Road trip anyone?

Summer is coming up fast and for some that means that the open road is beckoning.  Visiting places you have never been before or setting out with no particular destination in mind, can be a wonderful thing to do on a warm, sunny day.  For those of us who are trying to reduce our carbon footprint, these trips can happen on foot, on a bike or even a canoe or kayak.

Jesus met most people on the road. All the Gospels portray Jesus on a continual road trip—God in action—urgently making a way to reach us. Along the way, Jesus encountered women broken by disease; a boy willing to share his lunch; women caught in questionable activities; hope-deprived people; and disease-riddled men.

All the people along the way really mattered to Jesus and so he stopped, listened, cared, and healed. Jesus demonstrated that the journey is as important as the destination.

T.S Elliot expresses this idea in the following words:

We shall not cease from exploration,

and the end of all our exploring

will be to arrive where we started

and know the place for the first time.

Jesus did not walk those dusty roads alone; his friends and followers walked with him.  What did Jesus’ friends do when he was no-longer with them in body but in spirit?  How did they become known as “people of the way”?  Well, come and join the road trip this Sunday: travel back in time, walk with a Christian Peacemaker Team and consider which pathway God is leading Beach United Church along.

Meanwhile, enjoy the sunshine!

Blessings, Karen

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What is worship?

The bible doesn’t give a formal definition of worship in either the Hebrew or Christian scriptures.  The letter-writer Paul tells us about how the first century churches operated but says very little about worship. Maybe that is because Paul sees “worship” as something that happens as a natural part of our everyday living. I like the way John Piper expresses it -  "What we find in the New Testament, perhaps to our amazement, is an utterly stunning degree of indifference to worship as an outward ritual, and an utterly radical intensification of worship as an inward experience of the heart….”

If you explore some of the on-line Christian blogs, you will find much more interest in defining worship.  Here are a few examples to get you thinking.

Worship is the thank you that can't be silenced - Max Lucado

 To worship is to change.  Richard Foster

Worship is what we all do all of the time. whether we worship God all the time is another matter. Fishponds Baptist Church

Worship = "pleasing God".  Rick Warren

True worship is an all consuming, Spirit fuelled, truth filled response to the revelation of God,  Chris Sayburn

Worship is giving God the glory he requires and deserves, submitting to him whatever to consequences seem to be for us, serving in at all times and revering and fearing him. Peter Whittle

Worship and action are not separate entities: rather they flow in the same stream. Jan Richardson

An authentic life is the most personal form of worship. Everyday life has become my prayer.  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Hope to see you on Sunday for both worship and the Congregational Meeting – are these different or the same?  Looking forward to the discussion!

Blessings, Karen

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Earth Day is on a Sunday this year and I was surprised to find out that it began in 1970, 42 years ago!  Part of me laments that we have still not made the changes needed to protect our earth home.  Part of me celebrates that the Earth Day movement keeps growing each year.  I find hope that such issues as energy sources, pollution, conservation, and climate change are becoming issues of global concern.  I am appalled that we have not done more.

So what do we do with all these emotions that are swirling around?  Do we feel immobilised by the immensity of the problem or energised to work for change?  Seymour Simon, well-known children's science book author  has covered such subjects as ecology, the environment and nature.  He  says "You might think that the Earth is so big and the subject so vast that kids would be overwhelmed, but you'd be surprised at what they have to say about it all." 

   "I ride my bike or the bus to school to keep the air cleaner by not using a  car

   "My carbon footprint was 13.5 (not so good). To reduce my carbon footprint I  will reduce, reuse and recycle."

"My brother and I go out and pick up all the litter that people throw in a creek near us. There are lots of fish and frogs so when we are finished I look back and feel great."

"I love trees and that's why I don't waste paper. I recycle and encourage others to care about our world like a mother would care for her newborn."

"I learned that it takes one step at a time and if we start now the Earth will get better sooner. If we don't start.....who will?"

 I hear our creator God, speaking through the words of our children.  I hear the call to do something tangible to care for our earth – not just once or on a special day – but every day.  God calls us to be stewards of creation or as a First Nations proverb says  "Treat the Earth well. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our children."

Seymour Simon is an award-winning author and scientist.  At BUC we have our own scientist, who is passionate about this earth.   Wendy Johnston’s area of research is understanding the genes that control the development of a single cell into the tiny nematode worm that lives in your compost heap.  On Sunday come and hear what she has to say about how we can become environmental stewards; both from a faith perspective and a scientific one.

Our young people will be exploring God’s creation with Bruce Burley, a local teacher who is also passionate about this earth and part of the BUC  Green Team.

Earth Day at BUC, Sunday April 22^nd  - don’t miss it! 

Blessings, Karen

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Holy Week and Easter offer the central story of our Christian faith . . . ok, so I’ve used the church jargon but what does that mean?

Jesus is a central figure for Christians, whether we are traditional with a belief in a virgin birth, literal miracles of Jesus, and being saved by Jesus’ death from fire-lashing tongues of hell . . . or whether we are progressive and have a sense of a man called Jeshua whose life impacted a loose band of followers who had a great PR man in Paul . . . or whether we are middle of the road and feel that the life and ministry of Jesus has something to say about how we shape our lives, and we are still trying to figure out what the crucifixion, death, and resurrection all means. At Beach we are a mix of all these beliefs, and some of that mix is in individuals!

In Holy Week we follow the story of Jesus’ last days. On Palm Sunday, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey with people shouting “Hosanna” and strewing palms to create a pathway—a spoof on the triumphal parades of political leaders. As happens in crowds, the mood changed from “Hosanna” to anger that began the passion of Jesus.

Passion does not have a romantic meaning. Passion refers to the physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering of Jesus. He suffered physically when crucified on a cross. He suffered emotionally when he was betrayed by two of his closest friends, Judas and Peter. He suffered spiritually because he felt so alone and even felt abandoned by God.  [To read more about this passion story, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_(Christianity) 

Jesus’ passion story whether literal or not has a powerful impact because we can relate to ways in which humanity suffers through war, persecution, oppression, hatred, poverty, and so on. On a human level, Jesus’ story makes a connection. However, it is the final part of the story—resurrection—that is most challenging. Did Jesus rise from the dead? If he did, was it in body or spirit, literal or symbolic?

Consider joining all the Holy Week services to participate in this central story of our Christian faith. And if you grapple with what resurrection means, join a loose band of BUC friends for a potluck supper on Saturday evening following Jazz & Reflection. After supper we’ll watch a clip from movie Babette’s Feast to launch informal conversation on what we believe . . . or don’t . . . about resurrection.

Blessings on your week as we move from “Hosanna” to “Crucify him” to “Hallelujah.”
Abigail

Taizé Worship: Sunday, March 25, 4pm, St Aidan's Sanctuary

What is Taizé?
Everything began in 1940. At the age of twenty-five, Brother Roger left Switzerland, the country where he was born, to live in Taizé, France, where his mother came from. He had been ill with tuberculosis for years, and during a long convalescence he experienced a call to create a community.

When the Second World War began, he decided to come to the assistance of refugees needing shelter. The small village of Taizé, where he settled, was quite close to the demarcation line dividing France in two, well situated to help refugees.

Brother Roger bought a house with outlying buildings that had been uninhabited for years. Among the refugees they sheltered were Jews. Material resources were limited. There was no running water, so for drinking water they had to go to the village well. Food was simple, mainly soup made from corn flour bought cheaply at the nearby mill. Out of discretion towards those he was sheltering, Brother Roger prayed alone; he often went to sing far from the house, in the woods.

In 1945, a young lawyer from the region set up an association to take charge of children who had lost their parents in the war. He suggested to the brothers that they welcome a certain number of them in Taizé. A men’s community could not receive children. So Brother Roger asked his sister Genevieve to come to take care of them and become their mother. On Sundays, the brothers also welcomed German prisoners-of-war interned in a camp nearby Taizé.

Gradually other young men came to join the original group, and on Easter Day 1949, there were seven of them who committed themselves together for their whole life in celibacy and to a life together in great simplicity. In the silence of a long retreat, during the winter of 1952-53, the founder of the community wrote the Rule of Taizé, expressing for his brothers “the essential that makes the common life possible”.

Today, the Taizé Community is made up of over a hundred brothers, both Catholics and various Protestant denominations, coming from around thirty nations. By its very existence, the community is a “parable of community,” a sign of reconciliation between divided Christians and between separated peoples.

The brothers of the community live solely by their work. They do not accept donations. In the same way, they do not accept personal inheritances for themselves; the community gives them to the very poor.

Certain brothers live in some of the disadvantaged places in the world, to be witnesses of peace there, alongside people who are suffering. These small groups of brothers, in Asia, Africa and South America, share the living conditions of the people around them. They strive to be a presence of love among the very poor, street children, prisoners, the dying, and those who are wounded by broken relationships, or who have been abandoned. Over the years, young adults and church leaders have been coming to Taizé in ever greater numbers to pray, worship, sing, and study.

At Beach United Church, once a month, we humbly offer Taizé-style worship to deepen connection to God’s spirit through song, scripture, prayer, and meditation.

Join us and experience God’s peace. Shalom, Abigail
 

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Oscar Sunday at Beach UC!

Here are some snippets from the e-mails that have been flying around this week in response to last Sunday’s “Act Out!” of the Genesis rainbow story - - -

For the Best ‘Supporting Rainbow Performance’ the Oscar goes to.. All of You!   Love & thanks...Don

And, the Oscar for Best director, Best adapted screenplay, Best art direction, Best sound editing and Best visual effects .... Goes to Donald Gray!

It was Eva's first play and she had a lot of fun!  Have a very red-carpet day, everyone!!!

Books and articles are written by eminent church leaders about the importance of bringing scripture alive, of making the story interesting and relevant to the way we live today.  The “Act Out” all ages group, under the direction of Don Gray did that on Sunday.  The cast included folk in the congregation as they used rain sticks to conjure up the sound of the abating storm.  The choir and Chrys got in on the act by singing and playing rainbow songs.  There were even a couple of ministers who were invited to play!

I watched the faces of all the actors [ on stage and in the congregation] and what I saw was amazing - - - full engagement in the biblical story. All of this did not just happen of course ~ the crafters made the rain sticks to be decorated ~ parents brought children to rehearsal ~ people climbed ladders ~ and more. 

A little Beach UC Oscar trivia for you - - - the piece of metal which created the sound of thunder was found as 140 Wineva was being cleared out.  So thanks to Jane Dickson for giving permission for its removal from the building :)

I am sure you are all clamouring to know when the next “Act Out!”  sessions are going to be.  The group, under the direction of Hastings Withers, will prepare on Sunday March 25^th to share the palm parade story on Sunday April 1^st. 

May we all become “people of the story”! 
Blessings, Karen

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Stories Seldom Told

There are so many stories about the people who shaped the city of Toronto that we do not know.  Two of those people are Lucie and Thornton Blackburn.  They were escaped slaves from Kentucky, who eventually arrived in Canada after being jailed in Detroit. Once in Essex County, Thornton was jailed again, while a formal request for his return was issued by the Michigan territorial governor. A reply came from the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, Major General Sir John Colburne who refused extradition to the United States, noting that a person could not steal himself!

Thornton and Lucie eventually arrived in Toronto in 1834, where he worked as a waiter at Osgoode Hall.. Though illiterate, he saw the need for a taxi service, so obtained blueprints for a cab from Montreal, and commissioned its construction. By 1837, he had it: a red and yellow box cab named "The City", drawn by a single horse, and able to carry four passengers, with a driver in a box at the front, which he, himself, would operate.

This amazing story was uncovered and told by Karolyn Smardtz Frost in her award winning book “I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land”.  Karolyn  is a professional archaeologist and historian who specializes in engaging members of the public in the discovery and conservation of their own heritage.  She is the founder of Toronto's internationally renowned Archaeological Resource Centre. This unique facility provided, between 1985 and 1994, hands-on excavation and educational opportunities for more than 100,000 schoolchildren, tourists and volunteers. 

Come and celebrate Black History Month and listen and learn from Karolyn about the underground railway; on Thursday Feb 16^th 7.30 pm @ Juice & Java 2102 Queen St E at Wineva Ave.

