st. aidan's “by the way” newsletter: dec 2015

ST AIDAN’S ANGLICAN CHURCH: “BY THE WAY” NEWSLETTER

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1246 Oxford St W London ON N6H 1V7

(519) 471-1430 [email protected] www.staidans.net

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Advent ~ Dec 2015 Edition

A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

Peace – Not an Ornamanet Kevin George

In The First Christmas, Marcus Borg writes: “Christmas is not about tinsel and

mistletoe or even ornaments and presents, but about what means

will we use toward the end of a peace from heaven upon our earth. Or is “peace on earth” but a

Christmas ornament taken each year from attic or basement and

returned there as soon as possible?”

We are entering those days where we will hear a whole lot about ‘peace on earth.’ We will receive cards with it plastered across the front. We will sing about it in church. We will hear

about it over canned music at malls (but we are unlikely to experience it in a mall). It is a very over used phrase at this

time of year. I fear that it really is for us akin to the ornament that is hauled out, shined up, proudly displayed and romantically mused about around fireplaces.

This Christmas we will all be aware that our country is in the

midst of welcoming 25 000 people from Syria. We will be making room for people who are fleeing war and persecution in their homeland. Our own parish is welcoming two families

from Syria. In fact, one of those families may be in London before Christmas. As we look upon the Christmas card, or the tree ornaments that declare ‘peace on earth,’ I wonder if we

are able to connect the dots. While our nations opens its doors to the strangers, the din of those who are fearful echoes

in the background. “Those people are terrorists!” “We don’t have enough for the people who are here!”

“They better not be Muslims!”

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT

Presented by our CYFM Sunday December 20th

12 NOON

CHRISTMAS EVE

Nativity of the Lord I Thursday December 24th

4 PM

Nativity of the Lord II Thursday December 24th

8 PM (*7:30 PM Carol Sing)

CHRISTMAS DAY Nativity of the Lord III

Thursday December 25th

10:30 AM


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“We should ban Muslims!” “Those people are bogus!”

Etc…etc…etc. No person is bogus! Human beings are not bogus!

It is critical that we not allow narrow-mindedness to detract us from entering into the Christian Story. And by entering into the story, I mean entering into all the different parts

of the story as represented in the Gospels. It is always nice to enter into the manger scene: nice to think about wise men paying visit, nice to think of Shepherds in the field abiding, and of course….nice to muse about Jesus, Mary, and Joseph fleeing Bethlehem, fearing for

their lives and entering Egypt as refugees. …. Wait now… what’s that.

That’s right – Jesus, Mary and Joseph – REFUGEES!

“‘Get up, take the child and

his mother, and flee to Egypt,

and remain there until I tell

you; for Herod is about to

search for the child, to

destroy him.’ Then Joseph got

up, took the child and his

mother by night, and went to

Egypt, and remained there

until the death of Herod....

When Herod saw that he had

been tricked by the wise men,

he was infuriated, and he

sent and killed all the

children in and around

Bethlehem who were two

years old or under, according

to the time that he had

learned from the wise men.”

To what end are we prepared to do our part to help achieve peace on earth? Do we buy into the narratives the tinsel culture which tells us to be afraid, to give to those we like, to

spend beyond our means to impress the neighbour? OR Do we embrace our Christian narrative? Can we enter into the story of our faith which calls us again and again to


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welcome the stranger? Can we enter into the story of a God who would come and dwell among us in vulnerability? Can we enter into the story of a God who is capable of coming to

us from the most unexpected of places? Can we accept Jesus if he comes to us as a refugee?

I pray we are willing to keep ‘peace on earth’ as a command that we have to work toward and not as an ornament to make us feel good over the tinsel season.

God bless you all. Catherinanne and I

are so fortunate to be members of

St Aidan’s. I am so very privileged to

be rector at St Aidan’s. I am thankful

more than words can say for the team

of people with whom I minister. You

are all tremendous. Catherinanne

and I wish you all a Happy Holy and

Blessed Christmas.

