tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81878512587363680652024-03-26T10:22:08.144-06:00 100 Churches 100 SundaysAlanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-59424208958394419602017-09-18T19:53:00.002-06:002017-09-18T19:57:17.067-06:00I actually gave a sermon. <b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by an Impure Spirit- Mark 9: 14-29</span></b><br />
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<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">14 </span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. <sup>15 </sup>As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.</span></div>
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<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">16 </span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.</span></div>
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<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">17 </span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. <sup>18 </sup>Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”</span></div>
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<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">19 </span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”</span></div>
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<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">20 </span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.</span></div>
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<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">21 </span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“From childhood,” he answered. <sup>22 </sup>“It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”</span></div>
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<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">23 </span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”</span></div>
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<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">24 </span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”</span></div>
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<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">25 </span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”</span></div>
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<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">26 </span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” <sup>27 </sup>But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.</span></div>
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<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">28 </span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”</span></div>
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<sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">29 </span></sup><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.<sup>[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+9%3A14-29&version=NIV#fen-NIV-24568a" title="See footnote a"><span style="color: blue;">a</span></a>]</sup>”</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">This is the sermon that I hoped I would never have to give.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">This is a story of my fall from the divine, the suffering, and the oncoming of a new revelation. And maybe, if I am lucky, a new life. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">This story all beings in the cumbersome and questionable world of online dating. One day when I was skimming thru a website, I saw a profile of a guy who was moderately good-looking and described his faith as being Catholic. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We agreed to meet at the mall for coffee. As we started talking, I learned many things about this person, he had a few brothers and sisters, </span>grew up in the N.W.T.<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">He also later confessed to me that he used to work as a male stripper. (Eyebrow raise) </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">But when I got to ask him about his faith, he said that he was devoutly Catholic <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>up until</u></i> the age of 15, when he needed to go in for surgery on his leg. That day when he was put under for surgery, he awoke <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>not 30 minutes later,</u></i> to discover that no surgery had been done. He was then informed that the antistatist had made a critical error, causing an accidental overdose. He had actually died on the operating table. But luckily he had also been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>revived quickly</u></i>, avoiding brain damage from oxygen denervation. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">But the spiritual damage he suffered was <u>lethal.</u></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">He explained to me that he expected to see the tunnel of light, that many people have described in “near death” experiences. But he saw nothing. He said to me “I just floated there in the dark.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The great nothingness. </span></div>
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I am not sure why it bothered me so much. It was almost beyond my logic. I was raised Ukrainian Catholic and orthodox. The teaching I understood, said that the soul stayed on the earth until the third day, and on that day, it would rise into heaven. It shouldn’t be a surprise to me, that he saw nothing in that brief moment. Yet I could feel this story crushing my soul, in the same way, it destroyed him.</div>
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My defenses were failing, as I was being attacked from many sides.</div>
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I made the mistake of reading a book, that I understood as being composed of progressive, well studied and respected authors. I soon discovered that this book had become the spiritual equivalent of slitting one's wrists. Needless to say, I don’t recommend it. I had committed to an interfaith retreat which I was too spiritually-immature for, I discovered that I was a raging hypocrite, and that caused me to have a meltdown in upstate New York. I had been diagnosed with chronic anxiety that no amount of prayer could relieve. I was becoming borderline suicidal, before I gave in, and filled my prescription for psych meds. My church journalism that I had become famous for, had become an impossible task. I was too weak to get out of bed, for fear of it causing further damage to my already fragile health. And too ashamed to go on writing, as someone who could not honestly stand up in a church and say the words “I believe”.</div>
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In that time I had been reading a lot. Notes, research, studies, historical insights. I don’t know if I am bold, stupid or simply a sucker for self-punishment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But at almost every given turn, I crossed phrases like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“edited latter”, “copied”, “attributed to”, “probably never happened”, “not actually written by this person”, “we are not really sure who wrote this”,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“likely didn’t happen”,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“we now know in the modern world….” </i>The list goes on. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reading these works I can feel for the 9 disciples arguing with the teachers of the law. The teachers spotted a weak moment when the disciples were unable to lift the spirit from the boy. Therefore the teachers took the opportunity to do everything to dispute and discredit the disciples and Jesus. I know this feeling. And it’s crippling and soul-sucking.</div>
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Faith was failing me.</div>
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And then came all the questions. I had everyone from family members, to my liquor store customers, asking “Why have you quit writing?”. Sadly I had no honest answer to give them.</div>
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At that point in my life I practically gave up praying, why do something so utterly useless?</div>
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I started to detest the items in my home. My crosses, rosaries, I even asked myself what I would do with my one of a kind finger-painted canvas that portrayed Christ in his final hours covered in blood dirt and a crown of thorns. ( show painting) I had bought the original work of art from the artist, on the condition that it would always have a good home.</div>
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I was not about to go back on my word.</div>
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Near the end, I felt like I had no bricks left in my house. It was like a nuclear blast had wiped away everything except for a few foundation stones.</div>
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In this passage from Mark 9, we learn that some demons in our lives can be stronger than others. And like in the case of the young boy, some will take you all the way to the edge before death, before they finally let-go.</div>
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In all of these books, there was a message that I could not understand. The argument put forward said, that the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>metaphors</u></i> of the bible can be profoundly true even if they are not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>literally or factually</u></i> true.</div>
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But how can this be? In the technological age we are being bombarded with information, much of it skewed or misrepresented or just plain old made-up BS. Knowing factual truth has become essential. And accepting false information has become dangerous if not deadly. I live in a generation that needs fact.</div>
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And the tradition I was raised in accepts much of the bible as fact. It has built a beautiful tradition steeped in rituals (show images) that glorify all of these little divine phrases and weaves them all into a great blanket in which I can wrap myself, and bask in the divine truth.</div>
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But these great thinkers have pulled the blanket off of me, and have left me frozen and alone.</div>
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And they stand before me and proclaim that they love the faith, and want it to grow into the modern truth.</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I ask myself, how abusive can these people be? But yet as I read them, I cannot help but agree with them.</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The year is 2017. We now know that the earth is round, the world grew and progressed thru an evolution like process, and is much older than what a lot of creationists would ever like to admit.</div>
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As quoted by John Shelby Spong; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The heart will never worship what the mid rejects”.</i></div>
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But humor me for a moment; what if all these great minds have it right? And there was nothing that special about this one rebellious Jew from Nazareth. If all the texts were “edited latter”, and the miracles were not so miraculous, and if truths were stretched around this man Jesus, to make him appear to be the “messiah” of prophecy, when he didn’t quite meet the bill.</div>
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Then I am left with one question.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQU8g00-_HIAqJvW7lVYKtF_Uzbn9AZMEeBP1xNnWpiD5_mbOoc2n1N17dNTbtNA3YAeW1fp7BTZPtsSN0hrsiKdi_cBxtPVrnDpQ1XXL4dQJemgD1hflluleu6rFbpMYJFyt4ao-PgFb/s1600/2da50a05fdccdd0c82658e8af1ebd534.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQU8g00-_HIAqJvW7lVYKtF_Uzbn9AZMEeBP1xNnWpiD5_mbOoc2n1N17dNTbtNA3YAeW1fp7BTZPtsSN0hrsiKdi_cBxtPVrnDpQ1XXL4dQJemgD1hflluleu6rFbpMYJFyt4ao-PgFb/s320/2da50a05fdccdd0c82658e8af1ebd534.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Why?</div>
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Why did the people who knew him best go to the ends of the earth proclaiming the message of this mediocre Jew named Yeshua? Why would people risk life and limb to stand under the name “Christian” even if it meant certain death? How could all of these questionable and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“embellished”</i> stories turn the minds and hearts of some of the most heartless and abusive people in history? So they may walk the earth the next day, as holy men? And furthermore generate actual miracles, which have been testified thru history, and told to me personally, by people living in the city of Edmonton?</div>
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Why?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJYV35jienE8goDS6AbyMeu1WocK3NMELcueib9hpG0jK7fjBtzKTh5QDHYCOEAf7kWhOU7rMdJsHx52x0lX4rCcT06zm7HfZICECBLeWRMu2cz_IwMuY5tvxURVj8PKks5A74STqra96/s1600/Lord-I-beleive...-610x350.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="610" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJYV35jienE8goDS6AbyMeu1WocK3NMELcueib9hpG0jK7fjBtzKTh5QDHYCOEAf7kWhOU7rMdJsHx52x0lX4rCcT06zm7HfZICECBLeWRMu2cz_IwMuY5tvxURVj8PKks5A74STqra96/s320/Lord-I-beleive...-610x350.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Christ says that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“everything is possible for one that believes”</i> But in that moment the father was broken and desperate, and he knew his faith was weak. He barely had a leg to stand on, so in that moment he reached out to Christ and cried <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I do believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!”</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And even in that moment of confessing his severe lack of faith, God reached back and answered his cry.</div>
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It is true that nothing is impossible to faith, yet such a height of faith is required for such triumphs, is not to be reached in a moment, or without effort. </div>
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The disciples had not adequately prepared themselves to tackle such a challenge. I know what it feels like to be unprepared.</div>
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After swimming thru this sea of information, I have come to a conclusion.</div>
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Even if it is all a myth, it is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>greatest, most powerful</u></i> and most <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>holly </u></i>myth the world has ever known.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7FrD1Q6CyjF5tDoCqxmPhTzWrW1NhZ9t6EvoG63Rv1l2Tl3uwmP4F1PJXaOSxxxnkyMLrO8FibODML2IT1Kqx2qW8QeY4Fg5IsOExDMH-zn1hmsBPqIYjkcHTHxQlPgszp4W66L0KbIF-/s1600/large_our-deepest-prayer-hallowed-be-your-name.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7FrD1Q6CyjF5tDoCqxmPhTzWrW1NhZ9t6EvoG63Rv1l2Tl3uwmP4F1PJXaOSxxxnkyMLrO8FibODML2IT1Kqx2qW8QeY4Fg5IsOExDMH-zn1hmsBPqIYjkcHTHxQlPgszp4W66L0KbIF-/s320/large_our-deepest-prayer-hallowed-be-your-name.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Regardless of its factuality or accuracy, these words have connected us to the divine. They have provided the lamp at our feet to guide us on life’s highway, and protect us from on-coming danger. They have made us thankful for the everyday blessings that make our lives rich, even if we barely get by. It caused us to reflect on our sins and find it in our hearts to forgive those who have wronged us. Rising us above our primal nature. And most of all, they have taught us that showing that little bit of extra love and care to our fellow earth dwellers, may bring forth the heavenly kingdom we seek.</div>
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No, king, Army or Government has ever had such power.</div>
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Because divine love can strike stronger than any human sword.</div>
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In this lies the answer. The value of the scriptures are not a matter of accuracy, factuality or provability. If we wanted that we could just spend our days reading lab test reports, checking reference materials, and watching law court dramas unfold.</div>
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We come to the bible looking for the divine truth, and in between the quotes, stories and passages we are flooded with it! We know that God seeks those who have become lost, and that he has a place in his heart for those who have been rejected. We see’s the God who is unphased by our sin, and accepts us with open arms. The god that brings redemption that stretches to even the most unworthy. We know of the God that answers us when we cry out in the night. And we know that this God, despite our endless falls from grace, allowed himself to suffer as one of us, in order to make one last great push at opening the kingdoms doors onto us.</div>
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We know that love that we have been taught, has the ability to bring forth the kingdom of god within ourselves, in or current world, and the world to come.</div>
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Those of us that have come to accept our free salvation, know how it has changed us. This is the divine force that comes beyond measure. This is something no one needs to prove to us.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib725ChDLBZQoBGRzDasKyv-f7T8DlPSrBNzOyzjayiASQZMN4ogUnvHKLTTYaxgPHRTMFyzlhEW6anikPPcXUiNJ-KQHpIhcMHu7pmCQDpAB2akDDv6iICq0SyP-GFVSCCevyYGCU-Qmp/s1600/fa2a56ac9df0fba9dbbdd03e29749dda.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib725ChDLBZQoBGRzDasKyv-f7T8DlPSrBNzOyzjayiASQZMN4ogUnvHKLTTYaxgPHRTMFyzlhEW6anikPPcXUiNJ-KQHpIhcMHu7pmCQDpAB2akDDv6iICq0SyP-GFVSCCevyYGCU-Qmp/s320/fa2a56ac9df0fba9dbbdd03e29749dda.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Weather the bible is literal, embellished, manufactured, inspired, or just plain questionable. I will rejoice! I will adorn my nativity at Christmas, bless my paska at Easter and, dance in the street like King David (hopefully with more clothes on!)</div>
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I leave you with Romans 5: 1-2</div>
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“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction, by faith, into this grace, in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.” </div>
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Amen.</div>
Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-11662185011888222892017-09-06T23:17:00.003-06:002017-09-06T23:17:39.543-06:00NOT DEAD YET! <div data-contents="true">
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<span data-offset-key="b8ah1-0-0"><span data-text="true">Ok people! Public service announcement time! I have two important points to make.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="bptsq-0-0"><span data-text="true">#1. I am not dead. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="cm8a-0-0"><span data-text="true">#2. I am actually giving a sermon on Sunday, Sept 17th. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="a49ac-0-0"><span data-text="true">The sermon will highlight the realities of dealing with a faith crisis and coming to peace with it.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="arfb-0-0"><span data-text="true">I will be speaking at the Haven Church Group that gathers in the basement of Mcdougall United Church located at: 10086 MacDonald Dr NW, Edmonton, AB. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="bilub-0-0"><span data-text="true">Use the south side door, Service starts at 7pm, and you are welcome to park in the church parking lot. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1e2kt-0-0"><span data-text="true">*Note that Haven is a church group for the Gay and Queer community, but all are welcome. If you don't think you can make it or, would not be comfortable in that environment. I will be posting my sermon afterward for everyone to read. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="73she-0-0"><span data-text="true">Hope to see you there! </span></span></div>
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Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-50016713212098113332016-09-11T23:55:00.000-06:002016-09-11T23:55:10.904-06:00Church #67. Our Lady of Good Help. Howdy folks! Welcome to another addition of Alanna-hauled-her ass-out-of-bed-and-went-to-church.<br />
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Today I was riding with Uber. I gave my driver 5 stars. But I completely forgot that it was the long weekend, so the rate was a bit higher than usual, and so was the wait time. But in the end I just barely made it to church on time.<br />
As some of you have noticed this getting to church #67. I have come to a point where I have largely drained my supply of churches that are easily accessible by use of public transit, and I will be resorting to using a lot of "ride for higher" services in the future. Unless someone wants to pick me up and give me a ride to a church. *wink.*wink.<br />
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So today I went to a church I have been itching to go to for a while. It is rare that you see an <i><u>Arabic Church</u></i>, or at least in this city. And from the outside, you would have no idea what it was any different than any other Catholic church.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJOjAbImiw9-wLs4nGAVSq0g1zEJ02SSFnLm-ZCj2UmFElUhAyo8DW_eNiTOstUDnIMLPGK0rx8yZOX2VsFpHjqcQgyyjyrXcQgEXubQbI_Q9poBqcdRY3uk6ptJU1xhe0HubhR5FuX1Qh/s1600/WP_20160904_10_59_43_Pro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJOjAbImiw9-wLs4nGAVSq0g1zEJ02SSFnLm-ZCj2UmFElUhAyo8DW_eNiTOstUDnIMLPGK0rx8yZOX2VsFpHjqcQgyyjyrXcQgEXubQbI_Q9poBqcdRY3uk6ptJU1xhe0HubhR5FuX1Qh/s400/WP_20160904_10_59_43_Pro.jpg" width="223" /></a></div>
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However the sign out front was more than worthy of Halloween.<br />
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The entry way had a shrine to a saint... am not 100% sure which one it is.<br />
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It was a particularly small group today.However, I am not that surprised. Major weekends tend to draw people out of the city and church attendance on those weekends seems to drop dramatically. This appears to be a consistent factor over the duration of my project thus far. There were roughly 25 people in attendance.<br />
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The scripture for today was Luke 14:25-33 ESV<br />
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<i>The Cost of Discipleship. </i><br />
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<i><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/14-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/14-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span><span class="woc">“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/14-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span><span class="woc">Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/14-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span><span class="woc">For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/14-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span><span class="woc">Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/14-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span><span class="woc">saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/14-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span><span class="woc">Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/14-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span><span class="woc">And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/luke/14-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span><span class="woc">So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.</span></i></div>
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<i><span class="woc"> </span></i><img alt="https://verticallivingministries.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/crosses-3-in-sunset-image.jpg" height="299" src="https://verticallivingministries.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/crosses-3-in-sunset-image.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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There was some big news today. The priest announced that Mother Teresa was being canonized as a saint today in Rome.<br />
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<img alt="https://cdn.thinglink.me/api/image/741503265077723137/1240/10/scaletowidth" src="https://cdn.thinglink.me/api/image/741503265077723137/1240/10/scaletowidth" /><br />
<i>"Dear St. Teresa, you take the word of God Seriously!" </i><br />
<i>"She followed everything Christ taught." </i><br />
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<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/04/europe/mother-teresa-canonization/" target="_blank">CNN News Coverage Mother Teresa Canonization.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.dummies.com/religion/christianity/catholicism/how-to-become-a-saint-in-the-catholic-church/" target="_blank">How to become a Saint in the Catholic Church?</a><br />
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Quote of the day:<br />
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<i>"The means can not justify the ends."</i><br />
<i>"The means must be appropriate to the ends". </i><br />
<i>"A Christian must be ready in the boundless love of Christ!" </i><br />
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One thing I have come to notice, is that even with a tradition as fixed as Catholicism,<i> </i>regional culture always finds a way to seep in. At this Catholics church the priest referred to all the members of the congregation as brothers and sisters, God was sometimes referred to as <i>"Abba Father"</i>, and communion was done slightly different. The priest actually got down on his knees and touched his head to the later before starting the communion ritual. And then when it came to actually receiving communion, the priest took the wafer, dipped it in the wine, and placed one on everyone's tongue individually.<br />
<br />
That is rare. The whole ritual of being "hand fed" communion, I mean. <br />
<i><br /></i> And I forget the exact details of it, but there was a small group of people that were visiting from another church in attendance. I think they might have been working on a project together? The priest was very warm and welcoming to everyone in the group, including the guests that were clearly part of the L.G.B.Q. community.<br />
<br />
Before I came to this church I was checking out this churches website ( by they way they have a pretty good website) But as I was looking thru some photos, and I was taken back for a moment. This church, being designed for Arabic speaking people, had what I am assuming are the words <i>"Do this is remembrance of me." </i>Written across the alter, in Arabic.<br />
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I in the initial moment I saw this, my first reaction was shock and fear. My second reaction was; <i>"Alanna... calm down! You are over-reacting!"</i><br />
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As many of you know, I am a vocal supporter of my brother's and sisters of other faiths. Even if it is a faith that I do not have 100% positive feelings towards. Regardless of that, Christians are still fully bound to obey what Christ described as the most import of all the laws, which is<i>; "love thy neighbor as thy self". </i><br />
<br />
But the point is that my initial reaction <i><u>meant something.</u></i> It meant that a person with rational knowledge and love, had still been conditioned to immediately fear anything that might have to do with Muslims. <i> </i><br />
<br />
So wanted to bring a topic to light.<br />
<br />
In this post 9-11 period Islamophobia is everywhere. A lot of people start making connections to anything that <u><i>might</i></u> be related to Muslims, ex. clothing, language etc. There have been cases of people that have been<i> mistaken </i>for Muslims and have been assaulted because of it. Not to mention all the harassment that actual Muslims have suffered on a regular basis. All and all, the situation has become simply retarded. Let me lay this out.....<br />
<br />
Arabic does Not =Muslim<br />
Head Scarf does Not =Muslim<br />
And most of all, Muslim does not =Evil.<br />
<br />
As for a simple example of this, let me introduce you to a viral video called <i>"When you speak Arabic in Public." </i><br />
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I have photos of all of my great grandmothers wearing some form of a headscarf.<br />
<br />
They were all from eastern Europe, and all of them were either Catholic or Orthodox Christians.<br />
Despite popular belief, Islam doesn't own the <i><u>headscarf.</u></i> <br />
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<img alt="https://qahiri.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/hijab-by-different-religions.jpg" class="shrinkToFit" height="631" src="https://qahiri.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/hijab-by-different-religions.jpg" width="620" /><br />
<br />
And finally, there is one last resource I would like to share with you something called <i>"The Jesus Fatwah".</i> In this project in which a christian scholar breaks down, and DE-bunks Islam. All while helping give context to how Christians can look at their Muslim neighbors, with Christ-like love and understanding. And for the record this material is very long and it is not free, but maybe you might be lucky enough to have it your local library or borrow it from someone. Trust me. Its worth it.<br />
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Anyhow, past all that it was a very relaxed little Catholic church, and it definitely had a few interesting Bilingual characteristics to it. <br />
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Amen.<br />
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See Y'all Next Week! Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-75198859736077711162016-08-25T00:20:00.000-06:002016-08-25T00:20:02.128-06:00 Church #66. Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. BarbaraHey Everyone! Sorry for the hiatus, things got a little turbulent there for a while, but we are back now.<br />
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So in the not-so-recent past, I visited the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Barbara. I am gonna put this out there right now, this church visit is not recommended for beginners. The orthodox are very special in the fact that they practice a very long list of heavy, symbolic, and elongated traditions. I am not saying that someone would have a fit on you if you did not bow your head or cross yourself at all the right times. But it is not unheard of. Especially if you are a member.<br />
<br />
I have a lot of mixed thoughts and feeling about the orthodox. On one hand, they have some of the most ancient, and beautiful rituals perfectly preserved, in a way no other group has done. If you don't believe me just look up some pictures from an orthodox style wedding. <br />
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<img alt="" class="irc_mi i45gBjsadEpU-pQOPx8XEepE" height="393" src="https://www.clarionreview.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/An-Orthodox-Wedding.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="578" /><br />
On the other hand, the degree as to which this division of the church obsesses over ritual and symbolism, can become burdensome on its member's. That and it still remains far lagging on a lot of issues related to modern reform.<br />
<br />
Before you visit an Orthodox church, I highly recommend you read this essay.<br />
<a href="http://frederica.com/12-things/" target="_blank">"12 Things I wish I knew before visiting an Orthodox Church."</a><br />
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So how did I know how to navigate this church you may ask? Being someone who was baptized Catholic as a baby and raised in the United Church of Canada? The answer to that is many, many, many years of summer camp!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.kievskhi.com/" target="_blank">Say hello to camp Kiev's-K-Hi Ukrainian Orthodox Summer Youth Camp.!</a><br />
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<img alt="" class="irc_mi iYpHs1UUBveU-pQOPx8XEepE" height="393" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e4db0a_eedd8002796c45be98bf25509e229a50.jpg_srz_619_413_85_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srz" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="589" /><br />
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I also credit this camp for teaching me how to sit thru 4-hour long church services, where you have to stand half the time.<br />
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Once you can survive that. Every other church I have been to since is cake-walk in comparison....<br />
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Despite having a good degree of experience in the orthodox church, I almost made a significant error when visiting this church. I didn't bring a scarf to put over my head. But after further examination of the women in the room, I noticed that only about half of the women chose to wear a scarf over their heads, the other half did not. At that point, I concluded that it was safe for me to proceed.<br />
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Now to bring up a new question... should women cover their head in church? This has become one of the far lost, and obscure issues, of the church that has kind of fallen to the dusty book shelves of debated issues. Paul speaks in one of his letters that women should have their heads covered in church, as an act of submission to their husbands and to God. In some of his other writings, he says that women need to keep their heads covered in church "<i>because of the angles</i>"? And quite frankly no one quite knows what he is talking about in that one......<br />
<br />
The reality is that the majority of modern scholars and churches in North America see no significant function or purpose in keeping a woman's head covered in church. I can say this with a fair amount of certainty after visiting 65 prior churches, and seeing so few cases of <i>"head covering"</i> that I can easily count them all on one hand. And I have never heard a church leader give a sermon on the issue. Now if you search the interwebs you will find endless rants that argue one way or another. But The way I see it is, if you want to wear it, wear it. But putting it out there and reinforcing it is doing nothing for the greater over-all mission of bringing people to Christ in this place and time.<br />
<br />
But that's my thoughts anyhow. <br />
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But what I find kind of comical with all this is that the highly debated reasons that Muslim women cover their heads are <u><i>not </i></u>the same as the reasons why Christian women cover their heads. With the Muslims, the idea is that hair is "seductive" and therefore should be covered up. But with Christian women, the idea is more so with keeping the<i><u> top of the head</u></i> covered in church, as an act of submission, vs covering the <u><i>hair</i></u>. So while a Muslim woman might be concerned about keeping her hair covered, the women I saw in the front pews before me, had no issue having their long haired ponytails sticking-out the back of their head scarf. <br />
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The demographics of this church were slightly younger than normal. Everyone was white, and one guy in particular, looked very Jewish. The majority of the population was middle aged with its share of seniors and a few young people. There were roughly a dozen children at this church, almost all of them were girls. And all the women wore skirts or dresses. Is it just me or does it feel like whenever you are in a Slavic community/family, that somehow it is always overflowing with women? Or is it just the fact that my mother grew up in a farm-house, with a total of six women and one man.(God save Grandpa!)<br />
Apparently according to the stats my hunch actually not that far off...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/08/14/why-the-former-ussr-has-far-fewer-men-than-women/" target="_blank">"Why the former USSR has far fewer men than women?"</a><br />
