St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, Regina, Saskatchewan
(Modified 2021-11-28: Added audio recording of service)
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT
November 28, 2021
10.30 A.M. Holy Communion
Organ Prelude: Chorale Prelude on Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Wake Up, the Voice Calls Us)
Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748)
Advent Acclamation
Leader: I look from afar
People: And lo I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth.
(Modified 2021-11-28: Added audio recording of this sermon)
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-9
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36
November 28, 2021
St. Mary’s Regina
Advent 1
Year C
by Paula Foster
Every so often, we get a strong reminder that the ways of God are not the ways of the world. According to the ways of the world, Christmas is lighten-up time…one month out of twelve when we give ourselves permission (perhaps guardedly because of Covid) to go to parties and buy gifts for friends and family and decorate our homes with trees, lights and ornaments of every kind. It is the season of eggnog and sweets and assorted beverages when the instinct to purchase is hallowed and overeating is required. Whatever else is going on in the world, Christmas is a time to rise above it…to be happy, to be at peace, to anticipate birth.
The ways of God are less cheerful, overall. They offer us no shortcuts to joy. If the church calendar is any indication, things always get darker before they get light. No matter how much we’d like to take a straight road to Christmas, there are these dark days of Advent to go through first. Advent leads us down a road that leads through the graveyard of our sinfulness, through the wilderness, and through a river of repentance. There is a lot of waiting along the way, waiting and telling the truth about all the scary things that can happen before the birth of real joy takes place.
Continue reading “Advent 1, 2021 – Sermon”SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE ADVENT
November 21, 2021.
GLORY BE TO JESUS CHRIST! GLORY BE TO HIM FOREVER!
10.00 A.M.
10.30 A.M.
MORNING PRAYER
HOLY COMMUNION. Beth is preaching
GODLY PLAY in the Worship Centre for children 3-6. Today’s story is ‘Daniel’ Daniel 6:4-23.
LIVE AUDIO STREAMING during today’s service is available on the Order of Service page. Recorded audio will be added following worship.
PASTORAL EMERGENCY CONTACT. Revd. Paula Foster
A QUICK REMINDER TO EACH OF US. If you use the Montague Street entrance on Sunday mornings, please be observant of anyone who is new and welcome them. If needed, be willing to direct them upstairs to the sanctuary, show them where to hang their coats, where the washrooms are, and how to use the elevator, etc. The greeters are upstairs at the Sanctuary doors inviting people in, welcoming them and handing out brochures beginning at 10 AM Sunday mornings.
Thank to everyone for making St. Mary’s an inviting welcoming Church community.
In Advent, we look back to the first coming of Jesus into our fallen world, and we look forward to his second coming to establish his Kingdom once and for all. Advent, then, becomes a time where we contemplate our relationship with God, and our place in the Kingdom. Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son, found in Luke’s Gospel, addresses these questions of relationship with God and place in God’s Kingdom.
This Advent Season, we welcome you to journey together with us in small groups through the Parable of the Prodigal Son. What is God saying to us as Christians, and to us as his Church at St. Mary’s, in this Advent Season?
Because of the ongoing pressures of COVID-19 in our city, small groups will be meeting online over Zoom for three weeks beginning after the first Sunday of Advent, November 28th.
Please sign up for the day that works best for you here …
Vestry has begun the process of establishing St. Mary’s budget for 2022, and we need your help. To make an accurate budget, we need you to let us know what your giving plan is for next year. As in the past, you can submit your pledge online through the church website here:
We are asking that you fill out your pledge form by Sunday, December 12th.
Right now, Vestry is looking at a deficit of around -$25,000.00 in 2022.
Here’s a link to the …
Tuesday to Friday
Morning Prayer at 8.30 a.m. and
Evening Prayer at 5.30 p.m.
(Modified 2021-11-21: Added recording of this service)
SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE ADVENT
November 21, 2021
10.30 A.M. Holy Communion
Organ Prelude: March
Flor Peeters (1903-1986)
THE HYMN: # 378 Crown Him with Many Crowns
Continue reading “Sunday before Advent, 2021 – Holy Communion”(Modified 2021-11-21: Added audio recording)
Let us pray. Lord, have mercy upon us. I wanted to begin by asking for mercy from our king, because this Jesus we are talking about today in our readings is hard to wrap our minds around.
This is the last Sunday of the year. Did you know that? Next week, November 28th, is the first Sunday of Advent. It is the start of a new liturgical season. We will change all our colours to purple. We will hang our Advent wreath, and start singing Advent hymns. Even the canticles in Morning Prayer change. But beyond moving into a new liturgical season, we also begin the new liturgical year. Our cycle of Scripture, and prayer, and worship of our Lord Jesus Christ begins anew.
This day, the final Sunday of the old year, is known as Reign of Christ Sunday, or Christ the King in Catholic and Lutheran churches. We have these gorgeous Scripture readings full of the majesty and glory of Jesus. In Daniel’s vision, we see the Ancient of Days, too bright to look at, like the sun, sitting in His throne room, surrounded by multitudes, and preparing to sit in judgement on the whole universe. And one like a son of man approaches the Ancient of Days and is welcomed into His presence, and he is “given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His domain is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Continue reading “Sunday Before Advent, 2021 – Sermon”REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
November 14, 2021.
