Month: September 2011

Prayers and liturgy

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The collect for today, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

Martini, Madonna and ChildO GOD Most High, who didst endue with wonderful virtue and grace the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Lord: Grant that we, who now call her blessed, may be made very members of the heavenly family of him who was pleased to be called the first-born among many brethren; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Lesson: Acts 1:12-14
The Gospel: St. Luke 1:39-49

Artwork: Simone Martini, Madonna and Child, c. 1320-24. Tempera, gold, and silver leaf on wood. Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Orvieto. (From the Altarpiece of San Domenico, originally in Chiesa di San Domenico, Orvieto.) Photograph taken by admin, 31 May 2010.

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Sermons

Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

“By the grace of God, I am what I am”

“I am the least of the Apostles,” St. Paul declares and then goes on to say that “by the grace of God, I am what I am”. The phrase complements, it seems to me, the prayer of the humble publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner”.

What can it mean? Is it by the grace of God that Paul is a sinner? No. But it is by the grace of God that Paul can in all honesty know that he is a sinner. Why is he “the least of the Apostles”? In his eyes and in his words, “because I persecuted the Church of God.” It is all part of the story of how Saul the Persecutor became Paul the Apostle.

But do you and I do much better or any less when in our pride and arrogance, in our folly and deceit, we deny the very truth of God upon whom we so utterly depend? Are we not persecutors, too, when like the proud Pharisee in Jesus’ parable, we do nothing more than pray with ourselves, giving mere lip service to the presence of God? The odd nod to God, as it were, but where it is really all about us?

In a way it is the quintessential picture of pride. Jesus in the parable names it ever so clearly. “He prayed thus with himself”. Not to God, it seems. The consequences are wonderfully clear in the content of his prayer. He claims to be better than everyone else. “Thank God that I am not like them”. But that is no prayer.

There can be no prayer when we are not open to the otherness of God and so to one another. There can be no prayer when we are closed in upon ourselves, standing upon the ground of our own self-righteousness. There can be no prayer without the humility which alone is the counter to all pride.

(more…)

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Events, Month at a Glance

Week at a Glance, 5-11 September

Tuesday, Sept. 6th
6:00pm ‘Prayers & Praises’ – Haliburton Place

Sunday, Sept. 11th, Twelfth Sunday After Trinity
8:00am Holy Communion – Christ Church (followed by Men’s Club Breakfast)
9:30am Holy Communion – KES
10:30am Holy Communion – Christ Church
4:00pm Evening Prayer – Christ Church

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Prayers and liturgy

The Eleventh Sunday After Trinity

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

O GOD, who declarest thy almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we, running the way of thy commandments, may obtain thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
The Gospel: St. Luke 18:9-14

Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, The pharisee and the publican

Artwork: The pharisee and the publican in the temple, 6th-century mosaic, Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna.

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Events

Christ Church Book Club

Christ Church Book Club will resume on Tuesday, September 20th, at 7:30pm, with review and discussion of two books: “Descent of the Dove” by Charles Williams and “Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture” by Jaroslav Pelikan.  For more information on these books and the complete Book Club schedule, click here.

All are welcome to attend and join in the discussions.

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Prayers and liturgy

Robert Wolfall, Presbyter

The collect for bishops and other pastors, in commemoration of Robert Wolfall, Priest (source):

Almighty and everlasting God,
who didst call thy servant Robert Wolfall to proclaim thy glory
by a life of prayer and the zeal of a true pastor:
keep constant in faith the leaders of thy Church
and so bless thy people through their ministry
that the Church may grow into the full stature
of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Church of England priest Robert Wolfall was chaplain to the third Arctic expedition led by Martin Frobisher. On 3 September 1578, Rev’d Wolfall presided at the first recorded Holy Eucharist in what is now Canadian territory: Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island.

The service was held on the ship Anne Francis, whose captain later wrote:

Master Wolfall …. preached a godly sermon, which being ended he celebrated also a Communion upon the land …. The celebration of the divine mystery was the first sign, seal and confirmation of Christ’s name, death and passion ever known in these quarters. Master Wolfall made sermons and celebrated the Communion at sundry other times in several and sundry ships, because the whole company could never meet together at anyone place.

A few weeks later, Frobisher abandoned the hope of establishing a permanent settlement on Baffin Island and the expeditionary fleet returned home to England. Anglicans would not celebrate Holy Communion in Canada again for almost a century.

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Events, Music, Prayer Book Society

Choral Evensong at Christ Church

Choral Evensong is one of the glories of our Anglican tradition. We are pleased to offer a series of Choral Evensongs, one of which (Oct. 30th), under the sponsorship of the Prayer Book Society, will feature several choirs from the Valley and will be part of a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.

The Evensongs are at 4:00pm on the following Sundays: September 25th, 2011; October 30th; November 27th; April 29th, 2012; and May 27th.

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Statements and other writings

Christ Church Chronicles, September 2011

The September 2011 issue of the parish newsletter, Christ Church Chronicles, can be downloaded as a pdf document via this link. Previous issues can be downloaded via this page.

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Prayers and liturgy

Giles of Provence, Abbot

The collect for an Abbot, on the occasion of the Feast of St. Giles (d. c. 710), Hermit, Abbot (source):

Memling, Saint GilesO God, by whose grace the blessed Abbot Giles, enkindled with the fire of thy love, became a burning and a shining light in thy Church: Grant that we may be inflamed with the same spirit of discipline and love, and ever walk before thee as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 St. John 2:15-17
The Gospel: S.t Luke 6:20-23a

All that is known for certain about this saint is that he was born in the early seventh century and that he founded a monastery in what is now the town of Saint-Gilles, southern France. The monastery became a renowned stopping place in medieval times for pilgrims journeying to Compostela, Rome, or the Holy Land.

A tenth-century Legend attributed important miracles to Saint Giles, which helped make him one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages. Hundreds of churches and monasteries across Europe are dedicated to him. As well, because he is the patron saint of lepers, cripples, and nursing mothers, many hospitals were built in his name. Saint Giles is also the patron saint of Edinburgh, where his memory is honoured by the Church of Scotland High Kirk: St. Giles’ Cathedral.

Artwork: Hans Memling, Saint Giles (detail of the central panel of the Moreel Triptych), 1484. Oil on wood, Groeningemuseum, Bruges.

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