WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE THE CHURCH?
There’s a lot of stuff…….
That’s the question that we contemplate here at Resurrection
over Lent 2015. It’s particularly poignant as our Parish Council
this year works to create a vision statement for our church
community- what is it that we are meant to be? How will we
embody GOOD NEWS (Gospel) in our community? How will
we share it?
There are lots of things we use in church to help us worship.
In this and the coming ‘extras’ we’ll take a glance at some of
those things, why we use them and what they mean for us…
Each of us will have some personal values and images
associated with ‘Church’. Our ideas about Church are deeply
rooted in our upbringing and tradition. Some cannot imagine
a church without an organ, or pews, or robes, or a prayer
book. Some of us long for incense and others for dancing in
the aisle.
The first thing this tells us is that WORSHIP is an important
part of being the church- our relationship with God and how
we express that when we gather matters.
But if this is all we think of then we have missed the point of
being followers of Jesus. He didn’t ask people to gather in a
building, Jesus asked people to follow him- to be a
community where love is embodied and practiced where we
serve one another and share the love of God we experience
with the world. Worship involves the whole of our lives.
As we begin Lent I invite you to take a moment to write down
what it is that you love about being a part of the Church and
most importantly how, through that, Christ has changed or
shaped your life?
MAKING THE SIGN OF THE CROSS
You may have noticed some people making the sign of the
Cross during worship- usually when there is a blessing. It is an
ancient practice of Christians which is filled with meaning.
 The hand is held with the thumb and two fingers
together and the last two folded against the hand;
the three fingers together represent the Trinity and
the two fingers the ‘two natures of Christ’ being
both human and divine.
 It is done to remind us of our baptism when we were
anointed with the sign of the cross.
 It is also a prayer enacted- too often we think of
prayer as a verbal or ‘academic’ activity. Prayer can
also be a creative and physical activity done through
our bodies.
 It is a sign that we RECEIVE a blessing from God.
 It is an acceptance of our role as representatives of
the God of love who lives in us and can work through
us.
Three inter-linking circles
are called ‘Borromean
Rings’ and are a
representation of the Holy
Trinity. According to the
Christian Creeds we worship
God in Trinity, and Trinity in
unity and so Borromean
rings have been used to
represent this idea. An
association can be traced back to Saint Augustine of Hippo
(354-430). He described how three gold rings could be three
rings but of one substance. These rings appear on some of
our Altar and chalice coverings at Resurrection.
THE MOUNTAIN MINISTRY:
BEING THE CHURCH
Being an Anglican Church means we are part of something
bigger than ourselves. We belong to a Diocese (Niagara)
which is led by Bishop Michael Bird. We are made of many
parishes, but we are all one church. It’s often hard to
remember that because we are so used to our own ‘local’
parish church, the danger is that parishes become insular and
don’t share their gifts, strengths and care for one another.
Here on Hamilton Mountain we’re fortunate enough to be
geographically close to three other church buildings.
The Anglican Church of Canada works and talks with many
other churches through ecumenical dialogue or joint
programs. We have a unique full-communion relationship
with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
HOLY HUMOUR……
“Our Mountain Ministry is a recognition that we are
ONE CHURCH, we worship in MANY CONGREGATIONS
and use FOUR BUILDINGS.”
Our Mountain family consists of five parishes; Saint Stephen
on the Mount, Holy Trinity, Saint Michael’s and San Gabriel
who share a building with Saint Michael’s and are one of two
Anglican Spanish speaking congregations here on Hamilton
Mountain. We have made huge leaps in recent years in
working together and celebrating our unity as the Church, we
believe that together God can do more than we could ask or
imagine otherwise!
The Anglican Church of Canada has four main levels of
governance. Across Canada there are approximately 1,700
individual churches or parishes, which are organized into 30
different dioceses, each led by a bishop. The national church
office is known as General Synod.
The Primate, Archbishop
Fred Hiltz, is our national
pastoral leader and works
from the General Synod
office in Toronto, Ont. The
national office is divided into
departments, and their work is guided by volunteer Anglicans
through committees and councils. The Primate is Chief
Executive Officer of General Synod.
General Synod is also the name for the national meeting of
Canadian Anglicans, held every three years. Between these
meetings the national church is governed by a smaller Council
of General Synod that meets twice a year.
A Stewardship Prayer….
because the Church is PEOPLE.
My church is composed of people like me.
I help make it what it is. It will be friendly, if I am.
Its pews will be filled, if I help fill them. It will do great
work, if I work. It will make generous gifts to many
causes, if I am a generous giver. It will bring other
people into its worship and fellowship, if I invite and
bring them. It will be a church of loyalty and love, of
fearlessness and faith, and a church with a noble spirit,
if I, who make it what it is, am filled with these same
things. Therefore, with the help of God, I shall dedicate
myself to the task of being all the things that I want my
church to be. Amen
(c) Archdiocese of Rochester