St John's Newsletter 30 October 2022

THIS WEEK AT ST JOHN'S

Dear Friends,

Welcome to another packed weekend (and week) at St John’s! Here’s what you need to know so you won’t miss anything:

Sunday – There is no service at 10:15 a.m. – that service is moved to 4:15 p.m.

We tried this as an experiment in the spring – with the option of supper afterwards at Deacon Brodies. We liked it and it’s worth repeating – but it’s still a “one-off” – we will go back to our regular times 8:00 & 10:15 next week. This week, come at 8:00 a.m. or 4:15 p.m.

Please note that in case you forget, we will greet you in the narthex from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. with communion from the reserved sacrament.

Saturday – Funeral for Bruce Marshall

Everyone is invited for the service at 2:00 p.m. Visitation in the church 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Reception following downstairs in The Well.

Read Bruce Marshall’s obituary and watch the service online HERE.
Reminder parking in the parking garage in free during the funeral service and reception.

Saturday – First Session of St John’s Demystified

We are ready to welcome you in the Parish Hall starting from 9:45 a.m. Our conversation starter is a schematic diagram of all the world’s major religious traditions including timelines of when they separated from each other to create new traditions. Find the traditions you have belonged to in the past and also to locate where St John’s fits in the spectrum of the world’s religions for the theme of this first session, “Where Do We Fit / Where Do I Fit?”

Start with coffee, banana bread, fruit and conversation at 9:45 a.m. Done by 11:45 a.m.

Wednesday – Movie Night “Coco” for All Souls Day

Following up on this Sunday’s celebration of All Saints Day – a special focus on people who are memorable examples to us of living a life of faith – All Souls Day is an observance of prayer and trust in God’s love for all who have died. This movie presents the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) – a Mexican version to encourage our reflection and conversation about what we believe about life beyond death.

We bought a licence to show movies and this is our first one!
We are serving Mexican Tacos (enough for 20). Please bring appetizers, drinks, and leftover Halloween Candy!
Sign-up sheet at the back of the church.
Enter from Somerset Street and we are meeting in The Well space (downstairs). Arrival from 5:30 p.m. (Concluding by 8:45 p.m.)

Welcome to St John’s – hope to see you this weekend!

Gary+

PS 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.”

REPORT ON SYNOD

St John’s was well-represented at the Annual Synod Meeting of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa. Synod began with worship at the Cathedral on Thursday evening, October 20. We met all day Friday and then Saturday morning. Bishop Shane Parker gave the charge to synod as a sermon at the opening service. The focus was on moving from “being changed” to “leading change” through our ongoing process of The Shape of Parish Ministry. Motions were presented about strengthening parish ministry, lifelong formation, and engagement with the world.

Two things stood out for me:

Most of the motions were passed unanimously. This suggests that the preparation we have had over the past two years has been careful and clear – that we trust the process as laid out will indeed “instill the life and work of our diocesan church with new purpose and direction.”
I especially appreciated the extent of St John’s participation in Synod: the opening service, the displays on various ministries, presentations by parishioners with significant leadership roles in the diocese, as well as the synod delegates. I think if we added them all up, St John’s might be better represented than any other parish. For all the individual reasons that brought us, this is a great sign. We are part of something larger than ourselves and that’s important to us.

Gary+

Read a summary of what happened at Synod HERE.

TO REMEMBER IN PRAYER

Those On Our Hearts

Mary Frances and Family, 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 Area Parish of Mississippi Lake:

St. James Church, Carleton Place
St. James Church, Franktown
St. John’s Church, Innisville
Christ Church Ashton
St. Bede’s Church, Nolans Corners

The Venerable Brian Kauk

The Reverend Jonathan Askwith

For our Lutheran sisters and brothers on Reformation Sunday.

Anglican Church of Canada (ACC)

The Rt. Rev. Leslie Wheeler-Dame, Bishop, and the clergy and people of the Diocese of Yukon.

ELCIC

The president, faculty, students, and staff of Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon.

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

ALL SAINTS

30 OCTOBER 2022

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31

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 Oct. 29th, and 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

They came, they saw, they painted!

Over the last two weeks, eight volunteers answered the call from the St John's Refugee Assistance Group to help paint an apartment for the Mirzamir family from Afghanistan, who will be arriving in early November. Thanks to their work, the apartment is bright and clean, and ready to receive the family of six. Many of them came more than once, and in total they contributed about 20 volunteer hours. A huge thank you to Allan, Colin, Deborah, Ed, Garth, Jill, Mahdis and Patrick, on behalf of RAG and the Mirzamir family.