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You can read Bishop Fabbro's December 10, 2021 letter to the faithful by clicking the Title above. You can also watch Bishop Fabbro's homily concerning the synod for a synodal church 2021 - 2023. https://youtu.be/ryH052_J2M0 or watch it on the Diocesan webpage www.dol.ca

Bishop Fabbro is pleased to announce the following pastoral appointments and changes which will take effect 1 January 2022. On November 13, 2021, with thanks to God, the Diocese of London was able to celebrate the ordination of six men to the Permanent Diaconate. The celebration was presided over by Bishop Fabbro with Auxiliary Bishop Dabrowski, several priests, deacons and families in attendance. It was like many occasions, joyous, solemn and spiritual. We offer our most heartfelt thanks to these men who have chosen to devote themselves to their faith and be of service to their communities.

A committee has been established by Bishop Fabbro fulfilling his commitment toward listening and reconciliation in our diocese. More details in his letter.

Online scammers are on the prowl. They take advantage of the goodness of Christians. They will disguise themselves as priests and religious and then ask for gift cards. They are very good at what they do. WE NEVER ASK FOR GIFTCARDS! Please do not respond to any emails asking either urgently or for a favor. Pray for their conversion and pray for those who have been violated by this terrible crime!

Brett Powel is a well-respected Catholic Leader who works for the Archdiocese of Vancouver and also has his own Catholic Leadership Company. The most recent article he has published is an excellent outline of why we in the ERCFP are moving toward the model of Family and youth ministry for our family of parishes. Let us pray for renewal in families and our family of parishes. Fr Graham Find the article by clicking on the title.

Information regarding the needs of each of our Parishes was gathered at the session in the April, May and June months of 2019. The challenges we are facing as a family of parishes seems to be a daunting task to overcome and yet overcome we must. Your input during the session was most valuable and we know we have to adapt to overcome the challenges. Your prayers and your involvement will propel us forward in our Mission – Jesus said, “Go make disciples….I am with you always.” We invite you to view these documents, Please Click the Title to Access these Documents.

The following will be the daily mass schedule for the ERCFP Monday 8 am Holy Angels’ & Live Streamed Tuesday 8 am St Anne’s & Live Streamed 10 AM Our Lady of Sorrows Wednesday 8 am St Anne’s & Live Streamed 12 pm Holy Angels' Thursday 8 am St Anne’s & Live Streamed 10 AM St. Mary's Friday 8 am St Anne’s & Live Streamed 12 pm Holy Angels' 1st Saturday 8 am mass at OLOS, Aylmer followed by Exposition and Reconciliation 3rd Saturday 9 am mass at St Mary’s, followed by Exposition and Reconciliation On those days, there will not be a mass at Holy Angels'

You’re invited … Over the coming weeks, the process of designing your Hospice will begin! Hospice of Elgin will be designed to reflect the hearts, minds, and voices of our community. While we won’t get specific with questions of paint colours or table linens, we will be listening for key ideas about what matters most at end of life. We would love to hear from you. If you are interested in participating in a virtual meeting, comment below and email Kimberley Howcroft at Kimberley.howcroft@elginhospice.com Sign up today as spots are limited! Follow us closely & be part of the conversation in designing Elgin County’s first Hospice.

Take a tour through our photo album. If you have photos you would like to submit, contact the office.

The Ontario Government has outlined revised capacity limits for our churches. The capacity limit is now restricted to how many people can get in the church with proper social distancing. It is no longer based on a percentage of the maximum capacity. Based on our experience previously, with social distancing, we know the maximum numbers allowed in each church and extended worship space. Registration for mass is still necessary so that we can manage the limits for each church. Similarly, we continue with protocols that have been in place for some time including: masks must be worn to protect others hand sanitization to protect the Priests and others answering the COVID-19 questions before coming to Mass We look forward to seeing you back in church and we continue to pray that restrictions will be lessened in the future.

We arepleased to announce that we have found an Event Manager for the St Anne Centre. Sharon Lechner, of Events by Sharon, will start immediately. Sharon brings a wealth of experience and knowledge around event planning. She has been running her own Event Planning business - Events by Sharon- for the past 10 years and has planned and delivered on many large events in the area including L'Arche, Elgin-St. Thomas Community Foundation, Tall Ships Festival and many more. As well, Sharon is a certified meeting planner (CMP) and has certification for Virtual Meetings and Events (VEMM). She is professional and a delight to her clients. In her role, Sharon will be the main contact for the Centre's clients (internal and external) and will plan and execute the events. She will coordinate with the client, caterers, decorators, bartenders, and others involved in delivering successful events. Sharon will also look at promoting and marketing the Centre to gain more business. This is great news for the St. Anne Center. As COVID restrictions are lessening, it provides the Centre with the potential for new and returning clients. Please welcome Sharon to her new position! If you have current or upcoming needs for any event, please contact Sharon at the SA Centre phone number 519 631-5210.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) are currently holding consultations on several of their policies, including the sections that take away conscience protections for the doctors they regulate. Now that Bill C-7 has passed, greatly expanding access to euthanasia, it is critical that we support physicians who are committed to helping their vulnerable patients live, not hastening their death. Several years ago, the late Cardinal George of Chicago, in a talk to a group of priests, tried to express what he thought the complete secularization of our society would bring. He said: "I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. …" We are all too familiar with how our society has become secularized with many foundational Christian principles, and rights, regularly cast aside. The denial of conscience rights of medical professionals is just one of many recent examples. Here is a link that will allow you to find out more information and to send a message to the College to state that you support conscience rights. You may edit the letter with your own personal comments.

Every year since 2006 the Apostolic committee has held an annual walk to raise funds to build homes in Cambodia. We have lost track of how many families we have given a home. But it is well over 100. Over the years several parishioners have travelled to Cambodia to help build homes and see that part of the world. We mix doing good deeds with education and fun. We have been to Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore as well as Hong Kong. Some have been two or three times. If you are interested in going on an adventure like this let us know.

Catholics and all people of good are asked to make their voices heard in opposition to legislation before the Parliament of Canada, Bill C-7, which expands access to euthanasia and assisted suicide. This Bill removes, among other things, the requirement in the law that a person’s death must be “reasonably foreseen” and extends the provision of euthanasia and assisted suicide to those who are not dying. Catholic teaching upholds the inherent dignity of each and every person and affirms that it is gravely unjust to enact laws legalizing practices, such as euthanasia and assisted, that permit the taking of innocent human life. The Diocese of London is joining with faith-based groups and all concnerned Canadians to oppose this legislation

In order to continue to keep our places of worship open, safe and sacred it takes many resources, willing hands and hearts to make this happen. The exterior protective glass for 5 of the beautiful the stain glass windows at Holy Angels’ are cracking and pieces are coming loose. There have been plans for several years to replace all of the protective glass because it is not properly vented and can cause damage to the stained glass over time (because of drastic heating and cooling without proper venting.) Because of the cracked exterior glass, need to preserve the stained glass from the elements and safety concerns, we need to replace the cracked glass. The replacement of the cracked panes will occur this month. This is a temporary measure until we can install new, vented storm windows and paint the window frames for all the windows in the church. On another note, the front steps of the church will require extensive funds to be raised before we can begin work to replace them. We cannot yet set a timeframe for the completion of this work. Minor repair work on the side sacristy steps, deteriorating because of salt has been repaired by very skilled parishioners. Thank you for your generosity! We are all thankful for everyone’s continued support to keep the church safe, sacred and fully operational.