Perhaps then it'll come around in a turn for better ... Bette's Eire? That's 'r' ... in the abstract you can do that ... but absolute folk deny abstraction ... so inclusive mind you!
It all goes by in a wave ... wrinkle in time?
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Perhaps then it'll come around in a turn for better ... Bette's Eire? That's 'r' ... in the abstract you can do that ... but absolute folk deny abstraction ... so inclusive mind you!
It all goes by in a wave ... wrinkle in time?
You just never know
Blip, blip, blip....
-25 windchill this morning so not up for the walk from the bus to Hillhurst so opted for worship at Knox that is about a block from where the bus stops. Had a nice coffee at Sancturary Coffee and then settled in for a good service that still had Christmas music that I enjoy. Sermon was by guest minister Amy Haynes and was on the story of Jesus staying behind in the temple after his folks had left. Some good points in the sermon about how Jesus, even though he was only 12 years old, stood up to his parents when they started to scold him. The idea that there are times in all our lives when we need to stand up and say no to authority. Amy started the sermon off with a short guided meditation that was something we maybe all needed with the business of the holiday season. Glad I attended Knox today, sometimes we end up where are supposed to be on a given day. 
Nancy
Well-Known Member
I led worship on Sunday, using the same scripture. It was at a church that I haven't been to in about 5 years. Because small numbers were expected, the sanctuary was not opened, (padlocked, actually) and worshippers were greeted at the door and led to the 'fellowship room' instead. It was wonderfully informal and cozy. My message was about Jesus' time of increase...those years between age 12 and his public ministry, about how those years were important years of 'becoming' before the years of 'doing'. I ended up talking about youth: teens and young adults also. I was thanked afterwards for my gentle encouragement to include, as a new year's resolution, regular prayer for our young people. Interestingly, this church's small numbers were double most of the congregations I visit!
Immagine adolescence passing through a rough time of learning when endocrines run wild?
I have some elderly relatives that appear to be stuck in adolescent aspirations to crank anything that'll move ... they never rested to ponder adpt of mindful ... Ness ... that Black Pool metaphor ...
I have some elderly relatives that appear to be stuck in adolescent aspirations to crank anything that'll move ... they never rested to ponder adpt of mindful ... Ness ... that Black Pool metaphor ...
Mendalla
Happy headbanging ape!!
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
The ape went to church!
First time in quite a while.
We (Mrs. M went, too) went to Wesley-Knox United, a large, fairly progressive congregation in the Old South neighborhood of London. It is not our first time there but it has been a while.
It was a good Epiphany service. The general theme was things pointing us towards Jesus, with the star of the Epiphany story as the exemplar. For the children's story, the minister led them on a tour of the sanctuary, showing how things like the Bible, the baptismal font, the communion regalia, and so on are "stars" that lead us to Jesus. The sermon looked at the story from the standpoint of how different people responded to the star as a sign of change due to the coming of a King. The wise men celebrated and sought out the new king, Herod was afraid that he would lose his power and privilege, the people were afraid of the uncertainty of a power change. She, of course, took the wise men as the example of responding to change and Christ's presence in the world with a positive attitude. It riffed nicely on Epiphany but also fit well with New Year's since it is often seen as a harbinger of change.
Beyond the message, the music was, as always at W-K, excellent. Their Director of Music, Karen Schuessler, is a prominent member of the London music scene, with her eponymous Karen Schuessler Singers doing several concerts a year around London and she is easily one of the best choral directors around here. Besides their choir, they had a couple folk songs sung (and, I think, written by) a male choir member, who accompanied on acoustic guitar, and a female singer with a lovely voice (though her mike was acting up). It was a nice, quiet contrast to the choral singing and something I wish happened more in traditional churches. The congregational hymns were interesting. A couple were familiar tunes with different lyrics. "As with Gladness Men of Old" was sung the old way, which was the closer. There was also a contemporary hymn, "I Am the Light of the World" by Jim Strathdee, that I didn't know previously but liked.
Next week, we are thinking of going to Siloam United. It's closer than W-K and I enjoyed past visits there but Mrs. M wasn't as crazy about them but is willing to give them a try again. IOW, we are church hunting.
First time in quite a while.We (Mrs. M went, too) went to Wesley-Knox United, a large, fairly progressive congregation in the Old South neighborhood of London. It is not our first time there but it has been a while.
It was a good Epiphany service. The general theme was things pointing us towards Jesus, with the star of the Epiphany story as the exemplar. For the children's story, the minister led them on a tour of the sanctuary, showing how things like the Bible, the baptismal font, the communion regalia, and so on are "stars" that lead us to Jesus. The sermon looked at the story from the standpoint of how different people responded to the star as a sign of change due to the coming of a King. The wise men celebrated and sought out the new king, Herod was afraid that he would lose his power and privilege, the people were afraid of the uncertainty of a power change. She, of course, took the wise men as the example of responding to change and Christ's presence in the world with a positive attitude. It riffed nicely on Epiphany but also fit well with New Year's since it is often seen as a harbinger of change.
Beyond the message, the music was, as always at W-K, excellent. Their Director of Music, Karen Schuessler, is a prominent member of the London music scene, with her eponymous Karen Schuessler Singers doing several concerts a year around London and she is easily one of the best choral directors around here. Besides their choir, they had a couple folk songs sung (and, I think, written by) a male choir member, who accompanied on acoustic guitar, and a female singer with a lovely voice (though her mike was acting up). It was a nice, quiet contrast to the choral singing and something I wish happened more in traditional churches. The congregational hymns were interesting. A couple were familiar tunes with different lyrics. "As with Gladness Men of Old" was sung the old way, which was the closer. There was also a contemporary hymn, "I Am the Light of the World" by Jim Strathdee, that I didn't know previously but liked.
