Saturday, October 29, 2005
Busy, Busy, Busy....
Wow - has been a busy few weeks. Mom came out from Vancouver on the 16th of October - just in time for my covenanting service. It was amazing to have her here. The covenanting was between me and the Marengo Pastoral Charge. I was presented with symbols which represented our joint experience in covenant:
Bible - to be among the congregations as a fellow learner and teacher of the Word.
Water - to be reminded of our baptisms, our first covenant with God.
Towel and Basin - to commit to being in relationship with each other and to serve one another.
Hymn Book - to remind us of the diverse ministries and traditions of the United Church of Canada, and our common joy of song.
Tissues - to be with each other and to share our tears of sorrow and of joy.
The choir sang an anthem which my grandparents had sent music for as a birthday present. It was nice to have that participation from them, even if they couldn't be there in person.
Mom was here for 4 days, and we had a great visit. While I worked on Monday, she cooked amazing meals to put in my freezer (all KINDS of yummy stuff). Tuesday we went in to Saskatoon for the day, Wednesday we visited a quaint little tea house in Eatonia, and then Thursday we drove to Calgary so that I could fly to Toronto and she could fly home.
I spent the weekend in orientation with the Canadian delegation to the World Council of Churches 9th General Assembly which will be in Porto Alegre, Brazil next February. I am one of three delegates to be sent by the United Church of Canada. It should be a pivotal time in the ecumenical movement - especially in negotiating the relationship between Christian Orthodoxy and the Protestant churches (a very inaccurate distinction, but one that is generally accepted).
While I was in Toronto, I had a chance to connect with Fran Deacon, a dear friend of my grandparents from their time in Rosedale. We had a lovely visit over lunch, and then we went for a tour of the renovated sanctuary at Rosedale United Church. This posting's picture of me is taken in the chancel of the sanctuary. The renovation are gorgeous. It's truly a magnificent place.
Anyways - sermon to finish for tomorrow. Hence, it is probably appropriate to end with some Wordsworth:
ODE TO DUTY
"Jam non consilio bonus, sed more eo perductus, ut
non tantum recte facere possim, sed nisi recte facere non possim."*
Stern Daughter of the Voice of God!
O Duty! if that name thou love
Who art a light to guide, a rod
To check the erring, and reprove;
Thou, who art victory and law
When empty terrors overawe;
From vain temptations dost set free;
And calm'st the weary strife of frail humanity!
...
Through no disturbance of my soul,
Or strong compunction in me wrought,
I supplicate for thy control;
But in the quietness of thought:
Me this uncharted freedom tires;
I feel the weight of chance-desires:
My hopes no more must change their name,
I long for a repose that ever is the same.
...
To humbler functions, awful Power!
I call thee: I myself comment
Unto thy guidance from this hour;
Oh, let my weakness have an end!
Give unto me, made lowly wise,
The spirit of self-sacrifice;
The confidence of reason give;
And in the light of truth thy Bondman let me live!
*"Not self-consciously good, but so led by habit that not only do I act rightly, I cannot but act rightly." -Seneca
On those happy verses - I guess it's time to stop procrastinating, eh?
