St. George's Anglican Church

St. George's Anglican Church We are the Anglican Church in North East Calgary: worship is contemporary, liturgical, deeply prayerful and lavish in Scripture, with fantastic music!

DURING COVID-19: Church services are online! (and office is closed - send us a message to connect)

02/24/2022

One Moment Please with Bishop Derek Hoskin
24 February 2022

For the past two years I have had the privilege of sharing these One Moment Please spots(OMPs) with you via the St. George’s Anglican Church Blog. I first began writing OMPs when I was the Incumbent at St. Leonard’s on the Hill, Red Deer. As a member of the Red Deer Ministerial I occasionally volunteered to record brief pastoral thoughts for the local Television Station and the local newspaper. Over time I began referring to the short messages as One Moment Please spots. It has been a challenging and enjoyable experience.

Since this is my last OMPs in this current series I would like to share information regarding three of the many resources I have regularly consulted. They are:
1. For All the Saints, Prayers and Reading for Saints Days, ABC Publishing, Anglican Book Centre, 2007.
2. The Oxford Dictionary of Saints by David Hugh Farmer, Clarendon Press, 1979.
3. Saints Galore by David L. Veal, Forward Movement Publications, 1972.
If you do not have these books and want to explore them you might begin by checking your Public Library.

Thank you for reading my OMPs during the COVID19 pandemic. Good-bye for now, and God bless you in your walk with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Bible Reading; 1 Thessalonians 5:8-24

02/23/2022

One Moment Please with Bishop Derek Hoskin
23 February 2022

If you have a Church Calendar you will see that today is red as we remember a Martyr of the early Church; Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. He is remembered as a person of courage who prized his relationship with Jesus Christ even more than his earthly life.

One of the things that Jesus identified in the Sermon on the Mount as often coming between us and our Father in Heaven is the temptation to give up. Polycarp was the Bishop of Smyrna for about 40 years. In the year 156 the Roman authorities launched a persecution of Christians. Polycarp tried to defend his flock, encouraging them to hide and not seek martyrdom. But he was caught and brought into the public arena where he was urged to curse Jesus Christ. He replied, “For 86 years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme against my King and Saviour?” Tied to a stake, the wood at his feet was set ablaze as he prayed. But the flames could not touch him and a gladiator was sent in to kill him.

Polycarp’s example of not giving up strengthened the Christian community throughout the days of persecution, and beyond. We give thanks for Polycarp on February 23.

Bible Reading: Matthew 5: 1-12

02/22/2022

One Moment Please with Bishop Derek Hoskin
22 February 2022

The Season of Epiphany is almost over. The liturgical colour green will change to white on March 1 for Saint David of Wales, and then to purple for the Season of Lent on March 2, Ash Wednesday. As we say good-bye to the Christmas and Epiphany Seasons let us pause to reflect on one of the four Canticles which the Gospel of Luke includes in the story of the birth of Jesus.

The Canticle of the army of Angels is one verse in Luke; Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favours. (NLT) These wonderful words summarize what the Holy One says in Isaiah 57:15-21, especially verse 19. In the Song of the Angels we hear what God’s intention is in sending His only Son to be born, to live, and to die as all humans beings do; through Jesus the Christ forgiveness of sins is freely offered that people everywhere may have peace in the healing presence of the One who lives forever.

May the Canticle of the angelic choir become our exclamation of thanksgiving when we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God.

Bible Reading: Luke 2:14; Isaiah 57:15-21; John 20: 28.

02/17/2022

One Moment Please with Derek Hoskin
17 February 2022

How did Jesus die? Yes, he was nailed to a cross outside the walls of Jerusalem. However the nails did not kill him; Jesus died the slow death of suffocation. As a person on a cross lost strength, the weight of their body hanging there would gradually make breathing more difficult until death came.

Physical suffocation is dreadful but there is another form of suffocation that is also dreadful; Spiritual suffocation. This slow death comes about when a person loses their focus on God. For a great variety of reasons they close the door on their relationship with the Creator of all that is, seen and unseen. The God of Love who has given them the freedom to make such a choice, stands weeping outside the closed door, knocking again and again in the hope that the person will come to their senses. Meanwhile the person suffocates bit by bit as their soul is deprived of the renewing breath that the Holy Spirit brings. Yet, spiritual suffocation can be reversed. The prayers of the faithful are heard in the kingdom of heaven and miracles happen. The love of Jesus seeps into the gasping soul; new life begins.

Let us follow Jesus in praying for the spiritually suffocating.

