St. Catherine's Church | Anglican Church in North Vancouver, BC

As I prepare these notes for the weekly notices, I am getting ready to attend the Diocesan Synod which takes place every two years and this year is taking place on Friday, May 30 and Saturday, May 31^st at the Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver. I will be attending on behalf of St. Catherine’s along with Synod delegates Tony Dodd and Billy Garton. It’s been a few years since I’ve attended a Diocesan Synod, so I am looking forward to seeing and catching up with friends and former colleagues from around the Diocese. That one of the best things about Synod – connecting with others and strengthening that consciousness that we are one together (and not just you in your small corner and I in mine!).

We will also worship together at Synod, beginning with the opening Eucharist, and hear reports from around the Diocese, and we will discuss and vote on various resolutions. Most of the resolutions have to do with updating and revising various canons (=rules) of the Diocese. There is also a resolution for ongoing funding for the Dismantling Racism program and for the creation of a Diocesan Creation Care Coordinator to strengthen our response to the present climate emergency. You can find full details of these resolutions as well as everything else happening at Synod (including all the reports) HERE.

Then, after all the excitement of Diocesan Synod, we have Soul Food Sunday happening this Sunday when we will be exploring the Ascension of Jesus. Many years ago (1941) one of the most prominent theologians of the twentieth century, Rudolf Bultmann, wrote:

"We no longer believe in the three-storeyed universe which the creeds take for granted... No one who is old enough to think for themselves supposes that God lives in a local heaven ... And if this is so, the story of Christ's ... ascension into heaven is done with."

~ Rudolf Bultmann, New Testament and Mythology (1941)

Hmm. What do you think? According to scripture, the Ascension of Jesus took place forty days after the resurrection. Forty is the number of completion in the Bible, for example forty years the Israelites spent in the wilderness before entering the promised land, and of testing, for example the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness. So, the Ascension represents the completion of Jesus’s time on earth, and specifically the completion of the time after he was raised from the dead after which he was no longer to be seen on earth.

The are two accounts of the Ascension in the New Testament, both attributed to Luke: Acts 1:1-11, which we will be hearing on Sunday, and the very similar account from Luke 24:44-53, which we will not be hearing (though you can check it out yourself). You are very warmly invited to come along and explore what significance the Ascension may have for us if we agree with Bultmann that this story cannot be taken literally. And you’ll get to enjoy a sumptuous breakfast with excellent company! With thanks to everyone who will be providing food, and especially Gillian Holland and Sharon Fedorak for coordinating this.

I look forward to seeing everyone who will be there on Sunday! Please Tony Dodd, Billy Garton and myself in your prayers as we attend Synod on your behalf.

Blessings+

Angus

________

This Sunday June 1, 2025 will be a Soul Food Sunday service

Here is the link to the downloadable bulletin:
Sunday June 1, 2025

Presider and Preacher: Rev. Angus Stuart
Our Summer Guest Musician is Heyjung Oh and Choir

To access the livestream, click on the button below.
Previous livestreamed services and sermon notes can be found on the website here.

Image: "Apples" by Worthington Whittredge, 1820-1910, Vanderbilt

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Rev. Sharon,

We are putting together a book of thanks and memories for Rev. Sharon and her seven years of ministry at St. Catherine’s.

We are using an online posting link called a Kudo Board. The word “kudo” means a statement of praise or acknowledgement for a job well done. We hope you will write something on the board about your favourite memories or what you most appreciated about Sharon and her time with us. All the postings are public and can be read by anyone who opens the link.

Photos: We would prefer that you email Linda your photos so we can select which ones to include in the book. Kingsley will help with the layout. We already have some photos on the church computer, but we want more. Please send your photos to Linda from parish events, such as services, garden parties, the preschool, celebrations, lunches, and hikes – whatever you have.

The online postings, along with your photos, will be printed in a hardcover book, and we will give it to Sharon as a wedding gift in September.

Here is the link:
https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/uhimNrdX

Instructions for posting: Click on the “Add to the Board” button and start to write. You can edit or delete what you’ve written at any time by clicking on the three little dots in the bottom left-hand corner, and a menu of options comes up.

Once you are happy with what you have written, click the checkmark beside your name. Remember, you can always go back (at any time later) and edit or delete what you’ve written. Just use the link to access the site and find your posting.

Don’t panic if you think this will be difficult! You can also email (or phone) Linda Robertson with any questions, or send her or tell her what you would like posted, along with any photos, and she will do it for you.

lindakrobertson@shaw.ca 604-375-2272 (cell)

We hope everyone will contribute to this book of thanks and recognition for Rev. Sharon. The link will be open until the end of June. We will be sending our reminders.

Thank you for contributing!
~ Vivian McGie and Rhonda Garton

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Help us say Thank You to Rev. Sharon

Dear Parishioners and Friends of Rev. Sharon,

Here is the link:https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/uhimNrdX

lindakrobertson@shaw.ca 604-375-2272 (cell)

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Here is the link:
https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/uhimNrdX