Item
#1
A
couple months ago the Truth and Reconciliation Committee released
their report regarding Residential Schools. And now we as Canadians
need to decide how we move forward into reconciliation. One of the
ways to do that is to re-learn our history from a different point of
view. With that in mind we have arranged for St. Paul's to host a
“blanket exercise” with facilitators provided by KAIROS. The
KAIROS folks describe the exercise this way:
Created
in 1997 after the release of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal
Peoples, the KAIROS Blanket Exercise is a one hour participatory
workshop that will help participants understand how colonization of
the land we now know as Canada has impacted the people who lived here
long before settlers arrived. Through this exercise participants will
explore the nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous and
non-Indigenous peoples in Canada, how this relationship has been
damaged over the years, and how they can work toward reconciliation.
The Blanket Exercise is KAIROS' most popular resource, and has over
the years evolved from a humble workshop to a community and movement
building teaching tool.
The
exercise will be a one-hour experience and then a time of debriefing.
Patty and I took part in a blanket exercise 14 years ago and both
found it very moving. This will happen on October 17 at 1:00 in the
Large/East Basement. Mark the date and spread the word!
For
more about the Blanket exercise see this page:
Item
#2
The
General Council of the United Church had its 42nd meeting
last month. General Council is the national body of the United
Church. Retired minister Rev. David Shearman wrote this summary of
what happened and has given us permission to reprint it:
Item
#3
On
May 26 2016 I will celebrate 15 years of Ordination. As a way to
mark that anniversary I am going to take a Sabbatical from the
Victoria Day weekend to Labour Day weekend, a period of 3 months and
two weeks of combined Sabbatical and holiday time.
What
ever will I do with all that time? (Actually a serious question—I
get itchy by the end of a month of vacation time)
The
United Church of Canada policy on Sabbatical suggests that there are
3 areas of focus for the time. One is rest and rejuvenation. One is
some Spiritual development/growth. And one is some learning
component. I would argue that there is often some overlap between
the second and the third, and probably some overlap between the first
and the second for that matter.
A
large part of my time will be reading and, possibly, watching TED
talks. In the near future I hope to choose a topic area or two to
focus on and start collecting resources. There is also a good chance
we will try to find something like a Naramata family camp to attend
(it was going to be a Naramata week but with the closing of Naramata
Center we have to look elsewhere. A third goal is to try and be
intentional about getting in better shape. The M&P Committee has
suggested that just being at ease with being not working for that
period might be a growth goal in and of itself. And of course the
reason we chose that period of time was not only because it is a
slower period in the life of the church but also because it covers
the summer when school is out which makes room for some intentional
family time.
I
know it is only September but May will come pretty quick. So we need
to start planning. Over the next while the M&P and Worship
Committees will be actively recruiting folks to cover Sunday worship.
I know there are lots of people or groups of people in this
congregation with the ability to lead worship. If this is of
interest please talk to me or to Susan McKenzie. We will need to
work out coverage for funerals. We will need to make a decision
about wedding requests for next summer (hopefully soon because who
knows when Carla will get a call). And we will need to talk about
Pastoral Care coverage.
In
our list of Committees we have a Pastoral Care Committee. It is a
literary work at the moment. But I think we need to put some flesh
on it. I think the Sabbatical gives us an opportunity. We start
developing a team of people who visit (or contact by phone or some
other form of support) on behalf of the congregation so that we cover
those needs over next summer and then just keep it going. We need
this team to maintain contact with each other. If you are interested
in helping to rebuild this aspect of our shared life (I am told it
used to exist) or if you know someone who would be a good member of
such a team please drop me a note.
There
will be more information about the Sabbatical as the months progress.
And a year from now I will put together some sort of “What I did
on my Sabbatical” report. It should be an interesting process. Oh
and if you have a suggestion for a topic area of focus for my
reading/viewing feel free to pass it on!
Gord
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