Let's move some pews!

Today we celebrate one of my favourites, here's what For All the Saints says, "Alfred the Great is a hero of English history because of his military and political victories — and a hero of the Church because of his efforts to build a truly Christian nation. In 871, at the age of twenty-two, he became the king of the West Saxons and was immediately caught in a desperate seven-year struggle against the Danes who had overrun all the rest of England. The West Saxons emerged victorious, and Alfred spent the next twenty years of his life and reign struggling to win the peace. He sought to reconstruct the political life and institutions of his kingdom — and more, to bring about a renaissance of Anglo-Saxon Christianity. He organized a system of national education and personally supervised the translation of many Latin writings into Anglo-Saxon, in order to meet his people’s growing literacy. Alfred the Great was, in short, the pattern of a Christian king, one whose prowess in war was matched and finally overshadowed by his wisdom in the works of peace."  

Today in our book study we will be looking at the topic "power" as a "broken signpost" that points in the direction of God's Kingdom but often is used, sadly, by politicians and soldiers for self-serving ends. May God grant us leaders like Alfred who use the power they have for the good of all in society and may the light of Christ burn that much brighter as a result.  

Getting Ready For Our Bishop's Visit -- Bishop John visits our parish on Sunday, Dec 4th, the second Sunday of Advent. He's been very interested in our proposed renovation so we'd like to take the opportunity of his visit to make a small step in beginning the process. This step will serve a very practical purpose going forward.  

At our Council meeting, last night (Oct 25th) we made a plan to: 1) clear the basement of some of the clutter that has accumulated there over the years. We will do this on Saturday, Nov 12th. Please mark this day on your calendar and consider giving a few hours of time to this. 2) The opening of space will allow us to move the pews at the side of the nave (the musical instrument side) either downstairs or completely out of the building. Local woodworking programs at high schools would take the wood and make furniture out of it. 3) With the pews on that side out, we will be able to set up tables and chairs for fellowship space for the Bishop's visit and for subsequent events.  

I am personally excited about this and I think we'll all get a sense that we're moving forward in creating a space that is both hospitable as well as helping us envision the next steps in the project. As always your comments are important to me and to the council as we seek to follow the Spirit's leading in creating a unique Benedictine/Anglican worship space in the city of Abbotsford.  

Events

Oct 26 (today) -- 7 pm -- The last installment of our Book Study is based on N. T. Wright's book Broken Signposts: How Christianity Makes Sense of the World. Today's topic is Chapter 7 Power. Here is the Zoom link to join the study  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87902193406?pwd=MHhzaUlXTUpMd2FpUnZWeEtRdXVTUT09  

November 5th, 10:30 am (Massey Theatre, New Westminster) -- Former Warden and ongoing helper extraordinaire, Linda Burton will be inducted into The Order of New Westminster (ODNW), an order that honours faithful and steadfast service amongst lay people in the Anglican Church. This is an honour that Linda richly deserves. She is a model to me and to many in our parish of a kind, caring, attentive person who always has the best intentions for the people of the parish in mind. And she does it with humour. If you can come please do so; it's an interesting service and there is a reception to follow! Let me know if you're interested in going and we'll try to organize rides.  

Serving with you, Allen+