St. Mary's, Kirkland

11/07/2021

Hello! So our closing, in-person service is about to start! For some technical difficulty reason it isn’t going to stream here, but if you search St Mary’s Anglican Kirkland on YouTube you should be able to find it there!!
:)

11/06/2021

The community of St Mary's will gather at 4.30pm, Sunday November 7th at the church of St Michael and All Angels, 15556 Cabot, Pierrefonds. There will be prayers, readings, liturgy, communion, a talk and, of course, music. Lots of music.

It is a sad day. The endpoint of a resting place, a sanctuary, a place of connection, a place to be open to the divine presence.

It is a day to remember, to celebrate. What was shared, what has passed, lives touched, transformed. To sing together. To be together.

Maybe your whole life has been spent in St Mary's. Maybe you just know someone and want to be there as a support. Maybe you've just sensed something special. Maybe you were a part of our Summer Camp program. Maybe you were married, baptismed, had your first communion, or your last, within the community. Maybe you came to one of our concerts. Whatever your connection, please come to share in this last gathering. It is the gathering of people that brings the warmth and hope for the future, whatever that may be.

See you there.

10/31/2021

Morning prayer
October 31st, 2021
Marie Landry

10/30/2021

Tomorrow will be the last online worship from St Mary’s, live on Facebook at 9am.

Casting my mind back, the online worship has been quite the journey… we started well before COVID, streaming what we would now call an “in-person” service to share with those who weren’t physically able to get to church or were simply away and wanted to catch-up. Not many churches were doing it then! We did some Podcasts too, posting them on the website, starting to think about how we might reach out beyond our usual boundaries.

Then COVID hit, and I’m sure you remember those early days from Marie’s living room… Ardyth getting stuff sorted, the screen in a seemingly random orientation, experiments with different positions, phones, microphones, trying to get Ruth dialled in… and yet despite the technical challenges and imperfections the services provided a real touch point for us to stay together as a community, to gather, continue to worship with those next door and those across Canada and the world. Then the phase when Marie and I would shiver in the church building, a reminder that although one couldn’t go out or meet, there was still a divine presence, a holy place, that link to God and community. And finally to a home again, first with Marie and me, then with Marie alone in a space that is warm, peaceful, tranquil, reflective.

This transition is marked, but even more important is the prayer and thought and preparation that has gone into each service, each time. This has led to an evolution to a holy space and time designed more for an online media, the aim always to allow a connection to the Divine Presence, whether you had grown up in churches or never crossed a physical church door, supported by live music and worship, authentic, connected to the people participating, courageous, vulnerable. We know that all ages have joined, from a new born baby playing on the floor in the 9 Lessons and Carols to Joyce Bell (I think our oldest member?) who’s daughter is kind enough to write and say that the weekly worship remains a high point of her week. Even now, in the twilight of St Mary’s, the service from a couple of weeks ago had nearly 500 views and led to real conversations about faith and spirituality.

Thank you to all of you who have joined, who have let all of us know we were not alone through COVID, who have shared messages afterwards, been thoughtful, prayerful, sung out loud in your own homes, created your own holy spaces. It has been a blessing, both to lead and to participate, a real learning and growing experience. It’s not just the worship that has changed, but we have too. I thank deeply Marie for the music and prayer and reflections, her thoughts on faith and worship, and the format she has developed. And we should not forget either the expansion to the online BCP which continues on Wednesdays (how many of the BCP congregation would ever have imagined they would connect in such a way?!) and the FamJam which has continued online throughout.

See you tomorrow at 9,

Richard

09/26/2021

Hi Everyone,
Here's the link for today's parish meeting. See you at 4.30pm

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82896199542?pwd=VGZvTzgxaTMyQlE4RGRETlRVV25IZz09
Meeting ID: 828 9619 9542
Passcode: 430905
Dial in: +1 438 809 7799 Canada

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, confer...

09/25/2021

Thursday is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Got your orange shirt?

To inspire your Orange Shirt Day learning, our friend Dana has shared some different challenges using a theme of Listen, Learn & Respond… These are suggestions primarily for youth and you…

08/08/2021

Hi, while Marie and Richard are taking a breather, here are a few links to our neighborhood churches Sunday services:

https://www.facebook.com/CCBeaconsfield

https://www.facebook.com/StBarnabasPierrefonds/

https://www.facebook.com/pg/The-Church-of-Saint-John-the-Baptist-116006315085495/posts/?ref=page_internal

http://www.stgeorgesanglicanchurch.org/services.htm

Christ Church is a loving, inclusive Anglican church in Montreal's West Island.

08/01/2021

Hey everyone,

Saint Michael’s Mission has long served downtown Montreal’s homeless, taking care of basic needs and offering services as they are able, depending on their financial situation at any given time. They have had to let go of a number of employees recently, as they are struggling to fund the program. I know firsthand that they do amazing work.

