|
Dear Sister,
Today our thoughts turn towards
that fella we call Father, Dad, Papa, or "the Old Man."
My own father is a quiet, gentle guy who read to us
from Winnie-the-Pooh and "The Mill on the Floss" (which
I later studied at University). He looks after my mom,
who is plugged into an oxygen tank, and makes daily
trips to the library, takes walks, and unfortunately,
sneak-drinks. He misses his garden at the farm, so I am
trying to encourage him to see our weed patch as his
own. He's a good Dad, and I'm happy that he is still
around.
I also live with a good Dad. Ed
didn't grow up with younger siblings, so when
Philip arrived, Ed was a clean slate as far as
caregiving, nurturing, baby-holding experiences go. He
has always been quite ga-ga over the boys. Any of their
new experiences, trips, or ideas are met with interest
and enthusiasm on the part of their Dad. He is a Prayer
Warrior Dad, too, which I think has to be the big bonus
in our family.
Both my Dad and Ed have their
share of weaknesses and flaws, of course. But, in
general, I have been very blessed by these men in my
life. I am well aware that there are fathers out there
who are little more than 'sperm donors', or worse, who
have used systematic violence and deception against
their partners and against their children. These are
the men I hear about daily in my job as a domestic abuse
outreach worker. I have met some of these men. I know
that some of them are fathers you know, maybe your own
father.
If you have had an uneven
experience with your earthly father, have known
disappointment because of broken promises, neglect,
abuse, hurts... you will be pleased to recollect that
our Heavenly Father is always available to us, wants to
give us good things, if we only ask, and wants to endow
us with the blessings of eternal life beyond this poor
old plastic planet. I hope you get to spend quality
time with Him today, and tomorrow, and forever!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And the Blogs go on....
I have had quite a few questions about the "blog"
portion of our Angel Co-op site. (No, I didn't actually
get to mine over the past week.... Megan is patiently
waiting for me to provide her with some material. I
will look after that today.)
A Blog is a combined term for "web
log" and usually presents as a personal social
commentary, diary or journal entry, on a web site.
There
are a variety of blogs on the Internet that you might
want to check out. Some of the news media rely on
political blogs to gain insights into the world economic
and political scene. The blogs written by women on the
Angel Co-op site are meant to represent the points of
view and spiritual vision of Christian women from a
range of geographical and life experience. Anyone who
wants to have a blog on Angel Co-op can connect with us
and we will help you with the mechanics (Megan has set
them up to be pretty simple, really). More blogs are
coming!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
More About
Ministries...
- Next Sabbath, our Saskatoon WM
committee is sponsoring a prayer walkabout at a local
labyrinth following our monthly fellowship dinner.
Many of us have been out to the Labyrinth on other
occasions. Elaine Bubnick told me about having gone
there with friends as part of the memorial service for a
colleague's deceased young adult son. I have had the
opportunity to go out there with women from one of my
workplace support groups. Walking the Labyrinth is
another way to pray. The setting, in a thicket of trees
and wild rose bushes, is very conducive to reverence and
peace.
- Pearl McNevin, our Personal
Ministries Leader at Saskatoon Central, has co-ordinated
a team effort to offer an 8-session Breathe Free
smoking cessation program at Sunnyside Adventist Care
Centre. The information session is on June 29th at 7:30
p.m. This program is set to launch just before
Saskatoon goes smoke-free on July 1st.
- Pearl is also set to
facilitate the VBS program, a joint
effort between both Central and Mount Royal SDA Churches
in Saskatoon. Part of the thrust of the VBS is to meet
the needs of our Saskatoon Aboriginal youth and
families.
So, until next newsletter, God
bless you in your particular areas of service!
In Christ,
Cynthia.
|
