‘Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you”. When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the LORD.’ (John 20. 19, 20).

It has been a most wonderful Lent and Holy Week at Saint Matthew’s and now we joyously enter the Easter season knowing that our Risen LORD is truly among us and is building His Church. Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Attendance at our services and events for Lent, Holy Week and Easter has been very encouraging, with numbers among the best in many years. On Easter Sunday the sanctuary was packed and our fellowship time after the 8.30am morning service had so many people present that our old Parish Hall would have been much too small. As we have walked with our LORD Jesus through the many changes and adjustments of recent months I sense a real and deep spiritual renewal happening among us. Our future is as bright as God’s faithful promises to us and we have much to be thankful for.

Heartfelt thanks is due to many people who worked hard and donated hours of personal time to make this first Easter at Grace Church so meaningful.  May the Lord bless you for your service.

Throughout Lent our Clergy led us in reflecting on what kind of Church we want to be. We identified six characteristics of the early Church described in the book of Acts chapter 2. 42-47. As we continue to be led by God as a Church community, our Clergy and Parish Council will be looking at how we can be intentional about these characteristics in our own life and growth as a Parish. Our group and ministry leaders are being encouraged to be intentional about these characteristics in the ministries that they lead and are involved in. In our life together how can we be more loving, more sacramental, more prayerful, more apostolic, more healing, and more evangelistic?

Parish Council are also in the early stages of appointing five sub-committees to look at five areas of priority in ministry at Saint Matthew’s. These groups are a ‘Rector’s Worship Council’, an ‘Outreach Committee’, a ‘Community and Relationship Committee’, an ‘Equipping Committee’ and a ‘Dream-Team’ who will be exploring various property options for us in the future. More details on these groups will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead.

Our ‘Saint Matthew’s School of Life and Ministry’ is now receiving registrations for the four courses being offered beginning the week of Sunday April 22nd. Brochures for the School are available from the Church office and our welcome table in the Narthex area. This School is a very exciting development in the life of our Parish with a strong vision to ‘Make mature disciples of Jesus Christ who in turn can make disciples’. For more details please feel free to contact the Dean, Cathy Bailey (dean@smlm.ca) or the Registrar, Ben Thiessen (registrar@smlmca).

Beginning this Wednesday in Easter Week (April 11th) at 7pm we are beginning our special weekly Wednesday night evening services led by Rev. Gary and Sharon Stobbs. Each week we will be using various liturgies to aid us in our praying with a special Taizé service on the first Wednesday of each month. Gary will also be leading us in weekly reflections on the LORD’s Prayer.

It is most wonderful to note as one theologian observed, that there is not a single pessimistic note anywhere in the New Testament after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our Risen LORD is the one who makes all things new and even now, I believe, He is breathing the Holy Spirit upon us as He did to His first disciples in the upper room when He first appeared to them (John 20. 22). No doubt there are many challenges ahead for us as a Church, but the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead has shown us the unstoppable force of God’s presence, which is stronger than death and any tribulations that we may face. Let us take heart my Brothers and Sisters because Christ is Risen and He is building His Church, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail. (Matthew 16. 18). Let us never underestimate the power of God.

The LORD is risen indeed! Alleluia!

With my ongoing affection and prayers.

Mike Stewart+
Rector.

HOLY COMMUNION @7 PM:  Monday, Tuesday Wednesday (April 2, 3, 4)

MAUNDY THURSDAY @ 7 PM:  April 5
This is a special service that commemorates Christ’s last supper with foot washing, Holy Communion and a meaningful stripping of the Altar, then departing in silence.  The symbolism is powerful and evocative.

Prayer Vigil – 9:00 pm Maundy Thursday to 9:00 pm Good Friday

      Procession of the Cross – 10:00 am

Processing and taking turns to carry the Cross from Community Services Parking lot to Saint Matthew (approx. 2 hrs), stopping along the way for prayers and readings.  Followed by fellowship in the gym.

       Meditations on Christ’s last words from the Cross – 12 noon – 3 pm

 EASTER SUNDAY

       Son Rise Service & Breakfast at 6 am

The service begins in the parking lot and moves to the Sanctuary to celebrate first light.  The service is followed by a breakfast in the gym.  Please sign up on the sheet on the easel in the Foyer if you plan to stay for breakfast.  (Cost is by donation)

Special Easter Family Holy Eucharist at 8:30 am.  Christ is risen indeed!  Hallelujah!!  Celebrate the risen Christ.

