As we mark the 100th anniversary of the United Church of Canada, the words from Ephesians echo across time with surprising freshness:
“I pray that… Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.”
-Ephesians 3:17
One hundred years is a long time to be rooted. Rooted in worship and witness. Rooted in justice and compassion. Rooted in struggle and in hope. And yet, the deeper question isn’t just what we’ve been rooted in, but what we’ve been rooted for.
Paul’s prayer goes on to say:
“I pray that you may have the power to comprehend… what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.”
That phrase – breadth and length and height and depth – feels like a holy invitation. An invitation to stretch our imagination, to expand our compassion, to wonder just how far Christ’s love might reach through us.
So we pause and ask:
What does it really mean to be rooted and grounded in love as a church today?
Is it simply about holding on to tradition? Or might it be more like a tree, whose roots anchor it so that its branches can grow ever outward – toward light, toward others, toward the new?
How wide is Christ’s love, really?
Wide enough to gather those who’ve felt excluded?
Long enough to endure through changing times?
High enough to lift communities beyond despair?
Deep enough to meet us in the shadows of uncertainty?
I would say, “yes,” to these and so much more!
Perhaps this anniversary is not only a time to look back with gratitude but to look forward with longing. To ask how we might continue to grow into a church whose reach reflects the immeasurable love of Christ. Not through grand gestures or perfect plans, but by letting that love take root in us again and again.
So here’s a question to carry with you this week:
Where is love inviting us to grow next, both as individuals and as a community of faith?
As we continue into the next hundred years, may we keep growing deeper, wider, and fuller in love.
🎉 Join us this Sunday to celebrate 100 Years of Faith, Hope & Love 🎉
⏰ June 8 at 10:30 AM
📍 Tom Morrison Theater, Fredericton High School
Let’s pray!
Loving God, root us once more in the deep soil of your grace. Stretch our hearts to know the breadth of your love: wider than fear, longer than history, higher than hope, and deeper than we can ever fully grasp. As we give thanks for a hundred years of faith and witness, guide us into the next hundred with courage and compassion. Let Christ dwell in us richly, that we may be a church grounded in love and reaching outward in hope. We offer this and all our prayers in the strong name of our brother and saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN
