Author: admin

Dear Friends,

On Saturday, May 14, I attended my first Time, Talent, and Treasures auction at the church. I was very overwhelmed by the generosity, love, and fun our members demonstrated for the church during the event. Our sincere thanks to Cindy, Nelson, and all who spent hours organizing the event. Our thanks also go to everyone who participated, donated, and prayed for the event and the congregation. Since this was my first time, I did not know what I expected from the event.

However, I went into the event with one objective in mind: Winning the gift Rev. Dr. Bob Smith had offered. Rev. Bob Smith graciously offered to write and deliver a sermon from a text the winner of its bidding would chose (in consultation with Bob). I did not have a particular text in mind, but I had times in mind when I could use it—when I am exhausted, when I am running out of ideas and get stuck with a particular text, when I have to lead a funeral or a wedding service during the week, when my kids start saying, “I am surprised to see you at home”, when I get tired of listening to my own sermon with saying, “I said this before”, or when I need time to focus on other parts of my life. I can go on and on about when I could use the gift.

However, I did not win the gift. Unfortunately, I lost the bidding. I tried my best but lost to another member of the congregation. But then I asked myself on my way home, “Did I actually lose? I still get to choose when Rev. Bob preaches (with the blessing of Rev. Bob and the member), although I don’t select a text. I will get an extra week off, and I did not spend any money. Guess what? Who won that night?

Friends, no one lost that night; everyone won. We won for each other. We won for the risen Christ. May we remember to celebrate the kinds of gifts, talents, times, resources, and love we offer to each other in the name of Jesus Christ each day!

—Rev. Chuck Moon

A version of this message first appeared in the Friday, May 20, 2022, edition of Tidbits.

Dear friends,

For some time, I had been discussing with my previous dentist in Port Elgin and current dentist in Markham the possibility of implanting a molar tooth, ever since I had lost all upper molar teeth on one side to cavity and infection. It was the combination of its cost and my fear of having someone drilling a hole in my jaw near my sinus that made me wait so long.

Finally, after long discussion and consideration, I had dental surgery on the Tuesday morning of April 26 around 8:30 AM. I made the appointment at 8:30 morning so that after the surgery, I could go directly to the office and do my work. I even packed my lunch. I was utterly clueless.

I did not even realize that the dental surgery would require recovery time. It would take 24–72 hours to heal. So instead of going to the office, I went to a pharmacy to get pain killers, antibiotics, and Peridex mouthwash. I sent an email to Bruce and Lisa sharing that I would not be at the office on Tuesday and probably Wednesday. Then, I went directly to my bed with an icepack on my face. I ended up staying in my bed all Tuesday and Wednesday. I could not believe putting a tiny screw in my jaw would need 48 and more hours to recover. At least I was so glad I did not schedule the surgery on Friday or Saturday.

I have learned a good lesson again. It is not just dental surgery that requires a time of recovery and rest, but I am not always good at recognizing the need for recovery. I need to become more intentional about recovery time. I am sure I am not the only who struggles with this.

After a long day at work, after a big or small project, after spending hours with pleasant friends or troubled clients, after visiting our loving family or complete strangers, after success or failure, after hearing exciting or disappointing news, after listening to others or sharing our concerns with others, after saying goodbye to our loved ones or welcoming others, we need time to rest, process and reflect. Looking back, when my dentist said, “Do you have any other questions?”, I could have asked, “What should I expect after surgery?” “How long will it take to heal?” But the only questions I asked were, “How much it will it cost?”, “What is the timeline for the procedure?” and “How soon can I get it?”

May we not forget to spend time with the Risen Christ, and find peace and rest each day!

—Rev. Chuck Moon

A version of this message first appeared in the Saturday, April 30, 2022, edition of Tidbits.

Dear Friends,

Happy Easter to you! Christ is risen!

I would like to share an email (I have permission) that I received from an elder, Christianne: 

A neighbour down the street went into labour!  She walked to my house, and rang the bell. I opened the door, she was very flushed, heavily breathing, very pregnant and said ‘Hi, I am in labour, but before I call 911, are you able to stay with my two kids for the night?’ What a mommy and trooper! My heart and spirit were in awe of her. Her hubby is driving back from Montreal tonight. I just put her kiddos down and now able to email you all. It was a beautiful reminder to me, that amongst the turmoil, chaos and death tolls of the world, life continues, new beginnings are occurring, God’s children are being born and joyful blessings are experienced daily!

When I read the email, I heard the angels singing Christ is risen!  May we discover and celebrate many signs of the risen Christ around us!

(Update from Christianne-Her neighbour had a girl. Both the mother and the baby are healthy.)

—Rev. Chuck Moon

A version of this message first appeared in the Saturday, April 23, 2022, edition of Tidbits.

Dear Friends,

“A state of emergency”

April 8 was a busy morning as we tried to reorganize the church lounge and nursery.  After everything was done, after everyone who came to help left, I found a dead mouse in the church.

I am afraid of a few things in this world:  Heights, a flying bat, a mouse dead or alive…

I ran as soon as I saw it.  I mean, you will never see me running that fast. I never knew I could run that fast. But I did not scream…At least, I think I didn’t. I told myself, “Why did I open that door?” I thought about doing nothing about it, but I did not want to leave it there another day. I told myself, “Deal with it. Everyone is busy. You could do it.”

For a brief moment, I thought I could remove the dead mouse if I had a shovel. So, I spent the next 15 minutes looking for a shovel at the church, except I could not find one.

I had never felt so helpless, so I ended up emailing our elders, asking for their help (Bless our elders for their patience). My email sounded like this: “There is a dead mouse in the church, I don’t know what to do.” 

Rayford and Maureen, who came to the prayer meeting that afternoon, kindly removed the creature from the church. The first thing Rayford said when he saw the dead mouse was, “It is a good size!” I am sorry, I ran again. If you ever see me running in the Village, you know what is happening in the church.

Here you go, you know a lot more about me now. I am afraid of mice, bats, and heights.

Come and join us this week. You never know what goes in the church.

May God surprise you and bring laughter to your hearts this week!

– Rev. Chuck Moon

Photo credit: “Preikestolen topdwon.jpg”, by Clementp.fr. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Taken from the Wikimedia Commons.

A version of this message first appeared in the Friday, April 15, 2022, edition of Tidbits.

Dear Friends,

Sometimes a picture speaks a thousand words.  In 1893, Munch painted a scene from his own life, the death of his older sister Sophie. This picture captures our human grief and loneliness. Everyone is looking at something other than each other. Maybe Edvard is telling us that we are afraid of looking at each other to show our struggles and vulnerability. Or perhaps he is telling us we have our ways of dealing with sadness, anger, and loneliness. Or maybe he is asking us, “Where do we look when we face our grief and loneliness.” “Where are you in your grief journey?” since we all have experienced the loss of someone or something important to us. 

We are heading into Holy Week. Yes, we celebrate and remember the resurrection of Jesus, but during this Holy Week, we are also invited to remember Christ, who struggled and died on the cross as one of us. I wonder what Christ was telling us on the cross. Was he telling us that God loves us even when we are not ready to welcome God? Was he teaching us about God, who  participates in our human suffering? God, who suffers when we suffer? Or was he trying to remind us that we are not alone despite all our human challenges? Or was he listening to us?

During this week, may we deepen our questions and love for God.

—Rev. Chuck Moon

A version of this message first appeared in the Saturday, April 9, 2022, edition of Tidbits.