Henry Hildebrand spoke on "Stewardship of the Body". We can more fully understand God by both looking at scripture and by looking at that which God has created, especially humans. Spirituality must therefore never be separate from life. In that regard, the body is a gift from God. The poet responsible for Psalm 139 reminds us that we are not the result of a cosmic accident, but rather, our very bodies were formed secretly by God, hand-made. Our bodies are in fact most remarkably created, having eyes with some 107 million cells capable of distinguishing 1,000 shades of colour. We are asked to be good caretakers (stewards) of our wonderful bodies. Perhaps nothing speaks quite so highly of the human body as does the willingness of God to become incarnate in a human body like ours. But modern times are presenting challenges to people interested in caring for their bodies. Opportunities for drug abuse abound near public school grounds, smoking and excess drinking take their tolls, as does obesity resulting from an excess of eating and a lack of exercise. Then there is the whole question of healing the body. The accounts telling of Jesus healing people only indicate that he restored them to health, he did not enhance their bodies. But technology is starting to offer bodies opportunities for enhancements, some of which promise that the body will more nearly conform to a societal physical ideal, while others (artificial blood) might help with diseases. Christians are constantly challenged to reflect on these and other technological changes and opportunities. When trying to be good stewards of our bodies, how far should we go, what sort of guidelines might our faith and understanding of God have to offer us? [JEK]

Passage: Psalm 139: 1-3, 13-16
Communion: No
Ecumenical or Event: 5th Sunday of Easter
Potluck Lunch: No
Congregational Meeting: No

Speaker: Henry Hildebrand
Worship Leader: Henry Neufeld
Song Leader: J Evan Kreider
Pianist: Ruth Enns
Usher: Peter Neudorf
Zoom Coordinator:
Children's Feature Leader:

Bring Flowers: MARK & SUE GREENSTREET
Coffee Helper:
Sound Helper:

Child Care Volunteer: