Keeping Sabbath

Last Sunday, at our table discussions on Spirituality, I mentioned that one of the traditional spiritual practices of the church was keeping Sabbath. And I was asked to define what that meant. I think I said something quickly and now I’d like to expand on that a little.

The Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai, became the backbone of all religious law for the Jewish people. The fifth commandment says:

‘Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. For six days you will labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath for God. Do no work on that day, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor the foreigner who lives among you. For in the six days God made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that they hold, but rested on the seventh day; this is why God has blessed the Sabbath day and made it sacred. ~ Exodus 20: 8-11

For the Jewish people in the time of Jesus, the Sabbath was more than just a religious observance, it was central to their understanding of God’s law. Sabbath-keeping was also a crucial marker of identity. It distinguished the Jews from other peoples and their cultural practices.

Jews who were particularly committed to keeping God’s law devoted considerable attention to the question of how someone should keep the Sabbath. They were not supposed to work, that was clear, but what counted as work to be avoided? The Pharisees, who sought to keep all of the law blamelessly, had labored hard to answer this question, creating an elaborate interpretational outline that specified what kinds of work faithful Jews were to avoid and what was permitted. The Pharisees were critical of Jews who did not live according to their exacting standards.

Jesus often ran up against the Pharisees’ interpretation of the law. There are times, Jesus suggested, when human need takes precedence over ceremonial law. He told them: “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28). 

The Pharisees may well have agreed with Jesus that the Sabbath was made for people, but his claim about the Son of Man would have been scandalous. He was saying, in effect, that the Son of Man had ultimate authority over the Sabbath. The Son of Man alone could rightly determine what true Sabbath-keeping entailed.

When Christianity began to evolve from its Jewish roots, many of the followers would have still kept Sabbath from sundown on Friday until the end of the day on Saturday. Around the 2nd Century CE that changed to be celebrated on Sunday – the day of Jesus’ resurrection.

Over time Christians became just as fastidious as the Pharisees about putting rules and fences around the Sabbath until we seemed to forget the core truth about the Sabbath -that it is a gift from God.

Some of us remember it like it was yesterday when we couldn’t go to the library, a film, play sports, or even shop on a Sunday. I realize that, even today, some Christians have very strong convictions about which day of the week ought to be special and about what we should do and not do on that particular day. I also realize that it can be hard to get along with others who disagree with us about the things we hold dear. Nevertheless, it seems to me that when it comes to the details of Sabbath observance, we need to allow for differences in belief and practice. This is a good chance to give and receive the grace of Christ.

Yet, when we take in the wide expanse of biblical teaching on Sabbath, it also seems clear to me that God does intend for us to rest regularly and intentionally. Our times of rest may well be private, though we also need to gather with other believers on a weekly basis for worship and fellowship. Moreover, though we rightly put aside our ordinary work in order to receive God’s gift of rest, we should follow Jesus in recognizing that certain kinds of work – healing, for example – are fully consistent with faithful Sabbath keeping. The Sabbath is God’s gift to humankind, a gift that enhances restoration, relationship, and reflection. I believe we need to receive this gift today as individuals, friends, families, and churches.

The word sabbatical comes from the same word for Sabbath. And I am very grateful to our Leadership Circle and to our faith community to be able to finish my sabbatical that was cut short last June. I will be travelling out to Nanaimo on November 6 to spend time at a spiritual retreat centre and to see my family. I’ll be back at work on November 20.

Blessings, Rev Kathi

The church’s fall activities are well underway now and some are even thinking about Christmas planning. The Leadership Circle is thinking even further ahead and planning their goals and objectives for 2024. The underpinnings of our planning remains our strategic objective:

EMUC will be a thriving and growing church while embracing our vision and values which are (summarized):

• Living Spiritually
• Engaged in Community
• Openness to All
• Connection & Friendship
• Helping Others

We realized that the last four items we understand and can easily talk about. However many of us have difficulty defining and talking about “Living Spiritually” at EMUC. We have worked hard these past few years through Inspire, our focus circle groups, and others to attract the wider community with a variety of activities to provide a sacred space where people would feel they could belong. It is important that we are able to talk about Spirituality as part of our values so that people understand who we are.

