The Church's One Foundation

 Over the summer the congregation has been asked to name their favourite hymns to be sung during the collection of the offering.  These requests seemed like great blog material for me, especially when I know of a great resource!  Dr. Cecil Kirk, late of our congregation, had a passion for the great hymns of the church and wrote commentary on hundreds of them.  On July 1, we sang The Church's One Foundation.  Here's what Dr. Kirk had to say about it.

Scripture reading: 2 Peter 2. 1 - 3



This wonderful hymn on the nature of the Church was the product of a bitter controversy that disturbed the peace of the Anglican communion in the mid-nineteenth century. At that time a South African bishop rejected the doctrine of eternal punishment and questioned the traditional authorship of the Pentateuch. Stone, a young curate of Windsor, wrote this hymn in defence of the traditional catholic faith. It is based on the ninth article of the Apostles' Creed: "I believe in the holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints" and summarizes the Church as it should be in God's design, as it is in today's world and as it one day shall be.

The hymn begins with the origin of the Church and re-echoes Paul's bold affirmation: "Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, even Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 3. 11). The Church is a divine organism and not a human institution. Men and women may co-operate in building up the Church but all our building must be on the foundation stone of Jesus Christ. The Church is Christ's "new creation", a fellowship of people who have been born anew "by water and the word", through the preaching of the gospel and the water of baptism. And not only did Christ create the Church, he also purchased her "with His own blood" and espoused himself to her as "His holy bride".

The Church of Christ is universal: "elect from every nation", its members are, nevertheless, "one o'er all the earth". The thought is that of the unity of the Church and this theme is continued throughout the stanza which is really a commentary on Paul's description of the Church in his letter to the Ephesians (4. 4-6). Her one Lord is Jesus Christ; the one faith she professes is the historic faith of the Church condensed in the creeds; her one birth is the new birth through the ministry of the Holy Spirit; the one name she blesses is the strong name of the Trinity; the one food of which she partakes is the body and blood of Christ in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper and the one hope to which she presses is the hope of glory.

With the words "Though with a scornful wonder . . " we have a reference to the problems which caused the hymn to be written. Unfortunately there are still schisms and heresies which distress and tear asunder the unity of the Church and these continue to rage even today, but we have the assurance that the "night of weeping" will give way to "the morn of song". That hope emerges in the concluding verses where we view the Church as triumphant and glorified. Here below we know the "toil and tribulation and tumult of her war" but this state of conflict will not last for ever. There will come a day when "her longing eyes" will be blessed by the vision of Christ himself and the Church, victorious at last, will be at rest.

All this lies in the future. In the meantime there are two blessings to comfort us. One is the union we have with "God the Three in One". God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is present with us day by day through worship, daily communion, the Scriptures, the sacraments and the faith of his people. And that is a union which cannot be destroyed. We also have "mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won". That fellowship with those who have departed this scene of time comes through Jesus Christ. He is the one who has conquered death, the one who is the resurrection and the life, and all who believe in him are alive for evermore. We think with joy and gladness of those who have preceded us into the heavenly kingdom and we look forward to a wonderful re-union with them in the presence of our Lord. In the meantime we pray for the grace which will enable us to make that prayer a reality.  --Dr. Cecil Kirk

My thanks to Edna Kirk for sharing this essay.

Fare Thee Well

    The beginning of summer signalled a couple of good-byes at SPPC.  The first was the Men's Breakfast.  The second was a farewell to one of our founding members.


    

       June 30 marked the last Men’s Breakfast, in the current format. 

Eight of us came to celebrate the final breakfast hosted by Bill Stuart, who has looked after this mission of our church for the past 17 years.  Roy Napier thanked Bill, on behalf of the group, for his dedication over these many years.  Bill, in turn, thanked Al Ljunggren for looking after the money side, as Treasurer, for the entire 24 years since the breakfasts first began.

We still hope the breakfasts will continue, in some form, after the summer holidays.   by Brian Lawrence
                                               *****

     Along with eleven others, Phyllis Lindsay is a founding member of SPPC.  In 1983 this dedicated group, called St. Andrew's North at the time, were constituted a congregation and began meeting in the Sidney area.  They used schools, community halls, other churches and the Masonic Lodge as meeting places, before the present church was constructed in 1990.  Phyllis remembers the day the shovels went into the ground as a highlight of her life.  As well as being a founding member, she has served on various committees and is an elder of long-standing.  SPPC would not be what it is today without Phyllis.  Now, for family reasons, she and her son, Chris, are moving from the peninsula -- Phyllis to northern B.C. and Chris to Saskatoon.  

  
  To mark our appreciation for Phyllis and for Chris, we had a party.  Scottish tradition is important in the Lindsay family, so this little man came along.

Of course, we started with a meal, wonderfully prepared by a staff of volunteers.  Roast beef, ham, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots and bumbleberry pie for dessert.

Then we adjourned to the sanctuary, where we sang some of Phyllis' favourite hymns and a few Scottish ballads.


  There were many words of appreciation, good wishes for the future and the sadness of farewell -- and a couple of gifts.  The first, for a smile, was an electric wind shield scraper. Phyllis is going north!  On a more serious note, a watercolour, painted by our own Bill Richer, will travel with Phyllis as a reminder of SPPC and the peninsula.  The painting portrays the view from Dunsmuir Lodge out over the Saanich Inlet.

     We tried to give Phyllis the last word, -- she reminisced about the early days of the congregation and the people who built it -- but the final amen went to the choir who sang an Irish Blessing for Phyllis and Chris. 


 It's hard to say good-bye, but we wish them God speed and many blessings.

Canada Day

                                                                                                                                         

by Alice Valdal

As we celebrate Canada Day, I got to thinking about anthems, and hymns and wondering what made some timeless and others  fleeting. " The Maple Leaf Forever" was an unofficial anthem for Canada for many years but has fallen out of favour latterly because of its militaristic language and emphasis on Canada's British heritage to the exclusion of all others.  It's still a great tune, beloved of marching bands.  Did you know there is a whole new set of words?  Ones that emphasis the beauty of the land itself and acknowledge our status as a nation of immigrants from all over the world.  It will be interesting to see if the new version seeps into the consciousness of the next generation as surely as the old version soaked into the hearts and minds of a previous one.

   Hymns raise similar questions.  Why is it that "Guide Me , O Thou Great Jehovah" has rung down through the ages since the words were written in the mid-18th century, while "Jesus is the Man" set to the same tune, Cwm Rhondda, first appeared in The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada in 1971 but didn't make it into Voices United, the current hymn book of the United Church?  "God of Concrete, God of Steel"

also appeared in the 1971 book but disappeared in the later one.  Neither hymn appears in the latest hymn book of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. 

    Nor does one of the most popular hymns of the 20th century, "In the Garden."  Since it's composition in 1912 this hymn has been published in 190 hymnals, but not those of mainstream Canadian protestant denominations.  

     "For Beauty of Prairies" is a lovely hymn written by Walter Farquharson written in 1971.  It has only been published in two hymnaries, both for the United Church of Canada, probably because the text is very Canadian in its references to "prairies and grandeur of trees."  SPPC has a version of it as a choir anthem.

    Of course, popularity is not the only measure of a hymn's value.  Many hymns once popular hymns have disappeared in modern usage and with good reason.  "All Things Bright and Beautiful" once contained the verse "The rich man in his castle,/The poor man at his gate,/God made them high and lowly,/And ordered their estate."  A sentiment valued by a society that esteemed class and the divine right of kings, but not one that treasures democratic principles.  

    "Holy, Holy, Holy," appears in 1283 hymnals.  I don't know if that's a record but it might be. Of course, this hymn has over 150  years of history.  "The Servant Song" written in 1977 has been published in 21 hymnals, including our own. 

  

    So why "Servant Song" and not "God of Concrete?"  I think the answer lies in the universality of the message.  An ode to cities and construction doesn't reach the hearts of people in many places and many times, but the notion of servanthood is one of the pillars of Christian belief.  Perhaps that's the reason the Presbyterian Church places such emphasis on the Psalms.  We can't go wrong in the theology of our hymns if they are taken from Biblical texts.

    So, what are your favourite hymns?  Have they stood the test of time?  Will they?  Leave a comment below.

    

Church picnic 2012

  One of the staples of the church year is the annual church picnic.  Some are held in a woodland, some in a farmer's field and some in the parking lot.  Ours was held at Island View Beach.  Despite predictions of rain, we had blue skies and sunshine, if a little windy.

   There were four legged visitors:

    Lots of games and races:

   

    Some worked to keep warm:

   Others enjoyed the food:

   Someone lost a tooth.

    And one little one slept peacefully through it all.

      Sunday School is out.  Happy Summer, everyone.

Nepal Night

with notes and slides from Linda Cliff

   Friday evening was Nepal night at SPPC.  Regular readers of this blog know that Linda Cliff spent several weeks in that country last Fall, helping to train hospice nurses.  On Friday, she shared her stories and her pictures with the congregation.

  Of course, we started with food, and wonderful food it was.  
    Then Linda talked about her experiences in a country that is an odd mixture of third world and first world.

Nepal has a population of 29 million people

Average age 20.  Most people  live on less than $2.00 US.

Life expectancy is 62 years.

