St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, Regina, Saskatchewan
The theme chosen for the Book Club’s next gathering is “Sources of Delight.” Readers are encouraged to share a book that brings them joy and laughter. We will be meeting at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, January 15th in the lounge at the church. All are welcome!
Thursday, Oct 31.
7.30 P.M. Theological Forum “Life and Prayer in the Communion of Saints” at St. Mary’s
9.00 P.M. Candle-Lit Holy Communion with Witness of the Saints at St. Mary’s
Friday, Nov 1.
12.00 P.M. Noon Day Prayers at All Saints
Saturday, Nov. 2.
3:00 – 6.00 P.M. “All Saints Saturday” for children and youth, to include activities, “The Journey of Faith” – an interactive walk through the Bible, worship, and supper.
7:00 p.m. Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed at St. Luke’s Anglican Church.
Christ is Risen from the Dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
O Come, let us worship!
St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church plans to sponsor a South Sudanese refugee family of six, currently living in a Ugandan refugee camp. We have raised about $17,000, and we will continue to raise the remaining $18,000 to achieve the goal of raising $35,500 to support the refugee family once they arrive in Regina. You can support St. Mary’s Refugee Sponsorship Program by:
1. Sending your support through email transfer to (stmaryregina (at) gmail.com). Please include ‘South Sudanese Refugee Family Sponsorship” in the message. St. Mary already has automatic deposit set up for Interac electronic transfers. No password is required.
2. Contributing through Cheque for donations to St. Mary Anglican Church, 3337 – 15th Ave. Regina SK S4T 1T3, with a memo line “South Sudanese Family Sponsorship.”
3. Attending South Sudanese Fall Super (South Sudanese Food Fair) – a fundraiser to be held October 26 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. in St. Mary’s upper hall. Meals will be prepared by South Sudanese people in Regina, in support of the family in the refugee camp. You can also place your order at the church office for pick on October 26, 2019.
4. Joining our campaign online through CanadaHelps:https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/119188134RR0001-st-marys-anglican-church/campaign/refugee-family-sponsorship-fundraiser/
5. Donating cans and bottles – St. Mary’s will collect cans and bottle to recycle. Regina residents may contact Amanda H, Elizabeth D or Nathaniel Deng M for a flyer about the recycling project, or more information on pick up of bottles and cans.
Welcoming and loving strangers is a precious gift from the Lord, our God (Leviticus 19: 33-34).
For more information about the sponsorship, contact Rev. Nathaniel Athian Deng M, chair of the Refugee Sponsorship Committee.
SPC members include Beverly K, Deng Mark A, Mary R, Janice K, Sandra D, Tom J, Amanda H and Nathaniel Deng M
St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, Regina, is sponsoring a South Sudanese family of five members, who currently live in a Ugandan refugee camp. In order to make this possible, we need to raise $9,000 more before the end of this year and extra $18,000 next year before the family arrives in Canada. We member and friends to support us through prayers and, if they can, through the following fundraising options:
(a) Direct Donations to St. Mary Anglican Church,with a memo line South Sudanese Family Sponsorship or other information to guide the accountant to direct the fund towards the sponsorship.
(b) Support South Sudanese Food Fair – to be held in St. Mary’s (3337 15th Avenue, Regina) upper hall on October 26, 2019 from 4:00 P.M.
(c) Recycling of Bottles and Cans: Amanda H and family are collecting bottles and cans in the neighborhood. We request Parish members to help in their neighborhood with cycling bottles and cans. Please contact Amanda H, Elizabeth D or Nathaniel for a flyer or to participate in recycling fundraiser.
Welcoming and loving strangers is a precious gift from the Lord, our God (Lev. 19: 33-34). For more information about the sponsorship, contact Rev. Nathaniel.
First Sunday in Advent – December 2
10.00 a.m. Morning Prayer
10.30 Holy Communion
Advent 2 – December 9
10.00 a.m. Morning Prayer
10.30 Holy Communion
Advent 3 – Dec 16
10.00 a.m. Morning Prayer
10.30 a.m. Holy Communion
Advent 4 – December 23
10.00 a.m. Morning Prayer
10.30 a.m. Holy Communion
Christmas Eve- December 24
7:00 p.m. Family Worship: “People Look East! ” Dramatized Service of Lessons and Carols followed by “Christmas Cheer” in the Parish Hall.
9:00 p.m. Candle Lit Holy Communion and Carols of Christmas
Christmas Day – December 25
10.30 a.m. Holy Communion and Carols of Christmas
Sunday after Christmas – December 30
10.00 a.m. Morning Prayer
10.30 a.m. Holy Communion and Carols of Christmas
Feast of the Epiphany- January 6
10.00 a.m. Morning Prayer
10.30 a.m. Holy Communion and Carols of Christmas
Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Those who follow me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.
Amen. Come Lord Jesus, Come Quickly.
Lighting of the Advent Candles
Even so, Lord Jesus come
Oh divine and glorious son
Though we live as Your body
Here on earth
Even so Lord Jesus come
Gracious Father, Sovereign Lord
Your creations one adored
By Your hand we receive Your majesty
Even so, Lord Jesus come
Holy Spirit, breath of life
Light a path through darkest night
In Your care we confess our deepest sigh
Even so, Lord Jesus come
Lord have mercy upon us, Christ have mercy upon us, Lord, Have mercy upon us
Our Father…
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; that on the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead,we may rise to the life immortal; through him who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
| First Sunday in Advent | Luke 21:25-36 |
| Monday | Matthew 8:5-13 |
| Tuesday | Luke 10:21-24 |
| Wednesday | Matthew 15:29-39 |
| Thursday | Matthew 7:21-27 |
| Friday | Matthew 9:27-31 |
| Saturday | Matthew 9:35-38; 10:1,5-8 |
| Second Sunday in Advent | Luke 3:1-6 |
| Monday | Luke 5:17-26 |
| Tuesday | Matthew 18:12-14 |
| Wednesday | Matthew 11:28-30 |
| Thursday | Matthew 11:11-15 |
| Friday | Matthew 11:16-19 |
| Saturday | Matthew 17:10-13 |
| Third Sunday in Advent | Luke 3:7-18 |
| Monday | Matthew 1:1-7,17 |
| Tuesday | Matthew 1:18-25 |
| Wednesday (Ember Day) | John 17:6-19 |
| Thursday | Luke 1:26-38 |
| Friday | Luke 1:39-45 |
| Saturday | Luke 1:46-56 |
| Fourth Sunday in Advent | Luke 1:39-55 |
The Christian life has often been compared to a pilgrimage, a dedicated journey to a place of encounter with God. The Church, through her liturgy, overshadowed by the power of God the Holy Spirit, seeks to open a door for the people of God to enter the Divine Presence.
The ancient liturgies of Holy Week are themselves the result of 4th and 5th century pilgrimages to the Holy Land. These traditional liturgies are the most unusual and vivid of the Christian year, and for the great majority of the world’s Christians mark a period of intense spiritual awareness and devotion.
We enter this time “not only with our hearts and minds, but with our feet as we make procession along with Jesus and his other disciples from Bethany to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, from the Upper Room to the Mount of Olives on Maundy Thursday, from the Judgment Hall to the hill of Calvary on Good Friday, to the tomb in the garden on Holy Saturday and finally to that moment in the heart and silence of God the Father when the Resurrection of his only begotten Son became a reality in time and place”. (G. Furry)
I extend a warm and fervent invitation to everyone as we come together as a parish family to celebrate the mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection, not as spectators, or as those remembering something that happened “long ago in a land far, far, away…”, but as participants
“Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast! (1 Cor. 5, 7)
Yours in faith and love,
Lenten Mission: Refreshing Christian faith for the Wary and the Weary with guest missioner, Steve Bell at St. Luke’s Anglican Church (3233 Argyle Ave), February 23/24. Steve writes,
I have put together four sessions that explore the fertile tradition and spirituality of a Trinitarian faith, navigating a pattern of corporate worship based on Isaiah 6:19 in tandem with the Christian calendar year, the Hebrew psalms, and the ancient prayers of the church. Join me for a time of story, song and teaching. It will be light-hearted, fun, and thoughtfully nourishing.
Please speak to Claude or Yvonne in the office for the coupon code, then register online at www.stevebell.com/journey-retreat.
Saturday, December 2, 12.00 – 5.00 pm.
An afternoon of prayer and silence including a series of reflections on the theme “My House Shall be called a house of prayer” (Matt. 21.13}. We will begin with Holy Communion and end with an Advent Antiphon Service.
December 8, 15, 22 from 5.45 pm. – 8.00 pm.
This intergenerational gathering will be begin with a hot and hearty meal, and will be followed by opportunity for book study, baking, music making, crafts, to conclude with Family Compline Service of Light and Peace.
Saturday, December 9 3.30 pm. – 6.30 pm.
An afternoon of tea, snacks, visiting, activities to include packing baskets for Women of the Dawn Counseling Centre Project Kid Care, blessing the baskets, worship, and a visit from St. Nicholas. You are invited to bring a gift of toys, books, or clothing for a child between the age of 3 and 15 for the Women of the Dawn Kid Care Project. An event for adults and children of all ages. Invite your family, friends and neighbours.
10.00 am. Morning Prayer
10.30 am. Holy Communion
10.00 am. Morning Prayer
10.30 Holy Communion
10.00 am. Morning Prayer
10.30 am. Holy Communion
10.30 am. Service of Lessons and Carols for Christmas
7.00 pm. Festal Holy Communion for Christmas
10.30 am. Holy Communion
10.00 am. Morning Prayer
10.30 am. Holy Communion
Lord Jesus, You have come so many times and found no resting place;
forgive us our overcrowded lives, our vain haste, and our preoccupation with self.
Come again, 0 Lord, and though our hearts are a jumble of voices and our minds overlaid with many fears, find a place however humble, where You can begin to work Your wonder as You create peace and joy within us. If in some hidden corner, in some out-of- the-way-spot, we can clear away the clutter and shut out the noise and darkness, come again and be born in us, and we shall kneel in perfect peace with the wisest and humblest of men.
Help us enter into this Advent with humility yet with You. And finally, Lord, give us Christmas from within that we may share it without, on all sides, all around us, wherever there is need.
God help us, every one, to share the blessings of Jesus in Whose Name we keep Christmas holy. Amen
From the Rector’s Desk…
The Feast of All Saints, which falls on Nov. 1 in our calendar, has been observed in Eastern Christianity since the fourth century. It was established in the West when the Pantheon in Rome was consecrated in A.D. 609 and dedicated to the Blessèd Virgin Mary and all the martyrs.
There was a saying that made the round in the early church: “The Blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church” The Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, shows us how acutely aware the early Church was, under persecution, of the presence and prayers of those who had given their lives in witness to the gospel. (Revelation 6. 9-11) Over time, the Feast of All Saints became the occasion for commemorating and celebrating the witness of so many holy men and women whose manner of life truly conformed to the life of the Gospel, and in whom the power of Jesus’ Resurrection was extraordinarily manifest.
Why remember the saints? In a word, this belongs to the fullness of the catholic faith.