stjamesunitedchurchdartmouth

Midweek Message – September 25

It’s been a week! And it’s only Wednesday! Late last week, I thought I had burned my mouth on coffee, my throat was a bit scratchy on Friday, I didn’t feel great on Saturday, and felt steadily worse on Sunday. Adrenaline gets me through worship when I have to… Sunday afternoon all the adrenaline leftContinue reading “Midweek Message – September 25”

Midweek Message – September 18

Worship this week continues our focus on creation; this week fauna. Considering my love/hate relationship with deer lately… 😉 Scripture: Psalm 104: 1-2, 10-24 Right now, I’m imagining a dialogue between science and faith, about creation and the animals. My Week: Monday – Doing sermon prep, bulletin prep, starting my reflection for Yvonne Bannerman’s memorialContinue reading “Midweek Message – September 18”

Who Are You?

The ocean has always been a powerful symbol or metaphor for God for me. It’s the place that I connect with God most easily. Which is a bit surprising, because I didn’t grow up anywhere near the ocean… but the ocean means home. Whether it’s a warm summer day and the waves gently kiss theContinue reading “Who Are You?”

Midweek Message – September 11

September 11th will likely always have a poignancy to those of us who remember the skies going silent, whether we were glued to our TVs or deliberately stayed away from them, not wanting the images burned into our eyeballs. It’s a day that the aftermath has been memorialized in Come From Away. It’s one ofContinue reading “Midweek Message – September 11”

Midweek Message – September 4

Ah September… so much start up… even when we’re not in school! Worship this week starts the Season of Creation series; this week focusing on the earth as a whole. The choir has a piece to share. With a new season, all the music changes, the opening and closing, as well as a new songContinue reading “Midweek Message – September 4”

Families and How to Survive Them

Love. Hate. Alcoholism. Abuse. Neglect. Persistence. Poverty. The Glass Castle has it all… But ultimately, I think it is a story about redemption. The Glass Castle, which is based on a true story, was written by Jeannette Walls, one of the central characters, and her family. The movie opens with Jeanette, living a glamourous lifeContinue reading “Families and How to Survive Them”

Midweek Message – August 28

Worship – This is the last week of our Reel Theology Series: Connecting Faith and Film This week I’m reflecting on the movie The Glass Castle. The scripture passages are Galatians 5: 1, 13, 14, Romans 8: 18, 22, 23, and John 8: 31, 34-36; the title of my reflection is Families and How toContinue reading “Midweek Message – August 28”

Courage to Stand Alone/Courage to Live in Community

Bank of Dave is a 2023 British biographical comedy-drama film that tells the true-ish story of Dave Fishwick, a self-made millionaire from Burnley, England. Frustrated by the traditional banking system’s refusal to lend to local businesses, Dave decides to set up his own bank, with the goal of helping his community. Despite facing numerous challenges, includingContinue reading “Courage to Stand Alone/Courage to Live in Community”

Midweek Message – August 21

Worship – This week I am connecting scripture and The Bank of Dave, available to watch on Netflix. The scripture is selected passages from 1 Samuel 16, 17, 18, 19, Ester 2, and Acts 4: 32-37. The biggest question I am pondering this week: Is God inviting us to imagine a different way of undertakingContinue reading “Midweek Message – August 21”

Hear and Listen

Have you ever been a stranger? Started a new job? Joined a new family? Perhaps the first time you met your in-laws? What was that like? How did you feel? Disorienting? You didn’t know the ‘rules or norms’ for behaviour. The inside jokes. What about travelling alone to a foreign country? Where you didn’t speakContinue reading “Hear and Listen”