This will be An Interesting Process...

In 2 years all Pastoral Charges will be asked to vote on our words of faith. The following is from the National Website:

In August 2009, meeting in Kelowna, British Columbia, the 40th General Council adopted the following proposal:

That the 40th General Council 2009

1. in the area of Doctrine, The United Church of Canada recognizes the primacy of Scripture, with the “Doctrine Section of the Basis of Union,” “1940 Statement of Faith,” “A New Creed,” and “A Song of Faith,” each being recognized as a “subordinate standard” of the United Church as contemplated by Declaration 28(b) of The United Church of Canada Act.
2. declare that “Doctrine” of the United Church for all purposes in the Basis of Union, By-Laws, and Appendices of The Manual be those subordinate standards, subordinate to Scripture, that are so approved by the United Church in accordance with the conditions contained within The United Church of Canada Act; and
3. authorize a remit to Presbyteries and to Pastoral Charges to test the will of the United Church with respect to these declarations and recognition.

Motion: John Young/Doug Wright

This remit is what is known as a Category Three remit requiring that a study process be available in the church for two years prior to its release. The formal remit will be issued by the Executive of General Council between January and May 2012.

This background document [PDF: 36 pp/168 KB] is provided to the church to enable it to prepare for the remit and to encourage study of its implications.

A Map of the United Church

What does it look like to be a national church?

This map will show you one way to answer that question. It plots all the Pastoral Charges in the United Church of Canada according to their mailing address.

A Study REsource

Retired United Church of Canada Minster John Shearman has posted a blog reflecting on and probing into the Christmas stories.  John is the same person who wrote the blog we used here a Riverview as a basis for our Revelation study last year.  John also writes weekly reflections on the lectionary readings and these reflections are one of the resources Gord uses on a regular basis.

You can read The Nativity of JEsus here

New Study Group in January!

Here's A NEat Idea!

An Online Advent Calendar, click a window a day.

Find it here

BIble Study Group

Have you ever wondered what to do with the book of REvelation?

THe last book of the Bible is a plan for the future to some, frightening to others, and confusing to many. Here at Riverview we will be gathering to talk about the book. The study will meet Thursdays at 1:00 in Boyle Lounge starting February 26. We will be using a study created by a retired United Church minister as our resource.

For more information give Gord a call.

Advance Notice for Annual Meeting

The Annual Congregational meeting this year will be on February 1.

One of the items of business will be a proposed congregational structure document. There are copies of this available at the church for review beforehand. If you can't find one please talk to Gord.

SO the Church Geeks amongst us can enjoy!

OR at least that would be my guess.

The General COuncil Office now has a link to a variety of Church Documents. This includes minutes of GCE and letters from the MOderator and other stuff (with more to be added I assume.

You can find it here

Christmas Messages from the Moderator

AS Christmas draws near the National Church has published a number of messages from the Right Reverend David Giuliano, Moderator of the United Church of Canada.

David has written a prayer for peace in Bethlehem. Read some background about this here

Or you could read the Observer piece Our Place in the Pageant

ANd then there is David's video message from the United Church YouTube channel Watch it below:

Help Wanted

As we quickly approach the Advent season we have some opportunities for involvement:

1. Do you want to light the Advent candles one week or on Christmas Eve? Check out the liturgies here and let Gord know.
2. We need an adult woman to be our narrator for our Christmas Pageant Mary Remembers on December 14
3. Also for our pageant we need some props: a wooden chest, a cowbell, some wool (not yarn), and a piece of incense
4. For Christmas Eve Gord is looking for some teens: one girl to talk about Mary's fear and a boy to talk about the Shepherd's fear. Each of these could be a dialogue or a monologue and either done live in the open, done live as a hidden voice, or pre-recorded. Talk to Gord for more information.
5. For the Community -- Coming Together for Kids at Christmas party we need people to help in the kitchen preparing and serving hot dogs and beverages. Also we may be looking for help with a clean-up crew that afternoon.
   

The United Church of Canada may have closed its studio. We may no longer have a weekly TV show. But we now have a YouTube channel.

Check it out here!

Thanksgiving Music

This Sunday is Thanksiving. Here is an old favourite of a thanksgiving hymn:

This is Neat!

The Codex Sinaiticus, which contains the oldest complete copy of the New Testament, is now online. Here is some more about it:

Codex Sinaiticus is one of the most important books in the world. Handwritten well over 1600 years ago, the manuscript contains the Christian Bible in Greek, including the oldest complete copy of the New Testament. Its heavily corrected text is of outstanding importance for the history of the Bible and the manuscript – the oldest substantial book to survive Antiquity – is of supreme importance for the history of the book.

Granted, it is little more than a neat thing to look at for those of us who can't read ancient Greek. But still it is really intriguing.

