Archives: Sermons

Holy Bowlers

Bible Text: Luke 13:1-9 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes

With Thanksgiving

Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes | In our “Anxious for Nothing” Bible study, each week we focused on a different verse from the Philipians text. Max Lucado used incredibly wise words to help us in our anxiety or frustrations or concerns. However, it is week three’s words that have had the greatest impact on me and influenced how I planned for our AGM. I have to admit that I don’t always look forward to the AGM. I get anxious just thinking about it. The third step to relieving anxiety comes from Philippians 4: 6. “In everything by prayer, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Praying about the AGM is obvious and had been going on. But it was that little instruction between prayer and requests that caught me, “with thanksgiving.” There is so much going on at the church and we need to give thanks! Max said, “Gratitude is a mindful awareness of the benefits God has provided us in life.” There are an abundance of benefits in this church and today we get to celebrate them! Today we do not think of “if onlys” but “alreadys.” Today we do not dwell on what we are not but rather what we are. And we do it with thanksgiving. From the man who comes in every Friday to quietly rearrange the chairs to the woman who changes the banners to fit the church seasons. There are incredible things being done behind the scenes. I took the annual report and went through each report and offered them up to God with thanksgiving and something happened. I was not anxious about the meeting. The AGM is not supposed to be a meeting we dread but a celebration of all that is abundant and good in this church. Paul commands us to rejoice! Imagine, Paul writes these words from the horrors of a Roman prison. Yet, Paul gives reason for this rejoicing by stating that the Lord is near. And Paul tells us to focus our minds on what is true, honourable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise. Despite the struggles of being a church in the early 21st century we are surrounded by so much that is true, honourable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise. So let’s dive into the annual report with thanksgiving.
While the task of the archives committee is one of collecting and preserving important records it is also a Biblical practice. Even in our short 24 year history I have seen the way looking at those old photos brings back happy memories – from the first Easter service on the Janes Farm to the soil turning on this property. As we remember the days of old we are reminded of all the ways God has guided us to be a church in the Comox Valley.
Speaking of being a church – we are grateful for the opportunity to have a permanent building and one that is incredibly well kept. Thanks to the meticulous work of the Building Committee we not only have a place to worship but it is clean and cared for. Just this past year the Building and Maintenance committee dealt with 14 big and small projects. This building provides as space for us to grow in faith. The Harvest Gardens is a place where neighbours meet. As one of the neighbours who has a plot in the garden I know this to be very true. What a gift it is to the surrounding community.
This dwelling place allows us to learn. Through our Christian Education Committee we have Bible studies, the library and our Sunday School. The Sunday school teachers and those who assist them provide an amazing gift to our younger members and it is obvious that they enjoy coming and learning just by the utter joy that escapes their mouths when I say they can head off to Sunday School. But faithful learning is not limited to our children but also to us. Take the opportunity to attend those studies.
Leading with Care is an important piece to that as well. This committee makes sure that our policies are updated so that we can be the safest place for children, youth and adults to come and experience worship. Leading with Care enables us to make sure no one is hindered in their faith.
Thanks to the Church Breakfast we are able to learn not only about one another but also about other interesting people and resources that are available in the valley. Whether it is a talk about genealogy or development projects in Union Bay the church breakfast is not just about enjoying a meal together but enriching our minds.
Every month the Fellowship Group gathers, sometimes it is here at the church and sometimes it is over lunch. But it is their work in fund raising that is amazing. Three thousand dollars was raised at the Chili dinner for the roof and furnace fund. It is this group that also helps whenever there is a reception being held at the church and their knowledge of the kitchen is incredible. Fellowship is one of the first practices established in the early church. As evident in Acts 2:42 when it says. “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
The Finance Committee works hard to not only make sure all the bills are paid, or that there is enough in the account to pay said bills, but they work diligently and thoughtfully to invest and use the funds entrusted to them. This is entirely possible because of the donations you give. It is not easy to talk about finances but we were so incredibly close to having no deficit last year. That is all thanks to your donations and the finance committee’s hard work! And thank you to the offering counters who each week do the careful work of counting those blessings.
One night while working late in my office a rental group was using the sanctuary, three women walked in and as they passed my office door I heard one woman say to the other, “Oh! this is the church with all the nativities. You must check them out this year.” Churches often have reputations in the community but this is a reputation I am proud to wear. With dozens of volunteers, over 200 sets and approximately 500 visitors, Joy to the World is a major part of the Christmas celebrations in this community.
While knitting is not a pre-requisite, I would not know how to knit had it not been for one of the ladies in the Ladies’ Circle. This gathering of women meets over devotions and tea and those who do knit bring out their most recent projects. They also maintain the Prayer Shawl project – offering prayer shawls to those in need of a special gift. It is one of the most relaxing ways to spend a Tuesday afternoon.
It is a blessing to have such an active Mission and Outreach committee. Acts 20:35 says
“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”” Through this committee’s work we as a congregation cause ripple effects within our community and the wider church. In a couple of weeks I will be attending a performance by Hummingbird Ministries at the Women’s Gathering and I am told that some of the instruments being used are from last year’s lenten project.
Acts 20:28 says, “Pay careful attention to yourself and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God.” Pastoral Care is an integral part to our community and through the gift of card writing, a summer time tea, and visiting we continue to connect with one another in meaningful ways.
It is a very special thing to come together to intentionally pray. Prayer Group and Centering Prayer do this in two different ways. Prayer Group meets in the evenings and prayers are spoken aloud. Centering Prayer gathers each Friday to meditate in silence. These two groups personify in their special ways what it means to persevere in prayer. Even Tai Chi provides a prayerful expression through motion and balance.
Finally, it is our leadership, the session and Al, Elvera, and those who make sure things run smoothly each week that we celebrate. This past year we began our New Beginnings journey and as we look to implement some changes, programs and ministries, it is the leadership behind all these that will help us look to the future knowing that God is with us. In everything, we must give thanks to the Lord! And this thanks continues as I invite Mike Day, Wayne Penner and Heather Philip to come forward.

