Stain Glass Lens of the 21st Century

Category: Uncategorized

  • COVID-19 Arrived 4 Weeks into My New Pastorate

    COVID-19 Arrived 4 Weeks into My New Pastorate

    COVID-19 arrived exactly 4 weeks after I arrived at my new church.  To be exact, it arrived in the area but thankfully, as of the time I write this, no one in the local church has contracted COVID-19.

    With its arrival, it brought anxiety, locked doors, canceled pastoral visits, postponed funerals, online worship services and a level of uncertainty I have yet to experience in ministry.

    Thankfully, God has provided.

    This congregation of Port Elgin United Church has been videotaping their services weekly for years and has a highly capable AV crew.  Two members of the crew are a married couple, Dave and Maria, so together they do the work of 3 or 4 each Thursday as we record the services.

    Brenda, the Minister of Music, is truly a rock star!  She plays and sings each hymn from the grand piano that sits on the far side of the sanctuary.  Brenda’s talent doesn’t end at her amazing voice and skilled playing; she has an uncanny ability at picking the perfect hymns each week!

    I have been learning what it means to preach to an empty sanctuary; which is an unwelcome lesson.

    Thankfully, the online services have been well received with over 250 views within the first day of being posted.   In fact, they have been so well received that on Monday, March 23rd, when Premier Doug Ford announced the closing of Non-Essential businesses,  I was informed that our ministry is essential in bringing worship to people as they stay safely at home.  We were encouraged to continue taping our worship services.

    As a faith community, it is our desire to be the hands, feet, and heart of Christ which has become rather difficult in this pandemic.  However, by the use of new ministries, we are discovering new ways to reach out.  For example, we are starting an Online Bible Study next week via Facebook.  Our Pastoral Care Team is sharing in the pastoral phone ministry ensuring those who live alone will receive weekly visits.  And, our Office Administrator, Kathleen, is still able to send out a weekly newsletter, the Friday File.

    It hasn’t been easy leading a new congregation through this crisis.  Stephen Covey coined the phrase, “change travels at the speed of trust” (The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything, 2006) which means any minister who wants to bring changes needs first to develop trust.  This trust usually isn’t granted within 7 weeks.  We are getting to know each other rather quickly during this heightened stressful time.

    Thankfully, these wise words by Corrie Ten Boom (concentration camp survivor) crossed my path recently. While writing about adversity she reminds us, “We have a God to go to, as did the Psalmist David who trusted God, made God his refuge “until these calamities be over past” (Psalm 57:1).  So pray and sit tight.  God’s got you.  Whatever adversity you face shall pass.”

    With these wise words we will continue our Lenten journey prayerfully trusting in a God who always leads us to new life and new beginnings.

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

  • Saying, “Bubbles” To It All!

    Saying, “Bubbles” To It All!

    Say “Bubbles.”

    Right now, wherever you are just say the word “Bubbles” out loud.

    Now, try saying it with an angry tone.

    Can’t do it, can you?  It is impossible to say the word “Bubbles” angrily!  (go ahead and try it again)

    Did that make you smile?  I hope so; we all could use a smile right now.

    It has been a stressful couple of weeks with enough anxiety to last a lifetime.  COVID-19 has been a game changer; it has tested our sense of security leaving our vulnerabilities lying bare.  We worry how quickly and mysteriously it spreads, we worry what it means to be in a pandemic, we worry how long this will last (do we have enough toilet paper?) and, we worry what will be left behind when it is done with us.

    Restaurants are closed, all public buildings are shuttered, schools are boarded up and even the church doors are locked.   Folks are queuing for their unemployment cheques wondering how to make ends meet on 56% of an already too low income.  Vacationers are stranded while others are paying astronomical fees to fly home.

    And, we all end up in the same place.  Back home, washing our hands and asking, “Now what?”  I think that is the hardest part of this entire situation, sitting still and doing nothing at all.  We are being told to stay home and keep our distance from everyone.  We have been set aside while the storm passes.

    As people of faith our “setting aside” can still be very productive.  As the Apostle Paul tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

    By remembering our call to prayer, gratitude and peace we can set a Christ-like example.

