April 23, 2023, Anniversary Sunday
Acts 10:1-17, 34-35
Deborah Laforet
Turning Point
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by your Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
I’m going to share a few words on our scripture, but I will be brief as I know we all want to hear from our guest speaker.
I didn’t do a lot of studying on the scripture passage that Pat read for us, as I knew I didn’t have to preach this Sunday, but there was one phrase that stood out for me in one of my commentaries. “Turning point”
This scripture is a turning point for the disciples. The Acts of the Apostles is a book in our bible that speaks to the journey of the disciples after Jesus died. Disciples means followers, and Apostles are those who are sent out. These disciples of Jesus were sent out into the world to continue the work of Jesus. I would say this is what we strive to do - to be disciples who become apostles and share the good news and be the hands and feet of Christ.
In the passage this morning, there is a major turning point in our story of these apostles. Basically, Peter is told to go beyond his own circle, to preach also to Gentiles, people who were not Jewish. Now, unfortunately, this mission to go to all nations was distorted by the church. The church’s mission to convert all people to Christianity brought a lot of harm to a lot of people and communities, but was this actually the mission to which Peter and the disciples were called? Was it to convert people to their way of thinking and to their religious order or was it to preach the good news? Jesus said a lot in his ministry. He taught of justice, compassion, love for God and each other, but he never told his disciples that it was their job to create a new religion and recruit people to that religion. It was always about sharing the good news, sharing the gospel.
This turning point in our story brings Peter and the other disciples/apostles to a new way of thinking, not only inward at their own community but outward to others who might need their message.
Becoming an Affirming congregation was a turning point for this congregation. With an almost unanimous vote, we agreed that we would be a church that is public, intentional, and explicit about how we create a space of belonging for all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, race, culture, religion, age, marital status or family configuration, abilities, and socio-economic status. I believe the work towards becoming an Affirming Ministry and our ministry since that time almost 2 and a half years ago, has changed this congregation.
Now, I wonder about a new turning point. It hasn’t been long since the last one but things are changing quickly, all around us and within the church. We are looking at becoming a hub. We are looking at de-centreing ourselves and joining in partnership with other organizations to meet the needs of our community. And these organizations will increase our diversity in this church. They will bring different ideas and different traditions. It will be a challenge and it may bring some discomfort for those of us who are used to the way things are now.
Today we welcome two people from an organization in Hamilton, who, for many years, have been meeting the needs of people who are seen as different, people with mental health challenges, those struggling with addiction, those suffering from trauma, those who are neurodivergent, meaning those who think different from what is typical, like those with ADD or ADHD or Autism, These are people who are seen as problems to fix or to solve, or as people who are broken and lost causes.
This is another group who is often seen as ‘the other,’ as ‘those people.’ Again, it’s that ‘us’ and ‘them’ binary from which we are trying to move away. Imagine being able to accept all people the way they are now. Imagine seeing all people, all life, all the diversity of this earth, as a gift from God, as worthy of love, compassion, and value.
I’ll stop there. I’m going to invite up our guest speaker. Faiza, we are glad you are here with us today and we are looking forward to hearing your words.