I heard the geese before I saw them
Carol has been on ‘holidays’ for part of this week, and I wanted to share this story with you:
I was sitting on a bench in one of our neighbourhood parks, looking at the wind-brushed ripples on the water’s surface, noticing the geese who seemed to be floating contently in the lake, and the other geese somewhat congregated on the shore.
That’s when I heard the distinct honk of a goose. I glanced up and to my right and saw two geese in flight, approaching the lake.
I watched as these two geese dropped towards the watery surface, gliding and then suddenly apparently raising their feet slightly and landing, splashing small rivulets of water in front of them.
Wow!
I felt fortunate to be sitting there and to see that – to see the graceful descent, the ballet of the geese skimming across the water, to see the water splashing and the finale of the geese gently and contently settling onto the lake.
“That was awesome,” I thought.
And then I noticed that none of the geese already on the lake, and none of the geese congregated on the shore, had paid any attention to this beautiful and amazing moment.
None of the other geese had seemed to look up, to notice, to appreciate what had just happened!
Why? I guess that, for geese, landing on a lake is a common occurrence. All those congregating geese had probably made similar lake landings, likely multiple times each day.
Now, had one of those geese waddled over to a park bench, pulled a book from under its wing, hopped onto the bench and started reading the book, every other goose would have been staring in amazement.
Yet had I passed a human being sitting on the bench reading a book, I would not have thought there was anything wondrous about that moment.
Because I would have considered it ‘normal’, ‘familiar’ and ‘ordinary’. Just as the other geese considered the graceful lake-landing to be normal, familiar and ordinary.
Which may suggest that nothing is just normal, familiar or ordinary.
Which may suggest that the Awesome is all around us, cloaked in the garb of the normal, familiar and ordinary.
Which may suggest that Jesus knew something about this awesome creation when he told his disciples to pay attention to the flowers in the fields…or to the geese on the lake…or the person reading a book or walking a dog.
What an awesome world we wander through!
This Sunday Jesus tells us that we must be ‘born from above’ if we want to see the kingdom of God. Maybe that’s another way of saying ‘pay attention to the awesomeness that is all around you, and you will find yourself in the presence of God.’
As this pandemic time continues, we continue to share worship resources through our weekly emails.
Thanks again to everyone for engaging with us on this COVID-19 journey. We are grateful to share ministry with you and really appreciate your efforts to stay in touch and to continue to care about TMUC with your prayers and your financial support. Donations on PAR, through www.canadahelps.org and in cheques mailed to the church are making a difference. Thank you.
Even though we cannot be together in one place, let’s continue to be a community at prayer together. On Sunday at 10, please think about the gifts we have in our lives, and needs of our world, and then pray the Lord’s prayer (you can pray silently, or out loud).
And, sometime, when you want to have a longer worship time, we are including some words and videos for your use.
The Prayer List is distributed separately and allows us to remember specific people with our prayers. If you want to receive the Prayer List, or add a name (with their permission), please be in touch.
We also invite everyone to join our continuing Thursday morning (9 a.m.) online ZOOM time of visiting and chatting.
The Worship and Welcome Team is aware than Thursday mornings ZOOMs do not fit everyone’s schedule, so the Team has decided that we will also offer a Monday evening ZOOM for check-in and chat. At this time, the Monday gatherings will be offered on a trial basis at 7 p.m. on the evenings of May 31, June 7, 14, 21 and 28.
The Thursday and Monday ZOOMs can be joined using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7538449219
This weekend, the Prairie to Pine Regional Council holds its Annual Meeting online. Here is their invitation to all of us to participate in the concluding worship and in a ‘coffee party’ on Sunday:
The Annual Meeting will conclude on Sunday with a service of worship to celebrate Prairie to Pine becoming an Affirming ministry. Everyone is invited to join the service via ZOOM from 10:00AM-11:30AM Sunday May 30, at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC79A2-hDDSmRsurCvDu-ePw
Please bring your communion elements.
We will follow this with a ZOOM dessert at noon. Wear your Pride colours and bring a dessert such as PIE pie! We’ll visit and celebrate. Register in advance and you’ll receive the link by email automatically (remember to check your spam folder): https://united-church.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwpc-Ghqz8rGdRxW2q9w9erFVlwTBTXjf1j
As we share this week’s TMUC worship service, we are called again to listen to words of reconciliation:
We are gathered for worship and work in Treaty One territory, which is the traditional land of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dené peoples and the homeland of the Metis Nation. For thousands of years Indigenous Peoples walked this land and knew it to be the centre of their lives and their spirituality. We respect the Treaties that were made on these territories, we acknowledge the harms and mistakes of the past, and we dedicate ourselves to move forward in partnership with Indigenous communities in a spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.
Worship for Sunday, May 30, 2021
Introit: “Come All You People”
Come, Holy Spirit!
Come to awaken our faith,
to inspire our hope
to embolden our love
and to let Christ live in us!
Come, Holy Spirit!
Our opening hymn is “As Comes the Breath of Spring”.
Esther and Emmett talk about “Was Jesus from Jupiter?”
Printable Version:
Esther and Emmett – May 30
John 3:1-17
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”
Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’
The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”
Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.
If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that God gave God’s only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Jeff offers a reflection:
Printable Version:
Reflection – May30
Let us pray:
God, creator of heaven and earth,
may your spirit operate in our midst,
that we may be born again!
May we discover that this world
is Your delivery room in which we are birthed…again and again!
Reborn with new eyes with which to see Your compassion in the world;
Reborn with new ears with which to detect the nuances of creation’s song;
Reborn with voices to speak new words of hope;
Reborn with nostrils sensitive to the fragrances of faithful living;
Reborn with hands to impart to one another touch the blessing of being in-touch with one another;
Reborn with hearts of love.
Born again by Your Spirit, we are grateful for being part of the miracle of creation, the miracle of this world, the miracle of life.
Born again in Your Spirit, we perceive the world through Your love – Your suffering, healing, forgiving, community-creating love.
Born again of Your Spirit, we offer our prayers for this world that is Your world.
We pray for nurses and doctors caring for patients with Covid.
We pray for teachers, professors and students engaged in online learning and education.
We pray that people will act with compassion and responsibility during this pandemic. We pray that people get vaccinated and that people follow health orders for the well-being of everyone.
We pray for a reborn world, a world of equitable sharing of resources, wealth and food. We pray for a world in which people do not live in poverty, in which all people have homes, in which all people can live with dignity and peace.
We pray for peace throughout the world. We pray for peace in Israel and Gaza, peace in Syria and Afghanistan, peace in Myanmar and Nigeria…we pray for peace that is based on just relations, safety for all citizens, mutual respect and available and affordable housing, education and health care for all.
We pray for victims of gun violence. We pray for all effected by this week’s shootings in San Jose.
We pray for the journalist Roman Protasevich who is imprisoned in Belarus.
We pray for all who suffer – suffer physical pain, emotional trauma, mental anguish and spiritual despair.
We pray for those who struggle with addictions.
We pray for care-givers and counsellors who befriend and provide support to others on their life journeys.
We pray that humans be reborn with a reverence for creation and for life; reborn to lives centred and grounded in Your love, God.
We pray that those who follow the way of Christ be open to Your Spirit opening our eyes, hearts and imaginations to Christ’s way of peace and healing.
In Christ’s name we pray. AMEN!
Our closing hymn is “I Feel the Winds of God Today”
May God bless you and keep you.
May God’s face shine upon you.
May God grant you peace and joy.
Be in the peace of Christ, this day and always. Amen
We keep you in our prayers,
Carol and Jeff