Advent Devotional Booklet
We are pleased to be able to offer free Advent readers to our congregation. There is a reading for each day of Advent and leading up to Christmas. The devotions are written by members and friends of our parish community, who were asked to meditate on a passage of Holy Scripture and to offer a reflection and prayer.
We invite you to take a copy for yourself on Sunday or to use the electronic copy attached to this email. They are located at the back of the sanctuary. Let us collectively prepare our hearts to receive Jesus, both in the celebration of his birth and in his Second Coming.
Catechism Course | January 11 to March 29
We are excited to announce that we will be running a catechism course from January 11 through March 29. “Catechism” comes from the New Testament Greek word for “instruction,” and the process of instruction in the faith has historically centred on three major building blocks: the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. While the early church took three years to complete this process, we’ll be zipping through it in just 3 months!
This course is open to all, especially to those who are interested in being baptized or confirmed, or who have questions about the Christian faith, as well as all who would like to deepen their faith. We will meet at 9 AM every Sunday in Stiller Hall up until Easter, when we will celebrate baptisms. We are also very honoured to have Bishop Dan visit us on the Sunday after Easter to confirm those who are seeking confirmation as a next step in their relationship with Jesus.
If you are interested in joining this course or have any questions, you can email the church office at admin@peterpaulottawa.com.
Choral Evensong Services | December 13
Our December service of Choral Evensong will be this Saturday, Dec 13, here at the church from 5 PM to 6 PM. Come enjoy more Advent music, Scripture and prayer as we continue to prepare our hearts for the arrival of Christ at Christmas.
Choral Evensong is a traditional evening service of prayer, music, and scripture. It combines hymns, psalms, and anthems sung by our choir with readings from both the Old and New Testaments, creating a peaceful and reflective time of worship. The purpose of these services is to take time at the end of the busyness of our weeks for quiet reflection, helping us to pause, give thanks for the week that’s passed, and prepare our hearts for worship the next morning.
We hope you’ll join us at 5 PM on the second Saturday of each month for this beautiful, meditative experience. We look forward to sharing this sacred time with you!
Christmas Dinner Volunteer Sign Ups
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Every year, St Peter’s and St Paul’s is humbled and overjoyed to offer a grand celebration of our Saviour’s birth by serving our community a feast of food and fellowship.
We need many volunteers on Christmas Day to make this happen:
We need people to bake cookies and/or dessert squares to drop off at the church on Sunday, December 21, on Christmas Eve between our services (from 4 PM to 8 PM) or on Christmas Day between 11 AM and 1 PM.
We need a Prep Team on Christmas Eve from 9 AM to 12 PM to prep vegetables and stuffing for the following day.
On Christmas Day there will be two dinner sittings: 1:30 PM and 4 PM.
At each sitting, we need help with preparing the food, serving the food and refreshments, greeters, floaters, and dish washers.
After the second sitting, we will need a team devoted to take down and final clean.
This truly is one of the greatest days of the year and all are welcome and heartily invited to help serve and make it happen. Please register to vlunteer below and let us know your preferred service. Thank you all!!
Special Vestry Meeting | December 7 at 12:30 PM
A Special Vestry Meeting (Special General Meeting) of St Peter & St Paul's Anglican Church, Ottawa, will be held on Sunday, December 7 at 12:30 PM. Registration will begin immediately following the 10:30 AM worship service. The purpose of this meeting is to seek approval to move forward with a capital fundraising campaign based on the recommendation of the feasibility study performed by Horizons Stewardship.
A package containing the notice of meeting, a copy of the motion, an executive summary of the report and a Questions and Answers document was emailed to the parish membership this past Thursday. If you did not receive the email, please check your spam filter. If you are a member of the parish and did not receive the email or wish to view the report, please contact the parish office at admin@peterpaulottawa.com.
In order to hold the meeting, we must have half the membership present. If you cannot attend in person, please fill this proxy formand submit it to the church office. Proxy forms must designate another member who will be in attendance at the meeting to vote on your behalf. Signed proxy forms may also be emailed to the church office at admin@peterpaulottawa.com via a scan or clear high-resolution photo. There will also be proxy forms available at the back of the church.
Parish Council will hold an information session on Wednesday, December 3 at 7 PM in St Peter & St Paul’s Stiller Hall. This session will be an opportunity for parishioners to ask questions or offer feedback on the Horizons Stewardship Study and the motion that the membership will be considering at the special vestry meeting.
