Wed Nov 4 2020
- Here’s why we are becoming an intercultural church — as expressed this past Sunday by participants in our worship gathering — people are finding community in the midst of our diversity at NV…Our [breakout] room had a beautiful diversity of responses!…We should be an intercultural church because the alternative would be an exclusionary church… which kind of sucks…we are in a different time period…we should be an intercultural church because … I’m part of this church…If not us then who?…Also, diversity is a clear message growing out of the gospel. We can model how to be in relationship with those from diverse groups…My sense is that if we’re going to be a church that lives out the gospel, we need to be an intercultural community…We are all one in Christ…We need to reach out and be a community which is not based on people’s cultural origins, acknowledging how little we understand each other based on superficial interactions…loved the point about prioritizing interculturalism in the church b/c we get to hear a variety of people’s perspectives on Scripture which leads to a better understanding of God! Hearing and respecting different perspectives is important to understanding and learning more about our neighbours and by extension LOVING them!! <3…God wants those who have struggles to have a place with those who have had the same/similar experience…Just as we could not interpret theology and how to be as a church without LGBTQ+ people & their voices, similarly we cannot interpret theology and how to be as a church without acknowledging the voices and experiences of BIPOC people, and all other forms of difference that matter…I loved the answer one of our breakout group gave: why not? such a positive response…One person in our group joined New Vision because we “welcome and accept everybody”…30% of federal inmates are of indigenous background, when they only make up 4% of our population.
- Congratulations to Dennis Sendyowa, who was recently awarded a Bill 7 scholarship towards his PSW studies. He spoke eloquently at the recent virtual award ceremony, and shared how much he appreciates the support of the New Vision community. The Bill 7 Award is a registered charitable trust that awards scholarships to gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, two-spirited and queer students who are in financial need and studying at any post-secondary institution in Ontario to attain their first degree or diploma. This year they awarded 20 scholarships of $3500 towards the education of LGBTQ2S+ students. The Bill 7 Award is named after the 1986 Ontario legislation that extended the protection of the Human Rights Code to lesbians and gays.
- This Sunday Rev Miriam will be leading worship. I am on a study break this week.
- Worship this Sunday will begin with an Armistice Day moment of remembrance.
- The slide deck we drew on for our Threshold Partner meeting last Sunday to begin to design our New Vision relational currency can be found here.
- The second Threshold Partner start-up meeting for our Relational Currency Project will take place on Sunday Nov 15 after our worship gathering. For more info, review the slide deck from the meeting this past Sunday following this link.
- New Vision folks without access to Zoom have begun attending our Zoom worship gathering and Threshold Partner meeting in person at 24 Main W. We’ll continue with the in-person gathering in the Lower Hall as part of our Sunday virtual worship gathering this Sunday and the weeks ahead. If you are interested in attending the in-person gathering, please be in touch with New Vision by emailing officeadmin@newvisionunited.org. The gathering will observe all the best practices for hygiene, screening, and sanitation.
- The Resting and Hygiene Centre requests donations of winter hats and gloves for guests. Also, winter coats and boots are needed. Helen Bradley (helen.bradleyrd@gmail.com) can pick up from people’s homes if that helps.
- A New Vision Virtual Lectio Divina prayer group is gathering weekly on Thursdays at 4 pm for an hour. You can join it by following this link. All are welcome. This Thursday (tomorrow) the group will be praying with Psalm 46 verses 1-7 .
- New Vision Virtual Worship is experiential, participatory, image-rich and collective, just like worship in person at New Vision! Join us on Sunday mornings 10:30 am week to week during the Covid-19 emergency by clicking here. If you want to put the link someplace easy to find each week, here it is:?https://us02web.zoom.us/j/782292511. Please share it with others and invite them to a “different” kind of time on Zoom from the usual.
- You can also call in to the gathering on the telephone toll free. Call 1 855 703 8985, then, when prompted, input the Meeting ID 782 292 511 followed by the # sign. Ignore the prompts for Participant ID and Password. You are in when the recorded voice says, “You are in the meeting.” If you can only connect by video on your computer with no audio, you can use the phone connection for audio and the computer connection for visual.
- For updates on New Vision plans in the post Covid-19 emergency recovery, please visit http://newvisionunited.org/new-vision-covid-19-updates/.
Hope you get to the worship gathering on Sunday – again, or for the first time! See you next Sunday Nov 15.
Rev Ian