Staying Up

Bible Text: Luke 9:28-36 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes

Reasons to Forgive

Bible Text: Genesis 445:3-15, Luke 6:27-38 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes

Level Places

Bible Text: Luke 6:17-26 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes

A Calling

Bible Text: Isaiah 6:1-8, Luke 5:1-11 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes

Persistence Pays Off

Bible Text: Luke 18:1-8 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes | When I was serving St. Andrew’s in Victoria I spent one day a week at the University of Victoria as the Presbyterian Chaplain. The Multi-faith department was a joy to work in because I not only got to spend time in academia but also got to know the other 13 chaplains well. There were numerous Christian chaplains as well as Baha’i, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist chaplains and we all got together once a month to discuss how we were going to help in the well-being of the students. I worked most closely with the United Church chaplain, The Rev. Henri Locke, especially in a Meditation group that met twice a week. Henri’s story about how the group started always interested me. In the 1990s Henri decided to start a simple meditation club. Similar to our centering prayer style, the people were encouraged to sit in silence for 20mins and to attempt to centre their minds on a simple phrase, word or thought. A total of five students showed up to that very first meeting, and as often happens with students’ busy lives, those five fell off midterm to three, then two, then none. But Henri decided to continue meeting in the chapel whether anyone showed up or not. Each year in September about five students would show up, and by April Henri would be meditating by himself. For nearly twenty years this was his pattern but Henri took those opportunities to pray, to meditated and to hope that one day this program would grow. Then one September about 8 years ago Henri opened up the chapel and began to set up for the usual five, but had to get out more cushions because more people began to arrive, then they had to move into the larger chapel because they were too big for the side room, and then they ran out of chairs. Over 70 students showed up for meditation that day. And to this day there are an average of 70 students, staff and faculty who come together to sit in silence for twenty minutes and for many of them it is a highlight of their week. But imagine, if Henri had not been persistent, imagine if Henri had decided to stop the program when the people stopped coming. Persistence and prayer helped establish the UVic Multi-faith department’s most successful program.

