Dear friends,

As October begins we give pause to offer genuine thanksgivings for all God's gifts. 

The first Sunday in October please make sure to join us for a Harvest Themed serviced followed by a Harvest Lunch downstairs after the service.  We will be serving cold turkey, buns, salads and pie. As you are able please bring a salad or pie to contribute to the feast.  

As we feast at St. Laurence we will also be encouraging everyone to contribute a few dollars to combat hunger in Soudan.   read more here   The funds we raise will be matched 4 to 1 by the Canadian Government enabling our small bits of generosity to go a long way.   Please either bring a few dollars to throw in the basket or write cheques to PWRDF with Soudan on the memo line.  

Finally, this coming Sunday we also look forward to taking a few moments to formally welcome 5 new parishioners. Another blessing!

The schedule for October is to the right.   As we continue to examine stewardship as a spiritual practice, take a moment to read the reflection of The Rev. Cathy Fulton, Honorary Assistant, has written below.   Cathy's words are a gift as we being October prayerfully reflecting on God's grace and blessings.

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Anna Greenwood-Lee

The Rev. Cathy Fulton  Stewardship as a Spiritual Practice

I am a "cradle Anglican" and have been a committed Christian for my life. My grandfather was an Anglo-Catholic priest, and therefore being a part of a faithful community and participating in church community activities in a myriad of ways have been a constant for me.  As such practicing stewardship, in its many forms has been a norm for my life's journey.

I have always held that we are given the gift of life through the grace of God... and that our journey of life is from God and back to God.  As such, every moment and experience is laden with opportunities to "pay forward" from our gifts and of our time, talent and resources.....to honor that which we have been taught, that "from those whom much is given, much is expected."(a section of Luke 12.48, paraphrased wildly for impact.)

And so, it is not an option to give or not to give, to share or not to share, but it is our God given responsibility to find ourselves involved and thoroughly generous in every manner, willing to dig deeper, go farther and share more without question...as followers it is our duty, our obligation and our joy...

There is a hymn by the Marantha Singers, whose chorus is 

"Freely, Freely you have received,

 now freely, freely give.                                                                

 Go in My name and because you believe,                          others will know that I live"  

To me, this is another way of saying the same thing: we have received so much love through the grace of God, we are so blessed in so many ways through the grace of God, and we have so many opportunities to be present to and helpful toward others, by the grace of GOD....that the only question might be 'what else is needed from me this day?'

May we always be inspired to be generous to every person and in every situation, allowing our gifts to freely flow through us outward and onward to bless those put on our path or on our spirits for any reason. It is to be a mantra of our journey as disciples.

October is the month in which we celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. We take special time and energy to gather as friends and family and to give thanks for the abundance of the harvest, and the blessings of the season just completed... There is great joy in all of the festivities and it is indeed a special day. The symbol of such blessing is the cornucopia or the horn of plenty.

I believe that we live with such a cornucopia of spiritual blessings daily, and that our Christian response to such abundance always before us on our journey, is one of constant and deep prayer of thankfulness and gratefulness.

In other words, Thanksgiving is not but one day of the year, but our spiritual response to this life we live, and the many blessings which are ours with every breath we take.

October at St. Laurence

Wednesday, October 1

12:00 noon Craft Group will meet in Sunshine Room

Thursday, October  2 

9:30 am Contemplative Prayer Service with Geri Urch

Sunday, October 5

10:00 am Service The Rev. MJ Leewis-Kirk presiding, Harvest Lunch after the service in the church hall.

Guest Organist Michael Jarzecki.

Anna will be away.

 Wednesday October 8

11:30 am Larry's Grill at Shillelagh Pub in West Market Square. All men welcome 

Thursday, October 9

9:30 am Prayer Group with Stuart McKay

10:00 am Pastoral Care Meeting in the Sunshine Room

Sunday, October 12

10:00 am Thanksgiving Service with The Rev. Anna Greenwood-Lee . No Conversation following the service. Guest Organist Michael Jarzecki

 Tuesday, October 14  1:30 pm - 3:00 pm OR 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Diana Butler Bass Pre-event Session

Thursday, October 16
9:30 am Contemplative Prayer Service with Geri Urch

Sunday, October 19
10:00 am Baptism of Xander Witwer and service on Mechthild of Magdeburg. The Rev. Cathy Fulton preaching. Sue Scott will lead Conversations following the service speaking on Mechthild of Magdeburg. Guest Organist Michael Jarzecki.  This is also Food Bank Sunday

Tuesday, October 21 
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm OR 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Diana Butler Bass Pre-event Session

Wednesday, October 22
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm OneBody Youth Discussion in Sunshine Room

Thursday, October 23
9:30 am Prayer Group with Stuart McKay

Sunday, October 26
10:00 am Service. The Rev. Don McLeod will preach and lead Conversations after the service on Meister Eckhart. Organist Deb Koning.

Tuesday, October 28 
8:30 am Larry's Griddle at Westbrook Mall Smitty's
 

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm OR 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Diana Butler Bass Pre-event Session
 
Thursday, October 30
7:30 pm Choir Practice will resume