Our IN FROM THE COLD MINISTRY begins its eighth year Saturday, November 14th.
If YOU have been considering becoming a first time volunteer and would like to join the team of other caring, enthusiastic volunteers, please sign up using one of the sheets located at the four doors of the Sanctuary and outside the Chapel. Information pamphlets are available in the same locations. Completed sheets may be placed on the collection plate or returned to the Church office.
For further details call Janice Gray, Volunteer Coordinator or contact Jennifer Reid in the Church office at 613-728-8656.
Walking with the Lord
A year ago, I had occasion to visit beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. I decided to visit nearby Folly Beach. And so, I embarked alone on a local bus. The circuitous bus route led me to the middle of nowhere. The driver dropped me off at the corner of a highway and told me to walk straight south for approximately two or three (country) miles.
Of course, we all know that two or three country miles usually equals twice as many real miles, which means almost quadruple the number of kilometres. Having walked 40 minutes down the barren highway in my sandals, I worried when the beach was nowhere in sight and I could not yet smell the salt of the Atlantic Ocean.
I began to wonder if there really was a beach and whether I would be safe walking the rest of the way. I prayed and was reminded of the church sign that I had seen several years ago in Ottawa. “Exercise daily. Walk with the Lord,” it read. I walked on in faith, recalling that faith is the belief in things yet unseen.
Suffice it to say that I arrived at the sandy beach after a 70-minute walk and that I swam briefly in the warm Atlantic Ocean. The walk back to the local bus was another 70 minutes in my sandals. When I arrived back at the bus stop in the middle of nowhere, I saw that I had just missed the bus, which ran every hour and a half.
As I gazed around, I realized that God had just given me an unexpected 90 minutes to do absolutely nothing but enjoy the rest of that sunny afternoon. I recognized that the unexpected inconvenience was indeed an unexpected gift, and it was up to me to steward it well.
I smiled as I turned and saw that someone had placed an old vinyl chair at the bus stop. I had not noticed it there that morning. Having walked a total of 140 minutes, it was a godsend to sit down. There was a dirt path leading away to half a dozen modest wooden homes in obvious disrepair. A preteen boy eventually came out from one of the houses to collect the mail in the roadside box. We chatted amiably for a few minutes and I told him how thoughtful it was that someone had placed a chair there.
As I stared at the seemingly empty field across from the bus stop, I realized that the field was actually a patch of wetlands where the locals were searching diligently in the mud for blue crabs for their supper. I invited them to show me their catch of the day and they proudly displayed their makings of a feast.
I sat there enjoying my interrupted schedule and chatting with my American neighbours as they struggled proudly to survive in their simple surroundings. I was reminded of an important adage: happiness is in the heart, not the circumstances. I had expected absolutely nothing of that 90-minute exercise in patience, and I was richly rewarded. As Saint Francis of Assisi is quoted to have said, “Blessed is he (she) who expecteth nothing, for he (she) shall enjoy everything.”
That said, life is not always a day at the beach. At times, it is marked by unexpected tragedy, job loss, victimization, illness and death of a loved one. We wonder why these bad things happen, but we should not let our unexpected challenges define our future or our hope. And so, we pray that God will give us the grace and the courage to deal with our situation.
Sometimes the unexpected challenges come from our relationships with others and stewardship may mean walking a mile in the other person’s shoes. Sometimes it seems easiest to give up because it is downright difficult to face the mountains and the long road before us, but that is precisely when we need to invite God to guide our steps with wisdom.
Walking and talking with the Lord, have you exercised your faith today?
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Hennessy,
Chair
Stewardship Group
Forty Days and Forty Nights*
Only occasionally in
the wilderness!
In July, together with 23 people from 6 countries, I participated in a four-week course on Ecumenism and Inter-religious Dialogue. The specific focus this year was Religion in the Construction of Peace. Courses in ecumenism have been given annually by CESEP (Centro Ecumênico de Serviços à Evangelizaçao e Educaçao Popular) for over 15 years.
