A memory of summer

Our new town hall

Happy New Year!

It’s my lot to preach the sermon at the Horse Lake Mennonite Church on New Year’s Day. I’ve decided to use the allegory of The Wizard of Oz alongside various Biblical references as the medium for making the case that we don’t need new “stuff” nearly as much as we need a renewal of wisdom, courage and heart in order to make 2012 a more victorious enterprise than 2011. If you’ve read the novel lately (which isn’t likely) you’ll know that three characters accompany Dorothy to the Wizard in the hope that he’ll grant them what they lack. The cowardly lion wants courage, the tin woodsman needs heart and the scarecrow lacks brains.

               In short, I’ll pursue the point that a new commitment to courage, heart and wisdom is what we ought to be seeking in the New Year; we and the world are going to need it.

               If you want to read the whole sermon on this New Year’s Day, just go back to the email that pointed you here and open the attachment.

               Otherwise, simply acknowledge my wish for you all, that in 2012 you are granted the wisdom to make good choices, the heart to feel joy and sorrow in a new way and the courage to go where your wisdom and your heart tell you. Happy New Year!