SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
September 15, 2024
THE FATHER IS MY HOPE; THE SON IS MY REFUGE;
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS MY PROTECTION.
ALL HOLY TRINITY, GLORY TO THEE!
LIVE AUDIO STREAMING during today’s service is available on the Order of Service page. Recorded audio will be added following worship.
GETTING READY FOR SUNDAY: PREVIEW OF THE READINGS.
In today’s Gospel lesson , St. Luke describes the miracle of the raising of the dead of the son of the widow of Nain. Miracles in the New Testament are not understood in the modern sense of a suspension of the “laws of nature” but rather a manifestation of the loving, life-giving power of God which upholds our lives and that of the universe moment by moment. In this miracle, the power of God meets the depths of human need and desperation. In our Epistle reading from Ephesians St. Paul prays that we ourselves, in our weakness and desperation, would know this power working within us, so that we might be filled to the brim with His fulness, so that God would be glorified.
THE LESSON : Ephesians 3:13-21
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
THE GOSPEL : Luke 7:11-17
Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, rise!’ The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen among us!’ and ‘God has looked favourably on his people!’ This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.
PARISH LIFE NOTES
ROAD CLOSURES. Please note that due to road construction, access to St. Mary’s via College and 15 Avenue east of St. Mary’s is not possible. Best road access to St. Mary’s will be via 13 Avenue and Montague St. or Elphinstone.
VESTRY MEETING takes place after the service today.
CONGRATULATIONS AND BLESSINGS to Mervyn Crozier-Smith in the occasion of his 82nd birthday! Birthday cake will be served at coffee following the service today.
CATHEDRAL COMMUNITY BREAKFAST. A big thank you to Grace, Mike, Sharon, Chelsey and Gabrielle, and Heidi and Connelly who prepared and served breakfast Saturday morning to a crew of 27 volunteers, working the neighborhood cleanup organized by the Cathedral Community Association.
THE RECTOR’S BOOK STUDY
Have you ever referred to God as “the Man upstairs”? Most Western Christians living in a secular society have unwittingly relegated God and all things spiritual to the “second story” of the universe: a realm we cannot reach except through death. The effect of this is to banish God, along with the saints and angels, from our everyday lives.
In Everywhere Present, popular blogger and podcaster Fr. Stephen Freeman makes a compelling case for bringing God down from this imaginary second storey and becoming aware of His living and active presence in our lives here and now. Learning to practice your Christian faith in a one-storey universe will change your life-and make possible the living, intimate relationship with God you’ve always dreamed of.
This short 100 page book is divided into the following chapters:
- Chapter 1: The Shape of the Universe.
- Chapter 2: Sitting in a Cave art Mar Saba
- Chapter 3: We Live in an Altar.
- Chapter 4: The God Who Is Not There.
- Chapter 5: Christian Atheism
- Chapter 6: The Shape of the One Story Universe
- Chapter 7: The Hallway at the End of the World
- Chapter 8: A Room with a View
- Chapter 9: The Literal Truth
- Chapter 10: The Mystery of Persons
- Chapter 11: A Life of Careful Devotion.
Times and Dates: t.b.a.
Cost: $22.00 Everyone is welcome. Please speak to or contact Canon Claude if interested.
WORSHIP THIS WEEK
Morning Prayer: Monday to Friday at 8.30 a.m.
Evening Prayer: Wednesday at 5.30 p.m.