called ( pronounced Sowen ) Samhain. It was the Celtic New Year, and fell on November 1. Samhain was celebrated for three days. The day before Samhain is the last day of the old year and the day after Samhain is the first day of the new year. The Celts placed a lot of importance upon endings and beginnings, and on the space between an end and a new beginning. This was a magical, transitional time, when the rules that normally held the universe together were suspended, and unusual things could happen.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The Celts believed that at this special “between time”, the souls of all the people who had died in the previous year could make their journey from this world to the next world. The Celts didn’t believe in heaven or hell. They believed that the souls of the dead left this life behind and graduated to the next level.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">It makes sense that they had this celebration at this time of year. The gathering of souls to go to the next level was a bit like the harvest of crops that had just been completed. This was also the time of year when pastured animals were brought home, and some of those animals would be killed and butchered, to provide meat for the winter, and to cull the herds so that the animal feed would go further. It’s a time of year for wrapping up loose ends.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Still, the idea that bodiless souls could be floating around is a bit scary. There was some concern that these souls could come back to settle old scores. So it was common to have big festive parties, with lots of noise, and huge bonfires to scare away the spirits. Some people wore masks to disguise them from the ghosts.</span></div><br />
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</div><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">This was, for the Celts, New Year’s Eve, and they had big parties, just like some people do today. There would be lots of food and drink, because the fall harvest had just been completed, and if people came calling at your door or your gate you would share with them.</span><br />
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<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">When Christianity came to the British Isles, this festival of fire was baptised with holy water, and became All Saints Day, or HallowMas. The night before was called the Eve of All Hallows, or Hallowe’en. The day after was called All Soul’s Day. When the church took it over, All Saints Day became a time to celebrate God's harvesting into heaven the faithful people of every age, culture and walk of life.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">For us, All Saints Day hasn’t really caught on in comparison to Hallowe’en. We are still attracted to the dark symbols- the skeletons and skulls, the black bats, the ghosts and goblins- the elements of the supernatural. I think that this is because we live in a culture that doesn’t deal with change, or death very well, and craves an outlet for all the spooky ideas and feelings.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">In some parts of the world, death is dealt with very differently, and the Hallowe’en /All Saints celebration is very different. In Mexico the first and second of November are the Days of the Dead. The evening of October 31 is the beginning of the Day of the Dead Children, which is followed on November 1 by the Day of the Dead Adults. Skeleton figures-candy (sugar skulls), toys, statues and decorations-are seen everywhere. It is a time for great festivity, with traditional plays and food. It is a time to play with death. Family graves are decorated and picnics are held at the graves of deceased family members, who are thought of as honoured guests at the party.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">We would never do that kind of thing in our culture. In many families, once the messiness of a funeral is over and done with, the person who is died is hardly ever talked about again. They are not exactly forgotten, but we probably would not think of holding a party in their honour at their grave. We live in a society that worships youth and health and fitness, and tries to deny that death is real. Except at Hallowe’en, then it’s okay to put tombstones and spider webs on your front lawn, and give out candy to children dressed as ghosts and ghouls.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Most of the time, we avoid talking and thinking about death. It makes us uncomfortable, because we have so many unanswered questions. It’s too bad that we don’t see the world more like the ancient Celts did. They understood that everything has a beginning and an ending. They honoured that, and recognised that nothing lasts forever. They did not waste their time trying to deny the reality of death, they saw it as a part of our life cycle.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">If you remember that there was history before your life began, and that there will be a future that goes on after you die, it can give you a broader perspective on the everyday. Maybe that is more like the way God sees things, from a perspective outside the flow of time. When we do let ourselves think about death, and the end of our own lives, it is good to also think about God, who is ultimately in charge.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">We heard a reading this morning from the last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelations. Revelations is probably a good choice for Hallowe’en, because it is the most scary and dangerous book in the Bible, if it is misinterpreted. Images and ideas from Revelations have been used by Hollywood, and by horror book writers, to scare us for generations. This is ironic, because Revelations was written not to frighten people, but to offer them comfort and hope.