Sunday Prayers
The parish of St. Paul's is called to prayer Sunday morning at 10.30 a.m.. A short video and handout will be available for those who wish to follow along: www.stpl.ca/services.html. A service is also conducted in Tamil on Sundays at 10.30 am. Please contact Fr. Milton Solomon directly: (solomon.milton@ymail.com). A Bible study and prayer meeting in Chinese is organized by Pastor Andrew and Kevin Zhang, Saturday evenings. To participate, contact Pastor Andrew: shenxunhong@gmail.com Sunday School every Sunday morning at 10 am Information about how to connect is available on the Church Calendar: www.stpl.ca/events.html Evening Prayer on Sundays via Zoom Evening Prayer is said every Sunday at 6 pm. Information about how to connect is available on the Church Calendar: www.stpl.ca/events.html Easter Food Drive Usually this time of the year, St. Paul’s sponsors a three or four week Easter drive in support of the Agincourt Community Services Food Bank. Thanks to Councillor Jim Karygiannis for highlighting their service, St. Paul’s is eager to support ACSA and the needs of the food bank. As always, a monetary gift is the most practical and serves the exact needs of the food bank. And like everyone else, gifts can be given online: www.namf.ca/donate-now.html Volunteers - A Note from ACSA ACSA has remained OPEN and we are helping residents receive food and essential items, helping newcomers with making sure they are receiving services, reaching out to the homeless or those in shelter to stay safe, helping finish off the tax forms of our clients, and more. At this critical time, we are looking for volunteers to help with our Food Bank. We are looking for Food Bank Packagers and Food Bank Delivery Drivers to the elderly and differently-abled. Volunteers are the lifeblood of our community and we wanted to send a quick note to see if any of you could spend a few hours each week to help. We are providing masks and gloves. Yesterday, our volunteers at our Food Bank got a feature on Toronto’s CityNews: www.toronto.citynews.ca/video/2020/05/07/volunteers-helping-keep-hundreds-of-families-fed/ The Food Bank volunteer role can involve: - Lifting and moving bags and food items up to 20lbs. - Packaging food into bags and boxes and moving them to different rooms. - Using your own vehicle to deliver bags/boxes up to 20lbs each to various locations around Toronto - Driving to the Food Bank (1911 Kennedy Road, Scarborough) to pick up the food items at the back, without entering the building - Using your cell phone to contact recipients of the boxes before and upon delivery - Wearing your provided Personal Protective Equipment such as gloves, mask, hand sanitizer, etc. If anyone is interested and able to help with either or both of these roles, please fill out the COVID-19 Emergency Volunteer Application Form. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfz-Hgyxq5yRr5R4kdWwToYHO2_owx1KsV9zRFLPzHtckXenw/viewform Please also share this with your friends and family, so we can continue to help all Toronto residents. Those completing the form will be contacted within 48 hours. Information: Carmen Ighani, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator, Agincourt Community Services Association (ACSA), 416-321-6912 ext. 248. York Scarborough Area Council Bursary 2020 A bursary of $500.00 is awarded to successful applicants who are pursuing first year of post-secondary education. Applications close on Friday May 22nd 2020. An applicant must demonstrate a ongoing active involvement in their home parish and the completed application form should not be handwritten and must be signed by the incumbent of the parish. The application forms are available from Fr. Dean Mercer (deanmercer@hotmail.com). S.P.Y. - St. Paul’s Youth - Friday Nights, 7 p.m. Friday fellowships carry on. Information about how to connect is available on the Church Calendar: www.stpl.ca/events.html Parenting Worship - last night - Saturday, April 25 As part of our annual Parenting Series, a Zoom followupmeeting was hosted by our Youth Coordinator Sarah Mair last evening, reviewing the Five Commitments presented by Raquel Brown at the April 25th meeting. Thank you, Sarah. Morning Prayer The regular schedule of Morning Prayer according to the Book of Common Prayer meets Monday to Saturday at 7.30 a.m.. All are welcome and may participate by phone or internet. It's short, simple and quiet, but a proven path and one of the gems in the Anglican tradition. We follow the Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 6. If you want to look ahead, the lessons from the Old and New Testaments, as well as the Psalm, are taken from The Daily Office Lectionary and can be found here: https://lectionary.anglican.ca/. Here’s the link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/397231088 Here are the phone numbers and ID: 647-374 4685, or 647-558 0588; Meeting ID: 397 231 088 Friday Night Bible Study - on Zoom The Friday night Bible studies on Matthew carries on. If you'd like to join online or by regular phone or mobile, even if you haven't done so previously, you are most welcome. This week's lesson is taken from Matthew 27:45—28:20. It is Lesson 25 and the final one in the study guide, "Matthew