The Woman at the Well

On this day that honours the special women in our lives, our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, daughters and friends. I think also of the women of faith whose stories inspire me. As a little girl the first time I heard the story of Mary and Martha, I remember thinking to myself that I was always wanted to sit at Jesus' feet and learn from him. I'm in awe every time we tell the part of the Christmas story when the angel visits Mary. Every time Mary says yes to the unimaginable and improbably. I think of my namesake, Miriam, who boldly saved her brother Moses from the river and who led the people in their dancing. Time does not permit to talk about Eve, and Ruth and Esther and Rachel and Leah and Dorcas and all the unnamed women of the bible whose faith guides and inspires them in their daily living.

Our gospel reading is just one such example. When I’m tired and I feel drained, I turn to our gospel reading for the gentle reminder that Jesus not only loves us we are but offers us the kind of water the refreshes our souls.

Then she went to the well to that day to get water. She was spent. Tapped out. She was done with the whispers and the gossip. Yes, she was living with a man. No, she wasn’t married. She’d been married five times already. Life had not been kind. Five heartbreaks as she said her last goodbyes. So instead of going to the well with the rest of the women early in the day, she slipped out of her house at noon, when the sun was hot and she was guaranteed to be alone as she got her days’ supply of water.

And when she arrived at the well, there was a man there all by himself. He was not from Samaria. His people and her people do not get along. So you can understand why the woman can’t believe it when Jesus talks to her and asks her for a drink of water. She says to him, “How is it that you, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (John 4:9) And he says, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ You would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10).

But he had no bucket and the well was deep. And she knew there was no way he could offer her anything. Yet she couldn’t seem to walk away. There is something about Jesus. He says, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) She says, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty.” (John 14:15)

I think it’s the kind of gift I need right now. Living water to refresh my soul. This is a really challenging time. There are good days when I think to myself, “I can do this staying home thing. We’ve got this.” There are the not so good days when it seems like everything is off track and nothing goes right. And think, “when is it going to be over?” Then there are the medium kind of days. When it's not great but not terrible and it seems manageable.

Into the challenge comes a special occasion. Mother’s Day. A day when we normally gather with our families. But this year there are no gatherings. And that is hard. It can a hard day for other reasons too. Maybe your parent is in seniors’ home and you are not allowed to visit. This is my first Mother’s Day without my mom Maybe you are like me and your grief is still fresh. Maybe your relationship is strained. Maybe your dream of having children never came to be or maybe you’ve lost a child.

Not matter where you find yourself today. Whether it’s a good day or a medium day or one of the hard ones, Jesus comes to you offering living water that refreshes the soul. Joyce’ Cowley’s poem “The Quiet Pool” reflects this well:

There is within each of us

a quiet clear pool of living water

fed by one deep Source

and inseparable from it’

but so often hidden

by a tangle of activity

that we may not know

of its existence.

We can spend the proverbial forty years

wandering in strange deserts,

sinking unrewarding wells,

and moving on, driven by our own thirst,

but when we stop still long enough

to look inside ourselves, really look

beyond our ideas about water

and what and where it should be,

we discover it was with us all the time,

that quiet clear pool which is ageless,

the meaning of our existence

and the answer to all our wanderings.

And as we drink,

we know what Jesus meant when he said

we’d never be thirsty again.

So grab your bucket, Jesus is offering you living water. It is your gift. May it give you strength on the hard days and joy on the good days. May it sustain you today and every day. Amen.

The Gate and The Shepherd

Scripture Reading: John 10:1 - 10

See below for a video of the service!

Today is the fourth Sunday after Easter. It is often called “Good Shepherd Sunday” because it is the Sunday we read the beloved 23rd Psalm and read one of the sections of John 10 about Jesus as the good shepherd. This year, as I read the first verses of John 10, I was struck that Jesus is both shepherd and the gatekeeper. Jesus is both the one who protects from the dangers that exist in the world and the one who waits at the gate ready to swing the doors open. The job of the gatekeeper is to open the door. The job of the shepherd is to keep from harm. So Jesus is at once the one who opens doors and the one who shuts out the danger.

