 Community of Christ Enduring Principles Spotlight  Unity in Diversity
One year ago today I wrote to you the sixth weekly “COVID Statement.” At the time we did not know how much longer we would need to be concerned about the pandemic. The first “statement” was dated March 4 and the last “statement” was dated April 22. As of April 29 these columns became “A Moment with the Mission Centre President” and we have tried to deal with many topics since then.
Most of the message from April 8, 2020, seems strangely relevant today. Here is the heart of that message again: The common first question after “Hello” has become much more heartfelt and honestly intended than had been traditional before our COVID-19 social distancing: “How are you doing?” We are truly interested in the answer to that question. We want assurance that our friends and family are, in fact, staying safe and being well. They wish to know the same of us. Yet we also want to be able to express our support if the answer to the question is the expression of some kind of health issue or personal concern that has arisen in the lives of those we love. There are families and individuals in Canada West Mission Centre, and elsewhere in the church, who have been directly touched by COVID-19 in the form of illness or job loss. I know of people who continue to struggle with various medical, physical, and personal issues not at all related to the pandemic. And in the unstoppable cycle of life, there are families among us who mourn the loss of loved ones. All of these persons and families are worthy of our prayers of love and support. So: What have you done to keep your outlook positive in recent weeks? What good news do you seek out to assure yourself that humanity is good and that we will all get through this together? What miracle or beauty in the natural world around you gives you hope and assurance and perhaps even inspiration? What books have you read? What friends have you reached out to by phone or electronically? And, yes, what social media connections have been beneficial for you? What images, stories, or anecdotes have kept you smiling, if not outright laughing? Please email some answers to me ([email protected]), and I may share them in the future. That last sentence remains an open invitation. Many provinces are moving, or have moved, back into tighter lock-down situations due to recent increases in COVID-19 cases, and especially increases in the “Variants of Concern.” In-person church services remain restricted and difficult to hold or justify in most areas. Family gatherings remain small, outdoors, and still physically distanced for most of us. We are facing another summer of cancelled church-sponsored in-person camps and reunions. And yet – and yet – we optimistically look forward to the easing of the pandemic over the next few months. We hope we can return to something resembling “normal” by late summer or early fall. May you feel God’s presence and blessings as we continue on this journey, now extended to well beyond a year in length. As always, I pray for you God’s blessings of joy, hope, love, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President [email protected]
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 Community of Christ Enduring Principles Spotlight  All Are Called
Here we are, my friends: we are officially one year into our “COVID world.” It was one year ago this week that the world truly did begin to change significantly. One year ago this week, with the announcement of various types of shut-downs in response to the pandemic, we began to feel impacts as individuals, as communities, and as the church.
Many people suddenly found themselves working from home. Many others found themselves with jobs that suddenly were ended. We were encouraged to “just stay home.” Most of us did. Streets were quiet. Even main highways were comparatively quiet. Businesses lost customers and had to close at least temporarily. For some as yet unknown reason, panicked shoppers hoarded toilet paper! One year ago this past Sunday, most of us enjoyed our normal Sunday routine of an in-person worship service with no restrictions. Then one year ago this week our international church leadership issued the direction to congregations around the world to close for the next Sunday and to await further instructions before re-opening again. Suddenly we found ourselves in an unanticipated world of online services which quickly grew to include online classes, youth camps, retreats of all kinds, family camps, and even mission conferences. An initial expectation of short-term closures for a few weeks or maybe a couple of months, extended into several months. Here we are a year later and many/most congregations have yet to re-start in-person meetings and nearly everyone has become accustomed to our online meeting environments. Everyone is eagerly anticipating being able to meet again in-person, share handshakes and hugs, enjoy sitting together, and break bread together in pot-luck lunches as well at restaurants. Some of us were affected directly by the virus, falling ill with symptoms that varied person-to-person from minor and short-lived to serious and long-lasting. A few of us died. If we were not directly affected by the virus in these ways, most of know someone who was. And those impacts continue though hopefully with decreasing frequency now. In well under a year the medical and scientific community has produced and tested and begun distribution of vaccines to protect against the virus. Hope and optimism is growing. Throughout this past year most congregations have done their best to reach out to members and friends in attempting to maintain a sense of connection to one another. Besides the online gatherings of many kinds there have been telephone visiting campaigns. In good weather there were outdoor, physically distanced, informal gatherings such as ice cream socials and just general visiting. Other creative ways of bringing people together – if only in spirit rather than in person – were implemented and were greatly appreciated. Thank you to everyone who has come through this past year. Thank you to everyone who provided new kinds of leadership and programming this past year. Thank you to everyone who did their best to maintain some sense of connection among the members and friends of your congregation. May we all look forward to a return to some semblance of “normal” in the next few months, even if it does not look exactly like the “normal” we left behind one year ago. God’s spirit was leading us then. God’s spirit is leading us now. And God’s spirit will continue to lead us in the future. May we always be aware of God’s leadership in our lives and look to God’s love and comfort in all situations. As always, I pray for you God’s blessings of joy, hope, love, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President [email protected]  Black Lives Matter
