10/21/2026
Hello everyone. I normally have been posting for The Big Red Church our Minister Patrick's Wednesday Wonderings and I have dropped the ball...well I will work on that so everyone who follows this page can still read Patrick's wonderings.
-Dj
Here is the Wednesday Wondering for October 21st, 2026:
Scripture
Exodus 14: 21 – 22
21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
Isaiah 41: 10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Reflection
We are coming to the end of summer, although the temperatures don’t always feel like it right now, and many of us have spent time relaxing and enjoying the heat and sunshine by water. I talk to a lot of people and they speak about how they have spent time at the lake. As a young child I remember so many summers spending time at my aunt’s ‘camp’ down on the shores of Lake Superior. I particularly remember driving into the campsite on those hot summer days and the wind was blowing onshore, the waves were high, crashing on the beach, and it became a race to see who could get changed first to get into the water. That wonderfully refreshing water that washed away any cares we might have had as we rode the waves and just enjoyed the moment (btw for those of you that don’t know the term ‘camp’ is used quite often in northwestern Ontario to denote one’s cottage, cabin, or place out in the country on a lake or not). It is good for any of us to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but I think for so many it is much deeper than that as it is a way that they can get away for the stresses of the world. We all know that this world right now can be very stressful. I wonder about the stresses in the world and how we, as people of faith, might face them when we can’t escape to the lake, real or metaphoical? I wonder how do those of us, who don’t have the privilege of a place of retreat and renewal, face the craziness that seems to taking place in the world these days? It can be so challenging and yet as I thought about this challenge my mind kept coming back to the idea of water and the images of water in our faith.
How many of us remember seeing the Israelites crossing the Red Sea in The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston as Moses, Yul Brynner, and Anne Baxter? When I was growing up they played this movie every Easter and regardless of where we were we would watch and I was in awe of this idea of the parting of the Red Sea. Water plays an important role in our faith stories. There are many stories around water in the Bible; Jesus walking on water, Jesus calming the storm on the water, Joshua and the people crossing the Jordan river into the promised land, Jesus baptized, the water from the well and the Samaritan woman. Water features prominently in our sacred stories and we use water as a symbol of God’s love and grace when we use it during baptism, but not only in the act of baptism, as I have been known to use it as a metaphor for renewal and refreshment. In so many ways we understand that water has power, not only in our faith but in the world as well.
But water can also be scary for us, it can be deep and dark, containing the unknown. We have all read the news reports of the past few years of the power of water to destroy and create havoc. As a child growing up alongside a river my mother understood the danger of water and so we three, myself and my brothers, were required to learn to swim. Water can give life, but it can also be dangerous and challenging. As I think about water I wonder about how water might not just be a symbol in our sacred stories but it might also be a symbol of faith. I would like to share with you a quote from Alan W. Watts around water; “To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.” To have faith might just mean that we are challenged to let go of trying to control everything in our worlds and to trust God. The Israelites trusted God enough to wade into the water, even though I am sure they were terrified. Can we trust God enough to let go of our control over things to allow ourselves to float? Can we trust God enough to wade into the water in the first place? God calls us out of comfort zones, challenging us to enter into the water and yes it is scary. The world calls us out of our comfort zones, challenges us on a daily basis and for some of us our response is to reassert control, so that we feel like we are in control. Will we trust in God enough to follow into the water, where there may be storms, where we fear we might be overwhelmed with waves, where we are not sure what is lurking under the surface? I wonder if that really is the question of our faith, will we trust God to enter the water?
Prayer
God of all creation, give me the courage to follow you today into the water. Give me the strength to go into the unknown trusting in you to help me float, even when I feel overwhelmed. God let me know that you are calling me, asking me to follow, and help me to know that you will be with me each day. We pray in the name of the one who calmed the storms, Jesus. Amen.
Peace and blessings,
Rev. Patrick Woodbeck
Minister
The Big Red Church (Gordon-King Memorial United)/Grey Street United/Birds Hill United
