THE REVEREND FATHER EDWARD SIMONTON OGS

RD, M.A.(Hons), M.Th., FRAI, FRSAI, FSA Scot  
REGIONAL DEAN OF THE LAURENTIANS

RECTOR OF RAWDON
PRIEST IN CHARGE OF MASCOUCHE

MONTREAL DIOCESAN YOUTH CHAPLAIN

CHRIST CHURCH, THE RECTORY, 3365 THIRD AVENUE, RAWDON, QUEBEC J0K 1S0

OFFICE & RECTORY TELEPHONE (450) 834 4457 OFFICE FAX (450)  834 8923
E-mail: esimonton@ogs.net

 Dear Friends,

It is a strange beginning of the Christian year here in Rawdon. Imagine Advent II rolling around and having no snow on the ground. Not that I am complaining mind you, it is just a bit unsettling.

It has been a wonderful autumn in Rawdon. On the 27^th of September our ACW hosted the Deanery ACW women for a Deanery day. We celebrated Mass for the Feast of St Michael and All Angels in the church and then I led a mediation of our stained glass windows for them. Afterwards they met for lunch and a meeting. On the 1^st of October we celebrated the Feast of St Francis of Assisi with a service for the Blessing of Pets in the church. There were a few familiar feline and canine faces missing. Keith and Elizabeth Burgoyne’s dog sadly passed away earlier this year at a ripe old age. On the 8^th of October the Rawdon Golf Club generously hosted us once again for our Harvest Dinner. As usual the food was excellent and the attendance superb. It was good to finally walk into the room and know by name 90% of the people there. Diocesan Synod was held on the 21^st and 22^nd of October and our Lay Delegate, Derek Morris, did a great job representing the parish. He spoke well and made good points. The Stewardship Committee and the Pastoral Care Committee jointly held an information workshop entitles ‘Planning for the Future” on the 23^rd of October. It was well attended and was a success. What people most commented on was that they were surprised at how entertaining a workshop dealing with wills, living wills, planned giving and planning your own funeral could be. There was a great deal of laughter during the lunch. On the 5^th of November the annual Wexford Card Party was held in the hall and was well attended. It is good that the small community of St George’s Wexford has continued to hold together for fundraising so long after the loss of their church. Earlier that morning we held our first quarterly service of healing with the laying on of hands and annointing. It was good to see many who needed prayers able to come out to get to church. On All Saints Sunday, the 6^th of November, the service ended with the All Souls blessing of graves. The weather was clear but cold and many cleared their loved ones graves and waited for the procession to arrive for private prayers for the departed and a solemn blessing of the grave. Remembrance Sunday was especially good this year. We added some extra musical pieces for the act of Remembrance. After coffee we headed to the Cenotaph. The Youth Group has planned extra activities this year and on the 18^th of November we were the first to see the new Harry Potter movie. This Friday we are heading to Montreal for a day of Rock climbing in a recreation centre. I shall observe from the ground. On the 27^th of November we held our annual Advent Service of Lessons and Carols at St John’s Masonville followed by refreshments at Earle and Shirley Moore’s home. Earle rented an industrial heater and left it on during the day and as a result St John’s was warm enough to not wear gloves and a hat. The Advent service in St John’s is one of the more picturesque events that we participate in during the year. Many people would pay money to experience a service and a setting that most people think passed into memory many decades ago. On the 2^nd of December we had our first quarterly service of Sung Compline and meditation in the church. I wish there were more services that focused so intensely on the beauty and quietness of God.

The highlight of the autumn events was the first visit of the Lord Bishop for our Patronal Festival. We celebrated 184 years of Christian worship, service and mission on the Feast of Christ the King. During the service the Bishop dedicated and blessed the new festal hangings and vestments donated by Marion and Jarka Loffelmann, the new Gospel book donated by myself and the Memorial Fund, and the new memorial board donated by Earle Moore and Norman Raynard. The children in the Sunday School gathered around the Bishop in his throne (donated by the people of St Margaret’s Mascouche) and he explained the strange clothes that he wears. He was excellent with the kids and it was important that they meet their Bishop and get to know him by name. Nicholas Plante, who took the Confirmation Class again, renewed his Confirmation vows before the Bishop. Anne Millar and Scott Worton made their Confirmation Vows and were Confirmed and anointed by the Bishop. The end of almost two years of hard work by all three of them. At the end of Mass the Bishop surrounded by the Corporation presented Lillian Parkinson with the Bishop’s Award for outstanding loyalty and commitment to the church of God in this place. The letter the Corporation sent recommending her and listing her many achievements was printed at the back of the service booklet. It is a great honour for her and for us that she received such recognition. Many do great work for the church and are not able to be so recognized. Still the recognition is not really for the work done but for the faith that underlies the work. The work is only the external sign of the commitment to Christ and His Church.  The day ended with a feast in the church hall. The day was memorable and wonderful, if a bit tiring for the organisers

On a sadder note we remember the passing of Donald Oswald whose Memorial Service we celebrated on the 24^th of September. On October the 4^th Florence Kimber and Florence Scott both passed away. Their Funeral Requiems were held on the 7^th. On the 23^rd of October we held the funeral and buried Julian Bertrand Eddington, the two day old son of Heather Betrand. Rest Eternal grant unto them O Lord and let light perpetual shine upon them.

