July 26, 2024
Dear St. Aidan’s Family,
Over the course of the coming weeks, we’ll be praying Morning Prayer (Mattins) as a community in place of Holy Communion. Mattins, along with Evensong, bookend our day of prayer; they are both developed out of the monastic practices of the Divine Office. The Divine Office allowed the religious living in monasteries and abbeys to sing the praises of God at all hours. In order to facilitate a greater participation of the faithful, Thomas Cranmer condensed the offices of Matins, Lauds, and Prime into English Mattins when he developed the 1549 Book of Common Prayer (likewise, the offices of Vespers and Compline were combined to create Evensong). This was devised so that the faithful could attend in the morning before work and in the evening after work. Up until the mid-20th century, both Mattins and Evensong featured prominently in the Sunday and weekday offerings of Anglican churches. One of the incredible things Cranmer was able to do was develop a lectionary which allowed practically the entire Bible to be read in a year at services. In addition to a renewed focus on the readings, the entire Book of Psalms was split so that all 150 would be used in worship over the course of a single month. These services offer a great opportunity to delve deeper into the readings with Psalms, Canticles, a Sermon, and Prayers. One of the wonderful things about these services is that anyone can lead them – better still, they can be recited just about anywhere with anyone. In the last decade or so there has been a renewed interest in both morning and evening prayer which are now readily available via smartphone apps. While we here at St. Aidan’s won’t be offering a Choral Morning Prayer as the choir is on summer break, we will still include psalms and hymns, and well as two canticles.
The Beach(es) Jazz Festival marks the mid-way point through the summer holiday for me; I do encourage you to get out and sample some of the fantastic musical offering that the city has to offer at the festival. As our focus now turns to preparing for the fall, we’ll see a few adjustments to the musical aspects of worship as well. I am looking to curate a small recital series at St. Aidan’s to generate some excitement about our wonderful facilities, including the piano in the sanctuary which was recently re-pinned to correct some issues with tuning not holding. While we’ll continue to focus on recruitment for the choir and band this fall, we’ll look to reincorporate the band on a more regular basis (as opposed to having ‘band’ Sundays). Finally, I am optimistic that we’ll be able to offer singing opportunities to youth through a pilot program at some point in the 2024-2025 academic year.
Best wishes,
Michael Pirri
Notices at a Glance
Scroll down for details on each of these items.
Notices for the Week of July 26 – August 2, 2024
1. Live Streaming at 9:30 a.m., Order of Service - The service will be livestreamed at the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87389384610?pwd=sC3NmAZbswA2DnKexnNzd9ABsqEASE.1
Meeting ID: 916 2846 6455
Passcode: 548507
Phone: 647-374-4685
Click here to view a PDF of the July 28 order of service
2. Summer worship schedule: During the summer we will share in one Sunday service together at 9:30 a.m. We will return to two Sunday services after the Labour Day weekend. The midweek Eucharist continues throughout the summer on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. in the Chapel.
3. Summer Youth Bible study on the Gospel of Mark: We will meet over Zoom on Wednesdays from 7:30-8:30 p.m. starting July 3. Please contact Elizabeth for more information and the Zoom link.
4. Save the date for Summer Movie Nights: The Ecospirituality Group invites you to attend free Summer Movie Nights on August 14 (The Lorax) and August 21 (Kiss the Ground) here at the church. Free popcorn. Discussion follows each film screening. Questions? Contact Martha Asselin.
5. Mid-Year Givings statements were sent to all donors recently. If you did not see yours, please check your junk/spam folder. Those not on email will receive one through the mail. If you did not receive the statement or have questions/concerns about it, please contact Amy at donations@staidansinthebeach.com.
Our Parish Offerings for the January-June period continue to fall behind our budget by about 20% ($21,000), and are about 26% ($31,000) less than the same period in 2023. (2024 Jan-Jun Offerings $88,053; 2024 Jan-Jun Budget $109,700; 2024 Annual Budget $225,700; 2023 Jan-Jun Offerings $119,187).
Our parishioners’ financial support is essential to the life of our church and is so appreciated. If you have not made a donation this year, fallen behind in your regular offerings, or if you are likely to be away on Sundays during the summer, please consider making some lump-sum donations to help us stay on track. Thank you for your support of the mission and ministry of St. Aidan’s.
6. Nursery now available during Sunday worship: We will be offering nursery care for children ages 0-3 during the 10:30 a.m. service (and during the 9:30 service over the summer). The nursery is located in the Beech Room, adjacent to the main basement hall. For more information, please speak with Erika or Elizabeth.
7. Coffee hour team seeking new hosts: Our coffee hour hospitality ministry team is welcoming new hosts. Training is provided. You can sign up as a family or with a couple friends to serve coffee, tea, and treats. Sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board in the basement hall or through the Google signup sheet linked here.
8. Altar flower dedications: We include fresh flowers in our worship space to remind us of the wonder, joy, and provision God shares with us through the gifts of nature. Several dates this summer are open. See the sign-up sheet on the console in the church entry for a full list of dates. If you would like to donate to dedicate flowers for a specific date, please indicate that on the list.
9. Please submit announcements for the weekly notices to Mary at office@staidansinthebeach.com by Wednesdays at 4 p.m. Notices may be edited for clarity and conciseness.
10. Offerings - Thank you for your support. There are a variety of ways to make your donation: