{"id":2286,"date":"2021-03-31T14:32:24","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T14:32:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286"},"modified":"2021-03-31T14:32:28","modified_gmt":"2021-03-31T14:32:28","slug":"easter-greetings-from-the-synod-of-cnob","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286","title":{"rendered":"Easter Greetings from the Synod of CNOB"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
pixabay.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Great is Thy faithfulness; great is Thy faithfulness;
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Thomas Chisholm 1923, 1996 BoP 324<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one of my very favourite hymns, one that I regularly find myself humming or singing under my breath. In many ways it sums up, not just my experience of God, but the fullness of that experience. The key line, “All I have needed thy hand hath provided,” reminds me of the nature of God\u2019s providence.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Scripturally, this hymn is aligned with Lamentations 3:22-24 (NRSV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The steadfast love of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0never ceases,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0great is your faithfulness.
\u201cThe\u00a0Lord\u00a0is my portion,\u201d says my soul,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201ctherefore I will hope in him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not commonly known as an Easter scripture. Great is Thy Faithfulness<\/em> is not an Easter hymn. Yet, this hymn and scripture sum up this Easter for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year ago we naively believed that we might be back in our churches by Easter, then Pentecost, and then September, or Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Although we have been back in our buildings in fits and starts, we are still not all together in worship as we want to be. And now we find ourselves again in Holy Week, fully caught up in the paradox of Easter, simultaneously celebrating an event in our past; the resurrection, and anticipating an event in our future; Christ\u2019s coming again.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This paradox is always a part of our faith, but at certain times it takes on a particular importance. Faced with the sickness or death of a loved one, times of war, times of fear or trouble; it is in these times that we most firmly embrace the assurance of our faith in the resurrection of Jesus while most anxiously awaiting a better time. The author of Lamentations says it so beautifully; that because of God\u2019s love we are not consumed AND that God\u2019s compassions are always new \u2013 and we do wait for the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Easter we gather in that same assurance. “Because of the Lord\u2019s great love we are not consumed.” Because of Christ\u2019s great love on the cross we are not consumed. Because of the Spirit\u2019s presence over this past year we are not consumed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AND<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of the Christ\u2019s great love in the empty tomb we have hope; hope for eternity, hope for salvation, and today – hope for a better brighter day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In and out of the church, this season is our season of hope. It is the hope of our faith. It is the hope of the vaccines. It is the hope to be close to family and friends. It is the hope to be together in worship again. It is the hope that this will happen soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his famous hymn, Thomas Chisholm summed it up this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow:
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is our Easter wish, that in this season, in the events of this week, that you might find strength for today and hope for tomorrow. Great is God\u2019s faithfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A blessed and joyful Easter to you all,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John-Peter & Tori Smit<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for a youtube recording of the hymn ‘Great Is Thy Faithfulness’<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Great is Thy faithfulness; great is Thy faithfulness;Morning by morning new mercies I see;All I have needed thy hand hath provided;Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Thomas Chisholm 1923, 1996 BoP 324 This is one of my very favourite hymns, one that I regularly find […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,3,6],"tags":[48,118,117],"class_list":["post-2286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-christian-education-archive","category-congregational-development","category-w-m-s","tag-easter","tag-greetings","tag-pastoral-letter"],"yoast_head":"\nEaster Greetings from the Synod of CNOB - CNOB<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Easter Greetings from the Synod of CNOB - CNOB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Great is Thy faithfulness; great is Thy faithfulness;Morning by morning new mercies I see;All I have needed thy hand hath provided;Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Thomas Chisholm 1923, 1996 BoP 324 This is one of my very favourite hymns, one that I regularly find […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CNOB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-31T14:32:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-31T14:32:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/hills-2836301__340.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John-Peter Smit\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John-Peter Smit\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2286#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2286\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"John-Peter Smit\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8025b247bca88bdccdfc76db517f4bfa\"},\"headline\":\"Easter Greetings from the Synod of CNOB\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-31T14:32:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-31T14:32:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2286\"},\"wordCount\":575,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2286#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/hills-2836301__340.