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Rocks, Trees, Skies, Seas

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If you attended the May 22nd service, you heard Sarah introduce a character with the extraordinary name of Maltbie Davenport Babcock.

For those who missed it, Babcock was a noted minister and author of the 19th century. Born in 1858 in Syracuse, New York, he received his degree in theology in 1882. He was described by contemporaries as having "an unusually brilliant intellect and stirring oratorical powers that commanded admiration, [and] won for him a foremost place among the favorites of his denomination".

While pastoring at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland, he was acclaimed for his oratory and use of colorful metaphors in his sermons. He also led a fund-raising effort to assist Jewish refugees from Russia who were victims of an anti-Jewish pogrom in the 1880s. Babcock was honored by a Doctor of Divinity degree from Syracuse University in 1896. (Source: Wikipedia)

Throughout his life, Babcock would go out for walks in nature, telling his wife he was "going out to see the Father's world" – and now we come to the reason his name came up during the SouthWest service. Babcock wrote several poems and hymns, which were only published after his death. The most well-known is titled, This is My Father’s World.  

In the present day United church, we know it under a slightly different title, This is God’s Wondrous World. Otherwise, the words, full of images of the natural world, are the same. Sarah submitted that there was nothing wrong with the original first line and proceeded to lead the choir and congregation in singing them as Maltbie Davenport Babcock intended!

 

This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world; I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas
His hand the wonders wrought.

 

This is my Father’s world; The birds their carols raise;
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world; He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world; O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world: why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

 

Incidentally, these original lyrics appear in the old Crawford Park hymnary which we mentioned two weeks ago.
Maltbie Davenport Babcock died in Naples in 1901 at only 42 years of age. He was returning from the Holy Land where it seems he had contracted a bacterial infection.

 

Planting Seeds as a Spiritual Experience

This past Monday, May 24th, was not only Victoria Day but also the traditional day to start the summer garden.  This year, I am planting a Three Sisters Garden.

So, who are the Three Sisters?  The crops of corn, beans, and squash are known as the Three Sisters. For centuries these three crops have been the center of Native American agriculture and culinary traditions. It is for good reason as these three crops complement each other in the garden as well as nutritionally.

Corn provides tall stalks for the beans to climb so that they are not out-competed by sprawling squash vines. Beans provide nitrogen to fertilize the soil while also stabilizing the tall corn during heavy winds. Beans are nitrogen-fixers meaning they host rhizobia on their roots that can take nitrogen, a much-needed plant nutrient, from the air and convert it into forms that can be absorbed by plant roots. The large leaves of squash plants shade the ground which helps retain soil moisture and prevent weeds.

 

These three crops are also at the center of culinary traditions and complement one another as well. A diet of corn, beans, and squash is complete and balanced. Corn provides carbohydrates and the dried beans are rich in protein and have amino acids absent from corn. Squash provides different vitamins and minerals than corn and beans. These three crops are also important because they can all be dried and used for food year-round. These traits are less important today, but were important in the past which led to their significance as the major cultivated foods.

The tradition of calling these crops the "Three Sisters" originated with the Haudenosaunee, pronounced Ho-deh-no-shaw-nee. Also known as the Iroquois, Haudenosaunee occupy the regions around the Great Lakes in the Northeastern United States and Canada. All three types of seeds are planted together in the same mound in the Haudenasaunee planting method. The elevated mound assists with drainage and avoids water logging of the plant roots which is important in this region that receives abundant rainfall in the summer.

So, why would I do this?  Well, the convoluted answer would be: I know full well that any yield of corn, beans of squash will be quickly picked over by the ever-present families of squirrels, (grey, black red), the chipmunks and of course the shy rabbit family, who competes nightly against the fat and lazy racoons of the area, not to mention my generational and extended crow families who I am sure love fresh corn. 

The simple answer is, as mentioned, for me planting is a spiritual experience and in the Three Sisters, I see The Trinity, The One in Three, The Father, Son and Spirit.  The basis of our united Christian belief: God eternally exists as Father, Son and Spirit.

This is Holy mystery, and no one fully understands this but when we say these things, we mean that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, but they are not three gods but only one God. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, the Spirit is not the Father, but each is God individually and yet they are together the one true God of the Bible.

