Worship at
St. Michael & All Angels
Online Services with Zoom
How to Join Zoom Meetings
We will be holding regular Sunday worship using Zoom each week. You are invited
to join the conversation at 10:45, when there will be an
opportunity to greet each other before the service starts.
The Prelude by Tony will signify the beginning of the service time.
An opportunity for conversation will also happen after the service.
Please note: We will be muting the participants during the service time.
How to Join Zoom Worship Services:
Use the link below to be connected:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/594268086?pwd=SWxwalhjN2pDMCtDbXVzYnFBNjZmQT09
Meeting ID: 594 268 086
Password: 848886
If joining by phone: dial 647-374-4685
and enter the Meeting ID number when requested
Upcoming Messy Church
Sunday May 17, 2020 at 4:00 PM
We are very excited for another edition of Messy Church online! Please join us on Zoom starting at 4:00 PM for another enriching family worship experience.
Learning about the Christian story, finding out about self-isolation 2,000 years ago, and finding ways to have faith, hope and strength back then and now. These are the themes we will visit in a very simple way at the next online Messy Church. All are welcome!
If you are in the neighbourhood, we will drop off a special arts & crafts package for this time together, quarantined and carefully packaged of course.
Register by email by Thursday 14th, 12 noon to be included in the package delivery and to receive the Zoom link.
Sunday May 10, 2020
5th Sunday of Easter | Mother's Day
Lay pastor Jenni's sermon for Sunday May 10
Sunday May 3, 2020
Text and video of this week's sermon by seminarian Susan Smandych available here.
Seminarian Susan Smandych delivering her moving sermon for this Sunday's worship service on Zoom.
Full text:
Let us pray.
May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of all of our hearts,
be pleasing to you, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen.
+++++
My friends, this morning I have to begin with a confession. Initially, I was delighted when Father Paul asked me to preach about today’s passage from the Gospel of John, ‘The Good Shepherd’. Both the Gospel and Psalm 23 evoke tender images of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, who is lovingly guiding, nurturing and protecting us; we are His precious sheep, the cherished members of His flock. I thought preaching on these passages should be easy; of course I could talk about the Good Shepherd!
And here is my confession. I struggled; I really struggled to put words to paper. I went from feeling mildly irritated, to deeply disturbed, to downright angry. For several days, I could not figure out why.
But then I realized that what was bothering me about the Gospel passage was the last line, which states: “...I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly”. Abundantly. A-hah! THERE it was! That’s the word that upset me! Throughout the New Testament, we hear that Jesus came so that we may have life, and this Gospel passage indicates we are to have life in abundance, which seems to imply we are to have lives full of joy, peace and strength - in our minds, bodies and souls.
But how can we possibly recognize such abundance in life, to have such joy, peace and strength, when there is just so much uncertainty, so much confusion, so much turmoil, so much suffering, and so much collective trauma and grief in our world, in our community and in our own hearts today?
I wondered...
…where is the abundance when we are continually being told what we cannot do; about all of the regular and the special events which have been cancelled; about the constraints that limit our movements, and leave us physically cut off from each other, and from our loved ones....?
I wondered....
...where is the abundance in this pandemic that ravages and invokes fear, especially amongst those who are vulnerable, including the elderly in long term care homes, the homeless who have nowhere to just ‘stay home’, and the young, affected by the outbreak at Sick Kids Hospital...?
I wondered....
...where is the abundance in the tragic and horrific murders in Nova Scotia two weeks ago, which ended the abundant lives of 22 innocent people, and which has invoked an excruciating time of grief and mourning amongst their loved ones, who cannot gather to say goodbye....?
And since Friday evening, I have also been wondering....
...where is the abundance, when our very dear friend Benny, has succumbed to this terrible virus and gone to be with our Father, invoking in us a time of grief and mourning, as we are also unable to gather together to comfort each other, to say goodbye, to honour his memory, and to celebrate his life? Perhaps you have also been wondering... where is the abundance?