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The choir sang for the first part of the service. I didn't recognize much of what they were saying, so I am assuming that they were singing in Russian, however, the actual church service was in English.<br />
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Now to the actual church service.<br />
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This was the scripture of the day; <span class="cross">(Luke 11:33-36) and </span><span class="cross">(Luke 12:22-34)</span><br />
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<div class="hdg">
<i>The Lamp of the Body<span class="cross"> </span></i></div>
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<i><span class="cross"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="red">
<i><span class="reftext"><b>22</b></span>The eye is the lamp of the body. If your vision is clear, your whole body will be full of light. <span class="reftext"><b>23</b></span>But if your vision is poor, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! </i></div>
<div class="red">
<i><span class="reftext"><b>24</b></span>No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. "</i></div>
<div class="red">
<br /></div>
<div class="hdg">
<i>Do Not Worry<span class="cross"> </span></i></div>
<div class="hdg">
<br /></div>
<div class="red">
<i><span class="reftext"><b>25</b></span>Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? <span class="reftext"><b>26</b></span>Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? <span class="reftext"><b>27</b></span>Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan?<span class="fn"></span></i>
</div>
<div class="red">
<i><span class="reftext"><b>28</b></span>And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. <span class="reftext"><b>29</b></span>Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. <span class="reftext"><b>30</b></span>If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? </i></div>
<div class="red">
<i><span class="reftext"><b>31</b></span>Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ <span class="reftext"><b>32</b></span>For the pagans pursue all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. <span class="reftext"><b>33</b></span>But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. </i></div>
<i><span class="reftext"><b>34</b></span>Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. </i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="fn"><i>"</i></a><br />
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Quote of the day;<br />
<i>"If we follow these rules we can become saints."</i><br />
<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i>Notes from the sermon;<br />
#1. Have a Good Eye.<br />
It was explained that the eye is the soul of the mind and like sunlight, the eye must be straight and right.<br />
<br />
#2. Don't worry about material things. <br />
<i>"There is no rich or poor in nature."</i><br />
<br />
....... because you know.... there is no homosexuality in nature eather....(cough*)<br />
Link- <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0722_040722_gayanimal_2.html">Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate</a><br />
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Sorry. I needed to get that out.<br />
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#3. Don't worry about yourself.<br />
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#4. Don't stash away for tomorrow.<br />
So this brought up the story of the time when the Israelites were in the desert and god provided the mana. And how it would go bad if they tried stashing extra away for the next day <i>"they were not trusting in God". </i><br />
<br />
Then he told the story of a very old and crippled woman, who always seemed very happy and content. When she was asked, <i>"who lives with you?" "who helps you?"</i> She said<i>, "God lives with me!" </i><br />
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As I mentioned before. Everything is ultra-symbolic and ritualistic in the orthodox church. So much so that I can not even begin to cover the depth of meaning of half the stuff I observed. A good piece of background information to have in mind, is that orthodoxy developed in very illiterate countries in its early days. So teaching thru ritual and symbolism, proved a very effective method to get the information across and indicate its significance of God and the trinity. <br />
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So if you are wondering what I saw? The only answer I have to that is "a lot".<br />
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Communion is also not a simple process here. Because you can not accept communion at this church if #1. you are not an orthodox Christian, and #2. you have not "prepared" yourself the night before with prayer and fasting. When the people did line up for communion, anyone with kids went first, and some people even kneeled briefly in the line up while waiting in line. And if you are not aware, in the orthodox tradition, people are literally<i> "spoon fed communion." </i>Another interesting ritual. <br />
<i> </i> <br />
I saw priests and deacons and altar boys in some of the most extravagant robes you will every see ( and they don't even have the <i><b>holiday robes</b></i> on at the moment.) I saw people kneeling right on the floor, and in some cases, men would even kneel in the aisle during the worship. Despite there being room in the pews. To these people everything in the church is holy. Including the door frame. Yes, part of their rituals includes the priest kissing the door frame, that leads to the sanctuary. But then again this is an orthodox church. They kiss a lot of things, including icons, crosses, the hand of the priest, etc. I saw one parent pick up their two-year-old so they could kiss the cross in the priest's hand. And by the way, since these people have such a deep value of the symbols that they use for teaching, that they have become very good at adorning things. And when you are Russian Orthodox, that means...<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">DECKING EVERYTHING OUT IN GOLD! </span><br />
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And having a massive chandelier helps too! I guess?.....<br />
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This also happens to be the Church of St. Barbara you can read more about her here...<br />
Link-<a href="http://www.saintbarbarafw.org/who-was-saint-barbara/">Who was Saint Barbara? </a><br />
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And ifyou happen to be shopping for orthodox icons, they have a great selection of them that you can can purchas for a very reasonable price!<br />
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See Y'all next Sunday! <br />
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<br />Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-80570126874598576342016-07-20T23:58:00.001-06:002016-07-20T23:58:26.306-06:00Church #65. The Church of God. Welcome back, ya'll!<br />
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So today I ventured off to church, and I was not looking forward to it. Like, at <i>all</i>. To explain this, I need to take us on a quick detour.<br />
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A few months ago, I was walking down Whyte ave and we all know that Whyte has it share of street preachers. This can include all kinds of characters including but not limited to: the people that stand on a soap box with a megaphone, the Jehovahs Witnesses and their pamphlet stands, the teams of slick-dressed Mormon missionaries walking their beat, and the people that hand out random evangelizing cartoon booklets. Yes, we have all of these.<br />
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And in all honestly I would have preferred any of the above over what I encountered.<br />
Normally when I see some of these street preachers I either wave and smile, or walk right past them if they are screaming at me thru a megaphone.<br />
<br />
But a few months earlier, I was simply walking walking the far end of the ave, when I encountered a heavy set woman (roughly 27 years old) dressed in a skirt and professional office attire. She was walking in the direction towards me and before I knew it, she had stepped her whole body in front of me, and put her face six inches from my nose, and she blurted the phrase <i>"Have you heard about God the Mother?!?!" </i> Probably what disturbed me most about all this, woman's eyes. They were just this blank, straight-staring, unmoved blur. This woman was clearly brainwashed. She appeared to have no ability to comprehend outside information even in the form of basic conversation.<br />
I had to ask myself what could have possibly happened to this person to make them like this? It was like this person must have been raised in a cage? Or a cardboard box? Regardless, the site of her was very disturbing.<br />
<i><br /></i> Normally I would never get into a discussion with these people because I know that God wants us to commit our time towards more meaningful things than debating theology with lunatics on the street. Especially ones that think the best way to bring you to Christ is to get in your face and yell at you.<br />
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<img src="https://cdn.playbuzz.com/cdn/a2236dc2-ca96-43f0-8d59-a5a86de32616/8751840a-cc71-4d7b-8460-1e68d289d2ff.jpg" /><br />
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I tried to defuse the situation by telling her that I have heard about the "god the mother" theology (among others), and that I was already a Christian. That was apparently not enough to let me off the hook. So I thought "Fine. You wanna fight? Lets fight!". So after a raging theology debate, I was able to step my way around this raging whale of a woman, and continue my walk.<br />
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By the way, she made it very clear that she is from "The Church of God".<br />
Now there are a large multitude of churches in the city with that name and I am really not sure if all of them are actually related to each other. But one thing I do know for sure is that there is only one "Church of God" in the area where I was walking.<br />
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That is the church I am visiting today.<br />
<br />
I have had to question myself on if I am still willing to visit certain churches, as I am now understanding what groups and divisions I do or do not agree with. Some that I could even put all the way to the point of being dangerous. But after some thought and pastoral guidance, I have concluded that I should still keep going to these places (sparsely). Because despite them being hard to handle and often resulting in impassioned and angry rants, there is value in them. Because often after I take a hard look at them, I grow in the depth of my desire to avoid some of these (what I perceive to be) un-Christ-like ways and be driven even stronger towards building the kind of love God wants to see in this world.<br />
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I knew from the get-go that this was going to be rough. So I got up early went for a walk, prayed, listen to the church bells ring, took nature photographs, and planned to go for brunch afterwards and get one of these babies....<br />
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<img src="https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/06/47/68/94/tavern-on-whyte.jpg" /><span id="goog_1837863990"></span><span id="goog_1837863991"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><br />
<br />
Say hello to The Tavern's XXXL Caesar! For all your boozy Sunday brunchfest needs! This is literately a drink with over a dozen garnishes and including a skewered grilled cheese sandwich!<br />
Just like Jesus, this should also be an essential part of your Sunday morning routine!<br />
<br />
For more info, visit <a href="http://www.yellowpages.ca/bus/Alberta/Edmonton/Tavern-on-Whyte/8087150.html">here!</a><br />
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Now that I have clearly made you hungry (and crave salt), lets go to church!<br />
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The first thing that was apparent was the fact that I was clearly under-dressed. All the men in this place where in full suits, and the women were all in nice dresses, with all their hair and make-up fully done. And so there I stood with my sneakers, jeans and shoulder bag, and of course my grey <i>"Lion of Judah" </i>T-shirt.<br />
<br />
What? I was wearing my church shirt!<br />
<br />
<i>I actually picked up the t-shirt in New York at at the Clear Water Festival! Check out the artist and his online store here!- <a href="http://www.rockstarrevolution.com/product-p/judah%202.htm" target="_blank">rockstarrevolution.com</a></i><br />
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So I snuck in right as the service started and sat in the back next to a mom with all of her kids.<br />
This is, at minimum, the second church that I have now seen that uses a large brass band to start their services.The first church where I saw this was the Salvation Army Church. The band was quite large (roughly 24 people.) Most of the people in the band were in their teens and 20's. This church was fairly full. There were roughly 150 people in attendance. Still a majority of seniors, but there was a few middle aged people and also many young families. Everyone that I could see in the room was caucasian.<br />
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The reading today was Matthew 13: 44-46 NIV<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 1.1;"><i>The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl</i></span><br />
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<span class="text Matt-13-44" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><i><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">44 </span>“The kingdom of heaven is like<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-23584AS" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-23584AS" title="See cross-reference AS">AS</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-23584AT" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-23584AT" title="See cross-reference AT">AT</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></i></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<i><span class="text Matt-13-45" id="en-NIV-23585" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">45 </span>“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-23585AU" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-23585AU" title="See cross-reference AU">AU</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> a merchant looking for fine pearls.</span> <span class="text Matt-13-46" id="en-NIV-23586" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">46 </span>When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.</span></i></div>
<br />
Then the choir sang. I felt the worship at this kind of church was very <i>"just sit there and listen"</i>. The room did not actively sing with the choir or any music, and prayers were generally not said in a group fashion.<br />
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The topic of the day was <i>"Where should we store our treasure?" </i><br />
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He basically explained that we should not become obsessed with hoarding earthly possession because you can't take it with you. And all those material things you collected mean squat in Gods Kingdom. So the right to do is to take the resources that we have and invest them in things that will be valuable in Gods Kingdom, whether that means financially supporting your local mission or congregation, giving clothing and food to a person in need, or volunteering your time for a worthy cause, etc. etc.<br />
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He clarified that we do not earn our way into heaven because salvation is given freely. He also mentioned an interesting story about some missionaries that gauged the value of everything in their lives against its eternal value and not its earthly value. I can imagine that would make for a very interesting everyday life.<br />
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He also advised that we should not be so near-sighted with our treasures. And then for some reason thru in a quick comment about atheists? He stated that non-believers are thinking that this life is simply a short interval and they hope there is nothing after so they don't have to be accountable in this life. Personally, I find this to be a bold blanket statement which I don't think is true for all atheists. But I need to be honest with you. I personally know a few people in this category.<br />
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He spoke of young people working hard to hoard money, as well as seniors who are still putting away every penny even at the very end of their lives.<br />
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But at the same time, there is a big difference in my mind when it comes to saving to build frivolous material wealth and saving for necessity.<br />
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But the reality is that there are a lot of people out there that didn't save enough for retirement. There are many seniors that will be forced to work until the day they die, or be forced into retirement without enough money to sustain them. They will suffer in poverty lacking basic necessities. And that includes food. Seniors eating cat food is a thing. Sad truth. there are many ways you can help combat this. One local organization I would recommend is -<a href="http://www.adoptagrandparent.ca/index.html" target="_blank">Adopt-a-Grandparent</a><br />
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After the service ended I had one lady with her children ask me who I was and what I was doing there. So I explained just that and handed her my business card. As soon as I did that, I was meet with a small sea of angry middle aged woman staring at me. Their sour faces made for an odd contrast to formal dresses they were all wearing.<br />
<br />
Speaking of the clothes.<br />
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I feel the need to bring up the whole <i>"what is proper church clothing"? q</i>uestion. The simplest and most effective answer I have heard to this question is that we should <i>"Dress in a way that glorifies God." </i>So what is that anyhow? To some, it is dressing modestly in order to be "humble before god" in a sense. Others see dressing fancy as a showing of <i>"giving God our best"</i>, harking back to the offerings that the Israelites would bring to the later. To others, it may be wearing affordable everyday clothes, as to not alienate our brothers and sisters that have less money, and show solidarity with the poor. And heck! Some people go to church naked! In the southern USA there is actually a significant number of nude churches.<br />
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To a lot of people they think the lines are simple, but I really don't think it is all that simple and clean-cut.<br />
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Here is a good example. I have a friend that has always fought with her weight. <i>Always</i>. Now in her late 20's thru much faith and perseverance, she has achieved a healthy weight. To celebrate, she went out and bought something she always wanted, but could never wear: a belly shirt. Yes, a belly shirt. That kind that girls were banned from wearing in school, and that Britney Spears made all the rage in the 90's! So where was the first place she wore it? Church. To her, that shirt was a clear and defining example of clothing that "Glorified God" and what God has done in her life.<br />
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You are probably wondering why I have no pictures of the church. lets just say I didn't feel the need to stick around until the place cleared out.<br />
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Instead feel free to enjoy my nature photos!<br />
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Have a good week everyone! <br />
<br />Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-76128851654337988062016-06-29T03:10:00.006-06:002016-06-29T03:10:49.795-06:00Temple Beth Ora - Refromed Jewish Synagogue Shabbat Shalom everyone!<br />
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Welcome to Friday night 8 pm Shabbat at Temple Beth Ora! For those of you that haven't read much of my earlier stuff, this might surprise you.<br />
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Besides my mission to visit 100 churches, I have also decided that my project is not complete without visiting some other houses of worship besides just Christian churches.<br />
So far I have been to a Unitarian gathering, A Tao Buddhist Temple, and now a Jewish Synagogue.<br />
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Some of you that are better educated in Judaism may assume that this Shabbat would be for the upcoming holiday of Shavuot (which was only 2 days away). Nope, this Shabbat was special alright but it was honouring another kind of celebration: GAY PRIDE WEEK!!!!!<br />
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To be clear this is actually their 3rd annual Gay Pride Shabbat.<br />
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I have had an uncle that has told me a lot of questionable things in my life.<br />
Two of these things have been that:<br />
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#1 women can't be Rabbis', and #2 you can't be gay and Jewish.<br />
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I am sorry uncle, but you were a little off...<br />
Today I sat in a room on Shabbat with many gay Jews, and I have watched a female Rabbi lead a service more than once in my life.<br />
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(*mic drop)<br />
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Its actually 2016 but you get the idea...<br />
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Speaking of our country's Prime Minister. Later on there was a young man in a suit that came up and spoke on behalf of a parliament member that wanted to attend, but was unable to. He sends greeting from the city, the province, and the Prime Minister. He explained that this was his first Shabbat and that he has truly enjoyed it and intends to come back! (he said this all with such enthusiasm that his Kippa (skull cap) actually fell off while giving the speech!)<br />
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It was a fun night.<br />
Just saying.<br />
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But I am getting ahead of myself.<br />
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So I found the building, and it was not far from downtown, and very accessible by public transit. It was also surprisingly close to this famous Edmonton icon.<br />
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When I walked in the first four things I saw were a donation bin for the Fort Mac fire victims, a donation bin for the food bank, a info table with info on community activism, and a tall young African-Canadian fellow handing out program guides for the service, while wearing a rainbow skull cap and shawl around his neck.<br />
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There were roughly 70 people at this service. Ages on average ranged from 20-60. A lot of families with adult children were in attendance.<br />
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Some may think it to be a difficult and complicated task to attend a worship service at a Jewish synagogue. That fact is not necessarily true. But you need to know what you are looking for. Some important things to keep in mind when Understanding Jews.<br />
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- This is not just a religion. It is a <u><i>tribe with a religion built into it</i></u>. A lot of theses people in this room have blood connections to the people spoke about in the Torah (aka Old Testament) . With the exception of some converts. Their faith is literally close to home.<br />
- Judaism is traditionally very closed, and Jews almost never go around evangelizing.<br />
- Jews believe that the messiah is still yet to come, and that Jesus was <u><i>not </i></u>the man that fit the bill. They have a very solid argument to back their position. Link- <a href="http://www.interfaithfamily.com/spirituality/spirituality/What_Jews_and_Christians_Should_Know_about_Each_Other_An_Important_Primer_on_the_Two_Religions.shtml" target="_blank">What Jews and Christians Should Know about Each Other. </a><br />
- Edmonton only has 3 synagogues (that I know of). They are in the denominations of Conservative, Orthodox, and Reformed.<br />
- The "Sabbath" starts at sundown on Friday and goes to sun-down on Saturday.<br />
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I also must take a moment to throw my heart out to the Jewish cohort at Stony Point Centre in upstate New York, USA. If it was not for you wonderful people I would not be half as well educated in what Judaism is all about. That education is completely necessary for what I am doing today. To put an example to this, let me just say that because of that education I know that the reformed temple would be the only one in this city that I could easily walk into and report on. That is because I take notes. And that is considered working on the Sabbath, while inside the synagogue. At this synagogue they don't care, but anywhere else in this city I would be asked to stop, or possibly leave.<br />
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You gotta know your stuff when visiting our friends the Jews.<br />
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The service started out with a few acknowledgements. Including the acknowledgement that this gathering was being held on Treaty #6 Land. There was a prayer after asking for unity and peace, specifically with Canada's First Nations people. This service had some wonderful guest speakers, including some Christian pastors who came up and read while wearing the skull cap and rainbow shall around their neck. One of the main speakers was a bit of a surprise. It was a Rabbi from the other Synagogue in the local area (Beth Shalom) that was of the Conservative denomination.<br />
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Next came the lighting of the Shabbat candles. In this tradition normally two candles are lit (today they increased it to six to get more colours of the rainbow). And in a home setting, the mother of the family will go before them, and cover her eyes with both hands and recite a prayer in Hebrew, asking God to bless and protect the family. Today two women were asked to come up and perform this honour with their children at their sides. I need to say I found both of these women every interesting. The first was a Caucasian senior woman, who was caring for a young girl, elementary school aged girl who was of Asian or First Nations heritage? I was not sure. And the other lady was in her 30's, tall and thin with a short masculine hair cut. And she was caring for a young 12-year old(ish?) girl, who appeared to have some type of developmental disability. The girl hung very close to her and it was clear that this woman was very committed to the love and care of this young lady. It always feels good to see a child with a disability is in good hands.<br />
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One of the most beautiful things I saw that day actually had to do with the young girl . Like most children, they are not particularly good at sitting still. Which was perfectly fine here, and for part of the service she stood in the aisle holding her stuffy toy. As the service was going on, I saw her tracing the Star of David slowly with her finger (the engraving was in the side of the pews). It was a lovely sight to see, and I am sure many Jews would find this image quite heart-warming.<br />
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I made a point of mentioning this because the spirit of tonight's service was embodied in that image. That Gods word and presence is not only active in the lives of the Israelite's, but also the entire world.<br />
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<i>"My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." </i><br />
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Then we sang the "Lecha Dodi" after which we all stood and turned towards the door to greet the Shabbat bride. One lady with a sense of humour started making hand gestures as if she was marvelling at the beauty of the bride. Even though there is clearly nothing visible that enters in through the door.<br />
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NOTE: Jews see the approach of the Shabbat (day of rest) as a joyful event. Joy that can be related to the feeling of a groom waiting for his bride to appear (and you thought you took <i>your </i>days off seriously).<br />
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And if any of you were wondering what the music is like in a synagogue, it is very similar to what you would hear in church. As many of you know there are a lot of songs in the Bible, and a lot of the style and music got passed down to us Christians. The major difference being is that the Jews still largely sing almost all of their songs in Hebrew.<br />
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P.S. I have tried many times, but I could not sing in Hebrew to save my life. It takes skill.<br />
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I apologize in advance for this article being exceedingly long, but there was honestly so much great stuff in this service, I would have a hard time leaving much of it out.<br />
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Such as...<br />
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Despite God not being defined as having a gender, the four letter name for "God" that the Hebrews use, actually has two letters that define God's masculine attributes, and two letters that define the feminine ones. Generally, God is referred to in the masculine sense, but that practice is not constant in the whole Torah (Old testament). For example, the Jews have a word to describe<i> </i>"the manifestation of God's presence, that fills the universe". That word is a<u> </u><i><u>feminine</u> </i>descriptive word known as <i><u>Shechinah. </u></i><br />
<img alt="" class="irc_mi iPhQnrVjZACo-pQOPx8XEepE" height="334" src="https://hardcoremesorah.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/mountainfire.jpg" style="margin-top: 30px;" width="476" /><br />
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In the past, a lot of pieces of scripture have been thrown out at the gay community as a way of oppressing, alienating and hurting anyone that falls into that spectrum. Much of this comes from the book of Leviticus. But I was very happy to see that even that can be turned positive! This was some of what was recited.<br />
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Congregation: <i>We are your lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children.</i><br />
Rabi: <b>Do not seek vengeance nor bear a grudge against the children of your people. (Lev 19:18) </b><br />
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Congregation: <i>We are Elderly lesbians, bisexual, gay men and transgender people</i>.<br />
Rabi: <b>You shall rise before the hoary head and show deference to the aged. (Lev. 19:32)</b><br />
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Congregation: <i>We are lesbian, gay, bi, and transgender victims of gay bashing and murder.</i><br />
Rabi: <b>You shall not stand Idly by while your neighbour's blood is shed. (Lev. 19:16)</b><br />
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There was also a talented woman that come up and sang twice during the service. One thing I happen to notice is how she rocked her body back and forth over the table at the front of the room. As a musician, I have known drummers who intentionally rock their bodies to help keep time. But this is the first time I have seen a singer do it. I have to say that I have really noticed that us Christians are really the odd-man-out when it comes to this whole rocking thing, we don't do a lot of it. Jews do it, Muslims do it, heck, even the Buddhists and more!<br />
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Speaking of our friends the Muslims, I was reminded on how shockingly similar the two faiths are when I saw the Rabbi face the front of the room while he covered his head with his Tallit (prayer shawl) and starting praying and rocking while also looking right to left. The shape that the shawl on his head made reminded me strongly of the high-backed robes of Christian orthodox priests. Which kind of doesn't surprise me. Judaism is our foundation of the Christian faith, and the orthodox love sticking close to the foundation.<br />
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<img alt="" class="irc_mi iiJQ8bb4y9OY-pQOPx8XEepE" height="393" src="https://image.shutterstock.com/z/stock-photo-silver-white-solemn-slavic-orthodox-priest-s-robes-22956133.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="246" /><br />
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But when it comes to Islam and Judaism, It blows my mind more each day that I learn about these two faiths, and how they are so extremely similar in so many ways. They have much more in common than Christianity has in common with either of them! And the more I notice all of these similarities, the more I am baffled at how there are still such raging conflicts between the two groups when their commonalities are clearly stronger than their differences? But let's just leave the politics at the door for now.<br />
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After all this, we heard from our guest speaker from the conservative synagogue just down the street.<br />
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He started out by making the announcement that today was significant in the fact that on this day, 13 years ago, he graduated seminary and became a rabbi. This was of course followed by applause. He explained further, that the term "Conservative" when relating to his synagogue, describes the style of rituals they follow, and not necessarily his own political views. He remarked, <i>"If you are conservative that is fine, just don't tell my congregation!".</i><br />
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He went on to speak more about his graduation day, and how he gave a speech, while also being in protest. He and many other students that day were wearing rainbow buttons over their hearts, along with their grad gowns. The school had refused to graduate any students that were openly gay from the seminary. The good news is this policy was lifted a few years after his graduation.<br />
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He also revealed that he has a gay brother who is married and living in Jerusalem with his partner. He is also proud to announce that his brother and his partner are the first gay couple officially recognized by the state.... for tax purposes. And on an even more interesting note... in Israel there is something called lactation privileges. This is given to the woman of a married couple which allows her to leave work a few hours early to better care for her children. law requires that one person in a married couple must get these privileges. So his brother has been officially granted "lactation privileges" by the state. The rabbi mentioned that he is fairly sure that his brother is not lactating.<br />
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<i>"If you are into super-fabulous sermons! This is not it!!!"</i><br />
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Then he went on to a brief sermon which I am sure that I have heard somewhere before. This sermon asks the question as to why was the Torah given in the desert? There are two points with this: #1, the desert forces you to think, and #2, the desert is a no-mans land. It truly belongs to no one , and is yet accessible to all at the same time. He interpenetrates this as Gods statement of equality. Yet equality can be hard to come by in this world. He reflected on the numbers of people that were counted as the Israelite's left Egypt. In the Torah, only men that were old enough to see battle were officially counted. After some number crunching, it has been calculated that over 2 million Israelite's, including many women and children, left Egypt. Yet only a fraction of those people were ever "counted " as being significant.<br />
