April 16, 2015

Easter has come – and stayed. We celebrate the Easter season till mid June at church, and every Sunday as an Easter people. Did you know every Sunday is a little Easter? Christianity is a faith of resurrection, hope and love.

This upcoming season is one of study for me. I have been awarded a grant to examine many of the ways we in the United Church of Canada speak of God. I am also part of a writing team for an upcoming textbook: my chapter is about how God has been understood in different periods of United Church history. I will be reading, writing, and interviewing colleagues, historians and theologians.

The way we speak of God reflects not only what we think about God, but also what we expect God thinks of us. It is the crucible for our understandings of human relationships, our place in the world, and our treatment of the earth. It is the basis of our faithful response to life.

That may sound heavy! Or it may sound intriguing. In any case, I wanted you to know why I am away from St. Paul’s for a while. I will be back August 25, looking forward to the next season of life and faith together with you.

Meantime, may you find blessing in the warmth of summer.
May you feel blessing in the family and friends who love you.
May you know blessing in the prayers that hold you in church, and the Spirit of God in your everyday life.

Blessings to you,


The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

January 9, 2015

Bright sunny days are part of the pleasure of living in Edmonton. Days are short, but they are breathtakingly clear.

Every day I cross the Groat Bridge. The sky is bright above, the river is icy white below, and between them lies the dark silence of the riverbank.

Life is like that. On the surface is the bright and shining face in which I see your character. Underneath is the flow of stories you may choose to tell or to keep to yourself. In between is your daily life: breathing in and out, walking to the mailbox, talking with a friend by phone, preparing toast and tea.

In Christ God became human like you and me. He knew the surface appearances of people, the deep human need, and the daily path.

May you find blessing in the clarity of the sunlight.
May you feel blessing in the innermost currents of your personal life.
May you know blessing in the everyday tasks of our ordinary living.

Knowing that God is with us in these winter days,
Blessings to you.

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

April 23, 2014

Early in the day, beauty shines.

Sometimes we sleep right through it. Other times we are awake with restlessness, or guilt, or worry. Funny how it’s the tough times that keep us awake – and then there it is: beauty.

Sometimes others see the beauty and tell us about it. Diana Bacon took the glorious photograph on the bulletin cover, right here in Belgravia. Right here in our own place. Right here in our own lives.

Christ’s resurrection was like that. Some slept through the early morning and missed it. Others watched through the night only to hear from others what had happened. The rest of us, this late in time, rely on the accounts from long-since vanished ancestors in faith.

Yet right here in our own place, right here in our own lives, astonishing things happen. We wake up. Love is offered. People forgive us. We find a new way to come at an old problem. Someone prays for us. Death stops being scary and starts to look like another adventure.

Christ is Risen. Early in the day, beauty shines. I’m going looking for it. Join me?

Blessings,


The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

February 12, 2014

Friday is Valentines’ Day. Flowers, chocolates, cards, memories, …
One of the stories about St. Valentine is that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry. Sound at all familiar? Another legend tells of a priest who ministered to Christians, who were persecuted by the Roman Empire.

Saints tread where courage and love beckon. You and I have walked into places where love was needed. We brought the gift of courage when fear was shadowing the lives of friends. I have indeed, and I know you have.

Sunday in worship, Beth Wishart MacKenzie spoke about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in late March. As we consider our First Nations neighbours and the Love that sustains us, the artwork on this week’s worship bulletin is poignant hope. Would you agree with me that hope is a primary ingredient in courage?

I trust that the courage you need comes to you, the beauty around you brings you hope, and the Love that beckons to us inspires you to pray for all who also need courage. Tread fearlessly; Love is with you.

Blessings on you – blessings of courage and hope and love
The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

December 5, 2013

In the snapping cold I am aware of holiness: the beauty of the brilliant clear sky, the pressure of the dark of night, the warm sanctuary that is indoors. Even cherishing the sheepskin on my steering wheel, the pleasure of my mittens, and the snow piled high alongside the walkway, I am aware of holiness. When I am aware of holiness, I am in prayer.

This Thursday evening at Day 5 we read a lot of prayers. Some famous prayers have lasted hundreds of years: lasted because they speak to the soul, famous because someone spoke them aloud and kept them alive.

The soul needs words. The soul needs many things, and certainly we need words to express sorrow, gratitude, joy, and milestones along the quotidian journey.

