In a touching memorial service Saturday afternoon we bade our final “farewell” to Reverend Al MacMillan – to Pastor Al. The service was filled with song, tribute and remembrance. Greetings were shared from the General, District, and local Church of the Nazarene. Members of the family reflected on Pastor Al’s influence on their lives and on the lives of people that he met before the service ended with a hymn of promise: Because He Lives! This man after God’s own heart touched the hearts of many and he is missed.
A video link to the service will be shared once it has been received.
This next Sunday will be a difficult one for me: it will be our last Sunday as your pastoral family. Almost 28 years ago we arrived in the Nation’s Capital to work with the Trinity congregation for the kingdom of God. We have seen many changes through the years . . . people have come and gone . . . some ministries to the community and to the church have succeeded more than others have . . . but Jesus has been at the heart of all that we have attempted to do.
We have learned together. We have grown together. And now a new chapter begins, for Cindy and me as well as for Trinity Church. None of us know what the future holds, only that God holds us all in His hands and that we lean on Him for direction and strength. After all, as the Apostle Paul asked If God is for us, who can be against us? [Romans 8:31]
We leave you with an interim pastoral team that has learned to lead over these past years – a team that loves God and loves this church. Matt and Johania have grown to a youthful maturity, guided by the hand of God under the watchful and supporting love of this congregation. Pastor Kevin will give mature direction and help to these young people and to the church as he becomes part of the fellowship. Pastor Lloyd will step in when needed. And the church will continue to touch people for Jesus.
This coming Sunday I will speak from Matthew 16:18 and The Great Promise. We will conclude our service by celebrating the Lord’s Supper together . . . the church united at the feet of Jesus.
Our celebration of God’s love begins at 11:00 – for those who cannot attend we continue to stream our services through our Facebook feed (click here) and our YouTube feed (click here). You can link directly from our web site (click here). Please “check in” – let us know if you worship with us “live or delayed”.
The Princess Bride (you knew that I’d have to fit that in somewhere, sometime) featured fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, [and] miracles. Yesterday – Father’s Day – we looked at the story of the prodigal son . . . at the prodigal’s father . . . at the prodigal’s brother . . . and our message featured relationships, rebellious children, repentance and restoration . . . and reconciliation and renewal.
It is the story of youthful exuberance and selfishness . . . of parental support in the midst of poor decision-making . . . of jealousy . . . and of hope. It was a reminder that your Heavenly Father knows what is best for you but gives you free will to make your own choices . . . that He knows about your pain and waits for you to come to Him . . . that He welcomes you gladly with open arms and celebrates your relationship with him . . . that He realizes that your choices can cause other people pain, and encourages them, too . . . but most importantly, that He loves you with an unending and unimaginable love. Realize that love. Accept that love. Embrace that love. Live in that love this week.
The message has been posted to our web site – you can find the manuscript in the SERMONS section -- or click here to download a copy.
You can also “revisit” yesterday’s service on our Facebook page (click here) and on our YouTube channel (click here). And do print and read our message (as I said, it can be found in the SERMONS section of our web site – download a copy (click here).
We meet every Wednesday evening at 7:00 through ZOOM to pray together. We share with one another, we discover the needs of others who are part of our church near and far, and we pray . . . some silently, some vocally. Join us this week! The prayer time will continue through the summer, with Matt and Johania leading. E-mail the church for log-in information.
Thank you for your faithful support of the work we are trying to accomplish for Christ through what we do as a church . . . for giving generously of your tithes and offerings to the meet the needs of our local church. We continue to receive our tithes and offerings through e-transfer (ottawatrinity@rogers.com) and through the Canada Helps web site (click here).
Barb, Emmanuelle, Matt, and Pierre are your pastoral transition team. They are meeting together tonight in an initial planning session and will begin working with our District Superintendent, meeting with him next week. A “transition handbook” is available on the district web site for any who are interested (click here to download a copy).
During the transition Johania, Matt, Kevin Laffin, Pastor Lloyd Rodriguez – and perhaps others – will share preaching duties; we are working on a preaching schedule. As well, an administrative team is being set up to monitor church mail and e-mail and the building, and to interact with the different groups that use the Trinity building.
The Alta Vista Nursery School (AVNS) – now with Andrew Fleck Children’s Services – have contracted to have some improvements made on the Trinity building this summer. The washrooms will be updated (the women’s washroom will change to include a child’s toilet and sink); the wall between the two rear Sunday School classrooms will open with a passthrough, the outside play area will be renewed, and the kitchen will have a full renovation. Be careful in the construction zones!