Message of the Week from Rev. Mary White
Good Day and Blessings,
On Monday of this week, the world celebrated International Women’s Day. Many may believe that a day set apart specifically for women is unnecessary. After all, do women really have it that bad? Aren’t they earning a good living wage, running businesses, making decisions, being treated equally?
According to Canadian Women’s Foundation “More than 1.5 million women in Canada live in poverty. Women who face multiple barriers are at higher risk of poverty, such as Indigenous women, racialized women, those who are 2SLGBTQI+, newcomer women, and women living with disabilities.”
It is a myth that women are earning a good living wage. Most women who are working, for example in managerial positions, doing the same work as men, earn 23% less wages. This is just one example of how women are faced with inequality which is worldwide. Issues concerning injustices and inequalities of women need to be emphasized all year – not just one day. All humans have a responsibility to take action to support women even if the action is standing with a woman who is being unjustly treated or marching with women demanding human rights.
Imagine a future where there is no need for a specific day for women and there are no more female leaders, just leaders.
With Love,
Rev. Mary White
This Week’s Family Fun
Thanks to Brenda Pielle for leading a lovely worship service this past Sunday. Brenda is a tremendous example of what it means to Serve with Love.
This week our Kids United Activity PDF helps us honour and celebrate God’s Wonderful and Unending Love, plus we will be re-visiting two of Brenda’s most popular Family Fun videos from last summer.
Please CLICK HERE for this week’s Family Fun.
POEM “SPRING”
What kind of Saviour?
Gentle, meek, mild, insipid.
What kind of Saviour is that?
Wishy-washy, ineffective.
Not someone we’d respect.
So why is it shocking
to discover that Jesus
is a man of passion,
seized with righteous anger,
wielding a whip,
driving out those
who drive out others,
and make God’s house exclusive?
Why should we be surprised
that Jesus doesn’t just speak out
but takes action to ensure
that all people, everywhere,
have access to the love of God?
And that, following this
feisty man
means that we too
must be people of action?
Excerpt from Ruth Burgess
Reading • 1 Peter 3:15 (MSG)
If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God.
“Gratitude is the real treasure God wants us to find, because it isn’t the pot of gold but the rainbow that colours our world.”
– R.E. Goodrich
Please remember to Email Us your Photos and Captions to include in our Weekly Email Newsletter.
PRAYER
Passionate One
We give thanks today for all who with passion stand and take action for those who are silenced by people perceived as being in authority. We are grateful for those who defend the rights of people who are excluded due to race, gender or sexual orientation. We appreciate those who take action to include the poor and marginalized. May we embrace these same qualities to ensure that others’ voices are heard, we defend the rights of those who feel excluded, and we take action to include people whom society marginalizes. We pray this in the name of the One who teaches through actions of Love.
Amen
To review the Navigation Team’s Meeting Minutes PDF from Feb. 18th 2021 please click on the link below: