Saint George's Anglican Church

Epiphany 2                                          January 17, 2010

In response to the Haiti earthquake the Litany and Supplication will be prayed at both Services today.

8:00 A.M- HOLY EUCHARIST                                          

Introit Psalm: 66:1-3                                                     p. 408

The Litany

Collect for Purity                                                          p. 67

Collect & Epistle                                                          p. 124

Gradual Psalm: 107:8-9                                                p. 472

Gospel                                                                         p. 125

9:15 A.M. – MORNING PRAYER

First Lesson: Amos 3 (Pew Bible p. 851)

Psalm 27

Second Lesson: John 6:22-40 (Pew Bible p. 64)

10:00 A.M.  –HOLY EUCHARIST

Introit Psalm: (sung)

Children’s Talk

The Litany

Kyrie                                                                            p. 70

Collect & Epistle                                                          p. 124

Gradual Psalm: 107:8-9                                                p. 472

Gospel                                                                         p. 125

Creed                                                                           p. 71

Hymn before Homily: 429 (Martyrdom)

Homily

Offertory Hymn: 96 (St. George)

Intercession

Confession, Absolution                                     p. 77

Thanksgiving                                                                 p. 78

Consecration                                                                p. 82

Hymns during Communion:       219 (Bread Of Heaven

792 (I Need Thee)                   779 (What A Friend)                           

Lord’s Prayer                                                               p. 85

Gloria                                                                           p. 86

Recessional Hymn: 280 (Hyfryol – 397)

Please join us for coffee and tea in the Hall

5:00- P.M. EVENING PRAYER

First Lesson: Micah 3:5-end (Pew Bible p. 863)

Psalm 34

Second Lesson: John 4:43-5:9 (Pew Bible p. 95)

Layreaders

8:00 A.M. – Ted Bartlett          9:15 A.M. – Shirley Kelly

10:00 A.M. – Bill Ross

The Sanctuary Lamp burns this week to the Glory of God

and in Loving Memory of Terry Underhill, Doug & Isabel Matheson and Senator Austin C. Taylor.

“Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord,

and let light eternal shine upon them”

David Beers                 Roger LeBlanc Dick Quinn                  

Bill Kaufman                 Ruby Fraser                 Edna Brown                

Fred North                   Brenda Kaufman          John Alberts    

Beulah Cochrane          Sgt. Mark Gallagher   Yvonne Martin

The flowers on the altars in the Church and Chapel are given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Terry Underhill given by Lydia and Catherine.

Annual Reports are requested, please, as soon as possible from all groups or committees of our parish. Thank you!

Camp Brookwood Update -The craft hut was broken into in November, and all craft supplies are a write-off. Clean meat trays, egg cartons, plastic containers or coffee tins would be welcomed. The may be dropped off at the Church Office.

This Week in the Parish

The Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer will be prayed in the Chapel at 8:30 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. Monday – Friday, respectively. In addition:

Tuesday           Bible Study                               10:00 A.M.

Wednesday      Camden Terrace Eucharist        10:00 A.M.

                        Grief Share                               7:00 P.M.

Thursday          Holy Eucharist              10:00 A.M.     

                                 The Rector’s Corner

Approximately 600 years before Christ the holy city of Jerusalem was completely devastated, and her citizens taken away into captivity by Babylon, an enemy of Judah. The Prophet Jeremiah’s description of the people’s horror is contained in a little book of five chapters called The Lamentations of Jeremiah. (It is found in the Old Testament between the Books of the Prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel.)  Although Jerusalem’s situation then was different from the incredible destruction in Port au Prince, some of Jeremiah’s words cry out to us as though they were sent from the sufferers in Haiti:

                 “All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O Lord, and consider; for I am become vile. Is it nothing to you, all who pass by? Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of His fierce anger.”   (Lamentations 1.11-12)

The last phrase raises a question that many people are asking about the earthquake in Haiti – ‘Why?’ And, ‘Why Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere?’ Scientifically, of course, the answer is found in Haiti’s geographical location. It sits over the very place where the plates of two continental shelves grind against each other. But this does not satisfy the sobbing mother who keeps vigil beside the dead body of her child still partially covered by a ton of rubble.  Nor, of course, does an abstract theological one.

