C H R I S T M A S I S S U E address: 62 Clyde Street, Almonte, ON K0A 1A

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1 C H R I S T M A S I S S U E Clyde Street, Almonte, ON K0A 1A address: office@stpaulsalmonte.ca The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1: 5 On the first Sunday of Advent, we sang a new song at the 11 a.m. service called Watch for the Light. The message has stayed with me since I read the words and so I asked Michael Mavis if I could use his song in my Christmas message. With all that s going on in our world this year, it s easy to forget that the light still shines in darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. Our task is to trust in God as we seek and proclaim the light. May the light of the Christ child shine in all our hearts this Christmas season and may we always seek the light of his life and allow it to illumine our world. Blessings Pat+ (and Jack) Watch for the Light Born to us, was the light, God s love made flesh, a light for all and forever You asked us, we remember, To now bear your light into the world At this time, we prepare As grey days grow short, And the autumn wanes To make room in our hearts To open ourselves to Your light once again, That this Advent we learn to pause and rest and Watch for the light, in places we gather, Watch for the light, among friends and strangers, Watch for the light, as the busyness grows, then, Proclaim the light, by the love that we show. Michael Mavis 2015 A PRAYER FOR DECEMBER Jesus, Light of the world, When I am afraid and unsure, Comfort me with the light of your presence. When loneliness chills me, Warm me with the light of your love. When the road ahead seems dark, Guide me with the light of your way. When I don t understand and my thoughts are unclear, Fill me with the light of your wisdom. When I seem spent like a candle consumed, Replenish me with the light of your life. Then, so filled with your light, use me, So that I, with you, may be light for the world. -- Fr. Wally Hycla

2 Syrian Refugee Initiatives Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (Matt. 25:40) As the plight of displaced persons becomes a global refugee crisis, churches are being encouraged to do what we can to help. Fortunately, the Diocese of Ottawa is a federal government Sponsorship Agreement Holder with a Refugee Working Group that has lots of experience with bringing refugees to Canada. St. Paul s also has history of helping in times such as these. The Rev. Canon Harry and Grace Brown had two sets of refugees living with them in the rectory following the war in Vietnam and Cambodia. In that spirit, St. Paul s has partnered with Almonte United Church to form what is known as a constituent group to sponsor a Syrian family. We are one of the 5 groups sponsoring refugees in Mississippi Mills. There are several ways to sponsor a family. Some groups are doing private sponsorship, meaning they are responsible for the full cost of the family for one year. We have chosen to go with the Blended Visa Office Referred (BVOR) program. This means that we will choose one of the families selected by the United Nations Refugee Agency for resettlement. It also means that the government provides 6 months of income support. Since it costs approximately $ to support a family of 4 or 5 for a year, our two sponsoring churches will be responsible for about $8000 each. We already have money in the Mission and Outreach portion of the 150 th Campaign Fund to cover this. In addition, folks have already begun donating to this project. Once we select a family and are accepted as the sponsor group, we let you know the make-up of the family. The Syrian Refugee Committee of Mississippi Mills has done an incredible job of identifying local support services and other resources. They have identified a number of Arabic speaking people in the area. They are also storing donated furniture and clothing As we all know, the one thing we are short of in Almonte is affordable housing. So, Parish Council consulted with the congregation about the possibility of making some changes to Parish House in order to provide an affordable home for our family. The response: 73 people said Yes, 9 said No and 3 abstained (4 votes came in late - 2 No and 2 Yes votes, effectively leaving the result unchanged) It is important to note that this is not meant to be a permanent change and does not seriously impact any development we may choose to do or not do down the road. Work on Parish House will begin once we have a building permit. The idea is to turn the kitchen into a multi-use shared office space with its own powder room. A small kitchen will be installed in the photocopy room and a shower added to the main floor bathroom. Much of the labour and material for these changes is being donated. The rest will come from money already available: $10, 000 from the Consolidated Trust Fund up to $8000 needed to make a home for the family from 150 th Campaign Fund. We hope to be finished by the end of February/early March in expectation of the sponsored family arriving some time in February. Stay tuned as this adventure in ministry continues to unfold. If you have questions or concerns or want to help, call the office or speak to Pat. If you are good with tools call Eric Hammond ( ), the Parish House Project Coordinator. Refugee Response Organizing Team Almonte United Church: Cathy Reside, Lisa Andrigo, and a growing group of volunteers. St. Paul s: Pat Martin, Wendy Shaw, Sandra Cain, Ron & Katrina Ayling, and many more!

