February 15, 2011

The light is longer these days. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon, our out-of-doors is bright. We can see where we are going.

Often the light brightens our dark thoughts and we find we are freed from worry. Sometimes the light illumines our troubles and they become stark. With that in mind I want to think with you about forgiveness this week. Do you ever feel that you have a cloud binding your heart, a dim shadow through which you can’t see clearly?  Have the hurts you have sustained driven you to a place where forgiveness seems impossible?

Regret, hurt, sorrow, anger and resentment can all surround our hearts with such shadow that we can’t see straight. Then it hurts even more, doesn’t it? Sometimes we find that there is a morning when we waken with our old light-hearted spirit. Then we remember the hurt, and the cloud settles again.

At this point I want to remind you about forgiveness and grace. Forgiveness doesn’t mean we condone the thing that hurt us. It doesn’t mean for a second that it didn’t happen. It does mean that we don’t have to live our lives directed by it. Forgiveness means we don’t always have to be peering under the cloud. We can be free.

Sometimes we have opportunities to speak to the person who caused our distress. Sometimes we don’t. That’s not my point today. My point is that we can be free. Sometimes it takes a long time. That’s where grace comes in, God’s constant company that is stronger, more deep, reliable and surprising than anything else, even than the reality of our pain. God can lift us out of the shadow when our own sense of right and wrong cannot. Good news: We are not alone. God is with us.

The light shines, and the darkness has not overcome it.

                                               

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

February 1, 2011

Good morning! I hope this letter finds you in good spirits.

Sunday after worship and lunch together we held our Annual Congregational Meeting. It was an opportunity to review the past year, and we had reports on congregational life, children’s programming, youth work, finances, property (including the leaky roof), ministerial transition, trust funds, music, the Paulettes, social justice, worship, the Foundation, a budget, our outreach at the university … everything that we are about as a congregation. We looked at some upcoming plans. We also had a memorial moment to honour people from St. Paul’s who passed away in 2010.

Do you pause occasionally to take stock in this manner? I mean in your personal life, and in the way you are part of the wider world. I take a great deal of encouragement from the words of affirmation we say in worship sometimes: We are not alone, we live in God’s world. Taking stock all on my own could be a heart-wrenching business: what difference can I make on my own? Well, some I know. But the world needs my efforts combined with yours. Together we bring hope.

I want you to know there were moments with questions in the meeting: people talked – and listened to – one another’s opinions. There were peals of happy laughter, and poignancy too as we remembered dear, departed friends. Most importantly, there was a sense that we are in this together, guided by God’s grace, and happy both to change our minds and to step up in leadership. This is an honest church, and you are part of it.

Blessings to you in this wonder-filled world,

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

January 27th, 2011

There is something for everyone this week! Bright blue skies for those who crave sunshine, mild afternoons for dog walkers, rainy sit-by-the-hearth mornings for the homebound, and enough snow to bring your delighted eight-year old self to mind: something for everyone.

There is something for every mood, too: wonder, excitement, contentment and of course grumbling.  A friend from the South observed to me that Canadians talk a lot about the weather: I guess it defines us.    

What defines us as a people of faith is the capacity for prayer. During a rough time we call on God for courage; in a moment of irritation we ask for compassion.

What would happen if while we are doing what we northern people do, which is to say wondering or grumbling about the weather, we paused in a moment of prayer? Noticing the sun over the river valley, we could pause with gratitude for beauty. Grumbling about the snow on the roof, we could offer a word of thanks for a home. Or: observing an anxious driver, we might offer a prayer for patience!

A habit of occasional prayer lifts the spirit. A moment of gratitude opens the spirit. A prayer for others connects us through the Holy Spirit, and that is blessing for all.

Peace to you on this wonder-filled day,

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

January 13, 2011

Dixon Carmichael passed away on New Year’s Day. His death was unexpected – complications from surgery – and the shock in the church at his memorial service Saturday was palpable.

