St. John's Elora, 36 Henderson Street, Elora, ON (2026)

10/12/2026

In celebration of our new space, everyone is invited out for a fun, lighthearted evening of entertainments put on by the Parish Choir of and other guests! 🌹 🎭 🎼

We hope to see you THIS SATURDAY (Oct 17) at 7:00pm!

Admission by donation. Refreshments provided. 🍪 🥛 🧀 🍷

10/11/2026

Happy Thanksgiving from St John’s Elora.

We are surrounded this morning at St John’s Elora by these symbols of the bounty of the harvest. They become the first fruits of the harvest offered to God - a symbol of our thanks.

It is an obvious time of year to do an inventory of all the things we are grateful for. Clearly, we give thanks for food, our farmers, and all the people who have prepared and delivered our food; we give thanks for the gift of faith, for community, for music and for belonging to something larger than ourselves. We give thanks and acknowledge, as we heard in the first reading, that all of these gifts come from God. They are not of our own making.

Sometimes, at the offertory hymn, when the offering from the people is brought forward, and the gifts of the bread and w**e are presented, the priest receives it, presents it to God at the altar and says,

“BLESSED be thou Lord God of Israel, for ever and ever. All that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine. All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.”

What a beautiful text. It is an offertory sentence that reminds us that we are given these gifts from God and we are merely stewards of them for a time. So it is good to offer our thanks.

Whatever stage of life you are in, as long as you are on this earth, as long as you are part of the creation, then you have the opportunity to grow into an awareness of God’s gifts and to offer thanks.

Whether it be at a service of Choral Matins or Communion, or Evensong or Compline, or Meditation, all of these are tools to help bring you into the mystery of God’s presence. God’s presence is both transcendent and imminent. It is both invisible and yet concretely displayed. But, like all things, it takes time to be able to notice it, see it, and acknowledge it.

In today’s gospel story of the lepers who were healed, there is of course only one person that comes back to give thanks.
But significantly all ten of them were healed.

Nine of them did what they were told to do.
Jesus said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”

“As they went, they were healed.”

“But one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He fell at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.”

Fortunately, the act of healing is not dependent on the act of giving thanks.

Thanksgiving becomes a by-product of the healing not a pre-requisite for the healing.

All ten were healed. Nine of them did what they were told to do - show themselves to the priests.

Jesus instructs them to go to the priests because the priests held the authority to restore them back to community. So they obeyed and went.

The priests were understood to be like our public health officials. They could declare when it was safe for you to be back in the company of other people without causing any risk of infection. This is all about risk management and containment of disease. And the priests held that role.

So when this one comes back to fall at Jesus’ feet and offer thanks, it is not only an act of great thanksgiving, where Jesus asks, “Where are the other nine?” It is also a profound acknowledgment that elevates Jesus to the role of a priest. Jesus now becomes the one to say, “Yup, you are clean. You are no longer a risk to others. Go, your faith has made you well.”

In so doing, this man, previously alienated, marginalized and cast out, was now, by virtue of Jesus’ authority as a priest, restored back to his community again.

What is even more significant is that this elevation of Jesus’ role is acknowledged by a “foreigner” - a Samaritan. It is like the three kings from the east - gentiles - who come to the manger in Bethlehem to acknowledge the birth of a Saviour. They too are from the outside.

This Samaritan is an outcast on two accounts. He is an outcast because he has a communicable disease, and he is outcast because he is a Samaritan. As a Samaritan he is prevented from participating in the temple practices in Jerusalem.

Now, Jesus says, “you are in!”

On so many levels, this is a remarkable story.

These words, “Go, your faith has made you well,” were words of delight to this man. He was not only healed, but he was fully restored to his community and able to access temple worship.

This is something he never ever thought possible.

There is a lovely line in the psalm today.
“We shall be satisfied with the pleasures of thy house, even of thy holy temple.”

The pleasures of the temple, of God’s house, was the profound and powerful sign, housed in the temple, of assurance that God was with them.

Inside the temple, in the holy of holies, housed in the tabernacle, was the ark of the covenant. It was a concrete sign of God’s presence.

