Action

The more I spend time with the Words of Counsel presented at the 2013 World Conference, the more I see.  Of course that is exactly the reason President Stephen Veazey asked us to dwell in those words, isn't it?  What I observe now is that the document is a blend of direction and instruction or education, all of which is intended for our active guidance.  This writing is focused on direction.

Have you noticed how this document is full of action words and phrases?  Here is a partial list.

follow

shape

invite

see

undertake

abolish

end

pursue

align

move

free

discover

listen

remember

accept

embrace

be not consumed

be passionately concerned

offer

live, love and share

bear

remember

trust

Each of the above words or phrases undoubtedly could rate its own post in this blog, however for today, let us at least note that this document calls us to action.  While there is a true need for us to contemplate this counsel spiritually, if we are to be faithful to its guidance we must do more than that.  These are not words of encouragement to keep on keeping on, or continue with business as usual.  This is a call to "be about our Father's business," actively, passionately, seriously.

What call are you sensing as you dwell in these words?  Which words call you to action?

Posted by Carman

Differently...Together

This week on our journey to participate in each Ontario reunion, we attended the CCM gathering (Contemporary Christian Ministries) at the Erie Beach grounds. We were greeted with worshipful music upon arrival as we proceeded to the chapel. Music within CCM is a connecting pathway of expression towards and with God. You have heard the phrase that “an individual wears their heart on their sleeve.” So it is with the worshipful and personal praise, sensitivity and spontaneity of both song and prayer within the CCM sacred community. The presence of God is sensed and cannot be contained. Raised hands, a hand laid upon another’s shoulder, smiles, clapping and perhaps as was seen in the afternoon music concert even dancing openly personifies the feelings of joy within. The comfort level for some would be challenged in this setting, however, personal preference is a privilege and freedom we all enjoy.

Devotion to the Lord is expressed in the testimonies shared whether in worship events, the lineup for lunch or a walk on the grounds. Scripture is well known and daily lives of prayer characterizes the comings and goings of all. I met families from other church affiliations sharing within this community for the week. I shared with families from several US states contributing to the spirit of the reunion. There is a compelling draw of fellowship that permeates the spirit of this gathering.

Scriptural imagery from the context of Paul’s writings used in the themes for the week portrayed the need to take upon oneself the armour of God exemplifying the enduring traits of the Divine. On the opening Sunday Apostle Susan Oxley brought rich testimony of the blessing of God’s peace in her life amidst even in the most fragile and seemingly hopeless moments of life. A mother shared how Susan’s personal witness had vividly touched the life of her 12 yr old son. Evangelist Bev Moor shared his envisioned imagery of Christ walking amongst us and the multitude of ways each individual might respond to his presence. There were touching moments when Kleenex was passed around the chapel.

Within the diversity of Community of Christ are people of faith, each encountering the Divine in fulfilling yet different ways that blesses our lives with grace and meaning and impels us to mission in Christ. Unity in diversity is recognizing the face of God in one another and celebrating the breadth and spectrum of our collective uniqueness. We are one in Christ bringing who we are; differently, what we believe; differently, the models of our worship; differently, the blessing and freedom of self-expression; differently……. together in community when we affirm the worth of one another. Nurturing mutuality, reconciling divergent perspectives, building reciprocity, facilitating meaningful dialogue, opening ourselves and entering into each other’s lives in humility and willingness to be sacred community, is the heart of our identity, even portrayed in the name of our church.

My prayer from visiting with and amongst so many is that we look beyond the wrappings, the package, the avatars of our humanity and strive to encounter ourselves and the Divine in each other.  

Posted by Kerry Richards

Toronto

The world is certainly changing. That statement won’t come as a surprise to anybody, since at times it feels as if change is the one true constant in our world.

