Scripture Readings Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen! “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”  (MT 16:15). There it is! The now iconic words that formed the original confession of the Christian church, voiced by none other than the absolute legend, St. Peter,  disciple and Apostle. It is precisely these words that we commemorate today as God’s people bec

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Scripture Readings Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen! The video sharing site YouTube  is really a modern marvel of information. It hosts zillions and zillions of videos encompassing pretty much everything of interest to every person on earth. Want to fix your car? There’s a video for that. Need a recipe for supper? There’s a video for that too. Want to explore the ever practical world of equestrian vaulting ?! The

Dear Church Family, As our congregation continues to grow in faith and numbers, we recognize the increasing needs of our beloved shut-in members, seniors, and those residing in care homes. These faithful brothers and sisters in Christ deserve dedicated pastoral care, including regular visits, spiritual encouragement, and worship services tailored to their circumstances. The leadership at Emmanuel has been prayerfully considering calling Rev. Dan Barr as an associate pastor, w

Visit http://www.elcmj.ca/tapestry to renew!

Scripture Readings Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen! “ Beam me up, Scottie! ” I’ll bet at least a few of you recognize those words. They come from way back in the 1960s. On September 8, 1966 the very first episode of Star Trek  was aired on TV. It followed the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise, commanded by Captain James T. Kirk, with First Officer Spock, and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. And of course, it h

Scripture Readings Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen! Today is kind of a sombre day in the midst of our Christmas joy. Today, as has been mentioned, is the minor church festival of the Holy Innocents. It’s always commemorated on the 28th of December which this year happens to line up with a Sunday. Who are the Holy Innocents? These are the little Israelite boys, 2 years and under, who evil King Herod in his demoni

Scripture Readings Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen! “That’s impossible!”  How often have you heard those words or even said those words in your life? Oh, probably more than a few times I’m sure. It’s often our response when something seems too tough to understand. Like little kids watching a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat. “Wow! How’d he do that?!” There’s a moment of intense fascination and wonder. But the

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen! 22 years ago, way back in 2003, my wife was serving as the Director of Parish Services at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, smack dab in the middle of inner city Edmonton, Alberta. This church had a great history of inner city outreach, starting “ The Rock ” breakfast program, which fed hundreds of homeless and needy people several days a week. Among other ways they loved and served t

The Funeral Service for Ron McDonald was recorded and is available on YouTube.

Scripture Readings Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen! Picture it. 1979. No internet. No cell phones. If you wanted to learn stuff you had to look it up in  books,  you know, those things with pages in them! They were all the rage at one time, before digital screens took society hostage. But back in 1979 there were several popular “baby naming books.” And of course, at the top of the list in popularity in those bab

Scripture Readings Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen! From forests and trees last Sunday to deserts and sand this Sunday, we’ve had a real botanical cornucopia during this Advent season! When we hear the world “wilderness” in our culture we tend to think about the forests of northern Saskatchewan or maybe the Rocky Mountains. Perhaps the Yukon or Alaska for some unspoiled, pristine wilderness that isn’t touched by