Reflection

I first came to Emmanuel as a teenager, when my family moved to Ottawa from North Bay. The earliest memory I have is of sitting in Katherine English’s Grade8 Sunday School class, and unfortunately I remember it not because of the lesson, which I’m sure was good, but because some boys had put tacks on the chairs. My next memory of sunday school was our high school bible study class, taught by my father and Ed Langner, and I do remember their lessons. They put a lot of thought and preparation into the classes, and we received a good introduction to the New Testament. There were  lively discussions – different people had different opinions and everyone felt comfortable sharing their views.

We also had lots of social activities - skating, toboganning, camping, carolling, eating– I can’t remember everything we did, but I remember having incredible fun.  After high school, there were enough of us who stayed in Ottawa to go to university that we continued to get together. That’s when Blake came to Emmanuel – he was that skinny guy with the deep voice and big hair.

One of the other things I remember from my teenage years here was the warmth of being part of a church family. I loved the annual Labour Day weekend family camps at Camp Bitobi – a weekend when doing dishes was fun and worship in the woods was wonderful. I came across a photo album with pictures from one of those camps when we were unpacking this fall. There was one picture of parents sitting in the shade at the edge of the beach, relaxing and talking. Another was of kids on the same beach with big mud cone heads – ask Dave Langner for details! Both are pictures of community.

After university, I moved to the west end and tried out other churches for a couple of years. I went with a friend to a bible study for young adults at Dominion Chalmers for a while, which was OK, and went most Sundays to Knox United. But I didn’t get involved and I didn’t feel connected.

We became active again at Emmanuel after we were married and became youth group leaders. Those nights were a lot of fun. We alternated study nights with social nights and got as much out of it as the youth.

Katie came along and I started helping out in the nursery and tiny tots, and eventually taught older Sunday School classes. Reading the background material, preparing the lessons and sharing with the kids is a great way to learn.

When I was on maternity leave with Allie, she and I attended one of Larry Read’s bible study sessions. I know much, much less than the others who were seated around the table, but it was wonderful to participate and learn from them. Every time one of his sessions comes up, I think it would be great if I could just sneak of work and attend.  

While we were in England, we attended the Methodist church in our village.  Some things were similar, some things were different (did you know that there is more than one tune to O Little Town of Bethlehem?). It is a small two church charge, with one church located at the edge of a housing estate and the other on the main street. Two of the things I liked about it were the activities that brought people from all generations and life situations together as a family and the way the church reached out into the community in which they lived; things I also like about Emmanuel. I friend invited me to attend an ecumenical mother’s bible study/prayer group while I was there.  I disagreed with some of the women about some issues, but participating in the group forced me to think about what I believe.

The scripture this morning was of the calling of four of the disciples. The things I’ve shared this morning highlight two important parts of discipleship for me – being an active member of a faith community and continuing to learn.  

When I was a teenager I was fortunate be part of an active youth group – to start to learn about faith, to be able to question, to share ideas and begin to work out what I believe. I want the same for my children and your children and grandchildren. So I am happy that we have a dynamic Sunday school, a junior choir and a bell choir, and fantastic youth programs. I still feel the strong sense of family here that I felt as a teenager, and I’m pleased to be part of a community that has so many different ways for people of all ages to get together, to reach out and to learn.

So on this anniversary Sunday when we are thinking about discipleship, I invite you to be active in whatever interests you and join in building our community. Learn from other people’s faith stories and share yours. Continue to learn and live in faith.

Val Lines

27 January, 2008