Patronal Feast Day celebrated at St. Andrew’s in Gleichen

Times Contributor 

 

St. Andrew’s Day is the feast day of Saint Andrew. It is celebrated on the 30th of November. St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Gleichen celebrated their day in style and took advantage of their recently installed Bishop of the Calgary Diocese the Rt. Rev’d Greg Kerr-Wilson’s visit by having a double baptism on Sunday.

It was standing room only in the little Anglican Church in Gleichen as Denise and Doug Brown with their daughter Olivia, and Kyle and Katie Crump with their son Hunter, celebrated their children’s baptism along with numerous family and friends in attendance. Without a full-time Priest to service them the members of the congregation have relied on supply minister Father Bob Greene (from Calgary) and Rev. Brad Everett (from Nazareth Lutheran Church in Standard) to do regular services and preside over the sacrament of Holy Communion. 

Bishop Kerr-Wilson made the effort to come and personally meet with the little congregation and preside over the service on Sunday. He had previously served as Bishop in the Diocese of Qu’Appelle in Saskatchewan before being elected at the Diocese of Calgary in September of this year. He was accompanied to the event in Gleichen by his wife Vickie and two daughters (their son attends UofA in Edmonton).

After the morning service all were invited to the new Church Hall for a celebratory annual spaghetti lunch in honor of the Feast of St. Andrew. Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and St. Andrew’s Day is Scotland’s official national day. In 2006, the Scottish Parliament designated St Andrew’s Day as an official bank holiday. It is also a national holiday in Romania.

Upcoming events for St. Andrew’s include a Carol and scripture reading service on Dec. 23 at 10 a.m. and their Christmas Eve service on Dec. 24 at 2 p.m.