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Online Bible Study – Mark 12:28-44

March 20, 2020 10:57 am Leave a Comment

Scripture: Mark 12:28-44

Commentary:

We’re stepping away from our study of John and focusing instead on our reading from the Narrative Lectionary for this week.

For the first time since we began following this lectionary in September we’re going out of order. Two weeks ago the reading involved the disciples James and John asking Jesus to have the places of honour after Jesus’ death. After explaining that those who wish to be great must serve others, Jesus comes across Bartimaeus who is blind and restores his sight. Immediately after that Jesus enters Jerusalem in great triumph riding on the back of a donkey. We’ll spend more time focusing on that when we get to Palm Sunday.

The important thing to know is that our passage from Mark 12 happens after Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem and after he has caused controversy by turning over the tables in the temple courtyard (Mark 11:15-17). Despite all of this Jesus remains popular with the many in the crowds and, as a result, a variety of religious officials ask him theological questions in an effort to trap him. Jesus avoids the traps in all of those cases.

That brings us to today’s reading where another religious official, a scribe this time, approaches Jesus.

Given everything that happened before we might expect this new questioner to also be out to trap Jesus, but as it turns out he isn’t. He’s there with an honest question and one that was commonly asked of Rabbis in Jesus’ day. It was a way to get at the essence of a teacher’s philosophy. Hillel the Elder (ca. B.C.E.40– C.E.10), when challenged by a Gentile to “teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot,” replied, “What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof; go and learn it” (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbath 31a).

This is essentially the Golden Rule and very similar to Jesus’ answer to the scribe. Jesus’ answer is one that the scribe is pleased with. Jesus and the scribe part ways with mutual respect and the exchange between them puts an end to the religious leaders’ questions to Jesus.

The author of Mark creates a nice contrast to that episode with the next section of text. Jesus returns to teaching the crowds in the temple and after a teaching that points to the nature of the Messiah in verses 35-37 Jesus goes on to denounce the scribes for being religious hypocrites who want to be honoured and go through the forms of religion without actually living it out.

We need to take this passage with a grain of salt.

Given verses 28-34, Jesus can’t actually be talking about all of the scribes here. In the first century as now there were people who acted out the commandment to love others and people who didn’t and people who were somewhere in between. Then as now there were people who sought out honour in the public sphere but didn’t act with honour in their private lives and these people were of all religions.

Finally, there is the story of the widow’s offering. The woman who puts in two small coins into the temple treasury. Jesus, witnessing this, notes that this woman has given more than the other people bringing offerings to the temple because she has so little to begin with.

You may be asking at this point why these verses are put together into one week’s reading. On the surface they don’t seem to have much in common. In the end though the second half of the section contains illustrations of the first half, of how to live it out and how not to live it out.

Below you’ll find some questions to think about. Share your thoughts by sending an email to spucajax@gmail.com with the subject line Bible Study – Mark 12:28-44 and we will share them in the next blog posting.

Food for Thought

1. How do you live out the greatest commandments in your daily life? How has that changed in anyway during the last week? If so, how?
2. Can you think of a time when you didn’t live out the greatest commandment? What were the circumstances.
3. Imagine that you are living in the first century and that you are hearing Jesus teach for the first time? Add in as much detail as you can. What is the crowd like? How do you react to what Jesus is saying?
4. Do you have any other questions or thoughts?

 

SPECIAL NewsFlash – Saturday, March 14, 2020

March 14, 2020 2:30 pm Leave a Comment

NEW

Please know that the Task Force met again this morning and was joined by the Director of Music to discuss next steps given the most current information.

Based on a review of what is happening at other communities of faith, the decision was made to hold a shortened worship service this Sunday and to advise the congregation that we are CANCELLING services for the next few weeks with the goal of returning on April 5th (Palm Sunday), depending on the situation at the time.

Anyone attending worship tomorrow will be asked to sanitize their hands upon entering the building and will be directed to sit in pews that have been marked with a GREEN X to show the recommended space required for social distancing.

