THERE'S SOMETHING NOT QUITE RIGHT IN OUR FAIR LAND

I was on a radio phone-in show just after New Years and a caller asked me, "what is the average age of the people who come to get a meal?"  I responded that my guess was over half of them would be mid-50's and older.  Recently, I've come to question my own information...I think I was wrong.

I think that the predominant group represented at our community kitchen is single, young men who are any where between their teens and 45 years old.  Some of their other characteristics and traits are: (1) they are unemployed...at a time when there are hundreds of businesses crying for help, willing to pay $20 and hour; (2) they look like they are living rough...homeless, or surfing, or camping, or...just rough, ill-kempt, scruffy, etc.; (3) they are addicted and high a lot, especially around the end/beginning of the month when support cheques provide the dough to buy alcohol and drugs; (4) they have open sores and lesions on their face, or perhaps they are bruises and contusions...I'm pretty sure the marks are from meth use, but it could be fighting too, or getting so out of it they fall down without making an effort to catch themselves; (5) they are ill-educated, or act like it.

I can't figure out why this population segment is so over represented.  Who would choose to live the way they do? Very puzzled. PSM

 

DID YOU KNOW...NARD?

In last Sunday's worship service, Kristal read a story from scripture where the woman Mary anointed Jesus' feet with costly oil of nard and then wiped his feet with her hair.  Judas chastised Mary for the waste of money on the perfumed oil and Jesus defended her actions.

So, what's the big deal with nard?

Wikipedia informs us that "nard", also known as nardin and muskroot, is the short-form for spikenard.  Nard is an aromatic, amber-coloured essential oil extracted from a flowering plant of the valerian family (a relative of lavender).  It grows in the Himalayan regions of Nepal, China and India.  The oil has been used over centuries as a perfume, as a traditional medicine and in religious ceremonies from India to Europe.  For the well-to-do, nard was frequently used to perfume bodies prior to burial or cremation.

From this brief background, we can begin to understand its rarity and expensiveness in Mary's time.  The flowering plant that produces spikenard is found in a remote region of the world and grows only in altitudes between 9,800 - 16,400 feet.  The rhizomes (underground stems) of the pant are crushed and distilled to make the intensely aromatic oil, which would then be used to make perfume. 

In ancient times, nard was used as incense the Jerusalem Temple.  Mary's use of the nard to anoint Jesus' feet was truly a sacrificial gift of love and devotion.  It would have been difficult for her obtain, let alone afford, if our understanding of Mary's social situation is accurate.

Interestingly, nard was a favourite of King Henry VIII, who was known to use it to flavour his food and drink, and who wore it as a body perfume.  He gave it as a gift to his queens.

Now you know.

WE'VE NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD

A couple of weeks ago, I received an envelope from Sleeping Children Around the World.  It contained a photo of a young Indian girl, standing behind a bed kit laid out on the ground.  There was a small sign that contained Christmas wishes from a good friend who donated a bed kit in my name.  The sign also indicated that 2020 was SCAW's 50th birthday - in fifty years, the organization and its supporters have provided 1,721,373 bed kits to children around the world.

After supper last night, I looked more closely at the newsletter that came with my photo.  Tucked aside on the front page was a brief statement telling me "Every bed kit includes a mosquito net and in malaria hotspots a special, treated bed-net is provided.  Malaria claims the life of a child every two minutes".

That last statement made me want to dig a bit deeper; on the UNICEF website, I learned that malaria kills over 1 million people every year, the majority of whom are children under the age of 5.  This toll in lives is taken from all over the world, but most typically in regions where poverty, displacement and disaster are common. 

It makes me think.  As I do my best to comply with the orders and measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, I can't help but acknowledge the sheltered life I live.  I feel grateful and ashamed at the same time.  I'm grateful because I realize how lucky I am to live when and where I live.  I feel ashamed that I have been largely blind to my good fortune and that my focus has been so inward-looking and frankly, ignorant.

There are millions of people who already live under other conditions as threatening as this pandemic - things like HIV-Aids, malaria, hunger and violence.  I wonder how they will face this new  threat, without the resources at our command in the West.  I'm chastened that it has taken a threat to my own security to make me more aware of the threats endured by others.

I'll try and remember this when I am anxious or depressed by what I am experiencing today, when the worst in me is being brought to the surface: gratitude doesn't change what I have in front of me - it changes the way I see what I have.

Be well, stay safe friends.

Pat

Take This Away

Embracing gratitude in the face of adversity

 requires a heart open to grace.

