Message du Pasteur pour l'Action de grâce

Gratitude: En toute circonstances!

'Soyez toujours joyeux. 
Priez sans cesse. 
Remerciez Dieu en toutes circonstances!' 

(1 Thessaloniciens 5:16-18).

Quel défi que de remercier Dieu en toutes circonstances. Depuis que mon jeune frère est décédé le premier janvier de l’année passée,  j’ai souvent lutté pour trouver cette reconnaissance. Comment disons-nous merci quand nos coeurs sont blessés, brisés ou simplement triste? Je choisis de bénir au lieu de condamner et je crois que dire merci au lieu de commenter les circonstances négatives qui parfois m'entourent m'aide à vivre avec reconnaissance. Je relève ce défi comme parent, pasteur et leader communautaire, défi d'être positif et d'affirmer le bien en moi et les autres. Ce n'est pas évident ni sans effort. 

Les chants de louanges m'aident à dire ma gratitude dans la tradition de mes aïeux. Ils m’aident de regagner et garder mon équilibre émotif. Ma grand-mère maternelle a souvent chanté le cantique suivant et moi aussi je le chante:

Loué soit notre Dieu! Que notre vie entière
Tous nous vivions joyeux sous le regard du Père.
Qu’il nous tienne en sa grâce et nous guide toujours,
Nous garde du malheur par son unique amour. 
(Martin Rinckart, 1636, NVU 34)

Que l'Action de Grâces 2018 soit remplie de gratitude pour nous tous!

Qu'elle soit une pause de reconnaissance pour chacun de nous! 

Alléluia et amen!

Pasteur David 

Minister's Thanksgiving Message

Radical Gratitude of Thanksgiving, 2018

Last week the words “radical hospitality” were written in the newsletter expressing the way that Jesus welcomed all who came to him with unconditional love. I experienced such hospitality last Sunday on the ‘official’ welcome Sunday at Emmanuel. I have lived in such generosity at SouthWest for some 19 years now.

I am pondering the idea of a gratitude that is radical. Paul writes:

“This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Jesus Christ. Be joyful always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances.” (1Thessalonians 5: 16-17).

As a follower of Jesus I am invited to a life of joy, prayer and thanksgiving, no matter the circumstances. I have at times found this difficult to live, especially in times of loss. Last year I struggled to live it after the death of my younger brother, for grief was so sharply smothering thanksgiving. As circumstances of life change and evolve I am challenged to live a relationship with God in Christ where I am rooted in prayer. That daily prayer brings a joy that does not depend on the emotions of the moment but rather on the certitude that God will provide for all needs, every day, no matter what is happening around us.

Gratitude is present in such faith and practice! It flows from prayer and joy. It speaks a gentle Alleluia no matter the highs and lows. 

As I experience the changing of the seasons and the abundance of the harvest, I pause to express thanksgiving to Creator for life, love, food, friends, and our communities of faith.

I enjoy the words of Henry Alford who penned the following invitation in 1844:

Come, you thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home!
All is safely gathered in,
safe before the storms begin;

God, our maker, does provide
for our needs to be supplied:
come to God's own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home! (VU 516)

Let our gratitude be radical, in all situations and circumstances, a constant song of thanks!

Alléluia! Amen!

Rev. David

Mini-Market Goes Weekly!

Big news here at SouthWest Mission. It’s Year Three for our Mini-market, and it’s going from every second Wednesday to every Wednesday, as of October 10th. You can check in here to see what we’re ordering as of the Friday before, or pick up a price list/ order form at the Mission. Click below to see what will be on offer at the market next Wednesday, October 10th, from 10:30 to 3:30. If you drop by that day at 12:30 you can also enjoy a tasty, healthy lunch, another food program we offer weekly. Your donations are what keep us going!

SouthWest in the news: Action Day on School Nutrition

The following article by Domenic Fazioli appeared in the Verdun Messenger.

