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	<title>Pastor's Musings</title>
	
	
	<link>http://www.knoxmilton.com/index.cfm?i=7166&amp;mid=25&amp;blogid=6583</link>
	<description>The Fall season is almost upon us and the UNDERGROUND CHURCH is preparing for what we pray will be our last season of worship as the sanctuary restorations have begun!  Thank you to all who have supported this faithful effort.  There will be many updates throughout the coming months to share with you.</description>
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			<title>The Roof is Jacked!</title>
			<content:encoded>The roof is up!&amp;nbsp; Last Thursday, January 26th, surely you heard the great hurray!&amp;nbsp; We needed to succeed in getting an alignment in our sagging roof timbers and by the grace of God we did.&amp;nbsp; The wonderful prayers of the people on Sunday were heard; without incident the 120 year old timber structure creaked into place so our steel reinforcement can begin.
Now the construction workers are beginning in earnest to extend the roof over the walls to provide new soffits, to reinforce the structural elements and shore up the walls, and soon they will commence the refinishing of the interior space.&amp;nbsp; With the good weather we have enjoyed the slates will be reinstalled on the roof and the already improving exterior of our building will have a grand &amp;ldquo;facelift.&amp;rdquo;
While all this incredible work is taking place we have been preparing and thinking about re-occupying the sanctuary; some interesting revelations have occurred to us that might not have been shared.&amp;nbsp; Did you know for instance that by the time we get back into the sanctuary two years will have passed?&amp;nbsp; What are the implications of two years without the sanctuary?

There are people worshiping with us in the Underground Church who have never been in the sanctuary.
There are children who have been baptized in our church who weren&amp;rsquo;t alive that last time we worshiped in our sanctuary.
There is a comfort in the practice of worship, ministry, and fellowship in the Underground Church that we have grown to embrace.
There will be a lot of room in the sanctuary for the welcoming of new people.&amp;nbsp; 
The sanctuary may impose certain expectations on us due to its history, its structure, its formality, its beauty&amp;hellip; 
There are adaptations we have made for accessibility and integration that have been elementary in the Underground Church that will now require much more intentional thought.

All these elements are so positive and so ripe with possibility; however, we need to start thinking about and planning for them now otherwise they will catch us unprepared.&amp;nbsp; The leadership team of our church has been working diligently on the Restoration Project and its funding, focused on this massive undertaking.&amp;nbsp; We thank God for the skill and commitment of these people in pulling together an amazing task.&amp;nbsp; What lies ahead of us, is perhaps even more joyful, more purposeful, to embrace and enjoy our work.&amp;nbsp; It reminds me of the first question of the Westminster Catechism:&amp;nbsp; 
Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?A. Man&amp;rsquo;s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
In this context our restored sanctuary is to become a welcoming place of worship for the healing and restoring of the soul.&amp;nbsp; It is a place where people may gather to glorify God and enjoy him forever.&amp;nbsp; If we have done our job faithfully, this restoration is a parable for the restoration that the Holy Spirit longs to accomplish for all who gather within this wonderful place.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The love of God the Father,
And the blessing of the Holy Spirit,
Be with each and every one of you,
Now and evermore.
Amen.
&amp;nbsp;
Pastor Howard</content:encoded>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 1 Feb 2012 11:13:00 +0000</pubDate>
			
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			<title>Restoration News II</title>
			<content:encoded>After the successful conclusion of our internal capital campaign, &amp;ldquo;For Christ and Community,&amp;rdquo; the congregation is delighted to see visual evidence of the restoration work commencing on our sanctuary. With God&amp;rsquo;s help we managed to exceed our goal in the campaign, our pledges now top $830,000 thanks to such a faithful and generous commitment from our own people.
With the work beginning in earnest and our story being shared broadly in the community we pray that others will join us in sharing not only the work of restoring bricks, carpet, paint, and pews; but also the most important work of restoring lives. We are committed to maintaining a witness in the core of our beautiful town that shares not only our historic presence that actually predates the incorporation of the Town of Milton, but also reaches out to serve our ever growing population. As newcomers seek to find sound relationships and acceptance in this established community a welcoming place of worship is often a priority in setting down lasting roots.
At Knox we intend to be that kind of community where people of diverse backgrounds are comfortable seeking for the meaning in life that has sustained our church community for 157 years and counting. We invite you to join us in the fascinating journey that God has called us to experience as we respond to the necessity of renewal. This challenge of refurbishment has caused us to reconsider all aspects of how we do church and the lessons we&amp;rsquo;ve learned are life affirming. Some have pointed us back to our historic roots in the Protestant Reformation, while others have challenged us to speak and witness in the tumultuous times in which we live. One thing for sure, we haven&amp;rsquo;t found facile answers to the difficult questions, nor are we prepared to tell you it&amp;rsquo;s simple.
What we have found is that in Christ, in unity we have discovered life is deeper, richer, and much more enjoyable. It seems we have found something wonderful; just when we thought we might have lost it! Jesus is quoted as saying, &amp;ldquo;Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.&amp;rdquo; Matthew 10:39
In Christ&amp;rsquo;s love and service,
Pastor Howard</content:encoded>
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			<pubDate>Fri, 4 Nov 2011 19:54:00 +0000</pubDate>
			