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He further explained the sadness he feels for the "uncounted" as he revealed that he is in a multi-faith marriage with his wife and one child. Even with the difference in faith between him and his wife, they have a positive relationship where she actively encourages his Jewish faith. Despite all this, he feels hurt living with the reality, that his wife is not allowed to visit and participate at the synagogue to some degree. She may be allowed to visit, but because she is not Jewish, she is still excluded from many "members only" events. He admits that seeing the woman he loves being excluded from important holiday rituals in his spiritual life, pulls him away from his own faith. In conclusion, he is asking for more interfaith events to be organized, so him and his wife have a space to be recognized in their faith and celebrate together.<br />
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After that was all said and done we went to the back of the room where we blessed the Challah (Jewish egg bread) laying hands on each other in a chain fashion while one person held the bread. And then we blessed the cup of wine.<br />
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Yes, this is where the Christian tradition of communion is based out of.<br />
But this was no regular Challah. Most Challah is just your standard yellow braided egg bread. This Shabbat we had the special edition "Rainbow Challah" for pride week. It made my day very joyful!<br />
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After indulging in one of the most wonderful buffets of rainbow-and-sweet-everything I could not be happier! Over all it was a great time and I would recommend anyone who wants a taste of Jewish tradition to drop into Temple Beth Ora. They are very friendly, I promise!<br />
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Here is a photo of everyone hanging around the table at the back of the room.<br />
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And here is the front of the room.<br />
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Don't forget to Refresh your Nefesh!<br />
Until next time, Shabbat Shalom Everyone!<br />
<br />Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-27953054342588499692016-06-10T01:55:00.003-06:002016-06-10T01:55:50.190-06:00Church #64. Edmonton First Chruch of the Nazarene. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello and welcome back ladies and gentlemen! Today we go north! Which sounds strange when you live in one of the most northern cities on earth. But regardless we are on the NORTH end of the city today. As for this church today, I noticed two things immediately. #1. This church is almost entirely populated by seniors. Nice seniors. Friendly happy ones! And this service had roughly 60 of them. And #2. This Church is the most white-walled octagonal room I have ever been in. Also.... the seating is much more limited than most churches. But in all fairness, the chairs at this church are super comfy!<br />
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I also spotted an exceptionally nice guitar sitting on the stage. I may be the drummer. But I still can appreciate a nice guitar.<br />
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As some of you may know, occasionally I run into some memorable charters in my church adventures. I saw another one of these people today who was truly unforgettable. He was in the row in front of me. It was a heavier set man, with slicked back white hair (somewhere near the senior age bracket). He was wearing white pants, a Hawaiian print shirt, a fanny pack, tinted safety glasses and a leather jacket covered in sponsorship logos one would see similar to a race-car driver. The most predominant of these had to be the large (RITZ*) logo in the center back of the jacket. Yes. Like the crackers.<br />
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Like Most churches I have been too, this Sunday service started in song. But I gotta throw out a piece of constructive criticism here. I like singing along to worship songs. I honestly do. But you need to slow it down. The band itself had no issue keeping with the quick pace with the songs, but the rest of us were struggling to keep up. Or just giving up.<br />
Maybe because it was a room full of seniors and one crazy young blogger barely being kept alive by her cup of coffee? There was not a lot of singing participation with almost all of the songs. With the exception of the one slower song picked for a moment of quiet worship. Ironically it was during that song that everyone came together because they could actually keep up. But seriously....slow it down.<br />
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This Church also had something interesting I haven't seen before. A kneeling bar near the stage. Due to the fact that this church lacks traditional pews, there was no easy way to have kneeling benches in the seating area. So they put a free-standing one near the front.<br />
Smart!<br />
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I am also gonna put this out there to start, the leader of this church is a FANTASTIC speaker! If you want a quality educated speaker to give you comprehensive lessons on scripture, and how to apply them to everyday life. This guy is your man. And for as much as I loved what this guy did today, I am not going to lie, the start is a little rough.<br />
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The Church leader started out by stating (almost in a joking way) that our faith and worship is valuable. And if there was <i>"nothing on the other side" </i>our prayer would be pointless. Now I have heard this before, from another high-quality speaker at the Catholic church I visited on Easter Sunday, and I let me pretty rattled. That I am not sure what the first thought of the other people in the room was, but I then had to ask myself <i>"what if there is nothing on the other side?" </i>I find this thought most disturbing.<br />
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I can't help but question if this kind of talk is really a good idea. On one hand, if this man's job is to grow my faith, this kind of talk is a very bad move. It is like taking a knife and running it down the center of my faith. Or on the other hand, if this man's job is to make my faith strong, then maybe exposing its weak points is necessary for growth. But all this remains to be seen.<br />
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The church leader started by leading the congregation in prayer. As part of the prayer, we confessed that we had followed other gods in the past ( the pursuit of money, material wealth, status, etc.) and that all of them have ultimately come up empty and unfulfilling.<br />
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After that was done. There were some quick awards handed out to church members and the children were dismissed.<br />
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The scripture focused on today was Mathew 6:25-34<br />
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Mathew 6:25-34 NIV<br />
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<i>"Do Not Worry</i></div>
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<i><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span><span class="red">“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span><span class="red">Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span><span class="red">Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life<span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="http://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/6.htm#footnotes" title="Or single cubit to your height">e</a></sup></span> ?</span></i></div>
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<i><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span><span class="red">“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span><span class="red">Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span><span class="red">If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span><span class="red">So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span><span class="red">For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span><span class="red">But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span><span class="red">Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."</span></i></div>
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<span class="red">The church leader personally admitted</span><span class="red"> to having a lot of personal struggles with this scripture. </span></div>
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<span class="red">I can totally relate. I worry all day.... Every day. </span></div>
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<span class="red">What I really loved about this lesson is that the leader literately took out major key words, and broke them down, to help give a full understanding of what this piece of scripture is telling us to do. </span></div>
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<span class="red">I won't go over every word he did a break-down for, but I think the most significant one he analyzed was the word <i>"Seek"</i> .</span></div>
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<span class="red">In this case, the word <u><i>"Seek"</i></u> can be related to; <i>desire, enquire, try to obtain, peruse, demand. </i>He stated clearly that the command to "seek" is not a passive command but a very active one. He used the example of a parable in Luke 15, that tells the story of a poor woman that lost one of her only coins in her house. And how this woman feverishly turned the house upside-down looking for this lost coin. The church leader said he was also in a similar situation when he decided to start packing the night before his flight that was taking him out of the country to go study. And low and behold, he could not find his wallet. He was also turning the house upside-down in a state of desperation. One may also know the same feeling if you have ever lost a child in a shopping mall. He described this as what it means to <u><i>"Seek"</i></u>. And that we should seek God's kingdom and righteousness with that kind of fever and focus in our hearts and minds. </span></div>
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<i><span class="red">"Chase after that first!" </span></i></div>
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<i><span class="red"> </span></i><img alt="http://wildgoosechase.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/shutterstock_87575320-Converted-300x163.jpg" src="http://wildgoosechase.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/shutterstock_87575320-Converted-300x163.jpg" height="216" width="400" /></div>
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Then there was also talk of what it looks like to peruse God's kingdom personally? This is when the " you can't serve both God and Money" thing came up. He also stated that "worry is tied to money and the heart", and that worry reveals a lack of faith. Then explained the difference between belief and faith. And he used our chairs as an example. He asked us if any of us thought about the chair we sat in today? Did we question it or take a hard look at it before we sat down? Most likely not. Belief is thinking that the chair might hold you up, but you are not 100% sure. Faith is knowing without question that the chair is OK to sit in, and just simply sitting down. </div>
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He also noted clearly, that a pagan is not an evil person. And that in fact many of them are very nice people. They just don't happen to know God.<br />
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<span class="red">A really interesting idea he brought up is that worry chokes out faithfulness, and he related this to Mathew 13-22. This talks about the parable of the sower and the 4 types of ground that the seed falls on. He said we who are worried are the 3rd type of soil, which is the thorns. Relating to the faith that grows, but is choked out by its environment. </span><br />
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<span class="red">All the church members here were exceptionally friendly and open-minded about my project and I fully appreciate the interest. Over all, I had a good time and would recommend this church. </span><br />
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<span class="red">Ps. Be ready for a surprise next week! </span></div>
Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-42412328921009565122016-05-14T02:01:00.002-06:002016-05-14T11:58:32.892-06:00Church #63. Unitarian Church of Edmonton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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First things first. I would have no idea that this church or type of faith existed if it was not for my friend and old band mate Rob Billheimer. The guy is a killer cartoon artist that is not afraid to push boundaries, ruffle feathers and make you laugh until you piss your pants! Just to prove it, here is a sample from Rob's line of comics known as <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sausagepartycomic/" target="_blank">The Sausage Party! </a></i><br />
<i> </i><img alt="" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13062327_496070103929551_4575910952398653146_n.jpg?oh=3a978153a18be0950c2c89f84e2c6dc7&oe=57D958B2" style="height: 314px; width: 838px;" /><br />
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For those of you that may not know, Alberta has declared a state of emergency as we are facing the most costly disaster, and biggest evacuation in the history of our country, due to the <i><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/05/07/fort-mcmurray-fire_n_9863188.html" target="_blank">Fort McMurray Fires.</a> </i>In response, The Sausage party is selling limited edition, high quality prints of some of their best comic strips, and all money raised will be donated towards relief efforts.<br />
<i> </i><br />
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/279326728/signed-11x17-limited-edition-high?ref=shop_home_active_1" target="_blank"><i>Click here to Check it out! </i></a><br />
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After finding my way to the back door, I entered the "OPEN" door only to find myself in a large open room full of garage sale items! A senior lady asked me if I was here for the Church service aAnd directed me to the service area. So I walked through the garage sale and found my way to the actual church service, it had already started and I took my seat at the back. the service was started with soft and almost trance like piano music... it kind of made me feel strange. Side note: today is Mothers Day. The opening prayer was one for safety, and rightfully so considering the current circumstances in this province. Then they had the young people of the Church come up and light the challis and say a quick prayer.<br />
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The offering for the service was then collected. It was announced that the group they were donating to for the month of may was <a href="http://www.yess.org/" target="_blank">Y.E.S.S (Youth Empowerment Support Services) </a>. The church leader mentioned that in light of recent events, they did consider changing the designation of the donation over to the Red Cross. But they ultimately decided that the now-homeless youth of Fort Mac will be benefiting from the use of Y.E.S.S. as they take refuge in Edmonton, so they decided to keep it as is.<br />
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Then the church members were able to come to the front and light a candle if they have any worries or concerns. The church leader also suggested that today they should consider straying from the norm and also doing "spoken candles" if the person feels right in doing so. FYI: <b>Today is Mothers Day</b>.<br />
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The spoken candles I found particularly interesting. As you can imagine, there was candles lit for mothers who had passed away or still present. But there were also two spoken candles that stood out to me.<br />
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#1. A lady came up and said she lit a candle for all of those people that are <i><u>not able to be mothers</u></i>.<br />
On one side of the coin, I can totally understand this. As simple as this holiday might seem, I am sure it is down right painful for the women out there that wanted kids, and for some reason or another, were not able to have them or have lost a child.<br />
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On the other side of the coin... I am shrugging and rolling my eyes. If I haven't made this clear before in my blog, let me say it now: <u><i>I am not having kids</i></u>. <b>Ever</b>. I feel no lack or disappointment over my choice not to be a mother. My friends know this, and so do my family. And to all you hard working mom's, and children-loving women out there I ask on thing... be nice to us..... Please? Don't lecture, scold, question or attempt to convert us! We are all free women. We have all have the right to make choices. If you show respect and understanding for our choices, we will do the same for you! <br />
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#2. Another lady in her 20s came up and lit a candle and explained that she had a mom that was <i>"not very good"</i>, and that she was lighting this candle for anyone that has a <i>"complicated" </i>relationship with their mother. This I think is a great topic to bring up. Not a pretty one, but an important one... How are you supposed to feel on this day when you had a mother that was heartless, irresponsible and absent? Or you had a mother with severe mental illness, who physically abused you?!<br />
How does one deal with that? These questions are not easy to answer, but thankfully they are now at least being addressed.<br />
<img alt="" class="irc_mi iAVnMYm5HEUo-pQOPx8XEepE" height="302" src="https://www.theblot.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/My-Mother-Was-Emotionally-Abusive.jpg" style="margin-top: 46px;" width="465" /><br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://jezebel.com/a-toast-to-all-the-brave-kids-who-broke-up-with-their-t-1702954639" target="_blank">-To all the brave kids that broke up with their toxic moms. </a><br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessi-snapp/to-the-mothers-hurting-on-mothers-day_b_9839262.html" target="_blank">-To the Mothers Hurting on Mothers Day. </a><br />
-<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2013/02/abusive_parents_what_do_grown_children_owe_the_mothers_and_fathers_who_made.html" target="_blank">When abusive parents come crawling back....?</a><br />
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<i>"These candles don't change the world, but they change our minds and hearts." </i><br />
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The Church leader then went on to explain some of his thoughts and feelings about the events of the past week. He announced to the congregation that the family of Syrian refugees that they had sponsored will be arriving soon, and that they plan to have a welcome committee come and welcome them at the airport. Strangely enough, just as they are getting ready for the family to arrive the Fort Mac fires start.<br />
So as +80000 people are pouring out of the Fort Mac area, he can't help but feel helpless.<br />
All their extra money has been committed to their refugee family, their extra space has been stuffed with garage sale items, and he was also not able to do anything physically because of an old injury that was bothering him. He felt empty in his lack of ability to act. He explained that sometimes "All we can do is what we can do and we need to see that, that is enough."<br />
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<i>"Sometimes the answer is to throw money at something!" </i><br />
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He related the situation to being in a flight emergency. And how they tell you to put your air mask on before helping others. Because if you pass out from no air, you cant do much to help someone else. He also pointed out that some times we are in a position to do a lot. Like the gas station owner that gave out thousands of liters of free gas for people that were fleeing in the evacuation.<br />
He said he was brought to tears, by the competency of the people who were able to conduct this mass evacuation without any major accidents and minimal loss of life.(.... I don't really understand how someone could-be brought to tears over "human competency", but whatever speaks to you I guess?)<br />
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He spoke about how he was watching TV and how he saw the mayor of Edmonton, Don Iveson, be brought to tears! Not from the loss of home and possessions, but by the unbelievable outpour of charity by Edmontonians and the rest of Canada. I can personally tell you that I have seen what he is talking about, not just at donation centers but in my daily life in Edmonton. In this last week, everything has opened up to the evacuees. Every cafe and restaurant has a sign up advertising free food, businesses are giving away free goods and collecting donations, artists of all types are selling their work for Charity, and even the <u>Labatt Beer Brewery</u> stepped up to meet the emergency need for bottled water!<br />
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<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/labatt-brewing-water-to-help-those-affected-by-fort-mcmurray-wildfire-1.3569921" target="_blank">Labatt brewing water to help those affected by Fort McMurray wildfire</a><br />
<img alt="Labatt is sending out hundreds of thousands of cans of water to those affected by the Fort McMurray wildfire. " src="http://i.cbc.ca/1.3141592.1462548192%21/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/labatt-water.jpg" height="349" title="" width="100%" /><br />
I cant help but notice how this reminds me of Isaiah 2:4 ESV.<br />
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<i>"He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many
peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their
spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."</i><br />
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<img alt="" class="irc_mi iQZ7_ozeOI4A-pQOPx8XEepE" src="http://www.rottmair.de/wp-content/2010/12/10_LPK_TheLittlePeacekeeper_01-035.jpg" height="393" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="295" /><br />
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<i> </i>He also gave his thoughts on the concept of spirituality <i>"Spirituality to me is a a connection to another human or sometimes nature." </i>He explained that other religions try to frame spirituality in the idea of "God" or "Allah" or "Buddha". He indicated that that was <i>"OK"</i>. but <i>"It doesn't cover everything".</i><br />
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After all this we went through what one might describe as guided meditation. We were directed as a group when to breath in and breath out and what to focus on.<br />
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Then we had a moment of silence where everyone in the room bowed their head and dimmed the lights. After about a minute, the lights came back on and the service was ended. We all then received the good news that Church members get first pick at buying from the garage sale! As you can imagine I saw the room get up and all the women in their 50's and 60's get up and run like kids heading for the candy shop!<br />
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I can honestly tell you that there is some great stuff at this garage sale and it is open to the public and being held at <span class="_xdb"></span><span class="_Xbe">11715 108 Ave NW, Edmonton AB and the hours are 8am-6pm on May 13th and 8am-4pm on May 14th. </span><br />
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Also! Crucial info for for Fort Mac evacuees!<br />
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#1. Get online and register with the Red Cross! Even if you have everything materially and friends to stay with it is sill crucial that you register! They have mental health workers! <br />
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1-888-350-6070 or RedCross.ca.<br />
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#2 You are entitled to free money from the government to help cover your expenses while being away from your homes! Follow the link to learn more and then click on "Debit Card Relief Funding."<br />
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Link-<a href="http://www.alberta.ca/emergency.cfm#financial" target="_blank">http://www.alberta.ca/emergency.cfm#financial</a><br />
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Now that we have this all over and done with it is now time for my RANT! <br />
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Some places have been <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcNDKxTbOks" target="_blank">all-killer-no-filler </a></i> but this place has been just the opposite. It just feels really empty to me... <br />
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The candles felt very empty...I fail to understand how just lighting a candle would help my troubles in anyway, or replace wise human conciliation or guidance from the divine. <br />
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But what really gets me is that the word "God" was used only <u>once</u> in this service and in a some-what negative context. Spirituality was drilled down to a simple human emotion. Charity and aid were simply defined as<i> "The right thing to do"</i>. It was like someone took a hypodermic needle and purposely sucked every inch of the divine out of a church service, and left this barely living hollow-body in a <i>post- spiritual-lobotomy state</i>!<br />
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For some one who is used to going to common church services, this felt like living in the numbed colorless, dystopian world defined in the book : <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giver" target="_blank">The Giver</a></i> . <br />
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As I was shopping the garage sale I bought a pair of bees wax candles and as the cashier and I were marveling over them, I expressed what a beautiful piece of God's creation they were! Then is an awkward moment, she politely corrected me a she said<i> "or <u>Nature</u>"....</i><br />
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Is "God" a bad word in this place? <br />
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I am not saying this place is bad in anyway. It has seriously introduced
me to some of the most genuine people you will ever meet! But it does
nothing for my spiritual thirst. I would more then suggest this church
as a great resource for interfaith work and gatherings. I can also
imagine an Atheist that is looking for a "church like" community would
find this to be a prime option! It's just not for me..... <br />
<br />Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-10355947385886562032016-05-04T02:14:00.001-06:002016-05-04T02:14:28.185-06:00Church #62. Edmonton Japanese Christian Church.Hello and welcome back!<br />
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Today I met with the only Japanese congregation in Edmonton! Technically, the congregation are just renters in this space. The actual building belongs to Zion Baptist Church. They have their service later in the day after the Baptists are done theirs, roughly around 2pm which is nice for a semi-nocturnal human like myself.<br />
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I soon found myself in the basement kitchen talking with the church leader, as I watched him work hard preparing a large pot of Japanese curry for his congregation. <i>"They are few, but they eat a lot!" </i>he mentioned to me as he stirred the pot.<br />
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This is definitely what I would describe a "small and close-knit" group. It was explained to me that they normally have their services upstairs in the main body of the church, but they have one Sunday a month where they have to go downstairs for the service. This allows them to get a little closer and have a much more intimate experience. The actual demographics of this Church were much younger then normal overall. There were roughly 25 people in attendance. The majority of them were between 20-40, with a few children, teens, and seniors.<br />
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For the service itself, we set up chairs in U-shaped formation centering around a tile-finished wall with a fireplace (unlit) in the middle. The church leader sat in the middle with his guitar and led the service. Along with sermon and songs, the leader also asked that members contribute by leading prayers for certain people/groups. This included: their board members, organization, missionaries abroad, the Canadian military, and the Canadian government.<br />
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One statement that really stood out to me was <i>"Thank-god for the freedom in Canada to be able to gather publicly." </i>Honestly I had totally forgotten about this. As a kid I remembered hearing about places like China, where people have church services in fear of solders breaking down doors and people being arrested. I seriously forget how good we have it in this country sometimes. But always being thankful for our liberties in the land of the true north, strong and free is difficult. Especially if you haven't lived anywhere else.<br />
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If you want to know know more, you can follow the link to learn about the top 50 countries in this world where Christians are suffering from persecution.<br />
Link- <a href="https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/">Open Door Top 50 Countries. </a><br />
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After this it was children's time. The four little ones that were in attendance came up to the front of the room and sat in front of the church leader. Today started with a question: <i>"What makes you happy?" </i>and <i>"What makes you sad?"</i> Maybe they were all a bit shy or simply to young, but regardless there was silence in the room. <i>"Is the question too difficult?"</i> The leader said with a chuckle. He then went on to explain that there are things that make God happy and sad. He told the children that God is the most happy when you trust him, and that it makes God very sad when you do not trust him.<br />
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The scripture lesson today was from Mark 11:12. The Church leader asked for a volunteer to read. When no one stepped forward, he said <i>"If you decide to read, you get extra curry!".</i><br />
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Mark 11:12-25 (NIV<i>)</i><br />
<h3>
<i><span class="text Mark-11-12" id="en-NIV-24653">Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears the Temple Courts</span></i></h3>
<i><span class="text Mark-11-12"><sup class="versenum">12 </sup>The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.</span> <span class="text Mark-11-13" id="en-NIV-24654"><sup class="versenum">13 </sup>Seeing
in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any
fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was
not the season for figs.</span> <span class="text Mark-11-14" id="en-NIV-24655"><sup class="versenum">14 </sup>Then he said to the tree, <span class="woj">“May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”</span> And his disciples heard him say it.</span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Mark-11-15" id="en-NIV-24656"><sup class="versenum">15 </sup>On
reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving
out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of
the money changers and the benches of those selling doves,</span> <span class="text Mark-11-16" id="en-NIV-24657"><sup class="versenum">16 </sup>and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.</span> <span class="text Mark-11-17" id="en-NIV-24658"><sup class="versenum">17 </sup>And as he taught them, he said, <span class="woj">“Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’<sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-NIV-24658c" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NIV-24658c" title="See footnote c">c</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+11&version=NIV#fen-NIV-24658c" title="See footnote c">c</a>]</sup>? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’<sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-NIV-24658d" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NIV-24658d" title="See footnote d">d</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+11&version=NIV#fen-NIV-24658d" title="See footnote d">d</a>]</sup>”</span></span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Mark-11-18" id="en-NIV-24659"><sup class="versenum">18 </sup>The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.</span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Mark-11-19" id="en-NIV-24660"><sup class="versenum">19 </sup>When evening came, Jesus and his disciples<sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-NIV-24660e" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NIV-24660e" title="See footnote e">e</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+11&version=NIV#fen-NIV-24660e" title="See footnote e">e</a>]</sup> went out of the city.</span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Mark-11-20" id="en-NIV-24661"><sup class="versenum">20 </sup>In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots.</span> <span class="text Mark-11-21" id="en-NIV-24662"><sup class="versenum">21 </sup>Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”</span></i><br />
<i> <span class="text Mark-11-22" id="en-NIV-24663"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">22 </sup>“Have faith in God,”</span> Jesus answered.</span> <span class="text Mark-11-23" id="en-NIV-24664"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">23 </sup>“Truly<sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-NIV-24664f" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NIV-24664f" title="See footnote f">f</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+11&version=NIV#fen-NIV-24664f" title="See footnote f">f</a>]</sup>
I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into
the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they
say will happen, it will be done for them.</span></span> <span class="text Mark-11-24" id="en-NIV-24665"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">24 </sup>Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.</span></span> <span class="text Mark-11-25" id="en-NIV-24666"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">25 </sup>And
when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive
them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”</span></span> </i><br />
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<img alt="" class="irc_mi icazakXuK0MM-pQOPx8XEepE" src="http://media02.radiovaticana.va/photo/2015/03/04/RV4349_Articolo.jpg" height="393" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="555" /><br />
I am really appreciative that this piece of scripture was explained today. Mark 11:12 has what I feel to be the most strange and quite frankly, most awesome part of the gospel teachings of Christ. You can discern for yourself which one is which.<br />
<br />
Going into the explanation, the church leader addressed a lot of the thoughts and feeling we all had around these verses. <i>"I fell so bad for the fig tree! It was out of season!" </i>the church leader proclaimed! He also noted that Jesus was not himself that day. He was hungry and angry, and throwing over tables!<i> "This is not the Jesus I know!"</i><br />
<br />
Going into the explanation, the church leader explained that this was a message about faith, and the results of unfaithfulness. The tree looked good and healthy from a distance, full of bright thick leaves, but on closer inspection, it had no fruit. This tree represented the spiritual condition of the time. The temple was large and grand, filled with ornate decoration and strict ritual. But upon closer inspection, it was clear that the hearts of the people had no faith, and corruption ran rampant. <i>"They were dead in spirit."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
On a personal note, I also think there might be something said for Jesus's condition of being hungry and angry. Considering God was a part of Christ, I can imagine that it was God who was feeling hungry, because of the lack of faithful people, and also angry because of the evil that man was allowing to occur in his house.<br />
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For those of you that may not realize this, Jesus was an extremely political person. He also had a very strong distaste for financial corruption, specifically among the religious leaders. I suggest the book <i>"The Politics of Jesus."</i> by John Howard Yoder to help provide a fuller understanding of his teachings.
