St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church Kingston

The Gospel according to John read aloud.

The Gospel according to Luke read aloud.

The Gospel according to Matthew read aloud

The Gospel according to Mark read aloud.

This morning we conclude our consideration of the Christian faith through the art & life of Vincent van Gogh. Scripture reading, sermon and hymns all invite us to consider life as a 'journey', a theme also evoked in Van Gogh's painting 'Road with Cypress and Star'.

We will also celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, so you are invited to prepare with some bread, a cup, and perhaps a candle.

We continue to explore dimensions of the Christian faith through the Bible, and the art & life of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. We will read one of the 'songs of ascent', Psalm 126, and hear a parable of Jesus about a sower and the promise of God bringing a harvest (Luke 8:4-8, 11-15). We will hear some inspiring organ music by the Dutch composer Sweelinck and sing some wonderful hymns, concluding a classic one from the Netherlands, 'We praise you O God, our Creator, Redeemer'.

Celebrating the Sacred.

This is the theme we will be exploring over these last three weeks of summer. And we will be doing so through the work of the artist Vincent Van Gogh, whose paintings were infused with the Christian spirituality of his life and faith.

This sermon will look at one of the last and one of the first paintings of this artist – Iris and The Potato Eaters – that pick up dimensions of the presence of God both in creation and amongst the humble ones of humanity.

Our worship will include hymns ‘Praise my soul, the king of heaven’ and ‘Joyful, joyful, we adore thee’.

We begin this new week of grace considering another of the parables of Jesus, that of the Talents as found in Matthew 25:14-30. Are you living a life of extravagant faithfulness? Make your life count!

During this season of planting and harvest, we'll be exploring Jesus' Parable of the Wheat and Tares.  (Matt. 13). Which one might you be?

The Rev. Nancy Hancock will lead us in praise, prayer and sermon this morning.

We will continue exploring our Christian faith through the words of the hymns we sing - this Sunday Isaac Watts' 'When I survey the wondrous cross'. We will also celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion - be sure to prepare a sacred place, with bread and wine, and perhaps even a candle.

We continue this Sunday exploring our Christian faith through the hymns we sing. After joining with the Church in Jerusalem of the first three centuries (Let all mortal flesh keep silence ... for Christ our God to earth descendeth), and with those around John of Damascus in the 8th century (The day of resurrection, earth tell it out abroad), and with Francis of Assisi in the 12th century (All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voices and with us sing), we arrive at 17th century England ... and what a story lies behind this hymn! It is one of Christian witness embodied in the life of its author, and of challenge in its words to us today.

In gardens around the world, one can find a statue similar to this. Why is that? Who might this be?

As we explore the answer, we will be led to one of the great hymns of Christian praise, ‘All creatures of our God and King ... sing praises, hallelujah’, with encouragement for our faith and a challenge for our lives.

Easter in July! Why not? Should not every Sunday be Easter Sunday, a celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord, and an acknowledgement of the Risen Lord with us?

We continue this Sunday exploring our Christian faith through the hymns we sing – this Sunday joining generations before us with verses based upon the poetry of John of Damascus  (676-734 A.D.) – ‘The day of resurrection, earth tell it out abroad!’.

With quotes from Montreal poet Leonard Cohen and indigenous song writer Caleigh Cardinal, and verses from the New Testament, a service of worship that focuses upon the presence of the Holy One in our singing and in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.

This week will include Canada Day. So as it begins we gather in praise of God, with hymns and prayers ... and a sermon on one particular dimension of the history of our nation, the witness of the Huguenots, that challenges us today.

This is Father’s Day. And National Indigenous People’s Day. And the Lord’s Day. We invite you to join us and gather in the praise of God.

Join us for our Sunday worship.

As this is the first Sunday of the month, we shall celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Be sure to have some bread and a cup ready. You might even light a candle. Let us all create a sacred space in which to know the presence and promises of the Holy One for this humanity of God’s love.  God knows, we need it. 

Pentecost! 

When John and I, as Director of Music and Minister, began our preparations early in the week for this Sunday’s worship time, John mentioned to me ‘Pentecost is a great celebration. Whereas Christmas and Easter have become very much wider-community events, Pentecost remains something precious within the Church’. Precious indeed, for the Church is the work of the Holy Spirit! (Acts 2)

And at almost the same time The Visual Commentary on Scripture http://TheVCS.org  introduced me to an 11th century mosaic that fills the dome of the Hoses Loukas monastery chapel in Phokis Greece. I have enjoyed exploring it as I prepared for Sunday’s online worship.

And now I look forward to joining with you in prayer and praise, in reading and reflecting upon scripture … and through it all, celebrating the work of the Holy Spirit in binding us together into the Living Body of the Living Lord.

In a time like this, when we are constrained at every turn and know our frailty in every dimension, it is a joy to be reminded that the Church is the the work of the Holy One, whose sovereign will is to embrace us in Jesus Christ and lead us into a new community and humanity of peace and justice.

This Sunday morning we will take a final look at the high stone St. Martin Cross of the isle of Iona, with a focus upon the distinctive circle at its centre. What might the Celtic Christians have been sharing with us about the Holy One and their lives as they placed that circle on that cross?

The great ‘high crosses’ of the Celts, like the St. Martin’s Cross that has stood on the island of Iona for 1200 years, were placed outdoors. No doubt there were several reasons for this. We will explore what may be the foundational reason … how this location articulated an important dimension of their Christian faith, and how it might speak to us of the Christian way today.