~ ignatianspirituality.com ~

A Week of Gratitude

Saturday ~ reading and watching

Sunday ~ spring-like day +16C

Monday ~ unplugged downspout

Tuesday ~ I Will Come to You

Wednesday ~ stuffing and labelling

Thursday ~ the morning star

Friday ~ generosity

NEARLY MIRACULOUS!

I'm a believer in the Rule of Unintended Consequences.  I learned that rule mostly from the negative perspective, when plans and intentions have back-fired and left me scratching my head about how a good idea could have such a bad result.

And then, every now and again, there are outcomes that strike me as truly miraculous and I am reminded that the Rule of Unintended Consequences also has a beneficial side.

About a year ago, the Board of Directors of the Owen Sound Hunger and Relief Effort (OSHaRE) committed to a plan that would eventually see the operation move from its inaugural home in the basement of the Harmony Centre, to its current location at 946 - 3rd Avenue East.  The plan resulted in the building of a custom designed space in which to receive, process, store, cook and serve large quantities of food.  The new location has a state of the art kitchen, paid for by the local chapter of Kiwanis; it has a walk-in freezer, a walk-in fridge and a lot of storage space.  In short it has everything OSHaRE needed to serve a hot supper meal five days a week and a take-out lunch on Saturday.

Now for the miraculous part.

Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared on March 11, OSHaRE was deemed an essential service.  It quickly transitioned from its model of daily serving 80 to 100 hot suppers in a sit-down dinner setting, to a 100% take-out lunch and supper offering.  With the support of other community partners, corporate and individual donors, OSHaRE has transformed itself into a community hub that has prepared and provided an astounding 1652 take-out meals in the last seven days.

It seems that all the forethought and planning that went into the design of the new location has had the unintended consequence of providing the capacity to ramp up meal services needed during the pandemic.  No one ever planned for that eventuality and yet, here we are with a facility and program that is living into its mission: what we have, we will share.

Another miraculous element is the commitment and dedication of the people that make OSHaRE go: the staff of Colleen, Jeff and Diana are the heart of the operation.  And the dozens of volunteers and donors - they, are the soul.  Our community is the body.

We couldn't be better served if we had planned it this way.

Pat

SELF-MADE MAN?

For those of us who enjoy reading, it has been a good time to indulge in this previously guilty pleasure.  There's no significant constraint on how many hours I spend immersed in a good book, so I have doubled (at least) the amount of time I spend reading.

I just finished the third book of a trilogy by author Hilary Mantel; the title of the book is "The Mirror & the Light".  The chief character in the series is a real-life historical figure named Thomas Cromwell.  Cromwell's claim to fame is that he was the right-hand man of King Henry VIII...the king who could not find or keep love because of his desire for power.

My fascination with Thomas Cromwell is rooted in recognition that he was that most attractive of all people, a "self-made man."  Thomas was the son of a blacksmith,  a father whose gift to his son was such an abusive upbringing that Thomas ran away before he was a teenager.  Thomas did whatever he needed to do to stay alive - absolutely anything.  By the time he came to Henry VIII's notice, he was fluent in four languages and understood several more; he was a battle-tested soldier, a skilled orator, a shrewd negotiator, a lawyer, a mathematician, a theologian and above all else...he was a man who appreciated power.  In many respects he was a mirror image of King Henry, with the exception of being of low birth - a fact of which he was constantly reminded. 

Finishing the book earlier this week, I wondered if there is (or ever was) such a thing as a self-made person.  On reflection, I don't think so.  I am surrounded by evidence that my achievements, whether they be for the good or otherwise, are largely the result of good fortune and the gifts of others.  The long line of benefactors who have contributed to the making of "me" goes back to my ancestors and family, stretching forward through dozens of mentors, friends, patrons, teachers, sponsors and helpers.  And, I sense there are also non-human elements at play in making me who I am.

In present times, two of the phrases that I hear several times a day are: we are all in this together; and, we are not alone.  If these are true (as I understand them to be), how can there be such a thing as a self-made person?

It reminds me of a line from a Dr. Seuss book.  "I am you and you are me; put together, that makes we".

Pat

Take This Away

We read to know we are not alone.

~ C.S. Lewis ~

A Week of Gratitude

Saturday ~ lull in the storm

Sunday ~ beer cans & bottles in the ditch

Monday ~ fresh snow...again

Tuesday ~ accurate records

Wednesday ~ lunch & supper at OSHaRE

Thursday ~ getting the words & notes right...or not

Friday ~ relenting

SO, WHAT DOES A PASTORAL SIZED CHURCH LOOK LIKE?

