Organ Prelude: O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Latin Plainchant – Arranged by Sam Ellson (1925-2012)
THE ADVENT ACCLAMATION
I look from afar And lo I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth.
Go out to meet Him and say: Tell us, are you the one who is to reign over your people Israel?
High and low, rich and poor; one with another. Go out to meet Him and say:
Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, that leads Joseph like a sheep. Tell us, are you He that is to come?
Stir up your strength, O Lord and come. To reign over your people Israel.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. I look from afar: and lo, I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth.
What do people need from their leaders? We need them to maintain a world where we’re safe, right? We need them to make a world where we can live our lives, make our families, earn our livings. We need them to keep the peace.
Over the centuries and throughout the world, humans have tried a lot of different kinds of leadership. We’ve had the elders who kept the stories and the wisdom of the past alive. We’ve had the strong warriors who protect their tribe from the dangers of the physical world. We’ve had kings and queens, presidents, tyrants, and dictators.
LIVE AUDIO STREAMING during today’s service is available on the Order of Service page. Recorded audio will be added following worship.
Parish Life Notes
CELEBRATING SAINT NICHOLAS UPDATE. This week we received the good news that the Regina Ladies Choir will be bringing an ensemble of singers to provide musical entertainment at the Christmas Café, and will be joined by our own Terrance and Kelsi. The baking team continues to bake Christmas goodies for sale, and home crafters are also preparing items for sale. The St. Mary’s Ethiopian Congregation have committed to running a table at the market. Last Sunday parishioners received invitation cards and posters to distribute. Terrance is spearheading our advertising on social media.
Today’s call:
Please continue to pick up invitation cards to distribute to your social circle, and posters to pin up.
Further volunteers to bake and make crafts for sale are welcome. Please speak to Angèle.
Lend us your Christmas trees, garlands, lights, and decorations to decorate the hall, and be sure to label them!
Please pray. ALMIGHTY God, who by thy Son Jesus Christ didst give commandment to the Apostles that they should go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature: Grant to us whom thou hast called into thy Church, a ready will to obey thy Word; and fill us with a hearty desire to make thy way known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations; through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.
ST. MARY’S DINNER THEATRE OUTING on Wednesday, November 30th for Evening Prayer at 5.30 p.m., Potluck Supper at 6.00 p.m., and Regina Little Theatre’s of C.S. Lewis classic work, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” at 7.30 p.m. If you have season tickets to Regina Little Theatre, and would like to join the group, you can change your ticket. Phone the box office (talk to Melissa or Erin) and give them your confirmation # on your ticket.
CANADIAN CHURCH CALENDARS have arrived. The profits from the sales go to St. Augustine’s Anglican Church. Calendars will be available at $5.00 each after today’s service. Please see Norma for payment. Thank you!
THE SEASON OF ADVENT which begins next Sunday marks both the beginning of a new year in the Church calendar, but also a season of preparation for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Advent collect describes how Jesus came to us in great humility. He was born of a woman and laid in a manger. God in the flesh! This is what we will celebrate at Christmas. Over the course of this coming year we will seek to grow in our response to the Incarnation by learning to love more deeply the world Jesus came to redeem.
But the coming of Christ is not simply to be understood as something in that occurred once in the past. He comes to us here and now in and through His Holy Spirit, who draws us into union with God and with each other, and so in Advent we renew our intention to live as members of the Body of Christ with peace and joy and all the gifts and fruits of the Spirit!
The coming of Christ also has a future aspect, as we declare in our Creed, “He will come again in glory to judge both the living and the dead.” Advent teaches us to look forward with hope and expectation to that day when “we shall rise to the life immortal” in the new heaven and the new earth where God will be all in all. As we look forward to the Advent of Gods kingdom, we seek to live now as worthy citizens of that kingdom.
The colour of Advent is purple, representing penitence, hope, and expectation, with which we prepare for Jesus ‘coming. As John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord by calling people to repentance, so Advent is a natural time to renew our spiritual lives through the practice of prayer, stillness, meditation, and confession.
Worship This Week
Morning Prayer
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday at 8:30 am
Wednesday at 9:00 a.m.
Evening Prayer
Wednesday at 5:30 pm. followed by light supper in the Upper Hall.
