Parish News
February 28, 2021
Dear Friends,
“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” II Peter 1: 2
I hope you’re well. You remain, as always, in my prayers.
There are a number of things I want to share with you…
When Will Regular Sunday Morning Worship Resume?
The million dollar question we all have is, “When will regular Sunday morning worship resume?”
As of this writing, we plan to meet on Sunday, March 28, at 9am and 11am. This happens to be Palm Sunday (also called, The Sunday of the Passion), the beginning of Holy Week.
We might not call this “regular” Sunday worship, though. Unless I were to have 2 broken legs, 2 broken arms, severe laryngitis, COVID-19, and be tied down with a freighter anchor, I will be there!! But I do not expect everyone will flood back at once. Rather, as people feel safe, or receive the vaccine, I expect more people will gradually return to in-person worship.
Of course, having regular Sunday worship also depends on the pandemic being under control in our area. If the health unit forbids in-person worship, for example, we won’t be gathering on March 28.
Presuming we are allowed to gather, here are the tentative plans for Holy Week:
I expect to discuss Holy Week in further detail with members of the Spiritual Development Committee, and will confirm details in a future newsletter. Please note that, even if we are allowed to gather in person, we might not undertake some Holy Week traditions (like foot-washing, or the Palm Sunday processionals).
Vaccine Recording
Some of us are eager to receive a vaccine; others are hesitant, or have read things in social media questioning the use of vaccines. This is a question about how can we evaluate what is true, and what is misleading. I have prepared a short video about this. I hope that it will posted on the St. Brice’s website soon. Feel free to view this, or share it with anyone in the community who might have questions about getting vaccinated.
Observing the Season of Lent
The B.A.S. Ash Wednesday Exhortation summarizes it well:
Lent is a time to prepare for (the Easter) celebration
and to renew our life in the paschal mystery…
I invite you therefore, in the name of the Lord,
to observe a holy Lent
by self-examination, penitence, prayer,
fasting, and almsgiving,
and by reading and meditating on the word of God.
The on-line weekly Deanery services continue, and can be found on the St. Brice’s website at:
https://www.stbriceschurch.com/wordpress/?page_id=258
The on-line weekly Fellowship Gatherings (which end with short devotions) can be accessed at:
Topic: Sunday Morning Gatherings
Time: February 28-March 21, 2021 10:30 AM
For security reasons, the hyperlink and passcode are not posted,
please contact the parish office for both at stbrices.northbay@yahoo.ca
Archbishop Anne Germond is offering “sun-rise” services on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, through her Facebook page, beginning at 7:15am.
During Lent, short late evening services (“Compline”) are offered on Tuesdays by the clergy, using the Book of Common Prayer. (I led the service last Tuesday, February 23.) These might be available through the St. Brice’s website in the future, but can also be accessed through the St. Mary Magdalene’s (Sturgeon Falls) youtube channel. Deanery layreaders are offering short services of Evening Prayer on Thursdays, using the Book of Alternative Services. (Bill and Anne Burton are leading the service this coming Thursday, March 4.) The Evening Prayer services can be accessed the same way.
There are also plans to offer an ecumenical Good Friday service on-line, accessed through Youtube, Facebook, and the local COGECO television station. Several St. Brice’s parishioners have contributed to this. The theme this year is “Hope,” and the hosts particularly want to encourage people who are exploring or considering the claims of the gospel to view the program. Please invite un-churched friends.
Lenten devotional resources continue to be printed (for those who do not have access to the internet, but want them) and are posted on the parish webpage – such as the Henri Noewen daily devotions:
https://www.stbriceschurch.com/wordpress/?page_id=4157
Parishioners are encouraged to watch The War Room, a movie directed by Alex Kendrick. There will be an on-line discussion about the movie next weekend. Please join us, using the link below (keep a copy of this handy):
Topic: Discussion: “The War Room” Movie
Time: Sunday, March 7, 2021 7:00 PM
For security reasons, the hyperlink and passcode are not posted,
please contact the parish office for both at stbrices.northbay@yahoo.ca
If you need a DVD copy of the movie to be able to view it, please contact the parish office right away.
Layreaders especially are warmly invited to participate in the “Lenten Quiet Morning” on March 20. However, I understand other laity may attend too, if they choose:
Dear Lay Readers
of the
Dioceses of Algoma and Moosonee
You are invited to attend
A Lenten Quiet Morning
on
Saturday March 20th, 2021
9am to Noon
Led by Archbishop Anne Germond
Reflections on:
“The Body Language of Jesus through Holy Week:
Servant, Prayer, Saviour, Son”
Please email Liz Hamel to register at
adminassistant@dioceseofalgoma.com
World Day of Prayer Service
The annual World Day of Prayer Service, held on the first Friday in March each year, is being hosted on-line by Calvin Presbyterian Church this year:
Below is the information you need for your congregation to join us.
This year’s service has been done as a video with the introduction by the writing country, Vanuatu, and their service led by the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada. It is well done.
Everyone can join service either via computer, smart phone or tablet or by home phone.
Please forward this email to any who might be interested in joining us for this special service.
