The people of the Parish of Alberton-O'Leary help one another and the people in our community. Call on us if you need help. We are all neighbours in God's eyes. As a Christian community we strive to live out our baptismal covenant of proclaiming by word and example the good news of God in Christ, seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving neighbour as self, and working for justice, peace and dignity amoung all people. This we do, with God’s help.
Burying Time Capsule
1859 - 150th Anniversary of Parish - 2009 (photo by Scott & Debbie Travers )
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Five Marks of Mission
To Proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
To
teach, baptize and nurture new believers
To
seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every
kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation.
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
Saturday, February 19, 2022
Parish Annual Meeting - 2021
This year's Parish Annual Meeting will be held at St. Luke's O'Leary on Sunday, Feb. 20th, 2022 following the 10:30am service, at around 11:30am.
Covid19 Protocols – Please remember Covid19 Protocols. Be kind, Be patient, Keep 6 feet distancing and Wash your hands.
Monday, February 15, 2021
Parish Annual Meeting - 2020
This year's Parish Annual Meeting will be held at St. Peter's Alberton on Sunday, Feb. 28th following the 10:30am service.
Saturday, November 7, 2020
Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020 Service
St Luke’s Church @ 10.30 a.m.
23rd Sunday after Pentecost
Nov 14, 2020, 10:00 am. – St. Peter’s Church Council will hold their next
meeting on Saturday, Nov 14, 2020 at 10:00am in St. Peter’s Hall. All council
members are urged to attend. Social distancing will be adhered to.
Saturday, October 24, 2020
Services have re-commenced, 10.30 a.m. for the whole parish. The service will alternate between St Peter’s and St Luke’s initially
Service can also be watched on YouTube by using the following
link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x4MJITHX00
Rev Ann’s Blog is back for those who might like to read the Sunday message over again on her website www.authorkathleenbush.com
Announcements
Nov 14, 2020, 10:00 am. – St. Peter’s Church Council will hold their next
meeting on Saturday, Nov 14, 2020 at 10:00am in St. Peter’s Hall. All council
members are urged to attend. Social distancing will be adhered to.
Sunday, October 4, 2020
Services Resume
Service will re-commence this Sunday at St Peter’s Church, 10.30 a.m. for the whole parish. The service will alternate between St Peter’s and St Luke’s initially
Service can also be watched on YouTube by using the following link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x4MJITHX00
Rev Ann’s Blog is back for those who might like to read the Sunday
message over again on her website www.authorkathleenbush.com
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Happy Father's Day
SUNDAY JUNE 21ST AT 1030 HERE
ALL WELCOME TO JOIN US AS WE GIVE THANKS FOR FATHERS AND COME TOGETHER IN WORSHIP OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.
LIVE STREAMING SERVICE ON FACEBOOK HERE.
VIDEO OF SERVICE WILL BE PUT ON OUR ANGLICAN PARISH. FACEBOOK PAGE
SPECIAL LOVE AND PRAYERS ARE EXTENDED TO REV. ANDREW MORTIMER AND JANET THROUGH THIS TIME OF ILLNESS. YOU'RE IN OUR HEARTS AND PRAYERS.
Saturday, May 9, 2020
Mother's Day Sunday
During this time of COVID19 shutdown we
are spending our time differently, as families. We have no option but to remain
at home and so our time together is more intimate because we cannot separate
out too far. So time is spent playing games, talking more around the table
about all imaginable subjects and topics maybe even religion?? In homes of
young children, mothers are front and centre, thinking up fun games, finding
dressing up clothes, baking etc alongside home schooling.
Close proximity is again being
experienced within family groups. Love is being redefined as we spend each
day relearning patience and grace with each other. Our human dance of love
centred upon mother’s figure, has a new tune, a new rhythm is developing. Today
we remember as we thank God for our mothers. The women who soothed us when we
were sick or hurt; patiently helping us grow into the wider world, to be
loving, caring, gentle and honest human beings.
My own mother died young and I was too
young to lose her. She was ripped from my life, leaving me shattered and broken
for a while. Grief became too familiar until with the help of loving family and
friends, I could make adjustments and found a new way of normal living.
Jesus message today is for all of us,
not only mothers. “Do not let your hearts be troubled! Trust only in God and
trust in me”. I slowly had to learn this truth, that however the circumstances
threaten us, trust in God and the Christ has the power to quiet troubled hearts
and souls and bring peace.
Jesus calls Himself The Way, The Truth
and the Life. In a way motherhood at its best is a pale reflection of
this- she teaches and guided her children towards the Godly Way, Truth and
Life. At best mothers sow the seeds for this in their children’s hearts.
Two of the disciples, Thomas and
Phillip, both asked Jesus to show them the Father as they struggled to
understand. Jesus response is” anyone who has seen me, has seen the Father”.
