This morning we explore a particular Christian witness in our city – we welcome to the pulpit the Rev. Dr. Paul Kern, chaplain for Corrections Canada at Collins Bay Institution. (For a national perspective, have a look at the Church Council on Justice and Corrections, an ecumenical Christian approach to restorative justice https://ccjc.ca )

The Order of Service, music notes and announcements can be found towards the end of this post.

If you are unable to join us in the sanctuary, the Service of Worship will be live-streamed – organ music for meditation beginning around 10:20 a.m. with the Service beginning at 10:30 a.m. and can be joined at …

WE APOLOGIZE, THE LIVESTREAMING FAILED THIS MORNING, AND THERE WILL BE NO RECORDING.

After the life-streaming, a recording of the service should appear on our channel for viewing thereafter  – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy41z3sqfRm8X_lLfKGUA 

Free parking is available Sunday mornings in the surface civic lot off Queen Street behind St. Andrew’s, and on the streets of the neighbourhood – please note that time-of-day restrictions north of Queen are not enforced on Sundays. For accessible entrance to the sanctuary, please use the ramp by the western-most door along Princess Street.

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The Sermon on the Mount (1896) by Karoly Ferenczy (Hungary)

I love the informal setting conveyed in this painting as Jesus provides instruction for life that we have come to know as ‘the sermon on the mount’. I love that, true to Matthew’s account, Jesus is speaking not just to his disciples but to all – the young and old, the women and men, the professional (in his black business suit) and soldier (in armour) and the labourers (with their headscarves and hats). I love the attentiveness of each person in this diverse group, so focused … upon Jesus.

These weeks of autumn we have been exploring one particular part of this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaching us how to pray. This morning the sermon will focus on the final ascription of praise of that prayer, ‘For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory’.

And what a wonderful conclusion it is! Saying these words, we are brought back to the One with whom we began the prayer, and begin each day – ‘Our Father who art in heaven’. Commencing and concluding, we are reminded we live within this framework of grace and good known as God.

The Order of Service, music notes and announcements can be found towards the end of this post.

If you are unable to join us in the sanctuary, the Service of Worship will be live-streamed – organ music for meditation beginning around 10:20 a.m. with the Service beginning at 10:30 a.m. and can be joined at https://youtu.be/p6tYSNWhsdM

After the life-streaming, a recording of the service should appear on our channel for viewing thereafter  – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy41z3sqfRm8X_lLfKGUA 

Free parking is available Sunday mornings in the surface civic lot off Queen Street behind St. Andrew’s, and on the streets of the neighbourhood – please note that time-of-day restrictions north of Queen are not enforced on Sundays. For accessible entrance to the sanctuary, please use the ramp by the western-most door along Princess Street.

Download (PDF, 650KB)

 

 

(Updated)

The 21st Battalion cenotaph in City Park Kingston.
Photo by Eric Gagnon posted on Vintage Kingston (Facebook) Nov, 1,.2020.

Eric Gagnon posted this photo with the question, ‘What is he trying to grasp or to reach? With bayonet affixed, he is still at the front line. What might have just happened? Seen from different angles, we can come up with various answers, though I chose this angle for the stark relief against the sky. Where larks still bravely singing fly.

It is essential for us to acknowledge the darkness of these days, but equally to look beyond them. This Sunday we will hear a lament on the bagpipes, we will enter into a silence to remember the lives scarred, broken and lost to war. But we will also hear the gospel that the Holy One is able to work good even out of this world’s evil. And we will pledge ourselves anew to God’s kingdom of peace and justice for all.

The sermon this morning will continue a journey through the Lord’s Prayer. How appropriate that we arrive this morning at a petition that speaks of ‘temptation’ and ‘evil’ … but in the context of a prayer that provides assurance of God’s help, an assurance that gives us the strength to continue to be at work for life as surely as the larks that ‘still bravely singing fly’ over the battlefields.

The Order of Service, music notes and announcements can be found towards the end of this post.

There was a technical challenge with the live-streaming, but the scripture readings and sermon can now be found on our channel  – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy41z3sqfRm8X_lLfKGUA 

Free parking is available Sunday mornings in the surface civic lot off Queen Street behind St. Andrew’s, and on the streets of the neighbourhood – please note that time-of-day restrictions north of Queen are not enforced on Sundays. For accessible entrance to the sanctuary, please use the ramp by the western-most door along Princess Street.

Download (PDF, 672KB)

 

 

 

We pause during this series on the Lord’s Prayer to consider the dimension of praying for others. It is something Christ did and does. It is something Christians do. But why?

As we explore the experience and effect of intercessory prayer, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper. If you will be part of the congregation online, prepare some bread and a cup and join in this sacrament of Holy Communion, together in Christ with each other and with our God. If you are able to be part of the congregation in the sanctuary, you can bring your own bread and juice, or receive a packaged personal unit as you enter.