They were up at the crack of dawn chopping vegetables, preparing the kale, spreading  hummus on whole wheat tortillas. A team of volunteers at the SouthWest Mission in Verdun worked together to produce 300 « health wraps ».  They were all gobbled up by an army of children at Verdun Elementary in less than a minute.

SouthWest Mission was one of a handful of Montreal community organizations that produced free lunches for schoolchildren as part of Action Day on School Nutrition on September 20.  The effort was meant to promote healthy eating habits to boys and girls.

« For the most vulnerable people, it’s easier to go to McDonald’s for a ready-made meal. But if you make it at home, it’s much cheaper and better for you, » says Léonore Pion, food coordinator at SouthWest Mission.

Besides the wrap, the lunch bags also contained a small container of homemade coleslaw, a banana-kale mini-muffin and a shiny red apple.

Minister's Message: Radical Hospitality

How do we welcome, and live radical hospitality?

At the Welcome Wednesday community meal this week there was a festive ambiance. The Aviva insurance company was donating some monies to SouthWest for a Harvest Celebration, thanks to Darlene for submitting our name! The theme was Better Together/Mieux Ensemble and there was lots of joy as “Chewbacca” visited Breakfast Club, then local musician Bud Rice played during the lunch, and guest Chef Atena worked in the kitchen with Léonore and volunteer cooks to produce a Persian-inspired meal. Two families, newly arrived to Canada and with us for the first time, asked if the special moment was for them. Of course it was! And for all of us!
Welcome is an important part of the moments, seasons and changes in our lives. Helping people feel part of community and a sense of belonging is much of what we do as a community of faith.
I remember wanting to worship at a local church on a vacation Sunday only to find they had merged with another congregation that day. No one thought to put that information on the front door. No welcome there! I turned away frustrated.
 I remember the guest for baptism wearing their cap and the complaint that in essence said, hats in church are disrespectful. Ever take your child to worship and have someone turn to you and say an infamous: Shush?! How did these words and attitude touch these persons? How would we feel? Not very welcomed.
There is a wonderful gospel story about mothers bringing their babies and children to Jesus. (Mark 10: 13-16). They heard of his welcome and inclusion, in a world where women and children had no recognized legal value, which was radical for its time. Jesus stopped what he was doing, turned to smile, hold babies and bless them and their mothers. He was criticized by his male disciples who said these interlopers were disturbing the status quo. “Shush!” they said to the children! Throughout the gospels Jesus often practiced this radical hospitality in his ministry especially towards those on the fringes of society and religion.
 We learn how to live a more radical hospitality from this story. That we must:
- Let people (and children) interrupt what we are doing.
- Affirm that relationships are more important than rules.
- Open our circles (sometimes they look like cliques) to include the newcomer.
- Speak a word of welcome (go out of our way!).
- Celebrate the welcome in a ritual, song, or blessing. (holding needs in prayer, blessing children and parents, singing our joy!).
I enjoy this chorus, by Gordon Light, of welcome to a widening circle. It speaks to all the moments of gathering including last week’s Méli-Melo ( with 13 children and 14 adults) and worship at the Mission for September and October.
Arms open wide we sing:

Images from the Better Together/ Mieux ensemble Harvest Festival

Draw the circle wide! Draw it wider still!!
Let this be our song, no one stands alone,
standing side by side, draw the circle wide.

Traçons un grand cercle. Traçons le plus grand.
C’est notre seul chant, nul n’est solitaire,
debut solidaires, traçons un grand cercle.

(More Voices #145)

Rev. David

Family bulletin from Meli-Melo

Here is a downloadable version of the bilingual handout from September’s Meli-Melo (Messy Church) featuring Story, song and a colouring page relating to Noah and the Ark.

Children's Christmas

UPDATE: Tuesday October 16: SW Children's Christmas Party Brainstorming meeting, 2:30pm at the Mission. All are Welcome. If you are unable to attend the meeting but would like to help out please contact Dorothy Brown brodorth01@gmail.com

——

Already, you say?

Yes, plans for the annual SouthWest Children's Christmas party are happening, and it’s sooner than you think:

Date: Saturday December 1, 2018
Time: 12:30-3:30pm
Place: SouthWest Mission

We need many elves to make the party a success.

