December 31st, 2004 (2004-12)

A TIME TO REFLECT:

This is the twelfth edition of the Pulse; it’s been a full year already. We hope you are enjoying our little newsletter, and that it is helping to keep you informed of the events and traditions of our wonderful parish. Thank you to all the people who contributed articles and ideas. The parish office works hard to get the monthly issues out to you, and to those involved, congratulations on a job well done and thank you. We wish to bestow the title of Honorary Journalist to Frank Royle, whose faithful submissions have become a regular feature of the Pulse. If you are still receiving the pulse by regular mail, and have an e-mail address, please advise the parish office at parishvaudreuil@ca.inter.net.

At the end of this calendar year, we invite you to say a prayer of thanks for all the great workers of our parish. For those who keep the churches clean, for those who keep the candles ready and the altar decorations perfectly in place, for those who welcome us with a friendly smile every Sunday, for those who serve us drink and cookies – all those blessed sweets, for those who keep our pathways clean and ice free, for those who keep all the electrical and mechanical parts working so we don’t have to bother, for the many committees and their visions, and for those whose warmth and spirit lifts us by their presence, Lord, we give thanks.

CORRECTION REQUIRED; AND GET READY TO ENJOY ANOTHER GREAT EVENING:

I was also happy to see that you mentioned "Church Chicken and Chips", which was indeed a great success. You gave all the credit to Isobel Wright and Laverne, but you did not say that the whole thing was put on by the Pastoral Committee. Isobel and Laverne are members, but everyone pitched in to make it the success it was. On the next edition of Pulse, would you like to put in the following?

Following their successful "Church Chicken and Chips", the Parish Pastoral Committee is planning another liturgy with a supper on 13th February. This one is to be at St. Mary`s Hall, and is called: "Lent Love and
Lasagna"! Although primarily aimed at families with small children, any parishioner is welcome to attend.
M y thanks to all the Communications Committee! Ann Cruickshank

Our apologies for the misinformation. Our congratulations to the Pastoral Committee and all the helpers for putting on a terrific night!

PARISH HOSTS SUCCESSFUL DINNER CONCERT AND FUND RAISER:

The Hudson Choristers directed by our Minister of Music, Douglas Knight, presented

Broadway by the Lake, a Dinner Concert at St. James' Church Hall on November 20th.

The Hudson Choristers comprised 34 voices and several soloists and were accompanied by Douglas on piano. In all, they presented 22 songs, including Step to the Rear, Anything Goes, On the Street Where You Live, Hernado's Hideaway and Getting to Know You. The entertainment followed a dinner of coq au vin and a variety of desserts and 140 guests went home well sated and humming many familiar tunes.

To top it all off, $3,000 were raised to support the work of the Parish and Medical Services in the area.

ADVENT SEASON AT ST. JAMES’ USHERED IN WITH NEW BEGINNINGS:

To the delight of 96 people in attendance, New Beginnings, a ministry well known for their music at Diocesan youth events led the Family Service at St. James' on the First Sunday in Advent. Youth Group Leader Jasmine Cheng from St Michael's and All Angels took the service and led and directed her four member ensemble playing keyboard, guitar, bass, drums and vocals. Upbeat? Certainly! Should we do it again! Absolutely! Stay posted, we'll be hearing more from Jasmine and New Beginnings!

With special thanks to Kate Ilaqua for making the suggestion and following up with the invitation to New Beginnings.

A TIME TO LOOK FORWARD: by Patti Ann

As we look to the future, I would like to share a recent experience with you. On Christmas Eve, I took my 9 year old daughter into the Cathedral in Montreal for the 11:00 p.m. service. I remember the churches being full past capacity in my youth, with everyone getting closer to make room in the pew for one more, then one more, and even one more! I wanted my daughter to experience this at least once in her youth, I wanted her to see that a great many people share our faith, that it is greater than our little corner of the world, that the prayers we say every Sunday for our sister churches could have a face. I was certain that in the middle of the big city, at the Anglican Cathedral, the church would be full! As we arrived 20 minutes early, we had time to take in the majesty of this building, and all the history of its design. We were also given reason to be thankful as we were greeted by a homeless man with his bed laid out on the front step at the doorway to the cathedral, with his hat held out for money as he had wished us a Merry Christmas. We found a seat in the third pew from the front, and I continued to be amazed as for the next 10 minutes, the cathedral remained empty. Surely there must be a couple hundred people in Montreal who would celebrate Christ’s birthday here this night. The metro and bus stops were very close, where were the people? As the service time drew near, the center aisle filled in – not closely – the pews could have held double their load. Two aisles – one East and one West – remained empty save for 3 or 4 teenagers. The service began with the choir singing an “Introit” acapella. It was marvelous. The service was celebrated by the Dean, the Bishop, the Deacon, and two Reverends. The organ was deep and historical, and the choir sang many a selection in multi languages – English, French and Latin were ones I picked out. My 9 year old daughter was one of only 2 participants under the age of 16 that night. After an amazing service, it was wonderful to be greeted at the door by the multitude of clergy, but our exit took less than 5 minutes. From the 3rd pew from the front, I would have expected it to be some 15 minutes or more to get to the doors. On our way out, we were now greeted by two homeless men and their cups; both with their beds set up on the front steps ready to spend the night.

