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Praying Hands.
By Michael Wilson Pastoral Letters August 21, 2026

Watch this week’s service on YouTube by clicking:

August 23 Worship Service Video

 

 

Join us for Sunday morning worship at CUC at 10:00 AM
with the He/SheBrews Café following in the Van Roon Community Hall

 

 

  • Six Month Statements are available for pick-up. Please remember that summer office hours are in effect Monday to Friday 9:00 – 2:00.

 

 

Dear Friends

Welcome to worship for Sunday, August 23, 2026.

 

I saw an ad earlier this summer that was titled ‘build community’. It was a further entry in the ongoing cultural conversation about the struggle to overcome loneliness and isolation, about our need to belong, to be part of something greater than ourselves.

 

It is an important and relevant topic. What I lamented in this particular ad was that it seemed to suggest that the burden lies on the lonely and isolated individual to take on the responsibility of creating community as opposed to discovering it. Building community from scratch is difficult work. What will be the parameters, the common interest, the ethos. And then how will it operate, how often, in what location. How will it gather, how will it hold members accountable, how will it demonstrate commitment to those who commit to it. Yes, building community where there isn’t one is exceedingly hard work.

 

And yet, discovering community by comparison is relatively easy. A lot of people and places do it very well. I was walking with my daughter in downtown Toronto a couple of weekends ago and saw a group unmistakably congregating. I asked her what she thought it was and said it was a community running club. What a wonderful idea (except that they were running Sunday morning at 11:00 but another subject LOL).

 

Choirs welcome people who don’t sing very well. Aqua-cise classes welcome people who don’t swim very well. Art classes welcome people who don’t draw very well. The common denominator of community, or should I say currency, is the welcome. Many places already exist that welcome people into community with goodness and grace. Community doesn’t have to be built, it needs to be joined.

 

Which brings me, not surprisingly, to church. Two things I believe are equally true. The first is that as church as moved further and further to the margins of society, fewer and fewer people know what church is about. They haven’t heard of it nor experienced it. Maybe there are rumours but I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of people today are ill-informed about what church has to offer.

 

The second truth is that church has community all figured out. We have what people say they are looking for. We have space and times and warmth and welcome and customs and tradition and depth and coffee and, and, and.

 

The best way to let people know that we may have what they are looking for is to show them (and by the way if Charleswood UC doesn’t scratch their itch then another church might). If you know someone who could benefit from the type of community the church has to offer then by all means invite them. Or ask me to invite them!! I would be delighted to do so.

 

Community is offered here. Thank God!

 

 

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
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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