The only recognition to me, of fall approaching is the rapid shortening of our days and the resurgence of activities here at St. John the Evangelist, Topsail.
I think the first sign was the opening of our ACW meetings and the coming together for fellowship after the summer hiatus.
However, the actual resumption started off with a flourish on September 16, exhibiting both secular and spiritual connotations.
It was a day that the Anglican Church Women catered to a special afternoon tea in recognition of the 50th Anniversary of our Town’s inception, where boundaries unite the communities from Seal Cove to Topsail.
Some very artistic members of the congregation appropriately decorated the hall with balloons and banners representative of the occasion, including photos of all the mayors who have served in the last half century.
Neighbouring church families joined us in the celebration, as well as many enthusiasts from outside our beautiful town of CBS. 

ACW president, Betty Hiscock, chaired the event together with banquet organizer, Shirley Glynn, while our Canon, the Rev’d Jotie Noel, welcomed everyone and delivered the thanksgiving and grace. 

We were honoured to have as our guest speaker the second mayor of the town, Kelvin Fowler, a lifetime member of St. John the Evangelist Church, who briefed us on the town’s initial ambitions during his tenure at its helm. Then, our current mayor, Daren Bent, updated the audience on current activities, while yours truly injected the usual bit of nostalgia. 

The Rev’d Greg Mercer and his associate displayed the usual expertise by providing musical entertainment for the evening, with photos and video by our own artists Sharon Smith and Pauline Noel. 

Before our decorations were dismantled and Bone China stored for the next special event, we were already in the preliminary stages of preparation for the lasagna dinner take out, flea market, and fall fair, scheduled for September 30, October 21, and November 4, respectively. 

Thanks to the cooperation and enthusiasm of our parishioners who volunteer and work together for the glory of God—our commitments will surely come to fruition.

Your people shall be volunteers In the day of your power
In the beauties of holiness.
Psalm 110: 3

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“Our new church, when completed in a year or so, will stand as a monument of our zeal and perseverance. But we have to keep the plate moving and the needles going.”

While the church women of that time held no church positions on the vestry, and while they were still called by their husbands’ Christian names, they did maintain the power and autonomy over the money they raised for the church. And while they were described in terms that by today’s codes of language would be considered condescending (the Diocesan of 1904 once described Upper Gullies Sewing Circle as “that praiseworthy little band of women”), people of the day honoured the women’s work.

Old church records show that while plans for the new church occupied the most attention, other issues still had to be dealt with. At the turn of the century members of the congregation were expected to bring stakes or rails to maintain the cemetery fence. The constancy of human nature meant that wasn’t always accomplished and at the 1900 annual meeting it was decided that truants in this matter would have to pay a dollar anytime they wanted to open a grave. In 1901 Rev’d Petley had to remind the congregation of its unfulfilled promise to provide hay for his horse: “but no steps were taken to mend the matter.”

But records show that on the whole people did pull together. Men gave freely of their labour to build the new church, fitting the work into the seasonal rhythms of their other employment. For instance, the Rev’d E.K.H. Caldwell asked men of his congregation in 1904 to try and dig the trench for the new church walls “ some time between caplin and hay time.” Men cut much of the wood for the building on Salmonier Line and hauled it by horse to the site in the winter. They pulled logs over the ice on the bay between Holyrood and Lance Cove. One account has it that as the horses came ashore at Doyle’s Road one evening, the ice shifted, leaving the way they had come through Lance Cove Bight, nothing but water. The men lost no time attributing their good fortune to the fact that they had been working for the Church.

(The final article will relate a tragic event that occurred while the church was nearing completion as well as the laying of the cornerstone and consecration of the Church)
This article is based on information researched, appropriately referenced and presented to the Parish by a committee of the Church for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of the church in 1905. 

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Recently, I attended a small gathering at a local church and the purpose of the gathering was to hold a ticket draw as a fundraiser. The ticket draw took place on a Saturday morning. Tea, coffee, sandwiches and cookies were served to those who came for the ticket draw. The gathering was about 15 people. These people came for a couple of hours. We all sat around a table chatting and laughing, sharing stories from the week and reminiscing about those who were missing from the last ticket draw. 

