Feast in the House of Levi – Paulo Veronese 1573

As we journey through the Gospel according to Mark, we arrive at the scene that would have shocked all who participated (Mark 2:13-22). Jesus called Levi a hated tax collector to his side, and then invited himself in to a banquet in Levi’s house with a host of folk despised and disparaged in the day. How determined Jesus was to break down barriers, and extend the embrace of God to all! 

This Sunday we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper. And there is an added gift provided by this rendition of the scene in Levi’s house by Veronese. The above image is just a portion of a monumental work, measuring roughly 5X12 metres, created for the dining hall of the Dominican monastery of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (see below). The interesting backstory is that Veronese was commissioned to paint the ‘Last Supper of Jesus Christ with His Disciples in the House of Simon’, but the artist was hauled in front of the Inquisition on charges of heresy – he had included buffoons and dwarfs and hated German (and Lutheran!) soldiers. Instead of complying with the demands for changing the painting, Veronese just changed the title, now referring to the feast of Levi! But was he not right on in terms of the deepest meaning of the Sacrament, that God’s transformative love known in Jesus Christ is for all … even for me and you?

Certified child care is offered during the service and there is free parking on the streets around (please note that the time-of-day restrictions on Clergy Street north of Queen are not in effect on Sundays) and in the surface civic lot just behind the church off Queen Street.

Have a look at the Order of Service and bulletin below, and consider each hymn and prayer and announcement a personal invitation to join us in Christian worship, community and service. If you have any questions about forthcoming events and opportunities, please call the church office Tuesday – Thursday, 9 a.m. – noon, 613-546-6316, or email [email protected]

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And next Sunday, join us for Thanksgiving … to God!

Healing of the Paralytic by John Armstrong (1893-1973)

I came upon this painting by the English artist John Armstrong, and it jumped out at me immediately … or rather, I jumped into it immediately. There is something about the perspective that opens up new dimensions, new understandings.

At the centre of the canvas we see the paralyzed man, with Jesus by his side, as we see in every artistic re-creation of this scene (Mark 2:1-12). It is only natural and right that we focus upon that man – we know nothing about him but his need of healing from his paralysis, and we identify with him.

But looking down upon the scene as if from above, what strikes me even more are the four friends, straining to lower their ill friend into the presence of Jesus. We know nothing of them but their determination to bring their friend to know the embrace of Jesus. Might our call as Christians be to identify with those four friends, and bring our world to our God for healing and new life?

Join us as we continue our journey through the Gospel according to Mark.

Certified child care is offered during the service and there is free parking on the streets around (please note that the time-of-day restrictions on Clergy Street north of Queen are not in effect on Sundays) and in the surface civic lot just behind the church off Queen Street.

Have a look at the Order of Service and bulletin below, and consider each hymn and prayer and announcement a personal invitation to join us in Christian worship, community and service. If you have any questions about forthcoming events and opportunities, please call the church office Tuesday – Thursday, 9 a.m. – noon, 613-546-6316, or email [email protected]

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Our journey through the Gospel according to Mark will continue next week with Mark 2:13-22

                                       Lorenzo Veneziano, c. 1370

Mark relates an amazing scene. Jesus’ first act of public ministry is the calling of individuals to his side – ‘follow me’ (Mark 1:17). What is amazing is that Andrew and Simon, then James and John, heard and heeded.

I love this painting by Veneziano, showing Jesus on the shore with footprints behind in the sand, arms outstretched and hands open in invitation. Simon continues to fish for an instant. But look at Andrew! His face is serious, he is leaning at such a strange angle, almost as if an invisible force-field is drawing his towards Jesus. And maybe that is the point.

I remember how Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in The Cost of Discipleship about this scene, this call of Jesus that day to those individuals, and to so many others since. How could the call of Jesus evoke such obedience? The story is a stumbling block for reason, and it is no wonder that frantic attempts have been made to separate the two events (call and following) … Something must have happened in between, some psychological or historical event’… but no … ‘This encounter is a testimony to the absolute, direct and unaccountable authority of Jesus’. They heed the call because it is Jesus who speaks. They had no idea what they were in for, but they knew truly and deeply that they needed to follow this voice. Such are the dynamics of faith, then and now.

