Piloting Faith: Inspired by the Canadians...

A Word for the Day...
Sometimes it helps to see examples of the ingenuity of the human spirit being used for the common good. This week, our Canadian neighbors did a lovely thing: In the first crowdfunding effort of its kind, they raised $3 million to purchase a stretch of coastal wilderness in British Columbia to save it from development. The article described the movement:
"Crowdfunding efforts were organized by B.C. Parks Foundation, a non-profit group whose mission is to protect natural landscapes in the province. The foundation's CEO Andrew Day told the CBC that the land, which is being sold by a private owner, had some interest from logging companies and developers. So people stepped up to stop that from happening.
And it wasn't just a handful of rich donors who pooled their money—scores of average Canadians offered what they could to the fundraising effort."
As we watch our institutions collapse and our government breakdown, it's a good and hopeful reminder that "we the people" have more power than ever before to advocate and act for a better world. We have the tools to democratize equality, access and wellbeing.
All great social transformations, including the start of the Christian movement, started with a small group of people doing something daring together for the common good. It's the way the Spirit is moving - and has always moved - among us. Inspired by Canadian courage and creativity, what shall we now do?
- Rev. Cameron Trimble, author of Piloting Church: Helping Your Congregation Take Flight

Prayer for the Week
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
- Excerpt from St Patrick's Breastplate