A Feast of Light

We celebrate Candlemass 40 days after Christmas which marks the the presentation of Christ in the temple in the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke. We also bless the 22 different kinds of candles used in the church throughout the year and pass lighted ones to one another before processing.  It was lovely this year to see several young children taking part.

A new ministry

SMM now has a shawl ministry and for the second time finished shawls were blessed last Sunday.. The benefits are twofold. Knitters pray while knitting. The finished shawls are distributed to those who are sick. As well as providing warmth and comfort, the receiver gains a sense that someone has thought of their need while knitting and piecing the shawl together- though giver and recipient may never meet.  It's most worthwhile.

Fun and Games!

Our second annual games night had great attendance and lots of fun.  This year we invited not only families - but all generations and they came out and participated enthusiastically.  One of the joys was meeting the young family who have recently arrived as refugees for the first time. We are helping them adjust to life in a new country - and in spite of the lack of a common language we communicated well with gestures and smiles. There was no shortage of games and many were tried along with pizza, veggies, and cupcakes for the kids.

First official visit for Area Bishop Jenny

 

Area Bishop Jenny Andison made her first official visit to SMM since her consecration a year ago. After preaching and celebrating at morning services she remarked:

"What a beautiful place to worship God. I enjoyed my morning at St.Mary Magdalene's. The music was as lovely as I had imagined and the congregation warm and welcoming. I was glad to be able to thank Fr. David and Mtr. Jennifer for their leadership and talk about future mission and ministry opportunities."

Music Bursary Announced

Family and friends have honoured the musical contributions of Douglas Cowling by establishing a bursary fund to be awarded to a part-time musician currently working in the Diocese of Toronto and encourage musical and liturgical experimentation. 

Douglas was a writer, teacher, musician, musicologist, and creative artist. Countless households across North America resound to his imaginative 'Classical Kids' series which introduced children to the music of Mozart, Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky. A person of faith, Douglas for decades served as a parish-musician and influential teacher, particularly in the field of liturgics.

Doug loved the church's liturgy and invited all age-groups into the mystery of worship, skillfully designing all-age liturgical events, composing music for festivals and major gatherings, mainly for the parish-level. Doug liked nothing better than to opine and design, teach and tutor congregants and clergy alike. Doug's sense of humour, his kindness, as well as the breadth and depth of his scholarship, struck everyone who knew him. Always passionate in his perspective, we miss the jolly and inimitable Douglas. And we thank God for his rare gifts and faithful witness.  Donations can be made though the Diocese of Toronto's Foundation

Socks Delivered

Socks Delivered

Our kids have now completed their most successful sock drive in three years since its inception in 2014.  They had learned about the difficulties marginalized people experienced in their daily lives - homelessness, lack of good food and clothing and winter cold.  After hearing the stories, they came up with the idea of warm dry socks as something that would provide a small measure of help and enjoyed soliciting donations from the parish by making their own announcements. It worked.

One enterprising young member took more initiative this year and took the drive to her school classroom at Clinton School - just across the street from the parish church.  That added more than 40 extra contributions.  We wrapped them all and contributed them at a recent community dinner on January 4.  Some of the kids joined us to help with their distribution.