14 Nov

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Breathing in and living in the present

by Brenda Stanley in St. Andrew's, Worship

Too often, our minds and our imaginations can run wild. And sometimes they take us down dark paths and into unsettling places.

It can happen incredibly quickly.

Worry sets in.

The mind can begin to spin, and spin and spin.

We can imagine catastrophe. We panic.

It feels like a dark, downward spiral.

So what to do?

In Luke 9, at verse 61, Jesus comments that anyone who has put his hand to the plow, yet looked back, isn’t fit for the kingdom of God. What?

It is a caution, a warning from Jesus that if we focus not on what God calls us to be and do, we will accomplish nothing. In fact, our works will not yield what we have imagined or planned or what could be; as the agrarian illustration continues, the rows in the field would be uneven and poorly ploughed, a poor start to a season of planting, growing and harvesting.

Perhaps a metaphor from our own youth is more relevant. When we learn to drive a car, this same idea holds: Watch where you are going, the car will follow. Steer with your mind as you use your eyes and hands.

Being present is critical to safe driving.

It is also a key concept to living as God intends us to live.

In this week’s sermon, Rev. Bruce McAnsh explores how critical keeping our minds in check really is. Too easily, we can become focused on things we shouldn’t – and our physical, emotional and spiritual health can suffer. Have a listen at https://youtu.be/QHUjkCiJtqg

In yoga, we connect to our breath and we use our breath as our guide to stretching and going deeper into the poses. At the beginning of each practice, connecting with the breath that God gives is critical. It is the starting point to physical and mental balance on the mat – and off the mat.

Breathe in and let God fill the present moment.

Breathe on me, breath of God. Fill me with life anew. https://youtu.be/M5keJHZdWYM

‘Til I am wholly thine. Until this earthly part of me glows with thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, breath of God, so shall I never die, but live with Thee the perfect life of thine eternity.

Starting now. In this moment. Breathe.

06 Nov

0

Sharing the flame of love of hope

by Brenda Stanley in Community, St. Andrew's

It only takes a spark to get a fire going.

That’s the opening line of a song that inspires us to share God’s love. And two people who inspire and encourage us on our journey of sharing hope and love are our own minister, Rev. Joanne Lee, and the Presbyterian Church in Canada’s Malawi liaison, Rev. Joel Sherbino.

Sherbino, who is posted at Paris Presbyterian Church, has a heart for building God’s kingdom one person at a time. He understands that the work is about relationships and helping others step out in faith.

“God values partnerships. Why? It’s not just about what God wants to accomplish. It’s about the partnerships He wants to build,” he said.

Like teaching his own children to make pancakes for breakfast, Joel knows it’d be much quicker and much easier to just do it himself. But that’s not the goal. He wants to build his relationships with his kids and help them learn new skills and share new experiences.

“One of the greatest gifts God gives us is the opportunity to use our lives to make a difference,” he said.

And so it is in the New Testament as Jesus feeds the crowd of thousands.

“When you don’t have food, a common thing happens: you start to get hangry. Your hunger turns to anger. I love what (Jesus) does. He turns to Phillip and asks where we should find bread to feed all these people.”

Imagine you’re Phillip. The cost? Where to get enough food – and quickly enough? The obstacles seem insurmountable.

“If Jesus wanted to call down bread from heaven or turn stones into bread, He could have. But He didn’t.

“God begins to look around and asks ‘Who will join Me?'”

And so it was in Malawi, a very poor country of 18 million people, most of whom are subsistence farmers. Food and health care, soap and clothing are scarce.

With 22 prisons, Malawi has thousands of individuals incarcerated.

Initially, Joel acknowledged he saw only obstacles. Still, he tried to see what God wanted to happen.

He began, along with two other people, to do weekly Bible studies in the prisons he could access.

“The No. 1 prayer request? Please do not forget us.”‘

The program has expanded to include theological education and personal development programs.

A prisoner released last January has joined the ministry team.

“It’s amazing to see what God is dong despite the challenges and obstacles. Do you believe God can use you to make a difference?

“God wants to partner with us. It’s in the midst of obstacles where the greatest opportunities are.

“Regardless of how old or how ill-trained or how ill-equipped you feel, God is inviting you to partner wit Him — in your family, in your church, in your community.

“Will you respond to the nudge and step out in faith?”

24 Oct

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Mission is practical love

by Brenda Stanley in St. Andrew's, Worship

Practical Compassion.

