Seeking Submissions ...

In his book, Here & There , Lloyd Brown, ( yes, the same fellow who sits in one of our back pews), describes a visit to an old church by two friends.
" Both women knew the stories of this place and this community... each in a different generation". The scene reminded me of a church on Bethel Road quite near Five Oaks Christian Centre but it could have been any one of a number of places of worship I have visited. Indeed it is meant, I believe, to invite us to recall our memories of community, belonging and faith so that we find ourselves living the story of and with Agnes and Lana.
"Remember the garden parties ... " , "I certainly do...". I know each of you have stories of this church community, or perhaps a country church " in the wildwood" not so far away in your memory. Please jot them down and send them or bring them  to us in the office so that we can share them one with another. It doesn't matter the quality of your prose, really. Perhaps we'll print a few, perhaps they'll form the basis of a sermon, or a time with the children ( which as we all know, more people pay attention to!). Or maybe the joy will be in the sharing itself.                Thank You, Bruce

Fabric Art Stoles …

Jan Laurie of Nanaimo, BC is creating stoles for worship leaders.  She believes that what we bring into our worship be intentionally chosen to reflect our experience of a dynamic & loving Creator,  When we experience the Creator as an extravagant lover, master artist, passionate upholder of the oppressed, & joyful bringer of grace-filled good news, then it is essential to reflect that in every visual part of our worship together.
For this reason, these carefully created art stoles contain elements of surprise & joy.  Using a painterly touch with predominantly natural fabrics, the shades wash from light to dark & are overlayed by stitching, printed scriptures, stamping & other threads & textures.  Using a technique she calls "fabric assemblage" & working in an abstract style she depicts a sense of the Spirit's movement over the liturgical colour of the season. 
It is symbolic that the art in your stole is part of a larger piece which is shared by other clergy in their stoles.   The body of Christ in larger than just our individual congregations and it takes the Spirit working through all of the parts to make a whole.
Each stole is a work of art and comes with an Artist's Statement and description about the season chosen.