Category: Rev. Moon

Dear friends,

A Moment of Panic

There are times we panic. My moment of panic came on Wednesday, January 5, when the internet at my place suddenly stopped working.

I don’t think I panicked this much when I found out my positive PCR test result. I don’t think I was frustrated this much when I found out that I had to isolate myself from the rest of the world between 5 to 10 days. My mind was going over everywhere: How will I put the online service together? Do I need to get an unlimited internet plan for my cell phone? What about my wife’s work? How are my kids going to take online school?

I spent 30 minutes on the phone with Rogers to figure out what happened. They kept telling me to unplug and plug my router and modem, yet nothing worked. Later I was told that they found an equipment issue in the area. Fortunately, the internet service recovered after an hour.

When it came back, I felt this great relief.  I felt pure joy, thankfulness, and excitement for having the internet back.

During this week, I have been thinking about the feeling of gratefulness and happiness I experienced on that day. After a few days, I will probably forget that feeling of gratitude, excitement, and joy and start taking things for granted again.

But for this week, I want to treasure that feeling of gratefulness and happiness, just a little bit longer. I want to remember that fleeting feeling of loss, panic, and helplessness, just a little bit longer. All those feelings remind me that I am alive and a human who needs God’s grace each day.

I don’t know when the pandemic will come to an end.  When it does, may we not forget what we have felt, learned, and experienced too quickly?

May we remember to treasure all we have experienced during this pandemic and ask God to deepen our awareness of God’s grace, mercy, and presence in our human life.

Rev. Chuck Moon

A version of this message first appeared in the Saturday, January 15, 2022, edition of Tidbits.

Dear friends,

I hope everyone is staying safe, healthy, and strong. During the past week, I tested ‘positive’ for COVID 19 virus.  I am very grateful to have learned that our church members with the virus experienced mild symptoms, and many of them are recovering well. Fortunately, I too only experienced mild symptoms such as body ache and dry cough, but it sure has made me very tired.

I am approaching this healing time as an opportunity to pause, rest, and be silent.  I am approaching this time of isolation as an opportunity to give thanks for the reasonably good health I have been enjoying every day. I am approaching this time of staying home as an opportunity to appreciate my supportive family more. I am approaching this time of isolation as an opportunity to pray about our ministry together tomorrow.

I am sure I am not the only one who will benefit from stopping running once in a while. I am sure I am not the only one who will benefit from giving thanks to our family, church, and community. I am sure I am not the only one who will benefit from spending more time in prayer and silence.

May this season of waiting, isolating, and listening deepen our hope for tomorrow and our love for one another! May God bless you! AMEN.

Rev. Chuck Moon

A version of this message first appeared in the Saturday, January 8, 2022, edition of Tidbits.

On Sunday, December 26, I said in my sermon (based on Colossians 3:12, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience”), “To clothe ourselves with Christ is to allow Christ to make our life colorful and exciting. We wear Christ because Christ can make our life colorful, flavourful, and fashionable. Our life cannot be boring or dull, or dark when God is with us. God makes our life bright, and God will make us laugh and cry. God will deepen our understanding of who we are and our appreciation for our life. When God is with us, each day becomes a special gift for us to celebrate. Our life isn’t going to be pleasant all the time, but when God is with us, our life will not become dry, dull, or boring. When baby Jesus is with us, our every day becomes a Christmas party.”

Yet, when I heard that someone who attended Christmas Eve was diagnosed with COVID after the Sunday worship service, the first thing that came to my mind was what I said from the pulpit. I said, “Why did I say that?” “What is wrong with boring? Absolutely nothing!” 

After hearing my regret of saying that from the pulpit, a friend reminded me that it wasn’t my sermon that brought this new challenge upon us. Humans can be funny. We try to find a reason for every challenge and trouble we experience. Yes, we are responsible for what we do, and we will always need to find ways to do better. But more than often, we settle with a quick unhealthy reason blaming ourselves or others for the things beyond our control. We think God is so petty and ready to punish every little thing we have not done right.

However, that is not who our God is and that is not what God tells us to do. The Scripture reminds us that God loves us and cares about what we go through.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.”

Psalm 46: 1–3

God invites us to depend on God more when we face challenges. I believe what we face today is another opportunity to love and forgive each other more. God is calling us to pray for each other more.

So we will pray. We will pray for everyone and each other. We pray that those who are infected by the virus will receive the proper treatment and recover from the virus quickly. We pray that caregivers, families, and neighbors will be shielded from the spread. We pray for every health care provider and the frontline worker. We pray for God’s help with those who strive to find a cure. We pray we will soon live, work, play, and worship God freely without anxiety and fear of getting sick.

