Craving Connection #4 – Who Is My Neighbour?
An easy trap we fall into is thinking that the only relationships that matter are the ones where we might get something in return. As we look to Jesus and his connections with people, we gain a different perspective of what it means to be a neighbour. If you missed...
COVID-19 UPDATE: MAY 25
Over the past few months we have faced an unprecedented challenge. In all of this, I am grateful for our faith in Jesus, who remains a constant source of hope amidst the uncertainty of the times. I am grateful for you as a church community. Together we have navigated...
FYI Fridays – May 22
Hello, Westheights! I am reading through the book of Hebrews right now and am being reminded that because Jesus empathizes with our weaknesses and struggles, we are invited to boldly go to God in our time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16). Indeed, for many of us, this is a...
Craving Connection #3 – Being “For” One Another
One of the main ways that we are experiencing relationships right now is with those we live with - family, roommates, our pets - and during this time of physical distancing when many of us are with our household 24/7, this can sometimes lead to tension and...
FYI Fridays – May 15
Happy Friday, Westheights! Staying connected with each other is not easy. So, this weekend we will send out a simple contact directory of people who would welcome being reached out to. Now it is up to each of us to do something with that information. So this week, I...
Craving Connection #2 – Really, I’m Fine
The current crisis is forcing us to realize that perhaps we aren’t invincible, self-sufficient, self-made people, but that we need others. Rather we are being challenged to think about our need for relationships. We need to ask ourselves, what do we need during this...
The Wide Spectrum of Mothering
To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you To those who...
FYI Fridays – May 8
Happy Friday, Westheights! This week, someone asked about when I think we will be back to meeting together as a church community. This is a great question to which there is no clear answer. I can tell you that we continue to monitor the situation closely and are...
Craving Connection #1 – Water, Ice and Steam?
As we deal with the realities of COVID-19, one of the things that we are struggling with is disconnection from other people. And the longer we go without the important people in our lives, the more and more it feels like we are missing a piece of ourselves. Is this a...
FYI Fridays – May 1
Back before COVID struck we were going to spend some time this spring talking about our relationships with one another - we even had some great events planned that were all about connecting with one another. Despite the fact that our plans have changed, I think we are...
What Is Most Important?
During this season of physical distancing, it is a time to evaluate what is most important to us. We've witnessed the shortage of toilet paper and hand sanitizers; three months ago we would never have imagined that toilet paper would make our short list of life...
FYI Fridays – April 24
Happy Friday, Westheights! In this new world of church gatherings being exclusively virtual, we are beginning to realize that this is an opportunity to reach people who ordinarily wouldn’t dare enter a church building. Indeed, we know that there are people watching us...
Getting to Know Jesus #6 – I Am the Vine
In this concluding message of our Getting to Know Jesus series, we learned more about the metaphor of a vine. Knowing how disturbed his disciples were feeling at the last supper, He gave them this encouraging metaphor of the true vine as one of His encouragements. If...
FYI Fridays – April 17
Happy Friday, Westheights! As we wrap up another week of pandemic “fun,” I want to encourage us to be thinking about how we can pursue our vision to be about loving our neighbours. Let’s admit that this will look very different than some of the plans that we were...
Westheights Prayer Event
As you probably know, our neighbours, Forest Heights Long Term Care Centre (FHLTCC), along with several other senior residences and care homes in our community, have been hit quite hard by COVID-19. Saturday, April 25th, was the scheduled date of our annual Good...