New Testament 101: First Corinthians

As mentioned last week, Pastor Beryl is on holiday, but she kindly contributed this blog, continuing her series on the books of the New Testament.

1 Corinthians

Although this letter is called the First Letter to the Corinthians, it is not really the first one that Paul wrote to this church.  We know this because he mentions in this letter that he had written one before (5: 9).  The Christians in Corinth had also written to him (7:1) and part First Corinthians contains Paul’s answers to question they had asked.

Corinth is a large port city in southern Greece.  Paul began his work there in a Jewish meeting place, but he had to move next door to the home of a Gentile who had become a follower of Jesus (Acts 18: 1-17).  Most of the followers in Corinth were poor people (1:26-29) though some of them were wealthy (11: 18-21) and one was even the city Treasurer (Romans 16: 23).  While he was in Corinth, Paul worked as a tentmaker to earn a living (Acts 18:3) and (1 Cor. 4:1-12 9: 1-18).

Paul was especially concerned about the way the Corinthian Christians were always arguing and dividing themselves into groups (1:10-4:21) and about the way they treated one another (5: 1-6.20).  These are two of Paul’s main concerns as he writes this letter.  But he also wants to answer the questions they asked him about marriage (7: 1-40) and food offered to idols (8: 1-13).  Paul encourages them to worship God the right way (10: 1-14. 40) and to be firm in their belief that God has given them victory over death (15: 1-58).

Love, Paul tells them, is even more important than faith or hope.  All of the problems in the church could be solved if all the members would love one another as Christians should:

Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud or rude.
Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil.
Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful and trusting.
Love never fails.  (13: 4, 5, 6-8)

A quick look at this letter:

Paul’s greeting and prayer (1: 1-9)
A call for unity (1:10 – 4:21)
Problems in relationships (5: 1-7, 40)
Honoring God instead of idols (8: 1-11, 1)
Guidance for worship and church life (11: 2-14. 40)
Christ’s victory over death (15: 1-58)
An offering for the poor (16: 5-12)
Paul’s travel plans (16: 5-12)
Personal concerns and greetings (16: 13-24)

Familiar Faces

Donna Cobb sent a picture and a note this week, saying that she and Keith had gone to see Shirley McGowan for her birthday on Monday and that they had been able to take Lil with them on the outing. “While keeping our distances Shirley,  Lil, Brenda, Brandon, Keith and myself sat outside to have a little lunch and share a piece of cake,” Donna writes.
How wonderful!

Does anyone else have a story of a visit with long-absent friends? We’d love to hear it!

A Milestone Birthday

Bill Ludlow will turn 100 this September. A former stalwart of Crawford Park United, Bill currently lives at the Veterans’ Hospital in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. Bill was active in church council and the Friendly Social Club, and his membership goes back to 1950 - 70 years! We thought it would be nice for Bill to receive a package of greetings from us at SouthWest to mark this milestone birthday.

There are several ways to participate: you can mail a note or card in to the office - it doesn’t have to be a store-bought card. If you knew Bill back in the day you could choose to include a photo of yourself then or now, or add a reminiscence.

Or, you could just type a message into an e-mail and send it to the office. We will print them and make sure they get to Bill.

Even if you’ve never met Mr. Ludlow, we encourage you to send a greeting; we are all part of the same community!

September is not that far off and Canada Post is not that speedy right now, so let’s get going!

Here is a video of Bill from his 99th birthday, shared by his daughter Liz.

Boys of Summers Past

UPDATE: I received a message from a Mark Daniel on Christmas Eve in which he confirms that the Life Boys became the Boys Brigade sometime after the war. They met in Verdun United Church where, Mark says, there was a room that used to be a walk-in safe! Does anyone else remember this? Also I feel certain the uniform changed when they became the Boys Brigade. I would love to see a photo from the 50s or 60s. I’m still very curious to know where this shot was taken.

