December 2021 - Page 3 of 4

19 December 202130 March 2026Prayers and liturgy

The Fourth Sunday in Advent

The collect for today, the Fourth Sunday in Advent, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

RAISE up, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle: Philippians 4:4-7
The Gospel: St John 1:19-29

Artwork: Salvator Rosa, Saint John the Baptist Revealing Christ to the Disciples, 1655. Oil on canvas, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow.

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17 December 202130 March 2026Prayers and liturgy

Ignatius, Bishop & Martyr

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Ignatius (d. c. 107), Bishop of Antioch, Martyr (source):

Feed us, O Lord, with the living bread
and make us drink deep of the cup of salvation
that, following the teaching of thy bishop Ignatius,
and rejoicing in the faith
with which he embraced the death of a martyr,
we may be nourished for that eternal life
which he ever desired;
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: Romans 8:35-39
The Gospel: St. John 12:23-26

Ignatius, who became Bishop of Antioch c. 69, is a key witness of the early church in the era immediately following the apostles.

Nothing certain is known of his episcopate before his journey from Antioch to Rome as a prisoner condemned to death in the arena. Arrested during the persecution of the emperor Trajan, he was received in Smyrna by Bishop (later Saint) Polycarp and delegates from several other churches in Asia Minor.

While at Smyrna, Ignatius wrote letters to the churches at Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, and Rome. Later, at Troas, he wrote to the churches at Philadelphia and Smyrna, and to Polycarp.

In his letters, Ignatius clearly affirmed Christ’s divinity and his resurrection from the dead. He encouraged all Christians to maintain church unity in and through the Eucharist and the authority of the local bishop, and he wrote against a heresy that contained elements of Docetism, Judaism, and possibly Gnosticism.

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12 December 202130 March 2026Prayers and liturgy

Audio file of 8:00am Holy Communion service, Third Sunday in Advent

Click here to listen to an audio recording of the 8:00am service of Holy Communion at Christ Church on the Third Sunday in Advent.

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12 December 202130 March 2026Sermons

Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent

“Thy word is a lantern unto my feet, / and a light unto my path”

Strange as it may seem our Advent text from the psalms is even more appropriate for the Third Sunday in Advent. The readings for this Sunday highlight two interrelated themes which challenge us in very direct and important ways. First, we are being called to account about our faithfulness, especially the faithfulness of the ministry. Have we been “ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God”? Secondly, we recall the ministry of John the Baptist as attested to by Jesus in a series of repeated questions which underscore his significance and place in the economy of salvation. The questions of Jesus about John the Baptist highlight the darkness of our world and the idea that Advent brings light to our darkness, not the least of which is the uncovering of the things which in human pride and perversity we would like to keep hidden, if not from one another, then from God. Yet the light of Advent is greater than the darkness of the world; a point which finds its fullest expression in the great Christmas Gospel. “The light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended (or overcame) it not.”

The Gospel is very much about the witness of Christ to the witness of John. John points us to Jesus while Jesus points us to John. Can anything better be said and suggested than this interplay of the twin themes of repentance and rejoicing?

In our parish teaching programme this Advent, we are focusing on the Advent saints of Andrew and Thomas whose feast days formally complement and, to some extent, frame the Advent season. Without taking away from their symbolic and theological significance, the greater saints of Advent, to whom they would readily defer, are John the Baptist and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Advent mantra, par excellence, is “repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” To be sure, but that reaches its highest expression in the Angel Gabriel’s salutation to Mary, “hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee”, remembered in the Advent Ember Days this week. And while Mary is “troubled at this saying, cast[ing] in her mind what manner of salutation this should be”, it signals the note of profound joy heard and felt in the ancient introit for this day which, in turn, is the Epistle for the Fourth Sunday in Advent. “Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again, I say, rejoice.” Hence this Sunday is sometimes known as “Gaudete Sunday,” meaning rejoice.

