St John's Newsletter 30 October 2022

THIS WEEK AT ST JOHN'S

Dear Friends,

Welcome to busy times at St John’s!

We had our first session of St John’s Demystified: Introduction to Christianity as Practiced at St John’s. There were 17 of us to explore where St John’s fits into Anglicanism, Christianity, and world religions. This is a series of four Saturdays – the next session explores how we worship: where the parts of our Sunday service come from. We will especially focus on how Christian worship separated from Judaism – what Christians brought with them from earlier practices and where the parts of our current St John’s Sunday come from. This coming Saturday, we are meeting downstairs in The Well. Come to the Somerset Street door – 9:45 coffee and 10:00 a.m. start (concluding by 11:30).

We had our first Movie Night! There were 16 of us to enjoy the theme of Día de Muerte, Day of the Dead, All Souls Day. Our Mexican taco supper prepared us for a beautiful and musical Mexican tale of remembering our ancestors. This was a helpful set up for us to talk about the significant deaths and funerals in our community over the past months. We bought a viewing licence for the year so we hope to have another movie sometime soon!

And a couple other happenings to celebrate:

The Four Amigos Centretown Clergy: Rev John Perkin (First Baptist), Rev Vincent Pereira (St Theresa Roman Catholic), and Rev Jim Pot (Knox Presbyterian) with me for a visit. We get together in friendship to support and encourage each other – and to care about our neighbours and neighbourhood.

New St John’s Video for Remembrance Sunday: “Every Name is a Story.” Bill and Jim read the names and Barton Breen shares the stories as we prepare for Remembrance Day. The choir sounds beautiful too. More drone views of the church from up in the sky!

This coming Sunday, we will keep Remembrance Sunday. We look forward to welcoming members of Temple Israel, the Reform synagogue of Ottawa. At the 10:15 service, Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg will preach the sermon. We look forward to two beautiful pieces of music by Temple Israel’s Student Cantor, Ilana Mulcahy. This is part of our preaching exchange with Temple Israel. You are welcome to attend Temple Israel this Friday evening 6:15 p.m. for Gary’s sermon on the synagogue texts, Genesis 12-17. These stories were not in the children’s bible – such intrigue! Temple Israel address: 1301 Prince of Wales Drive.

Finally, don’t forget the time change!

Gary+

COVID Safety Update from the Diocese of Ottawa:

“Winter is on the horizon, people are indoors more, and COVID infections are on the rise. Throughout the pandemic, our response to the reality of the virus has been science-based and in line with public health, and this latest challenge must be met the same way. Effective this Sunday, October 30^th, all liturgical leaders — including clergy, choirs, servers, chalice bearers, readers, intercessors, and sidespeople/greeters — must wear a mask before, during and after services except when speaking into a microphone, eating or drinking.”

TO REMEMBER IN PRAYER

Those On Our Hearts

Pat H., The staff, volunteers and participants in the programs of The Well and St Luke's.

Our Parish

Gary, Allen, Gordon, Josh, Gregory, Kerry, Stephen, Brian, Michelle, Jill and all who minister at St John's.

Our Diocese

Shane, our Bishop; Anne, our Metropolitan; Linda, our Primate.

The Diocese of Jerusalem and Archbishop Hosam Naoum.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and Bishop Susan Johnson and Bishop Michael Pryse.

St. Martin’s, Ottawa - The Reverend Dr. Mary-Cate Garden.

Anglican Church of Canada (ACC)

The Principal, faculty, students, and staff of the Vancouver School of Theology.

ELCIC

The Principal-Dean, faculty, students, and staff of Martin Luther University College.

ACC/ELCIC

Remember those who died in war and pray for renewed commitment to work for peace.

The Anglican Communion from Aba to Zululand

glesia Anglicana de Chile.

Parish Prayer Group

If you wish to have someone prayed for, please call (613) 232-4500 ext 21 or send an email to prayer-request@stjohnsottawa.ca.

JOIN US

Remembrance Sunday

6 November 2022

Micah 4:1-5; Psalm 85:7-13; James 4:1-10; Matthew 5:1-16

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Remembrance Weekend Sermon Exchange

St John’s is holding our second sermon exchange with Temple Israel, Ottawa’s synagogue for Reform Judaism.

On Friday, November 4, Gary will preach at the evening shabbat service at Temple Israel. The text is Genesis Chapters 12-17. Address: 1301 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa. There’s easy parking and lots of room for St John’s to join in person or online. The service starts at 6:15 p.m.

On Sunday, November 6, St John’s welcomes Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg and the people of Temple Israel for the Remembrance Sunday service at 10:15 a.m. Rabbi Daniel will be preach on the Peace & Remembrance scriptures: Micah 4:1-5, Psalm 85:7-13, James 4:1-10, Matthew 5:1-16.

ST JOHN'S DEMYSTIFIED

Did you ever wonder why people come to St. John's? What they believe? Why they worship the way they do? Why they always seem so busy with outreach programs, community engagement, social justice activities, and a million other things? You are not alone!

