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Thanksgiving Sunday October 11 Worship Service

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

• This Sunday we will have a special supervised Thanksgiving craft at the back of the sanctuary for children. A search for a new Children’s Ministry Leader is underway. The posting can be found on our website:  Children’s Ministry Leader Position  Please encourage anyone you think may be interested.

• Our Mission and Social Action Committee invites you to participate in our Soctober drive for underwear and socks for inner city agencies. Just drop them off Sundays or during the week and our partners at 1 Just City will ensure that they get where they are needed.

• The first Seniors Fellowship Luncheon on the new season will take place on Tuesday, October 20. Now is the time to let us know if you intend to come so we can plan our meal accordingly. Sign-up will be available at the church on Sunday.

• The ABC’s of Christian Faith is a six-week course of the foundations of our faith for people interested in confirmation, adult baptism, or simply as a refresher. The ABC’s are held every other Wednesday at 7:00. The next session is on October 21 and will be on prayer as centring, giving thanks, inviting intercession.

Dear Friends

Welcome to worship for Sunday, October 11, 2026.

Happy Thanksgiving!

One of my best friends, John Pentland, is the minister at Hillhurst United Church in Calgary. That congregation has been one of many active in countering the rhetoric and resentment that has given rise to the upcoming Alberta referendum. That includes the question of separation but also nine questions largely challenging the biblical imperative to love our neighbour.

One of the things John took notice of was lawns signs that said “Send a Message to Ottawa”. So he is taking up the challenge and has a written a column for the Calgary Herald. This is the message he wants to send and I want to share it with you:

Dear Ottawa, and my fellow Canadians,

First, thank you for the grounding and steadiness of our federal leadership.

I am proud of how our federal government has responded to our broken relationship with the United States—with confidence, courage, generosity, humility, and wisdom. We have resisted childish name-calling. We have remained committed to a united Canada and acted, in our typically Canadian fashion, with humility and kindness. That kind of leadership takes courage. It deserves our recognition and our gratitude.

I am also grateful that, at this pivotal moment, our political parties have found ways to stand together. We have a legitimate Opposition whose job is to challenge and critique the government—and yet it understands that some moments call for unity. I am grateful for political leaders who know the difference.

Second, I am grateful for the extraordinary beauty of this country. I love our oceans, rivers, forests, mountains, lakes, national parks, and prairie landscapes. This land is part of what makes Canada such a remarkable place to call home.

Our Indigenous neighbours have helped us see the land differently—to understand that we are not simply owners of it, but are in relationship with it. That is something worth learning from.

From coast to coast to coast, we have an enormous and breathtaking country to explore. There is something humbling about realizing how much beauty surrounds us—and how much of it we have yet to discover.

Third, I am grateful that Canada is a diverse country. With the exception of our Indigenous peoples, we are all immigrants or descendants of immigrants. Welcoming newcomers is part of who we are at our best. Every person who comes to this country brings gifts, stories, experiences, and perspectives that deepen our collective story.

Learning one another’s stories, confronting our mistakes, and committing ourselves to reconciliation and deeper understanding is difficult work. But it is work worth doing—and I am proud that Canada continues to strive toward that wider vision.

Fourth, I am grateful that Canada is, in so many ways, a safe country. Of course, there is sorrow, darkness, and violence in every province. But Canada continues to strive toward something better: calling out racism, xenophobia, homophobia, antisemitism, and every other way we diminish and exclude one another.

I am grateful for public education, public health care, the rule of law, and the freedom to protest, disagree, debate, and speak openly about the things that matter. I am grateful for our commitment to greater understanding and inclusion—and for the belief that our differences do not have to divide us.

And finally, I am grateful for the freedom to explore ideas and learn without fear. We are free to be who we are, to speak and question, to wrestle with difficult ideas, and to welcome different languages, religions, customs, and ways of being that enrich our collective life.

We take care of one another. We value safety. We concern ourselves with our neighbours. And perhaps most importantly, we understand that we are not alone.

We are better together.

So my message to Ottawa—and to all of Canada—this Thanksgiving is simple.

It is grounded in gratitude for all that we have, even as we acknowledge our imperfections and the work still before us.

Thank you.

Grace and peace,

Michael

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

• Share the service with friends by forwarding this email or using this link: https://youtu.be/6M4Gl32wWQc

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