Newcomer's Guide
The Church of St. John the Baptist, Richmond Hill, welcomes you warmly in the name of our Lord. We are a community of celebration, rejoicing in God's presence and love in Jesus Christ. God has blessed each of us richly and entrusted us with gifts. As a people grateful for the many gifts God has bestowed upon us, we seek to reach out to offer a message of hope to a world in need. We invite you to consider St. John's as your new community of faith. A great way to get to know us better is to join us in worship on Sunday and in helping us develop services beneficial to our growing congregation or take part in the many opportunities for fellowship, outreach, and Christian discipleship. Please allow us to welcome you and let you know more about us by completing our response form or by calling our parish office at 905 884 6929.
June 24th is St John the Baptist Day. In 1848 the congregation was established. Founders of St. John's could hardly have foreseen the changes that would result in the tremendous growth we are seeing in Richmond Hill today. In 1998 we celebrated the 150th year of our current church building, built on land donated by the MacLeod family. Little could those communicants in 1848 have imagined that St. John's would be in such a strategic location, reachable by all who live in Richmond Hill and areas East, West, North and South of Jefferson, on Yonge Street. Little could they have imagined that St. John's would be situated in an area with the highest growth potential in York Region over the next millennium! Yet those same founders were visionaries, and members of the parish at St. John's continue that tradition today, to look ahead to the needs of the future, as the needs of the community surrounding St. John's changes. We are planning to expand our building(s) to support a wide range of activities and services and we extend a warm welcome to all who pass by and pray that many would come back to stay and help us to grow our community of faith. This is an exciting time as God leads us into our second century on the hilltop of Yonge and Jefferson Side Road.
St John's Church has been at the heart of the local community for over 150 years, giving glimpses of heaven, sharing Christian truth and seeing God change people's lives for the better over many generations.
Anyone from any denomination or none, are always welcome, with an opportunity to mingle after the morning service when tea, coffee and fellowship are available in the lower hall.
First-Time Guide to Visiting an Anglican Church
Most important, remember this: You'll be made welcome, especially at St. John’s. We extend a cordial welcome to you to worship with us, and offer this document as a brief introduction to the Anglican Church and its ways.
As you enter St. John’s, you will notice an atmosphere of worship and reverence. Anglican churches are built in many architectural styles; but whether the church be small or large, elaborate or plain, your eye is carried to the altar, or holy table, and to the cross. So our thoughts are taken at once to Christ and to God whose house the church is. The first record of service at St. John’s is the first Sunday in Lent in 1851, when an Altar Prayer Book and a Desk Prayer Book were presented by the Church Society of Toronto. The Parish Hall and Office as it is today, was completed in 1959.
Near the altar there are candles to remind us that Christ is the "Light of the world'' (John 8:12). Our chancel guild flowers, to beautify God's house and to recall the resurrection of Jesus.
On the right side, at the front of the church, is the lectern; for the proclamation of the Word. Here the Scriptures are read by parish members. On the left side, is the pulpit from which the sermon is preached.
Anglican Church services are congregational. In the pews you will find the Book of Common Prayer, though sometimes we use the Book of Alternate Services. We also use supplementary prayer books and two versions of Hymn Books. This enables our congregation to share fully in every service. In the Book of Common Prayer, the large print is the actual service. The smaller print in Italics, gives directions to ministers and people for conduct of the service.
Our ushers and sidespersons will greet you, and may escort you to a pew. If you desire, they will answer your questions about the service. Pews are unreserved in Anglican churches as they are at St. John’s. Following the service the pastor greets the people as they leave.
The principal service is the Holy Eucharist. At St. John’s, like in many Anglican churches all over the world, Holy Communion is celebrated with music, on Sunday morning. Weekday celebrations are frequently without music, and without sermon. When we celebrate great Christian days such as Christmas, Easter and St. John the Baptist Day in June, we have a special service with music and customary celebrations.
Another service we often observe is Morning Prayer. The parallel evening service is Evening Prayer. These services consist of psalms, Bible readings, and prayers; and may include a sermon. They may be with or without music. While some parts of the services are always the same, others change. At the Holy Eucharist, for example, two or three Bible selections are read. These change each Sunday. So do the psalms. Certain of the prayers also change, in order to provide variety. Page numbers for parts of the service printed elsewhere in the Book are usually announced or given in the service leaflet. But do not be embarrassed to ask your neighbor for the page number.
