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Dear Friends,  

As our world hurtles around the sun on its annual pilgrimage at 30 km a second or 67,000 mph we find ourselves, due to the nature of our planet's tilt, entering a time of reduced daylight, a time of deepening darkness which can--if we let it--darken our mood as well. Now is the time of year to lean into fellowship, good books, and some sort of service in our community/church, a little of each usually does the trick; see my Instagram account at @abbyanglican for some book ideas.

It's also a great time to try a spiritual practice in tune with the season e.g. Our Friday Healing Eucharist.  

Here's another "spiritual practices" opportunity offered by the Anglican Church of Canada, a series of Advent meditations and discussions https://bit.ly/3Ofx9W7. These meditations and discussions build on the traditional themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love and offer a way for us to link these powerful emotions and motivations to God's Mission in our contemporary context. 

This coming week we observe the final week of the Church Year by celebrating "The Reign of Christ," the last feast of the year and the first major feast of the Ecumenical Church created in over a thousand years (1925 was the first time it was celebrated). This feast celebrates how it is that we can believe that God is reigning and, more importantly, experience God's Kingdom in the midst of a world that is far from acknowledging God's rule.  

Events:  

Nov 27th -- Advent begins!  

Dec 4th -- Bishop John's visit to our parish!  Bishop John will preach/preside at our service of Holy Eucharist at 11 am.  Following the Eucharist, the parish will have an opportunity to eat together and fellowship with Bishop John.  After lunch and fellowship, the Bishop will have a brief meeting with the parish council.  

Dec 10th -- St. Nicholas makes an appearance!  A time to for the children to hear and participate in the story that led to Santa Claus.  There will an opportunity for crafts, food and fun.  Please chat with Bonnie if you have an idea for a craft and to Rose if you can bring some food/Christmas goodies.  

The journey is the destination,  

Fr. Allen Doerksen