FURTHER UPDATE: I shared the photo in the January 8th paper newsletter and received a response from Vernon Turner. He appears to have solved the mystery of the location of the photo, and don’t I look silly? Vernon says it was taken on Desmarchais Boulevard near Verdun Ave., across the street from Verdun Elementary School (formerly Woodland School). You may recall that I worked in that school building for six years when we had the Mission there! I even remember when this photo first came to light, showing it to Shirley Mitchell and both of us saying the spot looked familiar! In our defense, the corner has changed a great deal since the 40s, but I believe the building shown in the photo is still there. An ugly storefront has been added for the laundromat that is now housed on the ground floor; one of the windows was bricked over at some point; overhangs have been added to the closed-in balconies off the back of the building. Still, I believe Vernon is absolutely right and I am slapping myself in the forehead. - Amy

Grabbed from Google maps.

ORIGINAL POST:
I shared the photo below on a Verdun history page on Facebook trying to identify the group these young lads belonged to. It dates from about 1945. Someone had told me they might be Sea Cadets, but respondents on the site said either Boys Brigade or Life Boys. The second picture, circa 1942, is from one of the glass slides in our collection that Dennis Brown scanned to digital format. It looks to me like it says Life Boys on their caps. Is it possible the Life Boys became the Boys Brigade at a certain point? I’d love to hear more about these organizations that were closely associated with our churches (in this case it would have been Verdun United) and any first-hand accounts from “boys” who participated. Also, can anyone identify where in Verdun these photos were taken?

Note from Nora: A Time for Listening

When we fail to recognize that our acceptance of inequality is a form of racism, we fail to live up to our basic Christian commitments.

Some people have questioned the phrase, Black Lives Matter with the retort, “all lives matter.” But that misses the point.

The need is to proclaim what is not apparent in the way our society works. The way our society works reflects a reality that White people’s lives matter the most. That White people are the norm. We might feel inclined to defend the principles of our democracy and our justice system, which lift up fairness and equality to all. Well, except maybe those who fall under the application of the Indian Act. But it isn’t enough to look at the intent: full analysis requires looking at the outcomes too.

To mention just a couple of statistics: 27 percent of Black children live in low-income situations, compared to 14 percent for the rest of the population. And incarceration rates are significantly higher, with Black people making up 8.6 percent of prison inmates while they are only 3 percent of the overall population.

The statistical imbalances are also there for Indigenous Canadians. Our journey towards reconciliation in Canada reflects a different – but in some ways similar – need to address a colonial past that has left many biases built into our systems of government, of justice, of education… and yes, even of church. A whole set of systems that have benefited White people, whether we knew it or not, has at the same time, disadvantaged others.

What does this mean for us as Christians?

Isn’t it obvious? We follow Jesus, who saw through the false distinctions of the social norms of his time, and lifted up the essential humanity – and godliness – of everyone.

We profess to a faith based on compassion, on the simple direction that we are to love others as ourselves.

When we fail to recognize that our acceptance of inequality in our society, of inequities in our society, is a form of racism, we fail to live up to our basic Christian commitments.

These days the social isolation requirements of the pandemic have most of us living very insular lives. We hardly see anyone beyond our own households. Hard as this is for everyone, the reality is that the impacts of COVID-19 are not evenly distributed across all racial groups. Nothing in the pandemic response singled out racial differences, but the differences are there in the results. Although the general statistical reporting on the pandemic in Canada has not included a race based component, analysis of the Toronto neighbourhoods most affected by COVID-19 shows that these are also the neighbourhoods with a greater proportion of Black residents. It’s a good example of how pre-existing social inequities provide the foundation for even greater disparities in times of crisis.

Many people may feel overwhelmed by the weight of all this, and be wondering what they can offer that would make a difference. This isn’t a time when everyone needs to have all the answers. It may be that the best approach is to begin by listening, by caring, by hearing what is asked for. If you haven’t yet seen the worship service led by the Black Clergy Network of our church recently, I recommend checking it out on YouTube as a good place to start your listening.

We also need to act, in big ways and small, but for those of us whose life experiences have not included being the target of anti-Black racism or any form of racism, we need to bring an element of humility into our impulse to name the solutions.

A colleague shared a video that I thought offered that reminder quite graciously, which you can find here, in case you want to watch it too.

Peace and grace to you.

Nora

— Nora Sanders is General Secretary of The United Church of Canada. 