With the beginning of a new week of grace, we will gather in Spirit to acknowledge the hope that binds us together in Christ. We will continue to consider the gospel as declared by the ancient high cross of Iona, the St. Martin Cross, carved from one block of stone and standing almost 5 metres tall for over 1200 years. This week we will consider the engravings on both sides of the cross, and how they communicate (and challenge us to grow in) Christian faith.

Walking along Kingston’s Inner Harbour near our home, Béatrice and I pass the returning geese and swans, the ducks and loons … and this monument to the over one thousand labourers who died building the Rideau Canal (mainly from malaria!) to protect Upper Canada from the Americans.

My mind crossed the ocean to the ancient high crosses of the Celts, and how they continue to speak so beautifully of the Christian faith. These weeks of May we will listen as …. the elongated central shafts of these crosses declare how Christ has brought together heaven and earth, Holy One and humanity; the wonderful knots and biblical scenes tell of God at work in human history; the distinctive circle points to the Holy One, the Three in One, binding all together; and the location outside, under the open sky, reminds us that this whole world is a beloved creation of a loving Creator.

Being the first of the month, this Sunday we will also celebrate Holy Communion, so you are invited to prepare with bread and cup.

The second Sunday after Easter. We continue the story of those disciples shut up in that room. Jesus returns to his friends, this second time for the benefit of Thomas (John 20: 24-31). The Risen Lord refused to leave even one of his own in the darkness of doubt and despair. Jesus’ will was for all his disciples to experience a new beginning in their lives, one filled with the assurance and strength of the new beginning God had worked in his own resurrection. Such is Jesus’ will for us also. Join us for a time of praise and prayer and reflection. Join us in the worship of God.

We continue along the journey of Easter, as we hear of the disciples locked in a room, in fear. And into their vulnerable isolation comes the Risen Lord. It is a scene of gospel for us today as it was for them. We are invited into a space of beauty by John at the organ; we read together Psalm 16, ‘You show me the path of life'; we will reflect upon John 20:19-22; we sing ‘Now let the vault of heaven resound in praise of love that doth abound’ and ‘Christ is alive’. Join us!

The air remains cool. The moon still hangs overhead. There are shadows, there is silence. Early in the morning, three women journey out from the city to the burial place where they intend to care for the dead body of Jesus. They still cannot believe that the Anointed One has been crucified.

But when they arrive at the end of the road, at the tomb, these three most loyal friends and followers are the first to hear the words that have changed human history and our lives – ‘You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here; see the place where they laid him’ (Mark 16:6).

This Easter morning we take up the gospel declared to the women, and the celebration of the generations. This Easter, not gathered together in one place at the centre of the city but in our homes and apartments spread throughout the city, we will shout out ‘Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!’. Let us join together in prayer, in hymn, in reflection … and in joy!

It is the Lord,

in the dawning

in the renewal,

in the arrival,

in the new day.

It is the Lord,

in the crowd,

in the home,

in the conversation,

in the crisis.

It is the Lord,

in our joys,

in our sorrows,

in our sickness,

in our health …

It is the Lord,

risen and returned,

alive for evermore,

giving me new life,

saving me in strife.

It is the Lord. (David Adam, England)

A service of prayers, readings, reflections and hymns that brings together the congregations of St. Mark’s Lutheran, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, Chalmers-Sydenham Street and Princess Street United to remember the passion of our Lord Jesus for us and our salvation.

Notes from the Director of Music

            This is our first attempt at putting together a pre-recorded service for Good Friday and I am very happy that we were able to include the participation of readers and clergy from other churches. It is very disappointing however, that we could not put our choirs together for some anthems. There are several hymns included in the service, which were sung thanks to the generosity and talents of my immediate family members. This was recorded a few weeks ago before the pandemic situation became so serious. It was very awkward even then for the five of us to be spread out in the choir loft and to try to sound like a choir. The hymns were accompanied by the St. Andrew’s pipe organ. The organ music at the beginning and at the end was recorded at Chalmers United Church and performed by Aurora Dokken, the organist of Chalmers and Sydenham St. United Churches. Chalmers and the other churches have some beautiful stained glass windows which are quite inspiring and some are very appropriate for this service. However, since St. Andrew’s is in a way hosting this event, we are confining our visuals to what this church has to offer. Along with this, I discovered in the choir room an old bible printed in 1855 and presented to St. Andrew’s in 1892. It contains some remarkable engravings which are shown during the Postlude. Christopher’s violin solo is a hymn tune from Walker’s Southern Harmony of 1835 and I asked him to play it in the style of that period.

            We live in a marvellous new age of technology with devices that too often get misused. But what a blessing that we have recording and broadcast tools in this time of crisis. I think that although we are not able to get together for worship this year, you will still find the service very meaningful.

April 5, 2020 St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church - Palm Sunday. An audio-only version of an abridged service recorded in the sanctuary of historic St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, with prayers and meditation by the Rev. Andrew Johnston and music provided by Director of Music John Hall and members of the choir.

March 29, 2020 St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church - Another Sunday of Lent. An audio-only version of an abridged service recorded in the sanctuary of historic St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, with prayers and meditation by the Rev. Andrew Johnston,  scripture readings Psalm 121, Mark 8:31-37, and music provided by Director of Music John Hall and members of the choir.

An audio-only version of a special worship service recorded at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Kingston, Ontario, recorded March 21, 2020. With prayers and homily by The Rev. Andrew Johnston and music provided by Director of Music John Hall and members of the choir.