Seeing is Believing

Seeing is Believing: The November Challenge for St Faith’s from  Rector, Richard Leggett -- updated

On Sunday, Oct 30th I issued an invitation to the members of the Parish to 'see' Jesus by

1) reading one chapter of Matthew's gospel each day from the 1st of November through the 28th to prepare for the Year of Matthew that begins on Sunday November 27th;

2) finding ten to twenty minutes each day to:

·   give thanks for all that God has done for us and for all people;

·   intercede with God for our world;

·   name before God our personal needs and concerns, and

·   pray the Lord's Prayer.

 

You can listen to my sermon "Seeing is Believing: Reflections on Luke 19:1-10" with its invitation by clicking here.

 

On Sunday Nov 6th I issued November Challenge Part II

 1.   What do you believe is the most urgent work God is doing in the world today?

2.   What role can you play in this urgent work?

3.   What gifts can you bring to this work?

4.   Who are your partners in this work?

5.   What one thing can you do in the next three weeks to join God in this work?  Is it a gift of your time or your talent or your treasure?

Blessings,

Richard+

 

Sharing the Harvest

For the second year, St Faith’s and St. Augustine’s organized “Sharing the Harvest”.  On Thanksgiving Sunday, members of the churches in the Deanery of Granville brought donations of fresh produce to decorate their Altars and included non-perishable food items as part of their offertory which was supplemented by donations from UBC Farms, Safeway, Terra Breads and the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.

 

Then on Monday Oct. 10th over 80 people by St. Augustine’s for coffee, sandwiches and conversation while volunteers assisted them to fill shopping bags with food. 

 

I am so grateful to everyone who worked to make “Sharing the Harvest” a success again this year.  Thank you for your offerings of food, time and care for our brothers and sisters in our community.

 

Blessings,

The Rev'd Christine Wilson  
 

Kitchen Goddesses

St. Faith’s New Book of Remembrance: May Their Memory Be A Blessing

For many years entries in our Memorial Book were faithfully made by calligraphers connected with St. Faith’s. However, in the past number of years it became more difficult to find anyone with that skill, and sadly the loss of many of our more recent parishioners has not been recorded and therefore their names are not available for display on the anniversary of their death. 

As we accumulated the data for our recently installed Memorial Garden plaques (which show year of interment) we realized that with a little more effort we could gather the names of all our parishioners who died after 1970*, regardless of where they may have been buried, and have a book that will allow us to remember more than those whose ashes are in the Garden.  By switching to a computer printed version with names and date of death we can be assured that this Book of Remembrance may easily be maintained.

The new Book of Remembrance was installed and blessed on Sunday, September 11^th, 2016 on Founder’s Day as St. Faith’s celebrated 69 years of ministry in this neighbourhood.

Gatherer of All Good Memories

here in this sacred place of St. Faith’s
we have come to celebrate a history,
to gather the memories of many decades.

You have sown the deep seeds of faith
and kept alive a parish
through the fidelity of those who prayed here,
and the generousity of those who served here.

While our world is weary and worn with pain,

may we take hope and find courage
in what we celebrate:
the strong faith of our ancestors,
the friendship of our neighbours and relatives,
the generous leadership of pastors,
the goodness of each one willing to reach out
and be there in a time of need.

We thank you, Gracious God, for our faith,

and for this place of worship and community,
which has nourished many souls.

May this book of Remembrance be a constant reminder of those who have come before us.
May we be filled with hope, knowing that the people of St. Faith’s
believe in your constant Presence,
accept your Grace
share your Love,
and celebrate your Life with one Another.

Blessed are you, O God of the faithful.

Blessed are you, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Blog Post by Gillian McIntyre

 

 

* The Memorial Garden was established in 1971. 

   Prior to this records are less accurate.

Portions of the Blessing are taken from “Out of the Ordinary” © 2000 by Joyce Rupp.  Used by permission of Ave Maria Press.  All rights reserved.

St. Hildegard's Sanctuary

St. Hildegard's Sanctuary will be resuming regular services on September 11, 2016. We meet weekly on Sunday evenings at 6:00pm, at St. Faith’s Anglican Church, 7284 Cypress Street, in Vancouver.

St. Hildegard’s Sanctuary is an inclusive, arts-based, contemplative Christian community. We engage creativity to respond to and connect with the Holy, one another, and the broader community. During services, stations are set up around our worship space that have creative/kinaesthetic elements, with varying possibilities to paint, write, play with sand or water, light candles, offer prayers, and always there is time and space for reflection. We seek the Creator for hope, healing, rest, and sustenance, we remember Jesus, share bread and wine, and extend the invitational love of God. Whether you call St. Hildegard’s home - or simply want to visit with us - all are welcome! And you do not have to self-identify as an artist to join us. Come as a beloved creation of God!

On Sunday, September 18 we will be celebrating the feast of St. Hildegard - and we are delighted to welcome some very special guest artists:

Carl Leggo is a Poet and Professor and Papa. Carl is a Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia.

Celeste Snowber is a dancer, writer, poet, and educator. Celeste is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University.

Allen Desnoyers is a musician and composer and playwright. Allen is the Artistic Director of the Canadiana Musical Theatre Company, creator of the Rosebud Opera House, and co-founder of Vancouver's Pacific Theatre.

We hope you can join us… all are welcome.

