different justice and pastoral ministries all over Canada and in Europe, and is excited to be involved in ministry in the diverse community that makes up the Cowansville Area Pastoral Charge.  Isaac began his work here as minister in the Spring of 2011 and is heartened by the new life and hope that is springing up in this church community.  Isaac is an avid hiker with his wife Rebekah, he loves to cook all kinds of food, and thoroughly enjoys being able join in on his guitar from time to time in worship at church!

Please feel free to contact Isaac at the church office or to introduce yourself to him after worship on Sunday.

Batman was the first on my list when I was quite young, but once I became basketball obsessed Michael Jordan moved in to the top spot above the Dark Knight.  But while over the years Batman and Jordan have become somewhat less formative as role models, David Suzuki has remained right up there as someone that I look up to.

Growing up, I would watch Suzuki's program "The Nature of Things" which explored themes about the natural world that mesmerized me, and every now and again Rebekah and I still watch the show on the CBC web site .  While I was working as the project coordinator of the Green Church Project I also often turned to Suzuki's web site for information and guidance as we in the church in Montreal tried to figure out how to live more deeply with respect in creation.

Tomorrow night at 7 PM (Thursday, January 24th) at Emmanuel United (201 rue Principale) we'll be taking a deeper look at the fascinating life of this Canadian icon at a free showing on our cinema screen of the biographical film, Force of Nature, which explores Suzuki's story.  

I had thought that I would already be on paternity leave at this point and was feeling a bit sad that I would miss the event, but since the doctor tells us that the baby in the womb seems happy, healthy, and might just want to wait for the cold snap to pass before it arrives, I hope to be able to see some of you tomorrow night at our movie screening!  In the meantime, drop us a message on our Facebook Page and let us know who some of your formative heroes have been over the years.

Also, if you want to have a look at the trailer for the movie, check it out below:

Well, the due date came and went and Rebekah and I are still waiting for the big moment when we can announce to everyone that the baby is here.  We actually caved in and used one of those web sites that can take photos of two parents and put together what your child might look like, so have a look to the left at the possible image of what a baby Kipp-Mundy might be .

In the midst of uncertainty it can be comforting trying to figure out the possible appearance of the baby, to research the statistics about when first babies tend to arrive, and to double and triple and quadruple-check that we have every item packed in the bag for the hospital!  And yet we know at the same time that inevitably the future that we plan for is never quite the same as the future that God has prepared for us.

I think that for many of us in the church here at Emmanuel and in our wider denomination we have a similar feeling of wanting to know what will come next, what the new minister will be like, or what the church of tomorrow will hold for us.  At times I wish that I knew the answers to these questions or that I could design a computer program that would chart out what the next 5 or 10 or 25 years will look like in the Church.

And yet in the moments when I can calm myself a little, and simply sit with God a while, I have a sense of trust that wells up in me that reminds me of Jesus' words, "Remember I am with you to the end."  We say goodbye to old ways of living, we greet new worlds with a mixture of hope and fear, but in the midst of all of this, we can trust in these words of the one who loves us, "I am with you to the end."

With those words in mind I trust I'll be able to make it through the next few minutes, or hours, or days before the baby is born.  Maybe too I'll be less likely to look at the computer generated image of what the baby might look like, and instead be content with the image of a bassinet which has has been lent to us by friends from our Emmanuel congregation.  The bassinet is sitting now in our bedroom and there is a sense of comfort that it was used for our friends' children and grandchildren over a number of decades.

Maybe that bassinet is an image for us that can be a hopeful and helpful one in the church.  There is so much richness and memory of the generations that have been laid in its frame.  But now a new child is on the way, and a new page is about to be turned. 

What does an elevator, a can of beans, and a package of diapers have to do with worship at Emmanuel this coming Sunday?  We'll be celebrating all of them during our worship on October 14th!

At 10:15 AM we'll be gathering outside of the new entrance to the elevator at Emmanuel United Church for a dedication service as we open our doors wide so that worship can be even more accessible to all the members of our community.  Many thanks to the Seven Churches and Charitable Works Foundation for their incredible donation and spearheading of this project.  This long held dream for our community is about to become a reality!  

Where do the beans and diapers come in you ask?  Well, this coming Sunday is also World Food Sunday, and we will be having out last day of collecting non-perishable food items and sanitary products before worship.  These items will be donated to the CAB food bank situated here at Emmanuel. The Centre d'action bénévole is an organization that has an amazing outreach to the community of Cowansville.  

Bring what you can on Sunday, or make a cash or gift-card donation for Giant Tiger, IGA, or Super-C and together we'll reach out with food and essential products for those who need them most in our community.  Looking forward to seeing you there!

With the number of people in our congregation who are teachers or former teachers from this region, I don't know how I'll be able to keep a straight face on Sunday when the opening line of our passage from James is read: "Not many of you should become teachers . . ." (James 3:1-12). 

