2023.06.17/18

親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹：

詩篇103:13 (新譯本)「父親怎樣憐恤兒子，耶和華也照樣憐恤敬畏他的人；」

您知道北美「父親節」的起源是在卑斯省邊界南面的一次崇拜講道中開始的嗎？1909 年在華盛頓州斯波坎市(Spokane, Washington)，索諾拉·斯馬特·多德(Sonora Smart Dodd) 在崇拜中，聆聽牧者講述關於新設立的「母親節」的教導。令人遺憾的是，索諾拉的母親在她年僅16 歲時因難產去世。作為家中的長女和唯一的女兒，她需要協助父親撫養5個弟弟。她一邊聽道一邊想念著她的父親，他父親的角色既是所有孩子的父親，也是母親。

索諾拉非常尊重她地上的父親，並強烈認為也應該為父親設立一個特定的日子被得到認同。為此她與斯波坎的Spokane Ministerial Alliance進行了交談，並建議以她父親的生晨6 月 5 日為父親節，但該小組最終決定6 月的第三個星期日。直到1972 年，尼克遜總統才將這一天定為美國的永久法定假期。

詩篇103篇詩人以讚美上帝開始，然後描述上帝以不同的方式向祂的子民展示祂的愛和寬恕。列宣家的小孩子在聖經時間一直在背誦詩篇 103:8，第8節講述上帝的恩典和憐憫。祂不輕易發怒且有豐盛的慈愛。上帝的慈愛可比美地上父親的慈愛，都希望自己的兒子得到最好的。對我們這些不配得祂信實的人來說，這是一份何等奇妙的愛的禮物。

無論我們今天是否有幸與地上的父親一起慶祝，聖經都提醒我們天父永遠與我們同在。祂的溫柔已透過我們地上的父親傾倒在我們身上。對於我們其中的一些人來說，即使我們地上的父親已經離世，不要忘記和珍惜那些在我們的生活中扮演父親角色的人也很重要。讓我們同聲讚美我們完美的天父祂的溫柔和慈愛；同時願我們也同樣表彰那些如此慷慨地愛我們的人。

主僕
關潔玲傳道

April 15-16, 2023

From the Pastor’s Desk:Pastor Karen Quan

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

We all desire to be led well, but how does that happen? Faithful leaders are raised and need time to grow. To make mistakes, to adjust, to fail and to turn to Jesus again and again. For it is only by His grace that anyone of us can be entrusted to lead others. In the Children’s Ministry, we are thankful to be able to offer the “Servant Leadership Class for Gr. 6’s In Person”. Taking this class doesn’t guarantee that a good leader will be made but rather it’s an opportunity to grow in Christlikeness at this critical time of moving into the teen years.

We believe that it is Christ who grows and shapes each person. No matter how old they are or how much experience they’ve had. Servant leadership focuses on how to BE a servant more than lead others. It is only in engaging in the process of actively following Jesus that we can be transformed and changed into His likeness. We are never too young to begin our discipleship journey.

Servant leadership is built upon Godly character development.  Humility, faithfulness, gentle strength, these are Jesus’ ways of leading. Our modern society often uses the opposite of these characteristics to measure a “successful leader”. But our goal is to grow Gr 6’s who begin by following in Jesus’ ways and not the world’s. Quietly and steadfastly being nurtured in the ways of the Spirit to consider others above themselves. This is a lifelong process of growing in God’s ways and our desire is to help pre-teens start well. We desire to encourage maturity in each person whether being a participant or helping to lead.

For in fact, the best leaders are those who are passionate followers of Jesus. Following his example of loving others in hard situations, noticing & caring for  those who are hurt, and ultimately, pointing to God with their words and their actions.

Phil 2: 3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Karen Quan

2023.04.15/16

親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹：

 在我們一生中，我們都期盼能夠被循循善導，但那是怎樣成就的呢？其實，我們需要學習領導，願意被栽培的及需要時間去成長。一次又一次的犯錯、調整、失敗，轉向耶穌是成長的必經之路，要成為領導，就必須面對以上的過程，缺一不可。因為只有靠著祂的恩典，認識倚靠祂，才能夠有經驗並能夠被委任去領導其他人。在兒童事工部，我們很高興能夠為六年級的學生提供實體「僕人領袖訓練班」。參加這個訓練班並不能夠保證他/她會成為一名卓越的領袖，但是，我相信這個可以在他們步入青少年期這個關鍵時刻，提供一個基督化成長的機會。

