The Church as Intercultural
Our guest speaker is Michael Blair who is Executive Director, Ethnic Ministries Unit at the General Council offices of the United Church of Canada. Within this office, his task is to help develop the United Church of Canada as an intercultural church. Speaking to West Hill United Church, a predominantly white, middle-class congregation of established Canadians, he issues a challenge. Although we hear the need of those around us, too often our answer is simply to dig into our pockets and pull out some money. What’s missing from our response is a willingness to enter into relationship with those who receive our charity. Michael goes on to offer concrete examples of how deep need could be avoided if new Canadians had the benefit of a network of relationships, and he offers suggestions about the sorts of things a suburban community like ours can undertake.
Readings for this morning are Jeremiah 29:4-9, Luke 4:16-21 and “A Prayer for Children” by Ina Hughes.
Hearing Our Stories
If, in the opening of this morning’s meditation, you detect strong emotion in Gretta Vosper’s voice, you ears do not deceive you. On this Remembrance Sunday, Gretta is moved at times both to grief at our collective folly, and to a righteous anger that we continue to view war as a viable option for conflict resolution. She punctuates her emotional delivery with a list of those conflicts that currently take more than a thousand lives each year. What lies at the source of all these conflicts? Gretta believes that at the bottom of everything is fear – fear of the other. And what would it take to overcome such fear? Gretta concludes with a vision of a great table. If we could all come to this table, then we could tell our stories to one another. By listening to the stories of others, we lose our reason for fear and the need to make war evaporates.
The Day
This Sunday, we remember those who have gone before us on what is traditionally known as All Saints’ Sunday. Gretta offers a short four-part meditation where each part is tied to a different time of the day. Included at the end of the meditation is a clip of Anne Walker playing the guitar and singing “Let It Shine.”