It’s the title of a book, published in August by Presbyterian World Service & Development to commemorate 75 years of working to help others through relief, development and refugee sponsorship programs.

Full of engaging photos that illustrate how a helping hand can change lives, Practical Compassion shares the human stories that show how Presbyterians in Canada became the helping hand of Christ. There are photos of people learning to farm, students graduating from high school and launching into the world of employment, and families struggling to rebuild their lives after an earthquake. You can see more online via a video, at https://youtu.be/tXoAursDSkQ

The people in the book are inspiring.

It’s this kind of life-changing, family-changing, community-building potential that inspires St. Andrew’s Women’s Missionary Society members to raise funds creatively and support an array of projects that make the world, be it in Barrie or a far-off land.

Among those services and agencies our Women’s Missionary Society has or continues to support are Youth Haven, the David Busby Street Centre and the Little Food Pantry – services that provide food and essentials for those struggling with the basics we too often take for granted.

The Listening Post is another project they support. Kitty-corner to St. Andrew’s is the Barrie Public Library’s main branch; as the temperatures cool, those struggling with no place to call home or those who are struggling with loneliness gather at the library. The library provides a break from the elements and lots to explore in its collection. For some, the Listening Post provides someone who actively listens but who doesn’t judge – a human connection that provides understanding and acceptance. You can read more at https://www.listeningpostbarrie.ca/

Further afield, the WMS has supported a group of grandmothers in Malawi as well as individuals who are learning practical skills to bring back to their small rural community in Malawi. Hope is a teenage girl who is attending an Anglican school about 100 km away from her home; she dreams of becoming a lawyer. Her mother has died and her father is struggling with cancer, yet she is determined to learn and to help others, including ensuring her little brother can get an education. The group at St. Andrew’s raises $1,800 each year to help with her school expenses.

Oct. 30 is Mission Awareness Sunday at St. Andrew’s, and our WMS will be leading the service.

“I enjoy doing the outreach and getting involved in the projects at home and abroad,” said retired teacher Kathy Tutty, “especially right now with Hope in Malawi.”

At age 3, Hope lost her mother. Now 13, she sees her father struggling with cancer. She worries about her younger brother. She is determined to finish high school and get a job, so she can ensure her brother can get at least a high school education. Hope follows in the footsteps of another girl St. Andrew’s has sponsored; that young woman has graduated from nursing college and is working in a hospital St. Andrew’s sponsors Hope; there is an opportunity to contribute to helping Hope.

Listen and be inspired to practically show compassion and care to all God’s children. The guest speaker will be Rev. Joel Sherbino, who has been the minister at Paris Presbyterian for 15 years as well as the Presbyterian Church in Canada’s Malawi liaison for the past six years.

Join us Sunday at 10 a.m. or follow up online.

16 Oct

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Changing lives and sharing hope in Malawi

by Brenda Stanley in Community, St. Andrew's

For 39 years, the Presbyterian Church in Canada has been offering a helpful hand of love in Malawi.

One of the church’s 73 people who have spent time in Malawi carrying out the commandment to love others is Mary Helen Garvin, a member of St. Andrew’s Barrie’s Women’s Missionary Society.

She recalls one vivid memory that inspired incredible work: On a Saturday morning in 2007, a woman named Faith came to visit her. She told Mary Helen about the struggles of grandmothers who were raising their grandchildren, left orphaned by the deaths of their parents due to AIDS.

Faith asked Mary Helen how she could help these courageous women. Mary Helen suggested creating a support group for them.

One day, as Mary Helen walked outside, “I found 12 grannies sitting on a straw mat under a tree waiting for me to tell them how to create a support group,” she recalled., adding she suggested they work together by creating gardens, learning to compost and all the while, singing and praying.

We did sing and pray and dance,” Mary Helen, who is appreciated in St. Andrew’s for her support groups for those who want to learn about aging gracefully and or struggling privately in their bereavement.

The grannies group in Malawi has grown and the group has harvested produce from their garden and is continuing to raise goats that provide milk from Mary Helen’s start-up gift of money to buy two goats many years ago.

The grannies have been able to also provide school uniforms for their grandchildren who attend school.

The WMS also helps Hope, who in turn is committed to learning and helping others. (Stay tuned for more on Hope.)

Mary Helen noted that when we support the WMS, including via its spring Butterfly Tree fundraiser, we help make life better for others.

The guest speaker on St. Andrew’s Mission Awareness Sunday is Rev. Joel Sherbino, the minister at Paris Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in Canada’s Malawi liaison.

