Rest in Peace, Rise in Glory

[The following text is from a Blog called Progressive Christian Reflections, published every Wednesday online by Author and Minister Chris Glaser]

WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2020

If anyone deserves to rest in peace and rise in glory, it is our Congressman, Representative John Robert Lewis.

He fought the good fight, he kept the faith, he got into “good trouble,” he served his Lord and his country well.

A few days before he died last week, I wrote on Facebook that in every encounter Wade and I had with him, he made us feel as if he were there to see us! And he really saw us, engaged with us, wanted to know “how are you doin’?” He didn’t look around to see if there was someone else to greet. He was solidly there, pleased to listen.

I put this on Facebook because we had just been moved watching the documentary, John Lewis: Good Trouble.

Wade was so charmed by him that he on two occasions invited him to our home for dinner. And Congressman Lewis said yes, he’d love to come. I felt like the centurion who said to Jesus, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you.” Lewis was a Civil Rights Movement icon and I did not feel worthy. Our place is small and modest. What would we serve? Whom invite? Should it be a campaign fundraiser? We did not pursue it because of my reservations.

I am grateful Rep. Lewis lived to see the latest incarnation and proliferation of the Civil Rights Movement: Black Lives Matter. He seemed to share my view that all movements are led by subsequent generations. Younger people see things and know things and feel things that us older folk may miss.

Please permit an aside. I don’t like the facile categories and generalizations applied to different generations. I think they are a weak media invention and new occasions for prejudice. This week a columnist described being called to task as a “Baby Boomer” who had dreamed of a new and better world in the 60’s, “Okay, Boomer, why didn’t you finish the job?”

The truth of the matter is that all the activists I knew and worked with in the 60’s and 70’s and beyond have never stopped working for a better world. Many problems cannot be “fixed” in a single generation.

Ironically, the LGBTQIA Movement of which I have been part nearly DID “finish our job,” accomplishing more goals than I ever thought possible in my lifetime. That’s why we now have the luxury, opportunity, and responsibility of “intersectionality,” better understanding and expressing and addressing the relationship of all peace and justice and equality issues.

I was deeply touched by an outstanding LGBTQIA activist writing that my first book helped him realize that “I was possible.”  That is why I am so beholden to the Civil Rights Movement: it helped me realize that “I was possible.”

I doubt I have ever had the courage of John Lewis, willing to non-violently endure a fractured skull on the Edmund Pettus bridge. But I am glad I got to touch, as it were, “the hem of his garment.”

photo: The coffin of John Lewis is borne by horse and carriage over the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama. (Getty Images)

SouthWest Worship Service for August 2, 2020

Pastor Beryl is back from vacation, so her pre-recorded service, with Sarah at piano, will be available to watch below as of Sunday morning. There will be communion this week, so please have some bread or a cracker and juice or water at the ready, as well as your candle and matches.

Order of Service August 2, 2020

You can download the bulletin and a communion insert for this Sunday below.

Holy Communion

The Lord be with you, and also with you
Lift up your hearts, we lift them up to the Lord
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God, it is right to give God thanks and praise

Holy are you God for your mercy is endless.  You have filled all creation with light and life and your glory stretches throughout the heavens.

And we say together
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might
Heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosanna in the highest
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest

Your Spirit calls us now, where we are, to gather all people into our celebration and in remembrance of Jesus life we say together Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again

Send O God your Holy Spirit upon us and what we do here that we and these gifts, touched by your Spirit, may be signs of life and love to one another and to the world

And we say together -Through Christ, with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all Glory is yours God most holy - now and forever

At this table, bread is broken and wine is poured as we remember not only the promise but also the price Jesus paid for who he was, for what he did and said and for the world’s brokenness.  We taste the mystery of God’s great love for us and are renewed in faith and hope.

Blessing the Elements
The bread of our being loved and the wine of our joy stand as reminders that miracles in faith and risk continue to happen.  In thanksgiving and remembrance, we ask you to bless this bread and this wine so that, in sharing them together, we shall be your people. 

Sharing the Elements
The bread of life we eat together
The cup of love we drink as one

Prayer after Communion
For the bread we have eaten, for the cup we have shared, for the life we have received, we thank you God. Grant that we may grow in love and understanding and that our lives may be lived in faith.  Amen

Prayers of the People follow

New Testament 101: Galatians

From the very beginning of this letter to the churches in the region of Galatia (in central Asia Minor), Paul makes two things clear to his readers: he is a true apostle, and his message is the only one true message (1:10).  These statements were very important because some people claimed that Paul was a false prophet apostle with a false message.

Paul was indeed a true apostle, and his mission to the Gentiles was given to him by the Lord and approved by the apostles in Jerusalem (1: 18-2:10).  Paul had even corrected the apostle Peter when he had stopped eating with Gentile followers who were not obeying the Law of Moses (2: 1-18).

Faith is the only way to be saved.  Paul insists that this was true already for Abraham, who had received God’s promise by faith.  And Paul leaves no doubt about what his own faith means to him:

          I have been nailed to the cross with Christ.  I have died, but Christ lives in me.
          And now I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me.

A Quick Look at This Letter:

A True Apostle and the True Message (1: 1-10)
Good Chose Paul To Be an Apostle (1: 11-24)
Paul Defends His Message (2: 1-21)
Faith Is the Only Way to Be Saved (3: 1-4. 31)
Guided by the Spirit and Love (5: 1-6)
Final Warnings (6: 11-18)

Beryl

Galatia was located in modern-day Turkey.

Remembering August 1: End of Slavery in Canada

[This content is from the United Church of Canada E-ssentials newsletter]

August 1, 1834 is the day the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect, ending slavery throughout most of the British Empire - including in the colonies that would become Canada. It is estimated that on that day, 800,000 enslaved Black peoples were freed, as it became illegal for anyone to be a slave in the British Empire.

