Hello everyone,

First, reminders for the rest of this week:

Friday, January 23, 6pm Movie Night at Holy Trinity, SSM: We’ll be watching The Shack. Of course we’ll have snacks too. 🙂 Just $5…See you there!

Saturday, January 24 at Emmaus, SSM: Painting with Amy Williams; $50 per person, limited spaces; 1pm-4pm. Please call Deborah to reserve your spot: 705-256-9760

Coming Up:

Algoma Deanery Council: Saturday, January 31 at Holy Trinity, SSM. Coffee/tea/muffins at 10am. Meeting begins at 10:30am.

Next $5 Monthly Meal: Friday, Feb.6, 5:30pm at the Trinity Centre, SSM. Menu: spaghetti/meat sauce, vegetable, garlic bread, strawberry puree and vanilla ice cream. Please order in advance: 705-254-1692 or susan.montague2@gmail.com. Please also say whether it’s “eat in” or “take out”. Thanks.

Guild of St. Joseph Breakfast: Saturday, Feb.7 at 9am in the Trinity Centre. Men are asked to give a $10 donation.

“Bills, Ills, and Chills” Information Session at Holy Trinity, SSM, on Tuesday, Feb.10 at 7pm. Guest speakers will be telling us about powers of attorney, funeral planning, wills, etc…

Prayer Study and Lenten Preparation: Thursday, Feb.12 at 4-6pm at Holy Trinity, SSM

Team Canada Curling Watch Party! Saturday, Feb.14 at 2pm in the Trinity Centre, SSM; snacks and beverages provided.

Valentine’s Day Dinner and Renewal of Wedding Vows in the evening of the 14th at Christ Church in SSM. More detail to follow…

A Liturgical Note For You:      Seeing Green

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 on the colour green that you will see on most days until Lent begins:

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. So…why would we be using the colour green during this time? Well, for one thing, this is the time in between a couple of very crucial saving events on our calendar (Jesus’ birth and baptism and then, coming up, the season of Lent leading to his death on the cross). During this time in between, the Gospel readings proclaim the stories of people encountering Jesus and we hear Jesus’ teachings. All of this will help us to encounter Jesus and learn – growing our knowledge and understanding and love of God, helping us to flourish as Jesus’ disciples, and fuelling our passion to work with God as we journey toward the fulfillment of God’s promises…Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…

For Your Devotions:

Monday, January 26th is the Holy Day of The Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle (transferred from Sunday).  Full disclosure – Paul is my biblical hero 🙂 (This is, of course, aside from the Holy Trinity).  Upon experiencing Jesus on the road to Damascus and being converted, Paul tirelessly and selflessly pursued the single goal of bringing everyone to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour. Paul’s faith in what God had accomplished in Christ and zeal for proclaiming the Good News is truly inspirational as are Paul’s various teachings. For more information:  https://www.franciscanmedia.org/conversion-of-saint-paul/

Tuesday, January 27th is the memorial of John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople, Teacher of the Faith, died in 407.  John’s energetic and easily understood preaching earned him the nickname, “golden-mouthed”. The people loved him – they felt he was one of them – but his lack of political savvy resulted in a stormy time with bishops and the social elite. He spoke out against the frivolity and abuses of the wealthy and did not entertain lavishly as other bishops did. His guests believed he was holding out on them because the meals were so plain but, actually, John had damaged his stomach through too much fasting and poor eating habits as a result of overly strict spiritual practices. One wealthy woman plotted with a rival bishop to charge John with all sorts of frivolous things. John tried to appeal to the pope but, when your enemies are the rich and powerful you’ve insulted, appeals don’t get very far. To make a long story short, John ended up dying in exile. To learn more:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-Chrysostom

Wednesday, January 28th is the memorial of Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Friar, Teacher of the Faith, died in 1274. Thomas is one of the greatest thinkers of our faith – a little too radical for some (he incorporated a lot of Aristotle’s thinking into his religious works). Thomas was born into an aristocratic family and was placed in a monastery by his family because they hoped he would eventually become the abbot. Before you start feeling too kindly toward his family…this was purely a political and social move on their part.  When Thomas decided to pursue a spiritual career (by joining the Dominicans), his family had him abducted. Luckily, Thomas out-stubborned his family and, after a year of captivity, they relented. For more info:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas

Friday, January 30th is the commemoration of Charles Stuart, King of England and Scotland, beheaded in 1649. Charles believed in the divine right of kings and, from the start, butted heads with parliament (in fact, he dissolved parliament and made his own decisions quite regularly). We all know this could never end well (and having top advisors who persecuted Puritans certainly didn’t help).  The end result was civil war. Oliver Cromwell captured Charles and tried to force him to sign a law abolishing bishops. Charles refused and for this and other accusations of “high treason”, Charles was beheaded. Throughout it all, Charles remained a staunch supporter of the Church of England. To read more:  http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/92.html

In the hope of Christ,

Susan–