CeleBrate
The Weekly Bulletin of
St. Joseph of Nazareth Anglican Church
725 Provencher Blvd. Brossard, QC J4W 1Y5
450-671-6481 / stjofn@gmail.com
June 9th, 2019
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We are so glad you have joined us today and pray that your time spent with God will be a blessing to you and will help you as you face all that you must do in the coming week.
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This Week
Tuesday June 11 11:00 a.m……..Corporation Meeting
Wednesday June 12 9:30 a.m……..Men’s Bible Study
7:00 p.m……..Council Meeting
Friday June 14 10:30 a.m……..S.H.E. Ladies
Next Sunday June 16 10:30 a.m……..Morning Prayer and Sunday School
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Bible Readings
June 9
Acts 2:1-21
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Romans 8:14-17
John 14:8-17, 25-27
June 16
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm 8
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15
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No matter what goes on in a person’s life or how far from God they stray, there is always an open door to forgiveness and a new beginning. Charles Stanley
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Day Camps
This year Day Camps will be held from July 15-19 for children aged 4-12. The cost is $25 per child or $35 per family before June 30 after which it will be $35 per child or $45 per family. If you are interested in sponsoring a child or a family, please speak to Rev. Belle. This year’s theme is: ‘Luke Street’
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Prayers and Intercessions
Prayer for Today
Almighty God, Almighty and everliving God, Who fulfilled the promises of Easter by sending us Your Holy Spirit and opening to every race and nation the way of life eternal, keep us in the unity of Your Spirit, that every tongue may tell of Your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Prayer for the Worldwide Anglican Church
We pray for the Church of the Province of Myanmar (Burma): the Most Reverend Stephen Than Myint Oo – Archbishop of Myanmar and Bishop of Yangon
Provincial Prayer Care
We pray for the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador: Bishop Geoffrey Peddle
Diocesan Prayer Care
We pray for Hospital Chaplaincies: Brome Missisquoi Hospital – the Reverend Sinpoh Han
Prayer for our Church Family
As the apostles witnessed years ago let us also hear the roaring sound of a mighty wind and let it fill our house where we meet. What appeared like tongues of fire then, let the Holy Spirit settle on each of us and fill us. May we still be amazed today as the people were then. Come, Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Today’s Prayer Team
For those who wish to pray with someone, a prayer team is available after the Service in the left-hand corner of the Sanctuary. The Prayer Team scheduled for today is: Dulcy & Christopher
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Don’t let a building confirm your faith….
We will never change the world by just going to church….
We need to BE the church!
Planting Day
Thank you to all who came out to help!
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Come, Holy Spirit from the desk of Christ Church Cathedral, Bahamas
As Christians, we are so accustomed to thinking of the Day of Pentecost as a Christian feast that we often forget that it existed as a Jewish feast many centuries before the Church inherited it. It is the second of the three great Jewish feasts, celebrated fifty days after the Passover and the offering of first-fruits. Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, is also appropriately known as the Harvest Festival. More than this, Pentecost commemorated the giving of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, at Mount Sinai.
Unlike Passover, this feast was not to be a quiet family commemoration, but a time when all the people would come together for a brief time to renew their connection to God and to one another, to recall the ties of both liberty and law that bound them as one; and the people of Israel were charged with leaving behind some of the crops of their harvest for the poor to be able to collect for their own sustenance.
With a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire, the apostles of Jesus experienced the presence of God in a new way on the Day of Pentecost. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and sent forth to proclaim the good news of God in Christ, to heal souls, and to be a witness to God’s unconditional love. People responded. The Scriptures tell us that thousands of people responded and that Pentecost day ended quite differently than it had begun.
Pentecost Sunday is a commemoration and celebration of the receiving of the Holy Spirit by the early church. John the Baptist prophesied of the first Pentecost where Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11). Jesus confirmed this prophesy with the promise of the Holy Spirit to the disciples in John 14:26. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Father’s gift of the Holy Spirit, from whom they would receive power to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:3-8). After Jesus’ ascension to heaven, the men returned to Jerusalem and joined together in prayer in an upper room.
On the Day of Pentecost, just as promised, a violent wind filled the house and tongues of fire came to rest on each of them and all were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were given the power of communication which Peter used to begin the ministry for which Jesus had prepared him. After the coming of the Holy Spirit, the disciples did not stay in the room basking in God’s glory but went out to tell the world. This was the beginning of the Christian Church as we know it. So today marks the birthday of the Christian Church.
As a result, we are told in the Book of Acts that a communal life developed with new believers devoting themselves “to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.” The apostles displayed “signs and wonders” and their followers had “all things in common,” selling their possessions and sharing with one another, and new members were added daily to their number. The Spirit had come. The fearful had found power. A new community was born.
The celebration of Pentecost Sunday reminds us of the reality that we all have the unifying Spirit that was poured out upon the first century church in Acts 2:1-4. It is a reminder that we are co-heirs with Christ, to suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him; that the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7); that we are all baptized by one Spirit into one body (1 Corinthians 12:13); and that the Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead lives inside believers (Romans 8:9-11). This gift of the Holy Spirit that was promised and given to all believers on the first Pentecost is promised to all believers.
For Christians, Pentecost Sunday is a day to celebrate hope, a hope which calls to mind the knowledge that God through His Holy Spirit is at work among His people. It is a celebration of newness, of recreation, of renewal of purpose, mission, and calling as God’s people. It is a celebration of God’s ongoing work in the world. Yet, it is also a recognition that His work is done through His people as He pours out His presence upon them.
This focus on the church’s mission to the world, and the enabling presence of God through the work of the Holy Spirit in the church to empower that mission should provide for each of us a powerful force or drive. The Day of Pentecost is a tremendous opportunity for Christian renewal through the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. As we continue our earthly pilgrimage in this part of God’s vineyard, may we all be assured that the Holy Spirit energizes our life with His presence and His power according to our particular needs, as we continue to be Christ’s witnesses in all the world.
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Birthdays and Anniversaries
To those celebrating this week, God’s blessings be with you
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Rector – Reverend Christopher Belle – 450-672-4549 / stjofn@gmail.com / padrebelle@gmail.com
Rector’s Warden – Diane Allen – 450-466-5112 / deedee-one@sympatico.ca
Interim People’s Warden – Patricia Wood – 450-465-4733 / pwrightwood@gmail.com
Our Vision
To be a beacon of light and truth in our community
inviting all people to receive God’s promise of salvation through
Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
St. Joseph of Nazareth Anglican Church 