Join us this Christmas. We have several times to choose from:
Advent 4 (December 24) 8 am and 10 am
Christmas Eve 4 pm and 7 pm
Christmas Day 10 am
Join us this Christmas. We have several times to choose from:
Advent 4 (December 24) 8 am and 10 am
Christmas Eve 4 pm and 7 pm
Christmas Day 10 am
Published in St James’ Exchange, December 2022
An Advent wreath usually has five candles, one for each week of the season leading up to Christmas, and one for Christmas Day. The directions in our prayer books say… well, nothing much. A small mention in the BAS of what to do at evening prayer or evensong, and a little more in the section called “Home Prayers.” But other than that, not a peep.
I cast my mind back to 1985 when the BAS was published. If memory serves, we had a wreath with candles in church. As a server, I remember lighting them, but I don’t remember a prayer or a song or anything special, really. It was at home where we said a special prayer, lit a candle every night at dinner, and marked the passing of the weeks.
It was at home that I felt a building sense of anticipation, that Christmas was coming. The tree and decorations around the house. Making a list for Santa, or grandparents, of what we wanted for Christmas. A shopping trip to Bayshore where we teamed up to buy presents for siblings.
But it was at home that I learned to pray and patiently mark time in waiting, rather than rush into ‘the Christmas Spirit’ immediately after Remembrance Day. It was at home I learned the values of Advent faith. To be patient in hope despite the anxiety that surrounds us. To trust that the final outcome is God’s peace on earth. I’m glad I learned to pray at home. That came in handy over the last few years of a pandemic.
You’ll find resources for lighting an Advent wreath at home at www.stjamescarletonplace.ca/advent and a handout is available at the church. The short prayer with a box around it is more than enough, especially on busy nights. It can be said silently by yourself or shared with a partner. Or you can make church happen at home by extending prayers to include grace, intercessions, the Lord’s Prayer and hymns. If you have a favorite Advent hymn or song, let me know.
We have some Advent wreath kits at the church if you don’t have one at home. Speak with me on Sunday or check with the office through the week.
On Christmas Day, the prayers change to:
Unto us a child is born.
Unto us a Son is given.O God, your love was so great for us that you gave us your Son to shine out in our darkness. Help us to make that love known to all the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let this be the prayer that carries us through to Christmas and beyond, whatever that looks like this year. But trust me, it will mean a lot more if you wait for it and get yourself ready first.
St James Breakfast Table is looking for volunteers on Wednesday mornings, beginning at 9 am. Please call or email the church office if interested.
Maundy Thursday 7 pm – watch online
Good Friday 11 am – watch online
Holy Saturday (St John the Evangelist, Smiths Falls) 7:30 pm – new fire and Exultet
Easter Sunday 8 am & 10 am – watch online
Ukraine Support Lanark County is a grassroots initiative to bring families and individuals fleeing the war in Ukraine to our area. St James’ and other local churches are directly involved. We are organizing to provide billeted housing, medical, legal and psychological supports and to make sure people feel welcome here as long as they need to stay. A website is coming soon, and we’ll continue to pass on more information as it becomes available. Read about how St James’ Carleton Place is collecting donations in kind to support people as they arrive.
The main need right now is for cash to help cover airfare. Financial contributions are being coordinated by Carebridge Community Support. You can donate online by clicking the button below. Please be sure to follow the instructions. If you are more comfortable writing a check or giving cash on Sunday, please mark “Ukraine Support LC” in the memo field or on the envelope. We’ll pass those contributions along as quickly as we can.
In the “Write a private message to us (optional)” bar, type the word ‘Ukraine’. Any donation above $25 will get a charity receipt from Carebridge. If you don’t put Ukraine in the message, they won’t know it’s for this initiative… so it’s super SUPER important!
St James Carleton Place resumes Coffee Hour this Sunday, October 3rd. Join us after the service for tea/coffee and fellowship. Hall is limited to 25 people.
This message was prepared for distribution to congregations in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa and released on July 27. You may also want to consult:
Bishop Shane has announced that churches in our diocese can resume use of the common cup in Holy Communion. This change, after 16 months of pandemic hygiene measures, may be worrying for many of us. Please be assured this step is only being taken because it is known to be very low risk. What follows is a summary of a paper by Bishop Shane’s public health advisor, Rev. Michael Garner. Michael is the associate incumbent of St. Thomas the Apostle church in Ottawa, but before joining the priesthood, he worked in public health and epidemiology for more than 20 years, including 13 years as an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Canada. The full-length paper was written for the national House of Bishops.
People have questioned the hygiene of sharing chalices during communion for more than 100 years, but during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, research showed the risk of transmitting HIV by using a common cup was very low. Since then, research on infection risks at communion has focused on whether viruses or bacteria can be found in the common cup after the service, and so far there is no documented evidence of diseases being spread by sharing the cup.
People also worry that during a regular communion service, the chalice will be contaminated by the saliva of the participants. While it’s true a shared cup could transmit infection through saliva, the risk is extremely low, with no documented cases of any disease ever being spread that way. In the case of COVID-19 the risk is even lower because it’s spread by aerosols and droplets: the fact is, the risk of catching COVID is far greater from breathing air exhaled by an infectious person next to you than from sharing a common cup.
It’s essential, however, that in addition to wiping the chalice carefully after each participant drinks from it, we maintain the practices that have kept us safe so far: keep screening people to ensure no one who has symptoms, or who has recently travelled (or who has been exposed to others who have) do not attend services in person. Keep everyone physically distant during Holy Communion.
However, the most important thing is that you do what you feel is best for yourself and your loved ones. In the Anglican church, communicating in either kind, just bread or just wine, is considered full communion. You need not share the cup if the idea makes you uneasy. Simply fold your hands across your chest when it is offered.
Read The Common Cup and SARS-CoV-2 Infection Risk by The Reverend Michael Garner MSc MDiv, Public Health Advisor to the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa.
All are loved as children of God, without exception or condition. You are welcome in this church as a child of God, who loves you! God made you to be the person you are, the person you are becoming, in the fullness of the best person you can be.