Dear St. Aidan’s,

Here we are, already well into fall and all the joys this season brings: autumn colours on the trees, falling leaves, sweater weather, and, soon, Halloween. The word Halloween means “the Eve of All Hallows,” which is part of a three-day observance in our church calendar of All Hallows’ Eve (October 31), All Saints’ Day (November 1), and All Souls’ Day (November 2). You can read more about the traditions around these days here.

While in the church we don’t embrace a dark and scary side version of Halloween, we do celebrate the fun and creativity that spring forth when people get the chance to dress up as a favourite animal, character, or imaginary creature. The origins of Halloween go back to “more than a thousand years ago in Ireland and Britain, [when] a common custom of Christians was to come together on the eve of the feast of All Hallows Day to ask for God’s blessing and protection from evil in the world. Often, they would dress in costumes of saints or evil spirits and act out the battle between good and evil around bonfires. That’s the source of the modern observance of Halloween” (from Greg Garrison’s article linked above).

Recognizing that Halloween-time is an exciting moment in the year for our younger parishioners, we are offering a couple opportunities for them to wear their costumes to church. First, on Sunday, October 29, children and youth are welcome to wear their costumes to church, when we will have a special children’s moment to bless their costumes. Then, on Tuesday, October 31, we will host two events at the church. From 5:00-6:30 p.m., our youth group will gather for pizza and pumpkin carving. Then from 6:30-8:00 p.m., we will be open for children and families from the neighbourhood to stop by for treats as they trick-or-treat that evening.

All Saints’ Day is a major feast day in the Anglican Church, and is often ‘transferred’ to the nearest Sunday. So, we will celebrate All Saints’ this year in Sunday, November 5, and will include the rite of baptism in our worship that day. If you or someone in your household would like to be baptised on November 5, please get in touch with me this week.

Finally, we are happy to welcome Bruce Mori back to St. Aidan’s lay leadership team as our new treasurer. Bruce has served as a warden in the past (and as a treasurer in a prior church). We are also very grateful to Brian Snider for his decade of dedicated service in this role, and for his help in making the transition between treasurers a smooth one. Thank you to Brian and Bruce for sharing your gifts so generously with our congregation.

Grace and peace,

Becky+

Week of October 22 -  NOTICES AT A GLANCE – more details below
 

  1. Live Streaming at 10:30 am, Order of Service
  2. Calling all readers
  3. The Beach Cares Fundraising Event - Big Band Music Night
  4. Beach Interfaith Outreach
  5. Save the date!  Celebration of New Ministry
  6. St. Aidan’s Annual Holiday Market
  7. Children’s and Youth Ministry has an Amazon wish list!
  8. The Outreach & Advocacy Conference
  9. Euchre
  10. Announcements for the Notices
  11. Offerings

 

 AND NOW THE DETAILS:

1.  Live Streaming at 10:30 am, 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:

https://mcusercontent.com/9602008078ea1b1ac17a38d52/files/825f4acf-f51f-7335-118d-3c19cb748c51/2023_Oct_22_Worship_Guide_Streamlined_FINAL.pdf

2.  Calling all readers.   We will gather on Sun., Oct. 22 in the Chapel following coffee hour. This gathering is for current readers as well as for people interested in learning about joining this ministry. Rev. Becky will discuss best practices for readers, and experienced readers will share how they prepare and practice leading up to reading in our Sunday services. Questions? Contact Bob Hutchinson or Rev Becky.

3.  The Beach Cares Fundraising Event: Big Band Music Night - Sat., October 21 from 7 to 10 p.m. at Beach United Church, in support of The Beach Cares refugee sponsorship program. Featuring Toronto All-Star Big Band with vocalists John Amato and Shannon McDougall. There will be a cash bar, hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, dance demo, door prizes & more!  $50/ticket limited availability! Purchase tickets on Eventbrite.

4.  Beach Interfaith Outreach - Monday to Friday fellowship lunches begin the new season.  Locations and dates are listed in the Beach Metro News. Tues., Oct. 24, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. is the next time it will be held at St. Aidan’s.

5.  Save the date!  Celebration of New Ministry for our new incumbent, the Rev. Dr. Rebecca Bridges, will be on Sunday, November 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.

6.  St. Aidan’s Annual Holiday Market is Sat., Dec. 2, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is a festive event as we begin Advent and a great way to welcome people from the neighbourhood into our church. We are in need of 6-8 volunteers to assist with event set-up and take-down, specifically people with the ability to move pews and tables. Set-up will be on the Thurs. or Fri. before the event, and take-down will be as soon as the market ends that afternoon. If you are willing to sign up to help with either (or both), please contact Rev. Becky at priest@staidansinthebeach.com If you have any questions about Holiday Market, please contact Dayle Snider.

7.  Children’s and Youth Ministry has an Amazon wish list! If you would like to contribute, please check out this link: https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/dl/invite/fE4e1zd?ref_=wl_share

8.  The Outreach & Advocacy Conference - “Living in Exile: Inhabiting a World of Displacement” will be held virtually on Saturday, October 28, 2023.  Dr. Brian Walsh, theologian, pastor, farmer, and co-author of Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement will offer the keynote address at this year’s conference! Registration is free and is open! See all session descriptions and register. Full descriptions of each session are available at the back of the church.

9.  Euchre - Join us on Tuesday nights for a fun and friendly evening of progressive Euchre downstairs in the main hall. Beginners welcome. $5.00 to play. All proceeds go to St. Aidan’s Church community outreach.

10. Announcements for the Notices - Please submit any announcements for the weekly notices before Wednesday at 4 pm.

11. 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.