tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-212347012024-03-07T23:24:18.930-05:00Prairie Preacher<b>This is where I share my musings on a life, a community and a world in transition. In the postings here, I'm just trying to be ME as I struggle to find my way through a confusing time and place ... Here you can listen in on my reflections, my thoughts and my occasional rant ... In this place, ALL ARE TRULY WELCOME - the only requirement is that YOU keep an open mind ...</b>Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.comBlogger2543125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-85607112290235592312019-08-06T15:27:00.002-04:002019-08-06T15:30:36.892-04:00Emancipation Fest 2019 - Sunday Gospel Service Address:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
I haven't blogged in a very long while ... there are a multitude of reasons for that ... but this weekend, I was honoured to be asked to preach at the Sunday Gospel Service that was part of the Emancipation Festival in Owen Sound.<br />
<br />
As a white over-middle aged male, it was a humbling privilege to speak in such a context, and the topic I chose to preach on was racism ... I used the words of my colleagues, The Reverends Adam Kilner and Paul Walfall, both articulate, passionate and deeply committed activist preachers who dare to envision a world free of the many ism's than run amock in our society.<br />
<br />
The following are my written reflections delivered in the Barn at Grey Roots Museum ... my actual spoken words differ slightly because that's just what happens:<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Opening Prayer</span></u></b><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Let us pray.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">You, whose love is reigning over us,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> come
sit with us awhile</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> and
sow seeds of unity</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> deep
within the soil of this earth.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">God, we are earth-dwellers</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> whose
story is that we</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> are
human clay,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> sculpted
from the earth itself.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">One day we shall return to the earth,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> just
as our ancestors have.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Today we stand on complicated land.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Land originally stewarded by Indigenous peoples.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Land colonized by British settlers.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Land on which ex-slaves from the United States</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> would
later build their lives.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">To slaves in the United States</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> this
land, Canada, was called</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> “The
Promised Land”</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> evoking
that “land flowing with milk and honey”</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> described
to Israelites enslaved in Egypt</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> longing
for a place to live as free people.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Come and sit with us
O Holy One, </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>as we pause to remember those who lie
in this place. </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sit with us as we
recall their lives, their stories, their community. </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sit with us as we
give thanks for this place and this people</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And the stories they have still to
tell. </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In our remembrance
may there be a commitment to fulfill that hope </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>of the Promised Land, the land flowing
with milk and honey. </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">From the roots that
run deep beneath this sacred ground, </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>nourish our tomorrows, and fill us
with joyful hope </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>as we strive to build the land that
those who lie here longed for</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sit with us, and work
with us as we arise seeking to change the world</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>by sharing our faith, our hope </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>and the stories of those who would
otherwise be forgotten … </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Thanks be to you O
God for this time and place and this people. </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Bless us in the work we have before
us, </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>and walk this journey with us
as our brother and our friend. AMEN. </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I asked my colleague and
friend, The Reverend Adam Kilner to help me with a year ago with the service at
the Durham Rd Cemetery near Priceville by composing tha <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>prayer that I just used - Adam is a dynamic,
passionate and intelligent young black United Church preacher in Sarnia, and is
beyond driven when it comes to lifting up the awareness of Afro-canadian issues
within the United Church. He happens to be running for the NDP in his Federal
Riding this fall as well … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A year ago, when the
General Council of the United Church of Canada met for the 43 meeting, Adam was
one of the voices coming from the black caucus of ministers challenging us to
see the systemic racism that is part of our nation, our communities, our
churches, and sadly often without even realizing it – ourselves. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Adam wrote much of the
prayer we began with, and as part of what was a much longer prayer offered the
following: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">… Canada, too, had been a place of slavery</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> for
two centuries prior to 1833,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> when
the British Empire abolished it.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Former slaves would come to Canada</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> with
only the clothes on their backs</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> and
immediately have to face the harsh</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Canadian
winters.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Those who found work in Canada</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> often
weren’t paid enough to replace</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> all
of the clothing and items they left behind</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> when
they were enslaved.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In the 1830s Blacks were generally</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> welcomed
into Canada</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> but
in the 1850s fear arose within the mainstream population</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> of
Canada.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Newspapers printing racist opinions of Whites</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> about
Blacks.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">School systems being used to claim</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> that
Black children are inherently the least</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> intelligent
of all the races.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In 1941 the United Church of Canada</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> ordained
its first Black minister,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> yet
couldn’t find a church</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> to
welcome him.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In 1943 Dresden native Hugh Burnett</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> informed
the Justice Minister</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> that
a Black person in uniform</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> still
could not be served in any restaurant</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> in
that town.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">He was shocked by the Deputy Minister’s reply</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> “stating
that racial discrimination was not illegal in Canada.”</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The prevailing attitude among Canadians seemed to be that</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> blatant
racism was “an American condition”.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The general dismissal of racism has remained</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> in
our country.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> People
even denying the 2 centuries of slavery</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> in
Canada saying that it only happened in the United States.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">If we as human beings are to have hope</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> it
is in acknowledging that we as individuals</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> and
we as groups and organizations</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> are
capable of compassion and understanding</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We are capable of listening to the pain others are experiencing. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We have the power to change the narrative of inequality</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> and
tilt it toward just relationships.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We live in a Canada where racialized Canadians earn 81 cents on every
dollar</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> that
non-racialized Canadians make.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We live in a Canada where racialized immigrant women earn 48.7%</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> of
the employment income that non-racialized immigrant men earn.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We live in a Canada where 18% of racialized men report</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> experiencing
discrimination or unfair treatment with police or courts</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> compared
to 5.8% of non-racialized men</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We live in a Canada where race and ethnicity is the cause</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> of
most police-reported hate crimes in the country.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In 2010 52% of the 1401 hate crimes reported</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> were
motivated by race or ethnicity.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">271 incidents of hate committed against Blacks in Canada.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Blacks accounted for 4 in 10 racially motivated incidents.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Black males living in Toronto are three times more likely</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> to
be carded by police than the rest of the population.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Meanwhile 55% of Canadians believe that we have overcome</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> racial
discrimination.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">If we are looking for a Canada that is a “Promised Land”</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> our
hope lies in trusting one another</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> to
be allies and advocates.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Our hope lies in believing our marginalized</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> sisters
and brothers, who are simply trying to live.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The colours of our humanity should not define our relationships</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> to
one another.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Love, empathy, kindness, and compassion should.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">They say, “Love is a beautiful thing,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> it
takes a heart and lets it sing.”</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Let love be the song of our humanity.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Let it be the song that connects us to who God is.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Amen.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To return to the prayer that begins with the words: </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">You, whose love is reigning over us,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> come
sit with us awhile</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> and
sow seeds of unity</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> deep
within the soil of this earth.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As I read
Adam’s painfully honest words and reflected on a world where young black men in
the US and Canada have to fear for their safety AND their lives when they get
pulled over by law enforcement and we’ve been witness to video after video of
violence inflicted simply because of skin colour … a world where people are
being suspected and abused and harassed because they have brown hues to their
skin … a world where a black athlete has become the lightning rod for division
because he has chosen to kneel during his nation’s anthem, and those defending
the status quo fear his gesture … a world where leaders have inexplicably begun
to think that it is okay to offer racist posts and tweets and proclamations as
a means of rallying their base … a world where the stories of our non-white
brothers and sisters have been expunged, overlooked and forgotten BECAUSE of
their skin colour … <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a world where almost
every day we hear of abuse, violence and death resulting from racism and fear –
the litany of cities and places grows every single day … </i>in THIS world, the
idea of ‘come and sit with us awhile’ has great appeal for this moment and this
place … </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Come and sit
with us awhile as we remember the souls who we honour this weekend and who we
remember and celebrate for their contributions to our community and our
country. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Come sit
with us awhile, as we recall the community of men, women, boys and girls who
called this home, and who yearned for a promised land where they could be free
… truly free … </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Come sit
with us awhile, as we not only dream of that promised land, but work diligently
and unceasingly to remember the sins of the past, BUT more importantly, work to
create a better today and even better tomorrow … </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As I read
Adam’s words las year, I was excited because he shared a vision of that
promised land that drew people up to this area – a promise of freedom. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sadly,
though it was a promise that was unfulfilled … a promise that remains
tantalizingly close at hand, but still largely unfulfilled … </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We hear over
and over leaders saying “I’m not a racist … I’m not a sexist … I’m not a
homophobe … or whatever …” and then they say “some of my closest friends are …
black, Arab, women, gay, transgendered … whatever …” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I cringe
when I hear those proclamations … they are ALWAYS offered in a defense of
something … and they are seldom meaningful nor substantive. Instead what we
need to admit is that deep down, many of us struggle with an upbringing that is
thick with the various ism’s we struggle against today. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I look back
on my journey and I know I have struggled against many of the ism’s that ebb
and flow through our society … I was raised in a different time, with a vastly
different world view … I grew up steeped in those ism’s … and by taking time to
‘come and sit with us …” I’ve moved into recovery. </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I was tempted to begin today by saying
“Hi, I’m Shawn, and I’m a racist, a homophobe, a sexist, and so on …” Because
that is the context in which I was raised – I come from an amazing and loving
family, but we were very much the product of our times and held many ism’s that
fortunately have ebbed away as we’ve grown and matured and evolved … </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I do have
friends who are every hue of humanity’s rainbow of skin colour … I have friends
across the spectrum of sexualities … I have friends men and women who are
members of every faith and spiritual expression imaginable … and sitting with
them has changed me – I’ve grown, evolved and moved from what my roots had
erroneously taught me … </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Last summer another
Black preacher from within the United Church delivered an amazing and scathing
reflection on the final night of our General Council meeting – The Reverend
Paul Walfall offered a challenge to the Church and to our society about the
insidious nature of racism and the necessity of embracing a path of
reconciliation not unlike that we’ve embarked upon with our First Nations
sisters and brothers … I recommend highly that you find Paul’s words online and
listen … </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But for now,
I would like to offer his ending reflection – after lifting up examples of
unintentionally racism experienced within the church Paul offers this: </span></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">How do you cook chicken, my friends? I asked
this question to a study group at St. Paul’s United Church in Edmonton. When I
cook chicken — and I am no great chef — the first thing is that the chicken is
seasoned. I would add the garlic, thyme, onions, green onion, pimento, paprika,
black pepper and some soy sauce. If I was going to jerk the chicken, the
mandatory jerk seasoning is added. All this is done from the night before I
