THE VENERABLE EDWARD SIMONTON OGS

M.A.(Hons), M.Th., FRAI, FRSAI, FSA Scot  
ARCHDEACON OF SAINT ANDREWS

REGIONAL DEAN OF THE LAURENTIANS

RECTOR OF RAWDON

Christmas Letter 2006

Dear Friends,

Somehow Christmas is almost upon us again! The events of the past few weeks have caught up with me and I find that this letter has rather snuck up on me. The autumn was busy with several excellent events: the Sunday School began; the parish book group began with reading The Strange Event of the Dog in the Nighttime and has been very well attended; The youth group and youth group Bible study began; the parish movie evening began with Elizabeth and has also been well attended; the Blessing of Pets for the Feast of St Francis went well as usual; The Harvest Supper and Service went extremely well; the Bible Study resumed and is now studying the Letter of St James; the monthly Sung Compline and Meditation service has been very popular with the youth this year; Diocesan Synod was a Conference Synod this year and Derek Morris did an excellent spiel after church about it; the Advisory Board has recommenced with its task to look at the future of the parish in light of the Deanery Revitalization Plan and the Diocesan Strategic Plan; the monthly Healing Mass with Anointing and the Laying of Hands resumed; Many of our youth graduated from Joilette High School and swept the board in terms of Awards and the Valedictory Address with Wendy Asbil giving the Graduation speech; the Wexford Party did well again this year; the All Saints Service with the Blessing of Graves, the Baptism of Glenn William Betrand-Eddington, the playing of Steven Mathews, and the All Saints Sunday School Party was a joy; the Corporation attended the W.I. supper as a group by the kind invitation of its President; Remembrance Sunday was well attended; many of us went to the Ordination of the new Roman Catholic Deacon by the Bishop of Joliette; and the Patronal Festival and Community Lunch was made more special by the playing of Steven Mathews and the attendance by so many visitors.  I would like to offer a special thank you to Gordon and Irene Scott for their ever gracious hosting of the annual Harvest Supper.

I am away for the entire month of January, not on a holiday as some suppose, but rather attending a French language Immersion School. I will take a short holiday at the end of this time for the first week or so in February. While I am away an Oratory Brother of mine, Fr Ronald Henderson OGS, will be living in the Rectory and taking the Sunday services. Fr Henderson is from Sydney Australia and it is their summer holiday there in January. So he will be coming from the scorching heat to a Quebec Winter! Please help look after him while he is here.

The main new news of the parish is my appointment as the new Archdeacon of St Andrews. Archdeacon Gibson resigned after six year diligently working away here in the North. As you already know her mother was killed tragically a few months ago and the cumulative stress of the Archdeaconry, her grief work and the need to slow down and regain her full health led her to this decision. We thank her for all of her hard work and dedication. I assumed the position as of the first of December. The new responsibilities will mean that I will not be able to be present at all of the events that I have been used to attending. There are several vacancies in the Laurentians at the moment and I estimate that the next eighteen months will be a time of heavy responsibilities for me. A parish that has an Incumbent Archdeacon must tighten its belt and help shoulder the responsibility of the governance of the Diocese. As I am the first Rector of Rawdon to become Archdeacon of St Andrews, the parish in its entire history has never had to do this while several of our sisters parishes have had to on several occasions. One can only dodge the bullet for so long. I ask for your patience and prayers in my difficult year ahead as I find a way to balance all of my responsibilities and my health and prayer life.

I wish you and your loved ones a very blessed Christmas and a prosperous new year. I enclose a poem by the former Poet Laureate of Great Britain as a meditation of the coming joy of the Incarnation.

Yours in Christ,

Edward OGS

CHRIST CHURCH, THE RECTORY, 3365 THIRD AVENUE, RAWDON, QUEBEC J0K 1S0
OFFICE & RECTORY TELEPHONE (450) 834 4457 OFFICE FAX (450)  834 8923