What has me thinking about that this morning is the continually evolving presence of Community of Christ in the city of Toronto. I am by no means an expert on the history of the church in the city, but I do know that only a few generations ago there was one downtown church on Soho street, and a small northern mission on Sudan Avenue, "way up North" in the Mount Pleasant and Eglington area. To the West was the Humber Bay “branch”, and out in the country, way to the Northwest, stood the old Woodbridge church. Soho Street was eventually sold and replaced by a brand new presence on Bathurst Street, and the North Toronto group joined in. This new building was built in stages and I believe was not finally completed until the 1960s.

In the optimistic period of the 1950s and ‘60s, the city of Toronto rapidly expanded into the suburban areas, and so did the church. New “missions” were established in Scarborough, Downsview, Cooksville and Oshawa, and a new church was contructed in Woodbridge. By 1970 we had six congregations in the so called Greater Toronto Area; Toronto (Bathurst Street), Scarborough, Willowdale, Woodbridge, Etobicoke and Mississauga, all with good, solid, and mostly new buildings. The Oshawa group continued to meet sporadically with the members eventually joining Scarborough.

In the latter part of the 20th century, the post-WWII optimism of the church was confronted by the unforeseen reality of the so called “post-Christian era”. Increasingly empty pews led to a period of consolidation. A much smaller Willowdale made the decision to sell the building and become a house church. The three congregations on the West side of the city, Mississauga, Etobicoke, and Woodbridge, decided to amalgamate and form one stronger unit, now known as GTA-West. This congregation is currently in the process of searching for a new location where they can be effective in their mission, and positively impact the larger community for Christ.

The recent rapid growth of Toronto’s population has seen an insistent demand for housing, especially along the subway routes. A few years ago, Toronto’s downtown congregation began to be approached by developers seeking to buy the property for a condominium site. While such approaches were initially rebuffed, the high cost of maintaining and heating the big building eventually led to a deal, and another change began. As the end of 2011 nears, the congregation is still using the old building but is in the process of planning for a new future; perhaps as part of the new condominium. Once again, the question to be answered is, “How can we best fulfill the mission of Jesus Christ in this community?” This small group of faithful disciples is working to discern the answers.

In Canada’s largest city, the presence of Community of Christ continues to evolve. Currently we have three congregations, Scarborough, Toronto, and GTA-West. All three are working to be about their mission. In this, they follow the example of Jesus who said it best so many years ago;

“I must be about my father’s business.” (Luke 2:49).

Legendary

I’m following with interest today (Monday) a conversation on my nephew’s facebook page about his grandpa’s legendary prowess as a typist. Grandpa Trueblood was known as an amazing typist. On his old Underwood Standard he was known to slam out a hundred and twenty words per minute! Dave wonders early on if such a speed is even possible. “It seems super-human” he opines. But testimony follows declaring it possible. Such speeds have been recorded. One friend claims the speed for herself in grade eleven typing class. (She doesn’t reveal whether or not she had the benefit of electricity.)

Eventually Dave’s own mother, daughter of the legend himself, enters the conversation and swears to its validity. The legend is true! Today’s conversation began, not about typing, but about Grandpa T’s one hundredth birthday. His legendary status depends on much more than his professional abilities. He was a true "man of faith."

This weekend many of us may have sat around the family table together, perhaps in a rare occasion to be together and share those family legends. Thanksgiving does tend to be celebrated with an extended family dinner. There are others as well and we can all recount our experiences at weddings, funerals, congregational anniversaries. It’s at these times we bring out our legends, share our stories together. This is so important to helping us remember who we are and what we value.

Carman recently wrote his thoughts about our community’s giants. I love the picture the Wiarton congregation shared of their Thanksgiving service. (Find them on facebook.) Several “living legends” are pictured there. But let us not forget the other part of this whole concept. There was a day when those gray heads were young. They were once the little ones in the front row.

At what point does one become a “legend”?

