Good day,

Friday, Nov.17, 5:30 – 7pm Supper and Learning at Zion Lutheran Church (corner of Upton and Wellington, SSM). “Deepening Spirituality through Prayer”. Supper provided. Please join me for some insight into the ancient monastic prayer hours followed by Evening Prayer (See the poster below). Alison Weir also to provide an update on Lay Leadership topics around the diocese. Please let me know if you are attending so that I have enough food.

Saturday, Nov.18 is the Guild of St. Joseph Men’s Breakfast, 8:30am at the Trinity Centre in Sault Ste Marie (across the parking lot from Holy Trinity)

Sunday, Nov.19 is the Christmas bake sale at the Legion in Richards Landing. Just $15 for 30 pieces of Christmas deliciousness! If you can’t make it out there but want the goodies, we can arrange something. 

A Liturgical Note For You:

Since the season of Advent is very quickly approaching, here are a couple of reminders to help you as you plan and participate in worship…

Beginning Advent – The Advent Wreath: The Advent wreath is not meant to be the object of a little mini rite within our Sunday liturgical rite. The appropriate number of candles is to be lit before the formal liturgy begins with no prayers, readings, or songs/hymns attached.  Why is this?  The Advent wreath was introduced to the Church as a means of encouraging the prayers and devotions of families in their homes, particularly at the evening meal together, throughout this penitential season of hopeful expectation.  In the church building, the wreath is a visual reminder of the season and something on which to focus as we pray.  All that we need to hear and know about each Sunday of Advent is already contained within our Sunday liturgy…in the prayers for the day, in the Prayers of the People, and in the songs/hymns we hear.  Want to read this for yourself? Check out p.152 of the 2023 McCausland’s or – even better – for a more detailed explanation, go to p.A34 here: https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/OccasionalCelebrations.pdf

More on the wreath next time. But now, blue or purple? What colour do we use during Advent and why?

Purple: Purple is the color of royalty, which was most commonly used in the Byzantine religious icons. It is intended to show the glory of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God.  It is not surprising, then, that in our seasons of waiting for our King – and for our King to “open the kingdom of heaven to all believers” (Te Deum), the traditional colour we see is purple.  It has come to represent, therefore, waiting and preparation – especially with penitential self-reflection during these times.

Dark-blue and blue: In icon writing, these colours indicate the infiniteness of the sky and, therefore indicate another everlasting world. Blue is also used to indicate humanity. This is, therefore, an appropriate choice to mark our time of waiting for the King who is both fully human and fully divine. Dark blue was considered the color of the Mother of God who combines in her self both the terrestrial and celestial. The backgrounds of mural paintings in many Byzantine churches dedicated to the Mother of God are filled with a celestial dark blue. 

Which one to use: To be honest, many churches have increasingly chosen to use blue during Advent simply to be different from Lent when we emphasize the penitential aspect of that season’s time of waiting. In terms of historical use, the medieval church in England mostly used violet/blue during Advent and unbleached linen during Lent. Both blue and violet are appropriate and accepted choices for Advent so it really depends on your local tradition. The important thing to remember is that, during Advent, we mark with joy the coming of Christ in his Incarnation and, even more, we anticipate with hope his return bringing the fullness of God’s kingdom on earth as in heaven. 

For Your Devotions:

Tuesday, November 14th is the commemoration of Samuel Seabury, the 1st Anglican Bishop in North America, died 1784.  Seabury was a medical doctor and a priest at the same time – talk about busy! He was chosen by the clergy of Connecticut in 1783 to be their bishop but, at that time, the Law forbade the Archbishop of Canterbury to consecrate a ‘foreigner.’  To get around this little glitch, Seabury traveled to Scotland to be consecrated in the disestablished Episcopal Church in Scotland. Interestingly, in contrast to the norm of marking someone’s day of death, this day marks Samuel’s consecration. This is to indicate where the importance lies as we commemorate him. To read more, check this out:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Seabury

Thursday, November 16th is the commemoration of Margaret, Queen of Scotland, Helper of the Poor, died 1093.  As queen, Margaret gave out large sums of money to help the disadvantaged people of Scotland. More importantly (and this still rings true today), Margaret made sure that institutions already set up to help the poor, actually helped the poor! For more information plus a wonderful reflection on being a ‘helper of the poor’, go here:  https://www.ssje.org/2017/11/16/helper-of-the-poor-br-david-vryhof/

Friday, November 17th is the commemoration of Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, who died in 1200.  Hugh was born into a wealthy noble family but, when his mother died (when he was 8 years old) he and his father both entered a monastery in France.  Hugh gained recognition for his piety and hard work and his fame spread to England. King Henry II – who had established a Carthusian monastery as part of his penance for murdering Thomas Beckett, recruited Hugh to be its prior. After being elected a bishop, Hugh got on the king’s bad side by not playing along with the king’s politics. Luckily, Hugh didn’t lose his head…  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_of_Lincoln

Saturday, November 18th is the commemoration of Hilda, Abbess of Whitby, died 680.  Hilda was a Northumbrian princess raised, in exile, as a Roman Catholic. Although her family regained their throne, she chose to give up her wealth and status, adhering to “Celtic Christianity” and becoming the founder and abbess of the famous monastery at Whitby. The monastery became a centre of learning under Hilda’s guidance – her education and wisdom were legendary. The Celtic Christians observed Easter on a set date rather than always on Sunday like the Roman churches.  Consistency was desired in order to quell accusations of inauthenticity arising from those outside of Christianity (and for other reasons too).  The controversy was settled at a synod held at Hilda’s monastery.  She accepted the decision to observe Easter always on the Sunday (the first day of the week when Jesus was resurrected from the dead) and she encouraged unity over the need to be right. That’s a quality we still need more of these days too! See p.350 for more info:  http://c2892002f453b41e8581-48246336d122ce2b0bccb7a98e224e96.r74.cf2.rackcdn.com/ForAlltheSaints.pdf 

In the hope of Christ,

Susan