Reflection – A Whole New World 1 John 4:7-8, 18-19 March 22, 2020 – Parkminster United Church – Online Worship Rev. Heather Power How shockingly different life has become in just over a week. Like many of you, I have experienced a myriad of emotions. Sleep has not been easy. Tears have flowed more readily. Before I was ordained, I served as…
Persistent Friend—John 4: 5-42 March 15, 2020- 3rd Sunday in Lent I am a lover of words. I love to play with words. I love the power that words have to to change our way of thinking about something ordinary or mundane. One of my favourite examples of this occured in the relationship between between the former Waterloo Presbytery and former Hamilton…
John 3:1-17 Strangers in the Night March 8, 2020 – Parkminster United Church, Lent 2 Rev. Heather Power Theologian and scholar Barbara Brown Taylor tells the story of a woman who set out to discover the meaning of life. First she read everything she could get her hands on–history, philosophy, psychology, religion. But nothing she read gave her the answer she…
Haunted by Eden[1]—Genesis 2: 15-17, 3: 1-8 March 1, 2020- 1st Sunday in Lent Adam, Eve, the serpent and the apple—it is one of the seminal and best known stories in the bible. Ask someone that’s never set foot in a church to name a story from scripture it’s likely they’ll name this one. I think it’s been given too much importance. …
God’s Beloved Community—John 17: 20-26 February 16, 2020-Black History Month Service There was a time when I struggled with the need for things like Black History Month, with displays of rainbow flags, with days set aside for women. I come across a fair number of well-meaning people who struggle with this as well. It can feel like the cohesion we used to…
Matthew 17: 1-8 Community and Change-One More Step Sunday, February 9, 2020 – Rev. Heather Power Today marks the end of our sermon series on Community and Change. Each week during the series Joe has started off with a light bulb joke. So here’s mine… How many Heather’s does it take to change a light bulb? Why change the light bulb when…
Community and Change-Letting Go-Jeremiah 1: 14-16 & Mark 2: 18-22 (February 2, 2020) Here is another light bulb joke for you, how many Anglicans does it take to change a light bulb? The answer—ten, one to change the light bulb and nine to say how much they liked the old one. It can be hard to let go of the old, even…
Community and Change-Bread for the Journey-Exodus 16: 1-6, 13-15 (January 26, 2020) Last week I started this sermon series on community and change with a light bulb joke. What makes light bulb jokes so great for this topic is that they point our particular quirks or approaches to change. Here is another one, having picked on the United Church last week we’ll…
Community and Change-Wandering in the Wilderness Exodus 13: 17-22 (January 19, 2020-2nd Sunday after Epiphany) I hope you like self-deprecating humour. How many church members does it take to change a light bulb? The answer—“Change!? We don’t change!” Individual change is hard enough but institutional change that involves so many people with different personalities, values and agendas can be daunting, rife with…
Nothing to Prove—Matthew 3: 13-17 (January 12, 2020-Baptism of Jesus) I can’t imagine anything more frustrating than having my identity stolen. Frank Norman, from St. John’s, Newfoundland had this happen to him after his wallet was taken. It was one nightmare after another for him. He was arrested for stealing from a Wal-Mart even though he’d never been to the town in…