Message - Karen Lackey Ryan - June 30, 2024 In our peaceful rural existence it may seem that the world on the brink of disaster and global war are only figments of the imagination; although disturbing, Far away and Nothing to do with us. Yet it is natural to be preoccupied with the state of the world and the multiplying effect of unbridled conflict, Ukraine and the Middle East being the main focus. Our beliefs and point of view determines what news we agree with and what hope we have for the future. Or, perhaps we prefer to ignore it and hope that it all goes away. World events always seem to be asking, “What do you humans really want?” At the moment it is evident that war is the main game in town. War is a great money maker for a chosen few, those who are in positions of power, who we expect to be safeguarding citizen well-being, but instead are counting dollars and amounts of weaponry ready for action. On the other hand there are those, Christian, secular, and other, who are predicting the ultimate end of the world, Armageddon, then the Rapture and the return of the blessed Christ, ruler of all in peace and love. Scripture is being used to justify acts of aggression on those labelled less than human: The Other, not like me, my enemy who is in my way. Do we believe that scripture is literally true, or a timeless and metaphorical road map guiding us through the phases, questions and difficulties of being human? We live in a time of great uncertainty, when in Western urban (and rural) cities people are homeless, living in makeshift tents, or worse, where food insecurity is becoming the norm for too many, where the assumed economic order is questioned, and the firm foundation on which to stand seems more and more like quicksand. I googled “predictions for apocalyptic events,” and found pages and pages listing predictions beginning in 66 CE until the present. The fear of and preoccupation with the end of the world has been around for a long, long time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dates_predicted_for_apocalyptic_events The use of the atomic bomb in WW2 has increased apocalyptic preoccupations. The insanity of unlimited and highly technological warfare seems increasingly obvious, yet the well-established “industrial military complex” operative in all areas of the world, has taken on a life of its own driven by big egos who think that more guns are the answer. Referring to selected scripture it is easy to believe that the end is near. As Jesus states in Matthew, “ 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.There will be faminesand earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. Hasn’t this been going on for a long, long time? This is the stuff of history. This is the basic drama of life on Earth, the battle between Good and Evil. As 2 Peter tells us from centuries past, 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” Isaiah 13 is a pretty scary chapter. The title of the chapter is A Prophecy Against Babylon. Babylon is literally situated in Iraq, and symbolically represents wickedness and evil.Chapter 13 describes what many people of the present day are actually living as warheads land on them, reducing all to rubble. “Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.” There are those who justify this destruction as required on the path to the second coming: The simplest definition of premillennialism is the belief that after a period of severe tribulation of the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ will visibly and bodily return to earth (His Second Coming/Advent or Parousia) and will then rule and reign on the earth for a period of one thousand years (a millennium) of peace and prosperity. The scripture reference most often given for this order of events is Revelation 19:11- 20:6.https://web.oru.edu/currenta part of which follows: 11 I saw heaven standing openand there before me was a white horse, whose rideris called Faithful and True.With justice he judges and wages war.And I saw an angel coming 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan,and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss… Is there really a linear progression of history, with a projected end, however terrifying or idyllic? Or are we in an endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth, whether by resurrection or reincarnation? No one really knows. It is all speculation! Saying this is heretical for someone who believes in the literal word of scripture. So, where is my faith? What do I believe? Perhaps an anecdote or two will illustrate my thinking. My water pump recently was overtired; I did too much laundry all at once. The pump was trying to recuperate and was running non-stop. I tried focusing on God, not the problem. The pump continued to whine. I called a friend for help and advice. I said that I was praying, but nothing improved. My friend replied, “God is not a plumber, I am a plumber!” Good point. Thankfully the pump resumed working properly by itself. There is a story about a man caught in a flood. As the waters rose higher and higher, he found himself on the roof as the water rushed by. A person in a small boat came by and said, “Jump in, I’ll take you to safety.” No, said the man on the roof, “I prayed to God, he will save me.” Okay, said the man in the boat, and he paddled away. A helicopter flew overhead, a rope was lowered, and he was told, “Grab hold and come up, we are here to help.” No, said the man, “I prayed to God, he will save me.” Unfortunately the waters overtook the man and he ended up before God. He complained saying, “God, I prayed to you and you didn’t save me.” God replied, “I sent a boat and a helicopter and you refused both. Now you are here with me.” It is easy and demanding to wait for a Savior to rescue us from