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Revelations is probably the work of a Jewish Christian who wrote in a style that we now call apocalyptic. Do you remember the movie “Apocalypse Now”? It was about the devastation of the Viet Nam War, which for people in the middle of it, seemed like the end of the world. The word Apocalypse refers to the end of the world.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Visions of the end of the world seem to emerge at times when people feel like life just can’t get any worse, or better. When they feel like there is no earthly solution to their problems, and the only thing that can happen is that God will step in and wipe the slate clean. The possibility is held up that there will be a time of reckoning, when God will step in to destroy the wicked, to save those who suffer, to bring down the powerful and raise up the meek.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The passage I read for you this morning is a vision of heaven. The picture is of the gathering of the saints, those who have been faithful to God, and now, at the end of their earthly lives, find themselves with God in heaven.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">This is an image that Christians have drawn great comfort from over the centuries, because they find it in an answer to their questions about death. They see a picture of God in charge at the end, a God who has been with them through all of their days, who has seen how their lives have gone, and who welcomes them to heaven.</span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">This image was particularly important during the times when Christians were persecuted, even killed for the faith. History is full of the stories of people who are remembered as living out their faith no matter the cost. Saint Stephen and Saint Peter were early martyrs of the church, who were killed for their beliefs. </span></div><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">This image of the gathering of the faithful in heaven may also become more important to us as we make our way through the stages of life. As we remember those who have gone before us, and who now enjoy their reward with God in heaven, we are also reminded that we are headed there too, and that we will see them again. We live in a world that does not like to talk about death. That denial of death can fill us with fear. As Christians, we don’t have all the answers to the hard questions about life and death, but we place our faith and trust in God. <b>Amen</b></span></div><br />
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</div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-89689591479303140872011-10-24T12:48:00.000-07:002011-10-24T12:48:33.950-07:00Praying is better than worrying<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/CkFcQRiFL68?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
On Sunday I included a quick clip of "Don't Worry, Be Happy" in the sermon. The song I really wanted to include, the one that inspired me all week as I was praying and thinking about the sermon, is "Why Worry". It was written by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits. His band has performed and recorded it, and Mark has gone on to perform it as a duet with artists like Emmy Lou Harris- they do a wonderful job with it. The Youtube link I am including here is for a video of Knopfler performing the song with his guitar mentor Chet Atkins, and with his musical heroes, the Everly Brothers. Apparently Knopfler originally wrote the song with Phil and Don Everly in mind. <br />
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Like many pop songs, we can listen to it as a romantic love song, or we can open our imagination a bit, and hear God's spirit speaking to us. Hearing God ask. "Why Worry?" inspired me all this week!<br />
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In my sermon I said a little bit about Sunday morning worship as a time and place with God in which we get re-charged, and re-connected, so that we can go back out and love and serve in the world.<br />
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I love Sunday worship. I also no longer think it is enough to sustain us spiritually<br />
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As a runner, I know that if I only find time to run once a week, it's still be good for me, and better than nothing, but not really enough. I need to exercise, and challenge my cardio-vascular system at least every second day, and preferably, every day.<br />
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To run the spiritual race, to live the life that I believe God is calling me to live, I need to attend to my spiritual fitness on a daily basis. I need to enter into a discipline that helps me set aside time to be aware of God's presence.<br />
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There are a variety of ways to do that- but one that I am very interested in promoting these days involves taking time each day to read and pray with scripture. An excellent resource, that provides a devotional for every day of the year is:<br />