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			<title>Restoration News - I</title>
			<content:encoded>Exciting times at Knox Presbyterian Church now mean doing ministry in the midst of a construction site!
This is remarkably challenging if one attempts to do things in &amp;ldquo;the way we&amp;rsquo;ve always done things.&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; Sometimes I think I&amp;rsquo;m in Star Trek mode bravely going where no man has ever gone before&amp;hellip; then I realize the foolishness of my thoughts.&amp;nbsp; I stop and contemplate how blessed I am that the Lord has gone before and prepared the way!
As I compose this update to our Pastor&amp;rsquo;s Musings Blog, I am sitting in the upper reaches of the Christian Education rooms tucked away in what was once the Youth Room, then the Counter&amp;rsquo;s Room, now my little corner of solitude.&amp;nbsp; As I reflect on the massive changes that are going on at Knox, there are Skil saws, hammers, and scaffolding being erected around me to confirm this is no mere dream.
Earlier this week Frances and I sat at Bumper&amp;rsquo;s enjoying lunch and using a coupon from our Dining Out Promotion Booklet as we observed the arrival of a large crane truck along with a redi-mix cement truck.&amp;nbsp; The commotion and difficulty of parking alongside the church was fascinating not to mention the engineering task of pouring cement pads in the crawl space in preparation for the jacking up of the roof!&amp;nbsp; In observing the traffic congestion we once again encountered a safety issue which we want to bring to the Town&amp;rsquo;s attention.&amp;nbsp;
The right of way between the church and the adjacent restaurant is becoming dangerous as opposing cars are meeting in the single lane available.&amp;nbsp; Therefore we are recommending to the Town that the proposed one way designation be posted immediately and not wait until we are finished construction relieving the access to Main St. thus ensuring public safety.&amp;nbsp; We are most concerned for the people of our Town during our restoration work.&amp;nbsp; Our contractors have been great in assisting us in this regard.&amp;nbsp; This is evidenced by the incredible care and skill in assembling the scaffolding; ensuring the safety of the work site.
As we continue the work we ask you to continue your prayerful support.&amp;nbsp; The Underground Church has been a tremendous learning experience for all of us and we thank the Lord for the presence of a faithful and thriving congregation in the midst of all this turmoil.&amp;nbsp; I believe He is preparing us, strengthening us, so we will be ready when we emerge from this experience to welcome not only our own people, not only those who have drifted from our care, but a whole new group who are attracted to the story of faith in action.
With this is mind we are working not to become too focused on the restoration and lose sight of the pastoral and ministry goals of our church.&amp;nbsp; We continue to celebrate the birth of infants, the growth of our children and youth ministry, the compassionate care of our seniors.&amp;nbsp; All of this we accomplish through the inspired engagement of a congregation that believes in its mission:&amp;nbsp; Unified by Christ&amp;rsquo;s love, we share Him with the world.
Come join us and see that God is good indeed!
Pastor Howard
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			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:13:00 +0000</pubDate>
			
