Last week I thought I was going to have an "easy" week generally speaking. Sunday would only consist of preaching once due to the interdenominational service at the Gospel Jamboree in the morning. I figured I would have an easier week and get some visits that needed to be done. Plus we were having some friends come Friday night, so I thought I could get some things done on time.
Things were going well, and I had the sermon done by Wednesday evening. I was golfing Thursday with someone from church, so things were going well. I got home Thursday from golfing and there was a message on my phone from someone looking for some help. Her brother was 27 years old and had died from an accident he was in earlier in July. She said they could not find anyone to help them out with the funeral. They were really running stuck.
So, obviously they did not really have a church connection to speak of since they did not have anyone to do the service. I thought, since I have extra time I could help them out. The sister had called me back saying her mom had found someone else, which was fine, but then called back again a few minutes later asking if I could still do it. She really wanted a Christian minister to do the funeral. Even though there was no direct connection to a church, there was a sense of needing a Christian minister to do the funeral.
This whole situation was a little more frustrating then I thought it would be. I met with the mother on Friday and went over the order of the service. She told me her daughter would get back to me on a couple of different scripture readings. I started to put some things together for the message. But I was waiting for the sister to get back to me. She never did. I got up Saturday morning at 6:30 to put the message together.
Saturday the funeral was going to be at 11:00 at at a hall on the Reservation. I didnt know how to get there, so I asked the funeral home. They gave me some bad directions. I went passed a certain town for a while, then turned around and went back to ask for directions. They did give me good directions, but I didnt realize how far out the hall would be on gravel roads. It made for a stressful drive, but I got there 25 minutes early. But the whole family didnt really show up until 11:25 or so.
We got the service going and I was informed of some changes and as we went through, some werent there who were supposed to be. The graveside service was really interesting. They wanted to watch the casket lowered all the way as well as the lid being put on the grave. They then threw luggage into the grave packed with his clothing I assume. Then people threw dirt on the grave as well. It was sure different then what I was used to.
Looking back on the whole service and graveside it was interesting to be a part of. The question I ask myself, Would I do it again? At this point I dont know. I am glad I was able to help a family out in their time of grieving. It is a privilege to be with a family through this time, yet there wasnt a personal connection with the family as I would with a family in the church. Where is the family at in their faith life? Could I be one step in a line of steps to get this family to believe? I dont know. Did they hear the message of the gospel, how does it affect them? Ultimately it is up to God to work in their lives. I guess that is what it means to be an instrument of God. All I can do is bring the message, and God can work in their lives. Overall, it was very interesting to say the least. But yet there are a lot of questions still in my mind.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Follow-up
I am happy to report that the article concerning the upcoming Jamboree was done in an overall positive tone. I am glad to see that. Sure the Bishop of Calgary is pretty outspoken and "Controversial" but he is still a man of God and can bring God's message. I hope that our unity can show the world Christ's Love.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Still puzzled
I am still puzzled by a phone call I received last week. It was from a writer at one of the local towns' paper. This coming weekend in Granum here, there is a Gospel Jamboree. This is the 12th annual Jamboree. It brings in over 1000 people to our small town of Granum. There are different groups that perform Friday night, All day Saturday and then on Sunday we have an interdenominational service. Generally speaking this is well received for the most part.
The thing that I am puzzled about is the questions the writer was asking me. He began by asking me some general information about participation and how our church was helping out. (We offer a free pancake breakfast on the Sunday morning.) At first I thought he was just looking for some information, but then he started to ask some questions about the speaker for the Sunday morning service.
The speaker this year is Bishop Fred Henry from the Catholic Church. Bishop Henry is a pretty outspoken man when it comes to certain issues. If you know anything about the background of which I come from, of course we come out of the Reformation separating from the Catholic Church.
The writer knows a bit of this history and started to ask me some questions about this. Asking whether or not it was acceptable from our point of view to have him lead the worship service. He was asking questions about whether or not we are like "arch-enemies."
