Monday Message – May 8, 2023

Like the rest of you, I was very shocked to hear the news of Rev. Fred Snyder’s death. His service is on May 18, 2023 @ 6 pm, at Snow’s Funeral Home in Halifax. You can read his obituary here. The following is something that I say at almost every funeral I have presided at: Most of the time we can accept death as an abstract principle… as part of the circle of life. But when death becomes very personal through someone we have known, it can trigger a variety of feelings and reactions. When death comes after a life well lived, our grief may be a quiet sadness. When it comes to one who has suffered a long and painful illness, our grief may be softened by a sense of relief for that person. But when it comes suddenly, as is has now, with no warning, our grief may be sharp and shrieking. So, you may just want to be quiet some times. You may want to talk and tell stories at other times. You may want to be alone or you may feel the need of people around us. You may feel angry: angry at God, angry at life, angry even at the person who died. You may feel guilty… things said or unsaid, things done or not done… All of these are normal. Your feelings and reactions will continue to come and go in the coming days and weeks and months, so be kind and gentle with yourselves and each other… and know that you are held safely in God’s hands.

I’m back from a week of Study Leave, I’m grateful that the United Church for recognizing that this is essential for ministry personnel, in order to come back refreshed and perhaps reinvigorated. Without that, I can feel like this squirrel I photographed at Point Pleasant Park, just a blur of action, moving from one thing to another! As a Spiritual Director, I am supposed to go on silent retreat annually; this is the first time since pre-Covid that I have. While the weather was not as conducive as I would have liked to be outside with my camera and explore the city through Photography As Spiritual Practice, I did get outside each day. Here is a link to the album of photos I took at Point Pleasant Park, some with my camera, some with my phone because it was raining. I hadn’t been to the park since before Hurricane JUAN! I’m grateful to Cathy, who let her name and number be the one on call for Pastoral Emergencies and I’m grateful to Rev. Stephen Fram who was on call for any emergency to to Rev. Judith Perry for leading worship. Ministry is never a solo undertaking, both within the congregation and in the wider United Church.

There is lots on the go this week: We continue with our Easter Series: Unearthing Joy! This week, The Joy of Unexpected Shepherds! The scripture is John 10: 1-10 and the questions I’m pondering right now are: Who are the shepherds of St. James? Who enables us to have life abundantly? What shepherds are being overlooked because they don’t quite fit the mold? Who knows where those questions will take me!

As the Annual Regional Meeting approaches, I have a few Zoom meetings around things that need to be finalized before that. I had my regular Zoom call with other Intentional Interim Ministers from across North America today, I’ve got another call with United Church ones Tuesday. Tuesday evening, some of the leadership of the congregation is gathering over dinner in the parlour and Rev. Dr. Susan MacAlpine-Gillis is leading us through a session on Having Difficult Conversations. Wednesday and Thursday will be taken up with the Spiritual Deepening group and getting ready for worship, as well as getting ready to preside over a graveside service on Saturday afternoon. Saturday morning, I’ll also be attending convocation of the Atlantic School of Theology. Jessie Crabtree, a student I supervised during my time at Stairs is graduating.