You can read more about the Presbyterian Church in Canada’s work in Malwai at https://presbyterian.ca/pwsd/malawi/ or join us on Oct. 30 to hear more from Rev. Sherbino.

10 Oct

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Being thankful changes everything

by Brenda Stanley in Community, Worship

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. The skies are a bright blue, the trees robed in glorious colours and the prospect of sharing dinner with those we care about whets our appetite.

In French, Thanksgiving is Le Jour d’action de grace.

This is perhaps a more accurate description of what the day is, or should be. The translation has “action” in it, a far more vigorous verb than “giving” or “giving thanks”.

Being thankful isn’t a passive act.

And that is what occurs in the passage Rev. Joanne discussed this week; in Luke 17, Jesus heals 10 lepers. Leprosy forced those afflicted with it to live outside their communities, away from others except those who were similarly afflicted. It required that they cover their mouths and yell “unclean, unclean”. Perhaps this phrase is something we could relate to as we have endured the pandemic, whether we are well off or not.

https://youtu.be/aatojHz8Xbw

There are still people – individuals with hopes and dreams – who live on the edges. Their need for assistance – real, not just temporary – is something our municipal and provincial leaders must address.

So how will we mark the day of action for grace/thanksgiving?

As we clean our houses and prepare them for cooler weather, we are grateful we have a home – complete with dust and pet hair – to sweep. We are thankful for the opportunity to enjoy a hot meal with others. We are grateful for the blue skies, before they turn grey before November arrives.

And what actions can we take? As we celebrate the harvest, we appreciate the old saying “bloom where you are planted”. Share what you have; be open to encouraging others. Take action, in your own unique way and make our community a better place.

04 Oct

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A small seed of faith is something to be truly thankful for

by Brenda Stanley in St. Andrew's, Worship

This weekend, it’s Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. We are grateful and celebrate the plentiful harvest.

The joy of biting into a fresh apple. The pumpkin pie served with some whipped cream, for pumpkin spice lovers, is an incredible creation. And the dinner – the turkey or ham with all the trimmings – definitely, something to enjoy.

We are thankful for, especially as some in our community are alone or families who struggle with food security in these challenging economic times.

Yet despite these simple blessings, we each may be struggling with some kind of private or more public pain. Some of us may talk about it, while others may not even be honest with themselves about their challenges and struggles.

Here is something to be truly grateful for: God understands and forgives. God’s steadfast love endures forever.

All it takes is a little bit of faith. Not much. Just a little, and then to call on God to help. A quiet prayer. An urgent prayer. Being still and reaching out to God.

Rev. Joanne discusses the parable of the mustard seed – one of the smallest seeds that grows into an incredibly large plant that provides shelter for birds. You can watch at https://youtu.be/VdddNnjPl8o

Faith, even a small seed, is indeed a gift, and something to be grateful for.

25 Sep

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Caring for and sharing God’s creativity and goodness

by Brenda Stanley in Community, Worship

For some, fall means pumpkin spice.

For others, it’s the harvest – with fresh apples to enjoy and to bake cakes and pies.

Still for others, it’s the cooler, shorter days signal a time to begin to prepare to spend more time cocooning inside.

In all these things, there’s an appreciation of creation.

And our children have been focusing on the creation – God’s creativity and goodness – and our appreciation and responsibility to care for it.

The kids explored their creativity and used a variety of materials as they considered the oceans, the flowers and animals, the birds, the storms and the skies and beyond. We are reminded of the vastness of creation and of the smallest insects and flowers that add beauty. We remember that each of us, no matter whether we are young or old, each one of us has a purpose in God’s incredible garden.

This past week, post-tropical storm Fiona wreaked havoc on Canada’s maritime coast. We were reminded of the power of nature and how fragile what we build is. We remember those who have suffered and continue to clean up in grief. Yet we know that God is with us and through the storms, we are not alone.

We not only acknowledge God, but we call on those we work alongside to build a more caring, inclusive society and community. We each add our own touch. And after church in our fellowship hall, we worked together as we created a cosmos collage.

As we enjoy the harvest, let’s remember to share what we have been given with others – no matter how small or how insignificant it may seem to us. Just the act of giving an apple may remind someone of the harvest and of the simple pleasures, as it provides some sustenance and nutrition.

We continue to care and to share. And when we share together, we make an impact, like flowers in the garden or the fruit on the tree.

