October 20, 2024
Rest
Marilyn followed up her talk on resilience by looking at the role of rest – with much interaction, she facilitated a discussion on Hebrews 4.
October 13, 2024
Can We Love the Bible (with Honesty and Compassion)?
In advance of a coming small group, Walter gets us thinking (and chatting) at our “2nd Breakfast” about the attitudes toward the Bible that we grew up with – some helpful and some not.
October 6, 2024
Celebrating 32 Years
We recall and celebrate 32 years together with the help of three pairs of storytellers and a couple of poems.
September 29, 2024
Small Kindnesses Are No Small Thing
Rachael grapples with how to respond to hard things in the Bible and in life, and shares some learnings from her recent trip to Ireland.
September 22, 2024
A Cure for Chaos
Mark Groleau takes us on a deep and wide journey through biblical theology that leads us to three encounters: a) Chaos (the Sea), b) Calming the Sea, c) the River of Life.
September 15, 2024
The Importance of Truth-Telling
This week, special guest, Jonathan Schut from MCC (Mennonite Central Committee), shared a dynamic and creative lesson from Queen Vashti (in the book of Esther) to introduce the importance of truth-telling to organizations like MCC as they work for justice and peace – and he masterfully integrated our theme of the “Roots of Resilience.”
August 25, 2024
God’s Armour
Using the Ephesians 6 text from the lectionary, Walter’s homily reminded us that Paul’s metaphor of God’s Armour was helping us to stay strong and to endure in our calling of “mutual submission” (non-violent, non-dominating love) as opposed to the spirit of our age that is often based on the “myth of redemptive violence”
August 18, 2024
Hope in Hard Times
This Sunday, Jess Williams explored the role of hope when we walk through hard times in life. Starting with the pain caused by toxic positivity and the cultural pressure to put forward a polished life, Jess asks what the antidote to this might be. She thinks the blessings of Jesus in the Beatitudes have something important to teach us about the kind of life Jesus calls blessed.
August 11, 2024
Stories of Community Resilience
At this Sunday’s “second breakfast,” Jess invited the tables to share with each other stories of community resilience. But first there was an introduction that included Alex Henderson sharing some thoughtful material on community resilience and Walter shared a brief story of what helped SSU to be a resilient community.
August 4, 2024
The Art of Swearing
This morning, Renate used Ephesians 4 to explore the wise use of expressive, yet gracious, language. You can see her power point, and/or listen below. You’re always welcome […]
July 28, 2024
The World Has Always Been a Mess
In this Sunday’s homily, Walter suggests the odd encouragement that it has always been in the context of a very messed up world that we find our resilience with courage and love.
July 21, 2024
Resilience is Messy (& so are we)
Jess Williams reflects on impulses she noticed in herself through a recent experience of asking her friends for help cleaning out her house, and found out she wasn’t alone. She points out how vulnerable it is to let others into your mess, even when that’s what you need most. Then she shares some wisdom gleaned from Fraggle Rock’s character, Marjory the Trash Heap, and Jeff Chu’s teaching on the theology of compost. She invites everyone to trust that God is most at home in the mess, and that all of our so-called failures can serve to nurture the soil of our lives.