Good News on Thursday

 Last Sunday was a long and wonderful Lord’s Day.  As usual, God fed us in Word and Sacrament at both our morning services, after which some of us enjoyed refreshments together.  I preached twice on the Parable of the Weeds and its parallels to our excerpt from Paul’s Letter to the Romans.  Thanks to all who help to lead our Sunday morning ministries!

About a dozen of us came to our Cathedral – Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria – at 2 pm on Sunday.  We enjoyed a wonderful tour of the building, including (for just a few of our parishioners) a visit to the North Balcony and the room where the Changeringers perform their art on the Cathedral’s chimes.  We are very grateful to our Cathedral’s leadership for inviting us to this tour and then tea!  (You can see a few of my photographs from the Cathedral in this newsletter.)

A couple more parishioners came to the Cathedral at 4 pm for the Evensong itself.  Very shortly before the service, the small ensemble of choir members had to change to a different setting of Evensong.  Without enough time to practice, I turned over to the Cathedral’s choir director the chanting of several prayers that I would have otherwise sung myself. 

During Evensong, I preached on the second reading – from the Acts of the Apostles – about Peter’s and John’s unhappy encounter with the authorities and the disciples’ prayer afterwards to be even bolder in proclaiming the Good News of God in Christ Jesus. I observed that, after healing a man who was born lame, Peter and John had to speak about Jesus.  One reason was to guide the crowd away from confusing the disciples with the source of the man’s healing: God acting in the name of Christ Jesus.

When I left the Cathedral, I went to the Royal Jubilee Hospital to pray with a parishioner who was in the ICU.  I rejoice that he is now doing much better – the improvement in his health did not come from me!

This Saturday, I encourage you to come to our parish hall and grounds for afternoon tea from 2 to 4 pm.  While this event is primarily social, Helen Love has asked me to speak briefly about daily prayer and walking a labyrinth.  If you wish, you can walk the labyrinth that is found on the edge of our cemetery.

Of these two spiritual practices (daily prayer and labyrinth walking), one is at the heart of our Anglican tradition.  The other predates the birth of our Lord Jesus by centuries.  Come on Saturday afternoon to learn more about both and discover which is which! God’s peace, John+