You can find it here

Pentecost Reflections

Next Sunday is Pentecost, also called the "Birthday of the church". Tomorrow a preview of our worship will be posted.

But today I encourage people to reflect on the meaning of being Spirit-filled. We live in an era where such language is often reserved for sports teams and fans. We live in an era where church is often seen as institutional and even bureaucratic rather than Spirit-filled and vibrant. What would it mean for the church to become more Spirit-led? Would we notice the difference? Might we be more flowing and variable?

This article discusses the way the church moved from being a Spirited and Spirit-led to a more institutional organization. Given that all organizations eventually move toward a more structured way of being it makes sense. But of course that isn't what the church is called to be -- at least in the minds of many.

Ontario Child Benefit

Here is information about a provincial program to help low-income families:

The Ontario Child Benefit is a government program to help low-income families provide for their children. Beginning in July 2008, eligible families will receive up to $50 per child each month.

Your eligibility is based on the number of children in your family and your family income. You may be eligible if you:
* Have a child under 18 and are in a low-income family
* Have filed your income tax return and so has your spouse or common-law partner
* Are registered for the Canada Child Tax Benefit
* Are a resident of Ontario.

For more information, please visit www.ontariochildbenefit.ca.
Brochures are available to download in 23 languages. You can also call toll-free
1-866-821-7770.

Bulletin Cover Collage

Many thanks to Lorena for this striking addition to the church decor!

AN Easter Reflection

THis month's edition of the United Church Observer includes an Easter reflection from the Right Reverend Dr. David Giuliano, moderator of the United Church of Canada. You can read it here.

For information on subscribing to the Observer talk to Gord.

Passion Stories

This is a series of stories (7) for worship on Palm/Passion Sunday a few years ago. Each story was preceded by a verse of Were You There?. The Scripture Passages listed were not read as part of the service but are what the story was based on.

Sing “Were You There when they waved the palms and sang?”

Story #1 – The Parade
Matthew 21:1-11
(Jewish Merchant, has traveled the Empire.)

I was there. I was born here in Jerusalem but it is many years since I have been back for Passover. I am a merchant by trade and my business takes me all around the Eastern part of the Empire. But this year my journeys have brought me back. As I was coming home from Syria I heard stories of this man, this carpenter’s son, who was doing wonderful things and teaching about God’s Word. As I got close to Jerusalem I could hear people shouting and singing. At first I thought this was just excitement about the coming feast but then I saw that there was a man at the center of all this uproar. He was riding on a donkey with cloaks as a saddle. People had spread their cloaks on the ground and pulled branches off the trees to lay on the road as well, making a carpet of sorts.

As I got closer I could hear that people were crying “Hosanna, to the Son of David!” and “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”. I grabbed the arm of one of the men and asked what was going on. He told me that this was Jesus from Nazareth, the carpenter’s son, who was the promised Messiah. This was the one who would save our people from the Romans.
A chill went through me when I heard this. As a boy I had learned the ancient prophecies of a king like David who would come again. And I shared the hope of every Jew for a new Kingdom of Judah. But as a man I had seen what the Romans did to people who threatened the peace. My heart tells me that this man, Jesus, has not long to live. Rome does not like a challenge.


Sing “Were you there when they all shared bread and wine?”

Story #2 – The Upper Room
Matthew 26:14-30
(Woman who had been at the supper)

I was there. I read that story that Matthew wrote. To hear him talk you would have thought that there were only the 13 of them up there for supper. Far from it. There were many more of us but I guess that Matthew didn’t think we were worth mentioning. But the other women and I had walked with Jesus for many days. HE thought we were important. HE showed us that we were beloved Daughters of Abraham. So we wanted to stay with him as long as we could, to feel the love.

That was a strange, almost frightening, meal. Many times I had eaten with Jesus but those meals had always been joyful occasions. Jesus had taught me, taught all of us, how important it was to eat together, how a shared meal showed us that we were all children of God. But that night there was something different about him. Many people in my life have died and often it seems that they know when death is near. That is how Jesus looked that night. His face was drawn, almost painful. Then, out of nowhere he announced that someone in the group would betray him. Someone who had shared food with him would turn him over? None of us could believe it. All of the men denied that they would do such a thing. Jesus just sat there and listened.

Then at the end of the meal he did something I will never forget. He took some of the bread and broke it and gave it to us. He said “Take, eat; this is my body”. Then he took some of the wine and passed it to us and told us to drink it because it was his blood of the new covenant. He went on to talk about the forgiveness of sins and we all shared in the bread and wine. Then he said that he would not eat or drink again until he was in the Father’s kingdom.

I tell you my own blood ran cold then. I was sure that he was about to die right then and there. But he didn’t. Instead we sang a hymn (one of the Psalms I believe) and went out to the Mount of Olives. I was going to stay and clean up but something told me I needed to stay with Jesus.


