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Baptism!
On Saturday, May 29th, Pastor Beryl baptized Zoey, daughter of Tara Barbato and Rafal Kacprzak. Due to attendance restrictions, it had to be done outside of a regular service. The joyful occasion was witnessed by a limited number of friends and family. Tara has kindly shared a few photos. Congratulations to all.
Online Reading Club with Broadview Magazine
Broadview (formerly the United Church Observer) is hosting online discussions once a month with authors from the magazine. You can join them for the next National Online Reading Club on Monday, June 7, at 7 p.m. EDT via Zoom.* Editor Jocelyn Bell will speak with three contributors from the June issue:
Theo Robinson is featured on our cover this month. In the story “Proud Priest,” he speaks of his journey to becoming one of Canada’s first transgender Anglican ministers, how he understands the history of fear stopping people from joining churches and of his hope that he can be a voice for the trans community.
James Loney is a former hostage who was kidnapped while leading a peace delegation and held for ransom. In our June issue, he shares a letter he wrote to a Canadian inmate in Florida about the unfortunate thing they had in common. He also explores the “arbitrary” way in which Canada responds to citizens in trouble abroad.
Alanna Mitchell is an acclaimed science journalist who wrote “Climate Hope” about how Gibsons, B.C., once a logging and mining town, is now a green pioneer and a wilderness wonderland with many trails and parks as well as a local mill that has state-of-the-art environmental controls.
Mark your calendars, prepare your questions to ask live, and join us for this exciting event. We guarantee it will be an hour well spent. *Click on this link to register today.
We look forward to seeing you online!
Order of Service May 30, 2021
You may download the bulletin for this Sunday’s service here:
Beryl's Blog: The Trinity
On May 30th, we celebrate Trinity Sunday.
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is one God, but three coeternal and consubstantial persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature". In this context, a "nature" is what one is, whereas a "person" is who one is. (Wikipedia)
More simply put “The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Simply stated, God is one in essence and three in person”.
Trinity Sunday is always celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost, when the pouring out of the Holy Spirit first occurred.
In searching through Voices United, I found a hymn which, again, I have never sung. Perhaps some of you may know it. It speaks to the nature of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and, in its reading, I felt both blessed and hope-filled. I hope it will speak to you too.
VU 555 Our Parent, by Whose Name
Our Parent, by whose name all parenthood is known,
who in your love proclaims each family your own:
direct all parents, guarding well, with constant love as sentinel,
the homes in which your people dwell.
O Jesus, who, a child within an earthly home,
with heart still undefiled did to an adulthood come:
our children bless, in every place, that they may all behold your face
and knowing you may grow in grace.
O Spirit, who can bind our hearts in unity,
and teach us so to find the love from self set free:
in all our hearts such love increase, that every home by this release
may be the dwelling place of peace.
In keeping with thoughts of Trinity Sunday:
May God give strength to you in all you do;
May Christ Jesus bless you with peace;
And may the Holy Spirit, whispering within your hearts,
give you assurance that you are God’s beloved children.
Amen
Pastor Beryl, DLM
Nostalgia Corner
As the pandemic wears on - with glimpses of hope on the horizon - it’s easy to find oneself pining for simple pleasures: having friends over for dinner, or going to a restaurant, or the movies! Many of us have seen about enough of our own four walls. If we can’t get out as we’d like, we can at least reminisce about places - or even times - we’d like to go back to.
In a recent conversation with Fay Edwards, she mentioned that her children had purchased a cake for Mother’s Day at a bakery in Lasalle. Fay lives in Laval now but was in Lasalle and Verdun for years and has fond memories of people and places. I was not familiar with the Lasalle Bakery on Newman Boulevard, but Fay described it so well I was able to find it on Google maps. That’s where the attached pictures come from. If only an image could also convey the smells!!
Does anyone else have a special place they haven’t been able to visit since the start of the pandemic? It could be a local business, or a favourite vacation spot. I’d love to share some memories here, and maybe track down some images.
Personally, I’m pining for the beach, and not just any beach: Melmerby beach in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. We had established a pattern of visiting relatives in the area every summer and I can truthfully say we looked forward to it all year. In 2019, for time and money reasons, we decided not to go. Little did we know that the pandemic would prevent a visit in 2020. At this point, a summer 2021 visit is looking highly unlikely as well.
Sometimes we find ourselves pining for not just another place, but another time. Time marches on and while Verdun now has an official beach and lots of green space along the waterfront, the boardwalk - site of so many good memories - is long gone.
One more picture today from the Facebook group Montreal Vintage Gallery. Lots of people have fond memories of riding the streetcar back in the day. This is a special “observation car” called the Golden Chariot. The picture is believed to date to 1958. Does anyone remember riding on it?
Amy
Not being a seagull, I have never seen the beach from this angle. The image is from the internet, but this is definitely the place.
Two “golden chariot” streetcars have been preserved and can still be ridden out at the Railway Museum in St-Constant: Another place to dream of visiting when all of this is over.