Blessed and Blessing

The link to this week's live-streamed service is here. 

Bill and Margaret thought they could get away with no fuss, but the congregation at SPPC will not be denied a chance for cake. Besides, 70 years of marriage is worth celebrating over two Sundays. We had two cakes! And very good cakes they were.

One was from the congregation to congratulate Bill and Margaret. One was from Bill and Margaret to share their celebration with the congregation. 

Our Wednesday study this term has emphasized the understanding of words as they evolve over time and culture. Our English Bibles are all translations, so it behooves us to be aware of the influence of word choices when we study God's word. At the last session, we compared the KJV and the Good News versions of the Beatitudes. The old word is "blessed" while the newer translation uses "happy." We know from another study that either of those words is good but neither is a perfect translation because there is no English word that exactly mimics the original.

So let us conclude that Margaret and Bill are happy and we are happy for them. Let us also admit that they are blessed with a long marriage and that they are a blessing to the congregation at SPPC and that the congregation is a blessing to them. Just like the cakes say.

Rev. Harold McNabb

And speaking of words, our guest minister, Rev. Harold McNabb finished his sermon by suggesting prayers we might use ourselves at the close of the day and upon waking. He offered this as a simple, start of the day plea, "Lord, don't let me say anything stupid today."
That's a lot easier to remember than 

Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips. Ecclesiastes 10:12

The Bible devotes many verses to warnings about the power of words. 

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29 

 Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24

The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. Proverbs 18:8

These are passages we recognize as Biblical language. "Don't let me say anything stupid," is much plainer to the modern listener.

Thank you Rev. Harold for "making it real," and thank you Margaret and Bill for all the love and care you have shared, over the years, with SPPC.

BTW, the Wednesday study continues this week at 10:00 am. (hint, hint.)

Cherish

 The link for this week's live-streamed service is here

Congratulations to Margaret and Bill-- for 70 years of marriage and for the shout out from "Celebrations" on CHEK TV. 

70th wedding anniversaries are a rarity, but we celebrated another one at SPPC when Doris and Royce MacKinnon hit the same milestone, and in 2012 when Grace and Viv Dodds celebrated 70 years together. Maybe we should promote our congregation as an avenue to long life and happy families. 

Grace and Viv Dodds 70 years

Considering anniversaries got me thinking about weddings and wedding vows. The modern trend is for couples to write their own vows, e.g. I vow to never make you read books. I vow to attend any doctor's appointment if it will make you feel better.

I love you because you make me proud. Because you are adventurous, not as adventurous as me but pretty close! 

Maybe these kinds of personal vows are meaningful to the couple involved, but I prefer the old fashioned kind that include "for better or worse, for richer or poorer, to laugh with you in joy, to weep with you in sorrow." But nothing beats, "love, honour, and cherish, so long as we both shall live."

The word "cherish" resonates with me. We use the word "love" so flippantly -- I love meatballs, I love Friday nights -- that it can lose significance. The word "cherish," on the other hand, is mostly reserved for deep and meaningful relationships. To cherish to to act, to decide, to care for and to support. Love, as an emotion, is fickle, fleeting and unreliable. Cherish is steadfast.

The pop group, Associations, had a song titled, Cherish. The opening lines are Cherish is the word I use to describe All the feeling that I have hiding here for you inside.

The next lines are banal and don't really work to illustrate my point in this post. 😒

But there is an old song that I think describes "cherish," even though the word is not used.

 I’ll Walk Beside You

I’ll walk beside you through the world today
While dreams and songs and flowers bless your way
I’ll look into your eyes and hold your hand
I’ll walk beside you through the golden land

I’ll walk beside you through the world tonight
Beneath the starry skies ablaze with light
Within your soul love’s tender words I’ll hide
I’ll walk beside you through the eventide

I’ll walk beside you through the passing years
Through days of cloud and sunshine, joys and tears
And when the great call comes, the sunset gleams
I’ll walk beside you to the land of dreams.

— Edward Lockton and Alan Murray, Sung by John McCormack

Congratulations, Bill and Margaret. May you continue to walk side by side.

Influencers

 The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.

Today marks the 45th anniversary of the Terry Fox, Marathon of Hope. I remember when Terry set out on his cross-Canada journey. He didn't have a lot of support. People wondered why he would want to run across the country. Many of us dismissed it as an impossible notion. He got very little fanfare when he dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic. But he had a dream, and he had grit, and he had stamina and he had courage.

By the time he had to halt his run mid-way, the whole country was cheering him on. I knew the doctor who treated Terry in Thunder Bay and he was heart-broken to know that Terry would not get better. Later, I was on a bus in Nevada when a fellow Canadian asked about him and I had to confirm that he was too sick to continue. Tears welled in her eyes. Then we explained about Terry and his marathon to others around us and they were stunned, and wanted to know how to help.

Even though he was unable to complete his run that first Marathon of Hope raised $24.2 million-- long before the age of social media and "Go Fund Me" campaigns.

Since that time, the Terry Fox run in staged every year in towns and cities in every province across the country, and has raised over $900 million for research into a cure for cancer. The funds are now administered by the Terry Fox Research Institute. 

In the CBC "Greatest Canadian" program, Terry Fox came second only to Tommy Douglas. Even though his own run was cut short, Terry's influence has been felt for 45 years and counting.