You may wonder when to stand or kneel. Practices vary from parish to parish and even among individual Anglicans. At St. John’s, the general rule is to stand to sing hymns and other songs called canticles or chants and printed as part of the service. We stand, too, to say our affirmation of faith, the Creed; and for the reading of the Gospel in the Holy Eucharist. Psalms are sung or said sitting or standing. We sit during readings from the Old Testament or New Testament Letters, the sermon, and the choir anthems. We stand or kneel for prayer to show our gratefulness to God for accepting us as children or as an act of humility before God.
You will find the services of the Anglican Church beautiful in their ordered dignity, God-centred, and yet mindful of the nature and needs of human beings.
It is the custom upon entering church to kneel in one's pew for a prayer of personal preparation for worship. In many churches it is also the custom to bow to the altar on entering and leaving the church as an act of reverence for Christ.
Most Anglicans do not talk in church before a service but use this time for personal meditation and devotions. At the end of the service some persons kneel for a private prayer before leaving. Others sometimes sit to listen to the organ postlude.
To add to the beauty and festivity of the services, and to signify their special ministries, the clergy and other ministers customarily wear vestments. Choir vestments usually consist of an under-gown called a cassock and a white, gathered over-gown called a surplice. The clergy may also wear cassock and surplice.
Another familiar vestment is the alb, a white tunic with sleeves that covers the body from neck to ankles. Over the surplice, ordained ministers wear a stole, a narrow band of coloured fabric. Deacons wear the stole over one shoulder, priests and bishops over both shoulders.
At the Holy Eucharist a bishop or priest frequently wears a chasuble (a circular garment that envelopes the body) over the alb and stole. The deacon's corresponding vestment has sleeves and is called a dalmatic. Bishops sometimes wear a special headcovering called a mitre.
Stoles, chasubles, and dalmatics, as well as altar coverings, are usually made of rich fabrics. Their colour changes with the seasons and holy days of the Church Year. The most frequently used colours are white, red, violet, and green.
The Anglican Church observes the traditional Christian calendar. The season of Advent, during which we prepare for Christmas, begins on the Sunday closest to November 30. Christmas itself lasts twelve days, after which we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany.
Lent, the forty days of preparation for Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday. Easter season lasts fifty days, concluding on the feast of Pentecost.
During these times the Bible readings are chosen for their appropriateness to the season. During the rest of the year--the season after Epiphany and the long season after Pentecost (except for a few special Sundays)--the New Testament is read sequentially from Sunday to Sunday. The Old Testament lesson corresponds in theme with one of the New Testament readings.
When you visit our church, you will be our respected and welcome guest. You will not be singled out in an embarrassing way, nor asked to stand before the congregation nor to come forward. You will worship God with us.
Should you wish to know more about the Anglican Church or how one becomes an Anglican, speak to our priest or any member of the congregation who can direct you to the right persons. We will gladly answer your questions about Anglicans, the community of St. John’s and suggest the way to membership in our community.
The beliefs of Anglicans can be considered quite diverse. The official standard is the Book of Common Prayer but some parts of that book are more clearly doctrinal than others. The Catechism of the Episcopal Church in the USA summarizes the faith in question-and-answer format.
The ecumenical creeds, both Nicene and Apostles, are used by the Anglican Communion in its worship day by day and week by week. They are ancient and universal statements of Christian faith.
The Scriptures and the Gospels, the Apostolic Church and the early Church Fathers, are the foundation of Anglican faith and worship. The basic tenets of being an Anglican are:
• We view the Old and New Testaments 'as containing all things necessary for salvation' and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.
• We understand the Apostles' creed as the baptismal symbol, and the Nicene creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith.
• The two sacraments ordained by Christ himself - Baptism and the Supper of the Lord - are administered with unfailing use of Christ's words of institution, and the elements are ordained by him.
• The historic episcopate is locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God into the unity of his Church.
Anglicans trace their Christian roots back to the early Church, and their specifically Anglican identity to the post-Reformation expansion of the Church of England and other Episcopal or Anglican Churches. Historically, there were two main stages in the development and spread of the Communion. Beginning with the seventeenth century, Anglicanism was established alongside colonization in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and United States. The second state began in the eighteenth century when missionaries worked to establish Anglican churches in Asia, Africa and Latin America and the West Indies.