Hope to see you all there!

Blessings, Karen

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Check out Leigh Bowser's blog for inspiration to get outside in our winter weather and to reflect on BUC's "Eat Pray Skate" event: http://greatskate2012.blogspot.com/2012/02/great-skate-6-kew-gardens.html

The surprising things that you find in the bible!

There are some things that immediately connect us to the ancient biblical story – flocks of sheep, mountain top encounters, angel song.  However, if I mentioned “snow, frost and icicles” you are more likely to think of “Frosty the Snowman” than any of the books found in the bible.  I had no idea that such winter images were found in books that were written in much warmer parts of the world than Canada.  It was more from curiosity that I engaged in a “google” search, to see if snow was mentioned anywhere in the bible – I never expected anything to come up!  This is what I found - -- -

 Sirach 43 selected verses

The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven, a glittering array in the heights of God. God scatters the snow – the eye is dazzled by the beauty of its whiteness and the mind is amazed as it falls.  God pours frost over the earth like salt and icicles form like pointed thorns.  We could say more but could never say enough: let the final word be “God is all”.

Perhaps you have never come across the book of “Sirach” in your bible at home.  Most bibles are divided into the “Old Testament” [ Hebrew scriptures] and the “New Testament” [Christian scriptures].  In between those two sections you might find the books of the Apocrypha which includes 15 books, all but one of which are Jewish in origin and connect to the books of the Old Testament. These books are in a separate section in the Protestant Bible, or sometimes omitted entirely.  The Roman Catholic Bible includes 12 of these books as part of the canon.

Interestingly the term "apocrypha" comes from the Greek word meaning "hidden". Winter images in the biblical text are certainly well hidden but why was I looking in the first place?  Well, I was creating an experiential worship for the “Eat, Pray, Skate” event, which is being held on Sunday Jan 29^th at 6.30pm at Kew Gardens skating rink. I hope that you will come and join us and explore how the divine spark is embedded in all creation; including winter darkness, ice and snow.  There will be lots of movement, so that we can keep warm!

Blessings, Karen

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Have you met your local MPP?

On January 4, 2012 an Anglican-United  Church delegation of six visited their local MPP, Michael Prue, to discuss ways to address poverty and affordable housing issues in the province.  Lorraine Methven, Paul Dowling and myself were representing Beach United Church.  Flo Cook and Lucy Reid  were from St Aidan in the Beach, and Grace Stephens was from St Luke's Anglican Church in Scarborough. 

The group met with Michael Prue for one hour, and began by outlining what programmes their churches and denominations support to alleviate the effects of poverty (Out of the Cold, breakfast and lunch programmes, food banks, etc.). They then went on to ask Prue and the NDP to press for steps to be taken by the provincial government to begin to address some of the causes of poverty, by (i) increasing the minimum wage from $10.25 to $11 per hour; (ii) introducing a housing benefit for low-income tenants, and (iii) indexing social assistance rates to the rate of inflation.

A wide ranging discussion followed, which included the issue of tax reform.  Everyone around the table agreed that a review of taxation is crucial if poverty is to be addressed effectively. Prue told the delegation that the NDP will be asking for a freeze on corporate taxes, rather than the planned decrease; an increase in the taxation rate for the highest earners, and a capping of wages for senior levels in the public sector. This is in line with the call from many quarters, both Christian and secular, for a decrease in the gulf between the very rich and the impoverished in our province.

When the group asked Prue how churches and other concerned provincial citizens could be proactive in the work to end poverty, he said  “If you want something done, go and talk to the minister responsible. If it still doesn't happen, go and talk to the opposition.” He encouraged ordinary people to find their voice, to be critical when necessary, to tell the stories of their struggles to their MPPs, and to raise questions that can be presented at Question Time. 

For me it was encouraging to see what can happen when people and churches join together; our voice becomes stronger.  Working together is crucial if we want to be “change agents” within our communities and world.  This coming Saturday morning [ Jan 14], we have a different opportunity to come together and help each other out.  There is a mountain of treasures that need to be moved in preparation for the “Garage Sale from Heaven” on Sat Jan 21^st.  If you usually workout on Saturday morning, you might try a different kind of exercise, "BUC Bootcamp" – even 30 minutes would help! 

Blessings, Karen

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Happy New Year!

The typical image of New Years Eve is a group of revelers with party hats and noisemakers, ringing in the new year with champagne and "Auld Lang Syne." But on that same night, churches welcome the coming year in a different way with a Watch Night service.

The first Watch Night Service is believed to have been held in 1733 in the Moravian Church (in present day Czech Republic). Methodism founder John Wesley adapted the Moravian tradition into Watch Night services in the mid-18th century, sometimes calling them Covenant Renewal services. These were spontaneous prayer services, designed to deepen the spiritual life of Methodists and it was also a time for recommitment.

Watch Night services have a special significance in the African-American community, where they date back to the days of slavery. At the end of the year, owners tallied their property and often sold slaves to pay debts. Families in slavery didn’t know after tallying, if they’d be separated: New Years Eve was often the last night a family would be together.

Watch Night took on even more significance during the Civil War, in the USA, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation; it was to take effect Jan. 1, 1863. Slaves sat up the night before, waiting for their freedom to arrive at midnight. Today, it's a time when the church comes together to celebrate life itself.

At Beach on New Year’s Day we will be “watching for the Holy” and exploring some of the traditions of a Watch Night Service.  Because one of the founding denominations of the United Church was the Methodist church; it will be good to learn some more of our history. 

Blessings, Karen

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Holy Days and Holidays

Christmas is a time of traditions, some of which have been honoured for many years.  This is particularly true as we gather with family and friends.  There is something very special about following the same patterns each year.

There are circumstances that mean we have to change or modify certain rituals and traditions.  This week one person was sharing that they now have a new-born, who is part of their family.  In the past they have all attended the late Christmas Eve service.  Now the deciding factor is the sleeping patterns of the baby, so perhaps a new tradition will be established :)

I love to cook the family meal on Christmas day and I have always done that in my home.  This year I will be cooking at my parent’s apartment because my Dad’s mobility is limited and he would be much more comfortable staying at home.  The most important tradition is gathering together as family – how or even when we do that is less important. 

At Beach we are adapting and changing how we celebrate Christmas, as we are in a  new space.  We are sharing services with our Anglican friends at St.  Aidan’s and learning about their traditions and rituals.  The Christmas Eve services will be in the sanctuary and not Memorial Hall, which is our usual worship space.  This is because a Christmas day meal for the community will be served in Memorial Hall and set-up will need to take place on Christmas Eve day. 

It has been wonderful to see how we have come together as a community of faith in a new space and how we have been willing to be flexible so that others can be cared for. This had been a real gift.  On Sunday Dec 18^th there will be another opportunity for offering a gift  - - - the gift of strong muscles!  Our Bell Choir will be playing in the service and the bells are stored upstairs in St. Aidan’s.  If you are able to come and help set-up the bells and tables for 9.00 am that would be great. 

Meanwhile I hope that this prayer will be a gift for this season.

May we learn to dance to a new tune, Jesus.  May we learn to hear what you are playing and follow your footsteps.  When you see us caught-up in self-justifying busyness ~ turning celebration into chore~ remind us that in God’s wisdom, holy days and holidays are the same thing.  Amen    [written by Iona community]

Advent blessings, Karen

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Sacred journeys

If you have been in the church for a while you have probably heard many times that Advent is a time of preparation.  The “preparing” we talk about in church is about being open to the birth of sacred possibilities in our lives, as we journey towards the birth of the baby Jesus. 

Despite knowing this, the word preparation makes me feel apprehensive because when we prepare for a journey there is so much to do.  Jan Richardson, in her Advent blog, reflects on this and wonders if “all the rigmarole I often subject myself to before a trip”; is really worth it. 

Jan offers us another way to engage in this advent season.  How might it be if we simply set out on this advent journey to Christmas, trusting that our needs will be met along the way? This would mean setting aside our to-do lists and the expectations we have of ourselves and becoming a pilgrim.  When you are a pilgrim on a journey, there is timeto look around at the landscape, to enter into it and to leave space for surprises.  We are now on a sacred journey, that moves us inward as well as outward.

How are you travelling these days?   We all have things we need to prepare for but are there things that we might let go of, so that we can travel a little more lightly?  This might allow for a greater openness to how God might show up on the way.

Jan Richardson acknowledges that none of us knows what lies ahead when we say “Yes!” to God and so she offers these prayerful words

      God of new creating,

     who beckons us to the dance of birthing

    and sustains us in our laboring;

    hear our prayer.

May it be so.  Blessings, Karen

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I am not always good at following instructions.  When I bought a new barbeque and realized to my horror that it came in bits, I was very grateful for the sheet of directions for assembly!  The fact that the sheet also contained diagrams, really helped me as I am a very visual learner.  The written words were sometimes a challenge because I think they had been translated from another language; so there were some strange phrases that were confusing.   

Assembling that barbeque is like reading scripture; both can be a daunting task. The translation can sometimes be hard to understand for us living in the modern world.  We cannot relate to a world of shepherds, warrior kings, desert prophets, slaves and unnamed women.  The bible doesn’t come with diagrams, although we do have details of the dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant found in Exodus 25: 10-11: you could certainly draw a diagram from these details.

Reading the bible is a journey of discovery and C.S. Lewis advises us to “Look. Listen. Receive”.  As we do this, the biblical story can then become our story. As we enter into the story of the Bible, we find God revealed there and are called to participate in this continuing story.

 Dramatizing scripture can be one of the ways that helps us to enter the story and make it our own. For a visual learner like myself, it helps me to “see” the story.  The “Act Out” group help to bring the biblical story alive through a dramatic interpretation and they will be preparing this Sunday with Don Gray.  All ages are invited to be a part of this exciting journey of discovery.      

This is not one of those “do not try at home” scenarios - we encourage you to try this at home! You could “act out” the bible stories with your children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces.  Here is what one family did:-

Our family had fun one night with the story of Noah and the ark. We made a tent in the living room with sheets over chairs and tables. Then we brought in stuffed animals, pretend food, pillows, and a flashlight (to use as a lantern). We talked about how the "ark" was crowded and the work was hard and sometimes boring. We created scenarios of lions breaking through their gate and it needing repair before they ate the elephants. Every "morning" Japeth and Amelia had a difficult time waking "Daddy-Noah" from his slumber. Some things we wanted to discuss and created situations where that would be easy, other times the kids thought of events that might happen. Overall we wanted to highlight that Noah and his family were listening to God. Fun times

Hopefully “fun times” will be had this Sunday.  Look forward to seeing you!  Karen

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Remembering - - -

As one who is fortunate enough to have never experienced war, there is much I do not know.  I have never known the heart-pounding fear of battle, the anxious waiting for news of loved ones or the body-numbing hours working for the “war effort” in factories or farms.  I have heard people say how great adversity can bring out the best in human ingenuity and caring.  The story of Orpington Hospital illustrates this.

In 1915 the Ontario government donated $2 million to build a treatment centre for wounded soldiers, in Kent, England.  It was a huge amount of money at the time and the hospital was one of the most up-to-date in the world.  From 1916-1919, 25,000 badly injured soldiers were treated and only 182 died.

One of the doctors among the all Canadian staff was Thomas McCrae, brother of John McCrae who wrote the poem “In Flanders Fields”.  Forced to deal with soldiers suffering from horrific facial injuries, Thomas became an early pioneer of plastic surgery.  The hospital also set-up the first therapy programs for shell-shocked survivors of the trenches. 

In trying to grapple with the horrific results of war, some amazing things have been achieved – unfortunately as conflicts continue to rage around the world, we have not yet learnt the way of peace.

Perhaps these words, prayed at a multi-faith service during the Gulf War, Feb 14, 1991, might help us.  This prayer was created by people of Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Baha’i and Christian religions.

God of us all you are with us in the valley of darkness, as well as in mountaintop light.  You would have us follow you, remembering that we walk this earth with human footsteps. Yet, sometimes God, it’s like walking a tightrope,

you challenge us to balance

liberating the oppressed

with loving our enemies.