A blogging pastor I occasionally follow speaks about a “man of faith” or “woman of faith” this way:
When we describe someone as a “woman of faith” or a “man of faith,” we mean more than the ability to articulate beliefs. We are describing how they walk through this world. We are describing how they go to work, how they behave in relationships, how they use their time, how they spend their money, how they get through each day, how they live their lives with all of the questions and all of the stresses that all of us have. Faith is not necessarily being sure where you are going, but going anyway.

(Read the rest of her sermon here if you like.)

We’re all of us on a faith walk. We’re walking together creating new legends as we go. I love watching you and seeing you being new legends. And I love telling those stories. I invite you to join me in the watching and in the sharing of the stories.

I am convinced that not only are we standing on the shoulders of giants, we are walking among legends! Here’s your assignment: watch for the emerging legends around you and then find a way to share their stories. That’s the good word for today.

Posted by Marion

Belonging

As I was driving across town Tuesday morning I passed by my normal bunch of schools, elementary, high school, college and university. This is a very well-educated community I have. And I’m thinking of all those hundreds, thousands of people looking for the place they belong. Some are searching class lists posted on a bulletin board; some will have schedule in hand and will be approaching a room expecting to be welcomed, to find a seat, to locate someone already known.

“Is this where I belong?”

“Can I find my place here?”

“Will these people let me into this group?”

It’s a normal, human need – to find a place to belong.

We speak of belonging in church too. Some of the terms we use are “hospitality” and “community” and “relationship.” There was a time when we spoke of belief in the same context as we spoke of belonging. Phyllis Tickle (in her book "The Great Emergence") speaks of how the church has changed. Fifty years ago we found people who believed the same way and, after the prescribed time and rituals, we joined up and then we belonged. More commonly we were born into a congregation, grew up being taught the “correct” set of beliefs, conformed to the expected behaviours and at the appropriate age we joined; but really, we already belonged.

Not so in the twenty-first century says Tickle (and many others who observe the same patterns). People on the move long for a place to belong, to feel at home, to be accepted and loved. As they come into the community and observe how this group behaves, how its values are expressed, they may or may not find common beliefs. In fact one thing that communities do is talk together about those values. They may search out beliefs together. They may believe the same or they may not.

I spoke recently about expectations. We can’t expect, or assume, that everyone in our community will believe exactly the same. We won’t all have the same history or understanding. One of the things that will make our community feel safe is our willingness to accept people’s doubts and questions and struggle with belief. I’m much more likely to feel like I belong if you work with me as I struggle with my “unbelief”!

What do you think? Do you agree with Phyllis Tickle’s analysis? Which order of things resonates best for you: Believe, Behave, Belong? or Belong, Behave, Believe?

Posted by Marion

Appreciation

This is the summer of my “Farewell Tour” – and No, it’s not the least bit like Cher’s. While I’m mostly holding the fort at the office while my colleagues take advantage of all the summer's reunion/camping opportunities, I do bob in for a day from time to time. I like to see the people and enjoy a bit of a conversation. ( I like conversations and think they are very important!)

You may also remember that there have been many occasions to come together to memorialize some of those we’ll be missing as our community goes forward. On one of those occasions I reminded us all via our blog that it’s important to let people know how much we appreciate them while we still have the chance.

Now this last point is the one I’m going to talk about today. I’m realizing as I’m out and about talking to folks just how often those folks have been expressing appreciation to me. They’re taking the time to say it out loud, in a few nicely-thought- out words, some of the things they’ve appreciated about me! While this was not what I expected and certainly not what I was “asking for” it has been lovely, nonetheless. I’ve most certainly noticed for years and years how most people do like to get positive feedback. People thrive on being told what they do that others like and appreciate about them. It’s part of the glue that binds our communities together. And you know, it feels darned nice to receive it too! Thank you.

When we started our “What’s the Good Word” blog, we established a philosophy of “good news,” of sharing some of the many, many things worthy of celebration going on in our particular faith community. It was a deliberate attempt to affect the tone of the conversation among our members and friends, in our congregations and out there on the margins and fringes.

