Come Let Us Sing & ASL in the United Church

The team after a day of filming at the General Council Office: (front) Rev. Phil Weston; (left to right) Helen Bickle, Kim Upton, Leah Riddell, Alydia Smith; (back) Owen Sheppard, PJ Boyd.

Credit: Rev. Phil Wilson

 2 Open my ears, that I may hear

voices of truth thou sendest clear;

and while the wavenotes fall on my ear,

everything false will disappear.

Silently now I wait for thee,

ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine!

While I was minister of Bridge St. United Church in Belleville (my final pastorate) we were approached by the local Quinte Deaf Fellowship about using our space for the small congregation. The building in which they gathered had been condemned and they were homeless for worship. Would we have room for them for a few weeks until they found a suitable home? We gave them use of our lovely chapel as well as a small office and in the end they stayed for a year -- an unexpected relationship we made work. 

That Fall we had a guest speaker for our anniversary service who had a connection to this community so we invited their congregation to join us and found an ASL interpreter. There were members of the congregation who could sign as well because of their involvement with the Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf in Belleville. 

I was interested to see that the United Church has developed an online video resource for the deaf and that the pastor of the Belleville congregation is one of the team.  There are different ways of seeing and hearing the Good News and we may take our senses for granted. As we attend worship today we might give thought to those who are hearing challenged to varying degrees and what this means for full participation in congregational life, including singing. Here is a portion of the recent news release. 

Published On: September 11, 2024

At the same time as we commemorate 100 years of The United Church of Canada in 2025, we also consider what we’d like to sing for the next century, and how this reflects full participation for everyone. Developing new resources is an investment in the faith formation and spiritual health of the Church.

Then Let Us Sing! is a Centennial project, and the ASL videos are mandated within the project. Most of the ASL videos on the YouTube channel originate in the United States, so expanding the availability of Canadian options was important to consider in the development of the project, says Rev. Phil Wilson, consultant interpreter and coordinator.

The videos are recorded with high-quality music, vocals, and signing, and are available to include in worship alongside traditional ways of singing hymns. They are available on The United Church of Canada’s YouTube channel

Communities of faith would need to report the songs using their own copyright license.

“Any inclusion of ASL hymns is always a way of introducing a hearing congregation to Deaf ministry,” says Wilson. “Deaf ministry has had a history of lacking resources and is primarily self-resourced; as such, any expansion of resources can only be a positive.”

Amen!
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The Outrun and Healing

 

A couple of years ago I wrote about the memoir called The Outrun by Amy Liptrot. It would be simplistic to reduce this to a reflection on addiction and recovery but this is at the heart of Liptrot's journey. I found it a compelling read because it is so honest, to the point of being almost overwhelmingly bleak at times, while also beautifully written and ultimately hopeful. 

Liptrot grew up on one of the Orkney Islands in a household with a bipolar father. When he eventually left her mother became a fundamentalist Christian. Leaving Orkney was a liberation and the gateway to deep addiction that destroyed relationships and a promising career. Stints in rehab didn't work and in desperation she reluctantly returned home. It was in this raw, scraped down setting that Amy took the halting steps toward recovery.

Now there is a film of the same name with the brilliant Saoirse Ronan as Rona, aka Amy Lipcott. Much of it is filmed on the farm where Liptrot lived and she is one of the writers of the screenplay. In an interview she reflects on how surreal it has been to see out-takes of her own life played with remarkable authenticity by Saoirse Ronan, right to birthing lambs on screen. Every review I've seen praises Ronan and this autobiographical picture. We can hardly wait to watch it. 

                                                            Saoirse Ronan and Amy Liptrot

More and more we're hearing of studies demonstrating that time in the natural world can be a source of healing. Various jurisdictions around the world, from Japan to Canada to Great Britain, are endorsing the literal prescriptions for nature-based health in body, mind, and spirit. 

One of the best books on addiction from a spiritual perspective is Addiction and Grace (1988) by Gerald May, the late psychiatrist and Christian spiritual director. He contends that all of us have addictions of some kind, often socially acceptable, and that addressing addiction is a spiritual enterprise where the grace of God is vital. 

Not long before his death May wrote The Wisdom of Wilderness, a very personal reflection on how time in the natural world allows us to address fears and to heal. 

Amy Liptrot discovered this and I hope we all can. 

