Written by Gwyn Beer Canada West Mission Centre Co-President In the auditorium with our Polynesian fellow church members. “Bonding!” There are so many words that have such deep meaning to me that will not mean the same to you. That said, I might think of them in a new way when I hear words of Blessing at conference.
Sunday morning, Fred Robbins lead our Pray and Share time. He gave us one word to contemplate - “Awesome”. The sharing was …awesome! Betty Williams shared about receiving an unexpected gift in the mail, a book with one word on it -“Gratitude”. Betty is looking forward to filling the book. Bob Riley was in charge of the next service - “Communion”. A service we all shared in. “Encourage” is the word I like. I want to encourage you to ask yourself and others to send “Words” in to Karin Peter - Words of Blessing. Think about words that you are drawn to, ask those around you about a word they would think was “encouraging”. Different people have different words and I plan to ask all ages about a single word that they like, that brings them joy or makes them wonder. Send WORDS to Karin Peter - Words of Blessing c/o World Conference Directors, 1001 W. Walnut St., Independence, MO, USA 64050. Or you can email your WORDS to [email protected]. Please use “words of blessing” in the subject line. Just a last thought, what do you think of when someone greets you with “Aloha”... great images for me!
0 Comments
Written by Gwyn Beer Canada West Mission Centre Co-President I told my cousin that I was an excited traveler coming to Independence! In the latest Herald, Page 17 has a message from President Veazey. He said “Courage! No doubt, we’ll be energized to boldly venture with God into our future!”
I am a Star Trek (original show) fan and this reminded me of Captain Kirk saying "boldly go where no one has gone before". I love President Veazey’s "boldly venture with God into our future". As part of that future, I am encouraging those of you who might be planning to go to conference but as yet are unsure about stepping up as a delegate. Let your name go on the list. You will benefit from having your name on the delegate list. For those of you who can not go to Independence, please consider participating in discernment for those going to the conference and voting on your behalf. The Sept/Oct 2022 Herald has Resolutions to Consider. Read them, consider them, pray about them. If something pulls at your heartstrings, let one of the delegates know how you feel. Discussions about resolutions are happening and you are invited to explore with others online. Visit CofChrist.org/2023-world-conference-preparation for details. The Jan/Feb 2023 Herald is also asking for the church community at large to offer words of courage and blessing to be shared at World Conference during the Communion service on April 23. Write words of blessing and courage in your own language or languages. See page 22 in the Herald and have your blessing returned by April 12. There are options there to mail or email your words of blessing! COURAGE - while I do NOT consider myself a courageous person, I draw on others and find the courage through others and prayer to step out and allow God’s spirit to work through me. Others have seen a courage in me that I often do not see. You all have courage when you “let God” work through you in all that you do. God given courage raises me up! Boldly venture with me on this journey to World Conference 2023! Written by Apostle Art Smith Council of Twelve I Arthur, one of you, just like you, called to serve Jesus Christ,
grace and peace to all of you, not just for you, but flowing through you as a blessing to others, to all communities. As I write, at the start of this new year, I remember all of you fondly, thinking of times we’ve shared and picturing places you are and situations you face. My prayer, for you, at the start of this year, with all the joys and promises ahead, is that the Holy Spirit will do what I’ve always known it to do, meeting each of us and all of us and everyone mysteriously as needed. In the middle of exile, In a time of despair, May the Spirit of hope shine through So we see ways out of hopelessness with hope our beacon and our proclamation. In a time of joy and celebration, When all our needs seem met, May the Spirit illumine and remind us of those in need on the margins So we hear voices and understand the perspectives of others. May we lift up and care. Outside forces and our own weaknesses, Lead so many to see the church as irrelevant Or as an instrument of hate and harm, exclusion and injustice. But the mission of Jesus Christ remains. It’s not just some external promise of things that God will do, as if by magic in some future, decades away. YOU are a gift. YOU are to be a light to the world. YOU are to open the eyes of the blind, to release the prisoners. See through the fog of fear and hate. The mission of the church is not irrelevant, hateful or harmful. Your mission, this year, where you are, is to participate in Release from demonization, marginalization, poverty and all sorts of captivity. Everyone is invited in, To participate in this purposeful project. How it happens will be as diverse and varied as the two or three of you who gather to support each other, to dream and to plan. No person abandoned. All invited to participate. No matter if you live in uncertainty, decline of your community, or despair. May this be our mission, their liberation and our liberation. All at once. Apostle Art Smith Council of Twelve Canada, Caribbean, Mexico/Texas Fields January 2023 Written by Kat Goheen Canada West Mission Centre Co-President I have always been captivated by the story of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25. They all wanted to go to the wedding, they all showed up at the right place, but only half of them had enough oil to get them through the night when the call came. The others were sympathetic, but firm: the foolish ones needed to go find another supply! They ended up missing the big event, even with the best of intentions!
Discernment and action are two key ways of not being a foolish one – being aware of what’s needed and then following that knowing into right action. Right now there are some wonderful opportunities: the Nurturing Spirit retreat in Chilliwack, BC, the Discernment Facilitator course through Graceland Seminary, being a delegate at World Conference for Canada West, zoom and congregational discussions of resolutions for World Conference. But the clock is ticking! This is a good moment to count the cost and stop long enough to sense into what God might be calling you into right now in the midst of your daily life. Let’s have enough oil so that our wick doesn’t burn out. Let’s move fluently into God’s preferred future. Written by Kat Goheen, Shannon McAdam & Gwyn Beer Canada West Mission Centre Co-Presidents Happy New Year from your Mission Centre President Team!