• We have alerted our tenants that the church building will be closed until April 5^th.  They are contacting their own stakeholders.
• The Director of Music has emailed the choir.
• Church groups/committees should make arrangements to meet via phone or virtually if a meeting is required. Committee chairs should contact their group members to advise accordingly
• The Open Cupboard will also be closed until after April 5^th.

The United Church of Canada has updated their website with more resources on how communities of faith can meet online – see https://www.united-church.ca/covid-19 – and we will be exploring how to use these resources and the phone tree to ensure we stay in touch and support each other over the next few weeks.

ONGOING

• We are closely monitoring the evolving COVID-19 situation.  The health and safety of everyone at St. Paul’s United Church Ajax is our highest priority and primary concern.
• A Task Force comprised of the Minister, Past Chair of Council, M and P Co-Chair and the Office Administrator are meeting to implement our local response following recommendations from the United Church of Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada and local public health to monitor the risk and take protective actions as needed.
• Signage has been posted at all entrances to the church building asking people to not enter if they have any COVID-19 symptoms and/or a recent travel history to an affected country.
• We have ordered more hand sanitizer stations to place in the west, south and front doors.
• We have removed the bibles and hymnals from the pew racks and wiped down the pews.
• Additional signage has been posted in the washrooms to support effective hand washing.
• Sunshine is following the public school directive and will be shutting down for a further two weeks after the March break.
• We have triaged the congregational phone list and developed a phone tree to ensure timely communication.   Thank you to Linda W, Helen D, Colleen M, Bernie R, Janette S and Diane F for volunteering to make calls, if necessary, to advise people of any changes to the worship schedule and to check on the well-being of our church family.
• We are using the church website – www.stpaulsajax.org – and SPUC social media pages – Facebook/Twitter – to provide updates and more information on the status of church events.
• Rev. Cordelia is always available to offer pastoral support and guidance via the church office or email at revcordelia@stpaulsajax.org.

Please know that as the situation continues to develop, we will continue to update you with pertinent information.

We are being encouraged by the United Church of Canada to respond to this situation with Compassion, Prevention and Prayer. As a community of faith we know that God is always with us as we strive to be faithful disciples in these challenging times.

SPECIAL NewsFlash – Friday, March 13, 2020

March 13, 2020 3:31 pm Leave a Comment

Just like you, we are closely monitoring the evolving COVID-19 situation.  The health and safety of everyone at St. Paul’s United Church Ajax is our highest priority and primary concern.

To that end a Task Force comprised of the Minister, Past Chair of Council, M and P Co-Chair and the Office Administrator have been meeting to develop and implement our local response following recommendations from the United Church of Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada and local public health to monitor the risk and take protective actions as needed.

At the present time we will still be holding a worship service this Sunday, March 15^th at 10:30 a.m.

However, as you attend worship, we are asking you to practice social distancing and minimize physical contact (ie. sitting 2 metres apart, not shaking hands, utilizing hand sanitizer)

Additionally:

• Signage has been posted at all entrances asking people to not enter if they have any COVID-19 symptoms and/or a recent travel history to an affected country.
• We have ordered more hand sanitizer stations to place in the west, south and front doors.
• We have removed the bibles and hymnals from the pew racks and wiped down the pews.
• Additional signage has been posted in the washrooms to support effective hand washing.
• We have developed an enhanced daily cleaning protocol and are looking for committed volunteers to assist us each morning between 8 and 9 a.m.  If you are able to volunteer, please contact Cathy Mullen at 905-xxx-xxxx.
• At the present time, church groups can continue to meet but, as we will be doing at worship, attendees should follow social distancing protocols.
• Please also be aware that effective immediately NO FOOD or DRINK is to be served/shared at any church group meetings.  This includes this Saturday’s men’s group meeting, lay visitors pot luck, etc.
• We are contacting our tenants to ask them for their support in sanitizing any areas of the building that they use and to evaluate their food/drink protocols.
• Sunshine is following the public school directive and will be shutting down for a further two weeks after the March break.
• We have triaged the congregational phone list and developed a phone tree to ensure timely communication.   Thank you to Linda W, Helen D, Colleen M, Bernie R, Janette S and Diane F for volunteering to make calls, if necessary, to advise people of any changes to the worship schedule and to check on the well-being of our church family.
• We will also use the church website – www.stpaulsajax.org – and SPUC social media pages – Facebook/Twitter – to provide updates and more information on the status of church events.
• We are also investigating ways to meet online if we are directed to stop meeting in person.
• Rev. Cordelia is always available to offer pastoral support and guidance via the church office or email at revcordelia@stpaulsajax.org.

