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 Sunday, August 1, 2021 St Clements Church, Prince William 11 AM We will be resuming our summer rotation between our three churches: St Luke's, Temperance Vale, All Saints, Magaguadavic and St Clement's, Prince William in the near future. Be checking for updates! All Are welcome! THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES THE APOSTLE Saint John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod. Herod had told his wife’s daughter, after she had danced for him and his guests at his birthday party, that she could have anything she wanted up to half his kingdom. Herod had married his brother Philip’s widow Herodias and had been warned by John that it was wrong in God’s eyes to do this thing. As a result, Herodias had a grudge against him. When the girl went to her mother to ask what her reward should be, she said “the head of John Baptist on a platter ”. Herod regretted his promise, but he could not go back on his word because he wanted to please his guests. John was beheaded and his head was given to the girl who gave it to her mother. It is important to relate this story on the Feast of Saint James the Great because Saint Luke records that Saint James was put to the sword. He did this for much the same reason that Saint John Baptist was beheaded, because it pleased those around him. It appears that King Herod was a crowd pleaser, he acted in the way he did for selfish reasons motivated by the desire to be popular. This weakness cost the lives of two men and when he saw that James’ death made him popular with the crowd, he arrested Saint Peter who would have suffered the same fate if he had not been released from prison by an angel. As has been said, the reason for these actions was the desire for popularity and this is at the heart of Herod’s problem. It is important to remember that the mother of James and John had encouraged them to ask our Lord to place them on his right and left side in his kingdom. Our Lord tells them that to assign the place of honour was not his to give. This request caused the rest of the disciples to resent the two brothers. It was difficult for them to realize that the kingdom did not look like any other kingdom in this world. Those who were given the greatest honour were those who were the servants. This event took place before the crucifixion, before the death of Saint James. He had undergone a transformation after the resurrection, in that he came to see who our Lord truly was. The desire for worldly authority and position was gone and had been replaced by the desire to be a servant. It is true that he had become the first Bishop of Jerusalem, but his life as a bishop had been one of service. He was considered an example of holiness in the early Church. His zeal and that of his brother John caused our Lord to call them Boanerges, that is “the sons of thunder”. As you may know today marks the fifty years since I was made a Deacon by Archbishop O’Neil in Saint Paul’s Church in Hampton. There are four orders of ministers in the Church. The Orders of Bishop, Priest and Deacon are called Holy Orders. The largest Order is that of the Laity and it is out of this Order that the other Orders come. In the modern services the Laity are asked if they approve of those chosen to be ordained to Holy Orders. Each of the Orders represent an aspect of our Lord’s being. The Order of Deacon represents that of a servant. As was said last week the servant aspect is really a slave to goodness. The Deacon reminds us of our Calling to the Holy Life. We are all called to live a life given over to holy living. The transformation that takes place in baptismal regeneration is something that we do not leave behind us but opens to us the holy way of living. Simply put, we do not only live the holy life on Sunday when we go to Church, but every day of our lives. The Christian life is a vocation or calling to holiness. The Liturgy that we celebrate every Sunday gives us an understanding of the role that each Order plays in the life of the Church. In fact, we are all ordained to specific functions in the great Liturgy, the Holy Eucharist. Our life as Christians gains its meaning from the roles that our orders partake in during the Liturgy. When a Deacon is present at the Liturgy, he reads the Gospel, and administers the Cup. It is the task of the Deacon to seek out those who are in need in the Parish, to instruct the young and to seek out the sick so that they can be prayed for and given the Sacraments. The role of the Deacon is important because it exemplifies servantship and obedience to the Law of God, “To love one another as one strives to love God”. I will always remember what Fr Stone said, “That the greatest sermon that we will ever preach is the life that we live”. I pray that this has been true in my ministry up to this point and will continue to be so. Father David Mercer, Priest in Charge 454 9998 dmercer98@bellaliant.net Anglican Parish of Prince William |
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