November I, 2026
November Greetings!
After ten days of dangerous uncertainty and then another week of recovery my dad was sent home from hospital last Thursday. He was weak and unsteady, but symptoms significantly improved – improved enough that care at home might be better for him physically and emotionally (and Dad was insistent on being out of hospital so he could vote on Monday, which he did with help from my stepsister). It was a rough first week finding a new routine – not being as mobile, as strong, and short-term memory struggles – for both my dad and stepmom, but they are figuring things out. There are many signs of improvement over the past week but he still has a long road to recovery, whatever that ultimately might look like. Thanks to all of you for thoughts and prayers – and the grace to take the time I felt I needed to be in Ottawa over the course of the last month.
**Meanwhile, 2026 just keeps on ticking away, and of course this weekend we move our clocks back an hour – so don’t get to church too early in the morning! Whether we like it or not, the clock controls a lot more of our time than we care to admit. The clock tells us when to get up and when to go to bed. When to have meals. When to go to work or school. When to be at curling or hockey or get groceries or best time to be on the road or go to a church event. It is easy for our lives to get so fully cluttered trying to squeeze everything in that 24-hour clock that we risk losing ourselves and our relationship with God.
And then in contrast to our busyness there are the Israelites. Day after day wandering in the wilderness. Seemingly travelling in circles eating manna and quail and waiting for the moment when they can finally cross over to the Jordan River. Nothing ever seemed to change. Waiting for Moses.Waiting for God. But it took time for the people to truly figure out what it meant to live into God’s commandments. It took time to learn how to live in community. It took time to figure out who they were called to be.
And when it was time to cross over, the generation that left Egypt had died out, even Moses. Moses saw the Promised Land, but it would be Joshua who would lead the next generation over the Jordan and into the land. The book of Joshua is a messy story, a story that reemerges across the world, of nations trying to settle in the best land, with the best resources… and seeking conquest if required. But for now, the first step is to cross over the Jordan.
Our lives are easily cluttered in a busy world– Jobs, finances, family, friends, chores, schedules, appointments, expectations and so much more. Even the Pharisees in our Gospel are seemingly more concerned about appearances than living into God’s presence. Though well meaning, being seen and celebrated was becoming more important, hypocrisy abounds.It is a reminder to us that we risk squeezing God out of our lives.
Our faith might call us to compassion and grace and yet our lives reveal something else. As we change our clocks, take time to listen, to reset. Whether through worship 945am in Ilderton and 1100am in Melville or through activities of care or pausing to bear witness to the wonders of creation may you find those slivers of time when you know, really know, that God’s Kingdom promises are all around us.Steve
The Rev Steve Longmoore
Ilderton and Melville United Churches
Cell (519) 381-8282
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