Good day,
Lay Readers’/Church Leaders’ Conference quickly approaching! Please encourage leaders of all sorts within your congregations to register. It is offered via Zoom and is free of charge. You can register simply by emailing your info to Dr. Carol Knox: carolknox3@gmail.com (Please provide Carol with your name, email address, parish, deanery, and role in the Church). You can get more info here: https://www.dioceseofalgoma.com/2023/07/11/2023-lay-readers-church-leaders-conference-information-now-available/
Holy Trinity, Jocelyn Township (St. Joseph Island) is a stop on the annual Country Roads Tour, 10am – 4pm on Saturday, September 30! For sale will be a chili lunch (with bun, beverage, and dessert); Charlie See has fabulous resin products (coasters, necklaces, key chains) as well as stepping stones for sale. Also for sale: “Decadent Chocolate Dreams” …cranberry/dark chocolate, milk chocolate/banana chip, milk chocolate/Coffee Crisp, and dark chocolate pumpkin “pie”!
A Liturgical Note For You (Actually, it’s two notes again): 🙂
Last Thursday was Holy Cross Day and so, this week, we mark three Holy Cross Ember Days. The following is a note that explains:
Ember Days Following Holy Cross Day (Sept.14): The Third Week of September: 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. Ember Days, in recent memory, faded from importance and were de-emphasized liturgically and pastorally. Today, there is a resurgence acknowledging their marking of liturgical times and their pastoral significance. These four “times” are set apart for special prayer and fasting and, in particular, for the ordination of the clergy. However, these days are not just for clergy. They are an opportunity for the whole Church to engage in intentional prayer for ministries of the entire body of Christ – God’s mission embodied through our worship and work together, hastening the day when God’s kingdom is fully revealed on earth as in heaven. To that end, our prayers could also be for peace and the unity of the Church.
You’ll notice below that Wednesday (the first Ember Day) is also the commemoration of John Coleridge Patteson. If you happen to have a service on Wednesday, you would celebrate the Ember Day while acknowledging John Patteson using his commemoration Collect and possibly also including him in the Intercessions.
The liturgical colour for Ember Days is violet (except for Pentecost, then it’s red). Which brings us to the second note. Why violet? Let’s remember that we are a holy people, a royal priesthood of God. The dye for making violet cloth was very expensive and so this colour became associated with royalty – the people who could afford lots of purple clothes. With Jesus Christ, purple also became associated with humility, with the giving of the self for others. Eventually, violet also became known to us, because of these associations with the Christ, as symbolizing the waiting/preparation and penitence that we undertook most intentionally and deeply during Lent and Advent. All of this rolled together makes violet a very fitting colour for those preparing for ordination as well as for those discerning other leadership roles and ministries within the Church.
For Your Devotions:
Monday, September 18th is the memorial of the Founders, Benefactors, and Missionaries of the Anglican Church of Canada. It was on this day, back in 1893, that the first General Synod of the Church of England in the Dominion of Canada came to an end with a Service of Thanksgiving. The Church in Canada was now a united, autonomous church, member of the united family of Anglican Churches around the world. This would be an ideal day to remember those in our own parishes who were instrumental in building up the Body of Christ in our own little neck of the woods.
Tuesday, September 19th is the commemoration of Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury who died in 690. Theodore is best known for organizing the church in England and establishing a school in Canterbury. He was the surprise fill-in for the elected Archbishop who died before he could be consecrated. Theodore was actually a monk, not a priest, at the time, but he turned out to be great choice – he was energetic and enterprising, leaving behind a long list of accomplishments. Theodore lived to be 88 years old – quite the feat in those days. For more info: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/250.html
Wednesday, September 20th is the commemoration of John Coleridge Patteson, Bishop of Melanesia martyred in 1871. His ‘companions’ who were martyred with him are also remembered today. In those days, many white Europeans believed they were superior to other cultures and were doing these cultures a favour by introducing European materials, skills, and attitudes. John believed the Melanesians could benefit from European advances but this was not out of a sense of superiority. He also believed he could learn a lot from the Melanesians and worked at building an indigenous ministry. His death was a sad case of mistaken identity. To find out what I mean (and to learn more about this dedicated missionary), go here: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/55.html
Thursday, September 21st is the Holy Day of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist. Matthew, generally thought to be a tax collector, was, in the opinion of many other Jews, one of Jesus’ questionable companions – tax collectors were seen as corrupt betrayers of the Jewish people working for the Romans. It is quite ironic then that Matthew’s Gospel is considered the most Jewish of the Gospels – he skillfully and deliberately made sure he portrayed Jesus as being faithful to his Jewish heritage. Being a tax collector earned him the designation of ‘patron saint of bankers’ in the Roman Catholic Church. Although his name is traditionally attached to one of the Gospels, many scholars don’t believe it likely that he actually was the author. Attributing authorship to a well-known individual to give authority to a piece of writing was quite a common thing to do at that time. It could very well be the case that Matthew’s oral stories and teachings were written down later by his followers. Tradition says Matthew died about 90 A.D but legends don’t agree on whether he died of old age or if he was martyred. For more info: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Matthew
In the joy of Christ,
Susan
Deanery of Algoma 