On the 18^th of December at 7pm we will hold our Service of Christmas Lessons and Carols and on Christmas Eve there will be a 5pm service for Children of all ages and a Midnight Mass at 10pm. Christmas day is a Sunday this year and the service will be at the normal time of 10:30. Epiphany Sunday is on the 8^th of January, with the Blessing of Chalk, and on the 15^th of January, the Baptism of the Lord, we will be celebrating the Baptism of Mark Rowan Stewart. On Wednesday February 1^st is the Feast of Candlemass with the Blessing of Candles. The Winter BBQ and Dance with a Hawaiian Beach Party theme will be on the 4^th of February. On Friday the 17^th we will be holding our annual Vestry meeting in the church hall beginning at 7pm. On the 25^th of February there will be a ‘Bring your own Lunch’ workshop on Healing and living with pain. There will be a service of healing with the laying on of hands and anointing after the workshop. The Shrove Tuesday Card party will be held on the 28^th of February. The following day, Ash Wednesday, the service for the imposition of Ashes will be held at 7pm in the Church. The next day, and for the next five Thursdays,  the Lenten Book Group will meet in the Rectory. This year we will be reading the beautiful book by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, ‘God has a Dream’. The World Vision Christmas Catalogues will be in Church next week. I highly recommend it to you. As usual the Sunday School and Youth group will be purchasing Christmas gifts of animals for those in dire need in the Third World. The website has been recently updated and is worth a look: www.montreal.anglican.ca/parish/rawdon.

I would like to end this letter with an invitation for those of you who are not engaged with any religious study or devotion outside of the Sunday Eucharist to join one of the many groups that meet to study and worship in our community. Sundays are busy and the atmosphere in the church is one of active worship and not contemplation and peacefulness. The midweek services are quiet and prayerful. We use these services to explore the faith in a deeper way than we are able to do on Sundays. Some of our services are part of our mission to the community and it is a shame that so few of us attend them. The Bible study group, the Lenten Book Group and the occasional adult study evenings and workshops exist solely for the deepening of our understanding of the faith and the purpose of God in our day to day lives. This parish provides a richness of different expressions of worship and study which is either taken for granted or overlooked by the majority of the congregation. I would ask you to consider attending some other parish act of worship or study as part of your New years plan. You have many choices and some require little time commitment. The sole reason that our Church exists in this place is to make Christian Disciples and provide worship and teaching for their ever deepening faith. Our ministry and mission, our social life together, and our participation in the wider community are all part of the working out of our Baptismal Vows. T.S. Elliot once said that the worst thing you can do is to do the right thing for the wrong reason. We socialize not because we enjoy one another but because we belong to one another through Baptism and the Resurrection of Christ. Our community life and the way we interact together is also part of our witness to the Faith. We show the world that there are communities that love one another and exist not to serve their own needs and desires but the needs of the world and the desires of God. As St Tertullian, one of the great Church Fathers, said when asked if Christianity was true, “Yes, just see how these Christians love one another”. If we are not careful this can be turned around and thrown back on us. Please consider taking advantage of some of the resources we offer you as part of the sole mission of the Church of God in this place at this time.

                1)                BIBLE STUDY                  1^st and 3^rd Thursdays of the Month at 10:30am (1 ½ hrs)

                2)                LENTEN BOOK GROUP Thursdays in Lent, 10:30am (1 ½ hrs)

                3)                STUDY WORKSHOPS    Saturday 11am-1pm (Feb 25^th, Apr 8^th, May 27^th, June 17^th)

                4)                WEDNESDAY EVENING EUCHARIST  7pm (45min)

                5)                SUNG COMPLINE AND MEDITATION GROUP  7pm, Friday (Feb 3^rd, Apr 7^th, Jun 2^nd)

                6)                HEALING SERVICES  11am, (Nov 5^th, Feb 25^th, June 3^rd)

                7)                HEATHER SERVICES 3^rd Ave (monthly)

                8)                HEATHER SERVICES Lakeshore (monthly)

                9)                SAINT ANNE’S SERVICE (Every Other Month)

                10)                SUNSHINE RESIDENCE SERVICE (Every Other Month)

Have a good rest of the Advent season. Try and not get too stressed out about Christmas. Advent is one of the most beautiful of seasons in which we reflect on our greatest hopes and dreams both as individuals and as a community. It is a blessed season of waiting and expectation. If we give in to the commercialised and consumer world around us we will lose the peace and calm of Advent completely. If you find there is simply too much to do you are probably aiming too high for your celebration of His Nativity. See what you can cut out. We do not all need to be Martha Stewart ever Christmas. Things do not have to be elaborate, costly, and perfect. He came to us in poverty, born in a cave where animals sheltered from the storm. He came in simplicity and love. A holiday season of simplicity and love should be good enough for us also. Perhaps not as simple as a cave with donkeys and no heat, but you get the idea.

                                                                                                                                                      Yours in Christ,                                                                                       Edward OGS