Jesus perfectly expresses the person of God in human form. This is why we call
the Gospels the Good News. This is why we should become familiar with them
and come to know the Son of God, who is in full harmony with the Father’s will.
Jesus then says “whatever you ask in my
name, shall be done”. Friends if you have yet to experience the Christian power
to do great things for God, then know that this power comes and is rooted in
prayer. When we pray intentionally to God through Jesus’ name, something
opens within us and we receive a sense of God’s will for us. It is never that
we perform miracles, but prayer allows Christ to work through us.
How then do we experience the presence
of Jesus Christ when we cannot see Him with our eyes. We can and do sense Him
in our hearts and souls as we love and obey Him. Jesus comes to us whenever and
wherever we are, calling us by name.
Mothers call their children by name and
they know her voice for it conveys her love and willingness to share in
their lives. So much more, God desires nothing more than we hear His voice and
live an abundant life. Not a life of peril, danger and pain, but a life without
fear, measured by endless Grace as you and God dance to the beat of His love.
God after all is the parent of humanity.
THE
ROAD TO GOD IS REALLY MARKED BY ONE WAY SIGNS.
Sunday, May 3, 2020
Deedee Rayner, Obituary
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Invitation to all within the Parish of Alberton and O’Leary
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sunday, April 19, 2020
The First Sunday after Easter
THE COLLECT
THE EPISTLE
THE GOSPEL
is reproduced by permission of the Crown's Patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Saturday, April 11, 2020
Friday, April 3, 2020
Palm Sunday Service 2020
As we worship our Almighty God, let us remember that His Holy Spirit connects us all. Even though we cannot at this time touch each other or see each other we are all connected as the Body of Christ, with Christ as our Head. let us all worship at 10 am on Sundays using this Blog service, this way we can share in worship, if not as we usually do.
Imagine all the faces of your congregation and say The GRACE
There is a powerful hymn that speaks of our theme today:
Great is the darkness that covers the earth, oppression, injustice and pain,
Nations are slipping in hopeless despair, though many have come in Your name
Watching while sanity dies, touched by the madness and lies,
Come Lord Jesus, Come Lord Jesus, pour out Your Spirit we pray; Come Lord Jesus, come Lord Jesus pour out Your Spirit on us today.
Scripture Readings for The Liturgy of the Passion: Psalm 31 and Gospel Matthew 26: 14-75 and 27: 1-54 MESSAGE: Today is the end of Lent for another year and Holy Week begins on Monday. This Lent has been like no other since the days of the World Wars when life for everyone became s strange and scary landscape almost overnight. We are all trying to find our way in this new darkness, carrying anxieties and fears of what will become of our lives, if this virus continues to spread. Many have had to confront their worst fears with being separated from loved ones as they are cared for in hospitals, too many have died alone without the comfort of loved ones or clergy beside them, although nurses and doctors do their best. There is not much to lighten the darkness as we read the Passion story of Christ. If you like me, gain strength from the sacrament of communion and daily prayer, our pillars of faith, yet on reading Matthew 26, gospel for this Sunday, we acknowledge how the first Lord’s Supper was shrouded in deception and abandonment. Judas had already sold out Jesus for a mere 30 pieces of silver, the first act of deception. Yetread again Matthew 26 verse 31, and discover Judas was not the only betrayer. Things do not improve as Jesus is left alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, even though he had asked the disciples to remain awake with him and to pray. Full of sorrow, Jesus prays alone in anguish, “take this cup of suffering from me; yet not what I want but what you want, Lord.” Yet God does not reply. How dark that night became for Jesus as he was left to confront his own fears. When the disciples finally awoke, Jesus is ambushed, arrested and dragged away for trial. How dark it must have been as He hung on the Cross and His soul descended into hell in our place because of our sins. This is the darkest the world has ever known as Jesus calls out” My God, my God why have You forsaken me?” This was a time many were struggling with darkness and ever since that day we have all called out” where are you God, why won’t you answer me?” Even in the silence we are required to keep praying and taking strength from Communion and our fellowship with one another to keep walking forwards until we encounter God’s light again and then fully know He is always with us even in the silence.
God created the dark first and then said “Let there be light” Genesis 1:1-4. We need the dark to show up the light. To God, darkness is as the day. Look inwards see if you recognize anything you know should not be there; times of betrayal, times of not being honest or putting your needs before others’ ; or even acting like Pilate, knowing the right thing to do, yet doing the wrong thing because you fear losing your reputation and respect. maybe you are more like the Centurion and soldiers who crucified Jesus and the robbers, only doing their job after all or so they thought. Yet when darkness covered the land at 3 pm somehow they stood in their enlightened space amid the dark shadows, able to say with confidence” surely He was the Son of God”.