The doors will be open and our service of worship will begin at 10:30 a.m. (Please see the post under ‘Special Events’ in the column to the right for the protocols and shape of the service). The service will also be live-streamed, active just after 10:20 a.m. with organ music for meditation, commencing with the Entry of the Scriptures at 10:30 a.m., found at https://youtu.be/IgbOHtc_Juk

The Order of Service, music notes and announcements can be found at the end of this post.

Once the service has ended, a recording will be available on our channel shortly after the live-streaming has ended – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy41z3sqfRm8X_lLfKGUA 

Free parking is available Sunday mornings in the surface civic lot off Queen Street behind St. Andrew’s, and on the streets of the neighbourhood – please note that time-of-day restrictions north of Queen are not enforced on Sundays. For accessible entrance to the sanctuary, please use the ramp by the western-most door along Princess Street.

Download (PDF, 678KB)

 

 

Forgiveness – it is a foundational dimension of the Christian understanding of a truly human life. Perhaps every church should have a billboard like this outside.

But there are depths to this petition of the prayer our Lord gave us to which ‘forgiveness’ does not do justice. The word can give the impression that it refers to something static and theoretical, as if forgiveness that can be talked about objectively or kept on a shelf and taken down when needed.

At its core, however, forgiveness as defined by Christ is only and always relational and dynamic. I appreciate how this petition is framed by verbs, involving not just me but others. I look forward to sharing some thoughts during this Sunday’s sermon.

The doors of the sanctuary will be open and our service of worship will begin at 10:30 a.m. (Please see the post under ‘Special Events’ in the column to the right for the protocols and shape of the service). The service will also be live-streamed, active just after 10:20 a.m. with organ music for meditation, commencing with the Entry of the Scriptures at 10:30 a.m., found at https://youtu.be/4O54ZLtaPwo

The Order of Service, music notes and announcements can be found at the end of this post.

Once the service has ended, a recording will be available on our channel shortly after the live-streaming has ended – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy41z3sqfRm8X_lLfKGUA 

Free parking is available Sunday mornings in the surface civic lot off Queen Street behind St. Andrew’s, and on the streets of the neighbourhood – please note that time-of-day restrictions north of Queen are not enforced on Sundays. For accessible entrance to the sanctuary, please use the ramp by the western-most door along Princess Street.

Download (PDF, 601KB)

 

 

 

‘All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small … The ripe fruits in the garden, God made them, every one’.

This weekend of all weekends, we turn from our anxiety and our struggles to acknowledge the gifts we do enjoy, in life and in faith.

And acknowledging the gifts, we thank the Giver.

The doors of the sanctuary will be open for worship at 10:30 a.m. (Please see the post under ‘Special Events’ in the column to the right for the protocols and shape of the service). The service will also be live-streamed, active just after 10:20 a.m. with organ music for meditation, commencing with the Entry of the Scriptures at 10:30 a.m., found at https://youtu.be/muXgl4_gUZs

The Order of Service, music notes and announcements can be found at the end of this post.

Once the service has ended, a recording will be available on our channel shortly after the live-streaming has ended – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy41z3sqfRm8X_lLfKGUA 

Free parking is available Sunday mornings in the surface civic lot off Queen Street behind St. Andrew’s, and on the streets of the neighbourhood – please note that time-of-day restrictions north of Queen are not enforced on Sundays. For accessible entrance to the sanctuary, please use the ramp by the western-most door along Princess Street.

Download (PDF, 656KB)

 

‘Thy Kingdom Come’.

Whenever I lift up this petition, I think of an image presented by Wayne Muller in Learning To Pray, How We Find Heaven on Earth .

The image is that of a heart, a heart with two chambers, sending and receiving blood in life-giving rhythm. One giving out, one taking in.

Like such a heart, this prayer has two beats. The first is a sending out, our yearning for fullness of the kingdom of God to come. The second is a receiving in, our experience of dimensions of the kingdom of God among us already.

This morning we will pray this petition together, in all its life-receiving and life-affirming movement.

And as is our custom on the first Sunday of each month, we will join in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Current public health guidelines however mean that we will not be able to serve each other. If you are joining us online or in the sanctuary, you are invited to bring your own bread and juice. Pre-packaged Communion units will also be available in the church.

The doors of the sanctuary will be open for worship at 10:30 a.m. (Please see the post under ‘Special Events’ in the column to the right for the protocols and shape of the service). The service will also be live-streamed, active just after 10:20 a.m. with organ music for meditation, commencing with the Entry of the Scriptures at 10:30 a.m., found at https://youtu.be/D9-FY_jYbMg

The Order of Service, music notes and announcements can be found at the end of this post.

Once the service has ended, a recording will be available on our channel shortly after the live-streaming has ended – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy41z3sqfRm8X_lLfKGUA 

Free parking is available Sunday mornings in the surface civic lot off Queen Street behind St. Andrew’s, and on the streets of the neighbourhood – please note that time-of-day restrictions north of Queen are not enforced on Sundays. For accessible entrance to the sanctuary, please use the ramp by the western-most door along Princess Street.

Download (PDF, 637KB)