The Ballagh family are coming to St. George's on October 27th at 3pm. They'll sing, they'll dance, they'll drum, and we get to watch and listen. 
You can get tickets at the door ($25), but you won't want to miss it. 
We have video evidence to prove it.  Take a look, and come on over. 

This Sunday, the good folks at St. George's church are going to pack it all up and move north for the day. Our 11am service will be cancelled so that we can all join Christ Church, Port Albert, as they celebrate their 135th anniversary. That particular service will be held at 9:30 at the Port (7 London Rd., Port Albert), and we'd love to see you there! I hear there will be cake...

A SERMON FOR THE FEAST OF ST MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS 
(you can call it Michaelmas, if you'd like).

Genesis 28:10-17; Revelation 12:7-12; John 1:47-51

We heard three readings, this morning. In both the Old Testament reading and the Gospel, God was revealed to humans. In both, God was served by the angels of heaven who ascend to heaven from God and descended again  from their heavenly home—as thought on a staircase or ladder. In the third, we heard the story of a battle in heaven. Michael and those same angels, threw Satan to earth for a little while, until God finishes the work of salvation. 

But there is another passage that I think we need to hear. Not to override the three we’ve read together, but to add some understanding to what we’ve just heard. It comes from the first letter of Saint Peter, and reads his follows.

“It was revealed to [the prophets] that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look!”

All of that might take a little explaining. So Here goes.
It was revealed to the prophets, through the Holy Spirit, that their words would one day help you, generations later, understand the work of Jesus Christ. The prophets understood what that they would not see in their lifetimes, what Gos has now done in Christ.
That is mystery and-here’s the point-angels long to look into what Christ has done for us. The long to see and know, to understand the wonderful love of God for us. 

All of creation is turned in service and worship to God. Only God truly knows, and only God saves. Only God who carries out your salvation and the salvation. We feel it and see it. So do the angels of heaven. But only God truly knows, truly understands. 
We and the angels of God do what we cannot understand. The angels see God the Holy Spirit at work through the prophets, at work through the son, at work in you and I, and they long to understand. 

Jacob sees God revealed on the mountain where he sleeps and sees the angels of heaven coming and going in service to God, and they ascend and descend in service to God longing to understand God‘s work in Jacob. 

Nathaniel is promised a vision of Christ in glory, with angels, ascending and descending to serve Jesus, and the angels ascend and descend from heaven in service to Jesus and long to look into the good things that God is doing for us.

So far, we’ve seen something beautiful; The angels on one side of God, longing to look into the wonderful works of God for our sake, and the patriarchs and sickles staring in wonder at the beauty of God and his heaven, served by the angels. 

This is not an explanation—there are no answers here. It does give us confidence in God, though, who is directing the whole of creation to its perfect end and new beginning. In all of that, there are two things we can say for certain. 

First, there is creation— far bigger than you or I could possibly perceive. Creation includes the visible things that we depend on daily; the air, the skies, the sun, the moon, the fish, the animals, the trees, the birds. It includes the angels in heaven, the cherubim, the seraphim all surrounding the throne of God, the only one who is not created. And creation includes you and me. That’s the first thing. Take a look around, you haven’t seen even half of it. 

The second thing is perhaps the most important. In John’s vision, all of creation— from the angels who fight to carry out God’s plan of salvation, to the prophets, to you and I—have a common goal. We obey, we listen for the voice of God, and we follow. We join with all creation worshipping the God who carries out your salvation and mine, who will one day come again, and will one day make all things new. 
All creation groans for that moment, But until then, we do what we know. We worship God, and we trust him to carry out the great work of salvation, knowing that God understands, that God saves, that God is good, and  that we can trust him. Angels long to look into these beautiful things, and one day we will. Amen.

This morning, the St. George's Holly Berry Bazaar planning committee met to plan this year's festivities. You're in for a treat! Come see the fruits of their labour in St. George's Community Hall on November 2, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. See you there! 

As you might already know, "Messy Church" is a feature of our ministry to kids with their whole families. This week, the good people from "Community Hats and Mats" in Goderich presented us with a bagful of knitted goodies to keep our kids' heads and fingers warm and working. Please excuse the picture of our Rector holding onto them (for now).