About St Paul's, Knowlton

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Happy St. John the Baptist Day!  

“He must increase, I must decrease” John 3:30

Summer has arrived!  Thanks Be To God!  

This Sunday we begin our Summer schedule with a bang!  Sarah Sweeney-Lafreniere will share her faith story at our service.  Sarah and Ren were married one month ago today!  They have become a wonderful addition to the Body of Christ here at St. Paul’s.  

After Church we will head to Rivercross Farm 1110 Halle Rd. in Brigham for a Picnic!  This year we have invited the students and families from a Kindergarten and Grade 3 class at Knowlton Academy.  Knowlton Academy has also kindly sent our invitation to those classes.  What a wonderful and unique partnership we have!  

If you would like to come  to the picnic, please let us know by emailing us at stpaulsknowlton@gmail.com or calling us at 450-242-2885 so that we will know how much food we will need.  

We will also once again be celebrating the 1st birthday of Hannah Robinson, St. Paul’s youngest member (so far.)

We will have one service only on Sundays at 10:00 from now through Labour Day.  We will feature “Encounter: People Jesus met, then and now,” a video series  from the same creators as “Jesus the Game-Changer,” last year's service video. 

The Diocese of Montreal has elected The Venerable Victor-David Mbuyi Bipungu as the next Bishop of Montreal following Bishop Mary’s retirement in October.  He is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and stated that the Diocese of Montreal was very “courageous” in electing “the candidate from furthest away, with the least English and the least Anglican (having been Roman Catholic).”  We look forward to Bishop-elect Victor-David’s installation and his leadership.  

We are coming close to finalizing the sale of the green space behind our parking lot.  This land will remain green space and be donated to the Brome Lake Land Foundation.  This will also provide some much needed financial help to St. Paul’s.   Recently we have replaced the eavestroughs on the sides of the church, some of the money from the sale will pay for that.  We are very grateful to the Venerable Robert Camara and the Board of Management for their patience and expertise in getting this deal done.  

We are pleased to welcome two new members to our St. Paul’s Network, a group of people from the community who support St. Paul’s financially.  These benefactors continue an historical group of people who through the ages have supported the ministry of the church when many could not.  

We thank all those who are faithful in their giving to St. Paul’s.  A recent article in the Brome County News noted that Knowlton United, St. Rose de Lima Roman Catholic Church, The Anglican Church of the Ascension in West Brome, St. James  Anglican Church in Foster are all in various stages of closing.   We are grateful to all those who keep us afloat and look forward to seeing the unusual and often mysterious ways that God is providing for His mission in the world.  

We look forward to the Brome Lake Men’s Shed refinishing our exterior wooden doors.  The Men’s Shed is a community group that helps local citizens and organizations with various projects.  

Nicholas Barr and Friends will present a benefit concert at St. Paul’s on Tuesday July 15th from 7:00-8:00pm, as a part of the Tour des Arts.  We look forward to once again showcasing our audio-visual equipment.  

We said farewell to our dear Administrative Assistant, Shirley Spencer, as she moves to Fort MacMurray to be with her son Oscar.  Shirley’s enthusiasm and pleasant demeanor, as well as her beautiful singing voice will be missed.  We are grateful that besides Pierre Cabana’s role as Organist and Rector’s Warden, he is also an experienced finance person.  

Our on-line presence continues to grow.  We now have over 1,300 Followers.  Recently, we had visitors from North Hatley who have been joining us on-line.  They wrote : “I would like to thank the congregation and Rev Tim for making us, the 4 visiting people from North Hatley, feel so welcome as we came through the doors this morning. It was a joy to worship with you. We appreciated your practice of an open Q&A after the sermon. A wonderful opportunity to engage, share and question. Blessings! Richard and Cathy.”  

“In this world you will have tribulation (tests and trials), but fear not, I have overcome the world,” says Jesus (John 16:33).  Our world is experiencing a tremendous amount of tribulation at the present time.  

This Collect from the order of Compline should be of comfort to us.  We can change the time to “the busy hours of this day.”

BE present, O merciful God, and protect us through the silent hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this fleeting world, may repose upon thy eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.