Four Long Weekends - May 17, 2023
What’s Going On? Four Long Weekends
The next two weekends are known as “the May long weekend” here in Canada and then to our neighbours to the south. On the church calendar they are Ascension and Pentecost in all countries. These two celebrations bring us to the last big events of the church year nicely in time to slow down and head into summer (and what is called “ordinary time” on the church calendar).
There are a few things we want to do in June which will all happen under the theme of “God Knows My Name”. First, we will be welcoming some people into our community and doing some baptisms. (This will actually start on Pentecost and continue on June 4).
Then on June 11 we are going to celebrate all the people graduating from any and every level of school. For this, we are going to invite you who are graduating from Senior kindergarten, Grades 8 or 12, university or college, and whatever other program you might be graduating from, to please identify yourself that morning by taking an “I’m a graduate” nametag. As a community we will celebrate you, pray for you and together have ice cream.
The third Sunday of June will be focused on Indigenous Ministry. Our Worship Director and Office Administrator, Ruth Ann and Karin, will both be participating in the Canadian National Gathering in Ottawa the last weekend of May. The plan is to take from what they learn and experience and give you a taste of what our denomination is up to in the area of Indigenous Ministry.
The last Sunday of June is slated for profession of faith, which is another way people join and become members of Mountainview. As with baptism and graduation, we need you to come forward and ask to participate in the profession of faith service. So, if you have not yet publicly made a commitment to following Jesus and would like this church to be the community that supports you in that life, talk to Pastor Brady or myself and we will coach you through the preparation.
The title at the top of this page is “Four Long Weekends”, and I have only mentioned two. The third one is the July long weekend. At that time Pastor Brady will begin preaching a four-part, four-week series on Jonah. This works well in two ways: 1) he needs to experience preaching consecutive Sundays while doing a series he picks and plans for himself, and 2) I get a longer break and downtime. For the first two weeks of that time, I will be planning ahead for August and the fall so that themes and series for worship and small group discussion will be ready to go. The last three weeks will be vacation.
If you are attentive to numbers, you may have noticed that Pastor Brady has a four-week series and I have two weeks of planning and three of vacation. This leaves the fifth Sunday of July where I am still on vacation and Brady is on Serve with our youth. Since that Sunday is right in the middle of Kids@Mountainview Summer Camp, and it is a fifth Sunday of the month when the kids normally stay in the worship service, it is the perfect time for Pastor Kristy to preach and share a message that also connects with the kids.
Finally, the fourth long weekend (August) is when I will be back and easing us into what gets planned at the beginning of July.
Pastor Erick Schuringa