He adds this prayer:
Blessed are you, Lord our God,
our eternal Father and David's king.
You have made our gladness greater and increased our joy
by sending to dwell among us
the Wonderful Counsellor, the Prince of Peace.
Born of Mary,
proclaimed to the shepherds,
and acknowledged to the ends of the earth,
your unconquered Sun of righteousness
enlightens our darkness and establishes freedom.
All glory in the highest be to you,
through Christ, the Son of your favour,
in the generous love of his Spirit,
this night and for ever and ever. AMEN.
This is just a reminder that tomorrow morning at St. Cyprian's there will be a service of Lessons & Carols at 10 a.m.
All are welcome!
St. Cyprian's Anglican Church,
5005 C&E Trail,
Lacombe, Alberta
What started as an idea by one of the ACW* women to set up Nativitiy Scenes at St. Leonard-on-the-Hill in Red Deer has blossomed into 45 (!) sets arriving and being arrranged in the sanctuary. This display has even captured the attention of the local newspaper.
There is also a YouTube video for folks who can not physically be there.
Shared from the Anglican Diocese of Calgary news, and the Red Deer Advocate, with thanks.
*Anglican Church Women
In his parish e-mail this week, Rev. Robert wrote this:
I don't know about you, but I have been enjoying our slow walk downhill into colder temperatures. I actually got out to ride my road bike mid-November. It was 10 degrees above [Celsius]! Loved that.
December is now upon us and the whirlwind of Advent has begun.
This Sunday we read about John the Baptist beginning his ministry preparation in the wilderness. The hubbub (or chaos) of pre-Christmas might mislead us about what "wilderness" signifies in the opening of the Gospel of Mark.
Wilderness in Mark is a quiet place, not the big bad jungle of beasts and the mythical survival of the fittest. It is rather a still point into which the outpouring of God's spirit can be heard and received. It is a place where one can hear and commit to the good news of the (coming) reality of the kingdom of God. This is true of both John the Baptist and Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, though we read Sunday only about John. [Mark 1:1-8]
I mention the still and quiet associated with Mark's mention of the "wilderness" not only to help frame our interpretation of scripture, but I want to contrast it to our customary busyness and festivity preparation (or fear).
... If we think on the quiet place of wilderness peace and the outpouring of God's spirit, perhaps we can endure the feeling of information overload that so often creeps our way these days.
In my defence, advanced notice can sometimes help us get organized, sort out our plans, and make clear commitments. Well, that is my hope...
Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life
in which your Son Jesus Christ
came to us in great humility,
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge both the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. AMEN
May this bless your day. 😊
From the Diocese of Calgary December news letter:
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Cookies, cookies and more cookies! 70 different kinds.
Coming this weekend -- in many parts of Canada, including Alberta...so be prepared Saturday before you go to bed! 😏
From the Anglican Diocese of Calgary:
Archbishop Hosam Naoum [Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem] has requested that tomorrow* be a day of fasting and prayer. Please read his letter for more details.
*This letter was written on October 14th and posted by the Diocese to its FB page on October 16th. It reached your blog editor's feed on October 17th. "Tomorrow" is thus yesterday, today and onward, as we are called to pray for peace. Thank you.
Note: click on the photo to enlarge.
No matter that it's a few days past the original observance; thanksgiving and generosity are for everyday use! Rev. Robert's sermon from Sunday, October 8, 2023, is presented on behalf of the Anglican Parish of St. Cyprian's, Lacombe, Alberta, Canada. May it bless your day. 😊
Readings for Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
Psalm 65
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
The Gospel of Luke 17: 11-19
A Blessing for You Who Serve Others
So bless you all in these
beautiful, terrible contradictions.You who serve others,knowing it comes at a steep cost.That time you’ll never get back.be as grateful as you hope.The paycheck or PTO or benefitsthat will never add up to enough.May you be remindedthat maybe you were calledfor such a time as this.To pour out your great,great gifts for the sake of the other.To work toward this beautiful,terrible interdependence.(Even if community is much easierin theory than in practice.)And on the days where you feellike your work is just a drop in the ocean.Or you want to throw in the towelBecause you are far beyond burnout.May joy and delight be yours, my dears,and may it fuel the hard, beautiful work you do.And hey, if you are just beginninga move toward service,may you have the eyes to seethe needs in front of you,the places where your giftsand passions and resourcesmeet your community’s deep needs.Or if you’re just starting toask for help yourself, bless you.May your courage be met with kindness.You are all my favorite kinds of peopleand I love you.Bless you.
