Northern Lights MCC
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Thank You

26/5/2016

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The Blessing Out of our pastor, Rev. Cecilia Eggleston, last Saturday was a very moving moment in the life of Northern Lights MCC. It was a chance for us to join together and show our thanks for Cecilia, all she gave to us and the core values she embodied as she journeyed with us. As was evident from how many people showed up, she very clearly brought hope and light to so many. We will miss her but we were so lucky to be able to celebrate with her as she moves on to exciting new adventures living out her call from God with integrity and honesty. It will be an exciting time of change for us all as we move onto the next stage of our journey together and as a Board we will be making sure that you are all aware of the process, but before we look to the future, the Board would like to thank everyone who made last Saturday such a special day. These events may seem to almost take care of themselves, but as the many of you who helped out are aware, it is the result of a lot of hard work and planning.
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There is too little time to thank everyone individually, and what we showed more than anything was our incredible ability to work together as a church community, but we are so blessed to have such wonderful members of our welcome, AV, music and worship teams. These teams put in hours of practices, planning and preparations and were at the church hours before the service to make sure it went without a hitch. There were also individual contributions which may not have been so obvious on the day, Kate, Charlotte Norton and Mikee who prepared key parts of the service, PowerPoint and music as well as the wonderful words from Helen, Jeannie, Ian and the Rev. James Breslin who were able to express our feelings so well. The key to the service however was Charlotte West, who led the planning and preparations for the service and ensured it was a truly fitting send-off and most importantly of all, one with plenty of cake. As such the Board wants to thank each and every one of you for your input, and those of you who turned up, all of which helped made it such as success.
Cecilia has asked us to thank you for the lovely send-off, and all your generous gifts. Finally, a word from the Moderator of MCC, Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson;

“Northern Lights MCC, I know that even now God is calling upon that person who will be your next pastor, that there’s that right person for you who will lead you into your new era into being MCC right where you are. I love you and bless you, and look forward to the time - even after I’m no longer moderator - that I might come and visit you, and worship with you. I give you my heart and love, and my greetings, God bless you.”

​Alice, James, Kirsten & Michael
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You are truly fabulous and beautiful!

19/5/2016

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I have loved writing these Pastor’s Postings. Each week it has been a chance for me to stop in the busyness of the week and take time to reflect on something, big or small, that has happened in the world around me. I have been very appreciative of the feedback that you have given me, which is always an encouragement. Most people do value being told when they do a good job. In one of my previous lives, I worked for local council, facilitating workshops on managing change within the organisation. I was not a particularly high ranking officer in the scheme of things, but I regularly attended a rolling programme of staff briefings where the Chief Executive explained to the staff what was happening and why. I once told him that he was very good at these sessions. He looked so relieved and said ‘Oh thanks so much. I really don’t like public speaking.’ I was really surprised that my comment meant something to someone who seemed to me to be very powerful and rather invincible.

As I leave Northern Lights MCC, this is my encouragement to you. Be kind to one another, encourage one another, pray for one another and laugh together often. Just because a person seems full of confidence on the outside, doesn’t mean that they feel that way on the inside. Many folk will be doing things for the first time during this time of change. Knowing that someone is holding them in prayer or having someone give some positive feedback on what they are offering to this faith community may make all the difference in the world.

Many people have asked me how I will communicate about my experiences on my travels. The answer is that I don’t know. Part of my ‘letting go’ of my time at Northern Lights MCC will be to stop doing the things that I have been doing, even the bits, like writing reflections, that I enjoy. I will not be on Twitter and I won’t be in general contact with folk in the congregation.  This is so that we all have time to get used to the fact that I am no longer your pastor. Of course, it is sad for me to think that I will not be part of your weddings, baptisms etc, but once I leave, that is it. It is usual practice in churches for this to be the case. It allows the both the congregation and the former pastor to focus on the future. Remember also that new people join us nearly every week for worship. In a year’s time, there will be folk who are fully committed and involved in the life of the church, who never even met me and never had me as their pastor. This is perfectly healthy and how it should be.

Being your Pastor has been a profound honour and a wonderful experience.    I know that ministry of Northern Lights MCC will continue to bless, heal and challenge so many lives. You are truly fabulous and beautiful!