我們相信是耶穌基督在培育和塑造每個人，不分年齡或經驗。僕人領袖著重於如何作僕人而不是領導他人。唯有專心致志跟隨耶穌，我們才能夠被轉化和陶造成祂的樣式。這是沒有年齡界別的，永遠不會太年輕或太年長。

僕人領袖是建立在敬虔品格的發展之上。謙卑、忠信、溫柔都是耶穌的領導方式。可是現代社會常常用這些特徵的反面來衡量一個「成功的領導者」。我們的目標是培育六年級的學生，他們首先要遵循耶穌的道路，而不是世界的道路。安靜並堅定地領受聖靈的教導，看別人比自己強。遵循上帝的方式成為終生學習的目標，我們盼望幫助這一群步入青少年期的孩子有一個良好的開始。無論你是參與者還是幫助帶領，我們都鼓勵每一個人學習成長。

事實上，最好的領導者是那些熱心跟隨耶穌的人。以耶穌基督為榜樣，在別人遇到困難的情況下幫助別人，關注那些受傷害的人，最終，帶領這些人找到上帝。

腓立比書2:3-4「不要自私自利，也不要貪圖虛榮，只要謙卑，看別人比自己強；各人不要單顧自己的事，也要顧別人的事。」

主僕
關潔玲傳道

Feb 18/19, 2023

From the Pastor’s Desk: Pastor Karen Quan

1 John 1: 5-10 (The Message)

5 This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him.

6-7 If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.

8-10 If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—simply come clean about them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.

Vancouver winters, although mild in temperature, can be so very dark and dreary. Although I’ve lived here for over 26 years, I still find myself longing to see the sun, even if it’s a short glimpse, especially after many endless days of rain. Slowly, the days are getting longer and I find myself emerging from what seems like this endless gray canvas.

Feb 22, 2023 marks Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. A solemn season in the church calendar that prepares our hearts for the death of Christ (Good Friday). It’s a time to quietly reflect on the greatest sacrifice of all time, as Christ gave up his life for our sin. It’s an opportunity to pause and make time to draw closer to God. For some, a time that might include practices such as extended prayer or fasting. This preparation can assist us to truly appreciate the resurrection of Christ celebrated on Easter.

This passage in 1 John, tells us of how God himself is light, even brighter than that of the sun. Darkness and light do not belong together, just as God and sin cannot coexist. God calls us to be in the light with him, and not stumble around in the darkness. He calls us to walk closely with him in this light and as the light reveals our sins, we’re to confess them to Jesus, for only He can forgive and remove these sins.

May the Lord give us fresh new ways to experience Lent this year so as to know Him deeper and so as to walk more freely in the Light.

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Karen Quan

2023.02.18/19

親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹：

約翰一書 1:5-10（新譯本聖經）

「5神就是光，在他毫無黑暗。這是我們從主所聽見、又報給你們的信息。6-7我們若說是與神相交，卻仍在黑暗裡行，就是說謊話，不行真理了。我們若在光明中行，如同神在光明中，就彼此相交，他兒子耶穌的血也洗淨我們一切的罪。8-10我們若說自己無罪，便是自欺，真理不在我們心裡了。我們若認自己的罪，神是信實的，是公義的，必要赦免我們的罪，洗淨我們一切的不義。我們若說自己沒有犯過罪，便是以神為說謊的，他的道也不在我們心裡了。」

溫哥華的冬天雖然氣候溫和，同時也非常陰黑和沉悶。縱然我已經在這裡居住了26年多，我仍然發現自己渴望看到陽光，即使是短暫的一瞥，尤其是在連續下了很多天雨之後。日照慢慢地變得越來越長，我發現自己正在從這片似乎沒有盡頭的灰色畫布中走出來。

2023 年 2 月 22 日是聖灰星期三，預苦期開始，這是教會年曆中一個莊嚴的季節，讓我們的心為基督的死做好準備（耶穌受難日）。也正好是時候我們靜靜地反思，耶穌基督的偉大犧牲，祂為我們的罪捨棄了自己的生命。這是一個停下來騰出時間安靜默想親近上帝的機會。對一些人來說，他們在這段日子會操練不住地祈禱或禁食。這樣可以幫助我們真正體會在復活節慶祝基督的復活。

