Notices: February 2, 2025
Dear St. Aidan’s,
This weekend is a very full one in the life of our parish.
First, on Saturday afternoon, many from our parish and wider community will gather to remember our dear parishioner and friend Barry Webster—and to celebrate our belief in the resurrection, which means that Barry abides in the light of God’s presence now and for ever.
Barry was a lifelong Anglican, and lover of sacred music (since his early days as a chorister at Westminster Abbey). This Saturday’s Book of Common Prayer liturgy will include beautiful music chosen by Barry himself, which will add extra layers of meaning to our worship. The funeral begins at 2 p.m. If you cannot join us in person, you may follow this link to watch the service online via our YouTube channel.
Then, on Sunday, we are observing the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in our morning worship services (8 and 10:30) and in our special afternoon Candlemas Evensong, which begins at 4 p.m. For the Evensong, our St. Aidan’s choir will join with the choirs of St. John’s Norway and St. Nicholas Birch Cliff. The Rev. Andrew MacDonald will be our guest preacher.
On this day, we recall when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the Temple, presenting doves (or pigeons) as an offering in thanksgiving for their new baby. The Holy Family was greeted by two elders in the Temple, Simeon and Anna, who had been expecting the promised Messiah for their whole lives. This feast day in the church has been celebrated since at least the 4th century in Jerusalem. By the 7th century, the feast was being celebrated in Rome with a procession that included candles and the singing of the Nunc dimittis (the Song of Simeon).
The name ‘Candlemas’ refers to the blessing of candles, associated with the Feast of the Presentation for many centuries. Candles are integral to this day because of Simeon’s recognition that, in seeing the infant Jesus and holding him in his arms, “these eyes of mine have seen the Saviour, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: a light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel” (Luke 2).
I hope you’ll come worship with us this Sunday as we celebrate the light of Christ, and recall the faithful expectation of Simeon and Anna, in our services this Sunday.
Grace and peace,
Becky+
Notices at a Glance
Scroll down for details on each of these items.
1. Live Streaming at 10:30 a.m., Order of Service
2. Funeral service for Barry Webster
3. Social Justice Vestry Motion for 2025
4. Vestry Meeting and Pre-Vestry meetings
5. Revitalization Fund Report
Opportunities to Gather & Grow
6. Death Is Inevitable, Legacy Is Optional is a lunch and learn program
7. Wonder Church: Sunday
8. Busy Bees Play Group
Opportunities to Share & Serve
9. Beach Interfaith Outreach
10. We’re looking for new people to help host our Coffee Hour!
11. We’re looking for people to bake homemade treats for coffee hour
12. Euchre
Other Announcements and How to Give
13. Nursery available during Sunday worship
14. Announcements for the Notices
15. Offerings
Notices for the Week of January 31, 2025 – February 7, 2025
1. Live Streaming at 10:30 a.m., Order of Service - The service will be live-streamed on YouTube, which can be found through the following link. The service may be viewed live or at anytime later through our YouTube channel.
https://staidansinthebeach.com/live
Click here to view a PDF of the February 2nd Service
2. Funeral service for Barry Webster will be on Sat., Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. here at St. Aidan’s. A gathering for family and friends will follow at Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club.
3. Social Justice Vestry Motion for 2025: Our Social Justice Vestry Motion for 2025, "Protecting and Expanding Harm Reduction in Ontario" is now available on the Diocesan website. Despite an overdose crisis that claims the lives of at least seven people in Ontario every day, the provincial government has recently passed legislation that will close ten supervised consumption sites across the province and ban new sites from opening. This year's motion calls on the government both to keep the sites open and to expand harm reduction services across the province. In addition to the motion and accompanying backgrounder, additional resources will be uploaded to the Vestry Motion page over the coming weeks. Printed copies are available in the church entryway, or you can read online here: https://www.toronto.anglican.ca/diocesan-life/social-justice-advocacy/social-justice-vestry-motion/?lang=en
4. Vestry meeting and Pre-Vestry meetings: Our annual Vestry meeting will be on Sun., Mar. 2, after the 10:30 worship service. Lunch and childcare will be provided. For those interested in taking a deeper dive into the 2024 financial statement and the 2025 budget, there will be pre-Vestry meetings on Sun., Feb. 23 after the 10:30 service in the Willow Room and via Zoom and Tues., Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m via Zoom. Vestry packets will be distributed via email in the weekly notices on Fri., Feb. 14.