cook it and the chicken is left to marinate in the refrigerator. </span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">When I cook, it will taste different to the
chicken you cook. But you see, I offer this cooked chicken to you not because I
believe that mine is superior to yours and neither do I believe it is inferior
to the chicken you cook. All I know is it is different and I offer it simply
asking that the different way I have done it be accepted and respected. All I
ask is that you take my chicken and your chicken, and the chicken cooked by the
indigenous, by the Korean and the Chinese and the many other cultures of people
and let us share and delight in the differences and declare that is all good.</span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Let us take all the chicken we will cook and
let us sit at the table of the church together. Let us ensure that the people
who sit at the table are there not as guests but as valued members of the
family. It is then that we will be able to look through the intercultural lens
and have clear vision because we would have: Questioned our biases, challenged
our assumptions, noticed who is missing, valued all voices, aimed for equity,
and with a deep breath we would have lived out our commitments. Thank you</span></i><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">To return to Adam’s words - may we dare to </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Let love be the song of our humanity.</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>Let
it be the song that connects us to who God is.</span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Let us then, sit for awhile, and further dare to share a
meal at a table where ALL are welcome, ALL are valued, and all are present …
let us draw a deep holy breath and in the presence of all those who have gone
before us, sit together at table … this is the promised land these folks came
to find - let us finally make it happen for them & for us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And to
close, I want to share the words of the Rev. Paul Walfall, who in a pastoral
letter to his congregation in Alberta marked the anniversary of Emancipation by
writing: </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On Thursday August 1<sup>st</sup>
2019, we marked the 185<sup>th</sup> Anniversary of the ending of <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>slavery in Canada as the British Abolution of
Slavery Act came into force that day <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>in
1834. For 400 years conservative figures estimate the approximately 15 million <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>men, women and children were the victims
of the transatlantic slave trade. … <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
celebration of the ending of slavery is neither to make persons feel guilty nor
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a premise to bludgeon persons
about racism. For me it is an opportunity to <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>humbly
acknowledge our history and to resolve to make a different and better <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>tomorrow. The poet Maya Angelou reminds us
“History, despite its wrenching <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>pain
cannot be unlived, and if face with courage, need not be lived again.” </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Let us rise from this
place and go into the world daring to come and sit with each other awhile and
tell our stories, share our histories and dare to live that incredible vision
that brought so many northward – that vision of a promised land … that vision
of justice and equality … 185 years on, let’s recommit ourselves to making it
happen, and driving back the darkness of hate and ism’s that lessen the value
of our sisters and brothers … let us sit at table and share a meal and build
the community that has long been dreamt of, and that drew generations towards
the promise of freedom … let us face our history with courage and create a
better tomorrow!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Let us face
the present, and its chorus of suffering and violence and death, with the song
of love … Let us sit down together and break bread and share a meal and
celebrate our differences and show the world a better way … let us sit at table
AND build a better community and a better world … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Thanks be to
God, let us pray … </span></div>
Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-80405010107774269302015-10-15T18:29:00.000-04:002015-10-15T18:29:09.144-04:00My brother's eyes ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrcezxcV_nFpuWLY_cdY33vH3DcfV-HLzkqvKPU5mWM7Xh1_YZtII9qO5kczkqct_EHIWyMA_G_l6ZR9uEh-sYhzN9uzEraVHAKlz69HXFbf7s8qYCpm1i22x7eh0DnFXciKFOQ/s1600/ontario+2010+083%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggrcezxcV_nFpuWLY_cdY33vH3DcfV-HLzkqvKPU5mWM7Xh1_YZtII9qO5kczkqct_EHIWyMA_G_l6ZR9uEh-sYhzN9uzEraVHAKlz69HXFbf7s8qYCpm1i22x7eh0DnFXciKFOQ/s400/ontario+2010+083%255B1%255D.jpg" width="371" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm on a journey ... it is a journey I've spent an inordinate amount of time making while I was insisting that I was "fine" when I wasn't fine at all ... in truth I have been disconnected from myself more and more as I traveled farther along the path ... <br />
<br />
This past week has become a radical turning point for me ... the time has come to find my balance and reconnect with myself ...<br />
<br />
Today I was reading Eckhart Tolle and found the following quotation:<br />
"... people with strong pain-bodies often reach a point where they feel their life is becoming <span class="text_exposed_show">unbearable,
where they can't take any more pain, any more drama. One person
expressed this by saying plainly and simply that she was "fed up with
being unhappy." ... they know that neither their unhappy story nor the
emotion they feel is who they are ..."</span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">These words caused me to say "Oh shit ... that's me ..."</span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">I'm unhappy </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">I'm tired </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">I feel totally disconnected with myself. </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">I look around and wonder how things have become so cluttered and out of control and I don't feel like I'm being authentic in the life I'm leading ... I've grown angry and resentful, and a lot of ugly emotion is bubbling just beneath the surface ... </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">To be blunt and honest, I DON'T LIKE THE PERSON I'VE BECOME. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">I know inside there lurks a happy, enthusiastic, passionate, inquisitive and fun loving person who has been lost and hidden away for too long ... I know that since the deaths of Mom, Mr Baumbach, Scott, Indigo, Anfinn and Uni, I've lost my connectedness to THAT me ... In the wake of Mom and Scott's deaths I tried to be strong and to be there for my kids. I tried to pick up the pieces and carry on. I tried to heal and resume my life ... </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">I FAILED </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">I failed on an epic scale!!! </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">I broke and I instead of healing I buried the hurt.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">The hurt turned to resentment</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">The resentment grew into alienation </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">And the alienation fed a deep anger that coloured everything and left me feeling worthless and unworthy ... </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">I pushed EVERYONE including my children away ... </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">... and with each push the anger grew ... </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">This past week I've come to realize many things. Foremost is the need for me to heal myself and to let go of the unhappiness that has weighted me down ... I need to reclaim me and my life and shake off the STUFF physical and otherwise that is dragging me down ... but my greatest realization comes from the moment when the hearse pulled away from the funeral home carrying mom's body that cold January day in 2011 ... </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">As it drove away, I remember turning and looking at my big brother ... he was always the BIG, STRONG, TOUGH one ... he was the one who despite our long history of scraps and fights, could be depended upon to be there to help me through whatever life might throw my way ... he was in EVERY WAY my BIG brother ... but in the wake of mom's death I watched him struggle ... </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">That day standing in the parking lot in Tavistock, I turned and I saw in his eyes a depth of pain and sadness that tore my heart out ... he looked so sad, so vulnerable and so lonely ... For the first time in decades I hugged him ... and he hugged me and I felt his body shudder with tears for the first time in almost a week ... </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">With ALL of our busy-ness and activity after Mom died, I watched Scott move through many emotions - emotions I shared - but I hadn't witnessed him cry ... </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">Until that moment ... wrapped in my arms I felt him weep ... not for long ... for a moment ... but he wept ... </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">The look of sadness and pain that I saw in his eyes stuck with me since ... in the short days we had before I found myself burying him too, I prayed that he could find freedom from that pain and sadness ... </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">On a brutally cold night in February, I know he did ... as his earthly journey ended, he claimed freedom and peace from the suffering of his mind, body and spirit that had dogged his path for years ... </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">But on Monday night, I looked into the mirror and I saw Scott staring back at me ... not a ghostly apparition but rather I saw in my own eyes the SAME pain and sadness that I had witnessed in my brother's eyes ... I saw Scott looking back at me, because like the little six year old boy who struggled to make sense of a world turned upside down by the death of his beloved Daddy, I was struggling to make sense of a world that had been turned upside down over and over and over ... </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">On Monday night ... I looked into the mirror and didn't see even the slightest spark of joy and I knew in that moment something was wrong ... something was wrong and it was time to stop pretending "I'm fine ..." </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">I'm NOT fine ... like my brother, I carry deep hurts and deeper sorrows ... like Scott I yearn for peace ... but on Monday I made a choice to stop the direction of my journey, and to find my way back to a place of balance, a place of wholeness, a place of true joy ... the joy I have long said motivates me, but that I have lost my connectedness with ... </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">I looked into my brother's eyes, and committed to healing myself and living whole ... Scotty ALWAYS smiled ... looking back it was his coping mechanism .. looking forward it will be my goal to smile more, and to allow the joy that lies within to overwhelm and dominant my being ... </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">In my healing I will choose to let go of the unhappiness and instead choose joy ... the true joy I've celebrated frequently, but struggled to experience myself ... this week, I looked into my brother's eyes and out of love for him. for my children, for my friends and most of all for ME, I have chosen to reclaim the spark of joy and fan it back into a raging inferno ... </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">The journey has begun - one breath at a time ... one conscious, mindful breath ... </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show">TO LIFE !!! </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">TO JOY!!!!</span>Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-17834279972787068972015-10-13T20:31:00.005-04:002015-10-13T20:31:54.391-04:00Transformation ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji5_G-1HLMYPhdG1pN_WtrPlJv2xQIwWZ_oWKqz1y1eEiYCJdz44d2LS3-T_DuL8DsuDDZ1ZIqOctAnCHcAkJUXxwJrHsSIAh87uRl0lUgI4FFMI9QwyCz7y8CUvMzq9ljhZAzXg/s1600/boots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji5_G-1HLMYPhdG1pN_WtrPlJv2xQIwWZ_oWKqz1y1eEiYCJdz44d2LS3-T_DuL8DsuDDZ1ZIqOctAnCHcAkJUXxwJrHsSIAh87uRl0lUgI4FFMI9QwyCz7y8CUvMzq9ljhZAzXg/s400/boots.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Alienation means you don't feel at ease in any situation, any place, </span></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">or with any person, not even with yourself. </span></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You are always trying to get "home" but never feel at home. </span></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Eckhart Tolle </span></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Damn ... that's me ... </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now to find my way home ... it starts with reclaiming the present moment, and finding balance within my self ... </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I need to begin to care for myself </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I need to learn to like myself </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I need to learn to love myself</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I need to find balance in my life and it begins with taking the first small steps ... </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I need to do this for me to find my way home ... </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></i></b></div>
Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-34612551544758576612015-01-11T13:54:00.003-05:002015-01-11T13:54:53.486-05:00The still small voice whispers ... it is perhaps time to listen ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixi2fkN8eVDWyrcjA_SPVqU_wOeGw-8nd_Vya4ptbsYfT-Ui39F8fU5L2tIWGJ2gybdju8AuA8Qo-4xv1ESlRXUNE1_WY3KmVsDFg6nh7ugrYxLvwvgUYgdtjesweummEXaT2Bw/s1600/prophet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixi2fkN8eVDWyrcjA_SPVqU_wOeGw-8nd_Vya4ptbsYfT-Ui39F8fU5L2tIWGJ2gybdju8AuA8Qo-4xv1ESlRXUNE1_WY3KmVsDFg6nh7ugrYxLvwvgUYgdtjesweummEXaT2Bw/s1600/prophet.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
Today I stepped back into familiar and for me, comfortable territory for the first time in a very very very long time ... I've long felt my calling in ministry has been to the prophetic side of the church.<br />
<br />
My library shelves groan under the weight of prophetic writings, and I've often reflected here on issues of economics, poverty, hunger and social inequity ... my sojourn as the Homelessness Coordinator for the City of Brandon six years ago was simultaneously rewarding and frustrating ... but out of that time, I found a voice to bring concerns from the margins to the centre of the Church and the life of the community ...<br />
<br />
I count many amazing and astounding people from agencies like Brandon's Samaritan House Ministries through to Winnipeg Harvest and now Flesherton's Food Banks as friends that I continue to cherish and keep in touch with ... but lately that prophetic voice fell to nothing more than a whisper ...<br />
<br />
Other concerns had broken in and pushed it to the sidelines ... my focus has been so much on the issues facing my family in the last four years, the Coffee Shop, and countless other issues ... I still visited the prophetic territory, but I haven't preached from it ...<br />
<br />
Over the days since Christmas, I have had too many conversations with people who openly asked me if I still felt my calling was in the day to day life of serving a pastoral charge ... I couldn't honestly answer the question with a yes or a no ...<br />
<br />
Then, I have found myself immersed in articles, studies and books focused on the issues of poverty, income inequity, food security, homelessness, precarious employment and the multitude of issues that face us as a society, and fuel the fear and distrust that marks far too much of our social interactions ... I searched for hopeful AND CURRENT voices in the Church beyond my usual culprits of Wallis, Brueggemann and the few that speak with prophetic resonance ... alas, the search has largely been in vain ...<br />
<br />
This weekend as I sat down to write my reflection, I found the prophetic whisper growing in volume and intensity until, as I penned the words I spoke this morning, they spoke strongly, passionately and emphatically from the prophetic territory I had so long avoided ...<br />
<br />
This morning, as I offered my sermon (posted over at: <a href="http://fleshertonunited.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">http://fleshertonunited.blogspot.ca/</a>) it felt right and it felt good and it felt familiar ... I've avoided the prophetic for a number of reasons and as 2015 begins to unfold I feel called to go back to that territory and drink deeply from the wells that lie there ... It is time to reclaim my prophetic voice once and for all ... and perhaps with it, will come the voices of my puppet friends that Sharon United in Langley beat out of me in 2000 ... and perhaps the answer to my discernment will be revealed as well ...<br />
<br />
I know I am called to ministry ... maybe redefining the role of the Church in public dialogue about social, political and economic issues is part of what I've been overlooking ... I'll leave the journey in the hands of the Spirit and see where she leads ...<br />
<br />Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-9588401392433129082014-12-16T00:08:00.001-05:002014-12-16T00:08:57.458-05:00Sermon for December 14th 2014 - Joy is ... admitting I am broken ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisybbzc0w-LQF6P8-0O_BHvjhHuNblQOAIefPLTMx3ZT47R0ENf9Rt0hA9nbtPm1A8qZzfluWILCHNlUj1QOPmsfAKXIsQuAFkr26ULPmW1WRX-S7aUNG_rjVNfu6vLdy_Bl-Hwg/s1600/heart-broken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisybbzc0w-LQF6P8-0O_BHvjhHuNblQOAIefPLTMx3ZT47R0ENf9Rt0hA9nbtPm1A8qZzfluWILCHNlUj1QOPmsfAKXIsQuAFkr26ULPmW1WRX-S7aUNG_rjVNfu6vLdy_Bl-Hwg/s1600/heart-broken.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Below is my sermon delivered this past week at the Flesherton Pastoral Charge - it was perhaps my most intimate and personal sermon that I have delivered ... I am humbled by the responses and feedback, and today feel the stirring of joy for the first time in a very long time ... </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Entitled: "Joy is ... admitting I am broken ...":</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This past week on Facebook, a colleague posted the request
