Thanksgiving Time

My dear Sisters and Brothers,

It is hard for me to believe that this is my fourth Thanksgiving celebration amongst the people of this parish. Time is something that we all have to be thankful for, as once it is spent it can never be retrieved again. Time is the only gift that, once given, can never be retrieved again.

I have much to be thankful for this year. As I watch Magdalene grow, develop and mature I see everyday that I have been blessed greatly by our God. The love I feel for her is unlike any love I have felt before in my life and the more I feel it the more I come to understand the love that God has for each of us as his children.

I learn many things from my daughter that teach me about thankfulness and God’s grace here in this world. I am thankful that she is healthy, happy and secure in who she is. I am grateful that Wendy Faye has the freedom to be at home to provide the primary care that Magdalene needs. I thank God that He provides for my needs in all that He gives me and in all that He does for me.

Our Parish Family has much to be thankful for this year as well. Our revitalized fundraising efforts have proven to be tremendous successes. Both St. John’s and St. Andrew’s have engaged in a great deal of planning and work to bring people out in support of our Parish. The Vestry at St. John’s and the Fundraising Committee at St. Andrew’s have shown great leadership in providing the kind of fun and delicious events to help us raise funds for the glory of God and the good of His church here on earth.

I want to personally thank everyone who supported the 130th Anniversary events at St. Andrew’s. If you made food, served food, ate food, attended the historical presentation and the celebration Eucharist and/or helped out in any way you have my sincerest gratitude. Events like this give us a sense of our history and show us where we have been so that we can point ourselves toward the future certain of our past.

All these efforts are valuable for more than just the funds that they generate for the glory of God and the good of His church. These events also bring us together as a community for fellowship. There are four major anchors that hold the church together: Worship, Work, Fellowship, and Education. When we can properly balance all of these things in our own personal lives then the church will grow and thrive in this part of the world.

At a recent meeting of our Parish Council we discussed the things that we do well here in this place as a community of faith. Overwhelmingly we agreed that the worship and preaching that we offer and hear in this place are valuable, life giving, and engaging. I urge you all to consider how it is that you organize your time and consider how much time you spend in corporate worship. Services filled with people are joyful come and see what our Parish Council is so excited about. For a faithful Christian cannot live the vows of Baptism in isolation. A truly faithful Christian needs to come to the community as much as the community needs the faithful Christian.

In today’s culture I know that the hope of the Gospel is not something that is of use to many people – or at least that is what many people think. But nothing is further from the truth. Our lives are filled with hardship, heartache, grief and trouble – all of which the church community can help you with. The message that the Gospel shows us all is that God loves us and desires a relationship with each of us and how better to further that relationship than by coming to worship each week to give thanks to God for all the blessings of our lives.

I am thankful to those of you who are extremely faithful attendees of our services. Your faith gives me hope for the future of our Parish. Your job is to spread the word about the kind of uplifting worship you feel when you come and encourage others to join us. Coming to worship should not be seen as a duty but as a joy. Coming to worship should not be seen as an ordeal but as an experience worth sharing. Coming to worship should not be seen as something to be taken for granted but as something to be anticipated and looked forward to. Those who are responsible for leadership in these services work hard to ensure that this will be the case.

The hard work that so few people do to plan, organize and present our parish events and worship is something that we all have to be thankful for. We are in need of more people to offer themselves as Vestry members, Parish Council members, ACW members, Altar Guild members, Readers, Servers, and much more besides. If God has blessed you with a skill, ability or talent please consider offering it back to God by serving Him and His church.

Wendy Faye and Magdalene join with me in wishing you all a happy and blessed Thanksgiving. May it be a time for you to consider that which God has blessed you with and how it is that you can offer a portion of that back to God in thanksgiving.

Yours faithfully,
The Reverend M. Elliott Siteman
Rector

Rectory Repair Day

A group of very hard working men came to the Parish Rectory on the 22nd of September to shingle the roof.

A pictorial record of the event can be found by clicking HERE.

Thanks to all who worked so hard to keep the rain out!

Vacation Time

Fr. Elliott will be on vacation from 20 August to 3 September. If you have an emergency that requires the services of a priest then please call one of the Parish Wardens and they will contact the Priest-on-Call.

Sorry it's been a while...

This blog has taken a bit of neglect of late. If you are looking for our service times please follow this link:

Parish Calendar

And if you are looking for some ongoing events keep checking back here from time to time.

Blessings

Holy Week is Approaching

The worship services that we are offering for Holy Week are as follows:

Palm Sunday 1 April 2007
8:45am Liturgy of the Palms and Eucharist, St. Andrew's, Neil's Harbour
11am Liturgy of the Palms and Eucharist, St. John's, Ingonish
(Both of these services will begin at the respective Church Halls)

Monday in Holy Week 2 April 2007
10am Holy Eucharist, St. Andrew's

Tuesday in Holy Week 3 April 2007
10am Holy Eucharist, St. John's

Wednesday in Holy Week 4 April 2007
7pm Holy Eucharist, St. Andrew's

Maundy Thursday 5 April 2007
7pm Institution of the Lord's Supper with Foot Washing and Ritual Stripping of the Altar, St. John's

Good Friday 6 April 2007
11am Celebration of the Lord's Passion, St. Andrew's
1pm Celebration of the Lord's Passion, St. John's
3pm Ecumenical Service for Good Friday, St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Ingonish Beach

Holy Saturday 7 April 2007
8:30pm Easter Vigil, St. Andrew's

Easter Day 8 April 2007
9am Holy Eucharist, St. John's
11am Holy Eucharist, St. Andrew's

All are welcome to come and participate in this great week leading up the the joyous celebration of Easter.

Annual General Meeting Time

Our AGMs are scheduled for:

St. Andrew's: 18 February 2007, following the 11am Eucharist
St. John's: 25 February 2007, following the 11am Eucharist

Both meetings will take place in the respective Church Halls. All are welcome to come and attend these meetings of the congregations and discuss those things that are of importance for the work of the Church in this part of the world.

Our Rector's report can be accessed by clicking

HERE

28 January 2007 - the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Services this week are scheduled for:

11am Holy Eucharist, St. John's, Ingonish
7pm Evening Prayer, St. Andrew's, Neil's Harbour

Come and worship, come and worship!

14 January 2007 - the Second Sunday after Epiphany

Our services this week are scheduled for:

11am Holy Eucharist, St. John's, Ingonish (using the Liturgy from our Companion Diocese of Manicaland in Zimbabwe)
7pm Evening Prayer, St. Andrew's, Neil's Harbour

All are welcome at our services of worship.

31 December 2006 - The First Sunday after Christmas

Our services this week are scheduled for:

9am Holy Eucharist, St. Andrew's
11am Holy Eucaharist, St. John's

The new calendar year is soon upon us!

Albert Harvey

This morning at 7am Mr. Albert Harvey died. All the people who knew him and loved him will miss him. There will be a visitation at the Fillmore-Whitman Funeral Home, Ingonish on 12 December from 2-4pm and 7-9pm. A Eucharistic Funeral Service will take place on 13 December, 2pm at St. John's Church, Ingonish.

Rest eternal grant unto him, O Lord.
And may light perpetual shine upon him.

10 December 2006 - the Second Sunday in Advent

Our services this week are scheduled for:

11am Holy Eucharist, St. Andrew's, Neil's Harbour
7pm Evening Prayer, St. John's, Ingonish

Come continue your journey with us through Advent and expectation of the coming of our Lord Jesus.

3 December 2006 - the First Sunday in Advent

This week begins a whole new Christian Year so... Happy New Year!

Our services, this week, are scheduled for:

11am Holy Eucharist, St. John's, Ingonish
7pm Evening Prayer, St. Andrew's, Neil's Harbour

Come, let us begin anticipating the coming of our Lord together.

26 November 2006 - Christ the King

This week we have a joint service of the whole parish with a special focus on children, young people, and families. The service will be held at 11am at St. Andrew's Church, Neil's Harbour. The preachers for this service will be Maggie MacKinnon and Keriann Dowling who will be sharing with us their experiences around this year's Diocesan Youth Conference. All are welcome to attend and help worship Jesus, our Lord and our King.

12 November 2006 - the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost

Our services this week are scheduled for:

11am Holy Eucharist, St. Andrew's, Neil's Harbour
7pm Evening Prayer, St. John's, Ingonish

Come and worship for all are welcome in the house of the Lord.

Remembrance Day

This week we mark Remembrace Day. A day to honour and remember all those who fought, and are fighting, for freedom from oppression. The services to comemorate this day are scheduled for:

9 November 2006, 2pm at Highland Manor, Neil's Harbour
11 November 2006, 10am at St. John's, Ingonish

Lest we forget... lest we forget.

5 November 2006 - the Solemnity of All Saints

Our services, this week, are scheduled for:

11am Holy Eucharist, St. John's, Ingonish
7pm Evening Prayer, St. Andrew's, Neil's Harbour

Come and worship our God, holding before Him so great a cloud of witnesses!

29 October 2006 - the 21st Sunday after Pentecost

Our services, this week, are scheduled for:

11am Morning Prayer, St. Andrew's, Neil's Harbour
7pm Evening Prayer, St. John's, Ingonish

Fr. Elliott will be away at the Diocesan Youth Conference so the services will be lead by our capable lay leaders. Come and worship and support them.

22 October 2006 - the 20th Sunday after Pentecost

Services this week are scheduled for:

11am Holy Eucharist, St. John's, Ingonish
7pm Evening Prayer, St. Andrew's, Neil's Harbour

Come! Let us worship together!

15 October 2006 - Leap for Faith Sunday

This week we will be hearing from Bishop Fred Hiltz via DVD in regards to the Diocese Capital Campaign, "Leap for Faith." Last year we heard from Bishop Fred and this year he wants to keep us updated as to the progress and effectiveness of the campaign.

Our services this week where we will hear from our bishop are scheduled for:

11am Holy Eucharist, St. Andrew's, Neil's Harbour
7pm Evening Prayer, St. John's, Ingonish

Come and worship, for all are welcome!

Thanksgiving Letter

My dear Sisters and Brothers,

As I sit to write this letter my mind is drawn to think of all that I have to thank God for. This past year has been a year of many blessings, challenges and opportunities for me both personally and professionally. Primarily I must offer up to God my heartfelt thanksgivings for the healthy birth and beginning of Magdalene’s life. Wendy Faye and I have taken much delight to watch our daughter begin to develop into her own person. Magdalene is the joy of our lives and the apple of my eye. I now know what it is that God must have felt when he looked upon His Son and said, “This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

The support that this parish has shown us as we begin our lives as parents has been joyous to say the least. To you all who have sent cards, letters, gifts, food, etc. you have our gratitude and appreciation. God has blessed us with a community that rallies around our children and that is truly a great gift to give.

Professionally, I must give thanks for the new space that I am able to use for an office which has been graciously donated to us by the Buchanan Memorial Hospital. As I said in my letter of announcement I am thankful to the Facility Manager for making this opportunity possible. Many people have already made use of this opportunity and I look forward to many more such visits in the future. Also, this space has been of great value to me as a place for me to do the work that a priest must do. Writing sermons, reading and studying scripture, reading for on-going education, counselling people, prayer and meditation, preparation for Sunday services, administration and a host of other duties are what I get up to while I am in the office. Not to mention that it is good to have a more permanent spiritual presence in our little hospital. Please feel free to drop by during my posted office hours for a chat, you are all welcome. All of these things are blessings to be thankful for.

The challenges that have been before me – and that I thank God for – have been many and varied. The large number of funerals over that last few months have been very emotional times for our parish. The loss of a loved one is not always seen as a time of thanksgiving but for us who believe in the resurrection we can give thanks that their souls are living in the nearer presence of God where all is light and joy.

I have also been challenged, by our bishops, to be more involved in the wider church. I have let slide my obligations to our diocese and I must set aside more time to share. As a priest of the church I am called and obligated, and have vowed, to “take my place in the councils of the church” and am required by our bishop to offer myself upon at least one diocesan committee. While I am currently a member of the Youth Ministry Sub-Committee I have not attended a meeting in well over a year and this is not acceptable. I will be organizing my time in such a way that a bimonthly trip to those meetings will be a priority.

Thus I have many things to be thankful for and I do my best to express my thanks to God in what ways I can. Primarily I have come to see the blessings in offering back to God a portion of what He has blessed me with through my offering of money, to our parish and to our diocese. Giving back to God through a proportional amount of what has been given to me has been a source of great satisfaction and fulfillment in my life. I have found that the sacrifice of tithing has been worth the money.

As your priest, I would be quite remiss if I did not urge you all to give some serious thought to how it is that you give back to God in thanksgiving. Do you give back merely as an after thought or do you offer a true sacrifice to God in thanks for all that He has provided you? For the lobster, the crab, the cod and all of the other lucrative fishing stocks were not sown in the oceans by human hands they are placed there by the grace of God and we profit from those gifts. Thus it is only natural, and every Christians’ duty, that we should offer back a considered percentage of what it is that God has given us.

Our parish could be a shining light in our diocese if we are all prepared to make a sacrifice to God and offer a true proportion of what it is that He has given us. We often feel very isolated here in this part of the world but we need to feel that way if we are willing to make the effort. The very fact that our Diocesan Youth Ministry Coordinator chose our parish to make his first official visit shows us that we are a vital part of the Diocese. The funds that some of you have contributed to the Leap for Faith Capitol Campaign are being put to good use and are currently at work for your benefit and for the benefit of our parish.

Always remember, Abel gave his very best back to God in a sacrifice of thanksgiving and he was blessed. Cain gave back to God the thoughtless scraps of his table and he was accursed. So too can we all be blessed when we make a sacrifice and give our very best in the faith that God will bless us further.

As you all consider how it is that you give I urge you to keep before you to whom we owe all that we have, all that we are, and all that we shall be. As a way of motivation I have attached a chart that you should all pay close attention to. This chart is meant to be a tool to help you prayerfully, thankfully and faithfully decided on how it is that you give. I urge you all to be prayerful, thankful, faithful witnesses of the God from whom all good things flow.

Wendy Faye and Magdalene join with me in wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving. May it be filled with plenteousness, joy and the blessings of our God.

With God’s blessings, I am,
Faithfully yours,
The Reverend M. Elliott Siteman
Rector