Lead Pastor’s Blog

This is a follow-up to my last post and some of the comments and meetings I have been part of since that post. Recently in a meeting I was leading one person asked me this: “Russ what are we doing? What have we accomplished?” Great questions!

My personal journey in this area has now been years in the making. As I look back over my life I see God at work in sometime subtle ways and sometimes blatant ways opening my eyes to the state of our world. It has been a steady progression of Him grabbing ahold of my heart on these issues and not letting me go. At times I am thankful and at times I wish I could go back to my “I didn’t know” stage of life. God does not seem the least bit interested in letting me go back. It is clear to me that this is a jorney forward not backward.

In November of 2010 our Friday morning men’s breakfast heard from Rick Langlais of Hands On Ministries which for now I look back on as the impetus to move us as a church forward into the arena of poverty awareness. We were confronted with the reality of abuse, poverty, lack of education, generational problems and prostitution right here in our own backyard of Saskatoon. We were not dealing with social issues on the back side of the globe we were now aware of incredible needs a few blocks from our own church.

I believe this information of a local nature has awakened many of us. The truth of scripture from Matthew 25 in the story of the sheep and the goats took on a new application…a personal application. We began asking ourselves, “what am I doing to help the least of these?” So let’s review what has transpired in the past months understanding it has been less than a year since Rick spoke at our church which I’ll use as our starting point.

1. We started a monthly grocery collection to help the inner city of Saskatoon. The church has responded very well to this initiative.
2. We had a traning session on volunteering in the inner city and now a significant number of people from Cornerstone now help out at various agencies in our downtown core.
3. We have hosted a couple of different ministries which then gave us the opportunity to begin sponsoring children in developing parts of our world. For some this was a new venture while others were already engaged in this support ministry.
4. We assisted the local ministry of Habitat for Humanity this summer by providing meals and snacks every Wednesday through July and August.
5. Lynette Sawatsky has started a children’s choir for kids at one of our inner city schools. She has the blessing of the school principal and the choir happens during school hours.
6. A small group of young men from our church responded to the urgent call for men to help build a wall around a children’s village in Haiti with Haiti Arise.
7. I have been making contacts with various ministries that deal with the very real issue of Human Trafficking in our world. My hope is to host a conference in 2012 on this issue.
8. I met with Dr. Cory Neudorf, Saskatoon’s Chief Medical Health Officer, to discuss poverty related issues in Saskatoon after hearing him speak at the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast.
9. I met with Jordon Cooper of the Salvation Army after reading several of his articles in the Star Phoenix newspaper regarding the local sex trade and its accompanying issues.
10. I have a long distance phone conversation lined up October 17th with Commissioner Christine MacMillan who is the Director of The Salvation Army International Social Justice Commission. I will be speaking with her about the issue of Human Trafficking.

This is not a complete list at all. I hear stories from time to time of ways in which people from within our church are taking the hope of Christ and engaging our world. Each one of us can play a part. As was stated in our church bulletin recently, “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try spending the night in a closed room with a mosquito.”

You can make a difference and we are making a difference. Keep it up. The cause is worth it and eternity is at stake.

CD Review – Stuart Townend, The Journey

Every once in a while it’s nice to hear something really different.  I listen to a lot of music, and in most genre’s it’s quite rare to have your expectations be so pleasantly blown away.  This is the case with Stuart Townend’s new release The Journey.  I listen to a lot of worship music, and there is a very typical modern rock style that our sacred congregational songs are being written in today.  Stuart Townend as a writer has added some great songs to that modern worship song book (In Christ Alone and How Deep the Father’s Love are standards).  But his sound on his latest album is anything but typical.  It’s best to describe it as a folk/celtic kind of mix, but with a bit more on the rock edge.  Think of the Canadian Band Great Big Sea and you’ve get the idea.

So musically it’s a great big breath of fresh air, but lyrically there’s a lot to recommend as well.  He tends to use music to teach doctrine and Biblical ideas.  It makes the songs quite wordy, but oh what words!  The first two songs tackle some complex theological ideas like the meaning of Christ and the concept of living by faith.  Another Highlight is the song Vagabonds, which gives an overview of the Kingdom of God using the Biblical imagery of the feast.  The song Simple Living in quite a straightforward way tells the story of Jesus and the rich young man, and the widow’s mite, and then explains the application (a sermon in a song – amazing!)

If you’re looking for something a little different in the music department, then check out this album.  If you’re into solid Biblical teaching, and enjoy the idea of music being used as a vehicle for doctrine, then take a listen.  At the very least, Stuart Townend challenges my view of what a good worship song should be, and makes me think that we can write songs for the church that are musically relevant, in a contemporary style, and can also be the vehicle for teaching the truths of scripture.

Pastor Lorn Gieck

 

The Church Has Left The Building

The church has left the building. This is our focus and theme for the fall as we look at the roles we have to play as members of the body.  Take an opportunity to prepare each Sunday as you come to worship, or as you listen on the podcast, to engage in the mission that God has called you to as a member of His church.

The Church: Studies in Ephesians

Sept. 4 – Guest Speaker – Marc and Lisa Honorat – Haiti Arise
Sept. 11 – Russ – The Church – A Place to Dream – Ephesians 3:14-21 – Communion
Sept. 18 – Russ – The Church – A Place to Serve – Ephesians 4:14-16
Sept. 25 – Russ – The Church – A Place of Light – Ephesians 5:8-14

Giving… Until It Makes A Difference… In Us

Oct. 2 – Guest Speaker – Dr. Cory Neudorf – Chief Medical Health Officer
Oct. 9 – Russ – Giving – It’s All About Love – 1st John 3:16-20 – Communion
Oct. 16 – Lorn – Giving – It’s All About Faith – Matthew 6:25-34
Oct. 23 – Russ – Giving – It Comes with a Warning – James 5:1-6
Oct 30 – Guest Speaker – Len Bachiu – God Speaks Today – Psalm 46