Praise, Preaching & Prayer for Healing at 7 pm.  This is a special and joyous Easter “secondsunday@7” service.

 ‘The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you will not despise’ (Psalm 51. 17).

 On Ash Wednesday (February 22nd) our Lenten journey begins. Lent is the Church’s desert season.

‘It’s tough in the desert. It’s bewildering. It’s destructive. It’s hellish. Yet the testimony of the Old Testament, and ever more strongly in the New, is that out of it comes new growth, new insight, new certainty that a God of love is at home among us’ (Charles Elliot).

In the desert we are stripped of all that we no longer need in order to be freed to be the new creation that God calls us to be in Christ. In the desert we are also prepared for all that God has in store for us. The desert is not always a place of punishment, although it can certainly feel like it. It is a necessary place to go for a deep spiritual transformation into Christ. ” Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her”. (Hosea 2. 14). If we are open to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit and desire His purposes for our lives, we will encounter the desert from time to time. This is true not just for individual’s but for Church communities as well. Here at Saint Matthew’s it feels like a ‘desert season’ for us. We have left our comforts behind and we await our God-given future to unfold. To us the LORD declares; “Be strong. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of Hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not” (Haggai 2. 4, 5).

In the desert God empowers His people and equips them for all that He has planned and promised them. In the desert we prayerfully learn to discern how to recognize God’s voice and follow it to the end. In the desert we co-operate with God in determining to become who we are called to be. In the desert we are prayerfully asking ‘What kind of Church do we want to be?’ To this end I invite you to join us on our Lenten journey of discovery beginning on Ash Wednesday evening at 7pm. Each Wednesday evening in Lent in the context of prayer, worship, teaching and open discussion we will begin discerning the way forward for us all at Saint Matthew’s, in determining what kind of Church we want to be both now and in the future. Each member of Saint Matthew’s is a vital part of this discernment process. The Clergy and Parish Council will be using much of what is shared over the next few weeks as they begin to set our vision and goals for the future life of our Parish.

I invite you in the name of the Church to the observance of a holy lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy word. I encourage you to consider regular attendance at the Lenten series and at our Sunday morning service (where we will be using a special Lenten liturgy taken from Common Worship), as part of your Lenten observance this year as we seek to both draw near and face up to God in the desert.

May our loving and gracious LORD have continued mercy upon us and renew us with power from on high in His service, that we may become all that He has called us to be.

LORD Jesus Christ, grant renewal to your people, and grant renewal to your whole Church: renewal of love for you and for one another; renewal of faith in your promises and in the power of the gospel; renewal of vision for the work of your kingdom throughout the world. Renew our lives, O Christ, after your own image. Renew us by your indwelling Holy Spirit, and make us strong for service and witness, in your Name and for your glory. Amen.

With my ongoing affection and prayers

Mike Stewart+
Rector.

They spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other. They also broke bread and prayed together.

Everyone was amazed by the many miracles and wonders that the apostles worked. All the Lord’s followers often met together, and they shared everything they had. They would sell their property and possessions and give the money to whoever needed it. Day after day they met together in the temple. They broke bread together in different homes and shared their food happily and freely, while praising God. Everyone liked them, and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

Ash Wednesday, February 22
A Loving Church
The Rev. Mike Stewart

February 29
A Sacramental Church
The Rev. Dr. Ken Deeks

March 7
A Sumptuously Prayerful Church
The Rev. Dr. Ken Deeks

March 14
An Apostolic Church
The Rev. David McElrea

March 21
A Healing Church
The Rev. Mike Stewart

March 28
A Church that Exists for Others
The Rev. David McElrea

“Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” So said Samuel Johnson, one of the literary giants of the English-speaking world. The things a person focuses on and prioritizes in their last days tells us a great deal about the importance of those things.

Almost two thousand years ago Jesus of Nazareth was facing his own death by hanging upon a Roman cross. The night before he gave himself up for us all, he prayed a prayer which tells us something of what his greatest priorities were. His prayer, often called the “High Priestly Prayer” is recorded in the 17^th chapter of John’s gospel.

Speaking to the Father on behalf of his disciples, Jesus prayed “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

The principle of Christian unity, then, is close to the heart of Christ. In one sense all those who trust in Christ are one, we may argue, but Jesus’ prayer goes deeper than abstract unity. He prays that his people will share the same kind of unity that he shares with the Father. His prayer must also be ours.

