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Harmony and Beyond the Walls invite you to celebrate International LGBTQ2SIA+ Pride this Sunday, June 27 at 10 a.m. Mountain Time.
This is an inclusive online church service. Experience live ministry, communion, and music with participants from around the world. From Casper, Wyoming, Jerry Dale Jr will preach on the theme “We Voice Our Lament.” The lectionary scripture (2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27) will be read by Dylan Weaver of Portland, Oregon. Harmony President Parker Johnson will teach the Peace Lesson from Calgary, Alberta. Lisa Meyer of Lapeer, Michigan, will bless our communion emblems. Emma Pitt of Bayonne, New Jersey, will offer our invocation, and Tammie Lay of Independence, Missouri, will read the Sending Forth. Gary Gordier of Midland, Michigan, will offer a testimony and Julia Wismer of Amherstburg, Ontario, will teach our Living Church Lesson. The Beyond the Walls Choir will premier hymn CCS 526 “Is There One Who Feels Unworthy?” and will present CCS 285 “For Everyone Born.” Experience a non-dogmatic and non-judgmental church service open to interfaith and skeptical perspectives. We reject literal interpretations of scripture and approach the Bible in context: authors, audiences, purposes, and goals, hoping to find new insight and value. We welcome all ages, gender identities, gender expressions, religious backgrounds, religious affiliations, spiritual types, political leanings, educational levels, financial capacities, and physical abilities. Our mission is to invite everyone into community, to continually learn & grow, to abolish poverty & end needless suffering, to pursue peace everywhere, and to live life meaningfully together.
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 FREE REGISTRATION: https://form.jotform.com/maaronwright/sacred-pause-europe
This event will take place Sunday, June 27 at Noon Mountain Time. Join us for this truly international Sacred Pause worship service planned by Community Circle (Europe) and Harmony! This is a multi-lingual communion service in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, & Dutch. Guest ministry includes Nancy Ross (Pastor & Art Historian), Linda Stanbridge (Harmony Chaplain), and ministers from all across Europe!  For Pride Month, we have a very special service planned involving more than 30 voices from all over the world! Thank you to the following individuals who will be sharing their time, inspiration, and passion for inclusion with us, including Scott Murphy.
WHAT IS SACRED PAUSE? Sacred Pause is an opportunity for connection and renewal. Harmony is committed to supporting the spiritual needs of the Queer/LGBTQIA2S+ Community, and as such, this monthly online gathering is intended to provide spiritual companionship for a Queer/LGBTQIA2S+ audience and its allies. Gatherings typically last about an hour. Please make plans to join us for this opportunity for rest, renewal, and connection...wherever you are! This event is FREE but registration is required: https://forms.gle/Z4KjydRV8XBUx4dx5. If you'd like to volunteer to assist with a future Sacred Pause, please visit https://www.harmony.lgbt/volunteer.html and complete the Volunteer Form. Someone will be in touch as soon as possible. *For security reasons, Zoom link will be shared just before the gathering begins.* We are waiting for clarification on Stage 3 Reopening to determine when we may be able to safely meet again.
In the meantime, we are planning a mid-summer traveling church event at the Williams farm north of Calgary. Stay tuned for more details! Pastor Doug Hayden (he/him)  Pride Month is about belonging.
Harmony, (formerly GALA), has compiled a list of Community of Christ-affiliated Pride Month events scheduled throughout the month of June 2021. This list will continue to be updated as new events are included. Please contact Harmony President, Parker Johnson, to share any events within your areas and get them added to the list. Experience this sense of belonging by clicking the button below and check out the Pride month content/events for this year! June 5 Friends & Family Campfire-POSTPONED
June 13, 24, 27 Climate Change Colloquy Series-Online June 21 Creating Connection Book Club-Online July 11-15 A Taste of Hills of Peace "Let Peace Dwell Here"-Online July 20, 27 and August 3, 10 Hang Out...-Online July 29-August 1 A Taste of Samish "Toward the Peaceful One"-Online August 16-19 Junior Camp "Discover Peace"-Online September 9-12 Mission Conference-Online View full Canada West Events Calendar Dates are subject to change. Please register early to avoid cancellation of your event on Reggie. Canada West Mission Centre is hosting a number of events this summer! Register online at www.cwm.events. Registration fees are waived for these events. In lieu of this fee, a donation to Hills of Peace or Samish Island Campgrounds is encouraged.  We are scheduling tours of the new facility, one household at a time.
