A busy day at the Synod Assembly. Approximately 350 people - lay and clergy delegates and visitors- are gathering in Waterloo to discuss mission and ministry of our church. The best part of the day to me was Michael Harvey's bible session. He asked if our congregations are inviting or welcoming. Most of us say "welcoming". How can we be welcoming if we are not inviting? A good point.
It's been a long day...stay tuned...more about Assembly tomorrow.
Riitta
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Unexpected Gifts
My son, Aaron (12 yrs), went to a store with his friends the other day. He saw a man standing alone by a pole talking to it. Aaron felt sorry for the man, thinking he must be homeless. He walked to him, pulled out a toonie from his pocket and said:
“Here, I want to give this to you.”
The man said: “You don’t need to give me your money.”
“Yeah, but I want to give this to you.”
The man accepted the gift and said:
“Son, let me tell you something about life. Everybody comes in the world innocent but you can’t think that life is going to go well for you in the future. Don’t think emotionally about most things; you have to think more rationally.”
“Thank you for telling me this”, said Aaron.
This was just a brief moment; a spontaneous encounter and exchange of gifts. Something in this story reminds me of Jesus and how he met with people.
Many organizations and communities nowadays have reach out –programs; churches are no exceptions. We use a lot of time for planning projects and events for outreach; we may even have a budget line for it. Why? To reach out to people is a very simple thing – like listening to a person who has no one to talk to but himself or a pole.
Offering a toonie gave back a lesson that will last long - maybe a lifetime.
- Riitta -
“Here, I want to give this to you.”
The man said: “You don’t need to give me your money.”
“Yeah, but I want to give this to you.”
The man accepted the gift and said:
“Son, let me tell you something about life. Everybody comes in the world innocent but you can’t think that life is going to go well for you in the future. Don’t think emotionally about most things; you have to think more rationally.”
“Thank you for telling me this”, said Aaron.
This was just a brief moment; a spontaneous encounter and exchange of gifts. Something in this story reminds me of Jesus and how he met with people.
Many organizations and communities nowadays have reach out –programs; churches are no exceptions. We use a lot of time for planning projects and events for outreach; we may even have a budget line for it. Why? To reach out to people is a very simple thing – like listening to a person who has no one to talk to but himself or a pole.
Offering a toonie gave back a lesson that will last long - maybe a lifetime.
- Riitta -
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