Of Snow, and Snow and Removal thereof...

Thus far this winter it has been fairly safe to say that if it is a day ending in Y then you will need to go out and shovel....

This pile has had its top knocked off 2x this year

I first started thinking about this post 2 weeks ago when this story came out (for those readers who still think in feet and inches, 30cm=1 foot, 100cm=39 inches).

In Canadian cities (and I assume many other places) there are two favoured winter past-times.  Complaining about snow plowing/removal and complaining about property taxes.  Lots of times they get combined -- such as "for the insane amount of taxes we pay the streets should be plowed as soon as it snows".

This winter has been no exception.  But it HAS been an exceptional winter.  As the link above states, a seasonal average snowfall is 154cm.  Up to two weeks ago we already had 132.  Twice the average in November and 3x the average for December by the middle of the month (note today I found this story which shows we have had another 35 or so centimeters in the last 2 weeks -- much of it in the last week, as the snow pile beside our fence shows).  A week before Christmas I heard someone who was born and raised here say that the snow piles looked normal--for March.

This pile had been completely cleared on Saturday afternoon (and does not include last night's dump of 4 inches or so)

So in an area that averages 154cm of snow in a winter we have now had about 177cm in two months.  Would anybody care to guess what people's opinions on snow plowing are?

Well I am sure there are a lot of people being realistic and fair....

I KNOW there are a lot of people whose expectations are, well, unrealistic.  Yes snow removal is not happening nearly as fast as anyone (including the city) would like.  But when it never stops coming what can you do?

THe city has a fairly logical plan that they do Priority 1 and 2 roads (arterials, bus routes that sort of thing) first and then start working their way through the residential streets.  And in a normal year they hope to get to all residential streets 3 times (they even post the rotation so folks can see what order neighbourhoods are being done in and where they are at in the cycle).  Makes perfect sense to me.  Of course the job is not made easier by the large number of people who (for whatever reason) park on the street, even when signage says not to to allow for snow clearing or by the fact that in most of the city the sidewalk is right on the street so all the snow needs to be piled into windrows and trucked away, or piled on the sidewalk (which has a whole set of other problems) rather than being piled on a boulevard.  And of course when it never seems to stop snowing then you never get past Priority 1 or 2 roadways anyway (and Priority 2 roads, which are No Parking as snow routes Nov-May still seem to have lots of cars on them)

But there seem to be a whole bunch of people who expect residential streets to be done within 48 hours of a snowfall.  And so as December rolled on and some places had not seen a plow at all after 132 cm of snow there was a lot of flak.  So the city instituted a temporary solution.  To get streets passable they would do a quick plow, with the goal to get the surface flat not go down to pavement, and leave piles on sidewalks and driveways for residents to clear.  And while some people applauded that emergency measures were being taken (and I for one would argue that they could/should have made that decision a week earlier) it just gave some people something else to whine about.

But hear is the thing.  No matter how much snow falls there are only so many plowing hours available.  Drivers need days off.  You can only clear so much roadway an hour.  and the equipment and wages that are used for snow removal are paid by taxes.  So you can not logically complain about needing more service and ask to pay less taxes in the same sentence.  Right?

And well I do believe there is a time for debate the snow removal plan and discuss whether it is adequate, no plan would match a year like this. I would suggest that the city is too reliant on contractors in an average year as it is, which means that in a year like this you have already tapped the resources that are available, so it is hard to ramp up even more.  So yes, maybe there is a discussion to be held -- though at the same time I have seen an improvement in snow removal each of the last two years.  But despite what some people seem to want, it is not responsible to plan so that in the exceptional year you can provide the same level of service as an average* year--then in a normal or sub-average year you have massive investments sitting idle.  And imagine the tax complaints when that happened.  I would suggest the best plan is to have a structure to deal with a "heavy average" year, with a level of resources that leaves some untapped ones in the plan to call forth in a heavier year.

In the meantime let's be thankful that we have snow plows. And that snow is not like an ice storm that throws thousands into a blackout.  And maybe someone can turn off the tap on the snow machine for a few weeks?  Please?

*I also have to mention that average is a hard thing to use in these discussions.  I assume when they say average the mean the mean which is calculated by adding however many years worth of data they are using and dividing.  I would suggest a more helpful metric would be the mode which is the most common value in the data set.  Of course if patterns are consistent both those values should be fairly close together.

Book 10 of 2013-- The Underground Church

When I read a teaser of this book, I knew that I just had to buy it...

One of my passions in ministry is the question "Who is God calling us to be?" (I believe we have to ask this both as individuals and as a collective community).  It is my fondest hope that by the time I retire I have a clue how to answer that question.  But this book helps in the search for an answer.

