March 5

Thought and Prayer of the Day
by Mother Jennifer

This past week we wrapped up our Pilgrim course – where we were examining the Apostle’s Creed, and what it means when we confess our faith together.

The first five weeks we looked to the nature of God, exploring who Christians believe God to be and what it means to believe in God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

But on this final week we looked to the last part of the creed – and what it means to say “I believe in the one holy, catholic, apostolic church”.

The church is God’s gift to us, but it is made up of human beings.  Its foundation is Christ, but the building blocks of the church are us.

For some people this is the most challenging part of the creed because some people have more faith in God than they have in humans or human institutions.  And not without cause, for the church doesn’t always seem so holy or united.

But as we are called to confess our faith in the Holy Trinity each week – Father, Son and Holy Spirit — we are also called to confess our faith in the church – in God’s body of believers here on earth.

The church is God’s institution, gifted to us by God as a show of faith in us!  We believe in God and God believes in us.  (Shout out here to Justin Bieber who references this in his song Holy)

The four words “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church are the foundation of who we are called to be.

We are called to unity: One
Our purpose is to be: Holy
Our reach is: catholic (meaning universal)
The tradition we are to follow is: Apostolic (following in the tradition of teaching and serving that the apostles started).

The church is the way many people come to know about God, grow in faith, and serve the world.  It is the instrument that God has created to showcase God’s love and we are all invited to be part of it.
This analogy of the church was shared Tuesday night:

In 1672 Sir Isaac Newton Published a series of experiments where by shining white light through a prism, he demonstrated that it is made up of a spectrum of colours, of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet.  By refracting this rainbow through another prism, Newton found that it became white light once more.

Similarly, the church is made up of a spectrum of churches and individuals – each with there own particular colour or hue, which find their unity through the prism of the Trinity.
Just as the persons of the Trinity form a single communion, so different people and expressions of life-together form the church.

We each are called, we each have something to offer, and together, with God’s help, we are called into something bigger than any one of us, to help fulfil God’s mission here on earth.

That is something worth believing in!

Prayer:

O Gracious and Holy Father, give us
wisdom to pursuit you,
diligence to seek you,
patience to wait for you,
eyes to behold you,
a heart to meditate on you,
and a life to proclaim you
May we be built up as living stones into a spiritual house,
Your church,
through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

February 26, 2026

The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

• You’ve been sick and got better – Was God’s Spirit blowing through to heal you?
• You’ve felt hurt or sad, and a friend calls you or gives you a hug – Was God’s Spirit blowing through them to comfort you?
• You’ve been at coffee hour and see somebody who is standing by themselves and you talk to them – Was God’s Spirit blowing through you, to show them kindness?

This just a glimpse of what this passage contains but I am sure Fr. Geoff’s sermon this coming Sunday will answer all the questions you may have about it.

See you Sunday, Deacon Joanne

Prayer:
Holy Spirit of God, invisible like the wind, we do not see you moving among us, but the effect we see.  Come to our hearts that we may be renewed and reborn. Open our minds that we may perceive your kingdom.  AMEN

~  Portion of a prayer written by Michael Saward.  Posted by The Jubilate Group

Fourth Fridays Online – next gathering on March 27,  7:00-8:15pm

Topic: Women at the Way of the Cross – Strong Women, Tough Road

Meet by Zoom on the fourth Friday of each month for a light theology discussion group. Style will be conversational and casual. Each session will be built around a particular theme or seasonal question and will include Scripture readings, a short reflection, discussion, and some multi-media elements. We’ll think about the places where faith intersects with our daily living. We’ll ask some honest questions, and we’ll learn from one another.

Click here to join the Fourth Friday Zoom.

All Saints is journeying on a three-year mission action plan (MAP) to strive to be more missionally motivated and to lean more intentionally into parish strengths and growth areas. Our four pillars (areas of focus) are as follows:

• Sharing Who We Are
• Welcoming Others
• Serving Others
• Growing In Faith

These areas were identified by a parish-wide planning meeting in the spring of 2024. It was a wildly constructive meeting for generating ideas and discerning the will and direction of the church as it accords with God’s call to us as a faith community. See the infographic below that shows the four primary growth areas, broken out into 2-3 general focus objectives. The general focuses were further broken down into specific target action items (not shown here). This month (Jan 2026), in a set of aspirational and affirmative sermons, Mthr Jennifer will be talking about MAP and maps and the call to journey with God and with each other. We are enjoying updates on the progress that has been made so far in the four priority areas as we enter Year 3 of the MAP implementation.

If  you have thoughts or questions about All Saints’ Missional Action Plan, contact Mthr Jennifer.