St. John's Vancouver // Dec 1, 2019 News & Events

St. John’s Vancouver Things happening in the life of our church and in our community December 1, 2019

What’s up at St. John’s ADVENT CAROL SERVICE // DEC 1 @ 4:30 PM Join us this afternoon as we begin the Advent season with a service of music and Scripture in order to fix our eyes on the joy of Jesus Christ.

WELCOME TO CHRISTMAS // DEC 5 @ 10:00 AM Come and join with other women to celebrate the beginning of the Advent Season. Enjoy our free “make your own” craft fair, marketplace tables, holiday treats and sweets, and the story and songs of Christmas. Family, friends, and neighbours are welcome.

Childcare will be provided for children aged 18 months to 5 years old.

RSVP for childcare to jessica@sjvan.org.

EXPECTING EMMANUEL // DEC 9 // WITH SPECIAL MUSIC This is the time of the year when we are all much to busy. There are expectations and pressure of our “Happy Holiday culture” while we also long to meet the Christ of Christmas. For some of us, the burdens we carry seem to harder to bear in this season of parties and celebrating. If you’re tired, burdened, or just in need of a time apart from all the hustle and bustle – a time to meet Emanuel, come to Expecting Emmanuel on Monday, December 9 at 7:30 pm in the sanctuary.

SENIORS CHRISTMAS COMMUNION // DEC 10 @ 11:00 AM Seniors are invited to join us on December 10 at 11:00 am in the church chapel for Christmas communion followed by lunch. Please RSVP to Margaret Wilson, margaret@sjvan.org or 778-838-7400.

GOODBYE TO BRIE TARRAS Brie Tarras, our Communications Specialist, will be leaving her position at St. John’s as of December 31. Brie has been an invaluable staff member and we are sorry to say goodbye. She is taking on an exciting new position with a software company but plans to still live in Vancouver and attend St. John’s.

JOB OPENING: COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST Do you have proven experience in communications and graphic design and want to use your skills to advance the gospel of Christ? If so, you might be interested in applying for our full-time job opening for a Communications Specialist. A complete job description is on our website at stjohnsvancouver.org/jobs. We will begin interviewing qualified applicants as we receive applications.

BRASS AND ORGAN CONCERT // DEC 17 Celebrate Christmas with music from the VSO Brass Quintet and organist Terry Fullerton.

The concert will take place at Kerrisdale Presbyterian on Dec 17 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available only at the door.

EVENING SERVICE CAROL SERVICE // DEC 15 Join us on Sunday, Dec 16 at 6:00 pm for our “Nothing but the Hits!” carol service. We will sing favourite Christmas carols and hear readings from the Nativity story. Then we’ll head downstairs to enjoy soup together.

CONDOLENCES On Tuesday, November 26, Madeline Dujardin passed away. Madeline was a longterm member of St. John’s and a faithful Christian. Please keep her husband Ray in your prayers along with their children Michelle, Andrea, and Michael as they grieve her loss.

Funeral arrangements are still being made.

CONDOLENCES Please pray for the Hewitt family as they grieve the loss of their mother/motherin-law/grandmother. Norma passed away peacefully with family members present on November 14. She will be greatly missed. By request, there will be no service.

In our Community MISSIONS FEST 2020 // JAN 31 & FEB 1 The theme for the upcoming Missions Fest is Altar Vision. The festival will explore the topic of surrender and its connection to mission.

Missions Fest is the largest annual missions conference in North America, highlighting local and global mission opportunities. General Admission is free, but registration is required. For more information and to register visit missionsfestvancouver.ca.

WINTER COURSES AT REGENT COLLEGE Regent College isn’t just for theologians and pastors. It was founded to help people ask their knottiest biblical and theological questions in community, supported by wise, reliable guides. This winter, Regent is offering a wealth of distance, condensed, weekend, and evening courses to make learning more accessible than ever. Find out more at rgnt.net/courses.

Calendar MONDAY, DEC 2 Little Years @ 10:45 am Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre WEDNESDAY, DEC 4 7:20 am Men’s Bible Study Ekklesia (18 6:30 pm to late 30s) @ UChapel THURSDAY, DEC 5 10:00 am

Welcome to Christmas

7:00 pm DivorceCare FRIDAY, DEC 6 10:30 am

ESL Discussion Group

6:00 pm Youth (grades 7-12) SUNDAY, DEC 8 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Prayer Points Families: Pray for families, that in the busy Christmas season they might experience true rest which comes from Christ and see the beauty of Jesus and his gospel as the most precious gift they can receive.

Ekklesia: Pray for the upcoming Christmas event on December 11 and that God would draw our friends and neighbours to join us.

Coffee: Pray for a few more people to join the team. Pray that we would connect well and be welcoming to newcomers.

Prayer of thanks for willing and reliable volunteers; may they continue to feel joy in bringing physical and emotional blessing to our community, and that they would be comfortable if they need to step down.

Get our weekly email with all events happening in our community by subscribing to the parish email list at sjvan.org

8:00 am Holy Communion 10:00 am Morning Prayer 5:00 pm Evening Catechism 6:00 pm Evening Prayer Learn more at sjvan.org/calendar

There is a “time-bending nature” to the season of Advent. As Christians, we live in an in-between time: the now and the not yet between Jesus Christ’s first and final coming.

The first Advent began in a manger in Bethlehem and led to Jerusalem and the cross; the second will bring judgment and all things made new.

Our location in this in-between time places us in the midst of much darkness and the constant signals that all is not well in our sin-soaked world. Yet, for those who are in Christ, there is the unwavering assurance that all shall be made well when justice and mercy meet.

We wait “for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

Of course, we’re not idle as we wait! The Anglican tradition has given us a tremendous gift for prayer called “Collects.” These ‘waiting prayers’ collect our hearts and minds and redirect them away from the tinsel and traffic of commercial Christmas towards the beauty of Jesus who satisfies our deepest longings. But however beautiful these prayers might be, their rich language can make them difficult to understand and internalize.

Our Advent sermon series, titled Come Among Us: Prayers for Advent, aims to make the Collects more accessible by exploring the Scriptures which inspired these prayers. Each Collect is carefully composed using a five-fold structure of 1.Address, 2.Doctrine, 3.Petition, 4.Aspiration, and 5.Pleading.

Take, for example, the Collect for the Second Sunday in Advent: 1. Blessed Lord, 2. who caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: 3. Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, 4. that by patience and the comfort of your holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; 5. who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Be sure to pick up a copy of the Practicing Advent devotional which offers daily prayers and bible readings to accompany the sermon series.

St. John’s Vancouver Offices: 2325 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V6J 3J2 | Phone: 604.558.4400 | stjohnsvancouver.org Stay informed: facebook.com/stjohnsvancouver | Engage with each other: facebook.com/groups/stjohnsvancouver