Dear Passing the Peace Readers, 

Peace be with you. Somehow we have managed to find ourselves already at the least week of July and I hope that you haven’t had to search too hard to find the Peace of Christ in your midst during these beautiful and sometimes too hot summer days. 

For those of you who are writers, you may want to pull out your journal. But if not, I hope the following prompt will tickle your imagination all the same: 

Imagine a future where there is no longer a church. A young child approaches you and asks: What was church? How do you answer? 

I’d imagine I would say something like this: 

Church was a special place you could go where, no matter who you were, people would care about you because we believed in a Loving God whose love we could share with each other.

Church was a special place because no matter how busy and noisy normal life was you could always have somewhere to go to feel peace. 

Church was a special group of people. We believed God’s Love was everywhere and always so we didn’t keep it to ourselves. We took care of our neighbours. 

Church was a place that made sure we learned how to listen and take care of our hearts. Many places in the world taught us to not take care of ourselves, each other, or the Earth.

Church helped us remember we are all connected to one another so we could learn, heal, and grow together. 

What would you add to this conversation? 

 

I’m going to be away this Sunday and very grateful that our student minister from last year, Jayden, will be returning to share in worship with you. However, I will be back with you for a couple of more weeks before heading out on vacation. If you’d like to make a point to connect before August 13th please feel free to reach out. 

May the peace of Christ be with you as you find moments to join Creation in singing God’s praises this week

May we offer our songs of gratitude and joy alongside the blooming flowers, the glowing fireflies, and chirping crickets, 

 

Yours in Christ, 

Rev Michiko