 Quite by accident Linda and her companions met the "Living Goddess,"  a young girl who is treated as sacred and who seemed quite frightened of these odd Westerners.  

 Then she left a hidden and sacred place to take her chances in the "modern" traffic of Nepal. Buses, cars, cows, goats, dogs and pedestrians all traverse the same narrow path.  Linda believes it was prayer that kept them from some horrific accident on the roads.

This is a picture of a woman being admitted to the hospice in Baratpur where Linda worked.  Her husband will stay with her to care for her during her treatment.  The hospice will supply medical services but the family must look after daily care.  The next picture shows the mat under the bed where the family member will sleep.  The family provides food and does laundry for the patient.  Interestingly, in a country where only 0.5% of the population is Christian, the church is recognized as special.  If there is no one else to care for a patient, the hospice calls the Christian church and they will provide for the necessities of life, even for those considered "untouchable" by others.

  When not working at the hospice Linda explored the country.  Here is a group of school children, note the uniforms.  Education is given a very high priority among the Nepalese.
    She also attended church services and enjoyed the children of the Sunday school.  Sunday school happens after the service is over and is attended by hordes of children, from outside the congregation as well as those within.

   At the other end of the age spectrum is this woman, tired out from long hours of thrashing rice, she has lain down in the straw for a rest. 
    Her time in Nepal fulfilled a life-long dream for Linda, a dream of serving in the mission field.  It also taxed her health and her 
tolerance for dirt!


 Thank you, Linda, for your service and for sharing your experiences with us. 

    

A Happenin' Place

 SPPC  has been a busy place this past few weeks.   It started with a kitchen clean up.  It seems to me the workers had far too much fun! 

Then we had a concert by Hector's Friends, a men's ensemble who sing mostly unaccompanied music, led by our own Michael Denton.

As is the custom at SPPC, the concert was followed by a reception featuring lots of homemade goodies.

Then, on Saturday months of preparation and planning culminated in a giant garage sale.   Members of the congregation brought mountains of stuff to sell then bought mountains of stuff to take back home.

   

And what's a garage sale without

face painting and a bake sale?

Thanks to all to brought and all who bought, to all who sorted and priced and to all who cleaned up afterward.  Your efforts have enriched the church coffers by over $1000.00.

  

If you missed these parties, there is still hope.  On Friday, June 15, we are having a pot luck supper followed by a presentation from Linda Cliff, featuring slides of her recent trip to Nepal.  Then, on Sunday, June 24, pack your hamper for the church picnic, to be held at Island View Beach, following worship.

Such are the joys of living in a church community.

Ed. Note:  For larger view, click on pictures.

Living Water

by E. Saanich Musings

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

John 4: 13-14

Water! In Canada we completely take water for granted. My children swim in it, bathe in it, let it run in the garden while they play in it. We leave the hose running

while we wash the car. We pay no heed to the faucet that drips occasionally.
   When we're thirsty we drink
tumblers of it; when we have aches we either heat it and put it in a hot water bottle and apply it to our injury or freeze it, apply it and then throw it away when we're done.

Well my new tomatoes don't take it for granted! They do not have the ability to fetch it for themselves and without it they suffer severe consequences. I forgot to water them in the busy-ness of last week and when I finally paused to look at them, they looked very sad indeed!
     Filled with wishful thinking I gently watered them and went to bed. Much to my joy, when I came down in the morning, they had perked right up!! Now I just need to get them planted out and settled in a place rich in nourishment and regularly watered.

I can't help but look at those resilient plants and think of
ourselves. We as people go merrily along growing families, developing ourselves, reaching out but so often we forget that we need water. Not just any water, but the Water of Life that only Jesus can give us. We exhaust our resources and neglect to replenish them. Sometimes it is not until we are lank and worn out that we are aware of someone bringing us water. A gentle word of encouragement, the balm of a friend's voice or the reminder that God cares for each of us; draws us back to the source of The Water of Life that replenishes more than just our weary body. It renews our spirit and strengthens us so that once more we can grow and give and live for Christ.     
     Routine is the soil of nourishment. Our regular involvement in our Christian community brings us to a place where we find feeding, where we do not wilt or lack but where we can grow and thrive; bearing the fruits of His garden.
      And God's watering hole? Well that would be His very Word. Scripture itself is our ultimate source of water. Read it regularly, read it with a friend, study it in a group, learn its message from the
preacher on Sunday. Find ways to bump into it in your life and you
will be amazed at how often God reaches out and speaks to YOU!


Ed. note:  Diane Cunningham spends a lot of time on E. Saanich Rd. driving children to dance class, soccer practice, music lessons, Sunday School. . .   She spends some of her road time musing on God's ways.