ourselves, especially when we don’t even recognize help when it is offered. It is much more difficult to live into the uncertain future and work on ourselves to live a dedicated, God-informed life of service. The choices are few: press a button for the ultimate solution, wait for a Messiah/Christ to rescue us, or work on ourselves daily, with hope and love and forgiveness, helping each other rather than hurting. There is nature and there is spirit. I am thankful to live in safety, security, and not feel threatened by war. However, I remember meeting evangelicals who always ask, “Are you saved?” I never think in those spiritual terms, and any hesitation indicates a sorry spiritual state. What does it mean to be saved spiritually? John 5:24 states,|“I tell you the truth, those who listen tomy message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” So according to scripture and my beliefs I am saved. Mark 12: 17 advises, “Jesus said to them, give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.” How many times do we have to hear Micah 6: 8 speaking to us from long ago? “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Imagine if world leaders and their military followed this ancient and relevant advice? Philippians 4: 6, 7 assures us: The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Andthe peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. We pray for peace. We continue to work for peace in ourselves, in our families and in our society, using all the divine and human resources at our disposal, for as long as we are able, until we also meet God face to face. Thanks be to God, Amen
Message - Frances Jones - June 16, 2024 A Love Without End . . . Amen! This title for today's message I borrowed from a song sung by country singer, George Strait. In this song, he expresses how a father's love is firm and true, even when his son makes some questionable choices along his way growing up. No matter the predicament that the young person finds himself in, he is assured that this father's love is indeed a love without end – amen. It would be wonderful if that were true in all circumstances; however, we realize that some children feel like they are a disappointment to their dad. It could be that the children made some unconventional choices along their journey, or maybe they decided not to follow in their father's footsteps, but chose a life and career of their own instead of participating in, or taking over, the family business. And, in some situations, it is the father who feels inadequate. For a variety reasons, a dad can feel like he has failed at measuring up to be a loving and responsible father. Today we celebrate all types of fathers – biological dads, step-fathers, and adopted dads. To quote again our opening sentence - “It is not flesh and blood, but the heart, which makes fathers and sons.” There are some men who never had the chance to become a father for different reasons. The same is true of some women who have never known motherhood. And some children never had the opportunity to know one or both of their parents. However, isn't it comforting to know that we – men and women – are all sons and daughters/brothers and sisters because we are considered children in the family of God. In our reading from Luke's gospel, we revisited Jesus' familiar parable of the Lost or Prodigal Son (also referred to as the story of the loving father). Couldn't we almost feel the heart-break, or maybe we should say, the disappointment, experienced by this father as he waved good-bye to his son who chose a path that he believed would bring him excitement and adventure. Besides reminding us about what a caring, accepting, forgiving and loving God we have, does this parable also teach us a truth about ourselves? This younger of two sons was well provided for on his father's farm. He had food, shelter, security and the love of family. But that was not enough for him. He was searching for something different – something that would bring him pleasure, adventure, excitement. As we think about our own relationship with our God as Father and Creator, how many of us have experienced similar feelings - 'this is not enough; I want more – more experiences that will bring me pleasure; something new and different'. Then, when that doesn't turn out as wonderful as we thought it might, where do we go when we find ourselves at the bottom of the heap? We noticed in Jesus' parable that he emphasized the fact that this wandering son was forced to face up to his own mistakes before he was able to go and face his loving father in order to ask forgiveness. How amazing, and surprising, it must have been for this young fellow to have received such a warm welcome upon his return. As undeserving as he was, his loving father, who had never given up on him, knew he was worth a great feast and a celebration in his honour - because this boy who was lost, now was found! So, if and when we feel that we've been away too long; that it's too late for us; we've made too many bad decisions; just think about a love like this. A love without end indeed! From Matthew's gospel we heard about Joseph, a very unique father specifically chosen by God to take on a very unusual and serious responsibility. He was to be Dad to a child that was not his own - God's own Son. We are familiar with this story and how Joseph struggled with the news of his beloved Mary's pregnancy. What was expected of him was not a part of his original plan for his life. Neither was it a part of his beloved Mary's plan. This young couple were planning to be married, to have a family of their own, and to settle in the small town of Nazareth where they would be surrounded by loving family and friends. Haven't we heard that, when God has a plan, people's lives can be turned upside