This Sunday

The past 18 months, since Covid arrived, has been quite a journey for us all. We have all had our share of challenges, grieving losses, exciting discoveries and hopefully a few profound epiphanies along the way.

Since the Quartet began it's role as the worship committee 8 months ago, the members of the Quartet had a very dynamic adventure…

Over the past year and a half, we have learned that there are many ways to experience church, on Sunday mornings, as well as the other 6 days of the week. It has been a time of innovative thinking, trial and error, differences in opinions on what “church” is, physical disconnection, and discovering new ways to connect. It has not been easy, yet with Covid restrictions and for the past 9 months, no minister, SPPC still found ways to keep “church” going in many ways….

Our summer break has come to a conclusion. We will be meeting again on zoom tomorrow morning. The Quartet is back posting articles, music, and more on the website. This Sunday we will be leading our final article discussion Sunday.

This week’s lectionary readings include John’s story of the feeding of the five thousand. It’s a Gospel of Abundance - and the people (including the disciples!) drastically misunderstand it. Many see in this meal not the abundant, nourishing grace of God but rather a powerful wonderworker who can lead them to military and political triumph over their oppressors.

It is amazing the various states of minds people can hold on to during challenging times. A Shelburne Primrose long-time member was recently heard saying, "It'll all work out in the long run, it always does." These words can be very helpful and uplifting to the people who hear them. What might individuals experience if their minds were filled with stories of doom?

In recent weeks, much discussion continues about the continued unveiling of our Canadian History and Indigenous communities. More unmarked graves, how to celebrate Canada Day, and countless stories from residential school survivors continue to surface. Last week, we enjoyed a thought-provoking discussion based on the article Sabine posted on our website written by our previous United Church of Canada's Moderator, inviting us to continue to contemplate what more we can do to assist us in the healing of our nation. This Sunday we are grateful to have Rev. Evan Swance-Smith from the Toronto Urban Native Ministries.

Once again, Canada is grappling with more tragic news that brings deeper realizations to the unbelievable pain inflicted on our Indigenous communities over several generations. In one of this week's articles shared the SPPC website, former United Church Moderator, Rev. Stan McKay, shares why the church's apologies to the Indigenous communities fell short…