Vange Thiessen began by narrating Mary’s Magnificat from Luke 1:26 - 56 that brought scripture home to the congregation in a very personal way. She then asked us; does God speak to us? what messages do we hear? and what is our response? Vange said the older we grow, the more we lose our ability to see angels, whether in the car with us, or helping our family members and friends. Vange spoke of her dreams manifesting as answered prayer, and other times as visitations by God to transmit knowledge, emphasizing that prayer is not about changing circumstances to what you want, but rather about changing the person who is praying. The Bible is full of mystical revelations attached to physical phenomena, which our modern minds find hard to accept. All these things are a call to move from unconscious living in the darkness to mindful living in the light. Could we be missing visitations by God? We were invited to dialogue with each other on how have we been visited by God. The message Mary received from God was an invitation to turn her life upside down, to break all the rules of her society. She followed God’s instructions as required and changed the course of the world. Botticelli’s painting Cestello Annunciation was the backdrop for Vange’s question to us - what is our response? The detail of the painting begins to open us to the mystery and trusting nature of Mary’s deed - angel Gabriel at her feet yet not touching her as if he was not holy enough, a castle and a half-constructed bridge on the horizon to illustrate the work that she is about to undertake, all emphasize Mary’s words “Be it according to your will.” Let our actions be according to God’s will too, to be co-creators with God in His will for the world. [AP]

Passage: Isa 2:1-5
Communion: No
Ecumenical or Event: First Advent
Potluck Lunch: No
Congregational Meeting: No

Speaker: Vange Thiessen
Worship Leader: Carmen Dyck
Song Leader: Eric Hannan
Pianist: Ruth Enns
Usher: Harold Neufeld
Zoom Coordinator:
Children's Feature Leader:

Bring Flowers:
Coffee Helper:
Sound Helper:

Child Care Volunteer: Danica Thiessen