There are many images for Jesus in the bible like Alpha and Omega or Lamb of God. In John’s Gospel, they come in the form “I am” statements like I am the light of the world. I am the good shepherd. How many of you remember that Jesus also says “I am the gate”? I’m guessing not many of us. Yet there it is, in John 10 verses 7 & 9. “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pastures. (John 10:9)

When I think about gatekeepers, I don’t think about Jesus. I think about line ups at amusement parks or venues or airport security. And it this strange time at the grocery store. The security guards are standing there deciding who gets in and who has to wait and who does not get in. The gatekeeper is in control of who gets to enter.

But Jesus is not that kind of gate. He says, “whoever comes will be saved.” There are no criteria for admission. You don’t need to have earned a certain number of good person points. You don’t have to be a certain kind of person. You just walk in. There you find the good shepherd who keeps you from all harm. Jesus is the gatekeeper who lets you in and the good shepherd who shuts out the danger.

As I was thinking about Jesus being both gate and shepherd, I thought of the PLACE model I learned about this year. The PLACE model which is a model for community development. You may have heard about it in conjunction with the research done on the Fogo Island Inn. PLACE is an acronym with each letter representing one of the key pillars of the model. The letter that is both the most complicated and perhaps most important is the E which stands for engage both/and thinking. It is a paradox.

I think Jesus may have mastered both and thinking – he who is the gate and shepherd. He died to give life. He is both lamb and shepherd. Both and thinking stands in contrast to either or thinking. We can do it this way or that way. Both and thinking says we can do both this and that. It is a paradox that holds the tension between two ways living, thinking, doing, and being. For the PLACE model that means being at once local and global, having insiders and outsiders and so much more.

In the life of faith, we have those same kinds of tensions. The paradoxes are many. You are at the same time chosen, the shepherd calls you name and but you must choose to walk in the gate. In Psalm 23, God prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies but the enemies sit at the table with us. Jesus is the gate through which we enter and the one who shuts out or shelters us from all that would harm us.

In this time of pandemic, we are living in a time paradox. Some days its seems like there is all the time in the world and somehow not enough time. We spend all our days with the people in our bubble (or our newly formed double bubbles) and no one else. Yet, I’ve never spent so much time talking and connecting to family and friends across Canada. There is a lot of scarcity right now especially for those who’ve lost jobs or business, or people who are living alone. Yet there is a different kind of abundance. An abundance of shared connections with all humanity as we stay home to flatten the curve and keep people safe. We are all in this together. Music and connections are abundant with others and with nature.

There is an abundance of genericity towards one another. We are looking out for each other in new ways. My friend Courtney who knows that I’m struggling to be mom, teacher and to work, sent me a helpful reminder this week from the MUM’s grapevine. It was the reminder I needed. It’s okay that the kids aren’t in school and I’m a terrible teacher. They may not be learning math and science. But maybe they are learning other things. Like how to enjoy the day or ride a bike or do laundry or make a meal. Maybe they are learning how to appreciate simple things and a slower pace. Maybe they are learning to live with less.

As we live into this new reality, the challenges will continue. We hold in tension so many things time and no time, scarcity and abundance, school learning and other ways of learning. And as we do, Jesus continues to hold the door open for us and we can still choose to walk through that gate saying yes to our God who shelters us, protects us, leads us beside still waters and restores our souls. To God, we offer the tension and paradox of our days, the scarcity and abundance, the time and no time, the laments and the celebrations. And as we do, we trust that our God is with us and that goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. Amen.

The Emmaus Road

The Emmaus Road by Rev. Miriam Bowlby

Luke 24:13 - 35

This is not how I imagined my first Sunday back with you again would look like nor is it how I imagined delivering my first sermon. I pictured myself gathering with this wonderful church community in our sanctuary. I imagined greeting friends old and new with a hug. Imagined praying with the choir just before church and Carol checking her watch to make sure we start on time. I imagined Evan at the organ and the choir in the loft and see of familiar faces in front of me as we began to worship. But everything changed so quick six weeks ago. And we are doing things differently. Even church. Instead, I'm leading church from my living room and you are joining from the comfort of your home. And even though it is different than I imagined, I still see a sea of familiar faces in front of me. Evan is still leading us in music and we continue to have the familiar rhythm of worship with its hymns and prayers. 

