September 19, 2025

Note: Be sure to click download external images to see all the content.

In this week's newsletter:

Sunday Service

Amalgamation Information Sessions Update

GLEE Club Launches THIS SUNDAY

Spotlight on Saint Andrew’s Community: Leona Burkey

Saint Andrew's Supports Social Justice

Draw The Line!

Drag Me To Church

On The Stage: Upcoming Events

Navigating moral ground, taking the high road (or is it?) - Lord, how we stumble.

Reflecting on the ways in which people with power dominate and subjugate, this psalmist counsels her hewers about the wicked of this world, and how to deal with them. It is hard counsel, I'm afraid. But can we listen to our elders?

This Sunday we do, and we'll listen to a song from the musical Godspell ( not Day by Day! ), and if you're up for GLEE, we'll have a luncheon after the service. (see the info below). A great day at Saint Andrew's.

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Susan was interviewed, along with other local spiritual leaders, by CTV Atlantic this week for a story on worshippers worrying about the rise of religious intolerance in Halifax. If you missed it on the evening news, you can watch the clip here.

One United Information Sessions Update

The Amalgamation Task Group gave presentations this week (September 14 at Saint Matthew's and September 17 at Saint Andrew's), with the same material presented at both meetings, with Q&A following. 

Topics included: properties, staffing, transition planning, the overall vision, and the voting process.

The presentation slides and a recording of the September 17 meeting are available to you by clicking the button below, or you can watch the recording on YouTube by clicking on the image above.

Please mark your calendars for the Amalgamation Vote on October 19 following our Sunday Services.

Saint Andrew's Glee Club Launches SUNDAY!

Wonder what it was like to come of age as trans, queer, or an ally in the 1970s, 1990s, or 2010s? Ever wanted to ask someone about the gadget they’re wearing or a button on their bag, but were afraid of offending? Sick of hunting for answers big and small on Reddit and wishing you could just talk to someone in person? Don’t know how Reddit works at all? Separated from your family by geography or emotional distance and looking for support or insight from a Gen Zer or a Boomer? How do we form and keep close bonds as we move through every stage of life?

If any of that sounds like you, we warmly invite you to St. Andrew’s GLEE - Generations sharing Lived Experiences and Education - Club. As an Affirming Church, St. Andrew’s Halifax is committed to supporting queer and trans people who may feel cut off from younger or older generations. The GLEE Club provides a sober, well-lit, safe space where queer and trans people and allies can gather to share stories and experiences.

The first meeting is THIS SUNDAY September 21 at noon. Lunch will be provided. 

For more information, contact the office office@saintandrewshfx.ca.

Spotlight on Saint Andrew’s Community: Leona Burkey

In 2022 and 2023 Leona Burkey worked closely with Saint Andrew's on the venue side of things as the sanguine host of the groundbreaking Rising Tide Concert Series. In mid-series 2023, a short documentary project called “Wave Theory” was being shot about Leona and her life in music, threaded into home life with her son Zack who has autism. The Rising Tide concerts were inclusive and accessible due to this very personal connection.

“Wave Theory” is an extraordinary short film about a song, a boy, the power of music and big waves. The doc begin and ends beautifully in the sanctuary at Saint Andrews and carries an incredible message of love and acceptance, heightened by the fact that the talented young director of the film, Brandon Boyd, is also a person with autism. The film has already made it’s way across Canada via several film festivals and was nominated for Best Doc at the 2025 Nova Scotia Screen Awards.

Leona invites the Saint Andrew's community to celebrate 10 years of Shine Blue Show, and annual benefit supporting acceptance, inclusion and an outstanding organization, with a screening of “Wave Theory" at The Carleton on Sunday, September 21 at 7pm.

The screening will be by a live show featuring Jon Cornwall, Mahogany Hollow (David Bradshaw & Tyler Cox), Factory Girls (Stef Benac & Bailey MacKinnon), Jennifer King, and special guests.

Tickets are $20 + HST and are available at thecarleton.ca. All proceeds to Autism Nova Scotia. 

Saint Andrew's Support Social Justice

Join Brunswick Street Mission for their 19th Annual Mission Breakfast on Thursday, October 16. Your ticket provides a catered breakfast and an opportunity to hear from local supporters and Guy Felicella.

Thursday October 16

7:30 - 9:00 am

Location: Pier 21

Cost: $145 per person ($100 tax receipt will be given.)

If you wish to sit with other people from Saint Andrew's, make the request to Matt Kok at matt@brunswickstreetmisson.org.

If you're interested in corporate sponsorship, or seeking other details regarding the breakfast, click here.

Guy Felicella is an international public speaker and advocate for drug policy reform. Overcoming a two-decade substance use disorder, he has turned his life around after years of homelessness, gang involvement, and surviving overdoses in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Now, Guy passionately promotes harm reduction, trauma therapy, and faster access to treatment, using his story of resilience and recovery to inspire others and push for compassionate drug policies and addiction support.

All proceeds support the critical services provided by Brunswick Street Mission.

The mission of Brunswick Street Mission is to combat the causes and effects of poverty by providing the community with programming, resources and advocacy to help people achieve well being. Their areas of focus include providing food security through a food bank and breakfast program, one-to-one support using a trauma-informed practice under a Social Worker. They also provide laundry services for unhoused folks, a free tax clinic for those with low annual incomes, and advocate for those experiencing poverty and homelessness in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Draw the Line! Carnival for Change

The Draw The Line Carnival for Change is on September 20 from 1pm-4pm at Grand Parade. Join an afternoon of skill sharing and activities, followed by a rally. Connect with people across movements and make voices heard on this Global Day of Action. It's a gathering to tell corporations and politicians to put people over profit. United, our movements are unstoppable.

Seniors For Climate is joining Climate Action Network, 350.org and other organizations in global actions from September 19-21, 2025.

This will be a worldwide mobilization and a global moment of reckoning.

Drag Me To Church

Be part of something truly fabulous - Drag Me to Church at Saint Andrew’s at 8pm on Saturday, October 25!

We’re going to fill our sanctuary with sequins and celebrate the artistry, inclusivity, and community of drag on our stage.

This is a licensed event. Ages 19+.

There will also be a free 2SLGBTQIA+ Market before the show from 6pm to 8pm.

Tickets are $10 per person and are ON SALE NOW!

On The Stage at Saint Andrew's

A Taste of the Underground

Friday, October 26

Doors: 9:15pm

Show: 9:30pm (no latecomers)

19+

Bar Service

Dress Code/Theme: Wear Your Best Hat + All Black

Underground is doing something a little different this September with an event we are excited to call A Taste of The Underground. We're letting the cat out of the bag early by giving you the venue in advance of the show. Have you always been interested in coming to an Underground but unsure about saying yes without knowing where it’s going to happen?

Lining up with a very special presenters symposium called CanDance we are creating this one-off Underground where you know where you're going beforehand. We are excited to share with Canadian Presenters the talent, brilliance, community and heart that is so special here in the Maritimes! We invite you to dress up in all black + wear your best hat!

P.S. The usual rules still apply: you won't know who's performing ‘til the show happens and the show is as usual ‘phone free’ a la a true speakeasy. We look forward to seeing you Underground.

Sunday Service 10:30am

Office Hours

Monday - Friday 9:00am -1:00pm

Contact & Newsletter Submissions

(902) 422-3157

info@saintandrewshfx.ca

www.saintandrewshfx.ca