You call us

            to loose the bonds of injustice

            without lifting the sword,

to stand for the oppressed

without becoming oppressors ourselves.

A way that leads out of self-serving pride into mutual understanding.

Out of our valley of darkness, into your mountain top light.

The message of this prayer is worth remembering!

Peace, Karen

heartbeat                          

Visit our website                                                   www.beachunitedchurch.com                                                                Oct 30, 2011

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This Sunday at Beach

Sunday, November 6^th      10:30  Remembrance Sunday—First Worship at St Aidan’s -  Remembering war, we work for peace.   Our Veterans are honoured

Sunday at Beach for kids ~ be a worship leader ~ help serve communion ~ take the offering.

NEW LOCATION: MEMORIAL HALL OF ST. AIDAN’s

OFF SILVERBIRCH, at QUEEN

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS CLOCK CHANGES NEXT SATURDAY NIGHT

Jazz Vespers                                  Saturday, Nov 5, 4:30pm

Come out to hear the Larry Bond Trio Larry Bond with a repertoire of tunes by the world's greatest song writers: Gershwin, Ellington, Kern, The Beatles and more. Check out Larry’s web page and sound clips at: http://www.larrybond.ca/bio.phphttp://www.larrybond.ca/bio.php

Update from Council    Lee Muirhead, Jane Dickson, Jim Winn & Karen Watson (HOMe)

Thanks to clear input from the congregation, Council is ready with a recommendation which will address a shortfall on the HOMe project budget and our 2011 deficit.  Be sure to join us for this congregational meeting directly after our worship service on Sunday December 4^th.

Speakers Series:    Wed Nov 16, 7:30pm   at Juice & Java, corner of Queen & Wineva Jay Bahadur author of Pirates of Somalia
check out: http://jaybahadur.blogspot.com/p/book.html

We’re making waves in the Beach!

    416 691 8082   

Getting to know you - --

Saturday October 22^nd will be one of the first opportunities for the folks from St. Aidan’s and Beach UC to get to know each other.  This is not the absolute first because the Jazz Vespers has already happened in the sanctuary at St. A’s and the Thursday Inter faith lunch program served 40 people in the Memorial Hall last week.

The “Roast and Toast” event will give us all an opportunity to eat together.  This will happen on Saturday afternoon, at St. Aidan’s, from 2.00 pm onwards: pork will be roasting and many other dishes will be available for us all to sample.  Breaking bread together is a real symbol of hospitality and welcoming those that we do not know.  It is also very biblical, in that travelers were offered a safe haven as an expression of faith being lived in a practical way. As we eat together and get to know each other, we will also have the opportunity to explore St. Aidan’s.  This will be our new home for a while; so come and see where we will be.

On Saturday evening, from 7.00 to 9.00 pm we will be returning to the auditorium at Beach UC.  We will be “toasting” the past through the last basketball game.  In years gone by there was a basketball league that played out of the auditorium.  Members of both congregations remember or played in these games.  This will be a way of celebrating one of the many activities that took place in the auditorium over the years.

As we gather to have fun, I hope that people will tell the stories of the other events they remember in the south part of the building at Beach [formerly Kew].  Perhaps you were married in the chapel, which is now where the staff offices are located.  I know there are many wonderful memories of the shows that were put on in the auditorium by the Couples Club.   

In this time of change, I offer this prayer that was written by a woman with the wonderful name of Phoebe Griswald, who wrote this prayer as she was flying off to a new experience, with new people in a new place!

            Dearest One, increase the capacity of my heart.

            Take its edges and stretch them out

            To include all in me that I do not love,

            All in my family that I judge,

            All in my church that I fear,

            And all in the world that doesn’t fit.

May we all learn from Phoebe’s courage. 
Blessings, Karen

Heartbeat click HERE

Are you going to be sitting around a table this Thanksgiving weekend?  If you are lucky, you might be gathering with family and friends, perhaps at the cottage or in someone’s home.  When I am hosting more than 6 people, I have to think about how to sit everyone.  Should I bring in the plastic table from the deck?  Perhaps we could just all squish together?  When the kids were younger, I thought about having a separate table for them and their cousins.

The logistics of making sure that everyone has a place at the table, can be mind-boggling!  Making sure that everyone feels comfortable is an important part of hospitality.  So now that my Dad has some physical challenges “squishing” is not an option.  I like to see everyone’s face around the table as we share food together, so I was never keen on two separate tables. 

When we sit down together we don’t just eat.  We share stories of the past, so that everyone learns about where they have come from and what they are connected to.  We talk about what we’re doing now and what we love or dislike about our lives.  We listen to help and advice, both solicited and unsolicited J  We introduce new people to the table .  Do you remember the first time that you took home that special person in your life?  I bet it was to a family meal of some sort.

Our church family is no different.  The table might not be quite as obvious and we certainly don’t have one that is big enough us all to sit-down together at the same time!  Even so, we are trying to be hospitable, be aware of different needs and to engage in the stories of our faith.  We will be exploring the theme “A place for you at the table” into November.

This Thanksgiving Sunday we will be using the table image to reflect upon the rules we have when we eat together: whether they nurture community or stifle it.  We will seek wisdom from the ancient people of Israel, often called “people of the law” and the followers of Jesus, who lived out the gospel or “good news”.  We will say “thank you” to God.

Come and join us.   Blessings, Karen

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“Roast & Toast”: Saturday Oct 22^nd ~  will celebrate the past in the south building of BUC and look to the future of building close connections with St. Aidan’s. 
Afternoon @ St.Aidan’s: pig roast and other delicious food, beginning around 2.00 pm. Evening @ Beach UC: “Last Basketball Game” and other activities in the auditorium.

There will be something for all ages, so mark your calendars!  Contact Karen Dale if you can help.

Apologies for sending this message twice but some were not able to open Heartbeat so we are resending in a different format.

eSpirit
Psalm 139 is scary if you are trying to get away from God: 

    Where can I go from your Spirit? 
    Where can I flee from your presence?

But if you want to feel close to God, then this psalm offers comfort. Using physical images of heaven and hell, dawn, sea, light and dark, the psalm writer says nothing separates us from God.

Do we really believe this? As poetry, we can say psalm 139 is lovely. As an intellectual idea, we can say psalm 139 has a positive theology affirming God’s presence to humanity. But as lived spiritual experience, I wonder if we believe the concept in general terms but not as related to ourselves. For instance, I might be convinced that God is a real presence to all people in general but not so clear about how God is truly present to me.

Are we worth God’s time and energy? I believe we are.  Let’s reflect more on this on Sunday.

And for those still at cottages and lakes, I invite you to read and reflect on this psalm outdoors and take in the powerful images of creation, God’s creation.
Shalom,
Abigail

The funeral of Howard Bushnell will be held at Beach United Church on Wednesday September 14th at 11.00 am, reception to follow.  Visitation at Sherrin's, Kingston Rd, Tuesday September 13th 2.00 - 4.00 and 6.00 - 8.00.

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Singing our Prayers

As I was doing some research into the psalms, my eye was caught by a reference to the monks of the “Blue Cloud Abbey”.   I was intrigued by the name, who wouldn’t want to be part of a community with such an evocative name?   Before my imagination took me too far down that trail, I remembered I was supposed to be finding out about the psalms!

The early Christians continued to follow the Jewish tradition of praying the psalms daily.  St Benedict in the 6^th Century encouraged the monks within his order to also pray the psalms daily.  In fact the monks at Blue Cloud Abbey pray the psalms 5 times a day!!!  On their web-site they encourage people to “pray meditatively and slowly and make psalms a part of your daily lives.  You can make a difference in your life, your family and community by praying daily”. This is an excellent suggestion.

 Psalms are both poetry and prayer: poetry that is intended to be set to music and prayed in worship.  Poetry and music enable us to express some of our deepest feelings and emotions, which can lead to the most profound insights.   On Sunday we will be engaging and exploring Psalm 149, which begins with the words

Sing to God a new song

I invite you to reflect and pray on the meaning of these words in your life and to continue that process on Sunday morning.

Blessings,

Karen

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Retreat . . . just the sound of the word alone makes my shoulders drop down from around my ears and relax. Jesus took time for retreat, to pray and hang out with God. And he had a busy schedule of healing, teaching, and preaching. He could have made any number of excuses to put off taking time out. Can we say our schedules are any more busy or pressing than the demands on Jesus’ time?

During these summer months, we enjoy great weather and holiday time. In the middle of our luxury of relaxation, let’s remember to give thanks to God for the beauty of creation. Let’s hang out with God as Jesus did. Let’s listen for God’s still quiet voice in soughing trees and chirruping frogs, as well as that voice roaring in thunder and flashing in lightening.

God is all around us, within us, and others. We do not need to do anything particular or go anywhere special. Simply, take a time out, focus on God, give thanks, and offer concerns from our heart. And in great love and compassion, God hears us.

On Sunday, we will reflect more on God’s presence in our lives. But wherever we happen to be, let’s take time and be with God in prayer.

Shalom, Abigail

And more about retreat . . .
The Ganaraska Woods Retreat Centre, which is just about an hour’s drive east of Toronto, has been booked for a Beach United Church Women’s Retreat on November 4th and 5th. Our plan is to begin on Friday evening about 7:00 pm and depart late Saturday afternoon. Costs will be under $80, and the exact cost will depend on the number of people who sign up. Look ahead in your calendar and put aside time to retreat.

Message from Council
What an amazing summer for those who enjoy heat and the great outdoors!  And in the news, we hear about hot temperatures and heated political discussions!

When you hear the phrase “spiritual discipline” what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of prayer, or fasting, or tithing? What about hospitality, teaching, or singing? A spiritual discipline can be any activity that encourages a deeper spiritual life, a life focused on God.

So what would you say to a spiritual discipline involving culling books and throwing out files? For the last few weeks, Karen Dale and I have been sorting, sifting, tidying, and recycling lots of our files and books. We are engaging in a spiritual discipline of simplification. Rather than keeping 15 different translations of the bible on my book shelf, I can access 15 and more translations on the internet. I can read my favourite translation on my ereader (an electronic book reader). Web sites galore have the latest research on scripture texts by biblical scholars (check out www.textthisweek ).

Is this really a spiritual discipline or just a geeky desire to follow technological trends? What I’ve discovered is that I am more in tune with current theological and biblical thinking on the net rather than going back to texts that become so quickly outdated. Looking for power point images that connect with biblical text sparks creative ideas for worship and preaching. I’m enriched by blogs from people all over the world, such as a minister in Australia who makes connections between biblical texts and aboriginal social justice issues. Rather than keeping copious copies of church resources in my filing cabinet, I can access the latest version on the United Church web site.

While I will always enjoy curling up with a good book, I’m passing them along to others when I’m done. In being more book-free and paper-light, I feel connected to God’s spirit in a connected world wide web, in a dynamic world community. I wonder what Martin Luther would think, the monk who not only initiated the reformation but also pushed forward the revolutionary notion of having the bible printed in German rather than Latin so anyone who could read could access God’s word. Perhaps he’d enjoy another communication revolution!

Let’s reflect more about God’s constantly evolving spirit on Sunday as we toss around some ideas about Matthew 13:33-50.

Shalom, Abigail

P.S. On a table just outside the auditorium, you will find a huge pile of books available free to good homes.

I really appreciate the way that many folk in this congregation share with the ministry team.  We get suggestions of books and newspaper articles to read on a whole array of subjects.  We receive “youtube” clips to watch, music to listen to, church bulletins to peruse, and so much more!

Recently,  it was a music ” youtube” clip by Victor Wooten that caught my attention; it was sent by Karen Watson.  The title of the song is “I saw God the other day”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_h9eQ15CIs&feature=related

I hope you will watch, listen, reflect and enjoy the above link for yourselves - - but I just wanted to share some of the lines that made me think: 

I saw God the other day, just walking down the street

She looked like you

He looked like me

This idea of the divine spark being within us all is something I very much believe in.  But am I so open to the idea when a person is standing in the middle of the sidewalk trying to get me to participate in a survey?  Perhaps I am only willing to see God in others, when it is convenient to me!

            I said “Hold on just  a minute, how do I know its really you?”

