I make my home in Sarnia, Ontario. First CRC is my faith community. I am pleased to be in a stage of life when I can serve as a volunteer for the communities.
Thank you Wendy for your response. This year we will have communion on Good Friday... next year Easter!! We will continue the discussion in our worship team. Diane Plug
Norman, I full support the full inclusion of deacons at all assemblies. We work together in God's kingdom and we need to share information, encourage one another, and partner together. So, we need every opportunity to be in the same room together. I understand your uncertainty, and we'll have a big learning curve. I'm hoping that the changes we have to go through will leave lots of room for evaluation and flexibility so we can make accommodations.
Norman, I did find your reference to deacons not participating at classis meetings quite disturbing, and I shared that with you privately. No elder, minister or deacon can be evaluated by the number of words that are being said at a classis meeting. I might even suggest to you that some people (ministers in particular) probably say too many words at Classis and do not add a whole lot of value to the meeting.
I have been very blessed being in the presence of all God's servants.
Neil, I would like to suggest that a minister of the church does not have to lead the memorial service. In my own case, my immediate family members have absolutely no connections to the pastor of my church because they live far away. They know, however, that my faith community is central to my life, and they will honour that. So, I have suggested that certain family members they know can serve as the leader. No sermon is mandatory, but the presence of Christ and words of comfort can be shared in so many other ways than just during a sermon. Maybe I am just a rebellious person :-), but I just want to put it out there that there is lots of room for creativity. Diane Plug
I am not sure if we can continue this discussion a bit further. I just came across the posts, and found them very timely. I serve on a board in Ontario called "Community Living." We operate a sheltered workshop, plus we support individuals who are able to work in the regular workforce. In Ontario most sheltered workshops have closed, but a new one has just opened up again in the city of Brampton. There has to be room for sheltered workshops in our society, because regular places of employment are just not able to make all the accommodation. However, the difficulty is still how to employ the folks meaningfully in a sheltered workshop. We are experiencing lots of challenges in our workshop to make them financially feasible. Diane.
Posted in: Why should we celebrate the Lord's Supper on Easter Sunday?
Thank you Wendy for your response. This year we will have communion on Good Friday... next year Easter!! We will continue the discussion in our worship team. Diane Plug
Posted in: Diakonia Redux: Will Deacons Get a Voice?
Norman, I full support the full inclusion of deacons at all assemblies. We work together in God's kingdom and we need to share information, encourage one another, and partner together. So, we need every opportunity to be in the same room together. I understand your uncertainty, and we'll have a big learning curve. I'm hoping that the changes we have to go through will leave lots of room for evaluation and flexibility so we can make accommodations.
Norman, I did find your reference to deacons not participating at classis meetings quite disturbing, and I shared that with you privately. No elder, minister or deacon can be evaluated by the number of words that are being said at a classis meeting. I might even suggest to you that some people (ministers in particular) probably say too many words at Classis and do not add a whole lot of value to the meeting.
I have been very blessed being in the presence of all God's servants.
Diane Plug
Posted in: On Funerals, Comfort and the Gospel
Neil, I would like to suggest that a minister of the church does not have to lead the memorial service. In my own case, my immediate family members have absolutely no connections to the pastor of my church because they live far away. They know, however, that my faith community is central to my life, and they will honour that. So, I have suggested that certain family members they know can serve as the leader. No sermon is mandatory, but the presence of Christ and words of comfort can be shared in so many other ways than just during a sermon. Maybe I am just a rebellious person :-), but I just want to put it out there that there is lots of room for creativity. Diane Plug
Posted in: Should Sheltered Workshops be Eliminated?
I am not sure if we can continue this discussion a bit further. I just came across the posts, and found them very timely. I serve on a board in Ontario called "Community Living." We operate a sheltered workshop, plus we support individuals who are able to work in the regular workforce. In Ontario most sheltered workshops have closed, but a new one has just opened up again in the city of Brampton. There has to be room for sheltered workshops in our society, because regular places of employment are just not able to make all the accommodation. However, the difficulty is still how to employ the folks meaningfully in a sheltered workshop. We are experiencing lots of challenges in our workshop to make them financially feasible. Diane.
Posted in: In Memory of My Friend, Nella Uitvlugt
Mark, thanks for sharing. My prayers for you as you experience this immense loss in your life.
Diane Plug in Sarnia