There are only a few weeks left to register for this gathering created by people involved in rural places for people who love those places.  In rural congregations and communities we can feel we are ignored.  We can draw in on ourselves.  But we hold gifts for one another and the whole creation.  We need to encourage one another.  There is no need for us to be ashamed.  There are things to lament but there is also much to celebrate.

So, we invite you to this time of nurture: of learning, of shared ideas, of conversation and worship, and good food.  In Dr. Marvin Lee Anderson, we have a presenter with long experience in educating and supporting those whose vocation it is to live and lead in rural places.  It is for lay folks and for those in paid accountable ministry.

It is about Thriving Where We Are!  

At hemofthelight.com/ruralroutes you can read all about this wonderful opportunity, along with how to register and the detailed itinerary for our time together.  We hope you will join us on the beautiful shores of New Brunswick for this time that is made for you.

Catherine, Kerry, Marvin & Martin
Rural Routes Through the Holy

Shawn is the pastor of Heritage Community Church in Collingwood, ON.  This congregation is formerly a BME (British Methodist Episcopal) congregation that has celebrated its 150th anniversary.  Shawn is also owner-operator of Highland Grounds, a Fair-Trade coffee shop and bakery in Flesherton, ON.  
Catherine met Shawn at the IRCA (International Rural Churches Association) in Brandon in 2007 and has been 'friend' on Facebook, and this was posted the day after the terrorist attack on grocery store in Buffalo (May 24, 2022).
 

 

 

Taken from Joyce's E-Book, "Gleanings from a Prairie Pastor", available for downloading from Circle-M website. (www.circle-m.ca)

Spring draws us closer to nature … Each spring as the cold and darkness of winter fades, my sense of vitality is restored. The awakening starts as the hours of sunlight lengthen.  I receive a special boost when I smell the earthy dampness of fresh spring rain. My awareness is tweaked with the appearance of the earliest of spring flowers.

I watch the cows with their calves. I listen for the over-flight of ducks, and marvel at the unfolding saga of nature …

Think about our connectedness with the Land.  Some call us “earthlings”. The ancient Hebrews referred to us as “Am Ha’ Aretz” – grassroots people. The Chinese talk about humans as the “hsin” of heaven and earth, and “hsin” is written as a pictograph of the human heart. In this simple way they seem to be saying humans are the “understanding and heart of heaven and earth”.

From the Hebrew legends come stories of our source. “The Lord God took some soil and formed a man; he breathed into his nostrils and the man began to live.”

In real life, my dad showed me God’s handiwork as we worked and fished together. One Grandmother shared her love for garden flowers, and the other her love for her cattle. An agricultural professor revealed a sermon text in a handful of soil. A child opening her first pea pod helped me marvel at mysteries hidden away. I will never forget the sound of awe in the voice of a friend who told me “Yesterday’s sunset was so beautiful, I just had to stop the car and have a cry!”

The Earth is our Mother. It is from her that we are created. It is in her that we are rooted. It is out of her that we draw nourishment. It is into her that we shall return. To her we give thanks!