Saturday, November 13th, 9:00am-2:00pm
at All Saints, 300 Dundas St. West,
Whitby, Ontario
Shoppers at the Bazaar* can look forward to browsing and buying at their favourite sections as in seasons past, including:
- Sweets, Jellies, Jams & Preserves: lemon curd, pepper jelly, Christmas jam, and chocolates. Need we say more? Because we could go on and on about the dazzling and tasty choices. Perfect hostess gifts or thank-you presents for schoolteachers, good neighbours, or those relatives who say they don’t want anything.
- “Pins & Needles” Table: knitted, stitched, and crocheted items, handmade with love and ready to keep your loved ones cozy this winter. (Trust me, you’ll buy something for yourself, too; everyone always does.)
- Classic Treasures: high-end secondhand and vintage items, all spiffed up and ready to sell ‘new to you.’ Perfect for thrifting that unique gift for a friend or acquaintance, without breaking the bank or hurting the planet. Includes a section of previously loved jewelry, another source for that special gift for someone who appreciates items with a little history.
- Gently Used Book Room: this is where you are going to stock up on paperbacks and nonfiction for winter reading. Bring a sturdy bag and buy a stack! Nothing like getting several good books for the price of one bought new.
- Christmas Cactus & Other Plants: something seasonal and life-giving for your home or office or your home-office, at a fraction of regular prices. And what a provenance … hand grown and potted by the parish sexton and nurtured in the light of a south-facing church window. They must be good!
- Christmas Past, Present & Future: a selection of new and secondhand Christmas decor and kitchenware to spark your seasonal decorating. Seriously, these items were so cherished, they are only used once a year! Refresh your collection with something new-ish and different this year.
- The Parish Bake Shop: be sure to stop by the parish bake sale room for a cake or pie for your dinner … I mean, dessert … and maybe a plate of cookies or squares for your lunch through the week. These treats are baked fresh on the day, and sell out fast because everyone knows church baking is the best!
We’re also pulling together a Tea Room Takeout (as opposed to an eat-on option). At the start of their visit, shoppers can order a lovely soup & biscuit combo to take away for a late lunch at home. And we’ll shortly be launching our traditional Silent Auction Online. It’ll be so silent, all you will hear is the clicking of your mouse as you bid on a carefully curated selection of new and one-of-a-kind items.
Watch this space or our social media accounts for more details.
The Bazaar is All Saints’ major fundraising event of the year,
and we are so grateful for the support of the community of shoppers
who make this part of their pre-Christmas shopping tradition.
*Note: Logistics for this signature parish event are evolving to match provincial and Diocesan gathering parameters. Everything is going to be a little more spaced out, and the customary protocols for masking, safe distancing, and contact tracing will be in effect. Parish volunteers will be fully vaccinated.
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
Offertory
The Doxology
Our country’s religious landscape has been changing for decades now. We still sing “God, keep our land glorious and free” in our national anthem, but public references to God in the secular world have all but disappeared. It is not so long ago in the public school system that the day began with the Lord’s prayer, and that December concerts celebrated “Christmas” instead of “the Holidays”, so what has happened?
Recently a small group of All Saints’ folk, who have been meeting regularly via Zoom since attending an Alpha course together in 2019, studied 
She contends that a new vision of church is needed, in which religion is transformed and renewed by spirituality. She points out that religion comes from the Latin word religio, which originally meant faith, and a relationship with God, but which loses its true meaning when worship is allowed to become little more than habit. She envisions religion as an apprenticeship for discipleship, which should begin with relationships (belonging), leading to the intentional following and imitating of spiritual practices, and finally arriving at believing. I realized as I read this that the Alpha course models this: first comes an invitation to fellowship (belonging), leading to the sharing and modelling of Christian practices. Believing is the final piece of the puzzle when people allow the Holy Spirit to work in them. Assuming that belief is the first step can be intimidating to newcomers and seekers.
From the cowardice that dares not face new truth… From the laziness that is content with half truth… From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth…
Since Thanksgiving has just past, I thought it was good time to use a child’s object lesson relating the Bible to a deck of playing cards. When you want to give thanks to God, pull out a deck of cards to be reminded of all the things we have to be thankful for.