As I go for my walks each day, it is becoming more and more apparent that the Christmas season, at least for many people, is over…. over just as soon as the presents are opened and the last of the dishes from the Christmas feast are stacked in the dishwasher.
At least that’s the conclusion one gets from seeing the number of Christmas trees placed out on the curb for a collection that is far off in the future.
But according to the Christian church year, we are still in the midst of the Christmas season, a season which started on Dec. 25th and extends to Jan. 5, the twelve days of Christmas.
And so, as a New Year dawns, we are reminded that the church year starts in September, and despite some of the mangled interpretations of a popular song, we indeed are still celebrating Christmas, and will do so for several more days.
Pulpit supply
There have been several pieces of communication recently concerning interim ministry, the search process and the desire of Rev. John Duff to ease back from his responsibilities at Knox. When John was first approached about taking on the interim ministry role at Knox, his contract was for the period from Sept. 1 to Jan. 31, but for the month of January, he will be sharing some of his responsibilities with the Rev. Bob Docherty, retired from St. John’s, Grimsby who will assume pastoral care responsibilities in January while John continues to preach on Sundays.
But saying that, John will not be in the pulpit to start the New Year as he is on vacation, and so for this date we will have as our guest minister, the Rev. Willard Pottinger, who served at Val d'Or, Montreal, Ottawa, and St. Paul's, Hamilton, before retiring from full-time ministry work. In an online bio, he notes that he alternated between teaching and ministry several times to preserve his sanity, teaching English and French at several schools in Ontario, as well as at Zhenjiang, China. Now an avid curler, you can also spot him on a bicycle as he rides around Hamilton Bay twice each week.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Twas the night before Christmas
…and all through Knox Church, all was in preparation for wondrous Christmas services.
Once again this year, Knox will have two Christmas Eve worship services as well as the traditional Sunday morning service on Christmas Day.
Knox Church will have a family service at 7 p.m. with musical presentations by Iori Lewis, Tegwen Lewis and the Rockin’ Angels, a delightful group of young choristers.
The family service will be followed by a special candlelight service which includes the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, starting at 9 p.m.
Then on Sunday, the regular worship service will be held at 10 a.m.
A warm invitation is extended to each and all to worship at Knox, especially during this Christmas season.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Christmas Services
December is a time for special church services at Knox with two such services already this month, and additional ones in the days ahead. The Advent Communion saw 130 unite around the table for the Sacrament of the Last Supper, and then – as always – the children of the church school were such a delight in their annual pageant, a presentation put together by our wonderful Sunday School staff, who put in long hours just to make sure that everything is perfect – or at least as perfect as can be expected under the circumstances.
This week’s service will feature special music by the choir under the direction of Peter Hanson for the annual Lessons and Carols service with the prelude featuring the Hand Bell Choir and vocal soloist Hella Hanson.
A message from the interim moderator
There is a special message on the way to all within the Knox congregation. This message will be in the mail for some, available at Sunday’s service for others, and via email for those in my address book as we seek to get it into everyone’s hands just as soon as possible.
The message from Rev. Thomas Kay takes a look at where we have been over the last few months, and then looks ahead at another phase in the interim ministry program at Knox.
There is important news in the letter as we move on toward the search phase of our vacancy, followed by an overview of our present financial situation.
There is a lot of important information in this letter, important information as we move forward into a New Year with new challenges and new opportunities, so please read it over carefully.
Cookies
Knox has a very active cookie ministry, and that fact became most evident in recent days.
Each year, a huge batch of cookies are prepared by members of the congregation which are then re-packaged and hand-delivered to individuals who are not able to get out to church on a regular basis.
These individuals are so appreciate of this simple gesture, and so a special thank you to the organizers, those who baked the cookies, and the many people who made the deliveries.
Knox is also involved in a special ministry for students at McMaster University during exam time, and recently 38 dozen homemade cookies were provided for the students. Carolyn McNiven and John McGibbon served hot drinks and cookies between 5:30 and 7:30 while Charlie Pearson and Bev Murie took over for the second shift, and between them, they served a total of 121 students.
The students are quite appreciative of this cookie ministry, with appreciation being extended on the spot and through letters received by the church from the thankful students, who enjoy this tasty break during the exams.
This week’s service will feature special music by the choir under the direction of Peter Hanson for the annual Lessons and Carols service with the prelude featuring the Hand Bell Choir and vocal soloist Hella Hanson.
A message from the interim moderator
There is a special message on the way to all within the Knox congregation. This message will be in the mail for some, available at Sunday’s service for others, and via email for those in my address book as we seek to get it into everyone’s hands just as soon as possible.
The message from Rev. Thomas Kay takes a look at where we have been over the last few months, and then looks ahead at another phase in the interim ministry program at Knox.
There is important news in the letter as we move on toward the search phase of our vacancy, followed by an overview of our present financial situation.
There is a lot of important information in this letter, important information as we move forward into a New Year with new challenges and new opportunities, so please read it over carefully.
Cookies
Knox has a very active cookie ministry, and that fact became most evident in recent days.
Each year, a huge batch of cookies are prepared by members of the congregation which are then re-packaged and hand-delivered to individuals who are not able to get out to church on a regular basis.