There is a grassroots movement happening in the United Church and beyond to proclaim August 1 as one way to support the fair treatment of all humans and affirm that all persons are made in the image of God. The commemoration of August 1 reminds us that the fight against systemic and anti-Black racism is far from over, and that we need to continue the work for the creation of a more just society. It is one way to continue the work of becoming an anti-racist church.

Join with people across the church in remembering August 1 and use the day to further the honest dialogue about the deconstructing of racism in our country. You are invited to join in a “silent witness” activity by wearing a T-shirt commemorating the end of slavery in Canada on August 1. There are two T-shirt designs available on the United against Racism website that can be iron-transferred onto T-shirts. There are also a number of blog posts to read on the United Against Racism website.

Joint Service Sunday July 26th

Once again we invite you to join the service being offered jointly by four churches, or actually five churches because SouthWest will be participating this Sunday. Watch for Beryl to take the lead part in the Call to worship.

The service begins at 10:30. The Zoom link is the same as last week (click below).

The service bulletin is also attached below.

Clemenceau Capers

As so many of you have not been near the church for months, I thought it might be fun to do a little catch-up of what has changed, inside and out.

First of all, in June, the borough turned several residential blocks into “family streets” (rues familiales) for the summer. The block of Clemenceau between Ouimet and Churchill is one of them. It’s similar to when there’s construction and they say “local circulation only,” except here the reason is not construction but playtime! The priority is shifted from drivers to walkers, cyclists, and kids playing in the street. Colourful shapes have been painted on the road surface down towards the school.

You can still park on the block, but you should use another street if you’re just passing through. There are 13 such blocks designated in Verdun, and it’s just for the summer months.

Things are looking a little different inside the church too, where we are gradually getting ready for people to return. Access for churchgoers will be only through the main door, not the side door, and once you’re in, you will go straight ahead to enter the sanctuary at the back. Access to the washrooms will be down the back stairs from the sanctuary. There is no access to the hall otherwise.

Obviously we’ll have to spread out in the pews. Another thing that will be different is that hymn books and bibles will be gone as they could potentially transfer the virus.

Here are a few pictures of the work in progress. (Click on an image to go to the next one.)

New Testament 101: Second Corinthians

In the beginning of this letter, Paul answers the concerns of the Christians in Corinth who accused him of not living up to his promise to visit them.  Paul had changed his mind for a good reason.  He had stayed along from Corinth so that he would not seem to be too hard and demanding (1: 23).  He also wanted to see if they would follow his instructions about forgiving and comforting people who had sinned (2: 5-11).

Paul reminds the Corinthians that God is generous and wants them to be just as generous in their giving to help God’s people in Jerusalem and Judea (8: 1-5, 15).

Paul is a servant of God’s new agreement (3: 1-7).  He is faithful in trying to bring people to God, even if it means terrible suffering for himself (4: 1-6, 13 and 10: 1-12).

And, what has God done to make it possible for us to come to him?

God has done it all!  He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others.  What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world.  And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace. (5: 18, 19).

A Quick Look at This Letter

Paul Gives Thanks to God (1: 1-11)
The Work of an Apostle for God’s People (1: 12-2: 17)
Guided by the Love of Christ (3:1-7, 16)
Gifts for the Poor (8:1-9, 15)
Paul is a True Apostle (10: 1-13, 10)
Final Greetings (13: 11-13)

Beryl

Quickening  by Bob Holmes

When your heart opens
like petals embracing the light,
and the chirping of birds
kisses your ears.

When the mist rises
and the winds quieten,
There in the stillness
as the dawn cradles your soul,
stirring you
to walk in dew-laden fields,

There I will greet you
in the center of your being,
to awaken you,
and to walk with you
in the splendor of light
that has always been your home.

How to Zoom

Did anyone join the Zoom service from Montreal West United last Sunday? We have been formally invited to join and Pastor Beryl may participate in future services.

If you haven’t used Zoom before the instructions below may be helpful (Thank you, Deborah Beattie). As mentioned last week this is a joint service among Wyman United, Montreal West, Mount Royal, and Trinity-Anjou.

FOR COMPUTER (or computer video and telephone audio)

Click the following this link. A page should open in your browser. If you have not used Zoom before, it will tell you that it is going to download. Your browser will probably ask you to give it permission – run, save or cancel. Select RUN. Your computer will then install the Zoom app, and you will be brought to the meeting. It will ask you about audio. If you have a webcam, then the easiest is to say that you are going to “Join with Computer Audio”. If you don’t have a webcam, then you may choose “Phone Call” from the pop-up box. Use the 438 number that comes up, and follow the instructions for telephone (as above) except now you have a partipant ID number that is shown on the screen. And.... now you are in the meeting. Maximize Zoom to fill your screen, but don't use “full screen”. Oh - enable your video if you have a webcam! Finally, at the bottom of the screen there is a “Chat” icon. Click on it to open a typed chat column on the right-hand side of your screen.

THIS BECOMES VERY EASY THE SECOND TIME!I

Virtual Visiting

Feeling sad that I won't be getting to Nova Scotia this summer, I decided to virtually visit a church there. I watched this service led by the dynamic Rev. Dr. Mary Taylor at St. Paul United in Westville.
Where do you wish you were visiting this summer? While Pastor Beryl is on holiday, why not see if there's a local United Church offering streaming services?
(If you watch this video, from last Sunday, you can skip about the first ten minutes which is just the congregation "socializing" as they join the Zoom call).

As mentioned last week, Nakonha:ka Regional Council has an interactive map where you can find links to services all across Canada.