I imagine it’s a similar thing that Cleopas and the other disciple were going through as they walked those 7 miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They were trying to understand this strange new normal. They were trying to get back that feeling of familiarity. As they walked, they were going over every detail. How they gathered in an upper room. How he broke the bread and blessed the wine. How he prayed in the garden before the soldiers came. They remembered the horror of crucifixion.

As they walked, a stranger starts walking with them. It is Jesus but, in their grief, in the sorrow, their eyes were kept from realizing who this stranger was. I'm guessing it's like those times you are in a mall or store of the arena and you meet someone out of context. You don't recognize them because they are in the wrong place. As they walk the stranger asks, “what are you talking about?” And they can’t believe that this stranger even asked this question. Is he the only one who doesn’t know about Jesus?

So they tell him everything – about waiving the palms and the prayer in the garden and the bread and wine and the soldiers and the cross and the tomb. They pause for a moment. Almost afraid to say it. They say, "and some of our women, went to the tomb this morning. They say it was empty. They said there were angels. They said that Jesus is alive.” The two hang their heads, “but, but we had hoped he was the one to redeem Israel.”

 And can't we just imagine the pain of those few words. But we had hoped. And can't we understand it. But we had hoped schools would be open. But we had hoped staying home would be over and the virus is gone. But we had hoped they would get better. But we had hoped it would be different this time. But we had hoped the violence would be no more. But we had hoped…

 Silence hung in the air as they stood on that road. And after a few minutes, the stranger starts talking. Oh, how foolish you are. Don't you know it had to be this way? And he starts with Moses and tells the story of God's love and how in love God sends us Jesus. As the travellers arrive at Emmaus the stranger continues to walk. But they beg him to stay. It's getting dark they said. The day is almost over. Stay with us. As they sit at the table, he breaks bread and blesses it. And at that moment, their eyes are opened and they know that the women told the truth. The stranger disappears and the two fly back to Jerusalem. The find the disciples and say, "The Lord has risen indeed!" And they tell all those gathered in the room how their hearts were burning when the stranger opened up scripture to them and he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

            This is one of my favourite gospel stories. It has everything. Sorrow, hope, joy, transformation. It’s a reminder that Jesus comes to us in our need, in our brokenness reminding us that he is with us. It’s a reminder I needed in this week of violence and tragedy. Because somehow in the midst of this sorrow we need to find a hope we can cling to. This week I caught a glimpse of it as from across Canada shared in prayer for those who are hurting and suffering because of the mass shooting in Nova Scotia. People put candles in their windows. There were online vigils. Everyone finds a way in this time of separation finding a way to gather together to pray and to hold one another in love.

            Sheree Fitch, the well known children’s author wrote this poem. She said it just came to her…

Sheree Fitch Gilles Plante

April 20 at 8:46 AM

April 20, 2020.

Because We Love, We Cry.

Sometimes there is no sense to things my child
Sometimes there is no answer to the questions why
Sometimes things beyond all understanding
Sometimes, people die.

When it hurts like this, my child
When you are scared, suffering, confused
Even if we are not together
Together, let us cry

Remember there is so much love
Because we love, we cry.

Sometimes the sadness takes away your breath
Sometimes the pain seems endless, deep
Sometimes you cannot find the sun
Sometimes you wish you were asleep.

When it hurts like this, my child
When you are scared, suffering, confused
Even if we are not together,
Together, let us cry

Remember there is still so much love
Because we love, we cry.

Pray that I had answers, child
Pray this wasn’t so
There are impossible things, child
I cannot bear for you to know.

When it hurts like this, my child
When you are scared, suffering, confused
Even if we are not together
Together, let us cry

Yes, there is still so SO So much love
Because we love, we cry.

There is so much love and because we love we cry. Into our tears comes the blessed stranger, breaking bread, offering love and reminding us that we are not alone. Amen

Rev. Heather Sandford's Easter Reflection

Reflection on the Resurrection

April 12, 2020

Cochran Street United Church

Poem by Iona Community:

It was on the Sunday

That he pulled the corn

They arrived with flowers,

Shuffling through the dawn

As the dawn snuffed out

The last candles of the night

Their faces betrayed their belief

That yesterday would always be better

Than tomorrow

Despite what he said.

