ST. JUDE’S ANGLICAN CHURCH, OAKVILLE

EASTER 2019 NEWSLETTER EDITION

Dear people of St. Jude’s This letter comes to you as the season of Lent is well upon us. It is the season to renew and deepen our relationship with God, and to renew the choices we make, so that we might live as Jesus taught. Traditionally, Lent is a privileged time for prayer, fasting and giving. During Lent, we seek time to pray more – alone and with others. When we fast, we usually cut back on what we eat and drink. Not only will this benefit us in a physical way, but it will also help us in our spiritual life, as we seek to understand that we depend on God to nourish us. As such we recognize the blessings we receive every day, which leads us to be ever more grateful and generous. We often give something up for lent. It can prove to be difficult and it is not intended to make our lives miserable (or the people around us). But rather boldly we have a Lenten resolve. Such tenacity is about God calling us always nearer! “Giving up” something gives us time to “take up” something of greater value. This is likely the only Lent that I will spend with you at St. Jude’s, as your pastor. Hopefully, the journey will lead us to the cross and beyond, as we walk together through holy week, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Alleluia’s of the Easter Vigil and Easter day. I wish you a blessed Lenten season during which we learn how to live freely and fully in Christ Jesus!

Jim Sutton Interim Pastor

Easter Egg Hunt – April 21

Christ is Risen! During the 9:15 service, there will

be an Easter egg hunt. The children will be split

into teams. Each team will begin to hunt for

Easter eggs but hidden with the eggs will be

verses from the Gospel. Each team will

reassemble the Gospel reading and once the

teams have succeeded they will win a prize.

Mother’s Day

Pancake Breakfast – May 12

After the 9:15am service, the children and I

will be serving pancakes for Mother’s Day!

There will be lashings of syrup, butter, fresh

fruit and cream.

Happy Easter! It’s perhaps no secret that I’m a nut for researching the origins of things that we might otherwise take for granted. If you’re a midweek attender, you’ll know this better than anyone else given the focus of my Wednesday homilies. So I’d like to share with you now a little something I’ve learned about Easter over the years- specifically about its origins (more etymologically than theologically speaking for a change), and what it really means for us in our daily lives as Christians. The most widely accepted theory of the origin of the term “Easter” is that it is derived from the name of an Old English goddess “Eostre,” mentioned by the 7th-8th century English monk Bede, who translated “Paschal month” (stemming from the Aramaic “Paskha,” or Hebrew “Pesach,” denoting the Jewish festival of the Passover, which commemorates the Exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt) into “month of Eostre.” I’m not entirely sure how this translation came to be or why it stuck (history is full of many interesting things!). Nevertheless, it HAS stuck- at least in Western Christianity, whereas in the Eastern Church this greatest-of-all-Christian-celebrations is still known today as “Pascha.” Yet we in the west haven’t ENTIRELY thrown out the word. Think, “Paschal Candle.” Most of you have known me long enough to recall that my maiden name was “Patchett.” It is an English medieval surname, but of French origins, derived from the word “Pascha” (from which the word “Pastor” also derives). Patchett is actually a diminutive form of the word, meaning “Little Easter,” and was originally given to a child born at Easter, the feast of the Passover. Throughout my time in seminary I thought that was a pretty cool last name to have, even though I was most definitely not born at Easter (it’s a moveable feast, but one that most certainly never lands in December). But I wonder if every day of the Christian calendar should not be thought of as a “little Easter”? In a way, all Sundays are (Sunday is often referred to as the “Day of Resurrection”), but if Christians are people who live their lives according to the joy and promise of Christ’s resurrection, and do so each and every day, then aren’t all days little Easters? I think so! (Fun fact: the term “Christian” is actually a diminutive form of “Christ,” which literally translates to “Little Christ.” Food for thought!) Easter ought to bring to every Christian heart new inspirations, a new revealing of hope. It ought to be easier for us to live Christ-like lives after we have enjoyed another Easter with its great lessons. A wave of comfort should roll over the Church, and through it, the world, as the day bears everywhere its news of resurrection: Death has been conquered, the grave is no longer a hopelessly sealed prison. Easter brings this message not only to the grave, but to every heart that yearns to find hope in darkness. Yet not just at the greatest-of-all-Christian-celebrations, but at EACH morning, each “Little Easter,” we Christians should rise to newness of life, and bring that witness to the world. In midwinter we need not wait for the coming of spring to celebrate the risen Christ. His resurrection should be felt wherever and whenever He is known, and loved, and followed, and (perhaps most importantly) shared. And so may the joy and witness of the risen Christ shine in our hearts and our lives, not only during this Easter season, but each and every day of the year. For only then can we hope to live each day as a “Little Easter,” and in doing so, take one step closer to living out our Christian identities as “Little Christs.” It’s a tall order, but we’ve got to start somewhere. May that somewhere find its way into our hearts today, and remain with us always. Amen. Yours in Christ, The Reverend Deanne Keatings+ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Christian Formation