To try to answer this question, I returned to the Gospel of John, to see if there was anything that may be able to support, to comfort or to direct us. What I found was that Jesus and His followers, the 12 disciples, lived at a time when there was also great confusion, uncertainty and turmoil, like we are experiencing now. Other Gospels tell us about how the disciples were disconnected from their daily lives, their families and their livelihoods, and called to follow Jesus. In the Gospel passage we just heard, Jesus was trying to explain to His disciples who He was, and why He had come, but as the passage states “they did not understand what He was saying to them”. I highly doubt that they felt an abundance of life - or joy, peace or strength - as they followed Jesus, struggling to understand who He was - especially when He came into conflict with Roman authorities, and was eventually crucified.
I also thought about the early Christians, the people who lived at the time the Gospel of John was written, several decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection. They also experienced much suffering, collective trauma and grief, like we are now. The Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed, which had been central to their faith; they came into conflict with Jewish authorities and were expelled from synagogues, so they could not worship together either; and they were even brutally persecuted by those around them. As they experienced life through a shattered lens of destruction, expulsion and persecution, I highly doubt that they felt an abundance of life - or joy, peace or strength - either. Perhaps the twelve disciples, and the early Christians, also wondered: where is the abundance?
Although the disciples did not (yet) understand what Jesus was saying to them, and they did not know what lay ahead of them during that uncertain, confusing time in their history, they eventually realized they were being called into relationships, with their Creator, with each other and with their neighbours.
Likewise, we do not know what lies ahead in this uncertain, confusing time in our history. We are not who or what we were before this pandemic began, nor do we know what our new reality will look like when this pandemic has diminished. We are, as the anthropologist Victor Turner wrote, “betwixt and between”; we are destabilized and disoriented, trying to navigate through a disturbing time and space.
Yet the Gospel passage indicates we are to have life, and to have it in abundance. But where is the abundance? The good news is that, like the disciples, we are also being called into relationships, perhaps into even deeper relationships, with our Creator, with each other and with our neighbours.
The abundance is in our relationships, through which we may experience joy, peace and strength.
In our relationship with God, we are called to grow spiritually; to praise, to worship and to witness with confidence; to focus on Jesus; to remain faithful to God; and to foster an awareness of the Holy Spirit.
In our relationships with each other, in this community of St Michael’s, we are called to share in each other’s sorrow and suffering; and to offer companionship and encouragement in our journeys of faith.
In our relationship with our neighbours, we are called to reflect God’s love by remaining committed to our community engagement and outreach programs, through compassionately and consistently sharing our time, our prayers, our kindness, our hospitality, and our creativity with those around us.
The abundance is in our relationships, through which we may experience joy, peace and strength. A wise person once said “when everything is uncertain, everything that is important becomes clear”.
What is becoming clear is that this virus cannot take away our relationships to God, to each other, to our neighbours - or even to those who have gone before us to Heaven, like our dear friend Benny.
Although we cannot currently gather together physically to comfort each other and to say goodbye to Benny, we can still comfort each other spiritually, we can still honour his memory, and we can still celebrate his life. We have heard that Jesus came so that we, and Benny, may have life, and he had life in abundance, through his deep relationships with God, with us and with our neighbours.
Benny’s abundance was in his relationships, through which he experienced joy, peace and strength.
Benny heard the Good Shepherd’s voice calling him by name; calling him to serve, calling him to share, and calling him to praise; and now, calling him home. Benny had life in abundance: he was abundantly gracious in his awareness of, and response to, the needs of others; he was abundantly courageous in his deeds; and he was abundantly generous with his hospitality and love towards us.
As Father Paul shared in the Opening Prayer, “We are apart, but we are together, offering our love, our commitment, our hope, and our prayers, in service to one another and this world”. May we also hear the Good Shepherd’s voice calling us by name, so that we may too have life in abundance.
Amen.
Sunday April 19, 2020
You can listen to a recording of the sermon from this Sunday, based on John 20:19-31, by clicking on the link below.
Easter Services with Zoom
How to Join Zoom Meetings
Listen to our Good Friday sermon here via Soundcloud
We will be holding worship using Zoom at 11:00 am on Palm Sunday (April 5th), Good Friday (April 10th), and Easter Sunday (April 12th).
A special Easter Sunday Messy Church will also be held on Zoom at 4:00 pm Sunday April 12.
Messy Church with Zoom
How to Join Zoom Meetings
We're hosting a special Easter Messy Church on Zoom this Sunday April 12 at 3:45 pm. This is a great opportunity for gathering together online. Activities will include making your own Easter garden, sharing the Easter story with special guests Barely and Nosebag from the Green Door Web Series, and an at-home Easter egg hunt followed by a short prayer.