Sing “Were you there when he knelt and prayed to God”

Story #3 – The Garden
Matthew 26:31-56
(Bystander who happened to have gone to the Garden for some time alone)

I was there. I am not Jewish so I don’t celebrate Passover. But in the middle of the festival there was little else to do so I went out to the Garden by the Mount of Olives to sit and look at the stars. This is something I like to do and think of my home far away, usually I can do it without being disturbed. Imagine my surprise when Jesus and his band came along. I had heard about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and stories about the amazing things he had done so I have to admit I was curious. I hid in the bushes to watch what would happen.

For a man who just days before had been called “King of the Jews” Jesus looked very un-kingly. He said something to his friends about how they would all desert him, he even predicted that one of them – he seemed to be the chief – would deny knowing him 3 times before the cock crew. Jesus looked tired and like he had given up.

While I was thinking about this, Jesus and three of his friends moved some distance away. Still curious, I quietly moved over to where they were. There Jesus started to pray, after asking the other 3 to stay awake and watch with him. I listened carefully to his prayer, wanting to gain some understanding of the Jewish God. It was a prayer of anguish, asking the Father to change something that was about to happen. At the end though, Jesus agreed to let God’s will be done. Then he saw that his friends were sleeping. Jesus woke them and chastised them for their weakness. This happened three times and then I heard the sounds of people approaching.

A large crowd showed up, people from the Jewish priests and elders. Well not the priests and elders themselves but some of their followers. One from the crowd came forward and greeted Jesus with a kiss. This must have been a sign for immediately the crowd seized Jesus. One of his friends drew a sword and was ready to fight but Jesus stopped him, saying that if God had not wanted this to happen angels would come to fight. Jesus asked why they arrested him here instead of in the open light of day but there was no answer.

As the crowd hustled Jesus away I stayed behind. I work with the governor’s court; I had heard what the priests and elders were planning. Having seen Jesus, and heard his anguish, I did not want to see what would happen next. For all intents and purposes he was already dead. And yet I couldn’t help but think that this was someone special. I wish I had met him before now.


Sing “Were you there when his friends all turned and fled?”

Story #4 – Peter’s Denial
Matthew 26:56-58,69-75
(One of the people at the fire with Peter)

I was there. The word had spread like wildfire that Jesus had been arrested. A group of us had gathered in the courtyard to watch what was going to happen. Then, after the crowd passed by, a single man came up alone. For a moment I though he would follow them but he stopped and turned towards us. Some from our group recognized him and asked if he had been with Jesus. Abruptly and with a little bit of fear in his voice the man swore that he did not know Jesus. It was almost as if he was afraid that he would be arrested next. This happened three times and then the cock crowed to welcome the dawn. The stranger looked towards the sound and gave an anguished wail before running out weeping. As he went I heard him say “my Lord how did you know?”


Sing “Were you there when they sentenced him to death??”

Story #5 – The Trial
Matthew 26:59-68; 27:11-31
(A member of the Council)

I was there. For several weeks we had taken time at meetings of the council to talk about the stories we heard about this man Jesus, the one said to be the Messiah. We were troubled by what we heard. Several religious leaders who had met the man said that while he was a powerful speaker he did not seem to feel bound by instructions from the current leadership. Not only that, but he was teaching that the current system was wrong, that it prevented people from being who God wanted them to be. This was an obvious challenge to our authority.

Then there was that dreadful exhibition on the road in from Bethphage. Did those fools forget about the Roman legions? Did they really think that Rome would stand by peacefully and watch a rebellion begin? All this talk about the “King of the Jews”, and “the one who comes in the name of the Lord”. Absolute rubbish I tell you. Certainly we would know when the Messiah had come. We would be the first to welcome him. Then this so-called Messiah disrupts proper commerce in the Temple! Obviously we had to do something so when one of his followers offered to help us arrest him we jumped at the chance.

I don’t know what Judas thought was going to happen but let me tell you, we were determined that this troublemaker needed to die. If people followed his example the Romans might think we had lost control and then where would we be? Dead is my guess. Surely it was better that this nobody from Galilee die instead. So we had a trial and were able, finally, to convict him of blasphemy. This way the crowd was back on our side – or at least the crowd that was there that night.

Unfortunately, we needed the help of Rome so we took Jesus before Pilate. We made many charges against him so that Pilate would agree to an execution but Jesus just stood there and said nothing. Odd that, I expected that he would at least TRY to defend himself. This seemed to impress Pilate somehow.

Pilate offered to release someone from prison because it was Passover. He suggested it be Jesus but we did not want him around to make more trouble. So we worked the crowd. We got them stirred up and had them demand that Pilate release some man named Barrabbas and execute Jesus. Pilate asked several times but we got the crowd to yell louder and louder. Finally Pilate was convinced and made an attempt to put all the blame back on the crowd and us. But believe me, it was to Pilate’s advantage to get rid of Jesus too.

