St. Philip’s is committed to creating a safe, healthy, environment, welcoming for everyone!

Hearing Aid System

St. Philip’s makes available an Infrared hearing Assistance System to any who might benefit. This system enables a person with hearing impairment to enjoy hearing at all locations in the church by using special receivers which pick up the sound in the form of infra-red light and convert it back to sound. Either of the Ushers on duty will be happy to provide you with a set for use during the service.

Wheel Chair Access

The Church, the Lower Hall, and washroom facilities are all accessible by wheelchair.

Guide Dogs

A Guide Dog is a working dog and at St. Philip's they are both welcome and respected. If you require the use of a guide dog please feel free to bring the dog with you to St. Philip's.

Signing

Several members of our community are hearing impaired and have the ability to sign. Please ask our staff to introduce you if you require their services or simply wish to chat.

Scent Free

A growing number of people experience debilitating allergies and sensitivities to perfumes. These scents make them very sick. Please be mindful of others, join us in creating a safe healthy place for everyone – and leave the scents at home Thanks!

Familiar with the ancient traditions of the Church, the Altar Guild prepares the sanctuary for our Services. Each week, usually on Saturday morning, two or three members meet to arrange the flowers and prepare the vessels and linen for the Eucharist, and for any special services, such as baptisms and weddings. This is the faithful group who change the hangings and banners which help us to mark the High days and Holy days of the Church calendar. The group as a whole decorates the Church for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter Celebrations. The Altar Guild meets quarterly (usually on a Saturday morning). Guild President is Norma Laidlaw.

Gathering together after the 9:00 service and before the 11.15
gives St. Philip’s community a time to meet with one another in a relaxed, informal atmosphere. We share the responsibility of preparing the refreshments, an easy job which requires no heavy time commitment. There is a calendar roster on the kitchen wall on which everyone is welcome to sign up, and a checklist there for Sunday morning to detail the duties. The real job is to remember to buy the milk and bring it with you on your day. A saucer on the counter invites donations to the "coffee fund" which pays for the juice or beverages provided.

Chris Eve is Coffee Coordinator. If you would like to help out, or have any questions contact Chris at 384-8733 or email chriseve@shaw.ca

Financial giving is an important spiritual issue. At St. Philip’s we never engage in fund raising, or financial campaigns to raise resources for our day-to-day operations. We believe the church should be able to operate on the basis of the freely given offerings. People give in response to their awareness of God’s grace and mercy. Paul says, “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:7) We are not to give because of law or guilt, or coercion, or just to raise a church budget. We give because our hearts respond to God’s Holy Spirit.

Jesus seems to affirm the Biblical tradition of the tithe (ten per cent of our income) as a standard for giving. (Mt. 23:23, Luke 11:42) But nowhere does the New Testament mandate tithing. The tithe is a guideline. Our giving is between us and God. To the degree that we are aware of God’s blessing, we will want to enable ministry – “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything , you may share abundantly in every good work.” (2Cor. 9:8)

Presently the money on our offering plate is allocated in the following way:

1. Basic Upkeep

   Through our offerings we maintain the church building and property, including heat, light, water, taxes and the garden. We attempt to be responsible about our financial obligations and keep current with all of our accounts payable.

2. Salaries and staff benefits

   Our rector, Christopher Page and Parish Worker, Gillian Fosdick are full-time employees at St. Philip’s. Priest, Harry Eerkes; Children’s Ministry Worker, Kim Paulo; Verger, John Laidlaw; and Organist, Mary Newbury are part time and a small honorarium also goes to our Bookkeeper, Kathy Fyfe.

3. Missions and Programs

   We give financial support to a number of missionary endeavors both locally and overseas. We are committed to increasing this portion of our expenditures with any excess funds that might be available throughout the year.

4. Apportionment to the Diocese

   Our Apportionment is an obligation we take on as a member of a wider community within the Anglican Church. Our responsibility includes support of the Bishop’s ministry and the ministry and mission of the Anglican Church both nationally and around the world.

Offering Envelopes

The church provides Offering Envelopes upon request. Each week in our Sunday leaflet, you will find a form on the back page of the Order of Service. Please fill in the details and place in the Offering plate during worship. Requested envelopes will be available at the back of the church the following week. Nancy Geddes is our Envelope Secretary. She issues envelopes, keeps track of our Offerings and provides tax receipts at the end of each year.

The ministry of our community is shaped by our giving and the donations we receive are the only source of financial support for the parish. Please prayerfully consider your part in the spiritual discipline of giving thanks to God through your Offering.

Direct Deposit

Many parish families have signed on to participate in a new way of presenting their Offerings. Rather that putting their Offering in the plate on Sunday morning, they have it automatically debited from the bank. For many families now, the Direct Deposit system is the way their life works – they routinely pay bills and attend to financial commitments through pre-arranged automatic withdrawals. For us here at St. Philip’s, such a plan is especially helpful through the summer when, traditionally there is a dip in giving.

If you wish to participate, the Diocese had designed a form to fill in specifying the amount to be withdrawn monthly, or every two weeks. The amount can be changed at any time. Forms are available on the Information table in the stairwell.

Flowers for the Altar

If you are celebrating a special occasion or commemorating an anniversary, think about marking the date with a special gift of flowers for the altar.

There is a "Flower Calendar" on the General Office door. Mark your name (& telephone) down on the Sunday significant for you. A member of the Altar Guild will contact you, before that Sunday and you can either choose the flowers for the arrangement yourself, or provide a sum of money to cover their cost.

