Pull Up a Chair

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

Last week Friendship Coffee held their first post-Christmas get-together at SPPC. Since the snow had mostly melted and the rain had eased up a bit there was a good turnout. Around thirty people pulled up a chair and chatted with their friends over a cup of coffee and a goodie. We always have goodies at Saanich Peninsula Presbyterian Church!

Apart from Sunday morning worship, Friendship Coffee may be the oldest, continuously running program at the church. The cornerstone of our building was laid in 1990, making the structure, 34 years old. Friendship Coffee has been running for twenty-nine of those years -- a testament to the deep desire for community among our members and friends of the congregation. 

The "pull up a chair" reference made me think of our upcoming Bible Study. Larry Crabb's first chapter talks of people sitting in a row of chairs not talking or even looking at each other--an odd sort of isolation in the midst of company. His suggestion is that we turn our chairs and begin a conversation. If you ever feel that kind of isolation, I invite you to attend any of the functions at SPPC. Friendship Coffee or Bible Study are good places to start.

The new Bible Study session begins this Wed. Jan. 31, at 10:00 am and 7:00 pm. 

Choir practice is on Thursday at 7:00 pm. New members always welcome. 

Looking ahead there is a vintage fashion show and tea on February 29 (leap day), at 2:00 pm. There will be scones.

Please join us for any of these events, and, of course, worship at 10:00 am on Sundays, followed by coffee hour for any who want to enjoy a chat. We are a very friendly and hospitable congregation. 

Building Gratitude

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

In every thing, give thanks.  I Thess. 5:18

Two snow days this week. Lots of reasons to grumble and fret. Or, we can follow Paul's advice and give thanks.

Here's my list. 

• Thank you God for unscheduled time
• Thank you God for unread books
• Thank you God for snow plough operators that work around the clock
• Thank you God for a carrier who delivered my daily newspaper through the bad weather
• Thank you God for this amazing creation that includes the beauty of snow

My list could be longer but you get the idea. 

I'd like to elaborate on the "time and books" ones. 

My "to be read" pile is always in danger of toppling over, so I've made real progress on getting it under control this past week. One of the books at the top of the stack was Larry Crabbe's The Safest Place on Earth, the text for our up-coming Bible Study. There is lots to learn from this book but one of the main takeaways is that we all long for spiritual community. I've been pondering on that idea.

Ever notice that when you focus on one idea, you see manifestations of it everywhere?  Psychologists try to explain the phenomenon as the Baader-Meinhof Phenonemon.You can read a complicated version of the theory here. 

Or, perhaps, I am being Spirit led. 

My Christmas wish list always includes books. The volumes that show up under my tree open new doors I might never have discovered on my own. 

Some reads are light (cats and a coffee shop, thank you Jerusha) but the concept of meaningful relationships is central to the story. 

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan was a one-day read yet it was a profoundly moving story. A man, Bill Furlong, in 1985 Ireland, has come from very disadvantaged beginnings yet made a good life for himself. He discovers a suffering child. If he helps her, he puts at risk the life he has built -- business, wife, daughters. This moral dilemma only arises because Bill has explored his relationships at a spiritual level.

. . ."We should not be too quick to censure the weaker brethren . . .because it is not necessarily their fault that they are weak. We must support them. We must offer them our hand. We must allow them to lean upon our shoulder as we make our way through life. If the hand on your shoulder is that of one of the weaker brethren, then do not brush it away, but allow it to remain there until you reach the other side." -- From a Far and Lovely Country, by Alexander McCall Smith.

When I read that paragraph it seemed to echo the thesis presented by Larry Crabbe, about building spiritual communities.

From The Sound of Life's Unspeakable Beauty, by Martin Schleske, translated by Janet Gesme. "A violin-maker does not accidentally happen upon marvellous tone-wood. Our search for treasured timber became a metaphor for the pursuit of something deeper and more meaningful. If the sound of a good violin requires travelling . . . difficult paths and putting in . . . arduous effort, how could the sound of our lives demand less? Did not God give us a longing heart so that we would search for him?"

Another author echoing the central theme of our upcoming Bible Study. (First session is Jan. 31, 2024, 10:00 am.) All are welcome to join this community.

The Friendship Coffee coming up this week on Thursday, is an opportunity to build community. Thanks to those who make it possible.

As the snow melts, my unscheduled time shrinks, but I hope I have made good use of the gift God sent.  

