Easter 2013

March 31,2013 Easter Day

Last evening our Holy Saturday observance continued.
Revd. John was in Benton doing home Communion and a Church Service .
Revd. Brian conducted an Easter Vigil at the Cathedral.
Today, Easter, was a Bright day, both in weather and in Spirit.
We  Gathered at St. Martins twice this morning : 8:30 a.m. for our traditional Book of Common Prayer Eucharist, then at 10:30 for our Easter Procession and Communion.
Bishop Torraville was with us, and preached at the service. The Church was full, and our hearts were lifted by the love that we shared there. All of our three  Choirs shared their gifts and anthems with us.
Leslie Hewlett also blessed the Church with her solo. Excerpts of the service are available for you in the podcast.
Happy Easter Friends!
The Podcast Link is Here for you

Good Friday 2013

Good Friday 2013
 Good Friday's dawn revealed stormy weather. Not surprising for this time of year, but disappointing nonetheless, for this day has been anticipated, and the benefits longed for.
Good Friday is  a focal point of all or Lenten worship and personal devotion. It helps us look back over our own Lenten commitments and challenges, reconnect with our Heritage and traditions, and causes much reflection on Jesus our Lord.
 The weather forced cancellation of our service at Holy Cross Chapel in Benton. Our Saturday Easter Eucharist will go ahead there, as well as an Easter Vigil in the Chapel at St. Martin's.
At the Cathedral, we held a three hour service comprised of three parts.
1. A Children's Liturgy with our Youth and Jr. Choirs
2. The Stations of the Cross. This service has great participation by our Choir, and parishioners.
3. The Good Friday Liturgy from our Prayer Book.

The weather was very bad in Gander, which kept many people away. There was an average attendance of 60 persons at each service; as usual people would come and go throughout the progress of each liturgy.

The Address for Good Friday                                      The Revd. John Watton

• The Cross has no meaning for you unless you draw your own Conclusions, and make your own Choices
• The Cross is Who we are...It has to be understood and Explained Clearly. There is no Christianity without the Cross
• Who Did Jesus Say he was?
• Who Did the Early Church Say He Was? (Christology)
•  Who do You Say He IS?
• What will you do with Jesus?

Below are the links for three podcasts from Good Friday.
The whole of hour two and three are here, as well as the Address by itself.
May Easter morn find you blessed and healed!

The Stations of the Cross
Good Friday Address
The Second Hour

March 29 Maundy Thursday

March 29 Maundy Thursday
Our service Last night was, as Maundy Thursday always is...quiet, peaceful...disturbing ...beautiful. Those who had gathered (around 50 of us) left in silence to share our inward thoughts with the Lord.

The podcast here is from our Maundy Thursday Service.

Here is a fairly good summary of this special week that we call Holy.

 It is taken from our Book of Alternative Services:

 (The Billeted List is My doing)

Holy Week

• The glory of Easter is the heart of the Christian gospel.

• It is the centre of the Church’s faith and worship.

• In the earliest days of the Church it was the only Christian festival: an annual celebration, in one act, of Christ’s life, death, resurrection, ascension, and his sending of the Holy Spirit.

• The celebration lasted fifty days in one continuous festival of adoration, joy, and thanksgiving, ending on the Feast of Pentecost.

• By the fourth century, the Church was adding to its celebration of Easter a week-long commemoration of the events which preceded our Lord’s resurrection, beginning on Sunday with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

• Christians would recall the final meal Jesus had with his disciples and his institution of the sacrament of the Eucharist.

• On the Friday they would commemorate Christ’s agony and death on the cross.

• On Saturday night they would gather for the reading of the scripture, for prayers, for the baptism of their new converts, and then, as the day of the resurrection dawned, for the joyful celebration of Easter.

• The week before Easter became known as Holy Week. The focal points of this week would be

• The Sunday of the Passion with the Liturgy of the Palms,

• Maundy Thursday, with foot washing and a thanksgiving for the institution of the Eucharist,

• Good Friday, with a veneration of the cross,

• Easter Eve, with the Great Vigil, paschal fire, initiation, and the Easter Eucharist.

The podcast here is from our Maundy Thursday Service.

