Christ Church

On Saturday, 15 October, Christ Church hosted the annual banquet of the 94th Highland Regiment in the Parish Hall. Several photographs taken at the event are posted here.

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

ALMIGHTY God, who calledst Luke the Physician, whose praise is in the Gospel, to be an Evangelist, and Physician of the soul: May it please thee that, by the wholesome medicines of the doctrine delivered by him, all the diseases of our souls may be healed; through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 2 Timothy 4:5-13
The Gospel: St. Luke 24:44-52

Read more about Saint Luke here.

Artwork: Pontormo, St. Luke, 1528. Oil on wood, Capponi Chapel, Church of Santa Felicita, Florence. Photograph taken by admin, 17 May 2010.

The collect for today, the Feast of St. Ethelreda (d. 679), Queen, Foundress and Abbess of Ely (source):

O eternal God,
who didst bestow such grace on thy servant Etheldreda
that she gave herself wholly to the life of prayer
and to the service of thy true religion:
grant that we may in like manner
seek thy kingdom in our earthly lives,
that by thy guidance
we may be united in the glorious fellowship of thy saints;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: Philippians 3:7-14
The Gospel: St. Luke 12:29-34

Artwork: St. Ethelreda, 1910, Embroidered Processional Banner, Ely Cathedral.

“Friend, go up higher”

There was a healing done on the Sabbath under the suspicious eyes of hostile intent. There was a parable spoken in the face of resentful silence; a parable told to counter our presumption and hypocrisy, our hostility and discontent. Jesus speaks and acts. He teaches. At issue is whether we will be teachable. Only so can we ever hope to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith [we] are called”.

For make no mistake, we are called. There is our common vocation. We are called out of ourselves and we are called to God. We are called to the service of God in our life together with one another in the body of Christ. It is really the purpose of our being here today, a purpose which must extend into every aspect of our lives. We either stand for something or we fall for everything. And then there is the matter of how we stand – with gracious determination and faithfulness or in resentful distrust and defensiveness? With bitterness or with graciousness?

St. Paul reminds us of the qualities of that vocation, about how we should seek to be, about how we should act: “with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”. These qualities arise from the doctrine – the teaching – which has been given to us and without which these qualities cannot live in us. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all and in you all” – things which cannot be compromised or denied by concessions to the pressures of the world and society. For then we betray the vocation. We betray what we have been given to proclaim and who we are called to be.

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Monday, October 17th
4:45-5:15pm World Religions/Inquirer’s Class – Room 204, King’s-Edgehill School

Tuesday, October 18th, St. Luke
6:00pm ‘Prayers & Praises’ – Haliburton Place
7:00pm Holy Communion
7:30pm Christ Church Book Club: Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Nomad and Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran

Thursday, October 20th
1:30-3:00pm Seniors’ Drop-In
6:30-7:30pm Brownies’ Mtg. – Parish Hall

Saturday, October 22nd
7:00-9:00pm Annual Parish Talent & Variety Show – Parish Hall

Sunday, October 23rd, Trinity XVIII
8:00am Holy Communion
9:30am Holy Communion at KES
10:30am Morning Prayer
2:00pm AMD Service of the Deaf
4:00pm Evening Prayer at Christ Church

Upcoming Event:

Sunday, October 30th
4:00pm Choral Evensong with combined choirs and special speaker, Dr. Jim Gow, celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, with reception following.

The collect for today, the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

LORD, we pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Ephesians 4:1-6
The Gospel: St. Luke 14:1-11

The collect for today, the Feast of St. Edward the Confessor (c. 1003-1066), King of England (source):

O Sovereign God,
who didst set thy servant Edward upon the throne of an earthly kingdom
and didst inspire him with zeal for the kingdom of heaven:
grant that we may so confess the faith of Christ by word and deed,
that we may, with all thy saints, inherit thine eternal glory;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Lesson: Ecclesiasticus 31:8-11
The Gospel: St. Luke 12:35-40

Artwork: Saint Edward, King and Confessor, 19th-century stained glass, from the East window, North transept, Cartmel Priory, England. The saint is shown inspecting a model of Westminster Abbey, which was built during his reign.

The collect for today, the Feast of St. Philip of Caesarea, Deacon, Apostolic Man (source):

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank thee for thy servant Philip the Deacon, whom thou didst call to preach the Gospel to the peoples of Samaria and Ethiopia. Raise up, we beseech thee, in this and every land heralds and evangelists of thy kingdom, that thy Church may make known the immeasurable riches of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.

The Lesson: Acts 8:26-40
The Gospel: St. Matthew 28:18-20

Artwork: Rembrandt, The Baptism of the Eunuch, 1626. Oil on panel, Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht.

The collect for today, Harvest Thanksgiving Day, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who crownest the year with thy goodness, and hast given unto us the fruits of the earth in their season: Give us grateful hearts, that we may unfeignedly thank thee for all thy loving-kindness, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lesson Isaiah 55:1-12
The Gospel: St John 6:27-35

The collect for today, the Feast of St. Paulinus (c. 584-644), Monk, first Archbishop of York, Missionary (source):

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for your servant Paulinus, whom you called to preach the Gospel to the people of northern England. Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

With the Epistle and Gospel for a Bishop or Archbishop, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):
The Epistle: 1 Timothy 6:11-16
The Gospel: St. Luke 12:37-43

The St. Paulinus stained glass was made by the firm of C.E. Kempe of London and installed in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, St John’s, Newfoundland, in 1913. Photograph taken by admin, 7 September 2009.