for this Sunday’s sermon – “finish this sentence: Joy is …”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He received a wide range of replies
and answers – many of them external experiences crafted and created by things
outside of ourselves … as I thought about What Joy is or isn’t my mind wandered
to a piece I wrote,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>had published and
have used repeatedly since I first wrote it 15 years ago … It was entitled
simply “Joy is …” and has taken on a strange life of its own … one year I was
reading through the summary of Hamilton Conference’s Annual General Meeting and
was shocked to discover that my “joy is …” was referenced during their worship
services by clergy I didn’t know … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But this week, I took time to revisit
my own words and I found myself with a diverse range of emotions … I could and
still can say “amen” to some of the proclamations I wrote what seems like a
life time ago, while others make me cringe in sadness at what I have lost along
the way … What really stood out for me today, in this moment is that even
though I have always lived and ministered my life with a sense of Joy, I have
in the last few weeks truly struggled to feel and believe in that joy … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As I answered my colleague by
sharing MY words, I realized with each stroke on the keyboard that I am broken
and this joy was an elusive reality that needed to be addressed … What I wrote
some 15 years ago is this:</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My Theology of Ministry:<br />
I would describe my theology of ministry in one simple word: JOY.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The definition of Joy in a dictionary refers
to great happiness, or a source of great delight, but I want to be clear: I do
not see joy as pasting on a happy face and pretending that everything is
lovely. To me, JOY is embracing life in its fullness and proclaiming with
certainty that we are never separated from God’s love.<br />
Among many things:<br />
Joy is being a child of God.<br />
Joy is being a husband and a dad.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is being welcomed into the most intimate
moments of life and being asked to pray, of just be present with family and
friends.<br />
Joy is the opportunity to hold someone’s hand in a moment of tragedy.<br />
Joy is holding a new born baby, or baptizing an adopted child.<br />
Joy is weeping with the hurting and laughing with a Bible Study group.<br />
Joy is watching a baby discover, for the third time today, her hand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is seeing the world through the Holy Wow
of a three year old child, who is discovering what a wonder creation is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is building Lego sets with a five year
old, and wiping away his tears when he scrapes his knee falling off a bike.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is crying over injustice and rejoicing
that we have a community that truly cares about us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is having tea with an elder who shares
her memories of a world seven decades away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is having a pop with a group of teens who
think everything is “cool” or “awesome.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is struggling to find our way, and
enjoying the journey as much as the destination.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is leading a worship service erupting
with the noise of children and quiet with the reflective wisdom of seniors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is the quiet presence of the cognitively
impaired in a care home.<br />
Joy is knowing that sometimes life just isn’t fair.<br />
Joy is the enthusiasm of welcoming in the visitor or the newcomer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is asking the tough questions and
sometimes agreeing only to disagree, but knowing that we love each other
anyway.<br />
Joy is sharing the Gospel with the help of my puppet friends.<br />
Joy is love eternal and everlasting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is knowing God’s love and being able to
share it every day in some little way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is breaking bread and sharing the cup,
then having a cup of coffee and a good chat afterwards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is planning a memorial service of a
cancer victim, and sharing laughter and tears as a life is celebrated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is trusting one another enough to share
life’s joys and sorrows, knowing that together we share God’s love.<br />
Joy is embracing the homeless.<br />
Joy is loving the unlovable.<br />
Joy is praying for the sick and visiting the hospitalized.<br />
<br />
Joy is making worship relevant, exciting and fun.<br />
Joy is communication and community.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is facing controversy and conflict and
journeying to reflection, resolution and healing.<br />
Joy is the ministry of all of God’s people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Joy is being a servant of God journeying with
God’s children and sharing the ups and downs of everyday life with openness,
with honesty, and most of all with love.<br />
Joy is making a difference in one life everyday.<br />
Joy is the church, the children of God in action.<br />
Joy is the journey of faith through all the twists and turns of life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I could go on. But suffice to say, to me the
theology of ministry is about doing, not talking. It is about using the gifts
and talents which God provides to care for those around us and to welcome in
all of God’s children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A friend recently described my approach to
ministry as “hospitality” and observed that I move to the periphery and work
very hard to draw the circle in. He may be right. I value the outreach of the
church, but sometimes we need to look close by and embrace those who are
hurting right beside us in the pews, and that may be the toughest challenge we
face, but it is a challenge I embrace and value.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">To me, ministry is about action. It is doing,
not theorizing. I’m not afraid of facing issues head-on, but at the end of the
day, we must, as God’s children, be able to break bread and share the cup in
faith, and if conflict prevents this, then we have to roll up our sleeves and
work. I am not afraid of that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It is not easy to summarize my theology of
ministry on a couple of pieces of paper. Instead I am most comfortable going
out into the world and living out my faith and ministry with JOY.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My understanding of ministry is living out
the word JOY in all its infinite fullness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As I read these words … earlier this
week … yesterday in preparing this sermon, and even today here … I come to
realize that Joy is very much a work in progress for ALL of us, but even though
I have long said “ministry is about joy, and joy under girds much of what I do,
I had to admit that true joy has been elusive and absent in my world … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have sought the affirmation of JOY
from outside of myself … and it has never been there … instead I have carried
baggage from my childhood, from my marriage, from my failings as a parent, from
the failings of my relationship, and the failings in ministry … my insecurities
and my self-doubts have pushed back against feeling joy to the point where joy
was wholly absent … I have tried to address the brokenness and the hurt and the
loneliness within by seeking affirmation from outside of myself … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have sought joy in the affirmation
of others because I couldn’t affirm myself from within … I came to realize in
the last couple of weeks that I am broken, and healing will NOT come until I address
my insecurities and my self doubts … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Joy is about wholeness and wholeness
comes from within … owning our failings and shortcomings and being able to
stand tall and say “I am me … and I like who I am …”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Writer and self help guru Eckert
Tolle has written of Joy:</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joy is the
dynamic aspect of Being. </span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When the
creative power of the universe</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">becomes
conscious of itself, it manifests as JOY.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-----------------</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joy does
not come from what you do, </span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">it flows
into what you do and thus into </span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the world
from deep WITHIN you.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">- Eckhart
Tolle</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It has perhaps taken me most of my adult life to come to that
realization – Joy is never an external thing … Joy comes from within … Mary’s
song of Joy this morning in our readings is NOT about what God has done for
Mary, but rather it is an outward expression of what Mary has come to
experience within because of her encounter with the HOLY … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We can spend our lives angry and
unhappy because we are not getting the affirmation we deserve and want from our
parents, our partners, our friends, our community … or we can learn to accept
and love ourselves and allow joy to stir and grow within us and spread outward
… </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For me, joy is still the dominant
fuel driving the engine that is my ministry and my life … but today, for the
first time in my life journey, I’ve come to realize and accept and celebrate
that joy does not derive from what my parents have said to and about me, it
does not come from what my partner has or has not said nor done for me, it does
not come from outside of myself at all … it comes from within, and it spreads
out into the world THROUGH my actions and words and MY life … and if I am to
feel and live that happiness and joy, it must start here … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This Sunday of Joy is about standing
in the darkness, seeing the glow of Bethlehem ever nearer on the horizon and
knowing, perhaps for the first time, that to fully experience the joy of the
season and in our lives, we must open ourselves to OUR pain and OUR burdens and
set ourselves free from within … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It is a realization I have
personally stumbled upon this Advent season … I have hungered and longed for
something throughout most of my adult life, and this week I awoke to the
realization that it has been within me the whole time … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>From the darkness, we journey into
the light … and the light of Joy is within us every step of the way … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Thanks be to God … let us pray … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<![endif]--><br />Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-46034022762438906482014-10-27T13:33:00.000-04:002014-10-27T13:34:12.008-04:00Sermon from October 26th 2014 - Choosing Love over Fear ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">German
Theologian, Karl Barth suggested that the proper way to preach in the Church is
with the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other. Our task in the
pulpit is to engage the issues swirling around us in a meaningful way, while
seeing and framing them through the lens of scripture and theological discourse
… Today makes for a challenging moment if one is to honour Mr Barth and preach
in the context of events this week in Montreal and Ottawa … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Happenings in those cities were indeed
tragic … the death of the two soldiers in random acts of violence were horrible
and troubling … but … wrapping everything in a patriotic flag and painting
these happenings as proof of the danger of radicalized Islam fails to grasp the
many nuances at play in these events … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For me personally, I frame the tragic
deaths of two soldiers in isolated and troubling incidents along side the fact
that behind the parliament buildings in Ottawa stands a memorial etched with
the names of over 700 men and women who have fallen on duty as Police and Peace
officers serving our country. Wearing a uniform puts them at risk … the video
tape from Ottawa of various security and police officers rushing into the
maelstrom of gun fire while everyone else ran the other way, speaks volumes about
the risk they face every day as part of their job.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The deaths of Corporal Cirillo and
Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent are indeed tragic, but they are no more tragic
than the deaths of the RCMP officers in New Brunswick a few short weeks ago, or
the shootings of Four RCMP officers in Alberta a few years ago, or the death of
any man or woman wearing a uniform protecting our nation and its values whether
that happens in distant corners of the world, or in our nations capital … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The handwringing and fear mongering
has taken a tragedy and turned it into a political circus … if we are to honour
one soldier, we are to honour all … if we are to honour one uniform we must
honour all equally. The shootings in Ottawa and the ‘attack’ on the Parliament
Buildings is more about the failure of our health system to address deep mental
illness, then it is about radicalized Islam. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The connection to radicalized Islamic
teachings is tenuous and marginal at best … the connection to an untreated
largely neglected mental illness is clear and is being overlooked in the frenzy
to ‘protect ourselves’ and ensure security … events in Ottawa are really no
different from the events in Manitoba a few short years ago when a deeply
mentally ill man took a life on a grey hound on the transcanada hwy … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What troubles me most deeply today, is
the insistence from some corners that something changed on Wednesday … I have
said since the events of 9/11 in NYC that nothing has really changed in the
world – it is and remains a deeply violent place. But that violence – violence
we read about every day in the media – violence that tears communities apart
and destroys lives – that kind of violence has finally come to North America.
We are no longer immune … we have it here too … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Further contributing to my concern and
worry are the calls for tighter security and the stripping away of freedom and
rights and access in the name of security and safety … one does not make things
safer by feeding fear and paranoia and encouraging the breakdown of community
and common good … or worse, calls for freer gun laws – I’ve read on line
opinions saying “if Canadians were armed with side arms, none of this would
have happened, someone would have dropped the shooter, or stopped the driver
before those soldiers died …” … or … more could have been wounded and killed in
the ensuing mayhem of a shoot out … lost in the shuffle this week is the
coverage of the trial for the shooting at the food court in the Eaton Centre
where two died and a dozen were injured and a city was traumatized … violence
is violence … suffering and death is suffering and death … events like those in
Ottawa are far from unique or new – everyday our newspapers are filled with
horrific happenings – nothing has changed this week we’re just waking up to the
simple fact that as a society we have actively chosen to overlook such
happenings and instead frivolously focus on other things … dozens of native
women are missing and dead, but we look to find last night’s scores … hundreds
of thousands of Canadians suffer with poverty and inadequate shelter, but we
look for the latest sale at Target or WalMart … various isms run rampant in our
society from sexism to racism and we chose to check our stocks rather than be
outraged at the depth of hatred around us … </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This week – the newspaper in my hand
speaks of an attack on our Nations’ capital and on a symbol that has
significance for generations of Canadians … but it also offers a clarion call
to embrace this idea of love that a radical Jewish preacher whispered into the
world and in the process managed to bring HUGE and dramatic change into being …
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Speaking of Jesus’ message The
Reverend Martin Luther King noted at Christmas in 1968 in a sermon broadcast on
CBC as part of the Massey Lectures that: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
Christmas season finds us a rather bewildered human race. We have neither peace
within nor peace without. Everywhere paralyzing fears harrow people by day and
haunt them by night. Our world is sick with war; everywhere we turn we see its
ominous possibilities. And yet, my friends, the Christmas hope for peace and
good will toward all men can no longer be dismissed as a kind of pious dream of
some utopian. If we don't have good will toward men in this world, we will
destroy ourselves by the misuse of our own instruments and our own power.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the context of preaching a message
of peace King went on to note of love:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There
are three words for "love" in the Greek New Testament; one is the
word "eros." Eros is a sort of esthetic, romantic love. Plato used to
talk about it a great deal in his dialogues, the yearning of the soul for the
realm of the divine. And there is and can always be something beautiful about
eros, even in its expressions of romance. Some of the most beautiful love in
all of the world has been expressed this way. </span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then the Greek language talks about "philia,"
which is another word for love, and philia is a kind of intimate love between
personal friends. This is the kind of love you have for those people that you
get along with well, and those whom you like on this level you love because you
are loved. </span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then the Greek language has another word for love, and that
is the word "agape." Agape is more than romantic love, it is more
than friendship. Agape is understanding, creative, redemptive good will toward
all men. Agape is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return.
Theologians would say that it is the love of God operating in the human heart.
