All Parish Events Cancelled

Please be advised, that, due to restrictions placed upon the community as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, ALL WORSHIP SERVICES AND OTHER EVENTS in the parish are cancelled until further notice. 

The e-bulletin will continue to be sent at the beginning of each week. Additional updates may also be sent out from time to time, as new information needs to be disseminated.

The sudden restrictions of movement and social contact, as well as radical changes in daily habits can be distressing. The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner, Professor of Historical Theology at Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto, offers a thoughtful response to these challenging times: https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/03/the-time-of-the-virus

COVID-19 Restrictions

With the fast moving developments of the past few days regarding the prevention of the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Metropolitan of Ontario has released a statement concerning the suspension of all public public worship services in the province, which includes the Diocese of Ottawa. The Bishop of Ottawa has released a statement in conjunction with this message, indicating that this suspension will last from 15 March until Holy Week, at which point the situation will be re-evaluated. Please follow the link below to read statements made by both the Diocesan and the Metropolitan: http://www.ottawa.anglican.ca/index.php/covid-19

Virtual Worship

Sunday services and some weekly prayer services are being broadcast through Facebook Live at https://facebook.com/stBarnabasOttawa. We will also attempt to archive previous videos here on the parish website. 

The Stations of the Cross which would normally be publicly led on Fridays in Lent have been cancelled for the remainder of the Lenten season. Consider making this a personal or family devotion: many examples may be found online. A form which uses the prayers of St. Paul of the Cross, and which includes artwork can be found at the following website: https://stationsofthecross1.weebly.com/pray-the-way-of-the-cross.html

Spiritual Communion

In a work on the Gospel of John, St. Augustine wrote that, to believe in Jesus is to eat the living bread. 

He that believes eats; he is sated invisibly, because invisibly is he born again... Where he is made new, there he is satisfied with food. - Tractate 26:1 (John 6:41-59)

Likewise, in the section on Ministry to the Sick in the Book of Common Prayer, a rubric found on page 584 states the following:

But if a man, either by reason of extremity of sickness, or for want of warning in due time to the Curate, or by any other just impediment, do not receive the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood: he shall be instructed that if he do truly repent him of his sins, and stedfastly believe that Jesus Christ hath suffered death upon the Cross for him, and shed his Blood for his redemption, earnestly remembering the benefits he hath thereby, and giving him hearty thanks therefor; he doth eat and drink the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ profitably to his soul’s health, although he do not receive the Sacrament with his mouth.

The notion of Spiritual Communion is an ancient one, and not without precedent in the Anglican tradition. In 1916 Bishop Cecil John Wood of Melanesia developed a rite of Spiritual Communion for his far flung diocese in the South Pacific. The full text of this rite can be found here: http://anglicanhistory.org/oceania/wood_communion1916.html

A New Bishop for Ottawa

This past Saturday, an Electoral Synod elected the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, the Very Rev. Shane Parker, as Bishop-Elect on the fifth ballot. Congratulations are extended to Bishop-Elect Parker.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift: Send down upon our Bishops and Clergy, and all Congregations committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace; and that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.

St. Patrick's Breastplate

Christ be with me,

Christ within me,

Christ behind me,

Christ before me,

Christ beside me,

Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me. 

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ in quiet,

Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself today

The strong Name of the Trinity; 

By invocation of the same,

The Three in One, and One in Three.