Sunday, Oct 4, 10am
Bring your pets to the screen to receive our admiration and a blessing during our Zoom church service on Sunday, October 4th!
Email Adam to sign your furry friend up.
Oct. 4 – Blessing of the Animals
Uncategorized
Sept 30 – Digging along the Ottawa River: Past meets Present
with Ian Badgley and Albert Dumont
7:30pm, Wednesday, Sept. 30
(Orange Shirt Day)
All My Relations – Ascension presents archeologist Ian Badgley, Heritage Program National Capital Commission and Albert Dumont, Algonquin Spiritual Advisor.
Indigenous people have gathered along the shores of the three rivers that meet in the Ottawa-Gatineau area for thousands of years. Archeological digs in the National Capital Region find many artifacts dating back 1,500 to 2,500 years, but such artifacts here and across the country are in danger of being lost to shoreline erosion due to climate change. That loss jeopardizes contemporary Indigenous rights and land claims and diminishes our understanding of Indigenous history.
Learn about the connections between land, history, creation care, and present-day justice for Indigenous peoples.
Sept 17, Oct 1 – Right Relations with Food, Faith, & Creation
Exploring the 5th Mark of Mission
with Jerremie Clyde
10am Sunday, Sept 13
7:30pm Thursdays, Sept 17 and Oct 1
We all eat, hopefully, several times a day. Many of us also pray for wisdom, discernment, and courage in growing God’s Kingdom. These are related actions, but what does eating, salvation, creation, and our own callings have to do with each other?
In the words of Wendell Berry “These are religious questions, obviously, for our bodies are part of the Creation,…. But the questions are also agricultural, for no matter how urban our live, our bodies live by farming…”
Together we will explore how growing God’s Kingdom on earth can be done every time we eat. We will look at what scripture has to say about our mission to the rest of creation, what it means to extend grace to creation and our role in making all things new. Participants will learn not only about our call to care for creation but also why it is that is news to so many. When we are done participants will be better able to explain how care of the environment fits within the Church and be better equipped to continue to grow in knowledge about restoring right relationships with creation.
Jerremie Clyde is a farmer and academic from Calgary Alberta. His research interests are linked to food, whether in history or media studies, and increasingly theology. When not at the University of Calgary he can be found looking after 164 acres of creation just North of Sundre. The farm is set in a knob and kettle mix of forests and pastures. Together with his family they raise grains, a dozen different varieties of potatoes, and good grass to feed their herd of yak. Jerremie also volunteers in the Diocese of Calgary organizing and facilitating creation care related talks, conferences, and events.
Jerremie joins us as our guest preacher on Sunday, Sept 13 and for a more in-depth presentation on Thursdays, Sept 17 and Oct 1.
Turning our attention to the Holy Spirit
The Story
Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 17, 2020
John 14:15-21
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
Something to Do
Look for the helpers
Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as an Advocate, someone who stands up to provide care and justice for another. We are living in an age full of advocates, each of whom reveal the Holy Spirit to us. Take a note from Mr. Rogers and really notice them this week. Make a list of them. Then use the list:
- write a poem
- make some art
- say a prayer
- send thank you notes.
Be an advocate
Our world needs advocates. Even from your living room, you can speak up on behalf of those who need you to add your voice to theirs. Write a letter or make a phone call to decision-makers, to the newspaper, and to your friends to talk about ways to draw our world closer to God’s will – a world of justice, peace, and compassion for all humans and all creation.
One local resource for one important issue which you might want to take a look at is Housing Emergency Ottawa.
Something to Wonder
I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
Repeat this sentence a few times. Try to picture it – like a set of Russian dolls except, somehow, the biggest doll both holds and fits inside the smallest doll.
What does it mean for you to be in Jesus?
What does it mean for Jesus to be in you?
Which of these ideas makes the most sense for you? Or feels the most true? How might really embracing them impact the way you live?
…because I live, you also will live
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
In Christ’s resurrection, we have life. Some folks might find this promise harder to trust in the context of social isolation. Some might find it easier. Where do you find yourself along that spectrum?
What has made you feel alive in the last few days? Why? Are there ways you can build on that feeling?
Something to Learn
another Paraclete
The Greek word Jesus uses to describe the Holy Spirit (translated in our version as “advocate”) is paraclete. This is a very interesting and complicated and significant word and here are two attempts to unpack it.
The Holy Spirit as Paraclete by Alex Rowe – a short article on medium.com
“Though to describe the Holy Spirit as “Paraclete” may sound rather abstract, difficult to comprehend, it is perhaps the most personal of all depictions.”
Paraclete by Barry Cooper, in both audio and transcript form
“There’s an important Greek word in the New Testament that is similarly tricky to translate. The word is paraclete, and it’s used by Jesus both as a name for the Holy Spirit and also for Himself.”
Something to Pray
Holy God, we do not always understand your word or your ways.
Give us wisdom and imagination and courage as we learn and grow.
The story this week has made me wonder about…
(what questions are still on your heart?)
Receive my questions and help me hear your answers.
The story this week has filled me with…
(how are you feeling?)
Accept my praise, heal my hurt, ease my worry.
The story this week has reminded me of…
(are there situations or people you are thinking of?)
Be with all who are in need of you.
In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.
Advent at Ascension – St. Matthew, Apocalypse, and Mary!
Mary’s Story
Sundays in December
10:00
Come hear the story of Mary as she prepares for the coming of Jesus. Each week, we will add another piece in a dramatic, musical presentation designed for children’s participation.
Advent Potlucks and the Apocalypse
Thursdays, Dec. 5, 12, 19
6:15 – 9:15
Come for a potluck dinner and watch two episodes per week of the miniseries Good Omens, based on the book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. (recommended for 12 years and up)
Spend some time this Advent contemplating the big questions with this (very!) irreverent tale of good and evil and the end of the world, starring David Tenant as the demon Crowley and Michael Sheen as the angel Aziraphael.
A Morning with St. Matthew
Saturday, Dec. 7th
9-12:30
Prepare for the coming of Jesus by hearing the whole of the Gospel of Matthew. Participants will be invited to take turns reading out loud or to simply listen. Materials will be provided for drawing or taking notes as you listen.
Tea and coffee provided; baked treats welcome!