Who we are:

Church address:
5350 Baillie Street
Vancouver, BC
(on 37th Ave between Cambie and Oak)

Church office address:
2325 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6J 3J2
604.558.4400

St John's Vancouver Anglican Church is a community of Christians dedicated to the exposition and teaching of the Word of God, to the spreading of the good news of the Gospel at home and abroad, and to the application of God's purpose in our own lives and families.

 

News > 2008 Parish Life Notes > 08.06.22 Parish Life

Jun 22, 2008

Dear Friends,

“O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise
to the rock of our salvation!” (Psalm 95:1).
“Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob!” (Psalm 81:1).

Many of the Psalms exhort us to sing the praises of God. There is an article in the April 08 edition of “The Briefing” titled, “The slow death of congregational singing” by Mike Raiter. This certainly does not apply to the congregation of St. John’s. I wish Mr. Raiter had attended the morning services last week and heard the singing of “All hail the power of Jesus’ name.”

Why do we encourage congregational singing at St. John’s? Three of the Old Testament books are songs or groups of songs. Psalms, Lamentations, and the Song of Solomon.

In the New Testament, Paul, in Ephesians 5:18-21, says, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery (I think I will leave that for David and Dan to unpack); but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.”

Paul, also, in his letter to the Colossians 3:16-17, says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Mike Raiter also says “Music and singing are not the enemy of faith, but the fuel for faith and action.” So this morning, may all of you, in full voice, sing the praises of God and the glories of His gospel.

Terry Fullerton

Parish Announcements

Marriage Announcement. Congratulations to Thanh Vu and Terry Penner who are getting married here on June 28th. Please keep this couple in your prayers.

Congratulations. Congratulations to Bill and Betty Chandler who became Great Grandparents for the first time on Friday, June 13th, when Great-grandson Max Chandler Basir made his safe arrival.

St. John’s Seniors Strawberry Tea. Seniors mark your calendar for Tuesday, June 24th at 1:30 pm in the Trendell Lounge. Come and bring a friend to hear Judy Henry, a Celtic harpist, who will entertain us during our last get-together before summer holidays. If you need a ride please call the church office.

Morning Coffee Team Volunteers Needed. A wonderful way to get to know others in the church is to join a team that helps set up for and clean up after the coffee hour between the 9 am and 11 am services. If you are interested we would love to have you as part of this ministry. Please call Brent Smith, coffee hour coordinator, at 604.687.6689.

Do you like to cook or help with the prep? Throughout the year, various ministries require a meal prepared for a group as an ongoing need or as a single event. There are a number of people who serve the congregation in this way, whom we greatly appreciate and don’t want to wear out! If you’d like your name added to a list of those who would be willing to help in some way, either with cooking or set up/clean up, please call Jan at the church (ext 28) or email.

Library. A big vote of thanks to those dear people who have returned books to the library, some of which were long overdue and others not. To everyone else if you find a book that you have had for ages don’t be at all concerned. Just return it to the orange box in the library. We are always happy to be able to re-shelve books.

Memo from Dr. Jim Packer. Dr. Packer has written a memo entitled: 1 Corinthians 6 and Legal proceedings regarding properties maintained, occupied and used for ministry by ANiC congregations. You will find it as an insert in your bulletin today.

Operation Baby Bottle (Sunday Jun 22). Again, many thanks to all of you who are supporting this great fundraising campaign. Please return your baby bottles and donations to Janice, in the Trendell Lounge, during the coffee-time in between the services. Please, do not return the bottles to the Reception or Office. For further assistance: Call Janice at 604.736.0969.

Summer and Fall

Summer Services Time Change. Sunday, June 29th, will mark the beginning of Summer service times of 8:00 am, 10 am, and 6:30 pm. We will resume our normal service schedules on Sunday, September 7th.

Society, Sex and Holy Scripture: How Do We Live and Witness in Our World Today?
Come to the Trendell Lounge on July 15th at 7:30 pm and meet Robert Gagnon, a New Testament scholar specializing in Pauline literature and Biblical ethics. We will have an informal time of questions and answers. Many of us at St. John’s have heard Robert and have found him a very engaging and winsome speaker. If you want answers to the very practical problems of living out your faith in our sexually charged society, this is an evening for you!
Professor Gagnon is giving a course at Regent College from July 14 - 25 (1:15 pm to 3:45 pm) entitled The Bible, Homosexuality and Sexual Ethics. Check out his web site at, http://www.robgagnon.net.

A Look at Luke! As we look forward to studying Luke together this Fall, we are planning a parish day of teaching, led by our own David Short, on September 13. This day is a wonderful way to help prepare us for the sermon series, Sunday school and for small groups. We will have Bible studies available if your group would like to study Luke along with the sermon series. Save the day now.

Summer Reading. Some years ago a godly clergyman urged his flock to read biographies of notable Christians, including missionaries, without regard to where or when they lived. We too can learn much and enrich our lives by these readings. In our library is a collection of biographies and you are encouraged to spend some of your summer time with these saints of past and present. You will be fascinated, amazed and blessed.

GAFCON. It is possible to download a copy of one of the key documents for the Global Anglican Future Conference, “The Way, the Truth and the Life” from the GAFCON website. If you don’t have internet access, but would like a copy please call Nancy at ext 15 in the church office.

The main sessions of GAFCON will be live-streamed and broadcast from both the Anglican TV website and the GAFCON site.

Community News

Benefit Concert for Earthquake Victims in China. There will be a benefit concert, Tuesday, June 17 at 7:30 pm at St. John’s Shaughnessy in the church, sponsored by the South Burnaby Church of Christ. The program will be classical piano, violin and vocals mostly by young prodigies. All proceeds will go to the Canadian Red Cross and will be matched by the Canadian Government for relief efforts in China. Tickets are $20 each and available at the door. Age 12 and under are free. For further information and a program for the evening, please refer to website: www.sbchurch.ca/SichuanBenefitConcert.