Our modern age has spawned a different kind of "influencer." These are often self-styled experts who use social media to give advice, or post a rant, or expound their views on a variety of topics. Their aim is to create a business. 

The big difference between these "influencers" and Terry Fox, is that they are working for themselves, whereas he put himself to a gruelling test in order to help others. He knew any cancer treatment breakthroughs funded by his efforts, would come too late for him. He ran to beat cancer and help the many, many others afflicted by this dreadful disease.

Next Saturday, we are all invited to emulate Terry in a walk along the Gorge in Victoria. It is a fundraiser for PWS&D (Presbyterian World Service and Development) as it works to alleviate food insecurity around the world, especially in the most troubled areas. Walk for Hope is planned at the Gorge Waterway Park on Saturday, September 20 at 9:30 a.m., meeting at the parking lot by the pavilion at Kinsman Gorge Park near the Tillicum Bridge. Further information can be found at:  https://presbyterian.ca/pwsd/together-in-motion-and-song/  

If you have a love of hymn singing, you can join with like minded folks on Thursday, Sept. 25, 7:00 pm Trinity (2964 Tillicum Rd, Victoria.) If you don't want to drive that far you can always come to SPPC for choir at 7:00 pm any Thursday!

Who are your "influencers?" Are you caught up in the lives of celebrities or sports heroes? Do they inspire you to "love your neighbour?"

Remember that Jesus Christ is the greatest "influencer" of all time. His life and work changed the world. His teachings have reverberated through the centuries, inspiring the best of humanity. Let us "follow" Him.

Back to the Beginning

 The link to this week's live-streamed service is here.

The calendar this year didn't allow us any ease before the start of the fall term. With Labour Day falling on Sept. 1, we were back to school, back to work and back to routine immediately as August disappeared.

So, what did you do on your summer vacation? 

• I learned a new way to discourage deer from eating my garden. 
• Darlene learned how to operate our live-stream. 
• Janet and crew reunited with family in England after a ten year absence. 
• Pam travelled and travelled and travelled. 
• Joan went to Scotland and came home to a mountain of recycling. 
  

At SPPC Rev. Irwin preached a series on the Book of Revelation, i.e. the end of our Bible. On the first Sunday of September, he preached on Genesis 1, the beginning. Seems like an "alpha and omega" moment to me.

As we turn to Genesis, we read about God creating the day and the night, the sky, the seas, and the earth. He populated the seas with living things, filled the skies with birds and the land with animals. At the end of each day, God looked upon what He had created and declared it "Good." Finally, God created humanity, in His own image. He placed them in the garden of Eden and gave them dominion over all other creatures. On the seventh day, God rested.

After that, things became "not so good." 

On Saturday I listened to a Vinyl Café story about a grade five lad who goes to the store to buy school supplies. He gets a pink eraser, a bottle of white-out and a roll of correction-tape. He forgot to buy notebooks or pencils to, as his dad says, "put his errors in."

I wonder if God was tempted to use the eraser and the white-out to eliminated His troublesome "error" when humanity allowed sin to enter Eden. In fact, we read in the story of Noah and the flood, that God did destroy much of Creation because of man's disobedience. But, Noah followed God's commands, and the living creatures of the earth were saved. When the flood waters receded, life on earth returned. God promised never again to destroy all living things and He placed a rainbow in the sky as a remembrance of His promise.

Now, as we all start back to "school" we'll need the erasers, or the "delete" key regularly. We will make mistakes, but we can rub them out and start over, secure in the knowledge that God won't give up on us. Whether our path is "straight and narrow" or filled with bumps and twists and detours, God is ready to forgive and forget. When God forgives, He erases our errors, not even leaving a smudge on the paper.

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Isaiah 43:25

For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more. Hebrews 8:12

As we set out on the new term at SPPC, let us remember God's mercy and His providence. Let us be faithful and bold in our service to Him.

Hazy, Lazy Days of Summer.

 The link for this week's live-streamed service is here.

 

Pam Day

It has been a very long time since I had children in the school system, but I still look forward to the “Summer Break”.  Someone was really “on to” something when they gifted us this “Rhythm for Life”.

In a world full of troubles, and with lives full of “to do” lists, we all need to hit pause from our busy schedules, and  Summer Break gives us permission to do just that.

What a blessing to have an opportunity to change gear!

Will it be a time of rest and re-creation, or will it be the fulfillment of another “Bucket List”?

For me, this year has been one of many travels; some planned and some unexpected, but all were meaningful and enriching, although quite exhausting! 
We get to choose what works for us as individuals, but the Lord who made us knows exactly what we need.

This can be the gift of time to rest and be refreshed, to visit and re-connect with loved ones; to reflect upon our values and re-assess our goals and objectives, and to reflect upon our relationship with God and His provision for us.

Jesus and his disciples took time away from the neediness of the crowds and demands of the day, to rest and pray and be refreshed; and if they needed this, I certainly do!

 Psalm 23, leads us beside still waters to restore our souls.

 As Summer draws to a close I am ready to rest awhile and take some time reading the Word,  prayer and contemplation; that I might seek the Lord and re-connect to the Giver of Life, and re-orient my wayward self to His purpose for my life.

 

 

Ed. Note: My thanks to Pam for this week's post. She has given me a little time for rest and refreshment too.