Anglican Life is the official newspaper for the three dioceses of the Anglican Church of Canada in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Posts By anglicanlifenl
What Liturgical Season is this? It’s Still Epiphany.
Have you ever noticed that some people keep their Christmas lights up well past January 6th? That’s because they’re celebrating the season of Epiphany which lasts until the Feast of the Presentation (Candlemas) on February 2nd. This season can be understood as a continuation of the Christmas season, making it last for 40 days. There are three main events in Christ’s life which are focused on during the Epiphany season: the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus Christ, and Jesus’ miracle at the wedding at Cana.
The first of these is very familiar to many as the visit of the three wisemen to Jesus, bringing the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We know this one from our childhood Bible stories and from most nativity scenes. We usually celebrate this on or near January 6th; in Newfoundland, this sometimes called “Old Christmas Day.”
The second, the baptism of Jesus Christ, is often considered by scholars of as one of the two 
events in his life that have a certain degree of historical certainty about them (the other being his crucifixion). He was baptized by his cousin, John, and this began the formal years of Jesus’ ministry which led to his death on the cross. This is typically celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany Sunday.
Finally we have the miracle at the wedding in Cana. This is the first miracle we read about the Gospel of John, and is of course the one at which Jesus turns water into wine. This is the first sign that we have of Jesus’ divine nature. It was just celebrated last weekend in our Anglican Church of Canada, and the Gospel reading was the telling of this miracle.
But it’s not over yet! In these winter days when the sun is still going down early in the evening, keep your lights on, and continue to celebrate during this season of Epiphany; we still have another week and a half to go!
St. Anthony The Great
On January 17th, we remember St. Anthony the Great. Known as the “Father of all monks,” he was one of the Desert Fathers, a group of hermit monks who lived mainly in the Egyptian desert of Scetes around the third century AD. The majority of what we know about St. Anthony comes from a work written by Athanasius of Alexandria called “Life of Anthony.” It became a very famous book after being translated into Latin (from the original Greek), and was well known throughout the Middle Ages. His life’s example helped to spread the idea of Christian monasticism, and there are accounts of him enduring supernatural temptation which his readers found most inspiring. His followers credited him with being able to cure them of diseases, most especially of ergotism which became known as “St. Anthony’s Fire.”
Parishes of Flower’s Cove and Green Island Had Christmas Eve Plays
In the March issue of Anglican Life, you’ll find more about the Christmas plays that took place in the Parishes of Flower’s Cove and Green Island in the Diocese of Western Newfoundland.
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Their rector, the Rev’d Omar Reyes, says that “It was a blessed time and was very very edifying to the whole church.”
The Anglican Foundation
As the Editor of Anglican Life, I just had lunch with members of The Anglican Foundation. Do you know about their great work within our Anglican Church of Canada?
From their mission statement:
“The Anglican Foundation of Canada seeks to foster Anglican presence by providing abundant resources for innovative ministry and diverse infrastructure projects and theological formation throughout the Canadian church.”
For more detailed information, visit their website at: https://www.anglicanfoundation.org
Left to right: The Rev’d Amanda Taylor, Emily Rowe, Kevin Smith, Heather Skanes, Debbie Collins, The Rev’d Dr. Alex Faseruk (also note that we had Hope Bear join us)
Here are some of the wonderful things that the Anglican Foundation has helped our three dioceses with over the last few years:
Today The Church Remembers Archbishop William Laud
William Laud was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 until his execution in 1645. Born at Reading on 7 October 1573, Laud went to Oxford University and eventually became a fellow of his own college, St. John’s College. In the year 1601, he was ordained first as a deacon, and then as a priest. Throughout his ordained career, William Laud enforced a very strict adherence to the Book of Common Prayer, to traditional practices such as bowing at the name of Jesus, and to the placement of the altar at the east end of the church (rather than having a table in the middle), amongst other things. He also strongly opposed the Puritans and their less catholic practices.
Laud became Archbishop of Canterbury and religious advisor to King Charles I of England. By 1640, there were lots of protests against Laud and his persecution of the Puritans. He was thrown into jail (at the Tower of London), and with the country descending into the English Civil Wars that ended the reign of Charles I, Laud went to trial. When a verdict failed to be reached, Parliament passed a bill of attainder under which he was beheaded on 10 January 1645.
Confirmation in Grand Bank
St. Paul’s Church in Grand Bay had their confirmation with the Rt. Rev’d John Organ on Sunday, December 9th, 2018. 
Christmas in Topsail
A wonderful Christmas celebration this year at St. John the Evangelist church in Topsail. For more, you’ll have to check out the February issue of Anglican Life when it’s available.
