First-Wesley United Church
130 Brodie Street North P7C 3S3 Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

Thank you for journeying through Lent with us. I hope that this Lenten prayer study was helpful to you in your daily lenten devotions. Please comment. I appreciate any constructive feedback you have to offer. blessings on this Maunday Thursday. Lent has finished and now we journey the hard road to Good Friday and we will reach the triumphant day of Easter in the fullness of God's grace. Amen.

Re-Write a Psalm. Try Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.... Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Amen. Example: The Lord is my Guide, I shall not get lost. He shows me the right direction. He gives me a compass and map. Even if I get off track, I will not be lost for long. He will guide me. The beauty of God’s creation comforts me. His presence shines on me like the sun and warms my heart. Surely, I will find my way and we will forever walk together. Amen.

Write a Collect Prayer (Please post yours here) Format: 1. Descriptor of God/Address of God,... 2. Action of God/request of God, 3. Through: Through the Trinity, through Jesus Christ our Lord, etc. A Collect for Social Justice Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Saturday, March 27 Lead Me Thomas Merton My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahed of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Friday, March 26 A prayer, by Sister Joan Chittister. Loving God,... lead us beyond ourselves to care and protect, to nourish and shape, to challenge and energize both the life and the world You have given us. God of light and God of darkness, God of conscience and God of courage lead us through this time of spiritual confusion and public uncertainty. Lead us beyond fear, apathy and defensiveness to new hope in You and to hearts full of faith. Give us the conscience it takes to comprehend what we’re facing, to see what we’re looking at and to say what we see so that others, hearing us, may also brave the pressure that comes with being out of public step. Give us the courage we need to confront those things that compromise our consciences or threaten our integrity. Give us, most of all, the courage to follow those before us who challenged wrong and changed it, whatever the cost to themselves. Amen. See more

Very good food! Mandi combines cooking with helping the community. Thanks Mandi.

Here are some pictures from our first service back. It was amazing to see everyone again! God's love fills the distance between us all.

This Sunday First-Wesley was open for in-person worship. It was wonderful to have our family back together again. We are taking all the necessary precautions to keep people safe from COVID-19: mask wearing, hand sanitizer, social distancing and contact tracing. We are following protocols recommended by Thunder Bay Public Health and the Canadian Shield Regional Council. Even with these precautions, you may not feel comfortable, and we respect your choice. Please continue t...o watch the online worship service if that is what is best for you and your family. You are still a part of our faith community and we will do our best to reach out to you. Please let us know if you need prayers, phone calls, visits (we can visit via Zoom if you like!). Here is where you can worship along with other United Churches on Sunday, as well as find archives of past services http://trinityunited.church/livestream/ See more

I can’t breathe. These are the haunting words of George Floyd as he was strangled by a police officer on a Minneapolis street. These words are symptomatic of our COVID-19 days. They awaken us from our apathetic slumber. I can’t breathe are the words of an elderly person, as they speak to a health-care worker when they discover a positive test to the novel coronavirus....Continue reading

Yesterday was fun. Rev. Rob Smith led a very moving service online. In the afternoon we helped Rev. Ken celebrate his birthday with a birthday parade. Thanks to everyone who participated. We are finding created ways to stay connected. The greatest connector of all, even greater than the internet is the Holy Spirit. May you be blessed by the Spirit of God today.

Our hearts go out to the people of Nova Scotia today. Sometimes people get fed up of hearing the phrase "our thoughts and prayers are with you." But thoughts and prayers are not nothing. When this phrase is said with intention, it is an act of compassion and solidarity. We cannot take away the pain but we can share it. There is nothing we can say to make it better. This makes us uncomfortable. We feel powerless, but we are not. God is not. We can say that we care. We can say... that no one deserves this. We can say that we don't understand why this happened. We can pray to God to support the people who are hurt by this terrible tragedy. I pray that God will bring comfort and healing to the people impacted by violence and death. I pray that healers will be amongs the grief stricken and that hope and peace will eventually return to Nova Scotia. In Christ's name I pray, Amen. See more

