Keeping in touch on Tuesday - December 15th, 2020

In-Person Worship: Sundays at 10 a.m.

If you would like to register for this coming Sunday December 20th, please fill in and submit this form.

Pre-Registration for Christmas Services

Blue Christmas Service - Sunday, December 20th at 3 p.m.: Register here.

Christmas Eve - Thursday, December 24th at 5 p.m.: Register here.

Friday, December 25th at 10 a.m.: Register here.

Readers and Intercessors Needed

Thank you very much to those who have volunteered to read these last weeks!

We have a reader for this Sunday, December 20th, 2020, and for Christmas Eve.

If you plan to attend in-person worship, and are willing to read at the Blue Christmas Service on Sunday, December 20th at 3 p.m., or to read or lead the prayers on December 25th (Christmas Day, 10 a.m.), December 27th (10 a.m.), or January 3rd (10 a.m.), please email Rev. Victoria.

Christmas Flowers

You may make a donation for Christmas flowers using the envelopes in the Narthex at in-person worship, or through CanadaHelps. If you would like to offer flowers in memory of a loved one, please email name(s) to Rev. Victoria.

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Virtual Gathering
Wednesdays 11 a.m.

A Service of the Word with Lectio divina (Scripture Meditation) on the Gospel for Sunday.

Click here for the Zoom link. Click here for the order of service.

Virtual Social Hour: Time to Talk!

Click here to join the Zoom social hour this Thursday, December 17th, at 5:00 p.m.!

During this social hour, we can share stories, concerns, joys, hopes and sorrows, requests for prayer, and there is a way to wander, mix and mingle on Zoom, as well, just as we used to do! You can leave whenever you like!

Hope to see you on Thursday! Feel free to be in touch with Anne with questions: Anne Wright: 613-791-5494 anne@change-artistry.com

When's the Best Time for you for Virtual Story-Telling Time in January?

As a way of staying connected during this time, we are replacing this fall's St. Luke's Virtual Social Hour with St. Luke's Virtual Story-Telling Time. We would like to find a time and day that works for more people. To find out more about the idea, click here. We warmly invite you to participate in the Virtual Story-Telling Time whenever you can as a story-teller or a listener. Here's a link to a survey to find out what time works best for most, and whose story you'd like to hear, and whether you're open to sharing your story. Please complete this survey by December 27 at 5 PM (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9CCMVB8). Many thanks and we look forward to seeing you there.

Heather Mallett and Anne Wright

Rev. Victoria's Homilies on YouTube

Sunday, December 13th, 2020
The Third Sunday of Advent
Readings: ISAIAH 61:1-4, 8-11; CANTICLE 18 (LUKE 1:47-55); 1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-24; JOHN 1:6-8, 19-28

Unfortunately, a technical glitch means that there is no recording of Rev. Victoria's homily from in-person worship. You can look forward to recordings resuming next week!

You can still read it here. You can also find previous week's homilies on the St. Luke's YouTube channel.

A Construction Update

Construction is well underway- here are pictures taken today!

Christmas Gifts for St. Luke’s Table

Gifts cards at Christmas are a highlight for many at St. Luke's Table. This year, you are invited to purchase $10 gift cards from McDonald's, Giant Tiger, Tim Horton's and Shopper's Drug Mart. Getting the cards to St. Luke's is a little more challenging than in previous years, and it is probably best to send them in by mail. You may also make a monetary contribution for the purchase of gift cards. Your generosity is very much appreciated and thank you to those who have already sent in cards! Please feel free to be in touch with Rev. Victoria if you have questions.

Advent and Christmas at St. Luke's

Each week of Advent, stones painted with Advent symbols painted on them will be available at St. Luke's, St. Martin's, All Saints, and Julian of Norwich and the four parishes will hold each other in prayer. This is offered as a tangible reminder that even as we continue our pandemic response and cannot all join together in person, we can join together in prayer and devotion. The prayer will be included at in-person worship and in the newsletter. The stones will be handled carefully, with pandemic safety protocols in mind.

A "Blue Christmas" Service at St. Luke's

"Blue Christmas" is a gentle, contemplative liturgy for those who are carrying pain or loss in the Christmas season. St. Luke's will offer this service on Sunday, December 20th, 2020 at 3:00 p.m.
Pre-registration is required: Click here to register.

A Virtual Winter Solstice Labyrinth Walk

A Winter Solstice Labyrinth Walk has been recorded in our beloved space at St. Luke's, and is now being edited! It will be available online before December 21st, 2020.

Are you feeling anxious about Christmas?

As we enter the season of Advent and Christmas draws closer, many of us will find ourselves feeling worried or anxious about what Christmas will be like as we continue our pandemic response. Reverend Victoria is available by phone (613-698-6083) or Zoom to listen, talk, and pray with you.

Would you like to connect with another member of the community but aren’t sure how to reach them? Contact Helen Cathcart at familylibrarian@yahoo.ca, or leave a message on the church answering machine and we’ll make the connection.
We can get through this together!

Strange New World,” a show about understanding the Bible, the world’s most influential, misunderstood book — a podcast tailor-made for skeptics, believers, and everybody in between. Listen to a four-part series on Understanding Christmas here.

Recommended Reading

Rev. Victoria mentioned RIchard Rohr's writing on true and false self in her homily on Sunday. Here are two of his books that might interest you if you want to read more.

Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life