Sunday January 20, 2019
Where now is our authority?
Communion this Sunday

…what a privilege to live in a time when our hope has lost its this-worldly calendar, and watch-related scaffolding.  We are in an age of scaffoldless hope.”  
The brilliant Ivan Illich from ‘Rivers North of the Future, a conversation with the
​equally brilliant David Cayley, from CBC’s ‘Ideas’
Two of the songs we will be singing this Sunday,
​ if you want to practice. 
This Sunday we continue our exploration and understanding of the awakening in which we find ourselves, the disruptive business of a shifting worldview and an upheaval of our own Christian faith equivalent in scope to that of the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and the emergence of our faith. Welcome also, to the  last dying groans of the historical period we call Christendom, and hopefully, the fresh new breeze of something new that twinkles on the horizon. Will we see the completion of this new wonder, this new shift in consciousness that is underway? Not likely, but, neither will we see the fullness of our children’s and grandchildren’s lives, but still we hold faith with them, we support them, we honour them and wish them the best for a future of which we will not partake. 

Today we begin a walk through one of the most basic tenets of our faith, what is known commonly as The Ten Commandments, but what might be known in current Christian thought, as The Ten Blessings, or Ten Gifts of Living in Community and playing well with others. 
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And today we also have communion, to which, in the tradition of both the United Church of Canada and the teachings of all emergent groups, is open to everyone under all conditions, for it is a reminder of the feast, the banquet,  to whom all of God’s creatures are invited. 
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Here are two short videos from leaders in the emergent Christian movement speaking about the challenge of authority as we find our way forward in a new and enlivening faith.
God is our refuge and strength, 
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though
the earth should change, 
though the mountains shake in
the heart of the sea'
though its waters roar and foam, 
though the mountains tremble
with its tumult.
Psalm 46: 1 - 3
Everyone is welcome to take part in communion, because it is an invitation to the great feast of welcome and plenty..
Communion is celebrated at a table that suggests the dining table in our homes. At the communion table, we acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the host and all are guests. The meal uses the symbols of small pieces of bread and a taste of wine or juice to remind us of Jesus’ last supper with his followers and of God’s enduring love.
The United Church practises an open table, inviting all who seek to love Jesus to share in this family meal.
‘O God who has made us the creatures of time, 
so that every tomorrow is an unknown country, 
and every decision a venture of faith, 
grant us, frail children of the day, 
who are blind to the future, to move toward it with a sure confidence in your love, 
​from which neither life nor death can separate us.”
           Reinhold Niebuhr
The above trailer for a film about Reinhold Niebuhr will give you an overview of his place as public theologian in 20th century America. 
A reminder that the services at Primrose will be in various homes in the community throughout the months of January
​and February so as to be environmentally responsible during the coldest weather. 
We will be gathering at 9 am each Sunday morning. You are so very welcome to join us. 
Please go to Primrose Events for specifics each Sunday. 

In response to the teaching of the last week baptism of Christ and the beginning of our year long work understanding the intricacies of current and ancient worldviews and biblical literacy, a few further quotes and some music for the weary soul. . .

So, the world view where we are headed, understands that "We are the World", we are all family, we are all one. Try and wrap your mind around that, and absorb its power. 
."Historians have traditionally seen this event (Council of Nicaea, which was convened by the Emperor Constantine himself in 325 A.D.) as the final triumph of the Church and the beginning of its long dominance of European history. It established dogmatic Christianity in a long partnership with the world of political power that became known as Christendom, and only in our day is it in its final stages of dissolution. So glorious and powerful was the institution of Christendom that it was almost impossible to see through it to the man who stood behind it, the peasant from Galilee who had refused to cringe before the very powers that crucified him and was later, officially, to deify him. The fascinating thing about our day is that, as the political and theological structures of Christendom crash down before our eyes, we can see once again, through the rubble and dust of the centuries, a clearer picture of the prophet of Nazareth.
Richard Holloway, Doubts and Loves: What Is Left of Christianity? ,172, as quoted in Douglas John Hall's 2006 Princeton Lectures on Youth, Church and Culture. 
And just because this is a quiet, reflective piece, and Randy has such a lovely voice - but note the looking back with nostalgia.

​And here is our weekly quiz tying our Sunday teachings to common culture.
​Feel free to send in suggestions!
What does our topic of awakenings last week have in common with American director Penny Marshall?
Picture
Wonderful Artwork, courtesy of Brian Andreas, Storypeople.
“Awakenings are movements of cultural revitalization that eventuate in basic reconstructions of our institution and redefinitions of our social order. . . .Revivals and awakenings occur in all cultures. They are essentially folk movements, the means by which a people or a nation reshapes its identity, transforms its patterns of thought and action, and sustains a healthy relationship with environmental and social change. Awakenings begin when old systems break down, in periods of cultural distortion and grave personal stress, when we lose faith in the legitimacy of our norms, the viability of our institutions and the authority of our leaders in church and state. A critical disjunction in how we perceive ourselves, God, and the world arise from the stress. The end of the old opens the way for the new.”
Diana Butler Bass, Christianity After Religion, The End of the Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, working from the writing of William McLoughlin, author of Revivals, Awakenings and Reform.
 A more modern take on baptism, a more contemplative one. 
 

