Slideshow image

From the Rector's Desk   

I don’t know about you, but it sure feels to me like there has been a shift in the air these last few days… the mornings are a little crisper, the air a little cooler and the colours of autumn are just beginning to appear. And with the changing of the season outside, we too are changing seasons within the church.

September 1st marks the first Sunday of the Season of Creation, which will carry us through until Thanksgiving. This is a time when Christians around the world dedicate time to focus on God’s work in creation and our call to be good stewards of the earth. Churches within the Anglican Church of Canada have been participants in this season since the General Synod of 2019 when a formal resolution was passed adopting this season as a time of prayer, education, and action to live out our baptismal call to ‘safeguard the integrity of God’s creation and respect, sustain, and renew the life of the earth.’

Here at St. Mary’s, one way that we will observe this season is by changing up our liturgy as a way to invite our focus towards God’s presence in creation. With our Eucharist Services, we will be using a combined liturgy taken from two sources. The first is the liturgy of the Islands and Inlets written for our diocese to give us local context of place and space. The second source is ‘Worship in the New Agape’ from the Anglican Church of Canada, a worship resource written in conjunction with the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples whose language invites us to experience worship while holding Creation as a central focus.

Along with these changes in liturgy, we will be going back to our old beloved Gloria, and switching out the sung piece “Lord Listen to your Children” before the prayers with something that is likely new to many of us. This new piece is simple, singable and invites us to be grounded in the Holy as we come to God in prayer. To take a listen to this new song before Sunday, click HERE (It isn’t a perfect recording of the lyrics, but will give you a sense of the song). I will also be focusing more on creation within the sermons, and encourage each of you to look for ways to seek God in the world around you! There are many ways to find God in creation, and in the coming weeks I pray that we will discover some of those ways together.

Peace,

Kirsten +

 

  September Celebrations                             

Birthdays

Sept.10th          Pat N

Set.16th           Barbara A

Sept.16th         Marianna W

Sept.17th         Kat K

Sept 23rd         Greg McD

Sept.30th         Clive O

 

         

Blessing of the Animals Service

Join us on Saturday October 5th at 1pm for our annual Blessing of the Animals here at St. Mary’s! This is a wonderful opportunity to invite all the friends, neighbours, and pet lovers in your life to come and bring their animals for a special blessing from the priest. This will be an outside event and will happen rain or shine so come prepared for the weather and we will gather to give thanks for our fury, scaly, hairy, feathery companions together. Hope to see you and your beloved animals there!

 

 

Bible Study Returns  

Delve into the Sunday scriptures with Rev. Kirsten. 

Bible study returns next week:  Wednesday, September 4th at 10:30am. 

 

Festival of Flowers

 

Fall Education Opportunities with Oceanside Anglicans

 Home Communion at St. Marks:  September 14th 1:00-3:00pm

~ Come and be part of the Oceanside home visiting team!

 

Prayers of the People at St. Mary’s:  September 18th 1:30-3:30pm

~ Learn tips and best practices for writing and delivering the Prayers on Sunday

 

Intersections: A Dialogue Series at St. Edmunds: October 3rd  – November 14th

~ A course on racism in BC – more information to come

 

Let’s Sing… Our Favourite Funeral Hymns at St. Marks:  October 21st 1:00-3:00pm

~ Help loved ones by pre-planning the details of your funeral