And I know that I have at least one sermon that will be very directly influenced
by having read this book.  A sermon on the idea that we are called to be contaminants/contagion in the world (based on the parable of the yeast in Matthew).  A sermon that is scheduled for the week that Presbytery will be present for worship.

I am not at all sure I agree with all of Meyers' points.  But I find most of what he has to say well worth a read.  In fact I am thinking that this could be a valuable resource for a book study. Hmmm, maybe that will happen....

I encourage folk to read this book.  At least those who wonder where God might be calling us to go...

Merry Christmas!!!!!

God Bless Us, Every One!

Newspaper Column for December 27

What's It All About Anyway???

Here we are on the third day of Christmas. Did your French Hens arrive this morning? Mine neither. Just as well, I have no room for them anyway.

By now the wrapping paper has been bagged and tossed, the Turkey leftovers are stuffed in the fridge, many of us have eaten more chocolate than we really should (but can you ever eat too much chocolate?), and maybe we have time to sit and reflect a bit. One of my favourite moments in Christmas television is Charlie Brown screaming “Can ANYBODY tell me what this is all about?”, partly because I don't think we talk about that question enough. Maybe now we can pause and ask ourselves what all the hustle and bustle and noise of the last month has been all about.

The Grinch had it all figured out, or so he thought. Christmas was all about presents and toys and food and noise. But he was wrong.

Scrooge had it all figured out too. Christmas was a poor excuse to pick a man's pocket every year. It was a waste of time and money. But he was wrong.

Some in the church have it all figured out. Christmas is about insisting that the story is all important and factual and fighting against Santa or “Happy Holidays” or anything that draws attention from the baby born to a virgin and lying in a manger. Turns out they may be wrong too.

And so I come back to the question Charlie Brown asks; “Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about?”. Is it the gifts? The holiday? Family? The story?

In the end Christmas is sort of about all those things and yet more than that. It is about the giving of tokens of love and affection to each other. It is about taking time away from being “productive” to spend with those who are important in our lives. It is about a story, a mixture of myth and legend and faith, told in words and songs and pictures of a special baby. But, for me, none of these quite answer Charlie Brown's question.

What is my answer? What does Christmas mean for me? Christmas is about birth. Christmas is about God breaking into our lives. That is the story we tell. That is the reason for our praise. We aren't celebrating the birth of a child over 2000 years ago. We celebrate the fact that here, now, as 2013 turns into 2014, something new is being born.

We don't find the meaning in Christmas by complaining about commercialism. Nor do we find it in the crowds of the pre- or post-Christmas sales. We don't find it in arguments about what “really happened” when Jesus of Nazareth was born. We don't find it in songs about silent nights or songs about bells jingling on a one horse sleigh.

We might find it in the grin on the face of a loved one opening a gift. We might find it in the peace we feel as we gather with friends and family to hear again the story of God being with us in a new way. We might find it in a surprising way, when suddenly we see a glimmer of hope, a spark of light, in a place where once there was only darkness and despair.

The great promise and hope of Christmas is that in the midst of our crises and troubles we hear of God breaking into our world and our lives. We are reminded that there is a light that no shadow can overcome. We listen for the song that brings “good news for all people”. The birth we celebrate may come in a way and place we don't expect, but our story reminds us that God rarely does the expected. Still there is light, there is hope, there is joy.

What is being born this Christmas? Where do we hear angel song? What hope is being awoken? And how will we react?

Now that the hustle and bustle are over the work of living Christmas hope begins. How will you carry Christmas hope, Christmas promise, Christmas light into the New Year?

God Bless US, Every One. Merry Christmas, and a Blessed New Year.

What Defines Christian????

Some of you may have heard of Gretta Vosper. She is a United Church of Canada minister and author of a couple of books. She also appears to many to be an atheist (and sort of claims that for herself). She is also a bit of a pole around whom controversy swirls, because some (many?) of us are not sure that she has moved beyond Christianity and if she has we wonder if she is a good fit for a member of the Order of Ministry in a Christian denomination.

Anyway, as a result of a number of recent discussions about Gretta (as she has not entered into them) on various FB pages I made the following post in the United Church of Canada FB group:

Key to all the discussions sparked by Gretta Vosper's musings has been a simple, yet very complex, question. And it is one that I think we need to lay open for discussion so we can then talk about where the boundaries of the community are...

What does it mean to be Christian????