Email Doug if you’d like a tour, and he’ll let you know what times are available. This article was originally shared to the Canada West Mission Centre website and is written by CWM President Steve Thompson. Last week I introduced three topics to be discussed in this space:
Topic 1: June is “Pride Month.” I will come back to Pride month next week. In the meantime, please consult Harmony’s “Pride Month 2021 Activities” page. Pick a couple of activities that catch your interest. And be sure to check out the “Resilient” t-shirt offer! Topic 3: Remains of 215 children found in unmarked and undocumented graves near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. See last week’s column. Topic 2 in last week’s list was: Muslim family run down in apparent hate crime. This is today’s topic. To be sure you have the details of event in mind, you may wish to read this article published the day after the event: Muslim family killed…driver charged with murder. The article contains link to other articles published since then. In very brief summary, on the evening of Sunday, June 6, a young man, 20 years of age, ran down a family of five people out for a walk in their neighbourhood in London, Ontario. The family was dressed in a manner that identified them as Muslim. This is what made them the target of the driver of the truck. Four people are dead and a young boy was taken to hospital. The tragedy has been described as “terrorism” and as a “hate crime.” What should be the response of the Community of Christ to events such as this? In no uncertain terms, we must condemn this senseless act that took 4 lives and has irreversibly affected the life of a young boy. To attack a family due to visible clues as to their religious faith is shocking to any of us. We are a church that upholds an enduring principle of the “worth of all persons.” We have a mission initiative that encourages us to “pursue peace on earth.” This event violates much that we hold dear in our Christian faith. We must express our support for those in our community who are of the Muslim faith. Send a message of condolences and support to the mosque in your city or neighbourhood. Better yet, go visit them and express your support directly. I have not yet done this in response to this incident. At the time of the mass shooting in the mosque in New Zealand two years ago, I went to the local mosque to express my support for them and was received very well and with much appreciation. Education is always a good option. Learn about the Muslim faith to increase our understanding of their beliefs and practices. Again, perhaps visit the local mosque. Maybe pick up a good book or two about Islam from the library (once libraries are open again!). Or –my favourite– participate in an event offered by the Encounter World Religions Centre. In our early church history “we” were “the other” in a number of communities in which our church was established. Members were persecuted and actively encouraged to “leave town.” There were even some notable violent incidents in which people died. (Contact me if you would like details about such events.) The persecution and violence against church members was unjustified at that time. The suspicion, hatemongering, and even violence raised against Muslims in our communities is also unjustified. In our communities many of us can identify people living not far from us who originate from almost any region of the world and practice almost any religion (or none!). The more we can live in peace with each other in our communities, the better the opportunity for the world as a whole to live in peace as well. As always, I pray for you God’s blessings of joy, hope, love, and peace in these challenging times. Steve Thompson Canada West Mission Centre President steve@communityofchrist.ca This post was originally shared on the CWM website.  Are you interested in learning more about the history and current situation of the Indigenous peoples of Canada?
“Indigenous Canada” is an online course offered by the University of Alberta that “explores the Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada. From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores key issues facing Indigenous peoples today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations.” The course consists of 12 lessons that take approximately 2 hours each to work through. The materials are a combination of videos to watch and articles to read. There is also a quiz at the end of each lesson for you to evaluate your understanding. You can sign up for the course for free and the quizzes become “just for fun.” Or you can pay a fee of $60 that will get you a certificate from the University of Alberta – and then the quizzes actually mean something! So here’s the pitch: Steve Thompson is inviting you to register for the program to start in the first week of July. Steve will set up a Zoom discussion meeting about the materials late in each week (in consultation with those who sign up). Although you must register as an individual, Steve’s intent is to enable an opportunity to review and discuss what we have seen and read which hopefully will reinforce the materials and encourage better understanding. To be clear: Steve is NOT an instructor for this course. He will be a student along with those also taking the course. Here is where you can find all the information about the course: “Indigenous Canada”, you will have to register first in the Coursera system that manages these kinds of public, academic, online programs. After you register with Coursera, THEN you register for “Indigenous Canada” – and it will be up to you whether you pay the fee or opt to “audit” the course strictly for your interest and enjoyment without paying the fee. Please let Steve know if you register for the program (whether paying a fee or not). Email Steve at steve@communityofchrist.caor send him a text at 780-904-4389. He can also assist you with the processes of registering with Coursera and then for the program if you need any such help. Please register before June 30 so we can plan accordingly. Steve is looking forward to sharing this unique and valuable experience with as many others as possible! |
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