GLORY BE TO JESUS CHRIST! GLORY BE TO HIM FOREVER!
10.00 A.M.
10.30 A.M.
MORNING PRAYER
HOLY COMMUNION. Paula Foster preaching
GODLY PLAY in the Worship Centre for children 3-6. Today’s story is ‘Exile and Return’ Ezra 1:2-4. Leader: Heidi.
The Vestry of St. Mary requests the congregation to help with diagnosis and treatment of Ayen, sister to Yar and sister in-law to Nathaniel. Ayen lives in a Ugandan camp with her six young children and husband. Ayen was living a normal life as a loving and caring mother until August 2021 when she experienced some dizziness and suddenly lost her eye sight. Ayen has tried to seek medical treatment through the financial help of Yar and Nathaniel but things continued to worsen. Ayen is currently guided by a child to walk around because she cannot see. Based on the estimate provided, the medical intervention, diagnosis and treatment will cost $2,000. One St. Mary’s friend has already donated $300, and we appeal to the congregation to help raise the remaining balance of $1,700. Please submit your donation to the parish so that you can receive a tax receipt and make accounting manageable. Once the parish has received the donations, arrangements be made with Yar and Nathaniel to send the moment to Ayen in a Ugandan refugee camp. Your prayer and generous support will be greatly appreciated.
Attached is the photo for Ayen (in yellow) and her four children. The two sons appear a separate photo. Ayen has six children.
Tuesday to Friday
Morning Prayer at 8.30 a.m. and
Evening Prayer at 5.30 p.m.
(Modified 2021-11-14: Added recording of service)
REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
November 14, 2021
10.30 A.M. Holy Communion
Organ Prelude:
Be, Still, My Soul
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Arranged by Chester Nordman (1895-1973)
THE HYMN: 543 Unto the Hills around Do I Lift Up
Continue reading “Remembrance, 2021 – Holy Communion”(Modified 2021-11-14 Added audio recording of this sermon)
Daniel 12:1-3
Psalm 16
Hebrews 10:11-25
Mark 13:1-8
November 14,2021
St. Mary’s Regina
Proper 33
Year B
Have you ever been afraid of something? When I was a child, I was really afraid of the dark and of cockroaches. (pause) and truthfully, they both still bother me. There are cockroaches in El Paso, Texas (where I come from)…. BIG BUGS that inhabit cool, dark places like garages, cupboards, and basements and they scurry around at night in particular, which may have aggravated my fear of the dark. I hate being around them… I hate it when they startle me…. it doesn’t make any difference that I am a hundred times bigger then they are…. when one scurries across my path, my heart pounds, adrenaline rushes through my body and I instantly want to run the other way. Don’t even suggest that I simply step on it and kill it. The crunchy, splatty sound they make underneath my foot makes my skin crawl. I have tried over the years to talk myself out of this fear, but the last time I was home, I had to steel myself every time I had to walk into the garage, because I KNEW that there might be a roach out there. It was a great relief for me as I began my northern migration, to realize that there aren’t as many cockroaches up here as there are in El Paso because Cockroaches frighten me.
Continue reading “Remembrance, 2021 – Sermon”ALL SAINTS SUNDAY
November 7, 2021
GLORY BE TO JESUS CHRIST! GLORY BE TO HIM FOREVER!
10.00 AM
10.30 AM
MORNING PRAYER.
HOLY COMMUNION. Nathaniel Deng Mayen preaching
GODLY PLAY in the Worship Centre for children 3-6. Today’s story is ‘Elisha and the Room’ 2 Kings 4:8-37.
WARM WELCOME to Revd. Paula Foster who is beginning her ministry today.
The Vestry of St. Mary requests the congregation to help with diagnosis and treatment of Ayen, sister to Yar and sister in-law to Nathaniel. Ayen lives in a Ugandan camp with her six young children and husband. Ayen was living a normal life as a loving and caring mother until August 2021 when she experienced some dizziness and suddenly lost her eye sight. Ayen has tried to seek medical treatment through the financial help of Yar and Nathaniel but things continued to worsen. Ayen is currently guided by a child to walk around because she cannot see. Based on the estimate provided, the medical intervention, diagnosis and treatment will cost $2,000. One St. Mary’s friend has already donated $300, and we appeal to the congregation to help raise the remaining balance of $1,700. Please submit your donation to the parish so that you can receive a tax receipt and make accounting manageable. Once the parish has received the donations, arrangements be made with Yar and Nathaniel to send the moment to Ayen in a Ugandan refugee camp. Your prayer and generous support will be greatly appreciated.
Attached is the photo for Ayen (in yellow) and her four children. The two sons appear a separate photo. Ayen has six children.
Tuesday to Friday
Morning Prayer at 8.30 a.m. and
Evening Prayer at 5.30 p.m.
(Modified 2021-11-07: Added audio recording)
ALL SAINTS SUNDAY
November 7, 2021
10.30 A.M. Holy Communion
Organ Prelude: Introduction
Flor Peeters ( 1903-1986)
THE HYMN: # 278 Jerusalem the Golden
Continue reading “All Saints, 2021 – Holy Communion”