Minister's Musings

Hello Friends,

“You are invited!” These three words can be life changing.

I was thinking about the invitations that have changed my life.

I am in Canada because my Dad’s brother moved to Canada, and then called Dad and said something like, “Canada’s pretty great, you should come here too.” And a few months later my Mum and Dad arrived followed by two trunks of their most precious things to start a new life here.

My schooling was dominated by an invitation to take part in an experimental school program. My experiences at that school (for good or ill) have shaped who I am, have given me lifelong friends, and I paved a way for my brothers who followed me there, so it changed their lives too.

I was invited by my best friend at that school to come to church with her. And so Berkshire Citadel of the Salvation Army in Calgary became my congregation as a child. It was there I went to Sunday School and had my first experiences of worship. I did leave the church for a while as a teenager.

I came to the United Church after an invitation to join a Venturer group. My brother was a member and came home one night asking me to join them. They needed another girl for camping purposes so that their lone girl could have a tent partner. The group met at a United Church. Where I was later married. And where I went with my kids when I decided to go back to church.

What have you been invited to be a part of? What are we all being invited by God to do here at St. Paul’s? Bring your questions, your joy, your hope, your anxiety, your voice, your ideas. Join us for the next three weeks as we ponder, dream, and hope together.

In Faith and Hope, Rev. Kirsty