As a worldwide family of churches, the Anglican Communion has more than 70 million adherents in 38 Provinces spreading across 161 countries. Located on every continent, Anglicans speak many languages and come from different races and cultures. Although the churches are autonomous, they are also uniquely unified through their history, their theology, their worship and their relationship to the ancient See of Canterbury.
Anglicans uphold the Catholic and Apostolic faith. Following the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Churches are committed to the proclamation of the good news of the Gospel to the whole creation. In practice this is based on the revelation contained in Holy Scripture and the Catholic creeds, and is interpreted in light of Christian tradition, scholarship, reason and experience.
By baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a person is made one with Christ and received into the fellowship of the Church. This sacrament of initiation is open to children as well as to adults.
Central to worship for Anglicans is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, also called the Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper or the Mass. In this offering of prayer and praise, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are recalled through the proclamation of the word and the celebration of the sacrament. Other important rites, commonly called sacraments, include confirmation, holy orders, reconciliation, marriage and anointing of the sick.
Worship is at the very heart of Anglicanism. Its styles vary from simple to elaborate, or even a combination. The great uniting text is The Book of Common Prayer, in its various revisions throughout the Communion. The Book of Common Prayer, alongside additional liturgies gives expression to the comprehensiveness found within the Church whose principles reflect that of the via media in relation to its own and other Christian Churches.
The Book of Common Prayer (1662) is a permanent feature of the Church of England's worship. It is loved for its beauty of language and the services it contains are widely used (in their entirety or in adapted form). It is also the foundation of a tradition of common prayer and is a fundamental source of Church of England doctrine.
Another distinguishing feature of the corporate nature of Anglicanism is that it is an interdependent Church, where parishes, dioceses and provinces help each other to achieve by mutual support in terms of financial assistance and the sharing of other resources.
To be an Anglican is to be on a journey of faith to God supported by a fellowship of co-believers who are dedicated to responding to Him by prayer and service.
We want our church to be a source of radiant inspiration for all who live in Richmond Hill and pass by our church. Our goal is to better serve each other and we hope that you will participate and help us grow just as the community around us is growing. Here are some of the services we offer or plan to offer in future:
Goal: To provide Christian nurture to one another.
Our Children and Youth: To foster the spiritual development of our children and youth.
Liturgy and Music: To provide meaningful worship experiences for our diverse congregation.
Christian Education: To offer lifelong Christian education so that we can grow in faith and Biblical literacy.
Outreach: To serve others as Christ would.
Stewardship: To be a congregation of generous givers for whom stewardship of our time, talent and treasure is central to our spiritual development.
Administration: To create and foster an environment that facilitates the realization of the parish vision and mission.
Do Not Leave Your Child’s Future to Chance….
As a potter shapes a worthless lump of clay, transforming it into an attractive utensil, the Anglican Church offers so much for so little or for no more than just your participation as your needs and desires dictate. In today’s high tech high speed world where time has taken over and instant gratification is the norm, our children, our most valuable asset, need to be shaped both in character and personality to make valuable contributions to the society they live and grow up in. More than ever, many forces are at work today, molding the hearts of our children. Unfortunately some of these forces are destructive, so rather than leaving a child’s heart to chance, wise parents devote time to warding off those negative influences that threaten their children’s hearts. Your love will be amply tested as you patiently guide your child’s long and eventful life. Introducing your children to Jesus will definitely help lighten the journey of life for both parents and children.
Teenagers have all sorts of philosophies and ideas about life. And whether you reckon "you've only got one life to live" or you should "live life to full" or "live fast and die young" or "eat drink and be merry", you've probably got some idea about what you want out of life and what you think life is all about. The Bible says that while this life is incredibly important there's something even more significant in the next. To begin with - this life is fairly short compared with the next one. Even if you lived to be over 150-years-old, like St. John’s, that's only a drop in the ocean compared with eternity. But the Bible also says that what we do in this life determines where we end up for the next. And there are only two places to choose from - heaven or hell. Where we go after we die isn't a matter of being good, keeping a set of rules, paying your taxes or working hard. In fact it's got little to do with our material world.
Knowing Jesus Christ as your personal savior is the most valuable gift we can give our children. The Anglican church, unlike any other, is unique in its approach to personal faith and worship. Come and see the difference for yourself. You owe it to your children….