When you rise to love on this level, you love all men not because you like
them, not because their ways appeal to you, but you love them because God loves
them. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "Love your enemies." And
I'm happy that he didn't say, "Like your enemies," because there are
some people that I find it pretty difficult to like. Liking is an affectionate
emotion, and I can't like anybody who would bomb my home. I can't like anybody
who would exploit me. I can't like anybody who would trample over me with
injustices. I can't like them. I can't like anybody who threatens to kill me
day in and day out. But Jesus reminds us that love is greater than liking. Love
is understanding, creative, redemptive good will toward all men. And I think
this is where we are, as a people, in our struggle for racial justice. We can't
ever give up. We must work passionately and unrelentingly for first-class
citizenship. We must never let up in our determination to remove every vestige
of segregation and discrimination from our nation, but we shall not in the
process relinquish our privilege to love. </span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I've seen too much hate to want to hate, myself, and I've
seen hate on the faces of too many sheriffs, too many white citizens'
councilors, and too many Klansmen of the South to want to hate, myself; and
every time I see it, I say to myself, hate is too great a burden to bear.
Somehow we must be able to stand up before our most bitter opponents and say:
"We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to
endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us
what you will and we will still love you. We cannot in all good conscience obey
your unjust laws and abide by the unjust system, because non-cooperation with
evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good, and so throw us
in jail and we will still love you. Bomb our homes and threaten our children,
and, as difficult as it is, we will still love you. Send your hooded
perpetrators of violence into our communities at the midnight hour and drag us
out on some wayside road and leave us half-dead as you beat us, and we will
still love you. Send your propaganda agents around the country, and make it
appear that we are not fit, culturally and otherwise, for integration, and
we'll still love you. But be assured that we'll wear you down by our capacity
to suffer, and one day we will win our freedom. We will not only win freedom
for ourselves; we will so appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win
you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory." </span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
have a choice today as people, as a community of faith, as a nation – we can
give into our fears and build the kind of walls that see far worse than just
hateful graffiti scrawled across the front of Islamic Mosques, or we can commit
ourselves to a path of compassion, care and love … </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
people of faith, there really is no other option … the call is for us to stand
in hope that our world WILL be transformed by love … we can live by the
newspaper, or we can live by the Scriptures … one is about fear and selfishness
… the other is about love and building community … </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There
really is no choice … Jesus boldly offered one simple commandment if we dare to
listen … </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Thanks
be to God … let us pray … <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-30404759438871613182014-05-07T19:49:00.003-04:002014-05-07T19:49:34.689-04:00Comfort foods ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgwaxqTBxjC8zWb4UXZBGvq_cK3D2jq89G9swSrAKXVMUgNsQc_8Aex_TYBm83aWvY_1ELOJzRsGV97C6mMVrbvUElHHOQieEnTVdn93FJTSDKgMp39vJMMuTfq6AmFGgPZikg9w/s1600/mug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgwaxqTBxjC8zWb4UXZBGvq_cK3D2jq89G9swSrAKXVMUgNsQc_8Aex_TYBm83aWvY_1ELOJzRsGV97C6mMVrbvUElHHOQieEnTVdn93FJTSDKgMp39vJMMuTfq6AmFGgPZikg9w/s1600/mug.jpg" height="400" width="292" /></a></div>
<br />
I haven't blogged much lately ... I haven't really done much lately beyond work.<br />
Between full time hours in ministry, and more than full time hours at the coffee shop and everything else I cram in my days, I find very little time for things like blogging ...<br />
<br />
I miss it ... I miss getting caught up on the blogs of my friends both near and far ... but most of all I miss the mental exercise that blogging has been for me ... my blog has been my sanctuary where I could struggle with things, rage against the cosmos, weep, dance, celebrate and be myself ...<br />
<br />
I suppose I can still do that, but it is harder with so many demands upon my time, and so few things that truly bring me a sense of enjoyment and release ...<br />
<br />
Right now, 11 1/2 months into running Highland Grounds I am exhausted ... I've put hours and hours and hours into creating an amazing place for people to gather ... I'm thrilled with the team we've assembled and the incredible array of talents and abilities I've watched shared in the last few months, but I'm exhausted ... I know that too will change, but for the moment it colours much of my world ...<br />
<br />
Thankfully, I have three beautiful children who are making the journey into adulthood working alongside their dad in this quirky place we've created ... I am in a good pastoral charge that cares for and cares about me, and has walked through some deep dark times with me ... and I am richly blessed despite the many losses I've experienced in the last few years.<br />
<br />
I wish I could say without hesitation that "it really gets better" but this has been a long and arduous road, and it has gotten better only incrementally. Along the way, I've celebrated as friends and acquaintances have picked up the pieces of their lives and found the ability to dance with joy again ... I truly hope that will happen ... but I'm honestly not sure ... I put in each day as it comes ... I do my best to think positive and to keep moving forward ... but I really am not sure about much any more ...<br />
<br />
I look back through this blog and laugh and weep at the path I've trod ... I've lost some tremendous people from my life, and at times I feel so utterly alone ... while other times I feel fortunate to have had the journey I've had ...<br />
<br />
My life has changed so much since I first sat down to write my first entry ... some good, some bad ... all of it shaping and changing me into the person I am today ... who I will be tomorrow is still an unknown - but for now I will put one foot in front of the other and keep moving ... <br />
<br />
For the moment, we keep journeying forward ... enjoying fair trade coffee and continuing to do what it is I have been called to do ... the rest is in the hands of the cosmos ... dayenu!!!! Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-16114685229922501332014-02-03T11:53:00.001-05:002014-02-03T11:53:59.100-05:00My so-called life ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkz_5JP8UXyNt-KB7OZCpcZsx6epm3jCifzNAMqyXFi8EsgL1aZYPXaG7SB2nf9CmkKKZ5TE3DWvv6mYHdewHD7gpRKdr98iHFdR8tTLWbPFmHxuomWexfkFDp2nH6mvG2ff3xfQ/s1600/me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkz_5JP8UXyNt-KB7OZCpcZsx6epm3jCifzNAMqyXFi8EsgL1aZYPXaG7SB2nf9CmkKKZ5TE3DWvv6mYHdewHD7gpRKdr98iHFdR8tTLWbPFmHxuomWexfkFDp2nH6mvG2ff3xfQ/s1600/me.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
I like this picture ... it was taken a week or so ago by my friend and neighbour Holger as I was heading home after blowing the snow from various driveways in my neighbourhood ... I enjoy firing up the old blower (that was a generous gift from another friend), and heading out after the storm to clear walkways, driveways and boulevards of neighbours ... As I spend two or three hours out in the elements following behind the old blue workhorse, I think about the stories mom used to tell of Dad heading out on the old John Deere 110 to blow our driveway, then driveways all over the north-eastern corner of Stratford we called home ... Dad did it because he liked doing it ... I respect that. I feel exactly the same way.<br />
<br />
Despite the inherent futility of clearing snow (you know you'll be doing it again soon!!), there is something deeply rewarding about pulling out of a driveway and looking back at the crisp clean sides and clear space where the had previously been snow banks and drifts! It is also kind of fun ...<br />
<br />
This picture though, and this whole winter has been a vivid reminder of the core values I try to hold to.<br />
<br />
I value honesty.<br />
I value openess.<br />
I value my family and my friends.<br />
I will pretty much do anything for anyone I consider a friend. I can look back on the last couple of years and still feel the sting of friends who have failed to fulfill their side of our relationship, and have left me hanging financially ... if the folks who owe me money for favours given and help offered, would step up and do the right thing and pay back what they owe, my life would be a little easier right now ...<br />
<br />
But, I trust in Karma ultimately. You get what you receive, and how you treat others, and what you do in the world will come back upon you ten fold ... if you lie, cheat and deceive, you will receive the same ... if you try to treat people with love, respect and care, and strive to help those you care about, Karma returns the same to you eventually.<br />
<br />
A few months ago I was told to 'go back to your pathetic life' by someone who is not worth even considering ... but they were right. I should go back to my 'pathetic' life. The only problem is that my life is far from pathetic. It is deep and rich and amazing.<br />
<br />
I love my children.<br />
I love my job.<br />
I love my community.<br />
I love the circle of friends I have around me.<br />
I love the folks I live and minister amongst.<br />
I love this funky little business called Highland Grounds that just marked its 8th month of existence.<br />
I love the staff team I've assembled, and despite some challenges and set backs, I feel very blessed to have them working for me and helping my business grow and succeed. (Go Team Purple!!)<br />
I love the place I find myself, and that despite the financial challenges that have been part of this first year of business, I feel good that even these hurdles will be over come.<br />
I love being in a place that I don't dread getting out of bed any more, but actually enjoy facing the day and what it brings.<br />
<br />
And last, but certainly not least - I love being in a place where my life is feeling good and settled. In the last three years I have struggled in some very deep dark places, I have felt sorrow and sadness that felt like it was going to destroy me, and I have experienced betrayal and hurt that left me gasping ... but as I have for over 20 years of ministry preached on the transformative power of the Resurrection - that transformation has unfolded around me ...<br />
<br />
My so-called 'pathetic' life is pretty good.<br />
<br />
No it is pretty damned good, and I am blessed and fortunate for all that I have around me.<br />
I still have some sleepless nights trying to solve the latest challenge before me, but by and large I can close my eyes at night and feel the peace of a restful sleep because I've moved from the long dark tunnel that I have been stumbling through for the last few years, and I am feeling the warmth of light, and love and LIFE.<br />
<br />
My so-called 'pathetic' life, it anything but pathetic. I have a great family, a fantastic job (times TWO), a wonderful circle of friends, an amazing community, and last but certainly no least - a good friend who makes me smile, and who offers the whisper of something amazing and wonderful ...<br />
<br />
When I head out to blow snow (and it WILL happen again soon!) I feel good about life for the first time in a very long time - and that my friends is not just good, that is amazing!!!<br />
<br />
Dayenu!! Dayenu!!<br />
<br />Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-29244014122345271702014-02-02T20:18:00.002-05:002014-02-02T20:18:33.901-05:00The long and winding road ... <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRh4_84RN74pCVGLYLzbva3Rh_nhyXvJYGTH6n-WjnXqzQV6el9x-F5kOV8kEApPeW-epcPAdFPpq3leUMhzZXYVskHA7yl65FDewSFxPUs6GwHe8-nuVIY9h-KV-sj8M1SEcIQ/s1600/IMG.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRh4_84RN74pCVGLYLzbva3Rh_nhyXvJYGTH6n-WjnXqzQV6el9x-F5kOV8kEApPeW-epcPAdFPpq3leUMhzZXYVskHA7yl65FDewSFxPUs6GwHe8-nuVIY9h-KV-sj8M1SEcIQ/s400/IMG.jpg" height="271" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573347014931046754" style="display: block; height: 271px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a><br />
Three years ago about now I came inside from clearing the snow from the latest snow storm to hit our area ... I had my shower, sat down on the couch and began to enjoy a beer when the phone rang ...<br />
<br />
The call is forever etched in my mind ... Scott's buddy Ed was wondering if Scott was up in Flesherton with me ... he wasn't ... no one had seen or heard from Scott since the Monday (three days earlier) ... I had been calling and not getting an answer at the house, but thought nothing of it ... but Ed's call filled me with dread ... I left for Stratford almost immediately and spent much of the drive calling ... all the while preparing for the worst while hoping for the best ...<br />
<br />
I will never forget opening the door and knowing that the worst I had imagine wasn't even in the ball park of what was about to unfold ...<br />
<br />
I will never forget the sights, and sounds and smells that were part of that evening ... in 21 days, I had lost mom. mr Baumbach and then Scott ... my world tumbled and it took months to have it return to some semblance of normal ...<br />
<br />
Today three years later I look back on a journey that had successive losses, many struggles and fabulous moments of celebration and triumph ... I'm not sure where the journey is going from here. I have had many challenges and struggles even as I've celebrated the opening of the coffee shop, and some days I wonder if it is all worth it ... but then, I look around and consider ALL that I've been through and realize that Highland Grounds truly is a phoenix rising moment in my world ...<br />
<br />
I have been told that mom wanted to open something like Highland Grounds, and when I look up and see Dad's picture on the wall, and the sign from the memorial bridge dedicated in his honour, I know that even though Mom didn't live to see this - she and Dad and Scott are very much part of the story of Highland Grounds, and that the breath taking tragedies I experienced three short years ago are very much part of the story being crafted and created one cup at a time today ...<br />
<br />
Highland Grounds isn't MY coffee shop - it is my family's coffee shop.<br />
<br />
The road I have been journeying on has been challenging, exhausting and heart-rending ... but today, looking back on the long and winding road I've trod I can see that things do eventually begin to turn around and the losses and struggles give way to something more - something better ...<br />
<br />
There's still a lot of road to be trod ... but today I have the right people with me to make see this journey through ...<br />
<br />
As I say often - Dayenu!! Dayenu!! (God willing, it would have been enough ... but there is so much more to come!!) Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-23189724977423550702013-08-27T15:35:00.001-04:002013-08-27T15:35:13.003-04:00Some days ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7yWcI43TnRqVMY4jvCwA8GTFyhYkM7to4rVZvGctM2KTllS6IxjQThtmg8EdqvIENkzr1C9WD2Tvlyglj-YjVv5c0G9Op_ndGa-uKQUWtbS76TwQDt7i2YsEtNTjBXU2wY7UIw/s1600/Hope.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7yWcI43TnRqVMY4jvCwA8GTFyhYkM7to4rVZvGctM2KTllS6IxjQThtmg8EdqvIENkzr1C9WD2Tvlyglj-YjVv5c0G9Op_ndGa-uKQUWtbS76TwQDt7i2YsEtNTjBXU2wY7UIw/s1600/Hope.jpeg" height="282" width="640" /></a></div>
I remember the first time I KNOW I hit bottom ... I was sitting outside watching the fireflies drifting in the wind ... it hurt to breath ...<br />
<br />
The little flutter of light gave me hope and kept me moving forward. I found myself living the advice I've given to many people a thousand times - One breath, one step, one moment at a time ...<br />
