WEBVTT 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:07.040 Hello, everyone, and welcome to this week's episode 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:10.720 of Trinity Talks. My name is Kyla, and this week 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:13.539 I'm sitting down with three very special folks 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:18.320 to talk about their family and how family intersects 00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:21.239 with faith. And so, yeah, I'll just get them 00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:23.239 to start by introducing themselves. So who do 00:00:23.239 --> 00:00:25.679 we have here? My name is Bill, Bill Cumming. 00:00:25.699 --> 00:00:28.300 Yes. Yeah, Bradshaw. I'm Bill Cumming. Okay. 00:00:29.379 --> 00:00:31.859 And I'm the father of it. You're the father of 00:00:31.859 --> 00:00:35.299 it all. Okay. And who do we have here? My name 00:00:35.299 --> 00:00:39.299 is Max Bradshaw, and I am the youngest of all 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:43.079 of us. Okay. Okay, well, that makes me in the 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:46.460 middle then, doesn't it? I'm Allie, Allie Bradshaw. 00:00:46.619 --> 00:00:50.820 Okay. Bill is my dad. Max is my son. Okay, great. 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:56.000 Yeah, so all of you have been part of... Trinity's 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:58.759 family, Trinity's life at some point. And yeah, 00:00:58.840 --> 00:01:00.219 I just thought it would be fun to talk about 00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:03.380 how your faith has been similar, but also the 00:01:03.380 --> 00:01:06.439 different paths that you have all taken. Yeah, 00:01:06.540 --> 00:01:08.599 so maybe the first question that I just have 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:12.000 is in thinking about family, how have your parents 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:14.980 or grandparents helped to sort of shape your 00:01:14.980 --> 00:01:17.560 faith journey? Maybe we'll start with you, Bill. 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:20.280 Because I'm the oldest. Well, just because you're 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:22.840 here. Because you're the most handsome. Yes. 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:29.760 I grew up in a Christian family and it became 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:35.239 my way of life from knee high until it came to 00:01:35.239 --> 00:01:38.379 the stage where I proclaimed my faith publicly 00:01:38.379 --> 00:01:42.719 and joined a church. Sure. But that was a long 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:45.739 time ago. I've never had a Damascus Road event. 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:49.340 I can't say, oh, that's what. Sure. I just, I 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:54.340 grew up with it and grew into it. Yeah. That 00:01:54.340 --> 00:01:58.219 wasn't Trinity. No. That was 3 ,000 miles away. 00:02:00.540 --> 00:02:03.099 And not even in church I finished up with in 00:02:03.099 --> 00:02:08.020 Scotland, but in the village church. Okay. And 00:02:08.020 --> 00:02:12.120 I just grew through that, became, as a Presbyterian. 00:02:12.409 --> 00:02:15.430 Should I mention that? Oh, sure. Here we go. 00:02:15.830 --> 00:02:20.610 You're so welcome, yeah? Yes. She's worried because 00:02:20.610 --> 00:02:22.889 I said my mission in life was to convert Anglicans 00:02:22.889 --> 00:02:25.870 to Presbyterianism. Oh, I see. And now we've 00:02:25.870 --> 00:02:28.030 got you here. Yeah, and that was why I emigrated. 00:02:29.430 --> 00:02:34.590 Yeah, I was 50 years an elder in the Church of 00:02:34.590 --> 00:02:37.229 Scotland. Okay. It's sort of ingrained into me. 00:02:37.370 --> 00:02:40.370 Yeah. But you worship God, whatever you worship 00:02:40.370 --> 00:02:43.229 God. Well, of course. But I came to worship here 00:02:43.229 --> 00:02:45.949 because they were here. I see. Actually, that's 00:02:45.949 --> 00:02:48.449 why we came to Canada. Yes. It wasn't really 00:02:48.449 --> 00:02:51.569 a missionary event. Right, just more of a family 00:02:51.569 --> 00:02:55.150 event. Yes, sure. Okay. That's a start. Yeah, 00:02:55.150 --> 00:02:57.310 no, that's a good start. Yeah, what about for 00:02:57.310 --> 00:02:58.949 you, Max? How have your parents or grandparents 00:02:58.949 --> 00:03:01.310 influenced your faith? Well, my faith hasn't 00:03:01.310 --> 00:03:05.310 been going quite as long as theirs has. But it 00:03:05.310 --> 00:03:08.770 really was, we moved to Canada and then we started 00:03:08.770 --> 00:03:12.210 coming to this church. And from there, Most of 00:03:12.210 --> 00:03:15.310 my faith journey has been here just because this 00:03:15.310 --> 00:03:17.189 is where I've been most of my life. And since 00:03:17.189 --> 00:03:19.849 then, I've kind of gone off to Guelph and found 00:03:19.849 --> 00:03:22.050 a church there. And then there's a church up 00:03:22.050 --> 00:03:23.990 in Muskoka where Chloe's parents are. So I have 00:03:23.990 --> 00:03:26.009 a few different churches that I've been to. But 00:03:26.009 --> 00:03:28.509 this one has been my main one. But really, it's 00:03:28.509 --> 00:03:31.189 just because my parents brought me here. This 00:03:31.189 --> 00:03:32.969 is where I've grown up, where I've been connected 00:03:32.969 --> 00:03:36.210 with other people. And then my grandparents would 00:03:36.210 --> 00:03:38.530 come before they moved here. They would come 00:03:38.530 --> 00:03:42.240 every six months or so, visit. and then they 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:44.419 come here and sort of get to know people before 00:03:44.419 --> 00:03:47.479 they moved here so right everyone was already 00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:49.960 