This week at St John's

THIS WEEK AT ST JOHN'S

Dear Friends,

We are delighted to welcome Jesse Psaila as St John’s new custodian. Jesse comes to St John’s with experience and trades certifications, including studies at Durham College. You will meet Jesse especially on weekday afternoons and evenings, and occasional weekends in a position shared with The Well. Welcome Jesse!

Jesse Psaila with St John’s Parish Adminstrator Kerry Bradley

We are thankful for the music leadership by Frances Macdonnell until the end of August. The first Sunday of September (Labour Day weekend) we look forward to worship music by Cara Gilbertson and Grayson Nesbitt, both of St John’s Choir and the Bytown School of Singing. Barb Hallam Price begins as Interim Director of Music on the second Sunday of September.

This coming Sunday, the readings bring us to the theme of inclusion. In the reading from the Prophet Isaiah, God declares, “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The Apostle Paul assures us that in the welcome of followers of Jesus, God has not rejected his people Israel, and that God is merciful to all. Jesus encounters a Canaanite woman asking for healing, and she challenges him to move his thinking beyond “only the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” We worship a God of robust inclusion, and I have been thinking about how we do it. It’s time to renew our experience of Safe Church. This includes reviewing our safety practices, police records checks, commitment to St John’s as a safe space for all. Looking to September!

In the meantime, come and worship – it’s a joy to be welcomed into God’s robust inclusion. I hope to see you for worship this Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

Gary+

ST JOHN’S PRIDE SERVICE – Sunday, August 27, 9:30 a.m.

On the day of the Ottawa Pride Parade, you are invited to walk with St John’s as we join the other affirming Anglican congregations to walk in the Parade. It has been my experience at Pride Parades that there are many people in the crowd who have had a repressive experience of religion. Seeing us representing a church gives them hope that what they have felt isn’t true of all congregations. They are grateful – and so are we when we can give a person hope along with open hearts and open doors. This year, we are sharing the Pride service with Temple Israel, the Reform Synagogue of Ottawa. We are invited to Temple Israel on Friday evening 6:30 p.m. for their service, and then Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg and synagogue members will join our service on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Rabbi Daniel and I will share both sermon times to talk about how your traditions and our congregations have made the journey to becoming welcoming and inclusive and actively engaging people who identify as 2SLGBTQQIA+. There is much to celebrate and we will both talk about the work that we think still needs to be accomplished.

WHAT'S HAPPENING

SUMMER READING

Our Home and Treaty Land: Walking Our Creation Story

This is our book study for early fall. It is written as a dialogue between Rev. Dr. Raymond Aldred, a status Cree and Rev. Dr. Matthew Anderson, a settler-descended biblical scholar.

"Treaty is the key to the shared narrative, shared spirituality and shared respect for the land." Through each author's chapters we learn the importance of understanding what Treaty meant to First Nations and to Newcomers.Accepting the truth of what happened is the first step in reconciliation.

Copies are available at Perfect Books on Elgin Street. There are three sessions, all on Saturday mornings from 9:30 to 11, beginning on Saturday Sept. 9th, then Sept. 23rd and the third on October 14th.

TO REMEMBER IN PRAYER

Our Parish

Gary, Allen, Kimberly, Kerry, Jesse, Stephen, Brian, Michelle, Jill and all who minister at St John's.

Our Diocese

Shane, our Bishop; Anne, our Metropolitan; Linda, our Primate
The Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples, Sacred Circle, the Ministry of Reconciliation and National Indigenous Bishop, The Right Rev. Christopher Harper.
St. Aidan’s, Ottawa; The Reverend Rosemary Parker.
For the members of the Property and Finance Committee and its subcommittees.
For our Canon Theologian, The Reverend Canon Dr. John Gibaut.

Anglican Church of Canada (ACC)

The Rt. Rev. Michael Hawkins, Bishop; The Rt. Rev Adam Halkett, Suffragan Bishop, and the clergy and people of the Diocese of Saskatchewan.

ELCIC

The dean, council, and congregations of the South West Area of the Synod of Alberta and the Territories.

The Anglican Communion from Aba to Zululand

The Church of England.

Flowers

The flowers are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Maralis Cowper- Brown and her daughter, Lisa Drew by Mary Ann and Ross Varley.

Parish Prayer Group

If you wish to have someone prayed for send an email to:

prayer-request@stjohnsottawa.ca.