Here too, we model ourselves in our worship on the same premise. We are given signs in our midst of the assurance of God’s presence. We are a place, and a people, who offer thanks to God, all as a response to the revelation, made known to us through the scriptures and sacraments, that God has not and will not ever abandon us.

Thanks be to God.

- Paul Walker
Rector of St John’s Elora

Harvest Thanksgiving

10/10/2026

The celebration of the harvest is a reminder of the abundance and bounty that we are blessed with from the earth. I love the colours of this season, the light in the afternoon, and the smells from the kitchen of pumpkin pie or roast turkey and vegetables.

Psalm 65 describes this with a vivid image: “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drip with fatness.”

It sounds delicious.

From the mana in the desert, the water from the rock, or the loaves and fishes in the wilderness, these stories are clear reminders that our daily bread and provisions for the journey are provided. For people who do not have the resources to access their daily bread we are called to look after one another, feed the hungry, visit the sick and comfort the lonely. This is what community does and this is why we belong to one another. It becomes a concrete expression of God’s abiding presence.

As the hymn, “Now Thank We All our God” describes,
“O may this bounteous God
through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts,
and blessed peace to cheer us,
and nourish us with grace,
and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all ills
in this world and the next.”

I hope you can celebrate Thanksgiving at St John’s this weekend.

SUNDAY October 11
HARVEST THANKSGIVING
8:00 Holy Communion
9:00 Holy Eucharist
11:00 Choral Matins with Parish Choir

TUESDAY October 13
5:00 Meditation Group (Parish Centre)

WEDNESDAY October 14
10:00 Holy Communion

THURSDAY October 15
4:30 Volunteer Choir Rehearsal

FRIDAY October 16
10:30 Song Circle (Parish Centre)

SUNDAY October 18
8:00 Holy Communion
9:00 Holy Eucharist
11:00 Choral Communion with Parish Choir

Looking forward to seeing you.

Paul Walker
Rector of St. John’s Elora

10/04/2026

Thank you to everyone who showed up last Sunday for the Grand-opening and dedication of St. John’s Commons. It was a memorable, beautiful and historic event. Thank you to the team of people who helped prepare and set up. Everyone has been able to participate and contribute in your own way to the success of this project. You are all stars.

Speaking of stars, during the territorial land acknowledgement offered by David Campbell on the front steps of The Commons last Sunday, I was told that, while David was speaking, if you looked up in the blue sky there was an eagle passing over the gathering. It was as though the ancestors were looking down and offering their blessing. That was a moment.

Another moment was on Monday evening. The Elora Children’s Choir was the first group to formally use the new space. Thirty three children gathered and I was able to welcome them in the new space. We had a ribbon cutting with the big scissors, and we all clapped and shouted “hooray!”

I asked the children what it was that they liked about the new space, and almost all thirty three children threw their hands up in the air to express what it was that they liked.

“The big wooden beams.”

“The halo lights.” (Yes, and if you stand under one of those lights, you become an angel).

“Everything smells so new and clean.”

“The windows.”

Throwing her arms wide open, one girl said, “The space is just so big!”

Today is the Feast of St Francis of Assisi.

It is an invitation to bless all of creation, and next week we celebrate Harvest Thanksgiving as we give thanks for the gifts of creation.

Between the beginning of September and Thanksgiving in the church we call this the season of creation. There is so much colour and bounty to receive, enjoy and share.

St. Francis has become the patron saint of animals and all of creation. St Francis is attributed with that wonderful prayer:

“Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

“Grant that we not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.

“For it is giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

That’s the prayer of St. Francis. It is a prayer for Christian life. There’s an enormous wealth of truth in that text. The premise of the text is the summary of the law, the ten commandments; and the invitation of the text is to ask ourselves what we sow. What is it that we put out into the world? What do we offer to those around us? It is an invitation for us to sow love, pardon, union, faith, hope, light and joy.

This is very similar to what St. Paul describes as the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control.

Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruit.”

So on the feast of St Francis we ask ourselves, What kind of fruit am I bearing in the world? How am I known among my friends?

