 Black Lives Matter
Indigenous Lives Matter Lives of People of Colour Matter I have promoted the “Unprecedented” Canada West Mission Centre 2020 Online Conference in my messages for at least the last two weeks. Many of you will have received reminders about the conference as a whole and about specific sessions through your email. Consider this your last reminder from me. Events begin Thursday evening and continue Friday evening, most of the day Saturday, Sunday morning and afternoon, and concludes with a meeting on the following Wednesday evening. All of the details, including registration details, are available here. Note: Registration is required to ensure you receive log-on information for each event, but there is no fee for registration. This is a free event. Let me just specifically highlight our Sunday morning worship service. Joey Williams will be our guest speaker and participants from across the mission centre will serve in the other roles in the service, including the debut performance of the Canada West Mission Centre Online Choir! We will celebrate communion in this service, so be sure to have your communion emblems (bread and juice) ready in your home or wherever you will be joining the service from. This service will be supported by the “Beyond the Walls” online congregation from Toronto. Access is available through this YouTube Link. The service will begin at 9 a.m. BC time, 10 a.m. AB and SK time, and 11 a.m. MB time. (Raise hand, change topic.) In the midst of preparing for our conference, the world around us just continues to do what the world around us always does. Life happens. Death happens. The miracle of new lives come into the world. The trials and tribulations, as well as the blessings of life continue to form the lives of everyone on the planet. People fall ill. Many recover. Some do not. The amazing experience of our human lives continues to come to a close for many people each and every day. Sometimes that final breath is expected and may even be celebrated for someone who suffered in the last days of their life. Sometimes that final breath comes suddenly, unexpectedly, sometimes accidentally, sometimes violently. Earlier this week Clifford Olson passed away in the town of Porcupine Plain, Saskatchewan, where he had been an active member of the local Community of Christ congregation for many years. He was also well known at camps at Hills of Peace, often because of the inventive things he would bring along for some purpose – sometimes practical, sometimes just for the entertainment and enjoyment factor. I mention Cliff specifically because on February 17 he celebrated his 109th birthday! At the time an article in the local newspaper said he was Saskatchewan’s oldest person and Canada’s second oldest man. Cliff had a good and long life and he will be missed by his family and friends. I invite you to pause as you read this to remember some significant event in your life or in the life of people close to you. Maybe a birth of a child. Maybe a graduation or a new job. Maybe a marriage. Maybe something as worldly as a new home or a new car. Or maybe the challenge of an illness or injury. Offer a prayer for the person(s) involved. As creations of God we are all miraculous manifestations of the divine spirit in our human forms. In the “busy-ness” of life may we always recognize the miracle that life is and appreciate every moment and blessing that we are given – even if we are given 109 and a half years of such moments! I pray for you God’s blessings of understanding, hope, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President steve@communityofchrist.ca
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 Continuing education is important aspect of discipleship in Community of Christ. The church in Canada has provided a way for much of this education to happen online through Developmentrics, LLC.
