Happy Epiphany / Bonne épiphanie !

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An epiphany is a moment of sudden and great revelation or realization. It is a moment in which you suddenly understand something in a new and deeper way. Epiphanies can come in many forms and can be triggered by a wide range of experiences, from the personal to the philosophical to the spiritual.

For Christians, Epiphany commemorates the revelation of Jesus as the son of God to the world. It is celebrated on January 6th in many Western Christian churches, and it is also known as Three Kings' Day or the Feast of the Epiphany. The holiday is rooted in the biblical story of the Magi, also known as the Three Wise Men, who followed a star to Bethlehem and brought gifts to the newborn Jesus. According to tradition, the Magi's visit was an epiphany, a moment of revelation and understanding, in which they recognized Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah.

Happy Epiphany!

Une épiphanie est un moment de grande et soudaine révélation ou réalisation. C'est un moment où vous comprenez soudainement quelque chose d'une manière nouvelle et plus profonde. Les épiphanies peuvent prendre de nombreuses formes et être déclenchées par un large éventail d'expériences, qu'elles soient personnelles, philosophiques ou spirituelles.

Pour les chrétiens, l'Épiphanie commémore la révélation au monde de Jésus comme fils de Dieu. Elle est célébrée le 6 janvier dans de nombreuses églises chrétiennes occidentales, et est également connue sous le nom de fête des Rois Mages ou de fête de l'Épiphanie. Cette fête trouve son origine dans l'histoire biblique des rois mages, également connus sous le nom de "trois sages", qui ont suivi une étoile jusqu'à Bethléem et ont apporté des cadeaux au nouveau-né Jésus. Selon la tradition, la visite des mages a été une épiphanie, un moment de révélation et de compréhension, au cours duquel ils ont reconnu en Jésus le Messie tant attendu.

Bonne épiphanie !

Christmas Message 2022

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Message de Noël 2022

L'évangéliste Luc écrit qu'au sixième mois, l'ange Gabriel fut envoyé par Dieu dans une ville de Galilée appelée Nazareth, auprès de Marie qui était fiancée à un homme du nom de Joseph, de la maison de David. Il écrit que Gabriel vint à sa rencontre en disant : "Salutations, ma bien-aimée ! Le Seigneur est avec toi".

En cette fin d'année, plus de 2000 ans après que Gabriel a salué Marie, le monde continue d'aspirer à la paix, à la justice, à de justes relations avec la création et les peuples de cette terre. Et nous sommes appelés à nous souvenir de cette simple salutation qui a apporté l'espoir et la joie au monde - Salutations ! Le Seigneur est avec vous !

En célébrant la naissance de Jésus, en nous rappelant le voyage de la crèche à la croix, nous savons que l'histoire ne s'arrête pas là et que la résurrection et la vie sont la bonne nouvelle ! En ce Noël, quel que soit l'endroit où vous vous trouvez sur ce pèlerinage terrestre, puissiez-vous trouver l'espoir dans la promesse que le Seigneur est avec vous !

Que Dieu vous bénisse, vous et vos proches, en ce Noël, avec espoir, amour, paix et joie ! Joyeux Noël !

Diocesan Family Christmas Party Highlights 2022

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Check out this short video featuring some highlights from Diocesan Family Christmas Party 2022 by digital communications and project coordinator Lee-Ann Matthews

Check out some pics of Diocesan Family Christmas Party 2022 taken by Diocesan photographer, Janet Best

Save the date! (Bill McKibben, leading environmental writer and activist)

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An important Message from Christ Church Cathedral

Save the date! Bill McKibben, one of the leading environmental writers and activists in North America, will be joining us Sunday, January 15th, preaching at 10:30 and teaching on What do we do now? Effective climate action in a changed world. McKibben is the author of a dozen books about the environment, including The End of Nature, arguably the first book on the topic addressed to a general readership. He is the founder of 350.org, a global network of climate activists, and a recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award. Foreign Policy and MSN have named him to their lists of most important thinkers in the world. Join us for his visit, and invite your friends today!

Join the Facebook event HERE

In case you’d like to prepare a bit, Deborah has asked McKibben which of his books was his favorite. He named Eaarth. We have arranged to have copies available for purchase from The Word Bookstore; they should arrive in a couple weeks. We will also be arranging two one-session conversations about what’s in the book, one in-person and one on-line, in late November and early December. Hope you will join us!

Vicar General / Executive Archdeacon Message in December issue of Anglican Montreal

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Vicar General / Executive Archdeacon Message in December issue of Anglican Montreal

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.” (Luke 1:30-32)

We find ourselves again in the season of Advent, awaiting the great joy of Christmas. This year, we will, hopefully, be able to celebrate in a way that we have not been able to do so in the last couple of years. But as we anticipate that time where we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, we move through this season of Advent looking to receive again the Good News ourselves. We are nudged as a community to reflect and remember what is the call on our lives and what is the meaning of this time that the secular world enjoys celebrating beginning the first week of November!

Mary received the good news that she would bear a son who would change the world! We have received the good news that Jesus came into this world to reconcile us to God and to bring new life. In the Gospel of Matthew, we hear the great commission from Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations (28:19). That is what we are called to do. Advent is a time for us to receive afresh the Good News and to reflect on that call on us and to celebrate the Good News of God here among us and to go and share that good news and make disciples.

At the recent Lambeth Conference, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, reminded the bishops gathered that in that prayer which Jesus taught us to pray, we say, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done” and that this is central in our prayer life and our motivation as Christians. If Jesus has called us as disciples to go out and make disciples, this means sharing with others the good news that we have received – which is what we call evangelism. Disciples are called to make peace, to make justice, to make the kingdoms of this world the Kingdom of our God and of his Christ. This is the work of evangelism, which can be a hard word to grasp – but hidden in the midst of that word is the word angel. As the angel Gabriel came to Mary and shared the good news so are we called to be angels and share with others the good news we have received – to be messengers!

May this time of Advent, waiting in hopeful anticipation, be a time for us all to receive the Gospel afresh and to help us to be angels sharing the Good news – to being living signposts pointing people to the one we come to worship and whom we celebrate at Christmas and whom we worship as Lord!

Lord Jesus Christ, who is, who was, and who is to come, we pray for the virtue of hope, that amidst the trials and difficulties of this world, we may keep our hearts fixed on you, who reigns over the cosmos. May your grace enliven us, strengthen us, and defend us, as we await your coming in glory. Amen.

Robert Camara +

I commend to you the Bishop’s Action Appeal and ask that you consider contributing to this important appeal in the life of the Diocese. As we move through a period of financial uncertainty, now more than ever, our missions count on our support to help those who are vulnerable and in need. If you are able to give to support the work of the missions, I invite you to give to this year’s Bishop’s Action Appeal which will help us meet our commitments to the work of Mile End Mission, Action Réfugiés Montréal and Tyndale-St. George. Thank you for your prayers and support of these missions! Donate here https://www.montreal.anglican.ca/baa

photo by Janet Best

Photos from Comissionning of Diocesan Lay Readers 2022

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A few photos from the Commissioning of Diocesan Lay Readers November 2022. Photos by Janet Best