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