Re-Opening the Sanctuary

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While online participation will continue to be offered, the sanctuary of St. Andrew’s will be re-opened for morning worship this Sunday February 14. The Elders are thankful to extend a welcome to all for whom this is appropriate.

Great care has been taken to ensure guidelines of public health authorities are followed, and it is imperative that everyone attending worship respect these requirements out of care for others. Please see below a letter that was distributed to the congregation providing full details. In summary, these include …

– two doors only will be open for entrance to the church: along Clergy Street, the door at the top of the stairs by the canon; and along Princess Street, the door at the top of the ramp for those with accessibility challenges
– keeping physical distance from those in front, once in the door you will be asked to sanitize your hands and provide your name (and contact information, if visiting)
– the wearing of face masks at all times in the building is mandatory
– you will be ushered to a seat, filling the front pews first: please proceed to the centre of the pew to allow others to sit near the aisle
– there will be no congregational singing or choir: hymns and scripture passages are included in the bulletin
– you will be asked to leave from the same door in which you entered, beginning from the back pews: please wait for your cue
– we are asked to leave the sanctuary directly to avoid close proximity to others in the narrow aisles at the back or in the foyers, and we will have no opportunity for conversation within the church facilities

For all the limitations and constraints involved, the Elders are thankful that God has brought us thus far, and we are able to offer this opportunity. The few who are able to gather in the sanctuary will be joined by many online, and together we will be one in praise and worship.

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Sunday Feb 7, 10:30 a.m. – Embracing Grace 5) A letter of Christ

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Do you notice something out of the ordinary on the Communion Table? Yes, it is envelope with the label ‘A letter of Christ’. The phrase is found in one of Paul’s letters to the Christians of Corinth (2 Corinthians 3:3). ‘A letter of Christ’ offers a wonderful way to consider the Lord’s Supper … but it actually addresses another dimension of Christian life, the other side of the proverbial spiritual coin.

Join us to learn more and celebrate together. Prepare a slice of bread and a glass of juice for a time of sacrament following the prayers, hymns, reading of scripture and sermon.

The service will be available online just after 10:15 a.m. at https://youtu.be/FMaIX7FpmSs. Recordings of previous services can be found at our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy41z3sqfRm8X_lLfKGUA 

You are invited to have a look at the printed Order of Service below, and the announcements, including several online opportunities for Christian growth. These include two studies and a series of joint online services of worship during Lent.

‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you’ (2 Corinthians 13:13)

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Sunday Jan. 31, 10:30 a.m. – Embracing Grace 4) The Tree

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Zacchaeus and Christ. Hildesheim Gospels, Germany, probably 1170s. Tempera colors, gold leaf, silver leaf and ink on parchment, 11.1 x 7.4 inches. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles / Google Cultural Institute

I love certain dimensions of this scene as imagined in this medieval manuscript of the Gospel according to Luke. Beyond the sheer beauty of colour and style, what I love most is the way the curling branches convey a dynamic of life involving wondrous movement. As we will explore in the sermon, the gospel of grace involves a going up (from Jesus to Zacchaeus hiding in the tree) and a coming down (of Zacchaeus to Jesus and a new life in home and city), a dynamic we know in our own lives.

We may not be able to gather together in the sanctuary this Sunday, but we will begin this week together in praise of God. Classic and contemporary hymns sung by our cantor Paul Payne (from ‘Stand up and bless the Lord’ by James Montgomery to ‘Will you come and follow me?’ by the Iona Community) along with a contribution by the Hall Family Quartet will help our souls to sing. And three passages of scripture centred on ‘trees’ will speak of God’s grace, from the Abram and Sarai under the oaks of Mamre hearing three strangers declare that they would have a child (Genesis 18:1-15) to the story of Zacchaeus climbing a sycamore tree to see Jesus (Luke 19:1-10).