Please direct questions about the meeting or the process to the Vestry Clerk via the church office (admin@peterpaulottawa.com).
Community Christmas Sing-a-long | December 7
We will be hosting our 4th annual Community Christmas Singalong on Sunday, December 7 at 6 PM. This is a great event to invite your friends and neighbours, especially those with children. There are postcards at the back of the church that you can use to invite people. Children will be welcome to come a half hour early and meet in Stiller Hall in order to dress up as shepherds, angels and nativity animals.
We do need lots of cookies for this event. If you are interested, please bake 2 dozen cookies, and drop them off in the kitchen when you arrive.
We will also need volunteers for the hospitality team to set up Stiller Hall, prepare the refreshments for the reception, and tear down and clean up afterwards. If you would like to provide cookies and/or volunteer, please sign up below.
Mid-Week Eucharist Service
Mid-week Eucharist Service will resume on Sep 3 at 12:15 PM.
Join us for our Mid-week Eucharist Services on Wednesday at 12:15 PM. This is a spoken service and is a great way to spend some time in worship in the middle of your busy work week. Some of our major feast days (Saints' Days) are celebrated at these services. Everyone is welcome.
Sunday Service Online
We invite you to join us online as we live-stream our services on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/StPandPOttawa/
Click to access the Worship Guide to follow along with the service.
Parish Update
COLLECT FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT
Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and the comfort of your holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Our collect this week is encouraging us to “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest” the Holy Scriptures. These four verbs instruct us in how we are to engage with the Bible in a way that is formational.
First, we read. The Bible does us no good sitting on the shelf. We must open the book and read it - “The more we read – slowly, meditatively and, where possible, aloud – the more we shall gain from our study” (John Lennox).
Second, we mark. We pay attention. We ask questions: What does it say? What does it mean? How does it point us to Jesus?
Next, we learn. We apply the meaning of what God is saying to our lives:
SPECK
S—Is there a Sin to repent of and to avoid?
P—is there a Promise to believe and rejoice in?
E—is there an Example for me to follow?
C—is there a Command for me to obey?
K—is there Knowledge for me to freshly understand?
And the goal of Bible reading is to inwardly digest God’s Word until it becomes a part of us, and we are instinctively walking in obedience. This is a process. It takes time and practice. We are learning from Jesus, the Word made flesh, who empowers us by the Holy Spirit to be patient in our suffering, find comfort in our grieving, and helps us “embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life.”
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a good model for us to follow. When the Word of God came to her, through the angel Gabriel, telling her that she would miraculously conceive and give birth to the Son of God, she received and believed. “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Then, while visiting her cousin Elizabeth, she is filled with the Holy Spirit, and magnifies the Lord, in response to His Word, proclaiming the Gospel, and the implications that her son’s birth will mean for her and for the whole of humanity (Luke 1:46-55). And after Jesus was born, and the arrival of the shepherds, Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Mary safeguards the Word of God that came to her through the angel and the shepherds, inwardly reflecting on them in her heart.
Friends, what God did in Mary in a physical way, He intends on doing in each of us in a spiritual way. In fact, God will not stop working in us until the life of His Son is formed in us. But it requires effort on our part. We must do what Mary did: Receive God’s Word, respond to God’s Word in prayer and worship, and contemplate God’s Word. We must do what our collect says and “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest” God’s Word. By doing so, we are not trying to earn our salvation, we are working out our salvation, cooperating with God, as He works in us to will and to act according to His good purpose (Philippians 2:13).
As we continue contemplating the mystery of the Word become flesh, may we trust in our loving Heavenly Father, as He forms the life of His Son in us, by His powerful Word. May we see ourselves as His humble servants, ready to do His will. And may we experience the joy that comes by walking in obedience to God’s Word.
When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will, he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
(“Trust and Obey” by John H. Sammis)
UPCOMING EVENTS – Mark Your Calendars
December 7: Sunday service at 10:30 AM with Jr Church. (Streamed online)
December 7: Special Vestry Meeting at 12:30 PM. Proxy form here.
December 7: Christmas Sing-a-long at 6 PM.
December 10: Midweek Eucharist Service at 12:15 PM.
December 13: Choral Evensong at 5 PM.
December 24: Family Christmas Eve Service at 5 PM and Candlelight Christmas Eve Service at 7 PM.
