Sunday Morning Worship

I hope to see you on Sunday at 10:30 am. Many will watch via livestream, Sunday or another day. We are grateful to our AV team: Barry Paton, Rob Steeves, Steve Morley, Glen Knapp, & Penny Allen. Here is a link to the service:

A reminder a) there is no Coffee Hour following the church service this Sunday because b) there is a funeral for the late Ross Lawley at 2 pm.

Our story this Sunday, Acts 8:26-40, begins with “the angel of the Lord” directing Philip to a certain "wilderness road". Wilderness meant “margins”. There Philip finds the Ethiopian eunuch, a man interested enough in Israel’s God to make a pilgrimage from Ethiopia to Jerusalem, but according to Hebrew law, he is not free to practice his faith in the Temple (Deuteronomy 23:1). It’s possible that he is a Jew, but in Philip’s eyes, he is a foreigner, a Black man from Africa. What is a eunuch? Most current scholarship reveals a first century a eunuch is one of two things. A eunuch could be a man who had been castrated. This Ethiopian could have been a castrated male, or he could have been a male who wasn’t like most males. According to the scholars, men who showed a preference for other men or displayed little or no interest in women, or who were in anyway effeminate, in the first century these men were called eunuchs.

Rulers trusted eunuchs with positions in the treasury because they wouldn’t need to amass wealth to pass on to their children. While rulers entrusted eunuchs with key positions, they were shunned (outcasts) by the rest of society. The passage the Ethiopian eunuch was reading was about the Suffering Servant, who was “cut off” from the people of God. In Isaiah 56 God declares, “eunuchs who keep the Sabbath and follow the covenant will have an everlasting name and blessing, a name that shall not be cut off.” The eunuch could identify with this Suffering Servant. The eunuch asks Philip, “What is to prevent me from being baptized?”

Theologian Willie James Jennings describes the story of the eunuch this way: “Faith found the water. Faith will always find the water.” Where there appears no way, God makes a way, especially for those who feel “cut off” and “in the wilderness”. Philip followed the Spirit. Will we?

church notices

Karen Finley sent me this story that appeared in the Halifax Herald. It reminded me of the quote, “If your church were to disappear tomorrow, would anyone in the community around you notice it was gone?” (Timothy Keller). Here are two examples of “they would notice” answers.

Bargain Bonanza Update: We need folks to organize specific sections of the Bonanza on May 25th. The tables arrive Tuesday, May 21st. We can start setting-up Wednesday, May 22nd. We need people to look after individual sections of the Bonanza, setting up and pricing items to be ready for the 25th!  Please sign up on sheets on the bulletin board outside the sanctuary or contact me (Louisa). The Barbecue needs one large grill or two small grills to cook hot dogs and sausages that day. Please let me know if you’re able to help us out with the loan of a grill. The sign-up sheet for the barbecue is on the bulletin board if you’d like to join the cooking crew that day. Thank you for your continued support for this event and our Sunday School! Contact me at Louisa.duck@gmail.com

April 28th is Camping Sunday. Maybe you can recall your own memories and experiences of church camping. The ARTHUR KIDSTON MEMORIAL CAMP provides a safe and happy summer camping experience to kids aged 5 to 16 where they can explore their unique talents through opportunities to unplug and connect with friends, outdoor adventures, and faith exploration. This cannot happen without your generosity. There are many ways to share your gifts and skills: Donate via our Canada Helps page, Join Lawton's/Sobey's MHCSI Pharmacy Program. Donate program supplies. Another way you can consider lending a hand is by becoming a “Camper Sponsor.” At Kidston, we believe no child should miss out, just because of financial concerns. Thanks to the generosity of our community members, volunteers, and donors, Kidston’s Sponsorship Fund offers a helping hand to campers and families who otherwise might not be able to come to camp. We ask families contribute what they can toward their camper’s fees, we work with our donors to cover the rest. Should you have any questions, please email director@campkidston.com On Sunday, we have a “CAMPING POT" out to collect loose change/cash to be directed to this fund supported by our Local Outreach Committee. Please give as you are able.

hospitality

I know you have been keeping the Lawley family in your prayers. I have been connecting with Gordon on a regular basis, we discuss the profound grief he and his family are feeling since Ross died on Easter Sunday. Here is Ross’ obituary which includes an opportunity to leave words for the family. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/halifax-ns/ross-lawley-11755356 I have been following these kind offerings from friends. I am also attaching the bulletin for the funeral service, held at Bethany this Sunday at 2 pm. If you are not able to be with us in person, here is the livestream link:

We are also cancelling Coffee Hour for Sunday April 28th as we will need to prepare the Fellowship Hall for the arrival of Lawley family members at 12:30 pm. Given the long-standing relationship between the Lawley family and the Coffee Hour ministry at Bethany we know the congregation will understand and support this decision. The ministry of hospitality, how it is offered following a worship service, is one of Bethany’s great strengths, due in no small part to the legacy of Gordon and the late Mary Lawley. I remember conversations with Ross about his sense of inheritance when his mother died. “My mother’s Christian faith was a constant source of guidance to us. We saw it lived out in our midst.”

Hospitality is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated gifts of the Christian faith/church. As an ordained minister for 34 years, I have seen some in the church offer personal, genuine, heart-felt connection, a sense of belonging, to newcomers. It is truly a gift, and as Christians we know this offering comes from Christ’s guidance and example (Luke 14). But like Luke 14 (which I quote at every wedding) that hospitality is most in line with Christ’s example when it is offered to strangers, persons who come from backgrounds not necessarily like ours. Persons who offer this unique hospitality, like Glen and Carol, Tina and Pierre (two couples who embody this gift, inspirations to me) go deeper than the bonds of the familiar. Jesus tells the host in Luke 14 to fill the empty seats at the banquet with those from the street, people not often invited out.

Keeping in balance, the “ties than bind” and “looking for those not often invited to any table”, are the signs of the deepest form of Christian hospitality. Sitting at the table with you

history

Consider Matthew 25, titled in most Bibles “The Last Judgment”.

When the Son of God comes and all the angels, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered… Matthew 25:31-32

Recently, at a Session meeting, I asked the Elders what topics they would like me to address in a sermon. Most told me they liked my topic selection but several mentioned forgiveness. I recently preached about forgiveness (Lent) and wrote about it in a few blogs of late. I want to offer a perspective on forgiveness you may not come across. Most of what I hear, when people speak of forgiveness, is personal. When I began my ministry, most wanted to know how to forgive themselves. Now, it’s about how to forgive what others have done to us. Obviously, persons harmed in a traumatic way need therapy, counselling. I recommend it.

Consider where others have been harmed by larger social forces, how our indifference and/or active participation has contributed to lingering injustice. I recently walked through Pier 21 and witnessed an exhibit on the Lee family who lived in a subdivision I walked through for decades. I listened to a recording of family members, my age, speak of names they were called, how they were made to feel. This history is my lifetime, my neighbourhood. It got me thinking, how will history judge me? At the end of my life, what will my child think of how I responded to the issues of my time? I often wonder how my grandparents responded to Halifax racism, harmful and pointless Protestant-Catholic rivalry. How will 20-somethings judge us for our treatment of the Queer community, climate change? And when we consider our churches, how will history look at us? When we righteously judge our forbears for their social sins, don’t forget our children-grandchildren will be doing likewise. Forgiveness comes to mind.

We are all broken people, all flawed, me as much as anyone. I pray for forgiveness for those moments when I failed to live up to the challenges of our time. But it’s not too late. We have time to do our part, to act.

“And the master will answer, Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these of mine, you did it to me” Matthew 25:40