coming here and it's just been a nice place to 00:03:49.960 --> 00:03:54.080 grow up and get my basis of faith started sure 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:57.419 thanks to my parents yeah yeah for sure and what 00:03:57.419 --> 00:04:00.229 about for you Allie I was going to say, Max was 00:04:00.229 --> 00:04:04.250 actually baptized in a church also called Trinity 00:04:04.250 --> 00:04:07.069 in Bristol in England. Oh, okay. Where he was 00:04:07.069 --> 00:04:10.169 born. So you did have a church that you don't 00:04:10.169 --> 00:04:14.069 remember before you came here. Well, kind of 00:04:14.069 --> 00:04:16.790 like my dad with my, and Max, you know, being 00:04:16.790 --> 00:04:19.550 brought up in a Christian household. I was always 00:04:19.550 --> 00:04:25.129 at church from the beginning. So church was a 00:04:25.129 --> 00:04:28.439 way of life, but it becomes... You know, I think 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:30.459 that's the gift that your parents give to you, 00:04:30.500 --> 00:04:33.459 that they take you and you're introduced and 00:04:33.459 --> 00:04:36.259 you learn. And then eventually you have to take 00:04:36.259 --> 00:04:40.579 your own step and you have to make your own faith 00:04:40.579 --> 00:04:45.819 choice. And so I started off in Moncrief, Moncrief 00:04:45.819 --> 00:04:50.019 Parish, the Presbyterian Church in East Kilbride, 00:04:50.060 --> 00:04:54.139 where I grew up. when Rick and I were married 00:04:54.139 --> 00:04:56.420 and living in Bristol. We tried at a couple of 00:04:56.420 --> 00:04:58.399 different churches. We ended up in a church called, 00:04:58.459 --> 00:05:01.240 it was a Trinity as well, an Anglican church. 00:05:01.660 --> 00:05:07.699 And it had a fantastic student life. There would 00:05:07.699 --> 00:05:10.699 be a Sunday evening service. And there were hundreds 00:05:10.699 --> 00:05:13.759 and hundreds of young adults all in their kind 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:18.220 of... 20s and 30s there. And then I changed to 00:05:18.220 --> 00:05:21.100 the 9am service when I had Max. Right. It was 00:05:21.100 --> 00:05:23.439 a bit of a shock to the system. I'm sure, yeah. 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:29.100 And then when we moved here, I'd never been before. 00:05:29.220 --> 00:05:32.300 We didn't know anyone here, but I did have faith 00:05:32.300 --> 00:05:34.019 that we would find a church and I would find, 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:36.639 I know the benefits of a church family. I know 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:40.579 how important it is to have other Christians 00:05:40.579 --> 00:05:42.899 around you to support you and encourage you and 00:05:42.899 --> 00:05:46.149 guide you. Within a couple of weeks of moving 00:05:46.149 --> 00:05:51.009 here, we found Trinity. And after the first service, 00:05:51.209 --> 00:05:53.189 I came on my own. Rick was watching the kids 00:05:53.189 --> 00:05:55.029 and I came on my own. And I went back home and 00:05:55.029 --> 00:05:57.129 I said, that's it. I know where we're going. 00:05:57.329 --> 00:05:59.649 I've found it. Wow. Oh, that's so cool. And we've 00:05:59.649 --> 00:06:02.310 been here ever since. So that's 21 years this 00:06:02.310 --> 00:06:06.019 summer. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, so church and faith 00:06:06.019 --> 00:06:08.600 has always sort of been a family affair, I guess, 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:12.019 for all of you. It's something you grew up in, 00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:14.160 but also something you continue to sort of choose 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:18.519 for yourselves. Yes, even now. Even now. Even 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:22.579 in an Anglican church. God is still in an Anglican 00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:30.709 church. And this is life. So I'm wondering, I 00:06:30.709 --> 00:06:32.850 know, like, so you've already sort of mentioned, 00:06:32.930 --> 00:06:35.430 you know, that we're all at different sort of 00:06:35.430 --> 00:06:39.430 life stages. And I think as we grow up and get 00:06:39.430 --> 00:06:41.829 different roles and things, that shapes our faith 00:06:41.829 --> 00:06:45.310 in different ways. So are there any ways that, 00:06:45.310 --> 00:06:47.610 you know, being a parent or a grandparent has 00:06:47.610 --> 00:06:50.689 helped to shape your faith in a particular way? 00:06:53.610 --> 00:06:56.889 That's a difficult one. Not that I'm aware of. 00:06:56.970 --> 00:07:01.170 Sure. But I think somewhere in there, probably. 00:07:01.509 --> 00:07:05.889 Okay. And there are stages within that. I mean, 00:07:05.949 --> 00:07:09.930 I look at Ali now in the church, and I don't 00:07:09.930 --> 00:07:12.970 think I've ever told her this, but when she decided 00:07:12.970 --> 00:07:17.529 to declare her faith and join the church, I was 00:07:17.529 --> 00:07:21.750 session clerk at the time. And my role with the 00:07:21.750 --> 00:07:24.170 minister was to welcome, as we talked about, 00:07:24.230 --> 00:07:30.029 new communicants. Okay. And it had never been 00:07:30.029 --> 00:07:33.949 shared with me until just before the event who 00:07:33.949 --> 00:07:38.769 the new communicants were. Oh, OK. So the minister 00:07:38.769 --> 00:07:41.990 knew. Yes. But I got a bit of a surprise when 00:07:41.990 --> 00:07:47.889 Alison Cumming was on the list. Yeah? Because 00:07:47.889 --> 00:07:49.949 I knew nothing about it. She'd done this on her 00:07:49.949 --> 00:07:57.269 own. Right. And Rob talked about it. or sins 00:07:57.269 --> 00:08:00.769 and all that. My pride, I have to admit, I was 00:08:00.769 --> 00:08:04.550 very proud when she did it. And I can always 00:08:04.550 --> 00:08:07.569 remember when it came to the elders all went 00:08:07.569 --> 00:08:09.189 along and shook hands with them and welcomed 00:08:09.189 --> 00:08:12.910 them. And when I came to Ali, I thought, nah, 00:08:13.110 --> 00:08:17.050 I'll kiss her. So I shook hands with the rest 00:08:17.050 --> 00:08:19.329 and I kissed her. I really was, I was very proud 00:08:19.329 --> 00:08:22.819 of her because she had done that. That's part 00:08:22.819 --> 00:08:24.779 of the development of the family and the faith. 