THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY |
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REIMAGINING COMING TOGETHER AT ST JOHN’S |
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Dear Friends
When I was little, we always looked forward to going to my grandparents’ farm. We liked the cows and we liked jumping in the hay, but we especially loved the kittens. It was because we were so crazy about kittens that we were not allowed in the “bird building”. My grandfather collected ornamental birds – parakeets, canaries, pheasants – milking cows was his job and the birds were his real love. God forbid a cat should get in there.
At last, with warnings about the cats, he gave us a tour. He opened a nest box and we saw a budgie sitting on eggs, and another one with tiny babies. Then he showed us the eggs in his incubator. I was full of questions about the whole process. He explained that the mother bird plucks some of her own feathers to have a warm patch on her stomach to incubate her eggs - and that’s when I got the idea.
I asked my mother for an egg from the fridge. She asked what I was going to do and I said I was going to hatch it. I built a nest of sticks and grass. Then I untucked my shirt to sit on the egg just like the mother bird. My mother played along with a hint of a smile. That egg was cold from the fridge and no amount of clucking sounds changed its temperature. I don’t remember what I did with the egg, whether I gave it back or broke it to see if my efforts had changed it in any way.
This memory came back to me recently as I watched another child’s active imagination. It’s wonderful how parents roll with things.
People don’t stop having active imaginations when they grow up. In regular times, the world is predictable and different ideas never see the light of day. If we were trying to reimagine church in predictable times, we might not change a thing.
We are not in predictable times. The Anglican Diocese of Ottawa has a process called “The Future Shape of Parish Ministry” because we need imagination about a coming decline in the number of viable church congregations. Added to that, each wave of the pandemic is pushing St John’s to experiment with different ways of coming together.
Our format for coming together continues to change. This time around, we are doing the whole service on Zoom at our regularly scheduled worship times of 8:00 and 10:15 a.m. each Sunday. You may have noticed we haven’t had any new videos since we stopped in-person worship. We were holding at a high number of viewers, but the pause is to help us re-imagine what kind of videos we need. This Sunday, we will start recording the sermon during the service on Zoom. We will be back with new videos soon!
As we use our imaginations and as we try different things, some of our experiments will be futile like my egg-hatching story. A silver lining of the back-and-forth of the pandemic might be that becoming nimble, experimental, and imaginative will help with the larger questions raised by “The Future Shape of Parish Ministry.”
Let’s keep trying new ways!
Gary+
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TO REMEMBER IN PRAYER
Those On Our Hearts
Robin, Maura, John, The Reverend Gary van der Meer, Major the Reverend Canon Catherine Askew, Ministry Intern John Holgate, Gordon, Gregory, Kerry and all who minister at St John's.(Please note Prayers will be posted for two consecutive weeks unless requested to be posted for a longer period of time.)
Our Diocese
St. John’s Smiths Falls and their priest The Reverend Canon Catherine Ascah.
For the work and ministry of our Diocesan Ecumenical Officer, The Venerable Linda Hill. For our Diocesan Newspaper Crosstalk, and for Leigh Anne Williams, Editor.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Our Bishop, The Right Reverend Shane Parker, our Metropolitan, The Most Reverend Anne Germond and our Primate, The Most Reverend Linda Nicholls.
Anglican Church of Canada (ACC)
Executive Director, Will Postma, and staff of the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada (ELCIC)
Executive Director, Karin Achtelstetter, and staff of Canadian Lutheran World Relief.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The Anglican Communion from Aba to Zululand
The Church of England.
Parish Prayer Group
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
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Sunday at 8:00am & 10.15am
Each service begins with 30 minutes of social time, i.e. 7:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m.
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Update from the Stewardship Committee |
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Many thanks to those who sent in response cards. We appreciate your financial commitment to support the important work that St. John’s does at the corner of Elgin and Somerset. We have received a total 91 financial pledges, including ongoing commitments from parishioners using PAR. We are happy to report that the total amount pledged is over $250,000. We will provide a final tally in February.
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In the meantime, if you have not yet sent in a reply, please do so, even if you plan to give the same amount as before. This will help us to plan for the future. |
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Preaching Exchange with Temple Israel |
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On the weekend of January 22 and 23, we are sharing sermons with Temple Israel
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Temple Israel
Saturday January 22 - 10:15 a.m.
Rev. Gary van der Meer will give the sermon for Temple Israel on the synagogue text of the day, Exodus 18:1-20:23.
St John's and friends are invited to join this online service on Facebook Live.
*Please note that you do not have to be a member of Facebook to watch this service*
You can also click on the link from the website of Temple Israel:
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St John the Evangelist
Sunday January 23
8:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.
Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg will give the sermon at St John's on the texts of the day: Nehemiah 8:1-10, Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Luke 4:14-21.
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This free lecture will be hosted on Zoom for those who wish to register and have the opportunity to ask questions at: https /tinyurl.com/2p8csmnb
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The lecture will also be livestreamed on YouTube for those who just want to watch.
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Centretown Churches Social Action Committee (CCSAC) -
A cumbersome name for 22 churches working together in Centretown
The annual walk-a-thon for the Centretown Emergency Food Centre raised over $34,000. Many thanks to those at St. John's who contributed. This money is a much-needed part of the Food Centre's budget, particularly as the City of Ottawa recently decided it will not provide regular funding to the Food Centre after 2022. While other food banks received funding, Centretown Food Centre and the Dalhousie Food Cupboard did not. We have informed our local councillors of the budget cut and asked for their support.
Our Rector, Gary, interviewed Diana Mahaffy, the coordinator of the Centretown Food Centre for the parish video in This Week at St. John's for December 19, 2021.
In addition to looking for new sources of funding, CCSAC is beginning the search for a new location for the Food Centre. The current location at 507 Bank Street is not accessible and is too small to expand our services. Ideally, the Food Centre would be located in a church, community centre or other non-commercial space. The Food Centre is also looking for additional volunteers to work in the pantry. If you would like to volunteer or can assist in finding new space, please contact Emmy Verdun - emmy.verdun@gmail.com
This winter CCSAC provided warm coats and hats to the Odawa drop-in centre on Rideau Street. We have advocated on behalf of organizations and projects that help those in need in Centretown, including access to washrooms and measures to support affordable housing. We are looking to expand our outreach work over the coming year.
We invite guest speakers to our monthly meetings to learn about what other churches and organizations are doing to help those in need in Centretown. We recently welcomed Kaite Burkholder Harris, Executive Director of the Alliance to End Homelessness, and Brandon Rabideau, coordinator of Haven Too youth shelter at Fourth Avenue Baptist Church. Rachel Robinson will speak at our next meeting about our Diocese's drop-in programs at The Well, St. Luke's Table and Centre 454.
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Theology Study on the Book of Revelation
The Christian Council of the Capital Area is presenting a teaching series online by our neighbour, The Rev John Perkin of First Baptist Church. This seven-week study on the book of Revelation-is intended to give understanding to some of the major motifs and symbols in the last book of the Bible.
We often hear it said that we live in "apocalyptic times." Our age has shaped the images and symbols of apocalypse to give a very different interpretation of what is perceived to be a time of crisis, and a time of crisis is exactly what gave rise to the original apocalyptic texts, most notably the book of Revelation. In our faith tradition, it is important for us to understand the book of Revelation in its original context and meaning, rather than the ways it is portrayed in the popular culture of our age. This seven-week study will look at ways to interpret the book of Revelation from a faith perspective, not as a guide to the future but as an encouragement to the Christian life. As well, it will seek to give understanding to some of the major motifs and symbols in the last book of the Bible, such as the Four Horsemen, Armageddon, and the New Jerusalem.
The outline for the seven weeks is as follows:
- Revelation in popular culture,
- The centrality of Christ in Revelation
- Reading Revelation; different perspectives
- The seven woes and four horsemen explained
- Beasts, numerology and being countercultural
- Babylon Falls: hope and resilience
- A new world
Rev. John C. Perkin is minister at First Baptist Church. He spent twenty-five years as chaplain and professor at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, where he taught in the area of faith and culture, including a course called The Apocalyptic Consciousness; this course in apocalyptic studies explored the book of Revelation and its interpretation through the centuries. John has been a frequent spokesperson in national media on themes of Revelation and apocalypticism; his course was noted by Macleans magazine for its popularity.
*Please note that additional participants are welcome to attend the Revelation study. Each session stands on its own.
Register on Eventbrite and you will receive an email with the Zoom Link for the next seven Tuesdays at 7:30 pm (starting Tuesday, January 11).
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THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
23 JANUARY 2022
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ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST
ANGLICAN CHURCH
154 Somerset Street West, Ottawa, ON K2P 0H8
613-232-4500
office@stjohnsottawa.ca
The Reverend Gary van der Meer, Rector
Major the Reverend Canon Catherine Askew, Honorary Assistant
Dr Gordon Johnston, FRCCO, Organist and Choirmaster
Detlef Dransch, Rector’s Warden
Stephen Giles, People's Warden
Steve Chaplin, Deputy Rector's Warden
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Anishinabe aking ate awaso kikinawadjichigan.
This land we are upon is the traditional territory of the Algonquin people.
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