Announcements
Baptism – On Sunday, Oct 4, plan to come to Shouldice Park (4900 Monserrat Dr. NW) for a service of baptism for 2 of our youngest members. We have booked Picnic Site 1 (red) until 2:45pm so you’re welcome to come and enjoy the park. Please be ever mindful of physical distancing and bring your own food, if so desired. The service itself will be by the river (under 16th Ave bridge) at 1:30pm. Please register your intent to come with Kate (403-282-3234 or standrw1@telus.net) in the office.
Faith in the Time of Covid – Join a bible study/discussion group to reflect and connect about our experience of this difficult time. We will meet in person for 5 weeks beginning Tuesday October 6 at 10 am. Please register as numbers are limited and familiarize yourself with the policies and protocols for groups using the lower hall. Contact Susan Chivers (chiverss@telus.net or 403-247-4011) for more information and to register.
Evening Prayer – For a time of quiet reflection, attend a traditional (BCP), spoken service of Evening Prayer on Wednesdays at 4 pm, with a target start date of Oct. 7. Please familiarize yourself with the policies and protocols for attending in-person worship.
Before you come by St. Andrew’s, for any reason, please self-monitor for possible symptoms of Covid-19 by reviewing this document.
Message from the Bishop
The Diocese has released guidelines and timeline for parishes wishing to seek permission to resume in-person worship. Parish leadership will be reviewing it, so stay tuned for more information about how we plan to proceed. The Archbishop’s letter and parish checklist can be read by clicking here.
Stewardship Update: August
Thanks to parishioner donations and the fact that our expenses are reduced during this pandemic and thanks to Federal Government support to the diocese and St. Andrew’s, we continue to be financially sound. We have had sufficient income to meet our expenses to the end of July and expect to be okay at year end. We will have some roof repairs to do in the fall and depending on cost estimates, we will use money from the building fund. If costs exceed that, we will approach the parish for financial help in ensuring the roof work is completed.
The church is here to support parishioners and those in need, so if you need assistance or know someone who does, please contact Christine or the Wardens.
Training opportunity:
Monday, Sept 21 (NEXT MONDAY!), at 7pm on zoom, join with our partners to develop strategies for having conversations in our institutions about how we can be part of co-creating the Calgary we want, and discover how this can become a city wide conversation. This is part of our prep leading up to CACG’s Fall Assembly (On October 29th at 7:00 pm ) and the City budget conversation. Click here to register.
Create:Church
During the global Season of Creation , we will create:church in an urban garden with an hour of prayer, discussion, and contemplation in community. Please join us September 9, 16, 23 and 30, beginning at 7pm, at St. Barnabas Community Garden (1407-7th Avenue NW; access off 12 St.).
Please bring your own chair and mask, as our gathering will necessarily include physical distance, in this time of Covid. For questions or comments, and to RSVP, contact Christine.
Create:Church seeks to engage the transforming presence of God in everyday places to encourage an holistic spirituality of authentic relationships with God and one another. We endeavour to bring our physical, emotional and intellectual selves together with room for both questioning and grounding in scripture. As an LGBTQ+ affirming ministry, all are invited to join our beautiful and messy journey of Christian faith.
PWRDF
On Saturday, August 8, 2020 the Government of Canada launched a dedicated Matching Fund for the Lebanon crisis that will double the contributions of Canadians and support the relief work of the members of Canada’s Humanitarian Coalition, including the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Through its membership in the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, PWRDF will be participating in the Humanitarian Coalition appeal to support people of Lebanon through this crisis. Please go to the link below to read the update and to donate.
Did You Know…?
We have copies of the personal devotions “Our Daily Bread” at the church for for September through to November. They can be picked up in the narthex if you’re at the church or we can drop one in the mail for you if you contact us!
Society of Saint John the Evangelist
Short reflections are published weekly. The latest is about “enlarging your perspective.” It can be found here.
Wisdom Centre:
Wednesday, September 30, 2020 – Wednesday, October 28, 2020 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Speaker/Facilitator: The Rev. Anna Greenwood-Lee, The Rev. Christine Conkin
Nobody quite knows what is coming for the 2020s but most agree that it is going to be turbulent. Join us as we:
– Get real, even if it means getting smaller
– Reimagine Jesus (not as a bigot)
– Don’t just think about it
– Get off our asses, and into the world
– Trust the Spirit… She is still with us!
We will be joined (through short videos) by some of the biggest voices in the theological/religious landscape today. Together with people like Richard Rohr, Christena Cleveland, Brian McLaren, Nadia Bolz Weber, Brene Brown, and Kathryn Tanner, we will struggle and laugh our way towards theology to see us through the spiritual, political, cultural, and ecological challenges the 2020s promise to bring.
Please register by emailing Kelly at St. Laurence
All sessions will be online and there is no fee for registration.
Bowness Food Network: Free Lunch Program!
Help us continue to connect kids in Calgary with a stable source of food – daily bagged lunches! 100% of funds raised will go directly to students, families and individuals in need.
On March 16, 2020 Alberta schools were forced to close due to COVID-19. Within the community of Bowness, a uniquely socioeconomically diverse area of the city, this closure resulted in the loss of up to two meals a day for many students and their families, many of whom relied on accessing breakfast and lunch at school each day. With this sudden loss in food stability, teachers in Bowness jumped into action to organize food access to impacted families. To learn more about this group and to donate go to https://ca.gofundme.com/f/yyc-lunches-distribution.
Drop In Centre
The Donation/Recycling Centre at 3640 11thA St. N.E. is still open (reduced hours and staff) and is accepting clothing, bottles/cans and furniture (no electronics at this time). It is open Mon.-Fri. , 8:30 to 3:30.
If you have clothing/bottle/can donations but are unable to transport them, Carole and Dave T are able to transport for you.
Donations
Church operations are obviously much different than they were just a few months ago, but we’re not closed! We are most grateful for your continued donations. If you normally donate by cheque, you can send it by mail. Pre-authorized debit continues and you can join or make adjustments by contacting John MacKinnon (johnm9@telus.net). We also have an “account” with CanadaHelps you can access here: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/129209680RR0001-st-andrews-anglican-church/
Praying with PWRDF
This is an excellent opportunity for us to make connections during this time of isolation. We can come together by praying with each other from parishes across the county, with PWRDF staff and most importantly with and for our partners.
All the recordings from the past few weeks of prayers can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoQP475xxXQAyzjoXtC0ykA
To register for upcoming sessions, please click the following link: https://bit.ly/PWRDFPrayers
