This Sunday: James Lepard & Superheroes

August 20, 2018

From now to the September long weekend our theme will be Reel Life 2018. We’ll explore some of the blockbusters of the year, and ask how they speak to our popular culture, and even our faith. Does Reel Life have anything to do with Real Life?

This Sunday August 19th at 10:30am, one of our VAMs (Voluntary Associate Minister) James Lepard will be leading the service. He will be talking about The Incredibles 2, which continues the conversation about the popularity of superheroes we began last week, while looking at family, gender roles and how we view laws and the authority of government.

Of course, you don’t have to view any of the movies to join us for Reel Life 2018 this summer – it’s all about exploring themes and our faith, not about specific characters or plots. We’ll always watch a trailer on Sunday, so everyone has a glimpse of the film. And there will be popcorn, of course! We’ll also sing hymns and light candles as we share our joys and sorrows.

See you this Sunday!

A Week as a Minister by: Emily Gordon

August 24, 2018
Ever wonder …

“What does Emily do in between Sundays?”  Well here you go in her words what last week looked like at Leaside United:

In ministry, there is rarely a “typical” week, but I thought I might occasionally share a particular week, as a glimpse into the activities that I and others in our church take part in outside of Sunday morning worship. I hope you find it interesting. (Oh, and every day there are lots of emails too…)

 

Monday:

  • Usually my day off, this week I made an exception to perform a wedding.

Tuesday:

  • Three meetings, two related to Missional Development prioritizing (now all six teams have met with Warren McDougall), and a final one with the architects. Also, an informal meeting with our Council Chair, Tom Carter. They were all productive conversations, but a long day.
  • Over lunch I watched trailers for Black Panther, to choose what we’ll see Sunday.

Wednesday:

  • Emailing our pulpit supply while on vacation, and sending out information about popcorn makers and technical setup to those helping out.
  • Pastoral care phone calls.
  • Over lunch, met the new minister at Manor Road, Rev. Roberta Howey and discussed possibly including their congregation in our fall book group on Lillian Daniel’s Tired of Apologizing for a Church I Don’t Belong To.
  • Editing a fall guide to “Worship and Nurturing Spirituality” groups and opportunities.
  • Preparation for the council meeting, particularly my reflections on General Council 43, and attending the Council meeting in the evening.
  • Beginning a Weekday Wonderings post on Ready Player One.

Thursday:

  • Writing and (since Alison is on vacation) sending out the weekly email.
  • Preparing and leading a worship service at The Millwood Retirement Residence at 921 Millwood Rd. (different churches in the area take turns leading this monthly service for residents).
  • Buying a cable to connect the computer and projector.
  • Meeting with someone who came to our church for compassionate assistance.
  • Meeting James Lepard, our new VAM (Voluntary Associate Minister), about worship leadership over the next two weeks while I am away.
  • Finishing the Weekday Wonderings post on Ready Player One.

Friday:

  • Watching Black Panther and preparing discussion questions for Saturday.
  • Preparing reflection for Sunday worship.
  • Preparing a fall worship plan for meeting with Emily Pollock (Youth and Children’s Program Assistant) Sunday, coordinating worship with the children’s program.

Saturday:

  • Setting up and leading our movie and discussion afternoon on Black Panther.

Emily’s Weekday Wonderings – Ready Player One

August 12, 2018

On Sunday we had our first discussion of the Reel Life 2018 casual worship series. We started with Ready Player One , currently the sixth highest grossing film worldwide this year. We ate popcorn, watched a trailer and a short clip from the film, sang hymns, lit candles, and had time to think together about some of the themes.

Ready Player One has received a lot of attention for its nostalgia and celebration of pop culture – many of the references are to the ’80s but earlier and later decades are also referenced in many ways. The film itself is set in 2045 in a future where the world is generally not appealing. There is poverty, economic inequality, and the increasing control of large corporations, but in many ways the world does not look all that different than our own – a matter of degree more than a significant upheaval. In this dystopic future, the general approach for the people is one of escapism. They escape to “The Oasis”, a virtual reality universe, where everyone spends their time. As the main character Wade Watts says “People escape to the Oasis because of all the things they can do, but they stay because of all the things they can be.” These themes of virtual reality and online identity are ones that arise for us in our society today.

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Emily’s Weekday Wonderings – Ready Player OneRead More »

Free Movie Screening: Black Panther

August 12, 2018

As we continue our exploration of themes in movies over the next 4 weeks before school begins, we are looking at real life or rather “Reel Life” and how do the ideas in blockbuster superhero, or heist movies effect our lives, if at all.

Last week we explored escapism and the virtual world … this week we are offering a Free Movie Screening of the film “Black Panther” on Saturday August 11th, 2018 at 1:30 pm.  Then join us again on Sunday at 10:30am as we take a closer look at the characters, setting and values portrayed in the film.

All welcome! Popcorn will be provided!