Certified child care is offered during the service and there is free parking on the streets around (please note that the time-of-day restrictions on Clergy Street north of Queen are not in effect on Sundays) and in the surface civic lot just behind the church off Queen Street.

Have a look at the Order of Service and bulletin below, and consider each hymn and prayer and announcement a personal invitation to join us in Christian worship, community and service. If you have any questions about forthcoming events and opportunities, please call the church office Tuesday – Thursday, 9 a.m. – noon, 613-546-6316, or email [email protected]


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Our journey through the Gospel according to Mark will continue next week with Mark 2:1-12.

This morning we conclude our summer series of services focusing upon the wonderful stained glass windows of the St. Andrew’s sanctuary. And how appropriate that, with the beginning of a new school year, we will gaze upon perhaps the loveliest of all gospel scenes, when Jesus declares ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs’ (Matthew 19: 14). Lovely indeed, but also radical. It is a scene that speaks about children, but to all of us, and does so with challenge and with promise.

We warmly welcome you to join us. Certified child care is offered during the service and there is free parking on the streets around (please note that the time-of-day restrictions on Clergy Street north of Queen are not in effect on Sundays) and in the surface civic lot just behind the church off Queen Street.

Have a look at the Order of Service and bulletin below, and consider each hymn and prayer and announcement a personal invitation to join us in Christian worship, community and service. If you have any questions about forthcoming events and opportunities, please call the church office Tuesday – Thursday, 9 a.m. – noon, 613-546-6316, or email [email protected]

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p.s. be sure to look at The Days of September for information about forthcoming services and events at St. Andrew’s

I am standing at the door and knocking
Revelation 3:20
Stained glass of St. Andrew’s sanctuary

As one season gives way to another, we hear the invitation to open our lives to the presence and promises of God (Revelation 3:14-22).

p.s. this is a print document file, so the formatting on your screen may not be ideal

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You are also invited to read the insert… Prayer Partnership, September 2019.

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I am standing at the door and knocking ~Revelation 3:20~

Stained glass of St. Andrew’s sanctuary

As one season gives way to another, we hear the invitation to open our lives to the presence and promises of God (Revelation 3:14-22). We warmly welcome you to join us. Certified child care is offered during the service and there is free parking on the streets around (please note that the time-of-day restrictions on Clergy Street north of Queen are not in effect on Sundays) and in the surface civic lot just behind the church off Queen Street. Have a look at the Order of Service and bulletin below, and consider each hymn and prayer and announcement a personal invitation to join us in Christian worship, community and service. If you have any questions about forthcoming events and opportunities, please call the church office Tuesday – Thursday, 9 a.m. – noon, 613-546-6316, or email [email protected]

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The first St. Andrew’s Church in Kingston (1822) had clear glass windows throughout the large limestone sanctuary, adhering to the principle that any images would distract from focusing upon the Word of God. After a terrible fire, the second church building was raised on the same site, and of roughly the same size and materials, but was now graced with a multitude of stained glass windows … found even in the doors of the sanctuary! … such as the one by which we will be exploring a dimension of the Gospel this morning … The Sower.

The theme of the window is a parable given by Jesus to ‘great crowds’, concluding with the exhortation ‘Let anyone with ears, listen!’ (Matthew 13:1-9). But what do we actually hear? To whom do the soil, the seed and the sower refer? As we explore some possibilities, beware … like most parables this one ‘comforts the afflicted’ but also ‘afflicts the comfortable’!

We warmly welcome you to join us. Certified child care is offered during the service and there is free parking on the streets around (please note that the time-of-day restrictions on Clergy Street north of Queen are not in effect on Sundays) and in the surface civic lot just behind the church off Queen Street.

Have a look at the Order of Service and bulletin below, and consider each hymn and prayer and announcement a personal invitation to join us in Christian worship, community and service. If you have any questions about forthcoming events and opportunities, please call the church office Tuesday -Thursday, 9 a.m. – noon, 613-546-6316, or email [email protected]

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Next Sunday … ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock’ (Revelation 3:14-22)