Page 39 - Presbyterian Connection – Spring 2021

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SPRING 2021
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CONGREGATIONAL LIFE
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39
Rolling Forward in Bolsover
By Elaine Anderson, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Bolsover, Ont.
The year 2020 delivered devastating news of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has held us back in so many ways ever since St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Bolsover, Ont., was closed on March 22 for regular church ser- vices. Mandatory physical distancing and mask wearing were definitely obstacles to overcome. Going for- ward, we asked ourselves, how can we meet to worship our Lord? There must be a road from here!
On Sunday, June 21, a 1946 John Deere B tractor pulling a 16-foot float, arrived on our church property along with flowers, a podium and an FM transmitter. This quaint set-up gave folks in their cars the ability to tune their radios to 90.5 FM and listen to music and the message for the day. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the Word in beautiful natural surround- ings. We’d done it!
With a few small hurdles to over- come, church services started hap- pening again at St. Andrew’s. Num- bers were few in the beginning, but as word got around, more and more cars drove up to our “Drive-In Church Service.” We were able to fill our pulpit weekly with our interim mod- erator the Rev. Caleb Kim, the Rev. Bob Quick, Youth and Family Ministry pastor Shannon Shearer and pulpit supplies Wayne Simpson, Ray Coker,
Beth Ann Kenny, Cecil Rosenberger and Brian Anderson. Thank you all for contributing to our weekly drive- in services.
We continued drive-in church ser- vices throughout the summer and fall months, enjoying the weather and the Word. Inclement weather challenged us at times, so clear vi- nyl sides were attached to the float to keep the wind, rain and snow at bay. We managed for several weeks until it was suggested that we move to the area at the front entrance to the church, where it would be warmer for everyone, and allow our organ- ist, Shirley Mueller, to have a suitable place (just inside the front doors) to set up her keyboard.
By November 29, Advent was upon us. We knew we couldn’t use real candles in our Advent wreath outside, so Brian and Elaine Ander- son created a large wooden cande- labra using coloured light bulbs large enough for people in their cars to see from a distance. For our Advent ser- vices, readers had been assigned to read the weekly liturgies and to “turn on” the appropriate light bulb (it was electric). It was very bright and it lit up the area nicely on dull days.
The Rev. Bob Quick, from St. An- drew’s Presbyterian Church, Lind- say, came to lead us in Communion on Sunday, December 6. You might wonder how we did this from the inside of our cars. All congregants
Rosemary Watson (left) and Elaine An- derson.
were asked the week before to bring their own elements and at the appro- priate time, consume them.
It was a cold day, so things moved along quickly. During the service, we noticed that it was getting difficult for the Rev. Bob to turn the pages, so it was decided that we would stop our outdoor services at the end of Advent on Dec. 20. The Rev. Bob did not ob- ject to this idea, joking with us about the situation.
It was a peaceful and solemn time spent in the beautiful setting of our lit- tle church in the pines. It gave me a glimpse of what our ancestors must have gone through to bring their pa- rishioners together to worship the Lord. And they all said: “It was good.”
Christmas Outreach
St. Andrew’s Bolsover has suppor ted a Christmas Family every year for the past five years. Our local elementary school is in Kirkfield, about five miles east of Bolsover. Each year, we are given a family (name unknown) to suppor t for Christmas. In the past,
BOOK REVIEW
who are living with such traumas. The death of her son, Alex, elicited a mov- ing collection of poems (Holding On: Poems for Alex) and worldwide lead- ership in an organization called Com-
Celebrating the Word with help from a tractor and car radios at St. Andrew’s.
we have supplied food items for Christmas breakfast and dinner, snack items and gifts for the family.
This year, however, we were not allowed to purchase food or cloth- ing. Instead of food and clothing, gift cards were purchased. Through our church’s generosity, we were able to support three families. Wow! We gave each family $275 in gift cards. We received a thank-you from the school for our generous support once again.
passionate Friends that offers suppor t for bereaved parents. All of the sensi- tive soul-searching that has happened over those 20 years infuses this book.
Cathy picks up on a theme that is pervasive in Canadian literature—the healing power of the wilderness. This particular wilderness is on an island off the coast of British Columbia, owned by the “idealistic and sensi- ble” Hemming Bay Community on East Thurlow Island. That coopera- tive has flourished for over 40 years now. We’re treated to an eloquent ac- count of how, after the death of Alex, Cathy’s husband, Woldy, and his brother constructed, mainly by hand, a home in that wilderness.
You won’t find easy answers to getting over loss in this book. That’s because grief doesn’t work that way. You will, however, find an articulate awareness of what it means to live
A Review of
Finding Heartstone
with grief through all of its ups and downs. You will also find a witness to the power of the presence of God in and through other people who care, all in their unique fumbling ways.
And you will find recipes. I’ve tried some and they’re really good. My personal favourite, weird as it seems, is Standby Corned Beef Hash (p. 75), made from corned beef and served with loads of ketchup. As I tasted my versions of her recipes in our North Vancouver condo, I imagined what that comfort food might have tasted like at Heartstone in that wilderness land so filled with lament.
I trust these glimpses of the rich wisdom that fill this book have stimu- lated a taste for reading it. You will not be disappointed. Deep gratitude to Cathy for sharing her soul with such eloquence. Please read, ponder, and pass it on.
By the Rev. Brian Fraser, Brentwood Presbyterian Church in Burnaby, B.C.
Finding Heartstone: A Taste of Wil- derness
Written by Cathy Sosnowsky
Caitlin Press, 2020.
This book is about grief felt deeply. I want you to read it. I pray these ob- servations will encourage you to do that. Then pass it on or recommend it to others.
The author, Cathy Sosnowsky, taught English at Langara College in Vancouver for many years. She has published poetry, memoirs and
opinion pieces. She is active in lead- ership with West Vancouver Presby- terian Church, B.C., leading a faith study group as well as coordinating the communications team. Cathy’s Christian faith does not show up ex- plicitly in this book (it does in her first memoir, Snapshots: A Story of Love, Loss and Life), but its resilience un- derlies every line.
The grief that fills this book has to do with the loss of one child to a freak fatal accident and two children to ad- diction. These losses are not only en- dured with remarkable resilience, but also observed with a deep compas- sion for herself, her family and others