All Saints Anglican Church

01/09/2026

BLESSING FOR PEACE

As the fever of day calms towards twilight
May all that is strained in us come to ease.

We pray for all who suffered violence today,
May an unexpected serenity surprise them.

For those who risk their lives each day for peace,
May their hearts glimpse providence at the heart of history.

That those who make riches from violence and war
Might hear in their dreams the cries of the lost.

That we might see through our fear of each other
A new vision to heal our fatal attraction to aggression.

That those who enjoy the privilege of peace
Might not forget their tormented brothers and sisters.

That the wolf might lie down with the lamb,
That our swords be beaten into ploughshares

And no hurt or harm be done
Anywhere along the holy mountain.

JOHN O'DONOHUE

From the book, Benedictus
County Clare, Ireland
Photo: © Ann Cahill
https://johnodonohue.com/

12/16/2025

You are warmly invited to celebrate Christmas with us. Candlelight, Carols, and Christmas joy! Join us on December 24 at 7 pm. Everyone is welcome here.

12/16/2025

We pray for the people and communities of Bondi, Australia, after the tragedy of Sunday's shootings that targeted a Jewish community during a Chanukkah event on the beach.

We pray for those injured and harmed, for the bereaved families of those that lost their lives and for those living in fear because of the atrocity.

We pray for the local authorities and communities as they seek to respond and stand against anti-Semitism, hate, violence and terrorism in all its forms.

May the peace of God be known in that place.

Amen.

12/03/2025

"We must not seek the Child Jesus in the pretty figures of our Christmas cribs. We must seek him among the undernourished children who have gone to bed at night with nothing to eat..."

St. Oscar Romero, Dec 24, 1979.

"Holy Family of the Streets"
by Kelly Latimore Icons
Courtesy of the artist

11/12/2025

11/01/2025

We are entering into a trio of days that I have loved for a long time: Halloween, the Feast of All Saints, and the Feast of All Souls, that thin place in the year—also known as a thin time—that acknowledges how close the worlds are, even when they seem horribly far apart.

I am thinking especially of those who have lost beloved ones since this time last year, and whose grief is new and raw. And I am thinking always of those who have carried their grief for a long time.

These days invite us into memory and hope—and sorrow and joy and, most of all, love. In everything we carry, may we keep figuring out what it means to live fully and wholeheartedly here and now, in this world and in this life. Wherever these days find you, may they hold solace and mysterious grace. This blessing is for you.

ATTENDED

We are attended.
We are accompanied.

We are asked to open
our eyes, our hearts,
to the grace of it,

that we might bear witness
not only to the fall of the sparrow
but also to what follows it:

the aching mystery that
comes to sing in our bones,
the presence that releases us
into this living and into this world

but also,
with wondrous strangeness,
goes with us still,
making a nest in us
and helping us
find our way
home.

—Jan Richardson
from Sparrow: A Book of Life and Death and Life
janrichardson.com/books

Image: “A Gathering of Spirits“
© Jan Richardson

10/20/2025

Happy Diwali to all those marking the start of the festival of lights today. May this season bring you and your loved ones joy, prosperity and good health.

10/04/2025

Today is the Feast of St Francis of Assisi:
“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy” 🙏

10/01/2025

Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day, set apart to remember the children who died or went missing through the residential school system, to honour survivors and their families and to take meaningful action towards reconciliation.

Creator God, have mercy upon us for what we have done and what we have failed to do. Instill in our hearts your Spirit of justice and peace.