Good day!  It’s lovely outside right now.

First…housekeeping…The Anglican Church calendar (as I mentioned last week) has the liturgical colour wrong for this coming Sunday.  Sunday, June 9th, the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, is green. Also, it is not Father’s Day on the 9th. And, their small May calendar insert at the top of the June calendar page is not correct on the dates shown. Somebody was asleep at the wheel…

Now, for some big news: Holy Trinity, Sault Ste Marie, has finally got the word: “move out of your building – construction is starting”.  Our last worship service in the current building will be Sunday, June 16.  We will then be moving into the worship space in the Trinity Centre until “Trinity Tower” is ready for us.  

At 4pm this Thursday, June 6, there is a free recital at the cathedral by pianist William Aide.  Hope to see you there…

Saturday, June 8, 8:30am at the Trinity Centre (across the parking lot from Holy Trinity on Northern Ave.): The Guild of St. Joseph breakfast. A hearty breakfast and good conversation. Elo Okinedo will be the guest speaker. See you there…

Wed., June 12, beginning at 1:30: if you can help package dinners at St. Vincent Place, that’d be awesome. Also, if you’d like to help out the Algoma Angels (the ecumenical group overseeing this ministry) by making a food or cash donation, please let me know (susan.montague2@gmail.com). 

Thursday, June 13, 7pm at St. Luke’s Cathedral: the installation of our new dean of the diocese – The Very Rev. Dr. Jay Koyle. Here’s another “hope to see you there…” 

Tuesday, June 25, 6-8pm at the cathedral: “The Bible: Hearing It Again for the First Time”. Come on out and enjoy a light supper and a wealth of fascinating information about our sacred text. It’s going to be great. Please let me know if you plan to be there so that I can have plenty of food. 

Say “Yes!” to Kids fundraising campaign – to help send kids to our diocesan summer camps – is underway. Dean Jay is the captain of Algoma’s team. If you can help, you can donate at this link until July 1st: Jay Koyle Says “Yes!” to Kids Camping

A Liturgical Note For You:  We are now in “Ordinary Time”.  This is not “usual” or “normal” time. The word “ordinary” comes from the Latin ordinalis which means ordered or numbered. Sundays that are not a part of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter are simply numbered after the last day of the season that has just ended. So, we are now numbering our Sundays after Pentecost since Pentecost was the final day of the Easter season. 

The liturgical colour of these Sundays is green. Why green? Well…

Why do we use different colours on the altar (and other hangings) throughout our Christian year?  The colours represent various concepts and, over the ages, different church communities have given various meanings to those colours so you might get different answers depending on who you ask.  However, we can turn to the icons of the Orthodox church to discover what is considered to be pretty close to the “original” significance of these colours – meanings with which the Anglican Church is closely aligned.  Icons have been around for very nearly as long as Christianity itself. Here is the information for green:

 Green is the color of natural, living things. It is the color of grass and leaves, youth, flowering, hope, and eternal renovation. Ancient iconographers often painted the earth green to denote where life began – such as in scenes of the Annunciation and the Nativity.  

And so, as we travel with the disciples, learning how to live a life in God’s kingdom as we watch and listen to Jesus, our faith will blossom and grow in vibrancy like the natural earth around us. 

For Your Devotions: 

Monday, June 3rd is the memorial of Janani Luwum, Archbishop of Uganda, died 1977 and The Martyrs of Uganda, 1886. One of the most influential clergy in Africa, Archbishop Janani is remembered each year in Uganda (on Feb.16) with a public holiday during which schools, offices, and businesses are closed. He was an outspoken opponent of President Idi Amin and delivered a note protesting unexplained disappearances and deaths. This led to his arrest along with two cabinet ministers. The three men were placed on display at a presidential rally and then, allegedly, died in a car crash on their way back to prison. However, his family reports that, when they retrieved his body, he had been shot in the mouth and chest. Archbishop Janani was declared a martyr by Canterbury Cathedral/Church of England. To read more about his life…  https://publicholidays.ug/archbishop-janani-luwum-day/

The Martyrs of Uganda: Over the span of about 15 months, Mwanga (ruler of Buganda – now Uganda) ordered the brutal murders of 45 Anglicans and Roman Catholics. Anglican and Roman Catholic missionaries and converts were bludgeoned and beheaded. A group of young pages working in the royal household were burned alive when Mwanga discovered they had been taught Christian doctrines.  Soldiers, officials, judges… no one was safe. Christian persecution seems hard to fathom from where we comfortably sit but it’s actually on the rise around the world. North Korea tops the list of dangerous countries for Christians and “ethnic nationalism” is becoming a major driving force of persecution.   If you’d like to read more:   https://www.britannica.com/event/Martyrs-of-Uganda

Tuesday, June 4th is the commemoration of Pope John XXIII, Bishop of Rome, Reformer, died 1963.  Why do Anglicans commemorate a Roman Catholic Bishop?…In his openness to change, he convoked the Second Vatican Council which reformed the Roman Catholic Church and sent ripples of influence through all mainstream denominations. His life is fascinating… born poor, the oldest son of 13, sent off at age 11 to become a priest…He never used his position to benefit his family and bequeathed each living member of his family just $20 at his death – the sum total of his personal fortune. To read more about this: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-XXIII

Wednesday, June 5th is the memorial of missionary and martyr, Boniface of Mainz, died 754. He was born, named Wynfrid, around 675 AD, into a noble English family but chose to become a Benedictine monk and then priest. He turned down the position of abbot in order to instead risk his life as the “apostle of Germany”. He was murdered by pagans as he read the Scriptures to Christian novices on Pentecost Sunday in 754 AD. More info:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Boniface

Thursday, June 6th is the commemoration of William Grant Broughton, First Anglican Bishop in Australia, died 1853. William’s extensive literary research earned him a reputation because, at the time, not much Anglican scholarly writing was being produced. This was a big factor in why William was noticed and chosen to be bishop. He actually reluctantly accepted the position on the condition that it would be short…He ended up spending the rest of his life in Australia. William took seriously the fact that he was head of the national church and set up pastoral and educational opportunities for all the people – convicts, Aboriginal peoples, and settlers alike. It’s an interesting read if you’d like to learn more:   http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/broughton-william-grant-1832

In the joy of Christ,

Susan