THe United Church of Canada is a Christian denomination. Therefore to belong to the UCCan is to be a Christian (with the only membership boundaries being those laid out in the New Testament, not signing on to any other creedal statement). THere are a wide range of opinions on the details of what it the term "Christian" means but I believe that there is a common kernel.

What is that common kernel? What is the least you can believe/say to be a member of the Christian community?

As the one who posted the question(s) I think it is incumbent on me to try and provide my own answer....

To be a Christian is, at a base starting point, using the example of the New Testament community, to be one who proclaims "Jesus is Lord" (the earliest creedal statement).

Again using the witness of the New Testament as the base, to be a Christian is to be one who proclaims a crucified and resurrected Jesus/Christ.

To be a Christian is to be one who affirms the reality of God and that God is (somehow) active in the world.

To be a Christian is to be a follower of The Way, one who strives to live out love of God, neighbour, and self.

To be a Christian is to affirm that the life of faith needs to be lived out in community.

To be a Christian is to affirm a future hope, that which we call eschatology, for a world where the life of the Kingdom/Reign of God is made fully real in our presence.

To be a Christian is to affirm that in the writings and experiences of those who have gone before, especially the books we call Scripture, we can learn about God, about God's hope/plan for the world, and about how others have struggled with questions similar to ours, therefore we continue to read Scripture and ask where/how it intersects with our lives today.

I think that to go beyond that is to go beyond the base ground, the common denominator.

Edit to Add:   While cleaning the bathrooms (because insights hit us at the oddest moments) I realized I had forgotten two statements:
To be a Christian is to proclaim that somehow in the "Christ event" (the life death and resurrection) God was doing something to bring God's creation to a state of "at-one-ness" with God in a way that had not happened before.

To be a Christian is to announce that God was revealed in the life, ministry, death and resurrection of the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth, who with the eyes of faith we also call the Christ, the Anointed One of God.

What is Your First Memory of a God-moment?

Earlier this week this discussion prompt was posted in a Facebook Group:

First memory of Jesus being a companion along your life's journey. GO!

It being my sincere conviction that one of the things that is missing in many of our churches is a practice of giving testimony, and also being sure that if testimony is going to happen those of us in leadership (paid and unpaid) need to step up and model that behaviour I knew I had to follow that prompt with this blogpost...

Now my theology (both theoretical and experiential) is much more Pneumocentric [Spirit-centered] than Christocentric [Christ Centered].  It always has been I realize in retrospect.  So I don't really think in terms of Jesus being a companion on my life's journey.  That is not my experience or understanding of God.  But I do have a really clear memory of the first time I remember feeling God's presence in my life.

Palm Sunday 1984.

For a number of years it was the habit in my home congregation to have confirmation services on Palm Sunday.  In the case of our confirmation class we prepared for the event with a closing retreat at a clubhouse facility in St. Albert.  On the Saturday we gathered, had some program (of which I recall almost nothing except for a meal of nations that we did not only there but also at a number of Youth Group events in later years) and then "slept".  I say it that way because once the leader was asleep the rest of us sat up and talked until he woke up and chased us back to bed -- after all we were all in our mid-teens.

For most of my life I have been an early waker.  And so it was that Sunday.  I woke before anybody else and went outside to wander around the attached playground.  This playground consisted of a number of large concrete tunnels and structures.  It was a misty morning and the mist around the structures in the early dawn light had a really eerie quality (potentially made more notable with 30 years of memory attached).  As I wandered around the playground I sang a bit and I prayed a bit.  Not formal prayers, just free-form vocal meanderings.  As a young adult I would find that this was my preferred method of personal prayer.

Something special was there that morning, in the mist and the dawning light.  Looking back I can safely say that the 1983-84 school year was one of the worst years of my life to this point in time (and I have no desire to have a worse one thank you very much). Every day at school was an experience in suffering (again possibly made worse with 30 years of memory).  But there were 2 places I had as refuge.  The church was one of those.  Every Thursday evening that year we met for Confirmation discussions, and it was a safe place.  That morning as I wandered and sang and prayed I knew that I was in the presence of the Holy One.  And it felt good and right.  I remember feeling a sense of peace that was very unusual for me in my then 15 years.

I have had that feeling many other times in the intervening years.  But that was the first.  And first times always stick in our memory.

What is your memory of your first time?

The E Word....

Currently there is happening in the United Church of Canada the Comprehensive Review to help us as a denomination find a way forward as we face massive economic-driven downsizing and the need to restructure, to "do church" in a different way.  Officially under the review process guidelines "everything is on the table".  Some of the more cynical among us have a suspicion that the report is half written before information gathering is done and that there were a few things that were pre-determined/assumed as the process began.

