Bulletin Notices s1

Bulletin Notices Sunday, December 31st – New Year’s December 25th, 2017 Eve 7:45 a.m. BCP Eucharist with hymns 10:00 a.m. 10 a.m. Choral Eucharist with hymns ______7 p.m. – Eucharist with silent prayer and reflection

Sunday January 7th - New Year’s Service of Family Blessing (Epiphany) 7:45 a.m. BCP Eucharist with hymns and blessing 9 a.m.- Family Blessing Service We want to offer you a very warm welcome to St. 11 a.m. – Family Blessing Service Paul’s on-the-Hill. We are delighted that you are able to join us for our Christmas celebrations. If you live in the area, we hope that you will make St. Paul’s your church home. PLEASE JOIN US!

CHRISTMAS SERVICES St. Paul’s Volunteer Training Session Many people have been working behind the scenes to Please mark your calendars: Saturday January 27th make it possible for us to offer such a variety of between 9 and 12 a.m. we will be running a session to Christmas services. We want to thank them all update volunteers on the Anglican Church’s Sexual including: Joanne Karram and the Choir, the worship Misconduct Policy regarding harassment, exploitation group The Body of Christ, the ushers, servers, lay and assault. readers, and the ladies of the Altar Guild who have done This session will be led be led by Paul Pakyam and will such a lovely job decorating the church and setting up cover both how to protect yourself, and how to ensure for all the extra services. that we are well equipped to treat all vulnerable people (including the young, the elderly, the infirm and those CHRISTMAS HAMPERS who have been hurt in the past) with the utmost sensitivity and caring so that we truly model Christ’s Our thanks to everyone who contributed a Christmas love for His world in the most humane way possible. Hamper for families in need. They were distributed Training for clergy and parish volunteers is generally from the church on the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 19th. required at the beginning of their term, and every three Approximately 170 local families will have a hearty years thereafter. If you are currently a volunteer at St. Christmas dinner thanks to your generosity. Special Paul’s and have not attended a session in the last 3 years, thanks to Elaine Phipps and Evlyn Hamlet and their please attend. Please contact Melanie Foord team of “elves, the Men’s Fellowship group, food bank ([email protected]) for details. volunteers, and all the other many people who volunteered their time and muscles and helped out behind the scenes, and a special thank you to those who donated money to purchase gifts for the older children and teens. can be made at the following link: SPOTH Kids: News http://stpaulsonthehill.com/donations/

SR. YOUTH RETREAT GRADES 9-12 FEBRUARY 23-25, 2018 Save the date! Mid-Week Eucharist with Healing For information contact Dee James 905-550-0532 The Rev. Keith Todd, our Honorary Assistant invites you to join him at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday mornings for a St. Paul’s Donation Envelopes for special eucharist with prayer for healing. He will 2018… conduct a Bible study at 9:30 a.m. prior to the service. This is a great opportunity for those who cannot attend …are now available for pick up in the church lobby. If Sunday services and those who are available during the you no longer want regular envelopes, or if you wish to weekday. request envelopes, please contact our Envelope  Our last Bible study for the year wason Secretary, Cassie Williams at [email protected] or December 13th. We will resume later in the 905-666-2261. Tax receipts will be issued for spring. contributions over $20 per year, even if you don’t have  Our last 10:30 a.m. Healing service was on envelopes, as long as you contribute a few times per December 13th. This service will resume on year, that is the preferred method. If you contribute on a January 10th, 2018. more regular basis and you are not on PAR (Pre- authorized Remittance), please use donation envelopes to make the job easier. There will not be a box of envelopes for you if you are on PAR unless you have requested them. Any contributions not made in a regular numbered envelope MUST HAVE your full name and address so that you can get proper credit. The Altar flowers are given to the glory of God as a If you are interested in learning about our pre-authorized thank offering for Evan by Steve & Barb Thompson; system or making changes to your existing PAR, or if in loving memory of our dear parents, Lawrence & you have any other questions, please contact Cassie Barbara Gosse, sadly missed by their children and Williams. their families; in memory of loved ones given by Joyce Gillanders; by the Barton, Betts & Gilmore families in loving memory of Carl Treco, our devoted father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, who filled our lives with much love. We miss you.

 If you would like to put flowers on the Altar, Church Calendars please phone Janice Roberts at 905-839-9212 with the details. The cost is $40. Anglican Church calendars for 2018 are now available from Pat Bennett (905-837-1082) or  Please note that cheques for payment of Altar [email protected]. These are special calendars flowers should be made payable to St. Paul’s which mark all the saints’ days and special holy days on-the-Hill, and placed on the collection plate and church colours. Get yours today for only $7.00. the first Sunday of the month. Please make note on the cheque that the payment is for Altar Flowers. St. Paul’s on-the-Hill is now accepting donations online through PayPal. Donations DIOCESE OF TORONTO & WORLD CYCLE OF PRAYER 2017

Please pray for:  St. George’s Anglican, Ajax The Rev. C.J. Adams  The Church & people of Yola (Jos, Nigeria) & The Rt. Rev. Markus Ibrahm The Heart of the Christmas Story

God came to the poor — in other words, to each of us. The apostle Paul reminds us that - [Jesus] set aside His infinite riches and was born into the lowest circumstance so that you may gain great riches through His humble poverty. 2 Corinthians 8:9 Our thanks to everyone who supported the Refugee Settlement Project. It is now complete. Any future funds What does this mean? Jesus gave up the glory of heaven received for this will be put into General Missions. to be born into a sin-scarred world. That glorious night Thank you for your gracious support of this important in Bethlehem, every day of His life, and in the deadly project. pain of the Cross, Jesus became poor for our sake. Jesus entered our poverty so we would no longer be poor. The priceless gift of a restored relationship with God and others is now offered to those who could never afford it. The outrageous wealth of His righteousness is credited to those who don’t deserve it. To those of us who are poor, this is very good news. But is it still relevant news? Can Christmas still change the world? We’re discovering that the answer is a resounding yes! But how exactly does that happen? How can Christmas and the way we celebrate it still change THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO PARTICIPATE the world? 1) Gather some friends and start your own As poor people who have met with the righteous wealth group of God, it is now our turn to model his generosity by Every group is unique. We will train you and give sharing our wealth with those in need. you some ideas, and resources to get you started. Christmas is our chance to move closer to those in crisis, 2) Join an Ongoing Group. not further away. It is our time to notice those who are Pick up a brochure at the displays at the normally ignored. In short, it is our turn to love as we Tower or Main entrances. have been loved. In practical terms, our love must include caring for the poor in our midst. We will help you find the right group for you Over and over we see Jesus teaching that God is on the Contact Canon Phil - 647-990-3360 (Text is best) side of the impoverished, even when no one else is. Email: [email protected] Throughout the Gospels, He raises the status of those the Find out why Small Groups are... world mistreats and marginalizes — people who are deemed hopeless and beyond help. Jesus is clear: He Life at the of the Church expects His followers to do the same. There’s no way around it: Jesus calls us to love and care for the poor. At Christmas, one of the things that should distinguish a Christ-follower is a love that reaches out to the hungry and thirsty and sick and imprisoned. Such giving is an act of true worship. There is a close connection between how we treat each other and how we treat God. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says that whatever we do for one of the least of His brothers and sisters, we do for Him (Matthew 25:40). God takes these acts of love (or moments of rejection) very personally. And why wouldn’t He? Jesus Himself was poor. He chose to be born into the poverty of a family struggling beneath the heel of Imperial Rome. Writer Scott Bessenecker suggests that “the very first statement Jesus ever voiced about his concern for the poor, oppressed, marginalized people was when he cried out as one of them — eyes shut tight, mouth open wide, wailing, kicking… It was one of the most profound acts of solidarity with the poor he could make.”For all of the other aspects of His Advent we celebrate each year, let us not forget this part of the story: “When God voted with His birth, He voted for the poor.” from Advent Conspiracy by Rick McKinley, Chris Seay, & Greg Holder We cannot allow the broken and vulnerable to become invisible. Which brings us back to how Christmas can still change the world. Let’s return to Jesus’ words in Matthew 25: You shall be richly rewarded, for when I was hungry, you fed Me. And when I was thirsty, you gave Me something to drink. I was alone as a stranger, and you welcomed Me into your homes and into your lives. I was naked, and you gave Me clothes to wear; I was sick, and you tended to My needs; I was in prison, and you comforted Me. (Matthew 25:35-36)

If you look for Me at Christmas (Author Unknown)

If you look for Me at Christmas, you won't need a special star - I'm no longer just in Bethlehem, I'm right there where you are. You may not be aware of Me amid the celebrations - You'll have to look beyond the stores and all the decorations. But if you take a moment from your list of things to do And listen to your heart, you'll find I'm waiting there for you. You're the one I want to be with, you're the reason that I came, And you'll find me in the stillness, as I'm whispering your name. Love, Jesus