            She gave me a simple answer. She said “You don’t unless you do”

I love these lines! They speak of the complex simplicity that is part of being in a relationship with God.  These words underline for me that it is the doing that I might stand a chance of catching a glimpse of the holy.  Words are just words without actions.

I see a strong connection between Victor Wooten’s lyrics and Jesus’ words in Matthew 10: 40-42.  You will hear the whole passage on Sunday, meanwhile here is a snippet!

Those who welcome you welcome me; and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me.

Come on Sunday and see if you agree with me.

Blessings, Karen

Music often makes a connection deep in our souls.  The lyrics and tune to a hymn will stay with us long after the words of even the most gifted preacher have slowly faded away.  Many people agree with the idea that when you sing a hymn, it is like praying twice over.

This Sunday is our Hymnfest when we will find out which are the top 10 hymns at Beach UC.  The only way to know, is to come, as staff will not reveal the results ahead of time, even if bribed by chocolate! There will be a lot of singing but we will also be relating snippets about the people who wrote the hymns and the stories behind the words.  Our own folk have also shared why a particular hymn is meaningful to them.

Paul Svenson wrote the words and music to a hymn we have not sung at Beach but which is found in More Voices #142 “A Song Must Rise”

            From the voices of our leaders, the voice of you and me,

            From the free and imprisoned, the timid and the bold,

From the villages and cities, a new song must be sung,

A song must rise for the spirit to descend.

The last line really struck a chord within me.  Imagine all our voices, speaking different languages, ideologies, theologies; rising together and being a part of God’s enlivening spirit!  Wow, that is something worth singing about. 

Come and make music with us on Sunday,

Blessings, Karen   

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The Story of Indra's Net

Far away in the heavenly abode of the Great God Indra, the protector and nurturer of life, there is a wonderful net which stretches out indefinitely in all directions, in accordance with the extravagant tastes of deities. At the net’s every node, is hung a single glittering jewel and since the net itself is infinite in dimension, the jewels are infinite in number. There hang jewels, glittering like stars of the first magnitude, a wonderful sight to behold. If we now arbitrarily select one of these jewels for inspection and look closely at it, we will discover that in its polished surface there are reflected all the other jewels in the net, which sparkle in the magnificence of its totality. Not only that, but each of the jewels reflected in this one jewel is also reflecting all the other jewels, so that the process of reflection is infinite. As each gem reflects every other one and everything else in the universe, so are you affected by every other system in the universe.

From this 3^rd century Buddhist story, we are given an image to
understand our universe and all life as interconnected.

In our own scripture from John’s gospel, Jesus says, “I am in God and you are in me and I am in you.” Again, an ancient text tries to describe the way we are all interconnected.

If we truly embrace this sense of being interconnected how will that shape how we live? If we begin to believe that we are interconnected with God and Jesus, how will we speak to the next person we meet? As we look into the eyes of another person we will see the eyes of God looking back and our own eyes seeking connection.

Let’s explore this sense of connectedness on Sunday as we reflect on John 14:15-21 . Also, later on Sunday, we can take time to find God’s quiet center in our Taizé Community Vespers at 4 pm.

Shalom,

Abigail

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Sometimes we do not know the stories behind some of the things that we do as Beach United Church.  I first heard this story from Hastings Withers, as Wendy Johnston and myself were sitting at his dining room table sipping tea just last week!  We were meeting to plan the upcoming Versacare experience and learned a part of our history.  If you were like me and don’t know this story, read on!

Blessings, Karen

How the Versacare visits started with a little girl saying, “I’d like to be in a pageant… What IS a pageant?”

No pageant had been planned that year. However, when one little girl, an occasional visitor to the Junior Class, asked that question, we put our minds to it and decided on a pageant.

Not knowing how to do such a thing, I checked around and was told there are three essentials and an optional extra. First essential:  little girls with angels’ wings. Second essential:  little boys with sticks and blankets to be shepherds, unless they wanted a speaking role in which case they’d have sheepskins and say “BAA”.  Third essential:  “Away in a Manger”. The Three Kings were optional extras. 

The Junior Class had in those days [1999] had the practice of having a Sunday School lesson from time to time in the apartment of a “homebound” member of the congregation.  Our favourite destination was Phyllis’ apartment on Kingston Road, because she so loved having the children visit, bringing juice and cookies and a bunch of flowers. It was natural, therefore, to decide to go to do our show for Phyllis.  But since our last visit, she had become unable to manage on her own and had moved to the Alzheimer’s ward in Versacare. 

So the performance was held for Phyllis and the residents at Versacare. Phyllis died shortly afterwards. Since that time, the children of Beach United Church have visited Versacare many times. We sing popular hymns and fun songs. We do Bible stories and dramas. We do activities together with the residents, including going for a walk or planting flowers. The most important thing is just talking together. It is invariably a wonderful experience. 

NEXT VISIT: THIS SUNDAY, MAY 22^nd

This visit is not just limited to children, congregation members are invited too!  Just show up at Versacare Centre (now called Main Street Terrace) at 77 Main Street between Kingston Road & Gerrard Street at 10:15am–10:30am on Sunday, May 22^nd. 


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On this second Sunday of our Easter Season, we have a strange story of Jesus walking along a dusty road between Jerusalem and a small village called Emmaus.* BUT HE’S SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!!

Jesus meets a couple of former disciples who are talking about what has happened in the last few weeks but they don’t recognize him. BECAUSE HE’S SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!!

The three of them walk and talk and finally get to the village and the former disciples invite Jesus in to have some supper and stay the night but they still don’t recognize him. DARN IT, HE’S DEAD ISN’T HE?!!

As guest, Jesus is asked to bless the bread, break it, and share it. Suddenly, the two disciples see Jesus, recognize him; their eyes are wide open. HE’S NO LONGER DEAD BUT ALIVE!!

A lot is said and sung on Easter Sunday and in the Easter Season leading up to Pentecost about Jesus being alive and being seen by former disciples. Is this an actual literal miracle of Jesus being raised from the dead? Is it people of faith creating symbolic myths after the death of their beloved leader? Or is it cultural stories that no longer have relevance for us today?

In the United Church we celebrate openness to a variety of viewpoints, myriad beliefs, and diverse values. Because of this openness, sometimes the UCC is accused of being wishy-washy, of watering down faith, or having no faith at all.

We in the United Church are certainly not wishy-washy because it takes great courage and lively conversation to hold in tension diverse points-of-view.

We are not watering down faith because living in community with varied approaches is strenuous work.

We cannot be accused of having no faith at all simply because we don’t spout oneuniversalabsolutedogmatic approach to our values and beliefs. We are faithfully committed to having multiple approaches to spiritual expressions.

What this commitment to diversity does mean for us at Beach UC is that when we travel the road together, bless bread, and break bread together, we see the face of Jesus. When we travel the road of life together we don’t always agree on the direction, each of us reads maps and intuits a sense of direction in different ways. When we bless bread, we have language preferences—do we say God, the father, mother, spirit, son, lover, guy-in-the-sky, creator, etc. (Muslims have 99 names for God)? When we break bread together, who gets to sit at the table and who is not at the table? What kind of bread do we share: gluten-free, nut-free, wheat, rice, corn . . . ?

We are a diverse community at Beach UC with varied cultures. We have the culture of Kew Beach and Bellefair. We have cultures of age, young, old, and older. We have cultures of gender and sexual orientation. We have cultures of colour: black, white, yellow, pink, and grey—depending on how recently we got to Florida. We have cultures of heritage: ethnic as well as family dynamics. We have cultures of assumptions, for instance, how children should behave in worship, or which is the right Lord’s Prayer. We have cultures of power: who makes decisions and who is excluded from decision-making. These are just a few of the varied cultures we bring together when we worship.

Such diversity is a celebration because in whatever way we have traveled our road of life, we arrive on Sunday morning at a common destination in worship. We bless bread and break bread together as a community committed to our difference—and that’s when we see the face of Jesus. Alleluia!

*Luke 24:13-24, 28-31

 
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What’s ‘good’ about Good Friday? was a question posed by my brother. Great question! So what’s an equally good response?!

Exact origins of the name ‘Good Friday’ are uncertain. Some suggest the use of "good" is an Old English synonym for "holy." Others suggest it is a corruption of the word "God," in the same way that "Good Bye" comes from the phrase "God be with ye."

Whatever the origins, we tend to prefer our spiritual journey to take a sharp turn from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday and leave out the rest of the week—particularly Good Friday. Life is busy. We don’t need to add anything more, especially the more somber parts of our Christian tradition.

And yet, I’ve learned that Easter only has meaning as a response to Good Friday. The two are entwined. As poet Ann Weems suggests:

We want our Life from Birth

Instead we get Life from Death

emptied from a tomb

Perhaps we can find room for the whole week’s excursion. Or perhaps we can add one piece to our spiritual odyssey. We can choose whether to attend the Disciples’ Supper on Thursday evening—a gentle gathering of all ages to share food in our worship space and remember the last meal Jesus ate with his friends.

With courage, we can gather for Good Friday and reverberations of crucifixion in song and poetry. On Saturday, we will keep vigil by watching the film “Wit,” a pragmatic yet poignant journey from life to death to hope. And of course, we will pull out all the stops (no organ puns intended) on Easter Sunday. We will greet the sunrise on the beach at Leuty Lifeguard Station, share a pot luck breakfast together, and then raise our voices in jubilant song, “Jesus Christ is Risen Today! Hallelujah!”

Abigail

Sister-in-Christ, friend on the journey

To view an Easter message from our United Church Moderator, Mardi Tindal, go to:

http://www.youtube.com/unitedchurchofcanada

To read about Beach United Church's Holy Week events, click on HEARTBEAT.

On Sunday we will wrap-up exploration of our Lenten theme of compassion as we reflect on the last component: “compassion-in-action”.

Then we’re done with compassion. We’ve got it all sorted out. We can move on to other topics.

Right?

So why did I get so mad at myself yesterday when I forgot the grocery list at home? Why did I want to offer suggestive hand gestures at the annoying driver on Gerrard this morning? Why do I want to tear my hair out when I listen to yet another negative advertisement about a political party? Where did my deep thoughts on compassion go?

Well . . . compassion is a great idea but is it also a way of living—a way of living with ourselves and with others. Compassion is a commitment to action on a daily basis.

That’s why I love being part of a congregation because I get reminders to be more compassionate. That’s why I love worship each Sunday because I need to hear God’s call to compassionate living.

Yes, we will wrap-up exploring our Lenten theme of compassion on Sunday. But the theme is not done with us just yet as we continue to learn about being compassion in the world.

Take a break with this 25 minute message of hope:

http://my.compassionateactionnetwork.com/video/2012-a-message-of-hope

Make a commitment to one compassionate action and put it into writing on:

http://charterforcompassion.org/site/

See you in church.

Abigail

 

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Some of the weird stuff we do in church and why we do it!

On Tuesday this week about 80 people came into Beach United Church to eat pancakes.  Now pancakes are consumed on a much more regular basis at the “Sunset Grill” but one day a year, Shrove Tuesday, many churches serve pancakes--why? 

Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent begins.  Lent is a time of preparation for Easter and one of the ways to prepare for Easter was to eat a simple diet; avoiding rich food items, especially fat, butter and eggs. Rather than allow these items to spoil while waiting for Easter, the tradition arose of consuming them before Lent started. The most common method of using these items was in some form of baking. We may be most familiar with pancakes, but other cultures use doughnuts, sweet rolls or pastries.

On Tuesday we consumed lots of wonderful tasting, fat laden food and engaged in great conversations and generally had fun.  Although I have to say that there were some healthy choices available in the form of apples and bananas,  I cannot take credit for making a healthy choice: I only ate half an apple because it was given to me by Sheila, who was too full to finish it!

Ash Wednesday, in contrast, is a much more sombre affair.  Ashes mixed with oil, are applied in the form of a cross to a person’s forehead or hand.  This is a sign of our mortality and humility before God.  A common verse used in these observances is from Genesis 3:19: "...you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  The symbol of ashes serve as a reminder that as people of faith we need to reflect on the changes we might need to make in our lives, as we try and live more closely with God.