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<img alt="" class="irc_mi i1eSnyQPu2Ms-pQOPx8XEepE" src="http://www.eerdmans.com/Content/Site146/ProductImages/9780802807342.jpg" height="393" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="262" /><br />
<br />
Quotes of the day;<br />
<br />
<i>"Good deeds are not enough to reach heaven, we need Jesus". </i><br />
<i>"Faith is about believing something impossible." </i><br />
<br />
I found it interesting that a lot of the members of the congregation were holding traditional hardback bibles. OK they were not <i>that </i>traditional.... they were smaller and more square then normal, some were written in Japanese and some even had plushy fabric covers on them! Maybe I should not be so quick to assume things, but I anticipated that everyone might be reading everything off their smartphones, because I have seen that to be the norm in other predominantly Asian churches.<br />
<br />
Japan is the world center of odd things, at least to most western eyes. So as you can imagine there were a few interesting things I discovered while researching this. The major one which I thought to highlight was the <u>fake churches and ministers of Japan</u>. Japan has a population of roughly 126.5 million people but out of all that only about 1% are Christians. Yet interestingly enough three quarters of the weddings that are happening today in Japan are white, western-style christian weddings. That is a lot of non-Christians looking for a church and a pastor to marry them. So what do you do when the demand completely outweighs the supply? Build thousands of fake churches and fill them with fake pastors! <br />
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Link-<a href="http://www.odditycentral.com/news/the-fake-christian-priests-of-japan-a-booming-business.html">The Fake Christian Priests of Japan – A Booming Business</a><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607854637420270914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgbjVYcWpzYXYFJhHe51_tJaqcKk9Ldgvqxg8LVDsh07mbZKOVjCN9KnYLbAomqUmwLoCA4QNjMm0QnRySVENAwOEySPFoBzzkv2rtjm8aaMeNywaLqK0G3vqYgwFfw7mPLAMu_8psbQ/s400/P1050123.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 388px;" /><br />
This is not to say that we don't have our share of fake Christian-ness in our own society. Crosses are worn by a lot of people for simply fashion statements. I know one guy I knew once and I asked him about the cross he was wearing after he took off his shirt to go swimming. He told me that he is not really Christian, but wears it to appease his strongly Catholic parents. That and bragging rights for wearing 24k Gold.<br />
<br />
Rosaries are another big one. A lot of colorful small plastic rosaries are given out in the poor parts of this city, and it is not uncommon to see gang member's and repeat offending criminals wearing them around their necks. I am not entirely sure why. Maybe it just because they are given to them? Maybe it is gangster fashion? Or maybe they are trying to detract attention, and look more innocent before stealing *another* bottle of vodka. I literally remember a day in my store, when I saw one guy come in, who had collected all of the "free rosaries" in the 4 different colors they come in, and was wearing them all at the same time! He also had the neck tattoo's, baggy clothes and gang colors to match!<br />
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On a happier note, since it is the season for promoting local businesses (personally I always think it is the season for local business), let me introduce you to <a href="http://www.kifune-edmonton.com/" target="_blank">Ki-Fu-Ne Japan! </a><br />
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<img alt="" class="irc_mi i0N5KSXN9p0M-pQOPx8XEepE" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALFCCXRECKhBM_evQlgIyA_XyYdFWdfkHCtTBItCWeM-PQuc0zjAtwMoaMdFpssBmhj-4XNJgot1tW18iI__bQfYD0WHQGVOELPMbvpJVVFEF9sb68qp7LKsytnOtYtb5CEd5WFMMi-oo/s1600/Lilynstore.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="591" /><br />
This is a cute local shop that has a plethora of fun quality goods from Japan. It's address is 10046-167street NW Edmonton, and their phone number is 780-341-5424.<br />
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Over all, I really enjoyed this church, I felt very comfortable and welcome despite being being a minority in the room. This Church feels kind and genuine and I hope to visit again!<br />
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Have a good week everyone! Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-10181555823756551962016-04-16T14:12:00.002-06:002016-04-16T14:12:09.129-06:00Church #18. First Presbyterian Church. Hello and welcome to another chilly Alberta spring morning! The church service started at 11 am , as I was walking through the shockingly quiet and uninhabited, downtown core. It was much more humid then normal, with the snow half-melted, and a homeless man on almost every block asking for change. I highly suggest walking down Jasper ave at 10:45 am on Sundays, as you can hear all the church bells ring!<br />
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All the large churches were ringing together in there different tunes and distances. From the Basilica on one end , all the way to McDougall United at the other. I am guessing this is one of the oldest churches in the city, considering it says it is founded in 1881, and Alberta did not become an official province in Canada until 1905.<br />
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This was the front entry.<br />
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After taking my seat the church leader came to the front along with the choir. Announcements were made, and there was a performance by the choir fallowing the lighting of the Christ candle. The population of this service was roughly 90 people, majority were caucasian and seniors among some visible minorities. There are definitely children at this church (roughly 15 is what I could count). But in contrast to the majority of the congregation, almost all of the children were African-Canadians.<br />
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And then....a hand bell performance? In April? I am not sure about you, but I am very surprised to see a performance outside of the Christmas season. But regardless, I always enjoy listening to hand-bells. For those of you that do not know what hand-bells are, here is an example.<br />
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Next was children's time, so as per usual, all the munchkins ran to the front of the church to sit on the front row. The question of the day was <i>"Who do you want to be like when you grow up?" </i>There were plenty of interesting replies: some of the kids wanted to be pilots, some doctors, and even scientist. One young man declared <i>"I want to be a YouTuber!"</i><br />
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Then the church leader asked them what kind of super powers they would like to have. And as you can imagine that received a variety of colourful answers. Then the church leader asked why no one said they wanted to be like <u><i>Jesus</i></u>? And they wanted their power to be the ability to <u><i>love people</i></u>? Then a young girl raised her hand and explained that she knew that, that was the answer he was looking for, but she refrained from speaking up because she didn't want to spoil his speech.<br />
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This resulted in roaring laughter throughout the congregation.<br />
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After leading them through a simple prayer, the children were excused, and went downstairs for Sunday school and then we got our sermon of the day. Today we heard the conversion of Paul:<br />
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* Paul got a name change after his conversion. His original name was Saul. <br />
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Acts 9:1-19 NIV.<br />
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<div class="chapter-1">
<i><span class="text Acts-9-1"><span class="chapternum">"9 </span>Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest</span> <span class="text Acts-9-2" id="en-NIV-27219"><sup class="versenum">2 </sup>and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.</span> <span class="text Acts-9-3" id="en-NIV-27220"><sup class="versenum">3 </sup>As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.</span> <span class="text Acts-9-4" id="en-NIV-27221"><sup class="versenum">4 </sup>He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, <span class="woj">“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”</span></span></i></div>
<i> </i><i><span class="text Acts-9-5" id="en-NIV-27222"><sup class="versenum">5 </sup>“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.</span></i><br />
<i><span class="text Acts-9-5"><span class="woj">“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,”</span> he replied.</span> <span class="text Acts-9-6" id="en-NIV-27223"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">6 </sup>“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”</span></span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Acts-9-7" id="en-NIV-27224"><sup class="versenum">7 </sup>The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.</span> <span class="text Acts-9-8" id="en-NIV-27225"><sup class="versenum">8 </sup>Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.</span> <span class="text Acts-9-9" id="en-NIV-27226"><sup class="versenum">9 </sup>For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.</span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Acts-9-10" id="en-NIV-27227"><sup class="versenum">10 </sup>In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, <span class="woj">“Ananias!”</span></span></i><br />
<i><span class="text Acts-9-10">“Yes, Lord,” he answered.</span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Acts-9-11" id="en-NIV-27228"><sup class="versenum">11 </sup>The Lord told him, <span class="woj">“Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.</span></span> <span class="text Acts-9-12" id="en-NIV-27229"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">12 </sup>In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”</span></span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Acts-9-13" id="en-NIV-27230"><sup class="versenum">13 </sup>“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem.</span> <span class="text Acts-9-14" id="en-NIV-27231"><sup class="versenum">14 </sup>And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”</span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Acts-9-15" id="en-NIV-27232"><sup class="versenum">15 </sup>But the Lord said to Ananias, <span class="woj">“Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.</span></span> <span class="text Acts-9-16" id="en-NIV-27233"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">16 </sup>I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”</span></span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Acts-9-17" id="en-NIV-27234"><sup class="versenum">17 </sup>Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on
Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on
the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again
and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”</span> <span class="text Acts-9-18" id="en-NIV-27235"><sup class="versenum">18 </sup>Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,</span> <span class="text Acts-9-19" id="en-NIV-27236"><sup class="versenum">19 </sup>and after taking some food, he regained his strength."</span></i><br />
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<img alt="" class="irc_mi iiXzhoO7dDrg-pQOPx8XEepE" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIxLuIa93DXljmbij1FllDv-PnKchOWqa9Zfgm7fcF2dB1KeR4_zfJj0rY9GsnnACQbqLBxiz0RXyZSHKqwYdFlQksVfYrVdLjf2krIerhqaaK1sP2KgpmFNfxwbpUpGtk3fSo20qeDI/s1600/conversion+sa+pablo.gif" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="608" /><br />
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In the process of creating the <u><i>"100 Churches 100 Sundays"</i></u> blog, it has become inevitable that I would be encountering the same sermon more than once. I have definitely heard the conversion of Paul before at other churches. (ps.<a href="http://100churches100sundays.blogspot.ca/2014/01/14th-december-mckernan-baptist-church.html"> Mckernan Baptist Church</a> 100% <i>nailed </i>this one with the speaker they brought in! Good job!)<br />
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We also heard;<br />
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<span class="column-image esv-icon-16"></span>
<span class="column-title">
ESV — John 21:1-19</span><br />
* this was the third time that Christ appeared to the disciples after his resurrection. <br />
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<i><span class="column-title">" </span><span class="selected">After this Jesus </span><span class="">revealed himself </span><span class="">again to the disciples by </span><span class="">the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021002-1">2 </span><span class="">Simon Peter, </span><span class="">Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of </span><span class="">Cana in Galilee, </span><span class="">the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021003-1">3 </span><span class="">Simon
Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go
with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but </span><span class="">that night they caught nothing.</span></i>
<br />
<div id="p43021004_01-1">
<i><span class="verse-num" id="v43021004-1">4 </span><span class="">Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples </span><span class="">did not know that it was Jesus. </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021005-1">5 </span><span class="">Jesus said to them, </span><span class="woc">“Children, do you have any fish?”</span><span class=""> They answered him, “No.” </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021006-1">6 </span><span class="">He said to them, </span><span class="woc">“Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.”</span><span class=""> So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021007-1">7 </span><span class="">That disciple </span><span class="">whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, </span><span class="">he put on his outer garment, for he was </span><span class="">stripped for work, and </span><span class="">threw himself into the sea. </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021008-1">8 </span><span class="">The
other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for
they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards</span><span class=""> off.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i>
<br />
<div id="p43021009_01-1">
<i><span class="verse-num" id="v43021009-1">9 </span><span class="">When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021010-1">10 </span><span class="">Jesus said to them, </span><span class="woc">“Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”</span><span class=""> </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021011-1">11 </span><span class="">So
Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish,
153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021012-1">12 </span><span class="">Jesus said to them, </span><span class="woc"><span class="">“Come and </span><span class="">have breakfast.”</span></span><span class=""> Now </span><span class="">none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021013-1">13 </span><span class="">Jesus came and </span><span class="">took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021014-1">14 t</span><span class="">his was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i>
<br />
<h3 id="p43021015_01-1">
<i><span class="">Jesus and Peter</span></i></h3>
<i>
</i>
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<div id="p43021015_04-1">
<i><span class="verse-num" id="v43021015-1">15 </span><span class="">When they had </span><span class="">finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, </span><span class="woc"><span class="">“Simon, </span><span class="">son of John, </span><span class="">do you love me more than these?”</span></span><span class=""> He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, </span><span class="woc"><span class="">“Feed </span><span class="">my lambs.”</span></span><span class=""> </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021016-1">16 </span><span class="">He said to him a second time, </span><span class="woc">“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”</span><span class=""> He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, </span><span class="woc"><span class="">“Tend </span><span class="">my sheep.”</span></span><span class=""> </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021017-1">17 </span><span class="">He said to him the third time, </span><span class="woc">“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”</span><span class=""> Peter was grieved because he said to him </span><span class="">the third time, </span><span class="woc">“Do you love me?”</span><span class=""> and he said to him, “Lord, </span><span class="">you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, </span><span class="woc"><span class="">“Feed </span><span class="">my sheep.</span></span><span class=""> </span><span class="verse-num woc" id="v43021018-1">18 </span><span class="woc"><span class="">Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, </span><span class="">you
used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are
old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and
carry you where you do not want to go.”</span></span><span class=""> </span><span class="verse-num" id="v43021019-1">19 </span><span class="">(This he said to show </span><span class="">by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, </span><span class="woc"><span class="">“Follow me.”</span></span></i></div>
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<img alt="" class="irc_mi iLEVonRYkS_w-pQOPx8XEepE" src="http://itisbygrace2.com/catchingofthe153fish222.jpg" height="393" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="330" /></div>
<span class="column-title"> </span>
<br />
The church leader today addressed what I felt to be a really pertinent question; <u>"</u><i><u>Why is there evil and suffering in the world?" </u></i><br />
<br />
The church leader explained that a lot of it has to do with people. <i>"We get what we want by hurting others."</i> He went on to give a scenario of two siblings fighting over a toy and how one child finds out that hinting the other child on the head is an effective way to get what they want. And then he highlighted the cycle of abuse, pointing out that <i>"sometimes when we get hurt, we want to hurt others back!" </i>He also noted that sometimes people hurt others because they want power. But what I found most intriguing was the last comment, that <i>"Some people hurt other because they think they are right!" </i><br />
<br />
This really stuck a cord with me in light of the recent Ted Talk I watched entitled. " The Doubt Essential to Faith". <br />
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<i> </i><br />
<br />
This speaker highlights the importance of doubt, in keeping us in check and how it is key to preventing the raise and terror of fundamentalist religions.<br />
<br />
The Church leader echoed this exact same message when he said;<br />
<i>"I cant say this loudly enough.....- Being Right is a CURSE! " </i><br />
<br />
<i>"...Suicide bombers think they are doing the will of God! And so did Saul! " </i><br />
<br />
He also went on to say "For as much as your hurt anyone, you hurt Jesus". And that that the proper Christian response to being hurt is to forgive, because we are all guilty of such things. I found this church leader interesting in how he was very clear and real about his position stating that he doesn't believe that God is <i>"puppet master in the sky"</i> or a God or wrath and damnation, but a God of love and redemption. Here are a few more quotes for the day!<br />
<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i>" Love all people, not just some people!" </i><br />
<i>"...may the worst conflicts between nations be on the soccer fields and basketball courts!" </i><br />
<br />
So after the service ended, I was just getting up to take pictures, and I ended up making eye contact with a woman in her 60s, appearing to be a stereotypical Church lady, wearing a gold chain with not a cross, but an <u><i>ankh.</i></u><br />
<br />
<i> </i><img alt="" class="irc_mi ixqNYhCVPf0U-pQOPx8XEepE" height="393" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/af/a3/2c/afa32cad5e7dfbc28c3ec2ee45d45885.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="232" /><br />
<br />
Now considering all, this kind of threw me back<i>. </i>Because I know people that wear ankhs, and they are very strong pagans, that quite frankly would never step foot in a church for fear of catching on fire. ( *but please note, that is only the ones I know.) Not to say that is always the case, after some research I have discovered that this symbol actually is considered to be acceptable by some Coptic Christians, but overall it is a largely pagan symbol.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ankh">Link- New World Encyclopedia/Ankh</a><br />
<br />
Now as for the building, I do suggest you check this place out! Especially when you get into some of the side room, and back halls, you really get a feel of some of the "castle-like" old world architecture. The bathroom in the basement is definitely an interesting sight to behold. Picture time!<br />
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<br />
I know I have used this video clip before, but considering that this is the "First Presbyterian Church", I simply can't help myself. Yes I am doing this. <br />
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Ps. I know that you may have noticed that I marked this Church as #18. I did this after conducting a careful re-count, and discovering that I made an unintended jump from #17 to #19. technically this Church should be #61. Thank you for your understanding. <br />
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Have a good week everyone! Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-32198837691532840792016-04-06T20:50:00.000-06:002016-04-06T20:50:02.369-06:00Church #61. St. Agnes Cathloic Parish. Welcome to Easter <i>Saturday Night</i>!<br />
<br />
Yes, it is 9:30 pm and Church is now starting!<br />
<br />
As I have been venturing on my quest I have heard rumors of this "Easter Saturday night service" So I decided to check it out! But they weren't exactly easy to find.<br />
<br />
After some research I discovered that the "Easter Vigil" is only celebrated by the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and certain types of Orthodox churches. And to top that all off, a lot of those churches don't often have a Easter Vigil service offered!<br />
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So after waiting on a few e-mails....I eventually ended up here.<br />
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I could see the crowd entering, I also noticed a large amount of men in suits. For a moment I was concerned that I might be under-dressed, but that was not the case in the end. I didn't get a full count, but I am sure there must have been around 200 people in attendance. I also noticed that people generally dressed in dark colours, vs the bright pastels common to the "Easter Sunday" service. All ages, family groupings and ethnicities were present. Many people came in family groups, some as couples, some came as singles, and some even came as groups of friends! Ushers distributed candle sticks as well all sat in the dimly lit church, awaiting instruction. Eventually the priest came to the front and announced that we were all to proceed outside to the front lawn where they would be blessing the fire and lighting the candle.<br />
<br />
As me and the crowd were slowly moving towards the front door, I noticed a short man in a suit standing in the corner, watching the crowd go by. For a moment there I thought I was having a "celebrity encounter". Because this guy looked almost <i>exactly </i>like Patrick Stewart.<br />
<br />
<img class="irc_mi" src="http://www.comicpalooza.com/wp-content/gallery/stewart-images/stewart1.jpg" height="393" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="334" /><br />
<br />
Yes, THAT Patrick Stewart. <br />
<br />
Beside this all being an interesting coincidence, I bring this man to your attention for an important reason. Sir. Patrick Stewart is not only a long time running British actor, this man is also an activist! I first came to realize this when I came across this quote; <br />
<br />
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
“People
won’t listen to you or take you seriously unless you’re an old white
man, and since I’m an old white man I’m going to use that to help the
people who need it.” —Patrick Stewart, - See more at:
http://vsotd.com/news/quote-week-rhetorical-usefulness-being-white#sthash.TTfijNhq.dpuf</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
People
won’t listen to you or take you seriously unless you’re an old white
man, and since I’m an old white man I’m going to use that to help the
people who need it.” —Patrick Stewart, Actor - See more at:
http://vsotd.com/news/quote-week-rhetorical-usefulness-being-white#sthash.TTfijNhq.dpuf</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
People
won’t listen to you or take you seriously unless you’re an old white
man, and since I’m an old white man I’m going to use that to help the
people who need it.” —Patrick Stewart, Actor - See more at:
http://vsotd.com/news/quote-week-rhetorical-usefulness-being-white#sthash.TTfijNhq.dpuf</div>
<i>"People won't listen to you or take you seriously unless you're an
old white man, and since I'm an old white man I'm going to use that to
help the people who need it!" </i><br />
<img class="irc_mi" src="http://www.survivormanual.com/wp-content/uploads/patrickstewartsign.jpg" height="312" style="margin-top: 41px;" width="368" /><br />
Upon further reading I discovered that Sir Patrick Stewart, grew up with a mentally-scarred father (traumatized by WWII) , who repeatedly abused his mother throughout his childhood. This deeply effected Patrick, and drove him to take a stand to protect his mother at all costs. <br />
<br />
In 2009 an article was published in <i>The Guardian </i>about his experiences<i> </i>in an article entitled <i><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/nov/27/patrick-stewart-domestic-violence" target="_blank">The legacy of Domestic Violence </a></i> . Since then he has become a strong partner for Amnesty International.<br />
He is also joined a UK based group called <i><a href="http://www.refuge.org.uk/" target="_blank">Refuge</a> </i>specializing in the protection of women.<br />
<br />
This man is a Starship Captain and a real-life freedom fighter??!! <br />
All I have to say to this is:<br />
<br />
<img class="irc_mi" src="http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/51/5172847fbb49535e849f907e458b00072cc6ae78f07e6eba6368535af487d4bd.jpg" height="425" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="640" /><br />
<br />
<i>And here's to you! </i><br />
<i> </i> <br />
Where were we again? The front lawn of the church! Right!<br />
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So in the middle of the lawn on a raised platform a small fire was already burning in one of those bowl shaped fire pits that you can buy at Canadian Tire. The congregation gathered around best they could (despite the serious lack of room). The priest and the clergy then went about blessing the fire, blessing a very large candle, lighting it and putting these little red stickers on it, which I did not get a close up view of until the end.<br />
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We then proceeded back inside the dark church and then sat in the church, (lit almost exclusively by that one candle) and waited. This waiting involved Church members coming up and reading different pieces of scripture. This alternated with performances from the worship band. I wasn't watching my clock too closely, but I am sure this lasted over an hour. I was thankful for my extra large mocha with a shot of espresso (which I sat and drunk shamelessly in the pews). I am sure I would have fallen asleep otherwise.<br />
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P.S. I don't necessarily advise this Church service to people with <i><a href="http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/narcolepsy" target="_blank">narcolepsy</a></i>.<br />
<br />
The readings that we heard were all over the board. There were readings from Genesis, the story of Moses dividing the sea, and also the story of how God tested Abraham. The last one was the one that stood out to me. I have heard this piece of scripture spoken on before. This is what is being referred to:<br />
<br />
ESV translation- Genesis 22:1-19<br />
<br />
<i>After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>He
said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the
land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the
mountains of which I shall tell you.”
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>So
Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of
his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the
burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told
him.
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="http://biblehub.com/esv/genesis/22.htm#footnotes" title="Or young man; also verse 12">a</a></sup></span> will go over there and worship and come again to you.”
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>And
Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his
son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both
of them together.
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>And
Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am,
my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb
for a burnt offering?”
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.</i>
<br />
<div class="regular">
<i><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>When
they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the
altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid
him on the altar, on top of the wood.
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>But the angel of the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>He
said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I
know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your
only son, from me.”
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>And
Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a
ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram
and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>So Abraham called the name of that place, “The <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> will provide”;<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="http://biblehub.com/esv/genesis/22.htm#footnotes" title="Or will see">b</a></sup></span> as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> it shall be provided.”<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="http://biblehub.com/esv/genesis/22.htm#footnotes" title="Or he will be seen">c</a></sup></span></i></div>
<i>
</i>
<br />
<div class="regular">
<i><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>And the angel of the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span> called to Abraham a second time from heaven
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the <span class="divine-name">Lord</span>, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>I
will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the
stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your
offspring shall possess the gate of his<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="http://biblehub.com/esv/genesis/22.htm#footnotes" title="Or their">d</a></sup></span> enemies,
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
<span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.</i></div>
<div class="regular">
<br /></div>
<div class="regular">
<i> </i><img class="irc_mi" src="http://www.oztorah.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/Rembrandt_Abraham__Isaac.jpg" height="393" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="266" /></div>
<div class="regular">
I have heard other Church leaders comment on this scripture as being the most "gut-wrenching" part of the Bible to read. For the most part I would have to agree with them. One may even suggest this is a very "un-God like" move, considering God is opposed to human sacrifices. Here is some further food for thought. </div>
<div class="regular">
<br /></div>
<div class="regular">
Link- <a href="http://www.rationalchristianity.net/abe_isaac.html" target="_blank">Why did God tell Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?</a></div>
<div class="regular">
<br /></div>
<div class="regular">
I find it kind of heartwarming that God literally stepped in and provided the ram for them to sacrifice. I can't be 100% sure what that looked like. But I am sure they were doing a better job then this guy:</div>
<div class="regular">
<br /></div>
<div class="regular">
<img alt="29RamAsBurntOffering: " class="pinImage rounded" data-load-state="pending" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/2e/c7/cb/2ec7cb2096f0f905978d242e68829bbe.jpg" /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
People
won’t listen to you or take you seriously unless you’re an old white
man, and since I’m an old white man I’m going to use that to help the
people who need it.” —Patrick Stewart, Actor - See more at:
http://vsotd.com/news/quote-week-rhetorical-usefulness-being-white#sthash.TTfijNhq.dpuf</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
People
won’t listen to you or take you seriously unless you’re an old white
man, and since I’m an old white man I’m going to use that to help the
people who need it.” —Patrick Stewart, Actor - See more at:
http://vsotd.com/news/quote-week-rhetorical-usefulness-being-white#sthash.TTfijNhq.dpuf</div>
And then 11pm hit and everything changed. The lights went on in the church, bells started ringing, the draped the cross, the choir started singing, they pulled the purple sheet off the of virgin Mary statue and everything was ALIVE! A team of people even brought in large floral pieces made of Easter lilies and shoots of willow.<br />
<br />
The priest gave an impressive sermon. I feel this man to be a very real, down to earth and forward kind of guy. After seeing how sleepy we were, he made the joke; <i>"you can take a nap, but don't snore and disturb your neighbours."</i> <br />
<br />
In his sermon he stressed multiple times the profound importance of what happened when Christ rose from the grave. He made it quite clear that if Christ had not risen out of death "<i>we would be wasting our time</i>." And Christians would be a pitiful sight to behold.<br />
<br />
Quote of the day:<i> "No death! You do not win!" </i><br />
<br />
Apparently last week he gave a sermon detailing a full breakdown of the effects that the torture and<span class="_Tgc"><b> </b>crucifixion</span> would have had on Jesus from a medically-understood perspective .<br />
<br />
All I can say is...... this guy is good! <br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><br />
<br />
<img class="irc_mi" src="http://cdn.meme.am/instances/400x/55713759.jpg" height="393" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="393" /><br />
<br />
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
“People
won’t listen to you or take you seriously unless you’re an old white
man, and since I’m an old white man I’m going to use that to help the
people who need it.” —Patrick Stewart, - See more at:
http://vsotd.com/news/quote-week-rhetorical-usefulness-being-white#sthash.TTfijNhq.dpuf</div>
<br />
But this night was not over.... not even close.<br />
<br />
We still had baptisms to get through! Baptisms of two full grown men actually.<br />
The "candidates for baptism" were asked to step forward and they had there families stand beside them for support. At some points their families laid hands on them to pray for them as they were blessed and took their vows. The actual baptism itself was done in a manner where which the person stood and leaned over a large glass bowl mounted on a wooden stand, and the priest scooped some of the water into a golden seashell and poured it over the crown of the persons head while making the symbol of the cross while doing it.<br />
<br />
I truly think baptism is a beautiful thing! The room was filled with a feeling of joy and victory, as these two men became baptized (they later received white robes and another blessing form the priest).<br />
<br />
It is just a shame how snot-nosed people can become about it! There are a lot of Christians out there that are very critical of other peoples baptisms. And personally it drives me nuts.... because in their eyes there is always something wrong.<br />
If you are not baptized it is <u>WRONG</u>! If you were baptized as a baby it is <u>WRONG</u>, If you were baptized in a different church it is <u>WRONG, </u>if you were sprinkled instead of being fully dunked its <u>WRONG</u>!<br />
<br />
I actually was having a conversation with a Church leader once and he asked if I was baptized, and I said yes. Then another lady standing near by cut in and demanded to know if I was <i>"dunked"</i> or not? I looked her in the eye and told her quite bluntly; <i>"It doesn't matter!"</i><a href="http://cleanmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/25DrivebyBaptism.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" class="irc_mi" src="http://cleanmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/25DrivebyBaptism.jpg" height="255" style="margin-top: 95px;" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
But thats my opinion anyhow....<br />
<br />
But just when you think it is all over, there is more!..... (yes this was a damn-long night!)<br />
<br />
The whole church renewed their baptisms, including me!... sort of.....(I actually had no idea that people could renew their baptisms!) <br />
<br />
This process was not done by a matter of re-dunking per-say but a specific list of vows read out loud by the priest that the members of the church member's give <i>"I do's" </i>for as they progress. Here is a copy:<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxs_VoUL56aJ_arvL5Du8so2bWN6JIcL7t2Cd52X4Gstb6-xql2gTi-onQEa7oesKPWwUi80jmP6yK4i5xmIfKrTBHkZFxFTDMPeZRusrArj9mW_D6v29IGKXHl_0ZW9GYkMtAN_NB5UbF/s1600/WP_20160327_00_16_14_Pro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxs_VoUL56aJ_arvL5Du8so2bWN6JIcL7t2Cd52X4Gstb6-xql2gTi-onQEa7oesKPWwUi80jmP6yK4i5xmIfKrTBHkZFxFTDMPeZRusrArj9mW_D6v29IGKXHl_0ZW9GYkMtAN_NB5UbF/s320/WP_20160327_00_16_14_Pro.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>
<br />
According to the paperwork I am baptized Catholic, back when I was a baby. So I guess I qualify?........<br />
<br />
I am not gonna lie, I value my baptism. But there are parts of the Catholic rhetoric that I can not, and will not be willing to conform to.<br />
<br />
All things aside, it was a good service! Definitely a different experience!<br />
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Then I noticed this...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXnmDPbggz70o5J9-bQIj4tDY8mq5fcI0imAj-XMN-jNcKBCdbHdArRvfcy8L4FwCOt7MKLzq-eWMpC3n9srwES58jASwGar0tWJtOfmkW3NFy9EBHPgaF248nomHWpwZtV24_EYqAWwgH/s1600/WP_20160327_00_29_37_Pro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXnmDPbggz70o5J9-bQIj4tDY8mq5fcI0imAj-XMN-jNcKBCdbHdArRvfcy8L4FwCOt7MKLzq-eWMpC3n9srwES58jASwGar0tWJtOfmkW3NFy9EBHPgaF248nomHWpwZtV24_EYqAWwgH/s640/WP_20160327_00_29_37_Pro.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
WTF??? Why is Marry stepping on a Pike Fish???<br />
<br />
.....Okay, so after researching this I discovered that it is supposed to be a <u><i>snake</i></u>......but it looks a whole lot like the a common like fish we have here in Alberta referred to as the Northern Pike Fish. And let me tell you, these thing are nasty!<br />
<br />
Link-<a href="http://catholicjules.net/2010/09/02/statue-of-mary-stepping-on-a-snake/" target="_blank">Why is the statue of Marry stepping on a snake? </a><br />
<br />
P.S. Yes..... I have a slight fishing hobby.<br />
<br />
Happy Easter Everyone!<br />
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<br />Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-53190275366348336862016-03-29T13:08:00.000-06:002016-03-29T13:08:35.381-06:00Church #60. St. Alphonsus Cathloic Church. Hey Folks! Welcome to Palm Sunday 2016!<br />
<br />
As soon as I walked in, I saw the seniors were already seated. The usher directed me to a side door and told me that we were all meeting downstairs first. When I reached the basement, I saw the crowd was 150 people and growing! At the front of the room was the priest standing next to a fold-out table already covered in palm leaves. Just to the side of the priest, was a small choir and a piano player leading the room in song. Amongst the crowd there were many people, but the one who stood out to
me was a tall middle-aged heavy-set tough-looking guy and
his (roughly) eight year-old son (who clearly takes after his dad).
There were two things that stood about about this man, that makes him
worth writing about:<br />
<br />
<b>#1</b>- He was wearing a washed-out green sweatshirt
with the word "TEXAS" scrawled across it. Simply confirming that
Edmonton, Alberta is truly, the Houston, Texas of Canada.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>#2</b>- He was so happy, he was nearly <u><i>crying.</i></u>..... I watched him standing there holding his son. I am not sure if it was the joy of the holiday, or the pride of seeing his child participate in the palm ritual, but clearly whatever was going on meant A LOT to the guy.<br />
<br />
Of the many life lessons I have learned in this whole process, is that you can't judge a book by it's cover. <br />
<br />
Eventually the choir stopped and the priest said a few words. He opened the Bible and read the <i><a href="http://www.jesuswalk.com/lessons/19_28-40.htm" target="_blank">The Triumphal Entry</a></i> from the book of Luke. They blessed the palms with holy water at which point the the crowd approached. As they attempted to select their palm branch, quickly and carefully, in order to not hold others up (needless to say, the whole process felt painfully clumsy).<br />
<br />
After receiving their palm branches, the Church members then progressed up the stairs to the front sidewalk, walked slightly around the building, and then re-entered the church through the main front doors. Then we took our seats.<br />
<br />
There was a very diverse age and cultural mix at this service. Even for such a large church, it was nearly full! But all and all, I am not surprised. There are a lot of Christians that "come out of the wood work" for major holidays. So therefore one could only guess what the numbers and demographics look like for an average Sunday. I consider this to be a significant factor for any church I happen to visit during any major Christian holiday.<br />
<br />
After the first song, the children all assembled near the front of the church, and then the whole church reached out their arms in their direction, and then sang a short song to bless them before sending them off to Sunday school.<br />
<br />
There was a reading from Isaiah and then was sang, what I think is probably the saddest song I have encountered yet. This song is entitled <i>"God why have you forsaken me?". </i>The name sums it up well.<br />
<i> </i><br />
Then the priest, with the participation of others, read through the whole Passion (aka Christ's betrayal, conviction and execution) .<br />
<br />
I still can not help but be surprised the things I thought I knew about the Bible and its stories. As children, religious or secular, it is not unusual for us to be familiar with the story of Moses leading the people out of Egypt or Joseph and the rainbow coloured coat. But those stories that we are told as children are small, condensed shrunk down, simplified, PG-rated versions compared to the originals.<br />
But we are big kids now, with alarm-clocks, mortgages, and frosted over windshields (welcome to Canada). And now it is time for us to know, read the original and unrated versions of these stories. To tell you the truth, I have never even read the whole passion out of the Bible until this day. I was surprised by two things:<br />
<br />
<b>#1-</b> Apparently Jesus started sweating <u><i>blood?</i></u><br />
<br />
Link- <a href="http://www.gotquestions.org/sweat-blood-Jesus.html" target="_blank">Why did Jesus sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane?</a><br />
<br />
<b>#2-</b> Apparently there was a solar eclipse on the day he was crucified or "the land went dark"? Reading into this, I have found there is a lot of arguments over what this all was about. Some say it was an eclipse, some say it was impossible, and some say it was all metaphorical! Regardless, it is a cool topic and I suggest reading into it!<br />
<br />
But if all that is not enough for you, there was also an earthquake.... yes, an earthquake.<br />
Link- <a href="http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/crucifixion/jesus%E2%80%99-crucifixion-reflected-in-soil-deposition/" target="_blank">Geological Study May Indicate Earthquake Described by Matthew</a><br />
<br />
Quotes of the day!<br />
<br />
<i>"He will not be one with power the normal sense." </i><br />
<i> </i>* the priest pointed out that this is a consistent theme with the messiah.<br />
<br />
<i>"It is God's word that will change the world."</i><br />
<br />
In the midst of all this I faced a dilemma. I was clearly sick, with a head cold straight out of the depths of hell. It was discussing and torturous. And now I was expected to go up and accept communion which meant drinking out of the same cup that over 100 people were going to drink out of! Sad to say I simply could not do it with a clear conscience. So despite it being against the norm in this particular church, I opted to take my wafer and dip it in the cup of wine to be able to complete the ritual without endangering others.<br />
<br />
For any of the well church-ed or germophobic people out there, I know you have also faced this issue in the past. The Church leaders I have heard address this issue in the past, have pretty much said "Its fine" and "Get over it and just do it!"<br />
*not to say that all Church leaders would/and or have responded that way.<br />
<br />
When I was attending a Ukrainian Orthodox summer camp we were expected to "venerate" or kiss an icon image of Christ as part of entering the church. Some campers raised the issue of spreading illness via this ritual (especially in a summer camp of +100 kids where some one ALWAYS brings strep throat). The priest at that time assured us that it was safe, and that all the icons were regularly cleaned with <i>Windex</i>.<br />
<br />
<img alt="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPHtWycUkAAPU2J.png" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPHtWycUkAAPU2J.png" /><br />
And for those of you that get the joke, <i>My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2</i> is coming out!<br />
<br />
Link- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ-1Ts3BChM" target="_blank"> My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 - Official Trailer (HD)</a><br />
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While I was standing in the line up for communion, I saw that many people were nicely dressed. Considering it was a major Christian holiday, one would almost think it is appropriate. But for as minor of a detail as it is I have to take a moment to question if it was appropriate. I only say this because of one particular man I saw in a very large church. He was also standing in line for communion, but he was clearly different. He was in his 50's, a little shorter then average, and slightly hunched over, wearing work boots, washed out jeans, a navy blue hoodie. He was clutching his bunch of palms, along with his work gloves, tightly to his chest, as he approached the front of the church to receive communion. We all came in our "Sunday Best". He came in what he had.<br />
I am sure he got his share of odd looks. <br />
<br />
It is people like this man that make me stop and remember, one of Christ's most important teachings when he said <i>"<span class="btext1">So the last will be first, and the first will be last." </span></i><span class="btext1">Matthew 20:16. </span><br />
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<span class="btext1">I think we all might do a little better to keep that in mind, if we are to achieve a more considerate and accepting world. </span><br />
<span class="btext1"><br /></span>
<span class="btext1">On a final note there were a few announcements, including the carpet replacement that would soon be happening inside the church. The speaker noted that they have "viewed over 100 carpet samples", and will be taking careful consideration to coordinate with the lighting and the wood inside the building. They also asked for the opinion and input of others on their final choice. </span><br />
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<span class="btext1">There were also announcements of the foot washing that would be happening on Thursday. Along with pamphlet at the front explaining commonly asked questions and the churches official statement on the Canadian government's new policies on assisted suicide. </span><br />
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<span class="btext1">Photo time! </span><br />
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<span class="btext1">This is one of the city's older churches and I am sure by looking at it, that Jesus and Joseph would have really enjoyed the interior. This place bring out the "inner carpenter". </span><br />
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<br />Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-56786500370179362282016-03-20T22:45:00.000-06:002016-03-20T22:45:04.940-06:00Church #59. Holy Trinity Anglican Church....And welcome back ladies and gentlemen!<br />
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I showed up a bit late.<br />
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It was definitely one of the fuller churches I have seen, I had to move around a bit to find a place to sit. Eventually I got settled in and had a moment to look around. There were 80 people in attendance. Most were seniors, but there was still a noticeable population of young couples and even a few teenagers. The population here is largely caucasian, however I did see a few visible minorities. <br />
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There was a roughly 20 person choir. All dressed in white and red robes, facing each other, front and centre in the church. On a side note... if you have never attended Anglican mass, or been inside one of their churches, I do strongly suggest trying it! If anything, just to see the layout of the building as it is truly unique.<br />
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It was already children's time when I got there and the church leader was sitting on the steps at the front of the church with a large group of children sitting around him. He was telling the children about the manna. For those of you that may not know, manna was the food that was provided by God, for the Israelites while they traveled in the desert. Manna is described as being "bread of heaven" or "grain of heaven". There is a description of it in Exodus 16:31... <i><span itemprop="articleBody">“it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey”. </span></i><span itemprop="articleBody">It was also said to have a resin-like appearance. He told the children how it appeared, how it was used to make food, and how none would appear on the Sabbath day. The church leader mentioned how many scientists have tried to come up with an answer on how such a thing could appear in the desert, but none have reached a solid theory. He explained that we should simply accept it as a beautiful gift from God. </span><br />
<span itemprop="articleBody"><br /></span>
<span itemprop="articleBody">Looking further into this, I have discovered that not only is there multiple theories on what the "manna" actually was, everything from mushrooms, to edible insects has been put up as potential theory. But there was one thing I was not expecting. </span><br />
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<u><span itemprop="articleBody">Recipes!!! </span></u><br />
<span itemprop="articleBody">Yes! if you look online you will find hundreds of "manna bread" recipes! Many culinary crafty people of faith, have put long hours into attempting to re-create the holly bread of the Israelite's. Options range from bread, to cookies, all the way to full on deserts! </span><br />
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<a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/religion-exodus-manna-fussy_eaters-food_snobs-bible_story-bwhn28_low.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" class="irc_mi" height="393" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/religion-exodus-manna-fussy_eaters-food_snobs-bible_story-bwhn28_low.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="328" /></a><br />
Fun fact!- the word <i>manna; </i>when translated from Hebrew literately means <i>"what is it?"</i> <i> </i><br />
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I found the sermon very interesting today. Not so much so the analysis of the day's scripture, but what interested me was a personal note from the Church leader. He spoke of the daily lives of pastors and all of their busy duties. How they are always writing sermons, preforming weddings, baptizing babies, leading funerals etc. And then he referenced a famous essay called <i>"Can pastors be saved?" </i>and in this essay it comes to the humorous conclusion that pastors can not be saved. My may be asking saved from what? As far as my understanding goes, part of the answer to that is <u><i>pride</i></u>. He spoke of how much this Church thrives. It currently boasts a large and growing congregation, a prosperous children's church, strong involvement with the arts, their own theatre productions, and they even get media attention on occasion! I personally can tell you that in the last 58 churches I have attended, this is not the norm. I think the speaker was also fully aware of this. He explained that in his life there appears to be a line. On one side of it, is his commitment to the service of the people, and God. On the other side is Pride in the churches achievement. He shamefully admitted that <i>"I have crossed that line many times before." </i>and how he must strive to stay on the right side.<br />
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Sometimes, even the pastor needs to check himself at the door. <br />
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On a side note; this church leader also reminded the room that this church will share the table of God with anyone that is baptized to receive the bread and wine. <i>"This church has no further requirements beyond these". </i>And looking at the crowd in this place, that is probably a good thing. I might just be throwing out assumptions, but I am sure there is more then one gay couple, and likely more than a few gender-diverse people in this church.<br />
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I was a bit confused on where this Church stands on its acceptance of the gay community. The impression of the air in the room was <i>we don't judge</i>. The churches website didn't seam to offer any clear answers ether. After further research I discovered that there are currently ten dioceses within Canada that will provide a same sex marriage ceremony, and others that with provide a same sex couples blessing.<br />
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After that one of the Church leaders came down and there was a blessing for a lady that was celebrating her 91st birthday. It was all quite fun. Following was a quick point mentioned about the church's current project to sponsor a Syrian refugee family. Then the Church got up and offered the sign of peace to everyone in the room, shook everyone's hands, and greeted them.<br />
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If there is one thing I have noticed about Anglican churches in general, it is that nothing drags. These places are structured and move like clockwork! These services move from A-to-B-to-C and then DONE!<br />
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After the offering was collected, we got to enjoy the vocal talents of a young lady singing a Hymn. The reason this is significant to me, is that I have heard some bad hymn-singing in my life. Like.. <i>really bad</i>. And when it is at a 4-hour Orthodox Sunday service. It can downright painful. Thank you for renewing my faith in this art of hymn-singing!<br />
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For those of you that are not familiar with this, please enjoy the video as an example!<br />
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As mentioned before, this Church drives heavily into the arts and the population reflects that. I saw many people in the room with funky hairstyles, trendy fashion, and fun-colored eyeglasses. I am sure that almost the majority of population of this church has some type of full-time or part-time investment in some type of art or performance style. It almost feels like going to church with the<u><i> <a href="https://www.fringetheatre.ca/" target="_blank">Fringe</a> </i></u>.<br />
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After that the church received communion. There was an option to ether receive it kneeling or standing. The communion wine was real wine, and it was one of the better ones I have had so far. It was well rounded sweet red, with rich earthy tones. It was honestly really good. I would have gone for a second glass!<br />
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The building its self is quite elegant. And it includes the typical ceilings that resemble the hull of a boat flipped upside-down.<br />
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And as always...I will never miss an opportunity to photograph St.George the dragon slayer!<br />
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Have a good week y'all !!! Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-35835434749767309622016-03-04T13:48:00.001-07:002016-03-05T22:40:45.792-07:00Church #58. Rio Terrace Community Moravian ChurchHello Sunday, I see you are back for another week!<br />
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Today I took a bus ride out to the west end to visit a church located not far off of the #4 bus route. I had to walk a few blocks after getting off the bus, but I didn't mind. When I arrived I could tell that the church was already in the Easter spirit. It was once said that you can tell a lot about a man by looking at his shoes. I think the same can apply for churches. Quite quickly I noticed three things about the members of this church: they like quilting, interior decorating, and house plants....clearly. This Church is comprised of mostly seniors, but there are still a handful of parents with children. There were roughly forty people attending the service today.<br />
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**Side note: this church has an exceptional high quality sound system and the pastor wears a mic. I would recommend this church for the hearing impaired.**<br />
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Also I enjoyed this weeks program cover. My grandma would approve of the chickens. And Luke 13:34 is one of my favourite bible quotes!<br />
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<i> ".....How often I wanted to gather your children together,
just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings..." </i><br />
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After a few announcements it was children's time. The pastor then left his podium and went over to the children's corner and sat on the rug and read them a story. He explained that this was<i> "A story about how Jesus wants children to be leaders."</i> and at the end he asked them<i> "How can you be a good leader?" </i><br />
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Another fun side note: there is a young man in this church that has pledged to not cut his hair while collecting donations for a cancer research. He plans to make the bulk donation and cut his hair soon. Needles to say he is looking particularly shaggy at this point. One can only speculate, how irritated his mother must be with her son's long and unruly hair. Hold in there Mama! <br />
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The pastor asked the room three questions: What blessings have they received in the past week? What they need prayers for? and Where they have seen the holy spirit at work? Not every church has this practice, but I never cease to be amazed at the things I learn. When asked where she had seen spirit at work, a lady proudly proclaimed (almost with a tear in her eye) that she has a young person with down-syndrome in her life, that took<i> <u>three bites of a peanut-butter sandwich</u></i> recently. <br />
She acknowledged that to many people, that would be something totally insignificant. But to the parents of that child, it meant the world! She went on to explain that down-syndrome children are know for being exceptionally picky eaters and have deeply restricted diets that further compromise their health. A lot of them are also known to have "junk food problems." But this young person who has now added one more (healthy) food to their diet, is a great blessing to this family.<i> </i><br />
<i>"This is a break thru!"</i> she proclaimed. <br />
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The scripture discussed today was Mark 10:32-52 (ESV)<br />
<h3>
<i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="text Mark-10-32" id="en-ESV-24614">Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time</span></span></i></h3>
<i><span class="text Mark-10-32"><sup class="versenum">32 </sup>And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they
were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve
again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him,</span> <span class="text Mark-10-33" id="en-ESV-24615"><sup class="versenum">33 </sup>saying, <span class="woj">“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.</span></span> <span class="text Mark-10-34" id="en-ESV-24616"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">34 </sup>And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”</span></span></i><br />
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<h3>
<i><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="text Mark-10-35" id="en-ESV-24617">The Request of James and John</span></span></b></i></h3>
<i><span class="text Mark-10-35"><sup class="versenum">35 </sup>And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”</span> <span class="text Mark-10-36" id="en-ESV-24618"><sup class="versenum">36 </sup>And he said to them, <span class="woj">“What do you want me to do for you?”</span></span> <span class="text Mark-10-37" id="en-ESV-24619"><sup class="versenum">37 </sup>And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”</span> <span class="text Mark-10-38" id="en-ESV-24620"><sup class="versenum">38 </sup>Jesus said to them, <span class="woj">“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”</span></span> <span class="text Mark-10-39" id="en-ESV-24621"><sup class="versenum">39 </sup>And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, <span class="woj">“The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,</span></span> <span class="text Mark-10-40" id="en-ESV-24622"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">40 </sup>but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”</span></span> <span class="text Mark-10-41" id="en-ESV-24623"><sup class="versenum">41 </sup>And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.</span> <span class="text Mark-10-42" id="en-ESV-24624"><sup class="versenum">42 </sup>And Jesus called them to him and said to them, <span class="woj">“You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.</span></span> <span class="text Mark-10-43" id="en-ESV-24625"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">43 </sup>But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,<sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-ESV-24625a" data-link="[<a href="#fen-ESV-24625a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2010:32-52#fen-ESV-24625a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</sup></span></span> <span class="text Mark-10-44" id="en-ESV-24626"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">44 </sup>and whoever would be first among you must be slave<sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-ESV-24626b" data-link="[<a href="#fen-ESV-24626b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2010:32-52#fen-ESV-24626b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]</sup> of all.</span></span> <span class="text Mark-10-45" id="en-ESV-24627"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">45 </sup>For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”</span></span></i><br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span class="text Mark-10-46" id="en-ESV-24628">Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus</span></i></span></h3>
<i><span class="text Mark-10-46"><sup class="versenum">46 </sup>And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.</span> <span class="text Mark-10-47" id="en-ESV-24629"><sup class="versenum">47 </sup>And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”</span> <span class="text Mark-10-48" id="en-ESV-24630"><sup class="versenum">48 </sup>And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”</span> <span class="text Mark-10-49" id="en-ESV-24631"><sup class="versenum">49 </sup>And Jesus stopped and said, <span class="woj">“Call him.”</span> And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.”</span> <span class="text Mark-10-50" id="en-ESV-24632"><sup class="versenum">50 </sup>And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.</span> <span class="text Mark-10-51" id="en-ESV-24633"><sup class="versenum">51 </sup>And Jesus said to him, <span class="woj">“What do you want me to do for you?”</span> And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”</span> <span class="text Mark-10-52" id="en-ESV-24634"><sup class="versenum">52 </sup>And Jesus said to him, <span class="woj">“Go your way; your faith has made you well.”</span> And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.</span></i><br />
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<span class="text Mark-10-52" id="en-ESV-24634">He noted how James and John asked for a position of privilege (that Christ had no authority to give), to sit at his right and left hand in Gods kingdom. </span><i><span class="text Mark-10-52" id="en-ESV-24634"></span></i><span class="text Mark-10-52" id="en-ESV-24634">In short; <i>"They wanted to be Lieutenant Messiah's". </i></span><br />
<span class="text Mark-10-52" id="en-ESV-24634">After a brief pause of silence, he said <i>"....I thought that joke would go over better." </i></span><br />
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<span class="text Mark-10-52" id="en-ESV-24634">Regardless... we got a good laugh. </span><br />
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I am told that you can really tell the personality of the disciples by reading their works. Some books of the gospel have details smoothed over, while others are very up front and tell-it-like-it-is. The pastor commented on the Book of Mark, and how it is kind of meandering, and all over the place. He acknowledged that he too, is a <i>meandering thinker, </i>However the fellow he is married to (yes, you read that correctly) is an engineer and a very linear thinker. He acknowledged that there are many different types of thinkers in this world and <i>"no way of thinking is better then others," </i><br />
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<span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available">Then something happened that I did not expect. The pastor brought up the issue of social privilege based on race, gender, class etc. </span><br />
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<span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available">I looked at this a a pretty bold move. Considering Alberta is the conservative center of the country, and he is giving this speech to a room full of 50-65 year old white educated middle class citizens. But I think I need to remember what kind of environment I am in. This is a Moravian church. Moravians are generally known for being fully accepting of the LGBTQ community, and this church itself hosts multiple people from the gay community. This church is currently sponsoring a muslim Syrian refugee family (they had a little display set up with pictures and information). This is a pretty progressive environment. Maybe I should stop panicking? </span><br />
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<span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available">If you are still trying to wrap your head around this whole white-privilege thing, here is a good comic that explains it.<u><i> <a href="http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/09/white-privilege-explained/" target="_blank">White Privilege Explained</a></i></u></span><br />
As for me I have no denial of my state of privilege. I am a white, english-speaking, educated, christian, third-generation Canadian that comes from a middle upper-class family. The only way you could possible put me higher, is if I was born male.<br />
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I know I have privilege. I have friends of all different ethnic, gender and religious backgrounds, and I can tell you that I am lucky. I am lucky because I don't need to work extremely hard to attempt to get a job over equally or less qualified white applicants. I am lucky that my family doesn't have to reformulate their diet to be as simple and meager as possible, just to survive. I am lucky I can go out to a party or a bar, or walk down the street, expressing my own gender, without being under high risk of assault or being murdered. I am lucky I can wear an item that expresses my faith in public places, that I will not be questioned, criticized or harassed over regularly.<br />
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These are real description's of the daily lives of people I love, in the year 2016 living in North America. The struggle is very real.<br />
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Beyond all this, I think the pastor's speech didn't hit the target properly. Not because of race and status. He was addressing exactly who he needed to be addressing. The issue was age. He stood before the congregation and pointed out a lot of clear points on why we have life easier then say, the visible minorities around us. Which I think most of were very true....except for one.<br />
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He mentioned how a lot of us had our education paid for by our parents. He was addressing a room of 65 year old's. Now I am not sure about you, but I don't know anyone that was enrolling in college in (roughly) 1969 and had a free ride from their parents. People generally didn't have as much money back then. I think this speech would hit home a lot more in a room full of 25 year old's. Trust me when I say, I know may young people buying beer every Saturday night on mommy and daddy's trust fund, while in university.<br />
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Random Fact: <br />
<span class="text Mark-10-52" id="en-ESV-24634">There is a not-for-profit cafe run by the Moravian church out in St.Albert. And they are looking for volunteers! </span><br />
<span class="text Mark-10-52" id="en-ESV-24634"><a href="http://www.commongroundcommunitycafe.org/" target="_blank">http://www.commongroundcommunitycafe.org/</a> </span><br />
<span class="text Mark-10-52" id="en-ESV-24634"><i> </i></span><br />
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Over all I had a good time and received a tour! I also discovered that this church had used it's back yard to open up free community garden plots for the public. Before I left I grabbed a picture inside the body of the church. I had to do it quickly to avoid disrupting the yoga group that was using the space at that moment.<br />
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Have a good week Y'all! Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-86327018446712700902016-02-18T01:36:00.000-07:002016-02-18T01:58:54.730-07:00Church #57. The Salvation ArmyBelieve it or not, this group does more than just Christmas Kettles and support for impoverished.<br />
They are a Church, and a very interesting one at that.<br />
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I must say I had a fun time trying to find a Salvation Army "church" as many of the things one finds listed under the name "Salvation Army" are almost all donation or support centers. But I was able to sift through it all and found a very lovely church on the east side of the city. I also noticed that group actually refers to there place of worship as a temple (this is rooted in Jewish tradition) while still referring to themselves as a church. There is also no Cross at the front of this church, instead there is simply a wall decorated with the words of .....Psalm 96:6<br />
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One of the first things I noticed when I went to sit down in the main body of the church, was that this place has a uniform.....sort of. Roughly a quarter of the people in the church (men and women) were wearing a dark blue military style dress suit with the pointed lapels on the collar brandishing a large silver "S" on each side. This church had roughly 100 people (including all the members of the choir and brass band) This church appears to have a slight majority of women and a crazy amount of kids and even a few teenagers. The population here is mostly caucasian with a few visible minorities.<br />
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Surprisingly enough, despite the strict-looking uniforms and scattered use of military terms, this church is shockingly laid-back! The members are friendly, the church leaders have no issue cracking jokes throughout the sermon, or even having fun playing with the kids! This church appears to have two major focuses: one clearly being service, but one that my be slightly less known, is the evangelistic side. This church has a very strong "Christ Alone" message to it. <br />
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One thing I learned very quickly is that this church didn't have a problem getting people to quiet down for the service. Striking up the brass band seems to do a very good job at getting everyone's attention! Its also kind of a fun way to start a church service.<br />
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I watched as a large assortment of brass instruments that were laid out on a long table that sat before the speakers podium. Trumpets mostly, but the full collection also included trombones and tubas. Later in that service it was revealed that theses were instruments that the church had newly procured and were being designated for the purpose of worshipping the Lord.<br />
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"Make a Joyful Noise!"<br />
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The speaker took the time to give us some insight into just how significant song and music is in the Bible. He quoted Judges 5:3 NIV<br />
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<i>"Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I, even I, will sing to the LORD; I will praise the LORD, the God of Israel, in song!"</i><span class="p"></span><br />
<span class="p"><br /></span>
<span class="p">He then continued to quote a long list of other Bible passages related to singing in worship. Mostly from the Old </span><span class="p"><span class="_Tgc">Testament </span> and one from the New. If I remember correctly it was Ephesians 5:19 NIV. </span><br />
<span class="p"></span><br />
<i>"speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,</i><span class="p"><i>"</i></span><br />
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<span class="p">And if you have any further doubt about the importance of song and instruments in church, please see any and all the commands of King David on how to worship God. One of his major and most common decrees, was to literally designate large bands of skilled musicians with their instruments to service in the temple and worship of the Lord. <i> </i></span><br />
<br />
Side note: Today is Feb 14th! Happy Valentines day!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=159" target="_blank">Who was Saint Valentine?</a><br />
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Following, there was children's time.<br />
All the kids church and showed the rest of the congregation what they had been practicing. Which was how to recite John 3:16 all in hand movements and actions!<br />
<br />
<i>"<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj">For God so loved the world,<sup> </sup>that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."</span></span></i><br />
<br />
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj">Daily Quote:</span></span><i><span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj"> " You can't talk about Jesus or God without talking about love!"</span></span></i><br />
<i><span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span></i>
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj">It was also acknowledged that today was the first Sunday of Lent. Lent being a time to give up a luxury in our lives, and focus on the death and suffering of Christ in preparation for Easter. We also received some fun facts. Did you know the original Lent was actually just 40 hours of fasting? Which was then changed to 6 days, and then eventually settled out at 40 days. The Church leader told the Congregational that she had decided to give up playing games on her phone for lent. She admitted to the fact that she had become slightly addicted to her games, and humorously said <i>"I am getting the shakes from this!" </i>.</span></span><br />
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span>
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj">Then I got lost. </span></span><br />
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj">The scripture reading that was supposed to relate to Valentines day was Genesis 1? How this relates to love I don't know. I think the church leader briefly explained why she believed that the two go together...But I don't recall what she said. </span></span><br />
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span>
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj">But anyhow we covered the three major points that are in relation to the creation of man. </span></span><br />
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span>
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj">#1. Humanity was made in God's Image and Likeness.</span></span><br />
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span>
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj">#2. Humanity has been given dominion over the earth. </span></span><br />
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj">I like the fact that she pointed out that we forfeited some of this right after the fall, and we, overall have done a terribly poor job of being God's stewards of the earth. We have destroyed much of it with pollution, put price tags on it, continue to take it for granted. </span></span><br />
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span>
<span class="text John-3-16"><span class="woj"></span></span>#3. Humanity is ordered to be fruitful and multiply.<br />
Then speaker then declared that the interpretation that <i>EVERYONE</i> should be married and having kids is wrong. She pointed out, that neither Jesus, or the Apostle Paul ever got married or had children.<br />
<br />
But wait....did they? and if no, then why not?....<br />
<br />
Spoiler alert.<br />
Two questions might shake the foundation of everything you have ever known.....<br />
<br />
#1. <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/markdroberts/series/was-jesus-married-a-careful-look-at-the-real-evidence/" target="_blank">Was Jesus Married? A Careful Look at the Real Evidence</a><br />
#2. <a href="http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2004/04/Was-The-Apostle-Paul-Gay.aspx?p=1" target="_blank">Was the Apostle Paul Gay? </a><br />
<br />
But I don't think we are done with this... if we are going this far might as well throw in the conspiracy theories too!<br />
Did you know that Jesus actually had 3 kids and his oldest son Josephus, hold the blood line (with the addition of the blood line of James the Just and his wife Anna) that is responsible for all of the Blue Blood Royal Families of the Western World????!!!!!!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">READ ON IN WONDER!!!!! </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.halexandria.org/dward933.htm" target="_blank">The Blood line of Christ and Generation No.100</a><br />
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I have too much fun at this some days<br />
:P<br />
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But over all a very good experience. I don't think this church is exactly what I am looking for, but I can see the appeal, and how other might definitely like it.<br />
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Salute, and Carry On! Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-89212548530041388362016-02-01T12:29:00.000-07:002016-02-01T12:29:57.028-07:00Church #56. Robertson-Wesley United Church. Hello Sunday morning! I see you are here again... on time...<br />
*sips coffee in an attempt to wake up.*<br />
<br />
Ok, we are here!<br />
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I also noticed one of these cute little library boxes outside of the church! So cute and handy! <br />
<br />
There were roughly 75 people there, mostly families and seniors, but there were a few 20-somethings there (with some very stylish haircuts.) The majority of this church is caucasian with a few visible minorities. <br />
<br />
I found it interesting that there was both a male and female church leader, in almost identical robes, that took turns back and forth leading and performing the church service. One of the first things that was read was the <i>"Declaration of love and acceptance."</i> And this is how it went:<br />
<br />
<i>"In response to God's call, we, the congregation of Robertson-Wesley United Church declare our commitment to opening our hearts and our church family to all people in our community, regardless of sexual orientation, age, gender, differing abilities, ethnicity or economic circumstance. We recognize that many peoples lives continue to be devastated by hatred and prejudice, and inequality, therefore, as a compassionate and caring spiritual community we will stand with those who are adversely affected by injustice, alienation and oppression." </i><br />
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When I hear this, and think of Christ, it makes a lot of sense. <br />
Jesus constantly went against-the-grain in his society to help those that were helpless or rejected. He spoke with people of a different tribe, which no Jews would have anything to do with (see Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman in <b>John 4</b>). He stood against a group of men, that were about to inflict the death penalty on a prostitute, even thou the law considered this punishment acceptable (see <b>John 8:1-11</b>). He went out into the countryside to heal many chronically ill and highly infectious people. This was completely taboo to the Jewish people.<br />
<br />
Jesus broke the rules, and I love him!<br />
<b>#breakalltherules</b>!!!!<br />
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After that announcements were made. This is a church that clearly enjoys having a participation in the arts, as they announced a list of art/theater related activities planned including group meals. One event that caught my attention, was an +18 event that they called <i>"God on Tap". </i>I was actually very excited to hear this because I have attended a similar event hosted by a Unitarian minister that was open to all people of faith, and I truly enjoyed the experience. Basically, you plan to meet as a group in a bar/pub and you enjoy your drinks and food while having a small group discussion on the topic of the day. For example, when I attended a similar event our question was, <i>"What does it mean to live bravely in your faith?" </i>I personally suggest planning or finding one of these events for yourself.<br />
<br />
Highly Recommended! <i> </i> <br />
<br />
Before the scripture lesson, we had children's time. So all the children ran up to the front of the church and they were asked to think about a time, when they asked God for help. Answers ranged from learning how to ride a bike, all the way to fighting with someone. After the lesson was done, the small stampede of roughly 20 kids herded there way downstairs, while the adults remained for the scripture lesson.<br />
<br />
Today was two stories in one, <i>Jesus heals Jairus' daughter</i> and <i>Jesus heals the woman with the "Issue of Blood"</i><br />
<br />
In between theses two stories, I am sure one could find enough material to speak for hours, but the church leader kept it short. He spoke on how this well-known and respected Rabbi had to humble himself immensely to go find Jesus and fall at his feet, as his last hope of saving his daughter. Hope became a centerpoint of the conversation. It was said that the bleeding woman put all her hope in Christ and that is what healed her. The man with the ill daughter almost lost all hope when he left the house to go seek out Jesus, only to be coming back to home to hear that his daughter died while he was gone.<br />
<br />
I suggest fallowing the link, I think it gives a really good break down of this piece of scripture.<br />
<a href="https://bible.org/seriespage/7-jesus-heals-jairus-daughter-matthew-918-26-mark-521-43" target="_blank">Jesus Heals Jairus’ Daughter (Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43)</a><br />
<br />
An interesting side note to this was this is one of the few pieces of scripture where Jesus's exact words in his native tong of Aramaic are quoted. <i>“Talitha koum!” </i>which translates to roughly <i>“Little girl, I say to you, get up!”</i><br />
<br />
Fun fact:<br />
Jesus's spoken language = Aramaic.<br />
Language Gospels are written in =<i> </i>Common Greek.<br />
<br />
I am not sure how closely these languages are compatible but I am once again reminded how important it is to study the Bible in deeper detail. Especially when it comes to translation of words.<br />
<br />
I will never forget the Torah (Old Testament) study session I had with a Rabbi. He took one old testament verse from a King James Bible and read it out, and the impression of it was strong, threatening and imperialistic. He then took the exact same piece of scripture from the original Hebrew in the Torah, the translation he gave had a completely different tone. It was comparable to the strong, warm, and loving heart, that a parent has for their child. 100% different without question. It blew my mind then, and still does to this day.<br />
<br />
You might also be surprised to know, getting to our readable English Bible we have today, was one heck of a struggle.<br />
<span id="goog_566859967"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_566859968"></span><a href="http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/" target="_blank">Timeline of how we got the English Bible</a><br />
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Quotes of the day:<br />
<br />
<i>"We get told 1000 ways 'Don't get your hopes up! '"</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"We know as long as God is with us, there is hope!"</i><br />
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By the way, this is one of these older churches, you can really see some of the western frontier architecture in the building. And of coarse, beautiful stain glass.<br />
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But this really caught me....... I have never seen Jesus being tempted by the Devil in the desert for 40 days, actually put into a window panel. Nor have I ever seen the devil portrayed wearing first century Mediterranean clothing. I guess there is a first time for everything.<br />
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<br />
<i> </i>Over all this was a good Sunday and I enjoyed my time at this church.<br />
<br />
<i>"Go into the world with daring and tender love!" </i><br />
<br />Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-42834783506188963772016-01-11T00:19:00.000-07:002016-04-06T22:36:58.928-06:00Church #55. The Church in Edmonton? Well it was cold. That was for sure. When I got to the building at 10am I discovered the doors were locked. I was then informed by two people idling in their vehicle that the church would be opened soon. So I stood by the door.....in the cold.....waiting for someone with a key.<br />
<br />
I didn't have to wait too long before the church leader came and opened the doors. But sad to say the inside was not much better. They were having heating problems and told us that they turned the heat on, and that it should warm up soon. That didn't really happen, (despite there attempts to put out space heaters) but the basement ended up being nice and warm (we went downstairs for lunch afterwards).<br />
<br />
I found the set-up for the room very interesting: it was a flat-floored room with chairs set up in a square configuration around the center which featured an alter already set up with crackers and a glass of red wine. The population of this church was roughly 80 people with with a very diverse age and ethnic mix, but with a noticeably larger Asian presence. <br />
<br />
The worship started in a really unusual way. All I remember was a man sitting in-front of me off to the left moan the phrase "Praise Jesus!". At first I didn't know what was going on. I thought this man might be an individual with some type of a developmental disability, and he was just kind-of speaking at random, but I was wrong. There was purpose to this. The worship was unusual. This is kind of how it looked.<br />
<br />
Single Person:" Praise Lord Jesus!" <br />
Whole Church: "Amen!"<br />
Single Person: " You are the one who saves us!" <br />
Whole Church: "Amen!"<br />
Single Person: "You are the one who delivers us!"<br />
Whole Church: "Amen!".......<br />
<br />
P.S. the "single person" talking at some points was actually a group of people. All reciting some form of rewritten worship piece, which I am guess had been sent to them, or is available online? Because most of the people there were reading off their phones.<br />
<br />
Do that for about an hour, throw in 4 songs and communion done in a pass-it-down-the-line fashion, and you have the worship service. And a brief moment for personal prayer tacked onto the end. <br />
<br />
Then for actual scripture study, we were divided into 5 groups and given a sheet with a piece of scripture and some explanatory text with it. All the "young people" were encouraged to go out into there own group first, so I followed. This group was headed by the church leader. After the material was read allowed we were given the readers digest-style explanation of it based on the explanatory text (not the scripture) and then it was questioned and discussed. <br />
<br />
I am still shaking my head reading this piece of paper today, as I did when I first received it.<br />
<br />
It covers two parables in Matthew 13:33 and 13:44.<br />
<br />
13:33 <i>Another parable he spoke to them: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened. </i><br />
<br />
13:44 <i>The kingdom is like the a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid, and in his joy goes and sells all that he has, and buys the field. </i><br />
<br />
(There is no reference as to what style of translation this is from.) <i> </i><br />
<br />
Needles to say I was unimpressed with the explanatory text that was given.<br />
<br />
The first sentence sums up the body of the text pretty well.<i> "In God's eyes, the old and traditional practices in Christianity without the presence and reality of Christ are part of the present evil age." </i>It goes on to explain that we need to be aware of and avoid <i>"Religion" </i>which is described as<i> "dead doctrinal knowledge" </i>that can be found<i> "in Satin's department". </i>In this case this text defines religion as "<i>to worship God, to work for God, To keep the law, and to improve ourselves and do so many good things religiously without the presence of Christ." </i><br />
<br />
Please note that at no point in this explanatory text is an explanation or
break-down of the words and meanings in Matthew 13:33 and 13:44, given
to the reader.<br />
<br />
<i> </i>Then there was something that did impress me. A young lady spoke up and looked past the "Religion is the work of the devil" them and asked for the same thing I was seeking. A real break down of the parables.<br />
<br />
She pointed out that "leaven" or "yeast" is almost always referred to as bad in all other parts of the bible (and this is true). The church leader and another middle aged lady replied and said this was correct. And then gave her that this is an explanation of evil filtering its way into the world. But then this young lady came back and told them that this didn't make sense, because this parable is describing the nature of heaven. Then it was told to her that the leaven described the pure and central goodness that god intended for the church, and that the three measures of meal were all of the other "impurities" that have become fully ingrained and burred Gods true intention for the church.<br />
<br />
I saw here shake her head at one point. I think we all knew that we were not about to get a competent answer. I could have stepped in and raised hell. But I decided to contribute what I felt was very lacking: explanation. So I gave the background info on what the purpose of "leaven" was in ancient bread making methods, why our Jewish ancestors saw it as negative, and a reminder of the current state of affairs during the Exodus and Passover.<br />
<br />
I saw every face in the room perk up and stair at me like I had just said something profound.<br />
<i><br /></i>
There were a few other statements in this that I found interesting such as: <i>" The darkness of religion overshadows the entire earth. People have been drugged with religion, and are fully under its influence. Therefore the Lord has no way to fulfill his eternal purpose in religion, including Judaism Catholicism and Protestantism."</i><br />
<br />
The one that really got an eyebrow raise out of me was Judaism.<br />
<br />
God has no way to fulfill his purpose in Judaism? And its laws and practices?<br />
Wasn't there a book in the bible that is nothing but a recording of all the old Jewish laws? Laws that were <u>literally</u> given to the Israelite's by God? The Law of the 10 Commandments which was given<u> literally written in God's hand? </u><br />
<br />
*walks across room and opens Bible to the book of Deuteronomy*<br />
Yep. Its still in there....<br />
<br />
I am not sure what this churches opinion is on the topic of "is the Bible Perfect?" But for argument's sake, lets assume that they think it is. Maybe I got this wrong.... but what it sounds like to me is that the only conclusion to this is that God set-up and "EVIL RELIGION" when God laid out the rules and practices of Judaism.<br />
<br />
But this could be explained if you go out on a limb and tap into Gnostic theology. But wait! It was declared in the concluding statements of this bible study that the Gnostic's and Secularism are both tools of Satin's "Evil Age."<br />
<br />
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<i>*Thump,Thump,Thump....</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
But what about the verses in Matthew? What this all started with? Which apparently back this "Evil Religion" sermon?<br />
<i><br /></i>
I don't know why one would select these verses to try and make this argument. Any of the other punished commentary that I have found is very positive and loving. Besides, we are talking about a vision of the kingdom of heaven after all. See link below:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/13-33.htm" target="_blank">Commentaries on Matthew 13-33</a><br />
<br />
In my opinion, that could have been done a lot better. If you are going to address the problem of people that practice "Religion" vs. serving God mindfully with their heart and soul. Actually pick a verse that clearly talks about it.<br />
<br />
Such as ;<br />
<br />
Matthew 23:23-28 (NTL)<br />
<span class="text Matt-23-1" id="en-NLT-23894">Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders</span><br />
<br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Matt-23-23" id="en-NLT-23915"><sup class="versenum">23 </sup><span class="woj">“What
sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.
Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from
your herb gardens,<sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-NLT-23915g" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NLT-23915g" title="See footnote g">g</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23915g" title="See footnote g">g</a>]</sup>
but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy,
and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important
things.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-23-24" id="en-NLT-23916"><sup class="versenum">24 </sup><span class="woj">Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!<sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-NLT-23916h" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NLT-23916h" title="See footnote h">h</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23916h" title="See footnote h">h</a>]</sup></span></span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Matt-23-25" id="en-NLT-23917"><sup class="versenum">25 </sup><span class="woj">“What
sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.
Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and
the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence!</span></span> <span class="text Matt-23-26" id="en-NLT-23918"><sup class="versenum">26 </sup><span class="woj">You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,<sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-NLT-23918i" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NLT-23918i" title="See footnote i">i</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23918i" title="See footnote i">i</a>]</sup> and then the outside will become clean, too.</span></span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Matt-23-27" id="en-NLT-23919"><sup class="versenum">27 </sup><span class="woj">“What
sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.
Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside
but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of
impurity.</span></span> <span class="text Matt-23-28" id="en-NLT-23920"><sup class="versenum">28 </sup><span class="woj">Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.</span></span></i><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="text Matt-23-36" id="en-NLT-23928"><span class="woj">It has been a while since I have seen something like this. But I am going to call this for what it is.<i> </i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="text Matt-23-36" id="en-NLT-23928"><span class="woj">In my opinion, and note..... I don't use this phrase lightly.</span></span><br />
<span class="text Matt-23-36" id="en-NLT-23928"><span class="woj">This was a case of <u>Bible Twisting</u>. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="text Matt-23-36" id="en-NLT-23928"><span class="woj">I call 'em like I see 'em. </span></span><br />
<br />
Soon we returned to the room where each group had a member stand up and
give a statement on the conclusions of each groups bible study.<br />
<br />
As the statements were given, I took time to reflect on all of the "Religion-based" things I saw in this church.<br />
<br />
- Reference to the "Bride Groom and his Bride" -Judaism<br />
- Alter in the center of the room.- Judaism<br />
<br />
But the icing on the cake had to be the lady the was wrapped in may scarves, wearing a doily on her head, that stood up and praised god for <i>"Plucking us up from the Evil Jewish Religion!" </i><br />
<br />
*bites fist trying not to laugh.<br />
See link: <a href="http://sweatyknitter.com/2012/07/01/women-religion-head-coverings/" target="_blank">Women and Religious head coverings</a><br />
<br />
Despite all of this I heard at least one thing I enjoyed today. One lady related living in Christ to the process of Physiotherapy. She said that (she?) had attended physio for her arm and that they taught her all the movements and exercises that she needed to do. But she knew if she went home and didn't do them, she would come back no better then she was before. To her, that is what living in Christ was. You go to church and they teach you what to do, but you don't get any better if you don't live for Christ the other 6 days of the week.<br />
<br />
Quote of the day:<br />
<br />
<i>"God wants us to be his Expression!"</i><br />
<br />
Despite my huge issue with the theology of this church. The people were actually really nice (save a few). They invited me downstairs for their lunch buffet,<i> </i>which was amazing by the way. I spoke with many of them about my ventures and future plans.<br />
<br />
My conclusions on this church are simple. It was a good idea that kind of went sideways. It was like a baseball player hit a home run, but the ball went a funny direction and it ended up flying backwards and into the stands where it clipped a lady's arm, bounced off the seat, and broke a guys nose.<br />
<br />
Yes I agree that there are a lot of Christians out there that follow ritual and have no concept of Christ in their heart, and that these people are making no progress towards being closer to God. That is concerning for their sake and can also give the rest of us a bad name. But I don't think think this church is the answer to this issue.<br />
<br />
At least not like this. <br />
<i> </i><span class="text Matt-23-36" id="en-NLT-23928"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span>
<span class="text Matt-23-36" id="en-NLT-23928"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span>Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-40025971506814593592015-12-22T14:42:00.000-07:002015-12-22T14:42:38.696-07:00Church #54 Grace Lutheran Church. So I missed the train. Again. Fun Fun.<br />
<br />
But I did eventually get there. And I happen to approach the back side of the church, as I was walking up to it.<br />
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I really enjoyed the decorations. It all felt very festive.<br />
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<br />
Everyone was singing when I walked in. So I sat in the back and proceeded to find my place. I noticed that some one was chiming a hand bell to try to keep the church singing in time. It worked.... sort of . <br />
<br />
As for the population, it was your standard 40-50 people, mostly causation and mostly in the 55-70 year old range. Or at-least at this service, there was another one earlier in the day but, I have no idea what the demographics of that one was like. And, yes sometimes the population that attends a 9 am service can be completely different from the ones that attends an 11 am service.<br />
<br />
In-fact today was all about the bells. They had all the Children come up to the front of the Church for the kids message. They received an intro to what a hand bell is. And got a little history on the use of church bells, and how they were used let people know what day was Sunday, and when it was time to come to Church. They gave the kids some jingle bells to rattle. And after that brief moment of satisfaction, the children all returned to their seats.<br />
<br />
Today was the 2nd Sunday of Advent.<br />
<br />
The church leader started off with telling us a story of the far north. And how the remote some parts of our territories are. And the deep, deep, silence that comes with it. We were told that the smallest noise would carry unbelievable distances, uninterrupted. On a regular basis, a mail plane would arrive in the town, and that plane would be heard a long time before it could actually been seen by the naked eye. He told us that, that is what he envisions when he thinks of the message of the profits and the coming of Christ. As something that can be heard well before it arrives.<br />
<br />
I took a moment to notice one of the glass panels, and I found it very interesting. Did you know that some of the disciples have animal associated with them?<br />
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I knew that John had the Eagle...... But the rest came as a surprise!<br /><br />
I am very happy to say that today's sermon was in favor of teens. There is only one other service I can remember at this point, that had a message that supported the needs and concerns of adolescence.<br />
<br />
The church leader explained how he worked with a group of teens and often participates in trips and activities involved with this group. As we all know most teens are deeply into music and some live and breath it. He mentioned that a lot of people out there (especially older people) feel there is no good music being produced now a days. This is not something new, and there is actually evidence that us as people actually do quit developing a interest in new music after a certain age. Check out the Link!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://music.cbc.ca/#!/blogs/2015/4/You-stop-listening-to-new-music-at-age-33-earlier-for-parents-study-finds" target="_blank">You stop listening to new music at age 33, earlier for parents, study finds</a><br />
<br />
There was a brief mention of "ear worms"<br />
aka. Songs that you get stuck in your head for no apparent reason.<br />
<br />
He church leader mentioned his was the "imperial march." From Star Wars.<br />
<br />
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You are welcome.<br />
<br />
What I really love is how he came to the realization that, these young people, are listening to these songs because the message in them. This message is something that resonates with them. And when he stopped listening with <i>"critical ears"</i> he realized that this music is indeed <i>"real"</i>, and provided a lot of insight into the minds and hearts of these young people. Young people that he has made a commitment to help and support.<br />
At this realization I am sure he felt some degree of distress. He proclaimed<i>;</i><br />
<i>"Do I have my head so far in the clouds?!!!" </i><br />
<br />
Sad to say, I feel that most of the seniors that he were trying to explain the message to didn't really take it seriously, and laughed him off. This I think is a great shame.<br />
<br />
Being some one who is smack in the middle of the of the Millennial generation. (people born between roughly the early 1980's to early 2000's.) I feel the weight of this "generational conflict." And all of the frustration and disconnect that comes from it. It is not fun. It truly is not.<br />
<br />
But I do feel the flaring anger and disconnect is not helping anything. It really doesn't. Has it ever?<br />
<br />
But I do have hope that there can be better communication and even co-operation between generations to help make everyone lives better.<br />
<br />
I think the film <i>"The Intern." </i>touches on this idea.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Quote:<br />
<br />
<i>"If you don't hear anything good on the radio, are you actually listening? " </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Near the end of the service the church leaders youngest son comes running up to him (2 years old)? . So he picks him up and holds him in one arm while finishing the service. I am not sure if that is an unusual sight for some. But I grew up knowing a priest who had a a very attached little boy, whom he would have to hold for half the service some days.<br />
<br />
After the service was over I had some time to talk to the church leader, he was even kind enough to let me take his picture and show off his robes.Which were home-made just for him, as a gift from his sister. <br />
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<i>ps. The lettering you see in Hebrew is Gods name. </i><br />
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So this is your look inside..... <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Not a bad church over all. I went down stairs afterwords for some
cookies and tea. And had some opportunists for some friendly
conversation. And then I was on my way. <br />
<br />
*crunch, crunch, crunch, ICE......! crunch, crunch, crunch........<br />
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<br />Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-57906613260320308022015-12-22T13:24:00.000-07:002015-12-22T13:24:32.916-07:00Farm The Land grow the Spirit 2016. Attention all devout Muslims, Christians and Jewish people between the ages of 19-29! The Stony Point, Farm The Land grow the Spirit Program is now taking applications for it's 2016 semester! So since I participated in this program last year, I will obviously not be going this year. But regardless it is an amazing opportunity. If you are comfortable in an interfaith environment and willing to learn and get a little dirty this summer, this is the place for you! Fallow the link for more info!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://stonypointcenter.org/multifaith-community/flgs#.VnmqgFI_A2w" target="_blank">Farm the Land, Grow the Spirit: A Multifaith Peace, Justice and Earthcare Program for Young Adults</a><br />
<br />
Tips!<br />
- Write a very solid in-depth multi page essay, and most of all, just be genuine.<br />
- Apply eraly!<br />
-If you don't apply, you will never know the answer to Murder Mystery Night!<br />
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I never trusted that piano player!....... ;) <br />
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<br />Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-84350061827832920242015-12-04T21:09:00.001-07:002015-12-04T21:09:21.955-07:00In the news! This was actually done a while ago, one day after my CBC interview. I didn't realize it was still online! <br />
<a href="http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmonton/2015/10/14/one-blogger-hopes-to-visit-100-churches-.html" target="_blank">http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmonton/2015/10/14/one-blogger-hopes-to-visit-100-churches-.html</a>Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-88694254133414619492015-12-04T20:36:00.001-07:002015-12-04T20:36:23.733-07:00Church #53. River City ChurchI actually found this church from their online presence, when I was not specifically looking for a church to visit. Very impressive, and just short of unbelievable considering how far behind many churches are with having any type of clear online communication.<br />
<br />
As most of you know, I use public transportation to get to all of my
churches, (plus occasional car-pooling), and this church is within easy
access of the LRT line.<br />
<br />
So when I came in, I was greeted immediately. Everyone was very friendly and interested in what I had to say and what I was doing there. I met the leadership, and I was quickly whisked around the building and given a comprehensive tour. And of coarse the first room I was shown was the nursery/mothers area. It was a room sectioned off all by itself, with a bunch of kids playing with lots of toys, and even further back was a separate changing/nursing room. I noticed the TV in the children's area and I was told that the sermon was broadcasted into the children's area for any parents that may need to stay there during the service, which I thought was a smart idea.<br />
<br />
But if any of you know me, you know that this was a less-than-comfortable experience for me (touring of the children's area and "meeting the kids" that is....).<br />
<br />
That's like a person with a fear of spiders, walking into a museum, meeting the friendly and enthusiastic curator that tells you she is honoured to have you there, and then immediately saying <i>"You really must see our new exhibit on tarantulas! It's one of our crowning gems!", </i>and then being taken by the hand and ushered into the exhibit, while trying not to lose your composure.<i> </i><br />
Needless to say, I survived it. It was very uncomfortable. <br />
I don't blame her in any way, there is no way she would have known.<br />
<br />
I feel that this church has really tried it's best to be accommodating. Besides the children's/mothers area, they had barrier-free washrooms, a side kitchen, caffeine bar, among other things.<br />
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Random side note:<br />
A large donation of 100 lbs of potatoes were donated to the church, and everyone got a load of free potatoes at the end of the service. Mine are currently in my fridge (soon to be french fries ;).<br />
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The main room where the service was being held kind of threw me back. It was pretty low-lit and fully set up to accommodate the band. (P.S. the whole "Fire Fall" this was from a conference they had, and they had just not taken it down yet).<br />
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As for the demographics of this place, there was roughly three dozen people, in their 20's-30's and a few people beyond that. 50/50 gender ratio. Despite being mostly caucasian, there were some First Nations people and African-Canadians at the service.<br />
<br />
As you can imagine the worship started with the band kicking into high gear. People in this church express themselves in a variety of manners; some people people put their hand to the sky in praise, some sit quietly with their head bowed, others go to the front and start jumping and dancing in front of the band, and some feel it right to fall to their knees and bow their head to the ground. All of the above are considered acceptable here.<br />
<br />
I asked afterwords that if there are cases of speaking in tongues that occur here. The church leader told me that it happens on occasion. One thing I am really hoping for while doing this project is to actually witness a person break out into tongue-speak, but it is rare. Hopefully I will be so lucky as to see it in one of the next 47 churches. <br />
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One of the songs in the worship was <i>At Your Name, w</i>hich is one of my faves. Partly because it gives you an excuse to jump around. <br />
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I find this all so interesting because when I was in NYC, part of my studies centered around the idea of "what is God's name"? This was part of the teaching we received from our Jewish faith leaders. They referred to the part of the bible where Moses encounters the burning bush and he is instructed to go to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to free the Israelite's. (back in those days everyone declared things<i> in the name</i> of their god). So Moses asked Gods name. He got two answers: the first was the well known "I am what I am". That is short for "I am not telling you", which is something pretty bold. Considering that it used to be believed that God(s) could be literately <i>"invoked and controlled"</i> if you called their name, Moses learned quick that this wasn't gonna work with this one. But he got a second name too: YHWH. But you can't pronounce it, and yet you say it constantly every day of your life. Follow the link for the rest of the explanation. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.paulkipnes.com/breathing-name-of-god/" target="_blank">Breathing the name of God. </a><br />
<br />
One of Rabiis teaching my group said that he suspects that when Moses approached Pharaoh and asked <i>in whose name do you declare this?,</i> Moses likely let out a long, loud and clear breath. Just image that going down for a second. I am not sure about you, but if I was Pharaoh, I would have been deeply intimidated, when the very force of life itself has told you to step-off. <br />
<br />
I also found the violinist in the band a refreshing touch. However, this is not the first violinist I have seen preforming with a worship team.<br />
<br />
One of the church members came up to give some of his personal stories and reflections. This was mainly based around his father death and his choice <i>"to get right"</i> with his remaining family members. He told us how he and his family had come from a Catholic background and then came to find God and love Christ in a new way. He said a lot, but there were two things he said that I found very profound:<br />
<br />
#1.<i> "People lie al lot at funerals. And I really don't like them."</i><br />
So luckily, I have not attended many funerals yet at this point in my life, but that was kind of a shocker for me. He said that people will say a lot of things, but they didn't really go visit that person very much, nor were they close with them. etc. I think the point of this is that we need to reflect ourselves and how we keep our relationships with those we care about.<br />
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#2. <i>"....He was Catholic but had not come to Christ yet." </i><br />
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Thank-you.......<br />
THANK-YOU! THANK-YOU!<i> </i>THANK-YOU!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
Finally some one acknowledged this!!! I once had a friend say that there is a difference between being religious and being spiritual. And there are many people in this world which are spiritual but not religious. But I think the less talked about are the <u>religious but not spiritual</u>. People that are literately so wrapped up in the procedure and practices of their religion, that they forget what is really the most important point. Having a relationship with God. and actually coming to embrace the salvation Christ brought us! And building the bridge with your heart and soul, that brings you closer to the almighty! Kind of ironic eh? <br />
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Today's service was very <i>"quotable".</i> Here are a few Gems for you:<br />
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<i>"The grace of God does not over-look sin, it gives you the power to overcome it." </i><br />
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<i>"The refugees are coming and I am not panicking! Our job is to LOVE people into the kingdom!"</i><br />
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<i>"We can't be Christians that are like ostriches with our head's in the sand!" </i><br />
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<i>"What is the end game? The end game is to fill heaven, and plunder hell!"</i><br />
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<i>"God will honour you, but he expects you to honour him back!" </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"God does not hold your past life ransom! Forcing someone to pay for their sins is witchcraft!"</i><br />
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And of course with talking about the world falling apart and refugees, we ended on the topic of the prime minister. We were told to pray for him and all of our leadership, as the bible taught us that we should. That didn't surprise me.<br />
But what did was the fact that he is a professing Christian, and he took an Alpha course! <br />
<br />
Here is the link to the artificial on him doing the course and his faith:<br />
<a href="http://www.contextwithlornadueck.com/blog/justin-trudeaus-christian-faith" target="_blank">Justin Trudeau's Christian Faith</a><br />
<br />
And here is a link to the official web-sight for the Alpha course:<br />
<a href="http://www.alphacanada.org/" target="_blank">Alpha Course</a><br />
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<i>"we need to stay vigilant and informed so we know how to pray." </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<i>"I am not a Liberal, but pray for him!" </i><br />
<br />
One of the big topics that was talked about today was the end of the world. Which was kind of uncomfortable for me.<i> "I don't want to be an sensationalist"</i> he remarked. He pointed out that a lot of the thing happening in the world are symptoms of the <i>"end time"</i> He also acknowledged that the idea that the end time will be "soon" is something that people have been throwing out there for forever. He brought up 1 Thessalonians 5:2<br />
<br />
<i>"For you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night." NLT.</i><span class="p"></span><br />
<span class="p"><br /></span>
<span class="p">Therefore we must remain vigilant and ready at all times. He reminded the room that the Bible says that in these time we should not panic. And that our focus should be to step up and love people into Gods kingdom. </span><br />
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He also gave his thoughts on the famous <i>"Weeping and gnashing of teeth"</i> line. In his mind, the rejection of God, and living without God, is a hell-filled life.<br />
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I think it is well put.<br />
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After all this they took the time to have people come up to the room that needed praying for so they could lay hands on them. What surprised me was that after they were finished praying for them, they started gently falling them to the ground and allowing them to just lay there for however long they needed. They also had a pile of personal sized blankets ready to cover each of them with. One of the young men that was prayed for and laid to the ground, had a noticeable medical disorder to do with his spine. He said that after he got up that something surprising happened when he fell. He said when he was under the blanket that <i>"I did get warm, I got hot!". </i>He explained that his back is almost always in pain or stiff when he walks, but now he feels fine!<br />
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<i>"I didn't ask for healing, but my back is no longer stiff!"</i><br />
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On a final note I would like to just say how comparably guy-friendly this church is. I really think they have done a good job making this environment comfortable and inclusive for men, without going to the extent of alienating the women (I have actually seen that before.)<br />
<br />
And pulling that off is hard.<br />
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Bravo to you River City! Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-88424864153200445622015-11-13T14:56:00.001-07:002015-11-25T01:53:24.325-07:00Church #52 St. Joseph's Cathedral Basilica Maybe it is just me.... but it is not as big as it looks....<br />
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From the inside anyhow.<br />
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So today I am happy to report that they did not shut down the LRT line for "testing"..... AGAIN....So I was actually able to take the train down town and then walk a few block to the church. It was a kind of a bleak rainy day, but I was able to get this photo from under my umbrella.<br />
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<span id="goog_1599388597"></span>Also, If you want a good look at this place, I suggest the Church's website where you can get a full interactive visual.<br />
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<a href="http://www.stjosephbasilica.com/basilica_tours.html" target="_blank">http://www.stjosephbasilica.com/basilica_tours.html</a><br />
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I walked into the giant main 3 door entrance, and encountered a wide cement set of stairs up to the main floor, as the building wafted with the sent of incense. There were three things about this church that surprised me right off the bat:<br />
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#1. Despite being a catholic church, I did not have to be there at 8am. The church had multiple service through the day. The options were <b>8:30 am</b>, <b>10:30 am</b>, <b>12:15pm</b> and <b>5 pm</b>.<br />
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#2. I got there a bit early, but by the time the service started 95% of the space in the pews was taken up. This place was FULL!<br />
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#3. As you well know I like to record the age range and demographics of a church, and I can tell you this one had a lot of families with slightly older kids, (but not necessarily a lot of young kids, maybe they were in the Sunday school/daycare?) This church was diverse, but I can tell you that that at-least 75% of this churches population is Filipino.<br />
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Even though remembrance day was not officially until Wednesday, the front of the church was already set-up with a wreath.<br />
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Seeing this church I feel is a strong example of how immigrants are helping preserve the christian roots of country, not destroying them. (not to say that<u> all </u>of Canada's roots are Christian, but <u>some</u> of them definitely are). Because lets be honest, us "old stock" 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, (I myself am 2nd-3rd mattering how you count it) generation Canadians have done a terrible job of keeping our churches alive. A few of them are holding out and doing well, but the bulk of them are simply dying out with their patrons. Diversity among the congregation is a big part of the reason this church can still open it's doors every Sunday. I call 'em like I see 'em.<br />
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One of the first announcements made after the church procession entered, was that there were pamphlets available at the back door that had to do with petitioning the Prime Minister to protect the environment.<br />
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In-between different parts of the service there was a talented young African-Canadian lady that sang a variety of hymns and worship songs at the front. I quite enjoyed it.<br />
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So the teaching today was the story of the widow with the two copper coins. I am not sure exactly what part of scripture it is taken from. Because it is listed in both Luke and Mark. But lets go with Mark.....<br />
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<h1 class="passage-display">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="passage-display-bcv">Mark 12:38-40</span><span class="passage-display-version"> (HCSB)</span></span></h1>
<i><span class="text Mark-12-38"><sup class="versenum">38 </sup>He also said in His teaching, <span class="woj">“Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes, and who want greetings in the marketplaces,</span> </span> <span class="text Mark-12-39" id="en-HCSB-24713"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">39 </sup>the front seats in the synagogues, and the places of honour at banquets.</span> </span> <span class="text Mark-12-40" id="en-HCSB-24714"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">40 </sup>They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher punishment.”</span></span></i><br />
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<h1 class="passage-display">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="passage-display-bcv">Mark 12:41-44</span><span class="passage-display-version"> (NIV)</span></span></h1>
<i><span class="text Mark-12-41"><sup class="versenum">41 </sup>Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.</span> <span class="text Mark-12-42" id="en-NIV-24716"><sup class="versenum">42 </sup>But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.</span></i><br />
<i> <span class="text Mark-12-43" id="en-NIV-24717"><sup class="versenum">43 </sup>Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, <span class="woj">“Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.</span></span> <span class="text Mark-12-44" id="en-NIV-24718"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">44 </sup>They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”</span></span></i><br />
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<span class="text Mark-12-44" id="en-NIV-24718"><span class="woj">In the first part of the scripture is a warning of those who may attempt to abuse their power in the church. And Jesus's emphasis that we need to care for the widow, the orphan and the alien (traveler) for they have nothing. </span></span><br />
