Pastoral Letters
Lakeview United Church
Seeking Spiritual Renewal and Growth in a Caring, Affirming Community...
September/October 2025
SOME NEWS FROM YOUR PEWS (or, how I see it)
The month of September always seems to be one of those months where we live in this place of yin and yang. There are beginnings and there are endings. There are folks who used to pack up their belongings and head south for the winter and say goodbye to all of us but possibly not this year. Our children go back to school buildings (at least some of them at this time, others may opt out for home-schooling and remain home). The greenery all around us slowly changes colour as the threat of frost looms ever closer. The evening darkness approaches earlier than the end of June as the earth tilts. But there’s always one hello and goodbye that always sits in my heart. And some of you may experience this also.
In the end of May, they arrive and my heart sings…and now that the days are cooler and the seasons change, they quietly, without saying goodbye, take off for warmSepter places. Yes, it’s those little hummingbirds that zip around our yard all summer long and offer us countless hours of delight as they go from flower to flower, from hummingbird feeder to hummingbird feeder. And I’m still looking for them but know in my heart, that they’ve quietly departed. There still may be some that come by, but they are all on their trek, heading south. And soon, the skies will be filled with the sound of geese as they make their way. And the robins, most of them will also be on their way. The yin and yang of life and how our Creator God put all of this into its symmetry. Maybe we’re supposed to look at all of these changes as steps in our own evolutions as we say hello and goodbye, as we experience sadness and know with hope, that all will be well once again. And during these latter days of summer and the first days of the fall season, may we never lose hope for we know that we are not alone… thanks be to God.
Prayer time:
O God of changes, O God of the revolving wheels of the yin and the yang of our lives, may all of us understand that we sometimes need to let things go so as to receive new trails to follow. May the ‘goodbyes’ of some things be the ‘hellos’ of others. May the darkness we sometimes experience become the light which guides us in new directions. When we experience sadness, may we count upon others to help us through to places of joy. Upon this Autumn days, may each of us rejoice in a new day and smile – for life is good…Amen.
Blessings of love and peace to all of you….The Rev. Jope Langejans