Carla talks with David Lloyd as he explains the format of the classes, what is offered, and how you can benefit from taking Temple School courses online. Host: Carla Long Guest: David Lloyd  Black Lives Matter
Indigenous Lives Matter Lives of People of Colour Matter I will get back to the “We Share” series next week. There are more pressing issues today. That “Black Lives Matter” part of my banner above unfortunately needs to be highlighted again. I am sure I do not need to repeat much of the news of the last couple of days. Jacob Blake has been shot in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He has survived but may be paralyzed from the waist down. More demonstrations have been held in response. More violence arising from the demonstrations. As a society we need to support and demand good policing. As a society we need to express the need for change when Black people continue to be subject to violence at the hands of police when other options appear to be available. The high-profile incidents seem to occur mostly in the United States. But as we have seen in the Canadian response to these incidents, Black Canadians, Indigenous persons, and people of colour in Canada have very similar and disturbing personal experiences to share. We all must increase our knowledge and awareness of such experiences and do what we can to create a safe society for all of its members. From that rather serious societal issue, I need to move to the much more mundane business of the Canada West Mission Centre. Our annual mission conference will be held online this year. It will consist of a series of events beginning on Thursday evening, September 10, and concluding with a final meeting on Wednesday evening, September 16. A “brief” version of the schedule was released a couple of weeks ago. A more detailed version of the schedule is to be published with this edition of the Weekly Wire. The entire conference brochure will be published electronically this weekend. Please look for that schedule now and watch for the brochure in a few days. It is expected that the different events will appeal to different people across the mission centre. If you are a delegate, or just personally interested in the business of the mission centre, you will need to be a part of the Pre-Legislative Session and the full Business Meeting on Saturday morning and afternoon. If you are interested in knowing more about what “Creating Connection” is all about in Canada West, there will be sessions on Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon that you will not want to miss. On Friday evening there will be a presentation and discussion of current and expected changes in the church as raised in a recent article by President Veazey called, “Metamorphosis.” You will have a chance to get to know our guest minister, Joey Williams, in a session on Saturday evening, and then when he offers ministry as our speaker for our mission-centre-wide worship service on Sunday morning. Finally, members in Alberta and Saskatchewan will want to be a part of the Hills of Peace Campground Association “All-Members Annual General Meeting” on Wednesday evening. And that is your snapshot of this year’s conference. Watch for information about logon information in the week that events get underway. I pray for you God’s blessings of understanding, hope, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President steve@communityofchrist.ca  Black Lives Matter
Indigenous Lives Matter Lives of People of Colour Matter This is the second in the series about Sharing in Community of Christ: Exploring Identity, Mission, Message and Beliefs. For background see the August 12 column. “We Share… a Vision for Creation” Into any discussion or experience we all bring our own past experiences, knowledge and opinions. Have you ever noticed that? What do you interpret from the word “vision” in the title above? What do you interpret from the word “creation”? If I could hear responses from all of you who are reading this, I expect that I would hear some ideas in common, but I also expect that I would hear many different ideas as well. “Vision” to different people might mean a powerful dream-like experience in which a message from God is received; or it might mean a guiding idea or principle; or it might mean the ability to see clearly whatever is in front of us. “Creation” might conjure majestic views of mountains or oceans or other landscapes or wildlife; or it might mean the processes through which God brought the universe into being; or it might mean everything around us that is a visible part of God’s universe: land, sea, animals, insects, marine life, all manner of plants and vegetation, humanity in all of its diversity, and all the stars and planets that populate the vastness of space beyond our world. All of those perspectives (and there will undoubtedly be others) are reasonable and valid. So what does it mean to “share a Vision for Creation” in the Community of Christ context? Two significant symbols help with this explanation. First, the empty Christian cross represents the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ who, in all of those manifestations, proclaimed peace for those who followed his teachings and example and for all people in the future reign of God on earth. Second, the church’s “peace seal” represents the lion laying down with the lamb and both being led by a child as described in the book of Isaiah 11:6-9. This symbolizes the church’s faith and belief in a world in which all of creation can exist in a state and attitude of peace. Our text expresses it this way: “The purpose of the church is to form disciples who faithfully share the gospel of peace in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Sharing in…, p. 10) It is that purpose that will be reflected and restated and applied to all of the other “We Share” statements that we will consider in future weeks. May we see ourselves in our own personal, faithful, and action-oriented expression of “We share a vision for creation.” I pray for you God’s blessings of understanding, hope, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President steve@communityofchrist.ca  Black Lives Matter
