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Showing posts from 2007

Ordination Announcement

God willing George, Area Bishop of York-Simcoe will ordain Daniel Francis Graves to the Sacred Order of Priests in Christ’s Holy Catholic Church on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Sunday, January 13th, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. at Holy Trinity Anglican Church 140 Brooke Street, Thornhill, ON L4J 1Y9 Your prayers and presence are requested Reception to follow in the auditorium. Clergy: Red Stoles

Reading the Bible – Part I: The Daily Office Lectionary as a Tool.

Blessed Lord, who has caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. -- The Collect for the Second Sunday in Advent ( Book of Common Prayer ). When I was in seminary, our dean was fond of reminding us that Anglicans read more Scripture than most other Christians. For those who follow the daily pattern of Morning and Evening prayer as set forth in the prayer book or any of our alternative forms, this is likely true. I think that a truer statement might be that Anglicans have opportunity to read more Scripture than most other Christians. In the parish I meet those who are deeply devoted to daily reading of Scripture and prayer. However, I also meet many who are deeply confused about how to approach the Bible, much

Sleepers Wake!

As we travel toward the longest evening of the year, as we near the shortest day, as darkness covers the face of the earth, St. Paul calls us to wake from our sleep. And as with most of our understanding of the gospel, we learn once again that the Kingdom of God is unlike the kingdoms of this world. As we go about our daily tasks in a world that never sleeps, never rests, in a world of continuous wakefulness, the message, “sleepers wake” sounds strangely counter-intuitive. Are we not already awake? Are we not in need of rest, especially at this most trying and exhausting time of the year? Would not the words of Jesus “come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest,” better suit us at this time? And yet, we remain confronted by the call, “sleepers wake!” From what sleep are we called to emerge – just what is the slumber we are challenged to shake off? In the days of great darkness, a light arose in the midst of the people of Judea. While under the oppression

Preparing for Advent

Before entering parish ministry all of my professional life was spent in the retail sector. From the time that I was sixteen I worked in a store. One thing was always consistent in the retail world: The Christmas season began November 1st. In those early days of November, we pulled out our Christmas decorations, began to display Christmas merchandise, and on went the Christmas Carols and music. Even as retailer in the ecclesiastical market – I was retail sales manager of Toronto’s Anglican Book Centre for ten years – this was the case. From time-to-time, we tried to push things a little later into eleventh month, but the reality of retail is simply that a retailer needs to get a good start on the season if the books are going to turn from red to black in that last quarter of the year. As a retail manager, I found Christmas came even earlier. In the month of May, I would receive a sales visit from one of my favourite sales reps, a gentleman named Stephen Wright, who would lay out stack

On Remembrance

Athena and I were talking recently about how “The War” informed life for our generation. While it is true that we were both born a good twenty-five years after the end of World War II, it formed a strong part of our shared cultural narrative as Gen-Xers. The war was ever-present in the conversations of our elders – in their storytelling, in their hopes and fears, and in their response to challenges of the day. On the one hand, it seemed to us that it had just happened and that we had missed it, and on the other that it was already an event of mythic proportions. My maternal grandfather, Frank Rason, was member of the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (R.C.E.M.E.) and served in England, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In England he met my grandmother, Joan Edwards, and married her before the war was over, sending her home to become one of the many war brides who, barely adults, left all they had to begin a new life in a new land. Thus, our family came into being because o

Rites of Passage Evangelism

On Sunday, Oct 21st, at Holy Trinity Church, we welcomed six new Christians into the body of Christ in the sacrament of Holy Baptism. It is a great privilege to walk with individuals, families, and sponsors as they begin the Christian journey. I find that it is a time for storytelling: They tell us their story, we tell ours, and in the midst another story is told, “the old, old story,” which binds us all together in one Lord, one faith, and one Baptism. As I meet families not only for baptism, but also for wedding preparation, and yes, even as I meet families of those who have departed this life, as we prepare a Christian funeral, I am struck by a hopeful reality, namely, that God’s Holy Spirit continues the work of building up the Church and the Kingdom. People are seeking. We often lament the fact that our numbers are declining and that we seem to have fewer new people coming through our doors. And yet... I see them on a weekly basis -- individuals and baptism seeking Holy Bapti

Welcome Lola Grace Andrews

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On Friday, Oct 12, 2007, I had the pleasure of offering prayers giving thanks for the birth of Lola Grace Andrews, daughter of life-long friend Darryl Andrews and his wife Sara. It was privilege to be part of this special moment in their lives.