    So, let us daily cover the world with our prayers and petitions, remembering to list our gratitudes daily and to model peacefulness to our family and neighbors.

    And, if things become a bit overwhelming, pause long enough to utter “Bubbles” as angrily as possible!

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    The photo with today’s Blog was taken by Sabastian Pichler

  • 11:59:59 The Eleventh Hour

    11:59:59 The Eleventh Hour

    What would you do if you knew it was the 11th hour and your death is only seconds away?  This sobering thought crossed my mind as I sat idling at a red light one rainy morning.

    My impatience grew at the thought that my final moment would be spent at the corner of 3rd Ave and 10th Street cursing a stale red light.  Certainly, I mused, there would be no question as my entrance through the pearly gates if I was found visiting the lonely in Long Term Care, which was where I was heading: hence my impatience.   I need as much of an advantage as I can get!

    The Spanish have a practice of carrying their prayer beads with them.  These beads can be seen twisted around their palm and with each prayer, a bead passes through their fingers.  They believe it is best to pray continually so at the end of their 11th hour they will be found with a prayer on their lips!  Not a bad idea.

    In Lent, we are reminded of Dismas and his response at the 11th hour.  As he hung on a cross to the right side of Jesus, he took his final moments to cry out saying, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42).  Sadly, the criminal on the left side of Jesus, apocryphal writings has named him Gestas (Gospel of Nicodemus), choose instead to spend his final moments in bitter meanness.

    Jesus, despite his pain and agony, responded to Dismas by compassionately promising, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

    What sweet words to hear in the 11th hour!

    The Lenten Season invites us to honestly consider how we spend our moments; are we a Gestas or a Dismas?  The choice is ours.

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    The photo with today’s post was taken by Jon Tyson

  • Lenten Lessons on Love

    Lenten Lessons on Love

    Lent is a season of love.

    Not the kind of love that one can contain in a heart-shaped box of chocolates or express in a store-bought card; this love is far more enduring.  It is a love that has surrounded us all our days; we were born into this love and it never leaves us even when we do not acknowledge or comprehend its depth.

    It reminds me of a story I once read from ancient wisdom.  The story goes that a young fish swam up to a much older and wiser fish asking, “What is all this water I hear about?” The older fish responded, “You were born into this water, it surrounds you, sustains you and without it, you would not survive. You do not know life without this water.”

    We do not know life without this love.  It doesn’t mean life is made easier, but, when we begin to recognize the presence of this love in our lives; the living becomes more purposeful.

    This is the kind of love that hung on a cross trusting in God’s redemptive plan.  The kind of love that calls us to serve the other daily in small seemingly unimportant ways, unnoticed perhaps by humans but not unseen by angels. And, “In those moments we become one with God, with God’s love and that moment changes into eternity and God calls us his true child and Christ calls us his friends.”*

    May your Lenten journey draw you ever deeper into God’s light, love and friendship.

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    *Rev. Friedich Rittelmeyer Lutheran minister (1872-1938).  “Passiontide: The Washing of The Feet”

    The photo with this Blog was taken by Amir Arefi

     

  • From Lavender to Mulberry, Including Magenta: The Lenten Journey Has Begun

    From Lavender to Mulberry, Including Magenta: The Lenten Journey Has Begun

    Last week the challenge was set. Like a mic drop, this challenge was placed before me and I was left standing there wondering whether to pick it up or turn and walk away. My gut reaction was to walk away; it seemed like a silly and shallow way to mark a profound and timeless journey.  And yet, a week later I bent down and picked up the challenge.

    Every day in Lent I have been challenged to wear something purple. To daily wear something in the shade of the season that marks the world-changing events of Jesus’ last journey to Jerusalem from his unjust trial, horrifying death, to the moment the sun stopped shining.

    It seems a rather shallow challenge, or so I thought. That is until I was truly honest with myself. Each Lent begins with me lining up several online daily reflections and a promise that this Lent I will fast and set aside ample time for daily reflection, prayer and scripture reading, and then I don’t.  The busyness of the season catches up with me: there are the Lenten Sunday services, Lenten book study, Confirmation Classes, Holy Week, Good Friday service and of course the huge celebration of Resurrection Sunday.