These individuals are so appreciate of this simple gesture, and so a special thank you to the organizers, those who baked the cookies, and the many people who made the deliveries.
Knox is also involved in a special ministry for students at McMaster University during exam time, and recently 38 dozen homemade cookies were provided for the students. Carolyn McNiven and John McGibbon served hot drinks and cookies between 5:30 and 7:30 while Charlie Pearson and Bev Murie took over for the second shift, and between them, they served a total of 121 students.
The students are quite appreciative of this cookie ministry, with appreciation being extended on the spot and through letters received by the church from the thankful students, who enjoy this tasty break during the exams.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Time does fly
It has been some time – six weeks to be exact – since I have added to the Knox blog, but time has not been on my side, so this is a bit of catch-up so to speak.
Since penning a few words back on Oct. 21, much has been happening around Knox, including another very successful Holly Wreath Bazaar, an impressive Remembrance Day service wherein the children of the Sunday School made wreaths which they placed during the service, an act which obviously gave all those in the church school a deeper understanding of why we observe Remembrance Day.
Quiet time
As Knox continues to move through difficult times following the passing of our minister, the Rev. Mark Hoogsteen, we have been fortunate to have not only the services of Rev. John Duff who is providing stated supply on a regular basis, but also the Rev. Linda Corry who is conducting courses at the church in grief recovery.
Linda also provided the leadership in another interesting program recently, an Advent Quiet Day, which was entitled Keeping in Touch with God. Using the book, Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives You Life, it started with prayer followed by a quiet time with God, reflections on Sleeping with Bread and concluded with lunch and worship.
Financial picture
As we get to this time in the church year, the church treasurer, the stewardship coordinator, and the board of managers take a hard look at the operating and mission budgets, with treasurer Rick Craig providing projections on where we as a congregation are likely to stand financially on Dec. 31.
Knox is no different than most churches. It’s always a scramble at year-end.
In 2010, the church received several major gifts in the month of December, gifts that not only allowed Knox to eliminate the carry-over deficit, but allowed us to meet our obligations for Presbyterians Sharing while still allowing for a small surplus to start 2011.
That was great news. In this day and age of budget cuts, we are ever so thankful that Knox lived up to its obligations – not only in the repair and upkeep of this magnificent building, but also to its ministry, both within its walls, but to our neighbours here in Burlington and around the world.
As we come down to the last few days of 2011, we are in much the same situation we faced 365 days ago. Revenue is down – slightly – and so are expenses – slightly – but we need your help to once again end the year on a positive note. We hope to have the 11- month figures very shortly, and that will give us an even better picture of what we need in the short time left until Dec. 31, but in the meantime, everyone is asked to give prayerful consideration to ensuring that Knox again ends the year on a positive financial note.
Communion service
Knox church will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper on Dec. 4, and there will be something a wee bit different with the Communion service this time around as there will be co-celebrants as Rev. John Duff will be joined by Rev. Linda Corry in this special service.
Since penning a few words back on Oct. 21, much has been happening around Knox, including another very successful Holly Wreath Bazaar, an impressive Remembrance Day service wherein the children of the Sunday School made wreaths which they placed during the service, an act which obviously gave all those in the church school a deeper understanding of why we observe Remembrance Day.
Quiet time
As Knox continues to move through difficult times following the passing of our minister, the Rev. Mark Hoogsteen, we have been fortunate to have not only the services of Rev. John Duff who is providing stated supply on a regular basis, but also the Rev. Linda Corry who is conducting courses at the church in grief recovery.
Linda also provided the leadership in another interesting program recently, an Advent Quiet Day, which was entitled Keeping in Touch with God. Using the book, Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives You Life, it started with prayer followed by a quiet time with God, reflections on Sleeping with Bread and concluded with lunch and worship.
Financial picture
As we get to this time in the church year, the church treasurer, the stewardship coordinator, and the board of managers take a hard look at the operating and mission budgets, with treasurer Rick Craig providing projections on where we as a congregation are likely to stand financially on Dec. 31.
Knox is no different than most churches. It’s always a scramble at year-end.
In 2010, the church received several major gifts in the month of December, gifts that not only allowed Knox to eliminate the carry-over deficit, but allowed us to meet our obligations for Presbyterians Sharing while still allowing for a small surplus to start 2011.
That was great news. In this day and age of budget cuts, we are ever so thankful that Knox lived up to its obligations – not only in the repair and upkeep of this magnificent building, but also to its ministry, both within its walls, but to our neighbours here in Burlington and around the world.
As we come down to the last few days of 2011, we are in much the same situation we faced 365 days ago. Revenue is down – slightly – and so are expenses – slightly – but we need your help to once again end the year on a positive note. We hope to have the 11- month figures very shortly, and that will give us an even better picture of what we need in the short time left until Dec. 31, but in the meantime, everyone is asked to give prayerful consideration to ensuring that Knox again ends the year on a positive financial note.
Communion service
Knox church will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper on Dec. 4, and there will be something a wee bit different with the Communion service this time around as there will be co-celebrants as Rev. John Duff will be joined by Rev. Linda Corry in this special service.
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