Christian Learning & Discipleship

As Christians, we are meant to nurture continued spiritual growth and deepening our faith—through our whole lifespan. One way we, as adults and young adults, do this is by meeting together for further study, conversation, and prayer beyond what we share together in worship.

Gather & Grow on Sunday Mornings

As part of the Diocese of Toronto’s Season of Spiritual Renewal, we will offer a variety of conversations, speakers, and activities meant to encourage us to gather together as we seek to grow in our faith on Sunday mornings from 9:15-10:15 a.m., September through December 2024.

All adults and youth are welcome to join us for our weekly Gather & Grow program. Childcare is provided for those ages 0 through grade 5. Location of Gather & Grow is either in the Parish Hall (downstairs) or Nave (upstairs); see weekly e-news for details.

❦ September 8: Glad Gifts Workshop, presented by Elizabeth McCaffery from Diocese of Toronto, Congregational Development Office

❦ September 15: Following in the Footsteps of the Saints: A Celebration of St. Aidan from the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, featuring poems by Jay Hulme and choral works sung by the St. Martin’s Voices.

❦ September 22: A Rocha: Caring for Creation and Equipping Others to Do Likewise, presented by Anthony Siegrist, director of A Rocha Ontario. Learn more about Christian environmental stewardship taking place around the world through A Rocha International.

❦ September 29: Listening to Indigenous Voices: Commemorating Orange Shirt Day.

We will listen to oral history stories of those who experienced the residential schools firsthand, with time for reflection and conversation about how we, as Christians, are called to respond.

❦ October 6: Season of Creation reflection (facilitated by Martha Asselin)

Season of Creation is our time to stop, feel and sense the world we are in, the ways we are a part of God’s world. Please join us for reflection, conversation, and snacks and gain insights on scripture and your heart for this wonderful creation of which we are a part!

❦ October 13: Traveling the Way of Love: Turn and Learn

❦ October 20: Traveling the Way of Love: Pray

❦ October 27: Traveling the Way of Love: Worship

❦ November 3: Traveling the Way of Love: Go

❦ November 10: Traveling the Way of Love: Bless

❦ November 17: Traveling the Way of Love: Rest

❦ November 24: St. Cecilia’s Day

❦ December 1: First Sunday in Advent—Wreathmaking for All Ages

❦ December 8: Second Sunday in Advent (details to come)

❦ December 15: Third Sunday in Advent (details to come)

❦ December 22: Fourth Sunday in Advent (details to come)

Gather & Grow will take a break on December 29 and January 5; resuming on January 12.

More Small Group Learning Opportunities

Details of when groups are offered may be found in our weekly e-newsletter (emailed on Fridays) and in the printed announcements distributed at church on Sunday. To find out which group or class could be a good fit for you, contact Rev. Becky.

Recent offerings have included:

  • Advent reflection group (in Advent 2023 we met online and reflected on selections from Kate Bowler’s Bless the Advent We Actually Have: A Daily Devotional for the Christmas Season)

  • Lenten reflection group (in Lent 2024 we met online and discussed devotions from Kate Bowler’s Lent book, Have a Beautiful, Terrible Lent)

  • Lenten contemplative prayer and reflection services (last year, we featured Taize music and reflected together on poetry drawn from Malcolm Guite’s anthology, The Word in the Wilderness: A Poem a Day for Lent and Easter)

  • Confirmation preparation (typically offered in the winter/spring, in the months preceding a confirmation service at St. Aidan’s or at the Cathedral)

  • Ecospirituality book discussions (organized by our members of the Ecospirituality Group)

  • Wednesday book conversations (recently we read the Ramsey Prize winning book, The Love that Is God)

  • The Being With course (coming in Fall 2024)