When I hung up the phone, I was almost angry. Angry at the fact that this writer seemed to be trying to get me to say something that would be controversial, I am still waiting to see what he has to say. I mean, obviously our traditions dont agree with each other. There are some things that we just cant agree on. But the purpose of this Jamboree is to praise God. It is not a denominational service. It is to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this service once a year, the local churches can show our unity in Christ. One of the reasons I think I was a bit angry is because this is coming from a town where there is really, in my opinion, no unity between the churches. In another small town I am a part of a ministerial where the local churches get together and plan events together. It helps to show the community that we are not out to get one another, but we can work together for the broader good. It bothers me that this man would want to, at least seemingly, to stir the pot and try to show that we are not unified. The world is already antagonistic towards the Christian Church in general, in an event like this, it is an opportunity to show that even though we disagree, we are still unified in our Faith in Christ.
The thing that I am puzzled about is the questions the writer was asking me. He began by asking me some general information about participation and how our church was helping out. (We offer a free pancake breakfast on the Sunday morning.) At first I thought he was just looking for some information, but then he started to ask some questions about the speaker for the Sunday morning service.
The speaker this year is Bishop Fred Henry from the Catholic Church. Bishop Henry is a pretty outspoken man when it comes to certain issues. If you know anything about the background of which I come from, of course we come out of the Reformation separating from the Catholic Church.
The writer knows a bit of this history and started to ask me some questions about this. Asking whether or not it was acceptable from our point of view to have him lead the worship service. He was asking questions about whether or not we are like "arch-enemies."
When I hung up the phone, I was almost angry. Angry at the fact that this writer seemed to be trying to get me to say something that would be controversial, I am still waiting to see what he has to say. I mean, obviously our traditions dont agree with each other. There are some things that we just cant agree on. But the purpose of this Jamboree is to praise God. It is not a denominational service. It is to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this service once a year, the local churches can show our unity in Christ. One of the reasons I think I was a bit angry is because this is coming from a town where there is really, in my opinion, no unity between the churches. In another small town I am a part of a ministerial where the local churches get together and plan events together. It helps to show the community that we are not out to get one another, but we can work together for the broader good. It bothers me that this man would want to, at least seemingly, to stir the pot and try to show that we are not unified. The world is already antagonistic towards the Christian Church in general, in an event like this, it is an opportunity to show that even though we disagree, we are still unified in our Faith in Christ.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Rest and Relaxation?
The weeks leading up to my parents coming here for vacation were really busy. I was really looking forward to having time off to go camping with my parents. My parents arrived on Saturday and I had a wedding to do yet that day. On Sunday we had our normal service in the morning, followed by our church picnic and then an outdoor service. When that was done, it felt good to be able to relax. The problem I had though, was the fact that my parents have never been to Alberta for an extended period of time, so we wanted to show them everything.
On Monday, my dad and I got up and went and golfed. He beat me by one stroke. We got home and we hooked everything up and were ready for the road. On the way to Banff, we got hit by some heavy rain at times. My new bike rack worked really well, I just needed to make sure the straps stayed tied down. We got to Banff and set up camp. We had dinner and went to check out the town of Banff and the water fall near the hotel. We decided to take a cruise through the golf course, where we saw a heard of elk right on the course, it was pretty awesome.
Tuesday we went to Lake Louise. We walked a bit around the lake and took some awesome pictures. We then went to Moraine Lake which was absolutely amazing. From there we grabbed some lunch. During this time it started to rain a bit. On the way back we went to Johnston Canyon. We hiked here to the lower falls, and then my mom, Brenda and myself continued to the upper falls. On our hike to the upper falls, we got rained on a bit, but when we returned, dad had gotten hit a lot harder by the rain, he was soaked.
On Wednesday we decided to sleep in a bit, then we headed into Calgary to go to the Stampede. Of course that had to be the day that it decided to rain a lot. We managed to miss most of it, but we did get wet. The Chuck wagon races were fun because it was completely muddy. The evening program was good, but we didnt get to see everything due to the rain. But it was still a good show.
Thursday, my dad and I drove to Kananaskis to an old Ranch turned into a golf course. This course had amazing scenery. We were at the base of the rocky mountains. THis time, I was able to beat him by three strokes, since we didnt golf again the rest of the week, I beat him by a total of 2 strokes if you count total strokes. He will tell you were were tied, one to one. That afternoon we stayed around the trailer mostly.
Friday we packed up and headed home. We took the scenic drive home through Kananaskis Country. It was absolutely beautiful to drive through here. That along with the fact it wasnt that much longer to drive made it definitely worth while.