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals </span></u><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hLEfNkkjsmHTsLmMvde7aXNl9X5EH9F7zzVXYk2aAk7qdv0jdSzq39vaSTJPcTnt2Iu5BXT1d_L8pIIj2uJ-SMnTNtP4ksAUfBJlMLTp3sWJuuZ0vKggT6BLGCHoWhVTZV7LrYIyqVA/s1600/common+prayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2hLEfNkkjsmHTsLmMvde7aXNl9X5EH9F7zzVXYk2aAk7qdv0jdSzq39vaSTJPcTnt2Iu5BXT1d_L8pIIj2uJ-SMnTNtP4ksAUfBJlMLTp3sWJuuZ0vKggT6BLGCHoWhVTZV7LrYIyqVA/s1600/common+prayer.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was compiled by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro, and draws from Christian traditions from many times, and many places around the globe. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At a conference for church leaders I attended in Nashville this month, there was a lot of talk about "Common Prayer" as a tool for individual spiritual formation, and for building community.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I like how the book draws upon the history and tradition of the church, and also introduces a fresh spirit to a way of praying that is at least 1600 years old.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is available in book stores for </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">about $20.00. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You can also access the daily morning prayer at: </span><a href="http://commonprayer.net/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://commonprayer.net/</span></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is also available from KOBO as an e-book, for about $14.00.</span></div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-54730516502798015042011-09-26T10:19:00.000-07:002011-09-26T10:19:38.555-07:00Making Space for God<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I recently read some good words about prayer by Albert Haase:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><em>“Simply put, prayer is becoming aware and taking notice of the presence of God in which we dwell and which dwells within us. Prayer is discovering and growing in the conscious awareness of a God who, like a captivated, ever-present parent, continually contemplates, nurtures, indulges and protects.”</em> Page 15, “Swimming in the Sun: Discovering the Lord’s Prayer with Francis of Assisi and Thomas Merton”.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Another writer, Henri Nouwen, said, <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><em>“The discipline of prayer is the intentional, concentrated, and regular effort to create space for God. Everything and everyone around us wants to fill up every bit of space in our lives and so make us not only occupied people, but preoccupied people as well.”</em> Page 18, “Spiritual Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit”.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A person who visits me for Spiritual Direction has said she has weeks in which the only quiet time she experiences is the hour she spends in my office. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">To quiet our own hearts, to limit our distractions, to simply be present in the moment- these things can be a challenge. There is so much that as Nouwen said, “wants to fill up every bit of space in our lives”. No wonder the earliest monastics went off to live and pray in the desert!<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One “place” I have found that allows me to clear the clutter of daily living, and to open my awareness to simple things like a footstep or a breath, is in walking the labyrinth. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On Saturday, October 22, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm, there will be a Labyrinth Workshop at Trinity United Church, hosted by the Pastoral Care Team.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Walking the labyrinth is an ancient spiritual practice known to Christians for centuries. There are labyrinths in public spaces and holy places all over the world, including many cathedrals and churches. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This workshop is facilitated by Sonya Bolek, a Veriditas (the World-Wide Labyrinth Organization) Trained Labyrinth Facilitator and Spiritual Director. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is the Youth Director and Parish Secretary at Saint John’s Anglican Church (Port Dalhousie) in St. Catharines. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #2e150e; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is no fee for this workshop, but those who are able are asked to consider a suggested donation of $5 per person to help cover costs.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #2e150e; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you would like to attend the Labyrinth Workshop, please let us know. We can comfortably accommodate about 20 people. To register, please call the church office at 905-845-3152, or email us at </span><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="mailto:churchoffice@trinityunited.com"><span style="color: blue;">churchoffice@trinityunited.com</span></a></span><br />
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</div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-58471646721163629592011-09-15T20:47:00.000-07:002011-09-15T20:47:24.314-07:00Methodist Influence<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I have been a member of the United Church of Canada most of my life (Baptized at age 4), and have served as a minister for more than 20 years. Even so, I know very little about the denominations that joined together in 1925 to form this uniquely Canadian church. I can generally sort out which church buildings "look" Presbyterian or Methodist. (You can often get clues from the name!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">For the last few years I have had this intuitive "knowing" that I needed to learn more about Methodism. What a blessing it is to have some genuine United Methodist Church pastors as friends and neighbours!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Conversations with these friends have offered me glimpses of what Methodism has to offer, and have pointed me towards good things to read, and ideas to explore further. I will be flying down to Nashville in October to attend a Wesleyan Leadership Conference entitled:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><em>"A New Vision for Wesleyan Community"</em>with Dr. Elaine Heath</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="normal">The Wesleyan Leadership Conference aims to help The United Methodist Church recover what it means to be Christian and Methodist in the 21st century. One step in this process is to ask the question: How do we develop disciple-making communities that are centered in the work of Jesus Christ in the world?</span></span><br />