Please know that as the situation continues to develop, we will be sure to update you with pertinent information.

We are being encouraged by the United Church of Canada to respond to this situation with Compassion, Prevention and Prayer. As a community of faith we know that God is always with us as we strive to be faithful disciples in these challenging times.

Journeying through Lent

March 4, 2020 2:42 pm Leave a Comment

We’ve come again to the beginning of Lent. It begins, as it always does, with Ash Wednesday. This service sets the tone for the rest of the season. It is a solemn service of confession and repentance. Ashes are imposed to remind us that we are the created not the Creator.

None of these ideas are popular right now. We prefer to think that we can accomplish whatever we set our mind to. We want to believe that we can shape our environment to our will. We tell ourselves that we are fine. The problem with this kind of self-sufficiency is that it doesn’t allow space for our inevitable failure and weakness. It doesn’t give us anywhere to go when we don’t live up to our own or other’s expectations.

The Lenten call to repentance and confession isn’t meant to make us feel guilty or feel like failures. Rather, it gives us a place to take the regret, the shame and the helplessness we already feel. It allows us to lay those things at God’s feet and go away assured of God’s love and forgiveness. It allows us to go away assured that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

I hope that you will take time this Lent to bring your burdens to God and that you will come to Easter with a light load and a feeling that you’ve grown closer to God through the journey.

Rev. Cordelia

Happy Advent

December 4, 2019 2:59 pm Leave a Comment

I have to confess that Advent is my favorite season of the Christian year. Even more than Christmas or Easter, I look forward to Advent. At this point you may be asking yourself what I could possibly love so much about Advent. After all this is a stressful and difficult season for most of us as family, cultural and spiritual expectations combine to make it seem as if there is a mountain of tasks to be completed, a wave of expectations to meet and not enough time to accomplish everything in. I’ll admit that I’m as prone to this feeling as anyone else is.

Even in the church we talk about Advent as a season of preparation, giving the perception that in addition to all of the other commitments we have, we’re somehow supposed to make time for a giant spiritual to-do list if we’re are to have a proper Christmas.

I wonder if there’s a more helpful way to think of Advent and its spiritual meaning. Advent is a season of preparation, but sometimes preparation means letting go of or getting rid of things. Traditions and rituals are precious things but sometimes the best thing is to let them go.

Perhaps its time to create a new tradition that is better suited to your life now. For example, in my own life, putting up the Christmas tree has become optional. Some years it goes up and gets decorated, some years I don’t have the time, or the energy and it doesn’t. Instead, every year I set out my Advent wreath and my Nativity Scenes (at this point I have three) and hang little decorations around my apartment. It takes less time and energy and my home still looks festive and special. As new tradition in my life it’s working well.

Included with this Epistle are some resources from the United Church to help you connect with God this Advent. It includes three different prayer resources, and an Advent Calendar with a question to reflect on each day. It is my hope that you will find them helpful as you journey through Advent.

I hope that as you experience Advent this year, you’ll be able to let go of those things that no longer serve you and create new traditions that help you to wait more fully for the birth of Christ. I hope that you’ll have time to experience the holiness of quiet waiting, of sitting with the anticipation of the fulfillment of God’s promise on Christmas Day and that you will find yourself blessed as you do so.

