How was church today?

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KayTheCurler said:
I am now home again after spending an entire week at my version of church. Nothing rejuvenates, and refreshes quite like going camping with my honey and the dog. We went to Kananaskis, walked some gentle trails, cooked, ate, read, slept and did it all over again.

There was some mild difficulty with grizzlies - one got shot and one paid us a visit at our campsite. He was so beautiful- silvery tipped and as Trump would say YUGE. He didn't 'bother' us at all, just walked past our site checking us out. That meant he was at the front of our car and we were at the back - pretty close for a grizzly. Too bad we had three cameras and two cell phones in the car that we decided not to go and get!
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Camping is great. We love camping. We're going on the Canada Day weekend. What an encounter with a visiting grizzly. The most we've ever been visited by is raccoons.
 
We had a very busy day today at Pickering Village United Church. First, we had a guest speaker, so I didn't have to preach. Our congregation has for years supported the Karanda Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe. It has two doctors, one of whom is Dr. Paul Thistle of Scarborough. He's a former Salvation Army officer, and is an OBGYN who has served in Zimbabwe for 22 years, and is home for a couple of months, arrived in Canada yesterday and was our speaker today. Our service revolved around his work. (Interestingly, Paul and I went to the same high school in Scarborough at the same time.) He and his family were guests of honour at a church lunch afterward. Our congregation presented them with about 200 dresses for young girls that had been hand made by congregation members and friends, and we have two rooms full of various supplies needed by the hospital (which represents only about a quarter of everything we have for them.) There's a shipping company owned by another friend of the Karanda Hospital who gives a very generous deal to get the stuff to Karanda. Then my colleague and I had a confirmation class, and we finished the day with a mid-afternoon "Blessing of the Animals" service. We offered blessings to six dogs. It was a long day, but a good day!
 
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Went to an enjoyable service at my friend's small Southern Baptist church today. Good singing, and a solid message from a retired pastor from South Africa. Hotdogs, soup, and cakes were served afterwards for lunch.
 
Revsdd -- that sounds wonderful! What good works you all are doing. And Jae, I like hearing about your church adventures. We had a low energy Sunday...It was very warm in the sanctuary. It was communion though, and I always find that particularly meaningful.
 
Was fine - Trinity Sunday ... thoughtful sermon & good anthem that related well. We bid farewell to the two young women who run our Children's Church programme - they are heading out of town to university in the fall. I think there will be changes to our children's programme ... will be interesting to hear about. There was cheesecake served after the service - looked good but I didn't indulge. Our Sunday host seemed extra eager to leave today - he turned all the lights off in the sanctuary only about 15 min after the service finished - like last call at the bar!! Had a brief word with him about hospitality ...
 
Nancy said:
Revsdd -- that sounds wonderful! What good works you all are doing. And Jae, I like hearing about your church adventures. We had a low energy Sunday...It was very warm in the sanctuary. It was communion though, and I always find that particularly meaningful.
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Thank you Nancy. This church today was very small - about 25 people - and very multicultural, which I like. They meet in a local cafe. The singing was all a cappella.
 
I went to a small United Church out of town. My friend who had been attending another denomination was being confirmed there this morning. She had struggled with the other church she attended after they told her she could do any leadership activities and judged her for not attending church every Sunday. She was also a single mother and got flak for that. This is a woman who is born to lead, especially if it involves music and faith. I had suggested she try out the UCCan because I felt she would fit right in. She was skeptical, after all she'd heard things about us....... At any rate, she read Ralph Milton and the Song of Faith and now she's come to the "dark side". It was a lovely service with great music and inspiration. I hope to attend her ordination or commissioning service one day.
 
Jae said:
Thank you Nancy. This church today was very small - about 25 people - and very multicultural, which I like. They meet in a local cafe. The singing was all a cappella.
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So you will be preaching in a cafe next Sunday then? That should be interesting for you.
 
Northwind said:
She had struggled with the other church she attended after they told her she could do any leadership activities and judged her for not attending church every Sunday.
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Did you mean to say that they told her she could NOT do any leadership activities? It sort of sounds like that from your follow up statements. I'm glad she found a welcome at the UCCan :-) and that you were able to go to her service today.
 
Carolla said:
So you will be preaching in a cafe next Sunday then? That should be interesting for you.
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Yes, thank you Carolla, it will be. My preaching thus far has mostly been in traditional church buildings, plus in schools. I have preached in an ESL classroom once. That was an interesting experience too.
 
So how do they organize that jae? Is the cafe open to other customers during service time? Do they meet in separate section or room at the cafe?
 
Today was 'graduates Sunday', a day when we recognize all the young people connected with our congregation as they graduate from high school or university. Sixteen young people were named in a bulletin insert, two from a local high school, the rest from 10 univeristies in the Maritimes, NL, Quebec and Ontario, and one from an American university. Unfortunately only one was able to attend the service, the others are scattered across the country or around the world - jobs, travel, further education.
We sang Hymn VU#644 "I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry" which I thought most appropriate for the occasion. I love that hymn and hope it is sung at my funeral. I love the theology of God being with us from our first breath to our final one 'with just one more surprise'.
The rest of the service was quite the usual, on the theme of Trinity. The anthem was 'Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit' with a beautiful male voice singing solo parts, backed up by the choir.
Scripture reading was from Philippians 2: 1-13, and the sermon was entitled 'A Vibrant Faith', followed by a communion service which I always find meaningful.
Afterwards we had a short business meeting where the congregation was given an opportunity to fill in a form priortizing their wishes regarding a planned major renovation to our building and property. Then coffee and icecream cake served by the youth.
Good day. I love this church.
 
Fine service this a.m. Instead of Trinity Sunday, chose to celebrate 92 years of church union. Four congregation members (one of them 93, so taped in her LTC room and projected) shared what the UCCan meant to them. It was actually very moving. Afterwards, caught up with some VBC volunteers, drank tea, and bought a few more things (books, of course) from the end of the garage sale. A very old friend, our Tech Team leader, has been off after major surgery for a couple of months and he returned today - bit thinner, bit pale, but much healthier. Lovely to see him!
 
Carolla said:
Did you mean to say that they told her she could NOT do any leadership activities? It sort of sounds like that from your follow up statements. I'm glad she found a welcome at the UCCan :) and that you were able to go to her service today.
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My friend is born to be a music leader and spiritual leader. She is quite inspirational. Yes, they told her she could not lead. A man had to be the main leader. They really squashed her spirit. Of course being a single mother didn't help. Which leads me to wonder how they would have treated Mary since she was pregnant outside of the normal order of things..... I'm glad she's found a spiritual home.
 
I forgot to mention today was a delayed Pentacost service because the ministry personnel person wasn't there last week. That was very fitting for my friend's confirmation service.
 
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