St. Aidan’s Anglican Church

#123GrowCampaign Preserving ~ renewing ~ Preparing

In October we held a Special Vestry Meeting to launch a Capital Campaign. It is with great excitement that we find ourselves ready to complete the renovations and RENEWAL of our Kitchen. Along with that expected project came the unexpected surprise of a deteriorating roof that needed to be addressed before winter. In recent years the parish has raised $50 000 for Kitchen Renewal – this includes a generous contribution from the Hosannas Rectory Fund. We now have a full costing of the kitchen. We now know that the roof repairs, the kitchen renewal and upgrades to the parish office will cost the parish an additional $81 000 above the monies held in reserve. The wardens and parish council also felt strongly that we should plan for future capital needs by raising and setting aside $42 000.


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That Special Vestry passed a motion launching the #123GrowCampaign. This campaign will see us

raise $123 000 to cover all costs PRESERVING the legacy given to us, RENEWING the church to better suit the needs we have today, and PREPARING our community for capital needs of the future. The Motion passed with ease and over $250 00 was committed over three years before the end of that meeting. The vestry also passed a motion to secure a loan of $81 000 from the Diocese of Huron to get the work completed. It is our plan to pay that down as quickly as we can with your support and your response. We are appealing to you to read the outline that follows - find a pledge form inside your newsletter - and commit to do your part for your church community. Perhaps the most important part of that pledge form is our #123GrowCampaign Prayer. Please make that prayer a regular part of your prayer life as we take on this important work. By February we will have the capacity to host a coffee hour with the ability to do dishes in 90 seconds. We will have a kitchen that will allow us to prepare for Silver Saints lunches in a safe and efficient manner. We will also be able to worship weekly under a roof that will not leak…. And for that we shall all be thankful. The next couple of pages will outline what our #123GrowCampaign is aiming to achieve…..

#123GrowCampaign ----Here are the Details …..

Preserving ~ Renewing ~ Preparing

1. Preservation ~ Honouring the Past ~ $ 41,000 • A - Roof on Church

• Current roof in complete disrepair.

• Former roofing did not meet guarantee.

(Reimbursement procedures are in process)

• Multiple quotes have been received and contractor selected

• Cost will be $27,000

• B - Repairs and Updates

• Church Office-accessibility to the office $8,000

• Church Office -repair of leaking roof $2,000

• Church - repair of windows $4,000


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Youth & Children’s Ministry

2. Renewing ~ to thrive in the present ~ $40,000 • New Kitchen: Covenant Contractors have been selected

from 3 companies.

• Work is expected to begin before year’s end

• 3-D design images are available today.

• Total Estimated Cost $90,000

• Capital Funds raised to date $50,000

3. Preparing ~ Planning for our Future ~ $42,000 • Replenishing Capital Fund

Total $123 000 God is building a home, using us all — irrespective of how we got here —

in what is being built. God used the apostles & prophets for the foundation.

Now God is using YOU, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the

cornerstone that holds all the parts together.

We see it taking shape day after day — a holy temple built by God,

ALL OF US built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.

Ephesians 2:19-21 (The Message)

Sandy Harle

We have an amazing group of young people, it is a privilege to spend time with them. In

November, we had a fun evening sharing a meal together and then pointing Lasers at each other, all in good fun! Turns out Laser

Tag is a great way to get some exercise running away from your priest and have

some fun as a group! Our next event will be a Card Game night in

January. Planning for our pilgrimage to Taize, France continues.


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Thank you to Morgan Sherlock, Chloe Harle and Chris Harle for their leadership.

A special shout out to the "Kevin and Morgan Roadshow," who will do their best to visit you at your sports game, play, speech or

performance. Look out for them on twitter St Aidan's Youth@AnglicanYoots, #KevinAndMorganYootsTour and also on

our Facebook page. Their support of the John Dearness Dolphins Volleyball team was legendary.

Thank you to our teachers for all that you bring to our

Sunday School.

The children in turn bring us many gifts on Sunday morning with their enthusiasm in learning about God and all that they teach us about God.

We are looking forward to our Christmas Pageant, "The First Christmas" on Sunday December 20th.

Hope that you can join us. Our Family Potluck and Christingle Service was held on December 6th. It was a special

time to celebrate the fact that we are one big family here at St Aidan's. Thank you to Kevin for the prayers and pictures. Visit our Facebook page to see all of the pictures!