You will have the opportunity on Sunday to be marked with ashes, as part of the 10:30 am service.  The symbol of ashes helps us to remember that as people of faith we need to reflect on the changes we need to make in our lives, as we try and live more closely to God.

Throughout the 5 Sundays of Lent, rather than giving up something, you can take part in one of three learning opportunities.  Look in “Heartbeat” for details-- the “Be the Change” family ministries activity begins at 9:30 am, so don’t forget to turn your clocks forward!

Blessings, Karen 

Please click on HEARTBEAT for reminders on what's happening this weekend and the week ahead at Beach United Church.

What are we doing during Lent? There is not just one thing to choose but three!  You can participate in them all or pick and choose, mix and match.

If you are part of a family grouping, in any way shape or form, consider being part of the Sunday morning Family Ministries session from 9:30 – 10:15 am.   You will join a program called “Be the Change - - - towards a green and just society”.

Mahatma Gandhi offers us some insight into what this might mean.  He said  “be the change you want to see in the world”. Many of us are being called at this critical point in time to reflect upon how we are in the world and to shift into “right relationship” with ourselves, each other and all life on this planet.

 The Be the Change Mission Statement is:

 to support each other to Be the Change necessary to bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on this planet.

Every Sunday morning throughout Lent, you have the exciting possibility of becoming part of a Be the Change action circle.  This will be an inter-active, fun and reflective process, designed to engage all ages.  The values that will be explored will connect with our personal context and so inspire us to act in our everyday lives and be the change!

Listen to the words of Pablo Neruda “Keeping Silent” and take a few moments of quiet as they sink into your soul.

"Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still. For once on the face of the earth, let’s not speak any language.  Let‘s stop for a second and not move our arms so much.

It would be an exotic moment without rush, without engines.  We would all be together in a sudden strangeness.

If we were not so single minded about keeping our lives moving and for once could do nothing, perhaps a huge silence might interrupt the sadness of never understanding ourselves and of threatening ourselves with death.

Perhaps the earth can teach us, as when everything seems dead in winter and later proves to be alive.

Now I’ll count to twelve and you keep quiet and I will go."

Blessings, Karen

This Sunday at Beach United Church:

10:30 am Worship Epiphany 8
11:30 am Annual Congregational Meeting
4:00 pm Taizé Community Vespers 

To read about Beach United Church news & events, click on HEARTBEAT.

We love to hear stories rather than cold, hard facts. Advertisers know this so they use stories to sell their products. Jesus used stories or parables--short, pithy tales that illustrate or offer an analogy.

We are familiar with Jesus offering parables such as the “Good Samaritan” and the “Prodigal Son.”  But did you know that parables are not exclusive to Jesus? You can find parables in the Old Testament, such as the “Parable of the Ewe Lamb” told by Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:1-9 or the “Woman of Tekoah” in 2 Samuel 14:1-13.

Parables are believed to come from a form of Hebrew comparison story called mashalim. Such comparison stories or teaching stories are found in other traditions.

In the Sufi tradition, parables are teaching stories to aid in spiritual learning. Most famous are the oddly funny Nasrudin stories.

One night, Mullah Nasrudin is looking for something next to a lamp post in the street. A friend is going by and asks what he’s doing. The Mullah says, “I’m looking for my key which is lost.” The friend decides to help and searches the ground under the lamp post.

Half an hour later the friend asks, “Are you sure you dropped your key here?”

Nasrudin replies, “Oh no I lost it inside my house in my bedroom.”

The friend screams, “Why in hell’s name, are we searching here?”

Nasrudin smiles and says, “There is much more light here.”

Nasrudin parables with multilayered meaning are known in Africa, China, Central Asia, as well as all Arabic-speaking countries.

We can also find parables in more modern times such as “The Rooster Prince” told by Rabbi Nachman in the early 1800s:
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rooster_Prince

And Frédéric Bastiat wrote the “Parable of the Broken Window” in 1850 as an economic parable to illustrate the hidden costs of destroying the property of others:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window

And just for fun—here is a parable on parables:

Truth entered a village naked as the day he was born. The villagers had one look at the naked truth and were afraid of the stark harshness and drove him out in anger and malice.

Dejected, the Truth wandered in the desert. Without food and nourishment, he weakened and would have soon died of loneliness. One day he got to the home of the Parable. She took him in, nursed him back to life. Soon the Truth was feeling well again. This time he returned to the same village clothed in a parable and was welcome and accepted with ease.

On Sunday, we are going to hear about parables found in Matthew’s chapter 13 as a way to hear parables from our own context.

See you on Sunday!

Abigail


Beach United Church News
Bernice Simpson, a former member of Bellefair, died on Saturday, February 5th.  The memorial service will be held at Sherrins Funeral Home on Kingston Road on Friday, February 11th at 5:00 pm and will be preceded by a time of visitation starting at 4:00 pm.


This Saturday, keep more children warm 

Last year, our Knitting for Shivering Children group decorated the sanctuary with 375 pneumonia vests for blessing on Mother's Day.  We're aiming for 450 this year.  Want to knit one vest to help us reach our goal?  We're meeting on February 12^th from 10:30 am to noon in the Spirit Space.  Please join us, if only for a few minutes.  Pick up some yarn, 4 mm needles if you need them, and our simple pattern.  Coffee and goodies available.  Contact Pat Davies 416-465-3081 patriciadavies@rogers.com


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“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!”

And so begins probably one of the most well known pieces of scripture. Sometimes referred to as “The Beatitudes” or the “Sermon on the Mount,” this text from Matthew’s gospel ( Mt 5:1-12 ) offers both consolation and a challenge to social justice.

Consolation comes in the form of comfort to those who are grieving and suffering. Challenge to social justice comes in the form of encouragement: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.”

“Blessed” is an old-fashioned way of saying that you are especially loved by God. Liberation theology scholars refer to God’s ‘preferential option for the poor’ meaning that God has a special love for those who are marginalized in our societies.

A group of New Testament scholars called “Fellows of the Jesus Seminar” prefer to use the word “Congratulations!” rather than “blessed.” How does such a word change, reshape how we hear this message from God through Jesus?

Congratulations to the poor in spirit!

Heaven’s domain belongs to you.

Congratulations to those who grieve!

You will be consoled.

Congratulations to the gentle!

You will inherit the earth.

Congratulations to those who hunger and thirst for justice!

You will have a feast.

Congratulations to the merciful!

You will receive mercy.

Congratulations to those with pure hearts!

You will see God.

Congratulations to those who work for peace!

You will be known as God’s children.

Congratulations to those who have suffered persecution for the sake of justice!

Heaven’s domain belongs to them.

Congratulations to you when they denounce you and persecute you and spread malicious gossip about you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad!

Your compensation is great in heaven.

Recall that this is how they persecuted the prophets who preceded you.

 
Can we find ourselves in these words as ones congratulated, blessed, and loved by God? And at the same time, can we hear words to challenge how we behave toward those who are poor, grieving, hungry for justice, and suffering?

Let us hear both love and challenge in balance as we continue to live God’s love faithfully in the world.

See you on Sunday for further reflection on this ancient text.

Shalom,

Abigail

A reminder and last call for anyone who hasn't signed up already for Cooking with Soul: World of Rice.  We still have room for a few more folks. Here's what's on the menu for this Saturday at 9am-noon.

A Sushi demo
Southwestern Rice and Beans
Pork Tenderloin and Brown Rice
Rice Pudding

Learn about rice from around the world, traditions and myths of rice. See different colours of rice available.
As well, hear about yellow rice which is being genetically modified to prevent blindness in some third world countries.

As always we'll share some food, laughs, stories and make some great food for the Interfaith Lunch program which Beach United Church supports.  There will be a small fee to cover food costs but we'll let you know Saturday morning when we start.

And we'll have a special visitor drop-in for an hour. Filmmaker Don Gray wants to find out why we love cooking.

And don't forget this Sunday at 4pm is Taizé Community Vespers.

Click here to watch Joe Sealy & Paul Novotny, featured artists of the Jazz Vespers Series, perform at Beach United Church.

Click on heartBeat to read our newsletter and find out more about what's going on at Beach United Church.

Last Saturday morning, as the snow was falling, cloaking the world in pristine beauty, members of Council and staff were having a special meeting.  We were a rag-tag bunch as we stumbled in, shaking snow from coats and boots--not nearly as lovely as the scene outside. Even so, as I was looking around the circle, I was struck yet again by the commitment, creativity and wisdom of this group.  Beach United Church is very fortunate.

Along with all the pre-reads for the meeting itself, Corey Helm had sent out an article that had grabbed her attention.  Some people had seen it before and it had been used as part of the amalgamation talks between Kew and Bellefair.  Jim Winn has written an introduction to the article itself (see below) and I encourage you to read both!

Blessings, Karen

"Mergers and amalgamations are two of the hottest words in the congregational development vocabulary these days. Emotional responses are hot due to the lack of clarity and guidance available. In the business world there is a tremendous body of knowledge about  what brings two organizations together (Mergers and Acquisitions). A Google search will turn up 6,460,000 responses. A book search on Amazon will yield 8,516 titles.

A member of Council came across an interesting article on this subject and we thought sharing it more broadly could be helpful. While we have not been able to find many resources to help us on our journey, we can certainly attest, by our experiences, to the tremendous amount of energy, time, communication skill and faith required."  Jim Winn

Read the full article HERE .

To catch up on the latest Beach United Church news and events, click on HEARTBEAT .

Some of us come to church on a Sunday morning because we are fortunate enough to be paid to walk with a group of amazing people, exploring God’s call to live hope, peace, joy and love in the world.  Others return Sunday after Sunday because that walk of faith is part of the pattern of their lives and doing anything else just wouldn’t feel right.  There are those who walk tentatively through the doors for the first time, perhaps after the birth of a child, full of the miracle of new life but also bringing questions.

Few of us come to church on a wet and dreary Sunday morning because of a dream they had had the night before--but that is exactly what happened  last week!  Imagine the person’s amazement, when they discovered that the focus of the service was exploring how we can be "people of the dream".  As the story of the dream was shared from person to person, you could feel the energy and excitement that was generated. 

What a powerful way of helping us to experience the range of emotions that Joseph felt as he grappled with his dream.  A dream where he was shown a new possibility, one where he and Mary support one another in giving birth to a baby who is “God with us”.

These stories around the birth of Jesus, filled with angel song, unexpected visitors in the night and gifts beyond imagining, have influenced legends down through the ages.  For me, these legends point to the way that people of faith have integrated the significance of God being born as a tiny baby, into the fabric of their lives.  I invite you to read the legends of La Befana [Italy] and Babushka [Russia]  and consider what message it contains for you this Christmas.

One cold dark night, a grandmotherly old woman was invited by the Magi to come with them and visit the baby Jesus.  She refused because she was much too busy cleaning her house.  In the morning she regretted her decision and quickly made up a basket with gifts for the child.  She hurried to the stable only to find it empty.   Since that day she has travelled the world, peering into each child’s face, seeking Jesus.  At Christmas time she leaves gifts for every child, always hoping that one of them will be the Christ child.

This coming Sunday we will be hearing the birth stories of Jesus through music and carols and hearing some more of those legends that speak to the meaning of Christmas in our lives.  See you at 10:00am as the Noël Instrumental Ensemb’ play Christmas music before the service begins.

Blessings, Karen

P.S.  To support our Inter-Faith Lunch Program this Christmas, please bring in gifts of new, warm socks and movie passes.  Thank you.

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December is here!  In the church we are in the season of Advent: a time when we travel toward Christmas.  These weeks draw us into the stories of those who let God lead them beyond the lives they had known.  Last week, we met Zechariah and Elizabeth, who opened themselves to unexpected new life at the later stage of their lives. They also opened their door to Mary, who offered her stunning “yes” to God’s invitation to become a mother. Mary who sung her song of justice and joy: the Magnificat.

This Sunday, both the Revelation and Genesis communities of learners will be exploring the idea of “Magnificat Now!”  How we, from the very youngest to the oldest, can sing and act with justice and joy.  How we can open ourselves to be stretched beyond our comfort zone and give birth to new possibilities.