約翰一書的這段經文告訴我們，神就是光，比太陽還光亮。黑暗與光明從不相屬，就像上帝與罪不能共存一樣。上帝呼召我們與祂一起生活在光中，而不是被罪絆倒生活在黑暗中。祂呼召我們在這光中與祂親密同行，當光顯露我們的罪時，我們要向耶穌認罪，因為只有祂才能赦免和除掉我們的罪孽。

願上帝給我們新的方式來體驗今年的預苦期，以致我們更深入地認識祂，更自由地行走在光中。

主僕
關潔玲傳道

Nov. 19/20, 2022

From the Pastor’s Desk:Pastor Karen Quan

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Returning to Montreal to be with my family is always a special time. Being here reminds me of the focus of “Christ, our Coming King”. Montreal is a city founded upon the strong influence of the Catholic Church.

During the short 10 min bus ride along “De L’Eglise = Church Street” from my family’s home to our neighborhood hospital, we passed at least 3 catholic churches. Of the 3 churches, 2 were smaller and the exteriors were overgrown with weeds & bare bushes. They looked rather sad, lonely and empty. I was reminded of how before the 1960’s each “Parish or Church” was responsible to look after & care for all the citizens of that designated area. Whether it was related to physical needs (Eg. bring food to the poor), emotional (Eg. visiting the sick & housebound) & spiritual (Eg. praying for those in need), the ministry of the clergy/parishioners were to be salt & light in the community. But after the 1960’s and the silent exodus of quebecers from the institution of the church, we now have an entire generation & beyond who have been completely cut off from the life of the church. As quoted in the Gospel Coalition, Quebec & it’s people are now identified as the Least Reached People Group in all of North America. Less than 1% of the population are identified as evangelical christians.

But the influence and legacy of the church lives on. Even as we walked through the main doors of the Verdun Hospital (founded & led by the Catholic Church from the 1930’s-1950’s) it’s inscription reads “Hopital General de Verdun, Dedie au Christ Roi = Verdun General Hospital, Dedicated to Christ the King”. Makes me wonder, how many people walking through these doors actually know who Christ is personally? With such a strong heritage & rich history, one might assume that it would be so easy to make Christ known! But the opposite seems to be true, as I walk along “De L’Eglise = Church Street” and pass by the “Church St. Pub” (a new bar with the Devil holding a pitchfork as it’s logo”).

No matter what our environment looks like, may we not forget that Christ has died for our sins and Christ will come again. May we not grow immune to this truth just as the etchings on a building can become somewhat of a decoration and easily overlooked. It encourages me to look up to Mont Royal and fix my eyes on the cross. It reminds me that everything that happens in the city happens in the shadow in the Cross.

Romans 5: 8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Karen Quan

2022.11.19/20

親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹：

回到蒙特利爾與家人團聚總是一段特別的時光，在這裡讓我重新再聚焦“基督是我們再來之君”。蒙特利爾是一個披戴著濃厚天主教會背景的城市。

從我家到我們附近的醫院，沿著De L’Eglise 譯作「教會街」短短的10 分鐘的車程，我們經過了至少 3 座天主教堂。在 3 座教堂中，有 2 座較小，外面雜草叢生和光禿禿的灌木叢。從外貌看起來相當悲涼、孤獨和空虛。回想 1960 年代之前，每個“教區或教堂”他們負責照顧和關懷附近的社區及當地的居民。無論是身體的需要（例如：派送食物賙濟窮人）、情緒的需要（例如：探訪病人和獨居者）和屬靈的需要（例如：為有需要的人祈禱）。這些神職人員的事工就是在社區作鹽作光。但是在 1960 年代之後，魁北克人悄悄離開教會機構之後，我們現在有整整一代人甚至更遠的人已經完全脫離了教會的生活。正如福音聯盟 (The Gospel Coalition)所引用說，魁北克及其人民現在被認定為整個北美地區接觸福音最少的人群。不到 1% 的人口被確定為福音派基督徒。

但教會的影響力和遺產依然存在。即使我們走過凡爾登醫院(Verdun Hospital)（1930 年代至 1950 年代由天主教會創立和領導）的大門，它的銘文也寫著“Hopital General de Verdun, Dedie au Christ Roi ”譯作「凡爾登醫院－ 獻給君王基督」 。我真想知道，有多少人走進這個門實際上知道基督是誰？擁有如此濃厚的傳統和豐富的歷史，人們或許認為這讓基督為人所知會很容易吧！但事實上似乎剛剛相反，當我沿著「教會街」行走，我經過一家新酒吧“Church St. Pub”，它的標誌是拿著乾草叉的魔鬼。

