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Sunday - 2 August

Rev. Kathryn Peate’s weekly message - July 29

Greetings Friends,

This will be my last mid-week email for a few weeks. As of August 1, I will be taking vacation and study leave and will return to work on September 8.
Rev. Neil Wallace will be replacing me during that time and my heartfelt thanks go to him for doing so.

During COVID-19, one of the new things I am learning is meditation. I have taken an online course from Yale called The Science of Well-Being, which challenges participants to realize that personal happiness does not come through the things society most thinks it does. Rather, we are challenged to ‘rewire’ ourselves via specific activities, one of them being meditation.

One of the projects I have been working on lately is developing a series of videos on meditation and prayer. During the month of August, a new video will be posted on the church’s website woodroffeunited.org.

The video posted each week is meant to be used 3 to 7 days during that week before moving on to the next. My hope and prayer is that from them, you will find ways to relax, connect with God, and experience greater peace and happiness in your life.

From our Region: Remembering August 1: End of Slavery in Canada

August 1, 1834 is the day the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect, ending slavery throughout most of the British Empire - including in the colonies that would become Canada. It is estimated that on that day, 800,000 enslaved Black peoples were freed, as it became illegal for anyone to be a slave in the British Empire.

There is a grassroots movement happening in the United Church and beyond to proclaim August 1 as one way to support the fair treatment of all humans and affirm that all persons are made in the image of God. The commemoration of August 1 reminds us that the fight against systemic and anti-Black racism is far from over, and that we need to continue the work for the creation of a more just society. It is one way to continue the work of becoming an anti-racist church.

Stay healthy and may God bless you richly.
Kathryn

Sunday - 26 July

Psalm 105: 1-11
God’s Faithfulness to Israel
O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,
O offspring of his servant Abraham,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
He is mindful of his covenant forever,
of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”

(no transcript this week)

Sunday - 19 July

Rev. Kathryn Peate’s weekly message - July 15

There are a couple of announcements this week relating to activities of the church of which you should be aware.

Council is sorry to announce that the Bazaar will not be held in October. Discussions will be held over the next weeks about possible activities that might be held to encourage the fellowship that this yearly event provides. If you are saving things for the Bazaar, you will need to keep them at home until 2021. Should you have any bazaar related suggestions, please let the Re-Opening Committee know by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
And from the Re-Opening Committee of Woodroffe: The Re-Opening Committee is meeting weekly to discuss how the life and work of our church can continue in these unprecedented times. A return to worship services is one of the things the Committee is addressing. To assist them in better understanding the congregation’s views, you will be receiving shortly a questionnaire to extend the opportunity to you to share your perspective and concerns. The challenges of re-opening the church are explained very well in an article I recently came upon on the United Church of Canada website written by a minister in Scarborough, Ontario (https://www.united-church.ca/blogs/round-table/why-havent-we-opened-church-doors-yet) I thank the Re-Opening Committee for their commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of our church family.

As well the Outreach Committee would like to thank all those who donated school supplies for the Pathways program. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Something to think about:

A lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience with a glass of water raised in her hand. Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, ‘half empty or half full’. She fooled them all…”How heavy is this glass of water?” she inquired with a smile. Answers ranged from 8 oz to 20 oz (clearly this happened before metric J)

She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it up. If I hold it up for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it up for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm.

If I hold it up for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it up, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.

As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry the burden – handling stress longer and better with practice.”

Remember too, that as Jesus’ disciples we never have to carry that burden alone.

God bless,
Kathryn

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