<br />
I took the journey as it came ...<br />
<br />
Right now I am in a similar place ... I look around and absolutely love the coffee shop and what it has become, yet I struggle because as amazing as it is, I feel little joy from it. I yearn to have a reason other than work to get out of bed each day ... I yearn to have SOMETHING to look forward to ... <br />
<br />
And I'm struggling to help my children with their relationship with their mother who has continued to live selfishly and thoughtlessly towards them - even after 21 years it still shocks, surprises and saddens me that she can't put her children foremost, even once ... late night texts from a daughter trying to talk to her mother and saying over and over "she WON'T listen" breaks my heart and makes me deeply sad ... it is a replaying of what lead to the failure of our marriage ... our children deserve better but their own mother can't see it ... and I stood silently too long and let this become the norm ...<br />
<br />
In this moment, I struggle to find hope ... I know it is there, and with everything I have been through I have no doubt it is there. I just struggle to see and feel it right now ... I struggle to keep putting one foot in front of the other ... <br />
<br />
And ultimately, today is all about putting one foot in front of the other and making the journey and praying it will get better ... I know I am tired spiritually, physically, and mentally and that is not helping ... but I also wish I could set right some of the things in the past that I screwed up royally ... I wish I could turn back the clock and treat some people the way they deserved to be treated instead of letting my anger and my hurt and my pain get the better of me ...<br />
<br />
I wish I could look around me today and feel the breeze of promise and hope that should whirling around ...<br />
<br />
Maybe tomorrow ... Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-80311748504883346322013-08-18T01:54:00.001-04:002013-08-18T01:55:57.797-04:00A confession and acknowledging some truth ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssGsRQDXz2bVlmgulZ-h1WD-GPVSD0yrmHLUFD41oVonaMbPiXN5BMGHYCXE5c6rwp4QEIptr1_ddVBLDJEuVN0JsUoCqRHjSins7UxKj738uHKvPjBcaDRSJKhdC1kWjfLQJSg/s1600/IMG_4585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhssGsRQDXz2bVlmgulZ-h1WD-GPVSD0yrmHLUFD41oVonaMbPiXN5BMGHYCXE5c6rwp4QEIptr1_ddVBLDJEuVN0JsUoCqRHjSins7UxKj738uHKvPjBcaDRSJKhdC1kWjfLQJSg/s1600/IMG_4585.jpg" height="400" width="297" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am proud to be the owner and proprietor of a lovely little coffee shop in the downtown of our little rural village. It has been an incredible journey that began long before I ever came to Flesherton. In the last few months there has been A LOT of hard work put into bringing Highland Grounds into being - but as I stand and survey what we've achieved (and it took a team of people to make this happen), I can't help but think - Is this all there is? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Not because I'm unhappy or discontent - but because something is missing ... and it has taken me a while to figure it out ... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tonight I posted the following on Facebook - and I expect that it, like a previous musing on the nature of apologies that I directed at my children, will be removed ... so, I offer my words here because I realized tonight I've stood silently for far too long when I should have spoken, and I've failed to speak the truth when I should have ... and as one who values the role of prophet, and who has long stood up for what is right, this has not rested well with my soul, and has contributed to the un-ease in my soul ... So, what I said on Facebook was:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">21
years ago this week I began the journey of marriage ... I was young,
naive, insecure and devoted ... In time I became a doormat and I became
angry and resentful and bitter ... In time I opted to leave because it
was growing worse not better ... but it was messy and confusing and hard
... In time my path crossed with a beautiful soul that I treated
horribly and pushed away ...today I see the toxicity playing out in my
children and I weep at what they've learned ... <br /> <br /> Selfishness
is never part of a healthy relationship - taking while seldom giving is
abusive, looking out only for oneself is childish and toxic, and having
to bury the hurt and sadness and pain doesn't address it - instead it
comes out where it shouldn't. <br /> <br /> I owe my children an apology for
being a poor parent at times and allowing them to think being an angry
doormat was normal for a parent. <span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> <br /> I owe Sam, Hannah, and Rebekkah an apology for offering such a bad model for their lives and
relationships and I hope they can learn from past mistakes. You bore the
brunt of the anger arising from the pain I was enduring in the illusion
of LOVE and for that I'm deeply sorry.<br /> <br /> I also owe Lori and Shaun an apology for much ... The pendulum swung too far from being a victim
and I hurt both of you deeply. I should have done many thing very
differently, and I could only see what slipped through my fingers after I
hit bottom. <br /> <br /> I try to be the strong one, but recently I've
come to realize that my true strength was not found in being in control,
but in allowing my hurts and my wounds to heal ... <br /> <br /> I've long
said our bruises teach us great lessons ... Today I will admit to my
bruises AND I WILL cast aside the illusions and posturing ... <br /> <br />
Today I am sorry for much and I will seek to make the future better than
the past ... I can't change the past but saying "Sorry" means owning
the hurt we've caused and seeking the healing and wholeness of the one
we've wronged!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">So, tonight I am laying this 'out there' for ALL to see ... I tried to make my marriage work, not for the sake of the children but because I cared deeply for my partner ... but the treatment I received made me angry and resentful and bitter and it slowly poisoned the waters ... I was once told by a well meaning friend that I shouldn't "slam the mother of my children" by admitted to the ill treatment that went on - but today I look at my children and see them playing out the sad and toxic example they learned too well ... and for their sake, that has to stop - and sadly, the only way for it to stop is by being open and honest and admitted to our faults ... the very heart of an apology. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"> I also have to acknowledge, that when I moved from Manitoba to Ontario I came with a partner I wanted to build something new with ... she was smart, funny, beautiful, kind and caring. She was a great mom to her son, and was most of all an amazing friend and companion ... but out of fear and my deep insecurities, I was secretive about her presence in my life, and in my commitment to never be a doormat again, I swung the pendulum too far in the opposite direction ... the stresses this caused were devestating for L, and her son, and the hurt caused by my boorish actions are in many ways unforgivable ... I was deeply, deeply wrong, and there is no justification or excuse ... my hurt and pain, my fears and insecurities, complicated by the sudden death of my mom and my brother tore my heart and soul apart and instead of allowing the people around me in, I shut them out and acted badly ... and in time drove them away ... something I have deeply regretted since it happened, but have only recently acknowledged ... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">A few weeks ago, as I opened the coffee shop I was carried on a bouyant wave but something was amiss ... as I became more and more exhausted mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually, I came to realize what it was ... this ache and pain within - the pain body as Eckert Tolle calls it - was consuming me ... I was angry and resentful and that was colouring everything around me ... it came to a head recently when plans for shuffling kids back and forth between BC and Ontario were being discussed and some painful realizations were made ... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">I demanded an apology from the kids' mom and she half-heartedly offered one that continues to ring hollow ... I dug in my heels and refused to bend this time ... and the end result was the realization of how the toxic behaviours of the parents have been passed on to the children ... I see in my children and unhealthy selfishness that seeks to ease some inner pain by demanding more and more and more, and never being satisified, but more worrying to me is the mirror I look into that shows me the development of a doormat who will do EVERYTHING imaginable to appease and please an insatiable and unappreciative partner ... I weep at the recreation of me and my foolish behaviour in my children ... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">THEY DESERVE BETTER. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">And I for one, will do my utmost to ensure that what is modeled from here on, is better than what they've witnessed and experienced. No one deserves to be treated like an object by someone who purports to love them - love is about care, respect, understanding, and justice. A loving relationship ebbs and flows and sees the partners working together, sharing, being cooperative, and being caring towards one another ... all things that were lacking in my marriage ... I will never say their mother was a bad person, she isn't ... but she has behaviours and attitudes that were and remain hurtful and toxic and even though she would utter the words "I'm sorry" a thousand times - the behaviours NEVER changed ... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">My children deserve better ... I wish I could take back the anger I unjustly unleashed at them ... I wish I could go back and stand up for them more often ... I wish I could re-do many things from their childhood and their journey into adulthood ... I am thankful they are strong, intelligent and aware individuals, and they have a lot of the good I saw in their mother, and I strive to share - and can still turn back the behaviour that is troubling and troublesome ... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">If I can teach them nothing else, I would teach them as adults to OWN their behaviour - make amends as need be, and live the apologies that we sometimes have to make. But most of all, if you claim to love someone - then treat them with the SAME care, consideration, kindness and love that you want to experience. Don't treat them like an object, and NEVER NEVER NEVER show off in front of your friends by casting them aside and treating them like dirt to impress someone who could careless anyway. A so called best friend should never come BEFORE a partner or spouse - EVER!!! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">I carry great resentment about how I was treated whenever certain people showed up - these moments should NEVER have happened, and instead of confronting it - I shrugged my shoulders and buried the pain ... and that pain never eased and never went away ... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">I am far from perfect - I have made my share of mistakes ... but tonight as I posted my thoughts on Facebook I realized that I want nothing more than to be loved and cared for ... I want someone to fuss over me a little bit once in awhile, I want to receive actual presents for Christmas and my birthday, I want to feel valued ... those were things my marriage never had as priorities, and that lead to deep resentments and anger that tonight I begin to let go of by naming THE TRUTH, and speaking what others foolishly convinced me should be kept secret. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">My children deserve to be in relationships that are affirming, nurturing, loving and mutual - things I never got from my marriage, and things I failed to offer to Lori when she ventured into my life ... I need to do better for my children, so they can learn from the mistakes I've made, and do much better in their own lives ... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"> No one deserves to be treated like dirt in their own homes by someone who claims to love them ... that is not love ... it is a joke, and I know I tried to offer what I never received, and the downward spiral only sped up ... it takes two to make a marriage work - 21 years ago I begged my newly wedded bride to please meet me half way on something ... she didn't then, and she never did after ... I kept trying to appease her until it finally destroyed our marriage, and almost destroyed me. The repercussions of that toxic selfishness continued to reverberate throughout my life and affect many aspects of my life beyond my relationships and parenting ... somewhere the toxicity has to be stopped!! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">My children deserve better!! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">And Lori deserved much better.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Tonight publically I say - I'm sorry, and will strive to live a meaningful apology. I've heard the words "I'm sorry" spoken thousands of times, but the behaviour never changed, the attitude never changed, the treatment never changed ... there were glimmering moments where it seemed like change was possible, but then that light was crushed into oblivion and the old ways rushed back ... My commitment tonight and in the coming days is to live my apology and to seek in all things to treat people with dignity, respect, care and compassion, and that begins with the people closest to me - because if you say "I love you," you don't treat them like garbage ... it's such a simple lesson really, I marvel that in 21 years its lack is being revealed in the failure of it to be passed on to our children ... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">I will do better from this day forward!! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">The people I love deserve nothing less ... . </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<br />Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-34599953057372371222013-07-07T17:00:00.002-04:002013-07-07T17:00:27.584-04:00Our Grand Opening - July 6th 2013 !!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8CabFhyr6FUhGB-_oE2GETIUv68jAjuL_pvtw4i-LqrF_KvqvxVDXYxmnpe5gRTb418Kn0gMEky_qFd7BsbdhxWtOR0WRZ8_eiU7d8HKw5zZxjHouy0O9rPMcWz3O6YrCsLITA/s1600/HighlandGrnds+059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8CabFhyr6FUhGB-_oE2GETIUv68jAjuL_pvtw4i-LqrF_KvqvxVDXYxmnpe5gRTb418Kn0gMEky_qFd7BsbdhxWtOR0WRZ8_eiU7d8HKw5zZxjHouy0O9rPMcWz3O6YrCsLITA/s1600/HighlandGrnds+059.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbbjmtKhBR_isohP8MVSA32dsfqdyeRNacpG4bTyzPMQAB_KQjGl5k2N1Cb5UxXjD7js22HZET2FFB2QLgfcmwMjzQTiyc5oxKcO-8V0de2ZkkOeE0WxMsD_PuF9rkWo8yyDzSQ/s1600/HighlandGrnds+058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbbjmtKhBR_isohP8MVSA32dsfqdyeRNacpG4bTyzPMQAB_KQjGl5k2N1Cb5UxXjD7js22HZET2FFB2QLgfcmwMjzQTiyc5oxKcO-8V0de2ZkkOeE0WxMsD_PuF9rkWo8yyDzSQ/s1600/HighlandGrnds+058.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
And so it begins ... or rather continues ...<br />
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Highland Grounds opened its doors on June 1st 2013, and has been running since.<br />
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Yesterday we held our Grand Opening and with the help of the Duncan family, who built the Duncan Block we call home in 1932, local politicians and dignitaries, and members of my family, we cut the ribbon and officially opened our doors for business.<br />
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A crowd of thirty to forty people came and helped us celebrate by tucking into the enormous 29 INCH chocolate chip cookie, the massive rice crispie square, and the GORGEOUS cake prepared by local baker Bonnie B.<br />
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Coffee and conversation flowed all evening as the shop ebb'ed and flow'ed with people, and lots of folks came and went offering thier best wishes and leaving after having tried the very best coffee we have to offer! <br />
