Easter Puppet Show

This is the video of the puppet show that was done at the 10am service Easter Sunday.

All the children were asked to start up in the main church so they could see the puppet show.

From there they went down to Sunday School for a more in depth lesson.  

Easter Greeting

Canon Frances at Easter Service

A joyous and uplifting Easter to all from my chair. Christ has risen. May we all continue to be alive in him and he in us, our Living Lord. Alleluia 

Easter Garden made by
The Trinity Good Friday Children's Program 

April 17th 2011- Palm Sunday

We tend to be a fearful people. Even the angels in heaven know that. In the New Testament as they appear on earth, their first words are "Fear Not" to Zachariah, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. Even King Herod is full of fear when he hears the message of the wise men. Fear drove him to do dreadful things. Fear I does that to many people fortunately not many to as an extreme action as killing. It does, however drive us to do wrong and at the least, very foolish things. Lies and petty deceptions of all kinds probably top the list.

In the first Epistle of John, (1 John 4. 18) it is written "Perfect love casteth out fear". Love is God and Love is power. We must learn that love is not just a sweet and gentle force. We must become aware in our lives that the power of love is very strong, the strongest power there is.

Let us start each day with a prayer for the power of love in all our lives and relationships. Let us ask for insight into the point of view of others, especially when it opposes ours. Let us not be self promoting, but self giving.

On this Palm Sunday, let us meditate on the courage of Jesus. He cast out fear as he rode into Jerusalem on the donkey because he was filled with the power of love from the father. Amidst all of the adulation, he was facing a terrible experience of false accusations, betrayal, humiliation and agonizing death. We know from his prayer in Gesthemane that he wanted to be relieved from his ordeal but he accepted it with the words "Not my will but thine be done." Let us each one of us cast out fear and go forward in faith and hope to live with him in his life of resurrection.

Rev Janet Mitchell's Lenten Talk

This is a recording of the Lenten talk given by Rev Janet Mitchell at Trinity on Friday April 15th 2011.  

The Ven. Judy Walton's Lenten Talk

This is a recording of the Lenten talk given by The Ven. Judy Walton at Trinity on Friday April 8th 2011.  

April 10th 2011

About sixty years ago I was persuaded to take a job as Director of a Fresh Air Camp for about 70 women and children from the inner City of Toronto. They were all very poor and the campsite in a farmer’s field on the shores of Lake Ontario had little to offer. There was a recreation hall, dining room and kitchen and the accommodation consisted of tents. I struggled to keep the campers happy and well fed on a very low budget. There was one saving grace. Some inspired volunteer who had come to help set up camp brought some morning glory seeds and planted them in front of my little cabin and nailed on strings for them to climb up when they bloomed. Well, bloom they did and climb they did until I had a shining curtain of colour in front of my poor little hut which was my bedroom and office. Those bright flowers, became not just a joy but a source of strength for me. I would go out and breathe in inspiration from them until I started to question my theology. Was this some pagan rite I was descending into or at the very least leaning toward a type of pantheism ? As I meditated daily in front of them, I began to realize that my God and Father my creator was truly reaching out to me through his creation.

Suddenly, in a deep puddle in front of my office window, little City boys discovered the joys of playing in the mud. A small Down’s syndrome toddler, when he saw me, clapped his hands to his head and started to sing the song Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes which I had been trying hard to teach him.  Eaton’s store sent us a big crate of goodies including kippers which
many of the English mothers truly enjoyed.

Headquarters sent me another staff member.  When she arrived in a taxi, stepped out with her elegant high heels and elegant hairdo, my heart sank. However, she was a real gift. She got music out of our broken down piano, cleaned filthy cabins and still looked elegant. The somewhat uncooperative farmer whose land we rented suddenly melted and put out a pen full of baby pigs for the City children to enjoy watching. My creator, God and Father spoke to me and strengthened though his creation by the power of the Holy spirit, I was constantly in the arms my loving Saviour his son Jesus Christ.

Again I close with a Collect from BAS Trinity Sunday. Father we praise you. Through your Word and Holy Spirit you created all things. You reveal your salvation in all the World by sending to us Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. Through your Holy Spirit, you give us a share in your life and love.. Fill us with a vision of your glory that we may all serve and praise you, Father Son and Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.

April 3rd 2011

In my readings through the scriptures this week, a verse from the Psalms shone out.

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 40.

Then I said, here I am
In the scroll of the book it is
Written of me.

I delight to do your will
O my God
Your law is written in my heart

The words that specially stood out for me I delight to do your will. Those who read what I wrote to
you last week may remember the promise I would share with you – thoughts on one of his greatest
gifts without which our love to him would be null and void. It is his gift of free will. This is
something we so take for granted.  We do not give it much thought. When you go into a beautiful
garden or gaze at a lovely flower, shall we say a pansy, you do not say to it, “how good you are to
give me such joy”. The pansy has no will of its own to give you pleasure.
God just made it that way – it cannot help being beautiful. God wanted us
to love him, not because we were made that way and could not help being
loving. He needed our love for him to be given freely of our own choice.
Otherwise, it would not have been real.  That choice is often hard. We need
wisdom, strength and love to carry through. Very often we have to
overcome fear, shyness, laziness and other negative forces to do his will and give him back the love
he gave us.

There is another thought about God’s love on earth. How does he reach out with it? He does it
through us. Last Sunday, there was printed in Happenings, that wonderful poem of St. Teresa of
Avila. I will not repeat it here again, but just remind you of the thought it expressed. God has no
human body on earth. Therefore he has to use our hands, eyes, feet etc to reach out and reveal his
love to those around us. He needs us to take part in his Ministry but he also needs us to do it of our
own free will – the free will that he has given us that we may truly love him. We need also to
minister to ourselves as we revel in his scriptures, meditate on the wonders of his creation and
worship him in spirit and truth. Above all, we need to embrace him in the love he revealed to us
through his son Jesus Christ

Canon John Speers Lenten Talk

This is a recording of the Lenten talk Canon John gave at Trinity on Friday April1st 2011.