Written by Becky Middleton Canada West Mission Centre Co-President This week is the beginning of Lent. For some in the Christian world lent is a season of observing 40 days of "fasting" which imitates Jesus' 40 days of fasting in the desert before starting his ministry. For others it is a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's resurrection at Easter.
Through lent, we seek the Lord through prayer and scripture, serve through alms (charitable acts) and practice self-control through abstinence of luxuries. Many in the faith say that a true inner conversion of heart seeks to follow Christ's will more faithfully. What is your understanding of lent? Has lent been part of your faith tradition? Do you observe lent? If so how? We talked about this in our Tuesday virtual visiting group this week. Several people had varying thoughts about the practice or not of lent. Basically it was decided that we respect all practices of observing worship whether we 'adopt' them or not. One thought that really resonated with me was shared by Nancy Panting. She said she liked to focus on the positive aspect of 'giving' rather than 'giving up' something. Her encouragement was to take on some positive action during lent that might be continued even afterwards. I liked that idea and thought it could be as simple as taking on the practice of phoning someone each day - just to visit and see how they're doing! Or it might be taking on the practice of making babies bibs for a daycare like Svea Mountenay does or knitting hats and mitts for the homeless like the Chilliwack crafting group does. The possiblities are endless! What positive action might you 'take on' during lent?
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Written by Gwyn Beer Canada West Mission Centre Co-President Lent starts next week and I want to give up Gratitude to everyone. Community of Christ is exactly that! A community! I am grateful for everyone in this community. To keep things going for everyone, many pieces must fit together. There is a puzzle on the go in the Chilliwack church (there is ALWAYS a puzzle). This one is all clocks and it will probably be complete in another week. Craft night ladies have been working on it. Early Sunday morning arrivals work on it. Coffee morning people grab their coffee and some head to the puzzle table. Often someone will walk over and put in a piece right away and leave while others look and look for a piece but they don’t give up. The puzzle will be completed. So what does this have to do with Gratitude? I am one piece in this community. If I have a problem, I can ask one of the team that make up the Community of Christ in Chilliwack. As a member of the Canada West Mission Centre President team, I am grateful for the others on the team. When someone in the mission centre has a problem, there is usually someone they can ask or call for help. Community of Christ in Guelph, Ontario has been a large part of the puzzle and they have provided answers to all the financial questions that have been asked. We have many people who are volunteers that are pieces of the Community of Christ and who, together, work till any task is completed. I am grateful for all those volunteers who come to a meeting when Shannon calls it. I am grateful for a team of church members who join together once a month and pray for our mission centre and any special thing we ask them to. I am grateful for those who have stepped up and are planning our summer camps. I am grateful for all the volunteers who have made our camps happen over all the past years. I am grateful for all the volunteers who will help with camps now. I am grateful for all those pastors out in our mission centre who lead congregations in mission. I am grateful for all those who have become congregation recorders and our Canada West Mission recorder who uses Shelby. I am grateful for all who use Shelby to keep us connected as Community of Christ. I am grateful for all the members of Community of Christ who may not have a home congregation anymore but remain in touch. I am grateful for all the congregations that zoom their services so others may attend virtually. I am grateful for my heritage in Community of Christ, for those who established this church. We are all pieces in the puzzle that is Community of Christ. I am grateful that new pieces will be added as we ask more volunteers to be part of the future plans for the church in Canada. Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. Written by Kat Goheen Canada West Mission Centre Co-President Dear friends, thank you for sharing in our prayer service for Dar on Saturday. It was a blessing to see you all and share together in mutual concern. He is in ongoing need of our prayerful support. Somehow Dar got hold of his laptop in the hospital and sent our ministry team a reading he often uses in memorial services. He read it to us in our recent leadership retreat that Shannon wrote about last week in our column, and he remembered that we wanted a copy of it to meditate on. How wonderful! Grief never ends... but it changes It's a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith. It is the price of love... This week in the Mission Centre we lost our dear Seventy and former Recorder Linda Klughart suddenly to a fall. Here in Vancouver we lost three dear ones this month: Inez Thederahn and Joan and Dennis McKelvie. We also grieve when we sell church buildings and dissolve congregations. This poem feels timely, especially in a dark time of year when the sun makes fewer appearances.
What is the wisdom for us here? Maybe grief, even in its ruthless and terrible guise, can also be beautiful. Grief is not a multi-tasker; it takes all our attention and pins us to one spot. Isn’t this also what worship does? True communion? We would not shun love in order to avoid pain, so our grief is a celebration of the size of our hearts and the span of the life we have chosen to live. Grief is a passage, we travel through it together. If you are in need of compassion and listening, please reach out to our community. Let us hold one another lightly, knowing that we each face burdens seen and unseen. Let us support the flourishing of life in our corner of the Kin-dom of God. Written by Shannon McAdam Canada West Mission Centre Co-President Due to some last minute scheduling changes we were lucky enough to get a visit from Art Smith our Apostle for Canada in BC last week. Becky of our Mission Centre President team and Dar our Mission Centre Financial officer also made the trek to BC. In spite of winter storms and delays everyone made it to the Vancouver area.
