First Annual BC Deanery Men's Hockey Challenge

On Monday, November 13th, the first annual BC Deanery men's (floor) hockey challenge will take place in Surrey (site TBA). Facing off will be the NHL (Nicaean Hockey League) rivals, the Vancouver Orthojox and the Victoria Saints. The game will be followed by refreshments and food. Interested individuals should contact Kurt Jordan (the-jordans{at}shaw.ca - replace {at} with @) for more information.

BC Deanery Meeting Info

The agenda and poster for the upcoming BC Deanery Meeting on Oct 28th are now up on the (much-in-need-of-an-update) BC Deanery website.

Great Vespers CANCELLED this Saturday (Oct 14)

A combination of factors have made it necessary to cancel St. John's Great Vespers service this Saturday. God willing, St. John's regular services will resume next week with our regular Compline and Study at Peter and Judy's home on Thursday and Great Vespers at Dunbar Lutheran on Saturday, October 21st.

Clement and the Corinthians so far...

We are now up to Chapter 21 of Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians in our study. Last Thursday we looked at Clement's citation of Isaiah 53 and Psalm 51 (or 50 LXX) - passages with which we are very familiar! We noted that Clement's citation of these passages in their entirety shows clearly the continuity of our tradition - these passages have been important to Christians from the very beginning and are still key passages to us today! We concluded with Clement's understanding of creation as a harmonious whole in humble submission to its divine Creator, contrasting it with the story that the Darwinian "survival of the fittest" portrayal of nature that is prevalent today. We also talked a little bit about the Orthodox understanding of the atonement - a discussion which was a bit off-topic, since Clement's main point in citing Isaiah 53 was simply to exhort the Corinthians to follow our Saviour's example of humble obedience, even unto death, but which was appropriate, given the sacrificial language that is so central to Isaiah's prophecy and the Christian understanding of it.

So it looks like we will finally get to Clement's famous example of the phoenix this Thursday - a tidbit that is sure to generate some more interesting off-topic discussion! Looking forward to seeing you there!

Love in Christ,

Fr. Justin.