Beryl's Blog: Advent Joy

Our Third Sunday in Advent is Joy Sunday (sometimes called Mary Sunday).  Such a small word, sometimes difficult to find, but so infectious when shared and lived. 

This week I am sharing words from Thom M. Shuman, taken from 'Candles and Conifers’: Resources for All Saints and Advent; a member of the Iona* Community.

The words touch me deeply as I ponder the holy mystery of our Creator.  I do believe that we walk with and worship a God of Joy.  One who shares in our moments of both sorrow and happiness. 

As the Advent journey continues, perhaps we need to look within ourselves to find the Joy we try so hard to hang onto.  The Joy which can be found in the birth of Jesus.

*The Iona Community is a dispersed Christian ecumenical community working for peace and social justice, rebuilding of community and the renewal of worship. The communities are located in Iona, Mull, and Glasgow, Scotland.

Shared with you in Peace and Joy,

Beryl

Advent Prayers

Advent begins December 1st. The prayers below can be used throughout the next four weeks. They can also be found as an insert in the Advent bulletin.

Some Prayers for Advent

1.
In this Advent of expectation, draw us together in unity,
that our praise and worship might echo in these walls
and also through our lives.
In this Advent of expectation, draw us together in mission,
that the hope within might be the song we sing,
and the melody of our lives.
In this Advent of expectation, draw us together in service,
that the path we follow might lead us from a stable
to a glimpse of eternity. Amen

2.
The Advent story of hope and mystery,
anticipation, preparation, a kingdom
of this world and the next,
and a king appearing when we least expect.
Heaven touching earth,
the footsteps of the divine
walking dusty roads
as once they did in Eden,
and a people, searching for a Saviour,
and walking past the stable.
Open eyes and hearts, that this might be
an Advent of hope to the world. Amen

3.
God of hope, who brought love into this world,
be the love that dwells between us.
God of hope, who brought peace into this world,
be the peace that dwells between us.
God of hope, who brought joy into this world,
be the joy that dwells between us.
God of hope, the rock we stand upon,
be the centre, the focus of our lives
always, and particularly this Advent time. Amen

4.
Advent God, we journey with you, to Bethlehem’s stable
and a new-born King, ears attuned to the song of angels,
eyes alert for Bethlehem’s star.
Forgive us if, on our journey,
we are distracted by the tempting offers of this world.
Keep our hearts aflame with the hope of Christmas,
and the promise of a Saviour. Amen

5.
God of hope, be with us in our Advent journey
to the stable and beyond,
be with us in our meeting and in our travelling together,
be with us in our worship and our praying together,
be with us in our Advent journey
to the stable and beyond,
our God of hope. Amen

6.
This Advent-time, we remember Mary and Joseph,
giving thanks for their faithfulness, courage and obedience,
stepping out into the unknown in the strength of your Spirit,
playing their part in the fulfilment of your plan
to bring your prodigal people home again.
We pray that their example might be the pattern of our lives,
that when your gentle whisper breaks through the clamour
of this world and into our small corner,
we might be ready to listen,
and having listened, to act. Amen

7.
Restore us, O Lord, we pray, bring us back to that place
where we once met, as shepherds to the stable
after hearing angels sing.
Bring us back to that place when our love was fresh,
not embarrassed to express itself in praise
to our heavenly King. Restore us, O Lord, we pray. Amen

Read more at : faithandworship.com

Beryl's Blog: Detour on the Journey to the Stable

In speaking with a friend this week, I wished her a great Advent as we trek towards Bethlehem yet again.  “O” she said, “I am not religious, but I am spiritual!”  Once again, I was lost for words at this now common “catch phrase”.  I had an “I should have said” moment.

As we approach the first week of Advent and the lighting of the candle for Hope, I had every intention of speaking about the journey to the stable door.  That journey of Hope, found in the birth of a child who would change the world forever.   But I got side-tracked.  I went home and searched frantically through my blue bin of “stuff I might need one day+” and I found it!  The words are from Kurt Struckmeyer, and were published in A Conspiracy of Love.  I can think of no better way to speak about Spirit and Advent than to quote his words:

Authentic Spirituality.  The Gospel accounts provide us with an image of what a life lived in the Spirit of God looks like.

It is a life transformed by the spirit of love, the spirit of compassion, the spirit of generosity, the spirit of forgiveness, the spirit of hospitality, the spirit of Justice, the spirit of peace.

When the spirit of God fills our lives, it drives out selfishness, greed, indifference, hatred, exclusivity and the need for domination.  These base human conditions represent the normalcy of the world.

Spirituality is much more than an internal quest to discover some kind of personal peace and wholeness.

Spirituality is the shaking of the foundations of the status quo, upsetting the normalcy of the world and transforming the darkness of the human soul into new possibilities for authentic humanity.

Yes, all the qualities found in the person of Jesus Christ.  The one who changed the world forever.  The one whose birth we are walking towards - as people have walked for so many centuries. 

“I am not religious but I am spiritual”.  I for one have great difficulty in separating the two. For me, authentic spirituality is found in the life of Jesus and his ministry here on earth - a ministry of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love for all people and all creation. 

