Author Archives: stpeters

“Your words, Lord, are spirit and life” (Psalm 19)

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The exterior of St. Peter's Church.The church building that our community presently worships in is the third building that our parish community has occupied. Its construction was begun in 1925 and completed in December of 1926, when our church was dedicated on December 12, 1926. That means that we are beginning the 100th anniversary of our church building. Although we were established as a parish in 1896, a hundred and thirty years ago, this church that we are now in has been our parish home for 100 years.

When a church is built, and set aside as a place for worship, the bishop of the diocese comes and dedicates it. Our church was dedicated in 1926 by Bishop Alexander MacDonald. When a church is dedicated, it is set aside as a place of worship. Within it, the Christian community meets to celebrate the Eucharist and to be built up to be the living Body of Christ in the world. From the celebrations of the liturgy that take place in the building, the Christian community is sent out into the world to continue Christ’s mission and make Jesus present in their day-to-day activities. Because what the Christian community does in the church building is what makes it the church—the living Body of Christ—the building is supposed to be a sign which points to the presence of the Christian community in the area. When people come out of the Bathurst Subway Station and see our church building, it is supposed to be a sign of hope to them, announcing to them the presence of the Christian community. The fact that so many people in need come to our Winter Welcome Table, and office door for assistance, is an indication that we are living up to that sign value. Continue reading →

The Source – Sisters of Life

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The Sisters of Life will be hosting “The Source” in the Church on Thursday, January 23 at 7:00 PM. You are invited to come for an evening of Eucharistic Adoration (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) followed by Christian fellowship (Social at 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM) in the Church Auditorium. Confession will also be available during Adoration

Follow-up on the 2025 Parish Survey

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Thank you to all who took the time to fill out the parish survey!

Every survey was read and discussed by the entire parish council.

The most common suggestions that were received had to do with costly improvements to the parish building. It was agreed unanimously that these improvements should be made as soon as we receive the money to do so. The suggested improvements were the construction of an elevator to link basement and church, renovation and expansion of the washrooms, replacement of the heating system, a new sound system and the addition of bells in the bell tower. The costs of these improvements in our old church building would be well over two million dollars.

For those who do not know, our parish is already attempting to pay off a debt of over three million dollars. We do have some very generous donors. Thank you to those who do support the parish so generously. There are also a significant number of people who donate $5.00 a week. Today it is difficult to do anything with $5.00. As we barely pay our bills from week to week, there have been cutbacks in office hours and other services as a result of rising costs.

The suggestions made in this survey would require a major financial campaign that the council did not feel would be appropriate in these difficult times. These expectations do make very real the financial constraints on our community. If you are one of the many people who are donating $5.00 a week, perhaps consider what you can buy in today’s world for that amount. Even a movie is close to $20.00. Inflation has touched every area of our lives. We suspect that those who are still giving $5.00 a week are doing so because that is what they have always done. However, in order that we might attempt to do some of the things that parishioners expected to be done for them, please consider providing your parish with the financial means to do so.

Thank you again to all who filled out a survey. In the coming weeks, the parish council will report back and continue to respond to the suggestions and concerns.

Baptism—the Foundation of our Pilgrimage of Hope

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For many people, when they hear of the baptism of Jesus as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, they ask the question: “why?” Why was Jesus, the sinless Son of God, baptized? The simple answer to this question is to show us the way. Because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, we Christians are to follow Him and His example. Had He not been baptized, there would have been some Christians, who, attempting to model their lives on Christ’s, would have said, “as Jesus was not baptized, neither will we be baptized.” By being baptized Himself, Christ shows us the great hope that is ours through baptism. As the Holy Spirit is shown to come down on Jesus at His baptism, and He is declared Son of God at His baptism; so too in baptism we receive the Holy Spirit in baptism and become God’s children who are taught that we are to call God “Our Father” in prayer. Continue reading →