Advent Season

This past Sunday was the First Sunday of Advent!

As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, Fr. David is hosting an Advent Study held at St. Joseph's on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 pm.

These 4 weeks in Advent will focus on the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Through food, video and scripture, we will experience the journey of Joseph and Mary, as we all await the birth of the Christ child. 

There are still 3 more weeks to go, so please come out and join us! 
All are welcome!

Deacon's Blog

So here I am, after all this time preparing to become a deacon, I have finally arrived.  But where have I arrived? 

It’s a bit of a shock to realize I haven’t arrived anywhere.  It’s more like I’ve finally been allowed to get on the bus; the journey is just beginning. With all the focus being on ordination, it was easy to forget that being ordained only gave me permission to be a deacon; it didn’t make me a deacon. 

 What makes for being a deacon is serving; serving the community of St Joseph and the community at large.  I suspect that the first six months of this new life (and yes, being ordained is like starting a new life) will be ‘on the job training’. Please try to be patient with me. Most of the instructions that come with this job are rather sketchy, and I will need a lot of help figuring out what I am meant to become. 

 In the meantime please feel free to give me your input (like I need to give St Joseph people permission to tell me what they think…ha). I will try to make entries to this blog every week or two. Telling you what I am up to and what I think is important for you to know.  A deacon needs to open up the doors of the church; so that the community can see in, and the congregation can see out.  I promise to do my best.

Peace and all good,

Mark…

Stayed Tuned for New Blog Posts from Our Deacon

On October 6, 2013, Mark Stephen was ordained into the Sacred Order of Deacons at St. Joseph's. The service was presided by Bishop Philip Poole, Area Bishop of York and Credit Valley area.

Deacon Mark hopes to use this blog to document his journey while he explores his role as Deacon in the St. Joseph community, and as a way of keeping in touch with the parishioners.

Stay tuned ...

Lenten Bible Study

It's not too late to come out to Fr. David's weekly Bible Study during Lent.

This group meets at the church, St. Joseph's, 290 Balmoral Drive, Brampton, at 7:00 pm on Tuesday evenings. The focus for Lent is the Gospel of St. Luke.

Come out and join the discussion!  All are welcome!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing one and all a blessed Christmas and a Happy, healthy  New Year!

Our Christmas services are as follows:

 
Christmas Eve, Mon. Dec. 24th
6:00 pm  Family Service
8:00 pm  Holy Eucharist (BCP)
10:30 pm Carol Sing
11:00 pm Choral Eucharist with incense

Christmas Day, Tues. Dec. 25th
10:00 am  Holy Eucharist

We'd be delighted to see you here!

Conclusion of Poems to God - A study of the Psalms

We hope everyone has enjoyed this home-based study of the Psalms!

Your feedback on how you found this program and/or comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

If you received the handouts, please take time to fill out the survey attached to the back. When completed, you may drop it off in the box outside Fr. David's office.

If you participated in the study by way of this blog, please feel free to leave your comments below!

I will leave you with one last verse to enjoy:

"Be joyful in the Lord, ... serve the Lord with gladness. For the Lord is gracious,  his mercy is everlasting and his truth endures from generation to generation."  Psalm 100: 1, 4

Thank you all for your participation! God Bless You!

Session 7 - Psalm 107

Psalm 107 is considered to be one of Israel's historical psalms. It was most likely written during a time of increased union among the Jewish people during the reign of King David (1010-970 B.C.E)

The general tone of the psalm is one of praise and thanksgiving. When disaster strikes, it's natural to bargain with God and cry out for help. But when God answers our prayers, we should also offer a prayer of thanks, as do the people of this psalm who have been rescued.

Above all this is a hymn commemorating the power of God.

Questions to reflect on:

1) In some psalters, Psalm 107 is divided into 2 parts, vs. 1-32 and vs. 33-43. Do you see a division? What changes?

2) The psalm describes 4 different groups of pilgrims - Can you identify them?

3) There is one verse which keeps repeating in this psalm - which one is it? What is the psalmist trying to do here?

4) In what ways have you experienced God's deliverance in different situations? In what ways do you still need deliverance?

This is the end of our study of the Psalms. We hope you have enjoyed it!  Blessings!