The message was delivered by the Revd. Brian Candow

 

Holy Wednesday

Holy Wednesday March 27th 2013
The Podcast Link is here for you

We are now on the Eve of Maundy Thursday.
Lent will soon be over and the Season of Easter will begin.
In the Parish, our choir has been working very hard preparing for Easter. They have faithfully supporting the Clergy by their attendance and participation at worship.  The number of hymns and pieces they sing and practice, is staggering....What a gift to us they are.
At the end of today's podcast you can hear them practice a new rendition of "Were you There".
Our Lenten services have not been well attended by the standards of years gone by...but there are times when I have been gladdened when we look at the bigger picture of all we do as a parish during Lent. There have been more than 1300 visits to our blog.
Our Clergy have been very, very busy as well.
The sermon tonight was a completion of a series of talks prepared by our Rector for Lent this year. Tonight was about making the most of the time we have to live, and a sharing of some ideas about how to enrich our Spiritual Lives.
Notes:
1. Through Prayer. Especially prayer that trusts the silence of God.
2. Suffering and Loss...But only when it causes the heart to become humble, helpless and open.
3. Joy. An example...the birth of a child, or the "breaking through" of great Art, Drama or music....
4. When we allow and trust feelings to guide us.
There is one more...Behold, He shows us a more excellent way. 
The Podcast Link is here for you


The schedule for the Remainder of Holy Week

HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE

Maundy Thursday – Holy Eucharist and Stripping of the Altar – 7pm

Good Friday  starts at 12 Noon

1st hour – Children’s Good Friday Service

2nd Hour – Stations of the Cross

3rd Hour – Celebration of the Lord’s Passion

Holy Saturday Prayer Vigil – 7pm – 10pm

Easter Day
8:30 Holy Eucharist
10:30 a.m Holy Eucharist.
Please Note There will NOT be an Evening Service on Easter Day (Next Sunday)

Services In Benton
3:30 p.m.
Good Friday Liturgy with Revd. John
7:00 Holy Saturday Holy Communion

Tuesday in Holy Week

Holy Tuesday Podcast

Lent is Almost over, but you still have time to change!

Reverend John Writes:
I have a "favorite saying " around Lent. ...."Lent is almost over but you still have time to change..." Please do quote that one far and near!
The Franciscan  Friar Richard Rhor,  reminds us that perhaps the Church has taught that we need conversion prior to having any positive relationship with God. 
There is an inference that causes us to think that God would love us fully if and when we change.
Friends. ....God loves you so that you can change. "What empowers change, what makes you desirous of change is the experience of love. It is that inherent experience of love that becomes the engine of change.”
Lent is Almost over, but you still have time to change.

Today is Tuesday in Holy Week. There were 27 people in Church Tonight
 Last Night, Holy Monday, we gathered in fellowship for an ecumenical service at the Roman Catholic Church. About 100 or so. The service was  blessing. Of particular note was the complete absence of young people. Obviously, we must try to make all of our Lenten Gatherings more youth friendly!

Tonight was a nice Quiet service; Reverend Brian delivering the meditation.
The podcast, including the reading and final hymn is here for you.
Holy Tuesday Podcast

Palm Sunday April 25 2013

The Podcast is available Here
Welcome to Holy Week!
Yesterday was Palm Sunday.

Late Friday afternoon  Revd. John went to the Church to begin preparing the Palm Branches and Crosses for Sunday.  We usually do this on Friday, because in a way on Saturdays St. Martins  becomes "St. Maurice", as our Coptic friends hold worship in our Lady Chapel, and fellowship in our  facility.

It was a bit a change because for the past years, Revd. John has been joined by Karen in decorating the Church. This year, she was working.
Derek Dyke and Tracy Flynn helped cut the palms, and clean up the bits of Palm that were lying everywhere after the trimming. Good to have them!
Here is the Palm cross in the back of the Cathedral:

Revd. John continued later that evening ; returning late on Saturday to smell the remains of the Coptic Incense, and ensure that the Church was ready for our Commemoration of the Triumphal Entry.

• The 8:30  Book of Common Prayer Service was well attended.
• Our 10:30  Service was held by a very large congregation. At St. Martin's we focus Palm Sunday morning on a Children's oriented liturgy. Lots of music, simple prayers, readings and youth involvement. The service was a total blessing to us!Usually at our youth services we incorporate new ministries that young people have engaged, and announce that this is their first time serving reading etc.....

This Sunday was no exception, as we Welcomed Bradley Hunt to his ministry of leading the Prayers of the People.

• Our 7:00 service was the traditional Book Of Alternative Services Liturgy of the Palms with Holy Communion.

Although not as well attended as the Morning Service, the evening Eucharist was a beautiful gathering.
The podcast for today includes the Palm Blessing, Passion Narrative, the prayers, and the sermon which was given by the Revd. George Spencer.
(please note Revd. George was not speaking directly into his mike, so the sound level of the address is a bit low.)