An unexpected lesson: I made it through Lent without watching Youtube on my computer. That was the goal. You might think I'd be proud, but no, I'm not. I simply replaced one internet pass time with another: TikTok. My copy of "War and Peace" sits on the shelf untouched - and maybe - that's a good thing. I could have escaped into the world of Russia in 1812 and learned about Napolean, but instead... I learned something new about Canada, 2020. We are resilient! I saw how peo...ple are finding creative ways to deal with social isolation.On TikTok people are posting videos: whole families are dancing together, partners are playing tricks on one anothe and people are lip syncing to their favourite tunes. These aren't movies stars. They aren't dressed up. Their hair is not perfect and they are not all movie star gorgeous. They are our neighbours. They give me hope and they make me laugh. People are creative in times of crisis. I know Shakespeare wrote "King Lear" when he was in isolation from the plague but we don't all have to aim that high. Sing a song, learn a new dance, tell a joke. Have some fun and forget your troubles for a bit. It's worth it. See more

Money from First-Wesley's benevolent fund was used to help Shelter House buy some much needed supplies. Thank you for supporting people in need. Your gifts make a difference.

Louise from First-Wesley United Church picked up some stuff we needed for the kitchen -- soup base, margarine, napkins etc. Thank you First-Wesley United Church for the much needed donation!

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half- truths and superficial relationships, so that... you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at injus- tice, oppression and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those wsuffer from pain, rejection, star- vation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless you with enough fool- ishness to believe that you can make a dif- ference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen. Shane Claiborne See more

Psalm 31:11, 15 31:11 I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. 31:15 My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.... 31:16 Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love. It's a bit like covid.... "those who see me in the street flee from me." It's surprising when biblical writings relate to ancients as well as ours. Whatever we experience, God is with us. People have been in similar circumstances and they have discovered the support and guidance that comes from God. Amen.

Here's the news so far: your staying strong and making the best of it. I've spoken to many First-Wesley congregants in the last week and that's the message I'm hearing. People are spending time cleaning, baking, walking, reading, calling friends and family. It's a time of slowing down and a time of refocusing. It's not too bad if you are living with someone. The people who live alone are having a tougher time. So if you know someone who lives along, call them and chat. I'm so happy to be a part of a church family. We've invested a lot of time working together on church events and activites; many hours in worship together and it has payed off. We are connected. Keep the connection. Pray for one another. Spend some time just sitting in God's holy presence. God speaks to us in silence. We are not alone. blessings, Rev. Louise Hart

Plus One Where is God in all of this? If my friend asked me this question again, I’d say God is with us. We are not alone.T.S. Elliot describes God’s mysterious presence in his poem The Wasteland. Who is the third who walks always beside you?... When I count, there are only you and I together But when I look ahead up the white road There is always another one walking beside you Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded I do not know whether a man or a woman But who is that on the other side of you? TS Elliot The Wasteland Who is that on the other side of you? What ever number your consists of 1, 2 or 5, there is always one more. God is with you. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Lazarus. Remember him? The friend of Jesus who died and then was brought back to life? Lazarus' name means "God has helped me." How do we read this strange story in our time? The story tells us that Lazarus died and he was in the tomb for 4 days. The King James versus says that he "stinketh." He was most definitly dead. But Jesus is able to bring Lazurus back to life. It is a strange story in many ways. Jesus calls Lazarus to come out of the tomb. Lazarus is bound up in bu...rial cloths and hops out of the tomb where they unbind him. What if we look at this story as a parable; a story that tells us something of the nature of God. The message of the story is clear; God conquers death. Revival, restoration, and resurrection happen when God breathes God's spirit into creation. This story foreshadows the resurrection of Jesus. You could say that Lazarus is revived rather than resurrected. Lazarus wil go on to live his life as he did before. He will return home to his sisters. They will have Jesus over for dinner. Life will go on. Jesus on the other hand will be resurrected- appearing bodily a few times and then in spirit. He will walk through walls. He will appear in a locked room. It's as if he is no longer bound by his earthyly body. He is always near, within us, close to us and beyond us all at the same time. Jesus calls us his body. We are the body of Christ. His spirit lives in us. That is the resurrection. It happened once and again and again. Jesus lives. Amen See more

