WELCOME TO ST MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS ANGLICAN CHURCH!
Septuagesima
8:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.
The service at 8:00 in the chapel is Holy Communion using the BCP’s traditional-language service.
Bulletin: Feb 1 Holy Eucharist BAS
Announcements: Week of Feb 1
WHO WE ARE AS A PARISH
On Sunday and Throughout the Week
Welcome to our new Anglican parish, formed through the amalgamation of St Bartholomew’s and All Saints’ on 8 May 2025 and now, as of Sunday 23 November 2025, known as St Michael and All Angels Anglican Church. It is housed in the old, familiar Victorian structure that was known as St George’s throughout much of Sarnia’s history. We are located at the intersection of Vidal Street North and Charlotte Street.
We are truly a work in progress and all are welcome to join us as we strive to build a parish that reflects God’s truth, beauty and goodness. If you are looking for a place with opportunities for great involvement, we can build that church together. If you need a place of peace and refreshment — a place just to be — let it be with us.
Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let it be.
Let us see Thy great Salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee.
We worship God in reverence and wonder at 8:00 and 10:30 each Sunday. Our 8:00 service is a traditional said-service and our 10:30 service is wonderfully choral. Our worship is directed towards heightening our awareness of God’s love for the world, as revealed through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. We enjoy fellowship during our coffee hour after the second service.
Throughout the rest of the week, our energy is focused on activities that provide opportunities for parishioners and outside friends to increase our fellowship in God’s love through work and play together by partaking in such activities as Bible study, a walking club, a book club, cards and board games, Bible crossword, and workshops on topics of interest to the congregation. An important part of our parish life is to provide outreach and support to the community, most notably through our work with the Inn of the Good Shepherd and our sponsorship of self-help groups.
To read more about us, please visit the various pages in this website, which is always a work in progress, or click here to be taken to the “ABOUT” page. To see a curated selection of photos of our activities this year, click here.
As promised earlier in this very space, the webmaster is happy to report that a new domain name (Internet address) and email addresses for the church are on the horizon. Details will be provided once this lengthy process has been concluded. Stand by to stand by!
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UPCOMING EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
See the announcements page for other events
In addition to those activities that have been included in the announcements page — see the blue link under the date at the top of the page — the following activities, which vary from time to time, or were planned after the publication of the announcements page, will also be taking place.
Please note that text that is in blue is also a hyperlink. Clicking that text will magically transport you to another location, either within this website or elsewhere, that will provide you with further information. By way of example, by clicking the blue text for the location of the Tuesday lunch, a mapping program will open with directions to the restaurant in question. Be brave and give it a try: You have very little to lose!
► Tuesday 3 February
11:00 am — Tuesday Walk, Animal Farm Parking Lot
12:15 pm — Lunch, following the walk, at /// Waggs Steak and Seafood Restaurant
7:00 pm — Mission Committee, Parish House
► Friday 13 February
CANCELLED — Creative Word … but just for the month of February
► Tuesday 17 February, Shrove Tuesday
5:00 pm — Pancake Supper, Parish Hall, until 6:30 p.m.
► Sunday 22 February
1:00 pm — 🌟 Annual Vestry Meeting, Parish Hall 🌟
► Friday 13 March
7:00 pm — Creative Word, venue TBD
Smartphone Workshop
Date to be announced
MY SMARTPHONE HATES ME The sixth instalment in this much beloved workshop series will take place beginning at a date to be chosen before long in Parish Hall. Following upon our January meeting, the focus will be on sending email and using the calendar. As always, we will review previous learning before venturing into these new topics. Any and all, whether of this parish or not, are welcome to attend. Watch this space for further updates. Until we meet again!
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NEWS FROM PARISH COUNCIL
PRIEST-IN-CHARGE
On Sunday 25 May, our amalgamated parish elected its first parish council, thus beginning a new chapter in our shared history. With that move, we became self-governing, with the Rev’d Karen Nelles as our priest-in-charge.