For two hours, young and old spent time together. Some fantasized about what they would do if they won. Some spoke about children and grandchildren while others discussed the weather. No subject seemed out of place and yet nothing in particular was discussed. It was just a gathering of people to verify the ticket draw. Yet, during those two hours, something spectacular happened!

This small gathering was a great example of fellowship! That Saturday morning lifted my spirits for quite some time after the gathering was over. Although the following week was a challenge for me, I found myself thinking of that morning with those dedicated parishioners. The friendship I felt from those people and the sense of community was so powerful. I really didn’t expect a ticket draw to have any lasting effect on me, but it did. I realized that it was the coming together of people which affected me the most!

This small church gathering provided the fellowship that many have been missing. At one time, going to the church for an evening or afternoon, may have been the only entertainment provided in many communities but as time as gone on, these church activities have become fewer and fewer. Without church activities, community fellowship opportunities have become fewer and fewer. People, even church members, no longer have that sense of community and therefore, people feel less and less connected to those around them.

Our Lord and Saviour promised us “where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them.” Jesus wants us to come together and spend time with each other. He doesn’t necessarily want us to only do this in a formal church service every Sunday. Jesus wants us to use every opportunity to come together as a community, so we all feel a part of his glorious presence! 

Our world seems to promote our differences these days but as Christians, Jesus reminds us that being his followers, we should focus coming together in fellowship instead of separating and being alone.

God Bless you all.

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The Baptismal Font—our entry into the church and its life of faith and faithfulness—represented the springtime of our lives. At the south transept, which houses the cathedral choir, we celebrated the joyful music of summer and our rich liturgical tradition, while the Lychgate Entrance (autumn) helped us  focus on all who enter the church, whether the curious or the committed. At the Lady Chapel, we contemplated the winter of our lives, both the joys and challenges of winter weather and the many phases of aging.

Lastly, at the Altar, we gave thanks for all that the Creator has given us, but also prayed for those who are dealing with the vengeance of nature. The prayers ended with a plea for forgiveness for wrongs done and a request for guidance to “give our lives in service to the Creator.”

Throughout the Season of Creation, prayers, sermons, and hymns referred to various aspects of creation, and each week the congregation sang a Season of Creation hymn: “Crashing Waters at Creation” by the late Sylvia Dunstan. This hymn highlights the life-giving waters of creation, the liberating waters of the Red Sea, the covenantal waters of baptism, and the never-ending living water that makes us whole.

During the coffee hour that followed the Eucharist, there were numerous expressions of gratefulness for the prayerwalk. Holding it in the sanctuary ensured that all could participate.

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There is little information in the resource to indicate either the date of writing, publishing, or compilation, although some individual articles and prayers do indicate a date, the earliest being 1983. Some of it also includes material going back centuries. Whatever its date, so much of the material is still current, if not timeless. 

Case in point is a litany of reflection on Matthew 4:18-22 where Jesus called the first disciples and Matthew 10:1-16, when Jesus sent out the twelve, saying to them, “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near’.” The source of that litany is CommPac Facilitators Manual, Commission on Stewardship, National Council of the Churches of Christ. The litany itself focuses on Jesus’ call to the disciples and includes, in part, these statements: “When Jesus needed disciples, he called ordinary people like you and me to be with him and to share in his ministry. When Jesus called his disciples, he put them in clusters so that they would not be alone. In those clusters, Jesus taught them many things and sent them out to share their experience. When Jesus sent out his disciples, he assured them of the presence of God’s Spirit which would make their service effectual.” Each of these statements is followed by a response. 