Several of you have approached me since the completion of our annual meeting, to ask me for more details about our intention to transition from a program-sized church to a pastoral-sized church.  I know that in trying to explain that concept, I have not been able to give a clear answer to your questions; one reason for my uncertainty is straightforward: I don't know.  The second, more challenging reason is that the pastoral-sized church we transition to will be was we make of it...God being our helper.

It's not that I don't have my own ideas about what we might do in the transition.  I have lots of ideas - some are practical, others are pie-in-the-sky, some you would agree with, others would turn you off.  I'm willing to share some of them with you on the basis that you think and share some of your ideas with me and with others.

My thoughts for First United as pastoral-sized church include:

+ a faith community that lives out its vision in practical ways, all week long, not just on Sunday morning.  That means each of us being open and welcoming, even when that's not our comfort zone.

+ having a sense of ourselves as a big, extended family.  We would know each other and when we didn't, we'd make an effort to do so.

+ we would act like we have a personal stake in our faith community...sharing the load of leadership and also being good followers or, perhaps a more accurate word would be "disciples".

+ we would work closely with our minister to make certain our church life is rich and rewarding.

+ we would do the small things that count in a family: eating together, sitting and singing together in church, offering help, paying attention to who is present and who isn't, taking action to find out why.

+ be forgiving of each other, being generous, merciful and compassionate...even when it's a struggle.

When I read those ideas, I think to myself, "that ought to be easy enough".  I wish that were so - but, I think we will have to help and support each other as we move through the months ahead. 

That's okay though, that's what families do.

Pat

Take  This Away

You only have to turn your ship a few degrees

 to end up on a completely different shore.

~ Economist, Feb 14 2020 ~

A Week of Gratitude

Saturday ~ basking in the sun

Sunday ~ generous donors

Monday ~ Family Day

Tuesday ~ safe journey

Wednesday ~ serving at OSHaRE

Thursday ~ cold, crisp weather

Friday ~ a prayer before work from Rev. Paul Ivany

I WONDER....

NEW YEAR, NEW DECADE

When I left the car auction ten days ago, I was wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  A car dealer, the fellow I know as Sam who hails from Somalia, responded with a smile and said to me, "Happy New Decade!"  It stopped me in my tracks as I realized the truth of his salutation...which I have shamelessly used a dozen times since he offered it. Twenty-twenty... it really rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

As the last days of the year unfold, I find myself drawn to an annual exercise is crystal ball gazing.  I survey several different news feeds on the web and pour over the year-end edition of the Economist; everywhere I look, I see one central theme: uncertainty.  The twenty-tens are closing in a haze of ambiguity.  Across Canada and around the world, I'm confronted with unresolved situations in every sphere of endeavour: international trade; the rule of law; social justice; climate change; national politics; world and regional economics...you name it.  The dominant characteristic is uncertainty. 

One pundit wrote: "Uncertainty is the enemy of progress; if uncertainty becomes sustained, it devolves into fear.  Fear is an emotion powerful enough to pull everything and anything down with it".  Whoa - just wait a minute!  That's a long leap from uncertainty to collapse.

I have always believed that times of uncertainty, distressing as they might be, are times of opportunity.  Uncertainty and change arrive on our doorstep like evil twins.  They disrupt our steady state, they challenge our expectations, they loosen the cement that holds our foundations firm.  Uncertainty and change also force us to look at how and why we do things, with the follow-on step of doing things differently and ultimately, doing new, different things.

And so, approaching a new year and new decade, I'm more excited about the opportunity than I am concerned about the uncertainty.  As First United seeks a path for transition and renewal of its mission and ministry, I'm drawn to the question that challenges all of us in times of uncertainty: what would we do if we weren't afraid to fail? 

We could literally do anything together.  Let's ring the bell...together.

Pat...still

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

~ Leonard Cohen, Anthem, 1992 ~

ECUMENICAL CHAPLAIN MINISTRY AT UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH

I never went to university or college as a young adult.  Even if I had, I don't think my experience of it on Thursday would have been like it was 45 years ago.  Yesterday, I spent a few hours in the midst of about 22,000 students who go to the University of Guelph (or, as some people call it, Cow Poo U). 

There were young folks every where...some were heading out for the Christmas holidays, being picked up outside their dorms by parents and friends, suitcases and duffle bags in tow.  Others were in the student union building alongside a Starbucks, coffee in one hand, muffin in the other, staring at a text book or a lap top.  It was the next to last day of exams and there was a fair amount of cramming still going on.  I felt their pain.

I was at the Guelph campus to learn about the Ecumenical Campus Ministry (ECM) led by United Church minister Andrew Hyde.  He's a young-ish man, full-time chaplain to the university students and staff who seek to make a Christian faith connection on an otherwise secular campus.  His chaplaincy is funded by money provided by the Anglicans, the Presbyterians and the United Church of Canada; this is where some of our Mission & Service donations go, to support the pastoral care that he provides to students attending university in Guelph.