Let us reflect the generosity and creativity of our God, and for those who’d like to explore more, check out our art guild’s fall series; register by Tuesday night so supplies can be purchased. The $50 fee covers supplies for the mixed-media series that runs from Oct. 4 to Nov. 8 from 7 to 9 p.m. at St. Andrew’s. Call the church office or email artfortheheartbarrie@gmail.com.

Enjoy! https://youtu.be/Zy7t2Uasqe8

11 Sep

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In compelling love, the Good Shepherd rescues you and me

by Brenda Stanley in Community, Worship

The season of creation happens to coincide with the early apple harvest here in Central Ontario.

Few things are as experientially beautiful as looking at, biting into and tasting a fresh apple. Then some of us sometimes dip it in peanut butter or cinnamon, when we’re looking for a change of flavour.

Creation is indeed incredible. The variety of life is astounding. Nature, unfortunately, can be a bit on the harsher side.

And Jesus acknowledges this as He shared the parable of the lost sheep. The shepherd goes looking for the one sheep from the flock of 100. He does so determinedly and once he finds it, he puts it on his shoulders and celebrates its return.

Why?

Nature can be harsh. A lost sheep is quite vulnerable. The shepherd knows without determined compassionate intervention, the lost one will most certainly suffer and die.

This same struggle was seen in my home this week. One of my cats caught a chipmunk in my backyard and ran into the house with what he thought would be a great toy. There was no way I would allow this chipmunk to suffer at the paws of my two predators who would certainly enjoy pursuing him. I prayed and kept the cats separate from the vulnerable garden resident. I finally resorted to borrowing a live trap to capture the scared but scattered chippy, so he could be re-released into the garden.

Perhaps others wouldn’t be as charitable with the chipmunk, but the point is in our garden and in God’s garden, we are called to care for others as our Shepherd cares for us: He saves and redeems at measureless cost. He pursues us out of compelling love.

To hear more, join us in worship, both in song and as we listen to the day’s message of hope, Come to the Circle https://youtu.be/cln56NyPe9k

06 Sep

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Our Creator shows us sustaining generosity

by Brenda Stanley in Community, Worship

As I walked barefoot on the grass and onto the rocks, and listened to the waves gently roll onto the rocks, I felt nourished.

The shorter days and cooler nights make for better sleep.

And the day after Labour Day reminds us of a new year beginning, full of learning opportunities and new friendships, at school and outside of school, in sports and Scouting groups.

In each of us, God has shared the incredible gift of creativity . Whatever the season, we see beauty and new opportunities.

A sunrise in spring shows us the opening of Kempenfelt Bay and the promise of exploration during boating season.

We see the sun rise further west, in Collingwood, where the great inland lakes meet one of our Simcoe County shorelines.

Further out, as some travelled on holiday, we see the sun rise over Lake Huron’s shore.

And the view of a camp counsellor, the calm of the morning before the kids rise.

It’s been an incredible season of exploration, which reminds us of the generosity and creativity of our God.

Look for the sun rise as the kids get up; it won’t be long before the sun delays its rise until some board school buses.

There is incredible variety and beauty in each sunrise and in each of us. That is the generosity of God.

Be nourished by it. Be inspired by the opportunities that await in each day. Explore more about God with us this week with Rev. Keith Boyer at https://youtu.be/pweyF0jqpwc.

28 Aug

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Bask in and share the love that streams to us

by Brenda Stanley in Community, Worship

Summer’s sun fades as do the flowers of the field. The days shorten and the nights become cooler. And this week is the last week of the unofficial Canadian summer, as Labour Day approaches and the kids return to school.

Some mark the “end of summer” with the opening of the CNE in Toronto or the weekend of the Barrie Fair. They are celebrations of the beginning of the harvest and they take in the still-warm days as people take in the food and enjoy the rides and learn about the farmers who feed us.

Yet as the rhythms of our lives change, God’s love does not. It continues to sustain and nurture us.

God asks that we share this love with others, whoever they may be. For some reason often unbeknownst to us, we meet people on their human journey. Our lives intersect, although for how long and why we don’t know.

As our lives intersect, take time to learn and share with those you meet. They have something to give, as you do. There’s an opportunity for giving and taking, for sharing, and for nurturing and being nurtured.

In Psalm 81 verse 16, there’s the promise of God providing us with the finest wheat and sweetest honey. God gives us good things – as we begin celebrating with the fairs and the early days of the harvest.

Enjoy the flavours of what ripens and makes its way to your table. Share it with others, with generosity and humility. Be nourished in body, mind and soul.

Enjoy the changing season and the last week of our summer holidays and anticipate what God has in store for you and for me.

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