All around us, we hear about discipleship—from the Anglican Communion, the Lambeth calls and many dioceses in our country, including our own Diocese of Western Newfoundland and Labrador Straits. For the past year, we have been learning about what discipleship is and what being a disciple entails. In October, the Discipleship Campaign in our Diocese moved from training to reaching out to all who identify as Anglicans to invite them to a fellowship meal with teaching based on the fruits of the Spirit. Using the theme “Be disciples, make disciples,” our Diocese has chosen to focus on what it means to be a follower of Christ and is intentional about sharing that message. That litany on Matthew’s Gospel speaks clearly to what is involved in being a disciple of Jesus and to how we live into that discipleship—we are ordinary people, called to share in God’s ministry to the world, we do so in community supporting one another, learning from Jesus and reaching out to others, and all of it done, not in our own strength, but through the power of God’s Spirit. It is no surprise that we hear of this emphasis on discipleship from so many places as it goes to the heart of who we are as God’s people and what we are called to do and be.

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First, let us consider Abraham’s firstborn son. When Abraham was 86, he had a son named Ishmael by his wife Sarah’s Egyptian handmaid Hagar (Genesis 16:16). That was Sarah’s idea (Genesis 16:2). Any children born would be counted as the children of the wife. Then, Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 (Genesis 21:1-5). When Isaac was weaned, Ishmael mocked the child at the celebration, Sarah demanded that her husband to send Hagar and Ishmael away (Genesis 21:10).  Later, God promised to make Ishmael into a great nation (Genesis 21:18).

Upon Abraham’s death, he left everything to Isaac, but Ishmael did help his half-brother bury their father (Genesis 25:9). Ishmael had twelve sons (Genesis 25:13-16), and these became the rulers of twelve peoples who settled in northern Arabia along the main caravan route between Egypt and Assyria (Genesis 25:18). Later, others settled in the Arabian Peninsula as well, including the descendants of Keturah’s sons (I Chronicles 1:32-33) and some of Esau’s descendants, among them the Amalekites (Genesis 36:12). Thus, it is unlikely that all of those in Arabia are descendants of Ishmael. However, many Arabs living in many parts of today’s world are descended from Ishmael.

Second, let us consider Isaac’s Esau. Esau was Abraham’s grandson, the older twin born to Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 25:25). Esau gave up his birthright when his twin brother Jacob asked for it (Genesis 25:29-34). When Isaac neared the end of his life and was blind, Jacob pretended to be Esau to get Esau’s blessing from Isaac (Genesis 27:29). When Isaac realized Jacob had deceived him, he could not do anything, except saying that Esau would eventually “throw (Jacob’s) yoke from off your neck” (Genesis 27:40). This prophecy was fulfilled when Esau’s descendants revolted against Jacob’s descendants (II Kings 8:20).

Esau wanted to kill his brother, but Jacob escaped (Genesis 28:5). Ironically, Esau married Ishmael’s daughter Mahalath, in addition to the wives he already had (Genesis 28:9). Twenty years later, Esau and Jacob made peace (Genesis 33:4). But Esau’s descendants, the Edomites (also called Idumeans), never got along with Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites.

Third, let us consider Lot’s Moab. Lot was the nephew of Abraham and he went to Canaan with his uncle. When they came to Bethel, they parted company. Lot settled his family near the sinful city of Sodom (Genesis 13:12). Fast forward to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot had lost everything when Sodom was destroyed. He lived in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters (Genesis 19:30). It was here that the daughters devised a plan to continue the family line: they got Lot so drunk to have sex with him (Genesis 19:31-32). Both women became pregnant. The older daughter gave birth to Moab. Moab would become the father of the Moabites (Genesis 19:37).

Fourth, let us consider Lot’s Ben-Ammi. When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness, Lot and his two daughters fled to the hill country on the southern end of the Dead Sea. Then, the daughters had sex with the drunken father. The younger daughter gave birth to Ben-Ammi. Ben-Ammi would become the father of the Ammonites (Genesis 19:38). Under King Saul’s leadership, Israel made the Ammonites vassals. After the split of Israel and Judah, the Ammonites began to ally themselves with the enemies of Israel. Sometime during the Roman period, the Ammonites seem to have been absorbed into Arab society.

The God, who sees the past, the present, and the future at a single moment, chose Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, but not Ishmael, Esau, Moab and Ben-Ammi. It was of grace and not of works that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph were chosen. Salvation is due entirely to God’s grace, so that it depends on nothing in humans. Please note that we are still responsible to God for what we do. We are responsible for a proper use of the life and gifts God gives us.

