St. James the Assiniboine Anglican Church

12/15/2024

Sometimes it’s hard to celebrate Christmas, when family members aren’t here. Please join us tomorrow, December 15, at 3:00 pm for our annual Blue Christmas service.

12/15/2024

Christmas!

Lessons and Carols service tomorrow, December 15, at 9:45 am … everyone is welcome to this glorious service!

06/14/2024

Everyone is welcome in God’s home …

"You got hammered at the bar on Saturday but came to church on Sunday….You can sit with me. You’re right where you need to be.

You’re a drug addict but came to church on Sunday….You can sit with me. You’re right where you need to be.

You’re divorced, and the last church you attended condemned you for it….
You can sit with me. You’re right where you need to be.

You’ve had an abortion and it’s slowly eating away at your heart, but you came to church on Sunday….You can sit with me. You’re right where you need to be.

You’ve been unfaithful to your spouse but came to church on Sunday….You can sit with me. You’re right where you need to be.

Here’s the thing, people don’t come to church on Sunday for you to sit in the pew and quietly judge them because you feel that you’re somehow better than them.

People come to church because in their deepest, darkest, most painful moments, they heard about a man named Jesus who could save their soul and they’d like to know Him."

Mark 2:17
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

12/17/2023

Holiday host etiquette: If you’re inviting someone to your home and they’re grieving, be sure you’re inviting their grief to attend, too. It will be there, anyway.

Don’t invite someone with the goal of cheering them up for the holidays. Don’t expect them to put on a happy face in your home. Don’t demand they fake it til they make it or do something they don’t want to do, either.

Invite them with the loving intention of offering cheer and companionship and unconditional care during the holidays. To do this, you will need to honor and be responsive to their needs and emotions.

You can do this by privately acknowledging their grief when you make the invitation:

“I know this season is extra hard and your heart is hurting. You and your grief are welcome in our home. Come as you are, we’d be honored to have you with us.”

It’s also incredibly loving to honor the reality that it’s often hard for grieving folks to know what they will want, need, be up for, or able to tolerate at the holidays.

Giving them an invite without the need for commitment and permission to change their mind is extra loving:

“You don’t have to decide right now. If it feels good to be with us, we will have plenty of food and love for you-just show up! I’ll check in again the day before to see if you’re feeling up to coming over and if there’s anything you’d like me to know about how we can support you.”

Your grieving friends and fam need attentive care and responsiveness at the holidays, not plans to keep them busy, distracted, and happy.

If they’re laughing, laugh with them.

If they’re weeping, ask if they’d like your company or your help finding a quiet place to snuggle up alone for awhile.

If they’re laughing while weeping, and this is more common than you’d think, stay with them - this is a precious moment of the human experience that is truly sacred.

We don’t need to protect ourselves or each other from grief at the holidays. In fact, the more we embrace grief as an honored holiday guest, the more healthy, happy, and whole our holidays will be. 🙏

Sarah Nannen

12/04/2023

05/18/2023

Well, it’s that time of year again …. Doors Open Winnipeg weekend! Our heritage church on Tylehurst will be open on Saturday May 27 from 11 until 5 … come and visit!

Situated in St. James Cemetery, our Heritage Church is the oldest log church still used for regular worship in Western Canada. In fact, the City of St. James was named after us! Inside, you can see the hand-hewn, fitted timbers of the structure, and remnants of the tower used by Louis Riel’s scout...

03/31/2023

Meditation on the life of Christ, based on the story told through the Stained Glass Windows of St James Anglican Church, Winnipeg

03/29/2023

The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre celebrates theatre art. Deeply rooted in the province of Manitoba, Royal MTC reflects and informs the community it serves.