Greetings everyone.
Driving home this evening I was awestruck by the colours in the sky. The Superstack plume had been caught by the setting sun and rendered in shades of pink against a violet sky. It was one of those moments of refreshment and beauty which only God knows how to do in order to feed the soul. On that note, hopefully many of you will experience the refreshment of mind, soul, and spirit in church this week-end.
Click here for the BCP Bulletin and here for the BAS Bulletin.
Allison
Epiphany This Week
The Gospel for this week is a bit of a strange one, isn’t it? It carries over some of the strangeness of last week’s. There, you’ll recall, Jesus exorcizes a man and the people are amazed. Exorcisms are odd enough in our day. But were we to see a real one, I’m sure we’d be amazed by it. The people weren’t amazed by the exorcism though. They were amazed by Jesus’ preaching and demeanour. “This is a new teaching!” they said among themselves, “And one with authority!”
In paragraph for this week the cascade of miracles continues. Simon’s mother-in-law is healed from a fever and the entire village of Capernaum bring out their sick and demonized friends and loved ones to be healed. Jesus, understandably, is spent at the conclusion of all this miraculous activity and he withdraws to pray. And when the disciples find him out, Jesus words turn us again not to the miracles but to the announcement of the Kingdom—“Let us go to the neighbouring villages to proclaim the message. This is what I came to do.”
So, it seems at first glance we’re stuck with a series of strange stories, remote from our daily lives and experience. But, if we look a second time, I think these stories pose three questions to those of us who, like Simon and Andrew, James and John, have heard Jesus’ call and are following him and continuing his mission of announcing the Good News of the Kingdom.
Is our community one of proclamation? Isn’t it interesting that even though Jesus is surrounded by the miraculous, he sees himself first as a preacher? We do lots of things at the Epiphany. Some of them are listed below. They’re not all preachy kinds of things. Nor do they need to be. But do they serve our mission as a community that announces the Good News? Good question.
Is our community one of prayer? Jesus needed from time to time to withdraw from ministry to be alone with his Father to pray, to recharge, to prepare. Are our activities grounded in prayerful communion with God? Good question.
Is our community one of healing? Do the people who attend do so because they find that they are loved, welcomed, and introduced to a God who loves welcomes and heals? That doesn’t mean we’re perfect. Just as a hospital is not for healthy people, so the Church is not for perfect people. Both are places where people are to come to find healing. Do people find healing here? Good question.
As we work our way through the season of Epiphany to the Transfiguration, it’s worth reflecting on just why we do what we do. And allowing these Gospel questions to rise out of the text and lead us as we continue to follow the Lord is a great way to start.
Parish Announcements:
Annual Vestry Meeting: The Annual Vestry Meeting will take place immediately after service on February 19. Anyone over 16 who is baptized and a regular attendee is welcome to attend and participate. Committee chairs should have reports submitted to the office (info@epiphanysudbury.org) already. If you have yet to do so, now is the time!
Instructed Eucharist: Do you know why we do what we do on a typical Sunday morning? Would you like to find out? On Sunday Feb 26, the 10:30 service will be an “Instructed Eucharist” that we hope will address some of your questions. Come and see.
Found: 1 rubber Ice Grip with orange studs across from the church on Sunday, Jan 29. It can be picked up in the office.
Nursery News: We are looking for volunteers to help our parents out in the nursery. Please see Rachel Perry or sign up on the sheet in the Algoma Room if you would like to serve our young families.
Book Sale News: CONGRATULATIONS to the Mission and Outreach Committee who raised $1600.00 for our outreach projects! This i s the best result since M&O began this fundraiser. Thanks to all who bought, donated, and helped!
Greeters Meeting: There will be a short meeting of all Greeters after the 10:30 service on Feb. 12th. Grab a coffee and come join the meeting at the back of the church.
Ordination: God willing, the Rev’d Douglas Charles Prebble will be ordained a priest on Sunday, February 12th, 2012 at the Church of the Ascension, at 4pm. The officiant and celebrant is the Rt. Rev. Dr. Stephen Andrews. The preacher is the Ven. Anne Germond. Clergy and Layreaders are invited to robe (the colour is red). All are invited to this joyous occasion and to pray for and celebrate with Doug and his family. A chilli dinner hosted by the Church of the Ascension and St. Alban the Martyr Church in Capreol will be served.
Ham Supper and Almost Silent Auction: The Men’s Club’s ham supper and silent auction will raise funds for the Epiphany on February 17, 2012 in the Phoenix Hall. Tickets are $10.00 + 1 auctionable item and can be purchased from Robin Bolton or the parish office.
The N’Swakamok Native Friendship Centre invites the youth of Sudbury to participate in their “Cultural Connections for Aboriginal Youth” (CCAY). Please contact a program coordinator (Warren or Stephanie) at 705 674-2128 for more information. (See newspaper article on bulletin board in Algoma Room.)
Robert Lewis: St. Mark’s Garson are hosting a retirement party for Robert on Saturday, March 3rd from 1pm – 4pm. We are all invited to attend – tickets are $10 each. Lunch is included and so is the gift. Conact Anne Germond (germond@persona.ca) for more information.
Baptism, Confirmation, Renewal of Baptismal Vows: There will be two Christian Basics Classes. One on Thursday evening and the other on Saturday afternoon. Times TBD.
The Wardens would love to hear from you! The Wardens are always available to hear your concerns, questions or comments. We can be reached via email at wardens@epiphanysudbury.org. Or if you prefer you can call us at home. Gilles’ number is 705-688-5996. Bettina’s number is 705-525-5979. Caroline’s number is 705-677-0204.
Liturgy Online: If you would like to follow the service using your smartphone or mobile device, the Book of Alternative Services and the Book of Common Prayer (1962) are available free of charge in .pdf format from http://www.anglican.ca/resources/liturgicaltextsonline/.
SSNUFL: The Church of the Epiphany strives to be a scent-free, smoke-free, nut-free and latex-free environment so that people with allergies are welcome and, more importantly, safe. This is a matter of Christian hospitality, which we extend to both regulars and visitors.
Next week’s schedule:
Monday: Women’s Bible Study at noon.
Wednesday: Eucharist and Bible Study at 10:00 am
Thursday: Quilter’s Group
Saturday: BAS said Holy Eucharist at 5:00 pm
Sunday: BCP said Holy Eucharist at 8:30 am
BAS choral Holy Eucharist at 10:30 am
Announcements for Epiphany This Week should be sent to rector@epiphanysudbury.org.
The Mission and Outreach Committee are to be heartily commended and thanked for concluding our best book sale ever! We raised $1600.00 for various mission and outreach projects. Special thanks to the many volunteers who carted books, set them up, welcomed people, sold them ( the books, not the people), packed the unsold ones up and distributed them [...]
As you will see, I was a little premature in announcing Joey’s priesting! He is now the Rev. Deacon Joey Royal. We pray that his ministry at Holy Trinity Yellowknife will be fruitful. Both Bishop Andrew and his predecessor, Bishop Chris were present at this wonderful time of worship and commissioning. No pressure, preaching in [...]
Greetings everyone! This week-end is the Epiphany Outreach Committee’s Annual Booksale (which also includes VHS tapes, CD’s, and DVD’s). It is your opportunity to restock your library/den shelves at home with new reading material for 2012. Possibly you may even find amongst the tables of books, that one title you have been longing to read [...]