Indigenous Lives Matter Lives of People of Colour Matter COVID-19 Update Just before getting to our “We Share” topic, there have been some substantial changes in provincial strategies in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of the four provinces in which congregations operate in the Canada West Mission Centre have implemented significantly revised procedures, some of which affect congregational worship and other church gatherings. These changes are very briefly summarized in this Updated Summary of Provincial Requirements. Links to more details on provincial websites are provided. Please at least review the summary for your awareness. We Share…Scripture in Community of Christ This is the 12th and final in a series on the “We Share…” theme. For background, see the first entry in the series here: We Share #1 In the book, Sharing in Community of Christ, upon which this series of columns is based, the section dealing with “Scripture in Community of Christ” can be found on pages 63 to 67. The section consists of a “Preamble” statement followed by nine “Affirmation” paragraphs. Each of the Affirmation paragraphs are very tightly worded and do not lend themselves well to summarization or abbreviation. Rather than trying to do so, I will pick a few key concepts from the Affirmations to share as examples. From Affirmation 1: “We declare that Jesus Christ…is the Living Word of God. It is to Christ that scripture points.” From Affirmation 3: “Scripture is a library of books that speaks in many voices. These books were written in diverse times and places, and reflect the languages, cultures, and conditions under which they were written. God’s revelation through scripture does not come to us apart from the humanity of the writers, but in and through that humanity.” Affirmation 5 (quoted in its entirety): “Scripture is vital and essential to the church, but not because it is inerrant (in the sense that every detail is historically or scientifically correct). Scripture makes no such claim for itself. Rather, generations of Christians have found scripture simply to be trustworthy in keeping them anchored in revelation, in promoting faith in Christ, and in nurturing the life of discipleship. For these purposes, scripture is unfailingly reliable (2 Timothy 3:16-17).” Affirmation 9 (also quoted in its entirety): “With other Christians, we affirm the Bible as the foundational scripture for the church. In addition, Community of Christ uses the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants as scripture. We do not use these sacred writings to replace the witness of the Bible or improve upon it, but because they confirm its message that Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God (Preface of the Book of Mormon; Doctrine and Covenants 76:3g). We have heard Christ speak in all three books of scripture, and bear witness that he is “alive forever and ever” (Revelation 1:18).” Scripture varies in age and nature from the ancient accounts of God’s mighty acts among ancient peoples (Book of Genesis and much of the Hebrew Bible – or Old Testament) to modern prophetic revelation that is current and relevant to the challenges of the world today (the latest sections of the Doctrine and Covenants originating in the last two to sixty years). All of scripture is worthy of our study and efforts at discerning its message for us in our own lives. The revelatory experiences with God, recorded by humans with the best words and language available to them to express the unexpressable, are available to us today to study, to interpret, and from which to learn and gain wisdom. It is a lifelong opportunity and challenge available to anyone. If you have an interest in pursuing questions or further discussion about scripture in the Community of Christ, please contact the writer or a congregation near you. Material for this column is drawn primarily from the book, available online, Sharing in Community of Christ: Exploring Identity, Mission, Message, and Beliefs. This is the last in our “We Share” series. I commend the book referenced above for your reading pleasure and study. It is the best current statement of what defines Community of Christ as a Christian denomination. If you are someone newly interested in Community of Christ, get to know us a bit better through this book. If you are a member of Community of Christ, get to know your church a little better and be more prepared for sharing the church with your friends and associates. I pray for you God’s blessings of joy, hope, love, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President [email protected] 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 [email protected] Apostle Art Smith provides a virtual check-in with the church in Canada in the midst of COVID-19. His is a message of hope, connection, and faith despite the new norm of social distancing. We invite you to watch Art's check-in, and let us know how you are doing in the comments below. Additionally, how have you seen Community of Christ's enduring principles and mission initiatives lived out during this global pandemic? |
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