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 [email protected]
0 Comments
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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] |
![]() Archives
February 2025
Categories
All
|
Quick links
|
External links
|
community of christ
355 Elmira Road North, Unit 129
Guelph, ON N1K 1S5 Canada Canada West Mission: 877-411-2632 Canada East Mission: 888-411-7537 |
Site powered by Weebly. Managed by Community of Christ
|