Looking ahead, we will have a Messy Church event early in the new year.

We concluded our fundraiser, " Toonies for Turkeys" with a visit from Lynn Prentice, Director of St. Paul's Social Services. The

children were interested to learn more about the effective ways that we can reach out to others.


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#KevinAndMorganYootsTour We want to come out in support of

our YOOTS – (Youths)

Why? It is important for us to see our community

thrive and we want to see the good news stories in

action as our youth offer their gifts and talents.

“Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost” (Helen Keller)

What do we want to see? ANYTHING: Arts Music

Sport. It can be at school or at a club.

We want to know what the young people in church

are doing so well at.

To arrange a Visit Contact:

Twitter: @AnglicanYoots

Facebook: St Aidan’s Anglican Church London

Email: [email protected] /

[email protected]

Or let us know at Church on Sunday mornings from

10:30am

mailto:[email protected]



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ardens’ eport

Our Vibrant & Meaningful Community

Doug Wilson-Hodge, Pam McKenzie, Wendy Kilgour & Jim Smythe

There has been an incredible amount of activity at St.

Aidan’s since our last report in June. God is moving among us

on a daily basis as we go about our efforts, in his name, in our

Church community and beyond our doors. Please forgive the

category format of this report as I try to capture what has

occurred in the past 6 months without a broader narrative that

would occupy several pages of this newsletter.

Church Programs – Our major programs at St. A’s are showing

health in numbers and quality of content and delivery. Silver Saints, Children &

Youth, Parish Nurse and Health Cabinet and Music are all flourishing under strong

and capable leadership. We congratulate Pat Ferguson, our Parish Nurse, on his

recent and successful completion of the “Basic Parish Nursing Preparation

Curriculum” – Level I, II and III through InterChurch Health Ministries Canada.

Kitchen Renovation – As of our Parish Council meeting in November, we have

approval of the final design for our kitchen renovation and have contracted Covenant

Kitchens for this project. In addition, a ‘coffee niche’ was also approved for

installation in the Narthex (at the base of the staircase to the attic) to be completed at

the same time. We should see construction begin soon with completion early in the

new year.

Fundraising Activities – the bulk of this year’s fundraisers have taken place in the

past few weeks with the 1st Jazz By The Bog concert of the season in October, 2nd

Annual Trivia Night in November, St. A’s Logo Wear in December and the Elvis

Christmas Concert, “A Not So Silent Night”, on Dec.11th. Many thanks to the leaders

and teams of individual volunteers for not only assisting with these revenue

generating activities but staging fun events for our Parish family to participate in

which also involve the wider community.


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Capital Projects and the “#123GrowCampaign” – Along with our kitchen renovation, our

aging facilities have ganged up on us recently as we needed to replace the Church roof, repair

windows and paint the south side of the Church, repair the roof at the Church house,

upgrade the entrance to the Church offices and completely renovate a bathroom in this

house. We ask you to give your prayerful consideration to our ‘1-2-3 Grow Campaign’ which

is designed to cover these expenses and build a contingency fund for future capital expense

planning.

Refugee Campaign – “Red Tape Challenge” – As I write this, we are anticipating the

arrival of our 1st family in the next few days. Your response to this effort is

unprecedented through financial givings to this campaign followed by your offers of

material goods necessary to house our sponsored family. Thanks to the team of

volunteers, under the leadership of Pat Townshend, who have quickly come together

to help our newest Canadians feel at home.

Operating Budget Concerns – Based on our 2015

Vestry approved budget to cover our day-to-day

operations, we are considerably behind in our

income from offerings. We suspect that some of the

very worthy campaigns mentioned earlier in this

report, have diminished our focus on paying our

daily bills. We also believe that the expenses of

operating a major facility and institution like our

Church may be not totally appreciated by everyone

who occupies a pew on Sunday mornings. We will

try to do a better job of communicating our actual

operating costs to allow you to plan for your givings

as we move into a new year.

