The Feast of St Matthew

Dear Friends,

Greetings on the feast day of our sister parish in Abbotsford.  St. Matthew was a man intent on making money and securing his future even if it meant collaborating with the Romans in order to do it.  When Jesus called him from is tax booth he responded to something that could probably only be explained by the fact that who Jesus was resonated with him at a deeper level than his need for security.  What money was, Jesus became, so much so that the gospel associated with Matthew's name has more teaching in it than other New Testament books about the role of anxiety and worry about earthly possessions.  Matthew had a deep attentiveness to the heart's need to find its security in God; the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7) is his theological masterpiece where he presents Jesus as the "higher" Moses, now giving commandments that touch on the very marrow of our inner drives and identity. Pray for us Matthew, for we are in need of the true riches!

Here is a contribution from Rev. Lorie:

Our first Friday Healing Eucharist was very well attended and enjoyed! It truly was a time of sanctuary in the sanctuary.

Circle of Grace: The first practice we focused on was GRATITUDE with a short ‘Prayer of Examen’ by St. Ignatius.

This week we will look at AWARENESS with a story by Anthony DeMello “Quest for the Divine” and a simple pencil crayon exercise.

Feel free to drop in to any of these and bring a friend to enjoy the morning together. After 10 weeks we will have a 4 week Advent focus.

Is anyone available to help with coffee/tea for the next two Friday’s? Please contact Rev Lorie or the church office.

If anyone is interested in preparing or simply reading a prepared ‘Prayers of the People’ on Sunday morning – please let Lorie or Jan know.

Grace upon grace, Lorie

Book Study: