Holly United Church Centre

Dear Friends, greetings to all.

Here I sit in the office of Holly United reflecting on the ministry that has happened in this place: the services, the suppers, the concerts, the weddings, baptisms and consultation sessions. We have laughed, cried, kibitzed and enjoyed the ministry of love here. Many lives have been touched and transformed by the Spirit.

I came here a little over two years ago. I became involved in the excitement of be-coming a community where new life would happen, where we could be open to a new paradigm of Christian community, where all would be welcome to stretch and grow in their spiritual journeys.

In many ways it happened but it has not created enough interest to build a solid community. Those who said they would welcome this kind of community have not stepped up with a solid commitment.

The reality is we cannot continue. The stakes are too high. I am at a loss for words. I waffle between ‘no regrets’ to ‘most regretful’. I still believe that people are searching for spiritual answers and a sense of community. Obviously, this is not the approach. Should we have relinquished in 2009 at the meeting in Midland when Simcoe Presbytery wanted to close us? We had a strong contingent of people from Holly who wanted to continue.

Does it help to analyse the reasons? Personally, I think we need to. We all need to take note. The United Church of Canada needs to listen. We must change our ways or die. What ways must we explore to offer an alternate to fear-based communities? That’s the question.

We have begun the process of disbanding. I challenge and invite us all to use this time to celebrate the ministry that has happened here.

The Process of Disbanding Holly United Church Mission and Integrating with another Faith community:

• We are closing as of December 31, 2010

• We will be continuing services,  

• Nov. 14th (baptism),

• Nov. 21 (open discussion, no power point),

• Nov. 28 @ 7:00 p.m. Celebration Service of the ministry that has taken place here at Holly. There will be no service in the morning.

• December 5, – open dialogue

• We are encouraging our people to attend Northwest Barrie United Church. Northwest UC, in our opinion, represents the progressive approach that Holly has aspired to. There is a very active Church School for little ones to the teen years and various other activities and studies.

• Bev is retiring on January 1, 2011.

We have run the race. We have kept the faith. We must move forward with courage and purpose.

Shalom, Bev Irwin

One of the greatest gifts of being human is our ability to choose. While it may not always seem like life is affording us the option to choose, we always have a choice. Chocolate or vanilla. Right or left. Smile or cry. Give or take.

This week I’d like to focus on the moments when it seems we don’t have a choice, when situations seem out of our control. In situations when we can’t change the outcome, we can always change how we react to the outcome. In other words, even if the situation is out of our hands, what we do with it is always in our hands.

Even in moments of pain or suffering, ours or another’s, we can control whether we connect to the Light or to the darkness.

We can’t control every single thing that happens in our own lives, let alone in the lives around us, or in the world. We understand the laws of cause and effect, that everything has a previous (and usually unseen) cause. So when one has a parent or friend who’s sick, or going through any other kind of challenge, we should keep in mind that sometimes that soul needs to go through its thing and move on.

Regardless of how the process looks or feels, when we are aware and able to see potential gifts of the process, we’re at peace.

I recommend that you first begin shifting your perspective by looking at other people’s situations. As third-party observers, when we look without judgment and without emotion that can often blind us, we can see what’s going on.

After practicing this for a while – looking for the Light/the good/the perfection in someone else’s process – you’ll have a better chance of doing it in your own life. And when you’re feeling evolved, you can recognize the Light/the good/the perfection before it becomes apparent in your life.

You’ve heard the phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” This is no different. Light is also in the eye of the beholder. Let’s see how much Light you can behold this week.

Rational thought tends to turn simple into twisted knots. Yet, truths are always straightforward, and your first instinct is often the right one.

Just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

Today, keep in mind that life does want to give you the best. Sometimes, it is good enough to be true.

Here's a little homework for you. Try this out next week. Feel free to leave your comments as you progress through the week.  My bet it, you'll be pleasantly surprised how amazing you feel!

SUNDAY The Law of Pure Potentiality

Take time to be silent, to just BE. Meditate for 30 minutes twice a day. Silently witness the intelligence within every living thing. Practice non-judgment.

MONDAY The Law of Giving

Today, bring whoever you encounter a gift: a compliment or flower. Gratefully receive gifts. Keep wealth circulating by giving and receiving care, affection, appreciation and love.

TUESDAY The Law of Karma

Every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind. Choosing actions that bring happiness and success to others ensures the flow of happiness and success to you.

WEDNESDAY The Law of Least Effort

Accept people, situations, and events as they occur. Take responsibility for your situation and for all events seen as problems. Relinquish the need to defend your point of view.

THURSDAY The Law of Intention and Desire

Inherent in every intention and desire is the mechanics for its fulfillment. Make a list of desires. Trust that when things don’t seem to go your way, there is a reason.

FRIDAY The Law of Detachment

Allow yourself and others the freedom to be who they are. Do not force solutions—allow solutions to spontaneously emerge. Uncertainty is essential, and your path to freedom.

SATURDAY The Law of Dharma

Seek your higher Self. Discover your unique talents. Ask yourself how you are best suited to serve humanity. Using your unique talents and serving others brings unlimited bliss and abundance.