Participants are invited to join the Zoom meeting at 3:45 to greet each other. Activities will run from 4:00-5:00 pm.
Sunday April 5, 2020
Palm Sunday
Lyrics to the Hymn "I Cannot Tell", by William Young Fullerton, 1929 (Tune: Londonderry Air);
Adapted by Revd Dr Sam Wells, 2019
I cannot tell why grief and sadness linger
Why jobs are lost, and people face despair;
When this will end, if vaccines come and rescue,
Why isolation stalks the earth again.
But this I know, Christ feels the hurt upon the cross;
The Spirit weaves our lives together still.
And some glad day, through Providence, the Father
May turn this wave of loss to glory by his will.
I cannot tell how we can be together
When all our ways of doing so are lost;
How we can be one body in communion
If every form of touch comes at a cost.
But this I know, we’re sealed upon the heart of God
The Spirit dwells within our fearful souls.
And Christ finds ways to show his face to all of us
To lift our hopes and meet us in our mortal fears.
I cannot tell how long this time of fear will last
If there’ll be months, or years of damaged lives;
When once again we’ll gladly throng together,
To sit and laugh, to dance and play and kiss.
But this I know, we’re finding things both good and true
About our God, each other and ourselves.
So after this we’ll know we’ve met our darkest hour
And now there’s nothing we will have to face alone.
Sunday March 29: Passion Sunday
The Fifth Sunday in Lent
As many provinces have suspended public worship, the Anglican Communion Office has put together a brief video-based Service of the Word for Passion Sunday, featuring prayers written especially for this Sunday – the Fifth Sunday in Lent – which has been designated as a worldwide day of prayer for repentance and reconciliation in the Anglican Communion.
The service is led by the Revd Neil Vigers from the Anglican Communion Office’s Department for Unity Faith and Order. Readings were recorded for us by Archbishop Philip Freier (Melbourne, Australia); Archbishop Thabo Makgoba (Cape Town, Southern Africa); Archbishop Ian Ernest (Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome); and Dean Hosam Naoum (St George’s Cathedral, Jerusalem). The homily is given by Bishop Moon Hing (West Malaysia, South East Asia).
The songs were recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic at St Mary’s Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Washington National Cathedral, Washington DC, USA; the Anglican Church of Canada General Synod; and the 16th Meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Lusaka, Zambia.
A service for Passion Sunday 2020 (the 5th Sunday in Lent) prepared by the Anglican Communion Office
Sunday March 22
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Service with Sermon By Bishop Michael Curry, Washington National Cathedral
Beautiful Hymns to Listen to and Enjoy
Sunday March 15
Third Sunday in Lent
Weekly Services
All Sunday worship services and church activities are temporarily suspended until further notice
due to Covid-19.
Sundays:
8:30 am Said Eucharist
A small, intimate service in the Chapel using the traditional language of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). All who wish to do so are welcome to partake of the Holy Communion.
11:00 am Sung Eucharist
A larger, contemporary service in the Sanctuary with music from the organ and choir. The Book of Alternative Services is used. There is Sunday School from September to June. All who wish to do so are welcome to partake of the Holy Communion. Refreshments are served in the Parish Hall after the service.
St Michael & All Angels Church enjoys lively and heartfelt musical accompaniment for the 11:00 am Sunday service and at special occasions throughout the year. Learn more about the musical life of St Michael & All Angels on our Music page.
Sunday School:
During the 11:00 am service from September to June, the children head to Sunday School to learn about Jesus and the bible, enjoy crafts and fellowship, and return in time for communion.
Wednesdays:
12:00 noon Bible Study & Prayer
A prayer service in the Chapel that incorporates biblical readings for the upcoming Sunday.
At this simple service, discussion is welcome!
Messy Church
Once Monthly on a Sunday
February 2, March 1, April 5 4:30-6:30 pm April 5 meeting POSTPONED until further notice
Looking for some nourishment, creativity, and fellowship during these cold winter days? Look no further!
'Messy Church' is a time for families to enjoy being together, making things together, eating together, and discovering God together through stories, music and reflection.
For questions or more information, please contact our office or 416-653-3593