As we look toward tomorrow’s sermon, and try to think through some of the very real, very complicated, very painful realities of racism in our world, I am pleased to share with you these resources for families. The best thing we can do is to teach children to respect all people, regardless of differences.

This section from Living Faith, one of the Presbyterian Church in Canada’s subordinate standards (that is, guiding statements for our church that are not the Bible itself):

My friends Shelagh and Rob have been singing in the kitchen again – and this hymn is exactly what we need right now. It reflects, also, the words above from Living Faith, I hear the echo of those words in these lyrics: “I will weep, when you are weeping” and “I will hold the Christ-light for you, in nighttime of your fear.” We need each other, and we need to serve each other in Christ’s name:

And because music is always good for the soul, this gorgeous instrumental duet by my friends Shelagh, and Thomas:

Finally, an important word from the scriptures:

Until tomorrow, dear friends, may you reflect on what it means to be loving in these difficult days. May you know the steadfast love God has for you, and may you share it with everyone you meet.

I mentioned earlier in the week that I had a post planned for Tuesday that got knocked out of the way by the developments in the States. Today I am trying to re-work that post.

I read this during the weekend, and it made such sense to me:

So as last weekend went on, I was thinking: Maybe I’m advanced, or maybe it’s because as a minister you’re constantly working ahead (I think of and plan for Christmas before Halloween!), but I feel like I was in two, regression, last week and the week before, and am (slowly – one step forward, two steps back!) progressing to three, recovery, right now.

And then the USA started burning. And then the President pulled that photo-op stunt. And then the numbers of militarized police in the streets grew.

And I totally lost my footing. I had some bad days. Grieved. Worried. Feared for my friends in the USA, feared for my country and my city as the unrest grew.

I think that makes a good point. Sometimes we begin making steps forward. And then something in life comes along and knocks us down, sends us for a loop. And we have to find our footing again.

2020 has been a year of too many crises. The tensions between the USA and Iran, the fires in Australia, the onset of COVID-19, the murder of George Floyd in broad daylight, and the protests (and at times riots) that have erupted since then. 12 weeks ago when quarantine began in earnest, we talked about being in unprecedented times. Since then, the times have just become more and more and more and more (and MORE!) unprecedented.

And so today, I’m not going to offer a lot of solutions or anything along those lines. I just want us to sit with the unease of these days right now. To lament the loss of life. To lament the pain our world is in. To recognize that none of this is easy.

And let’s remember, that Jesus, too, cried out in pain:

And that wasn’t the end of His story. Until tomorrow, dear friends, remember that lament is necessary, but it is not the end of the story.

It’s been a rough several days. But things are changing. The protests in the States have turned mostly peaceful. Still powerful, but mostly peaceful.

(And can I just say what an amazing pivot that has been? To go from cities burning and windows smashed and people on both sides hurt, to the image of thousands sitting or kneeling with their hands in the air? With people singing “Lean on Me” and holding up cell phones with their flashlights lit? May it continue in this vein.)

There is a rising sense of hope as the former officers involved in the killing of George Floyd have been charged. And as marches have been seen all around the world – attended by people of different races, creeds and cultures. And as some police have made the gesture of praying with the protesters, of taking a knee before them. (Let me say this clearly, I am not saying that the problems or solved or even that those officers who took the time to kneel and to pray were – to a man/woman – without blemish in terms of their use of force during all of this.)

It is good to feel a sense of hope. It is good to see things changing. It is good that the world seems united in the drive and desire to make sure that George Floyd’s death was not in vain.

It was so good to hear former President Obama encourage the youth of today to make a difference.

A couple of weeks ago, on the Sunday Worship blog, I used the hymn, “Let us hope when hope seems hopeless.” It’s a hymn that cries out for us to cling to hope even in the worst and most difficult times. It is an anthem for these times.

In the sermon of that worship blog, I made the commitment to bring sidewalk chalk with me on walks. In order to write and share messages of hope with the community. So here are some of those messages. I have more chalk, and I’ll do more as the days progress. We need hope and kindness now more than ever:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Until tomorrow, dear friends, spread hope and kindness everywhere you go. The world needs us all to step up to the plate!

