From the Diocese of New West.
As David points out, worship of what!? We know what you mean. We think.
Diocesan-led worship begins at St. Matthew’s
Anglican Church of Canada worship at St. Matthew’s Abbotsford began again on Sunday, August 29th at 8am. The diocesan-led service was a said eucharist from the Book of Alternative Services. Rev. David Price was the celebrant and the Ven. Stephen Rowe, Archdeacon of Fraser was also present to greet worshippers and hand-out the order of service.
David in his sermon spoke of how this is a wonderful time to be an Anglican. He spoke of our tradition of turning to scripture, to reason, to the sacraments and to the fellowship of our faith communities as we joyfully and confidently embrace our uncertainties, our fears, our doubts and the many challenges raised by scientific insights. The size of the congregation more than met expectations. Some in attendance were visitors whose homes are not in Abbotsford. The service ended at 8:45am. At this initial service of renewed diocesan worship at St. Matthew’s a post service coffee time in the parish hall had not been planned, but members of the ANiC congregation which use the St. Matthew’s church building had thoughtfully set-up tables for a post service coffee time and had made the kitchen available. 17 of those in attendance at the service did go for breakfast/coffee at a nearby restaurant. Organizing and on-site “Coffee Time” will happen in the near future.
The ANiC leaders representing their community were cordial and cooperative and did an outstanding job of setting up the Parish Hall for worship. The ACoC congregation were not required to replace chairs or re-organize the space. Arrangements for future Sundays may differ. The ANiC leadership agreed to the use of the piano to add a musical component to the worship and that may come to pass in future weeks.
There is still much to do in organizing this fledgling community of worshippers but things definitely got off to a very good beginning.
How could Rev. Price refer to the sacraments when we have a so-called bishop that does not accept the two mandatory requirements for be either an Anglican or a Christian? These are:-
1. Full acceptance and recognition of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ; and
2. Full acceptance and recognition of the authority of Scripture. That means the authority of Scripture is NOT subject to any majority vote at synod and definitely NOT subject to the whims of any clergy person.
It will be interesting to see how long the congregation lasts.
“The size of the congregation more than met expectations.”
This sounds suspiciously vague to me. Any stats?
6 original St. Matthew’s parishioners and 24 imports, apparently.
Eliie:
“The size of the congregation more than met expectations.”
You know, the other day, I asked my co-workers to contribute to the “Buy James a new Rolls-Royce fund.” I got zero contributions from anyone except myself. I didn’t expect to get any contributions either. Thus, the amount of contribution to my Rolls-Royce fund “more than met expectations.”
I thought as much. . .