November 8th - Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost
We commit ourselves to work in penitence and faith for reconciliation between the nations, that all people may, together, live in freedom, justice and peace.
We pray for all who in bereavement, disability and pain continue to suffer the consequences of fighting and terror.
We remember with thanksgiving and sorrow those whose lives, in world wars and conflicts past and present, have been given and taken away.
(from Church of England Common Prayer)
Bishop's Letter
Dear People of the Diocese of Kootenay,
Greetings on this November Day!
Grace and Peace to you in the name of Christ,
The gray coldness of November with shortening days always seems to match the
mood of Remembrance Day. This year our prayers for just and lasting Peace seem
even more urgent yet farther away than ever. As we pray for peace and as we
remember those who have died in war, I invite you again, as a concrete sign of your
prayers and as you are able, to give to the Gaza Hospitals Emergency appeal through PWRDF:
https://pwrdf.org/give-today/The War in Gaza: Joint Anglican and Lutheran statements from our Primate and the
National Lutheran Bishop of the ELCIC (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada) can be found here
https://www.anglicanlutheran.ca/
*****
Recommended reading for all Anglican disciples: I have been happily preparing for
a course I am teaching through Emmanuel/St. Chad in January and February. Don’t
stop reading after this next sentence: This course will fulfill requirements for
Anglican Studies for Licensed Lay Ministers, Locally Trained Priests and Deacons for Kootenay. Life-long learning is, I think, an expectation for all Anglicans, not only
those preparing for a particular ministry but all of us in our baptismal ministry. One
of the things we value about being Anglicans is healthy intellectual inquiry. I would
encourage you to read a new book (and get a copy for your parish library)
To Love and Serve: Anglican Beliefs and Practices.
https://anglican.gilmore.ca/en/product/123c3ed2-d11a-4ede-8fef-da83df5bd00d
Be sure you get the version with Canadian editors: Jessica Schaap, Rhonda Waters,
Grace Pritchard Burson and Deborah Noonan. It is highly readable. I have enjoyed it
as someone who has taught Anglican studies for years; it brings fresh insights for “life-long” Anglicans but is also a great book to give to new Anglicans or those curious about the Christian faith or Anglicanism.
One of my favourite prayers is what we pray for each of the newly baptized, still a
prayer for each of us, (you might pray it for yourself!). It begins by thanking God for
our new life of grace: “Sustain us, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give us an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works. Amen.” (BAS 160)
May God bless you in your baptismal journey.
May God bless the world with Peace.
Yours in Christ,
+Lynne