A Prayer in a Summer of Wild Fires

 Wildfires have destroyed much of the town of Jasper, Alberta, as of this morning.  People have been evacuated to Calgary for safety, but may have little or nothing to come home to when all is said and done.

The Anglican Diocese of Calgary has shared this request and photo:

Please continue to pray for the people who live, work and worship in Jasper. Among many other buildings, it has been confirmed that the Anglican Church in Jasper is now gone.

The Anglican Parish of
St. Mary & St. George, Jasper, Alberta
July 25, 2024

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. - Ps. 46:1 (KJV)

 

More Wise Words on a Wednesday...

Wise words on a Wednesday...from Rev. Ed Trevors of the Anglican parish of St. Margaret of Scotland in Halifax, Nova Scotia...May they bless your day. 😊

Wise Words on a Wednesday...

In the wake of tragedy in Pennsylvania on Saturday evening...this commentary from Rev. Ed Trevors of the Anglican parish of St. Margaret of Scotland in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  May its food for thought bless your day.  💓

A Sermon from Sunday, June 30, 2024

Rev. Robert Sears has recorded a video of his sermon delivered in the parish of St. Cyprian's, Lacombe, on Sunday, June 30. The Biblical text is the reading from 2 Corinthians 8:7-15.  

EDITOR'S NOTE: On June 30, I posted a link to a video from Rev. Ed Trevors of the Anglican Parish of St. Margaret of Scotland in Halifax, NS, which was thought to echo some of Rev. Robert's sentiments in this now-recorded video.  If you are interested, you can watch Rev. Trevors' video HERE.

Rev. Robert comments: "An audio file (only) of my sermon on 2 Corinthians 8.7-15. In this epistle Paul is trying to get the Corinthians to follow through with their promise and desire to give the the collection for the persecuted Christians in Jerusalem. Essentially he is writing a memorial -- a written reminder of a decision another group has made and encouragement that they follow through with it. What is interesting is the fact that Paul neither commands the Corinthians to give nor does he advocate their poverty. Paul thinks giving should not be too much nor too little. And when he cites Exodus 16:18 Paul suggests a fair balance can be achieved through generosity, without an egalitarian rule that defines what each individual's surplus wealth amounts to."

May it bless your day. 

Thoughts About a Homily and a Podcast...

This morning (Sunday, June 30-2024), Rev. Robert Sears spoke on our reading from 2 Corinthians 8:7-15, in which Paul was writing about a commitment the Church in Corinth had made to support the poor -- specifically, the impoverished Church in Jerusalem, which was suffering hardship due to persecution.

Sometime in the last 24 hours, the Supreme Court of the US ruled in favour of the town of Grant's Pass, Oregon, which wanted its police force to ticket (and therefore fine/criminalize) people who were homeless, living in tents or other structures on public property.

Rev. Ed Trevors, an Anglican priest at the Parish of St. Margaret of Scotland in Nova Scotia, had some thoughts about this that perhaps align with what Paul was writing about in today's passage, and about what Rev. Robert was speaking of in his homily. I leave you to watch and judge for yourselves...

A Sermon from Sunday, June 23, 2024

Rev. Robert Sears has recorded this sermon from Sunday, June 23, 2024 -- based on the lectionary reading from 2 Corinthians 6: 1-13.

In his notes he writes, "I use some relationship psychology, specifically the art of listening, to analyze how Paul is responding to divisions caused by "super-apostles" in Corinth. Paul appeals to Isaiah 49.8 as a shared experience with the Corinthians. God has heard them and helped them. Paul bids them listen still. I also look at some of the hurdles to our listening well, and what active, responsive listening looks like. The thumbnail comes from an association that came to me in the all-to-common relationship stereotype of the pursuer and the distancer."

May this bless your day. 😊

A Worthwhile Read...

What follows is a link to a CBC article that I cannot share directly on Facebook, due to Facebook's policy about Canadian news (a rabbit hole I won't take you down here!).  

THIS ARTICLE is about a centenarian and his wife who remain active in their Anglican parish in Westlock, Alberta.  He's currently the Rector's Warden -- and is now driven to church in the priest's car.  

Here at St. Cyprian's we've bemoaned the fact there are fewer of us and all of us are aging and feel less able to do many of the activities we used to do -- yet this year we still did our bit for the County's Highway Clean-up, and on Saturday, we held a bang-up yard sale on our west lawn.  Let us take inspiration from Mr. and Mrs. McConaghy (married 80 years!!) as we seek to move forward.  And let  us take inspiration from the small parish in Westlock, who's priest is 78 years old and just celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination.

The article includes a link to a short video -- in which you also see Mr. McConaghy ringing the bell for the service!  

YOU CAN READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE.