Recommended

Good day folks, Marion here. (Thanks for all you good wishes as I've been transitioning into retirement. As expected, it's great!)

I know you'll be missing The Good Word for awhile so I want to offer a couple of things I think you might appreciate.

For pastors, worship planners, Christian education folk in congregations with children, here is a great web site for you. It follows the Lectionary, as does our own Worship Helps so you'll find it easy to locate the Sunday you want.

I know you will find excellent ideas, and as always, there are things intended for children that will make their greatest impression on your adult worshipers. Here's the link for Worshiping With Children. I hope you'll find it useful.

Posted by Marion

Another Perspective

This past weekend, Doug Bolger talked about the need to be sensitive to the Perspective of others and what we can learn from that experience. I find it particularly instructive to listen to children in this way.

At Christmas time, Children's eyes often show the excitement and wonder Christmas and the marvel of the Christmas story. By paying close attention to them, we see what they are learning, perhaps from us, and in the process, we learn a lot from them.

The following link provides a wonderful glimpse into the Children's view of the birth of Jesus. I know you will enjoy it. Click here for a delightful Childhood look at Christmas.

Merry Christmas from the staff and leadership team at Canada East Mission.

Posted by Carman

Billboards

I’ve just come through a couple of days of billboard country. Mile after mile, high and low, both sides of the road they call out to me as I drive along. There’s really no way to avoid the clear message: I am the most important person in the world. I am the centre of the universe. I am entitled to the best, the biggest, the sweetest. Everyone out there was created to serve me and my every need, my every want, my every whim or desire.

There is not a restaurateur, realtor, insurance agent or health care provider not poised at the ready to serve me with comfort, luxury, healing. Come to us and we’ll make you feel like one of the family they offer. (Somehow I don’t get the sense they want me to wash the dishes or take my turn cleaning the toilets.)

As I drove along in the glow of all these extravagant offers coming at me from billboard after billboard it occurred to me that most of modern life is quite this way for those of us who live the typical North American lifestyle. Certainly if we’re not careful. We are “marketed at” constantly.

No wonder that we can so easily fall into a feeling of entitlement. We may think it just normal that our politicians promise us things. Why would we not want them to take care of us, cut our taxes, preserve our favoured services. After all, am I not Number One? I’ve been hearing it forever.

One little conversation from the previous family weekend comes to mind. “How do you teach values to children who have everything they need, and most of what they want?”

I think it isn’t just our children we need worry about. I think it’s so important to talk, teach, practise and model generosity. How easy it would be just to allow ourselves to be lulled by the marketing messages bombarding us on every side. We start to believe that we deserve all that we have, that somehow it’s our due. It’s pretty easy to become convinced that we’ve got here by our own efforts, our own hard work, our own "just because" we're just so fine.

And yet the facts are otherwise. We who live at the top of the heap must take seriously the need in our world. Not just in countries far away, although for sure it is there. But right here in our own neighbourhoods. At the base of those billboards there live hungry children, working poor, communities of people who don’t enjoy all that good food and luxury and comfort pictured up above them there.

Fifteen hours on the road, looking at all those billboards has brought me to a place of thinking just what all these messages convey. I don’t want to forget to be generous and thoughtful about my resources. Here’s my suggested antidote one more time: Talk, teach, practise, model generosity.

Posted by Marion

Dreams

Lets dream out loud for a moment, shall we? What kind of a world do you dream of? Oh, I don’t mean dreams for a bigger house or more money in the bank; I am thinking of bigger dreams than that. I will go first to get us started. Lets see where this conversation takes us.

• I dream of a world that is safe for children; a world where they do not have to pick through garbage heaps looking for plastic or other bits of junk they can sell to recyclers in order to get food to eat.
• I dream of a world where every child has a roof over their head and a nice, clean, warm bed to sleep in; where they do not sleep in doorways, or cardboard boxes, or back alleys; where they do not wander the streets in fear.
• I dream of a world where children are not forced to become soldiers and taught to kill in order to stay alive themselves; where bombs do not fall on their homes at night or explode in the streets or marketplace during the day, where mommies and daddies, brothers and sisters always come home safely with all their limbs and parts intact.
• I dream of a world where children are free to play, and where play is an imitation of the healthy life they see around them; an imitation of caring mommies and daddies who themselves play and work to earn money to care for and provide for their children and others who depend on them.
• I dream of clean air for children to breathe, clean water for children to drink, and food that is not contaminated with pesticides, herbicides or growth hormones.
• I dream of a world where every child can go to school because there is a school for them to attend; a school that has paper and coloured pencils, books and teachers, and perhaps even computers that open windows onto the larger world of science and nature, mathematics and literature, God’s universe and beyond.
• I dream of a world where children are free to think about God and the miracles they see every day in the life that is around them; where they are free to wonder and contemplate what is, and what might be.
• All of this is a dream of a world where children themselves can dream, in a safe healthy environment, of all the great things they can and will do in God’s world.

