What is the early (Celtic) service?For up to date information, please go to our Facebook page. The rest of this page is fairly outdated, though you can still see an introduction to who what we do below:
As part of the St. Croix on Victoria community in St. Stephen, NB, Joel Mason, Katie Gorrie and Walter & Carol Thiessen, started the early service in 2007 as an experiment in creating a simple worship gathering with a slightly Celtic, liturgical flavor (a few of the readings come from Celtic tradition or communities, and Celtic spirituality has been an example of an informal, community-based and creation-oriented liturgical tradition). For many of us the regular use of liturgy, lectionary readings and symbolic actions (like making the sign of the cross) are ancient but new-to-us practices that we have found to be very life-giving. We hope the liturgy can create a beautiful and relatively consistent framework that will allow the meaning of the words to soak into us as we grow more and more familiar with them over time. The liturgy structures the service in a way that first ushers us into a holy space where we become more deeply present to God and each other, culminating in Holy Communion – sharing the Wine and the Bread. Then we turn our hearts outward, blessed and empowered for the week. The Scripture readings are drawn from the revised common lectionary and help us to stay connected with the full breadth of Scripture, the church around the world, and the rhythm of the church calendar. Other readings, poems and songs are drawn from a wide variety of contemporary (or ancient) sources and help us to stay dynamically connected to the culture around us. Following the readings, there are opportunities to share reflections and discuss thoughts stimulated by the readings. We try to ensure that the liturgical form does not interfere with the gathering being an occasion for spontaneity, the guiding of the Holy Spirit, and the joy of fellowship and humour. For this reason, we are just fine when things do not go as neatly as planned. We meet in the cafe at the Victoria St. Centre. Before the service (9:15 – 9:30) we share muffins, coffee, juice and tea, with the service itself usually lasting from 9:30 until 10:10. After the service, folks stay and chat, or occasionally ask for prayer. |
When & WhereWhen we're not socially isolating because of nasty viruses, the Celtic service meets in the cafe at the
Victoria St. Centre (32 Victoria St., St. Stephen, NB) on Sundays at 9:15 am. All are welcome. Join us for a Zoom service or
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