Here We Go! - September 7th, 2021
It is the beginning of September, and we are jumping into the ministry season. Many of our ministries will be starting some time this month. We hope and pray that this year we can keep things open and going on an in-person basis.
On Sunday Brandon announced our hope to see new and re-mixed small groups gather for sermon-based discussions in our “Go and Be Church” series. Pastor Mike planted the seed among us that if we can gather with others who live near us then we can be specific in our discussions around how we might engage in ministry where we are. The whole series is designed to have us consider our missional calling. We are used to gathering as church and most of us regularly use the phrase “go to church” implying that the act of worship is church and that the building we gather at is the church. You have already heard me say, perhaps a few times even, that the biblical use of church is for the people. “Go and Be Church” will help us focus on that part of our calling. Again, you are encouraged to sign up to be joined with others from your neighbourhood for this conversation and the resulting action.
This Wednesday, September 8th, over a dozen Mountainview people are being trained to facilitate “Challenging Conversations”. This training was designed to go with the denomination’s Human Sexuality Report as a way to have good conversations on difficult topics. We hope to use it for a few other opportunities to dialogue together as well. The original plan was to have those conversations this fall, but upon further reflection asking people to join a neighbourhood small group and a Challenging Conversations group is a bit unrealistic. Combine that with the fact that my request for sermon ideas included a number about relationship things and it was not difficult to decide that a better path forward is to do Challenging Conversations groups in the new year as our next sermon series with a slightly different kind of group.
Next Wednesday, September 15th, you are invited to a Prayer for Healing Event. The evening arose from a couple conversations I had with different members suggesting this would be timely. The event will begin with some basic teaching about what the Bible teaches about healing followed by an opportunity to participate as those praying for others as well as an opportunity to participate as those being prayed for. This event may stretch your experience a bit so pay attention to the Spirit’s promptings on how you are called to enter in. Rest assured, if it is enough of a stretch for you to sit and observe that is an option.
Finally, we are looking forward to our outdoor service on Sunday, September 19th. This will be our official fall kick-off, even if a number of things start before that date. It will be an opportunity to welcome our community, both long time members and new connections in the neighbourhood, to our backyard gathering. We hope that it feels like a hospitable opportunity and that the outdoor setting maybe allows for a few more people to feel comfortable coming out.
So those are a few of the things going on. Continue to pray for our collective ministry and pay attention to where you are called to participate.
Pastor Erick