The gem at the heart of this gospel is that God never behaves as we do and for God night is as the day. God is at much at home saving, forgiving and healing in the dark as in the light. He will meet with any situation or person no matter where they have been. Sometimes He even calls His Church into a dark cloud. Maybe this is where we find ourselves today; what might motivate you to open your eyes to seeing God in this strange new landscape? Know this beloved, we all stand at the foot of the cross, the big question is, is Jesus still hanging there waiting for you to see Him? Or is the Cross empty now because you have seen Him and believed He died for YOU!
Take a time of reflection and prayer. Close with Lord’s Prayer.
BENEDICTION; Hosanna! let us welcome the shining face of the Jesus who came to save and accept the guidance of light into the most shadowy aspects of real life. may we align our minds with Christ and be humble witnesses to the Holy Spirit in the world. AMEN.
Thursday, April 2, 2020
In a message to me this morning from my friend Ann MacDonald (a hospital chaplain, in Ottawa), she signed off with the above quote. So appropriate for these days we are living!
Statement from The Most Reverend Ron Cutler
Statement released Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Dear Friends;
After a while it is difficult to find the appropriate adjectives to describe the period of time we are living in. “Extraordinary” and “Unprecedented” probably top the list but many more apply. It is a time when social cohesion is needed in order to contain the spread of the Coronavirus in our communities. We are being entreated to STAY HOME, WASH YOUR HANDS, and DON’T GATHER. These are not optional behaviours, they are truly matters of life and death, if not for ourselves, than for others close to us. Health care providers and support staff, and basic service providers are valued as never before. It’s sort of a kingdom moment when the influencers in our society have been sidelined - the last first and the first become last!
In other aspects of our parish life, we are discovering a whole range of new options. Some will be more effective in certain communities/congregations than in others. It is a time for all leaders, both clergy and lay, to step up in consultation with one another about the resources available to worship, connect, teach and support. Our buildings are closed however the call to participate in God’s mission has not been deferred. Rather than a time of idleness, this has meant increased activity in many parishes as we figure out how to fulfill our traditional purposes in new ways.
In both provinces, there are continued restrictions on any gathering of more than 5 people. On March 15th, I wrote that public worship services would be cancelled at least until April 3rd, 2020. In compliance with the Public Health state of emergency in both Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and until directed otherwise by provincial authorities, public worship continues to be cancelled. I recommend that plans be made for this to continue until the end of May.
On Friday March 27rd, the Diocesan Council voted to waive parish allotments for April and May (in addition to the previously announced waiver for March). The diocese will also pay all payroll costs for stipendiary clergy for April and May. A small task group has been given authority to respond to other requests for financial support not covered by these first two resolutions. This is a commitment of $1.3 million to support ongoing parish ministries in this extraordinary time. It represents all of our accessible working capital. It is not intended to be a complete income replacement for parishes. We continue to explore (along with other dioceses) if we may be eligible for the payroll subsidies offered by the Federal government. Glen Greencorn, our controller, has developed a FAQ list related to the council decisions.
Where our buildings are not being used on a regular basis, there may be insurance implications. We will send out a separate information sheet for parish officers about procedures to be followed.
We are still in the midst of the planning and preparation for an Electoral Synod to take place on May 30. At it’s regularly scheduled meeting on April 17-18, the Diocesan Council will decide on a provisional alternate date for the Synod to take place. We have already cancelled or postponed all diocesan events up to the middle of June, so this seems to be a logical precaution. Having started the process to elect a new bishop, there is really no way to stop it. Therefore, the deadlines previously announced remain effective. This means that names of those to be proposed to the search committee for consideration as nominees must be submitted by midnight Saturday April 4 to the secretary of the search committee. If we are unable to gather on May 30 we will use the provision in Canon 1 section 12.2 to postpone to a date selected by Diocesan Council.
It is wonderful to see that over 50 of our parishes are now offering some form of online worship and that 12 more parishes (in areas of low or no internet service) have distributed special printed worship material to families. The majority of these worship services have been services of the Word rather than celebrations of the Eucharist. In the past week, there has been a lot of online debate about the wisdom or appropriateness of streaming the Eucharist online. Some bishops have declared a “Eucharistic fast” for this time. I am not going to do so. There is a great variety in the ways that we as Anglicans approach the Eucharist. That variety is expressed in the Eucharistic piety of the parishes in our diocese. I will not order priests to stop presiding at Eucharist. Instead, I am leaving it up to the consciences of clergy and the discernment of parish leaders to determine the most appropriate ways to worship while we are prevented from physically gathering the Body of Christ.