When you think of it, for many who are lovers of animals, this kind of harvest is what you often know to be true of your pets. They just give unconditional love. They are loyal and faithful. They are faithful companions. It’s no wonder we are drawn to them.

Similarly, you are drawn to people who exhibit such attributes.

In today’s gospel reading of the parable of the tenants, Jesus says that the kingdom of God belongs to those who produce the fruits of the kingdom.

Ironically, like what we’ve heard in the previous few weeks of readings, God’s kingdom belongs to the last, the least and the forgotten. It belongs to the tax collectors and sinners. These are the ones that Jesus is criticized for because he eats and drinks with them. These are the ones who only worked one hour but were made equal to those who worked all day. These are the ones who learned how to look after each other and bear each other’s burdens.

When you are last in line, or at the bottom of the ladder, that is when you know despair, doubt, injury, darkness and sadness. And, this is precisely the place, always the place, that God shows up. That’s what the prayer of St. Francis tells us.

The Israelites had complained and quarrelled with Moses for bringing them out of slavery in Egypt only to die of hunger and thirst in the wilderness. They asked. “Has God forgotten us?” But God uses Moses to provide bread from heaven or water from the rock, so they are learning, as we all are, that God does not abandon us in the wilderness. God does not liberate us only to let us die in the desert.

God says, “You are my people, and I have saved you, delivered you, and provided for you, so then this is how you live.” God gives them the ten commandments. They are meant to become ten guidelines which identify the boundaries for living safely in the wilderness. Stay within these boundaries and you will bear fruit that will last.

And when you wander out of the boundary, the good shepherd has his or her staff to bring you back in.

So in the spirit of St. Francis, pray that prayer in your heart this week. Make it part of your daily rhythm and begin to see how living within this boundary can become a secure place where you can be reminded of God’s promise to never abandon you.

Paul Walker
Rector of St John’s Elora
Feast of St Francis
October 4, 2026

10/03/2026

Thank you for showing up last Sunday to celebrate the Grand-Opening of St. John’s Commons. It was a wonderful event.

Over 230 people gathered as Bishop Susan Bell dedicated the new Columbarium, unveiled the plaque for The Commons, and helped to cut the ribbon at the Grand-Opening for St. John’s Commons.

In silence we all entered inside The Commons for the fist time to hear the Parish Choir sing “Locus iste” - “this place was made by God.” It was a holy and sacred time.

Thank you to the team of people who helped to make the day such a memorable and celebratory event. You all should be proud of what you have accomplished together as a parish, as I am so deeply proud of and grateful for each one of you. Every one of us had a role in the creation of this project, and now, as we learn to live into the new space, every one of us are on a journey to learn how to inhabit this new space together with grace.

May we learn together with care, humility, expectation and joy.

If you have not seen the St. John’s Commons, you are welcome to come by to visit and have a tour of this beautiful space.

This week our monthly service of Compline is offered on Tuesday at 8:00PM. This is a choral sound bath for the soul that ends the day in peace. If you would like to participate in the Compline Choir the rehearsal begins at 6:30 followed by tea and treats in The Commons at 7:30. The service at 8:00 lasts for half an hour.

Here are some events this week at St. John’s Elora you might consider attending:

SUNDAY October 4
Feast of St. Francis
8:00 Holy Communion
9:00 Holy Eucharist
11:00 Choral Communion with Parish Choir

MONDAY October 5
5:30 Elora Children’s Choir (The Commons)

TUESDAY October 6
5:00 Meditation Group (Parish Centre)
8:00 Compline (choir rehearses at 6:30)

WEDNESDAY October 7
9:30 Circle of Friends (Parish Centre)
10:00 Holy Communion
6:30 Men’s Dinner (The Commons)

THURSDAY October 8
11:00 Volunteer Choir

FRIDAY October 9
10:30 Song Circle (Parish Centre)
1:30 Service at Heritage River

SUNDAY October 11
Harvest Thanksgiving
8:00 Holy Communion
9:00 Holy Eucharist
11:00 Choral Matins with Parish Choir

Looking forward to seeing you.