The Lifelong Learning Committee is planning a series of conversations to help all parishioners, new and old, to deepen their understanding and appreciation of who we are and what we do at St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church. Over 4 sessions there will be time to engage in thoughtful dialogue on topics like these:

Where does Christianity fit among religions of the world, and where does Anglicanism fit among Christian traditions, and where does St John’s fit in the Anglican tradition?
Why do we worship the way we do?
How do we live out our faith in practice?
How do we engage with the world?

The above topics will be explored through four 2-hour Saturday morning sessions to be held (in person) on Nov. 5th, 12th and 19th (10 AM-12PM). This is intended for everyone – you might be new to these questions or maybe you have been thinking about them for a long time. Join us for a chance to learn from each other and to share your views and insights.

TAKE NOTE

Dear Friends at St John’s,

Words cannot express my appreciation for the caring and kindness shown to me and my family following the death of our beloved Bruce. Thank you doesn’t even begin to express our gratitude for all the love and generosity showered on us. Prayers, cards, words of support, food and offers of assistance of all kinds came from so many. We are truly grateful.

To those of you who participated in the Celebration of Bruce’s Life, I owe a huge debt of gratitude. The “Remembering Bruce” really painted a picture of the man with all his different facets. No speaker mentioned his love of music but Gordon, the musicians and the choir showed us the beauty and power of music that so stirred Bruce’s spirit.

As the gathered friends and family came together in the sharing of the bread and wine, I felt uplifted. Later, the affection shown and stories and memories recounted at the reception were a perfect conclusion to the celebration. Again the St. John’s family came through by providing a beautiful and tasty feast. They even catered to Bruce’s sweet tooth!

Bruce loved St John’s. He fumed and fussed over our difficulties and rejoiced in our accomplishments. Whether changing light bulbs, mopping up the washroom or being warden, he always did his best to promote what he believed was the mission of our church.

And what might Bruce have said about the celebration of his life?

“It was a great send off”. Thank you all again. Mary Frances

A Legacy of Support

As we focus on stewardship during our annual campaign this fall, it is important to remember that there is more than one way we can support St John’s financially. One of these is leaving a bequest for St John’s in your will. This is what Mary Ellen Herbert did.

Many long-time parishioners will remember Mary Ellen as a quiet but very active member of St John’s. A major focus of her volunteer work was with the Refugee Assistance Group, where she was a key member in the circle of RAG members who helped settle sponsored families from Afghanistan and elsewhere. Mary Ellen died in 2021, and in her will she left a bequest of $43,000 to St John’s, with instructions that it be used for refugee support. Each week recently, the St John’s office has been receiving heart-rending pleas from women in Afghanistan whose lives are in danger under because of their work supporting women’s rights. Mary Ellen’s gift means that RAG will have more capacity to support new sponsorship cases such as these. We are so thankful for her generosity!

If you would like to discuss leaving a bequest for St John’s, please speak to the Reverend Canon Gary van der Meer or one of the Stewardship Committee Co-Chairs, Barbara Dransch and Emmy Verdun.

Canada Army Run will impact traffic around Ottawa this weekend

The Canada Army Run returns to Ottawa on Sunday, November 6. Residents can expect increased traffic in the downtown area throughout the day.

The running event starts on Laurier Avenue, between City Hall and Metcalfe Street, and ends at the National War Memorial. The following roads will be closed to accommodate the run:

From 6 am to 2 pm:
Laurier Avenue West, from Nicholas to Bay streets
Bay Street, from Laurier Avenue West to Wellington Street
From 7 am to 2 pm:
Wellington Street, from the Portage Bridge to Elgin Street
Lyon Street North, from Wellington Street to Laurier Avenue West
Elgin Street, from Wellington to Lisgar streets
Rideau Street, from Elgin Street to Sussex Drive
Mackenzie Avenue, from Sussex Drive to Rideau Street
Sussex Drive, from Rideau Street to Princess Avenue
Princess Avenue, from Sussex Drive to Lisgar Road
Sir George Etienne Cartier Parkway, from Lisgar Road to Sussex Drive
Lisgar Road, from Mariposa Avenue to Rideau Terrace/Dufferin Road
Dufferin Road southbound, from Rideau Terrace to MacKay Street
MacKay Street eastbound, from Dufferin Road to Sussex Drive
Bruyere Street (both sides), from Parent Avenue to Sussex Drive (local traffic only)
St. Patrick Street (both sides), from Parent Avenue to Sussex Drive (local traffic only)

A full list of road closures and event details can be found on the Canada Army Run website.

OC Transpo and Société de Transport de l’Outaouais (STO) routes will be detoured due to the street closures. To plan your transit trip, visit octranspo.com or sto.ca. You can also connect with OC Transpo through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Visit the City’s traffic impacts webpage, interactive traffic map or follow the City’s traffic account on Twitter for additional information on traffic impacts throughout the weekend.

For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca, call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) or 613-580-2400 to contact the City using Canada Video Relay Service. You can also connect with us through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.