Oh yes, there will always be something to complain about. (I confess; I can have a pretty good time in that camp as well.) But at the risk of being maudlin, we’re just so much better when we’re celebrating our positives. As Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said: “a man is what he thinks about all day long.”

So once again, let me say how very much I appreciate the expressions of appreciation I’ve been hearing, observing, receiving from so many of you out there. The best ones may be the specifics e.g. “I used that blog post in an offertory” or “I really like that you suggest books that are exactly right for me” or “thanks for letting everyone know about our achievement; it helped us meet our goals.” I love hearing them too. “Good job, kiddo. You really cleaned up those dishes in quick order tonight. Thanks.” And “Thanks so much for insisting folks use the microphone; I normally have a hard time hearing the whole discussion.”

See what I mean? Appreciation is the glue that binds us together; it’s the oil that keeps this machine humming.

Appreciation posted by Marion

Weeds

You know that old saying: you can take the girl out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the girl. Those of us still paying attention to the Lectionary this month have had a chance to consider gospel-writer Matthew’s take on some of Jesus’ more familiar “country” parables. We’ve thought about the sower and now we’re into weeding season! It follows inevitably, as any of you country folk know only too well. This week’s parable of the wheat and the tares sets this country girl to thinking about weeds!

I have a somewhat conflicted attitude about weeds. The dictionary defines a weed as a plant growing where you didn’t plant it and don’t want it. I love a nice natural grassy area with lots of volunteer buttercups and daisies; why I don’t even mind the dandelions all that much! A wildflower garden has just so much more appeal to me than a neatly manicured lawn.

When we moved to a new place a few years ago, we rejoiced at the lovely little yellow pear-shaped tomatoes that sprang up, unplanted, unknown and unexpected in our flower bed. Technically a weed, it returned faithfully in one place or another for the several years we lived there.

My generosity, however, does not extend to all such volunteers. I cannot abide a milkweed on my property. Butterflies, who love their blooms, must go elsewhere for their welcome. At this moment, in the front garden at my office—a garden tended conscientiously by someone else—there grows a lush and vibrant yellow blooming plant. It’s probably a meter tall, with brilliant green foliage and a dozen or more flowers waving lazily in the summer breezes. It’s driving me crazy. It is a sow-thistle!

I spent most of my childhood working in the fields with my siblings, my cousins, my dad and uncle, trying to eradicate these pesky weeds from our soybean, corn and tomato crops. It was a matter of pride how very “clean” our crops were.

Modern farm practice is given more to cleaning up of the harvested seed. You seldom see today’s farm workers out hoeing. As I ponder the parable of the tares, in which the farmer urges his workers to leave the weeds and the wheat to grow together and leave it to the angels to manage the differences in due time, I struggle. Jesus tries to help his disciples understand his meaning.

I think I may need to resist my urge to start pulling weeds out of my life. There are people who show up whose character and qualities I just don’t get—at least not yet. Jesus clearly indicates that the wheat and the tares are people. But he also says it isn’t up to me to declare anyone a weed and cast them out.

I know how easy it is to judge someone a weed. I may think I know best what to do about this milkweed or that sowthistle. But in God’s garden, it isn’t up to me to do the weeding. I have a different calling.

Posted by Marion

Abundant

God is calling for a prophetic community to emerge, drawn from the nations of the world, that is characterized by uncommon devotion to the compassion and peace of God revealed in Jesus Christ. Through divine grace and wisdom, this faith community has been given abundant gifts, resources, and opportunities to equip it to become such a people. Chief among these is the power of community in Christ expressed locally in distinctive fashions while upholding a unity of vision, foundational beliefs, and mission throughout the world. – Doctrine and Covenants 163:11a

Does anyone besides me find the bolded statement in the middle of the above paragraph startling? Think about it. Were we not taught in Econ 101 that the first principle of economics is that resources are scarce? Is it not a fact that most of us live our lives assuming that principle is true? Do we not spend vast quantities of time and mental/emotional energy worrying about the fact that there is not enough money to do the things we would like to do? Is that not true in our personal lives as well as our collective expression of community we call the church? And yet, here we have this recent scriptural text saying exactly the opposite!

a•bun•dant
–adjective
1. present in great quantity; more than adequate; oversufficient: an abundant supply of water.
2. well supplied; abounding: a river abundant in salmon.
3. richly supplied: an abundant land.

