Upcoming Services
The Season of Lent
On Tuesday (‘Shrove Tuesday’) we will be enjoying the traditional pancakes associated with the day before the commencement of Lent. This day is also known as Mardi Gras (meaning ‘Fat Tuesday’), a day for consuming everything from the pantry and having a good time before a restrained and self-denying observance of the Lenten season. This season is associated with greater attention to prayer, going without luxuries, thoughtful study and exploration of the scriptures, and more giving to others. Lent lasts for 40 days, counting from Ash Wednesday, when we receive on our foreheads the mark of ash, with the words ‘Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return.’ All are welcome to join us on our Lenten journey.
2 March Eighth Sunday After Epiphany
9:15 am Sung Eucharist, St James Thornbury
11:00 am Sung Eucharist, All Saints Northcote
4 March Shrove Tuesday after-dinner Pancakes
7:30 pm at St James Thornbury
5 March Ash Wednesday (beginning of Lent)
7:00 am Eucharist with imposition of Ashes, All Saints Northcote
10:30 am Eucharist with imposition of Ashes, All Saints Northcote
6 March Weekday Eucharist
10:30 am Holy Communion, St James Thornbury
9 March First Sunday in Lent
9:15 am Sung Eucharist, St James Thornbury
11:00 am Sung Eucharist, All Saints Northcote
Sunday services
Two services are provided on Sunday mornings, at 9.15 am at St James Thornbury, and 11.00 am at All Saints Northcote. Each of these services is a Sung Eucharist, which includes easy to sing congregational responses along with some hymns. Both are followed by tea or coffee and some light refreshment. For special services choral music is also included, under the direction of our organists.
Weekday service
A Eucharist service is held at St James Thornbury on Thursday mornings at 10.30 am. This is a shorter said service, but includes some music. Again, this is followed by tea or coffee and some light refreshment.
Outreach services
Services are also conducted at local aged care facilities by arrangement. If you would like to arrange visiting or access to services for those who cannot attend in person, please contact the Vicar.
Activity for children
Children are welcome as part of our worship at all times. There are suitable spaces for quiet activity at the back of the churches, and some materials can be provided. Children are protected by our commitment to child safety and all who interact with them are required to meet the child safe standards of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.
Choral music for special services
Special services are held during Holy Week each year, leading up to Easter, and at Christmas. For special services, celebratory music is provided by a parish choir. Our organists and music directors welcome participation and any parishioner can come along to practices and contribute to the choral singing.
Weddings, baptisms, confirmations, funerals
For information about these services, please contact the Vicar.
Weddings
While fewer people are choosing church as the setting for their wedding, for some, the church is a sacred place in which to mark life’s significant milestones. In the wedding ceremony a couple pledge their love for each other and ask God’s blessing on their union. There is a set structure in the Anglican rite for marriage, but it is possible to personalise the service in the choice of readings, music and prayers.
There are some legal requirements including a Notice Of Intention To Marry. Unfortunately, at this time, it is not possible for same-sex couples to marry in the Anglican church. If you would like to find out more, please contact the vicar.
Baptisms
Baptism represents incorporation into the faith community. This membership into the Christian family reaches far beyond our cultural setting and birth family. Baptism symbolises ending and beginning. In the case of full immersion, water closes over the candidate, so a new individual emerges. In this parish we sprinkle with water for the same purpose. Baptism represents cleansing as well as renewal.
The gift of the Spirit is given at Baptism. This most precious gift grows with us because we are joined to God in a way that can never be broken.
The right time for Baptism is when we are prompted to ask for it. Please contact the vicar if you would like to know more about Baptism.
Funerals
Funerals are a time of letting go in a physical, emotional and spiritual way. The purpose of a funeral is to pass a loved-one into God’s care. It is also a time to celebrate a life and support one other in grief.
You might wonder if a church funeral is appropriate if a person has not attended church. It is always appropriate to call on God’s blessing when we face change, challenge and uncertainty. God hears our prayers and embraces all-comers.
The Anglican Funeral Rite has a set structure. However, there is scope for you to personalise the service through your choice of music and readings. You will have the opportunity to shape a funeral in a way that reflects the person you are farewelling.
Please contact the vicar if you would like to know more about planning a funeral.
Reception into Communicant Membership of the Anglican church
The Anglican faith represents a range of worship styles that range from Evangelical practice with an emphasis on the Word, to Anglo-Catholic where ritual embraces mystery. Formal Reception into Communicant Membership of the Anglican church is marked in a service. If you would like to be formally received into the Anglican Church, please contact the vicar.
Confirmation
People who have been baptised can be prepared for Confirmation by the Bishop. Aspects of the Anglican tradition will be explained in preparation for participation in Communion services. The right time for Confirmation is when an individual is ready to explore their faith in some depth. We all continue to grow in faith and into the baptismal pledge that was made by our Sponsors if we were baptised as a child. Confirmation signpost on our life-long journey. Please contact the vicar if you would like to find out more about Confirmation.
The church year
Our services follow the traditional seasons of the church year, beginning with Advent in December, then the twelve days of Christmas, followed by the Epiphany Season. Ash Wednesday, a service in which we receive the mark of ashes, introduces the forty days of Lent. During Lent there is usually some extra emphasis on Bible study or other sessions of prayerful reflection. This leads us to the procession of palms on Palm Sunday, the special services of Holy Week, including Good Friday, followed by the great celebration of Easter Day. The Easter season is celebrated over seven weeks, and concludes with the day of Pentecost. Some weeks later, we come to Advent again, a season of anticipation and preparation at the beginning of a new church year. The major festival days are celebrated with special meals and fellowship together. We also mark occasions such as the feast of St James, All Saints Day and All Souls Day, and each year’s anniversary of the commencement of services at our each worship centre. On special occasions we organise our services and activities to take place together, including sharing celebratory meals. Parishioners get together monthly for a parish pub lunch.
Ordinary Time
Ordinary time is in fact the ordered life of the church a period in which we live our lives neither in feasting or fasting as at Christmas or as in Advent or Lent. We are encouraged to live our lives in watchfulness and expectation. For as we are told we know not the hour or time when our earthly life will end.
Lent and Advent
Lent and Advent are times when we prepare ourselves for participating in the great mysteries of our faith.
The idea behind fasting is to deny the body pleasures that satisfy and distract from serious thought. While focus on fasting may seem an anachronism for some, self-denial may well bring the benefit of new perspective. Even when fasting is not observed, a time of study and reflecting can enhance knowledge and provide a marked contrast to the time of feasting and celebration. In this parish we offer studies in both Lent and Advent.
Epiphany
While we designate a particular Sunday for Epiphany, it is also a season that bridges Christmas to Candlemass or the Presentation in the Temple. That is timed for 40 days after Christmas on February 2nd. The theme of Epiphanytide is revelation. Our three yearly cycle of readings brings a changing focus on the life and ministry of Jesus in different gospels. However, the emphasis in this season is revelation of Jesus as the Messiah; the promised one.