Our Leadership Circle has spent some time discussing our spirituality and then our Inspire group suggested that we have a Café Sunday to widen the discussion. The Café Sunday lead by Kathi Phillip was a great success with many people attending and many ideas flowing. We realized that we are more spiritual than strictly religious when Kathy put up a slide showing the difference between spirituality and religion:

Spirituality

• Can be practiced individually

• Doesn't have to adhere to a specific set of rules

• Often focuses on a personal journey of discovering what is meaningful in life

vs.

Religion

• Often practiced in a community

• Usually based on a specific set of rules and customs

• Often focuses on the belief in deities or gods, religious texts, and tradition 

We can also see that some of our spirituality is right in front of us. We have a huge banner at the front of the church saying “Peace and Love”. A panel on our front entrance is painted with the bright Pride colours. We always have a prayer of second chances. Kathi makes a point of saying that our communion table is open to all. And these are just a few.

It will take some time for us to understand and become comfortable with our EMUC spirituality so it will be one of our main focus areas in the coming year. I hope this will be a positive experience for all of us and I welcome your input.

Kathy Andres 

Chair of the Leadership Circle

Thanks

Thanks to:

• All who read and participated in September and October services 

• All who volunteered to host coffee on Sunday mornings 

• Larry van Goozen for organizing the Bunch for Lunch in October 

• Brian Takayesu for agreeing to be the interim Regional Council Representative 

• Karen Colwell who organizes the scripture readers for each Sunday 

• Tim Hayes for organizing the Striders hiking group 

• Karen Colwell for taking photographs and posting pictures to the bulletin board in the narthex 

• Patti King for leading and organizing Circle of Friends on Zoom 

• Nancy Blackport for leading InStitches 

• Sylvia Arnold and the Worship Committee for decorating the sanctuary for Thanksgiving and for planning the service and music 

• Sandy Hayes, the Member Development and Care Committee and all who helped with organizing the Welcome Event 

• Mary Anna Williams and the Inspire team for organizing the Electronics Recycling event 

• Peter and Cathy Kiteley, Mike and Sue Ogilvie, Gary and Joanne Hines, Sylvia Arnold, Hilton Jeffers, Cindy Young, David Brignall, and Yvonne Marot for helping at the recycling event 

• Lorraine Moore and Rev. Kathi for starting the Drop-in Coffee days 

• Kathy Andres and Barb Jennings for organizing the Bogies to Birdies’ end of season charity golf event 

• Cathy Kiteley and the Inspire Team for planning and running the Café Sunday 

• Tina Driscoll for helping update the safety information and requirements from the Police and Fire Department to keep our building, congregants and renters safe. 

• Tim Hayes for putting up the shelf in the narthex kitchen 

• David Leeder for his work to secure the OTF grant to repair the elevator 

Stewardship Program 2023

November has traditionally been stewardship month at EMUC. 

Each of us is asked to reflect on our contribution to our church, both in terms of financial donations and volunteer time. 

Commitment forms will not be distributed, but you are asked to contact our Offering Secretary, Mike Ogilvie, at donations@emuc.ca if you wish to change your donation amount or to start a regular PAR donation.

In this period of higher inflation, all of us are facing challenges as we strive to meet the pressures of rising costs. This includes EMUC. In addition, EMUC like other churches is facing both declining membership and givings. At the end of September our operating account had a deficit of $37,000 and we are predicting close to this figure for year-end. The 2023 budget was based on a deficit of $35,000.

EMUC acknowledges that in this difficult time, it is a challenge for all of us to give more to the church. It is obvious that the solution is to increase the number of givers through congregational growth. In this regard the Leadership Circle is focusing on developing programs to increase our presence and visibility in the community. However, this will not happen overnight. As a result, we are relying on your support so that EMUC can continue both now and in the future.

