Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

Last week I travelled to Whitehorse, Yukon. Why the Yukon, in April, you ask? Simple answer: Emily.

My daughter, Emily, moved to Whitehorse at the end of March for a wonderful new job opportunity. I had planned to take a week of Study Leave after Easter to focus on my Doctoral thesis. “Why not work in Whitehorse?”, I thought. “I’ve never been to Whitehorse. All I need is a table and chair and I can edit from anywhere.”

I continued to rationalize. “It will be somewhere new and I can work on my stuff and make sure no bears are lurking outside Emily’s apartment.” Yes, very rational. So I booked my flight.

It was a wonderfully productive week. I never did adjust to the three hour time difference so I was up at 5:30 am and by 6:00 am at my computer. Emily went off to her new job while I worked away until lunch time. After lunch I shopped and decorated her bare (not bear) apartment. It’s amazing how a week of shopping and fussing can transform an empty apartment into a home!

On Sunday Emily and I checked out the local church. To be honest, going to a new church is always a bit nerve racking even for a minister! What will it be like? Will they be welcoming? Will I know what to do? Will I know when to stand and when to sit? And will it be place where Emily can find community?

Immediately our concerns were put to rest. We hadn’t even made it into the sanctuary when we were greeted warmly by three different people.

We found a pew and settled in. After singing the first hymn, the worship leader led a reading from a big red book (the Hymnal) and then invited us to turn to our neighbours and discuss the questions in the bulletin:

If you grew up in the church, what are some of the baptism traditions you remember from your childhood?

If not, then what do you remember about the first baptism service you experienced?

I am going to be honest, it was weird! A discussion time in the service? Shouldn’t we be standing up and sitting down, singing a hymn or listening to a minister?

A gentleman sitting in our pew leaned over his teenage son and in a whisper said to us, “I hate when we do this.” Hearing this, the woman sitting in front of us, with her teenage son, turned around to us with a smile to say, “we have found that this discussion time is very helpful in learning about each other.” She looked at her son. The young man started off the discussion without hesitation and it was wonderful! Weird, new, different but wonderful!

We each took a moment to share our baptism experience — even the guy who hated discussion time! I learned so much about the four other people in our little corner of the church and my experience there was richer for it. When we sang the next hymn I sang a little louder because now I was singing among new friends.

It was a sweet, small church, full of wonderfully welcoming congregants. This became even clearer at the coffee time immediately following the service. They were thrilled to know that Emily was “moving in” and showed their excitement in a variety of ways. They offered her advice on how to connect with people in the North; they gave her their contact information; they offered her food; and one member even offered her a computer printer! Northern hospitality at its finest.

Connecting, encouraging, listening, caring, learning about and worshipping our amazing God — isn’t that what church is about?

So what did I learn? I learned a couple of things:

Emily is going to be okay; and
Life is full of new opportunities and experiences. If we are open, and just a little courageous our lives can be richer for it.

God is in the business of doing new things. If you are open and a little courageous imagine what God will do for you?

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

This Sunday we are beginning a new sermon series called Risky Prayers. As I have been preparing the messages I have become acutely aware that if this series is to be effective — truly life changing — we will need to be open and maybe a little courageous to pray the prayers of David, Isaiah and Jesus. I hope you will join me as we learn together how to pray Risky Prayers.