Rev. Cordelia

Stewardship Moment 2019 – Seizing the Opportunities

November 4, 2019 2:22 pm Leave a Comment

Stewardship is an important part of Christian life all year long, and here at St. Paul’s we make it our special focus in the month of October. It gives us a chance to look at how we have practiced stewardship in the past year, and how we plan to make it a part of our Christian practice in the coming year. At its core stewardship it is the recognition that all that we have comes from God, and it is our responsibility to use our resources faithfully through the management and sharing of our time, talent and treasure.

This year we are moving more deeply into the theme of Loving Our Neighbour. We’ll see how stewardship enables us to love our neighbour in practical ways and we’ll put some of those things into practice. Our worship services and the contents of the 2019 Stewardship Booklet will both provide opportunities for conversation and for you to reflect on how stewardship will be a part of our Christian practice in the coming year. To learn more about the Stewardship campaign, please visit the Support St. Paul’s webpage.

Each week throughout the month of October, Stewardship Lead Dorothy Wilkins, will be providing a Stewardship Moment. Her October 27th message can be read in the blog post below or heard through the October 27th worship service recording at posted on the Worship page. Enjoy.

Stewardship Moment

This is the last of the Sundays in which our focus is on Stewardship

Booklet & Letter of Intention:

By now everyone should have a St. Paul’s Stewardship Booklet 2019 in their possession. There are a few copies in the Narthex and at the back door if you need one. Also you will have received a 2020 Stewardship Letter of Intention form.

We ask that you prayerfully consider how God has blessed you this year and consider your response in the coming year. Please complete this form and return it as soon as you can. Thank you to all those who have returned theirs to date.

Today I want to talk about Seizing the Opportunities and your bulletin insert this week takes up the theme of a Joyful Noise and Harmony.

Opportunity -Make a Joyful Noise

• I will be joyful today. God loves me and has promised me good.
• I will share my joy with another. Harmony starts with sharing.
• I will lend a helping hand. Harmony comes from working together. Let’s see what we can do.
• I will seek a caring heart. You may teach someone else to love.

God’s will and Christ’s delight is in our joyful noise, helping hands and caring hearts.

God Bless His Harmony

When you think about it Stewardship can be seen as an opportunity – an opportunity to care for God’s people and His world by managing the time, talents and treasure that he has given to each one of us. God’s 1^st and greatest commandment was to love him, love ourselves and love our neighbour.  At St Paul’s we have tremendous opportunities before us.

Let me invite you to our neighbourhood

Katie Cronin-Wood has written a great summary of the neighbourhood surrounding St Paul’s. It appears in the booklet and will be reprinted in the November Epistle as well.

It states in part that we are living in an area “with a higher population of people age 65+, higher number of recent immigrants, lower after tax household income, higher rate of teen pregnancy, more people in vulnerable housing situations and a higher rate of social isolation than other Durham region neighbourhoods.” (source – Region of Durham)

I would like to focus on one aspect – social isolation. I recently found an article entitled Loving Your Actual Neighbour by Walking the ‘Hood.(1)by Duke Vipperman on the Wycliffe College website

The premise was that loneliness is a huge problem in Canadian society today and that it is primarily due to lack of ‘face-time community’. In other words our society seems geared, to increasing the physical and social distance between people, to minimizing contact and conversation with others so that we are often led by assumptions rather than reality.

• we watch the local news from the comfort of our home.
• neighbours co-exist but feel no need to know each other.
• church conversations may often be only superficial.
• movie theatres, libraries, local grocery stores are no longer important places of interacting with others. We spend more time at home with our big screen TV and internet or our shopping tends to be at the larger box stores.
• a lot of our world is seen only though a car window

How can we deal with this problem; combine physical proximity with genuine caring.

The article suggests walking the neighbourhood and discovering who is there would be a good start – walking with a friend, co-worker or child or just walking your dog. Once you start walking, to be open to chatting with any ‘person of peace (Luke 10:5-6)’ – someone who is open to chatting with you.

