Good day,

Here is what is coming up during Lent to assist in your journey:

The Apostle Paul: online or in-person course at the Cathedral. Every Wednesday, 7pm, through March.  The instructor will be The Rev. Dr. Matthew Anderson, a Pauline scholar.  Almost everything we thought we knew about Paul has now been proven wrong. I can’t wait to learn more. Simply send an email to The Rev. Katherine Walker saying you’d like to register: kwalkerstlukes@gmail.com

Book Study with Archbishop Anne: The book is Failure: What Jesus Said About Sin, Mistakes, and Messing Stuff Up by Bishop Emma Ineson. Available through amazon.ca (Kindle version, too). There will be one introductory evening session during Lent (March 9th 7pm to 9pm) and one evening session during Eastertide (Wednesday April 12th 7pm to 9pm). This will allow participants the opportunity to read the book during Lent and participate fully in the discussion during Eastertide.  Everyone is welcome. Please register by emailing Liz Hamel at liz.hamel@dioceseofalgoma.com so that she can send you the Zoom link for both online sessions.

Bible Study (Zoom): Each Monday evening, 7pm, through Lent. Led by The Ven. Dr. Jay Koyle. Please send an email to me: susan.montague2@gmail.com to let me know you’d like the Zoom link.

Lenten Lunches: 12pm – 1pm each Wednesday in Lent (i.e. each Wednesday in March). They will be held at Emmaus on Wellington Street.

Ash Wednesday Mini Retreat: Refresh your soul and strengthen your relationship with God through Lent. We will explore what Lent is and why it is important to our faith. We will engage in some self-reflection to determine a focus for our lives through the weeks of Lent. Finally, we will immerse ourselves in the ancient monastic prayer style called lectio divina which has been described as “feasting on the word of God.I will guide you through an exploration and in-depth self-examination using one small but important piece of scripture: You are dust and to dust you will return. Gathering time: 6pm-6:15pm; retreat time: 6:15pm – 7:15pm; St. George’s, Echo Bay (Wednesday, February 22). 

Christ Church is having another delicious dinner! Friday, February 17th at 5:30 PM.  As with their other dinners, a reservation is required.  Cost of a reservation/ticket is $25.00 and can be purchased from Bonnie Lyons at  lyons.bonnie@gmail.com or phone 705-779-2858. 

The menu for the dinner includes:

Appetizer–Crackers with cream cheese & red pepper jelly (add a shrimp optional)

Salad–Macaroni

Entree—Chicken Cordon Bleu, Roasted Potatoes, Broccoli & Cauliflower with cheese sauce

Homemade rolls

Dessert—No bake Cherry Cheesecake

It’s getting close to Pancake Supper time…St. George’s has an all-you-can-eat buffet of salads, pancakes, sausages, baked beans, dessert, coffee, tea… $12 (adult); $6 (10 and under); toddlers free.  Tuesday, Feb.21, 4pm – 6:30pm.  

A Liturgical Note For You:

Next Sunday, February 19 is Transfiguration Sunday: Last Sunday after the Epiphany. Although the long name sounds like this must be a very important day (and it is – all Sundays are important), the colour of this Sunday remains green – it is a part of the Ordinary Time (numbered time) we are currently marking until Lent begins. 

Why do we have a Transfiguration Sunday when we already have a day for the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord on August 6? The two days serve different purposes. Transfiguration Sunday is a part of our journey through the drama of our Salvation Story that unfolds in the liturgy across the Sundays of our Christian calendar. Our liturgy is always forward looking. For example, we celebrate Christ as our king – risen and ascended and reigning – on the Sunday before Advent begins, before Christ’s birth is celebrated. This aims our gaze forward not only to his birth but also to his reign in glory at the end of time. Likewise, Transfiguration Sunday reminds us of Christ’s coming glory – and of our glory through him – as Christ’s baptismal journey culminates in his death, resurrection, and ascension.  In Christ’s transfiguration, we are provided with a glimpse of what is in store for us and this hope of our salvation is the foundation for all that we do in preparation for the coming glory of Easter. Our penitence, disciplines, and devotions throughout Lent are all meant to bring us closer to our intended perfection that we see in Christ’s transfiguration. 

Since the focus of the two days (Transfiguration Sunday and The Transfiguration of the Lord) differs, they share the story of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mount but they do not share scripture readings (other than part of 1 Peter). On August 6, we concentrate on Jesus’ transfiguration – what this means in terms of the nature of Christ (he is God: Jesus is not only the messenger of our salvation but also the saving message itself).

A Note About “Freedom Sunday”: As with any other thematic Sunday that has been added to our calendar, the theme is not to take precedence over the Sunday of our liturgical calendar that unfolds the story of our salvation. So, on Transfiguration Sunday, the fact that this Sunday has also been designated as “Freedom Sunday” can be acknowledged in The Prayers of the People, mentioned perhaps in the sermon in connection to the hope of our salvation prefigured in the transfiguration, and celebrated with a hymn.  

For Your Devotions:

Tuesday, February 14th is the memorial of Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavs, died in 869 and 885 respectively. Cyril and Methodius were brothers chosen to be missionaries to the Slavic people. They got into hot water for using Slavonic in the liturgy. It was a “no-no” to use anything other than the Latin liturgy in the Roman Church at that time. Luckily, Pope Adrian II sided with them and they were able to continue their evangelizing. Believe it or not, neither were martyred but, their disciples were forced into exile when Pope Stephen V banned the use of anything but Latin.  To learn more:   https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saints-Cyril-and-Methodius

 Wednesday, February 15th is the memorial of Thomas Bray, Priest and Missionary, Founder of SPG and SPCK, died in 1730. Thomas was a British presbyter who founded libraries in the colonies – originally intended just for clergy. Well, the libraries expanded and, in order to support them, Thomas organized The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK, 1698/9). Just a couple years later, he also helped establish the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG, 1701). Thomas was an ardent supporter of the rights of enslaved Africans, and of Indigenous peoples deprived of their land. Back in England, he worked for the reform of prison conditions, and for the establishment of preaching missions to prisoners. To read more: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/102.html

P.S. Thomas wasn’t martyred either

Yours in Christ,

Susan