Art visited with folks in Chilliwack during the week and then we all gathered in Langley for a weekend retreat. We discussed the future of our Mission Centre and the evolution of Community of Christ in Canada as we strengthen ties between East and West. How heartening to see that we can overcome regional differences that people often feel in secular society in Canada, and come together with our shared enduring principles in Community of Christ. It was great to spend time planning for the year ahead and sharing our hopes and struggles. We shared meals and laughs and even played some board games together. On Saturday the new leadership team from the Vancouver congregation met with us for lunch to share updates on their visioning process and we were able to share insights and support. Very early Sunday morning, Becky, Dar, Art, Kat, and Gwyn headed to Victoria to attend the service and business meeting. During the business meeting Victoria voted to sell their building and to dissolve the congregation to relieve some leadership burdens. They are looking forward to continuing to meet regularly online and in homes as they step into the next phase of their life in community together. We are excited for the year that awaits us in Canada West. There are so many wonderful events planned and many opportunities to be generous with our time and talents. We are looking forward to seeing many of you this Saturday at 9am/10am/11am for our Special Winter Conference. Our agenda and zoom link are available in the Weekly Wire. Hope to see you there! WHAT: “The Next Step Together: Time to Join a Climate Support Group!”
WHO: North American Climate Justice Team WHEN: Webinar – Sunday, January 28, 2024, 2pm-3:30 pm PT (Begins 3pm MT, 4pm CT, 5pm ET, 12pm HT, 10pm London, 9am Sydney + 1 day) WHERE: ZOOM Online Ministry On January 7, we explored a variety of support groups dealing with climate issues. They represented a variety of interests. Examples included support for eco-anxiety, personal lifestyle changes, greening your congregation, climate advocacy, biodiversity and habitat preservation, how to talk to others about climate change, and how to engage with young people passionate about climate issues. On January 28, participants can choose their support group and begin tailoring it to fit their own passion, interest, skills and schedule. Support tools and team facilitators will be available to help get the groups started. Invite your friends. No prior experience is necessary. Participation in previous webinars is not required. And the Climate Justice Team will support but not dictate the result. Support groups will be independent and can continue networking on their own, based on the needs and interests of the members. These support groups are not replacing our webinars. Our February webinar will feature guest presenter Dani Lindamood, sharing “Grassroots Organizing for a Sustainable Water Future.” Please register at https://www.cofchristclimatejustice.org. All sessions are free and participation in previous webinars and conversations is not necessary to join. If you registered for a past webinar or conversation, you do not need to register again. Once registered, you will be sent a Zoom link before each webinar and activity. Written by Becky Middleton Canada West Mission Centre Co-President From November 11 to December 6, 2023 my husband Doug and I were privileged to be in Honduras.
It was a different experience this time as there was no build going on. We did some sightseeing, relaxing and certainly deeper relationship building with the Honduran people. We also viewed some interesting agricultural projects World Accord is doing in association with Asocialayo, World Accord’s partner in Honduras. Asocialayo is a farmers co-op group and we travelled with an agronomist staff member on two different days. The project featured 8 different varieties of beans (baking types) grown in 4 different locations. The study was testing for production as well as resistance to weevils and preference of the people for flavour and cooking. The object in the long run is to hybridize for optimum results of all the testing. The testing groups besides physically caring for the planting were monitoring temperature, humidity and growth daily. There were women instrumental in all aspects of the experiment as they are important in determining the desired qualities for eating as well as production! It was a very interesting time and as farmers ourselves we are interested in the results! All in all we had a lovely trip! Vaya con Dios, Becky May your 2024 be filled with joy, hope, love, and peace. We pray that your heart may be open to the callings of the spirit to share generously of your time, talents, treasure, and testimony in the year ahead. Yours in Christ,
Gwyn, Kat, Becky and Shannon gwyn@communityofchrist.ca kat@communityofchrist.ca becky@communityofchrist.ca smcadam@communityofchrist.ca It is with Joy, your Mission Centre President Team wishes you a very Merry Christmas. May you allow joy to fill your heart and carry you through these dark but shining days. May celebrating the birth of Christ renew your enjoyment of life and may you feel connected in joy with your neighbours far and near. Yours in Christ,
Gwyn, Kat, Becky and Shannon gwyn@communityofchrist.ca kat@communityofchrist.ca becky@communityofchrist.ca smcadam@communityofchrist.ca This third week of advent, your Mission Centre President Team send you greetings of Love. May you feel God's love for you warming your heart and radiating to all those you connect with. As the season gets busier, may you find strength and courage from that love of God that holds you unconditionally. Yours in Christ,
Gwyn, Kat, Becky and Shannon gwyn@communityofchrist.ca kat@communityofchrist.ca becky@communityofchrist.ca smcadam@communityofchrist.ca Let's come together to celebrate the holiday season and spread joy, hope, love and peace! Click on the video above to watch a wonderful Christmas Message from our Mission Centre Presidency Team! Yours in Christ,
Gwyn Beer gwyn@communityofchrist.ca Kat Goheen kat@communityofchrist.ca Becky Middleton becky@communityofchrist.ca Shannon McAdam smcadam@communityofchrist.ca |
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