Anyway, the task group has been issuing regular updates on their work.  Earlier today I was reading this month's update.  I came upon this section:

We spent some time at our meeting exploring evangelism, a term with which many United Church people are uncomfortable because of its association with conservative theologies and styles of worship. What if, instead, we thought of evangelism as going out to where the people are with a message of love, justice, and hope? What if we thought of evangelism as going confidently and joyfully into the world and inviting people to take their faith journeys in community with us, instead of waiting for them to walk through the doors?
That conversation led to a continued discussion of our vision for the church. Words emerged like: courageous, justice, Christ, community, open, united, commitment, faith, love, hope, church, vibrant. We believe the purpose of structure should be to enable communities of faith to take that vision into places of need in the wider world.

We don't "do" evangelism in the United Church.  Or at least we don't do it well.  Some of us would argue we don't even like to use the word (despite the fact that our antecedent denominations were openly evangelistic).   And yet I have to agree we NEED, not want, not it would be nice, NEED to learn how to share our faith story, our hope with those around us.  It is the only way forward that makes sense.

So I am happy the CRTG is talking about it.  I also know it is meaningless for the CRTG to talk about it.  The people that need to talk about it, to do something about it, to make it happen, are not at that table (or conference call as the case may be).  They are in churches large and small, new and old, "conservative, "liberal" and "progressive" from Atlantic to Pacific to Arctic.  We have to rediscover the tools of sharing that we are part of a church, part of a specific church and be able to share WHY.  Why do we take part in that community?  Why is it important to us?  What do we find there?  What is the story we share?  What is the hope we have to share?

And to do that we have to be honest about why we have this extreme discomfort (a discomfort that I would maintain has been around for multiple generations).  Why do we practically run from being evangelistic?  I think there are a number of reasons.  But the big one is we are not really sure WHAT we have to share.

What is our story?  What hope do we have to offer to the world?  What Good News do we bring?

Until we can articulate that, can we become evangelistic?

Pictures and Baptism....

The RevGalBlogPals have recently moved to a new site.  As a part of the set up of that site they asked for pictures of women in ministry in action.  And so I submitted this picture:

Of course there is always a story behind a picture.  And now they are asking for those stories for the Wednesday Festival this week.

When you are clergy and you have children who baptizes them?  I am not their Pastor, I am their father.  So for Princess and Scalliwag we had colleagues come out to Atikokan for the baptism--colleagues who were at those times retained without appointment.  On both those occasions all of their grandparents (and for Scalliwag also her great-grandfather) were able to be present.

Then came Monkey.  There was someone we really wanted to officiate at her baptism (because said person was unable to officiate at our wedding as Beloved sorta kinda hoped).  However said colleague was also in full-time ministry, which makes it more difficult for her to come to Atikokan.  At the same time it was becoming more and more difficult for Beloved's mother to make that trip.  So we came up with a rather unique solution.

Have the baptism at a Presbytery meeting.

We suggested this to some of the key people in Presbytery in the fall and there was great excitement.  As the chair that year noted, as Protestants we recognize 2 sacraments but in our Presbytery meetings we are only able (generally speaking) to celebrate one of them.  So we made plans.  The Board in Atikokan agreed that Monkey could be baptized on their behalf at the February Presbytery meeting.  Wonderful friend and colleague agreed (with very little pleading) to officiate, we planned the service and it was done.  I led most of the service and wonderful friend and colleague did the baptism.  Thanks again!!!!!

Oh and I was told by wonderful friend and colleague to include this piece:

Gord, be sure to mention that it is a highlight of my ministry. One of those Spirit-filled moments that always brings a smile.

 

Getting in the mood to think about next Sunday's Scriptures....

Tax REform....

At lunch time yesterday I heard this story.  IT is a proposal to introduce a Provincial goods and service tax to Alberta in the name of reducing corporate and personal income taxes.

Now I am not opposed to consumption taxes.  I think they have a role in the tax system.  But this proposal is not the right solution for Alberta at this time.  In fact this proposal would COST people at the lower end of the spectrum, the people currently not paying income tax at all money.  It would, in fact RAISE their taxes.  And I can almost guarantee that the proposed tax credit would be less than the amount people would pay out over the year.

The better cure for the Alberta tax system is to dump the (very bad, benefits the high income earners) flat tax and return to a graduated tax system.  And then maybe you can legitimately raise the personal exemption so more Albertans are not paying income tax (although I would question raising it as high as they are suggesting).


But in the end it is pretty much political suicide in Alberta to try and introduce a consumption tax.  So I suspect this will go on a shelf somewhere and collect dust.