Elizabeth’s ecumenical explorations

 Well, it was bound to happen. Every service I have attended so far has been a Sunday when the regularly appointed minister was present, until this week.  The congregation was pretty small, but I am not sure whether that was due to the minister being away or whether it is just a small congregation.  When I was in solo ministry, I sometimes heard people saying "Well, if the minister is going to be away this week, I don't think I'll go."  Which is heart-breaking, when a group of lay people has taken time and used their creativity to put together a service. Or you are paying pulpit supply and they miss the chance to hear another preacher with a different perspective. Maybe it's meant to be a compliment? But I think most ministers would rather you came to church to support whoever is in the pulpit. I attended Baptist worship on Sunday and the minister was away. Disappointing because I was hoping to hear her preach. In her place, the choir led the service, using a cycl...

 November 17 2024, my daughter and I drove to Kingston to attend Sydenham Street United's 25 Anniversary of being an Affirming Ministry. Most of the congregations I attend have only become affirming ministries in the last decade, so it was good to be with this faith community which has been in public solidarity with the 2SLGBTIQ+ community throughout some very tough years. The preacher this Sunday was King Julez, a drag clown preacher who had preached several times at my previous congregation. And if you don't know what a drag preacher is, clown or otherwise, here is a photo of Ruth and King Jules - I think you can figure out which is which. King Julez asked if their appearance made people uncomfortable, and then said, well, that's kind of the point isn't it? They preached a lovely sermon on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and reminded us that Creator is connected in all things and all seasons, with a contradictory duality and rich diversity reflected in the preacher's appearanc...

It is the Sunday when most United Churches will mark Remembrance Day. My own feelings about Remembrance Sunday in church worship are ambivalent. Which is not to say wishy washy or indifferent, rather that I have strong contradictory feelings about different parts of the tradition. I love the act of remembrance, reading In Flanders Field, the family histories of the congregation that are connected to war and peace. At the same time, however, I am not convinced that singing the national anthem, marching in with flags, and lots of the imagery in the hymns we traditionally sing are really appropriate for a Christ-centred church. So after 35 years of struggling with this as the minister, I wasn't ready to attend a Remembrance Sunday service this year. I made the decision to attend the Quaker/Friends' Meeting House intentionally. The Friends are pacifists, conscientious objectors to military service, on the grounds of their understanding of Christ's call to love not war.  One tim...

 After delaying my visit to an Anglican Church to give Reformation Sunday its due with the Lutherans, I took a bus downtown to worship at an Anglican Church that is known for outreach and thinking outside the box. My sympathies to those who take public transit to worship every week. I was nearly late as the bus I was planning to take only runs once an hour on Sundays (and it was not posted anywhere on the website.) On entering, I thought I must have found a 'high Anglican' service, as the air was pungent with what I assumed to be incense.  Then I read in their bulletin that the parish employs an indigenous resource person, who offers smudges before the service. Their actual spoken land acknowledgement at the beginning of the service is very brief, but this investment in serving their indigenous members speaks more than any printed words.  As I said in the last post, Lutheran and Anglican churches are similar in their liturgical approach to worship: I was handed a bulletin...

 On this Sunday I had been planning to attend an Anglican service, but my partner Paul said to me: "On Reformation Sunday?" Yes, in the wide variety of Christian denominations, there is a difference between being Protestant and being Reformed. So I changed plans and attended the ELCIC Lutheran church in my area (you can't get more reformed than that!) The congregation I visited holds two services on Sunday mornings, a 9:30 English language service and an 11:00 German language service, so the congregation I met was about half the community. I panicked a little when I saw the sacrament of Communion in the order of service, having experienced closed communion (for members only) in the LCC Lutheran denomination.  I asked one of the congregation and she quickly assured me "everyone is welcome."  Like the Anglican Church in Canada, the Lutheran church is generally more liturgical than many United Churches, so I found my self flipping between the bulletin and the servi...

 The Ottawa Mennonite Church is situated only a few blocks from the church where I used to work. I literally drove by the church 5 days a week for 18 years and never went in, except for their third World Bazaar and some piano exams for my daughters. It was this realization that inspired me to worship ecumenically for the first few months of my retirement.   It is a beautiful building, a bright open sanctuary, and very accessible. The building reflects the spirit of their worship, which was also very accessible. Beautiful music, both for gathering and hymn-singing. I was sitting towards the back of the congregation and I could hear people singing all around me. There was a music leader, and the congregation was the choir.  I expected the worship to be more informal than what I am used to in United Churches - less printed prayers, for example, or responsive readings. However, I didn't realize how affirming they would be in their language and hymns.  This is something w...

 My first adventure took me to a Presbyterian church in my neighbourhood. I have studied with, worked with and collaborated with Presbyterians over the decades, so I brought with me two particular stereotypes: Sunday worship in a Presbyterian church is more formal and, as a broad generalization, theology is more conservative than most UCCanada congregations.  Our neighbourhood is very multicultural, and this church is one of the only church buildings in the neighbourhood. Instead of the usual WASP congregation and aging demographic that I associate with the mainline denominations, the members were very diverse. There were people of various age groups; a large Sunday School; and leadership in the service was also shared between the paid minister and members of the congregation.  Theologically, it was more conservative than I was expecting, and it reminded me that, worshipping ecumenically, there are aspects of worship in other denominations that will not meet my needs - fo...