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:28.139 Yeah, for sure, for sure. And it's carried on. 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:31.139 What about for you, Ali? Are there ways that 00:08:31.139 --> 00:08:33.860 being a parent has shaped your faith or changed 00:08:33.860 --> 00:08:37.500 your understanding of God? See, I would say absolutely. 00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:41.480 When I became a parent, I really had a completely 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:45.480 different view of the depth of God's love. And 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:49.889 it also... Shows a different depth of mercy and 00:08:49.889 --> 00:08:53.870 forgiveness. And it just changes your prayer, 00:08:54.009 --> 00:08:57.490 changed my prayer life. You know, it's a different 00:08:57.490 --> 00:09:00.309 kind of focus. Just really realizing how much 00:09:00.309 --> 00:09:03.830 you have to surrender to God's will and God's 00:09:03.830 --> 00:09:08.730 timing from sleeping through the night to kids 00:09:08.730 --> 00:09:13.149 going to school, to them traveling, to just not... 00:09:13.419 --> 00:09:16.700 I'm not in control. It really did. It taught 00:09:16.700 --> 00:09:18.559 me about love. It taught me about surrender. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:23.779 It taught me about trust. So all of that, really, 00:09:24.139 --> 00:09:27.600 when I had my boys, I have another one as well. 00:09:28.440 --> 00:09:31.720 Connor's working today. When Max was the first 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:34.519 and Connor's younger. And when I had my boys, 00:09:34.679 --> 00:09:36.799 it really, and I thought, my goodness, if I have 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:42.059 this love for them, and God is bigger than all 00:09:42.059 --> 00:09:44.960 of this, oh my goodness, how much does he love 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:48.340 us? Yeah. So that changed my perspective and 00:09:48.340 --> 00:09:50.620 my relationship with God. Yeah, for sure. Every 00:09:50.620 --> 00:09:53.379 aspect of my faith, I think it deepened it. And 00:09:53.379 --> 00:09:55.539 that's the thing, you know, as Dad said, I'm 00:09:55.539 --> 00:09:58.159 the same, you know, it wasn't the Damascus Road 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:03.159 event for me either. But there have been events 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:06.159 along the way which have been pretty life -changing 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:09.159 on my faith journey and becoming a parent was 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:12.750 one of them. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think there's 00:10:12.750 --> 00:10:15.389 an awareness. As you grow up in it and as you 00:10:15.389 --> 00:10:19.470 grow with it, there is an awareness of God's 00:10:19.470 --> 00:10:23.990 love and God's presence in your life. Yeah. Yeah, 00:10:24.090 --> 00:10:27.850 you get used to it. It's a bit like, I always 00:10:27.850 --> 00:10:31.970 feel about prayer. You can have a particular 00:10:31.970 --> 00:10:35.470 prayer at a particular prayer time, but there 00:10:35.470 --> 00:10:40.389 are many times during a day when... You just 00:10:40.389 --> 00:10:44.450 have that thought and you pray to God that, you 00:10:44.450 --> 00:10:47.950 know, thank you or more often help me. Yeah, 00:10:47.950 --> 00:10:51.529 yeah, yeah. Yeah, for sure. And I think that 00:10:51.529 --> 00:10:53.970 you grow up in that and you get used to it and 00:10:53.970 --> 00:10:56.309 it becomes a way of life. Yeah, for sure, for 00:10:56.309 --> 00:11:02.840 sure. So thinking about... your family, and you're 00:11:02.840 --> 00:11:05.080 all sort of growing up in faith together and 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:07.480 in different stages and things. So how would 00:11:07.480 --> 00:11:09.840 you say that your family has encouraged you to 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:12.279 grow in your faith? Maybe we'll start with you, 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:14.299 Max. Yeah, I didn't get to go in the last one. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:18.039 Yeah. Yes, you're not yet a parent. No, not yet. 00:11:18.120 --> 00:11:21.759 Not for a while, probably. That's okay. I don't 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:25.720 know if I'm ready to be a grandparent yet. I 00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:29.799 think everyone in my family, I think, kind of 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:32.659 serves in the church yeah so that was a pretty 00:11:32.659 --> 00:11:37.340 big example growing up like my mother was always 00:11:37.340 --> 00:11:40.620 involved in like rector's warden stuff just on 00:11:40.620 --> 00:11:43.679 the board doing different things and my dad does 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:45.799 a lot of kids church stuff and a lot of stuff 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:48.460 with the prayer committee now so everyone has 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:52.580 always been kind of involved in the church so 00:11:52.580 --> 00:11:56.370 I think when I was younger kind of middle school 00:11:56.370 --> 00:11:59.289 to high school, I did a lot of the kids' church 00:11:59.289 --> 00:12:02.350 stuff here as well. And I think that was a pretty 