Currently they are in particular need of the following:

Soap bars
Toothbrushes and toothpaste
Deodorant
Underwear (new only, please!)
Towels
Shampoo

KD
Peanut Butter
Breakfast cereal
Fruit cups
Rice

If you’d like to contribute any of these, or similar, items, I would be happy to come and pick them up from you or you could bring them to me in Ile Perrot. There are drop off homes in Pierrefonds, Kirkland and Westmount as well, if that’s closer for you. (message me for addresses:)

For some it might be easier/more desirable to make a financial contribution instead, in which case I’ve shared their page information here, through which one can donate via Canada Helps.

Thanks for doing what you can!
♥️

Donate once or monthly, give securities, or fundraise for St. Michael's Mission using CanadaHelps, your one-stop shop for supporting any Canadian charity.

08/01/2021

Good morning! Morning prayer will start at 9:00 this morning. I can't figure out how to attach the document with the words in it like I promised I would, so am resorting to copy pasting the whole thing right here! 🙄 See you soon!

Morning prayer - August 1st, 2021

*** Come to the waters
The Spirit of God is Always with Us at This Time, in This Place
We awaken in our time to a Universe which is holy,
to creation which is not an event in the past, but a living event of the present.
We enter a new mode of human presence where we are not merely observers,
but where each of us is a participant in this moment of evolution.

Like all other creatures, we carry with us Wisdom and Values, the dynamics of the Universe.
But unlike other creatures, we must choose whether and how we will live in harmony
within this sacred web of creation.
May we be open to the Source of All Being, within and among us!

We have the capacity to wonder,
and to celebrate this great mystery of existence within such a magnificent Universe!
In us the Universe enters into a great celebration of itself.
We are part of the Dance, the Great Work, the Great liturgy which is the Universe unfolding.

Glory to You, Source of All Being!
This great Liturgy finds expression at this moment in us,
gathered here in a posture of prayerful openness, with listening hearts, loving spirits and a holy wonder.
May the sacred web that unites us with each other, our Source and all creation,
ignite communities of light and hope throughout the Earth.
May we be open to the Source of All Being, within and among us!

Gracious, gentle Spirit of Love,
Your energy permeates the Universe,
Igniting Earth with
Your Goodness, Truth and Beauty.
May our minds and hearts be open
To a deeper awareness
Of our interconnectedness with You,
Each other and all creation.
May we experience
Your unique presence
Within the sacred web of creation.

***Coming home to me

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
16 1-3 On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt, the whole company of Israel moved on from Elim to the Wilderness of Sin which is between Elim and Sinai. The whole company of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron there in the wilderness. The Israelites said, “Why didn’t God let us die in comfort in Egypt where we had lamb stew and all the bread we could eat? You’ve brought us out into this wilderness to starve us to death, the whole company of Israel!”
4 God said to Moses, “I’m going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day’s ration.

9 Moses instructed Aaron: “Tell the whole company of Israel: ‘Come near to God. He’s heard your complaints.’”
10 When Aaron gave out the instructions to the whole company of Israel, they turned to face the wilderness. And there it was: the Glory of God visible in the Cloud.
11-12 God spoke to Moses, “I’ve listened to the complaints of the Israelites. Now tell them: ‘At dusk you will eat meat and at dawn you’ll eat your fill of bread; and you’ll realize that I am God, your God.’”
13-15 That evening quail flew in and covered the camp and in the morning there was a layer of dew all over the camp. When the layer of dew had lifted, there on the wilderness ground was a fine flaky something, fine as frost on the ground. The Israelites took one look and said to one another, man-hu (What is it?). They had no idea what it was.
15-16 So Moses told them, “It’s the bread God has given you to eat. And these are God’s instructions: ‘Gather enough for each person, about two quarts per person; gather enough for everyone in your tent.’”

Slight reflection with poem - Mary Lambert

Prayers/meditation (Nicole et Michel)

***The Blessing

May Love bless and protect us,
May Love smile on us and be gracious to us,
May Love show us favour
And give us peace

***Peace to you
Notices…. St Michael’s mission

*** Up to the mountain

May the blessing of light be on you - light without and light within. May the blessed sunlight shine on you like a great peat fire, so that stranger and friend may come and warm himself at it. And may light shine out of the two eyes of you, like a candle set in the window of a house, bidding the wanderer come in out of the storm. And may the blessing of the rain be on you, may it beat upon your Spirit and wash it fair and clean, and leave there a shining pool where the blue of Heaven shines, and sometimes a star. And may the blessing of the earth be on you, soft under your feet as you pass along the roads, soft under you as you lie out on it, tired at the end of day; and may it rest easy over you when, at last, you lie out under it. And now may Love bless you, and bless you kindly. Amen.