In this day and age people are conditioned to be highly skeptical of others and therefore not receptive to you or your invitation to anything until they know you by name and trust that you mean well. Frequent proximity and interaction can build trust which may lead to introductions to others on the block. Your example may foster neighbourly love among other residents in the area.

Could the members of St Paul’s do that?

Could members of St Paul’s start walking their neighbourhood and look for interactions and build trust. It doesn’t have to be very difficult or scary – just be open to chatting to people you meet on the street.  If they are not open to this  or welcoming (people of peace Luke: 10:5-6) that’s ok. But maybe someone will be.

You might knock on the door of the residence next to you or across the street and introduce yourself. If you meet people who are welcoming you may leave them a flyer that describes our church or invite them to an event at St Paul’s. This is not intended to be an evangelical blitz but a start at rediscovering St Paul’s neighbourhood. Katie has designed a special flyer for this. (see Invitation Poster)

You may have a dog and could walk your neighbourhood regularly. Some people will stop to talk or pet your dog – another connection. You may walk with a friend or co-worker who may introduce you to someone new. You may find that someone enjoys your company as much as you enjoy theirs.

Some of you may walk your neighbourhood already. We would love to hear your stories about your encounters and learn more about our neighbourhood first hand. Katie has a form for that too. (see Stewardship Report Back – pdf or click on Stewardship Report Back – survey link.)

Both the flyer and the communication form are available in the narthex for all who are up to this challenge. May God bless your neighbourhood through you.

Thank you for your prayers and support for Loving our Neighbour 2.0

At St Paul’s we are:  “Called by Faith, Growing in Joy, Living in Love and Sharing our Story.”

Stewardship Moment 2019 – Mission and Service

October 21, 2019 4:15 pm Leave a Comment

Stewardship is an important part of Christian life all year long, and here at St. Paul’s we make it our special focus in the month of October. It gives us a chance to look at how we have practiced stewardship in the past year, and how we plan to make it a part of our Christian practice in the coming year. At its core stewardship it is the recognition that all that we have comes from God, and it is our responsibility to use our resources faithfully through the management and sharing of our time, talent and treasure.

This year we are moving more deeply into the theme of Loving Our Neighbour. We’ll see how stewardship enables us to love our neighbour in practical ways and we’ll put some of those things into practice. Our worship services and the contents of the 2019 Stewardship Booklet will both provide opportunities for conversation and for you to reflect on how stewardship will be a part of our Christian practice in the coming year. To learn more about the Stewardship campaign, please visit the Support St. Paul’s webpage.

Each week throughout the month of October, Stewardship Lead Dorothy Wilkins, will be providing a Stewardship Moment. On October 20th, Mission and Service Committee Chair Helen Dowse addressed the congregation. Her message can be read in the blog post below or heard through the October 20th worship service recording at posted on the Worship page. Enjoy.

Stewardship Moment

Part of stewardship is helping those outside St Paul’s and our community.

Our support of the Mission and Service Fund is our response to God’s generosity in our own lives.

The M and S Fund in turn supports programs like The Journey Neighbourhood Centre in Brampton.

The centre looks like every other store in the strip mall where it is located, but once you enter, you encounter a different world – one filled with art, laughing children, enthusiastic volunteers, and interns from the Social Work program at Ryerson University.

To view an informative video about The Journey Neighbourhood Centre, please click HERE.

Your generous support of the Mission and Service Fund allows programs such as this to continue. Thank you for your support.

Stewardship Moment 2019 – Privilege

October 14, 2019 7:27 pm Leave a Comment

Stewardship is an important part of Christian life all year long, and here at St. Paul’s we make it our special focus in the month of October. It gives us a chance to look at how we have practiced stewardship in the past year, and how we plan to make it a part of our Christian practice in the coming year. At its core stewardship it is the recognition that all that we have comes from God, and it is our responsibility to use our resources faithfully through the management and sharing of our time, talent and treasure.

