Texada Island United Church
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • History
    • Links
  • Focus on Spirit
  • Prayers for the World
  • Milestones
    • Births, Deaths & more
    • In Memoriam
    • Advent Bible Study >
      • Advent Bible Study
      • Advent & Christmas Candle lighting
      • Past Events
  • Photo Gallery
    • Karen May, New Legion Chaplain
    • Church Photos
    • Battle Services >
      • Battle of Atlantic service - April 2015
      • Battle Service 2010
    • Tea & Bakesales >
      • Dessert Tea & Bake sale April 2015
      • Church Tea & Bake Sale Dec 2013
      • St Patricks Day Tea and Bake Sale 2013
      • St Patricks Tea 2010
      • Bake Sale 2009
    • Christmas >
      • Christmas Dinner 2014
      • Christmas Concert 2014
      • Christmas Day 2013
      • Christmas Eve 2013
      • Christmas Concert 2013
      • Christmas dinner at Legion 2013
    • Music Events >
      • Chor Musica Powell River Mens Choir - March 2015
      • Chor Musica Video
      • Joyful Noise Photos - 2008-2010, 2013
      • Advent in Song, Dec 2008
    • KSE photos >
      • KSE Photos 2010
      • KSE Photos 2009
      • KSE Photos 2008
    • More Photos >
      • Certificate of Thanksgiving 2014
      • Doretta's 60th
      • Appreciation Service, May 2010
      • Bowen Island Weekend Sep 2009
      • Yard Sale March 2009
      • Earth Day 2009
      • Van Anda Days July 2008
      • Leban Wedding, 2008
  • Church Notes
  • Reflections
    • From Services
    • For Kids
    • Something to Ponder

Give Thanks

11/10/2020

1 Comment

 
Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV)
 
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 
9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
 
Reflection:  
 
You know I thought this week would be easy- Thanksgiving – piece of pumpkin pie! But it didn’t turn out that way.
 
First it’s COVID. So I know some of you would usually be sitting around tables surrounded by family and/or friends. But maybe this Thanksgiving some of you are planning to have some form of phone or video time as a way to affirm our relationships with family and friends and to see at the heart of this distancing we can still connect with each other and convey our caring and love.
 
Then I looked at the lectionary reading for today. Luke 17:11-19, where Jesus heals ten men who have leprosy. He sends them away to be accepted as cleansed by the priests but one of the ten returns praising God and thanking Jesus. He is thankful for the healing- really Jesus has given this man a whole new life or maybe even given him his old life back. It makes sense he would be grateful. It makes sense that he would praise God, this was a real upturn in his life. It is easy to praise God, to thank people when they have done something for you that makes you happy. That the man took the time to go back and thank Jesus is important because we too should take the time to thank others for their kindness. I believe most of us would acknowledge that we haven’t become the people we are without the love, care and attention that others have shown us in our lives. And for those things and those people we are truly grateful.

I know it’s Thanksgiving and we are thanking God for all that we have, food, shelter, relationships, medical care and that despite COVID changing our lives, life is still good. 
And for all those things and people who make our lives better everyday we are truly thankful. 
 
But that story about manna in the desert a few weeks ago is still rattling around in my heads and it seems to me that maybe wandering for 40 years eating manna and quail might have made freedom look quite depressing at times. There are many times in our lives when giving thanks is not the first words in our prayers. Times when gratitude is not what we are feeling. When joy and happiness seem very far away. What then? 
 
Those are the times when we feel we have no where to turn, no one to listen, when we don’t know what the future holds and maybe God is our last resort. Times when our tears and our fears mingle. Those are the times when our faith is strongest because we are reaching out into a darkness – finding light where there appears to be no light, finding Presence where there appears to be nothing, finding solace and hope and comfort where there was just an abyss.
 
I don’t think God sends trials our way just to strengthen our faith, I don’t believe God tests us, I don’t believe God sends evil into our lives – but things do happen in life, our lives and I believe in all that happens good or bad, joy or sadness, abundance or scarcity, God is there. We are not alone,we live in God’s world.
 