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			<title>Un-Natural Disaster</title>
			<content:encoded>Returning from summer vacation this year I was struck by the fickleness of what are so-called &amp;ldquo;natural disasters.&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; Some of you have already heard that the Sullivans were camping at Point Farms Provincial Park when the tornado blew through Goderich, ON.&amp;nbsp; That was only a small part of the story!&amp;nbsp;
We had gotten up early that morning as a change to our normal routine to attend worship at the early service at Knox, Goderich.&amp;nbsp; We had hoped the Kintail staff would be there following the week of VBS they&amp;rsquo;d offered to the children.&amp;nbsp; These hopes were not fulfilled, but we did attend a very fine worship service in the Lower Hall.&amp;nbsp; This allowed us to get what we needed done in town before heading back to the campgrounds for lunch and what we hoped would be an afternoon on the beach.
If we had followed our original plan, we would have stayed after the 11:00 service and had lunch downtown, followed by our annual visit to the flea market which gathers around the courthouse.&amp;nbsp; Doubtless many of you have seen the major devastation that took place, primarily around the centre of Goderich focused on the courthouse square.&amp;nbsp; What causes you to change your plans?&amp;nbsp; What entices you to drive back to the campsite?&amp;nbsp; My dog, Tanis, a 13 year old Labrador Retriever is deathly afraid of thunder storms, did something tweak us that we couldn&amp;rsquo;t leave him alone?
In his mercy, God looks after us&amp;hellip; we arrived at the campsite and the rain began to beat down.&amp;nbsp; We managed to secure our site just before the hail started to pound the roof of our tent trailer so hard it sounded like the staccato of drums (check out the picture).&amp;nbsp; We had no idea how powerful the storm would be or the damage that the nearby town would sustain.&amp;nbsp; In BenMiller the campgrounds were pummelled by winds and trailers were destroyed!

Afterwards we saw some of the devastation, the United Church on Victoria St. a mere block from Knox had its roof torn off and much of the south wall demolished!&amp;nbsp; Our own architect Allan Avis&amp;rsquo; newly renovated building (see picture) was completely gutted as the roof and wall structures were ripped apart.&amp;nbsp; In the end one innocent life was lost amidst all this violence&amp;hellip; for this loss of life we are truly sorry, yet unbelievably grateful.

Twelve seconds of fury!&amp;nbsp; That&amp;rsquo;s all it took for the destruction of so much&amp;hellip; in the face of such awesome power it is overwhelming&amp;hellip;
Later we spoke to people in the campground; some had actually been on the beach in Goderich when the Tornado struck!&amp;nbsp; Some had family living in the town and they were unable to settle after speaking with them about the damage.&amp;nbsp; One was a pastor&amp;rsquo;s wife who was just trying to have some quiet time with her children and now she feared what they would encounter when they returned to their home.&amp;nbsp; For us, it was a close call, one that seemed surreal, when the rangers posted warnings on Wednesday morning about another possible tornado; well that was enough.&amp;nbsp; We&amp;rsquo;d had enough excitement for one vacation.&amp;nbsp; I think we made record time in packing our gear and heading home.&amp;nbsp; If you&amp;rsquo;re going to have to deal with disaster I think you want to be surrounded by your own people.
I hope and pray for the good people of Goderich that they have the strength and resources to deal with the damage.&amp;nbsp; But I&amp;rsquo;m also grateful to God that we escaped, and that I&amp;rsquo;m so aware of the community that means so much to me that I just want to be home.
God bless,
Pastor Howard</content:encoded>
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			<pubDate>Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:09:00 +0000</pubDate>
			
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			<title>Amanda Sez</title>
			<content:encoded>Amanda Panda sez, "God listens to you."&amp;nbsp; We learned this by listening to the story of Elijah and the big competition among the prophets; when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal.&amp;nbsp; The God of Israel heard Elijah's prayer and sent down Fire!&amp;nbsp; [1 Kings 18:16-39]
Our key Bible verse today was:&amp;nbsp; "You know what I am going to say even before I say it Lord."&amp;nbsp; [Psalm 139:4]
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			<pubDate>Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:13:00 +0000</pubDate>
			
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			<title>Fez Sez...</title>
			<content:encoded>Today we learned that God&amp;nbsp;made us... He is the Creator and we are made in his image. Fez Sez, "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex." Psalm 139:14

Fez is a beautiful example just look at his beautiful feathers and colours, God is masterful in His grand design.
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			<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:34:00 +0000</pubDate>
			