In our role as wardens, we consistently come across individuals who quietly go about

doing things around our facility that most of us never even think about. To those

individuals – you know who you are – we are exceptionally grateful for your care and

the time & effort you expend on our behalf to help maintain the beautiful facility we

have at St. Aidan’s.

As is our tradition at this time of year, we will be designating the funds from our

special ‘Christmas Offering Envelopes’ to our very gifted and exceptionally hard-

working Rector. Please make any cheques payable to “Kevin George” and place your

donations in this special envelope on the Sunday offering plate.

Merry Christmas and God’s blessing for a Healthy and Happy 2016!


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The attached Christmas envelope is another way we give thanks at this time of year. As has been our custom, here at St. Aidan’s, proceeds from these envelopes will be

received by our Rector, Kevin. Any cheques for this purpose must be written directly to Kevin George.

Andra O’Neill

WOW! Do we have a lot going on at St. Aidan’s!

St Aidan’s Refugee Resettlement Team – SARRT

The Mokayed Family is on their way and the Yazbeck family will be coming in the New Year. Together we have faithfully raised over $30,000 which in concert with the government program allows us to support both families. Another $6,000 has been donated through the Red Tape Challenge at St. Aidan’s specifically for the London Deanery Refugee Fund so that together with our brother and sister churches in London and area, we can help other families find safety, security and a new life here in London Ontario.

#123GrowCampaign –

Preserve, Renew, Prepare

This campaign is to cover the costs of our new roof, our new kitchen, upgrades and accessibility at the church office and to provide a contingency capital fund for the future. [There are details in this Newsletter on pages 4 and 5.] Update: $80,000 loan has been secured through the Diocese of Huron as a Loan that has allowed us to get started on the work. The roof is completed, work on the church offices nearly done, and the kitchen construction will start the first week of January. We are well on our way towards our goal of $123 000. Pledges forms and one time gifts total over $60 000.


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Paying back the loan... With the positive initial response to the #123GrowCampaign we believe that the $80,000 loan repayment to the Diocese of Huron will be a small feat for those at St. Aidan’s who remember their last loan (over 6 figures!). How the community participates... There are several ways to support this campaign and those around you have already begun in their own way. FIRST - A ONE-TIME CONTRIBUTION (MAKE A NOTE THAT IT IS A SPECIAL OFFERING FOR THE #123GrowCampaign) Second - Pledge: Decide what commitment you would like to make and divide it into 3 years. Let us know what you are planning by writing it on a note, on your cheque, on a pledge card (at welcome desk) or send an email to [email protected]. [There is a Pledge Flyer in this edition of By The Way] Third - Increase your weekly or monthly givings by a portion dedicated to #123GrowCampaign. You may choose to do a separate Pre- Authorized at another time of the month or you may add it to the offering in the service.

Operating Budget

With Fundraising Events running (Great success at Trivia Night!) and people getting their offering caught up and organized heading into the end of 2015, the operating budget is moving closer to expectations. For your faithful stewardship and offering, particularly in light of the other the other important financial ministries that we are undertaking,

THANK YOU. We have a little more distance to cover. Our operating costs run at about $5,360 per week - a heavy load for the few, a light load for many. Your Stweardship of St Aidan’s is most appreciated.


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St Aidan’s Refugee Resettlement Team - SARRT

MOKAYED FAMILY

We are very well prepared for the imminent arrival of the Mokayed family, Ahmad, Alaa, Abdulkhadr and Sara. We have an apartment 90 % furnished, and only require a few more items . Thank you to all those who have generously provided items, many purchased new- they are greatly appreciated and the apartment is furnished very nicely. Our watch word is, "would you like this in your home?" Several people on the committee have been seeking helpful information re education, medical assistance, proper food to buy, assembling clothing, etc. A big job with many moving parts, but all well done. There will be a list posted in the narthex each Sunday with items needed. We look forward to the next step in this venture. Pat Townshend


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Kevin and Catherinanne, along with Karen celebrating the New Parish Nurse

Parish Nursing Ministry Update

Pat Ferguson

Philosophy: Recognizing that all persons are sacred and must be treated with respect and

dignity, the Parish Nursing Ministry of St. Aidan’s will:

Empower all to reach their best level of health - body, mind and spirit.

“Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing then with oil in the name of the Lord.”

James 5: 14-15 (NRSV)

What a fall it has been! I returned to Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto for 3 Saturdays

in October/November and completed Level III of my parish nursing education program offered by InterChurch Health Ministries (ICHM). I graduated

and can now officially call myself a Parish Nurse. My activities will not be any different from what they have been for the last couple of years.

On November the 14th Kevin and I had the privilege of presenting “Creating Caring Communities” to the

ICHM Annual Education Day. To an audience of about 50 people, other parish nurses and Health Cabinet members, we shared the story of St. Aidan’s journey over the past year attempting to break the stigma of mental illness and

becoming a more caring congregation for those who suffer with mental illness and supporting their caregivers. Part of our presentation included a powerful video of Kevin interviewing Joe about his experiences of the suffering he has endured and of the care he

has received from our parish. The day was well received by those in attendance.

Over the fall, within the parish, we have continued with the Blood Pressure clinics (thanks to my wife who compensates for my hearing deficit) and with Prayers for Healing. Home and hospital visits and consultations at the church continued as usual.

I continue to provide a weekly bulletin announcement that relates to current health issues both locally and internationally. If anyone has any suggestions for topics they would like to

know more about please let me know. Thanks to Linda Harvey-Rioux who recently started uploading my weekly announcements to the St. Aidan’s Facebook page where they are

being viewed by many people. The Health Cabinet continues to meet regularly, supporting me in this ministry and

assisting with planning for future events. We are planning for a Fall Prevention and


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Exercise for Older Persons event in the spring.

Also, in 2016 you can look forward to regular opportunities for Prayers for Healing and Blood Pressure Clinics. We will continue on our journey as a Caring Community and have a

special healing service in May – Mental Health Month.

I give thanks to the community of St. Aidan’s for your ongoing support of this ministry. Have a Blessed and Holy Christmas.

If you have any items you would like to see discussed in the weekly bulletin; if you want more information about any health-related issue or if you would like to become

involved in this Ministry, please contact me at 226-270-8862 or [email protected]

Silver Saints Ministry Update

The Rev’d Anne Jaikaran

The Silver Saints ministry has been very active over the past few months. Since the summer we have had three lunches; in September Karen Hypes came with her husband to talk to us about their experiences walking The

Camino. In November Murray Hunter shared the story of losing his daughter to a drunk driver and then setting up a fund in her memory to be used to

beautify outdoor spaces which led to the Pollination Garden Project. He asked for our Silver Saints to write

down their garden connected memories to be used in a new Sunday School curriculum which is his latest project and those present enthusiastically participated.

In December The Forest City Winds, a quintet of young local musicians put us in the Christmas spirit with their

musical offering. We continue to enjoy the generosity of Remark catering for these lunches.

We continue to work on the Secret Penpal project with the Sunday School and pastoral care has continued both through the ministry of Pat Ferguson, our

Parish Nurse and through volunteers making regular visits

to the homebound and this Christmas we have sent out a Christmas card and poinsettia to

these people. WHEREVER POSSIBLE WE TRY TO MAKE



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SURE THAT THOSE CELEBRATING MILESTONE BIRTHDAYS RECEIVE A LETTER FROM THE BISHOP.

I am very grateful to all the volunteers, in both the pastoral and social side of this ministry who make all this possible; none of this could happen without them, for the generous

donation made by the ACW

when it distributed its funds and for the support of Kevin who always adds energy and enthusiasm to our gatherings

I can be contacted at 519-439-1721 or [email protected] Please note my regular office hours are Thursday mornings from 9 am until 12 noon.

Fundraising Update TRIVIA NIGHT

A sellout crowd enjoyed a fantastic night of trivia and treats at the 2nd Annual St. Aidan’s Trivia Night on Thursday, Nov. 26th. Thanks to our generous sponsors, the law firm Foster,

Townsend, Graham & Associates, and Amanda Baggaley-Lacerte and her awesome group of volunteers, we raised $4245.66.

This is an event that puts the “fun” in “fundraising”!

