Thursday, March 16, 2023
Good afternoon, everyone,
The sun is shining, spring is in the air, the snow is slowly melting – all of these are great things. The changing of the seasons is one of the spectacular things about living in Canada. We all have our favourite seasons I suppose, but I have never heard anyone complain about the changing of the seasons. It is always refreshing, always new – as if it is happening again for the very first time. I love that phrase – ‘happening again as if for the very first time’ and I hope that will be your experience as we celebrate Easter in just a few short weeks. The Covenant Chapel is almost fully ready and we will be utilizing it during the final days of Lent and into the Easter season. On Thursday, April 6 we will have a Maundy Thursday service in the chapel beginning at 6 pm. Tables will be set up in the form of a cross. People will gather for the service sitting across and beside each other as if it were a family gathering. The service itself is a simple meal of fruit, cheese and crackers and vegan roasted pear and pepper soup. Non alcoholic wine and freshly baked bread will help us to mark the last supper of Jesus with His disciples. We will recognize Jesus’ command to love one another. We will have conversations, reflections, music and readings as part of the service. Because it will be in the chapel and around the tables, seating will be limited but we will try to accommodate everyone who wants to come. I think the capacity of the room is 60 people. Please sign up so we know how much food to prepare. You can sign up here https://www.standrewskw.com/events/maundy-thursday-2023
The Good Friday service will be in the sanctuary and televised on CTV. It begins at 11:00 and features the Sanctuary Choir singing John Rutter’s Requiem. Written in 1985, it takes the listener on a journey from darkness to light with its seven moments consisting of text from the Mass for the Dead, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Psalms. This moving service is one that you will want to experience and will prepare us for the joy of Easter morning.
A couple of other things that are front and centre in terms of what I am doing. We are in the season of staff reviews. It means great conversations with people who are very dedicated to the life and ministry of this church in so many different ways. I find the conversations both relevant and affirming. We have a great staff here at St. Andrew’s and staff meetings are an opportunity to celebrate and to address any pinch points that may arise. I look forward to the rest of the conversations.
Finally there is a great group of people working on the first Agnes Stock Weekend at St. Andrew’s in a number of years. The theme is around preparing for death and the dying process. We are teaming up with Hospice Waterloo for this endeavour. Everyone we talk to about it reflects on how important the conversations around death and dying are right now. COVID made it hard to grieve in ways that we were accustomed. Preparing for your own death became almost impossible in the lockdown. It seems that this topic is both relevant and much needed right now. Registrations for the event have already begun. We anticipate over 200 people engaging in the event. For more information and to register yourself please go to www.dyingtoknow.ca
That’s all for now. Take good care and my prayers are with you as together we journey through Lent towards the beauty of Easter
Marty