For many of you the past week has seen the school year step up into high gear, and in the midst of back to class busyness maybe some of you teachers are secretly nodding your head as you read the opening of the Bible passage above :-).

All joking aside though, as teachers, students, and families enter back in to the rhythms of the school year, and as we in the church are reflecting on wisdom literature from the Bible, what qualities do you think are important for a teacher to have?  Let us know what you think on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/emmanuelunited

At the moment the grapes are at a point called 'veraison' where they are just turning from green to red when they will be less susceptible to pests and blights. As an organic operation It has taken a leap of faith for the Pigeon Hill  winery to not use pesticides and trust that their grapes will be brought to fruition.

In our Gospel passage for this coming Sunday (John 6:24-35) Jesus invites those around him to take a different look at  'performing works,' and to simply believe in what is taking place before them through his presence.  Where in your life is Christ inviting you to step back from a performance way of thinking in order to move into a place of trust?

Image used in Observer article

This past Sunday we reflected about issues like abortion and euthanasia in response to the recent United Church Observer article that focused on those topics. 

If you'd like to have a look at the actual Observer article, click here.

If you'd like to see the United Church Policy position on Contraception and Abortion, click here.

Also, some of you asked me for the line that I had quoted from the Roberston Davies novel The Manticore, so I'll write it in below:

"Be sure to choose what you believe and why you believe it, because
if you don’t choose your beliefs, you may be certain that
some belief, and probably not a very credible one, will choose you."

Well, maybe not a whole lot, but as I was reading through our Old Testament lectionary passage from Job for this week, I was reminded of the movie "Forrest Gump."  Our Bible passage (Job 38:1-11) describes the face to face showdown that takes place between God and Job in the midst of a wild whirlwind.

As I was reading it I got to thinking about the scene from Forrest Gump where Lieutenant Dan climbs up in to the rigging of a sailing vessel in the middle of a storm.  Dan shouts out his anger at God and in the end he seems to find his peace with his Creator.

During this Sunday's sermon we'll be looking at how we might find God in the midst of the tempest.  In the meantime though, have a look at the scene below and let me know if you think it's an accurate modern take on Job and the whirlwind, or let me know whether you think I'm full of hooey!

·    The elevator construction is well underway, with the foundation in place, and the structure of the new entryway to the elevator going up. We anticipate completion of the entire project by sometime around July 10^th. We will have a “grand opening”, or “launching” or “dedication” or something of like ilk after that. Champagne anyone?

·    We are beginning a smaller project to add some nice fencing on the manse property. The first stage, perhaps by late summer, will be privacy fencing to add looks, but also to control the passage of people across the manse property. We are currently looking at designs and structure.

·   The next large project, as you all know, will be the sanctuary windows. We are beginning meetings with our architect to determine the best way forward that will satisfy both the Foundation and the congregation, together with an objective of beauty, meaning and spirit. We are hoping for some form of work to commence prior to winter.

As always, feel free to send us your comments anytime.

Have a great summer!!

- Wendy Duke Cadeddu, John Cadeddu, Bill Duke

and the members of

The Seven Churches and Charitable Works Foundation

If you’ve driven by the church during the past few weeks you’ve probably noticed a giant gaping hole in the front lawn, and ladders climbing the bell tower. The new elevator is under construction and with it we’re looking forward to offering the community better access to our Emmanuel sanctuary. 

I’ve been watching as the workers outside have been scaling the scaffolding, and on windy days I’ve been praying that none of them get knocked off their perches! It can be risky business working construction in high up places, and we’re grateful for the gifts that these workers bring to this project.

It’s a good reminder that sometimes the life of faith can involve risky business as well. With all these ladders being climbed outside Emmanuel, I’ve been thinking about the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis and of the risks he took.

Jacob was a dreamer, and we probably remember from Sunday school stories about the vision that he saw of angels climbing up and down a ladder stretching between heaven and earth. Jacob dreamed this vision on the first night of his journey to a foreign land. He had never left home before, but now he was taking the risk of a trek to a place far from where he had grown up.

Many of us take journeys like these in our lives, heading out to meet challenges that are unfamiliar to the ways of life that we once knew.  It makes little difference whether we’ve lived in the same place our whole lives or whether we have called many places home. The changes that come with the passage of time mean that we are all called to find new approaches to life in a world that is always evolving. 

The story of Jacob’s ladder is not just the story of risk though… it is also the story of promise. God says to Jacob, “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go…”

As individuals and as a church we too are called to take risks in living lives that are faithful to Christ’s love for the world. These challenges won’t always be easy and sometimes we will be called to leave behind the comfort of what is familiar.

God’s promise to us though, is that Christ’s Spirit will be with us always, and will keep us wherever we go. It is with this faith that we continue on our journey, looking to the future with hope in God’s love and God’s grace.

In communion, Rev. Isaac Mundy

With grateful hearts we offer our thanks to the Seven Churches Foundation in their undertaking of this Emmanuel elevator project which is helping us in our outreach to the wider community!