St Francis & the Climate Emergency

 

The oldest surviving depiction of St. Francis is a fresco near the entrance of the Benedictine abby of Subiaco, painted between March 1228 and March 1229.

 Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly.  And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’  Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:16-21 NRSVue

Today is the Feast of St. Francis in the Christian Calendar and this marks the final day of the Season of Creation/Creation Time/Creationtide. This was deemed a fitting conclusion to these five weeks of reflection upon and celebration of Creator and Creation because Francis, the 12th century Italian ascetic and mystic, loved creatures and what we often call the natural world. There are stories, some of them fanciful, about Francis communing with birds and convincing a wolf to stop preying on the flocks of a small village. Francis is credited with staging the first Living Nativity, likely creating the picture of adoring farm animals as well as the shepherds and angels actually mentioned in Luke's gospel. In many congregations this is the day for a Blessing of the Animals. 

I have been pondering this blog entry for a couple of weeks and wondering what I might say. It occurs to me that while we might prefer the warm and sometimes maudlin images of Francis and the critters another essential aspect of his preaching and witness was radical simplicity. He came from a life of privilege and gave this up, to his family's dismay, charismatically attracting young followers who soon formed the Franciscan and Poor Clare religious orders.

Francis is specifically the Roman Catholic patron saint of animals and ecology but he has been embraced as an examplar for Christians of many traditions. Are we willing to heed Francis' call to simplicity, particularly in the nations where the gospel of more and more outweighs any other conviction? In the past week we've watched with dismay the movement of Hurrican Helene through six American states, followed by the frantic search for survivors and the dead. 

The unprecedented devastation far inland has stunned officials, even though climate scientists have warned of an increasing number of storms supercharged by climate change. The city of Asheville, North Carolina,  population 95,000, has been hard-hit, with the trendy downtown swept away by flood waters. There is a grim irony that the US National Climatic Data Center is in Asheville. The center maintains the world's largest climate data archive and provides climatological services and data to every sector of the United States economy and to users worldwide. It was shut down temporarily by Helene as power was knocked out for millions. 

If the wealthiest, most scientifically advanced country on the planet can't adequately prepare for the acceleration of the climate emergency, who can? Helene made landfall in Florida, a state where government employees are not allowed to use the term "climate change" and it has been expunged from its documents and online presence. 

Jesus was clear that wealth and hoarding imperils our souls. He and his disciples lived a life of simplicity. Francis and his counterpart, Clare, chose to follow his example. Will we continue in the idolatry of wealth, gobbling up the planet's resources, destroying biodiversity, or will we reorder our lives for the sake of generations to come and all creatures? 

 

                                                                    St. Francis of Assisi -- Sergo Tbileli 

Faith Communities & Social Prescribing

 

Last week I took in an online seminar called RX Belonging presented by The Walrus magazine. It was an excellent event with four concise, informative and inspiring presenters from across the country on the subject of "social prescribing." This is a growing movement addressing how we can address with a holistic approach what has been described as the loneliness epidemic through what one of the presenters described as the four Ps: People, Place, Power, and Purpose. The fourth includes sharing, belief, and meaning. 

Here is part of the description of the event:

Exploring the power of social prescribing to build connections, improve well-being, and foster belonging

The evidence is clear: social isolation and loneliness can be as harmful to our health as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. But what can we do about it?

Imagine if, after a doctor’s visit, you could receive prescriptions for walking groups, cultural programming, and community meals, in addition to medicine.

Social prescribing looks different in each community and for each person, depending on interests, needs, and goals. Across the different models, social prescribing works to build intentional bridges across social, arts and culture, nature, and health systems to foster a more connected community where we can all thrive.

                                                                    RX Belong Presenters

As worthwhile as this presentation was I was struck by the fact that no mention was made of the social and "meaning" connection provided by faith communities, including churches. 

In every congregation I've been part of, including Trenton United Church now, there has been a strong emphasis on staying connected with members. This happens through Sunday worship but also through social gatherings, regular visits for the elderly who need support, and discussion/study groups. In most of the congregations I served we had a paid staff member for visitation and coordination of volunteers and I always did home and institutional visits. During the pandemic there was a dedicated group of Trenton UC members who stayed connected with those who were isolated through phone calls, distanced porch visits, and even the provision of meals. 