I had no understanding of his calling until yesterday's visit; it didn't take me long though, to appreciate the value of that ministry.  I frequently read of or listen to reports of the pressures that young adults deal with when they begin post-secondary education.  Many of them are away from home for the first time; most of them have significant academic workloads they have never experienced before.  The majority shoulder a significant financial burden to attend university - tens of thousands of dollars of student debt is common.  The pressure to achieve is immense.

It's not surprising that rates of anxiety and stress for university and college students is high and climbing.  It gave me confidence and hope that Andrew was able to provide spiritual care and a safe place for students who need some caring attention.  He told me that he frequently encounters students who have been desperately waiting three weeks for access to counselling services provided by the university.  For young adults whose faith community is far away, or for those who have no faith background but just need a listening ear and compassionate heart, his ministry is a life saver...literally.

I've never doubted the value of my giving to the Mission & Service Fund; it made me feel good to experience the positive impact of my gifts in the pastoral support provided to students by Andrew Hyde.

The purpose of the University of Guelph is "Improving Life".  Andrew Hyde and the Ecumenical Campus Ministry are doing that.

 Pat

Take This Thought Away With You

"When the Student is ready, the Teacher shall appear."

~ ancient proverb ~

A Week's Worth of Gratitude

Saturday ~ food drive at the hockey game

Sunday ~ the wonder of White Gift

Monday ~ Truth & Reconciliation

Tuesday ~ home in the snow

Wednesday ~ knights of the rectangular table

Thursday ~ Guelph Ecumenical Ministry

Friday ~ every day is a day of thanksgiving

I WONDER...?

Jesus was no dummy.  But I wonder if he could read and write?

When I searched Google, what I found wasn't convincing to me.  There's that passage from John 8 when Jesus intervenes to stop the stoning of the adulteress and utters his famous words, "whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her."  Just prior to that, the scripture says that he bent over and wrote in the sand with his finger.  As far as being able to read, there are several passages that refer to him reading passages from scrolls...but I wonder.

Jesus was known as rabbi - teacher - and we know without doubt he was a great one.  He was a supreme story teller with an amazing grasp of Hebrew scripture.  He was raised in that tradition and we know he was drawn to learning.  He knew how to connect people and their lives to God through imagery and the spoken word.  My guess is that most of his learning would have been listening to stories, lectures, discussions and debates; I doubt that he would have been allowed to handle the religious scrolls that made up the Tanakh (the Hebrew bible) - certainly not as a child, and by the time his ministry began, he wasn't exactly on the best of terms with the ruling order of priests and lawyers...those that controlled access to the scrolls.

For most of the people, the whole process of learning was based on oral communication (story telling).  To be a teacher, you didn't need to read or write.  More likely, a teacher trained to listen and memorize, then repeat to pass that information on to others.  Writing itself was a very specialized skill - those that could write were called scribes.  They earned their keep by writing or copying text, but they were seldom teachers.

So, what was Jesus writing in the sand as he contemplated a response to the Pharisees who brought the woman accused of adultery before him?  Maybe he wasn't writing but drawing, tracing out something that he had seen before.  Perhaps he wasn't writing but doodling to gain time in formulating his response.   

Think about that!

OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK - A MESSAGE FROM THE STEWARDSHIP & FINANCE COMMITTEE

Church attendance is important.  No doubt about it.  We need to remember though, why we worship together on a regular basis.  The next time you ask, "what was the attendance last Sunday?", here are 10 better questions to ask:

(by Karl Vaters, from his blog PIVOT on Christianity Today, October 22, 2019)

1.           Was Jesus the focus of our attention?

2.           Was the Bible taught well?

3.           Was hope offered to hurting people?

4.           Did anyone come to faith in Christ?

5.           Did church members love, serve and encourage each other?

6.           Were guests made to feel welcome?

7.           Is there more excitement about the future than longing for the past?

8.           Were any broken relationships healed?

9.           Are people more prepared to live for Jesus after having been here?

10.       Do people want to come back?

LEARNING BY IMAGINATION

I love to read.  If you wanted to cause me agony and distress, you would take my books away.  As I have aged, my taste in books has changed a bit; I am more open to reading about subjects that I find uncomfortable or that I disagree with.  I read more non-fiction than I used to, mostly due to the fact that I seem to have found a deeper store of patience with which to treat complex issues.  They say that's a sign of wisdom...I don't know about that.