God can bless all peoples through Abraham. But all people including the descendants of Abraham, Ishmael, Esau, Moab and Ben-Ammi need to hear the message of hope and salvation through Jesus.

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This young woman had been shuffled between 17 foster homes before ending up homeless and couch surfing. Although she didn’t feel safe or happy, Leanna’s anxiety about living in an empty, unfurnished house prevented her from finding housing. 

It wasn’t until she heard of Home Again Furniture Bank that Leanna felt hopeful and motivated to find safe, stable housing. Knowing she could receive furniture – for free – meant Leanna could finally start to dream of a different and better future. 

Since that time, things previously impossible have become possible for Leanna: for more than two years, Leanna has maintained housing, a full-time job and a volunteer position on a Board of Directors. Leanna says, “Thank you. But thank you doesn’t seem big enough… my life started over.” 

Thanks to recent support from the Anglican Foundation of Canada for Making Dreams Possible, more people like Leanna will receive a bed to sleep in and the possibility of a better life. 

Every day, Home Again Furniture Bank receives new requests for items as basic as a bed to sleep in and a table to share a meal around. And every week, our volunteers deliver life-changing furniture to people throughout the Northeast Avalon region. 

More and more of our neighbours find themselves struggling without furniture basics: since 2021, Home Again has experienced a dramatic 38% increase in furniture requests. And with virtually every new request, at least one bed is needed. 

The generosity of the Anglican Foundation of Canada will be a tremendous help to those waiting for a bed. You too can have a life-changing impact on the lives of our neighbours. Your donation today will ensure the continued free delivery of the furniture needed to live with comfort, stability and dignity. 

Maureen Lymburner, Director of Development (709) 325-0072 maureenlymburner@homeagainfb.com 

To make a donation to Home Again Furniture Bank, you can look for them online at: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/homeagainfb_donate

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“The Board was pleased to be able to support both of these projects in the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador,” says Dr. Scott Brubacher, Executive Director, AFC. “This is the third grant to Home Again since 2020 for a total of $45,000 in funding. And the project at St. Paul’s was celebrated by the Grants Committee as a ‘very creative solution to food insecurity in the community.’” 

Also noteworthy in this grant cycle was the approval of the first-ever Category C grant of $50,000 to the Huron Farmworkers Ministry (HFM) in the Diocese of Huron. It is also the largest-ever grant in AFC history. Category C grants of up to $50,000 were created by the AFC Board in 2022 to enable AFC to be a more flexible funding partner in cases where a diocese might want to rally around a single transformational project in any given year. 

“There was a real sense of excitement at the Board meeting in being able to wholeheartedly support this incredible outreach ministry to more than 5,000 migrant workers across the Diocese of Huron,” says Brubacher. “It was poignant, too, to see a community ministry like this as the first-ever Category C grant recipient.” In recent years AFC has driven its granting program to new heights by intentionally shifting the balance of funding in favour of Community Ministries, which now comprise more than one third of AFC’s funding since 2010. 

Brubacher says that while the Huron Farmworkers Ministry is unique, it shares much in common with the increasing number of community ministries across Canada—including Home Again—that are coming to AFC for assistance to grow and expand. “On behalf of the Board, I can say that it is our great pleasure and privilege to support them.” 

During his address to General Synod delegates this past June, Brubacher highlighted Home Again as emblematic of the “spirit of compassion to serve the vulnerable” that many of these ministry share. “They are often born in the basement of one of our Anglican churches to meet a pressing community need. These ministries get nurtured by a small group of clergy and laity, until they are ready to flourish in the world as beacons of hope and hospitality.” 

Brubacher explains that as this list of Anglican-led community ministries grows longer every year, AFC’s “call to enable and support them will become more pressing and urgent every year as well.” 

Since 2010, AFC has awarded $335,000 to 79 applicants in all three NFLD dioceses. Community Ministries currently comprise about 17% of that total. “We hope that more parishes in the three dioceses will begin to see AFC as a funding partner for their outreach activities, as well as for Diverse Infrastructure projects. There is so much more we can do to fund transformational ministry across Canada.” 

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