40th General Council (Previously Posted)

Hi everyone! This weekend marks the opening of the 40th General Council of the United Church of Canada. As you may or may not know, General Council this year is at the Kelowna Campus of the University of British Columba. There is still smoke in the air as the delegates are arriving.

General Council is not something I have ever been lucky enough to attend. Truthfully, it is often many of the same people who attend session after session. I often wonder how people in the church can complain about the outcome of some of the church decisions that are made, when we send the same old delegates to General Council.

Recently I was reviewing some of the past articles written for the United Church Observer. In one of David Wilson's editorials he talked about change. David was talking about significant events that had happened in his family lately that got him to thinking about how so much changes and there is absolutely nothing that we can do about it. He used the following examples to illustrate - his father's passing, his inlaw's upcoming 50th wedding anniversary, his 17 year old son's first romance, his 14 year old daughter's transition from elementary school to high school, all things that just happen without any interference by anyone.

At the 40th General Council, there will be decisions made that will mean changes somewhere, somehow to our church. We don't realize the changes that happen in our local church. Often we miss the little signs of change along the way, then shudder to our foundations when we realize the world we inhabit is no longer the same and that it will move on without us if we don't re-tool. We need to welcome change as an opporutunity and a challenge, not a threat. When we resist change, we may simply be masking our fears. There is fear in the unknown, but often we are afraid of something happening that we have absolutley no control over, these things will happen with or without us staying up all night to struggle and worrry.

To be honest, the older I get, the less I worry about change. I will be happy to see the light of the next day, celebrate a child or grandchild's birthday, attend a graduation, celebrate a wedding, even celebrate a life of someone I have loved. Change is something that we need not fear, because God is there walking the journey with us. God loves each one of us unconditionally, and just knowing that makes all the difference in the world. As the saying goes, for which I cannot give you the author, "Don't Worry, be Happy!!". And as Red Green would say, "Keep your stick on the ice, we're all in this together."

Bye for now!