Monday morning Women’s Study Group A group of women meet at 10:30 am in the Library Hall every Monday. Wednesday morning Men’s Fellowship and Breakfast Team A group of men meet at 8:00 am in the Library Hall on Wednesday mornings, Ian Howard is their coordinator. Men's Breakfast May 25 with Robin Woollard Once again in the local Holiday Inn; breakfast, companionship and an inspiring talk with Robin. Tickets for sale in the office and Sunday coffee hours. Living the Word A group of 8 to 20 9:15 parishioners meet after coffee hour on Sundays in Victoria Hall to discuss the Gospel reading and the morning’s homily. We are supported by 6 facilitators for 2019, we talk about our faith and the Gospel and how it applies to our lives. Sessions end with the start of Summer 10:00 services.

Warden’s Easter Message 2019

It is a great pleasure to greet and update fellow parishioners of St. Jude’s at this holy time.

We are an Easter people and thus although these words are composed during Lent their focus is very much the resurrection of Jesus – the promise of Easter and new life.

In between there is the agony of the cross, the questions that arise about the future… how it will unfold, what will it bring?

Coincidentally we are also approaching the first anniversary of the death of our beloved Rev. Canon Rob Fead; much has happened in the past 12 months – we still miss him.

As an Easter people we look to the future with the assurance that life goes on, that we – each, equal children of God – have a role to play in being, daily, the hands of Jesus. Via our individual and collective ministry we reflect His unconditional love for us. To each other and others in our town, country and indeed the world – His Kingdom.

Please take a moment to review the Parish Profile, on the home page at www.stjudeschurch.net . Thank you for input and commitment to the ministry of St. Jude’s.

Once again Vestry was well attended; a very informative and positive tone unfolded as together we reviewed the past ‘year’ and plans for the coming one.

Your commitment to Stewardship allows us to report that St. Jude’s finances are in a solid position. Please maintain your efforts; they are appreciated and vital.

“Comings and Goings”:-

Terri Guthrie’s extraordinary term as People’s Warden has concluded – all Terri’s commitment of time and talent were greatly appreciated and made a difference.

Brian Toogood has stepped up to serve as People’s Warden with Ann Mulvale serving as Deputy Warden.

Housekeeping:-

The roof on Victoria Hall is being replaced.

Please do not panic if some stain glass windows ‘disappear’ this summer; just regular, prudent maintenance of these wonderful assets.

Annual Fire Drill has been moved to May 5th – look for Hymn # 911 and do your part to ensure the people of St. Jude’s can evacuate the building – should that ever become necessary – in an orderly and safe manner.

Volunteer Opportunity:-

New Pictorial Church Directory needs a co-ordinator; interested?

Please speak to Peter Rughi or email: rectorswarden@stjudeschurch.net

May the certainty of God’s love enfold each of us during Holy Week, Easter celebrations with those you/we cherish, and in the worship services and outreach of St. Jude’s.

May God provide wisdom as we continue to step out in faith, empowered by the ‘radical’ love of Jesus. By God’s grace, the next “Shepherd” of the flock of St. Jude’s is being selected and Bishop Susan’s ministry continues to unfold.

As that all happens, we express our ongoing gratitude for the nurturing leadership and presence of Ven. Dr. Jim and Kathleen Sutton.

Together, we’ll be – ARE - the resurrection people Jesus calls and empowers us to be as we continue to embrace our individual and collective call to ministry. Truly He is RISEN!

Blessings,

Peter Rughi – Rector’s Warden Brian Toogood – People’s Warden Ann Mulvale – Deputy Warden

Palm Crosses

will be made on

Friday April 12th

at 9:30 a.m. in

Library Hall.

Please bring your

own scissors. All

are welcome!

If you would like to make a

donation towards flowers for

Easter, please make cheque

payable to St. Jude’s with a

note for Easter flowers, if you

would like to make it a memorial, use the specially

marked envelopes in the office hallway. Thank you!

In accordance with Vestry, a DRAFT copy of the minutes of the vestry meeting held on February 24th are available in the Church office.

Newcomer Family Update

April 5th will be the two-year anniversary of Newcomer Family’s arrival in Oakville. They are now well on their way to becoming independent and self-confident in their new home, thanks to the financial support from the Diocese, the generous donors and all the many volunteers from St. Jude’s and St. Simon’s. The Diocese sponsorship will end on the two-year anniversary date, but volunteers are still active as they continue to help them overcome all the hurdles of an entirely new culture and language.