As Christians we trust that God is good and that His very nature is Perfect Love.  From the Bible we understand that God did not include sickness, suffering and death as part of His beautiful and holy Creation. Those all came later with the disobedience of man; and they continue, like an infection, in this world, perpetuated by our misuse of the free will God has given us.

And yet, in spite of our many failings, God’s Mercy prevails. His desire is not to see us crushed and hopeless by our sin; rather, He yearns to save us and heal us and unite us to Himself forever. He longs for us to find rest and true happiness in Himself. But how? Knowing that we are completely powerless to help ourselves, God came to rescue us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came among us and defeated our great enemies: sin and death.  Yes, people still die (and sometimes by horrific suffering); and, yes, sin still abounds in us and in the world; but through Jesus’ Sacrifice and Resurrection, it can no longer control us. Now, love, peace and forgiveness are possible. Death has also been changed. It is now like a door through which we pass, by faith, into His Land of Everlasting Life.

For many in Haiti, the Cross is a sign of God’s Love and Hope. In the midst of their desolation, their faith in the power of God’s Merciful Presence and Redeeming Grace through the Cross means everything to them. The same must be true for us. As we watch all of this sadness in the comforts of our living rooms, wanting to do something to help, we must hold onto the Cross; and that means enlarging our scope. You see, we must not view that 7.0 magnitude earthquake as something that happened to Haiti alone. We must understand it as something more – a cross on which our own agenda, arrogance and selfishness can be hung. As St. Paul wrote to the Church in Galatia,  “God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Galatians 6.14)

In the blood and tears and cries of mourning that rise from Haiti, (and from New Brunswick and Ontario and Quebec with the deaths of Sgt. Mark Gallagher, Nurse Yvonne Martin, and a Montreal couple) our Lord calls us to Himself and to His Cross. He calls the whole world at this moment to remember how He stretched out His Arms and wore the crown of thorns for us. He calls us to see again, with renewed faith, His pierced Hands and Feet and His bleeding Side. Why? Because through His Cross, God has opened the way to Heaven. Through the Cross we are forgiven and our hearts are changed.

In the middle of his Lamentations, Jeremiah wrote these words of hope:  “The Lord will not cast off for ever: but though He causes grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men….Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.” (Lam3. 31ff)

In closing, if we see the suffering in Haiti as an image of Jesus’ Agony, rather than as a random event, we will hear with urgency Jeremiah’s call to turn.

2010 Pasta Challenge

A scout group from Pickering Ontario has put out a challenge to all other scouting groups across Canada to collect dried pasta, and then donate it to a local food bank. 1st Moncton-St.George's scouting sections have agreed to take up this challenge, and challenge all other groups in South Eastern New Brunswick to do the same. If you would like to help us, we are taking donation up until February 28th, at which time a presentation will be done to a local food bank representative after our Baden Powell Sunday service. All donations can be dropped off in the church hall. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

As we would expect, PWRDF is stepping up to help with the disaster in Haiti in conjunction with Action by Churches Together. The Primate’s message can be found at http://news.anglican.ca/news/stories/2158?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medi Please keep in your prayers Haitian Foster Children of members of our parish: Chantale Simon and Kimberly Guillame. Donations towards this disaster relief may be made by adding it to your offering envelope on a separate line, marked Haitian Relief Fund.

Our Annual Meeting will be held on February 8^th at 7 P.M. in the Church Hall. Anyone wishing to serve as a Vestry person or Warden should please speak to Rector.

By the offerings of the Sunday School Children our Parish sponsors a little boy named Nimesha from Sri Lanka through Plan International. He lives in Gaminipura with his father and mother and older brother. Our total Sunday School offerings last year amounted to $86.15 and the cost of the child’s sponsorship is $420.00. Please consider helping your children to understand the importance of sharing what they have with others. In the area where Nimesha lives families participated in or benefited from:

§         Provision of play and arts materials for schools

§         Support for educational and recreational events with children.

§         Construction of school latrines

§         Training for volunteers in communication activities.

Nimesha walks approximately 45 minutes to school. The Sunday School Offering Envelopes for children are now available in the Church Hall.

Money collected through these envelopes will go to support Nimesha. Thank you very much for your help.