ST. AIDAN’S LOGO ITEMS SALE

We have just finished taking orders for

clothing items, hats, chef’s aprons, mugs and glassware which will all be sporting our attractive St. Aidan’s logo. Not only will we be

looking stylish while enjoying a hot or cold beverage, we will be taking our name out into the community. The final numbers are not available yet for this important fundraising and outreach project.



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Jazz by the Bog

Sue Smythe

After a successful start to our 14th

season with Gina Farrugia and Calvin Lawrence in October,

we now turn our attention to the second concert for

this series.

On Friday, January 29, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. we will welcome

Rob Larose and Friends to St. Aidan's for an evening of "selections from the world of Latin jazz, fusion, Brazilian sambas, New

Orleans funky jazz and straight up swing". Rob has played with many groups in and around the London area and is a well-respected percussionist who can play ANY style!

Joining Rob will be Brian Covey on woodwinds, Ron Walker on trumpet, Alfredo Caxaj on percussion, Don DiCarlo on piano and Steve Clarke on bass. As a special treat, Rob is also bringing along vocalist Laurraine Sigouin. You won't be able to sit still....and that should

warm you up on a cold January evening!

Tickets are $25.00 and can be purchased at our outlets and the church office in January. OR if you need a last-minute gift, tickets to our concerts make excellent choices. Our third concert will be Barry Usher with the 5PG Band on Friday, April 29, 2016. Tickets for

either concert can be purchased before Christmas from Sue and Jim Smythe directly. We have been so fortunate to have excellent talent grace our St. Aidan's "stage" over the

years. Because of the wonderful support we receive from our audiences, we have been able to return approximately $20,000 for use in various projects at St. Aidan's. We are now

established as one of London's venues for good jazz entertainment and have quite a following. If you have not had the chance to enjoy the excellent musicians who love to

perform in our space, you should put this on your New Year's Resolution List to attend....you'll be very glad you did ...and so will we!

From our stage to yours, we wish you a Christmas season filled with warmth and love.... and music.


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Why Does a Parish Need a Worship Ministry Team?

Canadian Bible Society ~ How You Can Help This Christmas!

Katherine Keeling Please remember Canadian Bible Society as you receive Christmas cards this year. If you would just tear off the stamps and put

them into the little box in the Narthex, you would be helping CBS with the wonderful work that they do. Please mention stamp-saving to your family and friends as well. Please leave lots of paper

around the stamps and I will happily do the clipping. Thank you.

Please encourage everyone you know to save stamps for us too.

10 lbs of stamps = approximately 5 Bibles for distribution.

About the Canadian Bible Society’s Used Stamp Program

Stamps collected from donations across Canada are combined to

create charity boxes and are sold to stamp collectors and vendors. The revenue generated from the stamps allow CBS to purchase Bibles for

Canadian prison ministry.

Greg Smith

The name of the group may be the best explanation to the question of the title. The life and practice of a Christian church is not the work of

one individual or of a select group of experts. It is the work of a community gathered and led by the Spirit of God. Since worship is the sustenance and heart of everything we do, it seems imperative that

we work at it together. Of course within worship there are individuals raised up within the community for specific roles: clergy, readers,

intercessors, servers and accolytes, altar guild, congregants etc. But it is as a community that we gather and nurture one another in our life in Christ.

The truth of the matter as well is that the time we spend together in worship is for most Christians the primary formative experience in coming to an awareness of what it means to

be a Christian. It is singularly important – perhaps even more so in this pluralistic and


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fast-changing environment in which we Canadians exist – to have a space to ask why we do the things we do the way we do and to wonder aloud at things which seem to contradict the

values we profess. A small group of people within a worshipping community dedicated to this task can be an indispensable support for those striving to exercise leadership in the parish church of the 21st century. When the worship experience is the front-line of

encounter for individuals who are searching as inquirers for a place to ground their spiritual life, or for those who are returning having once been disillusioned, or even for the

weekly faithful who may find themselves wondering if there is meaning in routine, we want it to be the absolute best effort we can give and the clearest expression of what God has in store for us. Remember those Greeks in the Scripture story coming to Philip and Andrew

saying: ‘We would see Jesus.” With Andrew and Philip we want to be able to accompany them in their desire. In what we do and are as a worshipping people, will Jesus be found and experienced?