Let’s travel this road together, embracing any detours which may occur, until we arrive at the end of our Advent journey.

-Beryl

Beryl's Blog: On Death and Dying

A life in ministry is many faceted.  It deals in the building of relationships, presence in community events and the sharing of meals, issues surrounding inclusion and equality, confronting social, economic and environmental justice, reaching out in compassion and caring, and issues surrounding life and death, joy and sorrow; in other words, being present in times of both darkness and light.  But, most importantly, ministry is the commitment to share the good news of the Gospel and walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, to the best of one’s ability. 

 Too often, though, the passing of loved ones takes centre stage.  This past week has been just such a time.  It seems, as we age as a congregation, death, the “inevitable”, takes up more and more of our thoughts.

 I have long lost count of the number of life celebrations I have done over the past seven years.  But I have come to realize one certainty – even as we light the Candle of Memory each Sunday morning, many of us are not prepared to speak about or deal with thoughts of death. 

 Many years ago, how I am not sure, I came across the words of Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet, (born January 6, 1883, in Bsharri, Lebanon).  They changed my view and my fear of speaking about death dramatically.

 As we celebrate the life of Don Ross on Friday, November 22nd, and as we stand in solidarity with Sarah Fraser as she and Roman deal with the death of John Fraser, father and grandfather, I would like to share Kahlil’s words in the hope that thoughts of death and dying are made a little more comfortable to deal with.

 “……For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”

Words and imagery of hope and beauty, visions of new and unknown life to come.  I offer these in peace.

Beryl

Carols by Candlelight/ Chantons Noël December 15th

Drop the shopping, drop the cooking, and come to SouthWest’s annual carol service on December 15th. Feel your cares drop away as you sit for an hour or so in the soft candlelight and listen to Christmas music both traditional and less well-known. Be prepared to lift your voice in song and experience some of the magic of Christmas.

Carols by Candlelight/ Chantons Noel is at 4pm, Sunday, December 15th, 2019.

Prenez congé de vos achats de Noël et laissez l’esprit de la saison vous réchauffer pendant ce service annuel de l’Église Unie du Sud Ouest, Chantons Noël. Soyez prêt à chanter vos cantiques préférés a la lueur des bougies.

Chantons Noël/ Carols by Candlelight aura lieu le dimanche 15 décembre 2019  à 16h.

Beryl's Blog: Every Picture Tells a Story

Amy, our Administrative Assistant here at SouthWest, has been diligently sorting through decades of “memorabilia” in preparation for our exhibition of the history of Verdun United/Crawford Park United and, ultimately SouthWest United Church which will commence with a wine and cheese soiree on Friday, November 15th.

We all have them. They have come to us through our parents.  They are in boxes, in albums, in frames.  We seldom get them out to look at them.  The boxes are covered in dust and we move them, as they are, from house to house as we move on with our lives.  We do not know what to do with them, yet we do not have the heart to throw them away because, somehow, they are a part of us.

Images of what was, wearing hairstyles and clothing so foreign.  Yet, there is familiarity in their faces - a family resemblance, genetically passed down in a smile, or “so and so’s eyes” which you have recognized all your life, even if you have never met the person.  Some of them are wearing army uniforms, faces brave and confident as they head off to the unknown.  Others are holding babies who probably grew into adulthood – or not.  Smiling faces of brides and grooms. People strolling along boardwalks.  Ghosts of the past, yet there before our eyes.

Old photographs; what is it about them that brings on nostalgia, longing, questions?  If someone took the time to name and date them, they can fill in pieces of a puzzle and give us a glimpse into our family history.  They can also leave us sad and longing for times when generations lived under the same roof and we all felt connected.

As the oldest sibling, I seem to have inherited the albums and bags of loose photos left by my own parents.  They are filled with faces which are anonymous, faces of colour, places unfamiliar; yet random moments in time captured and present right there in my hands.

Today, our children and grandchildren take photos with their iPhone.  They post them on Facebook or Instagram.  There for an instant and then gone forever into cyberspace.  What legacy will they leave for their own children?  How will they provide them with tangible evidence of family faces and events?

Early Christian art, beautiful in its presentation though sometimes questionable in its content, has left us with a visible legacy of our Christian heritage.  An artistic interpretation of our Christian journey through the centuries.  Is there any artist who is continuing such a tradition?  I don’t know.

But I do believe this; unless we have clear images to help us understand from where we have come, we will have difficulty discerning where we are to go in the future.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the exhibition of SouthWest’s journey to the present!

Beryl

Beryl's Blog: Lest we Forget

They were our great grandfathers, our grandfathers, our fathers, our uncles and our friends.   They were wives, sisters and nurses.  Some left never to come back, some came back broken in body and in spirit.  The horrors they witnessed were seldom, if ever, spoken of.  But their lives were changed and, hence, changed the lives of those who loved and lived with them. Mothers who mourned husbands and/or sons; siblings who would never forget, wives who raised children on their own, sweethearts who lived in sorrow, even beloved pets who waited for their master’s return.  The bad dreams which woke families, the angry outbursts which frightened children, the unexplained behaviour which alienated friends.  The periods of binge drinking or stone silence, the days of retreat into somewhere else. Like a pebble thrown into a pond, the ripples were far reaching, touching everyone and everything for years to come.  War changes everything.