    By donning a touch of purple we are daily reminded of the sacred Lenten path that we tread. This path creates a space within us to hear again the story of Jesus.  This familiar story of his ministry, his lessons, his courage, and his wisdom; an old story that will create new paths of peace, a sense of purpose and a deeper knowing of who Jesus Christ is for us each.  It is a small act but a constant reminder of the Lenten journey.

    So, yes, I will take on the challenge of wearing a touch of purple each day of Lent, beginning February 26th, and I now challenge you to find a way to mark this Lenten Journey with a newness that will refresh your spiritual life.

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    This Post was originally posted in 2019 and is back by request.

    The Photo with this Blog was taken by Orlova Maria

  • The Ordinary Sacred

    The Ordinary Sacred

    She opened the door partway and rather reluctantly said, “Yes?”  I leaned in so to see her face and introduced myself as the new minister at her church.  The door swung open as wide as the smile across her face as she warmly welcomed me.

    Curling was on the TV as we each took our seats on her comfy couch and she muted the sound while saying, “I was hoping to meet you!”  I looked around her cozy room and admired the pictures on the wall and the bright sunshine that was pouring in the windows.

    “I haven’t been here long”, she explained, “but I have been enjoying it.” (she had recently moved into this retirement home)

    We continued to visit for the next 15 minutes; she told me bits and pieces of her life and shared fond memories of her beloved church.  Before leaving we prayed together and I gave her a card which had my phone number and email address written upon it and we discussed when we would meet again.

    That meeting will have to wait.

    Exactly a week later I sat with her family as we planned her funeral; each reeling at the suddenness of her death.

    That ordinary visit was actually a sacred encounter.

    How often do we go through the routine of our days not realizing how each moment is a sacred gift that once passed it cannot be regained?

    I vow that through this Lenten Season I will deliberately savor each moment.  I will be pausing to be mindful of the gift of even the most mundane routines as laundry, making supper or shoveling snow, looking for the sacred in each task.

    And you know what?  It has already paid off!  Today as I drove down the same street I have driven down a thousand times in the past 30 years I looked up just in time to see two swans in full flight.  Have you ever seen two swans in full flight? With their long elegant necks stretched out and their angel wings riding the breeze, they look otherworldly and sacred indeed!

    May your Lenten journey be jam-packed with the ordinary turned sacred and may it amaze you.

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

  • Are You a Fan or a Disciple?

    Are You a Fan or a Disciple?

    This past week I had a bit of a lesson in what it means to be a “fan” of certain musicians.  For example, did you know that fans of Barry Manilow are called “Fanilows”, fans of Justine Bieber are called “Beliebers”, Lady Gaga’s fans are dubbed “Little Monsters”, Clay Aiken’s fans are “Claymates”, Neil Diamond’s fans are “Diamond Heads”, and the once-famous 1970s rock group Aerosmith calls their fans “The Blue Army”?  The list goes on and on with some fans having inspiring names and others not so inspiring!

    This was all news to me as I have never really been a “fan” or follower of any specific musician or group. I am however a follower of one whom, as Rev. James Harnish writes, “doesn’t attract fans; he calls disciples.”

    He calls disciples to something deeper, profound and more life-changing than any mere “fan” would aspire.   He calls us to humbly serve the other, “ I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home. I needed clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ …..Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did for me.’(Matthew 25:34-40)

    Jesus doesn’t look for “Fans” who compete for attention and status but instead, he calls us to into co-creating a kin-dom of love, peace, joy, welcome, acceptance and grace.

    So?  Are you merely a fan seeking attention and admiration or are you a Disciple prayerfully serving Jesus by humbly serving others?  As Lent approaches this is a good question to ponder.

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    The photo with today’s Blog was taken by Sebastian Ervi.

    (This Blog used to be from Trinity United, Annan. Simply hit,  Unsubscribe if you no longer wish to receive these Blogs.)