Paul Walker
Rector of St. John’s Elora

10/01/2026

Today we remember the legacy of residential schools in Canada and particularly the children who did not return home.

As we open our doors, we also open our hearts and minds to the past; and we commit ourselves to working in a spirit of truth and reconciliation to make a better future for all.

We recognize all first peoples who were here before us; those who live with us now; and the seven generations to come.

09/28/2026

Welcome to this historic day in the life of the parish of the Church of St. John the Evangelist. Today is the culmination of thirteen months of construction, five years of planning, and almost forty years of a vision. It sounds almost biblical.

Over the decades there have been many ideas put forward about how to address the challenge of accessibility in what is now a 151 year old building.

Nine years ago, after I was here for a few months, one of the wardens invited me over to her home along with the property manager to show me scores of rolled up concept drawings, prepared by our friend, Edward Thomas. This work represented the twelve initial attempts over a twenty year period to address the challenge of accessibility.

“What would you like to do,” they asked me.

“Wait,” I said. “I think I need to be here longer than a few months before we make any decisions.”

The thought of a capital project of that scale made me gasp with palpitations at the time.

Waiting seemed to be the only option.

But when the pandemic came, we began some visioning exercises. They became our first expression of a Mission Action Plan. From there, something called OPEN DOORS was clearly identified as one of our four priorities to move us into the 2030’s.

Consultations, meetings, approvals from the diocese, the Heritage Committee, the BAO, and endless numbers of Special Vestry meetings allowed us to proceed.
In the process there were more gasps and palpitations, but what I discovered is that with a clear and articulated vision more and more people came on board.

“Keep your eye well focussed on the goal,” Edward Thomas told me in the sacristy one Sunday morning. Like a plane on auto pilot you will always veer off course, but the overall direction of the plane consistently moves forward with an ever increasing level of precision the closer it gets to its landing strip.

And that is precisely what happened.

Much like an aircraft preparing for a long haul flight, no plane ever gets off the ground without an incredible number of people to help get it in the air. And once it is in the air even more people are required to get the plane safely to its destination.

So a huge thank you to the very large team of people who worked so hard to make this project happen. You are such skilled people in your trade or profession and it has been such an honour to work along side you.

You all should be so proud of what you have created and what you offer to this parish, this community and ultimately, as the Bishop dedicates this new space, what you offer to God. Your craftsmanship, commitment and professionalism are exemplary.

From the staff and volunteers at the diocese, particularly Bishop Susan Bell and Archdeacon Bill Mous; to the township, Mayor Watters, Counsellor McDonald and the staff; to Edward Thomas, Jeff Atchison, and Mihai Tudose at SRM Architects; to Andrew Gateman, Maddie Morencie, Greg Karges and the whole team from Zehrs Construction; and to the huge army of subcontractors who helped with electrical, plumbing, HVAC, millwork, flooring, concrete, roofing and landscaping. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Deep gratitude to the parish finance team who tracks the donations, pays the bills, and carefully monitors the endowments; and thanks to you, the people who have invested generously and with confidence; but most particularly, gratitude to the ones who have put in endless hours, emails and meetings: the co-chairs of the entire project, Colleen Murray and Peter Barr.

This project is about ACCESSIBILITY, PRESERVATION, and COMMUNITY.

What I have learned is how much I love construction. It is just so fun. There are several moments that will stand out for me for a while.

The day that I walked up the sidewalk and a couple were standing admiring the beauty of these Douglas fir timbers just installed. They looked like giant pieces of Jenga wooden blocks.

“Pretty sweet,” I said.

“Oh,” he replied, “That is so sweet.”

And then he proceeded to tell me that he was the one who orchestrated the transportation for those Douglas fir timbers to come on a train from B.C. and get here on a flat bed truck to a construction site in Elora. That is community.

Or the day that the columbarium was installed. An 80 ton crane lifted 15,000 pounds of Canadian granite.

“Oh,” the crane operator said, “I don’t want to lift it over the neighbour’s house, so I think it’s best to lift it over the church.”

“Well yes, of course,” I concurred with trepidation.

