March 2019

Second Breakfast! / March 31, 2019

Today we tried a different kind of service. We met at 10:30 for bagels and muffins and tea and coffee. Everyone sat in clusters around tables through the whole downstairs. Then Raymond Funk led us in a short talk on the subject of Loss, and this was followed by group discussion on questions he gave us. The place was packed and there seemed to be a great vibe as people spoke and listened to each other. Starting in May, we are going to do a service like this on the second Sunday of each month. Here is a direct link to the recording Ray shared. You can find Ray’s contact info at the end of the powerpoint or the pdf version.

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Potpourri / March 24, 2019

Today we had another extraordinary service. It had many components: beautiful music that was on-theme (as virtually always, without prior collaboration), Colin Shilston sharing about a service of solidarity yesterday at a mosque in Saint John (at the 21:00 mark), Connie McDougall sharing about the death of her sister and what the last days were like (at the 35:30 mark), and Brad Jersak speaking about Jesus as the Good Samaritan (at the 1:01 mark). He suggested that communities like SCV are like a hostel (the inn from that story) where people can find some healing. Along the way there was a wonderful time of encouraging one of the great women of the church. Then we finished with a song by Lauren Daigle that fit as though it had been written for this moment.

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A God and a People Who Hear Our Hearts, Our Hurts, Our Truth / March 17, 2019

Brad Jersak talks about: 1. the God who sees and hears our hearts, our hurts and our truth (beginning with the story of Hagar and Ishmael); 2. the importance of hearing one’s own heart, hurts and my truth (including how to hear our feelings and respond well); 3. then engaging others to hear their hearts, hurts and truth. The teaching came on the wake of the Christchurch massacre in New Zealand and the heart responses of Jews, Christians and Muslims who share the values of justice, beauty and compassion. The talk culminated with a video testimony of how Andrew Sullivan came out to God and his parents, and a fresh song by Jacob, asking God to show us who we really are.

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As I have loved you … / March 10, 2019

Preston Pouteaux gives a great message on how the ways that we perceive the love of God coming to us can affect the ways that we relate with our neighbours. Tofu God, Tetris God, and Two-by-Four God, along with sour candy, are all featured in this life-giving exploration of how much God loves us. This, in turn, becomes the wellspring that allows a rich and true love to flow out from us to the people that we meet.

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Plain Jesus: The Turnaround (II) – We are the Weak / March 3, 2019

Continuing on from his last talk, Walter Thiessen explores the central role of acknowledging that in one way or another, we are all the weak, the poor, the broken. Salvation is responding to invitation to solidarity with the poor, and true abundance is the experience when this solidarity is manifested generously in a community. (He may also have suggested that spiritual experiences when one is not in solidarity with the poor, may not actually involve Jesus.) At one point in the talk reference was made to our need as communities and nations to be in solidarity with other communities and nations; the example was given of Canada shirking on its commitment to hiring an “ombudsperson” to hold Canadian mining corporations accountable for their actions internationally. You can find information on how to contact your MP about that here. (This action is strongly supported by church groups like Kairos and MCC.)

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