Wingham United Church

February 15, 2026

Letting Our Light Shine Brighter

Exodus 24:12-18

Matthew 17:1-9

          I think I may have been off my game a little last week. Perhaps it was the full moon, multiple evening meetings, bitter cold, or the usual ‘February blahs’ that had me struggling a bit to focus. Perhaps that’s the reason that I so completely missed illuminating a very important part of the scripture lesson. I spoke about our need to address the injustices in the world – feed the hungry, house the homeless, free the oppressed, etc. That’s all true, of course. As long as we have people freezing to death on the streets and kids going to school hungry, we need to do more.

          A member of the congregation pointed out to me after the service, though, that I had failed to recognize how much we do already. He was absolutely correct. I know that the members of both congregations I serve do an incredible amount to address these issues and more. I know that many people in the Wingham congregation are very involved with the North Huron Food Share, for example. I know that the Wingham Lion’s club is also well represented here. The growing project for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank at Belgrave is phenomenal. Our UCW groups donate to many worthy causes and organizations. Individually, too, I know that you all support many other causes and organizations that do exactly the types of work scripture says God’s people should. I apologize for not having acknowledged that.

          As your minister, however, it still troubles my mind that we don’t do much of it as a church, and I believe that to be a significant reason behind the church’s continued decline. In fact, in our ever more self-centered and entitled society, most benevolent organizations like the Lions, Kinsmen, Optimists, Legion and more are also experiencing membership decline. Just like the church, these groups are faced with trying to do more with less. Even food banks face declining donations while they try their best to meet growing needs. The church, secular organizations, and groups trying to meet specific needs in their communities are all competing for their share of shrinking resources. So, what are we to do?

          I, of course, do my best to look at all of this from the point of view of the church. Last week, I pointed out that Jesus makes two seemingly contradictory statements, saying one moment that we should let our light shine for all to see and then telling us to do our good deeds privately. We are in the habit, in most churches, I think, of following the latter advice. You rarely see a church pastor’s picture in the paper presenting a big cardboard cheque. Whether that is a good idea or not, I’m still not sure. The effect, however, is that people outside our doors don’t know what we do, and so we don’t appear to them to be relevant. If they know about the good work the Lions, North Huron Foodshare or Canadian Foodgrains Bank are doing, they will support those causes. By humbly doing our good work behind the scenes, we fail to earn the respect and support needed to fill our pews and our offering plates, so we shrink into the background. Perhaps we should do a better job of following Christ’s directive to “let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

          Therein lies the even more significant point I completely failed to address last week. Should we be ramping up our actions that parallel the work being done by these other organizations, thereby becoming just one more competitor for those limited resources, or should we be more focused on the one thing that makes the church different. Let me remind you of the second half of that previous statement: “so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

          The church’s job, first and foremost, is to preach the gospel, to promote the faith, to bring people closer to God. We should be letting our light shine as a demonstration of our faith in God and Jesus Christ. Instead of trying to bring people in so they can help us do the work and pay the bills, we should be letting our light shine out into the world, showing people that don’t know what we are about what it’s like to have a close, personal relationship with Christ.

          We need to echo God’s words when he invited Moses to “Come up to me on the mountain.” Christ’s transfiguration reminds us of the transformative power of that deep connection to God. We, as a Community of Faith, need to let Christ’s light shine out from within as it shone from within Him on that mountaintop. That is our job, and remember what Isaiah told us would happen when we do what God has instructed us to do:

“Then your light will shine out from the darkness,

    and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

The Lord will guide you continually,

    giving you water when you are dry

    and restoring your strength.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

    like an ever-flowing spring.” (Isaiah 58:10a-11)

          Then, scripture assures us that people will come to see what we are up to. Curiosity will draw them to us and if they find what they are looking for, they will keep coming.

          Last year, The United Church of Canada embarked on a long-term exploration of our future together. The initiative, called “Towards 2035” is taking a long, hard look at what our denomination will look like a decade from now in light of our continuing decline. Every level of the church will be involved in this. Much has already been done at the national level, and work has begun at the regional level as well. I will be bringing the discussion to Wingham and Belgrave soon, although I decided to wait until the weather becomes a little more predictable, so I will likely set a date sometime after Easter.

          The nation-wide work is focused largely on statistics drawn from the information each church submits each year, along with demographics and other information from sources like StatsCan. It’s a good start, but statistics are cold and rigid. Much of what goes on in the church isn’t easily described by numbers and checkmarks.

          Regional Council will be trying to fill in more of the softer information, which is going to require us to get to know many of the congregations in our region a lot better than we do now. As a member of the Regional Council Congregational Support Committee, I am involved in that work, and I believe that it will take more time to accomplish than many of my peers are anticipating.

          At the congregational level, we need to do some soul searching, examining what we do and why we do it. This coming week begins the season of Lent. Lent is a time for soul searching, for reflection, and for drawing closer to Christ by shifting our focus away from the world around us and toward what we believe about why we are here. I plan to help you with that by taking a little time each week to talk about specific aspects of our church life.

          Changes are going to happen. They must. The path we are on is not sustainable, and more importantly, is not, in many ways, faithful. We have the opportunity to engage in the conversation and move forward in positive, faithful ways.

          When God invited Moses to come up the mountain, Moses remained there 40 days and nights, and when he emerged from the cloud, he held God’s instructions for his people. When Jesus went into the wilderness, he spent 40 days and nights alone with God, and when he emerged, he was baptized and his ministry among God’s people began. Wednesday marks the beginning of our 40-day journey toward Easter and the resurrection. Forty days to explore where God is leading us and how Christ is calling us to let our light shine.

Rev. Colin Snyder, MDiv