Angels Appearing before the Shepherds, Henry Ossawa Tanner, c. 1910


The final week of Advent and of waiting. Soon the celebration of Christmas shall be upon us, and this year that assurance and joy will come none-too-soon.

In the meantime we continue our preparations by exploring another dimension of the Christian tradition and life. We will follow the story of the shepherds (Luke 2: 8-20) and consider how now we are led to Christ not by a heavenly angel but by the Holy Spirit. 

This painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner captures something of the mystery and the beauty of that story. Tanner was the first black American artist to gain international acclaim. He suffered racism in the States and acceptance in France, which he adopted as his home away from home. At Christmas 1896 Tanner wrote to his parents, “I have made up my mind to serve Him [God] more faithfully.” A tour of the Middle East intensified his focus upon scenes from the biblical narrative and infused them with dimensions both ethereal and realistic, as seen in this canvas of 1910 with his portrayal of an ambiguous spiritual presence (the angel) and a definite personal experience (the shepherds and us).

We are planing for the doors to be open and our service of worship will begin at 10:30 a.m., though we suggest you check back Sunday morning just to confirm. If you are able to attend to join for worship in the sanctuary, please note the post under ‘Special Events’ in the column to the right for the protocols that need to be followed. 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/HBsmHNl94cM

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 

Have a look at the Order of Service, music notes and announcements below, and participate as you are able.

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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