無論我們的四周環境如何，願我們都不要忘記基督已經為我們的罪而犧牲了自己的生命，祂還會再來。願我們不會對這個事實淡忘，就好像建築物上的雕刻版畫，只會成為一種裝飾並且被忽視。讓我仰望「皇家山」(Mont Royal) 並注目於十字架，城市裡所發生的一切事都離不開十字架的影子。

羅馬書 5:8 “唯有基督在我們還作罪人的時候為我們死，神對我們的愛就在此顯明了。”

主僕
關潔玲傳道

2022.08.06/07

From the Pastor’s Desk:Pastor Karen Quan

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

Matthew 9:16-17 (NiRV)
16 “People don’t sew a patch of new cloth on old clothes. The new piece will pull away from the old. That will make the tear worse. 17 People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst. The wine will run out, and the wineskins will be destroyed. No, people pour new wine into new wineskins. Then both are saved.”

In the Children’s Ministry, we have undergone a complete paradigm shift as we moved to welcoming families “In Person”. Before the pandemic, most of our volunteer teams served together for 40/52 weeks in the year. Team members developed strong relationships with one another and were able to develop deeper relationships with those kids who came to church regularly. Volunteer teams were composed of experienced brothers & sisters and also those were new to serving children. This was the “Old” way of doing church. Who could imagine a church without Sunday School for kids?

But the interruptions that the pandemic has brought has meant that we could no longer expect volunteers to worship in one service and then serve with children for a different service. Concerns about COVID exposures are legitimate and serving among the kids (who were unvaccinated in the early days) meant that many volunteers were not ready to serve “In Person”. Teams that had served together for many years were suddenly frozen in time and while those who could jumped online to serve kids, it was a big change from what used to be ministry for kids.

Finally, when the time came for us to safely gather together again “In Person” as a church (Sept. 2021), we could only do so according to the specific congregation. So while the various congregations have been able to re-connect “In Person”, for many kids & some youth, they are no longer able to see or be with their peers. Especially as the families are likely to just come to church just once over the week-end. Missions Hour, Age divided Sunday School, Kids’ Worship Team, …these things no longer exist.

Now, in this “New” way of gathering “In Person”, kids are only able to see/connect with those from the same language group or worship service. While we are grateful to be gathering together in any manner, in this “New” format, we are only able to offer Bible Time as one large group of children learning together in which I repeated the same lesson 4 times/week-end until mid-April where it was no longer sustainable. I am forever grateful to our head Deacon (Terence Fong) & the Children’s Ministry Team Leaders/members in all the “In Person” services who sustained and faithfully taught while I was on the leave of absence.

In this “New” way of hosting Bible Time, everything takes longer. Relationships between leaders (who only serve once/month) and kids (who may/may not be coming regularly) are still forming but it all takes more time. Whether it’s on the volunteer level or between kids, relationships are now taking place with face masks in order to keep each other safe. The one thing that has not changed is our desire to point children to God and have them respond to Him in obedience.

In this passage, Jesus reminds us that whether “Old” or “New”, we must not lose sight of the bigger picture. While we are not winemakers, God has called us to make disciples and we can’t just rely on the “Old” ways to accomplish this goal. Forcing the “Old” ways into “New” situations just doesn’t work. We need to continually explore and adjust to “New” ways to share the love of Jesus even while we may not have figured it all out just yet. In fact, this exploration forces us to rely on HIM more and not just on familiar routines or habits. May God continue to show us how to prepare “New WineSkins” for all the “New Wine” that HE has entrusted to us.