If truth be told, we’re a long way away from this kind of unity. Whatever tradition we stand in, we are part of a divided Christendom. Some reasons for present divisions may be good ones; some not. True Christian unity must have as its basis the person, work, and truth of Christ himself. In the Anglican Tradition we pray every week that “all they that do confess thy holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word and live in unity and godly love.” These three things are of a piece: truth, unity, and godly love. Whatever our differences, we can pray this for each other without fear, and perhaps we can learn from each other along the way.

Whatever our background, and whatever our tradition, Jesus calls us to pray that we might be one.

These past decades have seen a remarkable coming together of Christians from different denominations, recognizing that the things we have in common are greater than the things that separate us. We have discovered that we can learn from, and encourage, each other. We have discovered that we can worship and pray together. We have discovered that, separated though we may be, if we belong to Christ, we are brothers and sisters in one family.

There is still much to be done. A good beginning though—the most effective beginning, in fact—is coming together in prayer.

On behalf of the Planning Committee for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, I would like to invite you to join us from January 23^rd-29th as we gather together to pray and fellowship together. Our focus over this week will be on the transformation that God works in us all through his goodness and grace. Dates and locations are listed below.

Fr.David McElreais the Assistant Priest at Saint Matthew’s Anglican Church (ANiC), which meets atGraceEvangelicalBibleChurchin Abbotsford. He and his family moved to Abbotsford in the Summer of 2010 and are happily putting down roots in the Valley.

Services will be held in the following locations:

Monday,12:15 pm, Jan 23
Saint Matthew’s Anglican Church (ANiC)
(at Grace Church)
In Grace Church’s sanctuary
2087 McMillan Road
Changed by the Servant Christ

Tuesday,12:15 pm, Jan 24
St. Ann’s Catholic Church
33333 Mayfair Avenue
Changed through patient waiting for the Lord

Wednesday,12:15 pm, Jan 25
PeaceLutheranChurch
2029 Ware Street
Changed by the Suffering Servant

Thursday,12:15 pm, Jan 26
Calvin Presbyterian Church
2597 Bourquin Crescent East
Changed by the Lord’s Victory over Evil

Friday,12:15 pm, Jan 27
MountLehmanUnited Church
#4 – 6256 Mt.Lehman Road
Changed by the peace of the Risen Lord

Sunday,8 pm, Jan 29
St. Matthew’s Anglican Church
2010 Guilford Drive
(Taizé Service)
Introduction to Taizé Prayers; community
gathering and meditation at 7:30 pm.
Songs/Prayers begin at 8pm.
Changed by the Good Shepherd

“Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” So said Samuel Johnson, one of the literary giants of the English-speaking world. The things a person focuses on and prioritizes in their last days tells us a great deal about the importance of those things.

Almost two thousand years ago Jesus of Nazareth was facing his own death by hanging upon a Roman cross. The night before he gave himself up for us all, he prayed a prayer which tells us something of what his greatest priorities were. His prayer, often called the “High Priestly Prayer” is recorded in the 17^th chapter of John’s gospel.

Speaking to the Father on behalf of his disciples, Jesus prayed “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

The principle of Christian unity, then, is close to the heart of Christ. In one sense all those who trust in Christ are one, we may argue, but Jesus’ prayer goes deeper than abstract unity. He prays that his people will share the same kind of unity that he shares with the Father. His prayer must also be ours.

If truth be told, we’re a long way away from this kind of unity. Whatever tradition we stand in, we are part of a divided Christendom. Some reasons for present divisions may be good ones; some not. True Christian unity must have as its basis the person, work, and truth of Christ himself. In the Anglican Tradition we pray every week that “all they that do confess thy holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word and live in unity and godly love.” These three things are of a piece: truth, unity, and godly love. Whatever our differences, we can pray this for each other without fear, and perhaps we can learn from each other along the way.

Whatever our background, and whatever our tradition, Jesus calls us to pray that we might be one.

These past decades have seen a remarkable coming together of Christians from different denominations, recognizing that the things we have in common are greater than the things that separate us. We have discovered that we can learn from, and encourage, each other. We have discovered that we can worship and pray together. We have discovered that, separated though we may be, if we belong to Christ, we are brothers and sisters in one family.

There is still much to be done. A good beginning though—the most effective beginning, in fact—is coming together in prayer.