Givings to Support Local Programs

Financial donations in 2023 to support our local programs, are likely to be roughly 66% of our expected total revenues. At this time of year, we try to assess in a credible way what these givings might be next year. You can help by providing your input on possible changes to your 2024 financial intentions, for your regular weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual donations.

These regular givings have been well supported over the last few years, either gifted by a) in-service plate offerings, b) mail or office drop-off, c) Pre-Authorized Remittance (PAR), d) Canadahelps, accessed through the “donate” page of our website www.emuc.ca or e) Interac E-transfer using e-mail address emucdonation@outlook.com. All these options continue to be available to you in 2024.

However, the best supported of these options for regular givings is PAR (or the Canadahelps monthly equivalent). Over the last 5 years these PAR & Canadahelps monthly donations, as a percentage of our total regular givings, has increased from 81 to 85%. This provides us with a steady flow of funds through the year, and that has been particularly helpful during the last few difficult years. In addition, PAR also simplifies processing and enhances physical security of givings. The monthly PAR process also gives you the ability to donate on a regular basis to the Benevolent Fund, The Deacons Cupboard or other designated funds. For any of you who would like to switch to PAR, or at least get a better understanding of the process, please contact me at donations@emuc.ca.

We face financial challenges both personally and as a church. For anyone who feels that they can increase their financial intentions for next year, or otherwise wishes to amend their intentions, again contact me at donations@emuc.ca.

The stronger the response, the better our Leadership Circle can formulate our 2024 budget. Again, thank you for your past support.

Mike Ogilvie, Offering Secretary

Fall at EMUC

Activities have ramped up since Labour Day…

Bible Study groups started on Monday evenings and on Wednesday mornings. For convenience, these are currently still on Zoom. The groups are following the lectionary readings.

The Chancel Choir restarted in September. Practices have been moved to Thursday afternoons starting at 4 pm. It has taken a while to get back in the groove, preparing music for each Sunday, Thanksgiving and looking forward to Christmas. Come and join the choir if you like to sing. New members are always welcome.

The knitting, crocheting and craft group has a new name, InStitches. The group meets the second Tuesday of each month in-person. People work on whatever they are passionate about making; some enjoy the community and conversation. Join us on Tuesday, November 14, at 1:00!

Bunch for Lunch has restarted. Larry van Goozen organizes these events. Anyone interested in getting together for lunch at a nearby restaurant is welcome to join. It is a time for conversation and laughter and just being together. There was a lunch in July and October. Watch for the date of the next luncheon in the Friday Message.

Circle of Friends is meeting via Zoom to welcome those who are housebound or feel uncomfortable meeting in person. The group meets on the second Wednesday of the month from 1 – 2 pm. They spend the hour chatting about various topics and keeping connected with each other. The Zoom link is in the Friday Message the week before the meeting. There is talk/plans to also restart the in-person Circle of Friends. If you are interested in either, please contact Patti King.



Thirteen Striders hiked Hyde’s Mill Hollow of the Credit River on Sunday, October 1. The hikers continued their saga by setting foot in an area of the Credit River renowned for the Chinook, Coho and Atlantic Salmon migration. They enjoyed walking the banks of the Credit River, seeing the salmon run and the beautiful fall colours.

Over the summer, the ladies’ golf group, Bogies to Birdies, golfed every Wednesday. There were about 30 members in the group. As a closing event to the season, a charity golf tournament was held in support of Ovarian Cancer Canada. Twenty-four golfers played a round of nine holes at RattleSnake Golf Course, which was followed by a lovely lunch in the club house. The event raised $895 for the charity.

During the fall there have been two special services. We celebrated Thanksgiving. The sanctuary was beautifully decorated by the Worship Committee. The Choir sang special music, and a bake sale followed the service and it raised about $300.

The “Blessing of the Animals” service was held on October 22. Lots of pets and their humans were blessed by Rev. Kathi both in-person and via Zoom. Animals bring such joy to us!