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			<title>General Assembly 2011</title>
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General Assembly this year was a very interesting experience that I was grateful to serve the church as a commissioner.&amp;nbsp; The issues were important, the challenges to our denomination daunting in the face of the statistical reports.&amp;nbsp; However, I would say the attitude among the commissioners was generally determined; not doom and gloom.
I have chosen to report on the decision to allow communion to be served by ordained elders and diaconal ministers in remote situations where congregations are bereft of ministers of word and sacrament.&amp;nbsp; This decision, a major change in our practice, was not taken lightly nor without considerable debate, prayer and pastoral concern for our people.&amp;nbsp; In the end the will of the Assembly was to provide the sacrament of communion to these people under very carefully considered and limited conditions outlined in our adopted motion.
The major discussion centered around ensuring the &amp;ldquo;celebrant&amp;rdquo; of the sacrament was adequately trained and designated for such purposes.&amp;nbsp; Two qualifiers for this element were determined.&amp;nbsp; In respect to training the oversight of Presbytery; with respect to designation either a ruling elder or a diaconal minister.&amp;nbsp; The debate was essentially one of law vs. grace in a classic unfolding of considering what our gospel responsibility is to people who are sometimes years without receiving the sacraments due to their remote location.&amp;nbsp; We also learned of situations where people are requesting the sacrament at life&amp;rsquo;s end and are unable to receive such comfort due to lack of clergy resources.
In one heart wrenching though not condemning witness we heard the witness of a whole Northern Ontario Presbytery which has been bereft of ordained ministers from our denomination.&amp;nbsp; In the face of such need it seemed cruel to withhold the sacrament while facing the harsh reality of shrinking missionary vision of our denominational leadership.
Recommendation No. 1 as amended was adopted as follows: 
That new section 201.4 be added to the Book of Forms, read as follows, and be remitted to presbyteries under the Barrier Act: 
201.4 Where a presbytery discerns that there is no minister of Word and Sacraments available to administer the Sacrament of Holy Communion in a pastoral charge, it may commission a ruling elder or a member of the Order of Diaconal Ministries to do so on the following terms: 
a. The candidate shall be interviewed by the presbytery to ascertain his/her personal and spiritual qualifications to lead worship. 
b. Those commissioned shall be trained in the theology and practice of the Sacrament of Holy Communion. 
c. The commission shall be limited to a specific pastoral charge and shall be for a period not exceeding two years. The commission is renewable following a presbytery review. 
d. Those commissioned shall be accountable to the presbytery, through the interim moderator, for the duration of the commission.
Passing this recommendation means that the general church through the Presbyteries may now ratify this decision making it the practice of the PCC.&amp;nbsp; It is my prayer that the church will in its collective wisdom support this change.</content:encoded>
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			<pubDate>Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:34:00 +0000</pubDate>
			