For some of us there is a tension at this time of year as we wonder how the media- induced shopping frenzy bears any relation to preparing to receive a gift from God.  A gift that comes as a new-born baby – “the wild and wondrous Word made flesh” [Jan Richardson] - that draws us deeper into the heart of God.

Eglinton St. George’s United Church have had a great idea with their "Give Presence" coupon booklet.  Here is one example, and we will share more over the next few weeks:

BUY NOTHING COUPON

Present this coupon to family and friends.  It can be redeemed for a hug, a long walk, an outdoor game, or a relaxing chat.  In the end all we want at Christmas is the presence of those we love.  No one dies hoping for stuff.

Mark 14:7  "...Remember I won’t always be around.”

Advent blessings,  
Karen

What on earth are we doing in worship?

Or, put more strongly and relevantly, what in God’s name are we doing in worship?

Worship means different things to different people. What word or words might you choose from the following to describe what worship means to you?

praise, solace, ritual, reverence, love, devotion, radical, deification, spiritual, holy, sacred, lively, mystical, private, unworldly, relevant, challenging, faithful, interior, unchanging, unsettling, inspiring, sacramental, ceremonial, noisy, communal, unconventional, spirited, confessional, educational, solitary, revolutionary, public, open, multi-generational, traditional, innovative, habitual, time-honoured, nostalgic, cutting edge, recognizable, unexpected, restful, healing, silent, repetitive, prayerful, chastising, uplifting, fire and brimstone, heavenly, optimistic, instructive, dogmatic, firm foundation, institutional, global . . .

Bring a word or a selection of words to worship on Sunday to add to our ongoing discussion about worship.

As Karen mentioned in last week’s eSpirit message, worship is not just what we do on a Sunday morning at 10:30 in our worship space. Worship is a way of life. However, what we do on Sunday morning is important in the life of BUC. Worship is a focal point of our community life. Realizing that we cannot met everyone’s needs, as worship planners we have a clear focus for what we are doing at 10:30 on Sunday morning. We are not trying to find the lowest common denominator nor are we trying to meet everyone’s needs—unrealistic at best. We intend to present our ancient texts (bible) and our modern texts (theological thinkers, poets, writers) in order to reflect on what it means for our lives and living. And we do this as a community which spans our newest born, Cooper Francis Nishikawa Taylor, to our oldest . . . and I’m not even going to try naming that person!! And we will do this in a mixture of styles to meet varying ways people learn: visual, oral, tactile, silent, conversational, lecture, small groups, large group, music, prayer, words, images, and so on.

In the past we have split the worshiping community in two: children in church school and adults in the sanctuary. We cannot do this anymore. People are too busy to sign up for teaching “church school.” Children are not interested in another period of time in “school” whether church or otherwise. Families are not interested in using their precious family time separated, parents from children. Many adults choosing to come to worship are less “churched” than the past and do not know the language of church (sanctuary, narthex, chancel, lectionary, testament, etc.). Today, few adults are familiar with the stories of the bible. And as we know, more and more people do not see the need or relevance of going to church.

With all this in mind, we will worship and learn about how we live our beliefs and values as a whole community, learning about ancient texts in language that is current and relevant. That means that sometimes we are in our worship space as an all ages group, and sometimes we will divide into varying groups whether determined by age or activity.

Of course, this approach to worship may not meet the spiritual needs of all members. In order to meet those needs we need to move from ‘feedback’ about worship to developing other modes of worship for differing needs, as we already do with Jazz Vespers and Taizé Community Vespers. Constructive ideas and approaches are welcome.

This Sunday and throughout November and December we will begin worshiping and learning all together, then after we hear our ancient text, younger ones will move to the parlour to continue worshiping and learning in age-specific activities. For clarity, we have given names to these two groups: Genesis and Revelation. Any one of any age can feel free to be part of either group. But to be clear, the Genesis group will be young people with adults participating with them in their worship and learning. The Revelation group will be more mature worshipers and learners including teenagers.

This week and next, November 14 and 21, we will be preparing for Advent which begins on November 28 (more about Advent in later eSpirit messages). Karen will stay in the worship space with Revelation and along with Jean Collins will explore a spirituality of sexuality. Abigail will head off with Genesis to explore body image and how God created all things and said “It is good, very good.”

For those interested, our ancient text this week is taken from the book of Genesis, chapter one. Check out:  http://www.beachunitedchurch.com/Content.aspx?site_id=10457&content_id=231672 .  

See you on Sunday.

Abigail

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Is Hallowe'en a secular day of fun, aimed mainly at children - or does it have more sinister connotations and introduces evil and satanic beings to our children?  This year October 31st falls on a Sunday, so this is the perfect opportunity to explore the question “Should Christians Celebrate Hallowe’en?”  All ages will be invited to share their point of view, as we learn about our pre-Christian roots, in conjunction with hearing our biblical and present day stories.

Here is a snippet for you to chew on.  The celebration of Hallowe'en comes out of Celtic spirituality, which is sometimes named as “paganism.”  That is probably not news to many of you.  There are other Christian celebrations where some of our traditions come from Celtic roots - Christmas trees and wedding bands would be two examples.  Even the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy and piercing your ears are all forms of paganism.

Some of the legends around Hallowe’en blend Celtic and Christian beliefs.  The Irish story of the Jack-O-Lantern is one of those...

There once was an old drunken trickster named Jack, a man known so much for his miserly ways that he was known as "Stingy Jack." He loved making mischief on everyone - even his own family, even the Devil himself! One day, he tricked Satan into climbing up an apple tree - but then carved Crosses on the trunk so the Devil couldn't get back down. He bargained with the Evil One, saying he would remove the Crosses only if the Devil would promise not to take his soul to Hell; to this, the Devil agreed.

After Jack died, after many years filled with vice, he went up to the Pearly Gates - but was told by St. Peter that he was too miserable a creature to see the Face of Almighty God. But when he went to the Gates of Hell, he was reminded that he couldn't enter there, either! So, he was doomed to spend his eternity roaming the earth. The only good thing that happened to him was that the Devil threw him an ember from the burning pits to light his way, an ember he carried inside a hollowed-out, carved turnip...

I hope that you are intrigued and will want to join us on Sunday, to continue this exploration.  In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul reminds us that if there are good reasons on both sides of an argument “each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.”

Looking forward to some lively discussion,

Blessings,Karen

This Weekend:

Cooking with Soul   Saturday, October 30th from 9am-noon in the Kitchen
Pumpkins for all ages.  Come and bake pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin shaped cookies and all things pumpkin!  We'll bake, eat and then pack up our treats to share with the Interfaith Lunch Program. Please contact Wendy Johnston johnston@lunenfeld.ca, Mary Anne Lemm maryanne.alton@sympatico.ca 

Taizé Community Vespers   Sunday, October 31st at 4pm

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World Food Day

Saturday, Oct 16th is World Food Day.

World Food Day started in honour of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization (www.fao.org) of the United Nations in 1945. Since then, more countries have become involved in raising awareness about food issues globally and locally.

On Sunday we will celebrate World Food Day by reflecting on Jesus’ conversation with his close friend, Simon:

John 21:15-17

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
      "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
      Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
      He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
      Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
      Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

    Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.

Did Jesus want his friend Simon to become a sheep farmer? Perhaps not. Jesus wanted Simon to feed people of the world.

In preparation for Sunday’s worship service you can do two things:

1.      Give Globally: Give rice to people around the world with this interactive game: www.freerice.com

2.      Give Locally: Bring food to worship for our local food bank at Calvary Baptist’s Grace Pascoe Center, especially canned meat, Kraft dinners, canned stew, diapers (size 3-5), shampoo, and razors.

If you are interested in learning more about where people are hungry around the world, check out this interactive world hunger map: www.fao.org/hunger/en/

Shalom,

Abigail

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Preparing for our Voyage: Filling the Gap

Over 2000 years ago a wandering rabbi caught the hearts and imaginations of a group of rag tag people - not religious leaders, or politicians, or civic organizers - a collection of poor and dispossessed members of society.

Over 2000 years later that wandering rabbi still exerts influence. However, the years in between have caused a gap between what has become an established church and the everyday lives that we live. I like to think that our congregation is a place to close that gap.

We gather to listen to ancient stories of that wandering rabbi, Jesus. We gather to bring the spirit of those stories into our present-day lives. However, we engage with both our ancient stories and our present day stories in a variety of ways - young and old, different learning styles, listening or being in conversation, dancing or sitting quietly - however God’s Spirit can be felt and heard.

This Sunday we are seeking to fill that gap by combining our worship service and a congregational meeting. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated. Usually a Congregational Meeting follows after a worship service concludes, as a moment of business in the life of a church. But for me, separating the worship of God from the business of the church seems an alien concept. The life of our congregation is our ministry. And God’s Spirit is present in the life and ministry of our congregation. So on Sunday, we will enjoy worship and a congregational meeting as one event, a celebration of God’s Spirit at work in our lives, and a celebration of the many ministries enlivening our spirited congregation.

And we have a lot to celebrate. We will baptize two infants, welcome a new staff person, announce our rebuild architect, update our financial news, and present new Council members. Fabulous ministry is happening at Beach United Church. God’s Spirit is at work.

Shalom,

Abigail

In Our Faith Community

Jeanne Iverson, a long-time member of the old Kew congregation, died on Tuesday, September 21st. Jeanne was a very active leader and member of the UCW, Beach Couples’ Club and many other groups that helped to make the church run so well. There will be a  visitation tonight,  Friday, September 24th from 6-8pm. The funeral is tomorrow, Saturday, September 25th at 10am at Sherrin Funeral Home.

Marjory Bradley, Rosalie Bradley’s mother, died on Wednesday, September 22nd. The visitation will be this Sunday from 1-3pm & 5-7pm and the funeral will be on Monday, September 27th at 1pm at Giffen-Mack Funeral Home. 

Our thoughts are with Jeanne's family and Rosalie and her family.

Please click on HEARTBEAT to read more news and announcements of upcoming events and activities at BUC. 

Preparing for the Voyage

Since January 2007

Beach UC has engaged in faithful and purposeful ministry

a voyage of discovery

Before that . . . two legacy congregations:

Bellefair UC
 

and Kew Beach UC
 

created their own heart of God’s ministry in two separate locations

a stone’s throw apart

Sometimes religious differences can create more denominations than we need

and too much tension and violence in the name of God

Faithful people of Bellefair and Kew Beach joined together

to create Beach United Church—which is inspiring


Joining any two church families into a blended family is tricky

We all want great things but day-to-day living together takes time and patience

Can you imagine life on Noah’s Ark—perhaps noisy and smelly

sometimes funny and occasionally challenging?

Did Noah really invite wood termites to join them on a voyage in a wooden ark?

But remember – “We’re all in the same boat”!

so what have we been doing?

·         Beach United has written about how two congregational families can live together by writing our “Creed in Action” and “Ministry in Progress”

·         Ups and downs of changing ministry personnel and directors of music have added extra interest

·         Shifts in “the way we do things here” have generated conversation

·         Deciding which building to sell and beginning plans to renovate the other building has been a process of grief and hope

Throughout it all

Beach United Church

has remained faithful to God

to our United Church history

and to a living ministry of Jesus’ gospel

so what’s next?  

Our plans continue this fall as we prepare to leave our church building, storing what we can do without and deciding what to take with us. Like early explorers, we will set sail hoping that we don’t fall off the edge of the earth. And like those explorers, we are excited about possibilities only imagined.

does our ministry take a break?

No. We are committed to being a loving presence to those in need through our lunch program, knitting group, pastoral visiting, and all the ways we offer individual compassion and justice to the world in our work and community life. Also, our Dondi Drumathon will reach across the world to Angola, Africa, in a 24 hour drumming experience that will raise money for the Lutama school at Dondi.

does our learning and growth come to a halt?

No. Through our “Bearing Witness” program we will hear from various authors who will take us to places and explore issues beyond our doors beginning with Sarah Elton, author of Locavore.

As we gather for “Cooking with Soul” we will explore food issues while cooking together as well as feeding others when we meet with chef Gordon Brown to bake bread.