The Dad continues to work at his job, and enjoys it. He is even helping a newcomer workmate with English, and with adjusting to Canada. The children are progressing well in English and at school, with the ongoing help of a volunteer and a tutor from St. Jude’s. A volunteer from St. Simon’s organizes rides for the older boy from evening classes, as well as helping wherever there is a need, along with other members of both Parishes. He is ambitious and, like many other 16-year-olds, has a part-time job to help with expenses. He has his G1 and is looking forward to driving one day. The middle boy (13) has made remarkable strides in English and in school. The little girl (7) is completely proficient in English but had been having difficulty in reading. However, with the help of volunteers, she is making noticeable progress. A generous donor provided funds for her so that she could have skates, and she tells me she has learned how to skate and loves it.

The Mom is continuing to attend English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in speaking, grammar, and reading, and in the evenings she practices English with the children. A St. Jude’s volunteer is also helping her with her English studies. Now that her English has improved and she is at Level 4 in ESL, she is hoping to attend a childcare course so that she can work in that field.

Donors and volunteers from both parishes, with their financial and volunteering support, have been successful in helping them transition their lives from war-torn Syria to the safety and wellbeing of their new home in Canada, and should be aware that their kindness and generosity is recognized and greatly appreciated by the family. They refer to us as “Our Canadian Family”.

Next Craft Café Saturday April 6th 10 to noontime in the Helen

Poole Library Hall. Coffee, cake,

conversation and craft. Come and

make jeweled and marbled eggs

for Easter! ALL are welcome.

St. Jude’s Garden Guild

Spring has officially arrived and with it we can take a sigh of relief that our Canadian winter is almost over. Mother Nature has been known to share with us one last reminder of months past but there are definite signs of buds and new growth in the gardens. The days are getting longer, migratory birds have started their journey north and even the chipmunks have come out from their winter caverns. The members of the Garden Guild have had their opening spring meeting and are excited about the beginning of the season and another year in the beautiful gardens surrounding St. Jude’s Church. We are all volunteers with a passion for gardening and always welcome anyone who would enjoy spending a few hours on Thursday’s and working with us in the gardens. As a reminder our annual Plant Sale this year is May 11th from 8:30am to 11:30am and we suggest that you come early for the best choice from an extensive collection of perennials and herbs and tomatoes. All the proceeds from the sale go back into the garden for the overall maintenance and upkeep for the enjoyment of everyone who walks through. If you are splitting or removing any plants from your own gardens keep us in mind for the sale…....we will even come and help you dig. For more information you can email Cath Sparling, President at csparling42@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you.

PASTORAL OFFICES

Marriages

Brown/Hicks December 8, 2018 Cross/Henderson January 19, 2019

Funerals

Mizbah, Helene November 22, 2018 Cherrier, Marilyn December 11, 2018 Kettleborough, Patrick January 4, 2019 Mann, Leslie February 22, 2019 Aitken, Pamela March 21, 2019

Baptisms

Van Der Merwe, Hannah January 13, 2019 Jones, Spencer January 13, 2019

Tickets are $20.00 each and are

available on Sundays or in the

Church office or online at

www.OakvilleConcerts.com

ANNUAL PLANT SALE

St Jude’s Church Garden Guild Saturday, May 11, 2019

8:30am to 11:30am We have an EXTENSIVE SELECTION OF

PERENNIALS and HERBS For complete information about the sale, go

to www.stjudeschurch.net and follow the link BRINGING CARTONS TO TAKE YOUR

PURCHASES HOME HELPS US TO REDUCE LANDFILL

WITH PURCHASES OVER $50, YOUR NAME WILL BE

ENTERED INTO A DRAW. Some of the prizes include a gift

card to a local restaurant, local nurseries and this year one of the prizes will be a painting by R Mills

who created this flyer drawing. Thanks Ronnie!

SATURDAY, May 4

8:30 to 11:30 am We need your donations of gently used clothing,

footwear, household items and décor, toys, books,

linens, sporting goods, small electronics and col-

lectables. Please bring your donations to the

church after April 29th !

Donation of items may be left at the Church beginning

the week of April 29th

From Simon Walker, Director of Music:

The St Jude’s Choirs are once again looking forward to

Holy Week and Easter. It is a time when the music takes

on a particularly evocative role within our devotions

and worship, so rehearsals are now well underway for

all of the major liturgies. The 9:15 choir look forward to

leading the music on Maundy Thursday at 7pm, and on

Good Friday and Easter Sunday at the 9:15am services.

The 11am Choir will be leading the music at the

Saturday Easter Vigil at 8pm, and the 11am services on

Good Friday at Easter Sunday.