Like CESE, where I work in Salvador, CESEP is one of the United Church of Canada`s global partners supported by the Mission and Service Fund.
The courses are well-known and highly respected and now I know why. The course content is rich, the approach is holistic, the learning environment is positive; and the speakers were esteemed theologians, philosophers, pastors and padres, professors and facilitators.
We lived together in a large house, our Casa Comunitária, and ate all meals together. We helped in the preparation and especially in the serving and cleaning up after meals, kept our own rooms clean and tidy, and did our own laundry. We had free time some evenings to read, watch movies, chat. We sang and danced. (It is Brazil, after all.)
The experience was educational, exciting, invigorating and a blessing – and not without its challenges!
Nosso Grupo
Our group
Twenty-three participants from Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Cuba, Brazil and Canada attended. The youngest participant was Dionata, an 18 year old Lutheran theology student from the south of Brazil. I was the lone Canadian working in an ecumenical social service agency in Salvador Bahia. I was also the oldest member of the group Our religious diversity included Catholic (about half the group), Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal (Universal Church of the Reign of God), Candomblé (with roots in African traditional religion), United Church of Canada and one participant without a religion. Whenever we worked in denominational groups, I chose to work with the Methodists.
We held two “Cultural Nights” - two grand parties! - celebrating our diverse cultural backgrounds. Argentina, Brazil and Canada worked together to plan one evening. People wore their party clothes, we had special meals and appropriate wines, we shared information about our countries and sang and danced!
As the representative of Canada, I wore everything I had with me! I piled my winter coat, a big sweater, a fleece jacket, gloves, a scarf, long pants, two pairs of socks, a jacket with a hood and my heaviest shoes over my party clothes. I explained that as I knew it was winter in Brazil I had come prepared. I set up a flipchart with relevant weather statistics from Ottawa and as I stripped off my multiple layers of clothing I shared the stats. It was fun. My Brazilian colleagues here in Salvador truly do believe that temperatures of 20°C below freezing would kill them.
An aside: I am always stumped when asked about the traditional Canadian music, songs, dances, dishes, costume. Any advice you can provide will be very welcome.
Another aside: An intrepid group of CESE friends is planning to visit Ottawa. I really hope they do! They are planning a JANUARY holiday because CESE is closed then which means they can all be away from CESE at the same time. We talk almost daily about how they will prepare for this excursion. I have promised to provide all necessary outdoor winter clothing. I also explained that they should be planning to do a bit of cross-country skiing and to skate on the canal! Aren’t they wonderful women? To even contemplate such a trip!
Back to the course!
Nossas Visitas
Our visits
Lectures and presentations about various religions provided history and insights into common beliefs and practices and the differences among Christian churches and between Christian churches and other religions. Equally important were our visits to places of worship throughout the city of São Paulo. The following list is in Português but I am sure you will understand. We visited:
-Templo Budista Zua Lai
-Tekke Islámica
-Aldeia Guarani (a settlement of 500 indigenous people within São Paulo)
-Congregação Israelita Paulista (a synagogue)
-Casa de Oração do Povo da Rua (House of Prayer of the People of the Street)
-Templo Hindu
-Catedral Metropolitana Ortodoxa
-Igreja Brasil Para Cristo (Pentecostal)
-Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana
-Igreja Católica Romana Santa Rita
-Casa das Minas de Thova Jarina (Candomblé religion, based in African traditional religion)
-Tupã Óca do “Caboclo Arranca Roço” (Umbanda, a Brazilian religion incorporating African and other religious belief and practice)
In each of these communities we talked with worship leaders including the priest, padre, minister, pastor, rabbi, mother, Muslim sheik, Hindu swami or Buddhist monje and with the people of faith. We were almost always invited to share an appropriate meal or snack depending on the time of day or night.