My deepest love of literature remains fiction.  When an author offers up an imagined story, I am fascinated for many reasons.  There's nothing better than a gripping plot, mastery of words and characters that leap off the pages for their reality.  Whenever I start a book like that, I feel anticipation and joy; and, I think to myself, "you're not going to get much sleep tonight, Pat."

What draws me most to fiction is its power to teach, instruct and educate.  You might ask how can that be?  It's fiction, someone's imagination, all made-up and likely not "true".  I would tell you that you are wrong; just because the story is fictional doesn't mean there is no truth to it...just because it's imagined doesn't mean there's nothing to be learned.

I just finished reading Louise Penny's latest novel, "A Better Man."  Ms. Penny writes detective stories that are situated in Quebec.  On the surface, the themes are somewhat predictable and the cast of characters evolve only slightly from book to book; in that way, the stories are realistic - our lives are often routine in the extreme and as human beings, our characters evolve slowly, if at all.  But, in every one of her books, Louise Penny offers a chance to learn about human relationships and how we ought to live with others.  Her fiction contains real lessons.  Here are a couple that are worthy of sharing:

4 Statements that Lead to Wisdom

+  I was wrong.

+  I'm sorry.

+  I don't know.

+  I need help.

Three Questions to Consider Before Speaking

+  Is it true?

+  Is it kind?

+  Does it need to be said?

I have these lessons in front of me, posted on the wall beside my computer.  I spend too much time at my desk but, I redeem some of those hours, minutes and seconds by reflecting on wise words and lessons for life. 

Each of us learn in different ways; it doesn't matter how that comes about as long as you don't give up trying.

Pat

Take This Thought Away With You

"Things are strongest where they're broken."

~ Louise Penny, Bury Your Dead, 2010 ~

A Week's Worth of Gratitude

Saturday ~ Barb & Jim Neath

Sunday ~ good preaching

Monday ~ working with a good crew

Tuesday ~ early to bed

Wednesday ~ bowling...poorly, but with friends

Thursday ~ early flu shot

Friday ~ Clifford United Church

FAILURE, MY FRIEND

Last winter, soaking in a bathtub of steaming hot water, I read a book* by Buddhist nun and teacher Pema Chödrön.  The book is full of wise advice for leaning into the unknown.  She poses the question: "What do we do when life doesn't go the way we hoped?  We say, I'm a failure.' " 

I don't know anyone who is happy with failure; I'd do just about anything to avoid it.  I doubt that I will ever embrace failure as a positive force in life, but I'm being pushed that way.  Everywhere I have turned the last six weeks or so, I have been nudged to change my outlook on failure.  I'm encouraged to be "willing to fail, but unwilling to quit", and, "imagine what I might achieve if I knew that I couldn't fail." 

The problem with all of this is that failure can often result in a fear of trying again.  Fear is a powerful emotion that shapes everything it touches.  How do I get over that?  Pema Chödrön offers this story in her book*:

An older couple living in the country have two things that are precious to them: their horse and their son.

The reason the horse and the son are precious to them is because they need them to survive and farm the land and to tend to everything that needs to be done.  The horse does a lot of work, and the son does a lot of work.  They live in a small village, and their horse, this well trained stallion, runs away, so the wife and all the people in the village say, "OMG! This is definitely the worst thing that could happen.  This is terrible.  This is the worst thing."  The old man says, "Maybe yes, maybe no."

The very next day, the stallion returns with a mare.  That's why he ran away.  So he returns with a mare and now they have two horses.  And the wife and all the people in the village say, "Wow! This is the best thing that could have possibly happened.  This is such good fortune.  Now you have these two horses.  This is amazing!  This is so wonderful!"  And the old man says, "May yes, maybe no."

The next day, the son decides that he needs to tame the mare because she is a wild horse, and in trying to tame her, he gets thrown and breaks his leg.  You can imagine what the wife and the rest of the village said.  "Oy vey.  Why us? This is the worst thing that could happen.  This is a catastrophe."  And by now you know what the old man said: "Maybe yes, maybe no."

The next day, the army comes in and takes away all the young, able-bodied men to fight in the war.  The wife and the villagers really haven't gotten the message that I am trying to get through to you; they are still just blown around by outer circumstances.  When circumstance goes up, they are overjoyed.  When it goes down, they feel their life is over.  But the old man says, "Maybe yes, maybe no."

I need to be more like that old man.  Life brings us many things.  Whether they are good or bad isn't the point...it's just life and what we will make of it.

Pat

Take This Thought Away With You

"This moment is complete just as it is;

I'm complete just as I am;

things are whole and fine just as they are."

~ *Pema Chödrön, Fail - Fail Again - Fail Better,

Sounds True Publishing, 2015 ~