Holy Trinity Alma - consecrated 125 years ago today

     Our little country church in Alma (Rte.2/Western Rd.) was consecrated.  My great-great-grandfather Stephen E. Jeffery was the first Warden - the church has been used seasonally for the past 25 years.  The following is the first Rector's Report, written a year following consecration...

Holy Trinity, Alma  Sep 14th, 1891

Present: the Rector Rev. I.M. Forbes, Chapel Warden Stephen Jeffery, and parishioner Joseph Bearisto
     The church building is new having been completed and consecrated last year (Oct 20th 1890).  It is still unfinished inside lacking a coat of oil and varnish for the wooden ceiling and the seats.  It is in other respects complete and is a substantial commodious, well proportioned and handsome church.
     Inventory. There is a good amalgum in the bell- a Bible for the lectern and a prayer book for the reading desk.  As yet the ch. does not possess a surplice, or font, or altar vessels, or altar books or altar linen.  The people are few and not very well off.  They have done nobly in the past and doubtless will endeavour to acquire one after the other as soon as possible, as they are recommended to do, the above necessary articles.
     Land.  Total area one and one half acre. A good board fence encloses one half acre for the church, and two sides of the balance (the third being a snake fence).  The latter portion is used for a burial ground.  This was consecrated for the purpose as far as the snake fence -  commences – by the Bishop last year.
     Finances.  Steps are being taken to contribute to the Rector’s stipend.  There is no debt upon the church or land.  The people are much to be congratulated upon the success of their efforts, which should encourage to continue till the necessary articles are all acquired.

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Confirmed in Holy Trinity Ch. Alma Oct. 20, 1890

      George French, Wm. Simmonds, Ebenezer McLellan, Wm. Vincent (Wm’s son), Wm. Smith (Wm’s son), Ann McLellan, Mrs. Wm. Simmonds, Gertie Smith, Bessie Smith, Louisa Wood, Beatrice Wood, and Jane Vincent

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     Below is a photo I took a few weeks ago of Holy Trinity - the others are the only old photos we have of the church taken in the early part of the 1900's during a church picnic.

Message from Janet as Fall begins...

Hello Dear Friends in Christ,

     September is here already! I love the autumn season - not just because it brings my week of holiday - but because I truly love the fall and all its characteristics!

     On Sunday evening the Helping Hands Band will celebrate with us at Christ Church Kildare Capes - this is the closing service for the season. Please come and enjoy their music - bring friends too. It would be nice for the Band to have a full church to play to!

     Andrew and I start our holiday on Monday. We will be back the following Monday. Lay Reader David Crocker will lead worship on Sunday the 13th. The Rev Ann Bush of Port Hill will look after any pastoral emergencies the week Andrew is away. 

     See you Sunday.

The peace of Christ,

Janet

Combined Parish Service at Holy Trinity Alma - Sunday, Aug. 16th

     Despite what the newspapers are advertising today - I hope everyone saw the separate ad in the Journal-Pioneer and West Prince Graphic announcing our annual service at Holy Trinity Church Alma - it will be a Combined Parish service of Morning Prayer, 10:30am, followed by a potluck lunch in the church.
     All welcome!!!!!

     In the evening there will be service at Christ Church as per weekly in summers.

Summer Services at Christ Church Kildare Capes & Holy Trinity Alma

     Summer's here and time to enjoy worship and fellowship at the other churches in our Parish.  ALL WELCOME!

     Christ Church Kildare Capes is now open for the summer - services are held every Sunday evening at 7:00pm from July 5th to August 30th.  Come and enjoy an ecumenical worship service of the Word and Song.

     Holy Trinity Alma will have two services this summer.  First, a Cemetery Memorial Service on Sunday, July 12 at 2:30pm with refreshments to follow in the church; and second, a Combined Parish Service on August 16th at 10:30am with a potluck lunch in the church following the service. 

Smile

1- The body of an adult human contains an incredible 100,000 km (60,000 miles) of blood vessels, and 13 billion nerve cells. 
2- An adult has 206 bones. Nearly half of them are found in the hands and feet. 
3- The adult human body has about 650 muscles. The smallest muscle is in the ear - only 1 millimetre long. It takes 60 muscles to frown, and only 13 muscles to smile - all the more reason to smile! We’re going to listen to some words about the effect of smiling: 
4- “A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive it without making poorer those who give it. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that they can get along without it, and no-one is so poor that they cannot be made rich by it. 
5- A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in business, and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheerfulness to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and it is nature’s best antidote in times of trouble. 
6- Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone unless it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as no-one needs a smile so much as those who have no more to give.“

Let us pray: Lord, we give thanks for all who have brought life and happiness to us. Inspire us to give of ourselves joyfully and always look for the positive. Amen.

The above cf. www.prayingeachday.org for June 17th

Image above cf. www.catholicsupply.com

Fifth Sunday in Lent - Passiontide

    The following information comes from...

http://catholicism.about.com/od/Catholic-Dictionary/g/Passiontide-Definition-Of-Passiontide.htm

     "Since the revision of the Catholic liturgical calendar in 1969, Passiontide has been synonymous with Holy Week. Palm Sunday, the final Sunday before Easter, is now known as Passion Sunday, though in practice it is almost always referred to by its former name. (Sometimes you may see it listed as Passion (Palm) Sunday, reflecting the current usage.)

Before the revision of the liturgical calendar, 

however, Passiontide was the period of Lent that commemorates the increasing revelation of Christ's divinity (see John 8:46-59) and His movement toward Jerusalem. Holy Week was the second week of Passiontide, which began with the Fifth Sunday in Lent, which was known as Passion Sunday. (The Fifth Week of Lent was likewise known as Passion Week.) Thus Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday were (unlike today) separate celebrations.

The revised calendar is used in the Ordinary Form of the Mass (the Novus Ordo), which is the form of the Mass celebrated in most parishes. The Extraordinary Form of the Mass (the Traditional Latin Mass) still uses the previous calendar, and thus celebrates two weeks of Passiontide.

In both the Ordinary and the Extraordinary Forms of the Mass, Passiontide is observed with great solemnity, especially because Passiontide includes the Triduum, the final three days before Easter. Under the older, two-week Passiontide, all statues in the church were veiled in purple on Passion 

Sunday and remained covered until the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night. The practice still largely survives in the Novus Ordo, though different parishes observe it differently. Some veil their statues on Palm Sunday; others, before the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday; still others remove the statues from the church altogether and return them to the church for the Easter Vigil."

Image cf. www.nealobstat.wordpress.com

Women's World Day of Prayer

     Last Friday was Women's World Day of Prayer - every year many of the Alberton and Area congregations get together at one of the hcurches to celebrate - this year it was held at Gordon Memorial United Church.

The following information comes from Wikipedia...

     "The Women's World Day of Prayer started in the USA in 1887, as Mary Ellen Fairchild James, wife of Darwin Rush James from Brooklyn, New York, called for a day of prayer for home missions, and Methodist women called for a week of prayer and self-denial for foreign missions. Two years later, two Baptists called together a Day of Prayer for the World Mission. The Day of Prayer initiated by these two women expanded to Canada, then to the British Isles in the 1930s. The movements focus on ecumenism and reconciliation led to growth after World War II. Since 1927 the March day is known as Women’s World Day of Prayer. Catholic women were allowed to join the movement after the Second Vatican Council, beginning in 1967, and united what had been their May day of prayer with the March Women's World Day of Prayer in 1969.  Two other Christian denominations celebrate a World Day of Prayer in September. The Unity Church, a New Thought Protestant denomination headquartered at Unity Village, Missouricelebrates a twenty-four hour World Day of Prayer principally on the second Thursday in September (member churches may start at sunset on September 11, and the themes differ from those of the Women's World Day of Prayer set forth below).  Also, the terrorist events of September 11, 2001 prompted the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fellowship, to designate that date annually as a World Day of Prayer for Peace."

Parish Annual General Meeting 2015

     On Sunday past we held our Parish's Annual General Meeting at St. Peter's Church in Alberton.  The service began at 10:30am - we used the Dr. Seuss Liturgy again this year!    I forgot my camera - so used my smart phone to get a couple of images of the service.

     In lieu of the Rector's message we had our annual slide presentation of the year in review - thanks to Christine Batten for putting this together.  Below are a few of those photos.

     Following the service we had a potluck lunch in the church hall, followed by the AGM.

Celebrating Robbie Burns

    Last Friday evening we had every seat full at St. Peter's Church to celebrate Robbie Burns and Scottish Heritage.  We had bagpipes, haggis and the address, a fiddler, a chanter, Scottish songs, a Gaelic song, a snare drummer, a stepdancer, and stories and poems of Robbie Burns followed by tea, scotch cookies and fruitcake in the Hall.  There was lots of plaid and Scottish pride!
     Below is a video Jan (organizer and MC) posted on her Facebook page along with a screen grab from the video.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=877731402283055