Community of Christ in Canada
  • Learn
    • Values
    • Mission in Action
    • Lived Experience >
      • The Congregation
      • The Mission Centre
      • The World Church
    • Theology >
      • Enduring Principles
      • Mission Initiatives
      • Sacraments
      • Statement on Scripture
      • Principles of History
      • Generosity
      • Basic Beliefs
    • History & Heritage
  • Connect
    • Congregations >
      • What to Expect
    • Meetup Groups
    • Blog
    • Social Media
    • Partners
    • Contact a Minister
  • Give
    • Giving Tuesday
  • Canada West
    • CWM Dashboard
    • Events Calendar
    • CWM Gatherings
    • News & Updates
    • Staff Directory
    • Congregations
    • Connection Groups
    • Campgrounds
    • Training Courses
    • Forms & Resources
  • Canada East
    • CEM Dashboard
    • Events Calendar
    • CEM Camping 2023
    • CEM Conference
    • News & Updates
    • Staff Directory
    • Congregations
    • Campgrounds
    • Connection Groups
    • Training Courses
    • Forms & Resources
  • Learn
    • Values
    • Mission in Action
    • Lived Experience >
      • The Congregation
      • The Mission Centre
      • The World Church
    • Theology >
      • Enduring Principles
      • Mission Initiatives
      • Sacraments
      • Statement on Scripture
      • Principles of History
      • Generosity
      • Basic Beliefs
    • History & Heritage
  • Connect
    • Congregations >
      • What to Expect
    • Meetup Groups
    • Blog
    • Social Media
    • Partners
    • Contact a Minister
  • Give
    • Giving Tuesday
  • Canada West
    • CWM Dashboard
    • Events Calendar
    • CWM Gatherings
    • News & Updates
    • Staff Directory
    • Congregations
    • Connection Groups
    • Campgrounds
    • Training Courses
    • Forms & Resources
  • Canada East
    • CEM Dashboard
    • Events Calendar
    • CEM Camping 2023
    • CEM Conference
    • News & Updates
    • Staff Directory
    • Congregations
    • Campgrounds
    • Connection Groups
    • Training Courses
    • Forms & Resources

News & Updates

A Moment with the Mission Centre President

7/7/2020

 
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

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019

    Categories

    All
    BLM
    Camp
    COVID 19 Updates
    MCP Messages
    Obituaries
    Online Events
    Racial Injustice
    We Share Series

    RSS Feed

Quick links

Make a Donation
Canada East Mission Centre
  • Upcoming Events
  • Staff Directory
Canada West Mission Centre
  • Upcoming Events
  • Staff Directory

External links

  • All Voices - Testimony Tapestry
  • Community of Christ World Church
  • Creating Connection
  • Community Place+
  • Community of Christ Mobile App for Android
  • Community of Christ Mobile App for iOS
  • World Accord
  • Encounter World Religions
  • Peace and Justice Committee

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
Picture

Canada West Social media

Canada East Social Media

Search Communityofchrist.ca

Site powered by Weebly. Managed by Community of Christ
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Report a Website Issue