Saturday we headed to Waterton National Park. Every time we go I am simply amazed at the beauty of God's creation. On the way home, we were able to stop at this little place that said they had mexican food. This is something that I really miss living here in Canada. Some really good Authentic Mexican food. This place was awesome. My parents even raved about it saying it compared to places down in California. This will definitely be a stopping point every time we go to Waterton!
Sunday we went to Church and relaxed at home more. It was a busy week, but we wanted to see everything. There were other things that I would have loved to shown my parents, but we just didnt have enough time. It was really good to have them see where we live and what we can enjoy here. I was really glad that even though we had rain almost every day, it didnt stop us from doing what we wanted to do. Now the hard part, getting back into the swing of things. I always find it challenging to get back into the mindset of work after taking a week off. But, I am glad I was able to do it, and am a bit re-energized to get back to it.
On Monday, my dad and I got up and went and golfed. He beat me by one stroke. We got home and we hooked everything up and were ready for the road. On the way to Banff, we got hit by some heavy rain at times. My new bike rack worked really well, I just needed to make sure the straps stayed tied down. We got to Banff and set up camp. We had dinner and went to check out the town of Banff and the water fall near the hotel. We decided to take a cruise through the golf course, where we saw a heard of elk right on the course, it was pretty awesome.
Tuesday we went to Lake Louise. We walked a bit around the lake and took some awesome pictures. We then went to Moraine Lake which was absolutely amazing. From there we grabbed some lunch. During this time it started to rain a bit. On the way back we went to Johnston Canyon. We hiked here to the lower falls, and then my mom, Brenda and myself continued to the upper falls. On our hike to the upper falls, we got rained on a bit, but when we returned, dad had gotten hit a lot harder by the rain, he was soaked.
On Wednesday we decided to sleep in a bit, then we headed into Calgary to go to the Stampede. Of course that had to be the day that it decided to rain a lot. We managed to miss most of it, but we did get wet. The Chuck wagon races were fun because it was completely muddy. The evening program was good, but we didnt get to see everything due to the rain. But it was still a good show.
Thursday, my dad and I drove to Kananaskis to an old Ranch turned into a golf course. This course had amazing scenery. We were at the base of the rocky mountains. THis time, I was able to beat him by three strokes, since we didnt golf again the rest of the week, I beat him by a total of 2 strokes if you count total strokes. He will tell you were were tied, one to one. That afternoon we stayed around the trailer mostly.
Friday we packed up and headed home. We took the scenic drive home through Kananaskis Country. It was absolutely beautiful to drive through here. That along with the fact it wasnt that much longer to drive made it definitely worth while.
Saturday we headed to Waterton National Park. Every time we go I am simply amazed at the beauty of God's creation. On the way home, we were able to stop at this little place that said they had mexican food. This is something that I really miss living here in Canada. Some really good Authentic Mexican food. This place was awesome. My parents even raved about it saying it compared to places down in California. This will definitely be a stopping point every time we go to Waterton!
Sunday we went to Church and relaxed at home more. It was a busy week, but we wanted to see everything. There were other things that I would have loved to shown my parents, but we just didnt have enough time. It was really good to have them see where we live and what we can enjoy here. I was really glad that even though we had rain almost every day, it didnt stop us from doing what we wanted to do. Now the hard part, getting back into the swing of things. I always find it challenging to get back into the mindset of work after taking a week off. But, I am glad I was able to do it, and am a bit re-energized to get back to it.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Vacation
The last couple of weeks have been really busy. I had a funeral last week and a wedding tomorrow. I am really looking forward to my vacation in a couple of days. Tomorrow my parents should arrive maybe late morning, or early afternoon. On Monday we are heading up to Banff National Park. This will be my first time in Banff in the Summer since 1996. My parents have never been, so it should be pretty good. On Wednesday we are heading into Calgary to go to the Stampede. Friday we head home, but on Saturday we will head to Waterton National Park and check out some of the sights there.
I know my parents are really looking forward to this, It has almost been a year since we last saw them, which is the longest time I have gone without seeing them. They left California at 3:30 am on Thursday, and left again from Utah at 5:30 this morning. I think they really want to get here! Anyway, I hope the weather holds up and I am sure we will have a good time no matter what.
I know my parents are really looking forward to this, It has almost been a year since we last saw them, which is the longest time I have gone without seeing them. They left California at 3:30 am on Thursday, and left again from Utah at 5:30 this morning. I think they really want to get here! Anyway, I hope the weather holds up and I am sure we will have a good time no matter what.
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