Happy Sixth Day of Christmas!! 

Beginning this Thursday! Prayer Study each Thursday in January, 4-5pm at the Trinity Centre.  If you keep a prayer journal, please bring it with you.

Lenten Retreat: Saturday, March 1st, 9:30am – noon at the Trinity Centre.  We’ll have a brief teaching about Lent and spend lots of time in prayer, scripture reflection as a group, and personal reflection.  

Lenten Zoom Bible Studies: Each Monday through Lent, 7pm – 8pm, we’ll spend time grappling with the readings for the coming Sunday.  

A Liturgical Note For You:

As I mentioned last week, there are just two octaves in our church calendar – one for Christmas and one for Easter. This is our way of saying these calendar observances are extremely important in our lives and we feast for eight full days. (Why “eight”?…that’s another teaching but, I’ll just say that for Christians, eight is the symbol of the complete wholeness and healing found in God’s kingdom which began on the eighth day of the week – the day of Jesus’ resurrection).  

So, we are currently in the octave of Christmas. It ends on the Holy Day of The Naming of Jesus. Below you’ll find more interesting information about this day. Remember, though, the Christmas season itself carries on until The Baptism of the Lord. 

Wednesday, January 1st is the Holy Day of The Naming of Jesus. This Holy Day comes eight days after Jesus’ birth (when he would have been circumcised) and, if it falls on a Sunday, it takes precedence over the usual Sunday liturgy since this is a day that has a pre-eminent role in the Paschal Mystery. It is not, however, moved to a Sunday. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua (to deliver/to rescue). Names carry meaning (Susan, for example, is the Hebrew word for ‘lily’). Names are also our identity and carry the power associated with that identity.  Many times over, we are told that the apostles teach, preach, heal, etc., in the name of Jesus – in other words, because of the name of Jesus.  As the popular song says, “There is power in the name of Jesus.”  As our Deliverer, we have many (about 200!) names/titles for Jesus. If you’d like to check some of them out, go here:  https://www.gotquestions.org/names-Jesus-Christ.html 

For Your Devotions:

Tuesday, December 31st is the commemoration of John West, missionary in Red River; died 1845. John West was a chaplain for the Hudson Bay Company and was the first Anglican priest in Western Canada. He founded a school as well as a small church that eventually became the Cathedral of St. John in Winnipeg. In addition to his work for the Church, John West is known for the Indigenous artifacts that he was given and collected during his time in Red River. After being passed down through his family, these precious artifacts are now in the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature. Of particular note is that one of West’s converts – Henry Budd – became the first Indigenous Canadian to be ordained as an Anglican priest. For more information:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_West_(missionary)

Thursday, January 2nd is the memorial of Basil the Great (379 AD) and Gregory of Nazianzus (389 AD), Bishops and two of the famous Cappadocian Fathers. Basil and Gregory were best friends in the 4th century and were extremely important figures in defending the orthodox faith against various heresies, especially Arianism (the belief that Jesus was semi-divine, a lesser being created by God). Along with Athanasius, these men were also crucial in establishing the place of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity – that the Holy Spirit was, in fact, God.  Without the efforts of these men, it is quite possible that we would not hold our Trinitarian beliefs today. For more info: https://www.dominicanajournal.org/basil-gregory-and-the-holy-spirit/

In the joy of Christ,

Susan