Do you have excellent people and computer skills?
We are currently looking for a part-time communications secretary.
For details click here.
We are currently looking for a part-time communications secretary.
For details click here.
Wonderful to have had a visit with Jason Meyers as he paused from his pilgrimage on Sunday to speak to us about his journey. Every blessing, Jason, on your continued adventure.
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A charge for Jason, and all those who answer the call to serve. . .Rise from your slumber each morning with devotion to the goodness and possibility of the day - even before you are fully awake - rise to offer a blessing for the adventure before you, a hopeful prayer on your lips for all.
Rise each morning in gratitude for the many gifts you have received, gifts of family, of friends, of health, of education, of intellect. And resist offering those gifts to anything other than the service of others and the collective wisdom of the ages, which you are privileged to serve. Rise knowing grace has been gifted to you each day, a new day full of mercy and new possibility. And resist everything that does not embellish that same grace and offer it freely to all people in all situations. And if those mornings come - and they may - either from your own waywardness, or weariness from some great battle you are fighting that no one else can see, when getting out of bed feels an impossible task, and the day seems to stretch out before you as a mud and blood filled battlefield, rise anyway, if only to resist the temptation to give up and give in. My child, rise and resist all manner of inner turmoil to see the delight and beauty in the day. For God is as near as your breath, and as loving as the perfect mother and patient as the wisest father - there to hold you and keep you and direct your ways. May grace continue to abide, and may we all, know the warmth and tenderness of its gift. |
Sunday May 19th
5th Sunday in Eastertide and Ordination Sunday
This Sunday in the United Church of Canada, there is a special focus on the vocation of ministry. Last week, in Toronto, the graduating class from Emmanuel College, of Victoria University in the University of Toronto, celebrated the completion of their studies and their graduation ceremony. This coming week, in Barrie, those who are choosing to be
ordained in the UCC will gather for a collective service of ordination.
We offer them our congratulations, as we remind ourselves that we too are called to be 'People of the Way'
and, as part of the priesthood of all believers, we too are called to be faithful servants.
ordained in the UCC will gather for a collective service of ordination.
We offer them our congratulations, as we remind ourselves that we too are called to be 'People of the Way'
and, as part of the priesthood of all believers, we too are called to be faithful servants.
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Jason Meyers, the fourth student from the left in the middle row pictured above, decided to make a personal pilgrimage between the time of his graduation and his ordination. Jason is hiking from Toronto to Barrie on the Bruce Trail - about 275 km through this somewhat cool spring weather. As good fortune would have it, he is hiking right near our churches and my house so we will have the pleasure of welcoming him - and congratulating him - this Sunday morning as he spends time with us in worship. Jason was the winner of the Sanford Gold Medal in Divinity. This award is granted by the Victoria Senate on the basis of the scholarship, ability, and character to an MDiv graduate. It is an enormous honour. Here you will find a short interview with Jason http://www.emmanuel.utoronto.ca/about/Student_Profiles/Jason_Meyers.htm |
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For those who have been following our visioning visits, you may wish to know that Jason is married to Bri-anne Swan, the minister who oversees Living Presence Ministry, a new kind of house church in East Gwillimbury. Before Jason studied theology, he studied marketing and communications. He has been helping us here at our pastoral charge as we develop our communication strategy. It has been a pleasure working with Jason. Bring your questions to church this Sunday. It is not every day that you get to ask a new theological graduate about their vocation and calling.
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Funding for the theological colleges comes from Mission and Service. Here below are a collection of videos created by UCC: the value of a theological education, why God's world needs new leaders, and four short videos on individual ministers' call experiences - including the legendary Rev. Lois Wilson, the first female moderator for the United Church of Canada, and the current Distinguished Minister in Residence at Emmanuel College, Toronto at University of Toronto.
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Some of our music this Sunday.......
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Thank you to everyone who came out to support the yearly Mother's Day Plant and Bake sale last Saturday. See more photos HERE.
Sunday May 12th
4th Sunday in Eastertide and Mother's Day Service
On this, the fourth Sunday in Eastertide, and a celebration of our mothers, we reflect on the nurturing nature of the divine spirit,
in our own hearts, and in the brightly woven tapestry that is the sacred of everyday life.
And in the tradition of our pastoral charge - the men sing to the women.
in our own hearts, and in the brightly woven tapestry that is the sacred of everyday life.
And in the tradition of our pastoral charge - the men sing to the women.
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Dignified or not, believable or not, ours is a God perpetually on bended knee, doing everything it takes to convince stubborn and petulant children that they are seen and loved. It is no more beneath God to speak to us using poetry, proverb, letters, and legend than it is for a mother to read storybooks to her daughter at bedtime. This is who God is. This is what God does. 
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Whatever their gifts or their limitations, people are all bound together in a common humanity. Everyone is of unique and sacred value, and everyone has the same dignity and the same rights. The fundamental rights of each person include the rights to life, to care, to a home, to education and to work. Also, since the deepest need of a human being is to love and to be loved, each person has a right to friendship, to communion and to a spiritual life. |
The extraordinary Jean Vanier, who spoke so eloquently on the tenderness of God, died this week also. Click above for his interview with Krista Tippett
The secret of Jesus is his simplicity and humility, |
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May 5th
Rev. Jill McPherson
Rev. Jill McPherson is ordained by the Canadian International Metaphysical Ministry and is also an adherent of Primrose United Church. She has been part of the United Church all her life, teaching Sunday school and obtaining a diploma in spiritual direction while striving to understand the foundational virtues within Christianity - compassion, forgiveness, and grace. Rev. McPherson's journey has led her to question many of the strictly doctrinal approaches to religion and to forge a contemporary, yet classical, understanding of the mystical elements within the church that find their essence in the living out of our every day lives with love. Rev. McPherson brings a fresh approach to faith, exploring the spiritual practices of mindfulness and attentiveness as she applies the scriptures to our modern lives. You will be blessed by Rev. McPherson's ministrations and her joyfulness of spirit as she calls you to open your mind and heart to the spirit of wisdom within.
Everything is Waiting for You
David Whyte Your great mistake is to act the drama as if you were alone. As if life were a progressive and cunning crime with no witness to the tiny hidden transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely, even you, at times, have felt the grand array; the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding out your solo voice. You must note the way the soap dish enables you, or the window latch grants you freedom. Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity. The stairs are your mentor of things to come, the doors have always been there to frighten you and invite you, and the tiny speaker in the phone is your dream-ladder to divinity. Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation. The kettle is singing even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots have left their arrogant aloofness and seen the good in you at last. All the birds and creatures of the world are unutterably themselves. Everything is waiting for you. |
Here below are three short videos of interest. The first is Rev. McPherson addressing the religion/spirituality conversation, the second is Serene Jones, the first female to take leadership at the flagship Protestant Union Theological Seminary, giving a quick overview of why religion and spirituality are important in our lives, and the third is one of the hymns Rev. McPherson has chosen for this Sunday. At left is a poem by David Whyte reflecting the spiritual journey we all must travel.
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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 L9V 1G7 Join us for worship on Sunday at 9:10 am |
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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