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<span class="text Mark-12-44" id="en-NIV-24718"><span class="woj">It was also mentioned that we need to be carefully that when we do g</span></span><span class="text Mark-12-44" id="en-NIV-24718"><span class="woj">ood acts, they are actually motivated out of love. When the scribes pass the treasury, they contribute a large amount, but it is all in the name of keeping up appearances. The widow puts in her last two coins as a statement of faith. Apparently in the Greek translation the word they used to describe this giving was actually "</span></span><em>Bios" </em>which literately translates to the word "life". This woman gave so much more, because she was literately at the end of her rope and gave her <i>"life"</i> to God. While the scribe gave many times more, it was all worthless, as it was give out of pride.<br />
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"<i>We are all poor in love"</i><br />
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<i>"If we do things as good Christians out of pride and appearance, there is no room for Gods love." </i><br />
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But what kind of caught me, was a comment about how currently we need to question if sometimes our "tolerant and inclusive attitudes" are motivated by pride?..... Tolerant and inclusive of what? You could fill a lot of things in that blank...<br />
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Immigrants?<br />
Muslims?<br />
Members of the gay community?<br />
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And if so, is the support of these people/groups wrong? Or just wrong when it is done out of pride and not from Gods love? I will let you ponder on that...<br />
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So when time came to accept communion, you could tell that they anticipated a large crowd. I watched the priest bless 12 gold cups of wine and 5 bowls of rice crackers. I took communion that day. And as I was in the line-up I saw the congregation being patrolled buy a very strict looking (Filipino?) priest. I honestly could not even focus on receiving communion because I found this guy so intimidating... seriously.<br />
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P.S. So the wine today was real wine. White wine to be exact. And even thinking about it now, I am still trying to wrap my head around what it was. It was definitely sweet, but it was not a moscato or an ice wine. The flavour was very rich and well rounded. and I am not sure what percentage it was but it almost tasted fortified? Honestly, I think this one will just remain a mystery...<br />
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Also, Photographers! I seriously suggest you sneak in here! There is some serious eye candy in this church!<br />
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Adios my friends! <br />
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<i><span class="text Luke-21-4" id="en-NIV-25831"><span class="woj"></span></span></i><i><span class="text Luke-21-1"><span class="chapternum"></span></span><span class="text Luke-21-2" id="en-NIV-25829"></span><span class="text Luke-21-3" id="en-NIV-25830"><span class="woj"></span><span class="woj"></span></span><span class="text Luke-21-4" id="en-NIV-25831"><span class="woj"></span></span></i><br />
<i></i><i><span class="text Luke-21-4" id="en-NIV-25831"></span></i>Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-74139356305305861142015-10-28T15:47:00.002-06:002015-11-04T01:28:17.925-07:00 Church #51. Cross of Christ Lutheran Church of the Deaf <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(WELCOME) To this weeks edition of 100 Churches. As you might have guessed this week, I visited a church designed to accommodate a deaf congregation!<br />
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The building has a very interesting U-shaped lay out. It took me a moment to figure out the right door, but I got it eventually. Not much has changed inside of this church for a long time. It did not instantly hit me as being negative. Some of the best churches that I have been to have been very "untouched", but then again that has also been the case with some of the worst. Needless to say I was not too worried, especially considering the congregation that attends here. I can only imagine that they would need to be at least a little flexible. I was greeted by one of the deaf church members when I entered. He singed to me and then I simply waved back. I think he quickly understood that I didn't speak sign and a speaking person was soon there to meet me. I met the Church leader before the service and he greeted me. He told me that this was the Sunday that they were doing communion and then asked me the inevitable question of<i> "Are you Lutheran?" .</i><br />
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O God, here we go again.....<br />
<i> </i><br />
As you can imagine, the answer to that question was a long "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh........"<br />
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Then he went on to explain the difference between the Catholic and Lutheran perspective on communion. That while the Catholic's declare that after the wine and bread are blessed they are LITERALLY the body and blood of Christ, and that Christ is LITERALLY present while this is happening. While the Lutherans see communion in a more symbolic and spiritual sense.<br />
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Personalty, I never got the whole only-taking-communion-at-one-type-of-church-thing. And I really don't think it matters. <br />
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Who cares if it is Catholic or reformed? Who cares if it is a <i>certain type </i>of priest that blesses the bread and wine? Is it really relative what they, or the church members, think the symbolism of this ritual is?<br />
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The way I see it, communion is a holy ritual between two people. God and I. That's it. I could care less who blesses it. Or what building I am standing in. These factors are ambiguous and unimportant. <br />
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<i>Seriously.</i><br />
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As long as that person is a follower of Christ and holds Gods love in their heart, they are perfectly suited to do the blessing. And it is <u>legit</u>.<br />
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I would even let my little brother do it!!!!!<br />
(For real! He is a cool guy!)<br />
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Anyhoo..... back to the main story.<br />
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So after all that the church leader suggested that I <i>"maybe should not take communion today" . </i>You can only imagine how I felt. Then soon after he came scrambling back, and looked at me and asked me if I profess Christ to be my lord and savior? and I replied with an enthusiastic <i>"YES!"</i> So after further discussion, it was concluded that I could take communion today but to decide that for myself based on my own discretion.<br />
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* ps. I did receive communion today.<br />
The wine was a-mid quality Pinto Noir by my guess.<br />
It had rich fruity undertones of cherry and blackberry. <br />
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Before the service I noticed that the room had about a dozen people, almost all seniors (majority men) who had some very lively conversations going on. The room didn't have much sound but you could tell there was a whole lot of communication going on. One of the church members there told me that the deaf members really like to catch up with each other at church, because they spend most of their work week around only speaking people. I later talked to one of the speaking members of the church and he mentioned to me that he didn't know sign language personally, but he felt that the deaf members of the church could express themselves better with their hands sometimes, then we can with words, which to me makes sense. In some cultures in the world, a person's hands do half the talking.<br />
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I would like to apologize in advance for using a video clip from Eat, Love & Pray in my blog. I never thought I would stoop so low...<br />
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Just in case you were wondering, this was not an entirely deaf/signed church service. There was some speaking members at the church. In fact, the church leader himself did not sign and had a interpreter stand beside him during the entire service.<br />
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I was curious about a lot of things when I entered this church. How would a church have songs when almost no-one there can speak or possibly hear? Would the lords prayer be recited as a group? How would that work?<br />
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Well I got my answers and they were very interesting. The church still had songs that were read out of the song books. When it came time to actually start we were told that we were welcome to <i>"sing or sign along". </i>There was a church member that came to the front of the room as if to lead the song, and he did. With his hands. And the rest of the church members followed him with their hands, signing out the worlds of the songs (the same process was used for group prayers).<br />
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It was truly an interesting thing to watch. Instead of group "singing" to glorify God, they were "expressing their hands" in a flowing group performance to express their worship. It was a truly interesting sight to behold, and gave you a real sense of God's love for all.<br />
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I am not sure if you saw this one, but it came out 2013. As far as I understand this girl is not deaf, but has deaf parents, and she wanted them to be able to understand he kindergarten Christmas choir.<br />
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Super cute!<br />
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But besides how much accommodation there was for the deaf people at this church, what really came as a surprise was how much accommodation there was for me! l was quickly connected to the speaking people in the church, even where I
could sit next to a speaking person at lunch and they helped me find the papers and songbooks. Truly helpful and welcoming.<br />
<br />
There was a banner hanging from the front podium today advertising the story from the Bible that was going to be the center for today's scripture lesson. Something I have been wanting to hear for a very long time actually. Mark 10:17-27 <br />
<h3>
<span class="text Mark-10-17" id="en-NIV-24606">The Poor Young Rich Man. </span><span class="text Mark-10-17" id="en-NIV-24606"> </span></h3>
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<br />
<h3>
<span class="text Mark-10-17" id="en-NIV-24606">(NIV)</span></h3>
<i><span class="text Mark-10-17"><sup class="versenum">17 </sup>As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”</span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Mark-10-18" id="en-NIV-24607"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">18 </sup>“Why do you call me good?”</span> Jesus answered. <span class="woj">“No one is good—except God alone.</span></span> <span class="text Mark-10-19" id="en-NIV-24608"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">19 </sup>You
know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit
adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you
shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’<sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-NIV-24608a" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NIV-24608a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+10:17-27#fen-NIV-24608a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</sup>”</span></span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Mark-10-20" id="en-NIV-24609"><sup class="versenum">20 </sup>“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”</span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Mark-10-21" id="en-NIV-24610"><sup class="versenum">21 </sup>Jesus looked at him and loved him. <span class="woj">“One thing you lack,”</span> he said. <span class="woj">“Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”</span></span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Mark-10-22" id="en-NIV-24611"><sup class="versenum">22 </sup>At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.</span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Mark-10-23" id="en-NIV-24612"><sup class="versenum">23 </sup>Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, <span class="woj">“How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”</span></span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Mark-10-24" id="en-NIV-24613"><sup class="versenum">24 </sup>The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, <span class="woj">“Children, how hard it is<sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-NIV-24613b" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NIV-24613b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+10:17-27#fen-NIV-24613b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]</sup> to enter the kingdom of God!</span></span> <span class="text Mark-10-25" id="en-NIV-24614"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum">25 </sup>It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”</span></span></i><br />
<i> </i><i><span class="text Mark-10-26" id="en-NIV-24615"><sup class="versenum">26 </sup>The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”</span></i><br />
<i> <span class="text Mark-10-27" id="en-NIV-24616"><sup class="versenum">27 </sup>Jesus looked at them and said, <span class="woj">“With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”</span></span></i><br />
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<br />
<br />
Yes, the famous "Camel thru the Eye of the needle" sermon.<br />
After reading the scripture the church leader gave his thoughts and analysis of this piece of scripture;<br />
<br />
-Out of listing the regular 10 commandments Jesus also mentioned " you shall not defraud' which is a separate commandment listed in the book of Leviticus.<br />
-When the young rich man said he has kept all the commandments, Jesus looked upon him and <i>"loved"</i> him. He didn't lecture him about how he is not perfect or rebuke him in any way. He loved him. And offered him a place in his group of disciples.<br />
- Jesus was saying something that was very contradictory to the time. Jew's in that time believed that rich people were rich because God blessed them and they were God's favourites.<br />
-The church leader noted that <i>"wealth can be a barrier"</i> between us and God. And that <i>"The rich think they can trust in their wealth more then they trust in God" . "They can think they are self sufficient". </i><br />
-<i> "Wealth can be an obstacle to discipleship."</i><br />
<i> - </i>He finished by pointing out that this is a <i>"very sad story" </i>as this man was the only one that Christ called that could not fulfill the position of discipleship. <br />
<i><br /></i>
I understand the sad feelings that come with the end of this story, but in the last words. I find hope. <br />
<br />
Near the end of the service, there were a few more prayers. Those prayers also included something very important:the oncoming Canadian Federal election. We prayed that God grant wisdom to the voters and that we will be given good government.<br />
<br />
I voted.<br />
I am not sure how you feel about the new government. And our new young, good looking, marijuana-friendly Prime Minister. But regardless. This video gave me a good laugh.<br />
<br />
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<br />
A few other interesting things I found out after the service; there is another Church for the deaf here in the city. Actually there is multiple ones. But there is one with an entirely deaf congregation. So that church has no songs of any type included in the service, just because there is no point to it.<br />
I was also told that this churches population can fluctuate a lot. They "never really know" how many people will be at the service on Sunday and that there used to be a lot more attendants and many young children. (back in the day).<br />
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There was also one very interesting panels which I thought was stain glass. but was actually "Betonglas". This is an art style that requires the glass to be chipped to portray colour and is permanently set in cement. This art-form was founded in Rottweil, Germany in 1866. This art piece is made by Mr. Gunther Trick who has been trained in the art of "Betonglas" and has been living as a deaf person since the age of two. Mr.Trick has been involved in many pieces of art throughout Europe. Mr. Trick can be contacted at his residence of 9713-90 ave Edmonton Alberta.<br />
<br />
Got a photo inside the church before I left.<br />
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*sorry not the best photo<br />
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<br />
But regardless, it was a nice quiet Sunday, with a nostalgically-pleasant church with an interesting twist.<br />
<br />
And the weather for the walk home was good too!<br />
<br />
See ya'll next week! <br />
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<br />Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-2402035259107923722015-10-14T19:04:00.001-06:002015-10-14T19:04:38.992-06:00And then I ended up on the radio.... <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/AudioMobile/Edmonton%20AM/ID/2677048138/" target="_blank">CBC Radio Edmonton AM. </a>Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187851258736368065.post-42226794537244732972015-10-06T21:06:00.001-06:002015-12-04T00:26:00.590-07:00Church #50 Vietnamese Alliance ChurchSo this is the first official "Asian Church" that I have gone to.<br />
Pretty nice new building.<br />
Needless to say there was no sneaking into this one. I stuck out like a sore thumb the moment I entered the door.( However, I did not end up being the only white person there). The leadership was alerted immediately to my presence, while I met a verity of people and explained my project. I was escorted to the downstairs basement (where the English half of the service was) that doubles as a daycare center? (If I remember correctly?) There was a worship band of young people in there late teens and early twenty's at the front of the room rehearsing, with all the fold-up chairs set up in front of them for the audience to sit. I accidentally stumbled into a HUGE kitchen (located at the back of the room) where some hard working ladies were preparing a meal on the scale of what I would describe as a small feast( Vietnamese style) . There was defiantly a large share of children in the room, along with their parents.<br />
<br />
Initially I was pretty pleased with the environment and was happy to start up a conversation with a very tall fellow. I mentioned how I was impressed with this church and how I had been very unimpressed with some of the very conservative churches I have been to. He then expressed the idea that he actually liked a conservative worship service, especially singing hymns. Personally I like singing hymns just as much as the next girl, but I told him that is was the "fire and brimstone " style preaching that I can not tolerate. His reply was "Well there is fire and brimstone in the Bible......" Then the service started and our conversation was cut short.<br />
<br />
We took our seats and the service began. As you can Imagine there was some opening prayers and a performance by the worship band. A few announcements were made, and then the big highlight of my day showed up. They announced they were doing Operation Christmas Child! I AM SO STOKED!!!!!!<br />
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Personally there is nothing I love more then flying down the isles of the dollar store picking out a grand total of $18 worth of times that I know will make a world of difference, and a bright future for a child that is waiting for a blessing. <br />
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For those of you that are not familiar, Operation Christmas Child is ran each year by a christian charity by the name of Samaritan's Purse. Which is an <i>"Evangelical Christian humanitarian
organization that provides aid to people in physical need as a key part
of Christian missionary work." </i>Each year they have a campaign where they allow members of the public load a shoe box with school supplies, hygiene items, and toys, and send them as gifts to children in places of great need. This project has been going on for a while I think I was in 1998 That I can remember filling my first shoe box. I was Checking out their website and I found it really interesting some of the stories from adults who received the shoe-box as a child,and how it changed their lives.<br />
<br />
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/shoebox-stories-index/<br />
<br />
So at the start of the sermon, it was noted that the focus today would be on, the book <i>Ephesians</i> which today was being described as the "blueprint" for the church. Written buy the Apostle Paul *(for some this fact is debated) . <br />
<br />
The great boxer, Muhammad Ali was quoted saying that in the end of time we will be judged by our deeds. If we have done more good deeds then bad we will go to heaven.<br />
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<br />
The Church leader made it clear that Mr. Ali was wrong and that is not true. And then went on to explain the whole "<i>saved by Grace (freely given and undeserved love from God) thru Faith (belief that Christ was the son of God and paid for our sins, and has redeemed all of us)</i>" philosophy, and the whole "<i>death is the wages of sin</i>" thing.<br />
<br />
Then there comes the whole comparison of what is <i>redemption</i> and what is <i>salvation?</i><br />
<br />
<i> </i>As far as I can understand redemption is something we all now have, that Christ<i> </i>covered everyone's tab from now into eternity. We are paid up. He took on all the suffering we deserved, so that we can now and forever stand before God with our heads held high.<br />
Now salvation, as far as I can understand, comes from believing that Christ was the son of God and has paid for our sins.<br />
<br />
Question then becomes; What is salvation?<br />
Salvation is a multi-faceted concept that needs a lot of explanation.<br />
<a href="http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/salvation/" target="_blank">http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/salvation/</a><br />
<br />
And basically what was being taught here today at this is that only Christians are entering Gods kingdom and everyone else is Shit-Out-Of-Luck. And that their souls will simply die. Yes die. Not be thrown to the depths of hell and damnation. Just simply die off. The wages of sin is<i> "death"</i>, not "<i>damnation".</i><br />
<br />
And according to this church is also not acceptable to "cherry pick" from other religions ex. Buddhism and Hinduism. ( I have seen this referred to before as "unacceptable man made religion" in other sources. )<br />
<br />
I never actually stayed for the end of the service because I had somewhere to be so I rushed out near the end and ran across town.<br />
<br />
I hate to say, but this place is currently not making my favorites list. <br />
<br />
Now for my rant.....<br />
<br />
First the whole Muhammad Ali thing.<br />
<br />
Dude. You are comparing apples to oranges.<br />
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<br />
Muhammad Ali read the Koran, obeyed the teachings of the profit Mohamed (s), and fallowed Islam.<br />
<br />
THE DUDE WAS MUSLIM!!!! OF COURSE HIS PHILOSOPHY ON JUDGEMENT IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT!!!<br />
<br />
And at the moment after reading a bunch of quotes from the guy, I actually have a lot of respect for him. (hes got a little attitude to spare, but I like it.) <br />
<a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/muhammad_ali.html" target="_blank">http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/muhammad_ali.html</a><br />
<br />
Particularly for this actually.<br />
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<br />
My summer course in NYC has given me a new and unique perspective on Christianity Via its Jewish ancestors and Muslim cousins. I was kind of surprised when I learned that the other two Abrahamic faiths see judgement, and the life after, very differently then Christianity. Despite all being based on the same foundation.<br />
<br />
Judaism I find particularly interesting because it is the foundation of our faith and where we get the whole "the soul can die" concept from. Also Judaism teaches that the evil that we hold within our hearts then become demons that we need to purge yourself of in the afterlife. And you are outside of Gods kingdom until you have defeated all of them, only after that are you are allowed in.<br />
<br />
ps. This "demon fighting" process will last no longer then 12 months.<br />
*yes there is actually a time limit on this.<br />
<br />
Islam is another story. After we die we meet God, we are raised and judged in accordance to the "Communities" (spiritual) that God sees us as belonging to. And then when we are handed judgement. If<br />
it comes in one hand, we enter his kingdom, if it is in the other hand, we go to hell, <i><u>but......</u></i>If we know God we will not stay there.<br />
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Yes according to our faith relatives, you can get yourself <i>....OUT OF HELL!!! </i><br />
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Sorry. I had to do it. :P<br />
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That and knowing God, I believe fully in his love for<u> all </u>of us. And that he would not write us off. <br />
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Chew on this if you will....God is the creator of all. God is love. God made man. God created Buddha, God created the profit Mohammad (s) and the savior Jesus Christ, God knows what is Going to happen. God knew that These people would be seen as directors towards the almighty, and have religious followings. God has purpose or meaning in all that he does.Why would God do all this to set a trap? <br />
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I refuse to believe that God simply drops us into this world onto a "Russian Roulette Religions Board Game" loaded with hundreds of bullets and only one empty space. And the tag line <i>"Better pick right or you are not getting in!" </i><br />
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No.<br />
F#@K. No. <br />
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But lets just throw this Idea out there say that there is only two roads, Heaven or Damnation. Lets just say for fun-zies that If you don't fallow the<u> "<i>True faith</i>"</u> you are not getting in. Then that brings to question what is the true faith? Christianity? and if so, does it matter which denomination?<br />
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I don't consider this question worthy of wasting my brain power over, however there is something That comes to mind....<br />
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* Hopefully the link works.<br />
<a href="http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=123_1190395606&comments=1" target="_blank">The Correct Answer is .........</a><br />
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Second of all; Salvation.<br />
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One of the best things I have ever heard about this topic is when a pastor said to me that<i> "Salvation Starts Now! "</i><br />
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To me salvation is a personal transformation, that comes with the realization, that we are set free in Christ. And hence us, then becoming inspired, to fallow in his ways. And when we do fallow in his ways, our minds are transformed. Bringing us into unity with the "body" of Christ.<br />
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Or maybe I am wrong? Maybe my thoughts on salvation are bogus? Maybe I need to be ready to simply kiss 90% of my friends away because they haven't "proclaimed their belief in Christ" and allegiance to a certain church?<br />
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Regardless. I am not God. And I don't know the right answer. But in the mean time, I am sticking with my guns. And for those of you that say I am in denial.... well. In the words of the great Adam Savage;<br />
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Then there is our buddy Paul , o Paul....<br />
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Just before I did my summer program in NYC, I came to a friend with some personal issues. How was I supposed to have peace meeting all these new Muslim and Jewish friends? And not feel terrible? Spending 2 months becoming close with people that are deeply devoted to a faith that is<u> not Christian</u>. Will any of them be with me in the next life? Paul has a similar dilemma. Paul was a hew that accepted Christ as his savior, and then was faced with the fact that the rest of his close family members.Who had <u>no</u> interest in converting. Paul stews on this and goes back and forth may times. In the end he concludes that's "only God knows Gods will" as to what will be the fate of these people, and leaves it at that. This was in the book of Romans written in what is thought to be the year 57 AD. Addressed to believers in Rome. <br />
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What was talked about today was in the book of Ephesians written by Paul during his first imprisonment around 60 AD. This was written to believers in Turkey. <br />
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So apparently Paul is this rock of a man that will stop at nothing to spread the world and convert the masses, with his whole "Christ or nothing" Philosophy. And then the very issue he stands hard on, falls in his own back yard and it becomes a different story.<br />
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But, I take this all with a grain of salt.<br />
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Paul is know for going over-board with the message. God even had to stop him and reprehend him at one point because he was getting too out of control. And he actually joined the Apostles <i>after </i>Christ's death and never even met the guy! (except briefly in spiritual form).<br />
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Like I said, Paul is, as Paul does.<br />
Try not to judge the guy. <br />
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And Frankly. I think a lot of the other major religions I have learned about all have very similar main focuses that are not far off of Christ's message at all. I am sure Jesus would have fully approved of Buddha's philosophy of the importance of respecting and caring for the elderly. And Islams practice of stopping on daily regular intervals to pray. Yes they have their differences, but they were all founded in different places, times, by different people in different social/political climates. Despite all the central message remains the same, that we all need to live out Gods love everyday.<br />
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<br />Alanna Lastiwkahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14738845177720493363noreply@blogger.com0