He would not say it again,

So why bother to believe him on that score?

And the flowers,

They too were silent witnesses to disbelief.

Like the grass,

They were cut to be dried to death,

Cut off from the root

The bulb, the source of life.

He was the flower they cherished,

The flower now perished

Whose fate the lilies of the field,

Now tight in hand would re-enact

So when they passed the crouched figure

at the edge of the road

They thought little of him,

Scarcely seeing his form through their tears.

Had they looked even a little,

They would have seen a man

Letting a grain fall through his fingers,

Dropping to the earth

To die and yet to rise again

It was on the Sunday

That he pulled the corn.

This poem does nice work of sharing the emotions of the women as they walked to the tomb that morning. Feelings of pain, sadness, confusion all muddled together with disbelief. What had just happened, their teacher, friend and messiah, lie in the grave. It was not supposed to be, he had told them of a different way. He told them of stories like, if a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it will bear much fruit. All that was forgotten in that moment of great sadness and despair.

As the women approached the tomb that morning a great earthquake shook the earth and rolled the stone away, and an angel of the Lord came down. This rendered the roman guards unconscious. When the angel of the Lord spoke he told them, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised." The women were invited to go and see the place where he lay and then instructed to go quickly to tell the other disciples that Jesus had been raised and they were to go to Galilee where they would see him.

The tomb was not the end of the story, in many ways, it is the beginning of a story. Death had not had the final word the tomb is empty and the instructions have been given to go and tell the others and meet the risen Lord. The instructions to go and tell reminded the women and us that we cannot stay in this moment of resurrection, that our work is not in the empty tomb our work is in the world with the risen Christ.

In Matthew's Gospel, as in the other Gospels, the resurrection seems to finds us, even when we are not seeking it. The resurrection found the women as they were walking to tell the disciples what they had seen. Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet and worshipped him. Jesus met the women, he found them and allowed them to worship him as they took in the reality of what was happening.

Both the angel and the risen Christ reminded the women to not be afraid. How could they not be afraid, they had not experienced this before. First Jesus is dead and now he is alive to say nothing of the angel at the tomb.

This Easter is very different one for all of us. We are asked not to celebrate with our family and close friends, due to the coronavirus. We stay in where it is safe and only venture out when we have to. Our Easter dinners where we would've been together laughing sharing stories in person, we need to imagine in a different way.

This year more than ever let us hear the words of the angel and the risen Christ, “do not be afraid”. The risen Christ finds us we do not have to search for him. That is our hope, that is our promise. We as people of faith know that hope in the risen Christ can brighten even the darkest of nights even though we are practising physical distancing and staying home except for essentials, the resurrection has happened and has found us. In less than ideal circumstances, Christ has risen.

The final piece in the story of the resurrection in Matthew's Gospel is that because of his death we are even closer to the Christ among us. In the gospel reading, the angel tells the women to tell the disciples what happened. When Jesus instructs the women to go and tell, he refers to the disciples as brothers. After the resurrection, there was more of a sense of family amongst them. Because of Jesus' life, death and resurrection we are all siblings in Christ. The risen Christ brings people together in a spirit of love and generosity, even if we can't physically be together this year.

Today we have gathered to celebrate the risen Lord. We are free to go and live in the resurrection promises of new life, hope, joy and love. We are an Easter people and our ministry is done in the light of the resurrection. We know that this is just the beginning of the story. Death does not have the final word, Jesus is risen! Now that deserves a Hallelujah! Praise be to God! Amen.

REFLECTION September 15, 2019

Devastation…but not Completely!

By Karen Critch

September 15, 2019

The mood of this chapter is one of an immediate threat. The possibility of repentance is still open to Israel, but time is running out fast. Plans for death and mourning are already laid. The people seem doomed.

The first couple verses in this passage talk of a hot, strong wind. It is not a refreshing wind that cools the body and spirit but an overwhelming display of strength and force—a whirlwind. Moreover, the origin of the wind is God. God will be in the judgment and destruction. God will be active in the desolation of Judah.