Indigenous Lives Matter Lives of People of Colour Matter For a continuing theme for my remarks in this column I will write for the next few weeks with a brief discussion of some portion of the book, Sharing in Community of Christ: Exploring Identity, Mission, Message, and Beliefs. If you do not have your own copy of the book, you can download a PDF version from the church website here or you can order a hard copy from Herald House, the church publisher, here. Pricing is in U.S. dollars and there will be a shipping charge. I encourage congregations to order a few copies to have on hand to share with visitors who may be interested in knowing more about the church. I also suggest this is a good resource for congregations to purchase for its active member individuals and families. It is an excellent resource for personal study and for group study and discussion. As other issues of current significance arise, I will write about them and then return to this book the following week. For today, here is an introduction to what the book is about and why you might be interested in it. The book uses the phrase “We Share…” to introduce most of the sections of the book. The phrase is intended to be taken with a double meaning as explained in these quotes:
So, the phrase we share defines both what we generally hold in common and what we generously offer to the world. (We Share, p. 9) This brief book is the best current summary of the faith and beliefs of Community of Christ as a global denomination. It serves as a unifying text to provide the same statements to church members around the world. It is available in English, Spanish, and French (both the free download version and the paid hard copy). As suggested above, it can serve as a multi-week focus for discussions in Sunday school classes or for small groups in home-based situations. The book is also a short, inviting, and non-threatening text to share with those who may be curious about the church. In addition to the book there is a series of brochures available that provide the content of specific portions of the book. You can find them here. Come back over the next few weeks as we consider some highlight portions of the book. I pray for you God’s blessings of understanding, hope, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President steve@communityofchrist.ca Black Lives Matter
Indigenous Lives Matter Lives of People of Colour Matter How are you doing? How is your summer going? Have you been able to “stretch” just a little beyond the COVID-19 restrictions of the past few months? Or have you continued to feel mostly restricted to your home? What has been a regular joyful thing for you: Family? Friends? Phone calls? Video calls? Reading? Netflix? The return of TV sports? What has been disappointing or even a source of sadness for you: Not getting out of the house? Family? Friends? Netflix? The return of TV sports? Illness? Loss? Sense of personal isolation? My impression is that individual experiences have been different. Some have felt that life has slowed down from its usual pace and this has been seen as a blessing and an opportunity. For others the loss of employment and income have caused new stresses to afford food and shelter and to continue supporting a family. Some, of course, have been directly affected by COVID-19 as a serious life-threatening illness. Some have “tested positive” but experienced no symptoms. The very large majority of us have not been directly affected by the virus, although most of us will likely know someone who has been directly affected. Late in the 4th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is sleeping in a boat when his disciples woke him up because they were afraid of the storm. “(Jesus) woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’” (Mark 4:39, 40 NRSV) Perhaps we are riding out a “COVID storm.” Perhaps we feel we need Jesus to “wake up” and calm it for us. It is instructive, however, to note that following his “miracle” Jesus essentially chastised his disciples for apparently being afraid and having no faith. Perhaps the lesson for us is that Jesus may or may not be sleeping through this storm along with us, but Jesus most certainly is with us. And, furthermore, given the disciples’ experience, we need to retain our faith and exercise our confidence that this storm will pass. Afterwards we will look back and recognize the places where we benefited from the blessings of God going through the storm, and we will be able to give thanks to God when we have safely come out the other side. Despite our challenges, may we look for the good and positive experiences of the last few months. And if that is in itself a challenge for us, may we look forward with hope to the passing of the storm in the future so we can once again enjoy smoother sailing. I pray for you God’s blessings of guidance, understanding, hope, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President steve@communityofchrist.ca Steve Thompson President, Community of Christ Canada West Mission Centre  Black Lives Matter