Saying our prayers, a small group of us watched from across the street as this crane lifted the columbarium over the roof of the narthex and into place. Then the most remarkable thing happened. They filled four GLAD sandwich bags with sand, and placed them under the corners of the columbarium. Fifteen thousand pounds of granite — all held up and shimmied into place by four GLAD sandwich bags. That’s not only a good marketing tool for GLAD sandwich bags that’s a really good party trick.

After this service we will follow the choir outside through the Henderson Street doors of the church. They are the first doors of this church which were opened 151 years ago next week. You are invited to assemble at the steps, the ramp, or on the sidewalk. You can gather safely on the road within the orange construction cones. After the bishop unveils the plaque and after we cut the ribbon, you are invited to follow the choir inside the new space. As much as possible enter it in silence. This is a new space, dedicated to the glory of God, and designed and crafted by a huge team of human beings who are all reflecting the image of God just by what they do. It becomes holy ground. So we enter it in silence to honour their skill, time and craft.

Once gathered, the choir will sing. The first public sound in the space will be choral music. Harmonies. Texturing. A sweet layering of sounds embedded like a sound patina into the walls, the ceiling beams, the windows and the floor.

This is community at its best. And for this gift we are all so deeply grateful.

Paul Walker
Rector of St John’s Elora
Sunday September 27, 2026
The Dedication of The St John’s Commons

09/26/2026

It is finally here! After thirteenth months of construction and many years of planning tomorrow is the big unveil of the St. John's COMMONS.

Yesterday we received our occupancy permit and the professional cleaners came to do a final cleaning. This morning a crew of parishioners are setting things up for the service and reception tomorrow afternoon.

The Choral Evensong with Bishop Susan Bell begins tomorrow at 4:00pm followed by the ribbon cutting and the plaque unveiling on the front steps of The Commons, and a beautiful reception inside. There will be lots of food and beverage, and the community is invited to attend.

This is an opportunity to gather and to extend deep gratitude to the community, the construction team from Zehrs, the Diocese of Niagara and the architectural team at SRM.

Come to celebrate, for all is now ready.

Here are some events to this week at St. John’s Elora:

SUNDAY September 27
8:00 Holy Communion
9:00 Holy Eucharist
11:00 Choral Matins with Quartet
4:00 Choral Evensong for GRAND OPENING and DEDICATION of ST JOHN’S COMMONS

MONDAY September 28
5:30 Elora Children’s Choir (The Commons)

TUESDAY September 29
5:00 Meditation Group (Parish Centre)

WEDNESDAY September 30
9:30 Circle of Friends (Parish Centre)
10:00 Holy Communion

THURSDAY October 1
11:00 Volunteer Choir
11:00 Service at Wellington Terrace

FRIDAY October 2
10:30 Song Circle (Parish Centre)

SUNDAY October 4
8:00 Holy Communion
9:00 Holy Eucharist
11:00 Choral Communion with Parish Choir

Looking forward to seeing you.

Paul Walker
Rector of St. John’s Elora

09/20/2026

At St. John's Elora we are on the final countdown towards the grand-opening and dedication for the St. John’s Commons.

It is going to be a full week of final preparations so the best thing we can do is stay out of the way of our workers and then show up next Sunday afternoon. Our cooperation and support for the team this week allows them to complete everything on time and most importantly to keep the site safe.

I hope that you are able to attend the Grand Opening Evensong next Sunday September 27th at 4:00PM. It will be a wonderful event and a historic moment for the parish and for the community.

Our neighbours at St. Mary’s Church up the road have generously made arrangements for people to park in their parking lot that afternoon, which is a great help; and Zehrs Construction and Fergies Fine Foods have generously offered to sponsor the reception. So, in the fullness of time everything will be ready. You just need to show up!

Today we hear of two stories of great complaints. (Exodus 16:2-15 and Matthew 20:1-16). Complaints usually are born out of the fact that things are not as we expect them to be. So we complain.