Bible Reading: Luke 23:32-34, 15:12-24; Revelation 3:20.

02/16/2022

One Moment Please with Derek Hoskin
16 February 2022

During the past two years you may have felt that you were near the end of your rope. The pandemic seemed to drag on and on. Sadly it seems to be a common human experience to feel over-whelmed by the trails of life. For example Psalm 69 which was written by David, 1040-970 B.C. begins like this;
Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting...
What are we to do? What the Psalmist recommends may sound impossible, perhaps even silly.

After expressing anger and helplessness regarding the injustice of his situation, the Psalmist says in verse 29, “But I am lowly and in pain; let your salvation, O God, protect me. I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.” Singing a song of thanksgiving to God in the midst of our tribulation may seem impossible, but it works! The song can focus our mind on the One from whom our help comes rather then on our problems. Thanks be to God.

Bible Reading: Psalm 69:1-3, 29-30; Matthew 6:31-34.

02/15/2022

One Moment Please with Derek Hoskin
15 February 2022

Today we remember an English parish priest whose name is not in The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. This extraordinary follower of Jesus Christ is listed in For All the Saints which explains the Calendar of the Anglican Church of Canada.

On February 15, 1730, the Rev. Thomas Bray was called home by our Lord and Saviour. Bray’s love of knowledge was recognized and nurtured by his parish priest who enabled him to attend Oxford University. Following ordination in the Church of England Bray served a rural parish where he encouraged his parishioners to grow in knowledge and faith. The Bishop of London sent him as his commissary to Maryland where he was a diligent pastor in providing educational resources for parishes and in recruiting clergy for the colony. To achieve these goals he gathered support in England for the establishment of Parish libraries. In 1698 he organized the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, S.P.C.K. In 1701 Bray founded the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to recruit and support Anglican missionary work in America. His last 22 years were given to serving the urban poor, the schooling of children of slaves, and the unemployed imprisoned for unpaid debts in his London parish.

We remember God’s faithful servant, Thomas Bray.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 55:6-11, Matthew 9:35-38

02/10/2022

One Moment Please with Derek Hoskin
10 February 2022

I heard the door-bell ring. Donning my mask I opened the door to be greeted by our neighbour. She had been making cookies for her grand-children to have on February 14 and decided to share some with us. Beautiful heart shaped icing topped cookies decorated with sprinkles. Delicious!

St. Valentine’s Day is not in the Anglican Calendar of saints. In the Roman Martyrology it is February 14. Who was St. Valentine? Two martyrs executed by Emperor Claudius II are suggested although they could actually be only one person. One, a Roman priest, was martyred in 270 AD on the Flaminian Way. The other, Valentine, Bishop of Terni, was martyred at Rome for assisting persecuted Christians, for secretly marrying Christian couples in love, and for refusing to reject his faith. His relics were translated to Terni and Valentine became the city’s Patron Saint. Terni, also called the City of Lovers, is famous for it’s waterfalls.

The connection to lovers might come from the belief that birds pair on February 14. Another story says Valentine tutored his jailer’s blind daughter, Julia, while imprisoned. God restored her sight when she and Valentine prayed together. On the eve of his martyrdom, he wrote Julia a note signed, From your Valentine.

Happy Valentine’s Day on February 14.

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

02/09/2022

One Moment Please with Derek Hoskin
09 February 2022

Today we remember Hannah Grier Coome; born 28 October 1837 in the Carrying Place, Upper Canada, and died 9 February 1921 in Toronto.

Hannah’s parents, the Rev. John and Eliza Grier, home schooled their daughter. In1859 Hannah married Charles Coome. In 1862 they moved to Britain where Charles worked as civil engineer. During their 14 years in Britain Hannah became interested in religious communities. The loss of her first and only child due to a severe fall during pregnancy, and the death of her husband a year after their return to North America, left Hannah dependant on a brother. In 1881 she decided to return to Britain to enter a religious community.

While in Toronto on route to England she met some people who were interested in establishing a religious community in Canada. Hannah’s plans changed. She returned to Peekskill, New York, to enter a two year formation period with the Sisters of St. Mary, a relatively new Anglican educational and nursing order. In 1884 she professed religious vows. Sister Hannah returned to Toronto where, overcoming many obstacles, she established the Anglican Sisterhood of St. John the Divine devoted to prayer, nursing the sick and caring for the needy.

God continues to bless people through the Sisterhood Hannah founded 137 years ago.