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I am hoping to pick up some methods that can be used in my United Church context, in which I believe there is deep hunger and need for spiritual formation and growth as disciples.<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="normal">Elaine Heath is a professor of evangelism at a United Methodist Seminary in Dallas. She wrote a fascinating book called the Mystic Way of Evangelism, and is the co-author of "Longing for Spring", which explores a radically different model for "doing church", that is deeply rooted in the heritage of early Methodism. I am planning to write mini-reviews of both of these books, as a way of preparing for my time in Nashville.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span class="normal"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sam Persons Parkes, who is enrolled in the Toronto School of Theology's Doctor of Theology program, has come to Trinity twice in recent months as a guest preacher. On his latest visit he brought a wonderful presentation he created, and which he has allowed me to share here. Click the link and enjoy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://prezi.com/ckx2oh8tlkyc/five-important-things-to-remember-about-the-methodists/"><span style="color: blue;">http://prezi.com/ckx2oh8tlkyc/five-important-things-to-remember-about-the-methodists/</span></a></span>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-83329598478092662472011-09-05T10:29:00.000-07:002011-09-05T10:29:15.499-07:00“Made you look!” Viewing art can help us open to a contemplative way of seeing<span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In his essay “Practicing the Presence of God in Ministry” Bruce G. Epperly, a church consultant with the Alban Institute, wrote <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #101010;">“Practicing the presence of God is about mindfulness and self-awareness. It’s about seeing the holy in the ordinary as well as the extraordinary events in life.”</span></i><span style="color: #101010;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When I studied Quakerism, I was intrigued to learn that members of the Society of Friends tend not to celebrate the sacraments of baptism and communion as other Christian denominations do, believing that every moment, and everything, is potentially sacramental- infused with God’s holiness.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One aim of contemplative living is to open ourselves to the possibility that God is present, everywhere, and at all times. Epperly says, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“If God is truly omnipresent—and that means present everywhere and in every encounter—then each moment provides an opportunity to receive and give God’s blessing, counsel, and wisdom. Each moment invites us not only to experience divine inspiration but share to God’s wisdom with others.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></span></v:shapetype><v:shape alt="lever" id="Picture_x0020_0" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 127.5pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0.25pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 102pt; z-index: 1;" type="#_x0000_t75"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <v:imagedata o:title="lever" src="file:///C:\Users\DARROW~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\02\clip_image001.jpg"> <w:wrap type="square"> </w:wrap></v:imagedata></span></v:shape><span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I was thinking along these lines while in a conversation with my daughter Naomi about a sculpture we viewed together, at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. “Lever”, by Carl Andre’ is an arrangement of 137 fire bricks in a straight line on the floor. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZatWd8w3rANOr4L0Xe4bBYQ2U37y9IXUQ2b9ULnS6QAL1sEklHay-nSSFDJ_NgNb5nEtbhN4H7J-ujqWxIVCH3tZkiZdRomf5lhIGfGDizGLXvSDTUq9QRaT1h2ReJ2oIeZdBfzJ3Ss/s1600/lever" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZatWd8w3rANOr4L0Xe4bBYQ2U37y9IXUQ2b9ULnS6QAL1sEklHay-nSSFDJ_NgNb5nEtbhN4H7J-ujqWxIVCH3tZkiZdRomf5lhIGfGDizGLXvSDTUq9QRaT1h2ReJ2oIeZdBfzJ3Ss/s1600/lever" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Marc Mayer refers to “Lever” in his blog entry “Art is Controversy”. Mayer, who is the director of the NGC, could have been listening in to the conversation we had about the piece. He wrote </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“we often hear people question whether something that purports to be art can really be called art with a straight face.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Naomi told me she “didn’t understand” the sculpture. I don’t understand it either. It may be enough that a line of bricks on the floor encouraged me to consider that exhibit space in a different way. Mayer says that Andre’ was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“genuinely searching for the essence of sculpture”</i>, and the NGC website offers a quote as part of its introduction to the piece:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"The course of development:</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sculpture as form<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sculpture as structure<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sculpture as place."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Carl Andre, 1966<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div><br />