Next week, we are thinking of going to Siloam United. It's closer than W-K and I enjoyed past visits there but Mrs. M wasn't as crazy about them but is willing to give them a try again. IOW, we are church hunting.
BetteTheRed
Resident Heretic
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- She/Her/Her
Isn't that nice, Mendalla. I hope you find exactly the right niche for you.
BetteTheRed
Resident Heretic
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- She/Her/Her
I didn't go to church today. Epiphany doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, and my cold appears to have re-appeared in the night. And honestly, I'm a little grumpy at the congregation at present; suffering a bit from unappreciated volunteer burnout...
Mendalla
Happy headbanging ape!!
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
I think that's affecting a lot of churches. I know it was becoming an issue in the UU fellowship at the time I left. It was a very small congregation at that point and the usual 80:20 rule (20% of the people do 80% of the work) applied so maybe 15-20 people were doing a lot of the work. Supposedly, things are picking up again but I've lost my interest in being part of a small, very humanist congregation right now hence taking another look at the UCCan. And, to be honest, joining P3's gospel study on here has me thinking seriously about Jesus again.
BetteTheRed
Resident Heretic
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Her
One of our newest members, nice guy, having a fun influence on my Tuesday night group, describes himself as a pagan christian, and comes from a unitarian fellowship. Fits in well; some nice challenges to language, which has been enjoyable.
Carolla
wondering & wandering
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Her
Today was the last scheduled Sunday service in our sanctuary - and I felt quite sad, as did many others. Others from the church with which we are amalgamating joined us, as did their choir and their 'bell ringers'. Our organist played spectacularly - a tribute to her talent, the instrument, and an illustrious history together - I will miss that a lot. Reader & lay liturgist were esteemed elders in the church. There were gift presentations & words of thanks to the retiring interim minister, choral director, and church admin person. Lunch followed. Saw a few faces there that had been absent for a long while. Trying hard to keep my heart open to what lies ahead, but think I may also find myself 'church shopping'.
paradox3
Peanuts Fan
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- She/Her/Her
Volunteer burnout is a very big issue throughout the church from what I can see. With the new structure we are starting to hear a lot about networks/ clusters and forming community partnerships of various kinds. The cynical part of me is wondering who exactly is going to take on all of this responsibility and do the work.
My congregation had a few sessions facilitated by EDGE. There were many ideas generated but no action plans as yet. I think the question of who will step up to do the work is a very large one.
Nancy
Well-Known Member
Carolla….so sorry for what you are experiencing, saying 'good-bye' to a place of worship. It matters to us where we worship, I think. We need to feel supported and free to open ourselves to the whole experience. There is a comfort factor as well as an intellectual and emotional challenge that needs to happen. I love my home church (which I sought out after having left a church) because of the comfort factor. It doesn't challenge intellectually very often, but I can get that when I prepare to lead services as a LLWL.
Mendalla -- good luck with your hunt too. The church you attended this week sounds wonderful.
Bette -- Someone appreciates you, I am sure. It's just that, for some reason, people forget to say it out loud. I grew up in a family where 'thank you' and other grateful acknowledgements were normal and abundant. I've discovered that is an increasingly rare way to be. So, hang in there...take a break so your energy and spirit are refilled!
Mendalla -- good luck with your hunt too. The church you attended this week sounds wonderful.
Bette -- Someone appreciates you, I am sure. It's just that, for some reason, people forget to say it out loud. I grew up in a family where 'thank you' and other grateful acknowledgements were normal and abundant. I've discovered that is an increasingly rare way to be. So, hang in there...take a break so your energy and spirit are refilled!
You just never know
Blip, blip, blip....
Today Gary came and sat next to me. Gary is a good guy, I think he maybe has alzheimers or some sort of dementia. He will introduce himself several times and ask your name several times. Anyway, today Gary was in a talkative mood and asked me where I was from. I mentioned all over the place including Northern Ontario, Vancouver, Toronto and other places. When I mentioned Toronto Gary's face lit up and started telling me he grew up in Willowdale. Then he started looking very intently at my greying beard and he said, "you know when we were kids in Toronto we had a dog that was there our whole time growing up and near the end he had this grey beard." Ha ha ha Gary, like me, has a grey beard so when I replied, "guess all us old dogs have grey beards," that got us both giggling. Not sure what the minister was talking about today, but glad I was there to remind Gary of his childhood dog and also glad to have some giggles that have been absent from my life of late.
Our minister conflated change and learning ... hinting at fixation and the stoned when everything is whirling about us ... and few can see it due to obscurity of how religion evolved!
Determinate words? They seem fuzzy to me ... like the metaphors available for light activities ... the electric flash can blind ... thus deep green radiation kryp ton -ite ? Thus de crypts ... like dis sociation ... there are constants involved allowing pH scales ... 7 eth stretch ...
Determinate words? They seem fuzzy to me ... like the metaphors available for light activities ... the electric flash can blind ... thus deep green radiation kryp ton -ite ? Thus de crypts ... like dis sociation ... there are constants involved allowing pH scales ... 7 eth stretch ...
Nancy
Well-Known Member
It's not always about the sermon! Glad you made each other chuckle.
