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Simple doesn’t necessarily equate to easy.

That’s true in terms of words and deeds, and its especially true when we consider Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. The list of attributes includes words we don’t use today: meek, poor in spirit and merciful.

Those words seem antiquated and quite out of date, but those who live them have an incredible, timeless impact.

As Rev. Joanne elaborated this week, she noted those attributes start at our heart and they spread Christ’s light throughout the rest of our life – our outlook on life and our approach to relating with others. She challenged us to take one of those at those attributes and live it.

Meek. No, it’s not being a shrinking violet. It’s being patient and not easily provoked – as opposed to selfish, greedy and easy to anger. Humility comes with it, as opposed to arrogant or haughty.

Poor in spirit. This is perhaps where words can really get in the way. The concept is simple, however: placing God and others ahead of one’s self. It’s also counter-cultural.

It sounds like the Brownie (now Ember, in Canada) law: a Brownie (now an Ember) thinks of other people before herself. Imagine if this approach caught on, how much brighter and warmer our world would be. An example of living this would be stopping to help someone, rather than rushing on with our own plans. It could be at work, or pausing to help someone at the store, rather than rushing past. It could be advocating for better services for a marginalized group – be they people with intellectual disabilities, refugees or people struggling with addiction.

Hunger and thirst for righteousness. It could mean writing a letter to the editor or to a MPP or MP – for or against a proposal – in an effort to make our community more inclusive. It can be too easy to give up and think sharing our thoughts won’t make a difference. It means sharing the  light we have been given to share. Advocate for respect for our neighbours, whoever they are, and recognize we are all on the same human journey, have lots in common and need one another when the road gets tough.

So perhaps picking one of these heart-focused lessons Jesus gives us isn’t all that old-fashioned after all. They are very modern and very urban attributes. They have lasting consequences – within us and within our community. Share the Light.

One of our wise women, Mary Helen Garvin, has a saying: We are spiritual beings on a human journey.

Every day, as I rise and give thanks for a night’s sleep, I am reminded of the blessings I have on this journey: a comfortable and stable place to sleep, pets that provide warmth, and a day to look forward to.

And so it must have been for Andrew and Simon, the two fishermen Jesus called to join Him as His first two disciples. The brothers were going about their duties as they worked to continue their father’s fish mongering business and care for their customers.

Because He took on our form, Jesus understands our human journey. Like Him, we are spiritual beings on a human journey.

There are those we help on their way with our Little Winter Warmers Tree. Whoever they are, wherever they are going, we offer them a bit of warmth. We have had the honour of joining them on their journey.

Tomorrow, our Matinee and Munchies debut features the Pixar movie, Up. The movie is a touching story of a widower who reflects back on the memories of the adventures he had with his wife. He is sad, undoubtedly. Yet he finds a note from her that encourages him to make new adventures – and so the story of new relationships and discoveries begins.

On a broader level, we can see these stories and opportunities for adventure taking place in our city. Barrie is a young city, but its average age is getting older. As a community, we have moved into our 40s – or put another way, our fifth decade!

In 2016, Statistics Canada’s census reported our average age was 38.9 years, and our 2021 average age had risen to 40.2 years. Further, almost 16 per cent of Barrie’s population is age 65 or older, a figure that’s up from 13.9 per cent five years previously.

Where are you on your journey? Parenting? Parenting a second time around by caring for grandchildren? In a mid-life change or preparing to retire – or having just retired?

Perhaps you are grieving the loss of a coworker who died from cancer – a reminder of our frailty. Or consider the loss of musicians, like David Crosby, Lisa Marie Presley, Robbie Bachman and Jeff Beck.

Mary Helen, a retired psychotherapist and grief counsellor, and our minister Joanne Lee, will lead a discussion about the themes of the movie and how each of our own lives changes – and what that means as spiritual beings who are beloved children of God. Join us on the journey.

Plan to join us Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m. RSVP by calling our office, 705-728-3991.

The big day in our culture is over: Christmas Day, the day for family, presents and a feast. Talk has already turned to shopping and getting bargains and storing up more to add to our comforts in these cold, dark days.

But in God’s world, our journey is just beginning.

We have celebrated the miracle of birth, of God taking on human form to become one of us, to share in our struggles and sorrows.

Now it is our turn to begin the journey, to discovering who Jesus our Lord is.

We are like the shepherds, who worked away in their dull tasks of daily living. We may not be toiling in the fields – but we could be meeting our own daily challenges in a school, a store, a manufacturing plant, even our own remote office. The world somehow floods into our lives: technology – be it our computer, our phone, our car, a machine we rely on – fails and frustrates us.

