girltheology

(Written December 2006)

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
- Hebrews 11: 13-16

I am reminded that we are in a time of waiting – the central theme of the advent season. During Advent we wait for the promise of the birth of God’s love incarnate – Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. This advent, I also wait for the promise of God’s mission in the world along with my classmates who are candidates for graduation and ordination.

For me, 2006 provided much time for meditation on the book of Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 11. The chapter, in its entirety, traces through the Judeo-Christian lineage of people of faith. As I prepare for the final steps on my journey towards ordination, I am reminded that I am part of this long lineage. The passage also reminds me to be patient, and to allow for God’s grace. God’s promises do not always manifest when we expect them, but we are blessed and privileged sometimes to see them and welcome them from a distance.

Not the least of ways I am connected to the lineage of God’s people is through my 10 month internship which I completed in Alsask, SK in June. After working with the congregations as Alsask United and Grace United which make up the Marengo Pastoral Charge, it was difficult to say goodbye to those who I came to know and love. While my ecumenical work took me out of the pastoral charge more than any of us bargained for, God was working in and among us, for this year they are without an intern for the first time in ten years. It seems God’s sense of humour found it appropriate I should prepare them for lots of lay leadership! I will always remember fondly my time in West Central Saskatchewan, and the people there have been in my thoughts and prayers every day since I left.

Distances, it seems, have become a normal part of life for me this year after an election to the Central and Executive Committees of the World Council of Churches (WCC). In February, I attended the WCC 9th General Assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil. In May, I went for the first time to Geneva, as well as attended the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues annual meeting in New York at the UN General Secretariat. Several other ecumenical meetings, as well as meetings of the United Church have taken me to New York and Toronto numerous times, as well as Thunder Bay for the United Church’s General Council. September saw another trip to Geneva. In October, the Women’s Programme Desk of the WCC sent me as an indigenous voice to a drafting session for a people’s charter for peace and security for life. I joined other international guests of the Hwacheon County Government, who are working for measurable, inspiring peace initiatives in northern South Korea. Being there, seeing classified areas of the DMZ (demilitarized zone), and engaging with points of view from all over the world has given me memories I will cherish for a lifetime.

I have also continued with my academic work this year. I plan to graduate with my MDiv from the Vancouver School of Theology in May 2007. January will bring the final interview processes which precede ordination. It is my hope that I will be able to continue my studies as I go out into the world to do the work of ministry in word, sacrament, and pastoral care.

Thank you for those friends and family who have been more organized than me – I have enjoyed reading your Christmas greetings and hearing the challenges and blessings that 2006 brought to your lives. My hope is that God continues to bless each and every one of you, as we wait and watch to see and feel God’s love working in and through us. May it be so.

May the peace of the Christ who came to us at Christmas be with you all,
In love,


Carmen.

# posted by Carmen @ 11:06 AM 0 comments