You may have known Dixon. We will miss him.

Dixon loved the old hymns. He had friends, some of whom are very old and others are teenagers. He cared deeply about people, about the way things are done, about taking sufficient care for the future as well as the day at hand. He held several responsible positions here at St. Paul’s. I believe his leadership came from the relationships he had with us, and the trust that engendered.

I want you to know that at St. Paul’s we expect there to be many ideas about death and the afterlife. We expect lively conversations and openness to different opinions. And I believe that these days we share are part of an everlasting and ongoing life, a wonder beyond imagining. These words from Revelation 21 give me hope for the present and faith in the future: See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more,  for the first things have passed away.’

It is bitterly sad to lose friends. It is challenging and realistic to consider our own deaths. It is part and parcel of the wonder of living that we can hold these things in our souls. And it is the nature of the church that we can offer a spiritual home to collect and sit with these realities.  

Refreshing blessings to you in this wondrous life,

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

January 5th, 2011

2011! Here we are at a fresh point in our journey. Do you feel

refreshed? Sometimes these deep dark nights can bring us rest, but sometimes they intensify our anxieties. One way to look at the dark of the new year is a passage in a journey: and certainly a journey has a destination. Our destination is the wholeness promised to us by God, the personal wholeness and the wholeness of creation. Whew!

Yet here we are, plodding along or galloping through the days or feeling dragged into tomorrow – but in any case, we are traveling into the future, a future that is God’s promise.

For more than 1000 years, pilgrims have been walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the Way of St James. It is a collection of old pilgrimage routes in Europe; some of our St. Paul’s friends tell

personal stories of it. The symbol for the pilgrim is a scallop shell.

Innkeepers could recognize religious travelers, and they in turn could identify safe welcoming places for rest and nourishment.

At St. Paul’s this Sunday, people received scallop shells after communion – bread for the journey, and a shell to put in pocket or purse as a reminder of God’s constant presence. I have one waiting for you, too.

I won’t mail it, but it is here waiting for you.

Refreshing blessings in this journey we make together,

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

December 14, 2010

Ah … a day of -8 seems balmy as I look forward to -17! So much of the reflective life is drawing a breath and living in the moment. It brings a sense of peace, I find. 

This month at church we are engaging a spiritual practice for Advent. Two weeks ago I invited you to think about the threshold of your home, and then last week, your living room: the place where you relax. I suggested you pray for yourself, and then bring to mind another household, blessing them at their doorway one week, and then where they relax the next.

This week, please visualize your kitchen: the place you nourish yourself, body and soul. It may be the kitchen where you currently fill a particular teacup out of habit and stick photos to the fridge. Or maybe it is a memorable kitchen from a favourite home in the past. Pray for the heartbeat of your day, the ordinary sustaining moments. May your routine tasks bring you joy and stability.

Then please bring to mind someone from church and imagine his or her kitchen – and pray for the everyday moments in that person’s life.

Praying for one another, I trust this practice will remind you of God’s presence. I hope you will feel connected here in your church.

Holy Peace of this season of anticipation to you,

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

December 7, 2010

We are well into winter and Advent now: the cold glow of the midday is breathtaking, as is the warm dark of the evening, safe at home.

Last week we began a spiritual practice for Advent. I invited you to think about the threshold of your home, and to pray for yourself and others in your coming out and going in. Then I asked you to bring to mind another household, and bless them: may their passages through their doorway be steps of hope, too.

This week, please visualize your living room: the place in your home where you relax and come to yourself. Ask God’s blessing on the essence of who you are. Draw breath in God’s peace. Then pray for those who share your living room: your household, family and friends. May they know that God loves them in the very core of their being.

Please bring to mind someone from church. Ask God to bring them the tranquility they need, and God’s peace that surpasses understanding.

Praying for one another, I trust this practice will connect you with God’s presence. I hope you will feel connected here in your church.

Holy Peace of this season of anticipation to you,

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean