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Special Appeal - A few weeks ago a special appear went out for help with our heating, electrical and plumbing in the church and hall.  We would like to thank those who have responded.  To date we have received $1080 of the $3000 we are asking for.  Thank you once again.  If you have not had the opportunity to help out, your special appeal donations are still welcome.  Please mark your envelope 'Special Appeal'.  We know the people of St. Helen's always step up to the plate when asked.  So thank you in advance for your generosity.  

Remembrance Sunday is next Sunday.  We will have an act of remembrance during the service and will have with us trumpeter John Smit.  

Food Bank Sunday is next Sunday.  Please bring along non-perishable, long-dated food items for the food bank.  Proteins like tinned tuna and salmon and other meats along with peanut butter are especially welcome.  

Concert and Tea November 18th Please get your tickets for yourself and others as soon as possible.  We would like to make sure we have over 100 sold.  The date will soon be upon us.  On Saturday afternoon, November 18th at 1:30pm, St. Helen's is pleased to present our organist and choir director, Mr. Mathew Ma in concert with Soprano, Lambroula Pappas.  Tea will be served in the upper hall following the concert.  Both the concert and tea are included in the ticket price of $15 per person.  This is a great opportunity to invite friends and family.  We are counting on the congregation to get the word of this wonderful musical event out and around in support of St. Helen's music programme.  

A Great Little Fundraiser  Thank you to everyone who participated in the purchase of meats.  A total of $746 was realized.  Thank you to Lynn, Kelly, and Les for the doing all the legwork.  

Lunch Bunch takes place Tuesday, November 7th in the upper hall.  Gathering is from 11:45 am and we eat shortly after that.  Cost is $6 per person.   The 2018 Church Calendars are now available for purchase at $7.00 each. The same price as the last few years. These are available from Pat Clegg at coffee time. Or call her at 604-495-4559 to place your order.  

VST Student Jonathan Pinkney Several weeks ago we welcomed Jonathan to St. Helen's for a parish placement until the end of next April.  Jonathan is a student in second year and ordination postulant.  He is on the VST retreat this Sunday and over the weeks and months to come, he will be taking roles in the Sunday Eucharist as well as working in a variety of areas of parish life.  Please make him welcome to the parish.  

It is Bazaar Time!  Get the word out - bring your friends - it's St. Helen's Annual Bazaar, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2017.  11:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m.  Not only lots of fun, but the best deals in town.  You can help make this important fund-raiser successful! We need your home baking, preserves, candy, other foodstuffs, previously loved jewelry, please see Lynn Turner with your ideas! The Raffle ticket books will be available next week, please take and sell!  Advance ticket sales for the lunch will soon be available.  Please do your best to support and advertise this event!  SET-UP will take place Friday, November 24 at 10:00 a.m. and goods may be dropped off between 10:00 a.m. - Noon OR between 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.  Please do not plan on bringing your sale goods in on the Saturday.  Pick up can be arranged if necessary.  We need your help for set-up, during the event, and for take-down!   

Forthcoming Dates for St. Helen's
Tuesday, November 7  Lunch Bunch 11:45am for 12 noon
Sunday, November 12 Remembrance Sunday with Trumpet for Last Post and Reveille
Saturday, November 18 Concert featuring our Organist Mr. Matthew Ma with guest Soprano, Lambroula Pappas
Saturday, November 25 Christmas Bazaar 11am 2pm  

Readings for Next Sunday, November 12th
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25;
Psalm 78:1-7;
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18;
Matthew 25:1-13        

Hymn of the Week - For All the Saints
What is a saint?  The Apostle Paul often speaks of hagioi, a word that means holy ones, but is usually translated 'saints' in our English-language Bibles.  Paul writes 'To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints (Romans 1:7; see also 1 Corinthians 1:2; Philippians 1:1).  It is clear from Paul's usage that he intends hagioi, holy ones, saints, to mean the people of God. Saints are people who have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:10).  We don't use that word, sanctified, very often, but it comes from the word hagios.  Sanctified means made holy.  When the author of Hebrews says that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, he simply means that Jesus Christ has made us holy. That doesn't mean that Jesus has made us perfect.  It does mean that Christ has made us holy, set us apart to a Godly purpose called us to live holy lives. As saints, we are linked to each other by our faith in Christ.  The New Testament speaks of Christians as brothers and sisters, so we are one family in Christ.  We are blood relatives of Godly people from other races and nations (the blood that connects us is the blood of Christ).  We are blood relatives of Godly people who lived long ago and of those who will come after us. Bishop William How wrote the hymn, For All the Saints, in 1864 for All Saints Day, a day meant to honor departed saints, whether known or unknown.  This hymn, then, celebrates the saints who went before us who from their labors rest.  It tells how God sustained them through difficult times strengthened them to battle evil brought them light in their darkest days. And it offers a prayer for the saints of today for us and for our children.  It says, O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold, Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old. And it paints a picture of the saints of all times streaming through the Pearly Gates in countless numbers, Singing to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Holy Day and Commemoration of the Week - Willibrord 7 November - Archbishop of Utrecht, Missionary, 739   Willibrord was an early medieval monk who pioneered the Anglo-Saxon mission to northwestern Europe. Beginning in the year 690, he devoted four decades to preaching the gospel among the Frisians and Germans, and laid the foundations of the Church in modern Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Willibrord was an Englishman by birth, but after he became a monk he chose to pursue his vocation in Ireland. Like many other monks of the time, he believed that exile from his native country on earth would make him a better pilgrim on the way to his eternal homeland in heaven. This sense of pilgrimage motivated his decision to lead a mission to the land of the Frisians, who were the ancestors of the modern Dutch and Belgians. He and twelve companions sailed around England, across the North Sea, and landed at the mouth of the river Rhine. With the institutional support of the Pope and the military support of the Franks, he and his companions evangelized whole districts, then consolidated their work by establishing monasteries. These monasteries were staffed by other Anglo-Saxons who heard what Willibrord was doing and crossed the North Sea to join him in his pilgrimage of preaching. He was made archbishop of Utrecht and used this position to organize the Church in the Low Countries. He carried his mission even to Denmark and the German tribes along the Baltic. Willibrord continued in his missionary calling despite all the hardships and dangers it involved. He was still active well into his seventies, when he retired to a monastery in Luxemburg.  He died on this date in 739, in his eighty-first year, happy to leave the lands of pilgrimage for his true native country on high.