00:12:02.350 --> 00:12:05.370 good way for me to get involved. There was helping 00:12:05.370 --> 00:12:07.470 out at kids' church. There was, of course, Camp 00:12:07.470 --> 00:12:10.009 Trinity. A big shout out there. Lots of fun. 00:12:10.370 --> 00:12:15.090 Great time. And I was even in Nicky and the Bradshaw 00:12:15.090 --> 00:12:19.480 Boys. band that we had for a while okay it was 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:21.720 very cool there was a couple years where we had 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:24.139 a band downstairs um we would do a couple songs 00:12:24.139 --> 00:12:26.879 kind of every other week and that was that was 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:28.840 a lot of fun yeah kind of our own little worship 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:32.799 band for the kids uh it was a lot of fun songs 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:35.519 like god's love is bigger than a burger okay 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:38.799 wow It's kind of more of a basis. You still know 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:40.440 the words for it, don't you? Oh, yeah. Bigger 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:42.159 than a burger, bigger than a house, bigger than 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:45.779 an elephant, and bigger than a mouse. Okay. Fantastic. 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:53.440 Poetry. Yes. But it's like a basis to how we 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:56.559 can introduce kids, right? Yeah. So I found, 00:12:56.720 --> 00:12:59.039 I mean, my dad does kids' church. I did kids' 00:12:59.159 --> 00:13:01.000 church. I think it's a great way to serve because 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:05.000 you are. You have to know the material to teach 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:07.940 it or explain it. So then it forces you to kind 00:13:07.940 --> 00:13:11.440 of look more in depth. So I think just everyone 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:14.139 being involved in the church kind of helped me 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:18.419 to get involved and to serve just for the community 00:13:18.419 --> 00:13:22.500 and the church. Yeah, yeah, for sure. What about 00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:24.740 for you, Allie? Are there ways that your family 00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:28.960 has helped you to grow in your faith? I think, 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:31.179 you know, there's obviously I learned a lot through 00:13:31.179 --> 00:13:33.919 my mum and dad and their encouragement. And, 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:37.220 you know, the same thing. I grew up seeing my 00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:39.980 dad and my mum doing things in the church. In 00:13:39.980 --> 00:13:43.059 fact, in some ways, I feel like I became my dad 00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:45.399 a bit. All those things, you're like, I will 00:13:45.399 --> 00:13:49.139 never do that. I will never do that. And probably 00:13:49.139 --> 00:13:52.570 when I was about 12, that consisted of... he's 00:13:52.570 --> 00:13:55.370 just always talking. We can't get home. Church 00:13:55.370 --> 00:13:59.590 is finished. I've heard that. I've heard that 00:13:59.590 --> 00:14:02.110 from the boys just to walk home sometimes on 00:14:02.110 --> 00:14:04.149 a Sunday because Rick and I were doing stuff. 00:14:04.570 --> 00:14:08.570 But then at the same time, my kids have helped 00:14:08.570 --> 00:14:12.129 encourage me and they've inspired me. When Connor 00:14:12.129 --> 00:14:16.379 was 16, just before COVID hit, he... He did some 00:14:16.379 --> 00:14:19.039 work with the minister then, Simon, and Connor 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:22.100 preached twice. He preached in the January and 00:14:22.100 --> 00:14:26.200 he preached, he preached, he spoke. But he spoke 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:30.059 from his heart and he spoke from his faith. And 00:14:30.059 --> 00:14:34.600 I was so proud, just proud to see him owning 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:38.860 his faith and see him sharing what he's learned 00:14:38.860 --> 00:14:43.429 and where, you know. just where he wants to go 00:14:43.429 --> 00:14:45.250 with his faith and how he talks to his friends 00:14:45.250 --> 00:14:48.769 about it. So I learn from my kids too. Yeah, 00:14:48.769 --> 00:14:51.529 yeah, for sure. I think that's quite amusing 00:14:51.529 --> 00:14:56.110 actually that you talk about you see you do what 00:14:56.110 --> 00:15:02.590 I did. I can always remember back home it was, 00:15:02.710 --> 00:15:10.710 oh, oh, you're Ali's dad. Okay. And then I come 00:15:10.710 --> 00:15:16.759 here and it's, You know how it is, Dad. Nothing 00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:22.179 changes. No, no, guess not. But what about for 00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:25.259 you? How has your family encouraged you or helped 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:28.679 you grow in your faith? Well, as I already said, 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:34.240 I'm not conscious of my family having done it. 00:15:34.299 --> 00:15:38.080 Again, I'm conscious of them being there. What 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:42.559 Ali said about having to... going our own because 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:44.700 I was always talking to somebody or doing something. 