Sunday January 13, 2019 
Baptism of Jesus,
​the Awakening then,
the Awakening Now

This Sunday we will look at the shift, the awakening, that was underfoot at the time of the story of Jesus' baptism and how that same awakening is with us today. These shifts in human consciousness, these awakenings are on going in human history. They are often hard to discern when one is in the midst of them, as we are now.  But we can more easily see their elements in retrospect. 
"
​An awakening is holy geography. Awakenings imply new awareness, inner transformation, a change in heart and mind, and a reordering of priorities, commitments and behaviours. . . .Awakenings take work, as human beings respond to the promptings of God’s Spirit in the world. . .Some things will cease to work, no longer make sense, and fail to give comfort or provide guidance. Institutions struggle to maintain only themselves, concentrating on their own survival in this world. Political parties wither. Religions lose their ability to inspire. But that only means we have work to do - here and now - to find new paths of meaning, new ways to connect with God and neighbour, to form new communities, to organize ways of making the world a better place. These are hard time, but not end times.”
Diana Butler Bass, Christianity After Religion, The End of the Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening
In this trailer for the wonderful documentary, The Great Turning, Joanna Macy articulates where we are, and where we may be headed. And as always, Martin Luther King, Jr. knew then what we should know now - and Jesus attempted to teach by living all those many years ago. 

In response to the teaching of the last two weeks, which included Matthew's creative/fictitious genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1: 1 - 17) and Epiphany's story of the wandering Zoroastrian priests and the slaughter that followed (Matt. 2: 1 -  23), here is both the quote that several people asked for, and the inscription regarding the genealogy of Augustus Caesar - to which Matthew was responding. Context. Context. Context.

"We Christians think of Jesus as the divine Son of God by - working backward - his resurrection, baptism, conception, and even genealogy. But there was also another human being in the Mediterranean world who was the divine Son of God by - also working backward - senatorial decree, adoption, conception, and even genealogy. We are speaking, of course, about Ceasar Augustus, emperor of Rome at the time Jesus was born. And we see those genealogies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke as counter genealogies to that of Caesar Augustus.

". . . ancient genealogy was not about history or poetry, but about prophecy and destiny, not about accuracy, but about advertising"
96, 98, The First Christmas, What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Birth, Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan

And here is the puzzle for the week.
What is the connection between our reflection on the Magi last week
and the winner of the Golden Globe Best Move Drama for 2019?

January 6, 2019 - Epiphany Sunday
regular service times, Trinity and Primrose

 “The birth of Christ in our souls is for a purpose beyond ourselves: it is because his manifestation in the world must be through us. Every Christian is, as it were, part of the dust-laden air which shall radiate the glowing epiphany of God, catch and reflect his golden light.” —Evelyn Underhill
With gratitude from Ken Sehested at prayers and politics, for the above writing and art  www.prayerandpolitiks.org
“I've heard it said that the Holy Spirit very rarely respects one's comfort zones.” —Anne Lamott
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"The tamed piety of the conventional church wants an innocent baby who comes gently into our secure lives and keeps everything benign and friendly.  It may be conventional and it may be tame but it is not biblical and it is not Christian.  Advent is about both hope and hurt; pain and risk, as well as excitement and joy, are part of the adventure.

      Both the hope and the risk get summed up on Epiphany. The word means “manifestation,” or “appearance” or “revelatory moment.” Theologically speaking, epiphanies signal something new, but—at least for a lot of folk—something uncomfortable as well. Biblical convictions always impinge on political realities. The something new breaking out is good news for some and bad news for others.
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      Epiphanies are often disruptive. For new learning to occur, old lessons have to be unlearned. For new public policies to take effect, old policies have to be dismantled. A lot of people have invested heavily in those old policies. Herod certainly understood this."
At our candlelight Christmas Eve Service this year we gathered to sing, to contemplate, to bless one another, and to hope and pray that we all become ever more gentle and kind with one another. 
May the light that begins to emerge at this time of the year, grant illumination within your heart, and may this Christmas the richness and beauty of the Christmas story offer new wisdom.
Regular Sunday Morning Service for the
​Shelburne Primrose Pastoral Charge
Primrose United Church 9:10 am
​Trinity United Church 11 am
Trinity United Church
200 Owen Sound St.
Shelburne, ON  L9V 3L4
Join us for worship on Sunday at 11:00 am
Primrose United Church
486281 30th Sideroad, Primrose
Mono, ON  L0N 1S5
​Join us for worship on Sunday at 9:10 am
Here is our Christmas newsletter, with a look back at the ministries, initiatives and adventures that are emerging from our pastoral charge. 
final_christmas_newsletter_2018-_email.pdf
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The Shelburne/Primrose Pastoral Charge partners with
Partera Peace Builders International, The Shelburne Farmer's Market,
First Line for Syria, Soup Haus, KAIROS, and the Quiet Garden Movement. 
We support the work of the UCC Mission and Service and are part of the
​Dufferin Moves initiative in Dufferin County. 
We are supportive of the work of Streams Community Hub

We continue to look for partners and friends who are offering a
compassionate presence to the community and an uplifting and creative spirit.
Call or email if we can be of any help to you. 
shelburne.primrose.uc@gmail.com / 519 925 2233
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