There have been different calls to join in prayer across the country at different times. There have also been some suggestions regarding ringing all our church bells at the same time on Easter Day. I’m not sure that it is important to coordinate a specific time to ring the bells as much as to ring them! Don’t wait until Easter - do it this Sunday as a reminder that we are still here and as a call to prayer - not in a building but throughout our communities.
Blesssings;
The Most Reverend Ron Cutler
Archbishop of Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
A Prayer in Lockdown
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Grail Prayer
I give you my tongue - to speak your words.
I give you my mind - that you may think in me.
I give you my spirit - that you may pray in me.
Above all, I give you my heart that you may love, in me, your Father and all mankind.
I give you my whole self that you may grow in me, so that it is you, Lord Jesus, who live and work and pray in me.
Amen.
Grail Prayer
Friday, March 27, 2020
Message from Archbishop Ron Cutler, Re: Covid-19
The Clergy and Parishes of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island
March 25th, 2020
Dear Friends;
I write today on the Feast of the Annunciation to Mary. It is a day when we give thanks for the message brought by an angel to Mary that she had ”found favour with God” and that she would bear a son who would be called “Son of the Most High”… whose kingdom would have no end. It is an account both deeply comforting and deeply disturbing (at least for Mary). It required her active affirmation of God’s plan and the assuming of no little risk. The times were perilous and they would be even more dangerous for her. Yet she says yes - “Here am I the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Reflecting on Luke 1:26-38 today I wonder: To whom are we an angel (messenger) today, bringing a word from God? What is the word from God being spoken to us? What is the task we are being asked to undertake in our own perilous time? What new thing from God is coming to birth? Do we appreciate how much we are “favoured (loved) by God? We give thanks today for parents and children, for strength and wisdom for parents amid `the additional pressures on family life at this time.
We give thanks today for parents and children, for strength and wisdom for parents amid `the additional pressures on family life at this time. We give thanks for our own parents and those whom we have experienced as parents in our lives.
Since I wrote to you last Friday, a state of emergency has been declared in both Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. There are some minor differences in the restrictions which this places on residents in both provinces but the most significant message is – Stay Home! Don’t go out except for necessary trips such as buying groceries. Even then it should be only one person in a household.
One of the consequences for parishes is that there are further restrictions on numbers of people permitted to gather. Gatherings are limited to a maximum of 5 persons in both provinces, and proper physical distancing must take place. Please take this into consideration if there is a necessity to gather. There have also been further restrictions on visitation to nursing homes and hospitals. Clergy may visit those who are at the end of life to bring the sacraments, although this may require advance conversations with heath authorities.
It is wonderful to read of the ways that parishes are responding to the restrictions on gathering by offering a variety of forms of worship. In some places this has been a variety of technological ways to come together ‘virtually’. In others worship leaders have shared printed resources and invited people to worship in their own homes, together in prayer but separate in location. On March 16th, 2020, I directed that there be no gatherings for public worship at least until April 3rd, 2020. This time frame was consistent with the decisions by both provincial governments to close the public school system until April 6th, 2020, and would give us time to plan for Holy Week and Easter.
It seems clear from comments made by government officials in the past few days that restrictions on gathering will continue past April 3rd, 2020. I am now requesting clergy and parish leaders to plan for a suspension of gatherings for worship for at least two months. This will mean that our observances of “the journey from the glory of the triumphal entry to the glory of the resurrection, by way of the dark road of suffering and death” will need to take unconventional forms. We continue to add resources to the Covid 19 section of the diocesan website to assist leaders in planning worship. If you have resources or suggestions, please send them to Canon Lisa Vaughn (lvaughn@nspeidiocese.ca) I also want to recommend the resource booklet distributed at last year’s MORE Mission School for “finding God in the neighbourhood.”
The Financial Management and Development Team met by video conference yesterday. They have agreed to proposals to put before a special video meeting of Diocesan Council on Friday March 27th, 2020. These proposals are for additional ways that the Diocesan structure may support parishes at this time. We are fortunate that budget surpluses over the past few years and good management, have given us a pool of working capital which we may use at this time. While this provides us some security in the short term, I need to be open about the fact that if the restrictions on gathering continue for more than three months, more difficult decisions will need to be made. Clergy and Parish leadership should plan accordingly
These are strange and difficult times. Patterns and schedules are disrupted. We want to know when these changes to ‘normal’ life will end, even though there is no answer to this question at this time. Powerlessness can bring anxiety, it can also bring liberation. Be gentle with yourself. This is not a sprint this has become a marathon. Use some of the time, newly available in your calendar, to be quiet, to read and to pray. Be gentle with one another, we’re all feeling some extra stress at this time. We are making the best decisions that we can, knowing that tomorrow things will probably change. We are not alone.
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Blessings,
The Most Reverend Ron Cutler
Archbishop of Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island
https://www.nspeidiocese.ca/news/video-message-from-archbishop-ron
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