As Anglicans in the community of Hudson, I feel we are blessed. We do have a wonderful place to worship and wonderful people to worship with. I do fear for our future though. Where have all the people gone? I see them in department stores, in restaurants, at gas stations, and in grocery stores. But I don’t see even a quarter of them at church. Our parish is taking steps to attract new membership and grow, and for the committees involved, I am thankful. Remember the Christmas pageants where there were so many children that there were flocks of sheep and choirs of angels because there weren’t enough parts to go around? Was church just something to do because the retailers weren’t open on Sundays? Have we forgotten the power of God’s promise that he will hear our prayers when we gather in His name? Join us at church and join our prayer for the future of our church, for the future of our church community. Bring along some friends. Let 2004 be the year we join together and do marvelous things, in His name.

PARISH FAMILY: Milestones of recent weeks

Marriages: Erika Breck and Remi Aucoin were married at St. James on December 18th.

Death: Yvon DeWaele died on Dec. 12th and his Memorial Service was held at St. James on 23 Dec.

MEMORIAL FLOWERS:

A wonderful way to remember your loved ones is to have flowers placed on the altar in their memory. Donations are particularly welcome during the winter when the flowers are at their most expensive.

Please call Cherrill Gordon at 458-5010 for memorial flowers at St. James, or Bernice Hall at 458-7913 for memorial flowers at St. Mary’s.

“PULSE” CONTACT INFORMATION:

The Parish Pulse Editorial Team is actively looking for your articles. Please feel free to contact any of them with your ideas or suggestions for an article. (Patti Ann Gannon, 613-674-1376, pattiann@sympatico.ca; Paul Brierley, 450-458-1750, paul.brierley@future.ca; Wilf Hall, 450-458-7913, wghall@sympatico.ca). The deadline for the next issue is Wednesday, January 19th, 2005. The publication will be Friday, January 28th, 2005.

Submissions should be directed to Patti Ann Gannon through: pattiann@sympatico.ca, parishvaudreuil@ca.inter.net, drop off at the Parish Office, fax to the Parish Office at 450-458-8802, or mail to The Parish of Vaudreuil, 642 Main Road, Hudson Heights, Quebec, J0P 1J0.

SCHEDULE FOR JANUARY 2005

Sunday, January 2nd – Epiphany of our God

7:45 a.m. Holy Communion St. Mary’s

9:00 a.m. Morning Prayer St. Mary’s

10:00 a.m. Morning Prayer & Praise Evergreen, St. Lazare

11:00 a.m. Holy Communion St. James

Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12

Sunday, January 9th – Baptism of the Lord

7:45 a.m. Holy Communion St. James

9:00 a.m. Holy Communion St. Mary’s

10:00 a.m. Holy Communion Evergreen, St. Lazare

11:00 a.m. Morning Prayer St. James

Readings: Isaiah 42:1-9; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17

Sunday, January 16th – 2nd after Epiphany

7:45 a.m. Holy Communion St. James

9:00 a.m. Family Service St. Mary’s

10:00 a.m. Family Service Evergreen, St. Lazare

11:00 a.m. Holy Communion St. James

Readings: Isaiah 49:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42

Advisory Board Meetings: 20 January – St. James & St. Mary’s – 7:30 pm

Sunday, January 23rd – 3rd after Ephiphany

7:45 a.m. Holy Communion St. James

9:00 a.m. Holy Communion St. Mary’s

10:00 a.m. Holy Communion Evergreen, St. Lazare

11:00 a.m. Family Service St. James

Readings: Isaiah 9: 1-4; 1 Corinthians 1: 10-18; Matthew 4: 12-23

St. Mary’s Vestry Meeting: January 26th

Sunday, January 30th – 4th after Epiphany

7:45 a.m. Holy Communion St. Mary’s

9:00 a.m. Holy Communion St. Mary’s

10:00 a.m. Morning Prayer & Praise Evergreen, St. Lazare

11:00 a.m. Holy Communion St. James

Readings: Micah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Matthew 5:1-12

Happy New Year!!!!!!!