Dear Friends,
We shall go out with hope of resurrection;
We shall go out, from strength to strength go on;
We shall go out and tell our stories boldly;
tales of a love that will not let us go.
A few weeks ago, we sang the above lines to the hymn We Shall Go Out with Hope of Resurrection. Besides having a lovely tune, the lines speak to me of a people who have a steadfast faith during times of trouble or challenge; a people who are so rooted in God’s love and the love of God that they go beyond the walls of the church building to the world around them. Little did I know that this was your 150th Anniversary theme hymn and part of the inspiration for the mural on the drop-down wall. As I heard more about your history, the rebuilding after the 1917 Halifax Explosion during a time of world-wide pandemic, I understand the resonance of this hymn for you. Rebuilding wasn’t only limited to then. As your history shows, you have risen to many challenges; you have reached out to transform the world around you.
The Pandemic provided us all with challenges, both as individuals and as the Church, as to how to live in new ways when we could not be face-to-face. As we are, hopefully, emerging from this Pandemic, we are in the strange time of transition between the Church that was and the Church that is yet to be. During my time here, I have found the dedication of staff and lay people to this Church and its mission heart warming and I understand why you are able to celebrate your 168th Anniversary on November 21.
The speaker for the 168th Anniversary Service will be the Rev. Dr. Rob Fennel, a writer of Christian theology, poetry, liturgy and science fiction. His latest book with Rev. Russ Daye is Turning Ourselves Inside Out: Thriving Christian Communities. For his day job, Rev. Dr. Fennell teaches courses at the Atlantic School of Theology where he is the Academic Dean. Rev. Dr. Fennel is a founding director of the Camino Nova Scotia. He is married to the Rev. Sally Shaw who was our guest preacher for 2014 Anniversary service which was during Rev. Fram’s last sabbatical. Rev. Dr. Fennel’s sermon title is "An Everlasting Covenant".
The special Anniversary Service is not our only upcoming activity. You have another opportunity to get your winter’s reading in the $5/bag Book Sale on November 27 (8am-3pm) at Grace. Advent starts on November 28th so a number of special events will be occurring, like Adopt-A-Family (Stocking Gifts), a modified Advent Event (after Church on November 28) and more. As well, I hope that you will take the opportunity to watch the Anniversary video that has pictures of Grace through the years; a link to it will be in the church’s electronic bulletin and This Sunday at Grace e-mail.
Blessings,
Rev. Wendy Kean