So, I plant The Three Sisters, seeing therein the Three in one.  There is no division, no hierarchy, but a sharing of power for each seed supports and needs the others to thrive and grow into their true potential.

And so, it is with us.  We too must depend upon Father, Son and Spirit in our lives to live out the life-giving persons we were created to be.  Growing in love, and nourishing our brothers and sisters as we journey through our own life circle.

Happy gardening, whatever you choose to plant.

I will keep you posted on the progress of my Trinity.

In Peace

Pastor Beryl, DLM

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Last Church Standing

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Pastor Beryl will be officiating at a wedding this Saturday, but this is her week “off” and the Sunday service will be lay-led. Instead of her usual word in the newsletter, I am sharing the text composed for our Mission Support grant. It lays out SouthWest’s current situation in a pretty stark way.
Our Mission statement was crafted some years ago when we still had SouthWest Mission. I believe the sense of community it talks about it still alive and well at SouthWest United; what we lack is resources.

The grant application asks that we provide the following:

-the context in which your ministry is situated

-why you are applying for a grant

- how long you anticipate needing such a grant

- a financial plan for decreasing the grant

- effect on the ministry if request is not granted

- if your application is successful, how your organization will recognize the financial support provided by The United Church of Canada within your organization and the broader community

 

I hope, in reading the text below, you will find that we have addressed all of these points.

-Amy

 

Mission statement:

At SouthWest, our sense of community is inspired by our Christian faith. We partner with individuals and organizations to address issues like food security, poverty, education and wellness. Our programs and activities encourage and inspire all of us to realize our potential as uniquely gifted individuals in our families and neighbourhoods. 

 

Our Context
SouthWest United Church is the last remaining English United Church in Verdun. The only other UCC congregation located in the borough is the Montreal Korean United Church. As we are located at the western edge of Verdun, a portion of our membership has always come from LaSalle, another community with no remaining United Church. There are no United Churches left in all of the South-west borough either, apart from Centenary United, a congregation which no longer has a building of its own.

In 2007, when Crawford Park United and Verdun United churches amalgamated to create SouthWest Pastoral Charge, the VUC church was sold and we were able to invest a tidy sum. It is due to having that principal to draw on that SouthWest United has been able to continue its ministry into 2022. Even in the first year, SouthWest never raised enough in offerings to cover salaries and upkeep of the building.

For twelve years (2007-2019) we had our office in, and ran SouthWest Mission out of, Verdun Elementary School. We were instrumental in starting the Breakfast Club program which continues to this day and which we still support. The Mission also established a clothing room where students could find whatever they needed, from a pair of socks to a clean shirt to snowpants or boots. Over the years, the Mission’s services expanded to provide meals and food programs to the entire community, and became a gathering place for many groups. We received occasional grants from the United Church and other sources to help run these programs, but the existence of the Mission always depended on funding from the church.

By 2018 the writing was on the wall and we were looking at various cost-cutting measures. The 3 possibilites as we saw it were: to cut salaries, to close the Mission, and to sell the church property. We realized at the time that all three would be necessary eventually. In 2019, we cut our full-time minister (David Lefneski) to half time. As a result, he had little time to devote to the Mission; soon afterward the decision was taken to close the Mission, which was costing us $1100 a month in rent alone. Our office was moved into the SouthWest church building at 1445 Clemenceau. We also had a change of leadership at that time, going from a part-time Ordained Minister to a part-time Designated Lay Minister. This was more of a happy accident than a cost-saving move, as Pastor Beryl Barraclough was our first choice anyway when Rev. David left.

In the fall of 2019, even with reduced energy and resources, our congregation was enthusiastic about starting new projects: a Sunday school, bingo, a concert series… but then of course Covid happened. For the two years - and counting - of the pandemic, we have managed to continue worshipping, whether in person or online, but our ability to reach out into the community has been severely limited. Covid prevented us from holding an Annual Congregational meeting in 2020 or 2021 (our core people are elderly and many would have been incapable of attending an online meeting). Various federal programs helped us in 2020 and 2021, but we were still obliged to draw on our investments in those two years. Had we been able to meet two years ago, we would probably have held a vote then on selling the property. As it is, we voted on May 1st at our first congregational meeting in three years, and the following motion was adopted: “that the Board of Trustees make arrangements to share or sell the church property to generate funds to continue the ministry of this church in the South West sector of Montreal."


Reason for Application
Ours is an aging congregation which finds itself land rich and cash poor. On paper, we have assets of about 1.3 million dollars. Our bank account tells a different story. We anticipate not being able to meet our payroll by sometime in the fall of this year.

It is because our available funds have dwindled to almost nothing that we are applying for Mission Support at this time. Our monthly income in 2021, including offerings and rents received, stood at about $3250. Our monthly expenses, on the other hand, ran to about $9000. We are examining all our options, including selling the property, but we anticipate needing funds before any sale can go through. That is why we are turning to you at this time, in the hope that you can help us bridge the gap to the next phase of the life of our congregation.

At this point we have tightened our belts so much that we can barely take care of our own pastoral care list, let alone look for new pastoral relationships. If the financial pressure were taken off for a couple of years we might even be able to think about ways to rejuvenate our ministry in this part of the world. As mentioned, we now have a mandate from the congregation to sell the building if necessary. With your help, we hope that might not be necessary for several years.


Time frame
We would hopefully only need Mission Support for two or three years.

Plan for Decreasing the Grant
In the short term, and if Covid will allow, we are eager to look for new community partnerships in the form of local organizations wanting to rent our space. Although we have a small office in the building now, the pandemic has taught us that both our minister and our office coordinator can work from home 90% of the time. At a time when there is a shortage of real estate either for purchase or rental, we have a building that is practically unused six days of the week. We have spoken to our local borough council and they are aware of the plight of SouthWest United and eager to help facilitate partnerships. We believe that if Regional Council would agree to make up the difference between our current income and expenses for one year, we could increase our income significantly through rentals and require less help the following year.

It is difficult to imagine how we could make up the whole difference through rentals alone however. In recent years, pre-pandemic, we were drawing $50000 from our investments each year. That amount was decreased in 2020 and 2021 because of government support to businesses during Covid.

We do not have an infinite number of options to improve our financial picture, but we are looking at all of them. One possibility is asking the city to divide our lot in two in order that we might sell the manse and keep the church afloat for some years on that revenue. Another of course is to sell the whole property as is and to find rental space to continue our ministry elsewhere. Our church attendance is not high, but we have become a family, with relationships in some cases going back 60 years or more.

Effect of not receiving support
Unfortunately, not having been able to meet since 2019, we are coming to you at a point where things have already become quite desperate. Without Mission Support, we fear we might have to disband as a congregation because we can no longer pay the bills.

Recognition

Despite its small size, SouthWest United has a significant online presence. Our professionally designed website, at southwestunited.net, has a Blog with new content posted every week. Likewise, our Facebook page, with over 400 followers, features new content at least weekly. Our Friday newsletter goes out by email to 244 people every week, and the same list receives our pre-recorded services every Sunday. Since Covid, we have a presence on YouTube as we post all of our services there.

If we receive Mission Support, all of these platforms could be employed to recognize and express our gratitude to the United Church of Canada. We are producing fewer written materials than in the past, but certainly bulletins, paper newsletters and letterhead could all feature acknowledgements of this funding.

We sincerely hope that Conseil regional Nakonha:ka Regional Council will see the value in keeping a United Church presence in the South-west sector of Montreal. Whether in our current building or not, the SouthWest United community hopes to be that presence for years to come.

 

 

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70 Years of Song

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You may recall that the church building in which we still worship was built in two stages: the first floor was completed and the cornerstone laid in 1947. The congregation worshipped in what is now the church hall for five years until the money could be raised and the work completed on the second level, which is now our sanctuary, in 1952.

Elsewhere in this Blog, I shared a letter from Rev. John C. Downing to the congregation on the occasion of the dedication of the “superstructure” of Crawford Park United Church in 1952, which happens to be 70 years ago.

Several services and events marked that proud event, and the bulletin reproduced below shows the order of service for the Friday evening service, on November 7th, and the Sunday morning Remembrance service on November 9th, 1952, both of which Rev. Downing referred to in his aforementioned letter. (Text continues below)

Rev. Downing led worship on the Sunday morning, but the Friday service was led by Rev. H.B. Campbell, D.D. The internet tells me that Rev. Harvey Binkley Campbell was at that time the Minister at Westmount Park-Emmanuel church. Perhaps he was at Crawford Park representing Presbytery for this service of Dedication.

