Happy Thanksgiving!

First, an announcement from Christ Church: This Sunday, October 20, 9:30am, is the final Sunday of The Rev. Raymond Knight and his wife, Judy. There will be fellowship and good-byes from 11am – 1pm. All are welcome. 

Call for Christmas Mugs: Yes, it’s early but the Algoma Angels are already working on gifts for children/families in the Lunches for Learning Program at St. Vincent Place. So…if you have spare Christmas mugs in good condition and would like to unload them, you can bring them to me at 112-31 Old Garden River Road. 

Preaching Teaching, Anyone? FREE webinar offered by the Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission: featuring Father Michael Joncus, Thursday, Nov.7 at 4pm. Registration and more detail here: https://liturgyandmission.org/2024/10/09/november-webinar/

Also, Bishop Michael is providing a preaching Zoom for Lay Readers and clergy. You need to contact Carla at the Synod Office to join in the fun.

Advent Bible Studies on Zoom: Wednesdays at 7pm beginning on November 20. The link will go out closer to the date.

Advent Retreat: Saturday, November 23, 9am – noon in the Trinity Centre. I’ll send out more detail closer to the time.

All Saints’ Day Holy Eucharist: If your congregation is not having a celebration on the actual day, please join us at the Trinity Centre, Friday, November 1 at 7pm.  

Since it’s a holiday, I’m foregoing the liturgical teaching. Plus, I’m actually sitting in the Trinity Centre at the moment, prepping for the Thanksgiving dinner at 5pm. The turkeys are in the oven and everything else is ready to be cooked…

For Your Devotions:

Tuesday, October 15th is the commemoration of Teresa of Avila, a Spiritual Teacher and Reformer who died in 1582. At the tender age of seven, Teresa convinced her brother to join her in martyrdom but their uncle got wind of the idea and caught up to them as they were headed into the nearby city to ask the Moors to decapitate them!  Teresa spent a few years in a Carmelite Convent in 1535 but it wasn’t until 1555, when she experienced a spiritual awakening, that she realized she was called to reform this order which had become quite lax. She founded convents which strictly adhered to the vow of poverty and which were 100% dependent on public donations despite the fact that she faced a lot of hostility because of this. Teresa worked tirelessly for reform regardless of this backlash and her own frail health. By the way, she is also the patron saint of headache sufferers. Hmmm. To read more:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Teresa-of-Avila

Tuesday, October 15th is the commemoration of John of the Cross, mystic and spiritual teacher who died in 1591. Born in Spain, John experienced self-sacrificing love in the example of his father who had been disowned by his wealthy family after marrying a poor weaver.  John became a Carmelite and, at the request of St. Teresa of Avila, began helping her with reform of the order. Feeling threatened by reforms (aimed at returning the order to a life of prayer), monks of the order kidnapped John, hid him in a small 6 x 10 foot cell and beat him three times weekly. It was in this cell that John wrote his spiritual poetry that has nourished Christians ever since. A life of poverty, hardship, and service to those with incurable disease and mental illness could have produced a bitter man but, instead, John experienced the joy of communion in God’s love. To read more of his escape from his cell, etc., check this out: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/john_cross

Thursday, October 17th is the memorial of Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop, martyred around 115 AD. Actually, most experts place his death at least five years before that. Ignatius was born about 35 AD – just a few years after the crucifixion of Jesus and so he lived at the same time that many of the apostles were still alive! Being a church history geek, I find that really exciting. On the way to his death, Ignatius continued to write to fellow believers and it is in these letters that we find extremely early records of our three-fold church structure (i.e. bishops, presbyters, and deacons) already in place. In these letters we also find his arguments against the Docetists who claimed that Jesus’ human form was only an illusion and therefore his sufferings weren’t actually real. Some people say calling Ignatius a martyr is not accurate because he actually wanted to die in order to be with God and to become a word of the Lord instead of just another human voice. To read more:  https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/martyrs/ignatius-of-antioch.html

 Friday, October 18th is the Holy Day of St. Luke the Evangelist. The link I’ve provided has a great video that provides many fascinating facts about this man who is believed to be the Luke – the beloved physician – mentioned in Paul’s writings and who was the only one who remained with Paul to the end. Because of our modern concept of ‘physicians’ we think that Luke must have been independent and well-off but, it was actually common at that time to train household slaves in medicine so that the family would have access to their own private doctor. For more info:   https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=76

 Saturday, October 19th is the memorial of Jean de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues, and their Companions who were missionaries and martyrs in New France in 1642-49.  The link provides an astounding story of eight Jesuit priests who journeyed to Quebec to proclaim the gospel among the Hurons but were captured by other nations. Father Jogues did manage to escape his captors after 13 months of torture. He received a hero’s welcome home in France where Pope Urban VIII gave him permission to celebrate the Eucharist despite his mutilated hands (a number of his fingers had been cut off, chewed off, and burnt off). You would think he would have stayed in France but, no, he could not resist the call to mission and went back. By the way, Jogues and others actually visited the Sault area in 1641! To read about the people named as the first Canadian martyrs, go here:   https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-isaac-jogues-jean-de-br-eacute-beuf-and-companions/

In the joy of Christ,

Susan