The Best Laid Plans

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

Well, that week did not go according to plan. To begin, Rev Irwin caught COVID-19 so the planned session meeting had to be postponed. The church secretary is ill, so the planned distribution of Bible Study materials did not happen. Bad weather on Thursday forced the cancellation of the planned choir practice. I'm sure cancelled ferries and power outages upset the plans for thousands of people across the South Island over the past few days.

At this point I was going to reference Robbie Burns and his mouse, but Rev. Irwin already used that allusion in his weekly letter to the congregation.

Instead, I'll point you to The Best Laid Plans, by Terry Fallis, a funny book about Canadian politics. (I know, oxymoron) It's a bit dated now but it will keep you laughing out loud while you rebook your missed appointments and wait for the weather to warm up.

It would seem that a good part of planning for the future is to develop a contingency plan, too.

In the case of SSPC, we were fortunate that Ruth McCowan was available to fill in in the pulpit on Sunday. We have often called on Ruth for pulpit supply and are grateful for her presence and her thoughtful leadership, both at SPPC and throughout the Presbyterian Church on Vancouver Island.

Our talented music director, Larry Skaggs, covered the "choir anthem" slot in the service with a cello solo, which made our visiting minister very happy. As I used to tell my junior choir "there are no mistakes, just unplanned harmonies."

There are still two weeks before our first Bible Study session of the new term, so no need to panic about the study materials just yet. 

Our last Bible Study session on Proverbs was entitled "Planning the Future." One verse in particular could be applied to this past week.

In his heart a man plans his course
but the Lord determines his steps.  Proverbs 16:9 MEV

Scripture abounds in assurances that God is in charge. Like this oft-quoted verse from Jeremiah.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer. 29:11

The call to worship on Sunday morning included the line

Before we were born, God knew us.
God knit us together in the womb.

Even as I murmur against the forced revision of my schedule, I'm seeing a pattern here.  

We don't like it when our plans are upset. We get grumpy. We might even yell at God for sending a snowstorm when we wanted to travel. If you are stuck at home this week, why not dwell on the words, "plans to give you hope and a future." Our schemes are for the immediate time. God's plans are far beyond our understanding and our timing, but they are for our good. As followers of Christ, we can live confidently with that promise.

Here are ancient words set to century's old music, assuring us of God's ultimate care. Thou Knowest Lord, the Secrets of Our Hearts.

Twelfth Night

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

Now that Epiphany Sunday (Twelfth Night) has passed, Christmas is officially over in the church calendar. Of course, for some in the secular world, Christmas ended on Boxing Day. I noticed a lively debate on Facebook re the correct day to take down decorations. Some say it is bad luck to take them down before Epiphany while others want the "mess" cleaned up by Christmas night.

There are also social media posts debating "The Twelve Days of Christmas" -- the song, that is, not the church's definition. Many people think the gifts are code for Christian beliefs, especially Catholic beliefs, written at a time when Roman Catholics in England were persecuted. 

However, there is no real evidence to support this theory. The earliest known version of the song, appeared in a 1780 children’s book called Mirth With-Out Mischief, and was designed as a “memory and forfeits” game. If the singer makes a mistake in the long list of gifts, he must pay a forfeit, usually a kiss. Given that Christmastide tended toward revelry and carousing, I wonder if some of those "mistakes" were made on purpose.

If all the gifts named are added together they come out to 364 and would cost nearly $200,000.00 in today's currency. If you want to hear a comic version of the cost of the gifts -- especially to the recipient -- listen to this one.

The actual twelve days of Christmas varies from denomination to denomination and from century to century and from region to region. In 567 AD, the Council of Tours "proclaimed the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany 

For the Eastern Orthodox, there is no fasting in the period between Christmas and Epiphany. (Maybe that's why we eat so much during the Christmas season.)  For Orthodox Christians, each day celebrates another event around the birth of Christ. e.g. The Nativity of Jesus, The Adoration of the Shepherds of Bethlehem, the arrival of the Magi, the role of the Virgin Mary,  the Feast of St. Stephen, and the feast of the Holy Innocents, among others.

In western Christianity, the celebration of events is similar, but the dates may differ. Some churches include Christmas Day in the twelve, while others don't start the countdown until Dec. 26. 

Part of this confusion is the use of both the Julian and Gregorian calendar. You may have noticed the Ukrainian cultural centre in Victoria, preparing to celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6. Although, because of the war with Russia, Ukraine itself moved the celebration to Dec. 25.