The idea takes some getting used to, does it not? Perhaps we need to think differently just to get our heads around it. Of course the sentence is not about money is it? The sentence in question refers to abundant gifts, resources, and opportunities. (Okay, resources can certainly include money.) And, the sentence is set in context, which is all about what God is calling to the church to be.

What if the real resources we need are human ones, not financial? What if it is about the actions we take working together and not about buildings or other physical resources? The statement says we have been blessed with abundant gifts, resources (human), and opportunities to become a prophetic community characterized by uncommon devotion to the compassion and peace of God revealed in Jesus Christ. Wow! Are we ready to go there? Are we ready to express that kind of community locally; i.e. in the places where we live?

Reading the statement from this perspective, perhaps there is little wonder both section 163 and 164, given just three years later, seek to encourage us not to be afraid! (see 163:1a and 164:9b)

Okay, maybe I need to go blow some more bubbles now!

Posted by Carman

Culture

Let’s talk about culture. Not culture in the sense of elite, hoity-toity, ballet and opera culture, but culture in the sense of “how we do things around here.” There are just so many ways culture impacts me and us and doing business that I think we need to chat about it a little. OK?

There’s culture in a very big way. We speak of our “Western culture.” That’s a very broad brush that might mean rational, or scientific, or capitalist, or individual (to the point of ego-centric). All those things can be gathered up and tossed into a single box labeled “culture.”

The church has a culture too. In your Sharing in Community of Christ booklet, you’ll definitely find some things that are part of our culture. Some things connect us with folks from the other side of the globe, who are different and yet in some special ways the same.

Some things we do and perspectives we hold just because we are Canadian. I could list a few of those national cultural things, but you know them and I don’t have the space. Mainly because I want to talk about the much smaller definitions of culture that have impact way beyond the size of them!

There’s family culture. My family has one and so does yours. Attitudes and practices and stories are very particular to our family. There are things we say to each other that we alone understand. How we do the dishes or who gets the last piece of pie or what time is bedtime all get determined by our family culture.

Congregations have culture. Oh my! This is a big one. Just as it is difficult for the fish to discuss the water they’re swimming in, it can be just oh so hard for us to be aware of our congregation’s culture or to consider ways it may be creating problems for us, for each other and, in a very big way, for our visitors. Some of the ways our congregational cultures differ are just fun. It really doesn’t matter who leads the way in line at the potluck. Maybe it’s the children (feed the kids first and get them settled and out of the way of the adults…) or the guest ministry (because after all you are the honoured guest and should go first…) or families stay together (so parents can monitor the kids’ plates and ensure there is still enough for everyone….). I’m sure someone, sometime had good reasons for offering the prayer over the offering before it’s collected just as someone else understands very clearly why the prayer should come after it’s collected.

Those of us who routinely visit many congregations observe these peculiarities of culture much more than those of you who live in the midst of them. After all, the fish don’t notice the water. Until, or unless something stirs it up! Can we please think about our own special cultural distinctives for a bit? Because it’s not thinking about them that can create problems for us and make us feel inhospitable to visitors.

What have you noticed about culture?

Posted by Marion

Missing

How often have you been in a gathering, say at church, and the person up front appears ready to welcome you all and instead they begin to go on about how many are missing? You know, the line about how it’s summer and so many are off at the cottage, or maybe at camp or reunion. “It’s too bad we’re so few this morning, but we think about all those missing from our midst and look forward to their return.” And maybe you think “what am I, chopped liver?”