The Dog Days

The phrase “in the dog days of summer“ popped into my head and I found myself wondering, what exactly does this mean? It seemed to me there was a connection to Sirius, “the dog star” but were there specific dates that constituted the dog days? I looked it up.

It seems that the Greeks and Romans connected the dog star, which is visible in the Northern hemisphere for most of the summer, with “heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs and bad luck”! Although I have yet to spot any mad dogs, otherwise it sure sounds to me like we are in the dog days.

Sirius is so bright that the ancient Romans thought it radiated extra heat toward Earth. During the summer, when Sirius rises and sets with the Sun, they thought Sirius added heat to the Sun's heat to cause hotter summer temperatures.

For the ancient Romans, the dog days of summer occurred from about July 24 to around August 24. Over time, though, the constellations have drifted somewhat. Today, The Old Farmer's Almanac lists the traditional timing of the dog days of summer as being July 3 until August 11.

It’s hard to get anything done on this weather. We move slowly through the humid air and our thoughts seem muddled. It’s a perfect time to go on vacation, to lie in a hammock with a cool drink, swim in a lake or ocean. Unfortunately, many of us will not have the opportunity to go anywhere on vacation this summer of Covid-19.

Pastor Beryl had been hoping to take a vacation in August but instead, she spent this week on a study leave, attending online classes and writing papers, and will take an at-home vacation the next two weeks. Her contract is for half-time ministry, and yet she has been preparing pre-recorded services every week since the pandemic began. We will miss those services for the next couple of weeks, but we wish Beryl some well-earned rest and relaxation.

This Sunday, why not try out an online service from somewhere else in our Region or anywhere in Canada? With churches still closed across the country, there are a slew of virtual services to choose from.

Wyman United in Hudson and three other United churches are sharing worship over Zoom for the rest of the summer. This week’s service features Rev. Mark Hammond of Montreal West United and can be joined using this link: https://zoom.us/j/4939842064. You shouldn’t need a password but if asked for one it is 458.

Laurentian Area Ministries are also offering Zoom services every week in French (10:00) and English (10:30). Find out more on their page here.

St. James United in downtown Montreal streams live on Facebook Sunday at 11am.

Or,

Go to this interactive map from Nakonha:ka Regional Council for other suggestions.

Wherever you’re spending these dog days, I hope you get a chance to, as the prophet Nat King Cole sang:

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer!

Amy

UNE NOUVELLE ÉGLISE VIRTUELLE : L’ÉGLISE SAINTE-CLAIRE

Lancée pendant la période de la pandémie COVID-19, l’Église SainteClaire est quelque chose de complètement nouveau : une communauté

francophone d’exploration de la foi et de la spiritualité entièrement en ligne. Décrite comme « une paroisse francophone ouverte et inclusive sur Internet pour les gens de toutes origines, orientations et genres » et guidée par le pasteur Stéphane Vermette, le premier culte dans l’espace virtuelle a eu lieu le 24 mars 2020. Les cultes hebdomadaires sont offerts les dimanches soirs à 19 h 30 sur Zoom et sont diffusés simultanément sur Facebook Live ici.

Lire un article dans Aujourd’hui Credo ici.

A New Online Church: Église Sainte Claire

Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, Église SainteClaire is something completely new: a francophone worship community that will exist entirely online. Described as “an open and inclusive francophone church online for people of all origins, orientations and genders” and shepherded by Rev. Stéphane Vermette, the community held its first worship service on May 24, 2020. Worship services are offered weekly on Sunday evenings at 7:30 pm on Zoom and live-streamed to Facebook here.

Read a story (in French) in Aujourd’hui Credo here

Rendez-vous reimagined

Like so much else this year, Rendez-vous has gone online.

Rendez-vous, a Mission & Service supported event,  brings together youth (entering grade 9 and up to any age), young adults, and their leaders from across the country (and beyond!) for a celebration of vibrant music, inspiring speakers, and dancing like there is no tomorrow. It was to have taken place in Calgary this August. Now, it is being reimagined. The following is from the UCC Rendez-vous website:

Rendez-vous 2020 will be going ahead 11-14 August 2020 – just in a different way.