H.B Campbell was born in 1891 in Wentworth County north of Hamilton Ontario, and served as a Gunner in the First World War. He met Grace MacLennan Grant when they were classmates at Queen’s University in Kingston. They married in 1919 and Grace Campbell went on to become a distinguished Canadian author. Rev. Campbell earned his Doctor of Divinty from the United Theological College in Montreal. The couple had three sons, two of whom were killed in action in World War II. Over the course of his career, Rev. Campbell served congregations in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. He passed away in 1976.

If you look at the hymns chosen for the services in the bulletin above, you will notice they have mysterious names like “Morecombe” and “Maryton”. As I understand it, these names are a way of identifying tunes which may be used for several different texts. They are still indexed at the back of our current hymnbook. We are lucky enough to still have a copy of the 1930 United Church Hymnary which I believe is the book being referenced in the bulletin.
Hymn number 157, or “Morecombe” in the old hymnal, is titled The Holy Spirit, but it is essentially the hymn we call Spirit of God, Descend Upon my Heart (VU 378). The Processional Hymn is an oldie! It is based on the Scottish Psalter of 1650, and begins,

Ye gates, lift up your heads on high;
Ye doors that last for aye,
Be lifted up that so the King of Glory enter may.

With a bit of sleuthing, we could reconstruct a good part of those services, though I guess the sermons are lost to the sands of time.

Amy

A Morning Meditation

A Morning Meditation: Taken from A Heart Prayer by Joyce Rupp


In these times of uncertainty and stress, I have found great peace in ritual.  As defined by Wikipedia, “a ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community.”  Be it meditation, daily prayer, yoga or even just walking, repetition of any sort can help bring order to the unknown. 

I have long followed the writings of women who dedicate their lives to justice and order and one such woman is Joyce Rupp, (see below).

This week, I would like to share with you a morning ritual, based on Scripture and prayer, which I have found particularly calming.  There is a verse for each day of the week, however, you may choose any or all of the verses as they speak to you.  I hope you enjoy them.

 

1. Jer 29:11-13

For surely I know the plans I have in mind for you, says God, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then, when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says God…

     O God, we seek you with all our heart. The longing for you is planted
     deep within our hearts. Hear our cry for you. Help us to welcome you
     in all of life.  Amen


2. Ps 112:7-8

They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in God.
Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid.

     We place our trust in you, Loving Companion, for you are here
     in the most difficult of times. We praise and thank you for the gift
     of your compassionate love, which encourages and strengthens us. Amen


3. Philomen 1:7

I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you…

     Thank you, Heart of Love, for those people who have come into
     our lives and refreshed us, for all those people who have given us
     new hope on our journey, especially in our weary moments. Amen


4. Ez 11:9

I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh….

     Forgive us, Merciful One, for those times when our hearts were
     hard and unwilling to forgive or to offer understanding. Forgive
     us for our impatience with our own growth or with that of others. Amen


5. Mt 6:21

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

     Come into those corners of our hearts where we still have not
     discovered the treasure of you, God. Purify us of all the stuff
     that distracts us and fools us and gets us off course from our
     inner journey with you. Amen


6. Dt 6:5 (also, Mk 12:30)

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…

     Teach us what it means to love you with all our heart. Guide and
     direct us to make good decisions each day so that we will grow
     ever more fully in love with you, God. Amen


7. Jer24:7

I will give them a heart to know that I am their God…for they shall return to me with
their whole heart.

      How wonderful you are, God of love, to continually draw us into
     your embrace. You yearn for us to know you more fully. You call
     us to return to you with the fullness of our love. Receive our prayer
     this day which we offer to you with trust and with a deep desire to be
     more one with you. Amen


May these words be a source of light to start the day.

In peace

Pastor Beryl, DLM


Taken from: Out of the Ordinary (Ave Maria Press) 

Sister Joyce Rupp, O.S.M., is a Roman Catholic author and speaker. She is the co-director of The Institute of Compassionate Presence, a member of the Servite Order, and a volunteer for Hospice. Joyce has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, a Master of Arts degree in Transpersonal Psychology, and a Master of Religious Education degree. She lives in Des Moines, Iowa

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