South West Norfolk Pastoral Charge

     Come to  Coffee & Conversation:)  

Join Pastor:   Rev. Ted Smith   WEDNESDAY'S at 10:00am , bring your coffee for great conversations on ZOOM

Click on the ZOOM MEETING Link Above

ANNOUNCEMENTS

A WELCOME INVITATION TO ALL WOMEN OF THE CHURCH to U.C.W. Meetings

Meeting Dates for 2026:   Meeting the 1st Wednesday at 1:00pm at Courtland United Church

 November 4, 2026

December 2026 -- NO MEETING:)

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COURTLAND UNITED CHURCH BUFFET SUPPER

Join us on:    Saturday, October 24, 2026           AT the COURTLAND COMMUNITY CENTRE            4:30 pm to 6:30 pm 

ADULTS :   $25.00  ----  KIDS:    6-12  $10.00   ----  KIDS:    5 & under FREE 

TICKETS AT THE DOOR

Call: 519-582-1906 FOR MORE INFORMATION

                                                                                                   Moving Forward in Thanks Living                                                                               

And so, thanksgiving has come and gone, the gathering of families and the feasting on the bounty of the land as a celebration of thanksgiving to God now a happy memory.

How do you feel now?  Satisfied? Exhausted? Fulfilled? Sluggish? While all that food is so tempting and irresistible we often find ourselves over-indulging and then feeling exhausted especially after the big clean-up of all the pots, pans, dishes, glasses and the house. In some cases, it might seem overwhelming, and we may feel we've reached a proverbial saturation point, and we need some recovery time and a recovery space. 

As I reflect on my bible study reading for this week, Exodus 33: 18 - 23 reading I relate to a weary, exhausted Moses in a conversation with God, revealing an intimate caring loving relationship. In this conversation Moses asks God to reveal himself. 

" Moses said, 'Please, let me see your Glory.'. God said,' I will make my goodness pass right in front of you; I'll call out the name, God, right before you. I'll treat well whomever I want to treat well and I'll be kind to whomever I want to be kind .'

God continued,' But you may not see my face. No one can see me and live.' " 

Show me, show me, show me. We humans certainly are a curious bunch. Even one of God's greatest servants, Moses, said “Let me see your face" to God. 

" SHOW ME A SIGN, A NEON SIGN, ANYTHING!!!", a young woman said to God in a counselling session when she wanted to know God's will in an agonizing decision. 

Isn't that that typical? We want unambiguous signs...... Show me your face!...

in other words, are you here? I can't see you.....It's like the Doubting Thomas syndrome. And yet I wonder.... what faith would there be in a world where the Creator intruded so powerfully that we had no choice but to believe. What freedom would we have ifwe were coerced, or forced to believe, or if all divine mystery was revealed?

God tells Moses that his face will be forever hidden. For anyone who sees the face of God will not live....... It is this mystery that gives life, that keeps us going. 

God tells Moses that God will be known through proclamation:

            "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I  will proclaim the name of the Lord before you." 

This conversation, then between Yahweh and Moses is about God's character and presence in our lives, not God's whole being. It's about God's goodness, grace and mercy to be known and not God's face to be seen. No one can behold or contemplate the full essence of divinity except as God chooses to make this known. We can receive divine mercy, and learn the divine will, but the whole of the mystery we call God remains a mystery.

We do not always see or understand what God is doing, but as time unfolds, and our journey continues, we may come to understand the quiet and hidden things God has been doing in our lives. By faith, we must travel...

Please know this.... God is with you.... Shalom                         PT.