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:48.500 I always vowed I wouldn't actually get that way 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:50.639 because I had been there. My father was like 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:54.620 that. And I didn't want to become like my father 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:57.720 in the church. I wanted to be more involved with 00:15:57.720 --> 00:16:01.940 my family. And guess what? I got involved in 00:16:01.940 --> 00:16:06.399 the church. I became very like my father in the 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:09.539 church. And his time was something like 20 years 00:16:09.539 --> 00:16:12.700 as a session clerk. I was 15 years a session 00:16:12.700 --> 00:16:16.759 clerk. Okay. 50 years an elder. So, yes, I was 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:21.080 steeped in it. Yeah. And it became more of a 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:24.220 priority than my family. And I'm not recommending 00:16:24.220 --> 00:16:26.120 that. And I'm not saying it's a good thing. Sure. 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:30.299 But, yes, I fell into the trap. Yeah. And I think 00:16:30.299 --> 00:16:33.860 it's worth noting. You should limit what you 00:16:33.860 --> 00:16:36.600 do. You've got to get your priorities. Sure. 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:41.440 Church is a priority, but your family should 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:44.360 top it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's so interesting 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:47.000 to hear you all sort of reflect in different 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:49.799 ways about how you look at your parents and you 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:52.580 say, okay, well, that's good maybe, but that's 00:16:52.580 --> 00:16:55.879 not how I'm going to be. And then, yeah, for 00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:58.320 better or for worse, we often end up mimicking 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:01.529 that. And it's really easy. You know, it's the 00:17:01.529 --> 00:17:04.289 whole Mary Martha thing. It's really easy when 00:17:04.289 --> 00:17:07.130 you're in a busy church community with a lot 00:17:07.130 --> 00:17:09.750 going on. It's really easy to get involved. But 00:17:09.750 --> 00:17:12.990 also remembering that it's not just about serving. 00:17:13.950 --> 00:17:18.069 It's about growing your faith. And what you're 00:17:18.069 --> 00:17:21.630 doing, where you're volunteering, is it also... 00:17:22.649 --> 00:17:25.130 supporting your spiritual life and your faith 00:17:25.130 --> 00:17:28.130 development. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. It does 00:17:28.130 --> 00:17:30.710 give me a glimpse as to what I am most likely 00:17:30.710 --> 00:17:33.710 going to see of myself in the future, if everyone 00:17:33.710 --> 00:17:35.569 in my family has been doing the exact same thing 00:17:35.569 --> 00:17:37.730 over and over, especially now that I'm engaged 00:17:37.730 --> 00:17:40.250 to someone whose father is a minister and mother 00:17:40.250 --> 00:17:42.710 does a lot of kids' church as well. Right. It's 00:17:42.710 --> 00:17:44.809 probably going to be a lot of serving in the 00:17:44.809 --> 00:17:47.869 future. Sure, sure, yeah. And I think Allie was 00:17:47.869 --> 00:17:49.329 sharing with me earlier this week, you're also 00:17:49.329 --> 00:17:51.470 thinking about, you know, yeah, your own sort 00:17:51.470 --> 00:17:54.670 of church. leadership path as well yeah so I 00:17:54.670 --> 00:17:57.650 guess yeah we have to look kind of well we've 00:17:57.650 --> 00:18:00.930 just moved so we were at a place in Guelph and 00:18:00.930 --> 00:18:02.890 we're going to a church and there was actually 00:18:02.890 --> 00:18:05.190 a few people from Trinity who had gone to Guelph 00:18:05.190 --> 00:18:07.630 University as well and we would see them sometimes 00:18:07.630 --> 00:18:09.349 at the church so that was kind of nice it was 00:18:09.349 --> 00:18:12.250 new people plus familiar faces yeah so it kind 00:18:12.250 --> 00:18:14.769 of helps you get more makes it easier to go to 00:18:14.769 --> 00:18:16.390 the church yeah you know people you're gonna 00:18:16.390 --> 00:18:20.269 see yeah But now we're in Kitchener, so we're 00:18:20.269 --> 00:18:21.849 going to have to do kind of the whole thing again. 00:18:21.970 --> 00:18:25.049 Look for a new church, kind of scope things out, 00:18:25.150 --> 00:18:30.009 see what kind of vibes they have. Sure. And just 00:18:30.009 --> 00:18:31.450 kind of figure out where we want to go from there. 00:18:31.690 --> 00:18:34.430 Yeah, yeah. When we came here, we didn't think 00:18:34.430 --> 00:18:35.910 we were coming to a new church because we've 00:18:35.910 --> 00:18:39.190 been coming here for 21 years. Well, I think 00:18:39.190 --> 00:18:42.460 you've been 10 years. You've been about 10 years 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:44.000 where you've been visiting and you would come 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.720 for six weeks at a time sometimes. So mom and 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:49.079 dad already had friends here. You know, people 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:51.500 on the door when they came in already knew their 00:18:51.500 --> 00:18:54.460 names. Yes, it didn't sound like a new church 00:18:54.460 --> 00:18:56.380 when we came here because we'd been here. Right. 