Here at St. Aidan’s there is a team of 10 individuals who gather for this purpose about

quarterly over the year (and there is always room to include more). We have begun slowly and intentionally with reviewing the key moments of opportunity for us in order to build on what is already an important and rich worship experience. For example, we will examine

the components of the Great Three Days (the Triduum) of Easter, reviewing our experience and asking if there are subtleties and adjustments that might enhance the meaning of this

highlight of the church year. We might look at practicalities of how decorating the worship space affects the meaning of seasons. This Advent you will notice an increasing amount of fresh greenery being added to the space through the weeks of the season, highlighting the

season’s expectation and hopefulness. We become a sounding board for meaningful innovation and a critical eye to custom and routine. We strive to be a place that can support the parish priest as the “chief liturgical officer” and to also be a crucible of

creativity as people who bring together a rich variety of experiences from many communities of worship.

Finally, the intention is to plan and provide for those experiences when we gather as a large community that will nurture spiritually individuals and small groups in their particular

ministries of day to day service in their lives, in their workplaces and as the Church in the world. It is a task done with gratitude and joy for God’s work among God’s people.

You can talk with any one of these folks to know more: Greg Smith, Kevin George, Vicki Andersen, Valerie Brennan, Joe Corcoran, Pat Ferguson, Lydia Keczem, Sheila Windsor,

Susan Warner, Doug Wilson-Hodge


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First and foremost allow us to welcome you! As a Church, we are more than a building used for celebration; we are a community of faith that

provides support and nurture in the Christian life. We have many opportunities for involvement in our various Ministries. We look

forward to you joining us!

If you haven’t already… Please take a moment to fill out one of our New Member Info Sheets (available on the table in the narthex) so that we can get to know you better! In addition to overviewing your membership interests at St. Aidan’s, our New Member Info Sheet provides us with the necessary details to add you to our database for effective

communications. *Please place your completed sheet in an envelope in the main church mailslot by the front entrance.*

For your convenience…

Our New Member Info Sheet is also available ONLINE at: http://bit.ly/1xN6CU2

Do you have something you wish to share with the parish?

An opinion you want to write up or an inspirational story? If so, you’re in luck, you can have a spot in the upcoming newsletter.

For further details, please contact our Editor Stephen Nelles ~ [email protected]

When you go away from home, the hydro, water and heat still work in your house…

When you are away from our church, Ministry still continues…

Just as bill paying and paycheque transactions have become easier through pre-authorized withdrawal and automatic deposit, so too is our church making it simpler for you to support our Ministries

even when you are not here!

Make it Easier to Donate: Sign Up for Preauthorized Givings Today! Simply fill out the attached form, enclose a void cheque and leave in the main church mailslot.

http://bit.ly/1xN6CU2



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Rector ~ The Rev’d Canon Dr. Kevin George [email protected]

226-377-2334

Assistant Curate/Silver Saints Director ~ The Rev’d Anne Jaikaran [email protected]

Organist & Choir Master ~ David Weaver

[email protected]

Director of Children's Christian and Youth Education ~ Sandy Harle

[email protected]

Parish Nurse ~ Pat Ferguson, RN [email protected]

226-270-8862

Rector’s Warden ~ Doug Wilson-Hodge [email protected]

519-433-5076

Deputy Warden ~ Pam McKenzie [email protected]

People’s Warden ~ Wendy Kilgour [email protected]

Deputy Warden ~ Jim Smythe [email protected]

519-471-0763

Weekly Services:

‘Holy Days’ Saint Celebrations

Wednesdays at 10:30 am;

Sundays at 8 am & 10:30 am

December 24th – 4 pm & 8 pm

with a Carol sing at 730 pm

December 25 – 1030 am (Special Gift for the First 50 to arrive!!!! )










st. aidan's “by the way” newsletter: dec 2015

Documents

christmas ornament

christmas card

christmas pageant

christmas message peace

noon christmas eve nativity

pm nativity

oxford st w london

st aidans anglican church