A Community of Salt and Light

Dear Friends,

It's good to be back in touch after a couple of weeks away.  We enjoyed a special week in White Rock with our adult children and partners.  In years past we've gone to White Rock when we needed an "ocean fix" but this was different; it was good to explore the community and coast line in more depth than we ever have. Here's hoping the last few weeks have been enjoyable for you as well.

As fall approaches it feels as if our society is awaiting it with trepidation. What will Covid bring us? Inflation? the weather? In all things the Spirit of God will help us be a community of salt and light. If you've not been to church in a while; I encourage you to come out and reconnect with your faith community.

We've got several ways for you to connect if you can't make it to "the main event:" Sunday worship.

Wednesday Evening Study: We'll be starting a book study on N.T. Wright's Broken Signposts: How Christianity Makes Sense of the World.  We'll be starting this in mid-September as a Zoom study.  Here's a link to where you can find the book on Amazon but know this is not an advertisement for Amazon; you can find the book in many places online: https://amzn.to/3QycJHL. If you're interested please order the book asap. We will begin, Wednesday, September 14th at 7 pm. I'll send out a Zoom link as we get closer. 

Starting September 16th, Friday morning at 10 am we will have a Healing Eucharist with a Christian practice hour (10:30 – 11:30) followed with coffee/tea. This is a ‘Healing’ Eucharist because there will be the opportunity to receive anointing with oil for those who would like this. For more details connect with Lorie (lorie@loriemartin.com or 604-217-6966).

Choir -- Starting Thursday, Sept 8th at 7:30 there will be a choir practice for all those wishing to get involved.  Christine is planning to have the choir sing at the Eucharist on October 9th, Thanksgiving Sunday.

An Extended Study Leave for Fr. Allen in 2023 - Looking ahead, I am planning to take an extended study leave during the May-August season in 2023. I've been saving up my study weeks over the past few years with the hopes that I'll be able to take such a leave. It must be stressed, study weeks, or an extended time like this is not a holiday but a team for clergy to work for the wider church, exercise gifts that brought them to ministry in the first place, or recalibrate for new challenges in ministry.  

For me it is all three of those things. I've wanted to do some concentrated writing on spiritual and theological themes for some time and this study leave will allow me some concentrated time to do just that. Priests generally take such an extended study leaves every seven years or so.  I never have in my times as a priest; it's time to do it!

The council is aware of these plans and with Rev. Lorie joining our team it will work out practically though we will need to do some planning for the weeks she is not with us (every other week). If you have any questions about this extended study leave or concerns please connect directly with me or with our Wardens.

Please see our website for a list of events upcoming https://www.stthomaschilliwack.com/events

In Christ,

Fr. Allen Doerksen