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Dear Friends,

It has been a long winter for us, with a roller-coaster of weather. I know many of you are weary and fed-up with winter and looking forward to Spring.

We are also on the threshold of Easter. I remind us that Easter is not so much about spring and new life in creation, as it is about the mystery of Christ’s resurrection and the way God gifts us with new life and hope.

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89) in his poem, The Wreck of the Deutschland, has an interesting phrase. He uses “easter” as a verb, rather than a noun (in referring to Christ).
“Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us…”

Easter is an event. It is also for us a season that allows us to discover how the Risen Christ is with us. We engage a number of stories (not just Easter morning) about the Risen Christ, and witness the “resurrection” of the first disciples from cowardly to courageous.

We are also reminded that “Easter” is how Christ is with us: returning, blessing, resurrecting, inviting us into new life. Indeed, Christ can “easter” in us!

John Holbert, who teaches at Perkins School of Theology, tells of an exchange he had a woman in the first church he served in 1974:

“One of the very first persons who came to see me was Marjorie Jacks. She was a no-nonsense woman who spoke with a deep Mississippi drawl and had something of a reputation in the parish… She was a person deeply devoted to the issues of justice, having cut her teeth during the early movements toward civil rights in the delta of Mississippi . When Marjorie prayed, many people held their breath as she called on God to right the wrongs we humans continued to perpetrate on one another. …I loved Marjorie; she was a Christian from her head right down to her toes.”
“But the first conversation we had was unforgettable. She said, and I can still quote her, “John, I did not understand what the resurrection was until my husband died.”

““Why, Mrs. Jacks,” I spluttered, “what ever do you mean by that?” I did not have the foggiest notion what she meant.”

“When he died, I thought I had, too,” said Marjorie, “but I was wrong. God had some life for me still.”

“And for some 20 years after her husband died, and for at least some 20 years more, God did. God can bring life out of the deadest places!

Friends, as we share Easter morning worship, as live into this Easter season, as we share the compassion and work and witness of this faith community, as we shake-off winter, and warm the winter-like corners of our lives, may Christ easter in us!

-- Reverend Jim Cairney

Message From Adam

            At Lent we remember journeys in the wilderness.  The book of Exodus calls it the Wilderness of Sin, while the Gospel According to Matthew tells of Jesus, motivated by the Spirit, heading into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  The wilderness is a place of struggle, a place where we come face to face with the harsh realities of our own humanity.  We must eat, we must drink, we must find ways to meet the challenges that life throws at us.  The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years – Jesus remained there for 40 days.

            We sometimes find ourselves in the wilderness.  As people of worship we are often tempted and challenged by the things of this world that drain our liveliness and the livelihoods of people around the world.  Worship is a term that refers to a way of life – what we deem to be ‘worthy’!  As Christians we deem the way of Jesus Christ and the God whom Jesus represents to be worthy.  And so our call to live into God’s vision is one that asks us to become apprentices in bridge-building.  As we begin to understand the miracle of bridge-building we learn to shun the half-truths that lead us to demonize our brothers and sisters in flesh and learn the secrets of God’s way allowing us to become ourselves more fully human and to see our brothers and sisters in flesh around the world as fully human.  These are Gospel foundations.  The Gospel is founded on Love – unlimited, undying Love; Love that nourishes us through the Wilderness of Sin; Love that draws us as a people toward the mountaintop – “The majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood” as Martin Luther King says.

            When as a people we reach the mountaintop, together we will stand enjoying the view of the Promised Land – the land that God gives for us to flourish.  For as 1 John 4:8 says – “God is Love”.  There is no difference between God and Love, for they are the same.

            Love feeds us into our Promised Land – hope.  Love feeds us into our Promised Land – joy.  Love feeds us into our Promised Land – courage.  Love feeds us into our Promised Land – opportunity.

            We are seeing opportunity well up in the lifeblood of this congregation.  Weekly Youth Nite, Sunday School, Worship, a wonderfully led Stewardship Campaign in the fall, and a deep sense that the God who has acted in history is presently with us.

