Index
Page 1............Index, Minister’s Message
Page 2...........Minister’s Message, The Editor
Page 3...........ICW Refugee Resettlement Project
Inverness-Guysborough Presbytery
Page 4...........Port Hawkesbury Food Bank
Choir Notes
Page 5 & 6.....Report on Maritime Conference
Page 7............A Quilting Legacy
Page 8...........In Memoriam, Baptisms and Marriages
Page 9...........St. David’s Prepares for Christmas
Page 10.........Hanging of the Greens at St. Mark’s
Page 11..........St. Mark’s Congregational Board
St. David’s Official Board
Page 12.........St. David’s UCW
Page 13.........St. Mark’s Worship & Pastoral Care
St. David’s Board of Stewards
St. David’s Schedule for July
St. Mark’s Men’s Group
Page 14.........St. Mark’s Trustees and Finance
St. Mark’s Mission & Outreach Committee
Helping Hands
Page 15.........St. Mark’s Ways & Means
Page 16........St. Mark’s Special Events (UCW)
Page 17........St. David’s Sunday School
Easter Sunday Confirmation
Page 18.......St. Mark’s Sunday School & Christian Education
Page 19.......New Choir Gowns
The Mission & Service Fund
Contact is a great way to bring our church communities together. Looking at the pictures and reading the Blog is almost like getting a letter from home. But then...this is our spiritual home. Christine and I are enjoying our time with you as we head toward the end of our second year.
As we journey together, I hope I’ve been able to help you in your spiritual growth. I hope my messages contain some new and challenging topics, and that you may be encouraged to delve into them further. Jesus tells us to seek the Kingdom, and also that the Kingdom of God is within us. Therefore, seeking has to do with looking within ourselves and realizing how wonderful and diverse we are, and celebrating that wonder and diversity. It also means developing a working relationship with God. This is an active process as opposed to a passive one. We must do the work of building our spiritual selves. It’s a fabulous journey.
I hope that you have enjoyed our visits, either at home or in hospital, and that we have brought a sense of God’s presence with us. As we greet you at the door on Sunday mornings we are aware that with each handshake we are greeting a divine being; one in whom God’s Spirit lives. It is a privilege for us, and not just a social nicety.
Something that the Jewish and Christian faiths have in common are feelings of guilt and disappointment. Hebrew scripture teaches us about a group of people who envisaged God as being separate from humanity and one that had to be appeased by living according to a system of rules and rituals.
That belief has carried through to modern times and has been amplified by some Christian faiths with the result being expressed in some people’s feelings of guilt, inadequacy and fear of death.
In February, we looked at Rabbi Harold Kushner’s book “How Good Do We Have To Be?” which deals with these feelings, where they come from and how to deal with them.
The group met on Monday evenings in the parlour of St. Mark’s. The initial group numbered around a dozen but the numbers dwindled as some members left for winter vacations. (maybe a winter study group needs some rethinking).
Some of the questions discussed included:
•Do we feel ashamed or guilty over things we did wrong in the past?
•Do we feel guilty because we have so much in a world where others have so little?
•Do we feel guilty because we may feel that we have somehow disappointed God?
•Do we have unreasonable expectations of our parents or our children?
•As parents, do we try to live vicariously through our children?
•How do we deal with these feelings and are they legitimate?
I’m happy to say that all those attending the discussion took an active part in it. Kushner’s wisdom partly comes from the experience of watching his own young son die with an incurable illness, his experience as a spiritual leader, rabbi and counselor as well as out of his deep faith.
I am thinking about a study for the fall but haven’t made any decision on the material as yet. Some possible authors are Depak Chopra, Margus Borg, Neale Donald Walsch, or Tom Harpur.
There is much to discuss as we walk the spiritual path. I look forward to more insights as we journey together.
We hope you have a great summer. Vacation time for us is the month of July. I’m planning a week’s study leave in June to attend the Atlantic Canada Theological Seminar in Truro.
While you’re enjoying the summer sun, warm breezes and flowers, contemplate this from “Meditations From Conversations With God,” by Neale Donald Walsch:
God says:
“I tell you, I am in every flower, every rainbow, every star in the heavens and everything in and on every planet rotating around every star.
I am the whisper of the wind, the warmth of your sun, the incredible individuality and the extraordinary perfection of every snowflake.
I am the majesty in the soaring flight of the eagles, and the innocence of the doe in the field; the courage of lions, and the wisdom of the ancient ones.”