00:18:56.460 --> 00:19:02.180 Yeah. It was a bit different. For sure. So are 00:19:02.180 --> 00:19:06.190 there ways that your... faith looks similar to 00:19:06.190 --> 00:19:09.089 or different from other people in your family 00:19:09.089 --> 00:19:10.990 i mean you you've also talked about okay we're 00:19:10.990 --> 00:19:14.250 walking in the path of our parents um but i think 00:19:14.250 --> 00:19:17.509 we're you're we're all individuals as well um 00:19:17.509 --> 00:19:20.069 yeah so how does your faith look similar to or 00:19:20.069 --> 00:19:23.109 different from others okay you want to start 00:19:23.109 --> 00:19:31.750 go ahead i never knew my paternal grandpa my 00:19:32.190 --> 00:19:35.309 paternal grandfather okay i knew my paternal 00:19:35.309 --> 00:19:39.390 grandmother but she didn't attend church okay 00:19:39.390 --> 00:19:42.309 and my matern i never knew my maternal grandmother 00:19:42.309 --> 00:19:47.369 i knew my maternal grandfather and he had nothing 00:19:47.369 --> 00:19:53.190 to do with the church okay so i was moving my 00:19:53.190 --> 00:19:55.369 parents rather were moving in a different sort 00:19:55.369 --> 00:19:59.569 of path sure from my own perspective well ali 00:19:59.569 --> 00:20:04.769 has a brother yes And we went to church as a 00:20:04.769 --> 00:20:10.589 family. His mother told him, no, he had to go 00:20:10.589 --> 00:20:12.549 to church. There was none of this skipping off 00:20:12.549 --> 00:20:17.049 until he was 16. Okay. On his 16th birthday, 00:20:17.289 --> 00:20:20.029 he decided he wasn't going back to church. And 00:20:20.029 --> 00:20:21.549 I don't think he's been inside the door since, 00:20:21.690 --> 00:20:24.670 other than to see her married. And Max baptised. 00:20:24.670 --> 00:20:31.039 And Max baptised. That saddens me, but... i know 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:35.039 i'm not alone so i know a lot of good christian 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:38.859 guys whose family have the same sort of thing 00:20:38.859 --> 00:20:41.579 that maybe one of the families in church and 00:20:41.579 --> 00:20:44.500 yeah one has nothing to do with it i don't know 00:20:44.500 --> 00:20:50.559 why that happens um and it saddens me but you 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:53.079 never know yeah the holy spirit could knock on 00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:55.619 his door someday And I hope something happens 00:20:55.619 --> 00:20:58.539 because it means my granddaughter is having no 00:20:58.539 --> 00:21:00.819 introduction to the church. And that's sad. Yeah. 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:03.859 And I'd like to see that happen. Yeah, for sure. 00:21:03.859 --> 00:21:05.640 So we can only pray that somewhere along the 00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:08.640 line. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. The dark will come. 00:21:08.819 --> 00:21:12.900 Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting that people can 00:21:12.900 --> 00:21:17.660 be raised in the same way. But we are individuals 00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:21.200 and we make our own choices about how we respond 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:24.769 to that. For sure. The interesting thing is, 00:21:24.829 --> 00:21:27.250 okay, they don't come to church. We don't love 00:21:27.250 --> 00:21:29.130 them less as individuals. No, of course not. 00:21:29.930 --> 00:21:33.430 Yeah, for sure. Just saddened a bit by it, but 00:21:33.430 --> 00:21:36.369 yeah. Yeah, for sure. And as I say, I live in 00:21:36.369 --> 00:21:42.329 hope. Yeah, it's good. Well, you also, like my 00:21:42.329 --> 00:21:45.369 father wasn't initially a Christian when they 00:21:45.369 --> 00:21:49.849 got, or... first started dating, my mother did 00:21:49.849 --> 00:21:53.650 the flirt and convert. And it worked really well 00:21:53.650 --> 00:21:56.450 in your case. I used to take him to youth group. 00:21:56.609 --> 00:21:59.390 Okay. He would come to youth group with me. Okay. 00:21:59.509 --> 00:22:02.549 Some weekends. In doing that, you were able to 00:22:02.549 --> 00:22:05.690 bring him to the church. And then also when his 00:22:05.690 --> 00:22:07.710 parents would come and visit, they would also 00:22:07.710 --> 00:22:10.450 come to Trinity as well. So same kind of thing. 00:22:10.509 --> 00:22:13.670 They were offset from. him kind of right every 00:22:13.670 --> 00:22:15.470 few months we get one set and then the other 00:22:15.470 --> 00:22:18.369 few months is the next grandparents um so when 00:22:18.369 --> 00:22:19.710 they come and visit they would also come to the 00:22:19.710 --> 00:22:22.890 church so then it was like our whole family was 00:22:22.890 --> 00:22:26.109 known in the church yeah so people knew both 00:22:26.109 --> 00:22:28.109 sets of grandparents which was nice even if they 00:22:28.109 --> 00:22:30.990 weren't here at all the times but then on the 00:22:30.990 --> 00:22:34.509 other side my uncle and aunts and their kids 00:22:34.509 --> 00:22:37.049 don't really go to or don't do church either 00:22:37.049 --> 00:22:41.450 so yeah it's the same kind of thing one kid is 00:22:41.450 --> 00:22:43.509 kind of at church but I guess they were never 00:22:43.509 --> 00:22:46.430 brought to church in the same way right well 00:22:46.430 --> 00:22:48.829 your dad and his brother went to church as kids 00:22:48.829 --> 00:22:51.109 grandma and papa went to church and actually 00:22:51.109 --> 00:22:54.210 what was wonderful was after grandma and papa 00:22:54.210 --> 00:22:57.170 came to church here then they found a church 00:22:57.170 --> 00:23:00.589 again back home in Scotland so they went back 00:23:00.589 --> 00:23:04.240 to church The Holy Spirit knocked on their door 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:07.200 while they were here. Yeah. So the darts do fly, 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:13.700 Dad. The darts do fly. But I think another way 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:15.880 to look at are things similar or different. We 00:23:15.880 --> 00:23:18.019 all like different kinds of worship and different 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:20.799 kind of churches and church experience. Oh, here 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:24.460 she goes. No, I was thinking of you this morning 00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:27.359 when we sang Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine. 00:23:27.660 --> 00:23:30.279 Yes. You know, that's a much more traditional. 