            At this point in time plans for VBS 2008 are under way and I think that it will end up being a great opportunity for us to connect, once again, with the community around us.  The children we worked with last year had a great week and I did as well.  It is an honour to be able to serve you in this time and in this place at this point in my own journey of faith, because God’s zeal for us has proven true to me in your witnessings of the Promised Land.

Thankfully,

Adam Kilner

HALTON PRESBYTERY -
SOUTH MISSISSAUGA CHURCHES
COLLABORATION PROJECT

In October of 2006, representatives from four United Churches in south Mississauga came together to dialogue about the future shape of United Church mission and ministry across the southern section of the city. They gathered at the invitation of the Mission Development Officer of Halton Presbytery, the Rev. John Ambrose. It was his hope that the Presbytery might facilitate broadly-based co-operation among neighbouring churches in the three geographical communities of the Presbytery -- Mississauga, Oakville and Burlington. Mississauga was chosen as the first setting although dialogue among four North Oakville churches is now moving forward.

The four churches in south Mississauga were First, St. Stephen’s, Christ Church, and Sheridan. No goals were set out in advance of this gathering, other than to launch a dialogue about how the congregations might start thinking, planning, and working together in mission and ministry in the years ahead.

The first couple of meetings were get-acquainted sessions, looking at the circumstances facing the individual congregations, and honestly evaluating their strengths and struggles. All four were in the process of changes in ministerial leadership.

In the Spring of 2007, the members of the group completed a work sheet designed to identify ways/areas in which the congregations might collaborate and identify what things might be done together that would otherwise be difficult to do alone. A wealth of possibilities emerged from this exercise.

In the months following, the Councils of the four congregations were asked to approve a one-year trial period  (January ‘08 to January ‘09) to launch several co-operative projects. All four Councils agreed.  The group has now identified several projects to begin co-operative efforts and will be seeking leadership and evaluating interest for: a summer vacation school for children, community forums on vital issues, adult study programmes, a common Lenten study/action programme (possibly in 2009), as well as making a greater effort to communicate events and happenings among the participating congregations. Volunteers are now being sought from the four congregations to help bring some of these proposed projects into being.

Members of the Four Church Collaboration Team are: First United, (Pat Skinner, Barbara Abrams & Nancy Brodie), St. Stephen’s-on-the-Hill (Peter Curran & Susanne Sweatman), Christ Church (Heather McGillis, Bev West & Terence McKillen), and Sheridan (Karen Cobb, Marie Foreman & Joanne Walker). When able, the Ministers also participate. Currently convening the team is Terence McKillen of Christ Church.

Please discuss your congregation’s participation in this dialogue with one or more of your church representatives and we invite you to consider providing leadership in one of the proposed activities. The collaborative effort will only bear fruit if there is a willingness to engage and take ownership of joint action. It may be there are more pressing issues of common interest than those identified to date. We look forward to hearing from you on these or any other issues of common interest or concern. Should you wish to contact the Collaborative Project leadership group, please contact: Sheridan: Jo Ann Walker; St. Stephen’s: Susanne Sweatman at s.sweatman@sympatico.ca; Christ Church: Heather McGillis at hmcgillis@rogers.com or First: Pat Skinner @ AlastairSkinner@aol.com or the group convenor: Terence McKillen at tnmckillen@sympatico.ca.

Christ Church Environics Report

At the end of 2007, the Christ Church Council decided to participate in a pilot study sponsored by the United Church of Canada. This study is related to the United Church ’s Emerging Spirit initiative and the goal of the study is to enable congregations to attract people targeted by the Emerging Spirit campaign. United Church congregations across the country, including St. Stephen’s, have joined us in this initiative led by Rob Dalgleish.

Environics Canada, a national research firm, has prepared custom reports for each participating congregation. The Environics report profiles our congregation and our neighbourhood on a statistical basis (similar to the analysis that John Fargey keeps up to date for us). They have also taken the information one step further to reveal the social values generally held by members of our congregation and our neighbours. It also attaches to those specific social values information on United Church resources that could be used to attract and interest newcomers and members alike (not just the Emerging Spirit age group).

Are you interested to learn more? Copies of the report are available from the church office. Are you interested in learning more? Please contact me.

Louise Sinclair

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