St John's Newsletter for 20 February 2022

THIS WEEK AT ST JOHN'S

THE SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY

Dear Friends,

We are staying online for worship this Sunday!

We were ready to return to in-person worship in the St John’s Church building. We had even received great news from the Bishop of Ottawa about the relaxing of pandemic safety requirements. “As of February 17^th, congregational singing is allowed and capacity limits are increased to the number of persons who can physically distance in the worship space.” But it will have to wait.

St John’s is on the border of the security red zone issued by police for this weekend.

I expect you have been following the latest developments in the news and I would encourage you to pray for all involved. Canterbury Cathedral has released a book of prayers for almost any situation. This is a prayer for challenging times, for a time of fear:

Lord, you have taught us that perfect love casts out fear,

and yet the news we hear every day gives us cause to be alarmed.

Help us all, in our weakness and fragility,

to entrust our lives to your care,

and share with us the burden of our anxieties,

That we may experience the joy of that fullness of life

for which we have been created, redeemed and sanctified,

in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Canterbury Book of New Parish Prayers: Collects for the Church and the World

M.J. Kramer, Canterbury Press, 2020

Let’s hope we will be able to meet in-person next week. For this Sunday’s worship, please join us on Zoom at 8:00 & 10:15 a.m. HERE

Gary+

TO REMEMBER IN PRAYER

Those On Our Hearts

The staff, volunteers and participants in the programs of The Well; Robin, Maura, John, Pat, Bill, The Reverend Gary van der Meer, Major the Reverend Canon Catherine Askew, The Reverend Canon Allen Box, 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

For our Ottawa Pastoral Counselling Centre and Sharon York, Executive Director, as well as their staff and clients.

For members of our Parish Ministry Committee.

Peace Latvian Lutheran Church and their pastor Sylvia Zalts-Sipolins.

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)

The Most Rev. David Edwards, Archbishop, and the clergy and people of the Diocese of Fredericton.

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada (ELCIC)

The dean, council, and congregations of the Grand River and Thames Areas of the Eastern Synod.

ACC/ELCIC An end to human trafficking and slavery.

The Anglican Communion from Aba to Zululand

The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem & The Middle East.

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

SCRIPTURE READINGS

THE SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY

Genesis 45:3-15; Psalm 37:1-40; 1 Corinthians 15:35-50; Luke 6:27-38

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Annual Vestry Meeting via Zoom at 2pm,

February 27th

Ashes to Go: 11-12pm & 4-5pm Narthex

ASH WEDNESDAY READINGS

2 MARCH, 2022 7:30PM

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

ASH WEDNESDAY VIRTUAL PWRDF SUPPER

WED. MARCH 2nd, 2022 AT 5:30 P.M.

Please join us virtually, with a bowl of soup on Wed. March 2nd at 5:30 p.m. for our annual PWRDF Ash Wednesday Supper. Our Ash Wednesday service will take place at St. John’s church at 7:30 p.m.

We are delighted to once again welcome Will Postma, Executive-Director of The Primate’s World Relief & Development Fund. Mr. Postma will bring us up-to-date on PWRDF’s pandemic response to our African and Indigenous Canadian partners, along with PWRDF’s response to BC’s wildfires and flood this past year.

The virtual program will also feature some great music from Latin America and an interesting video on PWRDF’s highly acclaimed Midwives Program. This is our annual fundraiser for PWRDF at St. John’s and we welcome your donations. You can donate directly to PWRDF via their website - https://pwrdf.org/give-today/. When donating online please note the Diocese of Ottawa and St. John’s Parish in the comments section.

Many thanks for your support. Please note: link to follow in the next couple of weeks.

We look forward to seeing you, virtually, on Wed. March 2nd, at 5:30 p.m.

From The St. John’s PWRDF Committee.

LENT PROGRAM:

REFECTIONS FOR ST JOHN'S

You are invited to join the following Lifelong Learning gatherings at the following LINK

Debriefing the Diocesan Anniversary Lecture

Michelle Good – “Five Little Indians”

Wednesday March 9, 7:30 p.m.