Indigenous Lives Matter Lives of People of Colour Matter The theme that is being explored in this week’s Canada West 2020 Online Reunion is, “Connection in an Age of Isolation.” This is a challenge that the reunion itself is trying to answer. It is bringing people together, electronically of course, from across the Canada West Mission Centre, plus Washington, Oregon, Missouri, and even Ontario. It is really quite a remarkable thing. In each session so far I believe I have heard someone say something to the effect of, “I miss seeing all of you in person,” which is inevitably answered at some other point in the gathering with, “It is so wonderful to see all of you! I am glad you are here!” People have sought out “connection” through this event directly because of their current “isolation” due to our Covid-19 restrictions. In the midst of a disruptive pandemic we can find the blessings of community and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, experience worship and celebrate the blessings of God, and give thanks for all of this in the name of Jesus Christ. Despite its challenges, is this not a blessed and wonderful time in which we live? By the time you have the opportunity to read this – hopefully some time on Thursday, July 30 – there will still be lots of reunion activities to take in before they wrap up on Sunday around noon. Find event details elsewhere in this Weekly Wire that will point you to a schedule and to how to log on to all events. As I mentioned last week, next up on our calendar will be the online edition of the Canada West Mission Conference. We are still nailing down program and schedule details. An outline of events includes:
More details next week. And I will remind you of this one more time as well (in case you are not already aware of this opportunity) – check with your Pastor about being a delegate for your congregation for the business meeting. If you are not registered in a congregation and live in any of the provinces and you are interested in being a delegate, please contact me. As always, I pray for you God’s blessings of guidance, understanding, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President steve@communityofchrist.ca Steve Thompson President, Community of Christ Canada West Mission Centre  Black Lives Matter
Indigenous Lives Matter Lives of People of Colour Matter It is already the FOURTH Wednesday of July! How did that happen? It is a beautiful day here in Edmonton as I write, but it does not seem that we have had our quota of really warm (read “hot”) summer weather yet. Perhaps where you live summer has been more generous. As the last weekend of July approaches, I realize that I am truly missing the in-person camps and reunions that normally mark my time at this time of year. But our online alternatives have proven to be very well received. We have had 36 kids registered across the Junior, Junior High, and Senior High online camps. Participation has come from BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and even Washington State. A real benefit of this platform for the camp has been bringing youth together from across the mission centre and beyond. A big thank you to Lisa Neudorf, and her event directors, for putting this program together. Coming up, starting this weekend, is the Canada West 2020 Online Reunion! You will find program details and logon information elsewhere in this week’s Weekly Wire. I want to encourage participation across all of the mission centre in this event – just like the kids have shown us by example. You can pick and choose the events that most interest you, and you need not feel guilty about skipping the ones that do not. There are events aimed at every age group. Check out the schedule and mark the sessions of interest to you on your (electronic) calendar. We will have guest ministry from Zac and Katie Harmon-McLaughlin – who were guests at last year’s Hills of Peace Reunion. And I would be remiss if I did not suggest that both the online campfire and the talent show promise to be highlights of the week, just as they always have been in the traditional Samish Reunion. Thanks to Chris Phelps and his planning team for putting together this event. Next up will be the online edition of the Canada West Mission Conference. It will happen from Friday evening, September 11, through Sunday, September 13. Watch for program details in next week’s Weekly Wire. Joey Williams, who was our originally scheduled guest minister for the conference, will join us for some of our events. Watch for that information and keep those dates on your calendar. Also – in case this invitation has not come to you – check with your Pastor about being a delegate for your congregation for the business meetings. If you are not registered in a congregation and live in any of the provinces and you are interested in being a delegate, please contact me. As you are all aware, we are not “out” of this COVID-19 pandemic yet. It is the reason our camps are online. It is the reason we are not yet back to weekly worship services in our congregations. Please continue to exercise the infection-control measures recommended by all health authorities. Hopefully we can re-start weekly services in some form in September. As always, I pray for you God’s blessings of guidance, understanding, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President steve@communityofchrist.ca Steve Thompson President, Community of Christ Canada West Mission Centre  Black Lives Matter