for Everyone" by Tom Wright. Information about how to connect is available on the Church Calendar: www.stpl.ca/events.html Friday Nights - Coming Next Beginning May 22, the Friday evening Bible study will on the Book of Revelation, a book that is often avoided due to its coded language and many symbols. But here’s from the study we will follow: "In fact, Revelation offers one of the clearest and sharpest visions of God's ultimate purpose for the whole creation, and of the way in which the powerful forces of evil, at work in a thousand ways, can be and are being overthrown through the victory of Jesus the Messiah and the consequent costly victory of his followers." Paperback copies or electronic versions of the study guides can be purchased online at Amazon. Paperback: Revelation (N. T. Wright for Everyone Bible Study Guides) - Paperback Kindle: Revelation (N. T. Wright for Everyone Bible Study Guides) - Kindle For those interested, the commentary is also available: Revelation for Everyone Church Calendar We have updated the online Church Calendar to list all the events that are available online - www.stpl.ca/events.html. It includes: *Sunday School every Sunday at 10 am, led by Leila and the teachers, with Rob and U3ia. *Regular Bible studies and prayer meetings in Chinese organized by Pastor Andrew and Kevin Zhang. To participate, contact Pastor Andrew: shenxunhong@gmail.com *A regular Bible study for the Tamil congregation by Zoom every Wednesday at 7.30 pm for a study of the Gospel of Luke. Pastor Vive is also helping with the study. Please contact Fr. Milton Solomon directly: (solomon.milton@ymail.com). *The regular Friday Night Small Group and Bible Study. *Morning Prayer, Monday to Friday. The regular events are being listed on the online church Calendar, including the information about how to phone in or connect by internet. FURTHER UPDATE - Letter to the Congregation - April 9, 2020 On Thursday, April 9, a letter to the parish was sent regarding our financial standing in the midst of the Corvid-19 pandemic. The next day, we received letters from our Member of Parliament, Jean Yip, and from Rob Saffrey, Executive Director of the Diocese of Toronto, indicating that St. Paul’s is probably eligible for the Corvid-19 staff subsidies offered by the Federal Government. And on Tuesday, April 20, the Diocese announced that it will apply on behalf of all its parishes for the government subsidy. This is generous support from the Diocese and from the Federal Government for charities like St. Paul’s. If successful, it will make it possible for us to pay the staff in full for the time covered. It is important to note that the situation is in a state of constant flux right now, one of the great unknowns being what we will face when and as the emergency measures are lifted. But these offers of support are a big help, and the support of the parish remains strong. Coronavirus Updates from the Diocese The Bishop of Toronto, in consultation with the provincial college of Bishops, has chosen to suspend all public worship and other gatherings in the Diocese until further notice - www.toronto.anglican.ca. The Diocesan website provides regular updates. Diocesan Jubilee In light of the Covid-19 outbreak, and the large financial strain on the parishes, Bishop Andrew Asbil has announced a Jubilee: "As a family, and in response to this time of great crisis, I can announce that the Diocese of Toronto is proclaiming a Jubilee – a time of generosity and forgiveness. For the months of April and May 2020, parishes will not be required to pay their allotment to the Diocese or to pay the costs of clergy remuneration (stipend, housing and associated benefits). It is my hope that this measure will alleviate the financial pressure that many of our parishes are under, freeing them up to carry out their ministry and to prepare for the day when their doors will open again." Tax Receipts - have now been mailed. Brother’s and Sister’s Keepers If you are willing to be your brother’s or sister’s keeper by being in regular contact with one or two other persons from the parish, please contact the office or any of the clergy for more information. Have you moved? If you have moved recently, kindly notify the office of your new address, phone number and e-mail address. We appreciate your help. Gifts and Offerings The emergency measures and suspension of all church services and programs presents a large challenge to churches and charities dependent on regular gatherings and fundraising events. Your faithful support is as important now as it has ever been. Church Envelopes can be sent by mail. Members may wish to sign up for the Pre-Authorized Giving Program (contact the office). Or, gifts can be made online at our website through CanadaHelps here: www.stpl.ca/give.html One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. (Psalm 145:4) Staying in Touch The clergy of St. Paul's are all in the vicinity. If any one of us can be of service, don't hesitate to call or write. Church website: www.stpl.ca Church phone: 416-499-1545 Church email: stpl@stpl.ca Fr. Dean Mercer: deanmercer@hotmail.com Rectory phone: 416-497-6352 Comments are closed.
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