Youth and Young Adult Ministry of Ottawa

the laziest bookclub meets tomorrow evening!

darlenemcleod — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 03:49:33 +0000

In our final laziest bookclub for the season, we’ll be diving into a little passage from the 14th Century work, The Cloud of Unknowing. The Cloud of Unknowing is an anonomously written piece of contemplative spiritual thought that follows the apophatic or “imageless” theology employed by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, a noted 14th Century theologian (and one of my personal favourites). It’s a theology still common today, particularly in our reformed tradition. In early post-reformation churches, imagery was avoided and even preached against with fervour. We’ll read the following short statement from The Cloud of Unknowing and talk about the implications of unknowable-ness. How do we discern God’s plan for us if He/She/It is unknowable? In what way can we come to know The Lord through Jesus Christ?

Christian spirituality has paradoxes that prove challenging to us. In the midst of unknowing, we are constantly called to seek and discern. I hope you’ll join us for an opportunity to seek, discern and discuss.

Bridgehead at Bank and Albert, 7pm. See you then!

From The Cloud of Unknowing:

The whole of humankind
is
wonderfully helped
by what
you are doing,
in ways you do not understand.

the laziest bookclub ever meets tomorrow!

darlenemcleod — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 20:06:45 +0000

In the wake of the earthquake and resulting tsunami that has devastated Sendai, we’ll be reading this post written by an American who has lived in Japan for nearly 20 years. We’ll talk about finding light and hope in the midst of darkness and despair, about how our Redeemer blesses us with community and love when we feel alone. We’ll talk about the ways we can witness to the Good News through acts of care and kindness in the midst of chaos – whether shared or simply proximate – and what ways we’ve seen that occur in our own lives or in recent world or local events.

We meet at Bridgehead at the corner of Bank and Albert, 7pm, on March 16, 2011. See you then!

the laziest bookclub ever meets tomorrow

darlenemcleod — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:50:38 +0000

This Sunday marks Transfiguration Day, when we recall how Jesus took Peter, James and John to a mountaintop where He was joined by Moses and Elijah and was called Son by the Voice of God. So we’ll read a lovely reflection on the Transfiguration and what transfiguration means for us in our every day lives and faith every day. We’ll talk about our thoughts on our experiences of transfiguration, and consider some of these questions, found at the end of that post:

* Are there times when you feel like you see sacred reality better or worse?
* What are the connections between the sacred and the profane, the ordinary and the extraordinary, in our everyday lives?
* Are there ways we can improve our vision?
* How and why do we remain stuck with limited vision?

The Laziest Bookclub meets at the Bridgehead at the corner of Bank and Albert tomorrow evening, 7pm. See you then!

open-mic cancelled

darlenemcleod — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:06:59 +0000

Sadly, due to a lack of sufficient performers, this week’s open-mic and coffeehouse has been cancelled.

Details on future events and performing opportunities will be available here, so be sure to check back! And if you are interested in performing at a future open-mic, please contact darlene.mcleod@rogers.com.

final push for participants: open-mic this saturday!!

darlenemcleod — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 21:29:10 +0000

This is our final push for interested participants for this Saturday’s open-mic night and coffeehouse. To be held at St. Giles Presbyterian Church at Bank and First Ave. in the Glebe, doors open at 7pm. Admission is $3 or pay-what-you-can, and free fair-trade coffee and tea will be served. Nibblies will also be provided.

Anyone interested in participating should contact darlene.mcleod@rogers.com immediately to get your name on the line-up for the evening.

the laziest bookclub ever meets this wednesday

darlenemcleod — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:52:12 +0000

The Laziest Bookclub Ever meets this Wednesday at the Bridgehead at the corner of Bank and Albert.

The past 21 days have seen action and enormous change in Egypt, so we’re going to talk about it! Let’s talk about this revolution and what it must mean for its citizens. Let’s talk about our hopes and prayers for this country as they embark on something new.

I hope you’ll join us for the conversation this week: it should be a great one!

7pm, Bridgehead @ Bank and Albert

this is what we do

darlenemcleod — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:31:26 +0000

This is what Christians do. This is who we are. We are friends, we are protectors, we are peacekeepers, we are humanitarians. We love the world, not just those who worship with us. We stand with others, even while they kneel in prayer for other faiths.

This is God’s good world, the world He loved so much He gave Himself for all people. As He loved and sacrificed for everyone, even those who denied Him, so we sacrifice and work for those who do not share our faith. This is what it is to be a Disciple.

The Laziest Bookclub Ever meets tomorrow night

darlenemcleod — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 02:55:24 +0000

The Laziest Bookclub Ever meets again tomorrow evening at 7pm. We’ll be talking reading a short passage about and reflecting on vocation. How do we discern God’s plan for our life? What challenges will we face in accepting that call?

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 @7pm
Bridgehead at the corner of Bank and Albert

See you then!

the laziest bookclub ever meets this wednesday!

darlenemcleod — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 03:59:21 +0000

The Laziest Bookclub Ever meets this Wednesday. This week marks the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, so we’ll be talking about Christian unity. Where do we see evidence of unity? What are the ways that we are working toward greater unity, both locally and globally? What effects would greater unity have on our world?

We’ll be reading a short article about a meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and the head of the World Council of Churches last month, as well as a short article about one action a local congregation is taking on an international level.

We meet at the Bridgehead @ Bank and Albert, 7pm. I’ll see you tomorrow!

for everyone

darlenemcleod — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:16:20 +0000

As the sun sets on this Epiphany Sunday, I find myself thinking about those men from “the East” who travelled untold distances, through untold challenges, following only a star, to meet a baby, a king, who had come to save humanity. But He was called King of the Jews, not King of the World, or King of All Peoples: during the time of His ministry, Jesus the Christ was not seen as a universal saviour. Those mystics, those wise men from the East, were not seen by many to be included in Jesus’ salvation, despite the angel’s words to the shepherds in that field of that great joy for all people.

But they knew. And we know. The Samaritan woman by the well knew. And Zaccheus in his tree knew. The centurian and his daughter: they knew. Jesus came not to save the expected, but the unexpected. He came not to save the Jews, but to save people, all people, everywhere.

We first see the true reach of Jesus’ ministry before it has even begun, when that star guides those men across deserts and wilderness and unknown places to greet the Christ Child. Their origin, their religion, their culture, their names, even their number, are unknown. We know only that they were drawn to travel a long way to greet a child in a foreign place.

In the aftermath of the bombing of a Coptic church at Nag Hammadi in Egypt, Muslims formed a human shield around Coptic churches across the country on Epiphany, which was this past Thursday. Those who attended said that it was a show of solidarity with their fellow Egyptians. It is also the very embodiment of the spirit which moved those wise men to long and arduous travel.

Happy Epiphany to you, and may the Spirit of the Living Lord, born to us some two thousand years ago, be present in you and in your daily living throughout the days of this year.