Watch this week’s service on YouTube by clicking:
Join us for Sunday morning worship at CUC is at 10:00 AM
with the He/SheBrews Café following in the Van Roon Community Hall
Dear Friends
Welcome to worship for Sunday, January 11, 2026.
Benjamin our inestimable man behind the camera for our online services (or more accurately, at his computer), got a little ski trip between Christmas and New Years. It was his very first-time skiing in the mountains (which doesn’t reflect well on my parenting, not to have given him that experience before now). He was in awe!!
And why not? Growing up on the prairies and about as far away from a mountain as it is possible to be on this planet, my experiences of the mountains were few and far between. It wasn’t until I was in university and in the company of a few friends that I first got to the Rockies in the winter. My reaction was like Benjamin’s. It is just unspeakably beautiful (providing it is a relatively warm sunny day). Awe-inspiring. Faith-shaping.
I am reminded of a lesson I learned from an Indigenous elder many years ago. To learn humility, stand at the foot of a mountain and tell it how important you are.
Anyway, on one of the days Benjamin was on the mountaintop, he was thinking of us, pulled out his camera, and took some video for the explicit purpose of using it for the opening of our video worship services. This week’s image is the first of those. Open the service and you will see a magnificent panorama of Rocky Mountain peaks and a sea of clouds in the valley below. Those images were taken above the clouds which is where I want to stop and reflect.
Above the clouds, the air is clear, the sky is blue, beauty surrounds you. Above the clouds there isn’t a problem in all the world. It is good to be above the clouds. Which may be why some of the most remarkable theophanies (experiences of the divine) in scripture take place on mountaintops. Moses appearing before the burning bush, or the still small voice speaking to Elijah, or Jesus transfigured before Peter, James, and John. All these epiphanies took place above the clouds.
By definition, when you are above the clouds it is not that you are unaware of the clouds. The clouds are part of what makes the image so stunning. Inevitably we have to return to solid ground and confront life beneath the clouds. But how glorious it is to have a reprieve, an escape, a moment when the clouds are not a concern.
I expect that the year ahead will be much like the year we left behind. There are dark clouds all around us. They invite us to be afraid…or angry…or despondent. Already in a year that is but a few days old, we are talking about signs of hatred in our city that may target synagogues, cafes, schools, or mosques but they darken the sky for all of us. We need our moments above the clouds where we are met by displays of beauty and wonder and awe in such measure that the clouds are put back in their proper perspective.
So where can we be above the clouds? (assuming quick retreats to the mountains is not an option). We hope worship is one such place. What better way to confront signs of hatred then a return to the gospel of love. Prayer can lift us beyond the clouds be it in solitude or the company of others. Circles of friends and family offer the possibility of being raised up on eagle’s wings. Art and music and writing can all take us away. May you find the place and space above the clouds you need where your spirit is renewed and your soul repaired.
I suppose there is a reason those bible stories speak of God being made manifest on mountaintops. It’s closer to heaven.
Grace and peace,
Michael
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