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The evening ended with a fabulous musical coffee house with an assortment of local talent and lots of good music, great coffee and fantastic conversation.<br />
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All in all, it was a good way to kick off this crazy new venture ... it is truly a journey JUST BEGUN!!!<br />
<br />Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-3753311921318601482013-06-06T11:28:00.000-04:002013-06-06T11:28:04.192-04:00And so the journey takes a new and exciting turn ... And so it begins ...<br />
At 8 Toronto Rd in bustling downtown Flesherton - at the junction of Hwy 10 North, and Grey County Rd 4, A new business venture has opened ... it is the long awaited, much anticipated Highland Grounds Coffee Shop ... a venue that specializes in high quality Fair Trade and Social Conscience products:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKc7qDFeJ5LCeISlYfTzq7wJUxRNXHGsCyHaRvKM6kOZp_BSy7VeLb9v0XY2uaQgVO0JPK3HQc_l896IuuVqFnjP-OG54rdKVfOSgGdanc_ibRiW24uZrrxQRARTQvBd5MeL8Olg/s1600/highland+grounds+front+door.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKc7qDFeJ5LCeISlYfTzq7wJUxRNXHGsCyHaRvKM6kOZp_BSy7VeLb9v0XY2uaQgVO0JPK3HQc_l896IuuVqFnjP-OG54rdKVfOSgGdanc_ibRiW24uZrrxQRARTQvBd5MeL8Olg/s1600/highland+grounds+front+door.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoz_vZHFiM-B3i7H45k-5Y3xpdJyhM_JRSQEsjFWv16CibKCg9mMYEsrceQHjK29F8AHb_SusiAUw7pGQnYlQ8BkqWWVW_Jeu72bu7RylU8giJGJ3lkK6GHJDDavKiI8aQo3zI7A/s1600/highland+grounds+front.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoz_vZHFiM-B3i7H45k-5Y3xpdJyhM_JRSQEsjFWv16CibKCg9mMYEsrceQHjK29F8AHb_SusiAUw7pGQnYlQ8BkqWWVW_Jeu72bu7RylU8giJGJ3lkK6GHJDDavKiI8aQo3zI7A/s1600/highland+grounds+front.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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The Duncan Room pictured below is a nod to the heritage and history of the building Highlands Grounds calls home - named after the three generations of the Duncan Family who ran the hardware store that formerly occupied the space - The Duncan Room now is a place to sit and savour a cup of Fair Trade Coffee and cruise the internet on the local WiFi.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzqN6YZfzmW8nuoEL7ZM0TOWo8UcW3SFdYlOAmkXrjgFTwJ9Z_ytVpki70TDXN9Hhkzr1AD8lSSNpUwsIb1dpgcxeSJtWu17EtGWITKabYV6QBUiniOPu-eUj3Sx8jW4JId0qd9g/s1600/highland+grounds+duncan+rm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzqN6YZfzmW8nuoEL7ZM0TOWo8UcW3SFdYlOAmkXrjgFTwJ9Z_ytVpki70TDXN9Hhkzr1AD8lSSNpUwsIb1dpgcxeSJtWu17EtGWITKabYV6QBUiniOPu-eUj3Sx8jW4JId0qd9g/s1600/highland+grounds+duncan+rm.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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And the best part of this ... is that all of it is the fulfilment of a dream to own and run my own business.<br />
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Highland Grounds is open 7 days a week from 5:30 am to 9:30pm Monday to Friday and 10:00 am to 9:30 pm Saturday and Sunday ... we have a wide range of Fair Trade products available and are looking forward to expanding our selection in the coming weeks ...<br />
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Stop by ... we're here to promote our community, and offer a very good cup of coffee at a very good price!!<br />
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CheersReverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-45114683569099177432013-04-24T11:12:00.000-04:002013-04-24T11:12:38.664-04:00They rush in where angels may fear to tread ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDXEY48BSBkPj0CyJmPDWIJklKmP9mxf3q3jo3VaoW8HwY3PKIxCFCUdjUQTTpk0xW1FohQVVHEj0zPKVHnvtN8vTRENP0GPawswDlO3Gc3lDQT2etUYRhQuv1nWLJsueLTnhXg/s1600/cne5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDXEY48BSBkPj0CyJmPDWIJklKmP9mxf3q3jo3VaoW8HwY3PKIxCFCUdjUQTTpk0xW1FohQVVHEj0zPKVHnvtN8vTRENP0GPawswDlO3Gc3lDQT2etUYRhQuv1nWLJsueLTnhXg/s400/cne5.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
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My colleague/friend and former class mate Rev. Audrey offered a reflection this morning on her blog '<a href="http://therevinblack.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Am I The Rev in black?</a>" about the recent sacrifices experienced by First Responders in West Texas when a fertilizer plant exploded, and even when we consider the First Responders who were part of the tragic events in Boston ... as I read her words my mind wandered to the Memorials dedicated to Fallen Peace Officers that I have visited - Memorials where I find the name Constable S.E. Ankenmann, etched in the stone or glass ... The fallen First Responder, whether they are Police, Fire or EMT - reminds me of the sacrifice my family made when Dad died on duty with the OPP.<br />
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I still remember a 'good' church member in Manitoba telling me after the shooting of four RCMP officers in Alberta, that "you really need to get over it, it was a long time ago that your dad died ..."<br />
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It was a long time ago ... but it is something I am reminded of every time I read or hear of another First Responder who dies doing what they are trained and called to do.<br />
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The firefighters who died when the fire at the fertilizer plant exploded reminded me ... Audrey's words today reminded me ... watching the footage of the funeral in Boston for a fallen officer reminded me ...<br />
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I take solace that despite the every increasing number of names on memorials scattered across the country that acknowledge the sacrifice of the few, there are many officers who put on the uniform and step out the door each day willing to do what they do, and willing to face what ever danger or risk may be inherent in the job.<br />
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We can make fun of our police, fire and EMTs, and poke fun at the stereotypes that they often embody - but at the end of the day, we can't escape the simple undeniable FACT, that when there is danger, it is the First Responders who are rushing in while others are running out.<br />
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If there is an accident, a bombing, a fire or any other happening that shatters lives, it is the men and women in uniform who are the first one scene, and who try to bring order out of chaos and ensure the safety of all involved - and for that I remain grateful.<br />
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My prayer today is that perhaps fewer names will be etched and carved on the memorials as we begin to value not only our first responders, but each other, and we move away from a predilection for violence, and chose instead a desire for respect and peace ...<br />
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... maybe one day ... in the meantime, I offer grateful prayers of thanksgiving, and continue to pray for our First Responders and their families ...<br />
<br />Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-48822057217580173692013-04-23T11:22:00.000-04:002013-04-23T11:22:20.352-04:00The more time I spend with people ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl09ZVDtYdQW-YnpCz_jGw6IKddTqsitgfFIp_Sm_eBHBoCUbFJ9T8zKM_7q8i-WQhpL_RsptIRV66whoMGrM5xzzHye1hSvWgUE63N9R6PeUgLKhfVSWekwf7DulFfDKnCf7lJg/s1600/dubs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl09ZVDtYdQW-YnpCz_jGw6IKddTqsitgfFIp_Sm_eBHBoCUbFJ9T8zKM_7q8i-WQhpL_RsptIRV66whoMGrM5xzzHye1hSvWgUE63N9R6PeUgLKhfVSWekwf7DulFfDKnCf7lJg/s1600/dubs.JPG" height="400" width="298" /> </a></div>
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Okay, I'm gonna just say it: THE MORE TIME I SPEND WITH PEOPLE THE MORE I APPRECIATE AND LOVE MY DOGS!!!!!!!</div>
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Mind you, it's not ALL people ... just some ... but increasingly that latter category is fast outstripping the former!! More and more people I met strike me as more than slightly challenged!!</div>
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My observations of late have caused me to conclude that the word "NO" is truly an anathema to some people. They can't bear saying it, and they never want to hear it - yet, if we learn to say it properly and appropriately, we could spare ourselves many irritating and aggravating moments. </div>
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I've also noted in the Church circles that too often we want to avoid even the slightest hint of having to hurt someone's feeling. The pendulum has swung too an extreme where we've become so warm pink and fuzzy that we can't bear the thought of offending or hurting people ... this is connected with our unwillingness to offer a firm "NO!" ... When I consider this I ponder the whole "What Would Jesus Do?" thing and wonder if he would just shake his head in bewilderment at the wishy washiness that has embraced his church. </div>
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Why have we lost the ability to stand on firm and solid theology, while living the radical inclusivity that is inherent in the Gospel??</div>
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Yesterday I spent some time with my Great Aunt and Great Uncle who live not far from here and as I left Uncle F's words resonated in my ears - he said "People are SO selfish today ..." </div>
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I think that is the heart of the dilemma that brings such cynicism to my heart. People are increasingly selfish. They have grown fearful of change and the rapid change by which it seems to be happening, and so they look inwards and focus more and more on them selves ... Fortunately, I continue to stumble upon people who are not selfish, but wonderfully and lovingly self-less. </div>
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Thus far in the Church, and in the circles where I live and move, the self-less still out number the selfish ... but my bumping into the stupidly selfish when I move beyond my circles causes me great concern. </div>
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BUT, that concern thus far, doesn't drive me to despair, but instead inspires me to hang out with my dogs, and then head back into the world more determined to be the change we seek!! </div>
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I'm far from perfect, but today, like yesterday and like the days before that, I will continue to do the best job I can living out the idea that together we can make the world a better place, one step, one breath, one small action at time!! </div>
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And when my cynicism increases, I'll spend some time with my dogs and regain a much needed perspective!!</div>
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<br />Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-61367335333568582742013-04-19T12:44:00.000-04:002013-04-19T15:02:52.816-04:00Our ONLY response to fear ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have always liked the oratory and writings of Martin Luther King Jr.<br />
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In high school I remember discovering the book "A Testament of Hope: The essential writings of MLK" and devouring his words. My introduction to King came earlier, when in the basement of Centennial United Church in Stratford, our then minister Rev. Ross Cumming played a vinyl album of King's Christmas Sermon on Peace, that was recorded then broadcast, as part of the Massey Lectures on CBC.<br />
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I can still remember listening to the slightly hissy sound of King addressing his congregation in Georgia on Christmas Eve in 1967, and offering profound words that touched on so many topics, and offered an message of HOPE.<br />
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I was hooked. Ross opened the door, and since then much of what I've offered in my preaching, my reflections and my writing has been deeply grounded in the teachings and theology of King and his Gospel of Non-Violence, his Gospel of Justice, and most of all his Gospel of Hope.<br />
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In the last couple of days, I find myself revisiting King and his teachings. And I have noticed on Facebook that I am NOT alone in that - over and over since the bombing in Boston, quotations from MLK Jr have popped up on memes and postings, as people strive to make sense of the fear that has settled in.<br />
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King reminded us and continues to remind us that Love IS stronger than hate, compassion is stronger than apathy, and peace is stronger than anger ... we, like we did in the late 1960's, stand in a bewlidering place. The news is full of grim and horrendous happenings that leave communities and lives shattered. Our screens are full of bloodshed and suffering on a scale that is staggering. It is too easy to become fearfilled and lock ourselves behind closed doors ...<br />
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But, in that moment we have a Biblical example ... the first disciples locked themselves away behind closed doors for fear of the violence that could be directed at them and the harm they could experience ... they sat shivering in fear when suddenly the Risen One appeared before them and said the simple yet profound words: PEACE BE WITH YOU!! Shalom alakium!!<br />
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And in that moment the world changed!<br />
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We are no longer prisoners to fear. We are no longer people without hope.<br />
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We are the ones called, commissioned and sent out into the world to proclaim that gift of peace and to embody that hope.<br />
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We are the ones who go out into the corners of the world where fear is so thick that people lurk behind closed windows and locked doors, and we LIVE the HOPE that people like Martin Luther King so eloquently spoke and lived.<br />
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We are the ones who turn off the screens and fold up the newspapers when they are overflowing with terrible stories and happenings, and celebrate that our world is awash in goodness, revelling in the smiles and the community around us, and daring to proclaim that ONE DAY THE WORLD WILL CHANGE.<br />
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It is too easy to give into fear. But as people of faith - whether you are part of an organized faith, or just in touch with your own spirituality, our job is to go into the world and not let the darkness overwhelm us. We are to go into the world and BE THE HOPE and THE CHANGE we seek!!!<br />
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By sharing our care, our compassion, our understanding and our love, we will wear down the anger and fear and hatred that seems so prevelant. AND more importantly, by not giving into our fears, we will show others that the GOOD people out number the bad, and that as we fumble along in the darkness we will find more and more people yearning for the same thing, and soon the two or three that started the journey will be ten then twenty, then fifty, then a thousand ... and the strength of GOOD will grow, and those who preach messages of hate and try to beat us down with acts of terror will find themselves not only out numbered, but overwhelmed with the power of LIFE, LOVE and PEACE offered in HOPE.<br />
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As the British government said in the deep dark days of World War Two - "Keep Calm and Carry On!!" Today we Keep Calm, Carry On and embrace Hope rather then give in to fear.!!!<br />
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If our leaders can't offer that message, then we need to offer it ourselves!!!<br />
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We need to LIVE IT!!<br />
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We are a Hope-filled people - let's go and embody, embrace and share it !!!<br />