December 25: Christmas Day Service at 10 AM.
December 25: Annual Christmas Dinner 1:30 PM and 4 PM
Looking ahead in 2026
January 11 to March 29: Catechism course every Sunday morning
May 29- 31: Parish Retreat at Camp IAWAH
Special Vestry Meeting - Sunday, December 7 at 12:30 PM
A Special Vestry Meeting (Special General Meeting) of St Peter & St Paul's Anglican Church, Ottawa, will be held this Sunday at 12:30 PM. Registration will begin immediately following the 10:30 AM worship service. The purpose of this meeting is to seek approval to move forward with a capital fundraising campaign based on the recommendation of the feasibility study performed by Horizons Stewardship.
A package containing the notice of meeting, a copy of the motion, an executive summary of the report and a Questions and Answers document was emailed to the parish membership.
In order to hold the meeting, we must have half the membership present. If you cannot attend in person, please fill this proxy form and submit it to the church office. Proxy forms must designate another member who will be in attendance at the meeting to vote on your behalf. Signed proxy forms may also be emailed to the church office at admin@peterpaulottawa.com via a scan or clear high-resolution photo. There will also be proxy forms available at the back of the church.
Advent Readers are now available
We are pleased to be able to offer free Advent readers to our congregation. There is a reading for each day of Advent and leading up to Christmas. The devotions are written by members and friends of our parish community, who were asked to meditate on a passage of Holy Scripture and to offer a reflection and prayer.
We invite you to take a copy for yourself on Sunday or to use the electronic copy attached to this email. They are located at the back of the sanctuary. Let us collectively prepare our hearts to receive Jesus, both in the celebration of his birth and in his Second Coming.
4th Annual Community Christmas Singalong - Sunday, December 7 at 6 PM
We will be hosting our 4th annual Community Christmas Singalong on Sunday, December 7 at 6 PM. This is a great event to invite your friends and neighbours, especially those with children. There are postcards at the back of the church that you can use to invite people. Children will be welcome to come a half hour early and meet in Stiller Hall in order to dress up as shepherds, angels and nativity animals.
We do need lots of cookies for this event. If you are interested, please bake 2 dozen cookies, and drop them off in the kitchen when you arrive.
We will also need volunteers for the hospitality team to set up Stiller Hall, prepare the refreshments for the reception, and tear down and clean up afterwards. If you would like to provide cookies and/or volunteer, please sign up using this link.
Choral Evensong - Saturday, December 13 at 5 PM
Our December service of Choral Evensong will be on Saturday, December 13, here at the church from 5 PM to 6 PM. Come enjoy more Advent music, Scripture and prayer as we continue to prepare our hearts for the arrival of Christ at Christmas.
Christmas Dinner
Every year, St Peter & St Paul’s serves our community a feast of food and fellowship at our Christmas Day Dinner. We need many volunteers on Christmas Day to make this happen. We need people to bake cookies and squares to drop off at the church on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day. We also need volunteers for our PREP TEAM to help in advance with food preparation and set up on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas Day, there will be two dinner sittings: 1:30 PM and 4 PM, and we will need servers and cooks for each, as well as a cleanup crew afterwards. For more details and to sign up please use this link.
Catechism Course
We are excited to announce that we will be running a catechism course from January 11 through March 29. “Catechism” comes from the New Testament Greek word for “instruction,” and the process of instruction in the faith has historically centred on three major building blocks: the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. While the early church took three years to complete this process, we’ll be zipping through it in just 3 months!
This course is open to all, especially to those who are interested in being baptized or confirmed, or who have questions about the Christian faith, as well as all who would like to deepen their faith. We will meet at 9 AM every Sunday in Stiller Hall up until Easter, when we will celebrate baptisms. We are also very honoured to have Bishop Dan visit us on the Sunday after Easter to confirm those who are seeking confirmation as a next step in their relationship with Jesus.
If you are interested in joining this course or have any questions, please email the church office at admin@peterpaulottawa.com. Please register for the course using this link.
Meal Ministry
Do you like to cook or buy and deliver meals? Our Meal Train Ministry is looking for people to cook and deliver meals. Providing meals is a practical way of supporting others during a challenging time. It is a real blessing to receive a meal following surgery or recovering from an illness. It is also a wonderful gift to young families after the birth of a new baby. If you are interested in joining the team or learning more about this ministry, please email the church office at admin@peterpaulottawa.com.