BUCKY – Beach United Church Kids & Youth  &  souLiving – youth group - will continue to explore and learn, both through their own special programming and with the whole faith community.

does our worship of God as a spirit-led community wither away?

No. Beginning September 12^th, we will prepare ourselves spiritually and physically throughout this year to move out of our building into a temporary space, and then back again into a newly configured worship and learning and ministering space.

Our theme for the entire year is:

“Preparing for the Voyage”
as we set sail into new horizons 

Take a look at what is coming up this fall:

Preparing for the Voyage

September 12^th         Exploring Waters of Life & Baptism
September 19^th         Adult Baptism & Re-affirmation of Faith
September 26^th         Infant Baptism

                                                          Preparing Food for the Voyage

October 3rd               World Wide Communion

October 10^th              Thanksgiving Celebration 

October 17^th              World Food Day

October 24^th              Community Lunch: Stone Soup

Other Spiritual Nurture

                September 26^th         Taizé Community Vespers

                October 2^nd                Jazz Vespers

Whatever we do, wherever we go

God is the wind in our sails, the lake beneath our vessel

God holds us up and beckons us forward

God sharpens our intellect

and makes space for our dreams and imaginations

All we need is to be faithful—and that we are

Shalom,

Abigail

souLiving back 2 school painting project.  Saturday September 11^th 9-11 am. 
We will be painting the Aloha Room, so please wear clothes for messy work and running shoes – no flip flops please!  Contact Rayford   

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“How can I keep from singing?”    
    words from hymn by Robert S. Lowry

Whenever something earth-shaking happens people sing.  The Psalms are filled with songs of lament and celebration.  When Black slaves made their way to Canada through the underground railroad, they sang spirituals to bolster their courage. When women struggled for the right to vote, they sang songs of protest.

In the church we sing of what is deepest in our hearts.  We sing about God’s creation, about Jesus who turns our world-view upside down, of the Spirit that is gentle breeze and roaring hurricane.  As we sing, we learn our theology – what we believe about God and one another.

So it is no wonder that the United Church’s most current statement of belief is written in the form of a song - “something of a love song, an offering up of those values, ideas and truths, the church holds close to it’s heart”.

Throughout August we have been using the “Song of Faith”  to help us with the question “Believe it or Not?”   This coming Sunday the focus will be on what we believe about the church itself.  Have a read of the excerpt below and see what you think.

The church has not always lived up to its vision.

It requires the Spirit to reorient it,

    helping it to live an emerging faith while honouring tradition,

    challenging it to live by grace rather than entitlement,

for we are called to be a blessing to the earth.

Blessings, Karen

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Why do we even bother, as the United  Church, trying to write down what believe?  We are not a doctrinal church with a series of absolute principles and beliefs.  In fact there are those who have called us “wishy washy” in our faith because the perception is that anything goes.

It’s true that as a Christian denomination we actively encourage people to explore and question what they believe.  This has resulted in a whole range of  interpretations and expressions of belief.  I look at this smorgasbord with excitement and want to dive in and taste and debate, pick-up and discard.  For some it is just confusing, a little scary and even unfaithful.

For the next few weeks we are asking the question “Believe It or Not?” as we delve into the most recent statement of belief of the United Church called “A Song of Faith”.  This is our most current ”creed” which is meant to serve as a map for those of us walking the journey of faith.  The purpose is to invite reflection rather than prescribe a particular route.  The path that each of us chooses might be a little different  but hopefully we will have encounters along the way that will both challenge and uplift us.

This Sunday we will exploring how scripture can be our song for the journey.  Here is another teaser from the Song of Faith:

            
            The Spirit judges us critically when we abuse scripture,

            By interpreting it narrow mindedly,

            Using it as a tool of oppression, exclusion or hatred.

Believe it or not?   Hope to see you on Sunday to continue the reflection.

Blessings,

Karen

Don't forget to join us early this Sunday morning for our Deep Waters reflection at 8am at the Leuty Lifeguard Station on the beach.

To learn more about how to enjoy our August meditations, click on "Deep Water"

For more on prayer, check out our July theme by clicking on "Praying in Colour"

We don’t often have baptism and communion on the same Sunday. This Sunday we will celebrate both these sacraments: welcoming infant Charles Fillatre Brooks into our spiritual community as well as remembering the spirit of our brother Jesus.

What is a ‘sacrament?’ Some use the phrase - visible sign of God’s invisible grace - to describe baptism and communion. By blessing Charles with visible water, he is blessed with God’s grace, invisible to our eyes but tangible to our spiritual lives. By sharing bread and juice, we remember meals that Jesus ate with his followers, and we celebrate meals we eat with one another: in our congregation, in our families, and in a world hungering for justice.

Baptism and communion are two important rituals and celebrations in the life of the church. But while we set aside these sacraments as times when God’s grace may be most visible, I urge us not to separate these sacraments from our lives. Baptism and communion remind us that all of life and creation is sacred. Every birth is a moment of joy when God’s creative spirit is most visible. Each meal we eat is a moment to give thanks for being blessed with physical food for our bodies and spiritual food for our souls.

As we celebrate baptism and communion we have an opportunity to move inward to be reminded of God’s lively grace. As we participate in baptism and communion we are called by God to move outward and be God’s living grace in the world.

Whether we will be part of the spiritual community at 140 Wineva this Sunday or away enjoying God’s beautiful creation, let us offer a prayer of thanksgiving for Charles and for our gathered congregation on Sunday morning.

Shalom,

Abigail

Don't forget to join us early this Sunday morning for our "Deep Waters" reflection at 8am at the Leuty Lifeguard Station on the beach. 

To learn more about how to enjoy our August meditations, click on Deep Water  

For more on prayer, check out our July theme by clicking on Praying in Colour

To read our weekly newsletter, click on HEARTBEAT

What is Confirmation?  Is it something that young people feel they have to do, like a  rite of passage or a means to graduate from Sunday School?   The hope is to make the confirmation experience an exploration of faith and time of learning about the United Church.

This challenge of seeing confirmation as a stepping stone along the way of transforming belief into meaningful life-long action is not something that only happens in your teenage years.  It is much too exciting a process for that!  It is something which we can all engage and re-engage with, at many points in our lives.

Imagine a place where everyone can renew their faith commitments at various points in the life-long journey of spiritual exploration.  This is what we are trying to do at Beach.  It can be done formally, for example,  when you transfer your membership from one United Church to another, but it is also part of the reason we gather together to worship God.  Each Sunday, or Saturday afternoon, in church or on the beach; we have the opportunity to question and shape what we believe.

These are all opportunities to dig around in the stuff of our faith and that’s exactly what the group of young people being confirmed this Sunday have been doing.  Come and listen to what they have to say about what they believe, at this point in their lives.  It has been inspiring and energizing for both myself and the group of mentors who have been sharing in this stage of their journey.

Blessings,

Karen

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We can only hope to achieve as humans, what comes so freely from our pets . . . unconditional love, loyalty and true companionship.

Darcy Bomford, 1987 founder, president and CEO of Pet Food/Treat Manufactory

On Sunday, we will celebrate and bless our pets, furry or scaly, wet or dry. Blessing of pets comes from a tradition of blessing the animals in rural contexts. Blessing the animals meant farm animals that provided milk, eggs, cheese, meat, assistance with plowing, feathers for beds, and so on. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals. He was not a soft sentimentalist but was outspoken against cruelty to all animals and saw them as part of God’s whole creation.

Let’s celebrate all creatures’ great and small in God’s great outdoors: at the picnic shelter between the tennis courts and Summerville Olympic Pool in the park at the bottom of Kippendavie Ave. Bring picnic food to share following the service.

For those who prefer an indoor service, join us for Canticle of Peace, at 9 am in the sanctuary for an early morning service of prayer, scripture, and reflection.

Shalom,

Abigail

This Weekend
Canticle of Peace                    Sunday, June 13   9am  Sanctuary

    Second of four early morning services of prayer, scripture, and reflection.
    Join Abigail Johnson fo rthis meditative service.

Worship     Sunday, June 13   10:30am             OUTDOOR PET BLESSING SERVICE

    Meet at the picnic shelter between the tennis courts and Summerville Olympic Pool in the park at the bottom of Kippendavie Avenue. Bring your pets or photos or bring stuffed animals that you love! If you are remembering a well-loved pet who is no longer with you, bring a photo for our pet remembrance. Following our pet blessing service we will enjoy an outdoor potluck picnic together. Bring picnic food to share. Questions? Contact Abigail.

Next Sunday, June 20th       

Canticle of Peace  9am   Sanctuary
    Third of four early morning services of prayer, scripture, and reflection.

 
Worship   10:30am    Sanctuary
    Celebrating the baptisms of Cameron Johansen and Finn Murray.

 
Worship & Music

 “beachestra summer oh-10”  

      Can you play an instrument? Can you play from our hymn books   

      (Voices United & More Voices)? Over the summer months we will    

      be exploring the instrumental gifts of BUC, inviting folks to join

      Douglas around the piano and lend another voice to our worship   

      & music. Contact Douglas and join in “beachestra summer oh-10”.

 
Congregational Development
 Kitchen Wizards at Beach United Church

      Fabulous cooking classes for children age 6-15. Chef Gordon

      Brown will be conducting the classes, assisted by Katie Watson &    

      Eric Lemm from BUC. Includes all food, trips to a bakery & a farmers’   

      market. How to buy, plan, cook and savour wonderful meals. Only  

      two one-week sessions! August 9-13, August 16-20. Limited space,  

      so register now!       www.kitchenwizards.ca

United Church Women Pot Luck Luncheon  Wednesday, June 16    

      You are invited to the Pot Luck Luncheon meeting of Unit 1 UCW. 

      We meet at 10am in the parlour, for the program on 'The Apple    

      Connection'. Please let us know if you will attend 416-694-5969.

 
Service
Interfaith Lunch Program Every Monday from now until October at 140 Wineva Ave.
New volunteers always welcome.  Contact karen@beachuc.com

Learning & Growth
Confirmation Sunday  June 27 10:30am 

   Come and celebrate with our six young people as they make their    

   commitment to Beach United Church and the United Church of   

   Canada.

BUCKY Beach United Church Kids & Youth get connected!     

   Coming to church is much more fun when you know someone. 

 
souLiving   If you are in High School and would like to hang out    

   on a Friday evening,  there is a room in the church that is just for

   youth. It needs re-decorating, so be prepared to get messy!

            Contact Rayford Glasgow

 
Col Canto   If you like singing and are 7 years & older, this is the

   group for you. Come and meet the gang, have a barbeque and play    

   some games on Thursday, September 2 at 5pm at 98 Balsam Ave.  

                             Contact Pat Agnew 416-694-8575.

 
Adult baptism & membership   September 19 10:30am

      If you would like to be baptized, become a member or re-affirm    

      your faith, please meet with us at the end of August & early    

      September (specific dates & times to be arranged later). We will     

      explore our faith and learn about the United Church of Canada.     

                                  Contact

 
BUC Summer Seminar Series on "Roots of Religion”   

       Wednesday, June 23: Temple of the Goddess on Malta & The

       Aten – Monotheism in Egypt. In the Spirit Space from 1pm-3pm

       Based on a series of lectures by archaeologist John Hale, this  

       series looks at how humans' spiritual & religious systems of   

       belief have evolved through the study of the artifacts and sites left

       behind. Drop-ins welcome. Contact Dick Allan 416-698-8614.

It is so easy to say that it is important that we care for each other.  Caring is an integral component of living out our faith.  It does not require academic qualifications or years of  experience and it can be done by people at any age or stage of life.  To care for each other we need to see the other person as important and value who they are.

Caring is not about wanting to change people or do things that we think are helpful.  It is about being fully present in the moment and trying to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes.  Caring is more about listening than speaking, being rather than doing, it is more about the other person than ourselves.  This does not mean that we do not care for ourselves.  If we do not do that, we are not going to be able to care for anyone else very well.

When I think about a person who cares, Ann Morwood is one of those people who immediately comes to mind.  I feel very fortunate to have shared in ministry with Ann while she has been with us at Beach.  Her ministry of caring presence has been pivotal in helping us to come together as a congregation and we have benefited so much from her time with us.