<br />Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-49976219401303101042013-04-18T12:36:00.000-04:002013-04-18T12:37:50.075-04:00Thankful for my community cyber and physical ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I will start this with a thank you ...<br />
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Thank you to Pastor Blake, to Katie, to CandyGirlFlies, to Rev Audrey, Tia and to the other bloggers that I read regularly and who today offered a much needed and much appreciated breath of fresh and hopefilled air into my world ...<br />
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I feel like I've just thrown open the windows after a LONG and DREARY winter, and have had a refreshing breeze roll through ... I did THAT physically in my home a few days ago, and I suppose today I did it in my heart and mind as well ...<br />
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I can't put my finger on it, but today I feel a profound sadness ... it may be the headlines filled with the suffering and carnage of Boston, the Middle East, Texas and elsewhere where lives have been so tragically and so needlessly shattered ... it could be the constant stream of raw emotions I seem to be encountering lately ... or it could just be the stress of going in too many directions all at once ... Whatever it is, it is tiring and it has worn away at my optimism to the point where I truly wonder if being hopeful is nothing more then a foolish undertaking in the face of what seems to be an increasingly mean and nasty world ...<br />
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But then, I visited my blogger friends ... Blake and his poetic words of beauty ... Katie and her sharp NYC observations of life ... CandyGirlFlies (one of my long standing friends) and her humourous and pointed reflections of life's fullness ... and Rev Audrey a former classmate and colleague who inspires me with her candor and her questions ... my list goes on ... I have several favourite blogs - but this will suffice ... As I read their words, and reflect on their observations and journeys I feel the dreariness lifting ... I find myself smiling, even amid tears from time to time ... and my heart reclaims its hope.<br />
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Hope is a precious thing ... even when we think we've lost it ... it comes back stronger than ever.<br />
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Today, despite the sadness and the heaviness in my heart ... I have found the glimmer of hope I needed and yearned for ... and it came (like this should surprise me) from the hands (or more appropriately the keyboards) of my friends!!<br />
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Onward and upward as they say ... Hope is not only alive - it is what motivates us to face challenges and to engineer and experience TRANSFORMATION!!!<br />
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<br />Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-87557706876045626652013-04-18T12:19:00.002-04:002013-04-18T12:19:33.421-04:00Somewhere over the rainbow ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have watched it countless times ... I have a collection of memorabilia, books, and collectibles about it ... I have multiple copies of it on VHS, dvd, and blu-ray ... I know it almost by heart ... and I LOVE this movie.<br />
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But until last night, I had never seen it way it was produced to see - ON THE BIG SCREEN!!<br />
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Thanks to a special "Classic Movie" screening in Owen Sound I can finally say I've seen The Wizard of Oz on the big screen the way it meant to be seen.<br />
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It may not be a glitzy or glamorous as the latest CGI driven offerings from Hollywood, but this simple story of a journey through a strange and wondrous land full of memorable characters, and timeless scenes is and remains one of my favourite films, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing it on the Big Screen for the first time.<br />
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... Just had to share this ... Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-53422021255856681842013-04-16T12:17:00.001-04:002013-04-16T12:17:40.454-04:00Peeling back the layers ... adding to the stories ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Work in Highland Grounds future homes continues in fits and starts. Last week the wiring and the plumbing was transforming the former Hardware Store (it has been a hardware store since Mr Duncan first turned the key in the 1930's), into a community place to gather, enjoy a coffee or tea, and just hang out ...<br />
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At times it seems infuriatingly slow, while other times I feel breathless trying to catch up to what is happening. This morning my cell phone rang to tell me, via a phone tag relay, that a semi was sitting out front wanting to drop something off ... I returned home to find a Facebook update about the truck blocking downtown Flesherton (for those who haven't been here - a semi parked awkwardly on the road in downtown Flesherton pretty much blocks about 1/3 of the downtown!!!) The joy of Small Town Life!!!<br />
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In time, we'll look back on this busy, chaotic, hectic, frustrating and bizarre chapter with fondness. When the key officially turns on the grand opening of this long awaited coffee shop, it will be with great joy that we embark on this new chapter ... In the meantime, I find myself periodically overwhelmed with the events happening around me, and so I have to pause and seek a quiet place to find my centre again.<br />
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Last week one afternoon I went into the shop and surveyed all that was happening and sat down with a notebook and a pen and wrote the following reflection on where things are at, and what is happening. Amidst the new roughed in walls, the piles of furnishings, equipment and other assorted assundry, and with exposed bricks that have not seen the light of day in 80 years, I thought about what was unfolding and penned these words that I would like to now share:<br />
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<i>Ah, the smell of freshly cut timber, the twang of new plumbing, and the chemical scent of wiring and other assorted stuff that goes along with renovations ... </i><br />
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<i>All around me are the very obvious signs of something new coming into being. </i><br />
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<i>Piles of furniture awaiting their final placement. Vanities, sinks, toilets and assorted assundry waiting for their installation.</i><br />
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<i>Paint, rollers, brushes and tarps, bare stud walls, exposed wiring and new plumbing. </i><br />
<i><br />Simultaneously, this venture that will be Highland Grounds is both exciting and terrifying. I've only dreamt of such an undertaking, I've never truly envisioned doing it. Yet here we are in the middle of making it happy. </i><br />
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<i>Like a mythic phoenix rising from the ashes of what once was, this simple coffee shop (Highland Grounds) is emerging from the last 36 months of transition, loss, grief and struggle. It will not replace what has been, but will open a new chapter of what WILL be. </i><br />
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<i>After a half a dozen long years of life bouncing from place to place, and wondering where I fit in with my life and ministry, I feel blessed and privileged to find myself in a place that feels right, and that has supported and encouraged me in dreaming beyond the mundane of this moment. </i><br />
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<i>As I stand, or rather sit on a wooden stool, in the middle of this work space - the renos begun - the bones of what will be in place - I realize that this Tent Making (to use a Biblical Allusion) is more than just a new job or a new business venture. </i><br />
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<i>It is a new expression of ministry, it is a form of outreach that embraces many of the values people of faith and people with a deep spirituality hold but have failed to find in the confines of Traditional Church. </i><br />
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<i>The very nature of Fair Trade, is about JUSTICE and helping people realize their full potential economically and socially. On a more local scale, the very act of pouring a cup of coffee, and offering the gift of hospitality is the very foundation on which our culture and our faith rests. </i><br />
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<i>The centrality of the kitchen table began with the hearth of the First People, continued in the settlers cabins with the rough hewn boards slapped together and standing before the warm wood stove, and it continues to the islands, tables and and counters around which much of the life within our homes focuses. </i><br />
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<i>The kitchen is the very heartbeat of our homes, and the kitchen table is where our family sits in fellowship, and offers hospitality to friends, strangers and even foes without hesitation. </i><br />
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<i>In recent days, I've come to realize how deeply imprinted the actions of my Great-Grandmother (a resident of Grey County) are impressed in my being. Our visits to the farm house just outside of Desboro were marked with an abundance of coffee, tea, juice and an INCREDIBLE assortment of baked goodies that seemed ENDLESS. </i><br />
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<i>Looking back, I remember the barn, and the outbuildings, the apple orchard and the path out to the woodlot, but I have NO MEMORY of the house itself beyond the kitchen!!!</i><br />
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<i>We visited in the kitchen with its table and chairs and Uncle Newt's couch under the window looking out to the road. </i><br />
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<i>The kitchen was the very heart of the home, and it was where Grandma Cain offered her hospitality in ABUNDANCE!!! </i><br />
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<i>It is my hope, and dream that Highland Grounds will become the kitchen table for Flesherton, Eugenia, Ceylon, Maxwell, Priceville, Feversham, Proton Station, and beyond. </i><br />
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<i> Like the many kitchen tables, and the table that sits central in the life and ministry of every Church, our tables will be where friendships are nurtured and forged, where life is discussed and shared, where the world's problems are solved with some simple common sense, and conversations about everything imaginable are exchanged and encouraged. Highland Grounds is about building community and seeking justice, and caring for one another ONE CUP OF COFFEE AT A TIME!!! </i><br />
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<i>I hold no illusions that this will be easy. But I know in the core of my being, that like everything in ministry, it will - looking back - be rewarding and joyous. </i><br />
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<i>Soon the coffee will be ready, and the mugs will be filled in the name of Community, and ALL will be WELCOME !!!! </i><br />
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<i>Join us !!!</i><br />
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Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-44194457469796768142013-03-25T12:45:00.002-04:002013-03-25T12:45:41.285-04:00What lies ahead ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The rush of Palm Sunday has come and gone ... my day started early on Saturday with getting things ready for a number of happenings in the building at St John's ... then mid-morning the puck dropped on the final hockey tournament of the year for Ms H's hockey team ... when the final buzzer ended, I dashed out the door to prep and preside at a celebration of life for one of our community saints who had their earthly life draw to a close ... when the service and tea had ended, it was back to the arena for the next tournament game ... <br />
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Saturday ended early with me crawling into bed long before my normal time ... then Sunday began just as the sun was rising over the horizon and was another scurry of activity and busy-ness ... prep for worship, breakfast and out the door for our Palm Sunday Communion services followed too closely by the third and final game for Ms H's team ...<br />
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Now, in the quiet of a new week, like the streets of Jerusalem in the days following the triumphant entry into the city, I find myself in a place of quiet ... but am very aware of the echo of busy-ness and the grind of the world resonating up and down the streets and laneways ... I yearn to have a place of solitude, but the world keeps breaking in and overwhelming me with 'must do' tasks and chores ... I know what lies ahead and what needs to be done, but there is so much that must be addressed first ...<br />
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The moniker of HOLY Weeks is apt ... the Holy is found in the unexpected places, and it is the Holy that carries us through when our feet weaken and our steps falter and we stumble under the weight of all we may be foolishly carrying ... in the coming hours and days, the journey leads into some dark shadowy places, where life seems undervalued and violence and suffering dominant ... the Holy reminds us in those moments when our breath is taken, that the Spirit moves in and through us, and we are given strength and courage to keep moving forward ...<br />
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Holy Week is about having the faith to keep moving forward and knowing that no matter what may be happening God is with us ... As Jesus stood on the hill overlooking Jerusalem as the triumphant procession began to move forward he know doubt drew a deep breath and said a prayer of thanks that God would be with him no matter what ... <br />
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... it's THAT simple ... <br />
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Dayenu!!Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-64836974345255220922013-03-20T13:48:00.000-04:002013-03-20T13:48:31.767-04:00Dare to Dream ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are days when I question my sanity right now ... I'm in my mid-40's, working full time, and within the next five years I will have the proverbial empty nest ... and here I am about to start a new business venture that will no doubt absorb huge amounts of time and energy to get it up and running ...<br />
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In an average week I flip from scared silly to excited when I consider the bits and pieces we are pulling together under the banner of Highland Grounds.<br />
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On the upside, I've pulled together a talented team of people who have been helping me move forward from the pie in the sky dream of opening a Fair Trade Coffee shop, to actually making this dream a reality.<br />
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Ms H and her circle of friends have been a big part of the creativity and energy that has helped envision the space, and the concept that Highland Grounds will be. They even helped craft the name that will soon emblazon the historic Duncan Block in downtown Flesherton!<br />
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Wayne and Linda have entered my life as friends, and their creativity and vision have given me so much ... colleague and friend Mark has been enlisted to harness his wood working skills to provide disctinctive one-of-a-kind furnishings that will give our Shop character and flavour ... <br />
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Graham has come on board with his trademark giggle and a willingness to see this dream to reality ...<br />
