Knox Now…
Wilderness – Finding Yourself in the In-Between
A Podcast Series
with Richard
Life is full of wilderness moments—seasons of uncertainty, transition, and transformation where we find ourselves in between who we were and who we’re becoming. In this series, we explore what it means to navigate change, let go of what no longer serves us, and step into the unknown with courage, trusting that the wilderness isn’t just something to survive—but the place where we are remade.
The Other Side of the Wilderness
Episode 7
Transformation isn’t just about surviving hard seasons—it’s about realizing we are not the same person who started the journey.
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50 Days of Easter
Easter for Christians is not just one day, but rather a 50-day period. The season of Easter, begins at sunset on the eve of Easter and ends on Pentecost, the day we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church.
Easter is also more than just an extended celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. In the early church, Lent was a season for new converts to learn about the faith and prepare for baptism on Easter Sunday. Initially the 50-day Easter season focused on the faith formation of new Christians.
Today, this 50 day season gives us time to rejoice and experience what it means when we say Christ is risen. It’s the season when we remember our baptisms. As “Easter people,” we also celebrate and ponder the birth of the Church and gifts of the Spirit (Pentecost), and how we are to live as faithful disciples of Christ.
Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
Easter is the perfect season to reflect on the marvels surrounding us. It may feel odd to have moved into the season of Easter, a season of celebration, in the midst of these difficult times. Perhaps it is an opportunity to really take into consideration that, at the heart of our Christian faith, we are called to live our lives in the belief that death is not the final word. This is why Christians are called “Easter People”.
LYDIA ~ a Mother of Christianity
Lydia, of Thyatira, was one of several women, who established the first congregations in their homes. She is said to likely be responsible for the church formed in Philippi, the first church in Europe. The church to whom Paul address his letter to the Philippians, not during the 50 days following the crucifixion, but after Pentecost… more
Next Worship
April 27, 2025
at 10 am
Reading: Acts 5:27–38
VST Guest Preacher:
Dr. Cole Sadler
Psalms: The Playlist for the Soul
Sermon Series : May 4th to June 22, 2025
with Rev Dr Richard Chung
Life can feel like a playlist on shuffle—some days are full of joy, others are heavy, confusing, or just plain weird. The Psalms get that. They’re like the original soul music—honest, emotional, raw, and real. In this series, we’re pressing play on a collection of ancient songs that still speak to the ups and downs of everyday life. Whether you’re celebrating, struggling, or searching, there’s a track for that. And maybe a little hope too.
“I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me”
( Honoring Pope Francis and the Call to Love the Immigrant )
Pope Francis’ stood for compassion, justice and peace. He brought focus to how church should be accessible to everybody and inclusive to everybody. The choice of the name Francis, a strong reminder of the need for outreach with those on the margins of society and the fulfillment of the commandment to “Love your neighbour as yourself“.
On Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025, the world received what became Pope Francis’s final public sermon. A blessing filled with the deep compassion that defined his papacy. In his frailty, he offered words that were anything but weak. They called us back to the heart of the Gospel.
“We must look for him without ceasing. Because if he has risen from the dead, then he is present everywhere… He is alive and is with us always, shedding the tears of those who suffer and adding to the beauty of life through the small acts of love carried out by each of us.”
He named the pain of global conflict—Gaza, Ukraine, the Sahel—and, with particular emphasis, lifted up the plight of migrants and refugees, urging the world to remember their dignity and humanity. For Pope Francis, welcoming the stranger was a spiritual practice, a political position and it was seeing Christ.
As members of the United Church of Canada, we are no strangers to this call. Our commitments to right relations, global partnerships, and radical hospitality have always pointed us toward the vulnerable at our borders and in our communities. We believe, as Francis did, that love without walls is a true love.
His final sermon was, in many ways, a benediction on the work of inclusion and justice. Not a command, but an invitation: to keep our eyes open for the risen Christ in the migrant child, the borderless neighbour, the seeker who longs for home.
For Reflection: Scripture That Guides Us in Loving the Immigrant
• Deuteronomy 10:18–19 “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners…”
Pope Francis has done what was his to do. He leaves behind changes and the global community stirred by his compassion.
May we, like him, find the face of Christ in those who journey across deserts and oceans in hope. May we be communities that open not just our doors, but our hearts.
And when the road is hard, may we remember:
“I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.”
Daily Meditation
By Rev Dr Richard Chung
Read by Members of the Knox Congregation
PRINT Daily Meditations for the Week of April 20 to April 26, 2025
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