Persistence is today’s theme. The Rev. Lara Scholey, a former convener of the PWS&D committee ties in this idea of persistence with the parable of the widow and the unjust judge in the resources for this Sunday.   In the parable of the widow and the unjust judge, the widow does not have much chance. Once her husband is gone and her brother-in-law is not willing to take care of her, she loses her home, her possessions and her identity. Jesus says she goes to the unjust judge and pleads her case. She prays for justice, she nags for justice, she perseveres for justice.  Where did she learn such perseverance? Widows had zero rights and the fact that this widow approaches the judge unattended by family highlights that she is extremely vulnerable, but instead letting sleeping dogs lie, she persists in her pleas for justice. The widow summons God’s help, and nothing is going to stop her.

The judge is also an interesting character. The title of the parable lets us know that the judge is unjust but the content of the parable says he “neither feared God nor had respect for people.” Isn’t it interesting that fear of God and respect for people is equated to justice. But what is also unique is that this judge’s personality is not swayed by the widow; rather he gives in because he is annoyed. The judge gives in, not because he cares about justice, but because she is wearing him out. The judge says, “I will grant her justice so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” In the original Greek the judge’s words could more accurately be translated as, “I will grant her justice so she does not come and punch me in the eye or give me a black eye!” This judge may not fear God but he’s afraid that this vulnerable widow is going to beat him up! The widow’s pleas for justice create sufficient pressure to influence another person’s actions.

This parable is framed by themes of prayer and faith. The whole story begins because Jesus wants to teach a lesson about prayer and not losing heart. Jesus also ends this parable with a question on faith. Will the son of man find faith on earth? Yet the main focus, for five verses, is on justice. But these three things are not separate. In order for justice to be realized one must have faith that prayer works.

Jesus told this story when the disciples were losing heart. The parable reminds them and us that if this poor widow with no standing can ultimately wrangle justice out of a judge without honour or fear of God, how much more will you and I- God’s own children, beloved of God, how much more will we find a God who will hear and answer prayer. If even the most unjust of judges finally relents then how much more will God, who is a good judge, answer our prayers. The parable brings up God’s goodness and eagerness to bless. This should serve as encouragement to those who fight for justice and it should serve as encouragement to us to walk with those who fight for justice. Sometimes it takes persistent behaviour to effect change. And the Bible persistently insists that God gives special attention to those who are most vulnerable- which means if we want to be doing God’s work we must be persistent in our pressures upon the powers that be to induce change.

Persistence is the story of Presbyterian World Service and Development. As mentioned it was in the wake of World War II that the national church decided to respond to worldwide need. In 1947 the General Assembly asked (and I quote), “That our people be called upon to hear and respond to the cry of the British and other European peoples in their desperate need for food, clothing and practical help; and that in the spirit of David who would not offer to the Lord that which cost him nothing, we who are so richly blessed in this Dominion endeavour to make some real sacrifice for our brethren’s sakes.” The Board of Evangelism and Social Action created a subcommittee and with the help of the World Council of Churches in the first five months of the committee’s work 57 tons of clothes were shipped to Great Britain, Germany, France, Greece and Japan. For the following 30 years missions and calls to action spread to other regions including Africa and Asia. In 1980 the committee changed its name to Presbyterian World Service and Development or PWS&D as it sought “to place major emphasis on development aid which enables people to permanently improve their living conditions.” Currently PWS&D works with partner organizations like the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and Canadian Churches in Action, in 16 countries. And talk about persistence, these programs include things like maternal health in Afghanistan, agriculture projects in Tanzania, economic development in  Guatemala and human rights advocacy work in the Philippines. Over and above all those projects is emergency relief  work  which most recently responded to needs in Yemen but over the last year has included the Rohingya Refugees, Syrian Refugees and aid in Northern BC following forest fires. The breadth of generosity of Canadian Presbyterians is far reaching and it is all thanks to persistent work.

When we see everyone as children of God, and when we persevere, the world looks different. Survivors of natural disasters receive food, water and shelter. Rohingya refugees displaced in a camp in Bangladesh are provided with healthy food for their families while they wait and hope that they will one day be able to return home. Mothers and babies survive and thrive in Afghanistan through persistent and ongoing health support. Refugee claimants and asylum seekers are welcome to Canada. We are called to be persistent in building relationships, especially with those most vulnerable, because we are all children of God. Amen