What are your thoughts on this article

which is still abundantly relative today?

'Survival' of United Church not a priority

The leader of the United Church of Canada says his Church is too "preoccupied" with protecting its buildings, counting its money and recruiting members, and should instead devote its energies to helping the poor, the hungry and the sick beyond its walls.

By National Post October 13, 2007 Be the first to post a comment

The leader of the United Church of Canada says his Church is too "preoccupied" with protecting its buildings, counting its money and recruiting members, and should instead devote its energies to helping the poor, the hungry and the sick beyond its walls.

Reverend David Giuliano, the Moderator, or spiritual head, of one of Canada's largest Protestant churches, has sent a letter to United Church congregations across the country, urging them to worry less about "buildings and budgets" and become more concerned about the "suffering of the world around us."

"Our hope is not for our survival or even growth," Rev. Giuliano writes. "I am praying that our preoccupation with getting people into church is transformed by a passion for getting the church out into the world.

"I am praying that we welcome strangers with a radical hospitality that sees in them the face of Christ -- not an 'identifiable giver' or a 'potential committee member.' "

Rev. Giuliano's plea comes in the midst of a difficult period for the Church and its roughly 600,000 members. Along with other mainstream Christian denominations, the United Church of Canada is experiencing a long decline in national membership; its congregational lists fell 39% between 1961 and 2001.

In July, the Church announced program cuts and layoffs at its national headquarters in Toronto due to financial pressures -- including the closure of its audiovisual production office and the cancellation of its award-winning current affairs television pro-gram Spirit Connection, which will air for the last time on Vision TV on Dec. 30.

In an interview this week Rev. Giuliano acknowledged, "There's a lot of anxiety in the Church about our institution --about money and numbers."

He said the Church, which once boasted more than a million active adherents, was for many generations a source of cultural and social authority in Protestant Canada.

"Many of us are reluctant to give up [that authority]--even if it doesn't really exist today --but I see the change as liberating, because we don't have to hold on to that any more."

"Jesus's followers were not a huge group of people, and they were not prosperous," he said.

"The measurement of a faithful community cannot be in its numbers."

Rev. Giuliano said that as one example of the Church's preoccupation with survival, too much money is spent maintaining Church buildings that serve little purpose other than to shelter a declining group of worshippers once a week.

"I think we have too much property," he said. "We have places where we have three United Churches within three blocks of each other."

He applauded one of the country's oldest congregations, First United Church in Ottawa, which sold its old building last year and now leases meeting and programming space from a nearby Anglican Church.

Rev. Giuliano likened the Church institution to a treasured car that a proud owner might keep in their driveway.

"The Church is a vehicle intended to get us somewhere. If you keep it fixed and washed and waxed but you don't ever take it anywhere, it doesn't have much purpose," he said.

"If what we do is ask the question, 'How do we get big or even survive,' I think we've lost our way," he said. "For me, the real question is, 'What does it mean to be faithful?' "

© (c) CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.

First, I’m going to start with an assumption: that all humans seek spiritual fulfillment.

I have operated on that assumption all of my ministry and I still do but I’m having to shift my expectations around that assumption.

In my conversations with young adults, there is a yearning for spirituality and the next part of the conversation is: “but I don’t want to belong to a church.”

I understand that retort, for often ‘church’ gets in the way of nurturing spirituality.

The other assumption I have is that most folk long for community, a place to be with others who are also seeking and asking questions, a place to find comfort and affirmation in life but also a place to celebrate life.

People are actively looking for that “place” but they’re unsure what they are looking for.

The question is: are we in the traditional, institutional Churches listening to these seekers or are we so shackled to the dogma and status quo of the past that we are blocked from seeing with new eyes?

My heart burns with excitement! Sometimes the excitement is so great I can barely contain myself. Tears of joy fill my bucket with abundant love!

I have been in ministry off and on for many decades and I didn’t know it could be this good!

We don’t have people knocking our doors down in droves but we have been part of many lives transformed. I think of the many in Barrie who listen to Kool FM107.5. One said, “I’ve listened to your spot many times and that’s my vision of ‘the church’. That’s the kind of church I want!”

I am reminded of the young man who came to us, victimized by the dark side of life. In conversation he pulled from his pocket a well-worn baptism certificate. “I don’t have many possessions but this is so special,” as he held it close to his chest.

Everyday there are surprises. Passions are sparked. Lives are transformed. The Spirit is made real in new and wondrous ways!

Yes, we are small. The reality is many cannot darken the door of a ‘church’ for a multitude of reasons. I can fully understand for we of the Christian Church have much in our history that has broken trust and it’s not reflective of the unconditional love, respect, and justice-seeking that we espouse. Yet, we believe that community is vital, we humans need each other: to share laughter, to build friendships, to fill that spiritual hunger most of us experience, and to explore the mysteries of the Spirit.

It is my prayer that as you read this you may find and see the Christ embodied in all that you do, and through all you meet.

Thank you and great blessings to all!

Bev

bev@hollyunitedchurch.ca