All Saints Sunday November 5, 2023

Welcome to St. Laurence

Please join us for worship this Sunday and stay for the belonging! This week is an intergenerational Messy All Saints/All Souls service, with a time of remembrance. See below for more information on your part in this ritual.

If you are unable to join us for worship in person, please join our

livestream service through the link below, or watch a video at your leisure.

Videos of past services may be accessed via the livestream link on our

website.

Telling our stories of God’s abundance

What brought you to St Laurence? Why do you stay? What are some of the

ways in which you give back to this community? Over the next few weeks, we will

be telling stories here at St Laurence; stories of community life, of God’s

abundant blessings, of shared values and hopeful futures. Below you will find a

reflection from Janet and Ross Lennox.

****The office will be closed next week, incase of emergency please call Jane at

403-324-1958

**** Stewardship packages have been mailed out. If you are new to

the parish, and would like to receive a package, please contact the office.

**** Please note anyone who is doing pre authorized debits from

the Diocese will notice RBC on their bank statements as the Diocese has

switched to RBC Express.

Why did we come to St Laurence in 2017?

Janet and I have been regular Anglican church goers for all of our married journey. We were getting stale in our previous church which did not want to start the process of renewal with an impending clergy retirement.

We met Anna and Carolyn at the installment service of our former assistant priest at his new church. We were impressed with their openness and commitment to preaching a feminine side of the Gospel and 1-hour services. On joining we were so impressed how the liturgy spoke to us and the power of open conversation during “Conversations”.

The four leaders at that time (Anna, Carolyn, Don and Cathy) established a tradition of strong leadership which continues on with Jane and MJ. All these individuals have been approachable and open to good conversation and sharing of opinions.  

St Laurence has demonstrated a flexibility in programme and focus which has worked well for us in retirement and has enabled us to travel while helping out around the church as needed. The Wisdom centre has been a real asset to help us to complement our personal and community journey by providing a wide range of topics and discussions.

The hope for the next year is to solidify the focus on becoming more of an inclusive community, continued participation in the Alliance and hopefully the Climate Hub, to complement the strong teaching and hospitality of the Parish.

Janet and Ross Lennox

All Saints Sunday

November 5, 10;00 am

Join us for story, song, and reflection as we gather in worship to honour the everyday saints in our lives, and Saints who have passed on to glory.

During the service there will be a candle lighting ceremony to honour our Saints. You are invited to bring a picture or object to represent a loved one to put on a display by the Altar. This may be a current saint in your life, or someone who is no longer here whom you wish to remember.

Families are invited to be creative in choosing your saint; living grandparents, a special friend or family member who has died, even a beloved pet whom you may be mourning. 

Afterwards, you are invited to join us for refreshments and conversation. 

To view our bulletin, see here

Conversations

Join us each week in the Sunshine Room at 11:20 for reflection on theology, spirituality, and current events.

This week in Conversations: no conversations this week

Save the dates for Messy Sundays November 5, and December 10!

This Week in Parish

Monday 11:30 am Ladies Lunch           

Thursday 10:00 am Centering Prayer

                7:30 pm Choir practice

Funeral services for Evelyn Pinsky will be held on Monday, November 13, 2:00 pm at

St Laurence.

Upcoming Women’s Lunches

Monday, December 4

 At 11:30 am at Pho Pham Restaurant in Signal Hill. All are welcome, no rsvp required.

Prayer Ministry at St Laurence

If you have a prayer request, the best way is to email Ross Lennox

at rosslennox23@gmail.com or phone him at 403-606-2525

The Palestinian Christian Voice Zoom Meeting

Learn more about the Palestinian Christian experience from Palestinian American Priest, the Rev. Leyla Kamalick King, along

with professor of church history, the Rev. Dr. Benjamin King.

Tuesday, November 14,

9:10 am (MT)

Zoom 496 561 5003

(Code: Kenyon2023)

PWRDF Christmas Cards 2023

PWRDF Christmas Cards are now available. There are two beautiful cards available this year. You are invited to order your own cards directly from the PWRDF website (pwrdf.org) or place an order with Carol Gardiner. The order will be placed November 3, 2023. Please call Carol @ 403-249-9729.

An Appeal for Ahli Arab Hospital, Gaza

“Any contributions made to PWRDF for the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital between October 7 - November 12 will be matched by the Government of Canada. This matching will happen because PWRDF is a member of the Canadian Food Grains Bank which is a member of the Humanitarian Coalition. Donations can be made to PWRDF in the usual ways.”

 For many years, Primate's World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) has supported the work in al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza with surgical equipment and access to health care. After the recent violence, the director of the hospital has issued an emergency appeal to support its health services in this time of crisis. PWRDF has responded with a grant of $30,000. This grant will cover the cost of additional staff which is very much needed. Please consider supporting this initiative as the situation is extremely critical.

More information is available here.

To support al-Ahli Arab Hospital, please donate online to PWRDF's International Emergency Response Fund and indicate Gaza Hospital in the comments. Donate by phone at 1-866-308-7973.  You will be prompted to leave a message and the staff will return your call. By mail, send your cheque to PWRDF, 80 Hayden Street, 3^rd Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada, M4Y 3G2. Please indicate ''Gaza Hospital'' in the memo field.

Thank you for your prayerful caring.  

CATHEDRAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

LEARN TO LOVE - How do we love our neighbours literally on our doorstep? Your Cathedral invites you to receive frontline training on how to care for the houseless, free-of-charge, every Sunday morning from experienced, professional workers. Inquire with our volunteer coordinator, Wendy, for more information. wendy.d@anglicancathedralcalgary.ca

TRANSGENDERISM AND FAITH - The Cathedral is providing upcoming opportunities to learn and grow in our awareness and support of the transgender community.

The Cathedral's annual service of prayer for the Transgender Day of Remembrance. This will take place on Saturday Nov 18th at 7pm. This service will not be livestreamed, but all transgender people and their allies are encouraged to join us in person. For more information on transgenderism and suicide, see the Mental Health Commission of Canada's fact sheet.

Interfaith Bible Study

Thursdays November 9 - 30 from 1:00 - 2:30 pm.

Hosted at Beth Tzedec Congregation

1325 Glenmore Trail SW

Weaselhead Concerts:

Looking for an inexpensive evening of good musical entertainment in the neighbourhood? Lakeview United Church offers just that in the 2023 - 2024 Weaselhead Series Concerts: 

·        Sunday December 3, 2023    Horizon Ridge Christmas Show 

·        Friday February 16, 2024     T. Buckley Trio 

·        Friday March 15, 2024       Lynne Hanson & Friends  

·        Friday April 26, 2024         Leaf Rapids 

Tickets and further information available by calling 403-242-5760