A brand new website!  Won't this be interesting to see if I can figure out how to actually publish this blog?  It's always a little scary to step out onto new ground, isn't it?  That is partly what the service about Sunday will be about.  Sometimes we just have to take a leap of faith, and trust that we will find the path we need to walk.  This is Palm Sunday.  Ever since I began in ministry in 1995, I have told a modified version of the story of the last week in Jesus' life.  It is a story that never changes, and yet, somehow, it never grows "old" either.  It is a story that tends to grip both children and adults of all ages.  It is a story that is full of visuals and a roller coaster of emotion.  I always find myself very engaged in the telling of the story, and one of the places where I can often feel my breath catch a little bit is when Jesus and the disciples are in the garden.  I am generally surrounded by children on our quilt, and the worship helpers have created a garden for us around the quilt.  We listen to the CD that has the sound effect of crickets in the night as I get  the kids to lay down and pretend to be sleeping.  Jesus looks out at his friends and says, with a great deal of heart - "will none of you stay awake with me??"  It is such a lonely time - a question that speaks to our heart-felt yearning to know that we are not alone in the midst of our fear and anxiety.  One of the songs that we sing as a cornerstone to many of our worship services here is "don't be afraid - my love is stronger than your fear - and I have promised, promised to be always near."  Once we have heard the sound of the rock rolling into place to seal the tomb, I talk with the kids about the strength that comes with connecting ourselves to community.  That even in the those times that are scary and/or confusing, if we can reach out our hands to one another, somehow the journey doesn't feel quite so frightening.  Another of the songs that we often sing reminds that we need to draw the circle wide - let this be our song, standing side by side - no one stands alone.  Good words for us to lean into as we move our way through this journey towards Easter.

A brand new website!  Won't this be interesting to see if I can figure out how to actually publish this blog?  It's always a little scary to step out onto new ground, isn't it?  That is partly what the service about Sunday will be about.  Sometimes we just have to take a leap of faith, and trust that we will find the path we need to walk.  This is Palm Sunday.  Ever since I began in ministry in 1995, I have told a modified version of the story of the last week in Jesus' life.  It is a story that never changes, and yet, somehow, it never grows "old" either.  It is a story that tends to grip both children and adults of all ages.  It is a story that is full of visuals and a roller coaster of emotion.  I always find myself very engaged in the telling of the story, and one of the places where I can often feel my breath catch a little bit is when Jesus and the disciples are in the garden.  I am generally surrounded by children on our quilt, and the worship helpers have created a garden for us around the quilt.  We listen to the CD that has the sound effect of crickets in the night as I get  the kids to lay down and pretend to be sleeping.  Jesus looks out at his friends and says, with a great deal of heart - "will none of you stay awake with me??"  It is such a lonely time - a question that speaks to our heart-felt yearning to know that we are not alone in the midst of our fear and anxiety.  One of the songs that we sing as a cornerstone to many of our worship services here is "don't be afraid - my love is stronger than your fear - and I have promised, promised to be always near."  Once we have heard the sound of the rock rolling into place to seal the tomb, I talk with the kids about the strength that comes with connecting ourselves to community.  That even in the those times that are scary and/or confusing, if we can reach out our hands to one another, somehow the journey doesn't feel quite so frightening.  Another of the songs that we often sing reminds that we need to draw the circle wide - let this be our song, standing side by side - no one stands alone.  Good words for us to lean into as we move our way through this journey towards Easter.

I just got a call from a family who are contemplating coming here to have their two children baptised.  They haven't been attending any church lately, but they would like to have a conversation with me about baptism - they took a look at our website and thought this might be a church where they could bring their children.  I love those kind of calls - an invitation to speak with new people about community, about church, about the God I worship who is all about love and welcome and affirmation/celebration of life.  One of the wonders of this "job" of mine, is that I never know who will be on the other end of the line, or where the conversation might lead us.  I was away last week enjoying a land where there is still lots of green grass (Fairmont, B.C. - yes - there is green grass somewhere in Canada!!), when I got the call about the death of Alex Young.  I knew that death was imminent for him, so it wasn't a total shock.  Alex has been a long time member of the congregation - a man with a deep faith, with a love of life, with a contagious grin - he will be hugely missed around here.  His funeral will be Sunday afternoon.  Sunday morning we will gather for our regular morning worship, where we will be invited to reflect on the 23rd Psalm.  It is always a bit of a challenge to take such familiar words and enable us to hear them in a new way - to not take for granted that we all hear the same message, or that there is nothing new that we can learn as we listen to them.  However, it will be very good to reflect on what it means to hear the shepherd call out to us, and then for us to respond to that call.  Part of our response this week will be to go to Alex's funeral and live out our belief that death is not the end - and that there is nothing in the past, nor in things to come, nothing in life, nor in death that can ever separate us from the love of God.  That doesn't mean that there won't be any tears, or that there is no longer any fear, but it does mean that we can trust that through the tears and the fear, our God will give each one of us the strength to keep on keeping on.  It has been an intense week as we walk towards the funeral of such a beloved member of our community, but as kd Lang sang, in the song "The Valley", we will wend our way towards the light on the far hills, and as we walk, we will truly be in good company.  Thanks be to God.

The Joint Need Assessment Committee (JNAC) has prepared a short survey to quantify your opinions about the needs of our church. 

You can take the survey online by going to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SUNSET-UNITED-CHURCH-SURVEY . The validation code you enter to access the survey is jnac 2012.

A paper copy of the survey will be distributed with this month's Script. It is also available at the Church office.

Please complete the survey by October 15, 2012.