3 St. Paul s Centre for Creative Living - A Food Bank for the Soul At our last Vestry meeting, we made a decision to explore the possibility of establishing a Centre for Creative Living as an outreach program of St. Paul s where we would provide opportunities for people to pursue some form of the arts as contemplative practice. Over the past few months sixteen people have expressed interest in this possibility. Half of this group are parishioners and half are not. Since Thanksgiving, people from this group have met three times and have drafted the following mission statement: We are a community of people who seek to deepen our capacity to live and work creatively and to provide opportunities for others to do the same. We do this by pursuing an artistic practice contemplatively, opening our hearts and minds with wonder, respect and humility to the world around us. Some of us call ourselves artists. Some do not. We would like to locate the proposed centre in the Old Registry Office across the street from the church and have identified a number of programs and activities that could take place there and also within in the church itself. Central to these would be practice circles that would focus on activities such as photography, writing, drawing, painting, music, dance. Currently five people interested in contemplative photography are meeting on Friday afternoons to explore what a practice circle would look like. In line with the parish decision to use our property resources to bless the local community, we recognize that this initiative complements the cultural plan of Mississippi Mill s, especially one of its guiding principles: Accessibility: provide cultural opportunities, resources and activities that are accessible to residents of all ages, abilities and economic circumstances. We are now in the process of discerning how best to grow this centre including a self-sustaining business plan --one that will ensure both that subsidies will be available to lower income participants and at the same time, a just wage will be paid to people who are offering programs and workshops. In sum, we want to pursue artistic activity not necessarily to become better artists but to help us listen to the stirrings of our own souls and to create spaciousness in our everyday lives to receive and express freely what is true, beautiful and good in the way we work, live and relate to one another. To me, whether or not members of this centre are ready to call creative inspiration and the surprises that occur through this process, gifts from G-d does not matter. What matters is that we awaken to what the Source of all life and love wants to do in and through us in unique ways, indeed in more ways than we can ask or imagine, to draw us into a kindom of peace, justice and integrity of creation. Sue Evans "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that... Martin Luther King Jr.

4 Thoughts from the Pews In this season of Advent, this season of contemplation, of both plenty and so little, of joy and of sorrow for many, this season of highs and lows, of new beginnings, perhaps we could take our lead from Jacob as "when (he) awoke from his sleep, he thought Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it". So in all we face "Surely the Lord is in this place" is a good place to start. This past Sunday as we sang As the deer panteth for the water / So my soul longs after thee I was reminded of this photo of my yearning pooch from a couple of years ago and his longing for the gift he was about to receive. How it mirrors my deep yearning for more, for the gift of the Peace that Passes Understanding that I know is there for all of us, if we are but open to receive it. In this holy season may we all be blessed with grace to weather the storms and love and laughter to carry us through the rest! - Claire Marson While depictions of the nativity are as old as the Church itself, the custom of having a threedimensional nativity display is said to have started with St. Francis of Assisi in the early 1200 s (featuring a real ox and donkey, needless to say). By the mid- 1500s the custom had spread across southern Europe, and by the early 1600s the tradition was established throughout the continent and England. The figures which make up the St. Paul s Crèche were donated to St. Paul s in December 1974 by the artist Doris McCarthy thanks to the efforts of her friend the late Madeleine Moir, a long-time friend of both the artist and St. Paul s. Doris McCarthy was well known for her painting of landscapes from Newfoundland to the Rocky Mountains to the Arctic. In addition, her applique banners are to be found in several churches and public buildings throughout Ontario. Ms. McCarthy originally carved the Crèche figures from white pine. They were the only wood carvings she ever completed. In fact, she had always intended to carve an angel to complete the scene, but never did so. Plaster castings of the wooden figures were created, which Ms. McCarthy then painted. A Little Story about our Crèche Figures It is believed that only two plaster sets of these figures were cast; the other set is located in St. Aidan s Anglican Church, The Beaches, Toronto, her home Parish. Ms. McCarthy passed away in November 2010 at the age of 100. The figures have become an integral part of St. Paul s Christmas celebrations. For many years, after the last service on the Third Sunday in Advent, a team of hardy parishioners would turn the main altar around, and then caring hands would set up the figures inside. These days the figures are placed under the alter table and remain until Epiphany. This Christmastide, take some time to admire these truly remarkable (and rare) pieces of Canadian Artwork. -- Michael Mavis