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Karen Quan

2022.08.06/07

親愛的列宣家弟兄姊妹：

當我們返回“實體”聚會時，兒童事工的模式經歷了徹底的轉變。在疫情大流行之前，我們大多數的義工一年52星期中會一起服侍40 星期。團隊成員彼此建立了牢固的同工關係，並與那些定期回教會聚會的孩子建立了深厚的關係。義工隊員包括經驗豐富和剛開始服事兒童事工的弟兄姊妹。這是建立教會的“舊”模式。有誰能想像一個沒有兒童主日學的教會呢？

疫情大流行帶來的挑戰是我們不能再期望義工先出席崇拜，然後在另一個時段參與兒童事工服事。許多義工還沒有準備好返回“實體”服事，擔憂會暴露於新冠病毒。這是可以理解的，特別是在兒童還未有接種疫苗之前。多年來一起事奉的團隊突然被迫改變服事的模式，一部份就轉到網上服事。相對與以往的方式，的確帶來了很大的變化。

去年九月起，我們再次開放“實體”聚會了。但兒童事工的事奉模式就只能改變，從原本的主日學模式，變為在每一個崇拜的兒童聖經時間。因此，雖然各堂會眾已經能夠“實體”聚會，但對於許多孩子和一些青年來說，他們不能夠再與其他群體的同年齡的孩子一起聚會了。特別是因為這些家庭很可能在週末只會來教會一次。過往的兒童事工運作模式已經不復存在了。

現在，這種“實體”聚會的“新”模式，孩子們只能接觸到來自同一語言的肢體。無論是什麼方式，我們很高興能夠服事這些小朋友，在“新”的模式中，我們只能提供聖經時間，每個週末我重複同一堂課四次。這種模式只能維持到四月中旬，因為我無法再以這種方式持續下去。感謝兒童事工總執事方富誠（Terence）和所有服事團隊，他們在我休假期間無間斷地忠心服侍。

在“新” 模式下進行聖經時間，組長（每月事奉一次）和孩子（可能或不可能定期來）之間的關係需要更長時間去建立。無論是事奉團隊或是孩子之間，為了確保彼此的安全，仍然需要配戴口罩。沒有改變的是我們帶領孩子指向上帝並引導他們以順服的心回應祂。

馬太福音9:16-17經文，耶穌提醒我們，無論是“舊”還是“新”，我們都不能忽視背後的教導。我們不是釀酒師，但上帝呼召我們作門徒，我們不能僅僅依靠“舊”的方式來實踐這一個目標。或者是以強迫把“舊”方式引進“新”的情況是行不通的。我們需要不斷探索和適應“新”的模式來分享耶穌的愛，事實上，這種探索迫使我們更加倚靠祂，而不是靠我們熟悉的慣例或習慣。願上帝繼續向我們展示，如何為祂託付給我們的“新酒”準備“新皮袋”。

主僕
關潔玲傳道

2022.03.26/27
From the Pastor’s Desk: Pastor Karen Quan

Dear brothers and sisters of RCAC,

2 Tim 3:16-17 (New International Reader’s Version)

16 God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. 17 By using Scripture, the servant of God can be completely prepared to do every good thing.

As previously mentioned, the Online Awana Kids have been focused on this Theme Verse for Sept 2021-June 2022. In Awana, we focus a lot on knowing & reciting the word of God, which reflects that we’ve truly studied & spent time in God’s word. A few more thoughts on this passage….

“It is useful for correcting our mistakes…” or NIV “rebuking”

No one likes to admit or make mistakes but as humans, we are all so limited. Mistakes are a part of our daily lives. Whether it’s trying something for the first time (Eg. making a new food recipe) or (Eg. learning how to treat others), it’s often because of our failures that we are faced with our own shortcomings. Our lives often do not go as planned, but it’s by admitting and growing from our mistakes where scripture can really shape us. When we’re faced with the plain words on the page of our bibles (Eg. Love our neighbors as ourselves — did we really do that?), is the opportunity to re-direct our thoughts, intentions & actions. It is God’s way to transform us more into the likeness of Christ.

“It is useful for making our lives whole again….” or NIV “correcting”

While it’s hard to admit that we make mistakes, the greater purpose beyond recognizing the mistake is to lead to actual change. “Correcting” gives us that chance to fix it & make it right. When we make things right, it can lead to healing and wholeness. I really like how in this Kids’ version of the scripture that this is expressed. That after recognizing the wrong, the point is to lead us to a place of wholeness or completeness. The only One who is truly complete is our God so it makes sense that it’s His Word that can lead us to that place as well. Correction allows us to have a second chance to do it the right way, the way that is in keeping with God’s desire for us to live in honor of him.

May God continue to allow His Word to shape us in this time of Lent, a season of repentance & change in order to truly grow closer to Christ.

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Karen Quan