Welcome to the Anglican Parish of St. John the Baptist, Cobble Hill

Sunday, February 09, 2025

10:00 AM Epiphany 05

Here is the Vimeo and Zoom links for the Sunday service.

https://vimeo.com/event/4902324

Zoom Link 594 912 693
PW 338946

We gather in worship on Sundays at 10AM, with coffee time shared after the service.

Our worship service is Holy Communion also known as The Lord's Supper, Eucharist or The Mass.

The fourth Sunday of every month is celebrated with a soup and sandwich lunch held after the 10AM service.

We offer a Zoom link and a Livestream for the Sunday services if you cannot physically make it to church. Our worship includes Bible readings, prayers, sermon and songs.

You do not have to be baptized, or familiar with church procedures, to be welcome among us.
If we can help you by praying for you, whether you come to church or not, please contact our priest the Rev. Canon Dr. John Alfred Steele.

We are an Anglican parish in the Diocese of British Columbia - The Diocese of Islands and Inlets - and a member of the Anglican Church of Canada.

 

 

 

Sunday's Bible Readings
February 09, 2025

The fire prayer

Holy Spirit, set me on fire with your wisdom,
so that I may love only that which is holy.

Holy Spirit, enlighten me with your understanding,
so that I may perceive only that which is holy.

Holy Spirit, kindle in me your counsel,
so that I may see only that which is holy.

Holy Spirit, inflame me with your strength,
so that I may desire only that which is holy.

Holy Spirit, pour out your knowledge upon me,
so that I may do only that which is holy.

Holy Spirit, give me ardent devotion,
so that I may seek only that which is holy.

Holy Spirit, make me blaze in the fear of God
so that I may never again lose that which is holy.

(From the Book of Devotions – Devocionário – of the Franciscan Congregation of Nursing Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Portugal.)

In Our Prayers 09-15 February 2025
Andorra, Italy, Malta, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Vatican City

Intercessions

We are thankful for:

  • the rich historical legacies and distinctive cultures in these countries.

  • the faithful witness of the churches in the midst of empire building and colonization
  • the many and diverse waves of migrants who have come to these lands.

  • the hospitality that long has been shown to those arriving on their shores.

We pray for:

  • the preservation of the fragile environments and shorelines in this region.

  • an end to economic and political turmoil.

  • stable governments that end corruption and serve the common good.

  • policies that relieve disparities between those who are rich and poor.
Prayers

Prayer for the Side-lined, Lost and Over-looked People.

Holy One, may your Realm of Love come for
the insignificant, unremarkable, over-looked people of the world;
for the un-noticed and simply ordinary people;
back-water sort of people who will never make much impact.
For them
MAY YOUR KINGDOM COME.

Holy One, may your Realm of Love come for
those who are lost; who have disappeared or are missing;
for the up-rooted, exiled and enslaved ;
lost-rights sort of people who will seldom be seen or heard.
For them
MAY YOUR KINGDOM COME.

Holy One, may your Realm of Love come for
the fearful, the terrorised and the abused people of the world;
those who are unjustly imprisoned or entrapped;
voiceless people who will hardly dare to seek help.
For them
MAY YOUR KINGDOM COME.

Holy One, may your Realm of Love come for
the subjugated, silenced and subdued people of the world;
for the lonely, the lacking, the faded, the frightened;
shadowy people unable to bring attention to their suffering.
For them
MAY YOUR KINGDOM COME.

Holy One, mayyYour Realm of Love come for
all persons with disabilities;
for the redundant and poorly educated; the timid and un-appreciated;
struggling people who have to strive for support and respect.
For them,
MAY YOUR KINGDOM COME.

In the dynamic of your Love, may your Realm become a reality for them all. Amen.

(© 2011 Glenn Jetta Barclay, Aotearoa/New Zealand)

 

Greenness

 

Dear God, there are times
when I hear your voice most clearly
in greenness: in the singing of sap,
the conversation of the leaves, the whisperings
of shoot and stem, root, sap and cell,
calling me back to creation
to feel again the freshness of you
running through everything
like a bright emerald current.
God of greenness, you know well my tendency
to fill my life with my own methods of communication.
Thank you for constantly returning me to the simplicity of yours.
Again I experience you in the rejoicing
of bare feet on a damp forest path,
in the wonder of light thrown against
a kaleidoscope of tree ferns,
in the myriad textures of moss-clad trees,
in the shining of you beneath every surface.
Beloved Creator, coming to our greenness
is always a coming home,
a time of peace and grace
as the unimportant in me falls away
and I know again that bright green shoot
of my own beginning
which comes from you
and is one with you,
bright and beautiful God.

(By Joy Cowley, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Published in Aotearoa Psalms: Prayers of a New People by Joy Cowley, Pleroma Christian Books, Otane, H.B. New Zealand.)

 

 

 

Prayer of praise

Blessed are you, God of the Universe.
you have created us and given us life.

Blessed are you, God of the planet earth.
You have set our world like a radiant jewel in the heavens,
and filled it with action, beauty, suffering, struggle and hope.

Blessed are you, God of Aotearoa/New Zealand,
in all the peoples who live there,
in all the lessons they have learned,
in all that remains for them to do.

Blessed are you because you need us;
because you make us worthwhile,
because you give us people to love
and work to do
for your universe, for your world and for ourselves.

(Copyright material taken and adapted from A New Zealand Prayer Book: He Karakia Miihinare o Aotearoa is used with permission. © General secretary of the Anglican church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, New Zealand, pp.619,641, 142.)

Prayers from the Worldwide Church

Prayer of an African Christian

God,
enlarge my heart
that it may be big enough
to receive the greatness of your love.
Stretch my heart
that it may take into it
all those around the world
who, with me, believe in Jesus Christ.
Stretch it
that it may take into it
all those who are not lovely in my eyes,
and whose hands I do not want to touch;
through Jesus Christ, my saviour.

 

 

Prayer from Botswana and Zimbabwe

Prayer from Botswana

Dear God, our builder,
you have all the building materials needed to construct our societies.
You have all the strength to put wisdom on all that has fallen apart in our lives.
You have the wisdom to reshape our world.
Inspire us with all your wisdom, strength and love,
to rebuild the broken walls in our community.

By Rev. Cheryl Dibeela, Gaborone, Botswana. Africa Praying: A Handbook on HIV/AIDS Sensitive Sermon Guidelines and Liturgy, ed. Musa W. Dube, WCC, 2003, pp.57, 175, 187-88.

Prayer from Zimbabwe

Lord God,
we give you thanks for sending your only Son to give us life.
In the midst of wealth we are crushed by poverty,
and while we are offered Christ-life in all its fullness,
we are surrounded by disease, death and destruction.
We are tempted to despair, and yet keep hoping,
knowing that you care.
At times we weep silent tears, and cry out with deep emotion.
We come to you, our only hope and refuge.
Thank you for the gift of laughter,
even when the going is tough.
With you, O Lord, we may be troubled but not destroyed.

By Rev. Farai Chirisa, Zimbabwe. www.ctal.org.uk/zimbabwe.htm

Our Patronal Festival - June 24

Did you know we celebrate the birth of St John the Baptist - just after the spring solstice as the days are getting shorter and John proclaimed in John 3.30 "He must increase but I must decrease."?

We celebrate the birth of Jesus after the winter solstice because the days are getting longer and "the true light has come into the world and the darkness will not overcome it".

The commemoration of the saints is an important part of our Anglican tradition. We commemorate the saints and acknowledge their contribution to the life of the Church through the inspiration they exemplify through Christ's living example found in their lives.  We acknowledge their lives on the date of their death - which we also do for St John the Baptist on Aug 29th.