Owner Peter Simard and manager Paula of WELL Resto on Wellington with Patrick Coveny, volunteer at SouthWest. Peter made a donation of fresh baked bread for the Welcome Wednesdays every week of December.
Daily Bible Readings 2019 / Lectures bibliques quotidiennes 2019
Published by the Canadian Bible Society, here is the downloadable pamphlet (PDF format) of daily Bible readings for the whole of 2019. Copies will be available at church as of December 23rd. You can also find it at biblesociety.ca
Voici le pamphlet des lectures bibliques quotidiennes pour l'an 2019 issu du Canadian Bible Society. Des copies seront disponibles à l'église dès le 23 décembre. Vous pouvez également le télécharger au biblesociety.ca.
Minister's Message: Blues Christmas
Sometimes the holidays are coloured in hues of blacks and greys. I remember the Blues Christmas remembrance that let my heart feel sadness at the loss of my siblings: Rebecca, Ruth, Joe, and my father Ernest. Those annual times of remembering around the holidays held me in times of personal grieving.
It is helpful in this starlit season to pause and look at empty stockings, feel favorite memories, and have a gentle cry as you hear a favourite rendition of: I’ll have a Blue Christmas without you. We need light and warmth penetrating our heavy and sad hearts this time of year.
Over the next two Sundays I will pause at both SouthWest and Emmanuel to add an ornament to the Christmas tree with names written on the back. There will be enough for you to use and place as well.
I need light to shine into my grief and aloneness, to acknowledge feeling vulnerable, fragile and sometimes broken. I love these words:
There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. (Thanks, Leonard Cohen, for those lines.)
We each cope the best way possible. Community of faith means that we are not alone. In both congregations we experience the lighting of the Advent wreath. Some may place memorial lights on the tree in front of the church, offer a takeout turkey meal for seniors or shut-ins on December 26th at SouthWest Mission. Cards are sent to friends and those far from us, and we can invite someone alone at Christmas to our home or to Christmas Eve services. We can simply read the prayer below in a quiet time of remembering and celebrating love.
Maybe you can light a candle and say:
I remember...(loved one)
I hold you...(brother and sister in faith) and you hold me, in our hearts and prayers.
Together we are light, even when it is but a flickering candle.
God of comfort and compassion,
hear us as we pray for ourselves
and for all who live with loss and loneliness,
pain and grief, hurt and isolation.
We ask for strength for today,
courage for tomorrow,
and peace for the past.
We ask these things in the name of Christ
who shares our life in joy and sorrow,
in death and new birth,
despair and promise. Amen.
Some Bible texts:
Psalm 121, Unto the hills
Isaiah 40:1-8 Comfort, O comfort my people
Matthew 1:18-23 Angel appears to Joseph in a dream
Luke 1:8-13 Angel announces birth of John the Baptist
Luke 1:26-30 The angel Gabriel visits Mary
Luke 2:6-10 An angel announces Jesus birth
Luke 6:20-23 Blessed are you who weep
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who knows our pain and struggle,
the peace of God, which passes all understanding,
and the strength of the Holy Spirit,
be with you this day/night and always. Amen.
(Prayers from Celebrate God’s Presence, UCC)
Rev. David
Boxing Day Turkey Meal/ Repas du lendemain de Noël
2nd of Advent: A Bake sale and a Women's Circle
This Sunday at church we will light the second candle of Advent. The miracle of Christ’s birth is coming closer every day! Designated Lay Minister Beryl Barraclough will lead worship this week. The main scripture is from Luke 1: 68-79, also known as the Song of Zechariah.
Immediately after the service there will be a bake sale downstairs, so don’t forget to bring some pocket money! It is also time for the monthly Women’s Circle led by Beryl, which will begin about 11:30. All who identify as women are welcome.
Passages: Faye Wakeling, in memoriam
It is with great sadness that we announce that Rev. Faye Wakeling, partner of Rev. Pierre Goldberger, has been called home by her Creator after a life well-lived as mother, partner, friend, minister and source of inspiration to so many because of her leadership.
A service of celebration will be held at St. Columba House (2365 Grand Trunk, Montreal, H3K 1M8) on Saturday, December 15, 2018 with visitation beginning at 1 pm, and the service at 2 pm.
C'est avec tristesse que nous annonçons le décès de la Révérende Faye Wakeling, conjointe du Révérend Pierre Goldberger. Elle fut appelée à la maison par son Créateur après une vie bien vécue en tant que mère, partenaire, amie, pasteure, et une grande inspiration pour tant de personnes grâce à son leadership.