We humbly ask your prayer for everyone during this uncertain and stressful time. May God bless you and protect you! Happy New Year! 

Rev. Chuck Moon

A version of this message first appeared in the Thursday, December 30, 2021, edition of Tidbits.

Dear members and friends of Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church,

I would like to take a moment to wish you a safe, peaceful, and blessed Christmas.

Some of us will be traveling to be with family. Others will be staying home quietly. Wherever you will be, whatever situations you are in, we will be holding you and your family in our prayers. Please, reach out to us when you need spiritual support.

We pray that the Holy Spirit will unite us and strengthen us to rise above the challenges we face.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40: 28–31

The prophet Isaiah and the ancient Israelites remind us that we may turn to God and find the strength we need when we are overwhelmed.

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. 

2 Corinthians 4: 16–18

The Apostle Paul reminds us that every challenge we are facing today is momentary and temporary, and all of us will experience the eternal love of Christ.  May God bless and protect you and your family during this uncertain time.

Sincerely,

Chuck Moon

A version of this message first appeared in the Friday, December 24, 2021, edition of Tidbits.

Dear members and friends of Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church,

Moments of thanksgiving

I would like to take a moment to thank Peter, Don, and Bill for organizing men’s breakfasts, for their serving hearts and hands. I have attended two breakfasts and have really enjoyed the atmosphere, culture, and flow of the fellowship they have created and fostered. Not to mention I was impressed by Don’s dishwashing skills and Peter’s food delivery skills. The testimony that Chris shared during the last breakfast added another dimension to our shared experiences. When one shares his/her life openly, I think we experience the uniting presence of the Risen Christ.

I would like to thank Christianne, Nenad, and Marta for switching and decorating two classrooms in the church. Due to the sanctuary issue, we had to be creative with the church space. They spent hours buying items, moving, and reorganizing furniture between different rooms. Their work allowed the church to provide a better space for the younger children and their families during Sunday morning worship hours.

I would also like to thank Carolyn and Robert for helping us connect with our community friends through the weekly Tidbits and the church websites (home page, YouTube, Facebook). I cannot thank them enough for their patience (accepting my very late submission) and wisdom (editing skill and creativity they possess).

Prayer Group

Every day I have been asking: How do I deepen my prayer life? How can I be more intentional about my relationship with Christ each day? A few weeks ago, I had conversations about prayers with two congregation members, and it became clear that I was not the only one who was hungry to deepen our prayer life with God. When two or three gather and pray together, we deepen our prayer. So we are about to start a small prayer group. Our first small gathering will be held at the church on Thursday, November 25, at 1PM.

There will be two parts in each meeting:

1) To learn more about prayer

To learn more about prayer, we will be studying different books. For the first few meetings, we will be reading Joan Chittister’s “the Breath of the soul.” (I have ordered 5 copies of the book. If you would like to get hold of the book, please let me know). There will be many moments of silence, reading, listening, and sharing.

2) To share our prayer

It is not our hope to say a lengthy prayer but simply have time to share a simple prayer in our hearts. It could be one simple sentence, “I am thinking about my family today.” Or “I am praying for the future of our congregation. ”

As we spend more time together, we hope to help each other to deepen our love for Christ.

Sincerely,

Chuck Moon

A version of this message first appeared in the Saturday, November 20, 2021, edition of Tidbits.

Dear members and friends of Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church,

Last Sunday, one of our elders noticed that one of the pumps in the boiler room at the church had a loud, unfriendly noise. A technician came during the week. At first, the technician thought that it was a quick fix (2-3 hours) in need of replacing one or two parts, but he ended up staying almost the entire Tuesday. Then he had to come back with newly ordered parts on Friday to finish repairing boilers (I am writing this Friday morning hoping it is fixed by Sunday). This meant that there was no heat at the church and my office throughout this week and I could definitely have used a space heater. I had to laugh at myself because I gave away three portable space heaters I owned in Port Elgin while moving to Guildwood. Mainly it was because I was moving into a small apartment. But I could not help but ask myself, “What was I thinking?” “Was I thinking I was moving to Florida?” If I knew what I know now, would I give away the space heaters and snow shovels? Did I also mention that I gave away my snow shovels, too? Oh well, this is not the first time or won’t be the last time I do things that don’t make sense, so why not laugh at myself?

Hope you can laugh at yourselves from time to time (instead of being too hard on yourselves) and invite others and God to join in your laughter. Don’t you think we are sometimes too hard on ourselves and others? I am sure God is laughing with me right now.

Sincerely,

Chuck Moon

A version of this message first appeared in the Friday, October 29, 2021, edition of Tidbits.