Minha Esperança, Minha Oração
My Hope, My Prayer
In the coming months, I am going to work on – meaning that I will discuss with others, ponder, read, ponder, study, pray – how to clarify and when necessary and appropriate respond to the beliefs and practices of other people of faith. Sometimes listening and learning is all that is appropriate or required. Often my response is positive and enthusiastic. I benefit from stretching my thinking to accommodate other perspectives. However, other reactions could range from I don't understand, I understand but don't like it,I have a different perspective,I don't agree… all the way to Irejectit. There are lots more possible responses. I think we are neither used to nor comfortable in potentially confrontational situations. Not us polite Canadians at any rate. I need to get better at it!
Over the coming months, at CESE, we are going to replicate aspects of the course I took in São Paulo. We will invite theologians and religious leaders to tell us about their church, beliefs and practices. We will have discussions, debates and reflect on our mission both institutionally and individually.
CESE is an ecumenical agency founded by Christian churches 35 years ago. The organizational goals and objectives, programs and processes reflect Christian morals and values – essentially, to follow Christ’s commandment “Feed my sheep.” I trust that by enlightening ourselves, we will reflect our Christian values more brightly and respond with renewed vigor.
Koinonia and a Youth Leadership Encounter
At the end of the four-week course, I left São Paulo by bus and traveled to Rio de Janeiro, a 6-hour trip. I was going to Rio to meet with Koinonia. Like CESE and CESEP who coordinated the course in ecumenism, Koinonia is an ecumenical agency and global partner of the United Church of Canada. I had a couple of hours with two senior staff members, Rafael and Atilio. We talked about ecumenism in Brazil, about Koinonia's work and mine. As well, during those two days in Rio, I participated in an ecumenical youth leadership training course.
Just one story about my time in Rio, which is justifiably known for its violence and poverty. The Youth Leadership Course was held about an hour outside Rio. We travelled there by public transit, mostly through back streets, to the youth centre where the course was being held. In the early evening, as we headed in different directions, my colleagues put me on the bus they thought would get me back to the central subway station. From there it was a very short and safe walk to my hotel. However, during the bus trip, it began to dawn on me that I was actually not going the right way. I asked one of my fellow passengers who spoke to the driver and confirmed that I did need to change buses. Yikes! But then, with directions from the bus driver, my fellow passenger handed me over to a public transit employee at the next bus stop and he stayed at my side (I stayed at his side, really) until the right bus came along and he spoke to the driver on my behalf. I continued my journey feeling quite confident with such helpers.
A colleague here in Salvador praised my courage. Courage? Not so much!!! I HAD arranged tolook very ordinary (not difficult), not too foreign (more difficult) and had no purse. I carried only my knapsack and I wore no jewelry, which would have been out of place anyway.I had nothing of value with me! Only a bit of money to get me to the hotel Once off the bus I walked very purposefully to the relative safety of the subway station and from there it was just a matter if figuring out in which direction to go..
I had a fine time in Rio but during three days there, I had not even one glimpse of the magnificent statue of Christ the Redeemer nor of a beach!
On to Piacatuba
On Wednesday, I went on my own by interurban bus(a5-hour trip) heading west from Rio toLeopoldinawhere Tatiana (my Portuguese teacher) met me at the bus station. Then we got another bus to Piacatuba (pop 3000). That bus dropped us on the highway at about 10 p.m. and we were almost immediately met by a family friend (andtaxi driver) for the final half hour of the trip.
The bus trip from Rio was beautiful through the mountains of the state of Rio de Janeiro. They are not as big as the Rockies of course but are substantial. The highway snakes around; climbing and then descending. Beautiful and also harrowing - as it ISwhen you are in a big bus looking straight down the side of a mountain or alternatively straight into the side of a rock face on the mountain side of the bus.
The gastronomicand music festival in Piacatuba was fabulous and a very different pace and ambiance. My gastronomic experience in Piacatuba was exclusively around the kitchen table of Tatiana`s mother. That suited me/us just fine!There were usually quite a few of us since the family assembles annually in Piacatuba for this festival.
The city-ette(very small) is beautiful and isolated. There are lots of lovely photos on the internet. Try googling Piacatuba Minas Gerais (name of the state).It is very safe, quiet, serene – everyone knows everyone. The people are friendly and fun-loving.
Once again, it was like a dream.
Blessings to all
Kathleen