This Sunday we say goodbye and thank you to Ann.  We send her on her way to experience retirement - for the fourth time!  We hope that she relishes every moment of her time with family and friends, of travelling to new and exciting place and also just hanging out at home. 

Caring for Ann means letting her go but also letting her know how much she has has meant to us.  Many people have already done that in various ways but we will have another opportunity this Sunday.  May we continue to care for each other as well as Ann has cared for us.

Blessings, Karen    

Our guest speaker, Greig Clark, has an interesting story, some of which he will share with us on Sunday. But to fill out his story a little more, let me tell you that Greig and his wife, Carolyn, are members of Fairlawn United Church. Beginning with one College Pro Painters in Thunder Bay in 1977, he expanded to 600 franchises across Canada. After selling his business in 1989 at age 37, he and his family took a sabbatical year in France. Living in Aix en Provence, he studied French history and politics (and red wine) at the university.

So what does a 38 year old “retired” businessman do next? Well, Greig has set up a venture capital fund to bring resources of capital and expertise to small early stage Canadian growth companies (Horatio Enterprise Fund http://verdegroup.ca/default.asp?action=article&ID=45). He offers himself as an advisory board specialist for entrepreneurs, and writes a regular column on entrepreneurial issues for Profit magazine (http://freemagazine.ws/publication/1299/profit-magazine/?gclid=CJSC3PDjuaECFYp95Qodv3gA_Q).

And what does an entrepreneurial businessman do in his spare time? He joined the board of the Christian Resource Center (http://www.tcrc.ca/). Founded by Rosedale United Church in 1965, CRC supports homeless and marginalized people of Regent Park focusing on “helping them to help themselves.” As chair of the board, Greig has nurtured a $20 million revitalization project as part of a $1 billion venture (http://www.tcrc.ca/index.cfm?DocID=10502). When I asked Greig how many hours his volunteer work took each week, he responded, “Oh, about 35-40 hours.” He clearly lives his favorite quotation, “to do what you love, and feel that it matters, what could be more fun” (Katherine Graham, Publisher, Washington Post).

I’m looking forward to hearing more of Greig’s story on Sunday. See you then!

Shalom,

Abigail


The Voice of Christian Resource Center
Housing: CRC operates under the understanding that housing is not an option; it is a right for all. Without housing it is almost impossible to live out one's goals. With this understanding, we operate.

Food: Food is necessary for life. In a country like ours no one should go hungry. We understand that there are many reasons why people are hungry. While being part of coalitions that try to make food security an issue at governmental levels, we also look to addressing people's immediate needs. We:

• Operate a drop-in to feed on average 150 people daily with a freshly cooked lunch and a light breakfast
• Oversee three (3) community gardens in Regent Park where people can grow their own food
• Operate a volunteer-driven weekly fruit and vegetable market from April to November
• Operate a food delivery service to provide less expensive produce to local agencies with food programs
• Operate a small catering business (Sunshine Multicultural Catering) that serves agencies and social functions in the area

Regent Park Community Ministries

The Christian Resource Centre, its genesis in the United Church of Canada, has always nurtured a faith component in the midst of its busy-ness of addressing poverty issues. At the heart of 40 Oak Street is a congregation that meets quietly, fervently and faithfully on Sunday morning to pray and reflect on faith, God and justice. This congregation, through its individual members, is not quiet during the week, however, as each in their own way is spurred to action in city-wide and local endeavours that demand responses from us when justice is at risk. The congregation meets at 11:15 a.m.

Check out our weekly newsletter by clicking on Heartbeat.

This Sunday, David MacDonald will be sharing with us his experience at the Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen.  He accompanied our moderator Mardi Tindal and they were part of a World Council of Churches delegation.  Mardi was the only North American denominational church leader present and she returned to Canada bitterly disappointed with the outcome of the negotiations.

She shared her thoughts in a letter titled “Where is the hope after Copenhagen?”  Here are some excerpts:

Our moment of opportunity came and then went, and here we are now, the fate of civilization and of millions of the planet’s life forms hanging by the frayed thread of inaction.

I believe the ecological crisis is one of the most urgent moral challenges in human history. Just as racial segregation and discrimination, and before that slavery, were in their times. Responding to this moral challenge lies with us, and the time is now.

Every day I receive new messages from people who are making dramatic changes in their lives. The answers are already here. Together, let us act by our beliefs. When we do this, we will replace the fearful self-interest of Copenhagen with joyful inclusion and healing of the world.

This is a transformative moment in the planet’s history. The world will be shaped by how we and our communities respond . It will take all of us. All of you. I can see your imagination springing forth even now, making this a safe, healthy new world

With sincerity and hope,
Mardi Tindal, Moderator
The United Church of Canada

As an Easter people, rising with new life in the Beach, we are trying to “be bread in the world”.  We are exploring ways to live out our faith, as Mardi encourages us to do. 

Blessings, Karen

This Saturday, April 24th is the Women's Spring Circle
All women of Beach United Church are invited to attend from 8:30am-noon in the Parlour for discussions, music, coffee and muffins as we explore the theme of "Nurturing Your Spirit - Play for Life and Health" Hope to see you there!

To find out what's happening this Sunday and the rest of the week ahead, click on Heartbeat.

George Burns' advice to a new minister:
The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible.  

Laughter is great medicine for the spirit, so we will celebrate Easter good cheer with Holy Humour Sunday this Sunday, April 11.
We are reviving an ancient custom found in Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox communities who gathered to celebrate the “risus paschalis” - the Easter laugh!
Jesus is raised to new life and possibilities for transformation abound.

Bring your joy, bring your jokes, and let’s have fun.

Abigail

Click on Heartbeat to read our weekly newsletter with BUC news and announcements.

Heart Labyrinth 



The labyrinth symbolizes a spiritual journey and these pathways are found in ancient cultures all over the world, including on the floors of many gothic cathedrals in Europe.  Walking the labyrinth helps us to centre ourselves and open our hearts  A labyrinth is not a maze, it does not have dead-ends, it is not a puzzle to be solved.  The labyrinth has a path that leads to the centre, it is designed to help us find our way to the sacred centre, of ourselves, our world, our Creator.  What is required as we walk, is that we trust the path and put one foot in front of the other.  We can walk alone, we can invite others to walk with us or we can join others as they journey.
This Sunday you will have the opportunity to consider ways in which we can live out our catch phrase “ Beach United Church - -- the heart of the Beach “  There will also be a heart labyrinth to walk.  What a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

Blessings,
Karen 

BUC THIS WEEKEND

Knitting for Shivering Children this Saturday, February 13th 10:30am Spirit Space, Beach East
Bring your needles (around size 4mm is good), we supply the pattern and yarn. Just follow the sound of laughter. Info: Pat Davies 416-465-3081

Sunday Worship Service this Sunday, February 14th 10:30am Beach East
Arrive a few minutes early for WonderCafé to share a warm cup of fair trade coffee or tea and conversation with friends.

Lent 2010: Feasting on the Word this Sunday, February 14th noon-2pm Nursery, Beach East
Lent 5 Group: "serving the poor". Create community. Break bread together. Info:

Beach Bereavement Group this Sunday, February 14th 1-3pm Spirit Space, Beach East
Ann Morwood & Jane Monro are leading this grief support group. Contact the Church Office for more info.

BUC UPCOMING EVENTS

Beach United Men/AOTS Meeting this Monday, February 15th 7pm Parlour, Beach East
Planning for the Dondi Drumming Circle Project.

BUC Pancake Supper this Tuesday, February 16th 5:30-7:30pm Auditorium, Beach East
Bring your family and friends to eat good food and get to know each other. Volunteers are needed. Please contact Carol Andersen 416-261-9261or Margaret Burley 416-699-1368. After you have finished feasting, there will be an opportunity to take a quiet moment to reflect and pray in the Spirit Space. We will use ashes as a symbol of endings and new beginnings, to mark the season of Lent. Info:

UCW Unit Meeting this Wednesday, February 17th 10am Parlour, Beach West

BUC Study Group Jesus to Constantine this Wednesday, February 17th 7pm Parlour, Beach East
This week's topic is The Christian Reactions to Persecution; The Early Christian Apologists. Info: Dick Allan 416-698-8614.

Skating with BUCKY next Sunday, February 21st 10:30am Beach East
After service, join Beach United Church Kids/Youth (BUCKY) for an hour of icy fun, followed by hot chocolate & snack. Play games, shinny and free skate.  We plan to reserve a regular Parks Department rink, actual location to be announced later. If you are interested in helping, contact Sunday School Supervisor Wendy Johnston or Hastings Withers 416-691-1657 or

BUC Worship & Music next Sunday, February 21st and Sunday, March 7th 10:30am Beach East
Please join us for half an hour right after the service as we listen to each other talk about where we would like to go with Worship and Music as we journey together.

Taizé Community Vespers next Sunday, February 21st 4pm Beach East  
Sing, light candles, pray or meditate during this simple service: you are invited to participate as the Spirit moves you. This is a time to stop, reflect and rejuvenate for the week ahead.

World Day of Prayer is on Friday, March 5th 7pm Beach East
Beach United Church is hosting this worldwide movement along with faith communities in this district. This year the WOMEN OF CAMEROON have written the service and will share their culture and their struggles.   Contact Rosalie Bradley through the Church Office for further information on how you could help with this joyful event.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

KAIROS Carbon Fast  
Are you thinking about observing a fast this Lent?  The BUC Green Team invites you to participate in a “Carbon Fast” and take some steps to reduce our use of fossil fuels and our impact on the earth. The KAIROS daily calendar for Lent provides many suggestions about personal changes you can make and is available at www.kairoscanada.org/index.php?id=71&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=916. Printed copies of the KAIROS daily calendar are available at the back of the sanctuary.

Carbon Fast Tips – Week 1: Electricity  
One action we can all take during Lent is to reduce our electricity use. Have you ever heard of Phantom Load?  This is the electricity that is used by some appliances and electronics even when they are off or in standby mode. Check to see if computer workstations, TV/sound systems and other devices are wasting electricity by looking for lights or by feeling heat when they are off. The solution is to unplug unused devices or install power bars that can be turned off. Electricity savings from taking these measures could add up to $50 to $100 a year! For more electricity conservation tips, go to www.everykilowattcounts.ca.

West Site Investigation  
On several dates over the next two weeks, there will be work crews and equipment on site at Beach West property. This is part of the investigation of foundation and structural assembly of the building that the prospective purchaser must complete in order to develop his plans to incorporate much of the existing structure in the redevelopment of the property. The purchase agreement is not yet completed, and thus this work is not part of any renovation work on the property. Bob Torrance, Coordinator for Property Care, or Ron Fitton, Chair of Council, will be present on these days to safeguard the interests of BUC.

Silent Auction Volunteers
The committee working on the inventory of all items currently in the west building is developing plans for the silent auction on Saturday, March 27^th. This project is no small undertaking, and this small team could use your help. We need assistance with overall planning, as well as with some light lifting and moving, supervising the silent auction time (two hours), and completing final sales. This is one of the many opportunities ahead where you can make a huge difference by pitching in for a short-term, fixed period of time and work. Please leave your contact information with the church office: 416-691-8082 or

Exploring music at BUC
The music program at BUC is transitioning into new models created by the realities of life in the 21st Century, peoples’ busy lives and the natural law of change. The BUC Choir, having been a traditional SATB choir, is coming to terms with the fact we lack enough tenors and basses to have a viable men's section at this time. We do, however, have a talented choir of sopranos and altos that volunteer their time and gifts to the BUC Choir. We will be exploring more special event choirs, such as The NOEL Singers, who shared their gift of music on a short term basis. Another short-term group in the planning stages is 'Music 2gether,’ a chance for families to make and lead music together at our Sunday worship. Keep your ears open and listen for new music making, the sound is in the air.

Abigail Johnson will be away this week, February 14^th to 20^th, teaching a course on a Ministry of Supervision at Emmanuel College as part of her continuing education time.

A Message for Beach United Men
2010 is a new year, men, so we are encouraging all males to be BEACH UNITED MEN/AOTS. Brian Bell, Ross Richards or Harry Wolfraim will be contacting you.