Pastoral Reflections

Greetings in the name of Jesus you said, “Blessed are the peacemakers…”

Jesus, though his life and teachings taught us to live as peacemakers in the world. But what does that look like in a time of war when so many lives, cities, communities, neighbourhoods, and families are being traumatized, torn apart, and destroyed by brutal violence? And the perpetrators of violence do not seem to be listening to the call to end the violence. Does our Anabaptist/Mennonite voice, calling for a commitment to non-violent, non-military responses to violence, calling for a commitment to peacebuilding, even make sense in the face of such terrible violence in the Ukraine, in Afghanistan, and too many other places in our world?

Rick Cober Bauman Executive Director of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada shared a Facebook post that I invite us to read and ponder.

“At MCC we are highly engaged in humanitarian responses to the victims of military violence in Ukraine. And we have made statements in many places, about our commitment to non-violence and non-military responses to violence.

Many have asked me, does this voice have credibility in the face of Russian military aggression? Maybe Anabaptist peacebuilders should remain quiet this time?

On the other hand, our experience in MCC and the Anabaptist Christian peace community is that military solutions do not turn out to be just, lasting peace solutions. There is a growing body of evidence that careful, disciplined peacebuilding strategies carry a capacity for long term stability that has been long under-valued.

We may face ridicule for the perceived naivete of our non-violent peacebuilding. However, if we abandon this core commitment, will it be lost to the discourse? There are not many others voicing this commitment. Granted ours is a small voice, and especially hard to hear now. But if no one claims and amplifies the voice of non-violent peacebuilding, will it disappear?

Is there value in our small community, with its small voice, continuing to represent another way? Even when dismissed by policy makers as impractical, is it both our duty and our gift to society, to keep on being the Anabaptist voice for peacebuilding without armed, lethal force? “There go the pacifist Mennonites again!”, may be less about dismissing us, and more about someone reassuring themselves that there exists a voice that keeps on proposing something other than arms.

We have a small voice. And it is not best used arguing for more lethal military responses to Putin, nor are we wise condemning Ukrainians for defending themselves. Both are somewhat wasting our breath. When we speak, can we continue to speak for a firmly Jesus-rooted commitment to non-violent peacebuilding? Will our voice still be audible in the din of this war? Or perhaps more importantly to ask, will we still have our voice at the brink of the next war?”

I pray we still use our voice calling for the non-violent way of Jesus. It may not immediately stop the violence, but it may be the voice the world so desperately needs right now, and in the future. It may be the voice that contributes to, and partners with God, in the building of the non-violent kingdom of God that we pray will come on earth as it is in heaven.

Pastor Ray

Greetings in name of Christ who loves us and invites us to love one another!

A central message of the Gospel is God’s amazing love of us. This love of God was revealed so profoundly in the sacrificial life that Jesus lived for the world and people he loved. Jesus freely set aside his privilege and rights for the sake of others. Jesus, who should have had his feet washed, washed the feet of his friends (John 13). Jesus, “though he was God, did not think of equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave.” (Philippians 2:6-7).

We are invited to “have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” (Philippians 2:4)

So how do we practically do that? It’s about loving our neighbour as ourselves. It’s about looking out, not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others. It’s about paying attention to the needs of those around us, even as we care for ourselves. It’s about allowing the love of Christ to guide our choices and actions. It’s about setting aside our individual “rights” at times, to extend grace, and care for the needs of others.

It’s in that Spirit that the Church Ministry Council offers an update on mask protocols going forward.

May we continue to, as we so graciously have over the past two years, live and love like Jesus!

Pastor Ray

Greetings in the name of Jesus who taught is to pray!

In an article I read this week J. Heinrich Arnold is responding to the war in the Ukraine. He writes: “It is now urgent that we pour ourselves into the task of becoming peacemakers, of fashioning peace out of war.”

He lists some very practical ways we can love and support the people most impacted by war and then reminds us of the significance of our prayers.

“The most powerful action of peacemaking is prayer. We must pray for peace. We must join our voices with those of God’s people in Ukraine, in the NATO states, in Russia, and around the world to call on God to end this horror…. We must pray for God’s kingdom of peace to come to this earth, as it is in heaven. We must believe in the power of that prayer.”

