Pastor’s Garage July 2nd, 2021

Hey everyone!

I hope you enjoyed your Canada Day, whatever you decided to do. We spent a
good chunk of the day at the pool, which felt very, very nice yesterday
afternoon. The next couple of days are going to be just as hot, so do what
you need to do to stay safe and cool.

This Sunday we are going to be doing something a bit different. It may very
well be the last service we have under these stringent covid restrictions.
We are hopefully putting the worst of covid behind us for good. Starting
July 11th capacity limits and physical distancing will be removed and
masking will no longer be required. So this Sunday, July 4th, will be our
last service with these restrictions.

So what does a person do when there is one more Sunday with restrictions?
As Pastor Mike and I talked this week, we felt like we needed to “mark” the
occasion and do something a little different. So, we are going to have some
open mic time during the service and we’d like to get you to share a few of
your thoughts. It will be a time of grieving what we have lost over the
last 16 months, a time of encouragement as we reflect on what God has
taught us through this time and a time to hope for what will happen in the
days ahead! I’d like you to come prepared to share on one or all of these
questions.

– What has the last 16 months of covid taken from you? What have you
missed? What has been lost?
– How have you grown in your faith over the last 16 months? What has God
been saying to you? How have you been strengthened by this hardship?
– What do you hope the future will bring for us as a church? Where do
you think God will lead us in the future?

Please do your best to think about these questions and come prepared to
share.

On June 26th, my family and I attended a vigil being held at Cowessess. It
was a sobering and powerful event. I felt very privileged to be able to
listen. One of the speakers, a councilor from Cowessess, shared his
experience at residential schools. He said something at the end of his talk
that has really stuck with me. He said, “It is possible to hurt and to hope
at the same time.”

He was of course talking about the aftermath of residential schools, but
his words can be applied to what we have gone through as well. Covid has
hurt us and frustrated us and divided us. It has stolen things. Ruined
things and changed some things forever. However, we have a God who is
sovereign and who cares about His Church and the Kingdom far more than we
do and who was not surprised by it all. There is absolutely Hope! There is
always Hope!

Please come and grieve with us but also come and hope with us. Hope is
actually something that we must do actively! It is not something that just
happens to us. Look at 1 Timothy 4:10:

*”That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the
living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who
believe.”*

Hope must be “put” in God. We need to do hope. Let’s do it together!

God bless,

Pastor Dave

<www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
Virus-free.
www.avast.com
<www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail>
<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>