What Does Church Look Like?

Since the formation of the Malahat South Mission Study Team, we've been imagining what church might look like.  

For most of us, it looks like this. 

For others, it looks like this.

. 

It could look like  this. 

Or this.

                                                     Or this. 

Or even this

While we consider and seek and pray about what our church might look like in the future, here's a little lesson, as told to the children by my favourite anonymous source.  

The Man who built a Cathedral

Once upon a time a king asked one of his subjects to build a cathedral for him. The king gave the man a large sum of money, but, as the man left the palace, he saw a poor woman with several children and they were hungry so he gave her some of the money.

He saw a beggar man who needed clothes and shoes and he continued to help many more poor people.

Some time later the king asked the man how the work was going. Very well he replied - but he needed more money. He did the same with it as before and he kept coming back to the king for more money.

Finally the king demanded to see how the building was coming on. “Where is my cathedral” he asked.

“It is being built in heaven” the man replied.

At first the king was angry but, being a good man, he understood and realized that this was much better than a monument on earth.

Are we building something beautiful in heaven?

By being kind and thoughtful,

 by loving people and helping them

Jesus said “Don’t store up treasure on earth because it will rust or the moths will eat it. Store up your treasure in 
heaven.”  Matt. 6: 19-20

The Evidence

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, Romans 1:20


These are the words of St. Paul to the early church in Rome. Surely spring in this part of the world bears witness to their truth.

A walk in the Butchart Gardens last week revealed a symphony of pink and blue and white in tulips, forget-me-nots and hyacinth. 

 Surprises lurked around every corner.  Who knew daffodils came in apricot, with ruffles? Certainly not the visitors from Edmonton who wondered why they saw people in shorts when they got off the plane.

This tiny trout lily, blooming under a rhododendron flaunted its subtle beauty amid the show-offs of the spring flower bed.

On a drive up-Island, dogwood and May trees gleamed white against the conifers.  

Bees buzz in the heather.

The apple blossoms in delicate pink and white shower the earth with petals and the air with sweet fragrance.

As a gardener I wage war on the dandelion, but who can truly hate a flower that looks like the sun and spreads its glory so freely in roadside and meadow, proclaiming to the world that spring has come.

 It invites children to "look for butter under your chin" when you hold the yellow face close to yours.  So generous is the dandelion that a whole schoolroom of children can weave bracelets and coronets without limiting the wild display.

On Good Friday a man from Beijing visited our church.  Coming from a smog-choked  city, he was awestruck by clear air and a blue sky.

Paul goes on to warn that those who "know the truth," as manifest in creation, yet disregard God "have no excuse,"  and will suffer the consequences of their actions.  Do not be among the deniers.  Look about, see the evidence of God's care and abundance.  Rejoice in His gifts.
  "All things bright and beautiful . . . the Lord God made them all."

What's in the Cake?

We had a couple of significant birthdays at church this Sunday.  Yolanda and Royce both celebrated being over 90.  Of course, we had cake.  It was delicious -- lemony with marzipan and lots of icing.

On Good Friday, we heard about another cake with an unusual filling.  Our worship service rested on "The Seven Last Words of Christ,"  by Joseph Haydn.  It is recognized as one of Haydn's most profound works.  Even the composer rated it superior to his oratorios.

DieMahler String Quartet

Yet when it came to payment, the priest who commissioned it, paid Haydn with a cake!  The priest was not as parsimonious as first impressions suggest.  When Hayden cut into the cake, he found it was filled with gold coins!

   

   So, what's in our cake?  Here's a children's story from my favourite anonymous contributor.

Today we're going to mix up a cake.  (The preacher put sugar, oil, chocolate in a bowl, but he didn't measure or even break open the egg.)

What do you think of our cake so far?  Not much!  We have the right ingredients, but they are not put together properly.

Most of us have many things in life:  food, friends, home, school, clothing, family . . . But it is not enough to have them, you must use them right, just like baking a cake.

   Sad but true, many folk have many wonderful things from God, but they use them all wrong.  They have toys, but treat them roughly and break them; family, but don't treat them with respect; friends, but don't really do what is best for them.

It's not so important what you may or may not have, it is that you use what you have in a right way.

(Back to the muck in the mixing bowl) We have all the right ingredients, but we haven't made a good cake.  So you and I can have many good things in life, but we can ruin them if we don't put them together properly.

Let us ask God to help us use all His wonderful gifts in a good way.

Whoever made the birthday cake we enjoyed on Sunday, used all the ingredients in the right way.  Thank you to them, and to my contributor for making "cake" a metaphor for Christian living.

   

                                   

SPPC Easter 2016

"Sunrise?" at Cy Hampson Park

Our orchestra

It didn't rain!

Guest Musicians at 10:00 am service

Afternoon Rainbow over Cy Hampson Park

Happy Easter

Christ is Risen

Hallelujah!

Good Friday -- Seven Last Words

 Once again, SPPC is blessed to have as guests, the DieMahler String Quartet performing Haydn's The Seven Last Words of Christ, at our Good Friday service.
A devout man, Haydn undertook this commission from a deeply religious conviction, anxious to illuminate the text "without fatiguing the listener." He succeeded admirably.  The work was immensely popular during his lifetime and has continued to find a place in the musical repertoire up to the present time.  Haydn, himself, considered the set of meditations to be among his greatest works, superior to either of his later oratorios, The Creation and The Seasons
   Each movement is a musical reflection on the seven last words Christ spoke from the cross.

