Dear Friends and Family,

For the followers of the way, it has been said that everything begins and ends in Christ.  God sends unmerited grace that saves us, sustains us, and sends us to invite others into the blessing of eternal life in Christ.  

In the gospel passage this week, Luke 18:1-8, Jesus asks if he will find faith on earth when he returns?  And the answer is yours to supply to God.  No one can show it for you.  Jesus will ask you personally.

The Lord knows the answer to the question already.  Our Creator knows the times (chronoi) and the seasons (kairoi).  The duration and the marked events are all within the Lord’s view.  But they are ours to experience in each moment so that we may grow our faith, and choose if we will respond to God in love throughout instances of joy or suffering, fear or peace. 

In good times or bad, our faith can be demonstrated in observable ways.  It is seen when we persist in loving relationships with God and people over time.  It is heard when our prayer lives with God improve.  And it is felt when the fruits of our lives feed our neighbours.  In these ways, we know that our faith is living.

Persist, pray, and provide.  The hallmarks of a Christian life are visible outcomes when we implement the teachings of scripture in our lives.

So as the week draws to a close, and the next 36 hours bring the time to prepare our hearts for worship together on Sunday, notice how you are spending your time.  Notice your relationships.  Notice your prayer life.  Notice how you serve God and others.  Notice what Christ will notice when he returns.  

You are both wanted and needed in worship, and many look forward to being with you. Myself included.  

Attached please find a copy of the bulletin for the service this weekend, the poster for our upcoming orchestra concert, and an invitation to a screening of a film produced by a member of our Nuer community.  

And so may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you this day and all days through the transformation of hearts and minds by the power of the Holy Spirit to the will of the Father.

Blessings,

Rev Chandra Mannix

Weekly Message: Remembrance Sunday

Dear members, adherents, friends, and family of Knox / St. Giles;

I hope this finds you well as November settles in around us. The days are shorter, the mornings are crisp, and there’s a particular kind of quiet that comes at this time of year – a season that invites us to slow down and pay attention.

This Sunday we gather at 10AM for Remembrance Sunday. Often our minds jump first to images of conflict, but the truer work of this day runs in the opposite direction. Perhaps what we’re really called to remember is peace – to hold it deliberately in our thoughts, to notice it, to give thanks for it, and to hear what it asks of us in return.

Peace is easy to take for granted precisely because it works quietly. When it’s present, we stop noticing it, the way we stop noticing good health or a solid roof over our heads. It shows up in ordinary things: children walking to school, neighbours chatting over the fence, a full grocery store. None of these things announce themselves as miracles, but for so much of the world, in so much of history, they would be. Remembering peace means taking these ordinary gifts as the extraordinary things they are, and giving thanks for the God who calls us to be people of peace.

Peace is not evenly distributed in our world, and a heart that remembers peace gratefully can’t help but ache for the places where it hasn’t yet arrived. This Sunday, we’ll remember our gratitude for the peaceful years we’ve been given and for everyone whose choices over generations made ordinary quiet possible. We’ll pray for all those affected by conflict today, the displaced and grieving, and those living with losses that never make the news. And we’ll resolve to be people who make peace wherever we can – in our homes, our workplaces, our neighbourhoods, and this congregation we’re building together.

Our regular rhythms continue through the week: Wednesday Bible study at 10:15AM and online at 7:00PM, and Thursday ministry at the Southern Building. As usual, the attached bulletin has this week’s announcements and details on everything coming up in the next few weeks.

Sincerely,
Kaiden 

Weekly Message: Looking Ahead

Dear members, adherents, friends, and family of Knox / St. Giles;

I hope you’ve all been keeping warm this week as we start to move into a new season. As the snow comes and goes, I think about how much it reflects this season for all of us – some things settling down, others shifting, and a rhythm we’re still learning to navigate as we adjust.

This coming Sunday we gather for worship, and are reminded that we’re part of something that stretches far beyond any single building or year. In our scripture readings for this week, we see Jesus challenging the religious leaders of his day, who teach one thing and live another. It invites us to ask ourselves what that looks like for us, paying attention to whether our words match our actions. 

That kind of reflection means humility, patience, and the courage to sit with discomfort. God doesn’t ask us for perfection, only honesty. It’s easier to point at the failures of people two thousand years ago than to examine our own shortcomings, but our other readings this week allow us to see what it means to be filled with strength, justice, and integrity. That’s the sort of work we have in front of us.

Winter often feels like an odd time to be starting something. The gardens are gone, yard work is packed away, and things above ground look unremarkable. But under the surface there’s still movement – roots holding fast, seeds waiting for spring, grubs curled up in the soil. Not much visible growth, but plenty happening quietly. Maybe that feels familiar to us, too; glad for what’s ahead but still grieving what’s behind. The slow business of becoming what we’re meant to be. 

Please see the attached bulletin for this week’s announcements. There are plenty of things happening this season, new and old, so feel free to reach out with any questions. Worship is Sunday at 10AM, and we hope to see you all there!

Sincerely,

Kaiden