silence, song and prayer

     I recently attended the Youth Pop-Up Choir event at Holy Trinity. It was surprisingly fun! I say surprising because I was definitely at the upper end of the age range but it turns out that music and smiles transcend all those self-imposed limitations. Though our group was small, we were willing, and under the expert care and leadership of our Music Director Maria Golas we learned to sing two songs. The first was unknown to me  and was a Congolese folk song called "Banaha" which we learned to sing in rounds. It sounds easy but it isn't because you must keep to your own words and music without being affected by people across the room singing different words and notes. The second was "Let It Be" by Paul McCartney, which some of us learned to sing in harmony which is also not as easy as it sounds. Both were fun and challenging for different reasons but we were pretty impressed with the results and had a good time. Maria managed to fit in a few games like "...

     Lately I have noticed how inspiring and interesting the stories are of our newer parishioners and how they came to be part of the congregation at the Church of the Holy Trinity. I have heard them on Stewardship Sundays and at Parish Council meetings. I have heard them at coffee hour and when greeting on Sunday mornings. What they all have in common is that moment when someone walked through our front door and decided that they were home.      I would love to see these stories in our newsletter; they are so encouraging and instructive. They help us to welcome our new parishioners, they inspire to continue to welcome newcomers and they are indicative of what we are doing right—- sharing God’s love in a world that sorely needs it.       If you have a story to tell, please share it with us.  We would like to hear how you came to be part of our congregation and if you have a photo that you would like to share, please do! We are so h...

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Last night at Silent Prayer I became exceedingly aware of all the names inscribed on the walls and windows of our beautiful church. Whether they be on the bottom of the stained glass windows or on the various plaques commemorating the furnishings of Holy Trinity or the ashes that have been interred there, there are hundreds of names. These people are silent witnesses to the grace and glory of God from years ago in our very own community. There are so many people involved in the history of our church, from the achingly sad memorials to the glad givings of past parishioners. Our beautiful, jubilant Resurrection themed west-facing stained glass window includes Jesus’ words found in Matthew 28:20. I know that others like me have taken comfort in these words from Jesus’ Great Commission: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and...

“Be still and know that I am God…..” This line has been resonating in me since Lent began and for the first night of our Silent Prayer it seemed particularly apt. In the Book of Alternative Services I found this prayer: “O God of Peace, who taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence, shall be our strength; by the might of your Spirit lift us we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” This prayer is found in the section marked Ministry to the Sick but for me it is applicable today and particularly during Lent. This is where it comes from in the Bible, in Psalm 46:10: “Be still, then and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Sitting quietly in a pew I have never sat in before or walking the Stations of the Cross over and over again, I experienced the church in a way that I never have before. We had thrown the outside door wide...

  I’ve been praying a lot recently, more even than usual. I’m also reading a book about prayer; how to pray, specifically. In learning to pray The Lord's Prayer, the prayer that Jesus taught us all, with greater intentionality and purpose I find every line new and fresh although I have been repeating this prayer, over and over, my whole life through. In times of need, fear, loss, sadness and joy this uncomplicated exhortation covers all the bases and yet children can learn it, simply and easily.      What I also find interesting today is that the commandment given by Jesus to treat others as you yourself would want to be treated, which is in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, is not a concept specific to Judeo Christian religions only but exists in so many different religions and cultures in the world. A handout from the Surrey Interfaith Council beautifully illustrates what we call "the Golden Rule" or "the  summary of the Law and the Prophets, representing a cor...

     I remember as a little girl taking a very small amount of money and putting it in the offering plate at church on Sundays. I think that that was how I realized how churches operate; that churches needed our money to heat the building, to pay the minister and to buy the cookies for after the service. When our girls were small, they too brought a quarter or two to put in the collection--- in fact, it was a very important job to carry the offering plate from Sunday School around to the back of the church and then to proceed up that long aisle in the centre with the adults that were carrying the church collection, and to hand it up to the server to be blessed with everyone else's donation. Our daughters longed for it to be their turn and felt very special when doing it. It was a big, exciting opportunity that probably felt less big and less exciting the older they got or the more they did it....      Still, some things have not changed. Churches still need...