Black History Month - Meet the Community

This is a republication of “Meet The Community” from 2014 in celebration of Black History Month. Like many Anglican and Episcopal churches, Black people are an important part of St. Philip's parish family. This series is offered in respectful appreciation of their esteemed place in our Parish as well as an acknowledgement of the important role of Black people in churches across North America.

Black History Month (BHM) takes place in February each year and it is an opportunity for all people to celebrate those who have championed civil rights, to remember some very disturbing facts about the past and to acknowledge the social justice work that still needs to be done.

First Female Bishop Elected in the Diocese of Huron

Linda Nicholls, who has served since 2008 as suffragan bishop of Toronto and area bishop of Trent-Durham, was elected coadjutor bishop of the diocese of Huron Saturday, February 13.

“It’s a bit overwhelming, frankly—joyful, wonderful, exciting and quite remarkable—to be elected in a diocese that I have never served in, and to be entrusted with the responsibility to be coadjutor bishop,” Nicholls told the Anglican Journal February 16.

Nicholls was chosen out of eight candidates, winning on the third ballot. As coadjutor bishop, she will automatically become bishop of Huron—the first female to hold the title—when the current bishop, Robert Bennett, retires.

Churches that love their model more than the mission will die

This is the passage tweeted by Bishop Mary on January 29, 2016. It is excerpted from an article called 10 predictions about the future Church and shifting attendance patterns. These predictions were offered by Carey Nieuwhof, a Christian Week columnist. The Bishop also Tweeted the following from the same article: "As the church reformats and repents, a more authentic, more selfless church will emerge."

Churches that love their model more than the mission will die

Children's Ministry in a Changing World

Here is an article on the changing realities in the church as it applies to children's ministry. This is a particularly important subject for a number of churches including St. Philip's which relaunched its Sunday School Program a year and a half ago. The article was written by Lee-Ann Matthews, Youth Coordinator at St. Thomas in the Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
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Fred Hiltz on the Meeting of the Primates of the Anglican Communion

A Reflection on the Meeting of the Primates of the Anglican Communion in Canterbury, England, January 11-15, 2016

The following is a modified version of the Primate's text which was sent out earlier today. It has been edited for clarity.

“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it”
(1 Corinthians 12:27)

Prayer for a New Year

We give you thanks for this new year, together, as your people.

We give you thanks for new beginnings.

As each new year is like a blank page in our book of life, may we carefully choose how we fill that page.

St. Philip's Sunday School - Winter and Spring of 2016