Church #60. St. Alphonsus Cathloic Church.

Hey Folks! Welcome to Palm Sunday 2016!

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:

#1- 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.

#2- He was so happy, he was nearly crying...... 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.

Of the many life lessons I have learned in this whole process, is that you can't judge a book by it's cover.

Eventually the choir stopped and the priest said a few words. He opened the Bible and read the The Triumphal Entry 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).

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.

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.

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.

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 "God why have you forsaken me?". The name sums it up well.

Then the priest, with the participation of others, read through the whole Passion (aka Christ's betrayal, conviction and execution) .

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.
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:

#1- Apparently Jesus started sweating blood?

Link- Why did Jesus sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane?

#2- 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!

But if all that is not enough for you, there was also an earthquake.... yes, an earthquake.
Link- Geological Study May Indicate Earthquake Described by Matthew

Quotes of the day!

"He will not be one with power the normal sense."  
 * the priest pointed out that this is a consistent theme with the messiah.

"It is God's word that will change the world."

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.

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!"
*not to say that all Church leaders would/and or have responded that way.

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 Windex.

 
 And for those of you that get the joke, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is coming out!

Link- My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 - Official Trailer (HD)

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.
I am sure he got his share of odd looks.

It is people like this man that make me stop and remember, one of Christ's most important teachings when he said "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Matthew 20:16. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Photo time! 

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".

Church #59. Holy Trinity Anglican Church

....And welcome back ladies and gentlemen!

I showed up a bit late.

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. 

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.

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... “it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey”. 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. 

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.  

Recipes!!! 
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!


Fun fact!- the word manna; when translated from Hebrew literately means "what is it?"  

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 "Can pastors be saved?" 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 pride. 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 have crossed that line many times before." and how he must strive to stay on the right side.

Sometimes, even the pastor needs to check himself at the door. 

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. "This church has no further requirements beyond these". 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.

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 we don't judge. 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.

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.

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!

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.. really bad. 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!

For those of you that are not familiar with this, please enjoy the video as an example!

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 Fringe .

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!

The building its self is quite elegant. And it includes the typical ceilings that resemble the hull of a boat flipped upside-down.

And as always...I will never miss an opportunity to photograph St.George the dragon slayer!

Have a good week y'all !!!

Church #58. Rio Terrace Community Moravian Church

Hello Sunday, I see you are back for another week!

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.

**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.**

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!

 ".....How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings..."

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 "A story about how Jesus wants children to be leaders." and at the end he asked them "How can you be a good leader?" 

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!

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 three bites of a peanut-butter sandwich recently. 
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. 
"This is a break thru!" she proclaimed.

The scripture discussed today was Mark 10:32-52 (ESV)

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

³² 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, ³³ saying, “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. ³⁴ And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

The Request of James and John

³⁵ 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.” ³⁶ And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³⁷ And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” ³⁸ Jesus said to them, “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?” ³⁹ And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, ⁴⁰ 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.” ⁴¹ And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. ⁴² And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,^{[a] 44} and whoever would be first among you must be slave^[b] of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

⁴⁶ 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. ⁴⁷ 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!” ⁴⁸ And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” ⁵⁰ And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” ⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

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. In short; "They wanted to be Lieutenant Messiah's". 
After a brief pause of silence, he said "....I thought that joke would go over better." 

Regardless... we got a good laugh. 

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 meandering thinker, 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 "no way of thinking is better then others," 

Then something happened that I did not expect. The pastor brought up the issue of social privilege based on race, gender, class etc. 

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? 

If you are still trying to wrap your head around this whole white-privilege thing, here is a good comic that explains it. White Privilege Explained
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Random Fact:
There is a not-for-profit cafe run by the Moravian church out in St.Albert. And they are looking for volunteers!
http://www.commongroundcommunitycafe.org/ 


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.

Have a good week Y'all!

Church #57. The Salvation Army

Believe it or not, this group does more than just Christmas Kettles and support for impoverished.
They are a Church, and a very interesting one at that.

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

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.

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. 

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.

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.

"Make a Joyful Noise!"

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

"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!"

He then continued to quote a long list of other Bible passages related to singing in worship. Mostly from the Old Testament and one from the New. If I remember correctly it was Ephesians 5:19 NIV.

"speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,"

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. 

Side note: Today is Feb 14th! Happy Valentines day!

 Who was Saint Valentine?

Following, there was children's time.
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!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

Daily Quote: " You can't talk about Jesus or God without talking about love!"

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 am getting the shakes from this!" .

Then I got lost. 
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. 

But anyhow we covered the three major points that are in relation to the creation of man. 

#1. Humanity was made in God's Image and Likeness.

#2. Humanity has been given dominion over the earth. 
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. 

#3. Humanity is ordered to be fruitful and multiply.
Then speaker then declared that the interpretation that EVERYONE should be married and having kids is wrong. She pointed out, that neither Jesus, or the Apostle Paul ever got married or had children.

But wait....did they? and if no, then why not?....

Spoiler alert.
Two questions might shake the foundation of everything you have ever known.....

#1.  Was Jesus Married? A Careful Look at the Real Evidence
#2.  Was the Apostle Paul Gay? 

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!
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????!!!!!!

READ ON IN WONDER!!!!! 

The Blood line of Christ and Generation No.100

I have too much fun at this some days
:P

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.

Salute, and Carry On!