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			<title>Continuing Education Through Experience...</title>
			<content:encoded>Imagine yourself in a sanctuary with 1700 preachers; you are eagerly awaiting the opening of worship by one of the most renowned worship leaders in North America.&amp;nbsp; The incredible pipe organ at the front of the glorious sanctuary sounds the prelude to worship and an awesome sense washes over you!&amp;nbsp; The fatigue of 17 hours of travel swiftly falls away and you are focused, riveted on what the Lord will offer you in the week of experiences in the Festival of Homiletics.
That&amp;rsquo;s the way our week started on Monday when Barbara Taylor Brown reminded the assembly that words matter.&amp;nbsp; How we speak about God, the world, the people of God is to be carefully crafted and well thought out.&amp;nbsp; We are to be cognizant of the hearer of the word placing ourselves in the pews to imaginatively receive the message we are transmitting.&amp;nbsp; This articulate preacher laid out a clear message that we often neglect: &amp;nbsp;the good in creation and pit ourselves as preachers against the &amp;ldquo;world&amp;rdquo; which God has blessed in such a way that parishioners don&amp;rsquo;t comprehend.&amp;nbsp; Taylor Brown recommended that we carefully assess our role in revealing God&amp;rsquo;s redemptive purposes in creation without generalizing our broad condemnations.
She supported her thesis with the reality of her own sense of personal drift from the church that offered so little compassion to her in times of life when she sought desperately to connect without condemnation.&amp;nbsp; It was a powerful witness and a moving presentation to begin the week.
The second day was highlighted for me through the preaching of one of the finest Presbyterian practitioners, Thomas Long.&amp;nbsp; His presentations featured a lecture and a sermon; the sermon far outshone the lecture in my opinion.&amp;nbsp; It didn&amp;rsquo;t talk about the decline of the church, the aging of our membership etc. rather it connected in a deeply personal way as the title suggested, &amp;ldquo;In Our Right Minds.&amp;rdquo;
On Tuesday evening we were exposed to a great example of African American preaching from an accomplished Baptist preacher Otis Moss III.&amp;nbsp; He gave an impassioned sermon entitled &amp;ldquo;A Blue Note Gospel.&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; This sermon traced the roots of African American Christianity drawing a parallel to Israel&amp;rsquo;s experience in Egypt.&amp;nbsp; Moss examined the emergence of jazz and the expression of the &amp;ldquo;Blue Note&amp;rdquo; as the lament of a people released from slavery.&amp;nbsp; It was a sermon filled with pathos, alliteration, and energy.&amp;nbsp; Listening to the sermon left us exhausted and moved to understand the journey of Otis&amp;rsquo; people.&amp;nbsp; This sermon could only be delivered by someone whose life experience validated his word&amp;hellip; a great cultural experience of gospel in context.
Wednesday morning was one of the great moments of the festival.&amp;nbsp; We were challenged; brought into a holy space by the prophetic voice of Walter Brueggemann whose sermon, &amp;ldquo;On Appearing before the Authorities,&amp;rdquo; held the riveted attention of 1700 pastors for 30 minutes.&amp;nbsp; In brilliant style Dr. Breuggemann engaged the gathering in a blend of self examination, cultural confession, and challenging gospel.&amp;nbsp; I cannot paraphrase what this brilliant scholar gave to the assembly; the best I can offer is to lend the CD of this engaging insight into the theme of the Festival; &amp;ldquo;Preaching and Changing Culture.&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; To those who believe preaching can change culture this is a must listen!&amp;nbsp; The only tease I would offer is to share the introduction which includes George Carlin&amp;rsquo;s 7 things you can&amp;rsquo;t say in public broadcasting transformed into 7 things you can&amp;rsquo;t say from the pulpit&amp;hellip;
I had circled on the agenda a Presbyterian leader who I had followed through reputation but had never heard speak &amp;ldquo;live.&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; Craig Barnes is a professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary; Wednesday afternoon he gave a lecture and led worship in a historic Methodist Church; he didn&amp;rsquo;t disappoint.&amp;nbsp; I had been craving a fine expository sermon and that&amp;rsquo;s precisely what was delivered in a sermon entitled, &amp;ldquo;God on an Oxcart.&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; Barnes examined the story of King David&amp;rsquo;s attempt to bring the Arc of the Covenant to Jerusalem and the motives behind this attempt that led to the original debacle.&amp;nbsp; The exposition of the text the examination of David, the motives, the stakes, the relationships were insightful and challenging.
Thursday, we met one the proponents of a movement known as the emerging church in a leader named Brian McLaren.&amp;nbsp; His lecture was a brilliant analysis of the stages of faith development within church culture; very provocative and stimulating.&amp;nbsp; I found his analysis of the church community eerily parallel to the journey that many individuals experience in their lifetime as they mature spiritually exploring the deep important questions of life.&amp;nbsp; I have found many theologians&amp;rsquo; writings reflect this same spiritual maturation over the duration of their vocation.&amp;nbsp; For example the famed neo-orthodox theologian Karl Barth when asked towards the end of his brilliant career to sum up his theology answered, &amp;ldquo;Jesus loves me this I know.&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; McLaren&amp;rsquo;s writings and lectures I found far better than his leadership of worship, but this proves once again that we cannot be all things to all people.
By Friday morning I expected that I would be completely overwrought, basically unable to absorb another sermon or lecture.&amp;nbsp; To my surprise one of the most outstanding contributors was yet to come.&amp;nbsp; Perhaps, the most impressive intellectual at the Festival of Homiletics (in my humble opinion), Thomas Troeger, professor Yale University, presented Friday morning.&amp;nbsp; Both his lecture and sermon completely absorbed my attention; he was the quintessential professor.&amp;nbsp; He wore the tweed jacket and had on a bow tie!&amp;nbsp; He spoke with a vocabulary that rivalled Stephen Lewis one of my favourite Canadian orators.&amp;nbsp; He challenged the powers and principalities in a lecture entitled, &amp;ldquo;Godly Wonder:&amp;nbsp; Abandoning Cognitive Imperialism.&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; What was so important about Troeger?&amp;nbsp; In spite of his brilliance he remained accessible; his ideas shaking the church from its base of power and authoritativeness were incisive like the scalpel incisions of a surgeon.
Then in the sermon which followed his lecture, Troeger illuminated the difference between scholarship and preaching.&amp;nbsp; In leading us into the text through personal recollection and journeying to his hometown and boyhood experiences he was able to solidly connect the texts to everyday experience.&amp;nbsp; Unfortunately, by this time in the Festival my weary brain was unable to hold the power of his message and I too will need to review the CD to glean the connections.
This is an important reminder to a pastor to reflect on what happens in preaching&amp;hellip; not everyone, not every time will people remember what the message was all about.&amp;nbsp; Many times the Spirit will be at work in our people to convict and begin a work that can only be completed in the community of faith.&amp;nbsp; 
Which brings me to the final part of this reflection on the Festival of Homiletics; one great blessing that the Lord ensured we receive was to stay at a retreat center.&amp;nbsp; There in the midst of 25 other guests we made connections and fleeting friendships that gave us the opportunity to reflect on our experiences.&amp;nbsp; We ate with new friends, travelled with them, and received hospitality that was grace filled as the name of the retreat would suggest:&amp;nbsp; Totino Grace.&amp;nbsp; We thank our congregation and the Presbyterian Church for its wisdom in providing study leave for its leaders; this is truly a great blessing.
Pastor Howard </content:encoded>
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			<pubDate>Thu, 26 May 2011 14:35:00 +0000</pubDate>
			
