Drummond Hill Newsletter, Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Wednesday Meditation (Isaiah 9:6)
For a child h
as been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
In two days, we will be commemorating Remembrance Day. As usual, we will think of the evils of wars as well as peace that can be. Lately, however, we have been inundated with all sorts of worries that are disturbing our peace. This long period without conflict we enjoyed in Canada is now being interrupted in different ways. Last time we had wars in the former Yugoslavia, there were minimal impacts on our ways of being. This time with the war in Ukraine, we are feeling all kinds of hardship right here in Canada. The geopolitics of the world have caused gas price increases, food shortages, and fertility issues around the world. It is hurting our pockets in ways that we were never worried about before.
Remembrance Day is a poignant reminder of what peace is and how costly peace is. That peace is costly shows how difficult life is for so many. We usually assume that peace ought to be part of being alive. Though the UN Charter spells out the basic needs of humanity as food, shelter, air and water, we are now living in a world where none of these are taken for granted anymore. This threat has gone so far that the Spectator, a British newspaper, was reporting that nuclear bunker sales are going up. People are trying to safeguard their future in ways that peace is almost out of reach in terms of price for many.
On every Remembrance Day we repeat, “Lest we forget!” This is the most important message and wisdom to us today. We ought not forget that the very peace we have enjoyed for more than 70 years in Canada came with a very high cost. If any one is to remember, it is us as Christians to remember the evils of war and how in wars God’s peace is mangled in ways that it is impossible to recognize it. Currently one of the most circulated images in support of Ukraine is the picture of Virgin Mary cradling a Javelin missile. This clever coopting of a religious symbol cannot define us. As Christians who follow the Prince of Peace, we cannot forget the evils of wars and stand against all wars. Along with all those veterans, we need to remember the evils of war in remembering all those who have fallen in wars fighting for peace. To be Christians is to be God’s servants who manifests peace through love and refusing to forget the evils of wars.
We have been wondering how to help people worship for a while. Of course, there are traditional ways that people join in for worship. Our Sunday morning worship service is a good example. These traditional worship services with slight variations in their orders are deeply meaningful to the faithful.
With less and less people attending traditional worship services each Sunday, we have been looking for ways to welcome those who are not regular worshippers or who have dropped away from regular institutional worship services.
After some thoughts, Rob Whitelock and I were discussing ways to reach out to those who may be interested in being spiritual, but not religious folks. Rob suggested that a group of musicians with whom he was making music might help. He spoke with Michael and they have been getting ready to help us worship in a new way. Rob and Michael were able to fuse both old hymns and new Christian music together as part of worship.
We are asking you to come and taste this new form on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 pm.
Of course, many people may call this type of worship, a concert. However, we are presenting this as a worship that is part of three different types. This one that we will join is all about praising God and blessing God through music. We will probably have this worship once every three months. The other type is all about prayers. This prayer worship will be all about giving God our prayers and praying on behalf of our world. The third type of worship we will do is all about the Word. That is, each month (with the exception of December) we will have a different type of worship that will be open to the public.
This Sunday will be a dry run. We are hoping that in March, we will hold this music worship service inviting all our neighbours who are not regular church attenders.
Please pray for this new way of worshipping. It is our hope that this new worship will reach many people with the good news of loving Christ.
Many of our members enjoy music very much. It is our hope that this music worship will free you from our regular constraints of worship so that you can experience the joy of worshipping God with meaningful music in times of trouble.
Wine, Women and Song
Wine
Adam and Eve were named as farmers since they were to till the land. Lamech, Noah’s father, named him saying, ‘Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands.’ This relief from the work has a later Old Testament reference where wine would gladden the human heart (Psalm 104:15) and a passage in the Proverb (31:6) advises to give wine to those in bitter distress. It is interesting to note that after the flood, Noah plants a vineyard as the ‘man of the soil.’
Women
Hagar is often a short side note in most of our understanding. This was the case until I read Dolores Williams’ Sisters in Wilderness. Williams wrote eloquently about Hagar’s experience as the experiences of Black American women and how those who suffered slavery could identify with Hagar and Hagar’s God. She pointed out that black American women’s experiences vis-a-vis white women were much like Hagar’s experiences with Sarah. She highlighted in her book how Black women were often forced to be in surrogacy roles in white families as they were to take care of their masters’ children as well as bearing white masters’ children often through sexual violence.
This fresh new way of seeing Hagar made me wonder about how our indigenous sisters would relate to the women of the Bible and whether they bring different ways of understanding.
Song
Wine gladdens the hearts of people. Biblical women like Hagar, interpreted by theologians like Dolores Williams, are introduced to us in new ways. One exploration we did was to look at our hymn books and search out communion hymns or songs that match exuberance and resilience. Most communion hymns omit the use of word, wine, altogether. Instead ‘cup’ is used as a euphemism for wine. Most communion hymns were deeply dignified, solemn and sombre. Perhaps this very preliminary conclusion is due to the evils of drinking. We have limited our study of communion hymns primarily on Protestant hymnals.
Schedule:
Sunday, November 13: Special Music Service at 2 pm
Cinnamon Bun Tuesdays (10 am Tuesdays)
Wine, Women, and Song (Thursdays, November 3, November 10, November 17)
Reign of Christ Sunday, November 20: Remembering the Old
First Sunday of Advent, November 27: Old as new
Advent Mission Project: Grow Children’s Ministries
Help PCC congregations and ministries care for children and youth. Your gifts will help nurture faith development through Christian education programs and resources and support vulnerable children and youth.
Love Your Church
Goal: $20,000
In order to carry on our ministries, we are asking you to help us raise $20,000 on top of the regular offerings. You may choose to help us with small amounts weekly or monthly. Another way is to make a one time donation. Whatever you can help will be greatly appreciated.
and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.
