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A Big God!
Give thanks with a grateful heart
One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great Dad." "Did you see how the poor people live?" the father asked. "Oh yeah," said the son. "So what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father. The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them." With this, the boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks for showing me how poor we are."
Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don't have. What is one person's worthless object is another's prize possession. It is all based on one's perspective. Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for all the bounty we have, instead of worrying about wanting more. Take joy in all you have, especially the friends you have enjoyed all these years.
This is a story about a little girl who, while on the way home from church, turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, the preacher's sermon this morning confused me." The mother said, "Oh, why is that?" The girl replied, "He also said that God lives inside of us. Is that true too?" "Yes, that's true," the mother replied, Yes." "Well," said the girl, "If God is bigger than us and He live inside of us, wouldn't He show through?"
Children have an amazing way of getting down to essentials without the pretenses that often accompany adults. What the little girl said in innocence was, indeed a great theological truth. When we receive Christ, God does begin to live inside of us. St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church in Montreal will celebrate its 75th year of sharing the good news that God is Big. Over the years many have been blessed as they walked through its doors.
This Big God still works through His people as we allow God to show his love and grace through us. In fact, we should become more invisible and Christ more visible.
May God's praise continually be on our lips, that God "must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3.30).
Happy 75th Anniversary, St. Ansgar. God is a big God! Bless you all. Shalom!
Your friend and pastor
Samuel King-Kabu
Some may wonder how St. Ansgar's new page on the web will affect The Messenger. Both are necessary! They compliment each other and serve different audiences and purposes.
For the many who are unable to access the web easily, The Messenger remains a vital link to our community. The web page, on the other hand, reaches beyond the community to serve as a resource and a call to those who have not experienced St. Ansgar's in person.
As The Messenger only goes to a select few, to "family" as it were, many more personal stories and details can be provided than would be wise on the web page. The Messenger will remain the only place where we can publish what everyone did over the summer, for example.
On the other hand, The Messenger is limited in how often it comes out and how many pages can be printed. It is difficult to publish photos in The Messenger. We have much more freedom on the web page to publish longer texts and to include photos. Last minute announcements can be placed on the web page, for those who could not be present on a given Sunday.
We may see, later on, an edited and abridged version of The Messenger on our web page. At the same time, Messenger articles might end after a few paragraphs with "...For more details, see our web page" or "For photos, see our web page..."
Names and Privacy on Our Web Page
There is a fine line to be followed on the web between showing a human and friendly face to the world on one hand, and providing too much detail and invading people's privacy on the other hand.
Some issues are clear. One must be very careful how one handles the names of small children, as they become vulnerable when strangers can seem familiar by addressing them by name. Similarly, addresses, telephone numbers, places of work, and other personal details should not be published. Typically, those who wish to be contacted may publish their e-mail addresses.
If we are going to publish photos on our page, how do we caption them? If our photos are bare of names, then we lose that friendly human face we hope to present.
While we are gaining more experience in this new medium, I propose applying the following guidelines:
Roger Kenner, webmaster
- Not to provide the names of small children.
- Not to provide people's full names (unless they give the okay, as some have). Instead, to use either people's first names or their family name and first initial, as seems appropriate to the situation.
- To respect the wishes of those who advise me they do not want their names and/or their photos presented in any context. Some have already spoken to me in this respect.
One of our parishioners spent about six weeks in China, training Chinese teachers who needed to brush up on their English. The Mid-Autumn Festival started during the week leading up to the full moon on September 21. It is a time to remember family and friends. She sent the following letter to her students:
This week is the beginning of the mid-autumn festival in China. I know I can buy moon cakes here in Montreal. They were SO good! The moon is almost a full moon tonight. That's when I look up and say, "You are shining on my friends and family wherever they are. Maybe they will look at it and think of me and their friends and families! So, happy holiday!
All the best,
Here are what some of her students and team members wrote to her:
- How nice to hear from you! Last Sunday it was the mid-autumn day, a Chinese traditional festival and the Chinese people were enjoying themselves very much. We bought mooncakes, all kinds in the shop just for our parents, our friends and relatives. There are over sixty kinds and the mooncakes are getting smaller and smaller but more and more various in shape and feeling. I don't like eating mooncakes because it tastes so sweet, but I bought them just for the best wishes to my family and the others. At this time I often miss you - our dear Canadian teacher, your sweet songs always appear in my mind.
- Thank you for the mid-Autumn Festival wishes, and I return the best wishes to you. To think how nice such a holiday is when all over the world when we look at that full moon we think of others who mean so much to us. I hope we meet again.
- Now see what you have done - I'm looking for my car keys to go find some moon cakes. Talk to you later. Or, maybe I'll just call United and fly to Nanjing! That way I'll see two moons and I can think of you twice!
- Nice to hear from you. I am quite moved that you have been remembering me. And so have I. Yesterday was mid-autumn day, a Chinese traditional festival, and at that time all the families stayed together for a big dinner either in the restaurant or at home. We had jiao zi last night as usual supper as well as the moon-cakes. There are at least fifty kinds of moon cakes every year for us to choose. Sometimes we buy them to have a teste, but most of the time we all buy them to send our best regards to our parents, relatives and friends. I don't like eating them because they taste too sweet, but I did buy a lot for others wishing my friends good luck all the time. Also here I send my best wishes to my dear foreign teacher. So often I feel homesick especially during the mid-autumn night. Do you know I have taught my students the song "You Are My Sunshine"? You are just like my mother and I wish you health and happiness..
- First, thanks for your reply. Our university has begun. The Family Reunion Festival of China comes, but I can't go home because of my study. You know I want to go abroad, so I have to work hard, especially English. Maybe I'll go to your country or the US. Then I'll visit you. Have you developed our pictures? Am I handsome? Best wishes!!!