Resurrection in the Meantime
Suhail gives the Easter homily from John 20:1-18.
Homily: Resurrection in the Meantime
Author: Suhail
Holy Week Services
Both/And
And so we enter the most sacred week in the Church calendar: Holy Week. We accompany Jesus in his Passion and celebrate his Resurrection. In large part, the entire Gospel hinges on these two days.
Our Good Friday and Easter Sunday services are meant to be complements; a pairing. The idea, as St. Paul puts it, is to encourage us to enter into (“fellowship” with) Jesus’ suffering and to know him in the power of Resurrection. Christian faith reminds us that we cannot have one without the other, and it is often the former that precedes the latter. We invite you to join us and, if possible, to join us in both services to experience their arc.
Good Friday
Good Friday is understandably sombre – we encourage everyone to wear black (or dark colours) and enter the service in silence. The service features a few pieces of music, listening to the Passion narrative (this year, from the Gospel of Mark), and several embodied actions and creative expressions as part of the liturgy (e.g. saluting at one point in the narrative where Jesus is saluted by the soldiers who mock him; light and shadow around a cross that is painted with various colours during the service etc.). Our hope is not only to “hear” the story but to experience it with Jesus. The service will end abruptly, seemingly without conclusion, and everyone leaves in silence just as they entered.
Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday is the opposite in tone and feel. We encourage everyone to wear white (or light colours), we will give ample time to singing together (with a full band!), hear an Easter homily, celebrate communion, and conclude with a catered lunch (and Easter chocolates!).
If you would like to attend, we would love to have you; if you don’t mind letting us know, that would help with food preparation. 🙂
Teaching: Enneagram and the Love of God
Enneagram and the Love of God Part One: The Triads
Suhail contextualizes the enneagram and provides an overview of the heart, head, and gut triads.
Enneagram and the Love of God Part Two: The Types
Suhail provides an overview of the nine types, with a focus on their compulsion and how it relates to their respective triad.
Listen to all our homilies/teaching via our West End Abbey podcast:
Safeguarding
Our desire is to be a community which honours vulnerability and is free of any form of harm, abuse, or violence. We have implemented a procedure by which anyone may report concerns (including those relating to our leaders and including our lead pastor) to Vineyard Canada, the movement we are part of and to which we are accountable.
For more information: https://westendabbey.ca/safeguarding/
The Enneagram and the Love of God: A Lenten Teaching Series
There are several metaphors to describe the role and dynamic of the Church. A hospital – where people experience care and healing. A chapel – where people have time and space to pray. Lastly, a school – where people grow in their spiritual understanding and wisdom.
This Lent we’re intentionally leaning into the Church as a school, and trying something new.
We’ll have three interactive (time for sharing, questions, discussion etc.) and cumulative teaching sessions on the Enneagram, which is an increasingly known and helpful personality framework that deepens our self-awareness. It reveals the (often subconscious) compulsions that drive us and why. In doing so, it gives us greater understanding, acceptance, and freedom. Similarly, the Enneagram helps people understand others more deeply and, as a result, nourishes compassion and love.
This is all very much in keeping with the practices of self-examination and repetance which are customary Christian observances in Lent.
Ultimately, our hope is that these sessions will clarify strengths and areas of growth in our personalities. They will help us bring more of ourselves into the love of God. They will also encourage us to love ourselves and others in greater measure.
The sessions will build upon one another and if you would like to join us, please do!
The Enneagram and the Love of God
Featuring teaching, conversation, questions, etc. All dates/times are during normal service hours: Sundays, 10:30am – 12:15pm.
- Why and What: March 9, 2025
- “Do you see the speck in your own eye?”: the importance of self-awareness in Christian spiritual formation
- Heart, head, and gut: the Enneagram triads and their general preoccupations and compulsions
- What (continued): March 23, 2025
- The trees in the forest: the 9 Enneatypes
- Upstream or downstream: arrows and how the 9 Enneatypes move with or against their compulsions
- So What?: April 6, 2025
- “Lord, teach us to pray:” how to open your Enneatype to the love of God
- Examen: reflecting on the series and sharing gratitudes, consolations, desolations, and hopes
The Gospel in Three-Part Harmony
The Gospel in Three-Part Harmony
Suhail gives the homily from Luke 4:14-21.
Listen to all our homilies via our West End Abbey podcast:
God Made Christmas Without Consulting Us
God Made Christmas Without Consulting Us
Sister Mary Coswin, OSB gives the Christmas Eve homily based on Isaiah 9:2-7 Psalm 96, Titus 2:11-14, and Luke 2:1-14, (15-20).
Listen to all our homilies via our West End Abbey podcast:
Winter – Summer Schedule
We have established our service schedule for the first half of 2025 (January – June). You can find it here. There are a few things we’d like to highlight below in this next season. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Lent Series: Enneagram and the Love of God
There are several metaphors to describe the role and dynamic of the Church. A hospital is one metaphor. It is a place where people experience care and healing. Another metaphor is a chapel. It provides people with time and space to pray. Lastly, a school is another metaphor. It is where people grow in their spiritual understanding and wisdom.
This Lent we’re leaning intentionally into the metaphor of Church as a school. We are trying something new. We will have three cumulative sessions of teaching on the Enneagram, a personality framework. This is in the spirit of self-examination and repentance, which is often customary of Christian observance of Lent.
The Enneagram helps people understand themselves more deeply. It reveals what (often subconscious) compulsions drive them and why. In doing so, it gives them greater self-awareness and freedom. Similarly, the Enneagram helps people understand others more deeply and, as a result, nourishes compassion and love.
Ultimately, our hope is that these sessions will clarify strengths and areas of growth in our personalities. They will help us bring more of ourselves into the love of God. They will also encourage us to love ourselves and others in greater measure.
Kids’ Time
Though we don’t quite yet have specialized kids’ programming every Sunday (pray for us!), we are increasingly featuring designated kids’ time during our services. This time is open to anyone ages 4-12. We have been using The Peace Table which is a good, accessible contemplative Bible for children. Kids’ time is led by an adult in a separate room and includes:
- A fun icebreaker
- A brief time of silence (taking some breaths) to prepare to hear the Gospel story
- Reading the Gospel aloud from The Peace Table
- “Wondering and Sharing” time based on questions in The Peace Table
- Guided prayer from The Peace Table
Christmas Eve Morning Service
CHRISTMAS EVE MORNING SERVICE
10:30 am, Dec. 24, 2024
St. Benedict’s Monastery: 419 Youville Rd., St. Boniface.
* Join us for snacks and refreshments afterwards
Space is limited (the chapel is cosy!) so if you would like to attend, please contact us.
Homily: Christ in the Rubble
Christ in the Rubble
Suhail overviews the tri-focal spirituality of Advent and highlights the particular appropriateness of lament in Advent. If you would like to write/pray your own lament, you are welcome to use the sheet we used here.
“Christ in the Rubble” is the name of a modern-day icon by Kelly Latimore created in partnership with Red Letter Christians. The icon is meant “to be a ‘holy pondering’ – a process that potentially brings about a new way of seeing [that] will create more dialogue among Christians […] during this holy season about the ways our beliefs and actions – or lack thereof – contribute to the violence we’re currently witnessing in Gaza.”
WEST END ABBEY 