Information on what our wardens and the rest of Parish Council have been doing and are currently doing can now be found on the Parish Council subpage. You can find that page by clicking on the link in the dropdown menu at the top of the screen or, if you prefer, by clicking here.
Parish Council had two very pressing matters on its hands: the first, overseeing the choosing of a new name for our parish, has just been accomplished. The second, however, has just begun, namely working with Archdeacon Amanda in finding a new priest for St Michael and All Angels.
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SELECTION COMMITTEE
Your Parish Surveys are being analysed
On 24 November 2025, Parish Council met to vote upon a Selection Committee. Archdeacon Amanda Longmoore attended this meeting and outlined the process involved in choosing a new rector.
Parish Council prayerfully appointed an eight-member Selection Committee. With only eight places available, Council did its best to draw members from across our predecessor congregations. Care was also taken to choose members who have a strong understanding of the parish’s various ministries–some through direct involvement, others through years of working closely alongside those ministries.
We are grateful for the willingness of the following people to serve: Gord Loeven, Heather Norwood, Katharine Hungerford, Carole James-Airey, Beverly Woods, Susan Memedovich, Moe Carson, Sue Pickard and Heather Prior.
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how many angels do we have?
…but just how many angels do we have in the nave alone?
Anyone who have ever gazed in wonder at the enormous window in the south transept must surely have noticed the variety and number of angelic beings depicted in stained glass. But many of our other windows have been adorned with angels. Have you ever wondered just how angels we have in the nave itself — without even considering the windows in the quire, the narthices, Memorial Hall, Parish Hall and everywhere else in our beautiful and gracefully aging church. Someone should organise a “count the angels” contest…
candlemas
Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace:
Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum
Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum:
Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuae Israel. (Luke ii. 29-32, Vulgate)
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel. (BCP, 1549)
Candlemas is celebrated forty days after Christmas Day, which is the second of February and, indeed, is related to Groundhog Day in North America. Other names for Candlemas are the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Feast of the Holy Encounter. This is when Simeon and the Prophetess Anna recognised the significance of the moment. Many believe that Anna was the first to understand and to proclaim the Good News.
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ANNUAL VESTRY MEETING
Sunday 22 February at Noon
In a break from our usual manner of proceeding, this year’s annual vestry meeting will not take place on Superbowl Sunday but will, instead, take place on the twenty-second after the main service. Those who are responsible for submitting committee reports are asked to do so no later than Sunday 1 February. This will provide those in the office sufficient time to produce the annual report.
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shrove Tuesday
SHROVE TUESDAY PANCAKE SUPPER
Tuesday 17 February
From 5:00 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.
On Shrove Tuesday, Our Intrepid Kitchen Crew™ and Warden Heather will host the next in their series of culinary masterpieces. This time, of course, the fare will be entirely traditional: pancakes, sausages, fruit salad, and beverages. The price per adult has been set at $12 and the price per child under ten years of age has been set at $8. Please speak to one of the Intrepid Kitchen Crew™ or Warden Heather for further details or to offer to help bus tables.
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spring baked goods sale
Saturday 28 March
Warden Heather and Our Intrepid Kitchen Crew™ have announced that we will be holding a spring baked goods sale during the morning of Saturday 28 March. In order to be fully stocked with all manner of sugary goodies to sell to our unsuspecting neighbours and other unwary visitors, we will be holding “baking Saturdays” on 21 February and 7, 14 and 21 March from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. These baking Saturdays really are a great deal of fun and even those with minimal baking talent/experience enjoy themselves. So, come one, come all! Truly, you will enjoy yourselves!
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MISSION & OUTREACH
Friday 19 December, London Road P. S.
