Pastor’s message, May 30th 2019
Greetings,
With school back in and the weather seemingly cooler this week than last it seems like fall is definitely upon us.
To start this new season – this Sunday we will celebrate with an all ages service – everyone together!
We will bless all the children’s backpacks and ask God’s blessing upon them in their new school year. For the message we will look at the parables – the first of a three part examination on a new way to see and perceive Jesus’ teachings through stories.
Our service will conclude with an Indian Brunch prepared by the ladies in the parish to raise funds for the work of the ministry in the parish. The suggested donation is $5/child $10/adult.
It will be a feast for the mind and body this Sunday! Please join us.
…So what about the Holy Spirit? Well we’ll pray that the Spirit will be with us on Sunday as we worship, as we often pray that the Holy Spirit will guide and lead us. The Holy Spirit has sometimes been described as a wind – it comes and goes, sometimes we feel it more, sometimes less, sometimes it’s gentle, other times it’s powerful beyond belief.
And the promise is that as believers we have been given great gifts by the Spirit!
If you have ever had questions about how the Holy Spirit works, what scriptures say about the Holy Spirit and how to discern what gifts you have been given by the Spirit (or feel you might be missing out) come and join us for our Parish RetreatSaturday September 21st at the Light on the Hill Church – St. John the Baptist in Richmond Hill from 10am to 4pm (this is the actual date – apologies for any confusion).
We will be lead by teachings from Pastor Peter Blundell who helped craft the original Alpha program and who has co-written guides on how to discern the Holy Spirit. He has worked as a missionary, church planter, and in big churches and small and brings a wealth of experience to the day.
The retreat will mix learning, with time for personal reflection and group discussions, all while giving opportunities for relaxing on their gorgeous property and in their multiple lounges. The day is free – with lunch and snacks! And there also is a free children’s program wherekids too will learn about the fruits of the spirit and have time to connect with actual fruit on the vine by checking out St. John’s extensive community garden and green house. There is also a basketball net, playground and firepit on site. The Spirit is alive – please consider joining us to learn more on our day away!
I look forward to gathering with you this coming Sunday to celebrate God’s word and welcome into the church by baptism Chris Jonathan Anand.
As we baptize him in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit we will continue to hear how the Holy Spirit encourages Paul to take the message of the salvation of Jesus across to Europe to found a new church at Philippi.
Need another reason to come to church this Sunday? Come to check out how we’ve opened up church by getting new glass doors to replace the old red wooden ones. It’s a whole new beautiful look!
Acts Bible Study: All those who are interested in joining with members of the congregation to discuss the book of Acts are welcome to join the West End Bible Study next Friday night – May 31st at Geetha Victor and Samuel Sekaran’s home in Brampton. A light dinner will be provided. Please RSVP by Tuesday – May 28th either directly to Geetha at geethavictor1@gmail.com or to me and more details will be provide.
Also this coming Saturday the church will mark the feast day of our Patronal Saint – St. Bede.
St. Bede was a man of many great accomplishments, including creating a latin translation of the Bible that was used in the Catholic church until the mid 1960’s, working on a calendar to determine the date of Easter, and introduced the way to mark time using the prefaces BC and AD based on the life Christ. He is also known as the father of English History.
Anyone looking to learn more about our namesake I commend this video to you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTUWq4nFFLk
Blessings to all and I look forward to seeing you soon!