Ralph Connor Memorial United Church

The Little White Church on Main Street, Canmore, Alberta

Sermon: June 26, 2022 – Galatians 3: 23-29

When bad news & good news are intertwined, what do we hear? Download PDF:  Sermon_26June2022  Watch: https://youtu.be/nQXKlcqedLI Seventeen years ago, when I was coaching my son’s Little League baseball team, one of his teammates was a really athletic boy who was fairly new to baseball, and whose self-image was, shall we say, “a work in progress”.  As coaches, we were encouraged to help each child develop confidence at a number of different positions, including pitcher if they were so inclined, …

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Sermon: Sunday, June 19, 2022 – Psalms 42 and 43

A good story – whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, an oral tradition that has been kept alive for generations or an off-the-cuff recounting of what happened to you five minutes ago – is one that has a point of contact with the listener/reader.  It may touch on shared experiences that the recipient has also had, or it may just be told in a relatable way. Today’s reading from Psalm 42 and 43 – considered by most Bible scholars to actually …

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Sermon: June 12, 2022 – 1 Kings 17: 8-16

Today’s reading from 1st Kings, the encounter of the prophet Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath, is a story that invites us to see the big picture, and to come right up close as well. At first glance, there’s just the three characters, a crucial need, and a moral to the story.  There’s the prophet Elijah, a widow and her son, and the desperate need for food.  When a perpetual supply of ingredients is provided by God so that there …

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Sermon: Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 2022 – Acts 2: 1-21

At Pentecost we see evidence that diversity and unity can coexist.  At the first Christian Pentecost, two different groups gathered with Holy intent in Jerusalem, at the same time: the followers of Jesus, mostly from Galilee, anticipating the gift of the Spirit; and Jewish people from around the Mediterranean who had come for the festival of Shavuot.  Soon the Spirit was there as wind, as tongues of fire and as a variety of tongues being spoken and understood.  There was …

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Sermon: May 29, 2022 – Acts 16: 16-34

“The true measure of your character is what you do when nobody’s watching.” First attributed to Charles Caleb Colton nearly 200 years ago, there have been versions of this quote repeated far and wide since then, most notably by legendary UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden, who wanted his players to understand that integrity matters off the court and on the court.   As an aside, I think of a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln, “Don’t believe everything you read on the …

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Every Child Matters

One year after Tk’emlups

We remember, with lament, the announcement one year ago from Tk’emlups, of the results of the ground-penetrating radar explorations.  Though survivors of the residential schools had shared this news for decades, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015) had spoken these realities to the people of Canada, last year’s discovery/recovery was an important moment in which many more Canadians became fully aware of the atrocities of the schools. For the past year we have shared the TRC …

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Sermon: May 15, 2022 – John 21: 12-19

Just before I start, I want to set the stage a bit.  Today’s sermon is not set in a general “somewhere”; this one is situated in a particular place.  So imagine with me the risen Christ, and some of his disciples, sharing breakfast on the rocky beach at Tabgha, in Galilee.  In this place, Jesus had walked and talked with the disciples and now the risen Christ and Simon Peter have some one-on-one time, talking about Peter’s role in the …

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Stroll for your Soul – starts May 14th

  Stroll for Your Soul returns! Sign yourself up to begin May 14 or after! Walk with others! From Executive Minister Treena Duncan     With the Ministry Support Working Group, we are pleased to once again offer Stroll for Your Soul as a gift to those in Chinook Winds Region. Last year more than 250 people participated the 2021 Stroll for the Soul. Stroll for Your Soul offers 21 days of accompaniment through a brief email delivered early each morning to …

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Evensong ~ Easter IV Potluck ~ Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Easter IV Potluck Worship ~ May 11, 2022 at 7:15pm I know this drill. I settle down, I pause, I breathe. I tell my mind, please, be still. I know this dream.  It feels like wind that sings, like air, showered clean, like holy ground.  It’s hopeful, wild like faith on fire, like passion found, like Spring, focusing, surprising.  ~ Dan Stone Let Christ be rising now in our lives and in our prayers,      as we open our …

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Sermon: May 1, 2022 – Acts 9: 1-19

There are few things more inspiring to me, than stories of radical transformation.  You know, the stories of a person whose prior choices were destructive to themselves and those around them, whose life turned around into one that was life-giving and admirable.   Or, on a group level, stories of feisty resilience and grass-roots changes that have transformed the life of a troubled neighbourhood, institution, or nation.  Perhaps it’s just because I enjoy “underdog” stories, but I think it’s more than …

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