Un service de célébration aura lieu à la Maison St-Columba (2365, Grand Trunk, Montréal, H3K 1M8) le samedi 15 décembre 2018 avec visite à partir de 13h et le service à 14h.
Mini-Market Dec. 12 2018
Next Wednesday's market at the Mission will be the last until January 9th. Download the list of produce for sale at low prices.
Télécharger la liste de produits qui seront offerts à notre Mini-marché de mercredi prochain, le dernier de 2018. De retour le 9 janvier 2019.
Minister's Message: The Time is Coming?? When?
The time is coming when I will fulfill the promise
that I made to the people of Judah and Israel.
At that time I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David.
Jeremiah 33: 14-15
I was recently bemoaning my lot to a friend that the house has not yet sold. When is it going to happen? How long will it take? My pragmatic listener asked how long it had been on the market and were there many visits: only one month and 50 visits said I. Change brings anxiety and I am both nervous and excited about the future. But honestly, one month is not long and there is a lot of interest. As you can see, I am not a very patient person. Waiting is not my strong suit. In fact, once I decide something, I want it to be done, yesterday!
I thought I could sell, move and be ready to celebrate Christmas in a new home, with the tree decorated, lights installed and a gift for Santa at the chimney.
The season of Advent is all about anticipating and preparing for the birth of Jesus. It is about waiting for the promise. It is also a quick four weeks that move through each candle of the Advent wreath, and before you know it the baby will be in the manger of hay. Waiting and savouring the present moment helps recover the wonder of this starlit season and lets me prepare my heart and spirit for renewal, joy, and the inevitable chaos that birth (and new birth) brings.
My four weeks with a for sale sign on the front of my property is nothing compared to the centuries between the promise made by the prophets of Messiah and the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. 500 years of waiting! That’s a LONG wait, a lot of patience, hope and trust in God’s promise.
The psalmist writes:
I wait for God with longing;
I put my hope in God’s Word.
(Psalm 130:5-6)
And so I pray in the waiting for the sale and in this Advent season;
God of the unexpected and undreamt:
In this holy season, instill your hope in our hearts.
Prepare us;
prepare us so we can hear again the song of the angels
and see again the beckoning star. Amen.
(Celebrate God’s Presence, UCC)
- Rev. David
December Food Calendars
The monthly food calendars put out by Verdun sans faim are a wealth of information about food resources in Verdun. The first one shows where you can participate in community meals; the second has info on food banks, low-cost food, and collective kitchens. Here are the calendars for December.
Minister's Message: Advent
La lumière brille dans l’obscurité,
Mais l’obscurité ne l’a pas reçue.
Jean 1.5
The light shines in darkness,
And the darkness has never put it out.
John 1:5
Christmas/ Noël 2018
Dear Friends at Emmanuel and SouthWest,
The days have grown shorter and night arrives late afternoon. We come home and wake up in darkness. This will change in a few weeks when slowly the daylight hours will lengthen once again.
It is significant that Jesus is born at this time of year, at the darkest time, when we need his light the most.
As Advent candle lighting begins this Sunday it is a way of anticipating how one light, then another can brighten a day, a room, a life and a community. It is a simple gesture that can be done in worship either at church or at home. The liturgy provided last week and available in paper form can be used wherever you find yourself, a way to stay focused on the deep power of the Good News of Christmas .
We welcome this light into those dark places of our lives, relationships and world.
We celebrate Christ’s light in many community celebrations once again this year and hope you can join us!
C’est significatif que Jésus soit né à ce temps de l’année, au moment le plus sombre, alors que nous avons le plus besoin de sa lumière.
Nous accueillons cette lumière dans les recoins obscurs de nos vies, de nos relations et de notre monde.
In hope, joy, peace and love,
Dans l’espérance, la joie, la paix et l’amour,
Rev. David
Services at SouthWest United - 1445 rue Clemenceau - this holiday season:
Advent 1: Dec. 2 10AM
Advent 2: Dec. 9, 10AM
Advent 3: Dec. 16, 10AM
Advent 4: Dec. 23, 10AM
Plus:
On Sunday December 16, join us for Carols by Candlelight / Chantons Noël, at 4PM
On Monday, December 24th, Christmas Eve service is at 7:30PM
Sunday, January 6, 2019, Epiphany service at 10AM followed by a potluck brunch.
And don’t forget, at the Mission - 631 Melrose :
On Wednesday, December 26th, it’s our Boxing Day community turkey meal. Sittings at 12:30 and 2PM. Call the office to reserve. 514-768-6231.