On behalf of the Planning Committee for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, I would like to invite you to join us from January 23^rd-29th as we gather together to pray and fellowship together. Our focus over this week will be on the transformation that God works in us all through his goodness and grace. Dates and locations are listed below.

Fr.David McElreais the Assistant Priest at Saint Matthew’s Anglican Church (ANiC), which meets atGraceEvangelicalBibleChurchin Abbotsford. He and his family moved to Abbotsford in the Summer of 2010 and are happily putting down roots in the Valley.

Services will be held in the following locations: 

Monday,12:15 pm, Jan 23
Saint Matthew’s Anglican Church (ANiC)
(at Grace Church)
In Grace Church’s sanctuary
2087 McMillan Road
Changed by the Servant Christ

Tuesday,12:15 pm, Jan 24
St. Ann’s Catholic Church
33333 Mayfair Avenue
Changed through patient waiting for the Lord

 Wednesday,12:15 pm, Jan 25
PeaceLutheranChurch
2029 Ware Street
Changed by the Suffering Servant

Thursday,12:15 pm, Jan 26
Calvin Presbyterian Church
2597 Bourquin Crescent East
Changed by the Lord’s Victory over Evil

Friday,12:15 pm, Jan 27
MountLehmanUnited Church
#4 – 6256 Mt.Lehman Road
Changed by the peace of the Risen Lord

Sunday,8 pm, Jan 29
St. Matthew’s Anglican Church
2010 Guilford Drive
(Taizé Service)
Introduction to Taizé Prayers; community
gathering and meditation at 7:30 pm.
Songs/Prayers begin at 8pm.
Changed by the Good Shepherd

And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed…….Romans 12:2

Not only have my brother bishops empowered me to write this message on their behalf, but it is being sent to you without them having opportunity to see it in advance.  That indicates a level of trust that I by no means take for granted.

In fact, taking things for granted is a theme I want to reflect upon in this brief message as we approach this glorious season.  Because so much has been attached to the Festival that really has nothing to do with what we really are celebrating, it becomes easy for even the devout Christian to take it for granted and get so caught up in what the culture has transformed into something so completely foreign to what it really is meant to be.

When the media and so many people we know keep wishing us Happy Holidays” it is so easy to take it for granted that this is what it is, forgetting that their word holiday is derived from our grand old word Holy-Day.

Sadly, we can take for granted that this is the way things are and there is no point in us trying to turn them into what they should be.

We are told in Scripture not to conform but to transform.  But, I fear that conformity is a tremendous temptation when we are surrounded by so many aspects of this season that we not only take for granted, but we may even begin to feel that they are not so bad after all.

Let us remind ourselves that most of us in the Anglican Network in Canada are where we are this Christmastide, without buildings we loved and friends we once cherished, because we were not prepared to take things for granted.  We had the courage to say that because we had to be faithful to Holy Scripture, we could not follow the path down which so many of our leaders were trying to take us.  We had to take a stand that involved saying firmly that without that Baby in the manger, there was no other way by which we could be saved.

We knew the price making this stand would take, and came to realize the reality of what it means “to give and not to count the cost”.  And most of us would willingly do it again.

That experience, I believe, should embolden us as a Church to reclaim this Commemoration of “the birth in time of the timeless Son of God” for what it really is.

Because of what happened that first Christmas night, the world never would be the same again.   And, when the impact of what really happened hits us, neither can we be the same again.

It is our prayer that as we gather around the manger, the enormity of His Love will so enflame our hearts and change our lives, that even while we celebrate we will share that message with others.

Your bishops and their wives (Stephen and Nona; Ron and Jan; Trevor and DeeDee; Charlie and Judy) join Trudy and me in sending our love and
warmest greetings to each one of you, in whatever part of our extensive Diocese you may live.  The shared love that comes with this greeting is another very special thing that none of us will ever take for granted.

Come, strong men, and see
This high mystery,
Tread firm where the shepherds have trod,
And watch, mid the hair
Of the Maiden so fair,
The five little fingers of God
(G. K. Studdert Kennedy The Unutterable Beauty)

Yours in the Infant Jesus,
The Right Reverend Donald F Harvey
Bishop and Moderator

The Right Reverend Donald F Harvey

Bishop and Moderator

* G. K. Studdert Kennedy The Unutterable Beauty

‘And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you  good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born  this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the LORD. And this will  be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying  in a manger’ (Luke 2. 1-12).

