Good day,

Below is a photo for those of you who don’t live in the Soo…winter arrived this morning. 🙂 I’m sure it’ll be short-lived (I hope…). It’s too early to have snow stay on the ground!

Below is the information for this month’s Evensong at the Cathedral (first Sunday of each month for those of you interested in making this a regular thing).

The Guild of St. Joseph men’s November breakfast is Saturday, November 18, 8:30am at the Trinity Centre on Northern Ave. in the Soo.

Wednesday, November 1st at 2pm is the deconsecration service at Holy Trinity, Sault Ste Marie. 

Wednesday, November 8 at 7pm is a service of Holy Eucharist in the Lady Chapel at Bishophurst.

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). 

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.

A Liturgical Note For You: So…as promised…a little bit more information about All Saints’ Day (and All Souls’ Day)…

First, a reminder: November 1 “is always kept as All Saints’ Day and if it is also observed on the Sunday next then this is in addition to its observance today” (McCauslands’, p.140).  To make it a little easier for you to keep November 1 as All Saints’ Day, you can join me for a Zoom Evening Prayer at 7pm.  The Zoom link is at the bottom of this post.

The Principal Feast of All Saints’ Day is not to be confused with the memorial known as All Souls’ Day: All Soul’s Day, Nov.2, is the commemoration of the faithful departed – the day when we remember and mourn the loss of our loved ones.  There is often a procession into the graveyard, attached to a church, for additional prayers and the blessing of individual graves.  The difference between All Saints’ and All Souls’ is noticeable in the use of the liturgical colour – white is used on All Saints’ to mark the thanksgiving of those who have been sanctified.  Violet or black has been traditionally used for All Souls’ to allow for the reality of the grief of loss mixed with our hope and joy of the “resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come” (BAS p.189).  

Okay, so what does being the Church together look like this coming week?: Wednesday, Nov.1 – All Saints’ Day, Thursday, Nov.2 – All Souls’ Day, and Sunday, Nov.5 (if desired) – All Saints’ Sunday celebration at the principal Sunday Eucharist.  [Notice that Sunday, Nov.5 is not Remembrance Day at the principal Sunday Eucharist.]

For Your Devotions:

Monday, October 30th is the commemoration of John Wyclyf (died 1384) and Jan Hus (died 1415), both Reformers. We’re more familiar with “Wycliffe” as the spelling of his name. John Wycliffe was disillusioned by the power and wealth of the Church. He questioned the Church’s authority and believed the ‘common people’ should have access to the Scriptures to read them for themselves in their own language. He and others translated the Bible into English and began circulating it. Wycliffe was expelled from Oxford University but, because he had the favour of some very important people, he was not burned at the stake as a heretic.  One of his followers, Jan Hus, was not so fortunate. The burning of Hus provoked a rebellion among the Czechs and, after 10 years of fighting, they prevailed. For more info…  http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/rel-christ05.htm

Tuesday, October 31st is the commemoration of the Saints of the Reformation Era.  Today we remember all those – Anglicans and Roman Catholics – who were painfully executed in the name of the Church during the Reformation Era. We remember with humility and repentance as both sides, believing their side to be “right”, did what should not have been done. The link here is a Church of England site and so the date is not the same as ours but the information is good:  https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/english-saints-and-martyrs-of-the-reformation-era/

Wednesday, November 1st is Principal Feast of All Saints’ Day. This is the day we celebrate all of the saints of the Christian Church – known and unknown – who have died and await, with God, the day of the great resurrection. This day has been celebrated in different forms and on different dates since at least the 4th century. Of course, in medieval England this day was called “All Hallows” and so its eve was “All Hallows’ Eve” from which we get Halloween. For more info:   https://www.britannica.com/topic/All-Saints-Day

Thursday, November 2nd is the memorial known as the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed.  This is very different from All Saints’ Day and is not a Principal Feast and thus does not get celebrated on the Sunday. (In fact, if Nov.2 fell on a Sunday, this memorial would be moved to a different day of the week). This is the day we pray for our dead loved ones. It was based on the idea that prayer could help dead loved ones more hastily pass through purgatory into heaven. This sparked controversy in the Church – for one thing, many scholars argue that the concept of purgatory is not supported by Scripture –  and so this day was not liturgically celebrated until the Middle Ages. Here is what the website at the other end of the link says: “Whether or not one should pray for the dead is one of the great arguments which divide Christians. Appalled by the abuse of indulgences in the Church of his day, Martin Luther rejected the concept of purgatory. Yet prayer for a loved one is, for the believer, a way of erasing any distance, even death. In prayer we stand in God’s presence in the company of someone we love, even if that person has gone before us into death.” https://www.franciscanmedia.org/commemoration-of-all-the-faithful-departed/

Friday, November 3rd is the commemoration of Richard Hooker, Priest and Teacher of the Faith who died in 1600.  Hooker was an English theologian and most definitely one of my main Anglican heroes. His writings played a massive role in shaping what we know as ‘Anglicanism.’ One of my favourite quotations of his addresses those who believe that, if Scripture doesn’t say it, it must be prohibited. Here is Hooker’s response: “It is no more disgrace for scripture to have left a number of…things free to be ordered at the discretion of the Church, than for nature to have left it unto the wit of [people] to devise [their] own attire.” Please read more about this formative figure here:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Hooker

Saturday, November 4th is the memorial of The Saints of the Old Testament.  Today we remember that our faith did not begin with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem but with Abraham and Sarah long before. The Roman Martyrology has a long list of those considered “saints” of the Old Testament which may sound odd in our ears because we never refer to them as saints…people like Moses, Elijah and King David.  You may wonder at calling some of them saints – Moses killed a man, David took another man’s wife. Living a life according to the will of God is what they all have in common. If you would like to read a bit more, see page 334 here: http://c2892002f453b41e8581-48246336d122ce2b0bccb7a98e224e96.r74.cf2.rackcdn.com/ForAlltheSaints.pdf

In the joy of Christ,

Susan

BELOW: ZOOM LINK FOR WEDNESDAY!

Topic: All Saints Evening Prayer

Time: Nov 1, 2023 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86206294517

Meeting ID: 862 0629 4517

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