Beach United Church 140 Wineva Ave M4E 2T2

Heartbeat: BUC Weekly Newsletter

March 30 Worship Service: 10:30 Spiritual Wilderness

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Continuing our trek through Lenten wilderness, this week we will explore spiritual wilderness.

Each of us has experienced spiritual wilderness—times of restlessness, arid landscapes, lack of purpose, confusion about life direction. Let’s share thoughts together about what we do when we find

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ourselves in these times. Worship will include time for conversation. Or, send me an email with your thoughts: abigail@beachuc.com

children@buc

Activity: Sensing God through a finger labyrinth

Nursery and Nursery Plus are also available

March 30 2014

Our Mission? exploring faith, building relationship,

with God, people, and the earth

Upcoming Worship

April 6 Lent 5

Lazarus and . . . Life & Death Wilderness Baptism of Thomas Jack

April 13 Palm/Passion Walk with Jesus from “hurray” to “kill him.” Baptism of Taiya and Zoe Taylor

Easter Flowers ~ in memory or celebration of loved ones ~

Flowers will be displayed on Easter Sunday, April 20. Following the service flowers will be delivered to friends who are unable to attend Church. If you are available to assist with a delivery please contact: Jane Dickson, Pat Plue, or the Church Office, 416-691-8082

Beach United Church

140 Wineva Ave M4E 2T2

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Making Connections

Visit our website www.beachunitedchurch.com

Subscribe to our weekly eSpirit email

message on our web home page

Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/beachunitedchurch

Follow us on Twitter:

#NewBeachUnited

416-691-8082 140 Wineva Ave, Toronto M4E 2T4

 

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UCW PRESBYTERIAL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

MONDAY APRIL 28, 2014, 9:30am

PRESBYTERY OFFICE 963 Pharmacy Ave (south of Lawrence Ave)

Tickets $15 with lunch

THEME: DARE TO SPEAK TRUTH SPEAKER: Betty Radford Turcott,

Past National President of UCW & Author

Contact Rosalie Bradley for information at 416-698-6045

Staying Connected to Local and Wider Church

Becoming Eastering People A Spirited Conversation with our United Church Moderator

Saturday, April 5, 1-9pm

Beach United Church is hosting this Presbytery-wide event. Our United Church Moderator, Gary Paterson, is a dynamic and engaging speaker and facilitator. Gary will engage our imaginations by turning a noun into a verb, by becoming an eastering people, listening to our contexts, and bringing a wider United Church perspective to our ministry here at Beach United Church.

Register for event including supper for $20 online only at: www.torontoconference.ca/torontosoutheast

If you need assistance to register, contact our BUC office.

Toronto Southeast Presbytery Day with our Moderator

Beach United Church

140 Wineva Ave M4E 2T2

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Jazz & Reflection Saturday, April 5, 4:30—5:15pm

Malvern Dance Band

& Jazz Choir Theme: Artistry in Rhythm

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Cooking with Soul

Saturday, March 29, 9 until noon

Come and celebrate Mardi Gras

Let’s create Jambalaya and

Bread Pudding

we cook enough food for the Interfaith Lunch Program

and we eat lunch together

Community and Outreach in One Morning

What’s Coming Up?

Council would like to say a BIG thanks to everyone who has been able to answer the

Call to Action . . . by

• returning your Call to Action form • posting your name on our Wave Wall • participating in our 1st

Call to Action Session

At our monthly Council meeting, we recapped the progress that has already been made around revenue generation and cost cutting. We planned the next Call to Action session for Sunday, April 27, when we hope as many people as possible can attend and join a revenue generating/cost-cutting group that is a good fit for time, talent, and interests. See you then! Wendy Johnston, Chair of Council

News from our Beach United Council

Beach United Church

140 Wineva Ave M4E 2T2

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April 13 Palm/Passion of Jesus 10:30am Follow Jesus as he moves from being greeted with excitement and “Hosannas” to being condemned to death.

April 17 Maundy Thursday 6.30pm

However you journeyed through Lent—perhaps with Desert Mothers or Desert Fathers—come share a meal and your experiences.

April 18 Good Friday 10:30am All ages service to explore all kinds of crosses.

April 19 Holy Saturday 8pm As evening falls & candles flicker: open to the Spirit, as body & soul connect.

April 20 Easter Sunday 6:20am & 10:30am Sunrise Service 6:20am at Leuty Lifeguard Station

~ Join us for hot coffee & breakfast at BUC ~ Communion Service 10:30am

Holy Week and Easter Services

Traveling Holy Week toward Easter

It’s not too late to reflect during Lent! with

Jan Richardson & Desert Mothers Read the on-line blog. Post your thoughts or

just reflect personally. http://bucdesertmothers.wordpress.com

or with

Desert Fathers Study Booklet from Beach United Office

or at Sunday Worship

Study Opportunities at Beach

Wed Evening Study Group

Dates: March 19 & 26 Time: 7:15-9:00pm

Explore the role language plays in determining meaning in religion using The Double Vision: Language and Meaning in Religion, by Northrop Frye, literary scholar & UCC minister. Contact Dick Allan 416 698-8614 or dallan@sympatico.ca

Beach United Church

140 Wineva Ave M4E 2T2

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Friday, April 11, 7-9pm

Saturday, April 12, 9am-4pm

Don’t miss the $60 US deal – register by Friday March 28th

To register online for the whole event or individual sessions, go to http://www.westarinstitute.org/regional-programs/jsor-registration/

For assistance with online registration, or to register in person, please contact BUC office: 416-691-8082 or Karen Dale: karen@beachuc.com

Jesus Ruffled Many Feathers Isn’t it time he ruffled yours?