 

Edible Landscaping at St Faith’s

We know that there are hungry people in our neighbourhoods.  There was a little plot of unproductive land beside St Faith’s.  Joining the dots wasn’t difficult.  More interesting was deciding what to plant and where.  While the primary goal is food production, there is no reason why we cannot have a little fun along the way.  But even fun with plants has some constraints: there is some shading; we must be respectful of our location, a place of worship; pre-schoolers pass by daily; and the garden should be visually interesting and attractive.

In the three raised beds St. Faith’s gardeners have planted two rows of tomatoes to catch the sun. Behind them are rows of bush beans, Swiss Chard and sorrel. Leafy plants do better in slightly shady positions and some varieties, such the ‘Celebration’ variety of Swiss Chard are visually arresting. To the rear of two of the boxes giant sunflowers have been planted, a bit of gamble in this location. The sunflowers are doing double duty: welcoming us with their smiles and also acting as supports for scarlet runner beans. 

Wherever possible, plant species which are mentioned in the Bible have been planted. For example, blue flax (Joshua 2) is good plant to edge the borders. Beans are productive and resilient (Genesis 25: 27-34). One plant which isn’t mentioned in the Bible but which will slither its way in is the wonderfully named Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare). This plant has flowers which resemble the tongue of a snake and so is found in some Biblical gardens.  Perhaps we should plant these in the boxes near the church entrance as a warning against temptation!

Open-pollinated varieties have been planted whenever possible. We can then save the seeds from the best plant from each harvest.  Artificial selection in this way will eventually give us seeds best suited to our particular conditions.

The gardens are lovingly tended and every week the harvest is being brought to our sister Church, St. Augustine’s in Marpole and shared with the people who come to their Thursday evening community meal.

Thank you to everyone for helping to create and care for this new ministry at St. Faith’s –  one more way we are responding  to God’s call to care for those in need in our neighbourhood.

Good Shepherd Sunday

On Sunday, April 17th 2016  St. Faith's celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday.

 

Click on this link to hear the sermon given by The Rev'd Christine Wilson

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/74275025/RCL%20Easter%204C%202016%2004%2017.m4a

 

 ....   God is calling us to be the Good Shepherd… to care for people who are suffering, who are in pain, people who are poor in monetary terms, and poor in spirit, people who are crying out just to be known.   All of us are called to be good shepherds for each other, to support each other as we continue on the journey of our lives.

Thank you to everyone brought offerings of food and clothing to church on April 17^th Good Shepherd Sunday.  These offerings will be shared within our neighbourhood through St. Faith’s Community Pastoral Resource Centre and St. Augustine’s Hudson Street Hub.

 

By showing your support for our brothers and sisters in need you are saying “I care about you, I may not yet know your name but you are important, you are loved.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Hildegard’s Sanctuary is coming to St. Faith’s

There is a new ministry initiative of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster called “St. Hildegard's Sanctuary”, an arts-based, contemplative worship service. 

Stations will be set up around the worship space which have creative/kinaesthetic elements. There may be stations where we paint, write, play with sand or water, light candles - and always there will be time and space for quiet and reflection. 

We will seek the Creator for healing, rest, and sustenance. 
We will share bread and wine and remember Jesus: God with us.
Then go forth sustained by the Spirit to share God’s love however we are called to do so.

All are welcome.

Sunday evenings at 6pm: February 21, 28, March 6, 13, 20

at St. Faith's Anglican Church

7284 Cypress Street, Vancouver, BC.

Facilitated by The Rev’d Melanie Calabrigo. 

 

Continuing to Care for Those in Need in our Community

A New Initiative of our Pastoral Resource Centre at St. Faith’s
by The Rev’d Christine Wilson

St. Augustine’s Hudson Street Hub and the Community Pastoral Resource Centre at St. Faith’s are pleased to share news of our latest initiative.

As many of you may know for the past few years the Community Pastoral Resource Centre at St. Faith’s has been providing compassionate support, advocacy and referral services for people in need in Kerrisdale and Marpole.  We offer a place where people can meet with a care advocate who will make warm referrals to the appropriate dignity resources for housing, food, health and security and provide support in making those connections.  

In Marpole, where there is a considerable number of vulnerable and fragile people, in 2013 St. Augustine’s Anglican Church established the ‘Hudson Street Hub’, expanding its existing outreach ministry -- offering low cost clothing and goods, hosting a Food Bank depot, offering three community meals per week, hosting recreation/socialization programs, and providing workshops and clinics related to the day-to-day issues of people in need. 

The St. Augustine’s Hudson Street Hub and St. Faith’s Community Pastoral Resource Centre regularly support each other’s ministries and cross refer clients.  Because the Hub and the Resource Centre have ministries that are complementary, we have embarked upon a Community Support Ministry Collaboration Project for which we have received a 2016-2017 care+share grant to strengthen our intentional ministry together in order to share God’s love and hope with the most vulnerable members of our community. 

Our latest initiative has been to establish a year round depot for access to free clothing and housewares.  Every Thursday and Saturday St. Augustine’s opens its “Second Hand Rows’ thrift shop where people can purchase low cost, gentle used clothing, housewares, linens, books, movies and more.

We have arranged with Second Hand Rows for our Community Pastoral Resource Centre to offer vouchers which can be redeemed for up to $25.00 worth of merchandise for people in need who are not able to afford the cost.

You can support this ministry by making donations of gently used clothing and housewares which may be dropped off at St. Augustine’s on Thursdays between 10am and 1pm and Saturdays between 11am and 2pm – and encouraging your friends and neighbours to do the same.   (8670 Hudson St. at 71st Ave.)

We are very grateful to the volunteers at Second Hand Rows and to St. Augustine’s Hudson Street Hub for making this wonderful new initiative possible.