For many, this is a disturbing understanding of God’s involvement in evil and punishment. Jeremiah sees God as an active participant (leader!) in using Babylon to punish Israel for its wrongdoings. To connect God so closely with destruction makes modern readers uncomfortable. We do not want to associate the Holy One with natural phenomena such as a strong wind or tornado. And we do not want to associate those types of events with punishment for sin.

There are four “I looked” sentences.

First, this watcher sees the earth turn back to “waste and void,”. This was the characteristic of the world at its beginning when watery chaos covered the earth. This world had no light because God had not spoken it into existence. The earth is undone and returns to this disordered state as God’s judgment.

Second, the watcher sees quaking mountains and rocking hills. Solid terrain becomes unstable.

Third, both people and birds have left because of the earth’s transformation. They flee because of the earth’s devastating transformation.

Fourth, the land that produced fruit and food transforms into an unproductive desert, while the cities are laid to ruin. Magnificent city structures are torn down.

Creation suffers because of people’s actions. The judgment against the people has a profound effect on the natural world and all its creatures.

The link between the judgment of the people and the desolation of creation is an essential reminder to us that our actions affect more than just ourselves. They affect more than just other people. The whole world is interrelated.

One might suppose that all hope is lost. Yet, even now, there is reason to hope. Even now, with cities laid in ruins, with neither bird nor human to be found, with the earth in mourning and the heavens covered in black. Even now when the earth is void and the heavens give no light. With mountains moving and the fruitful land a desert, even now, the relationship is not ended.

The message of the consequences of evil and the possibility of healing and wholeness is as today as it was in Jeremiah’s time.

People wonder why our God would even consider such devastation here on earth back then and now. Is it because evil outweighs good? Is a balance that needs to be met or if not, there will be consequences? Still today we see the damage through major forest fires, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes and of course humans. Why do these events still occur, have we not learned our lesson? On the west coast of Canada, you hear of the massive forest fires spreading over BC and Alberta this happens every year, but has it gotten worst yes. But after a forest fire what happens to the ashes which are full of nutrients are returned to the earth to help the trees that have survived the fire. Giving hope the forest will flourish again.

Or during the first world war where there was so much bloodshed between the world until one day in Flanders field a John McCrae wrote a poem. There were poppies growing over the graves where fallen soldiers lay, despite the despair the flowers gave hope to the Veterans and survivors. Thanks to his poem we wear the poppy today remembering that seen long ago giving hope for the Veterans and survivors.

The last couple of weeks our friends in the Bahamas were struck with a category 5 storm. I look at the devastation these storms cause yet again these storms are not uncommon they are happening more frequently and stronger each year. The whole chain of islands is faced with devastation, yet they still live there why. Is it because generally the weather is nice and the tourism industry? After the storm they start to rebuild their community with only to find out that another storm is on the way. What are these people feeling, what are they thinking how can they find hope in this situation? Just before the storm was announced there was help on the way, people were organizing backpacks of necessities needed for the people at this time.

This past week we remember the tragedy of 911, this was the 18th anniversary of when two planes would change a city a world. After going through the rubble there was a Callery pear tree found at ground zero. It was in bad shape roots snapped burned branches. This tree was taken from rubble and sent to Van Cortlandt Park where the NYC department of Parks and recreation nursed the tree back to health. The thought at first it would not survive but later returned in 2010 and is now know as the “Survivor Tree”. Now the tree has new growth which surrounds the old stump this clearly shows that not all hope is lost even through the worst devastation  and gives us the strength to rebuild it times of great loss. This tree also spreads its hope across the world through its seedlings, there are three seedlings given out each year to the communities who have endured such tragedy & despair in turn giving them the hope they need to rebuild their future.

God’s affirmation of the divine decision to bring disaster, “I have not relented, nor will I turn back,” is not the last word. The decision not to relent combined with the decision not to make a full end of things leaves open the possibility for repentance and for a remnant to rebuild the nation. This glimmer of hope is present because, ultimately, God seeks healing and wholeness for the nation, not an end to the relationship. Who knows what is instore for us or what is yet to come, let us always find hope when all is thought to be lost! Amen.

