“Praise the Lord! I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.” (Psalm 111:1)
Greetings, all! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
There’s quite a bit of snow falling and being whipped up as I write this on Tuesday. I had originally planned on walking over to the office to do some work there this afternoon, but looking out the window and not being able to really see the park across the street, I thought it might be better to find stuff that I could work on from home. But I give thanks that I can work from home when need be, and I trust that our communities of faith can stay safe and connected during these blustery days.
It’s important, especially in these days where it is hard to be physically together or mobile as a community, to maintain connections with one another and care for one another. We each have a personal relationship with God, but this relationship is often supported in community, praising together, as the psalm states. In our cycle of Bible readings, we’re coming to the part in the narrative where Jesus, having been baptized and picking up disciples, starts his public ministry. In the teachings, miracles, and other parts of his ministry, Jesus mostly did so in community settings. The love of God was preached to a large audience. The curing of illnesses also extended to community healing and reintegration.
It is in this spirit that we learn and love as communities of faith. Community is important in our personal journeys with God, being able to share in the joys and the struggles. It may seem like the importance of community isn’t being recognized in the current restrictions; however, we have to recognize that we are caring for our community even more greatly right now. We are caring for the most vulnerable by following guidelines and avoiding crowds. While we do this, we extol the Lord for the glimpses of hope – such as with some of the residents at Huronlea and Huronview receiving their first dose of the vaccine in the past week.
The importance of community also means we should eagerly explore new and renewed ways to connect. I am pleased to say that our online fellowship times and our lay pastoral callers have been inspiring community and support in these difficult times. I encourage you to take advantage of these and other upcoming offerings, so that we might be in community together, even in the midst of snowsqualls or sickness.
One upcoming way to connect is our Psalm Faith Study, which will be starting the second week of February on Zoom. The goal of these sessions will be to help foster individual prayer practices and the use of psalms in our lives of faith, especially when group worship is restricted. This study will run for five weeks, and are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday evenings (starting Feb 9th) and Thursday mornings (starting Feb 11th). Offering two of the same sessions per week will hopefully mean that one of the time slots will work for you.
However, depending on interest and availability, these days could change. Please reach out to Alex if you are interested in attending this study, and/or if there are alternate dates that would work better for you.
Upcoming Events:
- Our Zoom Fellowship Times continue on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 10:30-11:30. Folks can join in electronically or by phone. If you do not have the links or codes, be sure to reach out to Alex.
- Previous lesson and craft packages of our Youth Ministry from the past several weeks are still available for families to pick up or get delivered to them. Reach out to Alex for more details. Weekly Youth Ministry online lessons are starting up again.
- We are still eager for volunteers to help make up lay pastoral/visitation teams to help make phone calls, deliver worship materials, and other pastoral needs for congregants going into the winter, ensuring that those who are more isolated are still connected to their church community. If you want to learn more about pastoral care, or if you are wanting to live out your discipleship in this way, reach out to Alex for more information!
- A generous community member has offered to the Brussels Ministerial occasional home-cooked meals to those who need it. If you know of someone or a family who might benefit from the occasional home-cooked meal, please reach out to Sandra Cable.
- Our friends at Camp Menesetung are hiring for Summer 2021. There are a variety of positions available for teens and adults who are excited about camping ministries and adaptable for whatever the summer throws at them! For more information, visit https://www.campmenesetung.ca/jobs.
Upcoming Dates:
Sunday, January 31st, 2021 – Online Youth Sunday School session from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Packages can be picked up outside of either church building. Contact Alex for more information.
Sunday, January 31st, 2021 – Fourth after Epiphany service available on Youtube.
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021 – Zoom Fellowship session from 10:30-11:30. Please check your email for the Zoom link or phone passcode, or email Alex for details.
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021 – Zoom Fellowship session from 10:30-11:30. Please check your email for the Zoom link or phone passcode, or email Alex for details.
Sunday, February 7th, 2021 – Celebration of Music service available on Youtube.
Tuesday, February 9th and Thursday, February 11th, 2021 – Potential dates for our first Psalm Study (Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m., Thursday mornings at 10 a.m.)
Sunday, February 14th, 2021 – Transfiguration Sunday service available on Youtube.
Sunday, February 14th, 2021 – Valentine’s Day Prayer and Communion service held live on Zoom in the morning; further details to come.
Blessings and Christ’s Peace be with you all!
Alex Jebson
Student Minister – Blyth and Brussels United Churches
Email: minister.brusselsandblythuc@gmail.com
Blyth Office Number: 519-523-4224
Brussels Office Number: 519-887-6259
Emergency Pastoral Number: call/text 705-344-3385
Brussels & Blyth United Churches 