(75 minutes - on Zoom)

Preparation: Watch the Lecture

HERE

Debriefing the Diocesan Anniversary Lecture

Jason McKinney - “The Church as Commons: A Theological Case for Affordable Housing”

Wednesday March 23, 7:30 p.m. (75 minutes on Zoom)

Preparation: Watch the Lecture

HERE

Learning from the Diocese of Ottawa's Communications Planning and Branding Processes

Brian Cameron – Chair, Diocesan Communications Advisory Panel

Wednesday April 6, 7:30 p.m. (75 minutes on Zoom)

HERE

The Lifelong Learning Steering Committee would like its events to be as relevant and helpful as possible to the faith journeys of all St. John's parishioners and visitors. What are the questions, issues, and ideas that you would most like to explore over the year ahead? Please send your suggestions to the Lifelong Learning Steering Committee by emailing Vicki Robinson.

Vicki Robinson

Sally Andrews

Margaret Kasurak

Ian Myles

Gary van der Meer

Lifelong Learning Steering Committee

TAKE NOTE

ADO 125th ANNIVERSARY

Lecture Series

Panel Discussion on

February 21, 2022 at 7:30 p.m.

Our panelists are:

Dr. Stewart Elgie

Director of the University of Ottawa's interdisciplinary Environment Institute, as well as founder and chair of Smart Prosperity, a Canadian green economy think tank and policy-research network.

Dr. Robert Gifford

University of Victoria professor of psychology and environmental studies, specializing in environmental psychology and barriers to sustainable behaviour or "the dragons of inaction."

‌

Jacob Crane

Citizen of the Tsuut'ina Nation, entrepreneur and community leader, and the just transition lead for Indigenous Climate Action.

Lynda Collins

University of Ottawa professor of environmental law and global sustainability, specializing in environmental human rights, rights of nature, and environmental rights. She is the author of The Ecological Constitution.

As experts gathered in Glasgow for the UN Climate Change Conference in late 2021, their message to the world was that there is an urgent need for humanity to change the way we live on the Earth and to find creative solutions to lower carbon emissions globally. We need to act as individuals, communities, and nations. The Anglican Diocese of Ottawa is bringing together experts to educate and inspire action for the third installment of an online lecture series that commemorates the 125th anniversary of the Diocese and looks forward to the future with hope.

It will be livestreamed on Zoom and on the ADO YouTube channel.

REGISTRATION

Theology Study on the Book of Revelation

The Ecumenical Book Study on Revelation is now at its seventh of seven weeks.

You are welcome to join this lecture, even if it’s your first one, on Tuesday February 15, 7:00 p.m

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. Note It’s a new Eventbrite link for each week – register HERE.

"No More Victims" is CoSA's overarching goal. On April 29, 2022, Circles of Support and Accountability will be hosting an opportunity for you to play a role in achieving No More Victims by participating in their fundraising Gala!

With our funding from the federal government concluding in March 2022, we are seeking your support to help CoSA-Ottawa continue its vital work of preventing sexual offending. By purchasing a ticket to the Gala and partaking in the live and silent auctions, not only will you enjoy a great evening, but you will be contributing directly to your community's safety.

See our website to become a distinguished sponsor, reserve a table for 8 friends, or purchase individual tickets https://cosa-ottawa.ca/no-more-victims-gala/.

While we recognize that our No More Victims Gala date of April 29, may be wishful thinking with regard to future limitations on social gatherings, we also know that we are all eager to return of some sort of normalcy. We all want to be able to gather together and enjoy each other's company – especially for such a great cause, and particularly at this crucial time for CoSA-Ottawa. Rest assured that we will only proceed on that date if it is safe to do so. If it's necessary to postpone, please note that we have reserved Wednesday, October 19, 2022, as an alternate date and therefore your support would be carried over to the rescheduled date. We look forward to enjoying this exciting event with you!

Thank you for your support!