THE INVISIBLE WAR | Reformed Powerful Motivation 2021

Getting a Bit of Perspective

The past two Sundays have been different from any other Sunday. They actually started on Saturdays, with an email from the church office letting us know that they had found a place to meet and asking if we plan to attend. For those of us who indicate that we plan to attend, there is a second email with the location of the service and reminders to keep it a secret: don't tell anyone for any reason; if anyone wants to attend but didn't get the email, send them to the office; no photos and no video.

On Sunday morning we set out to have church in an undisclosed location, and that is all I'm going to say about that.

It's different. I'm enough of a traditionalist to prefer things the way we've always done them. Besides that, I miss the building and my Sunday School class and knowing what's going on all the time. I liked things the way they were. You know how there are churches that advertise how they "aren't your parent's church" and they are "for people tired of church" and such? Yeah, that's not for me. I miss the way things were and long to have them back, and I don't really like having to have secret church.

But: I've been talking with friends back in Ontario this week. They are sad and hurting because they don't have a church family to gather with. Things are locking back down even more and the churches will be pretty much closed for at least four weeks (and no one really believes it will be only 4 weeks), and even before then, when things were at 15%, not all the churches bothered to open. One friend said that no one at her church will even discuss being open more; the other said that while she doesn't wish what we've gone through on her pastor or his family, she does wish that the leadership at her church would stand up the way our has.

I wept for them as I prayed fervently for them and for their shepherds, and that God would give them shepherds who would care for them. 

It helped remind me that I have been so blessed with the elders in my church, so blessed to have faithful shepherds who are taking care of me. It's been hard, but I will rejoice that we will continue to find a place to meet together each week to worship and fellowship and be a church family together.

They Put My Church Building in Jail

 AHS and the RCMP have erected a fence around the GraceLife Church building, and then they put a black -something- inside the fence so you can't look into it (Sheila Gunn Reid from Rebel News referred to it as a mask (since they couldn't mask the congregation, they masked the building), and that's only one reason I love her), and then another fence, and eventually a third one to block the whole property. And then they added armed security, and blocked off some range roads close to the building, and then put up no parking signs, all to keep people away.

As someone said: 

"They put the Pastor in jail and now he's free. What was their next step?

Premier Kenney and Dr. Hinshaw: "Let's put the BUILDING in jail!""

It's....I really don't know how to describe it. Yes, I know that the church is not a building, it's the people, and we're still free, and we can still worship together somehow. But this is the building we built so that we had a place to worship together; to grow together; to laugh and cry and love together; to be a family together. This is where I have for four years taught the Sunday School and homeschool bambinos; organized the growing library and watched people discover new books; listened to more than 200 sermons; met new people (who became family); encouraged and was encouraged; attended weddings and funerals and conferences and baptisms; lived life. This is my happiest place where I am loved and cared for and belong.

So yes, you can argue that what they fenced in is only a building, but it's my building, and even on my worst days, it was where I wanted to be: in my church building with my church family. And it hurts like anything that they've decided to lock it away, and I pray that one day soon they'll take down the fence and let us go home.

Good Friday