The autumn edition of our congregational newsletter, hot off the press. Thanks to our editor, these pages provide a great introduction to some of the people and opportunities of the community known as St. Andrew’s Kingston. We would welcome you to join in the fun, fellowship and faith.
‘When Strangers Meet: How People You Don’t Know Can Transform You’ is the title of a new book by Kio Stark. The review I read recently is enticing. Contrary to ‘stranger danger’ upon which a couple of generations have now been raised, the claim is made that speaking to unknown others can be a gift. All you know of the other is their humanity, and connecting at that foundational level can make you feel more human. Strangers can be mediums of the unexpected and new that encourage growth. Strangers can understand us even better than those closest to us, without accumulated layers of experience and expectation. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/why-talking-to-strangers-is-very-very-good-foryou/article31987336/
I thought of this as I read the story of Philip running up to the Ethiopian in the passing chariot (Acts 8: 26-40). Speaking to the stranger here is of divine will – God sends Philip to the side of the Ethiopian. The stranger (to us) invites another stranger (to him) into conversation, and hears something new and transformative. He becomes the first African Christian. The one stranger ‘went on his way rejoicing’ and other stranger (Philip) is sent by the Spirit strengthened by the experience to speak to other strangers.
What a great affirmation of our humanity, that we can connect with unknown others immediately and deeply. What a great promise for us in our seeking, whether seeking to share or seeking to receive, that the Spirit may work best among us in realms of the ‘new’ rather than the ‘known’.
If you are in the area Sunday morning, please join us in the worship of God. There is a nursery for infants and a programme for children available during the service. If driving, there is ample parking on the surrounding streets or in the public surface lot off Queen Street behind the church. Have a look at the Order of Service, and the announcements that follow, and join us in Christian worship, fellowship and service.
So we continue our journey with the first Christians through the Acts of the Apostles. Persecution drives them from Jerusalem, but God uses their scattering to share the gospel known in Jesus to other peoples (Acts 8:1-20). Philip preaches amongst the Samaritans, and great joy is known. Peter and John are sent to confirm this new development, and the Holy Spirit descends upon this ‘other’ people and they are included into the Church, the Community of Christ, the beginning of the renewal of the Human Community.
I thought of this work of God, of this divine dynamic of inclusion and community, as I reflected upon a shard of news this week. The campaign of an American presidential candidate sought to attract support with a tweet that used the image of a bowl of differently-coloured candies named Skittles – ‘If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you, would you eat them? That’s our Syrian refugee problem.’ The illustration troubled me greatly. Then a friend shared a response that helped greatly: ‘Are the other skittles human lives? … Is there a good chance I would be saving someone from a war zone and probably their life if I ate a Skittle? … I would eat the Skittles … I would GORGE myself on Skittles … And when I found the poison Skittle and died I would make sure to leave behind a legacy of children and of friends who also ate Skittle after Skittle until there were no more to be eaten. And each person who found the poison Skittle we would weep for. We would weep for their loss, for their sacrifice, and for the fact that they did not let themselves succumb to fear but made the world a better place by eating Skittles …. The real question … is ‘Is my life more important than thousands upon thousands of men, women and terrified children?’ and what kind of monster would think the answer to that question is yes?’ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10105359509007789&id=838277
Reading this, I am reminded of our Lord laying down his life for the lives of all humanity; I am reminded about the many Christians who have witnessed to life in Christ with sacrifice, even unto death. But today I am also strongly reminded that community has been God’s will since the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, a community that reaches out further and further beyond itself to include all peoples. In the Church Christians learn a lesson about community for life in all its fullness. So may it be.
This Sunday morning, join us in the worship of God if you are in the area … and in the practice of community. There is free parking in the civic lot just behind St. Andrew’s off Queen Street. There is a nursery for infants and children up to and including three years of age. There is a program for all other children during the service if they wish. There is a warm welcome in the name of Christ for all.
We continue our journey through the part of the New Testament known as the Acts of the Apostles. This morning we hear how Peter and John receive a message from beyond, ‘Go … and speak to the people the words of life’ (Acts 5:20).
Where have we found life? What do we experience as life-giving and life-sharing? And what would we ‘speak’ if this message were to come to us? It would be fascinating to hear the different dimensions and perspectives that would be shared, based on our life stories thus far.
For Christians, the one common thread in our words about life would surely be Jesus, God with Us. It was certainly Jesus of whom Peter spoke back in the day. And those first Christians did not speak of Jesus as doctrine or truth or liturgy or life-style, but as a living, life-giving presence. I love how the earliest images drawn by Christians on the walls of the catacombs or Rome were not crosses or even crowns, but of Jesus as a Caring Shepherd, a Fisher of Humanity, a Passionate Bridegroom.