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</div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rather than striving for intellectual mastery of the sculpture- an answer to the question “What does it mean?” perhaps I can benefit by observing my own emotional, visceral, spiritual responses to the work. Bruce Epperly said that one of his spiritual teachers, the psychologist Gerald May described the process of awakening to God’s presence through five steps:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div style="background: white;"><i><span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“pausing, noticing, opening, yielding and stretching, </span></i><span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">and <i>responding.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><br />
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</div><span style="color: #101010; font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Carl Andre’s line of bricks definitely made me look.</span><span style="font-family: "Gisha","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-2105407648151287252011-08-22T20:52:00.000-07:002011-09-05T14:19:42.600-07:00spirit-filled answers to a question<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKEoU16kWYY8n4AZOLQBYQcCqBXQLvHv4sc-J6FZMs8sZYTXc7X1806uSQ-RSJyERTuDNcCcrN5nWzb0xLSVlX682DvWIPoa1_laaM5rQpZP2smqoefHKFcm2ycDII2tVfa4UYxN6z0I/s1600/north+pole+moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKEoU16kWYY8n4AZOLQBYQcCqBXQLvHv4sc-J6FZMs8sZYTXc7X1806uSQ-RSJyERTuDNcCcrN5nWzb0xLSVlX682DvWIPoa1_laaM5rQpZP2smqoefHKFcm2ycDII2tVfa4UYxN6z0I/s320/north+pole+moon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sunset at the North Pole, Thursday, the 13th. of March 2011. Sent by someone who told me to pass it along. What an amazing image! Now on to my regularly scheduled blog entry...</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Last week I put out a question about spiritual practices: </span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What do you do, in your own life, to cultivate a prayerful or contemplative approach to life?”</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am grateful for all the thoughtful, grace-filled responses I received. They all came from people that I know, which reminds me to appreciate the depth of people in my own circles. (We don’t have to chase all around the world for spiritual mentors and teachers- some of them live on our block!)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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</span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are excerpts from the answers:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I find knitting, gardening, baking, walking, or some other simple task helpful for quieting the mind. The task works best if it is non-mechanized, familiar and routine, solitary and has a tangible outcome. Even house cleaning seems to work. And I read a lot too.</span></span></span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
I find that SHORT periods of sitting quietly are helpful and calming. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">My best place for quiet this season is our back deck and yard - so there is lots of quiet out there which is great for seeing what Jesus is up to in Matthew and praying.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Meet with a spiritual director usually once a month - makes a huge difference for me and how I approach the world - even if it’s sometimes to remind me that God is even in this *(&_#*% or whatever is disturbing me;<br />
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Retreat days - If I could I would do it for at least a day a month but sometimes it ends up being a couple of months before I have one. I need silence - silence is where I can listen best<br />
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Silent retreats - I have been on 4 of them - the longest was a week the rest are weekends - I would benefit from a week a year but haven't done it for a variety of reasons but the 8 day one still impacts me and it was 4 or 5 years ago!<br />
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I have email subscriptions - one from Joan Chittister - Monastery of the Heart, and another from the Centre for Prayer/Contemplation and they give me daily and weekly ideas to contemplate.<br />
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I would love to tell you daily prayer and scripture study as well as journalling - but it would be a lie. That happens in fits and starts - even though when I do it I benefit!<br />
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Lastly - getting by water - just has a way of opening me to the Holy.<br />
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The challenge for me is that I do my best contemplating "away" from the day to day and I haven't yet found a consistent way to experience/make space for it, every day.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> </span></i></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Morning journal. Every day. Even if it's only 10 minutes. Even if I do it in the evening. Even if I need to do two days' worth together. Initially (nearly 30 years ago) I divided the page into three columns: good news, bad news, action. These days there are still three columns but they are headed gratitude, learning, and turn over. Each month before I spend time with my spiritual director I spend time with my journal, noting highlights, spotting trends, noticing how prayers are being answered. I run the same condensing exercise with the monthly summaries once a year, this time netting affirmations. I keep only the affirmations, not the journal pages or the summaries (too bulky). A spiritual direction instructor once said, "A person's journal is their sacred scripture," and this ongoing collection of affirmations is a powerful read.</span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Being active outdoors. Alone. Bigtime divine contact: take a problem out on the trail and a creative solution will come to you. Best not downtown although urban walking prayer for the place I live is another discipline. Running and swimming most readily accessible year-round. At least weekly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Day retreats. Local retreat house a godsend: dedicated prayer space, silence. In September and October, a full day of hiking. Monthly. </span></span><br />