down? And that's what happened to Joseph and Mary. Joseph, after struggling with the realization that he must follow God's lead, had to overcome many obstacles. There was the long trip to Bethlehem where he cared for Mary as she endured the birth of this miracle baby in a stable because no one had room for them. Then he was forced to relocate the family from place to place in order to stay safe. This was not an easy task for Joseph, but it was his devotion to God and family that proved him worthy to be Dad to this miracle baby Jesus. Regardless of how organized we believe we are, or how many plans we make, we know that life can be very unpredictable. If you and I take a look at our lives today, we might ask ourselves, 'did I really expect to be doing what I am now doing?' It doesn't seem to matter how many side roads or meandering paths we choose to take along our way, when God has a plan, change is inevitable. Maybe we would like to be labeled the best Dad or the best Mom (and we've got the T-shirt to prove it!). However, none of us is born knowing everything there is to know about good parenting. I believe we learn as we go. We are all human and we all make mistakes. All we can do is give it our best shot – with God's help! Whenever we have feelings of inadequacy or unimportance, let's take a lesson from Jesus' parable of the mustard seed. Can't we find reassurance in the fact that something as tiny and seemingly insignificant as that little seed can accomplish great things? This tiny little mustard seed grew into a strong tree that branched out in order to provide safe lodging and protection for birds. As small as it was at the beginning, it grew and made a significant difference. So, as the song from the More Voices hymn book says, 'Go, make a difference, we can make a difference . . . Go, make a difference in the world.' Fathers - biological, adopted, step-dads, foster dads, etc. - today let us remember that it is not flesh and blood, but the heart, which makes fathers and sons. In particular, today we honour our Creator, the Living Spirit – our loving Father - for his acceptance of us in spite of our weaknesses - because his is a love without end – amen!
Rev. David's Blog - June 7, 2024 June 3, 2024 Rev. David wrote these words as he sits with his mom. Her body is in decline but her spirit prepares to soar!! I woke this morning at 4h30 and spent some time at Mom’s bedside. She has had a peaceful night. Tears, releasing her to new life led to these words… I cried when I entered this world, Mom’s pain in childbirth gave me life, I cried through many dark and growing times, good-bye’s to grandmothers (Grace and Myrtle) and losses, I cried with Mom and family when Rebecca, Ruth and Joe lived their endings and cry still in gentle remembrance, I cried when Dad died and we celebrated his life, I cry as I care for my beautiful Mom, giving blessing and gratitude from the richness of all I have received, I cry as I hold vigil beside her bed (with siblings and family caring, loving, releasing,) /We will cry in days to come, we will laugh at the oddities we will uncover in the house, I/We will cry singing the hymns she chose, sung through the generations, I/We will wrap ourselves in quilts, will sit in the garden, and live the cycle of living, dying and rising again. These tears give release, express love and the hope that God “will wipe every tear from their eyes, death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more…” (Revelation 21: 4) Amen. So be it. Allelui - Rev. David
Message - Karen Lackey Ryan - June 2, 2024 For this second Sunday after Pentecost and Environment Sunday, I question how these topics relate? The United Church Resources website offered “In Truth and Action, A Service for Earth Day,” which was April 22. A bit of a surprise to see this resource, with a scathing reflection, listing many abuses of workers and the environment including prayers for justice against Canadian mining companies. The list of these crimes is long. Our prayer of confession includes a part of one of these prayers. Credit goes to the United Church for bringing awareness to this injustice. The reports about Canadian mine abuses are not pleasant to hear and go against the Canadian image of ourselves as courteous do-gooders. Doing a little research, I discovered that, Canada is home to an estimated 60 percent of the world's mining companies. (another source puts it at 75%) They operate in all corners of the globe, including countries where mining activities have been linked to human rights violations….Canadian mining companies currently operate in all corners of the world. Regrettably, they've acquired a particularly bad reputation globally for causing serious human rights abuses. To make matters worse, in many of these places, it can be very hard if not impossible to hold a powerful multinational company accountable, so such companies escape justice. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/canadian-mining-abusesThis is from an article introducing the journey of lawyer James Yap, member of a legislative group representing (slave) workers in Eritrea against the Canadian mining company, Nevsun, based in B.C. This is a relatively new process of foreign workers bringing cases to court in Canada. Of course many of these countries need the money, and there are often no protections whatsoever for their own citizens. Perhaps you have heard of the abuses of Canadian mining companies in the Philippines. What follows is a quote from an article:https://springmag.ca/why-canada-is-at-the-centre-of-global-mining-atrocities: Chandu Claver, an Indigenous land defender, in a recorded presentation to attendees of the April 19 virtual launch of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines – Toronto chapter (ICHRP-Toronto). states, “Abra River is now dead thanks to Ivanhoe and Lepanto,” he said. He added that tailings from the mine disposed into the river have had a harmful impact on fish, and heavy metals have poisoned agricultural lands. But Ivanhoe Mines is not the only Canadian company operating in the Philippines. While Claver said corporate mining ownership has been difficult for civil society to track due to a “global practice of changing company names and using proxies and fronts,” other industry players have been identified. TVI Pacific Inc., Besra Gold Inc. (formerly Olympus Pacific Minerals), and ExGen Resources Inc. (formerly Boxxer Gold Corp.) have known operations in the country, according to Claver. These companies are part of a global mining sector predominantly based in Canada and infamous for unchecked environmental and human rights abuses. https://springmag.ca/why-canada-is-at-the-centre-of-global-mining-atrocities Unfortunately, these abuses are not just happening overseas, but are also happening in our own backyards. There is what is called “environmental racism” which means that I can put my garbage on indigenous land or ship it off to a third world country.The following is a local Canadian example of NIMBYISM, not in my backyard, also from the Truth in Action Earth Day service: “For as long as I can remember, the waters of B.C.’s Quesnel Lake played an important role in my community,” said Jacinda Mack, coordinator of First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining. “We fished for trout and swam in its depths, camped along its shores and picked berries and medicines in the surrounding Cariboo Mountains. The entire time, we were sharing our Xat’sull language and culture with our children.” Jacinda’s community has been devastated by the mine waste spill and the ongoing contamination of the water through mine activities. Despite calls from affected communities, church groups, and environmental organizations, there has been no accountability or justice for the people, for the animals, for all life living near Quesnel Lake. The United Church makes a stand and speaks against abuses in a polite and reasonable voice.However, it is hypocritical to say that we live in God’s world and honor his creation, and yet so easily destroy, and easily rationalize our neglect of the natural world. We ridicule and marginalize the indigenous all around the world whose land and relation to the land are labelled undeveloped, “primitive” and childish. Meanwhile we gasp for breath in polluted air and our souls suffer as our natural resources, our global home is desecrated.
We say to ourselves, “Who am I,” and, “What can I do about anything?” especially when those who stand for Mother Earth are threatened and murdered. Perhaps like Samuel we are being called; called to be good stewards of God’s creation and God’s people. It is easy to mistake the inner voice that guides us. It is easy to sit passively and hope for the best.
Historically, Christians have used Genesis 1:26 as defining our relationship with nature:26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may RULE over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” NIV The King James version is even more directive: 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have DOMINION over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Alternatively, the belief that nature and humans are all part of the Divine is considered heretical, going against the hierarchy of the supremacy of God, with the angels just below, humans next, down to the fishes and animals and all created things. Googling the word “pantheism” brings up a confusion of alternative views, definitions, and efforts to unite nature and the sacred.
Our creed makes a smooth reconciliation of God and nature, recognizing the majesty of God and his creation: We are not alone, we live in God’s world. We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit.
The term “Husbandry” is relevant although rarely used today. It clarifies our responsibility and relationship to the Earth.
The term husbandman means “farmer” or “worker of the soil.” Husbandry is an agricultural term related to the production of crops or livestock. And to husband is to manage something well, showing prudence and economic sense. The word husbandman is not often used anymore.
In the New Testament, the word husbandman is a translation of the Greek word georgos, as in 2 Timothy 2:6 and James 5: 7. In the Old Testament, the word husbandman comes from the Hebrew word adamah, which simply means “land” or “of the earth.” This is the same Hebrew word from which we get Adam, the name of the first man, whom God placed in Eden “to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15; cf. 5:2). In Genesis 9:20, Noah is called a husbandman when he plants a vineyard. The word husbandman is found primarily in the King James Version of the Bible. Other versions use the word gardener, vine-dresser, or farmer, … Jesus compared God to a husbandman in John 15:1–2: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (KJV). A good husbandman works the earth, cultivates his plants, and naturally expects them to produce fruit commensurate with the amount of effort he has invested in them. Our heavenly Father, the divine Husbandman, seeks to produce fruit through us as we abide in Christ. https://www.gotquestions.org/husbandman-in-the-Bible.html
We are called to care for each other and care for the Earth which supports us, as we maintain our close connection to God. Helping Mom with the dishes and learning how to effectively dispose of our garbage is a start where we are. Our efforts may seem futile, but it is better to do our small efforts than give in to despair. And to remember that with God all things are possible. That is our hope.