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			<title>Festival of Homiletics</title>
			<content:encoded>Frances and I are preparing to attend a great event in Minneapolis next week; The Festival of Homiletics.&amp;nbsp; 1700 have registered for the conference, sponsored by the Lutheran Seminary in St. Paul Minnesota.&amp;nbsp; The guest worship leaders and lecturers are from among the finest preachers, leaders, and teachers in North America.&amp;nbsp; We are excited to have this opportunity to experience some of the finest worship leaders practice their skill; sharing their gift with those gathered for the conference.
While in Minneapolis we will also be challenged to consider ways of enriching the life of our congregation.&amp;nbsp; Whenever attending conferences of this magnitude with leaders this accomplished it is a great challenge to &amp;ldquo;glean&amp;rdquo; what is applicable to our own situation.&amp;nbsp; Please keep us in prayer as we seek to grow in the ways the Lord is preparing us to share in our own congregation.&amp;nbsp; One of the most important lessons we&amp;rsquo;ve learned over the years of serving is that it is supremely important to know your own context and not attempt to merely import the ideas of others&amp;rsquo; success into a situation where the circumstances may not support such change.
It is our hope that the conference will challenge us to learn new skills in presenting God&amp;rsquo;s word to our community, enriching the lives of our congregation and deepening our experience of the living Lord amongst us.&amp;nbsp; One of the important visioning exercises for our church is to realize that the Lord is calling us to share the health and vitality that we feel amongst us at present.&amp;nbsp; Even though we may be in difficult physical circumstances because of our need to restore our building; our sense of community and belonging has been enormously improved through this challenge.&amp;nbsp; As with God&amp;rsquo;s people in the scriptures it seems that duress draws us back to the essential and teaches us in real practical terms how to work together to accomplish results that can only properly be described as &amp;ldquo;blessed.&amp;rdquo;
Our prayer heading into &amp;ldquo;The Festival of Homiletics&amp;rdquo; is that the Lord intends to bless our learning experience, refresh us in service, and bless our congregation when we return to share with you the fruit of this journey.
Pastor Howard &amp;amp; Frances </content:encoded>
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			<pubDate>Tue, 10 May 2011 11:14:00 +0000</pubDate>
			
