In my prayer life, at Harvest time, I have no problem in giving God thanks before I say anything else to Him.

His creation is so positively awesome that it inspires me to acknowledge his greatness and thank him for the beauty that surrounds us all. The fruits and vegetables that are being harvested, the wonderful colours of the trees, the gorgeous blue of the autumn sky, are all encouraging signs that we have a God who deserves our praise and our thanksgiving. But, do we take them all for granted? Are we too busy just to stop, look around, and give thanks to God?

The answers to those questions lie in our hearts, and I am as guilty as anyone else in saying ‘yes’ to them. But, you know, thanksgiving really should be a way of life. It should be the starting place in our prayers and in our relationship with God. It should be our guide throughout our lives for thanksgiving breaks us free of greed and opens up possibilities of compassion.

As a result of our stopping in our hurried lives to give thanks, we turn our attention to God and then to others. We become better Christians and witnesses to God’s love as shown us in His creating a perfect world for us in which to live and by sending his son Jesus Christ to that world as the supreme example of his love.

Please join us at All Saints as we celebrate all of God’s gifts to us on Sunday October 13th at 8:00am, 9:30am and 11:00am.

With thanksgiving to God for each of you,

the Rev. Geoff Lloyd

Interim Priest-in-Charge

On September 22, Bishop Andrew Asbil, Diocesan Bishop, preached and presided at our 9:30am and 11:00am services. We were delighted to have him and Mary Asbil with us, and we look forward to a return visit in the future.

On September 8, a great lot of us travelled to St. James Cathedral, by bus and car and transit, to support our former Incumbent as he was installed as Dean of Toronto and Rector of St. James Cathedral. It was a great pleasure to witness him as his new parish and staff welcomed him.

At All Saints, we have entered into a season of transition as we seek a new permanent priest to lead our services and inspire us in the work of being church in the 21st century. We give thanks to God for the Rev. Geoff Lloyd, our Associate Priest, who  will serve as priest-in-charge in the interim. We are blessed to be able to enjoy his capable leadership and generous spirit in this new role.

From within our midst, we have also formed a parish selection committee (PSC), a group of 8 individuals representative of our congregation who will, under the guidance of our Area Bishop and a Diocesan coach, discern who we are as a parish, what we hope to achieve as church in the next few years, and what individual God is preparing to be our Incumbent in the near future. We give thanks for their servant hearts and we commit to supporting their work as we continue to engage in meaningful ministry and outreach here at All Saints. To that end we are praying weekly for our church and the PSC process, and we invite you to join us by viewing the weekly prayer prompt.