Acadamy Buzz has started!
The Academy Buzz has started .......
The excitement is growing ..... the coveted golden statuettes have arrived with the winner's names engraved on them (well maybe not engraved) ...... the beautiful statuettes are now under lock and key, fiercely guarded until Sunday.
Are you coming to the awards ceremony after the luncheon on Sunday, June 10th? Everyone is invited to attend this fun and action packed awards gala event. Fun and surprises are sure to please everyone.
See you there!
Extra, Extra …… Read all about it!
Extra, extra ..... read all about it!
Our June/Summer Newsletter is now available for you to read. Please click on this link to view our new Newsletter!
Tomorrow (May 27) is Pentecost - which is the Birthday of the church. Happy Birthday everyone!
Continue reading »
A little confession
Can I make a confession – I mean, there’s just the two of us here.
I love so much of what I do in my job but, if there is one particular part of the job that I have never really liked, it has got to be the “recruiting.” I just don’t enjoy going to people with hat in hand (at least that’s what it feels like) and saying to them “Please, would you take on this job or fill this position for us.”
I think that what I mostly dislike about it (apart from the inescapable fear of rejection) is that the underlying message of the conversation usually seems to be the similar to what I referred to in my recent blog post:
“Because I’ve been doing it for thirty-five years,” she said impatiently, and I’m really tired. It is time for someone else to do it instead.”
In other words, the conversation is all about needs and people taking turns and how somebody needs to do something. It really isn’t about what actually matters.
That is why I am so happy about my recent “recruitment” efforts. Last month at St. Andrews we gave an opportunity for the entire membership to tell us who they thought should be elders and deacons by writing names of other members on ballots. Once all of the nominations were tallied, the task fell to me to contact the nominees in the order of the number of times their names had appeared. I wasn’t really looking forward to the job.
But, I’ve got to say, the whole thing was a real pleasure. I decided right away that I was not calling people in order to ask them to be deacons or elders. I was actually just calling them to tell them how much they were loved and respected by the people in the congregation. I was calling to tell them that their peers – their sisters and brothers in Christ – had perceived that they had special gifts and abilities that God could do great things with.
I was not calling them ask them to do anything. I did ask them if they were willing and able to respond to the calling of the congregation and of God but did not feel that I needed to pressure them at all.
To my surprise the process of filling the positions that the session had asked for (4 elders and 6 deacons) took about a month. But this was not because many people turned me down but merely because they (wisely and responsibly) needed to take time to think and reflect and pray before answering and in many cases (mostly because there were people nominated in both categories) I needed to wait to hear back from people before I could call further down the list. Though I was sometimes impatient to be done, as I look back on it, it really was a joyful experience.
In some ways it feels like it is a shame to stop calling now. There still remains a large number of people in the congregation who have been named – who have been identified as having special gifts and who are respected by the congregation -- wouldn’t it be nice to tell them so?
But we do have to draw the line somewhere. So let me just celebrate the wonderful people that we have in this congregation – so many other them – and note that we are truly blessed.
I won't post the names of the new deacons and elders here. We'll announce them during worship once the session has added its approval.
Samson and the Philistines
And so the first season of the St. Andrew's Stars comes to an amusing close!
Continue reading »
Surprised by Iris
Not being expert gardeners (but willing to learn) it is like an adventure each time we head outdoors. We don't know what those who have worked here before us have planted and we just get to sit back and watch it all explode in life around us. What a privilege.
Today -- on Victoria Day afternoon -- it was a wonderful surprise to look up and see that four beautiful iris flowers had just appeared. What a pleasure to be blown away by unexpected beauty!
Order your chicken now, just in time for Bar-B-Que season!
You can order your Elmira Poultry Products online! For ordering and more details check the link under the "Church" tab at the top of the home page.
Continue reading »
Living in Christ, Sharing his Love.
St. Andrew’s Hespeler: Living in Christ, Sharing his Love.
St. Andrew’s Hespeler Presbyterian Church has what I think of as a motto or a slogan. It is emblazoned on a plaque at the main entrance of the church and often printed on such things as letterhead. It is, I know, a slogan that means a lot to some of the people at the church – a slogan that has encouraged us to stretch towards worthwhile goals like getting more involved in our community – reaching out to people and helping to meet needs.
So I hardly want to mess with a good thing. This slogan really has helped make us who we are.
But I do sometimes wonder if it is enough given the challenges being faced by the church in these days.
It is possible to read that slogan in a completely non-challenging way. It is kind of like being in favour of mom and apple pie. Of course these are good thing and we are in favour of them but are they really pushing us to be more and do more in the name Jesus?
The other night, as we were engaged in our Long Range Planning exercise, I was struck by a thought though. That motto can only seem safe and non-threatening when we leave it abstract – when we don’t think about what it means practically to live in Christ in this world, when don’t consider how we share his love are with whom.
So I’ve started to think that we need to dig deeper into that slogan and map out what it means. What if we were to expand it like this?
Living in Christ …alongside people who think differently from us.
… in the workplace, at school, in the mall.
… when we don’t have all the answers.
… when we’re sick or lost or grieving.
… when we’re surrounded by people who practice other religions?
Sharing his love … with those facing mental challenges.
… with those who scare us (for whatever reason).
… with people who have different taste in music or in worship styles.
… with those who are bringing change into our lives.
I’m just starting to think about this and these expansions are just off the top of my head. I’d love to know what people think about it – am I on the right track?