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			<title>He is risen indeed!</title>
			<content:encoded>Easter Sunday services this year were incredible in their blessing; as I reflect back on them almost a week later the one thing that stands out is the amount of participation from the entire congregation.&amp;nbsp; This year commencing with Holy Week which required us to relocate and work together we experienced a great blessing.&amp;nbsp; The culmination of this spiritual experience was highlighted on Easter Sunday morning.
Let&amp;rsquo;s take the whole journey together in reflection to embrace the knowledge of Christ&amp;rsquo;s presence with us in 2011.&amp;nbsp; On Palm Sunday our children re-entered the Underground Church with a flourish bringing the special joy of celebrating the hope that Jesus brought to Jerusalem.&amp;nbsp; Knowing this hope would not be sustained in the manner anticipated by those looking for a Messiah we still sang loud Hosannas and looked for a king!&amp;nbsp; No we wanted the King, the King promised in scripture, the King who would reign in justice and peace over all the earth.
The parable of Palm Sunday left us desiring so much more, we had embraced the Lord&amp;rsquo;s presence as a whole community from the youngest to the most senior member and we longed for the fulfilment of the promises of God.&amp;nbsp; So now we entered Holy Week with great anticipation.&amp;nbsp; The gatherings at Milton Bible Church did not disappoint as the worship was very good, the participation of leaders from our ecumenical community were well prepared offering thoughtful messages and moving prayers.&amp;nbsp; We were able to gather for fellowship at the lunches provided by hosting communities and the conversations were uplifting in the relaxed atmosphere that followed.
Good Friday Service at Knox in the Underground Church was a moving experience of readings, prayer, and a narrative sermon from Nicodemus describing the journey from darkness to light. &amp;nbsp;Those who were gathered were caught up in a spiritual preparation for Easter that allowed them a reflective experience of John&amp;rsquo;s Gospel account of the passion.
Then Easter Sunday morning we gathered with some colleagues from St. Paul&amp;rsquo;s United Church at the Mill Pond Gazebo for an exhilarating experience of celebrating the resurrection.&amp;nbsp; There with scripture readings, prayer, a dramatic presentation of Mark 16:1-8, and singing we marked the joy of Christ is risen!&amp;nbsp; The sun had just risen and though the weather was a little damp, our spirits were not; everyone really sang out and the passersby were treated to grand praise.&amp;nbsp; This worship was followed by a wonderful continental breakfast served back at Knox where almost everyone joined in a great time of fellowship prior to our Easter Morning Services.
In the Underground Church, the Lord blessed us with a capacity crowd!&amp;nbsp; We seemed to constantly be adding more and more chairs&amp;hellip; thank goodness we were safe in spite of the crowded conditions.&amp;nbsp; The youngest Sunday school children presented, &amp;ldquo;Hip, Hop, Hallelujah&amp;rdquo; to open the service and things just took off from there.&amp;nbsp; The junior choir joined the chancel choir playing the hand bells; the music throughout the service was superb.&amp;nbsp; Our Minister in Association:&amp;nbsp; Brad Shoemaker again participated in worship providing beautiful prayers.&amp;nbsp; The worship concluded with a lovely benediction:
As you go out into the world,
May you see Christ in each person you meet.
And may they see Christ in you.
Service concluded with #264 &amp;ndash; Sing Amen which has such a beautiful beat that Brad and Pastor Howard had to &amp;ldquo;dance&amp;rdquo; in the Spirit&amp;hellip;
Our prayer is that in singing this wonderful Amen together, we found in this worship that God was pleased and there was something that touched the life of everyone who was present with us!
Christ is risen!&amp;nbsp; Christ is risen indeed!
Pastor Howard
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			<link>http://www.knoxmilton.com/index.cfm?i=7166&amp;mid=25&amp;blogid=6583&amp;comments=23039</link>
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			<pubDate>Tue, 10 May 2011 11:11:00 +0000</pubDate>
			
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			<title>After the Madness</title>
			<content:encoded>During March Madness this year, besides following my beloved Kentucky Wildcats through a great run to the Final Four; I decided to pick up a biography of coaching legend John Wooden.&amp;nbsp; The book simply entitled, Coach Wooden, by Pat Williams did not disappoint.&amp;nbsp; It told the incredible life story of a man who came from the humble beginnings of rural Indiana to become the greatest coach of all time in any sport.
John Wooden was prepared for this great career through the childhood experiences and life shaping Christian upbringing provided by his parents.&amp;nbsp; He attributes much of his success to his father&amp;rsquo;s patient example and teaching a credit to his humility given the heights of unparalleled accomplishment Coach Wooden achieved.&amp;nbsp; His father gave him a card upon his graduation from eighth grade which contained 7 guiding principles for life.&amp;nbsp; These principles were taken to heart by John Wooden and formed the foundation of his almost 100 years of faith filled living.
Here are the principles, I highly recommend reading the biography, learning the circumstances that shaped this prime example of good Christian living and how his legacy continues to produce good people; not just championships:
Be true to yourself.
Help others.
Make friendship a fine art.
Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
Make each day your masterpiece.
Build a shelter against a rainy day by the life you live.
Give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.
This book will available in Knox&amp;rsquo; library once we catalogue and prepare it for distribution.
Blessings, Pastor Howard </content:encoded>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 4 Apr 2011 16:04:00 +0000</pubDate>
			
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