Drummond Hill Newsletter, May 25, 2022
Wednesday Meditation (Luke 8:16,17)
‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.’
Jesus told us, “I am the light of the world” in John (8:12, 9:5). We follow this light in all of life. Of course, this light is not hidden, but is in view of the entire world. After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Church began to tell the world who Jesus was. Today, each denomination has its best version of Jesus to follow. In this way, we lock Jesus into a kind of image we want Jesus to be.
Today, it is not a matter of hiding Jesus as how we package and offer to the world the best Jesus we can create. Whether we say our Jesus is based on biblical accounts as we read the bible or theologically correct based on scholarly Biblical interpretations the world gets to see Jesus as each church presents him to be.
Yet, God has God’s own way of letting people find out who this Jesus is. As the light of the world, he needs no interpretation from churches, no theologically solid argumentations from pastors and preachers, and no evidence from science. Those who need light in darkness seem to find him. Those who are in despair reach out to him. Those who are sick rely on him each day.
As much as we like to imprison him in our churches with correct theologies and Bible learnings, Jesus is out in the world among his people. As we put so much effort in confining him as nothing more than accessories like crosses of necklaces and bracelets, he is among the poor, the hungry, and the broken.
Nothing is hidden, in spite of all of our marketing by churches to insist to the world that the churches alone have Jesus within them, Jesus who was resurrected, ascended, and is coming is already at work in our world. God did not put Jesus inside the church buildings. God did not make him part of fashion and beauty accessories to be worn around our necks. God freed him, even from death, so that the world may come to hear him, know him, love him and proclaim him as the Saviour of the dark world, filled with killings and deaths.
So we follow in this dark world, the only light we see as God intended Jesus to be.
Drummond Hill 3.0
Starting a new worshipping community
We already have a worshipping community. It comes together on Sunday morning at 10:30 am as surely as the sun rises from the east. This community will continue worshipping in our sanctuary.
What we have learned is that the current way of being a faith community has its limitations and it is important for us to figure a way out for future generations. This is why we are adding to this current community with a different worshipping community. This new one will be opened to those who are excited about building a new community as part of Drummond Hill.
Here are things we will do this summer and fall in order to begin this new work. We will gather people who are younger and have families. They will come together as often as they wish and will discuss what kind of community they would like to establish as followers of Christ. Their spiritual needs as well as faith will become the basis of these discussions.
Secondly, we will begin scouting and survey the city, especially the newly built areas, in order to find out who the interested people are in being part of this new community. We will do this with advertising, word of mouth, as well as direct flyers. We will be asking everyone to give us a hand when we get to this stage.
Thirdly, we will find and experiment ways to attract the attention of people and entry activities where we can share this new project with those who are new to the city. This will be done in ways to create excitement in the entire city.
A few things to know
We already have many competitions in the city. There are many new churches that have begun apart from about 80 churches we already had in the city of Niagara Falls. Many churches are doing their best to grow, just like us.
Though we have a wonderful community, we are not as well known as we would like to be. There will be many activities to raise awareness. These activities will be very different from ones we normally do. At the beginning of these activities we may wonder if anyone cares. We require patience and perseverance.
Most of all, we need your prayers. As we approach the preparations and planning, we will be asking you to pray. We will also provide for you prayers if you would like to know what to pray for. Remember that prayer is the most important preparation for Christ’s ministry.
New Direction: A congregational meeting, June 26
The session is calling a congregational meeting for Sunday, June 26. It will be part of our regular Sunday worship.
The session will be presenting to you their suggestion on how to downsize the facilities in order to do Christ’s work here. After many years and months of discernment, the session has come to take the congregation in a new direction.
In the discussion among elders, it became clear that the sanctuary with its historical heritage is what defines us. That means the building that houses the sanctuary needs to be preserved along with the organ as well as those beautiful windows.
We have six additional properties apart from the sanctuary building: the hall, the education wing, the manse, the play yard on the Eastside of the sanctuary, the lower parking lot, and the property that is currently used as a sideroad and parking alongside the education wing.
The session’s suggestion to downsize is to keep the play yard, replace the hall, education wing, and the manse with a smaller hall at the manse site and more parking spaces where the hall and education wing are.
We will present more detailed information as the time approaches for the meeting.
Some possible summer activities?
We have been preparing for the reopening of Drummond Hill so that we may share God’s gift of good news with our neighbours. Here are some of the things we are planning:
- Open Cinnamon Bun Tuesday to everyone in Niagara Falls.
- Conversations on history and spiritual topics in June, July, and August.
- Hot and Spice Fridays (?) will take place also in June and July. This is designed for people with youth and children.
- Concerts
- Pray. Pray that we are being faithful to and enjoying God in all that we do.
Romans 10:17
and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.