After The Walrus presentation we receive an email asking for our assessment and while I offered plenty of praise I noted this absence. A week after my observation...crickets. 

Is it just a sign of our secular times that we our society doesn't want to acknowledge what is hidden in plain sight? There is no need to be religious or sectarian to recognize the huge reservoir of social capital in faith communities. Perhaps we need a prescription for an awareness and appreciation of this meaningful aspect of society. 

Let the Shofar Sound

 

Rosh Hashanah - October 3-4

Literally meaning “Head of the Year,” Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish calendar. It begins a 10-day period of repentance and prayer which ends on Yom Kippur. We celebrate the holiday with services and apples dipped in honey to symbolize the hope for a sweet year to come.

Shanah Tova, or Good Year to the Jews I know and all those who are entering into this essential season in the Jewish year. This is always a meaningful time for Jews around the world but I wonder if this year may be different because it will include the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas. During this year anti-Semitism has been on the rise in many countries, including Canada with attacks on synagogues and schools, as well as confrontations that have left individuals feeling unsafe.

 In part this is because of the disproportionate retribution by the state of Israel in Gaza and the West Bank which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, including children. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced and starvation is a looming reality. 

Israel is essentially a secular state with a predominantly Jewish population, some religious but the majority non-practicing. This confuses many who have been deeply disturbed the Israel's response in the Palestinian territories and those who already hated Jews have used it as justification for their prejudices. 

There are vocal groups of Jews in various places, including rabbis,  who have condemned Israel's extreme response as contrary to biblical justice and mercy. They have been criticized by those who are in solidarity with the country. 

Does this all seem confusing, a morass of conflicting outlooks? It is complex and the temptation is to choose one side or the other. I would hope that Rosh Hashana and this ten day period will be a time of sombre reflection and prayer. The escalation of violence seems to have no "end game", no sense of the outcome other than more "eye for an eye." 

I hope that as this new year begins there can be a renewed sense of promise rather than dread for Jews around the world. We can anticipate that the shofar, the ram's horn, will be sounded for justice and peace during Rosh Hosanah. 

The Century Mark for Jimmy Carter

 

              Jimmy Carter working on a Habitat for Humanity home-building project after a fall, age 95

Today former US president Jimmy Carter turns 100, the only president to have reached that extraordinary age. He outlived his beloved wife of 77 years, Rosalynn and his been in palliative care within his home since January. Apparently he wants to live long enough to vote for Kamala Harris in a few weeks. 

I have written about Carter several times through the years because I am a great admirer. He was a brave man, coming to Canada in 1952 as a young naval officer to help avert a nuclear disaster at a plant in Chalk River. He received so much radiation during this dangerous intervention that he figured he would never father children -- they had four.

When elected as governor of Georgia he made a commitment to end racial segregation. 

He worked toward peace in the Middle East during and after his presidency.  He was given the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, an award he deserved far more than President Barack Obama seven years later (I am also a fan of Obama). His 2007 book  Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid was controversial because of the perception that he place too much blame on Israel.

                                                                                  Sadat, Carter, and Begin

Jimmy and Rosalynn were long-time advocates for gender equality and he wrote a book on this subject as well. 

The world’s discrimination and violence against women and girls is the most serious, pervasive, and ignored violation of basic human rights.

 President Carter “A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power”

Carter has cared deeply about the environment and as president had solar panels installed on the White House, only to have them removed by his successor, Ronald Reagan. 

Jimmy Carter has a sustaining faith and is arguably the most openly Christian president in America's history. Not only has be been a regular church attender, he taught Sunday School for decades in his Baptist congregation. He eventually left the Southern Baptist Convention because of the denomination's entrenched views on women:

I’m familiar with the verses they have quoted about wives being subjugated to their husbands. In my opinion, this is a distortion of the meaning of Scripture. … I personally feel the Bible says all people are equal in the eyes of God. I personally feel that women should play an absolutely equal role in service of Christ in the church.

I find it appalling that many conservative Christians in the United States have great disdain for Carter, viewing him as an ineffective president. At the same time they idolize a certain former president and current candidate who is the antithesis of the Christ-like life and passionate about nothing other than himself. 

Happy birthday to President Jimmy Carter and thank God for his enduring witness. Hang in there until the election!

                                                  Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter on their wedding day