The palms from last Palm Sunday will be burned today to make the ashes for tomorrow.
There will be two liturgies on Ash Wednesday, one in the customary Wednesday midweek Eucharist slot: 12:15 PM
The evening Ash Wednesday service will be held at 7:00 PM in
the CHAPEL (which is NOT wheel-chair accessible) and those coming will
be directed to enter by the EAST DOOR (north of the Cafe entrance).
Maurice Francois will be the presiding celebrant, Bill Whitla will offer
a reflection, and Sherman Hesselgrave will be the musician.
This poem is referenced in Jo Connelly’s homily of February 24th “Loving Our Enemy?”
Listen with the night falling we are saying thank you we are stopping on the bridge to bow from the railings we are running out of the glass rooms with our mouths full of food to look at the sky and say thank you we are standing by the water looking out in different directions
In our first reading from Genesis, Joseph clearly had enemies. In preparation for this homily I re-read Joseph’s history, going back as far as Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Esau, Leah and Rachel—what tales of treachery and deceit! Joseph was the favoured son of Jacob’s favoured wife Rachel. Not only was he given a very special cloak but he announced to his brothers, dreams suggesting they would bow down to him. His brothers seethed with jealousy and somehow Joseph seemed a bit clueless in the lead up to their plot. Though they had originally schemed to kill Joseph, in the end they put him in a cistern and decided to sell him into slavery. They brought the hated cloak back to their father Jacob covered in animal blood to convince him that Joseph had been killed by an animal.
Some saints were farmers
like Serenus the gardener who shares your day, dear Ian.
They ploughed the land like billy-o
scattering the seed where fall it will
and harvesting the growth, if any,
in due season, tares and all.
And some moved kings and potentates,
and prelates too, as did bird-preaching Frances,
pushing Sultans, Popes, and a priest or two
to grant his brothers space; their kingdoms peace;
their people just a crêche or two
to see the mystery unfold.
Our annual vestry meeting (what we call our annual general meeting) will take place after the Sunday worship service on March 3. That will be about 11:45am.
The reports to vestry will be posted shortly for the perusal of members.
