Good day,

Here is what’s happening:

Bible Study Tonight on Zoom: We’ll be looking at the “Valley of the Dry Bones” story found in Ezekiel 37. It’s an awesome story – I hope you’ll join us. Please email me for the link if you have not been receiving it so far. (susan.montague2@gmail.com)

Last Lenten Lunch of 2023: This Wednesday, March 29, 12pm – 1pm at Emmaus. See you there. 

Online Course on Paul: This Wednesday, March 29, I believe, is our final class together on Zoom. It’s been great and, if you’d like to join in this last opportunity, let me know and I’ll pass along the link.

Spring-tacular Bake Sale this Saturday, April 1 at St. George, Echo Bay. 10am – 1pm. Choose your dozen small delectables for just $5! Other baked goods will be on sale at various prices. Join us for a cup of coffee or tea. 🙂  

Butter-crunch toffee for sale in time for Easter!  6 varieties per box for $10. Please phone the Christ Church rectory number for more info and to order. 

Worship Service Information: This will be posted on our deanery website – hopefully on Wednesday evening – for you to check out services from The Sunday of the Passion through Holy Week and The Sunday of the Resurrection.

Walk of the Cross in Thessalon: April 7, 3pm beginning at the Thessalon Bible Chapel, heading to the United Church, Anglican Church, and finishing at the Roman Catholic Church.

Also…

A Liturgical Note for You – Holy Week: There are never any calendar observances of other prominent Christian persons or days during Holy Week since the sole focus is on Jesus’ journey to the cross and his resurrection. The reading of the Passion on “The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday” provides the narrative purpose for the Holy Week that follows. It is during this week that we gain the cross as our particularly poignant Christian symbol and have instituted for us, by Jesus, our central act of Christian unity with each other and with God – the Eucharist that we share in lives of humble service. Jesus showed us how to be the servants of all when he, the Master, washed the feet of his disciples. 

For a very brief rundown of the origins of Holy Week along with the importance of Easter, check out p.296 of the BAS: The Book of Alternative Services of the Anglican Church of Canada (rackcdn.com)

Next Monday, I will provide more information for certain worship services that happen during Holy Week but, for advance planners, here is one very huge “no-no” that absolutely should not happen…On Maundy Thursday it is traditional to have a service of Holy Communion and Foot Washing. Please, please, please do not wash anyone’s hands! If there is no one who will agree to having their feet washed, then do not have the foot washing at all. The washing of hands is a symbolic washing away of responsibility. The only person in the Gospel story who washes his hands is Pontius Pilate.  

For Your Devotions:

Monday, March 27th is the commemoration of Charles Henry Brent, Bishop of the Philippines and of Western New York, died 1929.  Charles was an early leader of the ecumenical movement seeking to reconcile the divided Church (and he was Canadian). Here’s a great quotation of his: “The unity of Christendom is not a luxury, but a necessity. The world will go limping until Christ’s prayer that all may be one is answered. We must have unity, not at all costs, but at all risks. A unified Church is the only offering we dare present to the coming Christ, for in it alone will He find room to dwell.” His leadership helped bring about the first Faith and Order Conference in 1925 which eventually led to the establishment of the World Council of Churches. For 17 years, as the Bishop of the Philippines, Charles brought the gospel to the people and worked tirelessly to end opium trafficking.  For more info: http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Charles_Brent.htm

Wednesday, March 29th is the commemoration of John Keble, Priest, died 1866.  Keble was dissatisfied that the church had become, in his opinion, a mere institution of society rather than the prophetic voice of God. He was a professor of poetry at Oxford but became known for his leadership of the “Oxford Movement” which looked back to the beginnings of the Christian Church for guidance in matters of faith and order especially emphasizing the Anglican Church’s continuance of traditions concerning the episcopate, priests, and the sacraments. This marked a revival in Anglicanism of the beauty of the ceremony and symbol of the Anglican liturgy. To read more:  http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/123.html

Friday, March 31^st is the commemoration of John Donne, Priest and Poet, died 1631. Donne is a famous English poet (perhaps, “No man is an island” sounds familiar?) but we acknowledge him as much more.  He was born into a Roman Catholic family and had quite the wayward phase of wild living and religious doubting before converting to Anglicanism. Though he originally entered the priesthood simply as a means to earn a steady income, Donne became Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral and eventually wholeheartedly embraced “the crucified Christ who had embraced him.” He turned his brilliant mind and passionate poetry to the service of Christ and became a powerful preacher attracting great numbers to the cathedral. To read more see p.130:  https://c2892002f453b41e8581-48246336d122ce2b0bccb7a98e224e96.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/ForAlltheSaints.pdf

Saturday, April 1st is the commemoration of Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest, died 1872.  Frederick began life as the son of a Unitarian clergyman, studied law but refused to accept the degree when it meant declaring himself to be an Anglican. He did, obviously, later convert to Anglicanism and was ordained. He gained some professorships (which he later lost because he was considered by some to be unorthodox in his writings – saying he didn’t believe in “the eternity of hell” for example – which, by the way, should not have earned him the label of unorthodox).  Why do we celebrate him? Lots of reasons, actually.  Frederick believed strongly in the unity of the body of Christ – transcending the factions and partialities of humankind. He believed the liturgy to be beautiful and powerful (the meeting place of time and eternity, and the fountain of energies for the Church’s mission) but not something to be admired as an object…it is to be embraced in our lives and lived.  He is perhaps most well known for being one of the founders of the Christian Socialist movement and for his creation of the Working Men’s College. To read more:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-Denison-Maurice

In the hope of Christ,

Susan