 I. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34)
II.  Today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:43)
III. Mother, behold thy son (John 19:26)
IV. My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34)
V.  I thirst (John 19:28)
VI. It is finished (John 19:30)
VII. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit (Luke 23:46)

This service encourages the worshipper to a personal meditation  on the profound events of Good Friday.  

All are welcome.  Worship begins at 10:00 am.


Other Easter Events:
Maundy Thursday -- 6:00 pm Meal in the Upper Room
Good Friday           -- 10:00 am Seven Last Words of Christ
Easter Sunday        -- 8:00 am  Sunrise service, Cy Hampson Park
                                 -- 9:00 am Breakfast in Molloy Hall
                                 -- 10:00 am  Worship in the Sanctuary

Mission Study Update

January meeting with Rev. Bill Lawser

Recently there was an open meeting for anyone interested in the renewal process begun by the Malahat South Mission Study Team.  At the meeting Rev. Irwin shared the results of Rev. Lawser's analysis of our church.  Turns out our parking lot and our building are major assets for a healthy congregation, although our lack of dedicated classroom space is a drawback.
    Because Rev. Lawser is a numbers man, there were lots of charts and graphs to illustrate his assessment of our situation.  

 

This one shows the use of our building.  The big blue area refers to congregational use and the red refers to community use.  This is not a bad mix, but leaves room for more rentals without interfering with the congregation's use of its own space. 

I found this chart more telling.

That six percent for decision making refers to things like committee meetings and administration.  It's a reasonable number for a congregation of our size.  Direct spiritual development includes worship and Bible Study, relational development encompasses potlucks, Friendship coffee, and similar social events.  Mission, in this case, refers to "hands on" work by members of the congregation.  Because the numbers were taken from 2015 and included the mission trip to the Dominican Republic, the percentage is higher than it would have been in a normal year.

   The question was asked if SPPC "passed" the healthy church test. The answer was that we need to work on our pie.  According to Rev. Lawser, we should aim for an equal division between mission, relationships and spiritual development. Our congregation is very generous in its financial support when disaster strikes anywhere in the world.  We are faithful in supporting the Sidney Food Bank, Our Place, the Blue Bus, the Compassionate Warehouse and our foster child, not to mention the thousands of knitted cotton squares sent to places like Africa to aid the hospitals and clinics there.  We are not lacking in compassion and awareness.  Where we lack is the "hands on" aspect of mission. 

   After reviewing Rev. Lawser's analysis we were invited to do some "blue sky" thinking about SPPC and it's mission in Sidney/N. Saanich and the rest of the peninsula.  We were guided by the following questions:

• What is the crossroads our congregation is faced with at this time?
• What is the story about the congregation you hear yourself telling most often or that gives you identiy as a congregation?
• How does this story shape the future?
• How does this story restrict the future?
• What do we want to create together?

The discussion included notes on what we do now.  Is it effective?  What creative ways can we reach people? e.g. mid-week worship.  Our parking lot is an asset.  Can we use it to promote our mission? e.g. host outdoor events.  Can we make SPPC a community gathering place?  We must realize that social culture has shifted and most people are not looking for "church" as we know it.  Worship is not top of mind to the people running marathons on Sunday morning, but helping those in need is.  Can SPPC provide a focus for that general good will?
   While we look for other ways to engage with the community around us, we remember that our "great commision" remains, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching. 

The "what" of our mission hasn't changed.  The "how" must.

As we stand in this crossroads we have the great comfort of Jesus' words,  "lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." 

Priorities

The Annual Congregational Meeting was on Sunday.  In preparation we all received a copy of the annual report for 2015. The document is thirty pages long.  Four pages are for the budget and three for financial reports, making seven pages concerned with money, or 23% of our annual report.  Less than one quarter.  
Another seven pages is taken up with administrative stuff -- minutes of last year's meeting, session and committee membership. 

The rest of the report, more than half, deals with the life of the congregation.  Baptisms, deaths, music, Christian education, fellowship, mission, outreach, worship, pastoral care and many other items that show our care for one another, our care for our church and our care for the world.  There are reports on how we celebrated, how we grieved and how we worshipped. 

Churches are often accused of caring more about budgets than people.  The breakdown or our annual report shows just the opposite.  We devote much more space to people than to money. Analysis of the budget shows that we're invested in spending our money on worship (people), missions (people), and education (people).  We have to pay the hydro, maintain the building, cut the grass and pay salaries, necessary expenses in order that we may get on with our real work -- helping people.

Some people skip the annual meeting and barely glance at the annual report because they don't like the dry, administrative stuff.  If you have a close look at our annual report you'll find it's not that dry at all.  It reminds us of the 90th birthday celebrations, a trip to the IMAX, Christmas eve candlelight and hot apple cider.  There's a picture of "Humphrey, the Lonely Cello."  There's an account of a mission trip to the Dominican Republic and the evidence of God at work in that place.  All in all 2015 was an exciting year at SPPC.  Read all about, in the annual report.