16 days left of Lent. Have you given anything up? (willlingly, lol) How are you doing so far? I gave up Netflix and Youtube on my computer. It's going well. The trouble is I've found new online distractions - tic toc videos and Marquee tv. The lesson I've learned is that it's better for me to decide to do something rather than take something away. So with 16 days left of Lent I'm changing the challenge to spend less time viewing video on my computer and replace this time with reading. It's challenging to keep entertained in this time of self-isolation. I'm going to start reading the books reccomended by Canada Reads. Let me know if you are too. blessings Rev. Louise hart

Prayer for our community: O Great Love, thank you for living and loving in us and through us. May all that we do flow from our deep connection with you and all beings. Help us become a community that shares each other's burdens and the weight of glory. Listen to our hearts' longings for the healing of our world (please add your own intentions)... Knowing that you are hearing us better thatn we are speaking, we offer these prayers in al the holy names of God, amen.... Prayer written by Fr. Richard Roher from the Center for Action and Contemplation P

Covid kindness. This virus is terrible - no question. None of us would wish for it. But just as in times of depression or war, we mediate the suffering with generous doses of kindness. People are checking in with their neighbours by phone, dropping off groceries on doorsteps, spending more time together as families, going out for walks alone or with a partner. Companies are converting their production lines to produce much needed medical supplies. Where is God is in this? God is in the kindness that lives in the human art and looks for ways to help. Please share where you have seen this kindness at work.

Hello Church Friends, I felt blessed to a part of the UCC Thunder Bay online service this morning, and so grateful to Rev. Randy Boyd, Rev. Rob Smith, Cyndi Nethercott, Peter Fergus-Moore and Joyce Fergus-Moore for their skills and their participation in the service. Also to Rev. Susan Ivany who wrote prayers for the service. I enjoyed Rev. Rob Smith's sermon; his message encourages us to make choices that lead us closer to God and to remember that the Lenten story of giving... things up leads us to new life and resurrection. His message was pertinent to the times we are facing. We have many choices we can make in these times; choices that are life giving; choices that are hopeful. The Cosby family played beautifully. I enjoyed the string quartet and as wells as the songs they sang during the service. I hope you enjoyed the service. Let us know what you thought. Let us know how you are. God bless, Rev. Louise Hart PS If you didn't join us this morning, please join us on Sunday, March 29. I will be preaching.

Dearest God, Source of Life, Comfort and Guidance, May we feel your presence with us powerfully today. Draw our hearts and minds closer to you. May we see your heavenly presence all around us: in nature, in family, in friends. May we hear of your work being done through those who help - the doctors, nurses, paramedics, police, firefighters, and neighbours who help. When we are bored, may memories of good times nurture us. May we find new ways to keep ourselves busy. Help us... to be creative. Assure us that life will return to normal and that the hold that this virus has on us will lessen and lessen until it is gone and merely a memory. Help us to dream of the future - of coffee with friends, and concerts and clubs and worship! What a wonderful thing a worship service will be when we gather again in your name. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. See more

What's it like being a minister during this time of covid-19? It's a new challenge. Each day I answer emails and phone calls from congregants and this has kept me busier than I expected. This is a good thing! I want to hear from you; hear how you are; pray with you and stay connected. What is really challenging me is how to respond to requests for spiritual care when someone is very ill or dying. I was able to join a family at a long term care home by speaker phone and off...er prayers for their family member who was near death. Visitors are restricted and I was not allowed to be there in person. I felt Gods presence joining us together and comforting each person. My job is not to summon God - God is already there- but instead to raise up our gratitude, our fear, our hopes and our immediate concerning experience to God and to speak the assurances that God gives us each moment of our lives. It's almost 9am. I will stop and pray. I'm getting better at remembering to pray at 9 am and 6 pm everyday. I've set my phone alarm to remind. God bless. Rev. Louise Hart See more