Why celebrate an anniversary? Why remember something long past?

Children look forward to celebrating their birthdays. Perhaps the reason is that often there are parties and presents, or at least a cake with icing and or ice cream! There is often a deeper reason, though, as parents and friends affirm that son or daughter has grown another year, and has big things to look forward to in the year ahead. The emphasis is on the future!

Older folks, however, often become less enthusiastic about birthdays. As the number gets bigger (and maybe larger than some want to admit), the emphasis is often more on survival. “I made it to …” and if we count the years, it is best with a sense of gratitude for what has been — that is, what is past.

An anniversary, though, is intended to be an occasion or an opportunity to remember and reflect. We remember the past, but reflect on its relevance for the present, and reconsider what both past and present mean for the future.

Parkwood Church is marking our 60th anniversary this year, beginning on September 15th. It was in 1964 that a group of residents in Parkwood Hills gathered in a school on a Sunday in the name of Jesus Christ to worship God, share in fellowship, and consider service to God and neighbour.

None of those who gathered on that first Sunday will be present on September 15th this year. Yet God calls those of us who are able to remember the past, reflect on the present, and reconsider what the past and present might mean for the future.

God calls to us in Psalm 78:

O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.

God’s call to the church, His people, to study and survey the present and to share what we see and know with each other and with our children is well commanded in Psalm 48:12-14:

Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts,
view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation.
For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.

Let Psalm 71:17-18 be our guide and counsel:

Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, O God,
till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.

Let the sad tale told in Judges 2:10-13 after the death of Joshua not be told of us one day: “After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshipped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the Lord to anger because they forsook him and served Baal …”

Rather, let us heed God’s call in Psalm 78:

He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children,
so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.

"Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn — for he has done it.” (Psalm 22:30-31)

May we live to fulfil God’s promise.

Your pastor, remembering, reflecting, and reconsidering, at Parkwood’s 60th anniversary,            

James T. Hurd            

In recent years, I have been blessed to receive a few digital Christmas cards from one or two friends and acquaintances. More recently, however, I have been introduced to the capacity for sending digital cards — not only digital Christmas cards, but birthday, anniversary, and especially “thank you” cards.

In my teen and young adult years, I was privileged to share in fellowship four or five times a year in retreats and conferences with a large group of young people through the then-thriving Presbyterian Young Peoples Society (P.Y.P.S.) The highlight of those gatherings was always the Thanksgiving Convention, held over Thanksgiving weekend in one or other of the churches in central Ontario.

My deep and abiding appreciation for the significance of Harvest Thanksgiving can be traced back to one of those conventions. On the Sunday morning, after a great service of worship in a country church (in Stayner, Ontario) at which approximately 200 visiting young people were present along with members of the host congregation, the ushers opened the main doors of the building after the benediction at the end of the service. I had been at the front of the sanctuary, likely sitting among the young people who comprised an ad hoc choir to lead the singing. As the doors opened, what greeted us was the sight of a dense field of golden grain, ripe for harvest, for as far the eye could see. I have never forgotten it.

One of songs which I learned during those years in the P.Y.P.S. was “Thank You”, the words of which are printed below. The recitation of these words, especially when sung in a way that raises the pitch of the music one chord or note higher on each verse, serves to frame one’s mind to truly count blessings, one by one.

Thank You for giving me the morning, Thank You for every day that’s new. Thank You that I can know my worries can be cast on You. Thank You for all my friends and brothers, Thank You for all the folks who live. Thank You for even greatest enemies I can forgive. Thank You, I have my occupation, Thank You for every pleasure small. Thank You for music, light and gladness; thank You for them all! Thank You for many little sorrows, Thank You for every helping hand. Thank You that everywhere Your guidance reaches every land.

Thank You, I see Your Word has meaning. Thank You, I know Your Spirit here. Thank You, because You love all people, those both far and near. Thank You, O Lord, You spoke unto us, Thank You that for our words You care. Thank You, O Lord, You came among us, bread and wine to share. Thank You, O Lord, Your love is boundless, Thank You that I am full of You. Thank You, You make me feel so glad and thankful as I do! © 1964, 1969 Gustav Bosse Verlag, Regensburg, Germany, assigned to Bosworth and Col. Ltd., for the British Commonwealth & the USA. Sole Canadian agent Leeds Music (Canada) (Martin G. Schneider; Walter van den Haas; Peter Paul van Lelyveld)

As a slightly less young adult — let’s say, a “more mature adult”, I would note two additional observations. First, the blessing of this song is to lead one to “be” thankful, rather than simply to sing or say “thanks”. In the old KJV Psalm 100: 4 says “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him …” This is echoed in two places in the New Testament:

Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.

