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Adult
Ministries
Adult Ministries
Welcome
to the heartbeat of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church Streetsville.
Those involved in the community life of St. Andrew's meet new people,
make new friends, and develop lasting relationships with others. We
believe that the adventure of faith is an ongoing process of discovery
and growth that continues throughout all of life. Our adult ministries
provide opportunities for people to participate in studies and
discussions of varied subject matter and duration of time.
Alpha
Art Classes
Women's Fellowship
M.O.M.S.
A.A.
Prayer Group
Choir
Friday Morning Men's Fellowship
Men's Breakfast (Quarterly)
Women's Tea (Annually)
2009
Autumn Newsletter Excerpt
When
Dreams & Reality Collide
From the Desk of Douglas McQuaig
In March of this year, I preached a brief, three-sermon series
entitled, “When Dreams and Reality Collide”. It was an extension of the
series that Dave Paradi and I worked on together in response to the
current economic crisis where many people were experiencing just that:
dreams of a comfortable retirement vanishing in loss of investments;
dreams of a secure career threatened by the closure of huge
corporations. For some people, the dreams for the future were based
upon a lifetime of hard work and careful planning. For others, the
dreams for the future rested on the opportunities to apply one’s
talents and abilities in a workplace that was stable. The Reality is
likely going to be very, very different.
In this extended series that led to our celebration of Easter, we
explored a number of issues with the view to helping people not only
survive the tough times, but to actually thrive in an environment that
would test and prove our faith. It seemed so appropriate and logical at
the time to carry that same thinking into the events leading up to and
including Easter because in these momentous events in human history
Reality was confronted by the determination of God to Redeem all of
life. The tragedy of Good Friday was redeemed in the triumph of Easter
Sunday.
And so it is that our tragedies can be redeemed through the triumph of
faith in a God who redeems even that worst that life can dish out.
This Autumn, I am going to pick up a similar thread of faith in a
series entitled, “Finding God in The Shack”. In Wm. Paul Young’s
best-selling novel, The Shack, he tells the story of MacKenzie Phillips
who experienced a great, personal tragedy in the abduction and murder
of his ten- year-old daughter, Missy. This resulted in Mack living with
a “great sadness” that affected his family, his friends, and his faith.
Although few of us have ever experienced such a tragedy in our lives,
we have experienced our own “great sadness” when our hopes and dreams
in life collide with its discouraging realities.
In reading this novel, I discovered a wonderful picture of God the
Father, Son and Spirit that resonated with my own journey of faith over
the past 7-10 years. In the Incarnation of Jesus the Messiah, I have
discovered a God who is more interested in redeeming fallen humankind
than in judging and condemning lost sinners. I have celebrated a faith
that is filled with incredible opportunities to become all that God
wants us to be instead of a life that is marked by defeat and
discouragement. I have come to understand the limitless love of God
that reaches out to embrace and affirm us on our journey of faith in
spite of the frequent detours we choose to take along the way.
In taking up this series of studies, I have a number of goals in mind:
• to explore the story of “The Shack” in such a way that we can relate
to real life experiences and questions of faith that we all struggle
with. In the process, I hope that we will discover that God is much
more involved in our lives than we sometimes think and that his primary
goal in ALL of life is redemption.
• to examine the story of “The Shack” and the faith principles that it
presents in order to discover their Biblical roots and identify where
there may be legitimate concerns about inaccuracies in its picture of
God and our relationship with Father, Son and Spirit.
• to provide a vehicle for reaching out to the non-churched community
through the promotion of this study series as an opportunity to
discover God in a real and fresh new way. “The Shack” has resonated
with many people who have a minimal involvement in the traditional
church community and can provide an excellent bridge to engage that
demographic in creative discussion and discovery.
• To offer additional opportunities for study and discussion of the
novel and its theological themes by engaging people in Q&A
sessions on Sunday morning and in small-group studies that will meet
each week to deal with the issues raised in the previous Sunday’s
message.
I hope you will join me on this journey of faith as we experience the
reality of God the Father, Son and Spirit in the full dimension of
their nature and character. In the process, I believe that we will find
healing and wholeness in the place of brokenness and “great sadness”.
You might also consider inviting family, friends, neighbours and
co-workers to come with you during this series. In partnership with our
Fusion Worship Team, our Sunday services will incorporate some exciting
and creative new elements that will inspire and challenge us to “think
outside the box” as we study this important subject together. We will
be providing people with a community outreach invitation to assist you
in encouraging others to be your guests and ours.
Convinced that God “is very fond of you” I am
Your pastor and friend,
Douglas McQuaig
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