The Podcast is available Here
Here is the Schedule for Holy Week in 2013

HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE

Monday – Ecumenical Service Roman Catholic Church 7:00

Tuesday – Holy Week Service – 7:00pm
Wednesday – Holy Week Service – 7:00pm

Maundy Thursday – Holy Eucharist and Stripping of the Altar – 7pm

Good Friday

1st hour – Children’s Good Friday Service
2nd Hour – Stations of the Cross
3rd Hour – Celebration of the Lord’s Passion

Holy Saturday Prayer Vigil – 7pm – 10pm

Easter Day

8:30 Holy Eucharist

10:30 a.m Holy Eucharist.

Please Note there will NOT be a 7:30 Eucharist this Wednesday Morning.

There will NOT be an Evening Service on Easter Day (Next Sunday)

Services In Benton

3:30 p.m.

Good Friday Liturgy with Revd. John

7:00 Holy Saturday Holy Communion

Blessings !
 

The Last Wednesday Before Holy Week

We had set up and tested a Laptop to ensure the audio was recording properly. It was! Then, the Computer restarted itself to install updates and wiped out the file.

Sorry Folks... but here are the sermon notes for you. I know reading notes can be tedious..but here goes.

Talk Five: God In Us, Revealed in Us

Sermon Notes

A Reflection on the Mystery of God, and the Connection of The Incarnation. We begin with a well Known Passage:
Romans 8:38-39  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Look at you own EXPIERIENCE  now and...ask yourself "Am I fully persuaded?"

As Christians we proclaim that:
1. God  created us , and
 2.He lived within us and with  from the very beginning ,prior to our developing language, beliefs religions or sacraments.

  A simple definition of mystery is : that it is that which cannot be understood. Personally I have come to that see mystery is a gift ,a gift of God that is deep, elusive, and worth seeking.

 I know that it is too rich and beautiful to be understood, and yet:
 at the deepest level, and  through the Grace of Christ we do understand  the beauty and truth.

Mystery is only Visible through REVELATION

Revelation is  a  transcendental experience   through which our present limitedness, shortcomings and mortality  is illuminated by God's revealing of Himself

It is possible  to sense Revelation because we are wired to long for something deeper.

If God created us, and our purpose is found in Him,surely he has a right to have a say in the purpose for each life.

Without revelation we live the Inauthentic Life therefore

 He referred to the authentic life as- being transformed by the reality and purpose of God.

The  starting point for any persons spiritual journey comes from our own experiences. It is there that we have the basic experience of God that we can recognise, make choices  and begin the journey to where we are now.

The question .."Do I really believe?"  is made harder because today's scientific and secular climate is very effective at suppressing encounters between wonder and mystery.
For us  postmodern people,  believing that there is a supernatural presence in the universe is pretty tough. Our universe is not inherently magical, as it was for people of old.

1.Science tells us that we are alone, so we have to create that which is "Awesome" ourselves.
This leaves us  Feeling alone, confused, and doubtful.

2.Science tells us that our world is beautiful and interesting, but everything can be explained.  Spiritually speaking the world is inert and empty. We have to create all meaning by ourselves in such a world, and most of us do not seem to succeed very well.

 But here we are in 2013. We are caught in the tension of the modern world, and knowing the revealed truth about Gods Love God calls us  to have faith and courage, before knowledge. The world says otherwise.

Let me leave you with some Positive Incarnational Thinking

More  and more  we are discovering that physics, astrophysics, anthropology, and biology, are confirming many of the deep intuitions of religion.
1.The universe really is vibrant and in motion.
2.We have greater understandings of history, instinct, evolution, nuclear fusion, DNA, healing, growth....

 It is  an undisputed fact that nature clearly continues to renew itself and evolve from within.
 Creation is an ongoing process! God is "in it" and God is "With Us"

Personally I am more sure than ever in the reality of Creation, and that God has created things that  in turn , because of ( The mystery of the Incarnation ) continue to create and recreate themselves from the inside out.

Let me share a couple Images of that thought:

Ecclesiastes 3:11 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

God has created, and keeps creating.
    Do not I fill heaven and earth? says the Lord.” (Jer. 23:24)

That is "Mysterious Incarnation"

Now on to Ephesians 1:23
 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.  

In my heart and in my life experience , I have knowledge that all of this is revealed through Jesus.
  We are created with an inner drive and necessity that sends all of us out looking for our True Self, whether we know it or not.  We need an awakening and light to find our way, because the Journey does get very dark.

We are not walking alone. Our  Lord walks side by side with us.

Because God created us with an inner restlessness and a call that urges us onward into risky places   , Jesus came and shows us that  darkness is never the whole story, and that we are never abandoned.  

I Pray that the the movement of your faith will bring you to a place where you will KNOW   that our Hope is something substantial, real, and eternal. 

You are called to Love Deeply.

You are Called to accompany people through the mysteries of Life and death 

You are called to receive and share the gift of genuine life-changing awe before The Gifts of God, which is His mystery, time, beauty.