St. John's Anglican Church
Parish of Horton, Wolfville, Nova Scotia
164 Main St., Wolfville, 902-542-2464
www.stjohnsanglicanchurchwolfville.ca
Rector: The Rev’d Nicole Uzans, [email protected]
Honourary Assistant: The Rev’d Dr. V. Bruce Matthews
Wardens: Jim Nelson, 902-542-9295, Cameron Finlay 902-385-4605
Director of Music & Organist: Dr. Michelle Boyd, [email protected]
Parish of Horton, Wolfville, Nova Scotia
164 Main St., Wolfville, 902-542-2464
www.stjohnsanglicanchurchwolfville.ca
Rector: The Rev’d Nicole Uzans, [email protected]
Honourary Assistant: The Rev’d Dr. V. Bruce Matthews
Wardens: Jim Nelson, 902-542-9295, Cameron Finlay 902-385-4605
Director of Music & Organist: Dr. Michelle Boyd, [email protected]
The Wisemen of Wolfville begin their journey with a glimpse of a new star in the sky!
Follow them online at #WisemenOfWolfville
CHRISTMAS, 2022
Dear Ones,
Throughout December, I’ve been travelling around town with the Wisemen of Wolfville. These colourful figurines are only 4” tall, so everything seems a bit different from their perspective! As they follow a guiding star, they encounter both perils and helpers, to the delight of everyone following their journey on social media. (If this all sounds a bit confusing, type #WisemenOfWolfville into Google – you’ll see the images we’ve been sharing on our Facebook and Instagram!)
While the whimsical journey of these modern-day magi is mostly a way to add joy to the weeks of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, it has also led me to consider how far we’ve come as a congregation over the past year. I am grateful that, in 2022, we can gather for Christmas worship (as well as social events and family gatherings), especially when I remember the sudden shut-downs this week last year! As a church community, we’ve been online with one another in new & exciting ways, but more significantly, we’ve been able to reconnect in person as we’ve emerged from Covid.
In the fall, many parishioners were part of The Emmaus Sessions, the launch of a small groups ministry at St. John’s, in which people gathered for faith discussion centered on the parables of Jesus. Also in the fall, we marked the Season of Creation, a time to ponder, pray, and act with the whole web of ecological relations at heart.
Throughout the winter, spring, and summer, a small parish group of big-hearted people organized learning events around reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, including guest speaker events and a field trip to the Strawberry Powwow at Annapolis Valley First Nation.
More recently, our Advent season was enhanced by a film screening of Messiah/Complex, a gorgeous rendition of Handel’s music set against Canadian landscapes and presented by a diversity of Canadian musicians. As with the Solace concert by Ellen Torrie earlier in the year, this event opened the church doors to the wider community, creating shared space for experience through the arts.
In addition to these new ventures, life at St. John’s was kept vibrant by our regular activities: meditation on Fridays, Anglican Church Women lunches & fundraisers, choir practices & offerings by guest musicians, friendly visits to local care homes, and so much more. New beginnings were celebrated in baptism and marriage, and endings were marked through farewells and funerals, all in the compass of God’s abiding care for us.
As we remember the travellers of this holy season – the parents of Jesus, the shepherds, and magi – may we know that God traces all our journeys and our resting places, too. May we continue to venture forward with hope, peace, joy, and love, for God is a faithful companion and guide.
Thank you for all the ways you support St. John’s. Here, people find hope, purpose, guidance, and joy in a community striving to follow the Way of Christ.
God bless you in this Christmas season.
Dear Ones,
Throughout December, I’ve been travelling around town with the Wisemen of Wolfville. These colourful figurines are only 4” tall, so everything seems a bit different from their perspective! As they follow a guiding star, they encounter both perils and helpers, to the delight of everyone following their journey on social media. (If this all sounds a bit confusing, type #WisemenOfWolfville into Google – you’ll see the images we’ve been sharing on our Facebook and Instagram!)
While the whimsical journey of these modern-day magi is mostly a way to add joy to the weeks of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, it has also led me to consider how far we’ve come as a congregation over the past year. I am grateful that, in 2022, we can gather for Christmas worship (as well as social events and family gatherings), especially when I remember the sudden shut-downs this week last year! As a church community, we’ve been online with one another in new & exciting ways, but more significantly, we’ve been able to reconnect in person as we’ve emerged from Covid.
In the fall, many parishioners were part of The Emmaus Sessions, the launch of a small groups ministry at St. John’s, in which people gathered for faith discussion centered on the parables of Jesus. Also in the fall, we marked the Season of Creation, a time to ponder, pray, and act with the whole web of ecological relations at heart.
Throughout the winter, spring, and summer, a small parish group of big-hearted people organized learning events around reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, including guest speaker events and a field trip to the Strawberry Powwow at Annapolis Valley First Nation.
More recently, our Advent season was enhanced by a film screening of Messiah/Complex, a gorgeous rendition of Handel’s music set against Canadian landscapes and presented by a diversity of Canadian musicians. As with the Solace concert by Ellen Torrie earlier in the year, this event opened the church doors to the wider community, creating shared space for experience through the arts.
In addition to these new ventures, life at St. John’s was kept vibrant by our regular activities: meditation on Fridays, Anglican Church Women lunches & fundraisers, choir practices & offerings by guest musicians, friendly visits to local care homes, and so much more. New beginnings were celebrated in baptism and marriage, and endings were marked through farewells and funerals, all in the compass of God’s abiding care for us.
As we remember the travellers of this holy season – the parents of Jesus, the shepherds, and magi – may we know that God traces all our journeys and our resting places, too. May we continue to venture forward with hope, peace, joy, and love, for God is a faithful companion and guide.
Thank you for all the ways you support St. John’s. Here, people find hope, purpose, guidance, and joy in a community striving to follow the Way of Christ.
God bless you in this Christmas season.
The Rev. Nicole Uzans, Rector