I wrote last week about my concern that we try to squeeze our call to mission into the bits of year between cottage time and snow bird season. Remember? It’s here. As with many of the good words I ponder, there is more than one way to think about them. I still think it’s important that we remember that call to be the Body of Christ—even on vacation!

But this morning I’m thinking about our sense of the missing. What is it that makes the missing ones just so very present for us? I’m not going to preach at you about being in church where you belong because you’re missed. I’m not going to remind you to send your offering (or sign up for PAT) because the church’s expenses continue even in your absence. I’m just thinking about how I miss so many who are not with us.

I am sitting with a major sense of loss this morning as I write. It does seem as if there are many who’ve left our community. We have had what feels like an inordinate number of farewells, funerals and memorials lately. I’m not going to list any because every one is a dear one of someone and I don’t want to leave any out. These are pillars in our extended community, wise elders we’ve looked to for years for advice, for wisdom, for stories of our history, for reminders of our heritage. I remember laughs, deep conversations, even stirring arguments with many of the men and women who will be missing from our next gathering.

They won’t be in their familiar places when next we gather. Someone might mention them and we may wipe away a tear together. We may squeeze the hand of our neighbour and we’ll both know what we mean. We’ll smile and remember each in our own way. We can sense the presence of those missing.

Others are still with us and we can be thankful for their presence and let them know we love and appreciate them. We can do what we can to knit new and precious relationships that link our community together. We can pull others into this web that needs to keep growing if it is to be alive.

I’m reminded of that familiar verse from the letter to the Hebrews encouraging the church: Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…(Hebrews 12:1)

Classics

I acquired another box of great books from a congregation's closing library. Fortunately there's a kindred book person there who couldn't bear to just discard some of the classic books from their shelves when they left those shelves behind. We don't have nearly as many new books being published by Community of Christ authors as we did in the hey days of Herald House. As resources for publishing have decreased and new ways of spreading the word have increased, we look to on-line sources as well as to other quality publishers of excellent materials.

Nevertheless, there are a few classic titles that still have a place on our personal and congregational shelves. And some of those turned up in this latest acquisition of mine. Of course I shall be looking for good homes for them as well as for the hundreds of books I'll need to be passing along from my library soon.

Here are a few of those classics. Do you have these? Are there others you treasure? Let's share a list of some of our classic favourites. I'll start:

"Treasure in Earthen Vessels" by Bill Russell
"The Book of Mormon Speaks for Itself" by Roy Cheville
"The Writings of President Frederick M. Smith" compiled by Norman Ruoff
"Untangling Our Faith" by Elbert Dempsey Jr.
"Fire in My Bones" by Robert Mesle
"The Hazards of Theology" by Geoffrey Spencer
and another couple, not Herald House, but classics on my shelf
"Mormon Enigma, Emma Hale Smith" by Linda Newell & Valeen Avery
and "Nauvoo, Kingdom on the Mississippi" by Robert Bruce Flanders.

So there's my short list this morning. What are your classic Community of Christ/RLDS titles?

Posted by Marion

Babies

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to drive through the countryside through the hills and fields of Wellington and Bruce counties’ most excellent pasturelands, lush grassy expanses (one of the pluses of all this rain we’ve experienced). What a joy to spend that time just soaking in the solitude of perfect spring weather along secondary roads, not much bothered by traffic or pressures to hurry or get out of the way. A great way for an “introvert” to spend the day!

One thing I noticed on every side was the great abundance of babies in those fields! Calves and lambs and foals abounded. Slow driving, even pulling off to watch newborns in play or in exploring or just “being” there in that lush pasture was lovely. So many babies! What an image of the great generosity of creation.

