Bishop Michael returned to the parish of St. Matthias and St Luke to preach and preside at the 10:30 am Celebration of the Eucharist for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 29, 2012.
The Bishop began his homily by saying that it had been many years since he had been to this church. He thanked the choir of All Saints, Burnaby for their leadership in worship that morning and he included thanks to Rev. Randolph Bruce, Interim Priest-in-Charge who is also the Regional Dean of Burnaby and Incumbent of All Saints, Burnaby and to Rev. Ruth Monette, the Assistant Interim Priest-in-Charge who has been ministering to the congregation since February 15th, 2012.
Bishop Michael selected the second reading, 1 John 3:16-24 for his text. He began by reminding the congregation that in our lectionary we hear the beautiful words of John’s letters only during Easter.
In his homily Bishop Michael stressed that the message John is communicating in this epistle is that the true mark of the spiritual person is engagement not disengagement.
“John’s words direct us to stand with the risen Jesus and care for the earth, feed the hungry, care for the sick and work for justice in order to achieve God’s agenda of lifting the world from despair to hope.”
A highlight of the liturgy was the Blessing of the new parish banner by the Bishop.
The previous one had gone missing and has now been replaced by a new banner made by parishioners, Helen Cheung and her mother Jennifer Cheung.
The Bishop began his homily by saying that it had been many years since he had been to this church. He thanked the choir of All Saints, Burnaby for their leadership in worship that morning and he included thanks to Rev. Randolph Bruce, Interim Priest-in-Charge who is also the Regional Dean of Burnaby and Incumbent of All Saints, Burnaby and to Rev. Ruth Monette, the Assistant Interim Priest-in-Charge who has been ministering to the congregation since February 15th, 2012.
Bishop Michael selected the second reading, 1 John 3:16-24 for his text. He began by reminding the congregation that in our lectionary we hear the beautiful words of John’s letters only during Easter.
In his homily Bishop Michael stressed that the message John is communicating in this epistle is that the true mark of the spiritual person is engagement not disengagement.
“John’s words direct us to stand with the risen Jesus and care for the earth, feed the hungry, care for the sick and work for justice in order to achieve God’s agenda of lifting the world from despair to hope.”
At the beginning of Rev. Ruth’s intercession she offered a respectful reminder of those who have gone before, the founding of St. Luke’s in 1904, the founding of St. Matthias in 1960 and the joining together of the two parishes in 1997.
The previous one had gone missing and has now been replaced by a new banner made by parishioners, Helen Cheung and her mother Jennifer Cheung.
Following the liturgy the community adjourned to the Parish Hall for a delicious lunch featuring chicken pot pies prepared by members of the parish.
Images: Top, Helen Cheung, Bishop Michael, Jennifer Cheung. Lower right, Bishop Michael and Rev. Ruth greet the congregation following worship. Homepage, Bishop Michael administers the Holy Sacraments of the Eucharist at St. Matthias and St. Luke for the first time in many years.