In addition, this year we are planning a special service

of Tenebrae for Palm Sunday at 8pm. It literally means

‘the darkness’ in which psalms and readings are sung

from office of Lauds and Mattins of the last three days

of Holy week. In an atmosphere of quiet meditation,

candles are gradually extinguished so that the whole

church is eventually left in darkness. At the very end a

harsh noise is made to signify the earthquake which

followed Christ’s death, and a single lit candle is

returned to the sanctuary, after which all silently depart

into the night. The service we have devised is in a

shortened form and, I anticipate that it will be about

one hour in length.

After Easter, the 11am

choir will be busy

preparing an enormous

amount of music to take to

Winchester Cathedral and

Romsey Abbey, UK, where

we will be singing daily

services from July 28th to

August 4th. We are hugely

looking forward to this

opportunity, and we will

be presenting much of the tour music in a special

Celebration of the Arts Concert, “A Winchester

Preview” on Saturday May 25th at 8pm. The ticket

prices for this concert are reduced from the normal

price to $20. We will also be showcasing our amazing

bass lead Kyle Guglielmo, who will be singing Vaughan

Williams’ Five Mystical Songs and Finzi’s song cycle ‘Let

us garlands bring’.

We have our usual monthly Evensong services

coming up on May 17th and June 9th (NB, it’s on the

second Sunday of June due to the Father’s day

weekend holiday) where we’ll be singing some of

the canticle settings that we are taking with us to

Winchester. We will also be taking the choir to St

James’ Cathedral in Toronto, to sing evensong

together with the cathedral choir on June 30th at

4:30pm. The last choir day of the season at St

Jude’s will be on June 23rd when we have the parish

picnic, and that will be one last chance to hear

some of the music that we are taking on the tour

before enjoying fellowship at the barbeque in the

garden that follows.

I wish you all a blessed Holy week and a happy

Easter.

Parish Picnic – June 23

$5/ person or $20/family

After the 10am service, we will be having our annual Parish Picnic. We will be serving hot dogs and there

will be games for the children!

________________________________________________________________________________________

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

Date: August 12 – 16

Time : 9 am – 3:30pm

Ages: 5 – 11 years old

Youth volunteers: 12+

$80/child & $50/second sibling & $20 for third sibling

Registration and payment online on Eventbrite

Dear Families,

During To Mars and Beyond VBS, your children will enjoy an interactive, energizing, Bible-based good time

as they explore where God’s power can take them. They will become Voyagers and discover how to serve

God and God’s mission for their lives.

After an Opening Assembly time, Voyagers make their way to the Bible Story Station. Interactive Bible les-

sons reveal Power Launcher (key learnings) to equip them for an active life with God. The Voyagers will also

discover our Vector Verse (Bible memory verse), Ephesians 3:20 – Glory to God, who is able to do far be-

yond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us!

Students will expand on their discoveries by making their own art projects at the Craft Station, exploring the

wonders of creation at the Science Station, playing games at the Recreation Station, and enjoying tasty

treats at the Snack Station. Along the way, the Voyagers will hear about our mission project and respond to

a call for action!

Blast Off on this Epic Adventure with Us!

We are looking for youth volunteers and adult volunteers to help run VBS. The youth volunteers would be

here from 8:30am – 4pm and it would be an excellent opportunity for the youth to collect volunteer hours.

The youth would be with each group of children helping during activities and moving with the groups of chil-

dren from activity to activity.

The adult volunteers would be in two shifts; in the morning from 8:45am – 12:30pm and from 12pm – 4pm

in the afternoon. The adult volunteers will have specific station and activity for which they are responsible.

The stations include Crafts, Science, Snack, Recreation in the morning. In the afternoon the activities are

movies, taking the children to the park, running an escape room and supervising water play in the garden. If

you are not available August 12 – 16 we could also use volunteers to help us decorate!

SUNDAY OF THE PASSION (PALM SUNDAY) – April 14

8:00 am Said Eucharist

9:15 am Blessing and Procession of Palms, Holy Eucharist

11:00 am Blessing and Procession of Palms, Holy Eucharist

8:00 pm Tenebrae Worship

TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY – April 16 & 17

7:00 pm Holy Eucharist

MAUNDY THURSDAY – April 18

7:00 pm Lord’s Supper and Stripping of the Altar

GOOD FRIDAY – April 19

9:15 am Family Good Friday Liturgy

11:00 am Solemn Good Friday Liturgy

The Passion, The Prayers, The Cross and

Holy Communion.

HOLY SATURDAY – April 20

8:00 pm The Great Vigil of Easter

The ancient ritual begins in darkness. The striking of a new Easter fire breaks the darkness as we hear and sing the history of our salvation. We renew our baptismal covenant and share the feast of Easter. Resurrection reception follows.

EASTER DAY – April 21

8:00 am Said Eucharist

9:15 am Choral Eucharist

11:00 am Choral Eucharist