Moses has just parted the waters so the Israelites could pass through the sea safely. They were freed from their years of captivity as slaves in Egypt. This event, known as the Exodus, was a significant demonstration of great power that afforded Moses a fleeting moment of credibility. His rating in the polls sky-rocketed. They were finally free.

It is not long after that, when people start dying of hunger in the wilderness, that naturally they start complaining. “Weren’t we better off back in Egypt? We may have been slaves, but at least we had food.”

It got so bad that the “whole congregation of Israel” complained against Moses and Aaron. When it’s just a few people that is manageable, but a whole congregation indicates that things were pretty bad.

So, Moses appropriately deflected it back to the one whose idea this was in the first place: Yawheh. Moses said to God, "What am I to do? This is about you, not about me." And he appropriately directs their complaints to God.

Moses said to the Israelites, “In the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord because he has heard your complaining against the Lord.” (Exodus 16:2-15)

Then it happened. The glory of the Lord was revealed in the evening when quails came and covered the camp; and when the morning dew lifted, a fine flakey substance appeared, like frost on the ground. They had no idea what it was. Moses said to them, “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.” There it was, right before their eyes, but they didn't know it.

I wonder, how often is this the case? We complain that things aren’t as we expect; our case is heard and a resolution is offered. But we don’t recognize the resolution because it doesn’t come in the form that we expect. Even though it is right before our eyes. Even though it covers the entire ground we walk on. For some reason we cannot see it.

We pray, “give us today our daily bread,” and like dew in the morning it is always provided, whether we see it or not.

This event becomes the second event for Moses to establish his credibility with the people. First we had the Exodus; now we have the mana in the wilderness.

The gospel today (Matthew 20:1-16) is about the workers in the vineyard, or sometimes more appropriately called, the story of the generous land-owner.

This land owner goes out early in the morning to hire people who were standing idle in the market place. He agrees to pay them the “usual daily wage.” Then he goes out again at 9 o’clock to hire more workers, and agrees to pay them “whatever is right.” Then again at noon, 3 o’clock and even at 5 o’clock he is still taking more people in from the market place to give them a job in the vineyard.

When evening came and the manager is sent to pay the workers, the ones who only worked one hour were completely astonished. They opened their paycheque and thought that there must be some mistake! They were paid for a full day’s wage! When the workers hired early in the morning heard this, they developed the expectation that they should be paid more. However, they too were astonished because they received the same amount as those who worked for only one hour.

So they complained. “You have made them equal to us who have born the heat of the day.” This is not right!

The land owner says, “Was this not our agreement? Did I not give to you what you signed up for? Take what belongs to you and go.” Then he delivers the line that expresses most accurately what he becomes known for: “are you envious because I am generous?”

This is a land owner who becomes known for his lavish generosity. He gives the labourers who work one hour a full day’s wage. I suspect that the next day no one will be there at 9 o’clock in the morning, and everyone will show up at 5 o’clock in the afternoon.

We see the premise of this story demonstrated in the parable of the two brothers. The younger brother comes home after squandering his inheritance and the father offers a huge banquet. The older son refuses to go in because he thinks that his younger brother is unworthy to receive such generosity.

Are you envious because I am generous?

There is something deep within us that says, “if I am a good person, I somehow deserve a good life. I deserve some recognition or blessing more than the person who hasn’t been so good.” There is a sense of entitlement, expectation and a sense of justice about it all. Sometimes it is called self-justification or even self-righteousness.

But throughout his ministry Jesus equalizes the playing field. The last always become the first. This becomes a huge social upset and a scandal. He eats with the tax collectors and sinners; he cleanses the lepers; he denies that James and Peter can sit at his right hand, and instead assures the criminal on the cross that he will be with him in paradise. Furthermore, he forgives the whole lot of them for denying, abandoning, betraying and crucifying him. This whole business of the last becoming the first is a divine scandal that warrants some complaint.

But the bread from heaven is given to us all - in equal amounts. This is what we pray for: our daily bread. It is always just enough for today. And when there’s any left over, we share it with others - because the God whom we serve is a God of generosity.

- Paul Walker
Rector of St John's Elora
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Exodus 16:2-15
Matthew 20:1-16

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