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</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Annual overnight retreats. Retreat centres good; university residences in the summertime a good substitute (surprisingly monastic). Retreats taken in the summer tend to be forward-looking: synthesizing types and frequency of activities for the upcoming year, sensing where the energy lies and doesn't lie, plotting course, picking up on attractions and desires.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">The main thing is to create and inhabit regular space.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Centering Prayer is very helpful for me, I did pretty often, especially at insomnia night. While doing that I imagine a candlelight to help me centering and quiet down.</span></span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"> <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I do Centering Prayer, and we read books on Centering Prayer. I've also been nibbling at Roberta Bondi's <u>To Pray and to Love</u> and find it deeply helpful.</span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-44328185632114370062011-08-15T12:34:00.000-07:002011-08-15T12:34:26.731-07:00question to contemplate <span style="font-family: Calibri;">For three Sundays in August I am using the sermon/teaching time to address faith questions submitted by Trinity folks. One of the first responses I received to my request for “Questions of Faith” was so rich in its implications that I decided I needed to break it down into smaller pieces. Next week I will tackle the part about whether or not religion is necessary for a person to live a “good” life.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The question for the day at Trinity this past Sunday was “What is Happiness?”</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used a Sufi story that teaches the lesson “This too shall pass” is to me about developing a capacity to step back from daily life, and recognize that the things that make us unhappy are temporary (as are the things that cheer us up!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story encourages us to step back from our daily life, to take a more contemplative approach.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I read some good words about contemplative living in a book called “The Lay Contemplative”, edited by Virginia Manss and Mary Frohlich. In an essay about formation programs that help people grow in this way, Wendy Wright says, “The contemplative approach orients to reality not as a problem to be solved, analyzed or manipulated but as mystery that elicits our reverence, claims our deepest desires, and calls forth responsive love.”</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In my own experience, I have found practices such as prayerfully walking a labyrinth, quieting myself in Centering Prayer, doing yoga (depending upon the setting, and the teacher), reflective reading, and Lectio Divina (a particular way of praying with scripture) have helped to cultivate the contemplative attitude in me. I know that I am better able to respond with love to the world, and in relationships, when I “take time to be holy.”</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This fall I will be helping with a retreat for church leaders. My role will be to offer some teaching on contemplative practices.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I have a question to put out to those who read the fifth page:</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“What do you do, in your own life, to cultivate a prayerful or contemplative approach to life?”</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Please help me by taking some time to email me about things you have found helpful. I would love to hear about what you do, how often you do it.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><a href="mailto:darrow@cogeco.ca"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">darrow@cogeco.ca</span></a></div><br />
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</div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-9655359370973798022011-07-07T08:32:00.000-07:002011-07-07T08:32:18.987-07:00Hard Living People<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEM295_XrSbZGw0DV4B8i7c4D1o5iMtNshNGZ3mJdfllNqYLuzkdZI5V4xUAweeLLRV7oggQA6xccMSI2WpBkNMn_XMvcRYQJTVWVr1b-ZEVnP6oookxXVKbQuvXnHqcQgHRxRQIUe_Ak/s1600/hard+living+people+and+mainstream+christians.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEM295_XrSbZGw0DV4B8i7c4D1o5iMtNshNGZ3mJdfllNqYLuzkdZI5V4xUAweeLLRV7oggQA6xccMSI2WpBkNMn_XMvcRYQJTVWVr1b-ZEVnP6oookxXVKbQuvXnHqcQgHRxRQIUe_Ak/s320/hard+living+people+and+mainstream+christians.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This is the cover of a book I referenced in the Sunday sermon for July 3. The author, Tex Sample, is a United Methodist pastor and educator who taught at the St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri. I first encountered him as a story-teller, who provided the introductions to challenging topics in the DVD-based educational resource "Living the Questions". <br />
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Hard Living People and Mainstream Christians is representative of Sample's lived out commitment to help bridge the gap between two very real, and very different realities. He wants to help the members of "respectable" middle class congregations, and their pastors, understand why it is that even the most well-meaning efforts to connect with "hard living people" usually fail.<br />