If you would like to help on that day or make a financial donation towards the party please contact the office, 514-768-6231.

A meeting is planned in October after Thanksgiving.

Hope to see you then!

October Food Calendars

Did you know that Casa CAFI offers collective kitchens at its new address on Wellington on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the day? Did you know that church of the Epiphany has vegetarian cooking workshops on Tuesday evenings? If you didn’t, you must not be checking out the monthly food calendars put out by Verdun sans faim. They are a wealth of information about community meals - including, in case we needed to remind you, every Wednesday at SouthWest Mission - as well as workshops, food banks and other programs like our Mini-market that help you stretch the food budget while eating healthy. Here are the calendars for October:

Le deuil et l'exil, par Joëlle Leduc

Publié dans Aujourd’hui Credo

Magnifique samedi après-midi d’automne au cimetière Hillside à Morin Heights. D’ici, j’ai une vue sur le ciel d’un bleu éclatant, les arbres au feuillage chatoyant et la petite chapelle blanche en bas de la côte.

J’attends la famille du défunt, que je ne connaissais pas. Je ne les ai jamais rencontrés. Tout s’est fait au téléphone : “We want a simple traditional grave side service. Something short. The funeral has already been done in Toronto. No need for further conversation.”

Le défunt était membre de la paroisse, mais vivait à Toronto depuis plusieurs décennies. Il revient pour être enterré avec les siens. « C’est de plus en plus commun, me dit le fossoyeur. Beaucoup de gens sont partis trouver du travail à l’extérieur de la province, mais ils reviennent se faire enterrer ici, parce que leurs racines sont ici. » Et résonnent dans ma tête les paroles d’une chanson de Victor Court, vedette country locale, “When I pass away, and my bones are dust, and I am lying 6 feet deep, wrapped inside this land I love, I will never leave”.

Après un service simple, court et traditionnel, selon les vœux de la famille, les gens se dispersent doucement et vont visiter d’autres tombes dans le petit cimetière. Ils sont peut-être partis depuis plusieurs années, mais leur famille et leurs amis décédés sont ici, tout près les uns des autres.

De retour d’exil géographique, ils ont besoin d’entendre des mots familiers, traditionnels, qui font écho à leurs souvenirs d’enfance. De retour à leurs racines, le sentiment d’appartenance est déjà là et n’a besoin que d’être confirmé.

***

À Sainte-Adèle, notre paroisse francophone, l’exil est bien différent. Alors que pour la communauté anglophone l’exil est géographique, pour beaucoup de franco-protestants, l’exil est religieux. Trois paroissiennes ont perdu chacune un parent cette année, mais les funérailles n’ont pas eu lieu dans notre paroisse. Elles ont eu lieu à l’église catholique, parfois tout près, parfois dans une autre ville. Le dimanche après ces funérailles, nous avons fait de notre mieux pour accueillir le deuil en exil, en allumant un cierge, en chantant à la mémoire du défunt ou de la défunte, et en enveloppant de prière les personnes en deuil, affirmant que dans les ténèbres, il y a la lumière, dans la tristesse, il y a l’espoir, et dans la mort, il y a la vie et l’amour éternel.

Vécu à même le culte habituel du dimanche matin, ce moment de commémoration se veut une affirmation d’accueil inconditionnel… Tu es ici chez toi. Tu comptes pour nous. Ton deuil est aussi le nôtre. Nous sommes là pour le vivre avec toi et chercher ensemble la présence aimante de Dieu dans les moments difficiles.

Two Job Offers from APV

Action Prévention Verdun has two positions open for community workers. Both would work with seniors, one focusing on the Spanish-speaking community, the other on other allophone communities. French and English are required, and other languages spoken are a definite asset. Please see job offers (in French) attached. Our understanding is that deadlines have been extended. Contact APV directly for more information.

APV est à la recherche de deux personnes pour combler son équipe de travailleur de milieu pour aînés!