To you with Christ’s Peace and Joy,
Rev. Sheldon
Page 1............Index, Minister’s Message
Page 2...........Minister’s Message, The Editor
Page 3...........ICW Refugee Resettlement Project
Inverness-Guysborough Presbytery
Page 4...........Port Hawkesbury Food Bank
Choir Notes
Page 5 & 6.....Report on Maritime Conference
Page 7............A Quilting Legacy
Page 8...........In Memoriam, Baptisms and Marriages
Page 9...........St. David’s Prepares for Christmas
Page 10.........Hanging of the Greens at St. Mark’s
Page 11..........St. Mark’s Congregational Board
St. David’s Official Board
Page 12.........St. David’s UCW
Page 13.........St. Mark’s Worship & Pastoral Care
St. David’s Board of Stewards
St. David’s Schedule for July
St. Mark’s Men’s Group
Page 14.........St. Mark’s Trustees and Finance
St. Mark’s Mission & Outreach Committee
Helping Hands
Page 15.........St. Mark’s Ways & Means
Page 16........St. Mark’s Special Events (UCW)
Page 17........St. David’s Sunday School
Easter Sunday Confirmation
Page 18.......St. Mark’s Sunday School & Christian Education
Page 19.......New Choir Gowns
The Mission & Service Fund
_________________________________________________________________
Minister’s Message
Contact is a great way to bring our church communities together. Looking at the pictures and reading the Blog is almost like getting a letter from home. But then...this is our spiritual home. Christine and I are enjoying our time with you as we head toward the end of our second year.
As we journey together, I hope I’ve been able to help you in your spiritual growth. I hope my messages contain some new and challenging topics, and that you may be encouraged to delve into them further. Jesus tells us to seek the Kingdom, and also that the Kingdom of God is within us. Therefore, seeking has to do with looking within ourselves and realizing how wonderful and diverse we are, and celebrating that wonder and diversity. It also means developing a working relationship with God. This is an active process as opposed to a passive one. We must do the work of building our spiritual selves. It’s a fabulous journey.
I hope that you have enjoyed our visits, either at home or in hospital, and that we have brought a sense of God’s presence with us. As we greet you at the door on Sunday mornings we are aware that with each handshake we are greeting a divine being; one in whom God’s Spirit lives. It is a privilege for us, and not just a social nicety.
Something that the Jewish and Christian faiths have in common are feelings of guilt and disappointment. Hebrew scripture teaches us about a group of people who envisaged God as being separate from humanity and one that had to be appeased by living according to a system of rules and rituals.
That belief has carried through to modern times and has been amplified by some Christian faiths with the result being expressed in some people’s feelings of guilt, inadequacy and fear of death.
In February, we looked at Rabbi Harold Kushner’s book “How Good Do We Have To Be?” which deals with these feelings, where they come from and how to deal with them.
The group met on Monday evenings in the parlour of St. Mark’s. The initial group numbered around a dozen but the numbers dwindled as some members left for winter vacations. (maybe a winter study group needs some rethinking).
Some of the questions discussed included:
•Do we feel ashamed or guilty over things we did wrong in the past?
•Do we feel guilty because we have so much in a world where others have so little?
•Do we feel guilty because we may feel that we have somehow disappointed God?
•Do we have unreasonable expectations of our parents or our children?
•As parents, do we try to live vicariously through our children?
•How do we deal with these feelings and are they legitimate?
I’m happy to say that all those attending the discussion took an active part in it. Kushner’s wisdom partly comes from the experience of watching his own young son die with an incurable illness, his experience as a spiritual leader, rabbi and counselor as well as out of his deep faith.
I am thinking about a study for the fall but haven’t made any decision on the material as yet. Some possible authors are Depak Chopra, Margus Borg, Neale Donald Walsch, or Tom Harpur.
There is much to discuss as we walk the spiritual path. I look forward to more insights as we journey together.
We hope you have a great summer. Vacation time for us is the month of July. I’m planning a week’s study leave in June to attend the Atlantic Canada Theological Seminar in Truro.
While you’re enjoying the summer sun, warm breezes and flowers, contemplate this from “Meditations From Conversations With God,” by Neale Donald Walsch:
God says:
“I tell you, I am in every flower, every rainbow, every star in the heavens and everything in and on every planet rotating around every star.
I am the whisper of the wind, the warmth of your sun, the incredible individuality and the extraordinary perfection of every snowflake.
I am the majesty in the soaring flight of the eagles, and the innocence of the doe in the field; the courage of lions, and the wisdom of the ancient ones.”
To you with Christ’s Peace and Joy,
Rev. Sheldon
________________________________________________________________
The Editor
There must have been some reason why I have had so much trouble preparing this issue of the Contact. I suppose it allowed those with late breaking stories to have them added before it was published. My struggle with my computers (having one crash and the other one prevent me from unpartitioning my hard drive) seems to be over for the moment.
Ian MacKinnon has asked me to publish the date of the distribution of the fall Contact. It should be coming out (God willing) December 6th. All photos and submissions will be due November 16th if Jane has to type them or November 19th if sent by email. The fall issue will include graduation photos as well as wedding and Baptism photos, so please bring them to the office by November 16th. Digital files should be 1200x1800 pixels (4”x6”) at 300 DPI.
Have a wonderful summer!
Camille Chapman