My Love Colours Outside the Lines

The story of the walk on Emmaus Road is one of my favourites. I confess that I had to write this sermon twice! I started telling the story like I always do – focusing on that first seven miles. The one where the two they talk non-stop about what’s happened. The lead up to Jesus’ death. Peter denying Jesus. The cross. The empty tomb. Mary’s bold proclamation that she has seen the Lord. How some of the disciples thought the women were telling an idle tale and Peter went to the tomb and found it just as the women said. There was no shortage of things to talk about. Then I moved on to them talking with Jesus and finally knowing him in the breaking of the bread!

But what I really wanted to talk about was that second seven miles back to Jerusalem. Do you ever wonder what it was like to fly as fast as their feet could carry them to Jerusalem? Their hearts burning from the joy of understanding. If they really thought about their walk to Jerusalem they would have realized it was anything but ordinary. It’s not that often a perfect stranger says, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!” Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26) And then goes on to teach you about all of the prophets starting with Moses.

It is only as they get to end of the day, when they are tired from the journey that they finally truly see Jesus as he takes an ordinary loaf of bread and breaks it. And just as they finally see Jesus, he vanishes. I don’t even think that they ate the bread before putting on their shoes and heading back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples the good news. Their hearts were burning. The joy. The wonder. The amazement. Did they ran all the way? Did they ever stop and wonder if they had imagined seeing Jesus as they broke he bread? Or maybe to reassure one another that they really did see Jesus. That journey back to Jerusalem is uncharted and without precedent. It colours outside the lines of what’s expected. People who die on crosses simply do not rise to life. It was amazing and unreal and exciting. When the two finally arrive, they proclaim boldly, “The Lord is risen indeed, and he as appeared to Simon!” Luke writes, “Then they told what happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” (Luke 24:35) That’s when the journey for the disciples really begins. How do the follow Jesus now?

For us here at Cochrane street we are also charting a new path and colouring outside the lines. You’ve never had a minster on Sabbatical and I’ve never been on sabbatical. I don’t know what it’s going to be like to not come to this place with all you wonderful people each week. I’m going to miss being part of this community that’s been an integral part of my life for the last 8 years. Added to that, I haven’t been in school for over 18 years so I’ve got a steep learning curve ahead of me. So I would ask for you to pray for me on this journey. And I for my part will pray for you on yours. I know that you will navigate the road ahead with dignity and grace, working together to lead services and support the work of your church council. I know that when it comes to celebrating the lives of your loved ones or you need care in hospital you are in excellent hands with Rev. Bruce.

Today marks the beginning a new journey for all of us as we each in our own way colour outside the lines. When I come back in May, we can share with one another the things we’ve learned on the way, we can share the struggles as well as the joys. The story of the two on the road to Emmaus is a resurrection story and we are an Easter people. So we trust that our God, who in Jesus gives us everything – love, grace, new life will guide us in the journey that lies ahead.

And we trust that with God’s grace and with God’s help, these next few months are going to fly by as you follow your journey and I mine. As we say in our creed, “We are not alone. We live in God’s world.” And when we find our courage waning, we can gather at the table, for gifts of bread and wine that reminds us that we meet Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Nourished, we find renewed energy to follow the one who invites us to colour outside the lines sharing love, hope, grace and new life with all those we meet along the way. We are not alone. We live in God’s world. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Why be a church Member

Our question this week, is in a way linked to last week’s question. Last week we talked a about why come to church? There are other options and things to do on Sunday morning that don’t involve going to church. People said everything from we go so that we know we aren’t the centre of everything, to needing it to get through the week, to finding joy in the people, the music, the service and for some it is the feeling of home. This week the question is, what does it mean to be a member of a church in today’s? 

            Confession. Until this question, I didn’t really spend much time thinking about the meaning of membership. It gave a chance to think of my own journey. I first became a member of the United Church when I was 13 or 14. I remember meeting with our minster Rev. Ted McCleod. I remember his asking us thoughtful questions and I remember celebrating becoming part of the church. The church that my parents of and the one that their parents before them belonged to. My mother loves telling me about her Presbyterian grandfather who not become a member of the United Church after Union in 1925. I’ve visited people here who tell me that they are Methodists and not United Church. As clergy, I am no longer a member of a congregation, but a member of a region. Over the years I’ve talked to people who want to be members and others who are deeply committed to their church don’t believe that the church is a club that requires membership. 