2020 is turning out to be a year of the unexpected and that means Rendez-vous 2020 will be a Rendez-vous unlike any other. Due to the ongoing health crisis, we won’t be able to hold a large gathering in Calgary this summer. It’s up to us to dream together what it means to be a community of faith, even if we can’t all be in the same (physical) space.

Through real-time online events, recordings, and DIY workshop kits, we will celebrate bold faith, brave space and brazen grace. Here’s what you can expect:

• Inspiring speakers, powerful worship and singing your favorite songs

• Fun, engaging and interactive workshops and activities

• New friends from across the country and around the world

• Awesome t-shirts (yep, it will be a Rendez-vous to remember!)

A Pastoral Message from our Regional Council President, Rev. Linda Buchanan

June 19, 2020

Greetings siblings in Christ,

God is with us in the struggle. I believe that God is calling us to move forward, even though we are surrounded by so many uncertainties, to infuse God’s love into this ever-changing world. We as Communities of Faith, as followers of The Way taught by Jesus of Nazareth have an important role to fill during this strange time. That role is simple, be love; show compassion, act justly, and walk humbly with each other, with our neighbours and strangers, and with Creator. How we put this into practice is a whole lot different than our ‘church habits’ of the past. We can no longer rely on our past practices; we are being forced away from ‘the way we’ve always done it.’ I pray that we will all seize this opportunity to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit along The Way.

I truly believe that you have done well over the past few months. You have risen to the challenge, remaining faithful even in difficult circumstances. I have also been moved by the response of so many humans, to care for the vulnerable, to gather hearts in prayer, to journey with those who are struggling, and even to begin to make changes because of the witness of oppressed peoples. There is still much work to be done, and I trust that Communities of Faith will embrace the new challenges with the same creativity, openness and courage.

The task before you will not be easy. It will take intentionality, attention to detail, and openness to change, but I trust that if love is our guide we will find joy in the struggle, together as community. We, the Regional Council Covid19 Task Group, have prepared a way to help guide you in this difficult task. These are our recommendations, based on the latest information available from health and science, from the Quebec Government, and from General Council. Our recommendations come from study and expertise, in the hope that we can enable the opening of our building in a legal and in a safe way. At this time, we do not know the full implications of not following through on the intentional process of planning and recording our plans. For this reason, I hope you see these instructions as a help and not a burden. We, the Regional Council Covid19 Task Group, want to help enable the opening of your building, and using the prepared forms will enable our helping, and guide your planning. I trust that the Holy Spirit will amplify all of our efforts, as we open our building for the building of community once again.

I will try to give you a snapshot of these recommendations, to help you in working with the checklist. We are currently in Phase 0, and will be legally in Phase 0 until June 22nd. There is Phase 0 work to complete before Phase 1 can begin. On June 22nd it will be legal to begin Phase 1, however, we are recommending that you have your Phase 1 Plan prepared and submitted before beginning Phase 1 in your building. Phase 1 does not allow for worship in the building, but is a time to start holding small group meetings and enabling renters to return safely. Phase 1 does allow for outdoor worship of no more than 50 people who are physically distant and wearing masks is suggested. We recommend that you experience Phase 1 for a little while before beginning Phase 2, and that Phase 2 begin no sooner than Labour Day. The Regional Council Covid19 Task Group will also need your Phase 2 plan before you begin implementation. Know that we are here to enable you and not to get in the way of your ministry to your community.

We have an amazing staff that supports the work of our Regional Council, and they continue to serve our communities of faith with deep compassion and hope. We also have creative and courageous ministers all throughout our Regional Council, who are working hard to adapt while being present to their community. We also have passion-filled lay-leaders within our Communities of Faith, who continue to shine the light of Christ while doing the work of the church. Thank you all for your service in ‘God’s Dream’ (Desmond Tutu).

As I write this, I am praying for you. I pray that Creator will reveal God’s self to you as you act as a responsible co-creator in this world. I pray that you will shine the light of Christ through your actions of justice and compassion. And I pray, that your will be inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit, Breath of Life, giving you the courage to act in wisdom.

You are not alone beloved children of God, and you have been called for such a time as this.

Rev. Linda Buchanan
President
Conseil régional Nakonha:ka Regional Council
on behalf of the Regional Council Covid19 Task Group