These talks are not ‘fire and brimstone’ they are focused, controversial discussions

that will make Jesus and his teaching even more relevant in our diverse lives

Jesus Seminar on the Road

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Joseph A. Bessler is Robert Travis Peake Associate Professor of Theology at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklhoma

David Galston is a University Chaplain, Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario

Beach United Church

140 Wineva Ave M4E 2T2

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Who is Jesus? Jesus Seminar on the Road: What are you getting into?

Does the Christian Church Have a Future? Jesus Seminar Scholars to Visit Beach United Church

The quest for an historical Jesus has been part of Christianity since its birth. But it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that the quest became a serious and theologically significant endeavor. How might this ‘quest’ challenge ways of being church today? Does exploration of an historical Jesus have anything new to offer? How are other religions responding to historical inquiry, and what does all this mean for the future of religion as a whole? Founded in 1985, the Jesus Seminar was organized to discover and report a scholarly consensus on which sayings and events of Jesus might be historically authentic. The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 150 scholars founded in 1985 by Robert Funk under the auspices of the Westar Institute. The Jesus Seminar used votes with colored beads to decide which deeds and sayings of Jesus were historically authentic, votes that formed a basis for a new translation of the New Testament. The Jesus Seminar’s reconstruction of the historical Jesus portrayed him as an itinerant Hellenistic Jewish sage and faith healer who preached a gospel of liberation from injustice in startling parables and sayings. An iconoclast, Jesus broke away from established Jewish theological dogma and social conventions both in his teaching and behavior, often by turning common-sense ideas upside down, confounding the expectations of his audience: He preached of "Heaven's imperial rule" (traditionally translated as "Kingdom of God") as being already present but unseen; he depicted God as a loving father; he fraternized with outsiders and criticized insiders. According to the Jesus Seminar, Jesus was a mortal man born of two human parents, who did not perform nature miracles nor die as a substitute for sinners nor rise bodily from the dead. Sightings of a risen Jesus were nothing more than the visionary experiences of some of his disciples rather than physical encounters.

Jesus Seminar on the Road scholars Joseph Bessler and David Galston will lead the Beach United Church seminar: Joseph Bessler, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, is the author of A Scandalous Jesus: How Three

Historic Quests Changed Theology for the Better (2013). David Galston, who holds a Ph.D. from McGill University, is the author of several books, including Embracing the

Human Jesus: A Wisdom Path for Contemporary Christianity (2012). At Friday’s lecture, “Questing for the Historical Jesus,” Bessler will review the various quests for the historical Jesus, from David Strauss in the 1800s to the present-day Jesus Seminar. Bessler will help us understand the significance of these quests for theology today. In Saturday’s workshops, Bessler and Galston will examine the historical Jesus and his wisdom sayings. Together they will explore what the historical Jesus means for today’s church as well as religion in general. All sessions are open to the general public. Registration is $75 for all three events (and $50 for additional family members. The individual cost for Friday evening is $20 and $30 each for Saturday morning and afternoon sessions. Register by phone, 503-375-5323, or online at www.westarinstitute.org/events/toronto-2014/ Questions on local arrangements should be directed to Barry Truscott at 416-699-7532, or tickets@beachuc.com.

Beach United Church

140 Wineva Ave M4E 2T2

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eSpirit Message Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a soul like me! I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now can see. Perhaps one of the most recognized hymn, it has been sung and recorded by countless musicians. Poet Alan Ginsberg even added verses!

I dreamed I dwelled a homeless one where I was lost, alone. Folk looked right through me into space and passed with eyes of stone. O homeless hand on many a street accept this change from me. A friendly smile or word is sweet as fearless charity. Woe workingman who hears the cry and cannot spare a dime nor look into a homeless eye afraid to give the time. So rich or poor, no gold to talk. A smile upon your face the homeless ones where you may walk receive amazing grace.

John Newton wrote the poem Amazing Grace when he was released from a deep spiritual wilderness. He was spiritually lost, spiritually blind, yet God’s grace found him and restored his spiritual sight. Each of us experiences spiritual wilderness one way, or another. We feel lost, restless, alone, stuck, empty, tortured by grief or shame. Or, for a long time, we may be blind to behavior that causes pain for others. Suddenly gaining our spiritual sight may be a rude awakening as we face up to what we have done. God’s grace-filled acceptance may be the only way to get through each day.

Each week in Lent, we’ve heard stories from congregation members as a gift to deepen our sense that we don’t walk through wilderness alone. This week, as you feel comfortable, please share with me your spiritual wilderness experience. I can share that in worship as an anonymous story. What spiritual wilderness have you traveled or are you traveling? What gets you through the day or night? Thanks, in anticipation of your sharing. abigail@beachuc.com Shalom, Abigail

Beach United Church

140 Wineva Ave M4E 2T2

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Through Lent empty your pockets of loose change each Sunday morning for our Fellowship of the Least Coin program.

On Sunday, look for the Least Coin box or Jean Collins.

Pastoral  News  This  week  at  Beach  UC  

we  celebrated  the  lives  of:    

Ann-­‐Louise  Gérard-­‐Fowler    

and    

Gord  Haughton    

Our  ministry  touches  lives.

Earth Hour Toronto In Toronto, we’ll be celebrating Earth Hour on Saturday, March 29, in the Riverside neighborhood at Queen St. East and Saulter St.

Come & enjoy music and conversation on climate change—fun for the whole family.

7:45 pm Concert kick-off with the GLO Show Choir

8:15 pm David Miller, CEO of WWF-Canada & Paula Fletcher, City Councillor

8:30 pm Lights off and moment of reflection

8:35 pm Lucas Stagg Band

For information: http://www.wwf.ca/events/toronto_earth_hour_event/