May the grace and joy of Christ our Saviour be with you this Christmas and New Year season.

In the infant Jesus God Almighty delicately and tenderly reveals His very face to us.  At Christmas time we  commemorate that holy night when heaven held its breath and the eternal Word of God made flesh resounded throughout our world. A mother yelled, an infant cried and God woke up among us as one of us. That cry from the infant’s throat pierces the silence of centuries, God’s voice now heard from human vocal chords. ‘Midwifed by a carpenter, bathed and nurtured by a peasant girl. The maker of the heavens and the earth with a belly button. The author of the law being taught the law. Heaven’s human come down to rescue us’ (Max Lucado).

For us as a Parish family of Saint Matthew’s it has been a dramatic and historic year!  After a long legal battle with the Diocese of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada, we finally left our property behind on July 10th 2011. Our desire to be loyal to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the only LORD and Author of salvation, our desire to be faithful to an orthodox interpretation of the scriptures, our high regard for the authority and great tradition of the Christian Church and our desire to be in Communion with the majority of Anglicans across the globe, meant that we had to leave our former location on Guilford Drive once the courts in the land deemed that it belonged to the Diocese of New Westminster and the Anglican Church of Canada. Put simply we chose faith over property. Since that time we have been adjusting and coming to terms with this major change in our life together. We continue to meet at Grace Church. 2087 McMillan Road, Abbotsford, V2S 4Y3. (Telephone – 604.853.6746). Our Sunday Service time is currently 8.30am. Holy Eucharist. With children’s and youth ministry followed by brunch. Our Church office is located on the second floor and all our groups and activities continue to meet throughout the week. On Tuesdays Morning Prayer takes place at 9am. On Wednesdays our services times are 10am Holy Eucharist and 7pm Evening Prayer. For a list of the current news and happenings in our Church please check our website:  www.saintmatthewsanglicanchurch.com  or contact our Church office (604-853-6746):   Same Church different location.

Despite the sadness and grief that we have experienced this year, there is a growing sense of relief, freedom and new opportunity into which we are growing. We are doing well and we continue to see in so many ways the truth of  the words in Psalm 40; ‘Great things are they that you have done, O LORD my God! How great your wonders and your plans for us! There is none who can be compared with you’ (Psalm 40. 5). We are seeing time and time again signs of God’s presence among us, as with Him we build His Church for the future. He is truly with us!

There are two things I would particularly like to draw to your attention:

Firstly, now that we are a new incorporated Parish in our Diocese of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) in the province of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), everyone who wishes to be a voting member of our  Parish needs to re-apply for membership by filling in one of our new forms. If you do not wish to become a full member but wish to be part of our contact list or an affiliate we also need you to fill out the top part of our form. For more details about this and for membership forms please contact Carolyn in the Church Office.

Secondly, our Vestry meeting is set for Sunday February 19th, 2012 following our morning service. Please mark the date as there will be many exciting reports shared at this meeting, as well as elections and the presentation of  the budget.   If you wish child care so that you can attend the meeting, please contact Carolyn in the church office.

I warmly invite you to be a part of all that God is doing among us here at Saint Matthew’s. 2012 is going to be an exciting year of growth and challenge for us as we continue to grow and journey together into our future. I hope to see you over the Christmas and New Year season. It is a great honour to serve as Rector of such a vibrant and loving Church community.

 ‘And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace’
(John 1. 16).

 With my ongoing affection and prayers for a Blessed Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Mike Stewart+
Rector. Saint Matthew’s Anglican Church. (ANiC).

Our whole life is a journey. As a Church family at Saint Matthew’s the image of the journey has become a very powerful one for us in recent months. We have had to make the painful journey from our former Church building on Guilford Drive to our new location at Grace Church.  Some journeys and travels are difficult and painful, while others are exciting.  All provide new opportunities for discovery. The destination for all of us is God Himself. We are not alone as we make our journey through life. He is with us. This Christmas we make our journey to the heart of the Christian faith. As we look in wonder and worship at the Babe lying in the manger we recall the words of Jesus recorded by the Apostle John who said, ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life’ (John chapter 3. Verse 16. The Bible).

We invite you to make your journey with us and discover the love of God for yourself revealed in His Son Jesus Christ. This discovery is what makes for a really Merry Christmas. Christmas began in the heart of God, but it’s only complete when it reaches the heart of man.

Mike Stewart+
Rector.