Ralph Connor Memorial United Church

The Little White Church on Main Street, Canmore, Alberta

General Posts

August 9th – one busy Sunday!

No shortage of things to do today: at 1:00 this afternoon, an online memorial for Rev Vickey Gibbs of Resurrection MCC, Houston https://facebook.com/resurrectionmcc  or  https://youtube.com/resurrectionmcc or https://livestream.com/resurrectionmcc at 2:00 pm, World Indigenous Day event – link available from tony.snow@hillhurstunited.com at 4:00 pm, Banff’s Inqueering Minds group meets at Centennial Park (SE corner) https://www.facebook.com/events/671294746787800 and later, the Bow Valley Syria Refugee Committee is having a first “welcome to Canmore” gathering for Wa’ill and Dana (sorry, we’ve had to limit numbers on …

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Sunday Worship online – August 2, 2020

Join us at https://youtu.be/sCxVe7L6qtY for our online Sunday worship, honouring a colleague in Ministry who died of COVID in July: Rev Vickey Gibbs of Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church in Houston.    Her message of being “a follower, not a fan” of Jesus is a powerful statement of Christian discipleship. Click here for a sermon from 2016, recounting the impact of Rev Vickey and RMCC Houston: Sermon_21August2016

Indigenous Day of Prayer – Worship Service now posted

Join us for Indigenous Day of Prayer – our Sunday Worship Service for June 21, 2020, with guest preacher Gloria Snow.  https://youtu.be/7ERksSa0Kzg The origins of what we now know as National Indigenous Peoples Day began at Stoney Indian Park, in Morley. The1971 the Indian Ecumenical Conference first conceived of June 21 as a National Indian Day of Prayer. The ecumenical conference was organized by Rev. Dr. Chief John Snow Sr. We acknowledge and thank the Stoney Nakoda Nation for initiating …

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EVENSONG WEDNESDAY JUNE 10 at 7:15 PM BEING ONE WITH CREATION, Lord, may I love all Thy creatures, the whole and every grain of sand in it.  May I love every leaf, every ray of Thy light. May I love the animals: Thou hast given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled. Let me not trouble it, let me not harass them, let me not deprive them of their happiness, let me not work against Thine intent. For I …

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What’s Essential about the Church?

From the Bishop-elect of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Missouri, Deon K. Johnson – shared in late May when US churches were being pressured to open their buildings and resume worship before it was safe to do so, because they were an “essential service”: “The work of the church is essential. The work of caring for the lonely, the marginalized, and the oppressed is essential. The work of speaking truth to power and seeking justice is essential. The …

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Julian Cell

Responding to Racism – local vigils

(updated post) IN RESPONSE to Racism – in memory of George Floyd and others – two local vigils have been organized, June 5, 1:00 PM in Canmore’s Riverside Park and June 6, 12:00m noon in Banff’s Central Park. Details are here: https://www.rmotoday.com/canmore/black-lives-matter-vigils-planned-for-canmore-banff-2409535 In addition…Leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, and United Church of Canada have issued a joint letter decrying racism.   Tuesday, June 2 was “blackout Tuesday” – a time to stop whatever your …

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Missing the 7 pm bells?

At 7 pm each night, we’re all encouraged to make joyous noise as a note of thanks to our first-line responders.  Part of this has been the peals of the Church bells at St. Michael’s Anglican and Ralph Connor United.  Unfortunately, the next few days both bells will be silenced – at St. Michael’s, an ongoing silence as their bell is broken, and at Ralph Connor, a temporary silence due to the sanctuary & narthex floor refinishing.  For those wishing …

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Vigils for Nova Scotia

In honour of the lives lost in Nova Scotia, our flags at Ralph Connor will fly at half-mast until Friday, April 24.  The United Church of Canada is hosting an online vigil on its YouTube page, Wednesday April 22 at 11:00 AM MDT.  There will be an online vigil entitled “Nova Scotia Remembers” on Friday at 4:00 pm MDT, hosted on the Colchester – Supporting Our Communities Facebook page.  Our hearts are heavy with this tragic and senseless loss of …

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Good Friday Service has been posted

Our 2020 virtual Good Friday service features dramatic monologues from the foot of the cross, by Judas Iscariot, Mary Magdalene, Mother Mary, and a Roman Centurion.  See it on our “Ralph Connor Canmore” YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi8loA1BP8lNAppSRR9_aQQ Our Easter morning service will be posted at this same link, by sunrise time on Sunday, April 12th.   Though we cannot gather in person, we are honoured to record these services in our homes, and share them with you. Blessings of this holy weekend, …

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