For the most part, this dream is already a reality for my grandchildren and others where I live. It is not so for everyone. This is the dream we work for; a world of justice and peace, because we can’t have one without the other.

So that is my dream this morning. Now it is your turn. What kind of world do you dream of?

Posted by Carman

God/Child

On Saturday, May 14, 2011, twenty-nine people gathered in St. Thomas congregation’s fellowship hall to take the Child Protection training. This was the first class using the new “core” training approach created by Karen Waring. The class was about evenly split between those who are already registered as child and youth workers wanting to renew their training, and those who are new to the process needing to become registered. It was a good day; one I consider an important milestone for the folks from St. Thomas and others who attended.

At the heart of the child protection training is the need of the child for safe care. We recognize that their well-being must take precedence over the convenience of the worker. Protecting the children in our care from harm must always be our number one priority.

Throughout the day we talked about the variety of ways we do this, exploring the principles we employ. Those principles include the registered child and youth worker program itself and the need for training such as we were undertaking right there and then. The principles also include the two deep rule (or 2 X 2 rule) which means that a worker never works with children by her/himself because there are always at least two registered adults present, and the 1:1 visibility rule which means that, if you have to be alone with a child or youth for some reason, you go to a place where you are clearly visible to others.

The morning following this intense, day-long session, I awoke with a fresh thought; one clearly related to the previous day’s work. What if we were to treat each child as if they were God? What if every child was really God in human form? What if this child was God choosing to have a human experience? What if that experience included the unknown and uncertainty; the need to learn and find one’s way through this life? What if our task was to be caregivers for God in Human form; would we treat that Child any differently? If we were to be guides and protectors to God’s self on this adventure, how would we behave towards this God/Child?

It is an interesting question, don’t you think? Is this what Jesus means in his great, apocalyptic description of judgment (Matthew 25) when he says, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me”?

The Hindu’s use a Sanskrit word we have probably each heard and perhaps become familiar with. The word is Namaste, which is frequently interpreted to mean, "The spirit in me respects the spirit in you," or "the divinity in me bows to the divinity in you."

May we each recognize, respect and honour the divinity of God in every child we meet. May each and every God/Child always be safe in our care.

Posted by Carman

Kids

“What’s the matter with kids today?”

Remember that song? I’ve been thinking of it this morning as I’m pondering some congregational ‘challenges’ regarding some of our beloved offspring. Oh my. What a dilemma some of us have.

We long to have more kids in our midst. We pine for the days of the packed Sunday school and get all nostalgic over memories of past summer picnics, Christmas pageants, Easter children’s choirs. Then in the next breath we bemoan the behaviour of the children who are present among us.

Is it OK for the pastor’s kids to be playing in the gym while the rest of us are meeting in the sanctuary? Shouldn’t that two-year-old’s mother restrain him when he does his reptile act under the pews and through the feet of the worshipers? Must we listen to this little story selected without much theological attention during our “children's moment”? How can we be expected to remain reverent when the youthful reader stumbles over the words, clearly not having rehearsed or perhaps even looked at the scripture before. (Why I remember when we practised for months to memorize all this lines of the nativity story!)

Some of my thoughts; I hope they help.

Perhaps our remembrances of the past have a bit of a glow. We do tend to view our memories through rose-coloured glasses. And those were different times. There are things we really do not want to repeat. The whole “children who are seen and not heard” attitude might just have something to do with why a whole generation of kids are not now bringing their young’uns out to church. Parenting styles do change, have changed, must change, will change. We who are older can sometimes help best by holding our critical thoughts in check.

