Weekly Notices - November 19
November 17, 2023
Dear St. Aidan’s,
Today and tomorrow, clergy and laity from around the Diocese will gather in Markham for our Synod, which is held every other year. It’s the first gathering post-pandemic, so Anglicans from around the Toronto are happy to be back in person to do the business of the Diocese and share time in conversation with one another. If you ever have questions about the work of our Diocese and specifically about matters before Synod, our St. Aidan’s delegates this year are Mark Houghton and John Brewin, as well as our clergy. It will be my first Synod here, so I’m looking forward to the chance to meet more people from around the city and learn about the culture and concerns of the Diocese.
As we look toward Advent, I want to let you know of two opportunities we will offer for those who want to take time for extra reflection in this season of preparing our hearts for celebrating Jesus’ birth at Christmas. On four Wednesday evenings leading up to Christmas, beginning November 29, I will host a reflection group on Zoom from 7-8 p.m., using Bless the Advent We Actually Have, which is written and edited by Kate Bowler and her colleagues at the Everything Happens Project. You can download or print out a copy for free by clicking here. We’ll share the Zoom details in upcoming issues of this e-newsletter.
Grace and peace,
Becky+
Week of November 19 - NOTICES AT A GLANCE – more details below
- Live Streaming at 10:30 a.m., Order of Service
- Passing the Offering Plate
- Youth Art Night
- Leaf Raking
- Celebration of New Ministry
- Beach Interfaith Outreach
- Weekly Christmas Pageant Rehearsals Begin
- Server training for grades 4-12, Sun., Nov. 26, 12 noon
- Annual Holiday Market is less than 2 weeks away!
- All-ages Christmas party on Sat., Dec. 9
- An archive of sermon manuscripts
- Euchre
- Deadline for the Notices
- Offerings
AND NOW THE DETAILS:
1. Live Streaming at 10:30 a.m., Order of Service - The service will be livestreamed at the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/91628466455
Meeting ID: 916 2846 6455
Passcode: 548507
Phone: 647-374-4685
To access the Order of Service click here:
2. Passing the Offering Plate: You may have noticed a change in recent weeks at the time that the offering is being taken up, and we need your assistance with the process. It is important that the offering plate be passed through all the pews so that everyone has the opportunity to give their gift. We have added an extra sidesperson on the side aisles to assist with the passing of the plates.
Many of you give by PAG or other pre-arranged/electronic means and we encourage you to remember this and give thanks as you pass the plate along. If you do give your gift by these other methods and would prefer to have something to put into the plate as it passes by you, there are a supply of blue cards at the back of the church that say: “Thank you for your pre-arranged offering to St. Aidan’s to support the work of our church.” Please pick one up on your way into church to put on the plate at the offering.
3. Youth Art Night will be on Fri., Nov. 17 from 6:00-8:30 at the church. Pizza dinner will be provided.
4. Leaf Raking, Sat., Nov. 18, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Help St. Aidan’s keep our ‘no-blow’ commitment! Join us for coffee, doughnuts, and leaf raking. We have several rakes on hand, but feel free to bring your own. We will leave a few spots of fallen leaves undisturbed for beneficial insects to overwinter. Contact Courtney Ebner, staidans.warden3@gmail.com.
5. Celebration of New Ministry for our new incumbent, the Rev. Dr. Rebecca Bridges, will be on Sun., Nov. 19, at 4 p.m. with a reception to follow. Celebrant will be our archdeacon, the Venerable Cheryl Palmer, and the preacher will be the Rev. Molly Finlay. Please plan to join us for this special moment in the life of our parish. Offering at this service will go to our new incumbent’s discretionary fund to assist those in need.
6. Beach Interfaith Outreach - Locations and dates are listed in the Beach Metro News. Tues., Nov. 21, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. is the next lunch here.
7. Weekly Christmas Pageant rehearsals will begin on Sun., Nov. 26 from 10:00-10:30 a.m.
8. Server training for interested young people in grades 4-12 will be Sun., Nov. 26, from 12-12:30 (following the 10:30 service) in the Nave. Servers carry the cross, torches, and Gospel book in our weekly worship services, as well as help the priests and deacons prepare for communion. This brief training is both for returning and new servers. We will begin to schedule children and youth to be servers each Sunday beginning on the First Sunday of Advent (Dec. 3). Parents of children in these grades were sent an email from Rev. Becky with more details.
9. The Annual Holiday Market is less than two weeks away! Mark your calendars and plan to attend. Funds raised will go to support youth programmes.
- Sat., Dec 2, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- We have a wide variety of vendors, some will be upstairs and some will be downstairs. Come and get your Christmas shopping done
- A Bake Sale and Cafe will operate downstairs.
- Fausta will run crafts for kids in the Willow Room, with no cost for kids to take part.
What we need!
- As always, we will need your donations of baked goods to be dropped off the morning of the sale.
- We still need a few young, strong people to help move pews and bring tables up from downstairs on Thurs., Nov. 30 at 6 p.m.
- And we need a crew to take down the tables and set the pews back up after the sale on Sat., Dec. 2, at 3:15 p.m.
Help us make this event a huge success. Contact Rev. Becky or Dayle (daylesnider@gmail.com) if you can help or have any questions.
10. You are invited to an all-ages Christmas party on Sat., Dec. 9 from 1-3 p.m. We will share stories, music, crafts and more! Please let Elizabeth know if you are planning on coming.
11. An archive of sermon manuscripts by Rev. Becky, along with sermons and weekly reflections by Deacon Michael, can be found on our website: https://staidansinthebeach.com/services/pages/sermons-and-reflections
12. Euchre - Join us on Tuesday nights from 7-9 p.m. for a fun and friendly evening of progressive Euchre downstairs in the main hall. Beginners welcome. $5.00 to play. All proceeds go to our community outreach.
13. Announcements for the Notices - Please submit any announcements for the weekly notices on Wednesdays by 4 pm.
14. Offerings - Thank you for your support. There are a variety of ways to make your donation:
- PAG – set up monthly pre-authorized debits from your bank account directly to St. Aidan’s by completing the authorization form found on the Giving page of our website https://www.staidansinthebeach.com/giving
- PAG Changes – to change the amount of an existing donation, send an email with the details to donations@staidansinthebeach.com
- E-transfer – send to donations@staidansinthebeach.com
- Envelopes to obtain a set of weekly offering envelopes, send a request to donations@staidansinthebeach.com
- Cheques should be payable to and can be mailed to: The Church of St. Aidan, 2423 Queen St E, Toronto, ON, M4E 1H6, or dropped in our secure mailbox at the north-east corner of the building.