5 News from Pikangikum The community of Pikangikum in northern Ontario, where we support a clean water project under the aegis of PWRDF, is featured in a series of video articles on the CTV North website. These articles offer ultimately hopeful glimpses of life there. Pikangikum is the largest Aboriginal settlement in Ontario with residents and, sadly, the highest suicide rate amongst youth in Canada. The articles really bring the situation of (some) of our aboriginal neighbours to light. And provide a good insight to one community in Northern Ontario on its way to healing. Visit northernontario.ctvnews.ca and search on PIKANGIKUM to view the articles. - Ron Ayling 150th Anniversary Campaign News 150th Anniversary Campaign funds received as of November 30: $122, Thanks to all, we are nearing our goal. Web 3.0 Over the last few years, you may have noticed that St. Paul s current web site has not been working as well as it should. This has mainly been due to problems with the host site. So, a small but dedicated group will be getting together early in 2016 with a view to creating a new web site for St. Paul s. While our past experiences with the website has shown that simpler is better, we would still like to know if you have any suggestions regarding the layout or content of the new website. If so, do not hesitate to contact our office manager Cathy Reside, Deane Zeeman or Michael Mavis. We would also like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Geoff Burd for his many, many years of dedicated (and unheralded) service in providing and maintaining St. Paul s past web sites. Thank you Geoff! - Michael Mavis Synod Matters One of the Five Marks of Mission of the Anglican Church is: To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth. This mark of mission has now been incorporated into our baptismal vows. It is that spirit and a concern for climate change that this year s Diocesan synod passed four motions around fossil fuel extractions: 1) That synod direct the property and finance committee to divest the Diocese s holdings in fossil fuel extraction companies, as defined by fossilfreeindexes.com 2) That synod maintain General Synod should divest the Anglican Church of Canada s Consolidated Trust Fund and pension Fund of holdings in fossil fuel extraction companies. 3) That Synod direct Diocesan council to provide education on climate change and fossil fuel divestment at the personal, parish and diocesan levels. 4) that synod direct Diocesan Council to chart a course for complete decarbonization of all the buildings of the diocese, that will involve benchmarks and a defined set of actions. - Rev Pat Martin Thanks! To my family of St Paul's, there is thanksgiving in my heart as I look back over the past year and at the challenges my family and I faced. My faith, my family, your prayers, thoughts, flowers, food, support drives - all of these - made it possible for me to survive a horrible life experience. Thank you! - Julia Thomas And More Thanks! As I take over the reins of the St. Paul s Post, I know I have big shoes to fill. I know I speak (well, write) for many as well as myself when I extend heart-felt thanks to Jan Brazeau for her time as editor. BIG THANK YOU, Jan and best wishes for your next projects! Deane Zeeman

6 Sunday School News Our ecumenical Vacation Bible School (run cooperatively with Almonte United Church), had as its theme this year Jesus is our Greatest Treasure. A team of Pirates helped make it all a wonderful success! This fall, we have been trying new things to see what works best for our families. Each month we have a new theme with worksheets at the back of the church for the children. Once a month we get together for Sunday school and build on the theme and the worksheets. You can see the work we have done each month on display downstairs. October s theme was Children making a difference and we focused on children in the Bible. November was David s Story: From Shepherd to King. We are now starting a new theme called The Reason for the Season. So far there has been a positive response from the kids so we will probably keep going in this way throughout the winter and spring. If you know anyone with children who would like to join our Sunday school, please let Pat know. The dates for our Sunday school meetings will also be in the Bulletin. - Judy Best In Memoriam : Dr. Francis Frank Anderson In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1 In November, St Paul s said farewell to Frank Anderson, beloved husband of Robbie, a man treasured in our community for his strong faith, dry sense of humour and eagerness to question everything. The celebration of his life was unique in many respects: Frank requested that the visitation be held in the church and close with a Be Still My Soul Service, a time of meditation with prayer, readings and music; the music at the celebration of Frank s life on the following day was led by the Praise Team and the sermon was composed of extracts from Frank s geologist journals, marveling at the deep ways God s plan is revealed in rocks and soil. Is this not marvelous? that in the beginning the earth had all the natural elements to support life. God spoke and it was done... And the earth is still moving (alive). - Frank Anderson, Journals, 1947 In 2016, Easter is early. Ash Wednesday will be February 10.

7 2015 CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE SUNDAY DECEMBER 20 (PAGEANT SUNDAY) 8 a.m. BCP Communion 10 a.m. Christmas Pageant: A Super Christmas CHRISTMAS EVE: THURSDAY DECEMBER 24 6:45 p.m. Carol Sing 7 p.m. Family Service with Skit (Focus on the Manger) 9:45 p.m. Carol Sing 10:00 p.m. Sung Eucharist CHRISTMAS DAY 10 a.m. Spoken Eucharist 11:30 a.m. Community Christmas Dinner (Parish Hall) SUNDAY DECEMBER 27 8 a.m. BCP Communion 10 a.m. Iona Eucharist and Service of Intentions 11 a.m. Brunch (Parish Hall)