Our relationship with church membership has its roots in our beliefs about God and is also affected by the generation we were born into. Generationally speaking there is a different sense of denominational loyalty. Generations ahead of mine, chose one denomination and that’s what they were. There is a shift in the millennial generation. This generation Whereas my generation and the ones that follow mine, are less concerned with denominational loyalty and more concerned about the feeling of the local church community. The same is true when it comes to brand loyalty. Previous generations there was a high level of brand loyalty whether it was to car or to the company that you worked for. (http://discipleshipresearch.com/2017/03/millennials-dont-do-denomination/)  

I don’t usually bring up The Manual in sermons but there is a first time for everything! In the United Church we have a designation of full membership – you belong to a specific congregation as well as a denomination. We have what is called full members this happens through confirmation (reaffirmation of baptismal faith) or adult baptism and profession of faith.  (The Manual) We can transfer that membership between congregation. We have another group called adherents. They are people who attend worship and contribute regularly to the life of the congregation. In our daily worship together, we don’t often make a distinction between members and adherents. At our Congregational meetings those in full membership can make a motion allowing everyone to vote on all matters related to the life of the congregation. 

            In the past number of years the United Church has done several studies on membership. Some people want stronger regulations for membership and others like me want looser definitions of membership. I am on the side of wanting everyone who shows up, shows an interest and wants to be involved being considered members. This was shaped by my first congregations. Many of the most involved people in the life of several points were not in full membership. They were there every Sunday to turn on the lights and fix what needed being fixed or organize church functions. It didn’t seem to be that the polity of the church was in keeping with the practical day to day functioning of that congregation. I’m guessing that there are many other churches like this as well. It also likely that this is why the most recent survey on membership wasn’t conclusive – there was an almost 50/50 split on how to define membership.

            So what does it mean to be a member of a church? Why be would you be a member?  I think we need to move past polity and into how it shapes our faith. Years ago, I heard ago I heard a beautiful story about a man whose loved one passed away. I can’t remember if it was his mother or father or someone very close to him. All his life he’d attended church, singing hymns and praying/saying the creeds. On the day of his loved one’s funeral he came to church, it came time for the first hymn and he couldn’t sing. The words got stuck in his throat. Reflecting on this experience later, he shared that he was thankful that there was a congregation behind him who could sing the words of faith when he couldn’t. Someone else was believing and singing for him when he couldn’t.

            Together we are stronger because when I don’t have the words of faith and doubt or sorrow creeps in, you will believe for me. I will do the same for you in your time of need. The community of believers brings meaning to membership. There is something spiritual that happens to us when we sit together, sing together, pray together, and eat together from one week to the next. It reminds me of that great quote from Hebrews, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,[a] and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:1)

            In our reading from 1 Corinthians, we have Paul’s reminder that we are all members of the body of Christ and each one of us brings our own unique gifts and every gift is important. The thing I appreciate about Paul’s letters is that he writes when there is trouble in the community and the community at Corinth was arguing about whose spiritual gifts were the best!! It happened then and it happens now. Paul says, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. … Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:12, 27 – 31) That still more excellent way is the way of love that Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians 13. 

            Membership in a church community gives a place to live out our faith, to work with one another and work things out when we do not agree. Membership in a community gives a place to express our doubts and explore our faith. It reminds us that we are not alone grown, learn, question and doubt. It gives us brothers and sisters in faith who will believe and sing for us when we cannot find the words of faith for ourselves. Membership is a way of supporting each other and hold each other accountable for a living faith. 

            In our gospel reading, Jesus invites the first disciples to drop their nets and follow. Membership in a church community is one way we live out our invitation to discipleship. It is not the only way. As members of the body of Christ, we follow in Jesus way of contemplation and action. Jesus often took time to pray and he also took time to make everyone feel welcome. Following in the way of Jesus is not easy. We need to the time to worship, sing, pray, and learn so that we can go out care for others, our community and our world. Belonging to a gathered, worshipping community helps to live into Jesus’ final commission. 

            In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus’ departing words to us were, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18 – 20) Let us go from this place to be the body of Christ in the world. Amen.