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St. Helen's Weekly Notices October 22nd - 29th
The Rector will be away from Saturday, October 21st -27th.  In the event of an emergency, please contact a warden via the parish office.  The phone will be checked for messages.  

VST Student Jonathan Pinkney We welcome Jonathan to St. Helen's for a parish placement until near the end of next April.  Jonathan is a student in second year and an ordination postulant.  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.  

Concert and Tea November 18th On Saturday afternoon, November 18th at 1:30pm, St. Helen's is pleased to present our Musican and choir director,  Mathew Ma in concert with Soprano, Lambroula Pappas.  Tea in the upper hall will follow the concert.  Both the concert and tea are included in the ticket price of $15 per person.  Tickets will now available from Jacquie Stinson.  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 - St. Helen's Chicken, Beef, Seafood, Appetizer, and Much More Fundraiser is underway! Please bring in your order forms with payment by Sunday, Oct 29th. Your order will be ready for you at the church on Sat, Nov 4th at 10:00 am. Please consider sharing an order with another person if the size seems too much for you.  Zip Lock bags will be supplied on pick up day. Contact Kelly Foulds or Lynn Turner for further information.  

Monthly Bottle Drive - Next Sunday, October 29th, Kelly and Les will be happy to take your deposit bottles to the recycling depot.  Please leave them outside the entrance to the lower hall after the service.  

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. 

It is Bazaar Time!  Get the word out - bring your friends - it's St. Helen's Annual Bazaar, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2017  11:00am - 2:00pm  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!  This year our lunch room will be serving a British Pub Lunch, with appropriate beverage! Advance ticket sales starting soon.  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!

Church and Hall Heating Systems and Electrical Work - A message from the Wardens and Treasurer:Over this year our heating systems in the church and in the hall have had to have repairs well above the amount allowed for in our budget.  Both the furnace and boiler have kept up with our heating needs very well but, from time to time, they do require more than the simple regular maintenance.  This has been the year for that extra maintenance.  In addition, the church has required some electrical work to be done particularly for the vestry area.  We are asking everyone at St. Helen's to make an extra donation in order to meet the costs of these repairs.  The funds from our regular giving envelopes, Christmas Bazaar, and other fundraisers etc. between now and the end of the year are already allocated to meet our budget.  We are asking for donations over and above your regular giving to meet this need of about $3000.  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.  

Perfumes and Scents in the Church and Parish Hall  In recent years we have all heard of the problems associated with breathing and the triggers that cause people real difficulties.  In the last year, a number of parishioners have approached the wardens and rector in reference to their own difficulty breathing.  The difficulty comes when members of the congregation, including both men and women, are wearing scents, colognes, and perfumes to church and other events in the parish hall.  For some people, the throat begins to close or constrict and breathing become can become severely restricted.  This, of course, is quite serious, very scary, and can easily lead to a medical emergency.  It has nothing to do with disliking a particular fragrance or scent.  The church council discussed this concern at its meeting on September 19th.  The result is that the council is requesting members of the congregation, of their own volition, to refrain from using perfumes, colognes, and scents so that others who are easily affected may breathe easy.  We hope everyone will be understanding of this.  

Forthcoming Dates for St. Helen's
 Sunday, November 5 - All Saints Sunday
Tuesday, November 7 - Lunch Bunch at 11:45 am
Sunday, November 12 - Remembrance Sunday with Trumpet for Last Post and Reveille
Saturday, November 18 Concert featuring our musician, Matthew Ma with guest Soprano, Lambroula Pappas
Saturday, November 25  Christmas Bazaar  

Readings for Next Sunday, October 29th
Deuteronomy 34:1-12;
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17;
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8;
Matthew 22:34-46  

Hymn of the Week - Be Thou My Vision
Sometimes hymn singing invites us to connect with the saints who have gone before. Such is the case with the famous Irish hymn, "Be Thou my vision." The original poem, found in two Irish manuscripts in the library of the Royal Irish Academy, may be dated as early as the 8th century.  The original was in Irish beginning "Rob tu mo bhoile, a Comdi cride," and was translated into literal prose by Irish scholar Mary Byrne (1880-1931), a native of Dublin.  It is at this point that Eleanor Hull (1860-1935) enters the story. Born in Manchester, England, she was the founder of the Irish Text Society and president of the Irish Literary Society of London. Hull versified the text and it was published in her Poem Book of the Gael (1912). Following the original publication in Ireland, the hymn was included in a number of British hymnals. After World War II, the hymn came to the attention of hymnal editors in the U.S. and it has become a standard hymn in most hymnals today. Irish liturgy and ritual scholar Helen Phelan, points out how the language of this hymn is drawn from traditional Irish culture: "One of the essential characteristics of the text is the use of 'heroic' imagery to describe God. This was very typical of medieval Irish poetry, which cast God as the 'chieftain' or 'High King' (Ard Ri) who provided protection to his people or clan. The lorica is one of the most popular forms of this kind of protection prayer and is very prevalent in texts of this period."
Credit to Dr. Hawn, director of the sacred music program at Perkins School of Theology. Edited  

Holy Days and Commemorations
James of Jerusalem, 23 October - Memorial
James was a brother of Jesus, a witness to his resurrection, and a leader of the Church in Jerusalem. He is not mentioned in any of the gospels, which suggests that he did not follow his brother or take part in his journey to the cross. But when Saint Paul wrote his First Letter to the Corinthians, he made this note: after the resurrection Jesus appeared to [Peter], then to the Twelve; then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time ....; then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. The risen Lord chose his own brother to be one of the original witnesses to his resurrection; and this fact, together with his kinship to Jesus, gave James special authority among the other disciples. He came to be recognized as the equal of Peter and John in the leadership of the Church. James and many other disciples of his brother still considered themselves Jews, still worshipped in the Temple, and still tried to obey the law of Moses. As a result they were suspicious of St Paul and his mission to the gentiles. They believed that the gospel was only for Jews, and that pagans first had to be circumcised according to Jewish law before they could be baptized and considered disciples of Christ. Paul taught just the opposite - that pagans had free access to Christ through faith and baptism. The controversy threatened to divide the whole Church, so Paul went up to Jerusalem and argued his case with James and the other pillars of the Jerusalem church. In the end James accepted Paul's arguments and acknowledged that his mission to the non-Jewish nations was indeed the work of God. As Paul wrote: James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Thus, James is honoured for his reconciling wisdom, as one who overcame his own prejudices in order to preserve the unity of the fledgling Church.