Through LENT: no Gloria, no Alleluias and no flowers

No flowers are used to decorate the Sanctuary during the season of Lent, and the somber tone is also reflected in our worship as we omit both ‘the Alleluia’ response at the end of our Gospel reading and the Gloria. Our Kyrie is in a minor key. These changes in liturgy and different settings of our traditional responses help us to focus again and pay attention to the words that wash over us.

Decorating for special services

At Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving, everyone is invited to join with members of the Altar Guild to decorate the Church.

Palm Crosses

On Palm Sunday, we receive crosses made from palm branches. The Palm Crosses we use here at St. Philip’s are handmade in villages in the Anglican Diocese of Masasi in Tanzania.

Take Care of Them. We encourage you to take your Palm Cross home. Your Palm Cross should not be discarded at the end of the service, but treated as a sacred symbol of this season. Many families put them somewhere on display, tucked up behind a picture or on their bulletin board and kept until the following year, for these are the crosses we will use in preparation for next years’ Ash Wednesday services.When you return your crosses, they will be burned, creating the Ash used to make the sign of the cross on each penitent’s forehead.

Home Groups are a vital link in our ministry at St. Philip’s.

Like the early Christians who “broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,” (Acts 2:46), our community encourages people to be involved in small supportive groups.

Home Groups come in many sizes, varieties and styles. They meet in different homes, every week or every other week. Some people meet during the day, most meet on a week night. Some groups include children, others have only adults. Each group shapes its life according to the make up of its membership. Some groups follow a programmed study of the Bible, other groups are less structured, sharing their lives in quite personal ways, spending time in prayer or sharing a meal together.

We hope that you will consider a Home Group at St. Philip’s as one way of deepening your life in Christ.

If you are interested in joining a Home Group or forming a new Home Group, please speak up! Any member of staff or Parish Council will help you connect with others for fellowship.

A group of men have been gathering on Wednesday mornings (September to June) from 7:15 to 8:15 for breakfast, bible study and prayer. You are most welcome to join them whenever you can, please contact Bruce Richmond at 592-4073.

Copies of our Parish Newsletter can be found outside the Church office, please help yourself.

In the Anglican style of public worship, we read a lot of Scripture - an ancient tradition. In the First Letter of Timothy, Timothy is instructed to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture.”
We may read as many as four passages of Scripture, two from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament.
The second New Testament reading is taken from one of the four Gospels. When we read from the Gospel during the Communion Service, it is customary for the congregation to remain standing. We stand for the Gospel reading as a sign of respect for the stories and teachings of Jesus Christ.

The Lectionary

Our Sunday readings are appointed for us in a document called a “Lectionary.” Lectionaries of appointed readings have been in use in the Christian church since the fourth Century. The Lectionary that we use is called the “Common Lectionary,” and is used throughout a large portion of the Christian church around the world. Our use of the “Common Lectionary” means that, on any Sunday of the year, you might go into Christian churches separated by thousands of miles and vast cultural differences and find congregations worshipping with the same Scripture readings.

Lesson Readers

If you would like to share in the ministry of publicly reading the Scriptures, you are encouraged to offer yourself and have your name put on the regular roster of readers.

We conclude our readings with a response. The reader will say, “The Word of the Lord.” The congregation responds, “Thanks be to God.” In this way we declare our agreement with these readings and our assent to their content. We do not hear the words passively, but take them in and apply them to our lives.

For the Gospel reading, we sing an ‘Alleluia Acclamation.’ When the reader concludes, saying, “This is the Gospel of Christ,” the congregation sings their response.

The Servers are young men and women - age 10 and up - who assist clergy at the principal services. The duties consist of leading processions, receiving the collection from the Ushers, helping the celebrant prepare the offertory and the sacraments, and generally being useful in the sanctuary. The chief requirement is a willingness to serve faithfully in turn. Anyone interested in learning and serving in this way may contact Christopher Page.

Sunday School is offered for all children, three years old and up during the 9:00 AM Service. Families gather together in the Church for the start of the worship service with praise singing, and a children's talk. The young then go downstairs and join friends for their Sunday school classes. Everyone rejoins their family for Holy Communion and the Blessing. Something like 50 children are enrolled in Sunday School at St. Philip's - with attendance usually around 30-35 each week.

If you are interested in teaching or assisting with a Class, or if you are new to this parish, and would like to connect with the right Sunday School group for your child, speak to Children’s Ministry Worker, Kim Paulo.

Vacation Bible School

St. Philip’s offers a one-week summer Vacation Bible School for children ages 4 to 11. Through a program that includes lots of singing, games, Bible stories and crafts, the children learn about God and have a great time too! This is a wonderful opportunity for all members of our community to get involved with the children – we always need lots of assistance with both advance preparation and leadership during the week. See the link below for information for 2007.

Avalanche Ranch Vacation Bible School

What a difference it makes to be greeted by a friendly face when you come in the door! If you've been thinking about volunteering as an usher one Sunday, here's what's involved: Ushers arrive about 10 minutes before the beginning of the service, check the hymn numbers in the pew leaflet and then place the hymn numbers on both hymn boards. Besides greeting people as they arrive, and handing out the bulletins, other duties include assisting people to find seats when the church is nearly full; finding helpers for collecting the offering; and counting the number of people in the Church, (to determine the number of communicants). Ushers remain at the rear of the Church throughout the service. Following the service, they pick up discarded bulletins and placing kneelers in an upright position. Speak to Henry Mark (595-4374) if you're willing to help.

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