Good day on this Monday after Pentecost.

There are a couple of events to tell you about:

The Parish of St. Joseph & St. George is having a Jubilee Tea! It will be Saturday, June 18th, St. George’s, Echo Bay, noon until 2pm. $10 will get you fancy sandwiches, yummy desserts, and servers wearing fascinators. What more could you want? I hope you’ll join us. Feel free to dress for the occasion.

Emmaus Anglican Church is having a bake sale: Saturday, June 18th, 10am until 2pm.  I’m sure there will be loads of great goodies. 

If there are any other upcoming events, please let me know.

A Liturgical Note For You:

We are now in the “season after Pentecost” and so the liturgical colour is green. These are the numbered Sundays from now until the Reign of Christ. The fact that they are numbered is what gives us the name for this time: Ordinary time from the Latin word ordinalis, referring to numbers in a series.

Of course, there are exceptions to using the colour green. The Pentecost Ember Days (this Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday) are red. The Holy Days acknowledging the apostles (like this Saturday) are red. And the upcoming Sunday – Trinity Sunday – is white or gold. 

Ember Days Following Pentecost: The English title for these days, “Ember,” is derived from their Latin name: Quatuor Temporum, meaning the “Four Times” or “Four Seasons.” How this came about is actually not certain – in the early church, there were only three Ember seasons. Today, these four “times” are set apart for special prayer and fasting and for the ordination of the clergy.

Trinity Sunday: This is a Principal Feast in our Church which is why the liturgical colour for today is white (or gold). Here is what Britannica had to say about this day…  Feast of the Holy Trinity, also called Trinity Sunday, feast in honour of the Trinity. It is celebrated in the Christian churches on the Sunday following Pentecost (the 50th day after Easter). It is known that the feast was celebrated on this day from as early as the 10th century. Celebration of the feast gradually spread in the churches of northern Europe, and in 1334 Pope John XXII approved it for the entire church.

It probably feels normal to us to worship one God who is three persons since we incorporate this idea into all of our worship services. This was, however, not an easy concept for some to understand and accept so there were quite a number of heated debates in the first few centuries of the Church’s existence. 

For Your Devotions:

Monday, June 6th is the commemoration of William Grant Broughton, First Anglican Bishop in Australia, died 1853. William’s extensive literary research earned him a reputation because, at the time, not much Anglican scholarly writing was being produced. This was a big factor in why William was noticed and chosen to be bishop. He actually reluctantly accepted the position on the condition that it would be short…He ended up spending the rest of his life in Australia. William took seriously the fact that he was head of the national church and set up pastoral and educational opportunities for all the people – convicts, Aboriginal peoples, and settlers alike. It’s an interesting read if you’d like to learn more:   http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/broughton-william-grant-1832

 Thursday June 9th is the memorial of Columba, Abbot of Iona, Missionary, died in 597.  He was born in about 521 AD and is traditionally credited with converting those Scottish heathens (my mum was born in Scotland) to Christianity. Columba was an Irish priest who, with 12 disciples, established a church and monastery on the Island of Iona as their home base for converting the Scottish. In Celtic Christianity, abbots like Columba had even more authority than bishops.  For more info:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Columba

Saturday, June 11th is the Holy Day of Saint Barnabas the Apostle. He was born and raised as a Jew named Joseph but, shortly after Christ’s crucifixion, sold his property, gave all of the proceeds to the newly formed “Christian” community and spread the Good News with Paul. It was Barnabas who stood up for Paul when Paul first met the disciples in Jerusalem (Barnabas vouched for Paul’s conversion). After Barnabas and Paul went their separate ways, we hear little about Barnabas. Most of what we know is conjecture and legend but it is interesting nonetheless. For more info… https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Barnabas

That’s it, I think.  

Praying you have a joy-filled day,

Susan