And of potential. I recall reading of an encounter between inventor and scientist Michael Faraday and his queen. Electricity in the earliest days of the nineteenth century looked much more like a parlor trick or illusion practised by amateur magicians. Queen Victoria was interested. She invited Faraday to lunch and visited his laboratory. [Note: you might be interested to know that Faraday had to miss church to have lunch with the queen and was expelled from his eldership and even his membership in his congregation who did not think his excuse for missing worship was sufficient.]

The queen enjoyed his “tricks” but didn’t see much practical use for this “new” phenomenon.

“Of what use is this electricity of yours, Mr. Faraday?” she asked.

“Madam, of what use is a baby?” was his wise response.

I suspect some of our human fascination with babies, especially our own human babies, is our subconscious awareness of the amazing potential for a future as yet unimagined. What lies before the babies we welcome so warmly in our midst? It is very normal for the presider to offer a special welcome to the baby in the front row—just as she did, yesterday at the church I attended. We are all so happy to have a baby in our midst. Even a baby who may be noisy or distracting, as our baby was not, is much more troublesome to his or her own parents than to most of us, really.

A baby’s presence speaks to the future. GTA West congregation yesterday took a step towards that future. They will seek out a location where they can most fully live out the mission they are feeling called to explore. Many members spoke of their faith in stepping into that as yet uncertain future. They shared their sense that they are being summoned into a new area where they may serve the community better. Realizing that they don’t have all the answers yet, they rest a bit on the confidence of the wise elders who spoke of taking this journey before. They listened to the voices of the young adults who promised to seek out those who need the blessings of this community.

It was a meeting that felt quite a lot like that experience in the country the day before. Babies, potential, grace, generosity and wonderful future imagined.

Posted by Marion

History (again)

This has been a history-making week. In the midst an important Canadian federal election (despite early commentary about it), we took time out to witness a royal wedding. We speculated about it.

“Does this signal rebirth of the monarchy?” “Should Canada be a republic?”

Then we turned our attention back to our voting and wondering about its historic implications.

“What’s happening with the Bloc in Quebec?” “Have the Liberals ‘tanked’ forever?”

Then there are the world events. We’ve not heard the end of a whole string of natural disasters, political uprisings, economic turmoil. And our American neighbours struggle with how to react to the death of their arch enemy, Osama Bin Laden.

At the same time we all experience history closer to home. Families reach historic turning points as graduations, weddings, births happen. Congregations are making history left and right. There too, death and resurrection are both themes to be reckoned with.

Historians among us will record the facts and analysts will offer opinions about “what it all means.” While the news channels and the editorial writers will stay up all night offering their various opinions, I tend to agree with Chinese premier Zhou En-Lai when asked about the significance of the French Revolution in 1789: “it’s too soon to tell.”

I am so very pleased that the historian for the GTA West congregation is attending meetings and taking notes about the process that particular group is undertaking to make decisions as to what facility will best meet their needs to fulfill the call and mission they are discerning for their future and future generations. They’ve realized that they are indeed making history.

I’m pleased that the memorial plaque from the closing Brantford church that records and celebrates “the first Latter Day Saint sermon was preached by Joseph Smith on October 20, 1833 at a schoolhouse near here on Market Square…” will be taken to Historian and Archivist Mark Scherer in Independence.

All this to say, I guess, that we need to be aware that we are living in the midst of history every day. But that we can’t know everything it will mean, sometimes for many years or even generations. I know lots of people who have checked out of the political process, never watch news broadcasts, don’t even know who Osama is or was and who feel only despair over a closed church building. Many think history was that boring subject to opt out of at the first opportunity. I do know it takes all kinds of people to make up a community, so I try not to judge them.

But I am grateful for historians past, present and future who will record the facts, protect the artifacts, and eventually help us not only to figure out what it all means but to help us fulfill the wish of those who have quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr who was quoting Unitarian Minister Theodore Parker who spoke of “the long arc of history that bends towards justice.”

Posted by Marion