So, again, my plans for today’s blog have been slightly side-railed. I have two drafts that need more work before they are ready. But I find myself busy today with conference calls and Zoom meetings.

So I don’t have a tonne of time to sit and ponder a post, as I would on most days. However, in the time I’ve had in between meetings, I spotted this on Facebook, posted by my friend the Rev. Dr. Mona Scrivens, who serves at Amberlea Presbyterian Church in Pickering:

If you’re having trouble reading the text, it says: “May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain to joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor. Amen. – A Franciscan blessing“

And that, dear friends, is the blessing I believe we all need right now. It is my prayer for me. It is my prayer for you. It is my prayer for all.

Until tomorrow, be kind and God bless you!

I had a plan for today’s post. I had a plan and a draft that I’d begun working on. But then, last night, the President of the United States of America used force to clear a peaceful protest so that he could pose for a picture. That sentence makes me feel sick to my stomach.

But it gets worse.

The picture was of him holding “a Bible” (his own words when he was asked if it was his Bible) in front of a church.

I can’t type those words without weeping. I am angry and I am disgusted, and I’m overwhelmed by a deep sorrow.

Michael Coren put word to much of what I am feeling in this article for MacLean’s.

I don’t have words.

So I will leave you with the words of Jesus, dear friends. May we all find ways to live up to them:

Here we go again, with some fun and insightful things to share from my travels on social media this week!

Well, this is just far too true, right now. Losing this battle every day!:

I have a feeling we won’t have any new versions of these old jokes for a while:

Love this simple truth:

This one just reminds me of how deeply kids GET the whole spirituality thing. LOVE!!!:

And this timely thought from the great Maya Angelou:

And, finally, a clever scriptural reminder for your day:

It’s Pentecost – the birthday of the church. On this day we remember when God breathed his Spirit upon the faithful and sent them into the world to bring the Good News to all. But in 2020, breath is a dangerous thing. I admit, I approach this Pentecost with a deep sadness, aware of those who have had their breath stolen – by the virus or by police brutality or by gun violence in our streets. 2020 is the year of the ugly-cry. When tears are so close to the surface as grief surrounds us on every side.

I’m far from the only church leader grappling with this sorrow. But in sorrowing times, turning to God is the wise, faithful, BIBLICAL thing to do. God is bigger than our grief or sorrow. God longs to comfort us in the midst of our weeping. God longs to be the source of our joy.

So yes, I am sorrowing, this Pentecost. But I am also counting my blessings, recognizing that each blessing is a gift from God who is the source of my joy. Join me, as we worship!

Let’s begin with Eric’s prelude, which is a wonderful arrangement by John F. Wilson of the well-known hymn tune HYFRYDOL by Rowland H. Pritchard. (The hymns we sing to this tune include, #110 Come, Thou long expected Jesus; #371 Love Divine, all loves excelling; and #370 Hallelujah! sing to Jesus.):

A prayer to settle our hearts and confess our shortcomings:

Our Scripture Reading this week is 1 Corinthians 12:3–13, and is read by Lynne Bishop in the following video:

Our first hymn is #399 Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness (remember that Eric is playing an introduction to the hymn, so wait for that before you begin singing along!):

The sermon for this week is entitled, GIFTS for these hard times:

Our Final Hymn is #472 We are God’s people :

Until tomorrow, dear friends, know that God is the generous giver, that he has given you gifts through the Holy Spirit, and that you are called to use them for the blessing of others!

Saturdays on my blog mean extra resources for worship. Think of this as the online equivalent of those moments before worship begins on a Sunday morning. Maybe the church is playing some quiet reflective music, or some images and announcements on the screen. Maybe you’re chatting with another in the congregation about your week.

These aren’t random things – they are moments given by God to help you be ready to worship. Maybe that conversation helped you know how to pray for your brother or sister in Christ, maybe the image on the screen was a gift to your soul, maybe the announcement you saw on the screen inspired you to serve in your community.

I hope these resources will help to guide and prepare your heart for worship.

