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By Michael Wilson Pastoral Letters April 24, 2026

Watch this week’s service on YouTube by clicking:

April 26 Worship Service Video

 

 

Please be aware that the He/SheBrews Café will be taking a one-week hiatus due to the Charleswood Art Group annual show and sale. Please enter the Van Roon Hall at 11:00 a.m. for a VIP hour for church members.

 

  • Join us Sunday, April 26 for our annual Jazz Service with acclaimed pianist Connor Derraugh and friends. A great time will be had by all. You can also check out the Charleswood Art Show which will be in the Van Roon Community Hall this weekend.

 

  • Another annual event, the Girl Guide Cookie Sale, takes place this Sunday. Girl Guides from our congregation will happily sell you cookies before and after church this week.

 

  • Next Sunday, May 3, you will have an opportunity to place a stitch in the banner that is being created in celebration of Charleswood becoming an Affirming Congregation. Our thanks to quilting artists Phyllis Marsch and Bev Bowles for their leadership in this effort.

 

  • The Mother’s Day Baptism service is now only a few weeks away. If you, or someone you know, is interested in infant baptism on this day, please be in touch and we would be delighted to provide you with the necessary information.

 

  • Advance Notice – A Craft Sale will be held at the church on Saturday, May 9. If you know someone who would like to buy a table and be part of the Sale please contact the church office.

 

Dear Friends

 

Welcome to worship for Sunday, April 26, 2026.

 

Four pins.

 

Someone at church last week asked about the four pins I wear on my stole (the scarf a minister wears over a liturgical gown or alb). It’s a good question. In part because I haven’t talked about them on a regular basis. Nor do I think that they represent anything in my thinking that is complete or comprehensive. On the other hand, I am intentional about wearing them. They are not decorative. I believe I am called to wear them and because I do so in the context of a public office, I think it is fair to explain what they are and what they mean for me and my community.

 

I should begin by saying how grateful I am for the theological education that I received. This included grounding in the history, theology, and practice of worship. Worship is a subjective art I admit, and other ministers understand these things in varying degrees. So this is conversational and not definitive. But I would be the first person to say that worship leadership is not about being a bulletin board for upcoming events or the latest craze. It certainly isn’t a time or place to draw attention to one’s self or one’s accomplishments. If the argument was to be made that there should never be anything on a stole except the symbols of ordination then I might agree. My four pins simply symbolize the context in which my ministry has taken place.

 

The first one I began to wear was a pin of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It was given to me by someone who was grateful that I had learned new things from the TRC and that I should continue to teach what I have learned. When I put it on I remembered something I heard said by Commissioner Murray Sinclair that it took seven generations to get to his moment and it will take seven generation to heal. Given that the United Church of Canada was part of the Residential School System, and as a leader in the UCC, I believe that there is no choice but to keep this consciousness for as long as it is necessary.

 

The second pin I added to the stole is a Star of David. I received it when I took part in an Interfaith Holocaust Remembrance service three years ago. The only message of this particular pin is that it says, in Hebrew, that I will remember. I am committed to remembering the Holocaust and hopefully teaching others that this darkest of moments in human history can never be forgotten nor misrepresented.

 

The third pin I began to wear is a ribbon with the colours of the flag of Ukraine. For me the Russian invasion of Ukraine is an exercise in evil that hearkens back to the worst displays of World War 2. While this is the most explicitly partisan of my four pins I also hope that it will be the first I can remove when that conflict ends and the integrity of Ukraine is restored.

 

The most recent pin I added is a rainbow pin which is only marginally connected to the recent decision of Charleswood to become an affirming congregation. The United Church of Canada declared in 1988 that sexual orientation (the language at the time) would never be used as a barrier to full participation in the life of the church. I was ordained in 1989 so consequently, living out that decision has been an undercurrent of my entire career. I find it easy to tell stories and give examples of the extraordinary changes that taken place. But acceptance, welcome, and yes, affirmation are still a work in process for all churches. The current moment at Charleswood is one of those encouraging stories.

 

Just as I feel called to put on a gown and stole, I feel called to let these four symbols be part of my testimony to what abundant life looks like.

 

Grace and peace,

 

Michael

 

 

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

 

 

  • 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/   Thank you for your generous support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.
More posts by Michael Wilson