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Sample defines "hard living people" as <em>"people who have abused alcohol and other drugs, have a history of violence either as a perpetrator or a victim or both, have uneven unemployment, have struggled with household or family relations, and tend to be politically alienated. They are looked down as street people, poor white trash, homeless, disreputable, drunks, addicts, winos, skid row bums, hobos, trashy women, sluts, bikers, vagabonds, the underclass, the ne'er-do-wells, the lazy, the no-goods, and on and on. These are the people who will often come to a church or a charitable agency to get food, clothing, medical care, legal services, whatever, but there is perhaps no group so hard for the church to reach in order to involve them in the active life of the congregation. While many churches serve them, few include them in the participating membership of the community of faith."</em><br />
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There is a sad irony that the movement started by followers of Jesus has such a hard time truly connecting with the "hard living", since the Gospels show us that Jesus spent so much of his time with the "disreputable" of his time. That's what the Pharisees meant when they said that Jesus sat at table and ate with tax collectors and sinners.<br />
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For many years, Trinity United in Oakville, the church I serve, has had an amazing ministry called the White Gift program, which provides ongoing support to low income families in our area, many of which are single parent households. The members, and many friends of the congregation are quite generous with gifts of money, and food, which are distributed with compassion and care by two dedicated volunteers. I am clearly biased, but I think the Trinity White Gift program is one of the best I have ever seen. The two women who work directly with the families demonstrate genuine love, and make a real difference in people's lives.<br />
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As grateful as I am for Trinity's White Gift program, I still wish we could also find ways to work not just from the "charity to" model, but with a "community with" model.Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4785104047966084761.post-25048475474592037902011-06-23T06:58:00.000-07:002011-06-23T06:58:11.624-07:00love your t-shirt<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We learn about the possibility of love, and the reality of love, in and through the relationships in our lives. If we experience healthy, life-giving, encouraging love and support from the people in our lives, it may be easier for us to believe that love is real, and good, and worth working at. It may also be easier for us to believe that it is worth the risks involved, in daring to love.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The opposite is also true. If we have experienced unhealthy relationships, and a lack of good support from the people in our lives, we may find it very difficult to trust that love is real, and good for us. We may hesitate to put ourselves “out there”, and risk being hurt.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The cartoon I am including below, from the Naked Pastor says it well. As people of faith, and in how we behave in groups, such as our churches, our actions, words, choices, and our attitudes convey a lot. I am also including the cartoonist’s comments. I recommend you check out his website at </span><a href="http://www.nakedpastor.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.nakedpastor.com/</span></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7OHg4Am1HCPImj4ylETXN-lVjPsAjTcSbrFwb0BPMTQuFsOqp-2iqZsj6GaBFwQ4PGZK4ScigDpxBKOUJ7_YBWuh8z-U4KxqY-m6NTe9N1Rmek7iPe40L-sdEzxnk4sLj555YFYc3Vg/s1600/god-loves-you.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7OHg4Am1HCPImj4ylETXN-lVjPsAjTcSbrFwb0BPMTQuFsOqp-2iqZsj6GaBFwQ4PGZK4ScigDpxBKOUJ7_YBWuh8z-U4KxqY-m6NTe9N1Rmek7iPe40L-sdEzxnk4sLj555YFYc3Vg/s320/god-loves-you.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><v:stroke joinstyle="miter"><v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"><o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I’ve heard the sentence, “<em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">God loves you!</span></em>” so many times. And it has meant so many things. It has meant:<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“<em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">God loves even you, you measly little runt!</span></em>”<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;"><em><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“God loves you, but he doesn’t like you very much.”</span></em><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;"><em><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“God loves you. It’s a miracle!”</span></em><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;"><em><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“God loves me, which authorizes me to inform you that God loves you, but only through me.”</span></em><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;"><em><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“God loves me more than you. But that means he still loves you. Kinda.”</span></em><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Love is love. The One who loves is love. Can blessing (<em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">love</span></em>) and cursing (<em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif";">hate</span></em>) come from the same spring? Love.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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</div>Rev Darrow Woodshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13087799634117273438noreply@blogger.com