Church #56. Robertson-Wesley United Church.

Hello Sunday morning! I see you are here again... on time...
*sips coffee in an attempt to wake up.*

Ok, we are here!

I also noticed one of these cute little library boxes outside of the church! So cute and handy!

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. 

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 "Declaration of love and acceptance." And this is how it went:

"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." 

When I hear this, and think of Christ, it makes a lot of sense.
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 John 4). 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 John 8:1-11). He went out into the countryside to heal many chronically ill and  highly infectious people. This was completely taboo to the Jewish people.

Jesus broke the rules, and I love him!
#breakalltherules!!!!

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 "God on Tap".  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, "What does it mean to live bravely in your faith?" I personally suggest planning or finding one of these events for yourself.

Highly Recommended!  

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.

Today was two stories in one, Jesus heals Jairus' daughter and Jesus heals the woman with the "Issue of Blood"

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.

I suggest fallowing the link, I think it gives a really good break down of this piece of scripture.
Jesus Heals Jairus’ Daughter (Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43)

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. “Talitha koum!” which translates to roughly “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”

Fun fact:
Jesus's spoken language = Aramaic.
Language Gospels are written in = Common Greek.

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.

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.

You might also be surprised to know, getting to our readable English Bible we have today, was one heck of a struggle.
Timeline of how we got the English Bible

Quotes of the day:

"We get told 1000 ways 'Don't get your hopes up! '"

"We know as long as God is with us, there is hope!"

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.

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.

 Over all this was a good Sunday and I enjoyed my time at this church.

"Go into the world with daring and tender love!" 

Church #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.

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).

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.

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.

Single Person:" Praise Lord Jesus!"
Whole Church: "Amen!"
Single Person: " You are the one who saves us!"
Whole Church: "Amen!"
Single Person: "You are the one who delivers us!"
Whole Church: "Amen!".......

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.

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.

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.

I am still shaking my head reading this piece of paper today, as I did when I first received it.

It covers two parables in Matthew 13:33 and 13:44.

13:33 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. 

13:44 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. 

(There is no reference as to what style of translation this is from.) 

Needles to say I was unimpressed with the explanatory text that was given.

The first sentence sums up the body of the text pretty well. "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."  It goes on to explain that we need to be aware of and avoid "Religion" which is described as "dead doctrinal knowledge" that can be found "in Satin's department". In this case this text defines religion as "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." 

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.

 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.

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.

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.

I saw every face in the room perk up and stair at me like I had just said something profound.

There were a few other statements in this that I found interesting such as: " 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."

The one that really got an eyebrow raise out of me was Judaism.

God has no way to fulfill his purpose in Judaism? And its laws and practices?
Wasn't there a book in the bible that is nothing but a recording of all the old Jewish laws? Laws that were literally given to the Israelite's by God? The Law of the 10 Commandments which was given literally written in God's hand?

*walks across room and opens Bible to the book of Deuteronomy*
Yep. Its still in there....

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.

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."

*Thump,Thump,Thump....

But what about the verses in Matthew? What this all started with? Which apparently back this "Evil Religion" sermon?

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:

Commentaries on Matthew 13-33

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.

Such as ;

Matthew 23:23-28 (NTL)
Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders

²³ “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,^[g] 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. ²⁴ Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!^[h]
25 “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! ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,^[i] and then the outside will become clean, too.
²⁷ “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. ²⁸ Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.


It has been a while since I have seen something like this. But I am going to call this for what it is. 

In my opinion, and note..... I don't use this phrase lightly.
This was a case of Bible Twisting. 

I call 'em like I see 'em. 

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.

As the statements were given, I took time to reflect on all of the "Religion-based" things I saw in this church.

- Reference to the "Bride Groom and his Bride" -Judaism
- Alter in the center of the room.- Judaism

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 "Plucking us up from the Evil Jewish Religion!" 

*bites fist trying not to laugh.
See link: Women and Religious head coverings

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.

Quote of the day:

"God wants us to be his Expression!"

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, which was amazing by the way. I spoke with many of them about my ventures and future plans.

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.

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.

At least not like this.
 

Church #54 Grace Lutheran Church.

So I missed the train. Again. Fun Fun.

But I did eventually get there. And I happen to approach the back side of the church, as I was walking up to it.

I really enjoyed the decorations. It all felt very festive.

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 .

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.

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.

Today was the 2nd Sunday of Advent.

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.

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?

I knew that John had the Eagle...... But the rest came as a surprise!

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.

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!

You stop listening to new music at age 33, earlier for parents, study finds

There was a brief mention of "ear worms"
 aka. Songs that you get stuck in your head for no apparent reason.

He church leader mentioned his was the "imperial march." From Star Wars.

You are welcome.

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 "critical ears" he realized that this music is indeed "real", 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.
At this realization I  am sure he felt some degree of distress. He proclaimed;
"Do I have my head so far in the clouds?!!!" 

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.

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.

But I do feel the flaring anger and disconnect is not helping anything. It really doesn't. Has it ever?

But I do have hope that there can be better communication and even co-operation between generations to help make everyone lives better.

I think the film "The Intern." touches on this idea.

Quote:

"If you don't hear anything good on the radio, are you actually listening? " 

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.

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.

ps. The lettering you see in Hebrew is Gods name. 


So this is your look inside.....

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.

 *crunch, crunch, crunch, ICE......! crunch, crunch, crunch........