Announcements

Sunday October 10th is Thanksgiving and we invite everyone to bring in fresh produce (nothing that needs refrigeration please) to the service that day. There will be baskets available for you to put the produce in as you head into the church and then the baskets will be brought forward to the front of the altar during the offertory music. The produce will then be donated to Community Care for those in need.

One of our parish’s outreach ministries is our participation in the Anglicans in Action Family Meal Kit program. Every Monday and Wednesday a team of two or three people purchase ingredients, pack and deliver 24 meal bags to Community Care in Thorold. It sounds like a lot of work, but most of us purchase the ingredients when doing our personal grocery shopping anyway. Funding is provided by Anglicans in Action. Bags and recipes are also provided. Packing the kits can be done by one person in 20 minutes. Community Care staff willingly unload our vehicles. We have had a great deal of positive feedback from Community Care about how much this ministry means to their clients.

We would love to have more people involved in this ministry at Transfiguration. There are lots of options for helping: shopping, packing and/or delivering. Our teams are usually scheduled about every other week, although participants may opt in for more or less frequency. Financial donations to this program would also be deeply appreciated.

If you are interested in getting involved and/or would like more information, please contact Cathie Crawford Browning at 905-892-4897 or ccbrowning@cogeco.ca.

Worship in the time of Covid

On Tuesday September 21st Parish Council met with a bit of a different agenda than usual. Instead of a business meeting looking at financials and reports we had a discussion/visioning meeting where we spent some time talking about worship. We began by having an honest discussion about what we miss in worship with the pandemic protocols in place, things like singing, shaking hands, hugging during the peace, being able to sit next to each other, go to the altar to receive communion and no coffee hour.

We then spent time in prayer offering our laments to God about all that our hearts yearned for in worship that we were not able to engage in right now. From there we talked about what in a larger sense we found missing with these elements no longer available to us in worship and one thing that came out was the lack of ability to participate in worship. Services had become a rather static affair with no singing or movement (ie to the altar rail or during the Peace). The energy that was usually generated by being able to participate in the music was also missing.

In complete honesty we do not know how long the pandemic safety protocols will be in place but with the variants and continued large volume of new cases it may be a while. In light of that we talked about how we might incorporate some of these elements of worship we found missing in a ‘new’ way.

Let me say right now that ‘new’ means change and change is not easy and often takes a bit to get used to. You’ll notice that we are working at incorporating clapping and with the Recessional song last Sunday, Shout to the North and the South, some actions. This is one of the ways we are looking at building some energy and creating some ways for everyone to participate. Lindsey is also looking to add engagement with various instruments and vocalists. Let me continue by saying, this may not be your thing. And that’s OK. I only ask that you understand why we are doing it and give it a try when you are ready.

Looking ahead we are thinking about new ways we might enjoy each other’s company again outside of the church building. Things such as meeting in small groups for coffee or lunch after the service at someone’s home or at a restaurant. Small group meetings at other times of the week which have no agenda other than getting a chance to get reacquainted.

These are just some of the ways we are looking at worship and community at this time. When the time comes that we can return to the ways we worship and form community again the way we used to pre-covid, these may be some elements that we continue to use in some way.

If you have ideas about how we might safely add different elements to worship or form community (all you who like to think outside of the box get your thinking caps on) please let myself or one of the wardens know.

Church of the Transfiguration has always been a Parish which was open to innovative styles of worship, and which was also keenly aware that everyone has different opinions and preferences when it comes to worship and so tries to balance all of that. We ask only that you keep an open mind and an open heart, always remembering that worship is about God, not about us.

If we worship God authentically then however we worship the Holy Spirt will inspire and encourage us and we will receive the benefits of returning our focus on God and God’s will for us in our lives. By worshipping in a community, we receive the added benefit of knowing that God places in our lives people who will support us and love us as we try to live out God’s will for us together.
Yours in Christ,

If you are involved in any kind of parish ministry (Sunday volunteers, meal kit prep, etc) you need to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of your vaccination status. Please contact Sheila if you have any questions, or to arrange to show your vaccination proof/status.

Starting Sunday October 3rd we will be returning to our pre-Covid worship times of 8:30 and 10:30am. The 8:30 service will be a said service using the traditional liturgy and the 10:30 will be the live-streamed contemporary worship with music.

This Sunday September 26th we will be honouring Orange Shirt Day as we remember all Indigenous children who were forced to attend Residential Schools and especially remembering those who died there. Please, whether worshiping from home or in-person , remember to wear orange!

Thank you for everyone’s generous contributions to the Community Care Backpack program. With your help we have sent 30 children back to school fully prepared with all the school supplies, reusable lunch bags and water bottles they will need throughout the school year. In the photo taken by Taylor Cyopick (Community Special Events Coordinator) is Rev. Sheila handing the backpacks over to Betty-Lou Souter the CEO of Community Care St. Catharines.

Thank you again for helping to make a child’s school year just a bit easier.

A chance to share your own thoughts/ideas about the world around you—serious, or not. So, what has inspired you, heartened you, made you think, made you laugh? Send your own Furthermores… to Erica.

This week’s Furthermore… is from Donald Brown and a fitting memorial to Bishop John Spong.

John Spong was the Bishop of Newark, Episcopal Church of the USA, a progressive thinker, and author of many books. Some people in the parish had the opportunity to hear him speak at conferences. Bishop Spong was born in 1931 and died September 12, 2021. Some of his lasting thoughts are often pondered by our Bigger Questions Group.

The Social Justice Network Prayer Group although unable to meet in person continues to pray for issues springing from the pandemic and the current racial unrest in the US and Canada. If you like to be forwarded a copy of their payer list updates, please contact the church office.

The Prayer Circle has decided that it is time to update the prayer list, as it is getting quite lengthy. The plan is to take all names off the list so if you have someone you’d like included on the prayer list please contact Betty Price at (289) 897-9362, this is her new number. Please let her know who you would like prayers for, what the reason for the prayer is, and how long you would like the person to stay on the prayer list. Note: This is not the same as the prayer list for Sunday Service. To add or remove a name from that list, please contact the office.

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone for contributing to the backpacks for Community Care. A great big thank you goes to Pat, Owner of Canadian Tire 4th Avenue who generously donated $200.00 toward the cost of supplies. Together we were able to provide 30 backpacks!

If you haven’t had an opportunity to donate yet, there is still time.

We are so pleased to announce that that Dr. Brian Kerley is to receive the Order of Niagara this year. Brian, as we all know, has been tireless in his efforts to bring a live-streamed worship service to our parish during this pandemic. He has also had a long history of offering his musical talents to our worship services and of offering his time and talents to the community at large though his fundraising initiatives and his work with Palliative care in St. Catharines. Congratulations Brian a well deserved honour!! The Zoom service for the Order of Niagara will take place on Sunday November 7th, and more information about that will come out closer to the date.