Good day and Happy Easter!! We are now in our final week of the Easter season.
Learning Opportunity! online lecture by well-known Christian writer, Will Willimon, Tuesday, June 17. He’ll be speaking about Jesus being the instigator and sustainer of Christian evangelism. To register go here: https://www.luthersem.edu/news/2025/04/16/evangelism-salon-with-will-willimon/?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8IGHHxQG0jSywExQHnvEXcdefipt4HgBGs8HRE-k6SkAO-gzOWNm16U40wwurUE8iLYJIXexjMVtbtkln4PP6iRiVr5bAq-oF2Ujjt4kbaMWSc02M&_hsmi=361258931&utm_content=361258931&utm_source=hs_email
(It’s being held in the Central time zone so the 6-8:30pm time that’s given may actually be 5-7:30pm for us.)
Happening This Week:
Thursday, June 5, 4-5pm at the Trinity Centre: Prayer Study – beginning the exploration of contemplative prayer.
Friday, June 6, 6-8:30pm at the Trinity Centre: Line Dancing “Fun”Raiser! For just $5 you can learn some steps (or show off what you know), simply watch and have a chuckle, and enjoy some refreshments. See you there…
Happening Later This Month:
Guild of St. Joseph Breakfast: Saturday, June 14, 9:30am at the Trinity Centre for both men and women this month.
Spring Fling!! Mark your calendar for Saturday, June 21 at the Trinity Centre (I’ll get the times to you as soon as I know what they are). Vendor tables, barbecue, “new to you” and more…
A Liturgical Note About Pentecost: This coming Sunday is the Principal Feast of The Day of Pentecost (see below). The Paschal Alleluias that we have been saying during our liturgies throughout the Easter season can be doubled at the dismissal for the Pentecost liturgy. The Paschal Season comes to an end after the day’s final liturgy – whether it be Evening Prayer or Compline. This means that the Paschal candle is extinguished at the end of the day’s services and is not lit again except for baptisms and funerals. The Paschal candle is moved from the prominent position where it has been throughout the Paschal Season and is placed back in its customary place – usually near the font. The liturgical colour for the Day of Pentecost is red since red is associated with the image of the Holy Spirit as fire. (There are other associations with the colour red which is why we wear red on other days of the church calendar as well).
Just to reinforce…because it’s so important that we get it right: The Day of Pentecost is a part of the Easter season. The Easter season ends after the final liturgy on the Day of Pentecost. This means that Pentecost is not a season of the church…Pentecost is part of the Easter Season. There is no “season of Pentecost.” When Pentecost is over, we enter into Ordinary Time and we count Sundays as Sundays after Pentecost – not in Pentecost and not of Pentecost. Liturgically and theologically speaking, if there were a season of Pentecost, we would be wearing red the whole time. But we are not wearing red, we are wearing green because it is Ordinary Time in the season after Pentecost.
Where the name “Pentecost” comes from: Pentecost comes from Greek and means the fiftieth day. We celebrate it, therefore, on the 50th day following Easter. It is the day when, in Luke’s account, the disciples were given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Many people were then inspired, by Peter’s speech explaining this strange experience, to be baptized and follow the way of Jesus Christ. This is why Pentecost is designated as a day especially appropriate for baptisms. If nobody is being baptized, we renew our baptismal vows as part of the Sunday worship. In Jewish history, Pentecost (Shavuot) was primarily celebrated as a day of thanksgiving for the first fruits of the harvest and so Christianity’s use of the same festival name indicates the view that, for Christians, the giving of the Holy Spirit is the first fruits of a new God-given system of ordering our lives that fulfills the Law.
For Your Devotions:
Monday, June 2nd is the commemoration of the Martyrs of Lyons: Blandina and her Companions, died 177. There were missionary centres in Lyons that had attracted Christians from Asia and Greece. The locals were suspicious of the Christians – they were “different.” At first, the Christians were excluded from using the public baths and the market place, they were verbally and physically attacked, and their homes were vandalized. It kind of sounds much like the dominant culture’s treatment of minority groups in their midst in much more recent history…Hmm…Blandina was a slave taken into custody. The authorities forced Christians to say they were cannibals who practiced incest. Many did repeat these lies to avoid being beaten and tortured with red hot irons. Blandina refused to say anything other than that she was a Christian and Christians do not practice anything vile. She was finally executed – mauled by animals -in the public arena. See p.184 of For All the Saints for more info: http://c2892002f453b41e8581-48246336d122ce2b0bccb7a98e224e96.r74.cf2.rackcdn.com/ForAlltheSaints.pdf
Tuesday, 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
Wednesday, 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
Thursday, 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
Friday, 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 the risen and ascended Christ,
Susan
Deanery of Algoma 