Jesus is the word of life spoken to us, but also spoken through us. And our ‘speaking’ involves our ‘living’. I remember the new Christian from China who understood this immediately – ‘The only Bible most of my neighbours will ever read is my life’. Christ will be known through Christians. Life through the enlivened ones. I conclude with a prayer from Christians of Nicaragua …
We are the children of the sun are we,
who write in the shadows of evening, who walk in the dark of the night,
who arise in the light of the dawn,
who walk lightly upon the face of the earth,
who sow the field and grow the daily bread,
who know the language of the wind,
who plough the furrows of the old and bring bones to bloom,
who consecrate bread in our own flesh,
who break chains and discover the way … of life.
Join us this Sunday morning if you are in the area. You would be welcome. And there is a free congregational lunch afterwards! Have a look at the Order of Worship below. During the service there is a nursery for infants and a programme for children. Clergy Street is closed temporarily due to construction but there is ample parking along neighbouring streets and in the city lot off Queen Street just behind the church.
Be sure to see
The main street running through Queen’s was closed to traffic on Friday, and thousands of students beginning their university journey walked its length, exploring what various campus clubs and community groups were offering – St. Andrew’s was there, with an invitation to enter a draw to climb the tower and ring the bells of the church, and of course also to begin the week in the strength and beauty of the worship of the Living God.
And we are beginning a new congregational year. As we explore further the path named ‘Christian’, over these weeks of autumn we shall read a series of selections of the part of the New Testament known as ‘The Acts of the Apostles’. As many have noted over the millennia, it might be better named ‘The Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles’. Or, I humbly suggest, even better still ‘The Acts of the Risen Lord by the work of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles’!
This Sunday we read a passage that concludes with the description that ‘the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul … There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and distribution was made to each as any had need.’ (Acts 4:34-35). Quite radical, their religious reality.
Is it instructive that prior to this, the apostles had begun a long prayer … ‘Sovereign Lord’ (Acts 4:24)? As had been illustrated by the healing of the lame man by the gate of the Jerusalem temple known as Beautiful, the sovereignty of this God (known in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus) was not just powerful, but powerfully on the side of life, and life for all. Was it in this assurance that the Christians were able to calm their fears and become generous in the sharing of life? As we explore the shape and dynamics of the Church anew, might we begin our prayers … ‘Sovereign Lord’?
Join us if you are in the area. Have a glance at the Order of Worship below. During the service there is offered a nursery for infants and children to age 3, also a church school for children 4 and older (though of course they are welcome to remain in the sanctuary also). If you are driving, you are reminded that Clergy Street is closed for a couple more weeks, but there is free parking along the adjacent streets and in the city lot off Queen just behind the church. It would be a pleasure to welcome you, and together begin a new academic year, a new congregational year, in praise of God, the Sovereign Lord.
We conclude a summer series that explores the biblical origins of phrases that are evocative to this day in our English language and literature – I think my favourites were ‘eat, drink and be merry’ (for obvious reasons) and ‘the writing’s on the wall’.
This morning we turn beyond John Steinbeck to the phrase ‘east of eden’. According to Genesis 3:24, this is the area that into which Adam and Eve were sent. The phrase was applied most directly in the next-generation story of Cain, who ‘went out from the Lord’s presence, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden’ (Genesis 4:16). The interesting dimension for us this weekend is the role of labour within and without Eden. (Here is a scene from the York Psalter c. 1170 of Eve spinning and Adam delving/digging, from the collections of Cambridge University.
Our reflections on labour will lead into Holy Communion, as we celebrate the great work of God in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we shall leave singing ‘Sent forth by your blessing, our true faith confessing, your people, O God, from your table take leave … Your grace shall incite us, your love shall unite us to work for your kingdom, your purpose to find.’
If you are in the area, please join us in the worship of God. If you are driving, Clergy Street to the east of St. Andrews ‘s closed, so parking can be found on either side of the church, and particularly in the public lot just behind the church off Queen (free on Sundays). A nursery is available for infants and children up to the age of three during the service – our Church School resumes next Sunday. A joyous long weekend to one and all!
Texting became a lot more colourful when emoji came along. Now there is an app that ‘translates’ the Bible into emoji at www.bibleemoji.com Fun!
We don’t usually post our modest St. Andrew’s summer Orders of Worship, but I couldn’t resist this week’s, which includes on the cover two scripture passages in ’emojiese’ – Ecclesiastes 1:9b and 2 Corinthians 5:17. Can you translate them? (They are deciphered at the end of this post.) And if you are in the area, join us for worship on Sunday.
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There is nothing new under the sun.
One is a new creation in Christ.