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There have been moments when I've been ready to thrown in the towel and just admit that I'm in way over my head ... but in those moments a faint glimmer of hope has broken through and the right person has offered the right advice, guidance and inspiration to get me out of the 'blahs' I may find myself in, and moving forward.<br />
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There is still A LOT of work to be done, and despite more then a few set backs and mis-steps, I feel more confident today about what lies ahead then I have in a very very very long time.<br />
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I don't think this will suddenly be an easy carefree endeavour. But I feel blessed and fortunate to have assembled a team of people who have shared their talents, their enthusiasm and their support in moving this dream into reality. Looking ahead, I have a talented and capable team of folks (adults and teens) who have expressed an interest in stepping up and backing the Highland Grounds logo when the door finally opens. They share the dream and want to be part of it, and I feel deeply blessed for their willingness and ability to join in the fray.<br />
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No one knows what the future will hold, and I can't even offer a firm date on when we will turn the key on our new venture, but I know it WILL happen, and when it does, it will offer Flesherton and the Grey Highlands a great place to gather and enjoy a quality beverage surrounded by people who share the knowledge that our world can be made a better place ONE CUP OF COFFEE AT A TIME!!!!<br />
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Stay tuned ... more updates WILL follow!!!<br />
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<br />Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-63011520102851953812013-03-20T13:30:00.000-04:002013-03-20T13:30:19.299-04:00The Long and Winding Road ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In recent months I've moved from being an obsessive blogger to being an occassional blogger to spending weeks not blogging at all ... it's not that I don't have things to reflect and muse on, it's just I've been feeling SO overwhelmed by life, the universe and everything that I have opted to spend my downtime playing pointless online and computer games rather then reading, writing or blogging ...<br />
<br />
Gearing up for the opening of my dream of a Fair Trade Coffee Shop and retail outlet in Flesherton called Highland Grounds, and ALL of the work that has entailed has absorbed enormous amounts of my already precious spare time ... along the way a full time job, being a parent, traveling to and fro for hockey, and just trying to keep up with life has kept me too busy. Many days I want to be left alone. I don't want to talk on the phone, I don't want to answer emails, I just want to lie in my bed and simply be.<br />
<br />
Looking back, I understand what has been going on ... since January 2011 when Mom died, followed too quickly by Mr Baumbach, Scott and Indigo, I have been left reeling ... I barely had time to catch my breath and wipe away my tears before another significant person in my life died ... as as I grieved, so too did my children ... and they needed me for support, while I struggled just to keep moving forward ...<br />
<br />
My habit of stubbornly putting my head down and simply ploughing forward helped get through the mess I found myself in, but did little to address the burdens I was carrying, or the sorrow I was experiencing ... "I'm fine" became my defensive position and I kept more to myself then I care to admit to ...<br />
<br />
Looking back, I can say clearly I was far from fine.<br />
<br />
There is much I wish I could unwind and re-do ... but life seldom gives us that opportunity.<br />
<br />
Instead we keep moving forward, ask for forgiveness where we can, and learn from our bruises with the hope (sometimes in vain) that we'll learn from our mistakes and perhaps avoid the same actions in the future.<br />
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This past two weeks, my health crashed in a way I haven't experienced since the deep dark days in Bella Coola that helped me see then, that it was time to seek a change in Pastoral Relations before the ebbs and flows consumed me and did more damage to people and a place I valued ... This time around my crash has been purely and totally about exhaustion,<br />
<br />
I've gone too long doing too much and not looking after myself, all the while saying "I'm fine."<br />
<br />
Last week whatever bug that hit me, managed to prove the falseness of that claim.<br />
<br />
Now after nine LONG days of being sick, I am feeling better. I am far from 100%, but I'm feeling much better then I have in the last week.<br />
<br />
I am on the verge of Holy Week - the most exhausting and exhilarating week in our Church calender - and I am not sure where my energy levels will be. But, from where I stand right now, I know that as I have 20 times previously, (with one notable year I was sidelined!!), I will get through the events and happenings. Over the last three years the dark shadowy corners we speak of in Holy Week have been deeply personal places where my grief and sorrow has been real and sharp ... thankfully though, the intent of our Easter Journey is not to sit forever in those dark shadowy corners, but to continue from the suffering and dying to a place where we stand blinking in the sun of a new morning proclaiming the power of the Resurrection.<br />
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If I were to describe where I sit today, I would say it is like sitting on the hillside on Easter Saturday as the sun is setting ... I've come to grips with the suffering and the dying ... I've lingered in the quietness of the graveyard ... I've know the depth of loss that has unfolded and overwhelmed us ... and yet, in the quiet setting of the sun I also KNOW that something extraordinary is about to unfold ... something transformative is about to be revealed ...<br />
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Easter is about daring to journey into the dark and shadowy places knowing that God is with us and that together we WILL stand blinking in the sun feeling the power and warmth of the Resurrection ...<br />
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It's a journey made one step at a time ... we will always have mis-steps and moments when we want to sit and weep ... but in time we will be able to look back at our travels through the deep, dark valleys and realize how much brighter and better things are getting ...<br />
<br />
... this is the path of faith we are called to follow ... a path of life, love and laughter!<br />
<br />
<br />
Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-73816556013621382252013-01-24T12:42:00.001-05:002013-01-24T12:42:12.417-05:00My two cents ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbFf56xqUqOhkrNXPMIL_DEBFL-A1V9qeVfPO_IpkU3ka9ZV7YErN5cl7dVPFa-L47BCW878za2Q1I5ZWnwP_JPCv63mq-d-eiW_oojCihj-pIPdS0w7wcbHZLa8vp3Ls7K9Irg/s1600/2cents.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbFf56xqUqOhkrNXPMIL_DEBFL-A1V9qeVfPO_IpkU3ka9ZV7YErN5cl7dVPFa-L47BCW878za2Q1I5ZWnwP_JPCv63mq-d-eiW_oojCihj-pIPdS0w7wcbHZLa8vp3Ls7K9Irg/s1600/2cents.JPG" height="400" width="298" /></a></div>
On the eve of the final demise of the Canadian Penny, I can't help but share my 'two cents' pictured above.<br />
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They are not special nor are they remarkable. They are just two little pennies that I found in September while we were getting mom's house ready for the Auction sale that cleaned out the final items in the house.<br />
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The two pennies had been sitting on a shelf above Dad's workbench in the basement, likely since he put them there 45 years ago ... They were tucked back against the cement wall with items that I don't ever remember moving or touching ... given the dates, I would imagine Dad took them out of his pocket and put them on the shelf while he was puttering around the workbench, and there they sat until I found them 45 years later and put them in my pocket and carried them home ...<br />
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They have no monetary value beyond the 2 cents they are worth. But the value they carry because I can place them in Dad's hand sometime before he died, makes them precious ... I've tucked them in a simple wooden box I bought for mom when I was touring the Middle East during my University years, and that she used to store mementoes I had given her over the years ... in the box along with the pennies are a cheap wooden and plastic crucifix I bought for a shekel from a Coptic Priest sitting at the back of the 'Tomb of Jesus' in the Church of the Holy Sepluchre in Jerusalem, a mother-of-pearl brooch I bought her in Cairo, and other assorted odds and ends I had given her over the years ... like the pennies, none of the items are valuable in and of themselves, but because now, two years after her death, I can open the box and remember her and the moments in time when I gave her those trinkets, they are precious.<br />
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They are precious because Mom put them aside in a special box that in turn sat on her dresser amid the other items that were important touchstones to her ... every once in awhile when it is quiet, I open the box and let my finger run over the assorted items contained within it, and I smile ... they may not be valuable, but they are important ...<br />
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... my two cents'!!! Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-21553083538748693782013-01-24T12:20:00.000-05:002013-01-24T12:22:50.829-05:00A New Chapter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
I can hear my mother saying "What are you doing??"<br />
<br />
Yet, despite moving from excited to terrified and back again with regularlity, I am moving forward slowly and intentionally on my new dream ...<br />
<br />
The building pictured above is mine. The final sale went through last week, and we're in the process of getting it ready to be a Local Coffee Shop specializing in Fair Trade Products and local food, craft and artisan products as well.<br />
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Highland Grounds will have an echo of Chipperfield Coffee Company in Minnedosa and Forbidden Flavours in Brandon - but it will be it's own distinctive Flesherton creation ... I know what I want it to be, and I've heard what the local folks have said they are looking for, and right now we are working to bring those two streams together, and create a community hub for the Flesherton and Grey Highlands area.<br />
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The goal is to be open sometime in mid to late March, with an official 'Grand Opening' after Easter, but for now I will be uncommittal around dates - there is a lot of work to be done, and as we move forward there is little doubt plans will have to change and alter as we learn more about the building, and more about the business we've proposed.<br />
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The bottom line, as of today is Highland Grounds will be a coffee shop specializing in the provision of high quality Fair Trade products, while providing a place for people to come and sit and enjoy the ambience of a building that has been an integral part of 'Downtown' Flesherton for three generations as a Hardware Store. That legacy will be honoured and continued, and Highland Grounds will strive to be an active and unrepentent promotor of the other local businesses, and the many wonderful things that are happening in and around Flesherton throughout the year.<br />
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When the door is finally opened for business, I look forward to welcoming you all into this exciting (and slightly terrifying) undertaking - and I will be proud to pour you a cup of Fair Trade Coffee and share this dream with you ...<br />
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See you soon !!!<br />
<br />Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21234701.post-30415520287113312022013-01-11T10:45:00.002-05:002013-01-11T10:45:33.570-05:00Marking the day ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Two years ago this morning I answered the phone and my world dramatically changed ...<br />
<br />
Scott said "Um, ... yeah ... mom died this morning ..."<br />
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The morning that followed was a blur ... and much of the next 24 months remains a blur ...<br />
<br />
Mom died. We prepared for her service and began cleaning up around the house and getting ready to clean it out once and for all ... then our neighbour, mentor, friend and father figure Laverne died and I was asked to deliver the eulogy for his service ...<br />
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On the way back from the funeral, Scott gave me what I will forever cherish as the most important compliment I've ever received. While driving he said, "you know you're pretty good at doing that ..."<br />
<br />
"Doing what?"<br />
"Funerals. I mean you planned Mom's with Kathy and it was great. And Laverne's was really good. You got us laughing, then almost to tears and back to laughing, all by telling the stories of who he was and what he meant to us. You're good."<br />
I choked out a thank you, then after a quiet moment he said: "I want you to do my eulogy."<br />
"What?"<br />
"I want you to do my eulogy." he repeated.<br />
"I thought you were going to out live me so you can dance on my grave?" I offered in return.<br />
"Oh yeah," Scott laughed, "I am. But you know you can never be sure. It's good to have a plan in place just in case you know!"<br />
<br />
After we laughed our conversation turned to other more mundane things like the meeting we had with the lawyer and the storm that hit that afternoon and kept me in Stratford til the next morning.<br />
<br />
Two weeks later, I would make a very long cold drive on a February night to find Scott lying dead in his bed, and a week later I would fulfil that request and deliver the eulogy at his memorial ...<br />
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Looking back it has been a LONG two years ... after Mom, Mr Baumbach and Scott I went to BC to say farewell to our friend Indigo, then spend endless hours cleaning, sorting and pitching the 50 plus years of stuff gathered in the house we called home ... along the way I've settled their affairs and estate, sorted and cleaned and sold off much of the stuff, had two break ins at the bush, and have filled my house with mementos and remembrances of my life ...<br />
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Looking forward, I'm on the verge of opening a new business in Flesherton to offer Fair Trade coffee and a place for the community to come and gather and celebrate all things LOCAL, and my children are standing on the verge of adulthood, having grown considerably in the last couple of years with all of life's ups and downs and twists and turns.<br />
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There is much I would do differently if given a chance, and there are things I wish I could unwind. But in life you can only keep moving forward and trusting in the simple reality that with each step you heal and learn and grow ...<br />
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It's been a long two years ... there is not a day that passes that I don't miss Mom and Scott and wonder how different things would be if they were still here ... I miss Mom's phone calls ... I miss the occasional conversation Scott and I were able to have ... and I miss the expressions and comments he could and would always offer ... I miss them, but I'm glad I had that last six months to get reacquainted and reconnected with them.<br />
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Today, all through my house I am reminded of them ... and that makes me able to smile more then weep ...<br />
<br />Reverend Shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17592815717779408231noreply@blogger.com0