Good day,

Lots happening around the deanery with fall upon us and Advent and Christmas around the corner!

At Emmaus: Indoor Garage on Saturday, Oct.28 from 9am until noon; “Lazy Perogies Casserole Dinner” (Take Out) on Friday November 3, 4:30 until 6pm; Lunch & Bake Sale on Saturday, November 18th, 11:30am to 1:30pm, $15; plus they have Christmas baking for sale. You can get more information on posts on this website or on the deanery Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/algomadeanery/

At St. Luke’s Cathedral: This Sunday, Oct.29, at 3pm you can hear from Celia Ross who walked 1250km’s to Rome! 

Also at St. Luke’s is the Christmas Walk on December 20th entitled “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”.  Again, you can check out this link for more info: https://www.facebook.com/algomadeanery/ or the post on this website.

In the Parish of St. Joseph & St. George:

Free Monthly Breakfast and Speaker: Monday, November 6, 9:30am at St. George in Echo Bay (159 Church St.). This month’s speaker is from the Climate Hub of Sault Ste Marie. 

Christmas Baking on Sale November 19: 30 pieces of deliciousness for just $15! At the Legion in Richards Landing, 11am to 2pm (Part of the Legion’s Christmas Craft Show and Lunch)

Pastie Luncheon, Sat. Dec.2nd at St. George in Echo Bay.  11am – 1:30pm, just $15/person!  ($8 for children between 5-10yrs; free for children under 5).

Celebrating All Saints’ Day:  Let’s mark this principal feast together with Evening Prayer on Zoom! 7pm on Wednesday, November 1st. Write it in your calendars and stay tuned for the Zoom link. 

2pm on Wed., Nov.1st is the deconsecration of Holy Trinity, Sault Ste Marie.

Friday, November 24th Learning & Fellowship Supper for Lay Readers and Lay Leaders. 5:30 – 7pm. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for the location. Diocesan Warden of Lay Readers, Alison Weir, will share news in regard to what’s happening with lay leadership around the diocese. I will share a brief teaching on the prayer hours, the history and purpose of Evening Prayer and then we will worship this short but beautiful office together.

If there is anything else you’d like to share or something I have forgotten, please let me know.

A Liturgical Teaching For You: All Saints’ Day – What It Is and When We Celebrate

First of all, please remember that this Sunday coming up (Oct.29) is not the Sunday we would celebrate All Saints’ Day. This Sunday is simply the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost and can also be the day you celebrate your Feast of Dedication (see last week’s note).  

If you are celebrating All Saints’ Day during Sunday worship – in addition to celebrating on the actual day of Nov.1 – then the Sunday you would mark “All Saints’ Sunday” is November 5th. Now for some details…

The Sadly Neglected/Misunderstood Principal Feast of All Saints’ Day: There are just seven “Principal Feasts” observed in our Church. One of them, quickly approaching, is unfortunately, much neglected and misunderstood.  I am speaking of All Saints’ Day.  It is right up there with Christmas and Easter and has a specific date on which we are to celebrate it…November 1st.  All Saints’ Day is named as one of the four “particularly appropriate” days of our entire church calendar on which to celebrate baptism (the other three days are Easter – especially the Vigil, Pentecost, and the Baptism of the Lord) [BAS p.146-7].  According to The Anglican Church of Canada, All Saints’ Day is to be celebrated on its actual day. If we would like to celebrate it during our Sunday Eucharist then that celebration is done “in addition to its observance on the fixed date” and “on the Sunday following 1 November” (BAS p.15).  

Why is All Saints’ Day so important? Beginning in the 4th century, the churches of the East began observing a day on which we celebrate “the feast of the martyrs of the whole world.”  These saints of the Church “are Christians who in various ways, often against great odds, showed an extraordinary love for Christ. The Holy Spirit acted in their lives so that they chose to bring aid to the needy, justice to the oppressed, hope to the sorrowful, and the divine word of forgiveness to sinners. For the sake of Christ they were servants to the people of their day; and the service they rendered in the past makes them examples to the rest of the people of God throughout history” (For All the Saints p.328). 

Why the strong connection of All Saints’ Day with baptism? Through the mystery of baptism, we participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, reconciling us with God. The martyrs of the Church are those who, like Christ, went through actual physical suffering and death for their belief. If you are familiar with The Revelation to John then you will know that the Church understands that these martyrs, robed in their white baptismal garments, are with God, awaiting with us the full arrival of God’s kingdom on earth (see, for ex. Rev.6:9-11).  We believe that, as we pray, they pray with us and are bound to us in mutual service and ministry which is “to help others become partners in the salvation of God” (FAS p.328).  

More will be said re: All Saints’ Day next time…

For Your Devotions:

Monday, October 23rd is the memorial of James of Jerusalem. There are a few by the name of James in the New Testament. This one is the brother of Jesus. Despite his earlier misgivings about Jesus’ ministry, James became hugely important to the young Christian Church and was martyred in about 62 AD for confessing his faith in Jesus as the Messiah. He was thrown off one of the parapets of the Temple and then stoned to finish the job. His martyrdom made it into historical accounts other than the Bible! http://c2892002f453b41e8581-48246336d122ce2b0bccb7a98e224e96.r74.cf2.rackcdn.com/ForAlltheSaints.pdf

Thursday, October 26th is the commemoration of Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons, who died in 899.  Alfred had wanted to become a monk but, with the successive deaths of the heirs to the throne ahead of him, he became king of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain instead. After defeating the invading Danish army, Alfred made a deal with their leader – “swear allegiance to Christ and be baptized and I’ll let you keep some land.”  Deal!  Alfred turned his efforts to repairing the cultural damage done to his people by the ravages of war and is the only English monarch to be called, “Great.”  For more info… http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/60.html

Saturday, October 28th is the Holy Day of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles.  We actually know extremely little about the apostles we celebrate today but they are both thought to have come from the Zealots (the uncompromising and aggressive Jewish nationalist group who were opposed to pagan Rome). Simon is only mentioned on the lists of the apostles but Jude (actually, “Judas, not Iscariot”) is recorded as asking Jesus (in John’s Gospel) why he will choose to reveal himself only to the disciples and not to the world after his resurrection. For more information…  https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saints-simon-and-jude/

In the joy of Christ,

Susan