Remembrance Sunday

Near the Pool of Bethsaida, Jerusalem.
Photo: Elizabeth P.

I stood in honour of our veterans as they entered the sanctuary, and as I listened to Rev. Dr. Dimock called out the names of St. Andrew’s Honour Roll; I wondered how often they cried out, how long? I can only imagine… how long will this battle last; how long until I see my loved ones; how long until I can rest my tired body; how long until there will be peace; how long until I will no longer see these images of war? Even with these questions they stood watch for us, and braved their life for our freedom and peace.

It is with deepest gratitude of our service men and women, we are able to live freely and continue to spread God’s love. We can spread His love all around. We saw this as we witnessed in wonder as Rev. Dr. Scott taught us about his service as a minister in the Armed Forces, and his church in a bag.

It is God’s love that I pray embraces those that lost their lives during war, veterans, active service men and women, and all of their families not only on Remembrance Day, but all days.

“O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home”.  Isaac Watts

Colleen G.

Mustard seed, Moominmolly on Flickr.

This reformation Sunday, our guest minister, the Rev. Dr. Sarah Travis, preached to us using the parable of the mustard seed.

As it grew to unprecedented size, the mustard seed was able to shelter all manner of beings.  We are challenged to work so that the Kingdom of God is able to grow within and outside of us to similar unprecedented size. Sometimes we feel that God’s Kingdom is simply a seed—not yet showing the potential growth and strength it has.  At other times, we see it growing in small and large ways, but have we yet (or will we ever in our lifetime) see its full growth?

As Christians, we look to the Kingdom of God for hope.  We are daily reminded of the results of natural and man-made disaster.  Yet always, our peace is found in the surety that God is with us always.  There is hope in spite of the hopelessness so often seen around us.  We are called to plant, protect, and then wait.

The Kingdom of God surely is our strength.

Billie S.

Sunday, October 23

Maybe it's because I've been listening all week to the results of baseball games on CBC or maybe it's because the football season is working its way along to the Grey Cup again but I've been thinking about teams a lot recently.  What has this got to do with St. Andrew's? Turns out it has a great deal to do with this church.

In today's Meditation, Karen said that David walked with God and God walked with David... that they were a team.  This Meditation ...a team effort, by the way... followed hard on the heels of a most glorious anthem offered by our choral team.  We were treated earlier in the service to the sweetness of another choral offering by our kids' team. We may have enjoyed a quiet chat afterwards with coffee and cookies provided by the hospitality team. There are so many teams which work so quietly behind the scenes to bring about the works of this church. 

Karen had also remarked that God's people are set apart for something special and I think that something special is teamwork.  Indeed without teamwork there would be no church.  All this within the framework of the hymn sung today: Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth, shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth. Without God's hand, our efforts are lost; with God's help, what can we not achieve?

Laura M.
 

Remembering God's work through St. Andreans in the past

A fascinating read in The Beechwood Way - on the front page an article about the restoration of the monument for Rev. Durie, a Minister of St. Andrew's who died in 1847 from typhus after tending to the sick in the epidemic.

And page 2 mentions Dr. Peter Bryce, a former member of St. Andrew's who has in recent years been recognised for his early reporting on medical conditions within the residential schools system. (As part of our planned Canada 150 celebrations we are working towards an event about Dr. Peter Bryce on National Aboriginal Day 2017.)

Read it here: http://www.beechwoodottawa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/The-Beechwood-Way-42-PDF.pdf

Sunday October 16

It is Anniversary Sunday at St. Andrew's and we celebrate 188 years of worship here. I wonder what the theme was at that first sermon?

One of the readings this morning was Ruth 3:1-5 and 4:13-22.  What an amazing story! The Book of Ruth is one of only two books of the Bible to be named after women.

Ruth lived in a patriarchal society and as a widow she was vulnerable.  It reads like a rom-com but in reality, Ruth and Naomi 'made it' in a man's world and made liturgical law work for them.
Rev. Sandy Scott sees Ruth's story as a protest statement - a story of gender, power and politics.  Have things changed in 3000 years?

What did I take away from the sermon this morning?

God is concerned about all people regardless of race, nationality, gender or status. Ruth was not a Jew. She was a Moabite.  Although many discriminated against her God did not.  Everyone is important in God's eyes.

Jeanie H.

Responding to Hurricane Matthew

Photo: http://www.marcodepestrefoundationofottawa.org. (Used with permission)

In the last week Hurricane Matthew has struck Haiti leaving devastation in its wake. Torrential rain has overwhelmed communities—leaving hundreds dead and with significant flooding and housing damage reported. Mudslides and flash flooding remain a concern across the country, though it is too early to determine the full extent of the damage.

News from Maro Verger tells us that the school building has survived. Paint was lost from one of the walls and and the water tank for sanitation on the roof was blown away and later recovered. There is no news of fatalities but homes have been destroyed as well as crops and livestock has been lost. It has been devastating. Our prayers and help is certainly needed.

Photo: http://www.marcodepestrefoundationofottawa.org. (Used with permission)

We will keep you updated as information is available.

PWS&D (Presbyterian World Service and Development), the development and relief arm of our denomination, continues to monitor the situation and is in contact with our partners in Haiti. PWS&D will be responding through our local partners and the ACT Alliance.

They ask for our prayers:

• For the people and communities served by Service Chrétien d’Haiti, working to strengthen resilience to climate change
• For Mirebalais and the rural communities served by Partners in Health, who provide health services and support to victims of gender-based violence
• For Desarmes, where Mennonite Central Communities runs an agro-forestry project with support from Canadian Foodgrains Bank

Above all, please pray with us for the people of Haiti and all of the people and communities directly affected by Hurricane Matthew.

We will keep you updated as information is available.

In the meantime, PWS & D is welcoming donations in support of affected populations in Haiti. You can make donations through the church offering, by mailing a cheque to the office or donating online at http://presbyterian.ca/pwsd/2016/10/05/responding-to-hurricane-matthew/

Please mark all donations “Hurricane Matthew.” Please give today.

World Communion Sunday

Image: John Stuart

I like World Communion Sunday. I like the idea of Christians across the world joining to share a meal together (even if we are separated by distance). When I worked with Presbyterian World Service & Development's partners in northern Malawi, home felt pretty far away most of the time. Not during communion, though. This meal, this ritual was carried out in a way that was familiar to me and reminded me of my nearness to the family of God. Even moving to Ottawa - I came to this city 10 years ago and knew almost no one. Joining in worship and communion at St. Andrew's, though, offered me a feeling of comfort, a feeling of being close to home. I like the idea of our Christian family gathering together symbolically, being united in this meal.

In the midst of this somewhat comfortable, familiar ritual, I felt a challenge in Karen's words from Archbishop Desmond Tutu. We are made for good, for togetherness, for compassion. There is a lot of division and fear in our world today - even in God's church. And so, having been strengthened in our meal together this morning, I was challenged to go out into my world this week to look beyond fear and division. God's uniting love is more powerful. It is up to us to spread the message that we are all made for good.