Talks

Walter Thiessen – This is a follow-up to another reflection on the parable of the Persistent Widow by Mark Groleau at SCC on December 20. This explores the idea of active protest as prayer that enables imagination and keeps belief alive.

I’d invite you to follow up the talk by watching this video with lyrics (or this shorter video) of the song “Glory” from the film Selma (about the most important march of Martin Luther King, Jr.) – a march that was an act of prayer that kept alive the belief of millions, including John Lewis (who mentored the two new Georgia senators). I’d invite you to compare the dignity, compassion and beauty of this protest in comparison to what you saw this past week. Good protest is prayer.

Peter Fitch wonders about the meaning of the old phrase, “the beauty of holiness.” Different people give their ideas about what it might mean in light of their experiences in life. Peter then imagines it through the eyes of Martin Buber. What if it had more to do with appreciating the beauty of each thing we are observing and each person we talk with, than it does with the religious baggage it’s acquired over the years? This service began with an instrumental by Jon Balcarrass, then a video of Matisyahu’s song, “One Day.” After the talk, we listened to a recording by Dean Clark of Peter Mayer’s song, “Everything is Holy Now.” Then we watched a video collage of beautiful images as we listened to Jackson Browne’s song, “Alive in the World.”

On video and podcast, the morning talk starts at the 14:30 mark.

Peter Fitch compares the work we do on our souls as we battle forward in life to the renovations we might do in a home that needs to be fixed-up. He thinks that we ought to see our “interior home improvements” with more generosity and patience, and encourages us all to hang in there and keep growing. Today we used videos instead of live music. The songs before the talk are from our on-line Christmas Eve service and feature Madi Smith and Keara Hannan for the first and David Moore for the second. After the talk, there is a song by Peter with help from Rick Coates and then a new song by Cassidy Steeves and Tim Milner. 

On video and podcast, the talk starts at the 14:30 mark.

We’re taking our Christmas Eve virtual this year! #2020 am I right?

The gift in this is that we have so many people from all over North America and even Europe joining us tonight through the miracle of technology.

Join us as we share songs and poetry, welcoming Christ the Light.

Merry Christmas from all of us at SCC!

In light of 2020, the Year of the Protest, Mark Groleau brings a fresh take on Jesus’ story about a judge and a widow. The trouble with justice is that it rests in the hands of people who think things are just fine the way they are. But the widow has something to teach us about breaking the status quo: “listen to what the judge says; justice comes from the bruising.”
On video and podcast, the talk starts at the 33:40 mark.

Our Advent theme for this week was Joy. Peter decided to speak about how often joy and sorrow are mixed in our lives and about the resilience that encourages us to fight through problem periods with resilience until we are freely flowing in life’s river. He primarily relies on wisdom from Scripture and from Richard Rohr in this talk.

On this second Sunday of Advent, Peter brings a few Scripture passages that speak of a Child that will bring peace to the world. Peter sees this as having to do with the gradual growth of justice that is bringing peace to more and more people through the gift of Jesus’ life death and resurrection, and he also sees it as the gift of God to our troubled souls in the midst of whatever is going on as we face the storms of life. 

After listening to the talk, we suggest clicking on these links to take in Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) doing Peace Train and Stevie Wonder performing Heaven Help Us.

Since we have moved back to Orange Level of pandemic risk involvement, we have decided to refrain from physical gatherings once more. Today, in this short video, Peter reads a few Scriptures and a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke as he forms a meditation about the importance of active waiting when we find ourselves in the midst of crises. After listening to the talk, we suggest clicking on this link to take in “I Will Wait” by Mumford and Sons, performing at Red Rocks, outside of Denver, Colorado. After that, it would be good to listen once more to one of the songs from last week, “One Day” by Matisyahu.

We decided to cancel in-person services while our area is in the Orange Level of virus risk. Today Peter posts a short meditation based on Scripture and a poem by Rumi to encourage honest feelings and hope in the midst of the chaos in the world and in our lives. We are also posting two beautiful videos that we watched last week in David Moore’s church services. One, is by a Muslim singer and one is by a Jewish singer. We recommend watching Forgotten Promises by Sami Yusuf first, and then following that with One Day by Matisyahu.

Jessica Williams speaks poignantly about her longing for a bigger God than the one she was given in early life or at Bible College or as an adult in evangelical churches. She wants a God that is big enough to reject violence and manipulation and who is just as present for the marginalized as He/She is for those who are not marginalized in a society or a church.