-- Kate Bowler
Today's video sermon from Sunday, October 1, 2023 is provided by Rev. Robert Sears on behalf of the Anglican Parish of St. John's, Olds, Alberta, Canada.
May it bless your day. 😊
Readings for Sunday, October 1, 2023
Exodus 17: 1-7
Psalm 78: 1-4, 12-16
Philippians 2: 1-13
The Gospel of Matthew 21: 23-32
"Failings and mistakes in Canadian politics this week should sensitize us to the position of the chief priests and elders of the temple. They didn't want their views of John the Baptist to become known to their people. Things could go very wrong. So they couldn't answer Jesus' question about the origin of John's baptism."Sadly their cunning answer indicated their inability to know the difference between heavenly and humanly origins. Jesus brings home the point with the parable of the two sons. And we can ask ourselves which son are we: one that wrestles with appropriate follow through, but who hears and does; or one who makes empty declarations and worthless promises."
Today's Gospel reading and Sermon for Sunday, September 24, 2023, is provided by Rev. Robert Sears on behalf of the Anglican Parish of St. Cyprian's, Lacombe, Alberta. If you click "more" in the description box below the video, you'll be able to read Rev. Robert's commentary notes for his sermon. May it bless your day. 😊
Readings for Sunday, September 24, 2023:
Exodus 16: 2-15
Psalm 105: 1-6 and 37-35
Philippians 1: 21-30
The Gospel of Matthew 20: 1-6.
Today's Sermon from Sunday, September 17, 2023, is presented by Rev. Robert Sears on behalf of the Anglican Parish of St. John's, Olds, Alberta, Canada. May it bless your day.
"The reading (Matthew 18:21-35) follows upon last week's introduction to reconciliation. Peter wants to negotiate with Jesus and set some concrete limits to how many times he might have to forgive. It seems Peter is none too interested in this covenental relationship. Jesus counters Peter's opening gambit with a exaggerated counter number of times to forgive. And then he tells a parable."I suggest the parable asserts a fact and has a moral. The fact is that God's gift to the disciples is reconciliation. The moral is that they should forgives as earnestly as if their life depended on it."Peter seems to want for the unconditional compassion required for reconciliation. In order to paint a picture of what that covenental compassion looks like on the social level, I recount some of what the people in Gander Newfoundland did 22 years ago. They showed the world want generosity looks like. They showed what it looks like to love ones neighbour as themselves. And this is a good contrast to Peter."
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| Cyprian of Carthage Source: Wikipedia Commons |
This week the church remembers St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage and Patron Saint of our Parish of St. Cyprian's, Lacombe, Alberta. His feast day is listed as September 13th in both the Book of Common Prayer and the Book of Alternative Services, but both Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia Britannica have the date of his death (martyrdom) as September 14th, 258 AD (or "CE" if you prefer). The latter goes on to say that Cyprian's day is celebrated in the Western and Eastern churches on September 16, and in Anglicanism, on September 26!
No matter! Let us remember him with reverence and respect for his service to God and the church -- which began late in his life.
He was by profession a lawyer of Berber descent who became a Christian in about 246 AD. By 248 he'd been elected Bishop of Carthage, and found himself in the midst of persecutions lead by the Roman Emperor Decius. He went into hiding, while many of the church's followers recanted their faith in hopes of saving their lives.
By 251 he was able to return to Carthage and in May of that year was restored as Bishop. He then found himself managing the controversy about reinstating Christians -- including other bishops -- who had 'lapsed' in order to escape persecution. Cyprian expressed his empathy for reinstating lapsed laity, but drew the line at doing so for bishops and clergy -- and this brought him into conflict with the Bishop of Rome (i.e., the Pope).
