Dear Friends,

September is wonderful time to visit St John’s! If the spirit moves you to walk in for your first time, we’re glad to meet you and welcome you. The welcome cards are back in the pews and when you complete one, we look forward to being in touch with you. (Place it in the offering plate or give it to a greeter.) Nametags are back too – wearing one helps us to learn each other’s names. 

Come on in for Open Doors during the week (Thursdays 12-1 p.m. and Saturday 2-3 p.m.) and for worship on Sundays (8:00 and 10:15 a.m.).

But we are not just waiting - we are also inviting!

On Sunday, September 18, we will hold our first Open House service together with The Well/La Source. And now for the amazing invitations. Our City Councillor Catherine McKenney and our MPP Joel Harden will read from the scriptures. Our MP Yasir Naqvi will read from the Qu’ran. All three elected representatives will offer remarks at the conclusion of the service. The Well’s manager, Heather Wacyk, will join Gary in offering the reflection. We have also invited the member participants of the The Well – and representatives of local businesses on Elgin Street, from Cooper Street to Gilmour Ave. We’re serving lunch out on Elgin Street following the service and we are grateful with catering provided by the Ottawa Mission. Lunch is free and we invite you to be with us. It really is an Open House – come and tour the facilities of The Well and learn more about the amazing services offered to our local community from our shared St John’s building.

When it comes to inviting, the personalized approach is so effective – please bring or invite your friends.

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend:

• Funeral for Pat Love on Saturday 1 p.m.
• Worship 8 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.
• Special Vestry Meeting at 12 p.m.

Gary+

Special Vestry will be held Sunday, September 11 immediately following the 10:15 service to discuss and vote on a redevelopment plan for St John's and the required financing.

Those On Our Hearts

Bill and Family, Ann, Steve and Family, Pat H., The staff, volunteers and participants in the programs of The Well.

Our Parish

Gary, Allen, Gordon, Josh, Gregory, Kerry, Stephen, Steve, Michelle, Jill and all who minister at St John's.

Our Diocese

Shane, our Bishop; Anne, our Metropolitan; Linda, our Primate.

Our Community Ministries:

• Anglican Day Programs: Centre 454; St Luke’s Table; The Well/La Source
• Centre 105 (Cornwall)
• Cornerstone Housing for Women
• Ottawa Pastoral Counselling Centre
• Refugee Ministry 

St. Helen’s, Orleans

The Venerable Rhonda Waters.

For Open Table Ministry to university students. 

Anglican Church of Canada (ACC)

The The Most Rev. Lynne McNaughton, Metropolitan, and the clergy and people of the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon.

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada (ELCIC)

The staff of the British Columbia Synod.

The Anglican Communion from Aba to Zululand

The Church of Bangladesh.

Parish Prayer Group

If you wish to have someone prayed for, please call (613) 232-4500 ext 21 or send an email to prayer-request@stjohnsottawa.ca.

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

11 SEPTEMBER 2022

Exodus 32:7-14; Psalm 51:1-10; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10

The new season for St John's choir begins in September, and it promises

to be a busy, exciting year. If you or someone you know would be

interested in joining the choir, now would be the perfect time. We

rehearse every Thursday evening and sing every Sunday morning; as well,

we perform two concerts a year with orchestra. The choir is a friendly,

devoted group of singers, and new members are welcome.

For further information, contact the Director of Music, Gordon at

gordon@stjohnsottawa.ca

Did you ever wonder why people come to St. John's? What they believe? Why they worship the way they do? Why they always seem so busy with outreach programs, community engagement, social justice activities, and a million other things? You are not alone!

The Lifelong Learning Committee is planning a series of conversations to help all parishioners, new and old, to deepen their understanding and appreciation of who we are and what we do at St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church. Over 4 sessions there will be time to engage in thoughtful dialogue on topics like these:

1. Where does Christianity fit among religions of the world, and where does Anglicanism fit among Christian traditions, and where does St John’s fit in the Anglican tradition?
2. Why do we worship the way we do?
3. How do we live out our faith in practice?
4. How do we engage with the world?

The above topics will be explored through four 2-hour Saturday morning sessions to be held (in person) on Oct. 29th, and Nov. 5th, 12th and 19th (10 AM-12PM). This is intended for everyone – you might be new to these questions or maybe you have been thinking about them for a long time. Join us for a chance to learn from each other and to share your views and insights.

St John’s continues to reach out to our wider community to help us to better know our neighbours. This includes video interviews with neighbours and audio recordings of sermons. We hope you enjoy these latest additions!

Interview with Father Vincent Pereira, Pastor of St Theresa’s Roman Catholic Church. This interview, recorded earlier in the summer, features Father Vincent’s story the growth of St Theresa’s, reflections on our shared friendship especially since the funeral of our shared parishioner, Steven Sansom, and possibilities for future collaboration. Father Vincent was so pleased with this conversation that it’s featured on the main page of the St Theresa’s website!

Interview with Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi. This interview is new, just recorded last week! We look forward welcoming Yasir to our St John’s and The Well Open House service on September 18. Find out more about Yasir’s priorities and passion for our local community here.

"Let’s Talk Trans: Supporting Trans Lives in our families, among our friends, in our community. Supporting your Life!” Gary’s sermon for Pride Sunday - slightly adapted here for listening afterwards - to help you *see* the flip chart used to introduce words and terms. You will also hear added “bonus material” - because it is truly a bonus and a gift that the Anglican Church of Canada now offers Pastoral Liturgies for Journeys of Gender Transition and Affirmation. Let’s know more about them so we can begin to use them. This presentation concludes with the prayer shared at the end of our Pride Service, “A Blessing for my LGBTQ Ancestors,” a beautiful poetic Kaddish prayer presented at this weekend’s Ottawa Pride Shabbat (David Yedid, 2019 - Mishkan Ga’avah). This adapted presentation is more podcast than sermon. May it equip us to support Trans Lives and to expand your vision of a truly inclusive church.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is fast approaching. We plan to be on Parliament Hill! There are lots of choices for an orange shirt – Take a look and order one to support Indigenous community organizations:

https://sites.google.com/view/trc-orange-shirt-day-vendors/home

https://www.healingbeginsnow.ca/

https://diamondphoenixcreations.com/

https://pridedragons.com/

https://themanshoppe.ca/collections/all

https://wickitnaturals.com/

Make your plans for Friday, September 30: Remember Me: A National Day of Remembrance and 2^nd Anniversary of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

Purple Tie Gala: October 1st

Cornerstone Housing for Women is hosting its fourth annual Purple Tie Gala back in-person on

October 1st, 2022!

Start your fall off the right way – at a fresh and funky gala on the rooftop of the Ottawa Art Gallery! Get your best purple attire on and get ready to join us for a special night of music, connecting with old and new friends, delicious food, and hopeful celebration.

After running our second at-home virtual Gala in response to the pandemic, which raised over $100,000, we are proud to announce that the gala will once again be live this year! We are excited to celebrate with you in person on Saturday, October 1, 2022, from 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm.



Early bird tickets are now on sale for $100 until September 9th when the price will increase to $145 – don’t wait and get your tickets today!

Here is the schedule for community organizations for the Elgin Street Market

• Centretown Emergency Food Centre - September 11
• Cornerstone Housing - September 18
• Centretown Community Health Centre - September 25
• Dementia Society - October 2
• Envirocentre - October 9

THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTCOST

18 SEPTEMBER 2022

Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13