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12 December 202130 March 2026Events, Month at a Glance

Week at a Glance, 13 – 19 December

Tuesday, December 14th
7:00pm Parish Council Meeting

Sunday, December 19th, Fourth Sunday in Advent
8:00am Holy Communion
10:30am Holy Communion

Upcoming Event:

Tuesday December 21st, St. Thomas
7:00pm Holy Communion & Advent Programme II

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12 December 202130 March 2026Prayers and liturgy

The Third Sunday in Advent

The collect for today, the Third Sunday in Advent, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O LORD Jesu Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee: Grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
The Gospel: St. Matthew 11:2-10

Artwork: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, St. John the Baptist Preaching, 1732-33. Fresco, Cappella Colleoni, Bergamo.

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9 December 202130 March 2026KES Chapel Weekly Reflections

KES Chapel Reflection, Week of 9 December

Light in Darkness

The Advent Christmas Services of Lessons & Carols brought us to the end of the Michaelmas term in fine fashion and led us into the last few days of classes and the beginning of exams which are another way of concluding the term! I am most grateful for the enthusiasm, commitment, and seriousness with which readers, singers, instrumentalists, servers, and students conducted themselves.

The Junior School Advent Christmas Service has a rather special quality and feel to it. The Grade Six class under the direction of Mr. Kevin Simonar performed an intriguing and sweet version of ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ by Tom Race, a contrast to the more familiar tune by Gustav Holst. Anne MacQuarrie played a lovely version of ‘Angels We Have Heard on High’ on violin. The students who read in a dignified and serious way the scripture readings were Ruby Wheelock, Vincent Armstrong, Laila Violante Munoz, Dami Adeniji, Sofia Ning, Drew Zettler, and Will Larder. The eighth lesson was read by Mrs. Taya Shield, the Director of the Junior School. Hand candles were lit for the ninth lesson, sung by the Chaplain, and for the singing of ‘Silent Night’. The servers were the wonderful cadre of Jacob Fines-Belcham, Kelsey Griffith, Ryan MacDougall, and Dulce Upton. The service ended with Mr. Pat LePoidevin and Chaz Faucher playing ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ on bagpipes and leading the Junior School and Faculty out of the Chapel. A memorable event. Many thanks to Mr. Kevin Lakes for his help and assistance.

On Sunday night, the Grade 12s had their special Advent Christmas Service of Lessons & Carols, special because it is the last such service for them in their time at King’s-Edgehill School. Emma Toupe and the Choir, under the direction of Stephanie Fillman, contributed to the Matins’ Responsory of Palestrina which bracketed the entire service. The Choir played a leading role in the singing of the Carols and, especially, in the verses of the Veni Emmanuel which were interspersed among the readings. The Choir members were Maya Faucher, Lucy Goddard, Emma Toope, Dakota Bagshaw, Lennon Rutledge, Evey Kennedy, Jessica Etou, Hannah Stillwell and Gabby Strickey.

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8 December 202130 March 2026Prayers and liturgy

The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The collect for today, the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (source):

Almighty and everlasting God,
who stooped to raise fallen humanity
through the child-bearing of blessed Mary:
grant that we, who have seen thy glory
revealed in our human nature
and thy love made perfect in our weakness,
may daily be renewed in thine image
and conformed to the pattern 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.

The Lesson: Proverbs 8:22-35
The Gospel: St. Luke 1:26-28

Artwork: Titian, Madonna of the Rabbit (The Virgin and Child with Saint Catherine and a Shepherd), c. 1525-30. Oil on canvas, Louvre.

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6 December 202130 March 2026Prayers and liturgy

St. Nicholas, Bishop

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Nicholas (d. c. 326), Bishop of Myra (source):

Almighty Father, lover of souls,
who didst choose thy servant Nicholas
to be a bishop in the Church,
that he might give freely out of the treasures of thy grace:
make us mindful of the needs of others
and, as we have received, so teach us also to give;
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: 1 St. John 4:7-14
The Gospel: St. Mark 10:13-16

Artwork: Paolo de’ Matteis, St. Nicolas of Bari felling a Tree Inhabited by Demons, c. 1727. Oil on canvas, High Museum of Art, Atlanta.