This morning, a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning in July, was the Sunday on which our Church commemorated Canada Day this year. I felt very invigorated by this morning's service. I always love singing the second verse of the National Anthem as found in our hymnals, which serves as a reminder of just what our country means and can mean.  A major theme of this morning's service was commissioning, with Aisling being commissioned to go to the Ukraine and Hungary on a mission trip as a youth leader, and with Karen's sermon focused on Jesus sending his disciples out to preach his gospel. 

Karen also spoke powerfully about Jesus coming home to Nazareth and the resistances he faced being a prophet in his own country, which is a story from the bible I find it useful to ponder, especially on Canada Day, when we are thinking about our country: what are the implications of this to speaking and living the gospel within OUR own country?  Lots of questions worth thinking about. 

For me, also, the most moving moment was hearing my little son reading the Psalm aloud in church for the first time.  He is only six, and it was very moving for me to hear his little voice saying "I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living".  This line from Psalm 27 resonated with me in particular this week as I am contemplating in particular the land of Canada, and how to be part of ensuring the goodness of the Lord is manifested here, and it also resonated with me because, when an African American activist, Bree Newsome climbed the flagpole of the South Carolina statehouse last week and removed the Confederate Flag hanging there before being arrested, she said aloud this psalm, and her voice, quite calm, and even small, not unlike that we heard this morning, is captured on video at this link: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2015/06/28/i-believe-that-i-shall-see-the-goodness-of-the-lord-in-the-land-of-the-living/

Rebecca B.