But some of us who are responsible for those precious toddlers-to-teens might also try to be aware of the needs of the rest of us. A little chat about how many of our dear elder-saints view the Lord’s house and what they’re thinking when they appear to be gritting their teeth could help to bring some peace to our worshiping community.

I revert to my “one rule fits all” advice here people: talk among yourselves about how you’ll be in community and remain friends. And that means talking to each other, rather than about each other. There needs to be some tolerance, lots of love and patience, and maybe some willingness to be a little uncomfortable for the sake of someone else. That someone might be eight, or eighty. It will require some awareness and it might involve bringing a situation to someone’s attention who just didn’t notice. Be sensitive, be caring and remember Jesus' admonition had two parts: “Feed my sheep; feed my lambs.”

Posted by Marion

Babies

I watched this film on the weekend. It is lovely. I highly recommend it if you’re feeling the least bit stressed and just want to spend an hour with gentle thoughts and no intellectual challenges at all. It’s delightful.Then, if this starts you thinking about how life might be better for all the babies of the world, you could consider some of the studies in this article. Who knew the impact would be so great?

There’s one study that says “For every one-year increase in the average education of reproductive-age women, a country experienced a 9.5 percent decrease in the child deaths.” Wow! That’s huge. And that isn’t only in the poor countries we hear or read about. It isn’t just Afghanistan or Haiti. It’s in the USA and Canada, where your actions and mine just might make some difference.

For sure we need to keep supporting World Accord’s efforts in India and Pakistan. But we could probably do something in our very own congregation or our very own family. I can think of things—maybe you can too—that could help a girl or woman get more education. It will be worth it for their future and the future well-being of their children.

Now I challenge you to give it some thought. Let’s make the world better for all the babies.

Posted by Marion

Ice Cream

On Civic Holiday, Joan and I took the opportunity to go to Westfield Heritage Village with two of our grandsons; Aidan,age five, and Wyatt, age three, along with their Dad.

Westfield is a pioneer village in the Rockton area which is dedicated to teaching, by demonstration, how the pioneers lived and worked. The Civic Holiday weekend is the occasion of the annual Ice Cream festival. Given that it was close and would involve only a short car ride, it seemed like a perfect holiday outing. I learned a lot from this outing, and thought I might share some of my new understanding with you. Discerning what each of these lessons actually mean will probably take a little longer.

1. For a five year old, having a ride in a horse-drawn wagon is a lot more fun when you don’t have to wait in line.
2. Learning about weaving cloth on a barn loom is of practically no interest to a five year old boy, and being told that his great, great, great, great, grandfather was a weaver means absolutely nothing at all.
3. Watching the blacksmith hammer a red-hot iron bar into a pointed hook is infinitely more interesting than hearing said smithy explain the process.
4. Seeing how ice cream was made in small batches by putting cream and sugar into a can, surrounding that can with ice and salt in a larger can, then shaking that can gently back and forth, is interesting and fun…to a point. The idea of doing that activity for half an hour is not. Moving up a few decades, making strawberry ice cream in slightly larger batches using a hand-cranked ice cream church is also somewhat interesting, but the only part that really matters is tasting the final product.
5. Lemon Sorbet is much more interesting than plain ice cream, or even strawberry.
6. Tasting the quickly melting hand-made ice cream on the end of the wooden, teaspoon sized tasting stick is fine, but in the end, not very satisfying. Enough with the little tastes already! Can’t we just go back to the kiosk by the entrance where they sell the “real ice cream”! Real ice cream, I discovered, is already made by Bryers and fills a big cone!
7. The most interesting part of a steam locomotive is not the engine but the only part you are actually allowed to climb on; the caboose.
8. If you have been patient and are finally going to have fresh made caramel corn, having a small bag of your own that you can actually have in your hand is much better than having a huge bag to take home and share with everyone.
9. Even in a 19th century school house, teachers are teachers, and teachers think you should be able to do things for yourself, especially if you are five.
10. It is easier to be patient in order to have another ride in the horse-drawn wagon when it is closer to the end of the day and you are getting a little tired. It also helps that there are now more horses and wagons, and you may be able to ride in a different one this time.
    

Somewhere in the above list of observations, I am quite confident there are important life-lessons, even though I am not yet sure what they are. Perhaps you can see them. If not, maybe we each just need a big bowl of ice cream to help us figure them out. Enjoy!

