Notices: January 19, 2025

Written By Michael Pirri

Dear St. Aidan’s,
  
In Psalm 133, there’s a memorable verse about the value of people coming together around a common cause or a shared belief: “How very good and pleasant it is, when kindred live together in unity!”

A renowned scholar of the Hebrew Scriptures, Robert Alter, describes this Psalm as being “a kind of idyll celebrating harmonious life together in a fruitful land. A sense of quiet rapture is conveyed” through these opening words, followed by imagery of oil running down a beard and dew running down Mount Hermon. The dew, says Alter, “is understood to be an agency of fruitfulness, especially important in a long dry season when no rain falls.”

It’s important to notice the connection the Psalmist is making between kindred living together in unity with these images of fruitfulness after a dry season. The church—both St. Aidan’s specifically and Christian churches more broadly—are looking for ways to reinvigorate our life together both post-COVID lockdown and in the ongoing conditions of living in postmodern (and some say, post-Christian) Western society. Many other things are vying for our time and attention. Many spend large amounts of time looking at screens of one kind or another. We wonder where the time goes. It occurs to us, in rare quiet moments, that something seems missing. As a priest, I’m inclined to say what’s missing for many is committing more substantial time and space to be with God, to be with others, and to be with ourselves.

Here are two opportunities when we can do just that:

1) On Sunday, February 2 at 4 p.m. here at St. Aidan’s, the joint choirs of St. Aidan’s, St. John’s, and St. Nick’s are presenting a choral evensong for Candlemas. All are welcome. (And if you enjoy singing, but don’t feel you can commit to the Sunday morning choir, maybe this could be a chance for you to lend your voice to this special service. Contact Michael Pirri to learn more about Candlemas choir practices, both this Saturday and next.)

‘What’s Candlemas?’ you may wonder. It’s the day we remember when Joseph and Mary brought a very young Jesus to the temple to “present him” to the church. Kind of like the first time a family brings their new baby to church to meet everyone, to begin to be joined into the life of the wider church community. It’s a beautiful story of the wonderful intergenerational nature of the church, as they are greeted by two elders, Simeon and Anna, who have been waiting their whole lives to finally see the promised Messiah. The music that afternoon will celebrate this.

2) Join a Being With conversation group this winter. If you’re curious to learn more, take a look at the overview by clicking here and then send me an email so we can chat about whether the Being With course could be a good fit for you.
 
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. Social Justice Vestry Motion for 2025
  3. Still time to pledge 2025 support for St. Aidan’s
  Opportunities to Gather & Grow 
  4. Being With: A new group forming in January
  5. Wonder Church: Sunday, January 26 at 4 p.m.
  6. Busy Bees Play Group
  Opportunities to Share & Serve
  7. We’re looking for new people to help host our Coffee Hour!
  8. We’re looking for people to bake homemade treats for coffee hour
  9. Euchre
  10. Beach Interfaith Outreach
  11. Busy Bees Play Group
  Other Announcements and How to Give
  12. Nursery available during Sunday worship
   13. Announcements for the Notices
   14. Offerings

 Notices for the Week of January 17, 2025 – January 24, 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, where you will also find the order of service. The service may be viewed live or at anytime later through our YouTube channel.
https://staidansinthebeach.com/live

 2. 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.  Printed copies are available in the church entryway.

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.

3. There’s still time to send in your pledge for 2025: If you have a printed pledge card (extras are on the console in the church entry), please drop it by the church during the week, or place it in the offering plate on Sunday. To fill out the pledge card online: https://staidansinthebeach.com/stewardship

Opportunities to Gather & Grow
 
 4. Being With: A new group forming in January. Are you curious to learn more? Email Rev. Becky at prieststaidansinthebeach.com.
To get a quick overview of the course visit https://being-with.org.

5. 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. We gather on the last Sunday of each month at 4 p.m. starting January 26. Coffee and treats will be provided. All are welcome. For more information, contact our children’s minister Elizabeth at children@staidansinthebeach.com 

6. 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
 

7. 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., Jan. 21, 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.

 8. 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.
 
 9. 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.

10. Out of the Cold volunteers needed: If you would be interested in volunteering one Monday evening a month to prepare and serve food for Out of the Cold guests, socialize with them, or help with clean up please speak with Bruce Mori or Deacon Michael Van Dusen (mjpvandusen@gmail.com). We will provide basic training for this important outreach ministry. 

11. 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

12. 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.
 
13. 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.

14. Offerings - Thank you for your support. There are a variety of ways to make your donation: 

Michael Pirri
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Notices: January 10, 2025