Lyrics

Come to the waters and drink
Come to the waters and drink
And your soul will delight in the richest of fare
If you come tot waters and drink

Rebel Heart

Lord I offer up this rebel heart
So stubborn and so restless from the start
I don't wanna fight You anymore
So take this rebel heart and make it Yours
Father I no longer wanna run
You've broken my resistance with Your love
And drowned it underneath the crimson spill
So bend this rebel heart into Your will
I give it over to You
I give it over to You
Your love is like an arrow, straight and true
And now this rebel heart belongs to You
Help me lay the renegade to rest
Turn the stone inside me back to flesh
And hold me till my best defenses fall
And watch this rebel heart surrender all
I give it over to You
I give it over to You
Your love is like an arrow, straight and true
And now this rebel heart belongs to You
Oh, take my life and let it be Yours
Oh, take my life and let it be Yours
Oh, take my life and let it be Yours
Oh, take my life and let it be Yours
I give it over to You
I give it over to You
Your love is like an arrow, straight and true
And now this rebel heart belongs to You
Now this rebel heart belongs to You
Now this rebel heart belongs to You

Peace to you
We bless you now in the name of the Lord
Peace to you
We bless you now int he name of the Prince of Peace
Peace to you

Up to the mountain

I went up to the mountain
Because you asked me to
Up over the clouds
To where the sky was blue
I could see all around me
Everywhere
I could see all around me
Everywhere
Sometimes I feel like
I've never been nothing but tired
And I'll be walking
Till the day I expire
Sometimes I lay down
No more can I do
But then I go on again
Because you ask me to
Some days I look down
Afraid I will fall
And though the sun shines
I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice, oh
Oh, come and then go, come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so
The peaceful valley
Just over the mountain
The peaceful valley
Few come to know
I may never get there
Ever in this lifetime
But sooner or later
It's there I will go
Sooner or later

07/12/2021

Effective immediately, congregational singing may resume under the following conditions:
• Individuals from different households must be seated at least two metres apart;
• Individuals in the congregation must wear masks while singing.
As we announced on July 5th, choirs are also permitted to sing under the following conditions:
• Masks are not required, but each singer must maintain a minimum distance of two metres
from other people or be separated by a physical barrier (a full partition);
• After each service, the floor of the work area of each singer must be cleaned.
A reminder that these guidelines may change if the current pandemic conditions change. It is
important that we continue to exercise caution and follow the diocesan guidelines and Public
Health directives.

07/10/2021

Cast your mind back to March 2020...

We were about to host the West Island churches in St Mary’s, have food afterwards, have a talk from Leah of Chez Doris. Then COVID struck, and our lives were turned upside down. We could no longer have in person services, no longer do so much of what was precious about life. It felt so important that despite this we continue to worship, provide that space to meet with God, praise and hear and reflect and pray as a community. I remember well those first services, working out the technology, singing The Lord’s My Shepherd, One Voice, and so many other songs. I remember the strange privilege of being one of only two people in the (freezing!) church, the privilege of being able to hear the music direct (I happen to know it’s better than through the internet…), the chance to keep our worship going over Easter and Christmas. And, of course, in the midst of this, the sale and packing up and moving out and last service in the Kirkland Boulevard building. And still we have gathered online for worship.

It has been a privilege to do what I have been able to support this – write emails, talk to people, lead worship with Marie, share reflections and prayers. It hasn’t necessarily been easy – both institutional racism through black lives matter and the history of residential schools have been topics that have not been comfortable - but it’s so important to try and engage with them, grapple with what’s difficult. So… after nearly 18 very busy months, it’s time for me to take a break, recharge batteries, relax a bit. So, this weekend will be the last church email and service from me for the Summer – I must say it will be good to have a break. Worship on Sundays at 9:00am will go on, with thanks to Marie who will lead it. Also, there’s no effect on our long term future - as previously written, and reaffirmed in helpful conversation, Bishop Mary believes that it will and should take time to discern where God is taking us, and it might not just be for me that a summer of relaxing and reflecting and exploring a little would be helpful in this process.

So, we look forward to seeing you at tomorrow’s 9am service – the last in the current series to have evolved over these COVID times, streamed live on Facebook and YouTube as always - here's the link to the words and songs (there are good ones!).

https://1drv.ms/b/s!AiUvkH-YvwJ0geY2nleYDaAX3ZC4vg?e=P9Frc8

Thanks for being together on this journey.

Richard

And the picture? I've been so lucky over this last while to be able to walk the paths in the woods directly from my house. There's always a path ahead....

07/03/2021

Tomorrow's worship is said morning prayer with a "Lectio Devine", at 9am. See you there.