Welcome Event

On Sunday, September 24th, about 50 people attended a welcome event. People from the congregation and the community listened to the music and sang along with Len Feldman and Jeff Scott on the patio outside the front doors. A meal was provided after the entertainment which gave time for conversation. Thank you to Len, Jeff, Cathy and Peter Kiteley, all the people who donated salads/desserts, and to the Membership and Pastoral Care team.



Drop-in Coffee

A new Drop-in Coffee event under the Inspire program was initiated in September. Flyers and information postings to Facebook community groups were used to invite people. 

There have been two drop-in coffee times, one in September and one in October. Both days, about 9 or ten people gathered for conversation, all from the congregation. Hopefully, people will bring friends with them in the future and the group will grow!

Thank you to Lorraine Moore and Rev. Kathi for their leadership.

Café Sunday, Discerning the Angel of our Church…..

True to the spirit of EMUC, our recent Café Sunday was filled with energy and friendship as we gathered in person informally at round tables to worship followed by lunch and a time to explore one of our core values, Living Spiritually. There was also a group who came together on zoom to participate in Café Sunday. This Café Sunday was a little different from last March when we gathered as focus circles and church members to produce a variety of interesting activities to promote participation not only of our church family but the wider community. We certainly had a wide variety of activities and great engagement. This year we decided to delve into one of our values with the goal of clarifying the question “who we are as a church’. This is an important question for us to think about because as we connect with our neighbours and community about EMUC, we want to ensure that we can convey the essence of who we are. The following is a brief narrative of common responses from the exercise entitled Discerning the Angel of our Church led by Kathi Philips.

The colour of the life of the church is…because

People chose many colours but by far the most common colour was yellow which represents our church as a happy place, bright, friendly, inclusive and caring

Our church building says….

All are welcome, an open, inclusive space

The culture of our local community can be best described using these words…

Diverse, multi-cultural, busy community with lots going on, a community that seems to be a little reluctant to come inside the church

The history of our church is a story of…

A journey through different phases. Starting as a place for young families in a new community to today which serves mostly mature individuals

The best thing about our church is….

That everyone is welcome and embraced. Activities for all! It is a safe place for the expression of ideas. It reaches out to so many needy and worthwhile causes. The minister’s leadership and warmth and understanding

What is missing in this church…

More use of outdoor space, people under the age of 45 and families, greater presence of our community, more men,  physical energy

Relationships within our church are best described as….

Warm, caring, available, interested in each other

What we are trying to do here is…

To live faithfully. Learn ways to share who we are with our community so others can experience a place where they are welcome and part of a spiritual family

And so, I believe that Jesus would write this to the angel of our church…

One table chose to name their angel of the church Joy!. The angel would bless EMUC for its caring and loving. The angel would tell the church I am proud of you all and I want EMUC to grow into and with diverse people in its neighborhood by sharing God’s love with everyone

Let’s not stop this important journey in sharing the light of EMUC to our community.

Respectfully submitted by the Inspire Committee. Patti King, Heather Bunting, Doreen Sims, Cathy Kiteley, and Kathi Philips as our advisor

Electronics Recycling Event

On October 28 the weather was great for our electronic recycling event. There was an excellent response from the community with a steady stream of cars dropping off items. We estimate more than 20 wire cages were filled, sometimes over the top, of discarded, obsolete items. Some people saw what had been donated, went home and returned with more items. Everyone was delighted to donate their old, unwanted items.  

Flyers were delivered to the community about three weeks before the event. Thanks to Tina for her help designing the flyers and notices for the bulletin boards. Thanks to Mike Ogilvie who takes first prize for the number of flyers delivered, and to all others who helped get the word out.  

A special thanks to Yvonne Marot who donated two truckloads of obsolete solar equipment. Also thanks to Kulwant and Balvir from Com2 who were a great help.  

This event was a fundraiser, which also gave us a chance to connect with donors, friends and neighbours. We will know the dollar amount raised later in the month. It was an exhausting day, but it was also fun with lots of laughs. Thanks to Mary Anna Williams who led the charge!