In reviewing “Thanksgiving” messages published in previously in The Pulse of Parkwood, these three paragraphs from 2003 stand out:

The first of God’s many great gifts is the gift of life itself. Rather than simply saying "thanks", let us consider how we can give God the greatest delight by using the gift of life as He designed it. Let us resolve to live life to the fullest extent, using all the faculties given us to discover and explore the world which he has made for our enjoyment.

The greatest of God’s gifts is the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. That God should adopt back into his own family guilty, rebellious sinners is a miracle, made possible only because God has a heart of love and Jesus was willing to give up His life for us. If we truly accept and and appreciate this miracle, we will be moved to show our gratitude by offering all our powers in joyful service, seeking to share God’s love with others.

As we approach the season of harvest Thanksgiving, let us pause and examine what kind of thanks is being conveyed to others by the way in which we are living.

Your pastor, seeking to “be thankful” — both at Harvest Thanksgiving, and always,

James T. Hurd

As I write this, I remember that those living in Ontario and Quebec are bid to change our clocks and watches backwards one hour on Saturday evening (November 2nd) before going to bed, as we return from Daylight Saving Time to ordinary Eastern Standard Time.

Last evening, however, as I was considering what might assist us in managing the gift of time, in what seems like an increasingly faster pace in our evermoving world, I was led to think about “watches” and “watching” in a different way.

Charlotte Elliott wrote some memorable poetry, part of which (in slightly modernized language), reads this way:

Christian! seek not yet repose, Cast your dreams of ease away? You are in the midst of foes: Watch and pray. Principalities and powers, Mustering their unseen array, Wait for your unguarded hours: Watch and pray.

Gird your heavenly armour on? Wear it ever, night and day? Ambushed lies the evil one: Watch and pray. Watch, as if on that alone Hung the issue of the day? Pray, that help may be sent down: Watch and pray.

Her words are drawn from Jesus’ invitation to the disciples to keep watch with Jesus as Jesus prayed in the garden on the night before He was put to death. Jesus wanted friends to sit with Him while He struggled to embrace God’s will. Jesus was ready to engage in prayer, to commune intimately with His Father, in order to embrace His Father’s will to die for us and our sin, but Jesus knew that it would be a struggle. He said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” (Matthew 26:36, NIV) and then, to Peter, James, and John: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” (verse 38)

The disciples, however, fell asleep, and Jesus more than once confronts and rebukes them. He said to Peter: “Watch and pray.” (verse 41) He then gives the reason, “so that you will not fall into temptation”, and then adds: “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Jesus knows that our bodies are weak, and Jesus understands that our bodies need rest. Yet He also knows — and wants us to know — that we need, regularly, to sit and to keep watch, waiting on God in prayer. Life is full of temptations to do things other than God’s will, and we need to discern and embrace what is His holy, pleasing, and perfect will. Part of getting off the world’s ever-faster treadmill is to sit, quietly, in the presence of God, and to talk with Him. Praying and meditating on God’s word as we have it in our Bibles is a vital and essential part of living with and for Jesus.

The “change of clocks” in the fall offers us an extra hour of sleep. Perhaps we might instead respond to Jesus’ challenge to sit with Him and pray, by investing the hour in praying. Jesus’ struggle in the flesh is over, past and done. Ours continues, and Jesus calls us to aid others to embrace and hold fast God’s will.

In the month of November, Christian churches around the world are invited to specifically remember and watch with those who are persecuted and who suffer for righteousness’ sake. Many suffer greatly for simply following Jesus instead of the principalities and powers of this world.

In our present context, the “powers” of this world are increasingly in conflict rather than at peace, and Remembrance Day bids us reflect on the sacrifice of those who laid down their lives for the sake of others. What freedom, peace, and time we are given is a sacred trust from them and from God.

Let us watch, and let us pray with Jesus,
Your pastor,
James T. Hurd

I continue to be surprised, delighted, and thankful for newcomers who find their way to worship and fellowship with us at Parkwood Church.

In reflecting upon our pending celebrations for Advent, Christmas, and the New Year, I am struck by the vital connection between the welcome that Jesus received when He first arrived as a newcomer in the flesh as a baby in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, and the welcome to be extended to and received by those who arrive in our midst in the community of Jesus here and now.

