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Sheet Music
By Michael Wilson Pastoral Letters October 17, 2026

Watch this week’s service on YouTube by clicking:
October 18 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

 

  • This Sunday we welcome our musical friend Keith McPherson. Keith is a remarkable musician, singer, and worship leader. We always enjoy his visits to CUC as we explore some of the best of contemporary Christian music. We are also delighted this Sunday  to once more welcome the Charleswood Masons on their annual church visit. Join us for a full and rich worship experience.

 

  • Many Gifts, One Spirit – the 2027 Stewardship Campaign – Our Annual Stewardship Campaign begins this Sunday. Addressed envelopes with pledge cards, stewardship information, and statements will be available in the Entrance Hall. In the week ahead, email version of the information will be sent to those on our email list. Please look for this material and share in our commitment to ministry for 2027.

 

  • 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 ABCs 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 ABCs are held every other Wednesday at 7:00. The next session is on October 21 and will be on prayer as centering, giving thanks, inviting intercession.

 

 

Dear Friends,

Welcome to worship for Sunday, October 18, 2026.

Last week I had some quality time with a long-time friend, the amount of time that allows you to get to some of the more remote topics of conversation in your head. He has deep roots and vast experience in the church but for the last several years has found a greater place in the Quaker community. The Quakers began has a Christian denomination but are more accurately painted today with a broader brush. Their history, as well as their present involve participation and leadership at the cutting edge of social justice for the marginalized. They were a leading voice in the Abolitionist Movement and have a strong reputation in prison reform, pacifism, and progressive social justice issues.

But that was not what I asked my friend about. Quakers refer to themselves as ‘Friends’ (their official name is the Religious Society of Friends) and worship is referred to as ‘Meetings.’ A central feature of a ‘Friends Meeting’ is silence. It is quiet, reflective, and waits upon the Holy Spirit to lead someone to speak or teach. Typically, they do not have clergy, sacraments, scripture, or hymns in their meetings.

What I wanted to know from my friend who is a Friend, someone who was so long a part of the church was if he missed music in worship. He paused for a moment and said, “yes, sometimes.” As he thought about it, he said, “what’s that one that says strong eighty-fivers and streetwise sixteens”? He was referring to the hymn “Part of the Family”. “I always liked that one” he added.

Personally I cannot imagine worship without music. Music is a different language than speech. It is inspired, created, and composed. Music conveys a transcendent quality that cannot always be said of the spoken word. It makes for a different space in which to encounter the Holy. In “The Magician’s Nephew” by C.S. Lewis, Aslan sings the world into being with a deep wordless melody. How fitting.

When I say that music has always been part of the worship experience, I only mean for 3000 years. Afterall, the Old Testament contains a hymn book! The Psalms are ancient Israel’s song book and contain lyrics such as praise the Lord with the sound of trumpet, praise God with the harp and lyre. When read in Hebrew, small marks in the text indicate how the psalm was intended to be sung.

Today we sing hymns and songs and choruses from a wide variety of sources. Some are hundreds of years old, and some are twenty-first century. Some reflect the traditions of our own denomination and some echo the praises of the global church in a multitude of language. Some borrow words from scripture while some borrow folk tunes. Some carry the weight of classical tradition and some sound like they were written in the pub last Saturday night. Isn’t it all wonderful!?!?

This Sunday at Charleswood is going to sound a little different as we welcome our friend, musician Keith McPherson. With Keith’s immense talent we will experience a taste of contemporary Christian music and its blues, gospel, and soulful influences. And I expect a little Beatles too! Keith sees it all as inspired and inspiring. Once more we will make a ‘joyful noise,’ a phrase found in psalms 66, 95, 98, and 100.

My friend who is a Friend prefers the silence. Fair enough. But for me, music in church is not to be missed.

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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