July 2010
1 post
the NEW YAYA website →
CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR NEW SITE: pccyaya.wordpress.com
After months of struggle to get this site to work just as it should, we’re finally making the switch to Wordpress. Click the link above to visit the new site, update your blog reader feeds, edit your bookmarks, because we’ve made the move and we’re not looking back! This site will no longer be maintained, all posts from...
May 2010
8 posts
“I am wind on sea
I am ocean wave
I am roar of sea
I am bull of seven fights...”
– Amairgen 23
the fiftieth day
I like the story of Pentecost. There’s something almost primal about it. Fire, strange sounds, off behaviour…it’s not like most of the other stories of the Gospel. For me, it seems almost reminiscent of the Old Testament stories, like the story of Elijah and the worshippers of Ba’al, where Elijah called down the fire of God to light the offering. There is something...
the laziest bookclub ever
Beginning in June, the YAYA Ministry will be hosting The Laziest Bookclub Ever on the first and third Wednesday of every month. We’ll meet at the Bridgehead at the corner of Elgin and Maclaren at 7pm. And it’s the laziest bookclub you’ll ever be in: no reading ahead of time! Join us for a reading of a short passage of scripture, philosophy, news, poetry or something else...
“When they were together for the last time they asked, “Master, are you...”
– The Message, Acts of the Apostles 1:6-11
intercessor
Ten years ago, my family life fell apart. My parents split up, my father moving far away, very unexpectedly. I was in my first year of university - a difficult enough time without adding that sort of familial tumult - and I just sort of ceased to function. I couldn’t go to class, I couldn’t do my reading, I couldn’t go to my part-time job. I was a wreck.
I called a...
the image of church
Take a look at this photo. What do you see? When I first looked at it, I first noticed the people milling, moving in the centre of the room, in the centre of the frame. But then you likely notice, as I next did, that there is a cross hanging on the wall above these people.
Were you surprised? I was. At first glance this image didn’t read “church” to me. There are people...
need a summer job? >>
Parkwood Church, Ottawa is seeking an enthusiastic, responsible, and self-motivated young adult to serve as our Summer Office Assistant. Under the supervision of our Minister or designated Elder, this person will act as a receptionist, prepare weekly bulletins, perform data entry and general office duties, as well as assist with some summer programs, including activities for youth.
...
April 2010
1 post
Why?
The story of the empty tomb fascinates me. The subtle differences between the four synoptic gospels’ telling of the story is particularly interesting, and because of those differences I find we can view the scene at the tomb in different ways.
The telling of the story in the Gospel of Matthew is especially exciting. An earthquake, an angel - with a countenance of lightning - descends, the...
March 2010
5 posts
take a break coffeehouse every Saturday
St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church hosts the Take a Break Coffeehouse every Saturday afternoon beginning at 2pm. Free made-to-order coffee and lattes, free muffins and free wifi are all available in the hall. Enter at the burgundy door between the church and the Wine Rack on Elgin at Somerset.
messages of hope
On Friday evening we welcomed Shane Claiborne to Dominion-Chalmers United Church. We sang, we prayed, we received, we breathed. It was a blessed night. And we commissioned the congregation with an unusual task upon leaving: write messages of hope on the city streets, sidewalks, buildings and edifices with chalk. Share the good news in a new and unexpected way.
In his address, Shane spoke...
“Want to be a Young Adult Representative to General Assembly this spring? The...”
– contact darlene.mcleod AT rogers.com for more information or leave a comment with your contact details
radically ordinary →
This is the next big event coming up and it should be truly fantastic. Music, inspiration, Christian witness and some additional elements yet to be determined (doesn’t that sound enticing!) this evening will not only be an opportunity to find new insight into being young, active, aware and Christian, but also to connect with similarly-minded young Christians from across the city. So join...
February 2010
4 posts
the emmaus project →
Have you heard of The Emmaus Project? It’s an initiative undertaken by the national church to develop and encourage vision for our church, to revivify and enliven our presbyteries, and thus, our congregations.
This is exciting stuff. One of the recent catch-phrases of the PCC has been “Reformed and always reforming” but how are we reforming? How are we living that reformation...
“Let us confess to God and to one another that we stand in need of forgiveness...”
– Book of Common Order, ca 1978, PCC
worshiplude!
The YAYA ministry of the United Church for the Presbytery of Ottawa is hosting Worshiplude this weekend, including a large, energetic, contemporary worship service tomorrow evening. The Point, happening at Glebe St. James United Church on Lyon St., should prove to be a fantastic opportunity to worship with other young people, and will include a praise band leading the singing.
So if you’re...
radically ordinary: an evening with Shane... →
Hosted by The Open Table, Shane Claiborne joins us at Dominion-Chalmers for an evening of worship, conversation and resistance.
Friday March 19, 2010 Dominion Chalmers United Church 355 Cooper Street, Ottawa 7:30pm
January 2010
3 posts
youth in mission opportunities →
The presbytery of Ottawa has bursaries available to young people interested in the opportunities Youth in Mission has to offer. Check out the link to see where YIM is sending young Presbyterians this year, see if any of them are for you, and then contact your minister or me for more information on the bursaries offered by the presbytery.
December 2009
10 posts
“…a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked...”
– Matthew 2:1-3, 9-12 The Message
fear
The story of Jesus’ birth is full of fear. Yes, there is joy and hope and faith and love, too, but still, there it is: fear. Mary is afraid, Joseph is afraid, the shepherds are afraid. Even Herod is afraid. To Mary and Joseph and the shepherds, angels say “Do not be afraid” even though it is nearly inconceivable that they could not feel so.
But not so for the wisemen from...
“There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches...”
– Luke 2:8-14 The Message
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call...”
– Matthew 1:23
2 tags
God with us
Read the verse from Matthew above. Think about what it says. “God with us”. God was with us when He came to live amongst us as a baby born in a stable, and He is with us still today, millenia later. He is not called “God visited” or “God was here” but God with us.
With us yesterday. With us tomorrow. With us on good days and on bad. With us no matter what...
where are we going?
All of us involved in the YAYA ministry of the Presbytery of Ottawa have high hopes, ambitions and dreams for what we can do with this ministry. But this ministry is also in a state of community building and rebuilding. We need to seek each other out, across the region, and rediscover what it is that is needed and wanted from this ministry.
Where are we going? Where are you headed? What...
2 tags
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who lived in a...”
– Isaiah 9:2b and 6
carrying the Christ-light
On Sunday, December 13, we held the first event of the season, and the last event of the calendar year, entitled, Carry Your Light to the World. During a short Advent meditation, we participated in a liturgy on the theme of light. Here are some excerpts:
In the beginning, Lord I was alone Like the earth before your Spirit moved over the waters. I was formless and empty and darkness filled...
“Welcome to the new blog for the Presbytery of Ottawa’s Youth and Young...”
– Darlene McLeod, YAYA Ministry Animator for the Presbytery of Ottawa