This year we are moving more deeply into the theme of Loving Our Neighbour. We’ll see how stewardship enables us to love our neighbour in practical ways and we’ll put some of those things into practice. Our worship services and the contents of the 2019 Stewardship Booklet will both provide opportunities for conversation and for you to reflect on how stewardship will be a part of our Christian practice in the coming year. To learn more about the Stewardship campaign, please visit the Support St. Paul’s webpage.

Each week throughout the month of October, Stewardship Lead Dorothy Wilkins, will be providing a Stewardship Moment. Her October 12th message can be read in the blog post below or heard through the October 12th worship service recording at posted on the Worship page. Enjoy.

Stewardship Moment

St Paul’s focuses on Stewardship during the month of October. My theme today is Privilege. For me Stewardship is a privilege as God has trusted us to look after all the things that he loves the most – his people and his world.

Hymn

I think you are beginning to enjoy our Stewardship Hymn. The 1st verse talks about joyful voices in harmony. What a marvellous image! In the 2nd verse we sing “with each new hand the many will pull through to help God’s will be done”.  So here’s to joyful noise and hands in harmony

Booklet

The Stewardship booklet is finished, on the website and was sent out on Wednesday to everyone who receives church correspondence by e mail. For those of you who need a hard
copy I have your package here with me today. You may pick them up here or I will mail them next week. Your personal copies along with a summary of your givings to date will be distributed next week. Included will be the Letter of Intention which outlines the givings that you hope for in 2020. These Letters are to be returned as soon as possible and will be dedicated to God’s Mission at St Paul’s on Nov 24th .

Checklist

On the back of the insert for “Make a joyful Noise” you will find the word “Privilege” and a short personal checklist.

Privilege

… what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honour, you have given them dominion over the works of your hands. Ps 8:4-5

• Today I thank God for my life
• Today I will thank God for my abilities
• I will love someone today
• I am equipped by God for good works
• God knows my heart and hears my prayers
• God, grant me forgiveness and renew my life
• I will look up Hebrews 10:22-25 for the special privileges of God’s people

You may be able to check all of these off today but even if you don’t want to play my game, they are there as food for thought.

Understanding Our Privilege

According to the dictionary, privilege means a special right, advantage, favour or immunity granted only to a particular person or group.

Our life is a privilege. We have been created by God. We have a a spiritual nature as well as a physical one. We have the privilege of searching and finding a God who exists and who has left us so many clues about himself in nature and in the bible.

It is an awesome privilege to become part of God’s kingdom and be in relationship with the creator of the universe through our faith in Jesus Christ.

You remember the Hymn: “What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer” That’s just one of our privileges.

Studying about privilege has definitely changed my attitude. Previously I had a love/hate relationship with the word ‘should’. I had a co-worker who was very good at finding problems and telling me that I should fix them. She wasn’t wrong but I neither had the energy, nor the time, nor any good idea how to fix them. I just felt frustrated or guilty and would turn off whenever I heard one of her ‘shoulds’.

Now when I hear or think a ‘should’ thought I stop and think. If God wants me to do something, he will give me the desire, energy, time and make the knowledge available for me to do it. Will this eliminate the struggle and sacrifice – probably not but I’m not alone and a lot of the stress has disappeared. Now some of my shoulds have become privileges.

We are God’s blessing to this earth, no matter our age or physical or mental ability or sexual orientation. It is a privilege to be trusted to do God’s work here on earth, to be given all the love, joy, strength, wisdom and power to make a difference and to receive the blessing and joy that comes with a job well done.

Stewardship Moment 2019 – Joy

October 12, 2019 7:27 pm Leave a Comment

Stewardship is an important part of Christian life all year long, and here at St. Paul’s we make it our special focus in the month of October. It gives us a chance to look at how we have practiced stewardship in the past year, and how we plan to make it a part of our Christian practice in the coming year. At its core stewardship it is the recognition that all that we have comes from God, and it is our responsibility to use our resources faithfully through the management and sharing of our time, talent and treasure.