5. Revitalization Fund Report: Corporation has prepared a final report of Revitalization Fund revenue and expenditures. Printed reports will be available in the Narthex on Sun., Feb. 9. A meeting to review the report will be on Sun., Feb. 16 after the 10:30 service in the Willow Room and via Zoom and on Tues, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. via zoom.
Opportunities to Gather & Grow
6. Death Is Inevitable, Legacy Is Optional is a lunch and learn program being organized by our St. Aidan’s Stewardship Committee on Sun., Feb. 9 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Join us for an important presentation and discussion around the Dos and Don'ts of life planning. This event is relevant to all adults and will highlight key issues around: Wills, Power of Attorney (POA), family dynamics, assets (financial, physical, digital), leaving a legacy (metaphorically and literally), and more. Regardless if you plan to attend, please take 30 seconds to complete this quick survey for planning purposes: https://forms.gle/AfXhSBtxe1bU57Ky8
Lunch will be provided!
7. Wonder Church: St. Aidan’s is excited to offer a new service designed for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, early elementary children and their families called Wonder Church. This is a 30-45 minute service that includes puppets, music, and prayers. Coffee and treats are provided. All are welcome. Our next Wonder Church is Sun., Mar 2, at 4 p.m. For more information, contact children’s minister Elizabeth at children@staidansinthebeach.com
8. Busy Bees Play Group welcomes children ages 0-3 and their caregivers on Thursdays from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. in our Parish Hall. We offer stories, music, and activities. We are looking for lightly used toys for babies and toddlers for our Busy Bees Play Group. Do you like to bake? We are looking for people to bake peanut-free goodies for the Busy Bees Play Group. If you can support us in either of these ways, please speak with Elizabeth.
Opportunities to Share & Serve
9. Beach Interfaith Outreach: Locations and dates for all lunches are listed in the Beach Metro News. The next lunch held here at St. Aidan’s is Tues., Feb. 4, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. As part of St. Aidan’s involvement in the Beach Interfaith Outreach Committee, we support the Grace Pascoe Care Centre. Your weekly donations (to the basket by the church office) are gratefully received.
10. We’re looking for new people to help host our coffee hour: Don’t worry, we’ll show you what to do to be a host! You can sign up with your family or friends to serve coffee, tea, and snacks. You can pick a Sunday that works for you, and you can help out once a month or just a few times a year. To sign up, you may find a sign-up sheet for hosting coffee hour in the church entryway (Narthex), or you may email Ella at ekeemmanuella0@gmail.com. We’d love to have you help out by signing up to host any Sunday through the end of February.
11. We’re looking for people to bake homemade treats for coffee hour: We're looking for volunteers to bring treats for our coffee hour on Sundays! Whether it's baked goods, snacks, or any other delicious offerings, we would love to have your contributions. Please remember to label any items for allergies. Email Ella at ekeemmanuella0@gmail.com if you're interested in bringing something for an upcoming coffee hour.
12. Euchre: Join us on Tuesday nights from 7-9 p.m. for a fun and friendly evening of progressive Euchre downstairs in the Parish Hall. Beginners welcome. Cost is $5; all proceeds support St. Aidan’s community outreach.
Other Announcements and How to Give
13. Nursery available during Sunday worship: We offer nursery care for children ages 0-3 during the 10:30 a.m. service. The nursery is located in the Beech Room, adjacent to the main basement hall. For more information, please speak with Erika or Elizabeth.
14. Please submit new announcements for the weekly notices to Mary at office@staidansinthebeach.com by Wednesdays at 4 p.m. All notices are subject to incumbent’s approval, and will be edited for clarity and conciseness.
15. Offerings - Thank you for your support. There are a variety of ways to make your donation:
· PAG – set up monthly pre-authorized debits from your bank account directly to St. Aidan’s by completing the authorization form found on the Giving page of our website https://www.staidansinthebeach.com/giving
· PAG Changes – to change the amount of an existing donation, send an email with the details to donations@staidansinthebeach.com
· E-transfer – send to donations@staidansinthebeach.com
· Envelopes – to obtain a set of weekly offering envelopes, send a request to donations@staidansinthebeach.com
· Cheques should be payable to and can be mailed to: The Church of St. Aidan, 2423 Queen St E, Toronto, ON, M4E 1H6, or dropped in our secure mailbox beside the front door.
· Credit card – click on the link Canada Helps: St. Aidan’s or scan the QR code below.