Water Drop
By Michael Wilson Pastoral Letters June 14, 2024

 

 

 

                                 

Watch this week’s service on YouTube by clicking:

June 16 Worship Service Video

 

 

Join us for Worship Sunday at 10:00 AM followed by fellowship and refreshments in the He/SheBrews Café

 

  • The Urban Retreats Garden Tour takes place on Saturday, June 22. This is the largest fundraiser of the year for 1JustCIty and our United Church of Canada Community Ministries. Each year gardens in a particular neighbourhood are opened to receive visitors while a tea, craft & plant sale is held in a central location. This year the Garden Tour is in Charleswood and the tea, craft & plant sale will be right here at Charleswood United Church! Tickets are now on sale for $20 through the church office during the week and on the day of the tour.

 

  • Prairie Spirit United Church is having a concert Saturday, June 15 at 7:00 p.m. An Evening with the Classics featuring Bennet Charter piano, and Charmaine Bacon, flute. Doors open 6:30 Concert 7:00. Admission by donation.

 

  • For news and events, please have a look at Life & Work on our website: Life and Work

 

 

Dear Friends

Welcome to worship for Sunday, June 16, 2024.

Though we do not read from it every week, the revised common lectionary provides suggested readings for every Sunday of the year on a three-year rotation. The lectionary readings offer a useful service. For one thing it helps guide us through the church year, lifting up not only the appropriate texts for the festivals and observances in the year but also the preparatory texts as those holy days approach. But in addition, the lectionary helps churches approach a broad array of scripture and not get stuck on returning to our favourite passages again and again. It gently forces us outside of our comfort zone as it were.

One of the ways it does that is by taking advantage of the three-year cycle (normally referred to as A, B, and C). In each year the Gospel lessons will focus on one of either Matthew, Mark, or Luke. Readings from John are interspersed throughout all three years. Another way the lectionary challenges us is by focussing on one of three sweeping narratives of the Old Testament each year during the summer months. Last year it was the great stories of Genesis and Exodus, the legacy of Abraham, the descent into Egypt, and the leadership of Moses. The year before it was the Elijah saga followed by the prophets. This year we are reading the David story as found in 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings.

We began two weeks ago with the introduction and call of Samuel, the prophet who would eventually anoint David as the second King of Israel. This week we are introduced to the character of David as a young shepherd. We will follow the adventures, trials, triumphs, and catastrophes of David’s life over the next two months so I won’t give away any endings here.  

These epic tales of ancient Israel serve many purposes. They tell us about the history of a people as that history was understood within that singular nation. They instruct us about the evolution of revelation and how God’s people grew in their understanding of the mystery and majesty of God over the generations. Most importantly perhaps, they teach us about the heritage of Jesus for they are the ‘scriptures’ that Jesus would have learned as he grew in faith. Knowing these stories helps us understand the teaching of Jesus better.

One of the things Old Testament sagas do not do is provide us a blueprint of faith. There are few examples of moral character. Kings and prophets of Israel make mistakes, sometimes some really, really big ones. They go off course and suffer consequences. But maybe that is part of the instruction of them too. God may stand in ‘judgement’ of the actions of characters, but never abandons Israel, never stops loving them. Narratively we understand this as part of the covenant on Sinai. When God makes a promise, God keeps a promise.

Hearing one episode from a sweeping story on a Sunday morning can’t capture everything these stories have to share with us. I invite you to take a look at the broader picture. Pick up the story of David from beginning to end and see if you find something you had never thought of before. You can do that by simply opening to 1 Samuel 1 and starting to read. Or alternatively, find the Old Testament readings for Year B beginning at Pentecost and follow along. They will touch on all the major events and you will meet Saul, Jonathan, Goliath, Bathsheba, Solomon, Absalom, and many others along the way. You may be amazed by what you find.

 

Grace and peace,

Michael

 

  • Did you know you can support this ministry by e-transfer, automatic withdrawal (PAR), and gifted securities, in addition to weekly or monthly cheques? For Offering Information please visit: https://charleswoodunited.org/support/  We have begun to receive donations for this summer’s Roofing Project which will be held separate from Operations and Mission & Service. Thank you for your generous support.

 

  • Through the United Church of Canada’s membership in the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, an appeal for donations has been issued for the Humanitarian Crisis in the Middle East. For more information and to donate please visit:  Humanitarian Crisis in the Middle East Appeal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Wilson / About Author
Michael’s involvement in the wider church has included ministry with children and youth, membership on the National Division of World Outreach, supervision of campus ministry, and the Ten Days for Global Justice National Committee. He has been blessed by the opportunity to represent the United Church of Canada in the Bahamas, Cuba, and Africa on different occasions. Michael has taught at the University of Winnipeg – Faculty of Theology and is past President of the Conference of Manitoba and North Western Ontario.
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