Submitted by D/Warden Katharine Hungerford, Friday 19 December 2025
On behalf of your Mission and Outreach Committee, a heartfelt thanks to everyone who so generously gave their time, energy, and talents to make the turkey dinners for the students at London Road School such a success, and to those who carefully and compassionately assembled Christmas hampers for families in need within the school community.
Through your kindness, students and families felt supported, cared for, and remembered in a very tangible way. We are also deeply grateful to the local companies whose generosity made the turkey dinner outreach possible. Special thanks to Nortera Food Inc. of Strathroy for the donation of carrots, to Hayter’s Turkeys of Dashwood for providing turkey breasts at a wholesale price and to Sarnia Produce for potato donations. Their community spirit made a meaningful difference.
A sincere thank you to all who cooked and prepared the Christmas feast for the children and staff at London Rd. School, and helped in the kitchen: Heather and Todd Norwood, Gord Loeven, Kory Memedovich, Don Hunter, Bob Spence, Heather Pryor, Beverly Woods, Barb Pajuk, and Carol Spence. Your willingness to serve ensured everything came together smoothly and with care.
I am also happy to report that the Christmas Hampers were assembled and packed by Carol and Bob Spence, Sue and Cory Memedovich, Bev Woods, Heather Pryor and Angie McKenny on Friday morning and delivered by Carol, Bob, Susan and Cory to the school principal on December 19th at noon. While we initially planned for eight hampers, after conversation with the school principal we were pleased to be able to include a ninth hamper for a London Rd. School family. St. Michaels and All Angels Mission Committee have adopted these outreach activities that were formerly undertaken by the folks at Canon Davis Memorial Church with love.
Special recognition goes to Carol Spence, Heather Norwood and Susan Memedovich for their extraordinary dedication, organization, and leadership. Their countless hours behind the scenes were instrumental in bringing this outreach to life, and we are deeply appreciative of all they did to make this effort so meaningful on behalf of us all.
We would like to recognize the corporate donors, who contributed generously to our hampers – Randy and Angie McKenny of Goodfellow Construction and Carlo Maola of DMW Electrical Instrumentation and of course our ACW. Please know members of the committee have sent a thank you to everyone on your behalf.
Each hamper included a turkey, a pie, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce,
two litres of juice, two canned vegetables, napkins, boxed chocolates, clementines, bagged potatoes, and a roasting pan. Our ACW paid for eight turkeys.
In addition, Sue handwrote cards for each family, enclosing a $50 ‘No Frills’ gift card and a printed guide on how to prepare a turkey. Each hamper was wrapped with festive paper to add a little extra joy.
The final fund-raising total (thank you, Leigh) was $1,560 — what a great effort from the parishioners at St Michael and All Angels — of which $813.35 was spent to prepare the hampers. The remaining funds will be directed toward an Emergency Fund that can be utilised by the Mission & Outreach Committee for future needs of our parish.
Thank you all for your support, generosity, and compassion. The Holy Spirit is truly alive here at St. Michael and All Angels.
FOOD BANK, EVERY FIRST SUNDAY; INN OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, EVERY OTHER MONTH ON THE FIRST MONDAY
The first Sunday of each month will be ‘food bank Sunday’. All items collected will be donated to the St Andrew’s Food Bank in Corunna. Much needed items are canned fruit, snack crackers, Manwich, canned chilli, canned pasta with meat, juice boxes, and men’s and women’s deodorant, shampoo and conditioner. At this time, they do not need canned beans or soup. They do not take clothing or empty containers.
In addition to the food bank, please do not forget our long-standing commitment to the Inn of the Good Shepherd. We continue to actively support the Inn by preparing hot meals on a rotating schedule. Our most recent such day was Monday 1 December when a team of volunteers — and this could have included you! — met at 10:30 in the kitchen at the Inn to prepare a tasty lasagna dinner. Carol Arnesen will happily provide details to those who wish to join the team next time. Perhaps the next time the meal will be eagerly devoured grilled cheese sandwiches!This is dummy text. [Return to the top of the page.]