Website and Blog Update

I love the new look to our website!--pretty much the same actually, but it displays better now and seems cleaner/clearer.

I also recently learned that you can't read the blog entries straight through because the teaser on the home page doesn't show, so you either have to go back and forth or miss the first part.  I've gone back through all of my 2009 posts to correct that though, will fix 2008 soon, and do it right the first time for 2010! 

Dec 30, 2009 at 10:22 AM

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Have Yourself a Messy, Magnificent Christmas!

One illustration that didn't make it into my sermon for last Sunday was "Messy Church."

Apparently some churches offer "Messy Church" as a regular part of their ministry--it's especially for children as you might guess from the title, and each child must bring an adult.  Most of the time is spent on a craft (which is where the messy part comes in), followed by a brief kid-friendly worship time, then a messy grace, followed by a simple supper.  I think it's a great way of sharing the good news with children, of inviting families that might not already belong to a church, of building community among old and young.  Messy Church, anyone?

Dec 23, 2009 at 5:43 PM

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Christmas Surprise

This morning I almost stopped mid-sermon since I saw Joon Park and his daughter Dona sitting up in the balcony!

Linda (as worship leader) had already welcomed everyone, including several students home for Christmas (Laura back from Kansas, Rachel and Anna-Marie back from Winnipeg), and she even asked if there was any returning student she had missed.  No one said anything, but then I saw Tom and Jordana (back from Kelowna) sitting behind me, and then later during my sermon Joon and Dona (from the seminary in Elkhart)!  Turns out that Joon had come back for some meetings related to his creative writing work, and Dona had come with him, leaving her sister Shina and mother, Shim, still in Elkhart.  I was glad to talk with them after the service, and sorry they're in Abbotsford only overnight, then off to Vancouver for a few days and back to Elkhart in time for Christmas.  We miss them!  

Dec 20, 2009 at 2:21 PM

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Stressed Out by Christmas?

My sermon last week generated a lot of response from a wide range of people and ages, from high school students to middle-aged working people to retired folks. Some had stories to tell about their own difficult experiences, others asked for the quote from Frank Peretti.

Here it is from The Wounded Spirit:  "begin treating everyone who passes your way as a priceless, precious, miraculous creation of God, a person for whom Jesus Christ bled and died, a person who matters to God just as much as you do."

The quote doesn't use the word "gentle," but I related it in my sermon to Philippians 4:5 "Let your gentleness be evident to all."  In stressful times, one of the ways to de-stress is to be gentle with everyone including yourself!  To treat everyone "as a priceless, precious, miraculous creation of God" because that's what they are and you are too!

Dec 16, 2009 at 4:29 PM

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Getting Ready for Christmas--and January!

Are you ready for Christmas? someone asked me the other day. Almost I said--we've mailed gifts to family members in Alberta, put up a few decorations at home, chosen a few recipes for Christmas baking and bought some supplies, and of course there are many arrangements still in process for the Third and Fourth Sundays of Advent and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations. But the other thing that makes this time of year especially busy is that I'm also preparing for January. Yes January!

- January is our month for Extreme Weather Shelter, including my staying overnight on Thursdays if we're open

- Wednesday evening prayer meetings Jan. 6, 13, 20 using Mennonite Church Canada material on "Reclaiming Jesus"

- Core values sermon, Sunday morning, Jan. 10 - What is Anabaptism?  How can we express it in language that makes sense to someone not already familiar with the term?  Was Jesus an Anabaptist? 

- Annual General Meeting, Saturday, January 23 - still needing to write my report that's due December 15!

- Morning communion, Sunday, January 24 - finishing off our "Reclaiming Jesus" series

- Mennonite World Conference Sunday, January 31 - with special prayer requests from Mennonite World Conference

Yes, Christmas is coming, and January is right around the corner!

Dec 11, 2009 at 6:05 PM

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Room in the Inn

Our Extreme Weather Shelter orientation on Tuesday evening was led by Dave Murray, coordinator of the Abbotsford Food Bank which is responsible for this program.

It was very cold again that night, so Grace Church was again providing shelter as they had been doing since the beginning of the month--I remember well that we were open 10 days straight last winter, and I know how demanding that is, so thank you, Grace, and I pray for enough volunteers and strength to carry on.

A few changes for us this time around:  Darnell Barkman will be serving as our coordinator assisted by Kathy who worked so hard as our coordinator last year; thanks to Darnell, we'll have students from Columbia Bible College assisting with staying overnight; it looks like we may need to provide transportation in the mornings; we've worked hard at identifying other things that people can assist with besides actually staying overnight at the church--in addition to the things listed in the bulletin last Sunday, donated sweat pants and tops would be very welcome and also if anyone is baking if you could put some extra in the freezer that could be ready at a moment's notice that would be a big help.

For those of you interested in the book I mentioned in my meditation, it's Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels by Kenneth E. Bailey (not Kevin Bailey as I said on Sunday--reminds me of the time I said Charles Barkley (famous basketball player) instead of William Barkley (writer of The Daily Study Bible Series)....a few people caught that and smiled, but I'd guess that very few people noticed I made a mistake on the author this time! 

Dec 10, 2009 at 11:23 AM

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More more dealing with discouragement

I was interrupted mid-blog the other day and didn't quite get to finish what I meant to say....the original sermon request I received back in September was "how to deal with discouragement" that I re-worded "dealing with discouragement" since at least in my experience this is an on-going challenge, not something that can be vanquished in 5 easy how-to steps.

In fact, all of the principles drawn from the psalms are much more easily said than done.  In the midst of a discouraging situation, it may seem impossible to take a break; asking for help might sometimes make us feel more discouraged; being honest with God and continuing to trust may seem more than we can bear.  And yet, as Scripture tells us, with God all things are possible.  So for those dealing with discouragement especially at this time of year, I pray for God's peace and guidance.  "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him" (Romans 15:13), Amen. 

Dec 4, 2009 at 10:11 AM

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More on Dealing with Discouragement

I received a lot of good response from last Sunday's sermon as there were at least half a dozen people who said "I felt the sermon was just for me." If discouragement really is "the common cold of emotions," a lot of us are dealing with it just now!

From the psalms, I identified five basic points on dealing with discouragement:  (1) We can be honest with God;  (2) Sometimes  what we need is to take a break, get rest, sleep, eat healthy foods; (3) We can take appropriate action; (4) We can ask for help: informally or more formally, from friends or professionals; (5) Most of all, we need to trust in God.

Dec 1, 2009 at 10:24 AM

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