May your 2023 be filled with joy, hope, love and peace. Written by Kat Goheen, Shannon McAdam & Gwyn Beer Canada West Mission Centre Co-Presidents Dear Friends,
As Christmas draws near we are reminded of what a gift each of you are to the Canada West Mission Centre. We wanted to share with you a few photos from our homes as we await the birth again of the Christ child in our hearts and lives. And from Joyce Rupp we share these words: "May you daily open the gift of your life and be grateful for the hidden treasures it contains…. May you go often to the Bethlehem of your heart and visit the One who offers you peace. May you bring this peace into our world.” With peace, Gwyn, Kat & Shannon Written by Kat Goheen Canada West Mission Centre Co-President Third Advent week of Joy
A good friend of mine from our Community of Christ Spiritual Formation and Companioning Program built this labyrinth at her home in Lamoni, Iowa during our three years training together. Even looking at this image gives me such grounding! In a labyrinth, I journey physically toward the centre but also spiritually to my own centre. I love how Harriet placed a representation of the Christ child at the heart of her labyrinth during the Christmas season. This reminds me that when I journey within, I do not journey alone but toward the transformative source of life who loves me beyond measure. “Let every heart prepare him room!” Let this reminder bring you joy as well! Written by Shannon McAdam Canada West Mission Centre Co-President Hope
“Hope is the thing with feathers” says poet Emily Dickinson, to which poet Caitlin Seida replies “Hope Is Not a Bird, Emily, It’s a Sewer Rat” , to which I reply “Caitlin, have you met seagulls?” Hope, I’ve learned, has a sense of humour. In October I attended an online retreat for contemplatives where the theme was Hope. We talked about both of the poems above, as well as where the idea of where hope comes from, and what different traditions teach about hope. Advent, we often say, is a season of hope. Hope for what is to come, a sense of anticipation for what is about to happen, the promise of a pregnancy, looking towards the unknown with some optimism. The most interesting thing I find myself returning to from that retreat is the idea that hope, while a verb, isn’t necessarily something that we have to do or strive for. Instead, hope finds us. Like that bird or sewer rat or sky rat (aka seagull), hope shows up when we least expect it, it appears out of nowhere, and hope’s resilience leaves an impression on our souls. Hope, it turns out, (or Elpis as she was known to the Greeks) was hidden in an unbreakable home just under the rim of Pandora’s jar. (Did you know Pandora opened a jar, not a box?! I only learned this recently, so fascinating!) In Pandora’s story all that was left after the bad things escaped was hope, stuck under the rim, unbreakable, tucked away at the threshold. Hope, it turns out, will find you when you have come to your limit. Hope will find you when you live on the brink (Monika testifies of this beautifully in a recent Herald article here). Hope will find you when you are inside of a threshold, when you are in a transition. Hope requires nothing of us except to be open to her when she appears. Hope rarely shows up in the way we want or expect it to. The Hope of the World certainly did not come to Mary, a young, unmarried, woman in an expected way. So I invite you to be alert and awake to hope this season, for it may catch you unaware. You don’t need to go seeking out hope, you don’t need to clench your jaw and grit your teeth to be hopeful. Instead, trust that hope is there, waiting in the alleyway or inside the brim of that burnt pot of mashed potatoes. Hope will surprise and delight you, just like a baby king did over 2000 years ago. Written by Gwyn Beer Canada West Mission Centre Co-President Advent is here! The Christmas season is such a special time of year. I pulled out my dad’s bible and went to St. Luke. Dad’s bible is full of markings. Any of those marks bring dad closer to me. St. Luke Chapter 2 tells the story of the birth of the savior who is Christ the Lord. Chapter 2: 14 reads “Glory to God in the highest; and on earth, peace; good will to men.”
Sit down in the midst of all the hustle and bustle that we get caught up in at this time of year and read St. Luke Chapter 2. Enjoy and feel the peace mentioned in verse 14. There are a group of church members and friends, in Chilliwack, who meet on Monday nights to be together completing their own crafts. A decision in the spring was made to begin a Christmas project. These ladies decided to make toques to be given away this year at Christmas to the homeless and those living “rough”. Knitters and crocheters worked at creating the toques (some had to learn to crochet or knit hats). One lady volunteered to make the pompoms for the top of the toques. Wooden trees were built by Rick James and covered in chicken wire. There are 3 toque trees this year. One is at home in the store front office of the Chilliwack RCMP Community Policing on Wellington Ave. Bags of toques were given to the officers going out on night patrol to hand out to those in need. The second hat tree went to Cyrus House also on Wellington. This is the teenage homeless shelter that takes in those 12 years old to 24 years old. Both locations are delighted to get these toque trees. The Chilliwack Christmas parade is December 3rd this year and we have asked that the trees be on display till then. Bags of hats/toques are being given to hand out right away. The third tree is in the Chilliwack Church for a few weeks and will also be given away. The ladies are trying to offer warmth and a sense of caring to those who receive these toques. The time is here to remember the birth of Jesus Christ and to pray for the peace this world needs. |
Archives
July 2024
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
|