Please encourage folks to join the service at 1:45B p.m. so we can begin the actual service at 2:00 p.m.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
With thanks for the body of Christ,
Rev. Frances Savill
Calvin Presbyterian Church, North Bay
Topic: World Day of Prayer
Time: Mar 5, 2021 01:45 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
To join by computer, tablet or smart phone use the link provided:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82805543849?pwd=ZTVQaGhuMEZGUExHV3REbFhrQW5XZz09
Meeting ID: 828 0554 3849
Passcode: 030521
To join using your home phone call:
Call: +1 647 374 4685
Meeting ID: 828 0554 3849#
Participant: #
Passcode: 030521#
Round Table on Homelessness
The Catholic Women’s League of North Bay has recently formed a “round table” to address the challenge of homelessness in North Bay. The St. Brice’s representative is Diane McCaskill. Please speak to Diane for further information or support for this initiative.
Keep in Touch
I want to express my appreciation to those involved with the informal networks to keep in touch with each other while we are isolated during the pandemic. Please consider calling people outside your circle of friends, and if you are feeling lonely, please do not remain in isolation. We would be pleased to talk with you. Some local health resources can be found at the following website: https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-health-and-covid-19
Update on the Parish Hall Re-roofing Project: “Heaven Is Above”
This project is moving forward. The contract is being awarded to Steve Watson, of All Heights Roofing from Sturgeon Falls. This bid came in at just under $13 000, including taxes. The work is planned be done the last week of May, and we expect it will be completed within four days.
We submitted an application to the Anglican Foundation to pay for 50% of the job. The Deanery officials have already provided their support for the project. Next, we are reasonably confident of a recommendation from the diocesan executive at their meeting on March 9-10. It will then be forwarded to the Anglican Foundation board at their meeting in April.
Office Coordinator
Parishioners who attended the Vestry (annual meeting) last week know that we are planning to hire a part-time office coordinator at St. Brice’s. Following input from the Vestry, and having consulted other parishes and the diocesan office, the Advisory Board is advertising for a candidate to be hired for four hours/ week, at the rate of $20/ hour. Half of that time is to be while the rector is in the office. This job will be offered as a one-year contract.
The ideal candidate has the following traits and competencies:
- Answer telephone & deal with queries
- Respond to email messages & file significant email messages so they can intuitively be found later
- Is competent in Microsoft Office software
- Can contribute to weekly PowerPoint presentations
- Ensure volunteer roster are kept up to date
- Prepare any special bulletins
- Keep track of, and ordering, seasonal material (such as palm crosses, etc.)
- Be flexible and creative, as tasks will vary from day to day
- Be a friendly, effective presence, who reflects the ethos of St. Brice’s
- Be willing to work with a high degree of independence, but who is also be an effective communicator
- Other duties as assigned.
The successful candidate will need to undergo a Criminal Record Check needed, and swear to observe appropriate confidentiality. The office coordinator is accountable to the rector and the wardens.
The Board has considered carefully how best to proceed with the hiring process. We will first be advertising “in house” in St. Brice’s and in neighbouring local churches, before advertising the position publicly (if this is needed). There will be two steps to the hiring process: First, three lay people will review the resume(s). Then, two wardens and the rector will interview the candidate(s).
The deadline for submitting a resume is 15 March. Candidates are encouraged, but not required, to submit their resumes and a covering letter on line, to: stbrices.northbay@yahoo.ca. Submissions will also be accepted in the parish mailbox.
Of course, an Office Coordinator will help with the administration of the parish. But that’s not all. We are investing carefully for our future. We hope that hiring someone will free me somewhat to invest in pastoral care and evangelization. However (as I have said before), I cannot do it alone. We are all called collectively to offer our gifts, to build up the Church, and to advance the kingdom of God.
Financial Update
Monthly income is typically down in the months of January, July and August. We are sincerely grateful to all those who were in a position to contribute to the parish hall re-roofing project. We appreciate all contributions which can be made for our ministry and outreach work.
What I Can Promise – and What I Cannot
Someone asked me the other day when I thought the pandemic might be over in North Bay. I cannot answer that. (Some questions are, as they say, “above my pay scale.”) I understand completely people’s longing for the pandemic to be over, and I want the same myself. No Christian can be promised a life without any trouble – in fact, sometimes we might have troubles because we are Christians!
There are, though, some things I can promise: I can promise that you are loved, more than you will ever know or ever to be able to comprehend, by the God of the universe, who has revealed himself to humanity by his Son Jesus Christ, in the power of his Holy Spirit. Even more, in the community of the Church family, in our own bumbling, beautiful way, we are learning together how to love like the Lord Jesus. I can promise that, though you might feel lonely, you are never really alone. I can promise you that death is not the end. I can promise that the flashes of beauty, the relief of forgiveness and the peace which passes understanding are not temporary, but point ahead to God’s coming kingdom in which there will be no more tears, or pain, or death, or sorrow. I can promise that in some amazing way, we will be reunited in Christ as the communion of saints, a great city made up of people both known and unknown to us. I can promise that pandemics are not the end of the story.
George Herbert, d. 1633
I happen to be writing this parish newsletter on the anniversary of the death of George Herbert, who is my favourite Anglican poet. The Rev. Herbert served briefly and quietly in a rural parish in western England in the early 1600’s. His devotion to his Lord, Jesus Christ, and his utter commitment to care for his parishioners as their local shepherd, are remarkable, and I think, very beautiful. He died relatively young. Here is a stanza of praise from a hymn he wrote, “King of Glory, King of Peace:”
Seven whole days, not one in seven, I will praise thee;
In my heart, through not in heaven, I can raise thee.
Small it is, in this poor short, to enroll thee,
E’en eternity’s too short to extol thee.
God bless you all,
Peter Armstrong