Thanksgiving, giving thanks, being grateful, being open to the grace that God brings into our lives each and every day are all part of living a faith filled Christian life. Paul writing to the congregation at Philippi ends his letter with our scripture passage today. He encourages them to be the best they can be and assures them that God is always near. We are not alone. God is always there to listen when there is no one who can listen, God is always there to bring comfort when our lives are in turmoil, God is always there to bring peace into our hearts. And for that we are truly grateful.
 
Prayer of Thanksgiving
We come before you, O God, on this day set apart for giving thanks.
We thank you and praise you for your creation.
We are truly amazed by the gifts we have received in this life: the gifts of
 relationship, of nature, of art and music and poetry and above all the gift of being your people.
We pray that each day our hearts become more open and tender to the joy and pain that life brings to us. We pray for those who are facing struggles, who may find it hard to be thankful today, who can see nothing but emptiness and loss.
​Let your creation be filled with signs of hope and let us be a sign of hope for others.                         Amen

 
 
Minute for Mission      
 
Access to Education in Zambia
Women for Change is a Mission & Service–funded global partner that empowers girls and women through education. Access to education is a major challenge in Zambia, especially in rural areas where the majority of people live below the poverty line. An estimated 500,000 children
of primary and secondary school age are not enrolled in school. Rural children, especially girls, are more likely to drop out of the school system or never be enrolled at all. Traditional attitudes toward women, poverty, early marriage, gender-based violence, lack of sanitation facilities, and the decision to use scarce resources to educate boys rather than girls all block girls and women from fully participating in educational opportunities.
When the United Church Women heard stories of girls and women in Zambia, they wanted to help and decided to support Women for Change as their major project for three years.
The people behind Women for Change know that it takes more than just money, books, and shoes to motivate girls to remain in school. There are few role models, particularly in rural areas—women who have received higher education and can inspire girls by showing them the difference an education can make.
With the support of United Church Women and through Mission & Service, Women for Change will focus on programming to create opportunities to give girls and young women living in rural areas the encouragement they need to remain in school.