00:23:30.339 --> 00:23:34.269 That's the kind of... worship song that we would 00:23:34.269 --> 00:23:37.670 sing in church when I grew up. Yes. Let me just 00:23:37.670 --> 00:23:40.410 do a little confession. So when my brother and 00:23:40.410 --> 00:23:42.529 I used to go, when we were wee, we all would 00:23:42.529 --> 00:23:44.869 go into church with our own hymn books. So there's 00:23:44.869 --> 00:23:47.910 a real difference to worship styles now. And 00:23:47.910 --> 00:23:50.529 we'd have our hymn books and there would be a 00:23:50.529 --> 00:23:52.509 plaque on the wall with the hymn numbers in them 00:23:52.509 --> 00:23:54.750 and Neil and I, the first thing we used to do 00:23:54.750 --> 00:23:57.359 when we went into church. was look up the hymn 00:23:57.359 --> 00:24:00.440 and see how many verses it was and did it have 00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:03.940 a chorus? Yes. Because if it was six verses with 00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:10.940 a chorus, we would be like, oh. Yeah, yeah. And 00:24:10.940 --> 00:24:16.200 so, but I know that my dad loves when we, my 00:24:16.200 --> 00:24:18.039 mum and dad both love when we have more traditional 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:20.539 hymns mixed in. And Libby does that quite a lot 00:24:20.539 --> 00:24:22.420 here. There's a kind of integration of worship 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:25.890 styles. But I would, you know, talking about 00:24:25.890 --> 00:24:29.130 similar and different, we all have slightly different 00:24:29.130 --> 00:24:32.630 types of worship style that we prefer and we 00:24:32.630 --> 00:24:36.589 enjoy. And we hear, you know, our hearts are 00:24:36.589 --> 00:24:38.490 touched in different ways, even within the one 00:24:38.490 --> 00:24:40.789 worship service. You know, is it music? Is it 00:24:40.789 --> 00:24:43.650 the prayer? Is it? And again, it's different 00:24:43.650 --> 00:24:46.210 in each church. I'm sure when you and Chloe, 00:24:46.210 --> 00:24:49.109 when you talk about what you'll be looking for 00:24:49.109 --> 00:24:52.130 in Kitchener, so what will you be looking for 00:24:52.130 --> 00:24:54.819 in your new church? I mean, it's a really good 00:24:54.819 --> 00:24:57.420 question. I think we'll probably be looking for 00:24:57.420 --> 00:25:00.720 a church that has people kind of our age. Kitchener 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:02.680 is close to Waterloo University. So there's going 00:25:02.680 --> 00:25:07.039 to be kind of a younger crowd around. But we 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:10.400 do both enjoy worship. So we will be looking 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:13.440 for a church that's not that's kind of fits our 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:16.660 same kind of worship ideals. Chloe used to sing 00:25:16.660 --> 00:25:21.609 with Libby here back when she was here. So she 00:25:21.609 --> 00:25:24.970 has also had involvement in worship. So somewhere 00:25:24.970 --> 00:25:28.809 that I think we can find a way to serve either 00:25:28.809 --> 00:25:30.829 through worship or potentially also working with 00:25:30.829 --> 00:25:34.170 kids. Chloe currently works as an educational 00:25:34.170 --> 00:25:36.609 assistant. So she's already doing kids stuff 00:25:36.609 --> 00:25:39.490 during the week. So I don't know if she might 00:25:39.490 --> 00:25:43.130 want to break there and find a different way 00:25:43.130 --> 00:25:48.069 to serve. But somewhere I think I had nice welcoming. 00:25:48.919 --> 00:25:50.920 It might not be somewhere as big as Trinity. 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:55.440 There's a lot of people here. So if there's less 00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:57.579 people, it might be easier for us to kind of 00:25:57.579 --> 00:26:01.000 get in there and meet some people. It's not as 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:04.539 scary. But yeah, somewhere I think kind of like 00:26:04.539 --> 00:26:08.759 that, we're just going to feel comfortable. And 00:26:08.759 --> 00:26:10.779 somewhere where the preacher, of course, we... 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:14.460 think we can hear from or speaks to us. For sure, 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:23.000 for sure. I thought you would suffer. And so 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:25.539 what's interesting to me, and I think is true 00:26:25.539 --> 00:26:29.180 of... most people in younger generations is you 00:26:29.180 --> 00:26:32.200 didn't mention a particular denomination on that 00:26:32.200 --> 00:26:35.039 list of things. No, I didn't. And that might 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:38.119 scare him. Yes. Because he's Presbyterian and 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:40.160 wants to convert the Ancients. I've come a long 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:44.019 way. Yes. I think there's a lot more to finding 00:26:44.019 --> 00:26:46.599 a place because the one that we're, the place 00:26:46.599 --> 00:26:48.099 that we were going to in Guelph is more of a 00:26:48.099 --> 00:26:51.200 Baptist church. Okay. So that's already a few 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:54.279 different things going on here. But I think somewhere 00:26:54.279 --> 00:26:57.829 where we can find, A place that wants to worship 00:26:57.829 --> 00:27:00.730 Jesus and love Jesus, bring other people to Jesus, 00:27:00.809 --> 00:27:03.730 I think is the main thing. And then kind of there 00:27:03.730 --> 00:27:06.289 might be some different liturgy stuff that goes 00:27:06.289 --> 00:27:10.150 on. But we'll just have to kind of figure out 00:27:10.150 --> 00:27:12.109 the vibe, I guess, and see how it is. Because 00:27:12.109 --> 00:27:15.170 we just want to celebrate Jesus and worship him. 00:27:15.430 --> 00:27:20.789 I love that. And because having a stereotype 00:27:20.789 --> 00:27:24.930 of a church is so wrong because Jesus is Jesus. 