The service will be available online just after 10:15 a.m. at https://youtu.be/V_uy7wSvGi0. Recordings of previous services can be found at our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy41z3sqfRm8X_lLfKGUA 

You are invited to have a look at the printed Order of Service below, and the announcements, including several online opportunities for Christian growth. These include two studies and a series of joint online services of worship during Lent.

May the grace of Christ be with you! 

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Sunday Jan. 24, 10:30 a.m. – Embracing Grace 3) Marked, for Life

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‘Cain’ (c. 1899) E. Roscoe Mullins

 

‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.’
These words from Lamentations will greet us this Sunday morning, words that we need to hear when we feel the despair portrayed in this statute, words that can reanimate and renew our lives, words that point us to the fullness of the grace of God we are exploring these weeks of Epiphany.

We may not be able to gather together in the sanctuary this Sunday, but we will begin this week together in praise of God. Classic hymns (from ‘New every morning is the love’ to ‘God moves in a mysterious way’ and ‘You that know the Lord is gracious’) along with a contribution by the Hall Family Quartet will help our souls to sing. And three passages of scripture will speak of God’s grace, from the mark of Cain that preserves life even for the life-taker (Genesis 4) to Paul’s thanksgiving that in Christ … ‘we do not lose heart (for) our inner nature is being renewed day by day’ (2 Corinthians 4).

The service will be available online just after 10:15 a.m. at https://youtu.be/lTh72vYqPy0. Recordings of previous services can be found at our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy41z3sqfRm8X_lLfKGUA 

You are invited to have a look at the printed Order of Service below, and the announcements, including several online opportunities for Christian growth. These include two services celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, one Sunday afternoon and another early Monday morning.

May the grace of Christ be with you! 

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Sunday Jan. 17, 10:30 a.m. – Embracing Grace 2) in Creation

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Coming from Evening Church (1830) by Samuel Palmer (1805-1881)

Samuel Palmer was deeply moved by the seven years he spent as a young man living and painting in rural Kent, England. His canvases were not critically appreciated at the time, and at his death his son burned those that remained to save the family name from ‘humiliation’. 

But since the middle of the twentieth century, Palmer’s early works that survived have begun to be treasured. Their sepia tones speak of a mysterious realm of earth infused with the divine. I like this painting in particular – the people leaving one sanctuary of brick to return to life in another, that of creation. It all speaks of grace, which is the theme of the sermons this Epiphany.

We may not be able to gather together in the sanctuary this Sunday, but we will begin this week together in worship! The service will be available online just after 10:15 a.m. at https://youtu.be/3GkCs0Swoug

Recordings of previous services can be found at our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy41z3sqfRm8X_lLfKGUA 

Our service of worship will be available Sunday morning by 10:15 a.m. at a link that you will find here.

You are invited to have a look at the printed Order of Service below, and the announcements, including several online opportunities for Christian growth.

May the grace of Christ be with you!

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The Days of January

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Have a look at the minister’s monthly newsletter, and join in Christian worship, study and fellowship as you are able.

The format is for printing, double-sided, so feel free to stick a copy on your fridge door!

While the sanctuary is not available for worship right now, services continue to be available online each Sunday morning by 10:30 a.m., and the Church Office is open Tuesday-Thursday 9 a.m.-noon.

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Winter Study Series – Les Misèrables!

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And now for something different!
Tuesday Evenings February 16 – March 23, 7 p.m.

You are invited to explore the gospel known in Jesus Christ and the Bible … as developed in the themes and characters of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece.

Grace – Valjean
Justice – Javert
Poverty – Fantine
Revolution – ‘Les Amis’
Love – Marius and Cosette
Hope – The Garden

It is not necessary to read the novel (considered one of the greatest, and longest!) or see a film rendition or the musical, but if you do wish to fill a quiet winter day before the study begins on Tuesday February 16, here are some options …

Tuesday Evenings February 16 – March 23, 7 p.m.
Contact Andrew for a link to the Zoom Sessions [email protected]

We will be following a study outline prepared by Matt Rawle, a United Methodist Church minister and international speaker ‘who loves to tell an old story in a new way’.