For a Time Like This
Coming out of Difficult Days
The past eighteen months of living with the restriction and unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic have been challenging and disorienting days. After the initial shut down in March 2020, in this part of the world we enjoyed a summer marked by low infection rates and the promise of being able to return to gathering in the church building. Just as we were taking steps toward resuming those gatherings in October 2020, we were hit with the pandemic’s second wave, and so had to remain in an entirely online format. Late in the winter of 2021 we again began to look at returning to the church building when the third wave hit our city and province and we again had to place our plans on hold.
Thanks largely to the very strong uptake on vaccinations in the city, we’ve now reached a place where we have been able to welcome a congregation back to the building, though we will continue to live stream those liturgies as well. We’re asking that people pre-register to attend the Sunday liturgies, to simplify our contact tracing records and to pace ourselves toward hosting a full congregation. For information on pre-registering, simply click here.
Of course we don’t really know if the coming months might bring a disruptive fourth wave, and so we are leaving this designated page up and running. On the left side of the page you’ll find links to some basic things such as the Sunday Liturgy and daily online Evening Prayer, while on the right you’ll find links to our most recent podcasts as they are released.
What is the Significance of “For A Time Like This”?
The phrase “for a time like this” is drawn from the book of Esther, a biblical story shot through with themes of crisis and hard decisions. As the story unfolds, we learn that Esther — a member of the Jewish community in captivity in Persia — has been taken as one of the Persian king’s many wives. That was when Haman — one of the king’s officials — was planning to eradicate all of the Jews. Aware of her access to the king, Esther’s kinsman Mordecai comes to her with a challenge:
Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time like this. (Esther 4:14)
“For a time like this” represents the call to step forward with hard decisions and unexpected hope, even in the toughest of days.