LIVE AUDIO STREAMING during today’s service is available on the Order of Service page. Recorded audio will be added following worship.
Parish Life Notes
NOTE OF CONDOLENCE. We pray for Bishop Helen who is travelling to England this week to bury her father, Barry Jackson. May he rest in peace and rise glory.
ST. NICHOLAS (NOT SANTA CLAUS) IS COMING TO TOWN! There has been some confusion, both historical and liturgical, around St. Nicholas and Santa Claus. St. Nicholas was a 4th century flesh and blood Catholic Bishop who loved God, the Church, the Children and the Poor. He attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 which defended the “consubstantiality of the Son and the Father’ against the heretic Arius. St. Nicholas’ Feast day is December 6 when many Christians in times past exchanged gifts, freeing them up to celebrate on December 25th God’s gift to us of His well beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Santa Claus was a 19th century American invention, a fantasy character in the service of consumer economy (“What do you wish for Christmas?”) and moralistic religion (“He’s checking his list, he is counting it twice.) Happily at St. Mary’s we will be celebrating St. Nicholas on Saturday, December 3 in preparation for Christmas. The program will include outdoor bonfire, and food grill, musical entertainment, Christmas market, church tours, visit from St. Nicholas and Family Vespers. Our theme is: “Growing in Love: for God, for the Church, for Children, and for the Poor.”
ALL HANDS ON DECK! Please consider how you will support and be a part of “Celebrating St. Nicholas.” Today we are taking in names of volunteers to bake Christmas cookies, make crafts, and runs stalls. Please speak to Angèle following the service. Baking Bee will start this Thursday at St. Mary’s from 10.00 until 1:00 p.m.
ST. MARY’S DINNER THEATRE! Join us on Wednesday, November 30th, for Evening Prayer at 5.30 p.m., Potluck Supper at 6.00 p.m., and Regina Little Theatre’s of C.S. Lewis classic work, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” at 7.30 p.m. Today is the last day to order tickets. Please speak to Angèle following the service.
GLORY BE TO JESUS CHRIST! GLORY BE TO HIM FOREVER!
LIVE AUDIO STREAMING during today’s service is available on the Order of Service page. Recorded audio will be added following worship.
Parish Life Notes
LAY WITNESS TALK for St. Mary’s Unstewardship Campaign will be given today by Lorna.
FINGER FOOD LUNCH follows the service today provided for us by Shelley.
PRAYER SHAWL MINSTRY at St. Mary’s seeks to bless and comfort those in need with shawls knitted with prayer. Today we bless the most recent batch of shawls, those who have knitted them and those who will receive them!
ALLHALLOWTIDE. The Octave ( 8 days) of Allhallowtide runs from sundown on Oct. 31 to November 7 and is the season in which we remember the dead, including martyrs, saints, and all faithful departed Christians. We remember them but also celebrate our ongoing communion with them as members of the mystical Body of Christ our Lord. In addition to the services of Morning Prayer this week, please note the following:
All Saints Day, Tuesday, November 1: 5.30 p.m. Holy Communion.
All Souls Day, Wednesday, November 2: 5.30 p.m. Holy Communion with commemoration of the faithful departed followed by light supper. Please pass on the names of family members you wish to have remembered to Canon Claude.
ST. NICHOLAS (NOT SANTA CLAUSE) IS COMING TO TOWN! Planning is underway for St. Nicholas Day Celebration on December 3. Our vision is to expand on our past efforts with a view to inviting and including the community to come to St. Mary’s. The program will include outdoor bonfire, and food grill, musical entertainment, Christmas market, church tours, visit from St. Nicholas and Family Vespers. Our theme is: Growing in Love: for God, for the Church, for Children, and for the Poor.”
ST. MARY’S DINNER THEATRE!Join us on Wednesday, November 30th, for Evening Prayer at 5.30 p.m., Pot Luck Supper at 6.00 p.m., and Regina Little Theatre’s of C.S. Lewis classic work, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” at 7.30 p.m. Please speak to Angèle following the service about tickets.
REFUGEE SPONSORSHIP UPDATE. Due to public health concerns in Uganda, from where the refugee family will depart, the schedule and flight have been revised because refugee family will need to complete 21 days for monitoring before they leave Uganda. The Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will inform us about the new date of arrival to Regina.