A poem written by Maria Cassee

On a cold November morn, an old man sits a while,
Looking through old photographs, he cannot help but smile
They’re all there, all the boys, with hair cut short and neat
Uniforms of khaki, strong black boots upon their feet.
They met as strangers, but became brothers to the end,
Smiling at the camera there could be no truer friends.
They all took the Queen’s shilling, went off to fight on the run,
Soon learnt the pain of loss once the fighting had begun.
So many never made it home, lost on foreign shores,
Many more were injured and would be the same no more.
The old man’s eyes mist with tears as he remembers every face
Each of his fallen brothers and the killing which took place.
He proudly dons his beret, his blazer and his tie
For today he will remember the ones who fell and died.
On his chest there is a poppy, a blaze of scarlet on the blue -
He steps out into the cold; he has a duty he must do.
Once at the cenotaph he stands amongst the ranks
Of those who marched to war and those who manned the tanks.
He bows his head in reverence as the last post begins to play
And he wonders what will happen at the ending of his days.
Will anyone remember?  Will anybody care?
About the lads so far from home whose life was ended there?
I wish that I could tell him that he should fear not
For this soldier and his brothers will NEVER be forgot.
We owe a debt of gratitude that we can never pay
And this country WILL remember, on each Remembrance Day.

Beryl

Our changing tree

Our sanctuary tree continues to change and surprise! Last Sunday, the coloured leaves placed on it to show gratitude at Thanksgiving, gave way to coloured hearts bearing the names of those we wished to remember on All Saints. Beautiful new traditions, courtesy of Pastor Beryl!

The tree will disappear before Sunday’s Remembrance Dday service, but keep your eyes open, there’s no telling where or when it may turn up!

October

November

Beryl's Blog: Walking the Walk

How often have you sat in your favourite pew on Sunday and heard your Minister go on about living in faith; blind faith, illusive, unseen and unproven.  That rock you are to cling to when the waves get high, the night darkens and the stars do not shine.  Belief that Creator God will always be with you, in light and in darkness, in those times of the absolute unknown.

Have you ever asked yourself if your Minister actually walks the walk, as they continue to talk the talk?  Well, truth time. 

As I faced a cardiac procedure this week, I seesawed from fear to outright panic, from faith and a feeling of peace to “I don’t want to talk about it”.  A whole spectrum of emotions.

Moments of prayer became more frequent during the day; memories of childhood events popped up uninvited and unannounced.  Thoughts of loved ones who had passed seeped into my favourite television programs.  In bed, in the dark of night, came the worries and the “what ifs” for my husband and my family and, of course my animals. Wow, I do not even have funeral plans other than asking a dear friend to do me the honors.

I think of myself as a “reader” of cosmic signs, looking for the Holy in all I do. But this journey has had some “rethink” moments.

But then I remembered Jesus, he too must have known fear - when he was taken from the garden, as he heard his friend betray him, when he was interrogated by Pilate, as he was beaten and forced to carry his own cross to the hill.  He too must have wanted to “rethink” it all, especially as he hung from that place of no return, asking his father “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

Yes, I am talking the talk, but stumbling as I walk the walk.  However, I realize I am in the best of company!  I am walking with a man who has doubted in his time.

So, as I write, I am thinking about what I need to pack for a small overnight bag.  I choose to believe that Creator has had a hand in this journey, that the time is now right.  Faith, blind and persistent, even if a little shaky. The train is in the station, the whistle is blowing, the doors are closing and I am on my way.

This coming Sunday, November 3rd is our All Saints celebration of life.  We will honor those who have gone before us (perhaps even a little shaky themselves) but persistent in their faith.

Doubt is a part of our journey but I am choosing light and life.  I will see you all then!

NOTE: Pastor Beryl had surgery on Tuesday and is recovering nicely.

Beryl's Blog: Looking for the Light

The night is almost gone, and the day is near therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.                                        Romans 12: 13

On Monday morning, election day in Canada, I took the above picture.  It is in my own back yard and depicts the sun rising on a new day, over Mount Pleasant, through the autumn trees and the morning haze. 

I find myself thinking a lot about light these days.  The world seems to be a darker place than it was even a few weeks ago.  Too many images of war- torn countries, fleeing men, women and children, changing weather patterns, looming economic and ecological disasters. Don’t we all need a break from all the darkness around us?

There are two types of light in our world.  We can perceive one, or both, or neither.  I want both…..the physical and the spiritual.

A contemplative week lies ahead. I am looking for the light!  And, as I so often do, I turn to the scriptures for comfort and encouragement.

I think of Genesis, and read “on the first day of creation, God said ‘Let there be light’, and light appeared as a thing separate from darkness”.

And then, from John; “When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.’”

In Matthew, we are encouraged to let our light so shine before others that we may be an example for others.

We all face patches of darkness at various times.  As I face my own darkness in the coming week, I wish each and every one of you light, love and peace.

Beryl