HELLO!

I received this note from Hugh Townshend after this morning’s service ended. With his permission I share Hugh’s words: “A special thanks to all, I just wish there was a way for all Canadians and others beyond our country’s borders to have seen today’s Woodlawn service. You are all deserving of a marvellous applause and thanks for a Remembrance service to be remembered. Thank you. Yes, let there be peace in the world, now and forever!” If you missed our Remembrance Sunday, here is the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUa7H4YpQzE

Also, if you are interested, Derek Chaulk, Frank and Sarah Hartman, and I are leading a service of worship at Lewis Hall on Baker Drive Monday, November 9^th at 2 pm. You are welcome to join us. The minister and choir at Woodlawn United have been offering services at Oakwood Terrace for many years and recently we have also been offering same at Glasgow Hall on Baker Drive. Lewis Hall heard good things about those gatherings and asked me if I could come there as well. I did not want to overtax our hardworking June and choir, so I asked Derek and Frank to offer their music ministry. I am told my “volume” is an asset in such settings.

Our 25 year old, Lucian, attended a protest rally on Saturday. I share this to point to an aspect of character we rarely acknowledge, that being going beyond the personal, and caring about the collective or the communal. Next to the Flannery O’Connor quote on “you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you odd”, my other all-time favorite quote comes from Pastor Martin Niemoller, a German pastor. During the period 1939-1945 most church members, most clergy (Roman Catholic and Protestant) were supporters of the Nazi party. Niemoller, and other Christians opposed to the Nazi philosophy, spoke out against hate.

In the Bible there are countless examples of prophets who called on leaders and communities to do more, to do better. Amos, Hosea, Jeremiah, Micah, come to mind, not to mention Lydia and Paul in the newer Testament. In short, one’s virtue extends beyond the personal. In history, when communities and nations faced moral challenges, those who spoke up for their fellow citizens, not just being kind to those who were kind to them or those they already knew, made the difference between justice and injustice. On the doorstep, when I was campaigning during elections, the citizens who moved me the most were not those who wanted me to do X for them but those who wanted me to help their fellow citizens who were struggling more than themselves.

Changing structures, systems, how we collectively care for one another, is part of our witness to what we believe and how we live in community.

Peace, Kevin