Have you heard the parable about the blind men and the elephant. As the story goes, a group of blind men stumbled upon an animal that they had never experienced before. In an attempt to understand what they were facing they each reached out and once they found it they groped one part. The first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said, “This being is like a thick snake”. For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said the elephant, “is a wall”. Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.
Sometimes we get caught up in what we experience and see and forget that others might not see things the same way. As the province is heading into green on Friday, some of us are jumping for joy – goodbye mask, hello all the activities we have been missing. Others of us are more anxious now than before- the vaccine levels are not high enough, almost everywhere else that had opened up is now rolling back, my health is more at risk now than before.
The truth is neither of these responses are wrong, they are just touching different parts of the elephant. As we move forward as a community of faith we need to keep in mind the full spectrum of peoples responses and that members of our community have different risk factors than ours. In our scripture, Cain famously asks “Am I my brother’s keeper?” What we forget sometimes is the answer God gives us is yes. We are to keep care of our brothers and sisters, support, uphold and respond to their needs. What this means going forward is still being discussed, what I can tell you is that our life in green will look and feel a little different then it did pre-pandemic. When we have more details we will communicate them directly.
On that note in August, this Sunday, worship of Downtown United shifts to Wilmot. The service time will be 10:30am and we are reminded that they are SCENT free. As part of making sure that everyone still feels comfortable, their COVID Committee has decided that when coming to worship expectations will be:
-Sanitize your hands when you enter
-Masks are required
-Congregational singing is allowed (which is new for Wilmot)
-Socially distanced seating is continued
As we seek to protect each other and ourselves, we strongly encourage everyone to get two doses of a COVID vaccine, if they are able. As Dr. Russel said this week, we are depending on the vaccine to do the heavy lifting of keeping people safe. We also know that vaccines do nothing if they are not in peoples arms, so if you still need a dose or two here is the link to register: https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/corporate/promo/covid-19/nb-vaccine.html#2
If anyone is having trouble registering or needs transportation, please let our office know.
As we go into this weekend of change, let us pray:
God you know our hearts and minds,
Our joys and anxieties,
We bring them before you.
Help us to see beyond ourselves,
To discern your wisdom for ourselves and the world.
We pray in the stressful and uncertain time
that you continue to provide us with a firm foundation.
You who are the rock on which we stand
And the life to which we look.
Wave your banner high that we might not lose our way.
This we pray. Amen.
1 – Worship announcements
2 – Church office hours
3 – Summer Cooling station
4 – Seeing God Summer Challenge
5 – Pantry in Need
6 – Pastoral Care Team
1 Downtown United Summer Services In person worship for Wilmot & St Paul’s United Churches moves to Wilmot United for the month of August. The service begins at 10:30 am.
You may also access the service from the safety of your own home through our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/wilmotunitedchurch or later through the Wilmot Website http://www.wilmotuc.nb.ca.
This Sunday, the Worship committee and the music team, with Doug Beairsto inserting video clips from the United Church of Canada’s 96th Anniversary Service.
Please remember that Wilmot is a SCENT FREE space to keep everyone safe.
2 Interim Church Office Hours: We are running a reduced schedule of hours:
Monday to Thursday inclusive from 10 am -2 pm. These will continue through August or until a new Church Manager is found.
3. A “dry run” for the cooling station will happen August 11th from 12:30-5pm in the shady area adjacent to the Public Library. This is one way our faith community can positively impact our community. If you are interested in finding out more and volunteering come by during this season to learn what will happen, see the arrangement and if you are feeling called sign up to volunteer. The cooling station is a joint project with public health, downtown clinic, city of Fredericton and churches across the city! They will also be looking for donations of snacks.
4 Seeing God Summer Challenge it is never too late to start the challenge in fact attending one of the Downtown United worship services Wilmot is one of the activities and you will have your first chance August 1st. You can get your copy of this years summer challenge in the Narthex, on our website at http://www.stpaulsunited.ca/summer-challenge/ and through facebook.
4 The pantry continues to help bridge the gap for many in our community, it keeps many children and seniors from going to be hungry. Because of the need created by the pandemic the pantry will be remaining open this August and we need your continued support. Some of the biggest needs are: fruit cups, pudding cups, soda crackers, Kraft dinner, canned milk, apple and orange juice(1 L size), sardines, jams, molasses, paper towels, and cookies.
5 Pastoral support team – Training and ongoing connection will be part of this group. So is there someone who you have found to be a big support in your life, someone in the congregation you feel listens well and can hold things in confidence? Are you the type of person who would be interested in supporting others by listening to their stories and encouraging them? If you answered yes, this might be the place for you to serve in God’s church.