God bless,
Cecilia
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There is a season

12/5/2016

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I went away for a 24-hour break at the beginning of the week. The courtyard of the hotel was lit up all night and when I woke about 4am, I could hear a bird singing. Our need to endlessly light up the night sky has played havoc with the natural rhythms of other creatures. The bird was singing as though it was daylight. I wonder when it gets any rest and how this behaviour affects the birds around it. I am sure that we also are affected if we ignore the rhythms and seasons of nature around us. I really enjoy watching the shifts of the seasons, the different colours they bring, the dying away of the old and the emergence of new life. It was one of my spiritual directors who first observed that my spiritual journey and general energy levels are linked to the seasons. I want to hibernate when it comes to Autumn and start to feel alive again once I see new buds making their appearance and the signs of Spring are beginning to emerge. A friend told me that she cannot tolerate the heat, but feels her body tingling and coming to life once the cooler days of Autumn arrive.

The Creating a Life that Matters course is nearly finished now. This module, the group have been focussing on ‘Rediscovering Relationship with My Passion’. They have been looking at their lives so far and seeing what patterns and rhythms that they can discern when they consider their life as a whole.  We have been exploring what is like to be in the peaks and valleys - the light and dark places of our lives. Very few of us enjoy difficult or troubling times. Yet we often learn the most about ourselves, our relationship with God and with others during these moments. We may start to understand our own strengths and vulnerabilities, we may find out who our real friends are and whether our faith is shaken or shaped by the experience. Coming out of these valley places may also give us an appreciation of what we do have and how we have made progress from these challenging times in our lives. It is the contrast between different experiences that gives us a sense of perspective about life. We relish the taste of good food when we have been hungry. We appreciate our return to good health when we have been sick. We better understand what it means to be happy when we have had times of sadness.

My departure from Northern Lights MCC will mark a new season for us all. It will be a chance to learn and grow. It will also be time to let go of some things and lay them to rest. Each of us may have our own individual peak and valley moments, as well as the larger rhythm that will involve the whole faith community. Let us pay attention to the rhythms of our lives and learn from each of the places where God leads us.

God bless,
Cecilia
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Time to change

5/5/2016

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Time whizzes by. I have two more Sundays left at Northern Lights MCC. Thank you to everyone who has invited me to coffee or lunch, or wanted to just chat for a while. In these final couple of weeks, I will be focussing on making sure that the transition goes smoothly and that all my current responsibilities are covered by others in the church or will stop for now. We have a newly elected Board, some Ministry Team leaders have been willing to take on more responsibility and others in the congregation have taken on additional tasks. I am very grateful to everyone who has been willing to ‘step up’ at this time of change. I will not be making any more individual appointments now, in order to focus on the transition.

Many people have told me that they don’t like change. This is rather a broad statement I think. We encounter change on a regular basis, but sometimes we are more in control of it than at other times. We change what we wear, try new food, buy a new car or try a new hairstyle. Often these changes are positive and enjoyable, so we don’t think of them as change. When the government increases the tax allowance, we rarely complain about more money going into our pockets, even though it is a change that is beyond our control. Many of us do associate change with being a bad thing because the change that happens, like tax policy, is often outside of our control. Redundancy or other work related situations, changes in health, relationships that shift or even break down, can all be changes that we feel powerless about. All we can do then is decide what attitude we are going to take towards the change that has been forced upon us.

When Monica died, I was left with a life that I hadn’t chosen and I didn’t want. I was brokenhearted, griefstricken and very angry at God for calling me to serve so far away from my family and friends, only to leave me alone and lonely, as it felt to me at the time. It took a couple of years for me to be finally in a place where I could look at my life and start to make proactive choices about how I wanted to live. I looked at what I was most unhappy with in my life and decided what, if anything, I could do about it. If I couldn’t change it, or was not taking any action to change it, then I decided to stop moaning about it. I couldn’t, or wouldn’t, change some bits of my life, but I could change my attitude to it.

Over the next few months, change at NLMCC will affect you all in different ways. I ask that you are gentle with each other. Assume that people are doing their best. Mistakes will occasionally happen and some things will not get done. Change can bring loss. It also brings opportunity for growth. And God is with you. All the time.

God bless,
Cecilia
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