This year we are moving more deeply into the theme of Loving Our Neighbour. We’ll see how stewardship enables us to love our neighbour in practical ways and we’ll put some of those things into practice. Our worship services and the contents of the 2019 Stewardship Booklet will both provide opportunities for conversation and for you to reflect on how stewardship will be a part of our Christian practice in the coming year.  To learn more about the Stewardship campaign, please visit the Support St. Paul’s webpage.   

Each week throughout the month of October, Stewardship Lead Dorothy Wilkins, will be providing a Stewardship Moment.  Her October 6th message can be read in the blog post below or heard through the October 6th worship service recording at minute 17:52.  Enjoy.

Stewardship Moment

It’s October once again and a time when St Paul’s focuses on Stewardship. My theme today is Joy and I like to think that Stewardship is joy when we see love thriving and all things
managed well.

Hymn

At St Paul’s there is much joy. I hope you enjoyed the Stewardship Hymn that Lois found. I keep reading the words over and over and find new connections each time. The tune is pretty catchy too.

Booklet

The Stewardship booklet is finished and has hit the website. I need to acknowledge the excellent work and support of Susan Reed for helping me put this together and publishing it. Thank you to the on-going contributions of Rev Cordelia, Catharine Ottaway and Finance Committee: Robert Hunt, Wendy Mason and David Eagleson. There were also special
contributions by Lois Craig and the choir, Helen Dowse, Katie Cronin-Wood, Linda Westendorp and Sharon Castellarin.  Your personal copies along with a summary of your givings to date will be distributed next week. Included will be the Letter of Intention which outlines the givings that you hope for in 2020. These Letters are to be returned as soon as possible and will be dedicated to God’s Mission at St Paul’s on Nov 24th .

Checklist

On the back of the insert for “Make a joyful Noise” you will find the words “The Joy of the Lord is my Strength” and a short personal checklist. You may be able to check all of these off today but even if you don’t want to play my game, they are there as food for thought.

The Joy of the Lord is my Strength

• I know God loves me
• Today I will seek God and his joy
• I will look up Philippians Chapter 3
• I will love someone today
• I find joy ….

There is 1 correction and 1 addition.  I meant to name Philippians Chapter 4 but chapter 3 is good and so is the whole book so enjoy.  The addition that I want to make is Today I will share some joy.

 Share my Joy

According to my Study Bible, Joy is the quiet confident assurance of God’s Love and work in our lives. Today I choose Joy and share it with you. Friday my back muscles began to hurt and spasm, and I thought “Not again!!” But if I truly believe that God knows what I feel and will give me the strength to do what I need to do in spite of the pain, then I should focus on him. So I made a decision and he provided. Focusing on the giver of joy does make a difference. The pain seemed less severe and I was able to see the goodness in the people around me and accomplished everything that needed doing. I also believe that his hand was in the organization and writing of this booklet. Otherwise it is such an overwhelming task.

So today I choose to seek God and his Joy

 

The Adventures of Flat Jesus

June 3, 2019 2:10 pm Leave a Comment

Although it may not feel like summer is approaching it will arrive, and as a result, many of us will soon be off on summer travels, visiting family and friends or enjoying time at the cottage.

Although many of us go our separate ways during the summer, God always goes with us, and we continue to be part of the St. Paul’s family.

To remind ourselves that God is always with us and to stay connected with each other over the summer, I invite all of you to participate in the Adventure of Flat Jesus, over the summer. You are invited to cut out and colour in the picture of Jesus found HERE and bring Him with you on all your travels this summer.

Take pictures of Flat Jesus on your summer adventures, write a brief paragraph and email it to spucajax@gmail.com. The picture and paragraph will be posted on this section of the website.

I look forward to hearing about everyone’s adventures.
Have a blessed summer.
Rev. Cordelia