From these places, each of us is called to journey to the humble place where Jesus meets us. Whether or not you believe the story as told in the Gospels, the reality is that Jesus wants to meet us on human ground, and the journey begins with wanting to see Him.

The journey begins with simply asking and wanting to discover who Jesus is.

That is what inspired the kings from the east and the shepherds – people who were involved in their everyday lives, people who were rich or poor, who were far away or nearby.

Join us on the journey. We each have some light to share, some comfort to provide, some encouragement to offer.

Join us in helping stock our Little Warmers Tree – a project that provides mitts, hats, scarves and socks to any passerby who needs a bit of warmth. We also join with our neighbours in stocking the Little Food Pantry at Trinity Anglican. Together our light grows stronger.

Join us at 10 a.m. Sundays in person or on our YouTube channel, @StAndrewsBarrie.

Let us be as Christ to you.

Enjoy this musical piece, and consider what Jesus can do and what we can do for each other and for others.https://youtu.be/0JahFRDrSCs

What an incredible gift!

Today is St. Andrew’s Day.

St. Andrew was one of the first two disciples Jesus called to help Him. And although we don’t generally celebrate “feasts of the saints”, we can reflect on the ministry of Andrew and our history as a community of God’s people in Barrie.

Andrew was a fisherman and he followed Jesus in the context of his own life and experience. Andrew introduced his brother, Peter, to Jesus, and together, the two brothers – who had made their living by fishing together – followed Jesus and helped develop a diverse team of disciples and a community of followers. Sounds simple – and that is what we are called to do.

In Barrie, in more recent decades, St. Andrew’s was the first church to open its doors to offer shelter to those living outside. Out of the Cold was born and other churches joined us in providing respite from the elements, food and fellowship. The program was folded into the work of the David Busby Street Centre several years ago.

We ran a soup kitchen for years, and once the Salvation Army opened its mission centre on lower Bayfield Street, it made sense for the program to move there.

In the past, we have helped refugee families settle and build new lives in Barrie. It is an incredible experience to see people, who have had to flee war, not just find peace here, but opportunity, as they find jobs, build businesses and raise families – and become Canadian citizens.

These days, we support neighbouring churches in the Barrie Food Bank’s Little Food Pantry. It’s important theses little pantries offer not just convenience, but privacy so those accessing the cupboard – stocked with winter-proof edibles like granola bars, pepperoni sticks, canned fish packed in oil – can do so privately so as to preserve their dignity.

Our property, located kitty corner from the Barrie Public Library’s downtown branch, isn’t private; indeed, it is very public as many walk by on their way to the library, City Hall or the Service Canada building across the street.

So this week, we are adding a new ministry, which takes advantage of that accessibility and which continues to provide some respite from the cold, even if it’s just for the hands, head and feet. Our Little Winter Warmers Tree features mitts, hats, scarves and socks – all kept dry in resealable plastic bags, pegged to the tree.

Like many things, however, this ministry is best when many people work together. We are asking our friends and our neighbours – be they businesses or individuals – to contribute to the supply. Donations can be dropped at our office weekdays between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Join us in helping others. Bloom where you are planted. Share what you have, even just a little.

Nothing can be so discouraging as reading the headlines: inflation, a lack of housing that’s affordable, cutbacks at the grocery store and rising costs all around us.

Add that to the ever-darkening days and it can be quite challenging to remain a person of hope, someone who helps bring God’s love and light into a sad, lonely and economically depressed world.

But at St. Andrew’s, we have a history of helping others as we express the excitement of giving.

Years ago, we had a soup kitchen and we opened our doors as we began the Out of the  Cold program. Others have joined in and partnerships began; these still are critical.

Today, we partner with our neighbouring downtown churches to help ease hunger – both on the street level and at the Barrie Food Bank. We help fill the Little Food Pantry at Trinity Anglican.

We also reached out into our neighbourhood to help the Barrie Food Bank with its food pantries downtown. For five days just before Halloween, we joined our friends at Collier United and went into nearby condos to collect food, which was divided between the Little Food Pantries at Trinity Anglican and Collier United.

This growing partnership is so encouraging, especially as we look back a year, when we first began working alongside Trinity Anglican to help ease hunger.

And as winter sets in, we are beginning our work to help others stay warm. We collect mittens, hats, scarves and socks for people who need them – and on a Sunday before Christmas, we decorate a tree with them. We will fill our  Mitten Tree Dec. 18, and what we gather will be shared among agencies who help others, including the David Busby Street Centre and Youth Haven.

Stay tuned for details on this year’s addition and how you can help.