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:145-152, Matthew 6:19-21

02/09/2022

One Moment Please with Derek Hoskin
08 February 2022

The Gospel reading last Sunday was the account of Jesus teaching a crowd from Peter’s fishing boat. When Jesus had finished speaking he told Peter to go out to deeper water and let down his nets to catch many fish. Peter was tired. He had fished all through the previous night and caught nothing. However he said that if that was what Jesus wanted done, they would do it. You know the result! Then, awe struck, Peter said to Jesus, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I am too much of a sinner to be around you.” That incident changed Peter’s life forever.

Many years later, as Peter realized that his death was near at hand, he reflected upon his many experiences as a disciple/apostle of Jesus. One particular experience stood out for him and he referred to it in the second Epistle bearing his name. It was the time when he and James and John accompanied Jesus up a high mountain and beheld Jesus gloriously transfigured, talking with Moses and Elijah, and a cloud overshadowed the disciples and a voice from the cloud said to them, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him. Listen to him.”

What life experiences brought you into the presence of God?
Bible Reading: Luke 5:1-11; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-7.

02/03/2022

One Moment Please with Derek Hoskin
03 February 2022

Today we Commemorate Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg, Apostle of Scandinavia, who died on this day in 865. Anskar, a Saxon monk from Corbie, France, began his missionary work in 826 when the emperor of the Franks asked him to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to southern Denmark. The school he established was attacked by the local heathen population and he was forced to flee to Sweden where in 832 he opened the first Christian Church which lasted only a short time due to his inability to recruit and retain staff. Then in 845 he was called to serve as Archbishop of Hamburg in Germany. However, he continued to organize missions to the land of the Vikings and to work at bringing the Baltic slave-trade to an end. These endeavours of his did not meet with success.

Although Anskar faced one set-back after another he did not give up. He kept looking for other ways in which to share the Gospel with those in Sweden who had not heard it. Long after his death, when Sweden became a Christian country, he was remembered as the missionary who sowed the seeds which gave birth to Sweden’s conversion.

Anskar, the Apostle of Scandinavia, is especially honoured by Swedish and English Christians.

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 4:9-13; Mark 4:26-32.

02/02/2022

One Moment Please with Derek Hoskin
02 February 2022

On your Church Calendar you will see that today is a Holy Day, The Presentation of the Lord. This familiar Canticle from Evening Prayer comes to mind.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,/ according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,/ which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel. (BCP, page22)
The Nunc Dimittis is the song of the very devout elder Simeon who greeted Mary and Joseph when they brought Jesus to the Temple forty days after his birth to do for him what was required according to the Law. The offering they brought was a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, the offering of a poor family. During the Temple rituals the priest declared Mary to be ceremonially clean and her first-born son, Jesus, redeemed according to the Law. Mary and Joseph ensured that the laws regarding the birth of Jesus were fulfilled. Besides Simeon’s song, words of prophecy and praise were also offered by the prophet Anna who spoke of Jesus being the promised King to come and deliver Jerusalem.

A wonderful day in the life of Jesus, our Lord.

Bible Reading: Luke 2:28-33; Exodus 13:2, 11-16; Malachi 3:1-5

02/01/2022

One Moment Please with Derek Hoskin
01 February 2022

“Annual World Interfaith Harmony Week, Feb. 1-7, was adopted unanimously by the UN on October 20, 2010. It is based on the pioneering work of The Common Word initiative, which started in 2007, and called for Muslim and Christian leaders to engage in a dialogue based on two common fundamental religious Commandments; Love of God, and Love of the Neighbour, without nevertheless compromising any of their own religious tenets. The Two commandments are at the heart of the three Monotheistic religions. The World Interfaith Harmony Week extends the Two Commandments by adding ‘Love of the Good, and Love of the Neighbour’. This formula includes all people of goodwill, those of other faiths, and those with no faith.” https://worldinterfaithharmonyweek.com/

A prayer from our Canadian Anglican-Lutheran leaders, “O God, Creator of all; as disciples of your Son Jesus Christ, we see and know the depth of your heart to reach out in peace to all people. Help us to demonstrate the boundless love and welcome you give to all your children. Enrich our knowledge of you by seeing you through the eyes and faith of others. Reveal to us the common ground from which we can together serve the common good. We ask this together with all those who hallow your holy name. Amen.”

Address

2523 56 Street NE
Calgary, AB
T1Y6E7

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9:30am - 4pm
Wednesday 1pm - 4pm
Thursday 9:30am - 4pm

Telephone

(403) 280-3579

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