Indigenous Lives Matter Lives of People of Colour Matter Stories. “The truth about stories is that that’s all we are.” So says Thomas King, an Indigenous author and broadcaster in his book, aptly named, The Truth about Stories. The book is a collection of his “Massey Lecture Series” given across Canada in 2003. The lectures deal with the power of stories to shape lives and to shape culture – in this case from an Indigenous perspective. (I recommend the book or the CBC podcasts of the lectures.) What are the stories that have shaped or helped define you? Are there family heritage stories passed down through your generations that retain and reinforce some sense of identity? Are there stories from literature that have challenged you personally and helped make you what you are today? Are there, perhaps, some stories or passages from scripture that have helped define you? The “Revised Common Lectionary” is a tool that is used by Community of Christ to help plan and structure our worship services each week. The current two weeks (July 12 and July 19) focus on the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13 in which Jesus is recorded as telling no fewer than seven parables – stories that teach a lesson. Many readers will be able to name a parable, perhaps several, which they know well and have heard, or have read or have been taught often. Perhaps one of Jesus’ parables is one of those stories that has been influential in your life. In our Virtual Visiting Fellowship meetings this week (yes – we are still going! See the announcement elsewhere in the Weekly Wire and consider joining us if you can.) I asked our participants to share their favourite parable and why it was meaningful to them. As of this writing our Thursday evening group has yet to “have a go” at this exercise, but the sharing on Tuesday morning was really quite remarkable. Many people shared many different parables (and some shared the same parable). Some people chose to share a “parable” from their own experience from which they had learned some lasting life lesson. I felt that in the space of a half hour we heard about a dozen two-minute sermons that were as effective and meaningful as our traditional twenty-to-thirty-minute sermons on Sunday morning. Many of Jesus’ parables are “arch-types” in our culture and part of the daily lexicon. For example, “The Prodigal Son,” and “The Good Samaritan.” I fear slightly for our culture as the general population turns more and more away from organized religion. The words may remain, but the understanding of their origins and the significance of their lessons may be lost. I encourage you to think about “what is your story?” What does it mean to you? What might it mean to others if or when it is shared? What stories (parables, other scripture stories, or stories from other literature) have helped form who you are today? What new stories might you be encountering that are affecting your life and perspective now? As always, I pray for you God’s blessings of guidance, understanding, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President steve@communityofchrist.ca Steve Thompson President, Community of Christ Canada West Mission Centre  Purely by the accident of birth I am blessed to call Canada “my home and native land!”
I use the term “blessed” enthusiastically and yet with a sense of humility. I know that there are many other countries in the world whose residents experience a high standard of living and benefit from basically the same rights and freedoms I enjoy. I know there are many other countries which, for any number of reasons, are not in that same situation. I am humbled because I know that some residents of Canada do not have the same advantages and positive life experiences that I have known and loved. Constraints such as poverty, hunger, racism, discrimination and prejudice based on many factors, chronic disease and pain, physical and mental disabilities, unequal access to education and social assistance tools, and many other conditions prevent many of my fellow Canadians from enjoying all the benefits that this land has to offer. The emphasis of my remarks over the last few weeks have been driven by this banner: Black Lives Matter Indigenous Lives Matter Lives of People of Colour Matter To take these issues to heart will go a long way towards resolving some (certainly not all) of the other issues noted. Despite these issues, there is so much to celebrate about our country on Canada Day. Our freedoms. Our democracy. (I know some may complain and nitpick on both of those things.) Our Indigenous, and French and English founding cultures (despite the conflicts that occasionally – regularly? – flair up). Our social diversity and generally celebrated multicultural ethic. Our “coast-to-coast-to-coast” geographic diversity: ocean coasts, old growth forests, mountains and glaciers, prairies, Canadian Shield, tundra, the arctic, boreal forests, great rivers and Great Lakes, farmland, small towns and villages, vibrant cities. Our strong government and social programs. Our equally strong private sector and wealth-producing businesses – large and small, corporate and “mom and pop.” Ten provinces and three territories across which all of us are free to live, to travel, to visit, to enjoy, and from which to experience life-enriching experiences and inspiration. I have been fortunate to travel reasonably widely across the world. I have enjoyed all of the places I have visited – and a few where I have lived briefly. However, there is something about getting through that last Customs check and having the Border Services officer greet me with “Welcome home” (even though I may still be thousands of kilometers away from where I live) that brings a sense of pride in my country and those with whom I share it. I hope that you have been able to mark Canada Day in some meaningful way. I hope you are able to give thanks to God for the blessings that you enjoy just because you live here. As always, I pray for you God’s blessings of guidance, understanding, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President steve@communityofchrist.ca |
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