1 Comment
Pat Parsley
11/10/2020 04:22:07 pm

Thank you for this posting. Being separate from family is so very difficult and I have felt quite lonely even though I am not alone and have so much to be grateful for. I find your words very comforting and understanding. Thank you.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Jan. 29. 2023 Jesus is Baptized and...
    Jan. 22, 2023 More John the Baptist
    Jan. 15, 2023 Jesus and John the Baptist
    Jan. 8, 2023 Magi, Herod and Jesus
    Jan. 1, 2023 Welcome to the Kin-dom Kingdom
    Dec. 24, 2022 It's Christmas!
    Dec. 18, 2022 Love is Wild and Risky
    Dec. 11, 2011 Here Comes John the Baptist
    Dec. 4, 2022 Here Comes the Kingdom of God
    Nov. 27, 2022 Visions of Hope
    Nov. 20, 2022 Reign of Christ Sunday
    Nov. 13, 2022 The World We All Hope For
    Nov. 6, 2022 We are Invited!
    Oct. 9, 2022 A Little Faith!
    Oct. 2, 2022 Washing Feet, Being Love
    Sept. 25, 2022 Reconciliation
    Sept. 18, 2022 Forgiveness Again and Again
    Sept. 11, 2022 Confession
    Sept. 4, 2022 Freeing Jesus: Presence
    AUG. 28, 2022 Freeing Jesus: Way
    Aug. 21, 2022 Freeing Jesus: Lord
    Aug. 7, 2022 Freeing Jesus: Saviour
    July 31,2022 Freeing Jesus:Teacher
    July 24,2022 Freeing Jesus: Friend
    July 17, 2022 Let's Look at the Bible
    July 10, Hey Zacchaeus! I'm Coming Over!
    July 3, 2022 Who is This Jesus....
    June 19, 2022 The Trail to God
    June 12, 2022 The Trinity and the Good News
    June 5, 2022 It's Pentecost
    April 24, 2022 What About Peter?
    April 17, 2022 Easter Sunday
    April 10, 2022 Palm Sunday 2022
    April 3, 2022 Lent 5
    March 27, 2022 Jesus Overturning Tables
    March 6, 2022 Lent 1
    Feb. 27, 2022 Transfiguration
    Feb. 20, 2022 Called to Be the Church
    Feb. 13, 2022 Hagar was a Slave
    Jan. 23, 2022 Storms
    Jan. 16, 2022 Call and Temptation
    Jan. 9, 2022 The Magi and the Light
    Jan. 2, 2022 A New Year Awaits
    Dec. 19, 2021 Love...Grace....Response
    Dec. 12, 2021 What is this Joy?
    Dec. 5, 2021 Preparing the Way
    Nov. 28, 2021 Hope in This Advent Seaon
    Nov. 14, 2021 Surely God is Here!
    Nov. 7, 2021 What We Carry
    Oct. 31, 2021 Stories!
    Oct. 24, 2021 All About Ruth!
    Oct. 17, 2021 Gardengate
    Oct. 10, 2021 Thanksgiving Anyone?
    Oct. 3, 2021 What Unites Us
    Sept 19, 2021 Forgiveness etc.
    Sept. 12, 2021 Does Being Christian....
    Sept. 5, 2021 Connected
    Aug. 29, 2021 So Many Miracles
    Aug. 22, 2021 Advent to Easter
    Aug. 15, 2021 Messy Love
    August 8, 2021 JOY
    Aug. 1, 2021 Jesus Welcomes Us
    July 25,2021 Today I Choose Happy!
    July 18, 2021 Forgiveness
    July 11,2021 We Are the Church Together
    July 4, 2021 Gifts of the Spirit
    June 27/21 Unending Love, Amazing grace
    June 20, 2021 Walking the Road of Love
    June 13, 2021 Draw the Circle Wide 2
    June 6, 2021 Pentecost to Today
    May 2, 2021 Jesus: "Who do I say I am"
    April 25, 2021 Death Has Lost Its Sting
    April 18, 2021 Follow Me!
    April 11, 2021 The Road to Emmaus
    April 4, 2021 Easter Sunday
    April 2, 2021 Good Friday
    April 1, 2021 Maundy Thursday
    March 28, 2021 Palm Sunday
    March 21, 2021 Lent 5 Who is Jesus to You?
    March 14, 2021 Lent 4: Jesus Wept
    March 7, 2021 Lent 3: Desert Mothers & Fathers
    Feb. 28, 2021 Lent 2: Arwa's Story
    Feb. 21, 2021 Lent 1
    Feb. 17, 2021 Ash Wednesday
    Feb. 14, 2021 Love
    Feb.7, 2021 The Be-Attitudes
    Jan. 24, 2021 What is this Kingdom of God?
    Jan. 17, 2021 Calls - Nudges and Visions
    Jan. 10, 2021 Baptism of Jesus
    Jan. 3, 2021 You are the Light
    Dec. 25 2020 Christmas
    Dec. 20, 2020 Advent 4 - Love
    Dec. 13, 2020 Advent 3 - Joy
    Dec. 6 2020 Advent 2 - Peace
    Nov. 29, 2020 Advent 1- Hope
    Nov. 22, 2020 Light of the World
    Nov. 15, 2020. Talents and Gifts
    Nov. 8, 2020 Lest We Forget
    Nov. 1,2020. How to be a Saint
    Oct 25, 2020 Love God
    Oct. 18, 2020 Followers of the Way
    Oct. 11, 2020 Give Thanks
    Oct. 4,2020 Out on a Precipice
    Sept. 27, 2020. Out Beyond
    Sept. 20, 2020 Where is God
    Sept. 13, 2020. Intersectionality???
    Sept. 6, 2020 God IS Love
    Aug. 23, 2020 This is not a Test
    Aug 16, 2020 Draw the Circle Wide
    Aug 2, 2020 Wrestling with God
    July 26, 2020     Find and Seek
    July 19, 2020 I Know You
    July 12, 2020 Parable of the Sower
    July 5, 2020 What Do You Hope For?
    Sunday, June 28, 2020
    Sunday June 21, 2020
    Sunday, June 14, 2020
    Trinity Sunday, June 7, 2020
    Pentecost Sunday, May 31, 2020
    Sunday, May 24, 2020
    Sunday, May 17, 2020
    ​Sunday, May 10, 2020 – “Mother’s Day”
    ​Sunday, May 3, 2020 “There IS abundance!”
    Prayer for a Pandemic
    Hanging Out With Jesus

    ​COMMENTS: 

    We welcome discussion on content posted here!

    A comment field is present when looking at individual posts. If you don't see the comment area, click on the article heading to bring up the single post and its comment area.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.