At St. George’ s we recognize the fact that growing demands on personal schedules along with ongoing theological debates in the wider church combine to make the offering of worship an equally evolving assignment. We feel it is important, therefore, to provide for as many types of worship services, while at the same time remaining faithful to the ethos of Anglicanism. It is our hope that all our capacities for sensing, not excluding the intellect, are addressed in our worship services: sight that sees colour, hearing that is delighted by the music, touch, taste and smell.

The building is open at various times during the week for private prayer and devotion. You can walk the labyrinth or you may light a candle.

SUNDAYS
There are two principal services on Sunday:

8.15 am - Holy Eucharist [said except for a hymn at the end of the service] according to the 1962 Book of Common Prayer Rite

10.00 am - Holy Eucharist, [led by the parish choir from September to June] in preparation for this celebration there is a 9.45 am an offering of praise music led by a small music team. From time to time the piano accompaniment is supplemented by percussion, keyboard and guitar. The Rite is a modern text drawn mainly from the Book of Alternative service. We have worked hard to combine both elements of traditional and contemporary music in this service. It is at this time on Sundays that we have special liturgies.

Special observances and celebrations on Sundays in the fall

September 26th “Back to church Sunday”. We join with the diocese and other parts of the national church in making this special attempt to say to so many who simply need to hear from us that church is not a club for the righteous- that they are welcome to come home to our church and theirs.

October 10th – Observation of Harvest Thanksgiving
October 17th – Service of anointing and laying on of hands for healing
October 31st – 12 noon- Blessing of the graves in St. George’s cemetery

November 7th –Celebration of Holy Baptism
November 28th – The first Sunday of Advent- 4 pm Lessons and Carols for Advent

December 12th – Pastoral visit by the Area Bishop, The Rt Rev. Linda Nicholls
December 19th – 4 pm Lessons and Carols for Christmas

WEEKDAYS

There are two regular weekday services.
Wednesdays 6.30 pm- BCP Evening Prayer. This is entirely lay-led. There is a brief homily followed by a time for quiet and intercessory prayer.
Thursdays 10.00 am –Holy Eucharist in the Lady Chapel from September to June; at the nave altar during the summer months.

Special weekday observances and celebrations
October 2nd 12 noon – Blessing of the animals
October 7th – 7.30 pm- Choral Evensong in Memoriam: Gail Thomson [one time assistant organist of this parish]
November 2nd –All Souls’ Day- Requiem Mass at 7.30 pm. In the weeks leading up to this observance you are invited to enter the names of loved ones and friends [who died between November of 2009 and up to the date of the celebration] in the Remembrance book which will be on the small altar in the transept.

Spiritual Formation

We believe that the expounding of the Word each time we have a service is the basis of spiritual formation. There are opportunities, upon request, for specific spiritual direction. From time to time quiet days and retreats are planned both on site and off site.

This Advent Fr Anthony will share brief [Ignatian style] meditations drawn from the book “The Inner Compass” by Margaret Silf. These meditations will last for 30 minutes and will precede the service on that particular day. They will be held in the transept.
Wednesday 1st December 6.00 pm
[Repeated] Thursday 2nd December 9.30 am

Wednesday 15th December 6.00 pm
[Repeated] Thursday 16th December at 9.30 am
Every effort will be made again this year to get a consignment of books from the church book store to assist you as part of your Advent discipline.

Children
We provide instruction in Christian Education for children between the ages of 5 and 10 years on Sundays. The sessions are concurrent with the 10 am Eucharist and are held in the upper parish hall. The children remain in the service up to the “children’s talk” and then leave for classes. These sessions of instruction will end on Sunday 19th December The children are also invited to the parish Christmas party on December 11th. This year for the first time we hope that some of the children will be able to take part in the interactive Christmas pageant on Christmas eve at 4 pm.

Social Events

The fellowship that follows the 10.00 am Sunday Eucharist is as important as the worship service itself in building relationships in the parish. It would be ideal if each attendee could covenant to be there at least one Sunday a month. Some times it is a simple refreshment; other times we have served soup and sandwiches; yet other times it has become a forum for informal discussion on matters of interest and concern for worshippers. From time to time organizations show and tell about their ministries.

Specific dates:
September 12th Parish welcome back BBQ
September 25th –Open Doors Ontario
September 26th – [following both services] ‘back to church Sunday’ celebration
November 7th [between the services] intending to welcome baptism families
November 27th [following parish council] “Liturgical New Year’s Eve party”
December 3rd –Community Carol-sing – Gift to the City”
December 11th – 4 pm Parish Christmas Party

Leadership

We want to define and encourage Leadership as the responsibility to frame and reframe the events of our time within our mission as part of the Body of Christ here in Oshawa. The immediate responsibility is entrusted to appointed and elected leaders at our annual vestry, all meetings of the Parish Council are open to members of the parish. It is often there that we hear of the volume of work that goes on in the name of Christ every day of the week by our committed volunteers. In our forums we tweak our mission or decide on new directions.

Here are some special opportunities:
September 18th – 9.00 am to 2.00 pm – The continuation of our Spring Conference dealing with managing change. All are welcome. Sign up so that sufficient materials can be run off; and remember to bring something for pot-luck lunch.
September 28th- 7.30 pm. Meeting of Parish Council
November 27th- 1 pm to 3 pm Meeting of parish council followed by party.

Fund raising

As a parish we are committed to money stewardship as the principal way of supporting our work here. Other literature is available in the church that explains our goals and shows you how you can become involved. We invite each person who receives regular income to start at a commitment of 2 to 3%; and we encourage donations by post dated cheques and/or PAR (pre-authorized remittances from your bank account)

In light of the above, we have few fund raisers and would hope that eventually these funds would go out to help in the wider community.

The only fundraiser in this period is the annual bake sale on Saturday 4th December.

Office/Inquiries