Among those chapters of the Bible that are often read in conjunction with the celebration of Christmas, two of the most well known are found in Luke 2 and John 1.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:8-16, KJV)

“To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:12-14, NIV)

From these two passages, it is obvious that the shepherds who first learned of Jesus’ birth “came with haste”, that is, “in a hurry” to see and welcome Him. It is equally obvious that the apostle John declares that “all who received” Jesus gained far more than they first recognized — they received the right and standing as “children of God”, fully adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus, into the family of God.

Now, let us join up these two passages with Jesus’ own words, recorded in Mark 9:37: “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (NIV)

The striking conclusion is that when we welcome each newcomer, in Jesus’ name, we are in fact welcoming Jesus. We are challenged to recognize that the “haste” with which the shepherds went to welcome Jesus is to mark the speed with which we greet those who come to us in Jesus’ name. We are called to reaffirm that our care and concern for the stranger and newcomer in our midst is to reflect the same care and concern we would offer to Jesus.

Our Lord Jesus is in our midst, in the life of each one who receives Jesus as Saviour and Lord, and any and all differences in language, culture, ethnicity, or place and country of origin are transformed by our union in Christ Jesus. We are called both to welcome and to be welcomed in Jesus’ name. It is the birth and life, and the death and resurrection, of Jesus who unites all who believe and who are born anew of His Spirit.

May our celebrations of Christmas be marked by our union in Christ, and strengthened by our shared and common witness to Jesus whose arrival as Saviour is the reason for this season — and for life, in both time and eternity.

Your pastor, rejoicing in Christ and in our community in Christ,
James T. Hurd

Isaiah 43:1-5 “ Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. … For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour … Do not be afraid, for I am with you." (NIV)

One of the highlights of 2024 was our New Year’s Eve gathering. About 75 people shared in at least part of the evening of December 31st and the wee early morning hour of January 1st, as we gathered in the Fellowship Hall and then the sanctuary. Approximately equal numbers from the congregation of Parkwood Church, the Ottawa Korean Presbyterian Church, and the Assemblies of God Portuguese-speaking congregation joined together for an informal time of table games, conversation, and refreshments for a couple of hours mid-evening, before sharing in a watchnight service including prayer, song, scripture, and reflection on the year past and future.

Since my teen years, I have always valued New Year’s Eve as a time for reflection, and have fond memories of previous watchnight services. One of the central components is the opportunity to sing New Year’s hymns, including “Standing at the portal of the opening year”, which we sang together as 2025 began. Our Korean friends introduced us to a new one which is likely to become a valued favourite, entitled, “By gentle powers lovingly surrounded”.

As we continue to step into the year 2025, many of us face a host of uncertainties. A new government for our southern neighbours, the resignation of our Canadian prime minister, a provincial election: all of these added to continuing conflict in eastern Europe, an unsettled peace in the Middle East, a new regime in Syria, ongoing conflict and displacement in Sudan, not to mention a host of other places and situations, are cause for much stress and strain on the global level. More immediately pressing for many in our midst, the challenge to find or maintain adequate housing, food, and employment, or access to medical care and timely treatment, compound issues of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

All of this can be — and for many is — overwhelming.

For those who were unable to join us for worship on the eve of the new year, or as an encore for those who did, I call attention to the gem of a gift given to the church of Jesus Christ by Frances Ridley Havergal, an English poet and daughter of an Anglican minister, who lived only to the age of 42. The second and third stanzas of her hymn, “Standing at the portal of the opening year”, put in memorable verse words given by God to the prophet Isaiah.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, imprisoned amid the horrors of World War II, wrote a letter on December 31, 1944, which was the last new year’s eve of his life. The letter was smuggled out of the prison, and provided the basis for a hymn, later translated into English by Fred Pratt Green as “By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered”, but which from Korean has been rendered as “By gentle powers lovingly surrounded”. The chorus and the second and fourth verses of this, sung in Korean but with the English translation available to our view, offers tremendous comfort, and in the context of many watching with bated breath unfolding political upheaval in their ancestral homeland, gives us a strong and confident word of faith and hope for the year ahead:

I am thankful for faithful believers — both those who have gone ahead and those who now walk with us — who give us words and music to sing, and who show us how to walk by faith and not by sight.

Your pastor, facing the new year in confidence, in Christ Jesus,
James T. Hurd

Psalm 33:11 - But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” (NIV)

Fewer people use printed, paper maps today; more rely on a GPS (global positioning service) device. Most carry a cell phone, which either “with data” or in range of an active wireless connection, provides the one carrying the phone with instant (if not always accurate) knowledge of where one is! Very few people actually carry a separate, handheld compass (although I have discovered that there is one on my cell phone, under “Utilities”).