00:27:26.029 --> 00:27:31.490 And he's never changing. And I must admit, when 00:27:31.490 --> 00:27:34.869 we moved here, one of the things we said to the 00:27:34.869 --> 00:27:37.210 estate agent was we want to be able to walk, 00:27:37.410 --> 00:27:40.529 have choice for a couple of churches. And I'd 00:27:40.529 --> 00:27:42.450 pegged that there were three churches in Streetsville, 00:27:42.490 --> 00:27:44.410 the United, the Presbyterian and the Anglican. 00:27:44.410 --> 00:27:46.490 And I have to say, I hadn't thought about going 00:27:46.490 --> 00:27:49.329 to the Anglican church. Just being Scottish and 00:27:49.329 --> 00:27:55.150 having my encouraging father. And when I was, 00:27:55.150 --> 00:27:57.289 it was one morning, I was in a children's play 00:27:57.289 --> 00:27:59.990 group and I was telling the woman who ran it, 00:28:00.009 --> 00:28:01.849 who was Muslim, the Muslim woman was running 00:28:01.849 --> 00:28:03.190 it. And I was saying, I'm looking for a church. 00:28:03.430 --> 00:28:05.670 I've got these little babies. And she said to 00:28:05.670 --> 00:28:07.109 me, oh, she said, I know a woman that comes, 00:28:07.170 --> 00:28:10.869 goes to a great church, family church, great 00:28:10.869 --> 00:28:13.529 atmosphere. And she called the woman and put 00:28:13.529 --> 00:28:17.670 her straight on the phone to me. And it turns 00:28:17.670 --> 00:28:20.180 out. At the time, our associate minister was 00:28:20.180 --> 00:28:22.779 called Lance Dixon and it was his wife, Kelly. 00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:25.539 And Kelly said, I'll meet you at the back of 00:28:25.539 --> 00:28:30.140 the church. Okay. And welcomed me in. And it 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:32.599 was when I got here and I saw it was an Anglican 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:35.279 church. Right. And, you know, it didn't matter 00:28:35.279 --> 00:28:38.319 about the name or the denomination. Trinity was 00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:42.039 just welcoming and friendly and the community 00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:48.049 right from the first day. Yeah. So. Oh, that's 00:28:48.049 --> 00:28:50.029 so good. An interesting name. I remember Lance. 00:28:50.410 --> 00:28:52.829 Lance baptised Connor. He baptised Connor, yeah. 00:28:53.069 --> 00:28:55.869 Okay. There you go. So I'm not new to Trinity. 00:28:56.109 --> 00:28:59.029 No, no. I'm not new to Anglicans. No. I've been 00:28:59.029 --> 00:29:02.089 around Anglicans. Yes, yes. That's right. Slowly 00:29:02.089 --> 00:29:06.569 acclimatising. Yes, yes. It takes longer to change. 00:29:06.710 --> 00:29:13.190 I don't think I've converted any. Oh, man. Keep 00:29:13.190 --> 00:29:15.809 trying. Okay. But there we go. We're all unique. 00:29:16.210 --> 00:29:19.559 Yep. We're all unique, but we're all family and 00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:22.720 all loved by God. Yeah. There we go. Yeah. Oh, 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:26.200 that's so good. Yeah. I think it's so neat to 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:29.759 sort of hear, like what I'm hearing in your family 00:29:29.759 --> 00:29:32.640 story is that it's a family effort, right? That 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:35.119 you all bring different things to the table. 00:29:35.160 --> 00:29:37.859 You all influence and lead each other. But yeah, 00:29:37.900 --> 00:29:41.299 that you are also individual people who have 00:29:41.299 --> 00:29:44.140 made this decision to keep coming to church, 00:29:44.200 --> 00:29:47.039 keep showing up, keep following Jesus. in the 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:50.039 ways that you're individually called as part 00:29:50.039 --> 00:29:53.640 of a collective unit. Yeah. Yeah, and I think, 00:29:53.640 --> 00:29:55.980 honestly, that's probably the way that it should 00:29:55.980 --> 00:29:58.880 be. If we all lived in a perfect world, we would 00:29:58.880 --> 00:30:03.259 be people following Jesus in a community of people 00:30:03.259 --> 00:30:07.220 following Jesus. Yeah. Whatever that looks like 00:30:07.220 --> 00:30:09.680 for us. It's Mother's Day. I think I've got you 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:12.720 through in the point. Yes. Mother had a bigger 00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:17.009 influence, I think, on Ali and... Neil than I 00:30:17.009 --> 00:30:20.029 had. Okay. Because she was more with them. Yeah. 00:30:20.130 --> 00:30:23.609 Okay. So credit her mother. Yes, of course. Yes. 00:30:23.730 --> 00:30:26.089 Always, always credit the moms. The moms are 00:30:26.089 --> 00:30:33.109 very important people. Oh, I'm not stupid. Good. 00:30:33.109 --> 00:30:35.990 Well, thank you all very much. This has been 00:30:35.990 --> 00:30:39.890 a really fun, really hopeful conversation. Yeah, 00:30:39.950 --> 00:30:41.950 and great to get to know you all a little bit 00:30:41.950 --> 00:30:44.109 better. Thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you. 00:30:44.230 --> 00:30:47.349 And thank you for tuning in to this week's episode 00:30:47.349 --> 00:30:49.930 of Trinity Talks. I hope that you're also able 00:30:49.930 --> 00:30:52.670 to take some of these reflections and maybe talk 00:30:52.670 --> 00:30:54.910 about faith with your own family and think about 00:30:54.910 --> 00:30:57.730 what your faith journey has looked like wherever 00:30:57.730 --> 00:31:00.859 you are on that spectrum. And we will see you 00:31:00.859 --> 00:31:01.519 again next week.