Forgive me for writing a community-centric blog. It’s just that I am so proud to be serving the churches I serve.

(Sometimes on Sunday, when I pray with choir, I leave my mic on so everybody get’s an inside look at the choir, who consistently deliver in the background. It’s a humble form of service. So every now and then, I want to create that connection for the choir. This blog is a little like that. I want to create that connection for my churches with you – the reader.)

I just witnessed something I never thought I would see. A positive parking lot meeting!

There were three actually. They happened in broad daylight – in the Sunday mid-day sunshine. Right here in Ottawa.

  1. New ideas for community outreach that build relationships along with people saying, “I can take care of that.”
  2. An emerging Communications Development Group, along with new people saying “I’m in”.
  3. Another comment that it was so reassuring to see “that we all seem to be on the same page”.

For those of you who know the book of Acts, it could be compared to that scene where people were wondering if everyone wasn’t “full of wine”. It was a truly a Holy Spirit moment.


Carleton Memorial United has seen the wisdom of this model. The real key to it – from where I sit – is the broadening portion that solidifies relationships. By broadening, we mean a greater variety of voices and a deeper discourse about how and where to serve.

In Ottawa, members just voted unanimously to continue supporting a church partnership project with their sister church in Buckingham.

It’s not an idle act. They have devoted themselves to learning how to work more effectively and faithfully for the greater good. Did you know that the net benefit in terms of wellness to our community for every dollar spent on programming, including staff, can be estimated at $4.77! (https://www.haloproject.ca/)

When the vote was announced in the hall, there was tentative applause. And then when people realized that people were starting to applaud, it opened up. We are so used to having difficult news in the church. And so we usually we muster determination. Good church folk are a resilient bunch. But this was different. It was joy, it was happiness, it was faith-filled and faith-full.


We feel lighter. And this fuels our energy.

There is more to come in this space about what is happening in concrete terms.

But for now, just like when I pray with the mic open, I wanted to let you – the reader – get an inside look at a group of people who continually seek to put their differences aside, take the time for everyone to be heard, and trust in a Spirit that is greater than themselves. They work in the background, not for themselves, but for others, and right now they deserve to be seen.

But ff you want to know more now, we’d be happy to share what we are living. Just leave a comment or a question below.

And if you’d like an inside look up close and personal, the doors – along with the hearts of the volunteers – are wide, wide, wide open.
CMUC. We Are the Dandelion.

Where Some See Weeds, We See Beauty.

Come find the difference.

Rev. Eric Lukacs