May is Asian Heritage Month. In Canada, we need to take time to recognize the rich and long history of people of Asian-descent in Canada, as well as their contributions to Canada and to the world.

This can also bring up feelings of pain and hurt as these people were not always welcomed with open arms. If anyone has had the opportunity to go to Moose Jaw and visit the Tunnels there, particularly the Passage to Fortune, you will know more about this history. If you can, I invite you to do so and experience it.

One Canadian who

Love others as I have loved you. Or treat others as you want to be treated. It's the "golden rule." We have all heard it in some way. And now we need to try to live into it.

Today we heard from Lulu's Lodge and I think that this is an example of living into this "golden rule." We want to feel loved, we want to feel safe and we want to be respected for who we are. This place in Regina gives people a space to be who they are and to feel safe.

They are treated as people

Family is not the same to everyone. Family can be the one in which you were born. Family can be the one you choose or who chose you! Family can be big, family can be small.

We talk about the church family. We might not know everyone's names or birthdays or even faces. We might never meet each and every member. But we are a family. We care for another and we change to let people in or let people go.

Our church family is going to change. We are going to shift again. It can be scary when things

Catch any fish?

Fish sustain us. Fishing is an important source of food for the world now and in the time when Jesus asked this question. But as he often does, he was using it as a metaphor. Fish to feed yourself but also "fish" for people. Teach them how to love and how to create a better world.

I don't always like the idea of ensnaring something and making them do things. So I view it as more of a catch and release. Tell others that love is important. Live through that and let them see how it makes

It can be hard to imagine a life without a home. A life without enough food. Most of us are lucky to have apermanent home and to always have food when we need it.

This is not the case for everyone and not the case for everyone in Regina.

It can be easy to ignore things or to not believe things unless we see them with our own eyes. Thomas didn't believe when Jesus was right in front of him. This oculd have been anyone. It was only after he touched his hands and feet that he believed.

We all

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!

We have hope today. Hope for the us, for everyone. We can live in the way that Jesus asked us to. We are here to show that love is more important.

Today, we had an Easter Egg hunt for the first time in 2 years. It was wonderul to see all the kids working together to find the hidden eggs around the church.

For something different, I made up little baggies with jelly beans and included this prayer:

As you say the prayer, line up the jelly beans and look at them.

When

Today is Palm Sunday. We had a palm parade in church and I hope you were able to wave along with us or will take a moment to watch the branches of the trees waving in the wind.

I don't know about you but I often have a hard time imagining what palms look like. And there are many different types of palms as well. When I like to picture a multitude waving, I see a field. It could be wheat, canola or just plain old grass. You can watch the ripples as they travel along the field.

I like

We talked about Mary who washed Jesus' feet in perfume this Sunday. She wanted to show how much she cared for him. How can we show that we care about others?

I like to knit and I might not be the best. But I like to knit things for other people. I make a throw for a couple and a baby blanket. I felt good creating something and showing how much I care for someone else.

I share love and beauty.....I am love and beauty. Acts of love and beauty can be seen on a large scale and on a

It can be hard to remember that God's love knows no boundaries and their grace is infinite. But it's true. God loves us no matter what. We can be lost, we can be angry, we can be happy and they love us.

Why is it hard to accept this? Maybe because we learn that their should be a system of checks and balances. You do one thing to earn something else and something is taken away when you do something else. But God doesn't work that way.

We do our best and try to live to our fullest and God

We do not always feel like we are enough. We do not feel worthy. We do not feel like we are useful.

I talked about Temple Grandin in church today. She is someone who didn't fit in the usual way. She has a hard time connecting with people and learning in the same ways as others. She was born in a time when people with mental illnesses were institutionalized. Her mother didn't want to send her daughter away. She gave her all the support she needed. Even with that, Temple Grandin had a hard time and lived with the idea

God's love is called Agape love. It is not similar to the different types of love. It is the unconditional love of God. It reaches out to everyone in the world because it is universal love. Greeks thought God's love is the only kind of love that doesn't fail or falter. The word Agape arise from the Ancient greeks and refers to the love of God for all mankind. Agape is widely considered and examined by all religions. Everyone has Agape unconditional love.

We in the United Church celebrate PIE day. Not pie as in food, not pi as in

We are all tempted to do things that we shouldn't. It is not easy to make those good choices because they can be hard and it can be a lot of work.

I am reminded of a poem by Robert Frost: The road not taken.

This is not the easiest time in the Christian calendar because it signals the end of something great into the hardest part of the year: Lent. Jesus goes through a transformation, a transfiguration. If you remember the movie "Love, Simon" he becomes fancy Jesus, shiny and clear. In this changing, Jesus realizes that something  powerful is going to happen. We have to travel through it as well and it can feel like a lot. It weighs us down and fills us with dread. But in this moment, we have to have hope. Hope that something good is going to come

This week, we are continuing our discussion on Black History Month.

Many of you know that I have another job with the RCMP. As an organisation, the RCMP has been dealing with issues such as racism and prejudice towards different groups, notably Indigenous peoples but also with Black peoples in Canada. We take classes to learn about the past so that we can do better now and in the future.

I didn't have a sharing time in church this week, but I wanted to share a bit of the RCMP's history. In 1941, 2 Black men submitted appilcations to join

The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society says that "every child deserves to have a happy and healthy life."

What kinds of things make a happy and healthy life? Having a family, big or small, that loves you. Gathering together to sing and tell stories. Preparing and eating delicious foods that come from your family's background, using recipes that have been passed down. Living on the land where your family has been for many years.

Every kid deserves that. And lots of kids, including Indigenous kids, have that.

Some other important things are safe, comfortable schools close to home;

This is the first week we are honouring Black History Month. This can be a difficult time for people as we realize the hurt that has happened and the people that have been ignored throughout history.

I woke up this morning and wanted to do something different. I turned on Netflix and as I scrolled through my usual shows about love, cooking, or travel, I came across a film called "Harriet". It celebrates the life of Harriet (Araminta) Tubman who escaped slavery and helped hundreds of others escape. It is not an easy show to watch and it brings up

Love. 4 letters. One syllable. This word can mean so many different things. And we are still trying to figure out the enormity of that one word.

There are many different ways that we can express that feeling to someone. It doesn't have to be romantic love, it can be towards anyone with whom we share a special bond.

Gary Chapman wrote a book about different ways to give (and receive) love. He calls them love languages and he identified 5:

1) Words of affirmation - verbal acknowledgements of affections, compliments, words of appreciation, verbal encouragement (these can also be

There are many parts that make up one body.

We all have one body, we understand that each part has a role to play and each role is important to make the body work.

I always picture a puzzle when thinking about this. A puzzle is made up of many pieces and each one plays a role in the whole image. It is not always clear what each piece does until the puzzle is complete.

Maybe take some time this week and pull out a puzzle. Do it together. Talk about how each piece comes together to make the whole

Well, we are going back to Disney again with Encanto. This candle represents the miracle of the family Madrigal. The members of that family are given magical gifts to help the family and the community. Unfortunately, when it is the main character's, Mirabel, turn she doesn't receive one. But she ends up being the most important of all to save the miracle for the whole family.

She helps the family see that it more than just the magic that is important, we are all special. These gifts are there to help others and make the world a better place.

Gifts

Knowing the path to take gives us certainty. When we travel somewhere, it is easier to just turn around and take the same route back in reverse. But what happens when we have to take a new way? It can be scary; we can't be sure that we will even make it back.

The wise guys had to take a different way back home after visiting Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. I know that they were scared. They had already travelled so far and they knew the dangers that they would face. They probably had friends they wanted to see again