While the birth of Christ is recorded in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, there are many non-Biblical Christmas traditions that have grown through the ages.
The nativity scene we consider necessary to Christmas decorations comes from Italy, probably originated in the 10th century and popularized by St. Francis of Assisi in the thirteenth.

Our red, green, and gold decorations are symbolic. Red for the blood of Jesus, green for eternal life, and gold, one of the gifts of the Magi.

At SPPC and in our homes, we erect a Christmas tree sometime before Dec. 24. The Christmas tree was first used by German Lutherans in the 16th century, with records indicating that a Christmas tree was placed in the Cathedral of Strassburg in 1539,

Homes, shop windows and churches abound in poinsettia's at this time of year. The plant, a native of Mexico, entered our culture because its shape resembles the Star of Bethlehem.

It wouldn't be Christmas without carols. But, apart from the angels, there are no choirs recorded in the Gospels. Christmas carols probably originated in Rome during the fourth century. English carols became common in the fifteenth century and were sung by wassailers, travelling from house to house. (Don't confuse wassailers with modern day carollers. The medieval version sang, then offered a drink from the wassail bowl to the homeowner in exchange for gifts. In my youth we would go carolling just for the joy of it, usually singing for those who were alone or shut-in. Offers of money were quickly refused.)

Completely secular Christmas seasonal songs emerged in the late 18th century. "Deck the Halls" dates from 1784, and the American "Jingle Bells" was copyrighted in 1857.

Whew! So many customs and I haven't even touched on Santa Claus/Sinterklaas/St. Nicholas/Father Christmas and the tradition of gift giving. With all this excess and confusion, it's no wonder the Puritans tried to ban Christmas altogether. But even Oliver Cromwell could not keep folk from celebrating the birth of Christ with music and pageantry and song.

We have had a wonderful Christmas filled with rich tradition, joyful music, and heart-warming reminiscence. But, after all that shortbread and fruit cake and chocolate and plum pudding I find myself craving the cold, crisp crunch of celery. I'm ready to embrace the unadorned, straight-forward Gospel of Mark, rushing headlong into the Good News. 

Happily, Rev. Irwin has a sermon series coming up on just that topic. 

Welcome to the season after Twelfth Night. See you in church.

Happy New Year

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

 

By a quirk of the calendar, this post goes live on New Year's Day. So, first off, let me wish everyone a Happy 2024!

At this time of transition from the old year to the new there are many tasks to undertake. Time to clean out the business files from 2023 and start a new set for 2024. Time to clean up the Christmas decorations and put away the Christmas presents. Time to look at the budget -- your own, your business', or the church's. 

It's also a time to review the last twelve months and consider what we've learned. The media is full of such reviews, some are fun, some are disquieting. One survey I saw asked Canadians to rate their "happiness scale." Given the amount of angst on the nightly news, it came as a pleasant surprise to find that 70% of Canadians considered themselves very happy or pretty happy. (Angus Reid Poll)

Another newscast reported on Canadians "word for the year." Again, a surprising 37% chose "grateful." Another 37% responded with "exhausting." I guess it depends on whether you are a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty sort of person, which word more closely sums up your year.

When I consider the violence, hunger, anger, and need that exists in these days of transition, I am tempted to choose "overwhelming" as my word. But then, my friend gave me a devotional book for Christmas. It is titled 100 Days of Grace and Gratitude. Day one begins with the statement "Today is a brand-new day that God has made just for you. It's a day that's bright and fresh, ready and waiting for new beginnings to unfold." It reminds of the line in Anne of Green Gables when Anne exclaims, "tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet."

Day 100 of my Christmas gift reads "Gratitude and grace -- two key ingredients for a tranquil life of godliness and dignity."

All of these references to gratitude suggest that God is urging me to eschew the "exhausting" or "overwhelmed" camp and stay rooted in the "gratitude" brigade. 

That is only a question of focus. I am surrounded by family and friends who enrich my life. The CBC is running clips for "Kindness -- it's a Canadian Thing." I am part of a caring community at SPPC that bring laughter and purpose to life.  Everyday I'm filled with wonder and joy in God's creation. Have you seen the sunrises these past few weeks? They are amazing.

One of my favourite passages for January 1 is "The Gate of the Year." King George VI reference it in his Christmas address to the nation in 1939 when Britain faced the dark days of World War II. 

. . . I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”

And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

It is Christmas -- God has sent His Son, Emmanuel, the greatest gift of all. Let us put our trust in Him, and go forth into 2024 with a mind to gratitude.