Let’s begin with this Pentecost colouring resource from illustratedministry.com:

My friends Rob and Shelagh managed the hurculean task of getting choir and lay musicians to record parts for #646 Lead me Jesus, I will follow. This song is one of my favourites – it always reminds me of standing on the prow of a boat on the Sea of Galilee in December 2013. The line “down the dusty pathways, all along the sea,” always brings a flood of memories of the Holy Land, and a tear to my eye. Enjoy!:

Lead me, Jesus; I will follow, down the dusty pathways, all along the sea. Teach me, Jesus, to be loving: your disciple, I will be.

Open my eyes that I may see; I will serve you: your disciple I will be.

Shelagh and Rob also recorded another favourite of mine, #461 One more step along the world I go:

And finally, this thought from the scriptures as we prepare to think about the Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts tomorrow:

Until tomorrow, dear friends, lift up you hearts, lift them up to the Lord!

I came across this, and saved it to possibly include in a Meme Monday on the blog, but I didn’t want to throw it out there without much comment:

You see, I like that very much. But I know I don’t live up to it. I know I take offense when people wrong me (and even more when they wrong a friend or loved one). I know my first, emotional, response is to be angry, to say something careless, to want to lash out.

Sometimes – maybe even most of the time – I manage to keep quiet rather than saying the hurtful thing in return. But I really wish I was better at having wise and loving things to say in those moments.

And then I cam across this “Coffee with Jesus” from Radio Free Babylon:

And that made me feel a lot better (Jesus usually does!).

Part of being a ‘good Christian’ is knowing your own shortcomings. Knowing the ways and the places that that you’re ‘not there, yet.’ And being honest about them. With yourself, but also with Jesus! I am convinced that he loves it when we come to him, honestly and humbly, asking for help with our shortcomings.

Even more, I am convinced that He continues to work on us. To change our hearts. To give us opportunities to act differently. To continue to take steps with us along the road of faith.

So until tomorrow, dear friends, be encouraged. It IS a journey of faith. Sometimes we take steps forward, sometimes we take steps backward, and sometimes we stand in place for a while. But I believe we are all moving, in our own ways and at our own pace, towards Jesus, who leads us.

There’s an exhortation at the end of the letter to the Philippians that I love. Paul writes:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Philippians 4:8 NIV

Now, I’ll admit to you, I’m somewhat leery of the idea of just thinking ‘happy thoughts’ to get through dark times. It’s possible for that to be trite advice – shallow and not overly helpful. I believe that we are complex beings, and we have to give ourselves room to experience all the emotions that might bubble up as we live in uncertain and unusual times.

But Paul isn’t simply telling us to ‘think happy thoughts,’ he’s telling us to focus on what is noble, pure, lovely, admirable, right, excellent and praiseworthy. You can’t focus on what is right, unless you know what is wrong. You can’t focus on what is pure, unless you know what is impure. Paul isn’t telling us to never have difficult days, sad moments, or even seasons of despair.

Those times will come. They are part of life. Even Jesus said that in this world we would have trouble.

But Paul IS telling us to not dwell in those times. To not get stuck in them. To fix our thoughts on what is good as a way of finding our way THROUGH the tough times.

Have you ever woken from a nightmare and found yourself unable to stop thinking about it? Your heart begins to speed up, you find you can’t fall back asleep, the more you think about it, the more you realize you don’t want to fall back asleep, in case you fall back into the nightmare.

So what do you do? Well, I’ll tell you what I do. Probably one of the first things I do is cuddle my dog. That might not sound particularly spiritual…but it’s a very tactile way of connecting to love (and to comfort and safety – Koski often lets me know if there’s something alarming happening by her reaction. So cuddling her comfortably sleeping form in the middle of the night, noticing that she isn’t worried or alert or panicked by anything, reminds me that my fear is only in my mind). It’s a way, for me, to focus on what is lovely and true and pure.

And as I cuddle my dog, I also engage my brain – sometimes I’m not awake enough to pray, so I grasp for a simple praise chorus. In my mind, I sing something I’ve been singing all my life. Because music is excellent and lovely and praiseworthy.

And slowly, the fear in me begins to fizzle, and I find my way back to sleep.

Until tomorrow, dear friends, remember that what you focus on will grow. So take Paul’s very good advice, and focus on what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. (PS…Jesus is a great place to start with all of those things!)