Good day,

Happening Soon! Robbie Burns Supper! Thursday, January 25, 6pm at St. George in Echo Bay. Just $20 for a hearty meal, dessert, and entertainment! Let me know if you’d like a ticket…susan.montague2@gmail.com

Mark Your Calendars: Lenten Bible Study via Zoom, 7pm Mondays through Lent (beginning the Monday before which is February 12; leaving out Monday, Feb.19 which is the Family Day holiday).

Lenten Lunches: noon – 1pm Wednesdays through Lent; hosted at Emmaus.

A Liturgical Note For You: This is The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity beginning on Thursday, January 18 and running until Thursday, January 25. This begins with the Confession of Peter and goes until the Conversion of Paul. Why have the week of prayer for Christian unity run from Peter’s Holy Day to Paul’s Holy Day? Perhaps it is because these two apostles are associated with welcoming the gentiles into the Christian faith. Both realized that, although different, other people were embraced by God and invited into God’s kingdom. God’s purpose is that all creation will be reconciled to God and to each other. Although we always strive with God toward the fulfillment of this purpose, we spend a week each year particularly focused on this effort in order to draw attention to it and to renew the vigour of our striving.  Jesus prays, in the Gospel According to John, that we may be one as he and the Father are one. Let us pray the same. Oh yes…the theme this year is “You shall love the Lord your God…and your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27). Loving your neighbour doesn’t just mean being nice to the people who share a property line. It is actually living a life that creates and sustains equality and eliminates poverty and oppression. 

Below you will find a link to various resources, including an Order of Worship. I am sharing these in case you would like to lead a service or bible study or encourage specific prayers in your various congregations. While it would not be appropriate to usurp the Sunday liturgy with a service for the Week of Prayer, it would be very appropriate to draw particular attention to Christian unity during the Intercessions. Here is the link:  https://www.weekofprayer.ca/2024-wpcu-resources

For Your Devotions:

Monday, January 15th is the commemoration of Richard Meux Benson, the founder of the Society of St. John the Evangelist. He died in 1915. Even as a young child, Richard leaned toward austerity. His governess found him sleeping on the floor and, when she put him into bed, he complained that he wouldn’t be able to learn hardness if he slept in a comfy bed. Richard was a prayerful and devout priest. He wanted to go to India with a vision of “a body of men gathered together, whose life of what the world would call self-denial and poverty should be cheered with a greater joy than the world can ever give, by the sympathy of kindred hearts and the spiritual strength of abundant means of grace.” His bishop, however, did not want to lose such a wonderful priest and told Richard to stay…the rest is history as they say. To read more:  http://anglicanhistory.org/bios/rmbenson.html

Wednesday, January 17th is the memorial of Antony, Abbot in Egypt, who died in 356.  Antony chose to give away all of his money, property, and possessions and live the life of a hermit in the Egyptian desert. News of such a devout Christian spread and people began to travel to see him to get his spiritual guidance. So much for being a hermit.  Many who traveled to see him decided to stay and Antony became the “Abbot” of a group of men dedicated to poverty and hard work. They supported themselves with their labour and raised money for the sole purpose of giving it to those in need. If you’d like to know more…  http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/77.html  

Thursday, January 18th is the Holy Day of The Confession of St. Peter the Apostle.  Though Peter is portrayed in the Gospels as being oftentimes rash and hasty as well as a little “slow on the uptake,” Peter was recognized by the early church as the leader of the apostles and his love for Jesus clearly runs deep. At the Britannica website it says, “It was Peter who possessed remarkable insight and displayed his depth of faith in the confession of Christ as the Son of God (Matthew 16:15–18; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20), and it was Peter who rebuked, and in turn was rebuked by, Jesus when the Master prophesied that he would suffer and die (Mark 8:32, 33).” To read more: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Peter-the-Apostle  

In the hope of Christ,

Susan