Here is a prayer that may speak to your soul, bringing you closer to God’s Holy Presence. It comes from a Gaelic source.

Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the gentle night to you:
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you.
Deep peace of Christ, the light of the world, to you.
Deep peace to you.

Enjoy. Settle in and read it aloud. Then listen. You may hear God speaking back.

Blessings on you – blessings of warmth, prayer and Holy Presence,

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

November 8, 2013

Is there a song that pops into your mind unbidden? Do you find yourself humming as you vacuum or whistling as you reach for the mail? I do. I find myself humming hymns, and singing songs – sometimes I don’t know the words so I make them up. It can be quite funny, or embarrassing, especially when I find myself doing it out loud at London Drugs or the grocery store. Sunday in worship Susan Farrell, our Music Director, spoke about a song that she’s been singing since she was a child in church: “Like a Sunflower”. Betty Simmonds talked about “Take Time to Be Holy” and how it was with her in her teen years and in nursing, and it still inspires her today. I was in worship singing “When Morning Gilds the Skies” and I could hear my Dad’s bass lines – all the way from Nova Scotia! Song carries us. It matters whether we sing a song with uplifting words, or one of honest lament, or a different one that pulls us into the mire. I hope the song you sing lifts your spirit and connects you with the Love in the world. Whether you get the words right or not, I hope Love is the tune. Blessings on you – blessings of song, word and heart, The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

27 September 2013

Sometimes life gets out of hand. In the old days when the people had seen mighty works, the country was strong, and the rulers tried to be faithful, there was a sense of a golden age. Then along came new governors, new technology, and a feeling of entitlement. That may sound familiar, but it’s the ancient time after King David and King Solomon I have in mind – days so long ago they are buried in mystery and myth. Life got out of hand. No-one cared about the widows and orphans – the litmus test of ethics – and one king after another suffered from swollen head syndrome, figuring they were larger than life. Then along came Elijah, poof! out of nowhere and told royalty to get it together. He said they’d done wrong. Then God told him to run away, run away fast. Have you ever had to do that? To call a friend on their behaviour, stop a shameful act, put a pin in the balloon of selfishness, speak truth to power? I expect you have. And I expect it was difficult. Elijah did. And God sent him away to absorb the magnitude of what he had done, and to prepare him for more. While Elijah was hiding out, God sent ravens to feed him. Relax, Elijah, the ravens will bring you breakfast and supper. I hope you have time to relax, to absorb the important things you have done, and let others look after you. Blessings on you – blessings in the hand and over your head, The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean 1 Kings 17: 1-16 as told in The Message And then this happened: Elijah the Tishbite, from among the settlers of Gilead, confronted Ahab: “As surely as God lives, the God of Israel before whom I stand in obedient service, the next years are going to see a total drought—not a drop of dew or rain unless I say otherwise.” God then told Elijah, “Get out of here, and fast. Head east and hide out at the Kerith Ravine on the other side of the Jordan River. You can drink fresh water from the brook; I’ve ordered the ravens to feed you.” Elijah obeyed God’s orders. He went and camped in the Kerith canyon on the other side of the Jordan. And sure enough, ravens brought him his meals, both breakfast and supper, and he drank from the brook. Eventually the brook dried up because of the drought. Then God spoke to him: “Get up and go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I’ve instructed a woman who lives there, a widow, to feed you.” So he got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the entrance of the village he met a woman, a widow, gathering firewood. He asked her, “Please, would you bring me a little water in a jug? I need a drink.” As she went to get it, he called out, “And while you’re at it, would you bring me something to eat?” She said, “I swear, as surely as your God lives, I don’t have so much as a biscuit. I have a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a bottle; you found me scratching together just enough firewood to make a last meal for my son and me. After we eat it, we’ll die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t worry about a thing. Go ahead and do what you’ve said. But first make a small biscuit for me and bring it back here. Then go ahead and make a meal from what’s left for you and your son. This is the word of the God of Israel: ‘The jar of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil will not become empty before God sends rain on the land and ends this drought.’” And she went right off and did it, did just as Elijah asked. And it turned out as he said—daily food for her and her family. The jar of meal didn’t run out and the bottle of oil didn’t become empty: God’s promise fulfilled to the letter, exactly as Elijah had delivered it!