The Roman soldiers had no problem with the decision – in fact they had a great time mocking the “King of the Jews”, beating him and mocking him before taking him away.


Sing “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”

Story #6 – The Crucifixion
Matthew 27:32-56
(Roman Legionary)

I was there. In my years in the legions I have attended more crucifixions then I can count. They are never pleasant things but they do help keep the peace. It is amazing what the sight of a few troublemakers hanging on a cross will do to make other people think twice. But there was something different about this man. When we got to the place of execution it was our custom to offer the condemned a drink formulated to numb their inevitable pain. This was done partly out of mercy but mainly for our own benefit. A drugged man does not fight nearly as much nor scream as much. Those screams always haunted me after a crucifixion. But this man, the one they called Jesus, he refused to take the drink. Well we put him on the cross and raised him up then we sat down to divide his possessions and wait for him to die. As a warning to others who would dare challenge Roman might we put a sign above his head. The centurion read it to us: This is Jesus, King of the Jews”.

While he was hanging there a large crowd gathered. They taunted the man, challenging him to show the power of God since he was supposedly God’s Son. The man ignored them. Then around midday the sky grew very dark and stayed that way for a long time. And still this “King” had not screamed in pain. I was amazed at his composure and courage. Finally, after three hours of darkness he screamed something in his own language. Later one of my Jewish friends said that Jesus had asked why God had abandoned him. So I guess he did feel the pain after all. With another cry his body went limp. He was dead.

That death was an eerie event, and I have seen many men die. The sky, the very earth seemed to shake and roar. We were all very afraid. My centurion muttered something about this really being the Son of God and then I was really afraid. What would this God of the Jews do to US if we had truly killed his Son?

As I fled from that hilltop I saw a small group of women standing off to one side. They just stood there crying and staring at everything that had happened. Even when the hill was bare they still kept a vigil. What great love they must have had for him – to stay when everyone else had fled.


Sing “Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?”

Story #7 – The Tomb
Matthew 27:57-66
(One of the women, watching)

I was there, watching. We had never stopped watching. All day the group of us stood there and watched our beloved Jesus die. Watched and wept. Then after he was dead the soldiers took his body off of the cross and gave it to a man named Joseph. HE wrapped the body up and had his servants help him carry Jesus to a tomb in the rock. They laid our friend and teacher to rest and put a large rock in front of the grave. And still we watched. We didn’t talk to each other. Who had any idea what to say? We just sat there. Then, while we watched and wept, one of the priests came with a group of soldiers. We heard the instructions: “Stand here and make sure no-one steals his body!” We were stunned, why would someone steal a body? Then the soldiers make the tomb as tightly sealed as they could. And still we watched and wept.

Eventually the day grew late and we had to leave to celebrate the Sabbath. (As if we wanted to celebrate anything. But Sabbath comes no matter what else happens, life keeps going.) Mary promised all of us that she would come back after Sabbath. She would bring spices and ensure that Jesus, who we loved, was properly taken care of. And so we left.

Installing Love

This was a part of Ralph Milton's e-zine Rumors this morning. (To subscribe to Rumors send a blank e-mail here). Ralph writes about it:

This from Chris Duxbury in Australia. It's been bopping around the internet for years, and Chris is simply the last person to send it to me. I'm not sure why I've resisted putting it here in Rumors. But I will trust your powers of discernment because it's interesting and quite possibly useful to you.

Tech Support: Yes? How can I help you?
Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love. Can you guide me through the process?
TS: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?
Cus: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?
TS: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?
Cus: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are Running?
TS: What programs are running?
Cus: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.
TS: No problem. Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?
Cus: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?
TS: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.
Cus: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?
TS: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.
Cus: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - Program not run on external components." What should I do?
TS: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.
Cus: So, what should I do?
TS: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.
Cus: Okay, done.
TS: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.
Cus: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?
TS: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.
Cus: Thank you, God.

FAith Study Groups Starting Soon:

As the New Year starts so will 2 new Faith Study Groups:

1. Island Journeys: From Newfoundland to the Philppines This is a 6 session study written by The Very Rev. Marion Pardy when she was Moderator and has been provided through the United Church Observer. It will be on Thursday afternoons at 1:00 and starts on January 24.

2. Honouring Our Neighbour's Faith This is a study looking at different faith traditions, both of differing Christian denominations and of non-Christian faiths. We will use the book of the same name and one called How to Be a Perfect Stranger: Volume 1: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies as our starting points and references. This study will be on Wednesday evenings at 7:oo and starts on January 23.

Both will meet in Boyle Lounge at the Church. For more information give Gord a call.