What's New: Pentecost 2, 2025
Summer Blessings,
As a church, I wonder what we will be like at 100?
The centennarians I have known in my life have been very different. My great-grandmother, for instance, grew more fierce and scary, with her favorite axe and shovel always within arms reach. My church elder, on the other hand, grew more patient and loving, with her days-of-the-week tea set always ready for a midday cuppa (as long as you used the right cup). Will we grow more set in our ways, as well?
Of course, many would argue that in churchland, turning 100 is more like turning 10 in people years. We are now in our adolescence as a denomination. The adolescent mind is amazingly complex and beautiful: always growing, always translating, always questioning, always expanding. At 10, when you mess up, you try again, and it’s not a big deal, because you are 10! At 10, it should be understood that playing is a part of our day’s work. Every 10-year-old has the right to play. Every 10-year-old needs to play in order to develop into a capable and confident adult. What will the church’s playground look like in its 100s? What will help us to mature into the church that God would have us be?
When I was 10, playing the trombone freed me to be a kid. I consistently made mistakes, played during rests, and laughed out loud, while blowing rasberries into a metal tube that magically created music! I am reminded of the joy of music-making each time I lead worship. Worship is many things, and for the church in our adolescence, I hope that worship can also be one of our many playgrounds where we learn to grow in our Christhood.
The church at 100 needs worship, but does God need our worship? This is the question that we ask in the Pentecost 2 Exploring section.
A reminder that we are still the new kids on the block might also be fitting as we prepare for General Council 45 August 7– 11 in Calgary. We are all invited to pray with the delgates and Gathering has created a devotional booklet to help that is free to all General Council delegates and will be available by August 7 for purchase at UCRD. Communities of faith may also wish to use this worship service on the Sunday of General Council.
We have now made it easier to find the upcoming weekly services! When you are signed into your account, links to the next six services appear at bottom of the landing page.
More great news! Then Let Us Sing! is now searchable on GatheringWorship.ca. You will find all the new hymns from TLUS as well as updates to hymns from Voices United and More Voices. And we will be sharing hymn suggestions from Then Let Us Sing! (TLUS) in Gathering. Take time to explore!
Lastly, in case you missed it, here are some handy links and a sample of some of the wonderful resources recently added to gatheringworship.ca:
Don’t forget to check out these awesome resources in the Pentecost 2 issue:
- “Living Language: Laughter in the Bible”
- “Getting the Most Bang for your Buck”: an article with tips on using rehearsal time efficiently, for handbell choir leaders (but also universal)
- A collection of Introit ideas from Music United
- A prayer for when we are tempted to take ourselves too seriously
May we enjoy our youth as a church this summer,
Alydia