CHILDREN’S MINISTRIES
We continue the Advent units in Jr Church and Nursery this Sunday.
Our Nursery Blessings hear about Mary and Joseph and the Angel. God sends the Angel Gabriel to Mary and a dream to Joseph, each with an incredible message... The King, the Son of God, is coming and His name is JESUS!
Singing is an important part of our program. Our Chapel Lambs are learning a new Advent song which we sing to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Advent is a time to wait, not yet time to celebrate. Count your candles one by one, until Advent time is done. Day by day we work and play, to prepare for Christmas day.
The Kingdom Kids will learn about the message for Mary this Sunday. Mary’s response stands in striking contrast to Zechariah’s, which we learned about last week. Where his words revealed his doubt about the validity of the promise (“I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years” (Luke 1:18)), Mary’s words are surely among the most beautiful in Scripture: “Behold I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
The Lions of Judah unit is entitled Christ in the Carols. This week, they look at the carol “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”. Did you know it was written by Charles Wesley? It was written sometime in the year following his evangelical conversion in 1738. Charles and his brother John were Anglican clergymen and central figures in the Evangelical revival in England and America.
Registration Forms
Junior Church registration for the 2025/2026 school year can be found here.
Junior Church is for children born between 2014-2021.
Nursery registration for Nursery can be found here.
Nursery is for children born between 2022-2025.
Playgroup on Wednesdays
Playgroup continues to gather on Wednesdays in our Nursery space from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM. A reminder that Playgroup is open to everyone including friends and neighbours from our communities. If you have any questions, please email the chruch office at admin@peterpaulottawa.com.
Online Morning Prayer Monday - Saturday at 8 AM
Join us every morning (Monday - Saturday) at 8 AM to take part in Morning Prayer over Zoom. We gather virtually for about a half hour to worship the Lord, read Scripture, pray, and enjoy Christian fellowship. It is a wonderful way to begin the day. We use the 2019 Book of Common Prayer as our guide, but you do not need to own a prayer book to participate; all the words are on the screen. If you are interested to join us, please contact the church office at admin@peterpaulottawa.com.
Online Thursday morning Bible Study on break
The Thursday morning Bible Study is on holiday break. We will resume studying the Book of Judges on January 8. We meet online via Zoom every Thursday from 10:45 AM to 12 PM. Anyone interested in joining us, please contact the church office at admin@peterpaulottawa.com.
Volunteer Opportunities
Hospitality Team
Thinking you would like to volunteer somewhere, but are afraid of making a regular commitment? The Hospitality Team may be for you!
The Hospitality Team hosts Hospitality Hours after church, receptions, potlucks, and other parish events in Stiller Hall. You are welcome to join us once a year, once in a blue moon, or every time we host an event. You are welcome even if baking is not your thing. You can set out dishes, plate cookies, put jugs of water in the fridge, bring dirty dishes into the kitchen, help load or unload the dishwasher –there are lots of different things to do. You will receive an email when there is an upcoming event and you can respond or ignore, depending on your availability. Join the team by signing up here.
A Place To Go
For those looking for more of a regular commitment, our church runs a weekly drop-in on Friday evenings from 7 PM to 9 PM called A Place To Go.
A Place To Go is in need of people who are willing to make sandwiches once a month; who are willing to make a large batch of soup once a month; and who are willing to volunteer at the church from 6 PM to 9:30 PM once a month.
If you would like to learn more about A Place To Go or volunteering, please click here or speak with Pastor Michelle.
CHURCH RESOURCES
Church Office: The church office is open from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM Tuesdays through Thursdays. You can reach the office by phone at 613-235-1636 or by email at admin@peterpaulottawa.com.
Worship: We gather together for worship at 10:30 AM on Sundays, both in-person at the church and online on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/StPandPOttawa/)
Please use the Worship Guide to follow along with the service. You can join us in person at 152 Metcalfe Street.
Parking: There is a paid lot directly behind the church on Gloucester Street that offers all-day parking at a flat rate on Sundays. For street parking, please check posted signs and pay stations.
Online: Check out our Facebook page for livestreams of our services, audio recordings of our sermons, and other news and posts. You can listen to our Parish podcast and sermons on your favourite podcast app by searching for “peterpaulottawa” and subscribing. And there is also our Website where you can listen to our sermons and podcasts, sign up for events, and read an extended cut of the weekly parish update.