Posted by Carman

Invite

I had a nice chat with Barb K who’s currently conducting a pre-baptismal class in Ottawa. The small group of children will be working with her over an extended time. They’re getting to know the church they’ll be joining from many perspectives.

Barb speaks, lovingly, of the learning and behavioural challenges of these particular children. And I use the word “challenges” not to suggest disability. In fact, sometimes a gifted child presents an even greater challenge to a parent or teacher or congregation. The secret, she shared with me, has been to invite a guest to the class to talk about something for which that person has a special passion, or some unusual insight, or additional experience. What a breakthrough!

Barb shares just how successful this has been. The children look forward with excitement to greet the guests. The guests have shared wonderful information and testimonies with the children. They’re glad to have the opportunity (and I suspect to have Barb there riding herd on the little beasts). With guests, the class is on best behaviour.

The children share what they’re learning at home with families and look forward and plan for the day they’ll be baptized to show the world they’re followers of Jesus and full-fledged members of the Community of Christ.

Then, of course, Barb the Seventy can’t resist reminding me that invite is such an essential word for all of us to remember, all the time. It’s how we reach out into the community to meet the needs of the lost and seeking, and to bring in the richness and diversity we need to grow our congregations and engage in God’s mission for the world.

So there you have today’s good word: Invite!

(Posted by Marion)

Water

This is World Water Week.

I heard a report about it on a late night Radio Netherlands and realized it's something that is much bigger and growing bigger every year than I ever imagined. If you're interested by all means plug it into your favourite search engine. It's vast!

(For example, here's a link about UNICEF's concerns for the needs of the world's children for a safe supply of good water (http://www.unicef.org/wash/index_50832.html )

Then I thought of a couple of verses from Section 163. We still have a lot of work to do with this one, friends.

The restoring of persons to healthy or righteous relationships with God, others, themselves, and the earth is at the heart of the purpose of your journey as a people of faith.

The earth, lovingly created as an environment for life to flourish, shudders in distress because creation's natural and living systems are becoming exhausted from carrying the burden of human greed and conflict. Humankind must awaken from its illusion of independence and unrestrained consumption without lasting consequences.

Prepare new generations of disciples to bring fresh vision on the perplexing problems of poverty, disease, war, and environmental detrioration. Their contributions will be multiplied if their hearts are focuswed on God's will for creation.

How are you recognizing World Water Week? How about the rest of the year? And the rest of Creation?

Auntie

I listened to a repeated essay on CBC yesterday in celebration of "aunts." Mostly the discussion was about all the wonderful qualities of various female relatives, sisters of parents or wives of uncles. These may be the ones we look up to or seek support for the first time outside our close family. Maybe they're mentors or models.

But one bit of the story got me thinking about how our congregations work. The reference was to "auntie" as someone, not necessarily related by blood, but related by friendship or geography who takes on the responsibility of a closer relationship with a younger person. It could be your mother's best friend or a neighbour you drop in on after school.

I had this kind of "auntie" as a child and young teen. And I see some of these women in the congregations I visit. Maybe they're Sunday school teachers; maybe childless women in the congregation who befriend little ones, or the awkward pre-teens or the adolescents (an appropriate adjective escapes me). They might even be moms of friends who somehow see you differently than your own mom.

Aunties talk to us like real people, recognize our adult qualities before our parents do, show real interest in what we're doing or thinking or planning. They play a key role in a congregation that is creating the best qualities of "community."

Has your life been enriched by an auntie?

Kindness

Lots of good stories collected from that past week at reunion (Erie Beach). Much processing to be done.

But I can tell you about a "secret" group of senior high age girls who formed a Conspiracy of Kindness. Their objective was to affect the tone of the reunion by committing random acts of kindness, anonymously, in the hope that others would feel good, and potentially become kinder themselves.

From my perspective it really worked! The mood of the attendees, adults and children, became noticeably more upbeat. Children ran to get chairs for seniors; youth handed open songbooks to latecomers; lunch trays and empty dinner dishes were swooped out from under us with expressions of "let me take that for you."

Better than that, one heard once-cynical adults commenting on the many good kids and expressing genuine hope and optimism for the future!

This is a very good word!