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Easter\",\"Greetings\",\"Pastoral Letter\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\",\"Christian Education Archive\",\"Congregational Development Archive\",\"WMS Archive\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2286\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2286\",\"name\":\"Easter Greetings from the Synod of CNOB - CNOB\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2286#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2286#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/hills-2836301__340.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-31T14:32:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-31T14:32:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2286#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2286\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2286#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/hills-2836301__340.jpg?fit=544%2C340&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/hills-2836301__340.jpg?fit=544%2C340&ssl=1\",\"width\":544,\"height\":340},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?p=2286#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Easter Greetings from the Synod of CNOB\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"CNOB\",\"description\":\"Synod of Central, Northeastern Ontario and Bermuda\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"CNOB\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/CNOB-Banner-Logo-01-01.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/CNOB-Banner-Logo-01-01.png\",\"width\":2084,\"height\":939,\"caption\":\"CNOB\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8025b247bca88bdccdfc76db517f4bfa\",\"name\":\"John-Peter Smit\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4b30b26e95187853fdbfc3ef83360fdb18ba5e37d3f8333f7a6aa51c0b3599ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4b30b26e95187853fdbfc3ef83360fdb18ba5e37d3f8333f7a6aa51c0b3599ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4b30b26e95187853fdbfc3ef83360fdb18ba5e37d3f8333f7a6aa51c0b3599ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John-Peter Smit\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cnob.org\\\/?author=7\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Easter Greetings from the Synod of CNOB - CNOB","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Easter Greetings from the Synod of CNOB - CNOB","og_description":"Great is Thy faithfulness; great is Thy faithfulness;Morning by morning new mercies I see;All I have needed thy hand hath provided;Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Thomas Chisholm 1923, 1996 BoP 324 This is one of my very favourite hymns, one that I regularly find […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286","og_site_name":"CNOB","article_published_time":"2021-03-31T14:32:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-31T14:32:28+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/hills-2836301__340.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"John-Peter Smit","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John-Peter Smit","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286"},"author":{"name":"John-Peter Smit","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8025b247bca88bdccdfc76db517f4bfa"},"headline":"Easter Greetings from the Synod of CNOB","datePublished":"2021-03-31T14:32:24+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-31T14:32:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286"},"wordCount":575,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/hills-2836301__340.jpg","keywords":["Easter","Greetings","Pastoral Letter"],"articleSection":["Blog","Christian Education Archive","Congregational Development Archive","WMS Archive"],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286","url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286","name":"Easter Greetings from the Synod of CNOB - CNOB","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/hills-2836301__340.jpg","datePublished":"2021-03-31T14:32:24+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-31T14:32:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/hills-2836301__340.jpg?fit=544%2C340&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/hills-2836301__340.jpg?fit=544%2C340&ssl=1","width":544,"height":340},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?p=2286#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Easter Greetings from the Synod of CNOB"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/","name":"CNOB","description":"Synod of Central, Northeastern Ontario and Bermuda","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#organization","name":"CNOB","url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/CNOB-Banner-Logo-01-01.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/CNOB-Banner-Logo-01-01.png","width":2084,"height":939,"caption":"CNOB"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8025b247bca88bdccdfc76db517f4bfa","name":"John-Peter Smit","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4b30b26e95187853fdbfc3ef83360fdb18ba5e37d3f8333f7a6aa51c0b3599ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4b30b26e95187853fdbfc3ef83360fdb18ba5e37d3f8333f7a6aa51c0b3599ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4b30b26e95187853fdbfc3ef83360fdb18ba5e37d3f8333f7a6aa51c0b3599ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John-Peter Smit"},"url":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/?author=7"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2286"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2293,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2286\/revisions\/2293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnob.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}