St. Paul's Almonte
62 Clyde Street K0A 1A0 Almonte, ON, Canada

We regret to announce that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in-person worship services have been cancelled due to public health concerns. For details, please see https://www.stpaulsalmonte.ca//2/12/2020.12.22-Message.pdf

Bishop of Ottawa announces that the Diocese will go into lockdown as of Boxing Day. See https://www.stpaulsalmonte.ca//2020-12-21-Special-COVID-Co for details.

COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS DINNER UPDATE: The date of the Take Out Christmas Dinner has been changed to December 23. All dinner recipients have been informed of this change and assigned new pick-up times.

The Community Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day will be different this year, thanks to pandemic precautions. This is especially for you if you will be alone on Christmas Day. We have received authorization from both the Leeds, Grenville & Lanark Health Unit and the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa for this pick-up version.

From the Diocese From: Bishop of Ottawa Date: December 2, 2020 at 1:23:19 PM EST To: Bishop's Office Subject: COVID Communiqué for December 2... Hello and welcome to COVID Communiqué 30. It’s three months since our churches reopened and we have a question for you specifically for your greeters and sidespeople are you getting a little sloppy about the rules? Maybe letting down your guard a bit? Remember how we all approached church in early September? It was so intimidating, having a beloved and familiar place transformed by COVID-19 into a maze of rules we needed to be guided through. At the same time, the habits of a lifetime from hugging and chatting with friends to singing to sharing the cup were all, incredibly, to be regarded as threats. No one wants to go back to the trepidation (sometimes actual fear) of church in early September, but we’re hearing reports of safety standards being lowered, even dropped. Of people being waved past screening questions, bunching up in doorways, allowed to chat in pews. We get it: no one wants to be a bossy boots, and there’s a tendency to assume everyone knows the rules and will look after themselves. But the danger of COVID-19, as we know, is not going away. In fact, even as numbers around the diocese seem under control for the moment, the threat has not diminished: the virus spreads best indoors where everyone is now spending more time. If every individual in church on Sunday had one extra exposure to one other person last week and every one of those individual extra people did the same that’s where community spread comes from. And of course, at Christmas, people may be tempted to risk spending time with a visiting grandchild or the neighbours. Most will think it safe enough to risk; some will certainly be wrong. So please, take the time to refresh and even retrain the people you count on to keep your services safe. It’s just not enough to have some signs posted. The job of greeters (and all of us) is to make sure everyone follows the safety protocols. To quote the diocesan pandemic plan In This Together, leaders and greeters must take an active role in helping people understand and comply with masking, screening, registering, distancing, and sanitizing protocols.

Explanation of the Church year.

Covid Communique from the Diocese today: We write to reassure you that, having studied yesterday's announcement from the Government of Ontario, our churches may remain open under Amber protocols as we enter into Thanksgiving weekend. As always, be sure to keep up-to-date on conditions in your local public health regionand remember that face masks, hand sanitizing, physical distancing and contact tracing are the best tools we have to keep eve...ryone safe. A blessed Thanksgiving to all, and thank you for your faithful leadership in parish ministries across our diocese. Shane Parker, Bishop Beth Bretzlaff, Dean Linda Hill, Executive Archdeacon Sanjay Grover, Director of Financial Ministry Peter John Hobbs, Director of Community Ministries Jane Scanlon, Director of Stewardship Development Carol Sinclair, Director of Human Resources

Thanksgiving message from the Metropolitan of Ontario, Anne Germond: https://www.province-ontario.anglican.ca/news

The latest Covid-19 communication from the Diocese: Good morning and welcome to COVID Communiqué 22. We’ve arrived at the first festival we’ve been able to celebrate together since Christmas, only to find Thanksgiving overshadowed by climbing case numbers and tinged with anxiety as public health officials urge us to redouble efforts to keep the virus at bay. Members of your parish may be telling you they’re afraid to come to church. ... Please be assured we are closely monitoring all public health advisories and we believe our churches are safe as long as our Amber protocols are carefully followed. If public health recommendations change and we feel we have to reconsider that, we will issue a special COVID Communiqué. Ottawa, as you know, is a COVID hot spot, and if tougher restrictions are brought in for the city but not surrounding areas, we’ll consider having different parts of the diocese operate under different stages of the plan. Be sure to keep up-to-date on conditions in your local public health region. We expect to have In This Together Version 2, our fully updated pandemic plan, ready by the middle of the month. We’ve been revising it to reflect both new information on COVID-19 and your experiences. One change that’s important to mention nowwe have made a provision for the Eucharist to continue if we do have to move back to Red. Meanwhile, let’s all try to focus on God’s bounty and the beauty of his creation. Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving. If you have any questions or concerns you want to raise, please contact us, as always, at [email protected].

NEWS RELEASE: No Community Harvest Supper This Year Today St. Paul’s Anglican Church Almonte, which hosts the annual community Harvest Supper, acknowledged the inevitable and confirmed, No Community Harvest Supper this year. We look forward to serving the Mississippi Mills community at this annual event and are disappointed that, given the present pandemic situation, we aren't able to do so, said Sandra Cain, Harvest Supper organizer. Every year the Harvest Supper provide...s the Lanark County Food Bank with free Thanksgiving meals for Food Bank clients. Additionally, St Paul’s donates 50 cents from every ticket sold to the Food Bank. This year, with no Harvest Supper, the Food Bank will not receive this support. St Paul’s is hopeful that the local community will step in to fill the gap by donating directly to the Food Bank. Together we can help residents of Mississippi Mills who are experiencing food security challenges due to the pandemic. Donations of foodstuff to the Food Bank can be made at local grocery stores. Donations of money can be made on-line HERE: lanarkcountyfoodbank.ca/donate/donate-money/ Let’s help ensure a Happy Thanksgiving for everyone! See more

Sunday morning in-person worship at St Paul's will continue as is (pre-registration, masks, social distancing, etc). The Bishop has clarified that the tightened limits imposed by the province do not affect church in-person worship services. https://www.facebook.com/993410380688902/posts/3751176961578883/

In-person worship with Eucharist resumes on Sunday September 6 with a single service at 9:30 a.m. Seating limits required to ensure parishioners' health and safety mean that everyone wishing to attend must PRE-REGISTER by leaving a message on the St Paul's office answering machine by noon on the Friday before the Sunday you plan to attend. For details of the measures being taken and of how we can care for each other in the present pandemic environment are available on our web site here: https://www.stpaulsalmonte.ca/were-back/

Bless this mask. Amen.

Diocesan Beirut Statement: The Diocese of Ottawa has, for many years, treasured a special relationship with the Diocese of Jerusalem, which includes the country of Lebanon. Yesterday's horrific explosion in Beirut occurred very near the site of All Saints Anglican Church, located downtown. As we await news from the parish, I commend the following prayer to you, from the Church of England:... Merciful God, be with the people of Lebanon today. Comfort all who are distressed and anxious, protect the emergency services, restore the injured to health, and abide with all who mourn, for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Advisory regarding the wearing of masks from our local health unit (Leeds, Grenville and Lanark)

A hymn for this time. Often referred to as the Black national anthem. See also an explanation of the power of this hymn: https://www.npr.org//american-anthem-lift-every-voice-and-

There is really only one race: the human race.

From The Anglican Journal