Pastor's Blog

'Common' Prayer

Dear friends:

I realise that our church mission statement is probably a marketing mistake. At the heart of much advertising is a cluster of ideas: “you are special”; “you are above the crowd”; “people notice you”; “you deserve it”; “you have superior tasks and are a superior person”. In light of this, our church mission statement must seem quite unattractive. “Helping ordinary people be confident, joyful disciples of Jesus Christ”.

You might not realise it, but St. Al’s is a church firmly rooted in the spirituality of the English Reformation. The ‘devotional’ book of that reformation was the Book of Common Prayer. Our 8am communion service and 7pm Evensong service use the Book of Common Prayer. Our principal morning worship services seek to be at one with this common prayer tradition, albeit with modern language and contemporary music.

Pray for our Leaders

Written by John Paterson
Monday, 28 June 2010 13:45
Dear friends, I want to thank everyone who prays for me and the other leaders in the church. Below are some suggestions to guide you in your praying. First, please pray for me and the other leaders frequently. We cannot lead in our own strength and wisdom and we should not even try to lead in our own strength and wisdom. So please pray that God will keep us humble before Him and hungry for Him. Please pray Proverbs 3:5-6 over us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” Second, please pray the church’s mission statement over the servant leaders of St. Al’s. In other words, please pray that we will live the mission and lead in such a way that we as a church fulfill the mission. It is easy to get caught up in private agenda and extraneous concerns. So please pray that we will lead in such a way that God uses us to help ordinary people be confident, joyful disciples of Jesus Christ.
Last Updated on Monday, 28 June 2010 13:48
Read more...

New Wardens

Written by John Paterson
Tuesday, 22 June 2010 14:45
Dear friends, Zoos have wardens, game parks have wardens, prisoners have wardens. For some reason, Anglicans also have wardens. I hope it is not because Anglican parishioners used to be like untamed animals or convicted criminals. Then again, Paul does say in First Corinthians, “I fought wild beasts in Ephesus”. Seriously, in Anglican polity, the local church is led by a team of lay people headed up by the Rector (senior presbyter or priest). In most Anglican churches, some of the lay people are ‘Wardens’. St. Al’s is a bit odd in that we currently have two full Wardens (a Rector’s Warden and a People’s Warden) and four deputy wardens. These six people work with me to lead and manage the church. The new People’s Warden is Kendra Giles. She is an Occupational Therapist and is married to Jeremy. The returning Rector’s Warden is Janice Fiamengo. She is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Ottawa.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 June 2010 14:50
Read more...

Morning Prayer and Communion Services

Written by John Paterson
Friday, 11 June 2010 18:12
Those of you who were at St. Alban’s last Sunday morning would have noticed that the worship services were different. On one hand, there was no Holy Communion. That was the obvious big difference. But that was not the only change. The “flow” of the worship was different. Why was that?
Read more...

Queen Victoria was the monarch when St. Alban’s was formed as a church in 1865. Tomorrow, all of Canada has a holiday in honour of her birthday. Many of the early members of St. Alban’s were part of the political elite of Canada. This has meant that there have been seasons in St. Alban’s 145-year history where our focus has been on the past — those days when our church had important people and the church itself was important in our nation. When a church develops a museum mindset or a preoccupation with its former earthly glory, it is in spiritual trouble. We belong to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We are to seek to bless the city where we sojourn, but we do this always seeking the glory of God and the furtherance of his kingdom.