The value of a compass is that the needle always points north. If one is lost, and has no idea where one is, the ability to determine which direction is north, even when the sun is hidden in the sky, is a very helpful and reassuring gift.

Whether walking on land or driving on the road, or spinning around in a canoe or other boat on water, one can orient oneself and move forward in a consistent direction.

There is much turmoil and change in the world today. The constant barrage of news, announcements, and changes can be very unsettling, and can be the source of much confusion and anxiety. Relief and reassurance can be found in having a compass. A compass points consistently in one direction, and allows us to orient ourselves in one consistent direction, even if we don’t know where we are.

God provides in His word a compass for life. The needle of God’s compass, rather than pointing north, points to the Lord Jesus. God originates and fulfills and returns to the One through Whom all things were created, in Whom salvation is to be found, and Who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

If we are focused on the direction of the northpointing needle of the compass, and move in that direction, we may very well encounter all kinds of obstacles and barriers around which we may need to take various detours, including some long and hard ones. We may not always know in advance the challenges of the terrain to be navigated, but if we continue to seek to follow — and return to following — the north-pointing needle, we will ultimately be travelling north. Similarly, following the One who is the Way, and who marks out the way for us, we will retain the assurance that God knows where He is leading us. This is especially important when the way is clouded, and the circumstances and situations in which we find ourselves are unsettled and upsetting.

We may not always know exactly where we are (as the GPS might tell us), but we may know with clarity and certainty the direction in which we are moving (as the compass tells us): we are following Christ, Who is the way!

I encourage all of us to reread Psalm 33, which begins with “Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous”, ends with “May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” — and in between reminds us that “the plans of the Lord stand firm forever.”

Wisdom is expressed by those who remind us while reporting the latest news: “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21, NIV)

Your pastor, thankful for a compass when wandering in the wilderness, and
thankful for the treasure of God’s word while wandering through this world,
James T. Hurd

Isaiah 11:1 - A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” (NIV)

Along with the disappearance of snow and the return of warmer temperatures, the surest signs of spring are little shoots of green grass and tiny buds on the twigs of trees: signs of new life, and the promise of more to come!

Shoots are signs of new life. With the arrival of spring, plants and trees which gave every appearance of being dead during the long winter begin to show signs of new life and growth.

At Christmas, Christians commonly read and (rightly) understand the words of Isaiah 11 which foretell the coming of Jesus as the “shoot” from the “stump” — the One born of King David (Jesse’s son) who will shepherd and save God’s people. Similarly, as we approach Easter, we are reminded that God through his servant Isaiah describes the life of Jesus in terms of a shoot: “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.” (Isaiah 53:2) In the days leading up to Good Friday, we read of Jesus’ suffering and death foretold in the same chapter at verse 5: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Jesus is the “shoot” of new life — born to live, born to die, and also born to live again!

God describes His covenant people in ancient Israel using the same image — as a “shoot”. “They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendour.” (Isaiah 60:21)

The apostle Paul picks up on Isaiah’s image of the “shoot” when he addresses the Gentile church in the letter to the Romans. He says that even though the ancient kingdom of Israel was cut down and carried off into captivity, the remnant would return, and live again.

Addressing the Gentiles, Paul says of the descendants of Israel that “some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root.” (Romans 11:17)

Jesus, in the parable of the barren fig tree, highlights God’s patience and desire that those whom He plants, fertilizes, and tends will bring forth fruit. Jesus Himself says, “I am the vine … and immediately adds, “You are the branches.” “If one remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5)

The shoot that appears in early spring is, by God’s appointment, intended to bear the fruit of the summer and the harvest. The seed of faith, planted in each of our lives, is intended to bring forth lives producing the fruits of righteousness and of God’s Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. These plants and flowers adorn the garden of life!

Let us see and share and celebrate signs of new life — both physical and spiritual. Physical life includes buds and blossoms, plants and trees, birds and animals. Spiritual life includes professions of faith, arrival of new members, calling of new elders, singing of new songs — and songs in new languages — and the sharing of new gifts in loving and faithful service. Let us give thanks for sprouting seeds and shoots, and the promise of a harvest yet to come.

Your pastor, rejoicing among shoots and signs of new life, physical and spiritual, in God’s world and in Christ’s church,
James T. Hurd