The controversy continued, and he found himself facing off with the Novatians, who held that NO forgiveness was possible for lapsed Christians. The Novatians had been in Africa during the years Cyprian was hiding. After his return, many of those baptized by the Novatians wanted to return to the church. The question arose: was their baptism by Novatian valid or not?
Cyprian convened no fewer than three Councils on this issue between the autumn of 255 and the spring of 256. In the end, it was agreed that there could be no baptism outside the church -- i.e., absent the Holy Spirit -- so those baptised by Novatian had to be re-baptized to rejoin the church as followers of Jesus, the Christ.
As all of this was going on, Valerian had become Emperor in Rome, and persecution of Christians had been renewed with vigour. Cyprian was arrested and at first subject to exile, but by 258 was brought back to Carthage, tried, convicted and executed.
Centuries later the arguments about baptism remain -- with the Latin West supporting 'one Lord, one faith, one baptism' and the Greek East being inclined to re-baptize lapsed Christians.
All of this history around Cyprian is sourced mainly from his letters and tracts, which are included in the third and fourth volumes of the Patrologia Latina, a collection of writings of the early church fathers.
"I begin by contrasting two very general perspectives on the world we live in: the constrained; and the unconstrained view. How valuable reconciliation is stands out if many problems of life are ultimately intractable and we can only ever make things a bit better (constrained view) without ever making them perfect (unconstrained view)."I suggest that there are two steps to reconciliation: compassion and absolution. The former is unilateral and unconditional. The later is reciprocal and conditional. And since reconciliation requires a reciprocal exchange between two individuals involved in a real or perceived transgression or shortfall, compassion is not enough, unconditional positive regard is not enough, affirmation alone is not enough."The Gospel focuses only whether the two parties talk to one another. Talking is essential, but not enough. I suggest that in conversation the two parties need to agree on what happened, on some possible shared distribution of fault (between the two parties), and more especially the terms that would in fact restore the relationship."Reconciliation can sound easy, but there is a level of seriousness and engagement that is not the common run of things."
It's September! Thus, Rev. Robert Sears has returned to recorded Morning Prayer services. This service for Sunday, September 3, 2023 is provided by Rev. Robert on behalf of the Anglican Parish of St. John's, Olds, Alberta. May it bless your day. 😊
Readings for September 4, 2023: Creation I
Exodus 3: 1-15
Psalm 105: v. 1-6, v. 23-26; 45
Romans 12: 9-21
The Gospel of Matthew: 16: 21-28
Robert writes this about the Gospel reading:
The reading was Matthew 16:21-28, which is Jesus' first passion prediction in Matthew. In that reading Jesus predicts suffering, death, and resurrection. Peter tries to correct Jesus, thinking he is just having a bad day. Jesus chastizes Peter for not appreciating the necessity of suffering to his mission. He also tells the disciples that if they are to follow him, they need to take up their own cross. But what does that mean?
Today I look at that question. In order to better understand it, I look at different views about suffering. The two main views differ on whether suffering is avoidable or not. Of those that suggest suffering is indeed avoidable, some blame others, others blame ourselves and the way we look at at our suffering. Of those that suggest suffering is unavoidable, one view suggests it can be overcome. The other says it can be redeemed.
I know suffering is not something we like to acknowledge or discuss, but it is both at the heart of the Gospel and Jesus' mission. We can't claim to understand either if we don't look seriously at what Jesus was saying that his followers would have to take up their cross to follow him.
I suggest in my sermon that the cross we are called to pick up is just that suffering which is found in our lives. We are to pick up OUR cross not someone else's suffering or some delegated trouble. I also suggest some concrete ways in which we can redeem the time we have found and find in suffering.
In 2019, the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada passed a resolution adopting the Season of Creation as a time of prayer, education and action -- and the Church encourages Dioceses and Parishes to participate.
This Season begins September 1 each year and this year runs through October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
You can find out more about this Season and how to observe it both in your church community and at home by visiting this link HERE.
Of particular note: there was a Global Online Prayer Service to mark the beginning of this season today, September 1, 2023; a link to the service on YouTube is posted below:
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| Photo credit: PWRDF website |
If you are a donor to PWRDF (the [Anglican] Primate's World Relief and Development Fund) or wish to do so re: the wildfire emergencies here in Canada, you can find information and online donation links