In the spirit of helping to facilitate this call to prayer I share two prayers with you. One written by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, and one attributed to St. Patrick who we commemorate this week. The first is a prayer in response to war, the second is a prayer that can help to keep our souls at peace so we can live as people of love, justice and peace in the world.

Loving God, you are our peace. We pray for peace between Russia and Ukraine.

We pray for the people of Ukraine – those who are forced to flee, those who are trapped and unable to flee, those who are in need of aid, those who have died.

We pray for Ukrainian and Russian soldiers, that they may be moved to lay down their weapons. We pray for world leaders, that they would be led into your ways of peace and justice.

We pray for our whole world who watches and worries. God have mercy!

(Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada)

I arise today through God’s strength to pilot me;

God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me,

God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me,

God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me,

God’s shield to protect me, God’s hosts to save me.

Christ shield me today against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today, through the mighty strength, of the Lord of creation. (St. Patrick)

Pastor Ray

Greetings in the name of the one who said ‘Fear Not’

The words ‘fear not’, are found 365 times in the Scriptures. That is a ‘fear not’ for every day of the year!

Visiting the Donkey Sanctuary a few years ago, I learned one particular difference between donkeys and horses.  The tour guide pointed out that horses have a herd instinct, and when they are fearful, they will all run away together. Donkeys, on the other hand, are in survival mode, and much more individualistic and they will tend to stand their ground. They are ready to fight. This is why donkeys are sometimes used as guardian animals for sheep and goats.

Flight, fight or freeze?  I tend to ‘freeze’ when facing a perceived threat. My wife Margaret loves to tell the story of when we encountered a bear with a cub, on the Bruce Trail about 10 years ago. My eyes got as wide as saucers, she says.  Then I went quickly into retreat mode!  These are natural responses to threatening situations.

When it comes to human social interactions, we can experience the same responses of flight, fight, or freeze. For example, we may turn away from a bully(flight), or we lash out(fight), or we do nothing but watch(freeze). It may be better to just say, ‘Stop!  Why are you doing this?’ or ‘What you are doing is hurting someone, but you must be struggling too.’

Fear is an obstacle to kindness & compassion. Fear can stop us in our tracks and prevent us from taking kind action, from being the person we want to be and making the choices we want to make.  That is probably why Jesus said, ‘Fear Not’. Paul the Apostle, in his second note to young Timothy said, ⁶ I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. As we live our lives, the challenge as God’s people is not to live by knee-jerk reactions, but to be guided by the Spirit, and moved by compassion, not fear.

May we be ‘moved with compassion’, not fear in these days.

Pastor Lloyd

Greetings in the name of Jesus our Lord and Saviour!

On Wednesday we began the 40 days (not including Sundays) before the celebration of Easter morning. Lent has traditionally been a reflective time of prayer, repentance, fasting, and renewal. One of the questions we are often confronted with is “What are you giving up/fasting from, through Lent this year?

The season of Lent is a journey with Jesus on the way to the cross where Jesus laid down his life in death, so that through his death, and resurrection on Easter morning, he could conquer sin and death and secure our salvation. Because salvation has come as a gift from God, through Jesus Christ, we are invited to live in the freedom of the new life that salvation brings.

The 40 days before Easter give us an annual time of reflection to ponder what has distracted us from the full life God saved us for. What do we need to give up, let go and get rid of? What is hindering fulness of life in our lives right now? What needs to die within us so that resurrection and new life can come? These are not easy questions to ponder but they are worthwhile questions. Through Lent we are invited to pray with the Psalmist.

²³ Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive (or hurtful) way in me,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139)

Laurie McClure, author and Jesus apprentice says it well. “I want to make space for Easter celebration and joy in my heart. I want to rid the clutter that has built up during the pandemic. Irritation, loneliness, suspicion… have got to go! I long for more longing of the Holy Spirit’s fire within me! I want the kind of awe that the disciples felt staring at the empty tomb and seeing Jesus’ risen body standing before them!”

If we want to make space for new life and joy, and the awe of Easter morning, let’s do the work of Lent!

May you have a blessed and reflective Lent that will result in a life-filled Easter morning and a renewed season of life!

Pastor Ray