"Summer and winter and springtime and harvest ... join with all

          nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and

          love."

Fall is when the fields are fruitful, grapes are ripened, and apple barrels overflow.   For some fields harvested fallow times will come because even the land needs rest; so too with the fields of play where we live out our lives of faith. There is a rhythm of nurture and seeding, growth and cultivation, blossoming and fruitfulness, and times for rest and renewal.

 

Fall is when leaves flip into a flurry of colour, splattering and splashing forests and hillsides into three-dimensional canvases of abstract art. The air freshens, and spirits too are lifted beyond amazement into action. You just feel like going for a walk, or tossing a football around, or making a collage of your fondest memories.   Faith and life also have transition times rife with a kind of vibrancy and quickened expectations.

 

Fall is like New Year times for our educational sector. Classes, teachers, subjects taken may not be like the ones left behind at the end of June. It is about newness: new relationships, new learnings, and even new surroundings. Fall is also a New Year time for our Jewish neighbours. "Rosh Hashanah" ("the head of the year") marks the gift of creation of humankind (Adam and Eve) and celebrates God's sovereignty.   Lots of trumpeting happens as the shofar is blown frequently heralding fresh hope.   Time out, time off is taken to prepare oneself for fresh starts. To get there, there is shedding. One popular practice of this holiday is to walk to flowing water with bread cubes in one's pocket. By the creekside or riverside, one's pockets are emptied into the water, a sign of casting off one's wrongs and offences and stumblings.   Nine days later comes Yom Kippur, ("the Day of Atonement"), a solemn time to mend one's broken relationship with God.   Fall can also be our time to fall into such possibilities for renewal and restoration.

 

Fall is a fruitful and hopeful season, a transformational season; a retrofit for faith. Go for it!

 

        "Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, 

              wondrous the portion thy blessings provide. 

        Great is thy faithfulness,   great is thy faithfulness! ...

              All I have needed thy hand hath provided.

              Great is thy faithfulness, God, unto me!"

Joan Roscoe, Ellen Sawesky, Judy VanDuzer and Mary Cook (who has concerns for other members of her family).

"Harry Hour". Wednesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. meet with Harry Disher at the Coach and Lantern pub for conversations about life, faith, sports, quilting, or whatever else comes up.

 

"Time Out with Trees". Feel free to join Rev. Disher on the benches in Bertram Brockhouse Park (corner of Wilson and Fiddler's Green) at noon on Tuesdays. Bring a lunch, chat a bit and then rest in God for a half-hour of private meditation time. [In inclement weather, we will meet in the Church parlour].

Have you signed up for a House yet?  

Marshall has a House system, broken into months (ie: September House, October House...)  Members of the House take turns greeting and setting up coffee & tea as well as some goodies for the second service primarily. Even if you normally attend the first service, the church still needs you to assist once a year to help with the second service.  Please consider adding your name to our roster with our thanks. Call the office at 905-648-4631 or e-mail marshalloffice@mmuc.org. Your volunteerism is truly needed.