Welcome to the website of the Anglican Parish of Prince William, Dumfries, Queensbury, and Southampton. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and discovering a little bit about our parish. The Parish of Prince William follows the Safe Church polices as outlined by the Dioceses. Father David Mercer, Priest in Charge 454-9998 dmercer98@bellaliant.net
To find out more about us, please click on the About us link. News & EventsService of Holy Eucharist each Sunday at St Clements Church Dumfries 11 AM Reminder: Face masks are required inside the church now. Services to note: St Clements Church November 1, 2020 All Saints Day: Eucharist 11 AM Monday, November 2, 2020 All Souls Day Eucharist 7 PM Monday, November 30, 2020 St Andrew The Apostle 7 PM Sunday Services: Holy Eucharist 11 AM Weekly THE FEAST OF SAINT LUKE THE EVANGELIST This Sunday is the Feast of Saint Luke. He is the only Gentile to write in the New Testament. Luke writes the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. His Gospel has been called a painting in words. It is the most sensitive book in the New Testament. The Gospel story that he writes is based on firsthand accounts of those who were witness to the events that surround our Lord’s birth and early life. At both the beginning of the Gospel and the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. Saint Luke makes it clear that the story that he is going to tell is based on interviews with the characters involved, or in the case of the Acts, in addition to the interviews, he draws on his own experience. His story gives us the story from the point of view our Lord’s Mother. The key phrase that gives us this clue is “But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.” There are those who doubt the story that we know as the Christmas Story is true. They claim that there is no proof, no recorded witnesses to compile a narrative of the things, and yet here we have a man by the name of Luke who sets out to explore and record the events. He tells us “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.” It is believed that Theophilus, his name means lover of God, is a member of the royal household. He also is a gentile, so here you have two individual who are both gentiles, that is outsiders, who have an interest in an event that takes place in a remote part of the Roman Empire because of the claims that have been made about this child who was born in Bethlehem. Saint Luke’s investigation into the birth and life of our Lord has a ring of authenticity about it that is as valid as any modern article that you might read in a good quality newspaper because he has done what any good reporter would do, he has gone back to the sources and talked to the people involved, the Inn Keeper, the townspeople of Bethlehem, the Shepherds, Elizabeth and Zechariah and the Blessed Virgin. It is Saint Luke who tells us about the event of the Christ as a young boy who visited the temple and talks to the scholars, or as Saint Luke puts it, “listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.” Luke gives his Gospel a human side in that it presents the human side of Our Lord and involves a great number of women in the story of our Lord’s life. It is also clear that Luke’s Gospel is the Gospel of Prayer in that prayer plays a very high role in the story that he tells. The Acts of the Apostles have a different note in that it tells the story of Saint Peter and Saint Paul’s mission to spread the Gospel. Once again Saint Luke addresses his book to Theophilus and then records the events that take place between the time from the Ascension of our Lord and Saint Paul’s first visit to Rome. It is a history of the life and problems of the early Church. He accompanies Paul on his second trip from Troas to Philippi, his third, which was from Philippi to Jerusalem, and he went with him to Rome and stayed with him during his captivity. The Doctrines of the Eucharist, Baptism and Confirmation are introduced together with the idea that the Church is the Body of Christ and the Family of God. Again, he uses first hand witnesses who were involved in the life of the early Church and from the three trips that he accompanied Saint Paul on. Saint Paul reminds us that Luke is a faithful companion and that he is a doctor. As a result, he is viewed as the patron saint of Doctors and his skill in painting pictures with word has made him the patron saint of artists. We do not know when and where he died but we do know that he lived to a great age. He is honoured bcause of his Gospel and the Acts. Without his Gospel our knowledge of Our Lord’s early life would be limited and we would know a great deal less about Our Lord and his Mother. Although Saint Luke did not ever meet our Lord in this life, it is clear that he was a faithful follower and an important person in the like of the early Church. The Collect of Saint Luke’s Day points out that he was called to be an Evangelist and a Physician of the Soul. By reading his Gospel the diseases of the soul may well be healed. The doctrine that he teaches us will bring about our soul’s healing. On this Feast we should pray for all Doctors and all those who work in the Health Care Service. May the compassion and the love of Christ fill the hearts of those who serve the sick. |
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