Tuesday, June 26, 2007
TIME OF SERVICES at San Lorenzo Ruiz
Sunday Services are now on Sunday at 1 pm
Come and Join us before the Service
Christian Education-
More than a Bible Study and Bible Stories-
More than just study of what we believe
More than just memorization of Scripture Stories
Our Location now is at Saint Simon's Anglican Church
525 Bloor Street East and Sherbourne St.
Sherbourne Subway please exit at Glen Road.
Come and Join us before the Service
Christian Education-
More than a Bible Study and Bible Stories-
More than just study of what we believe
More than just memorization of Scripture Stories
Our Location now is at Saint Simon's Anglican Church
525 Bloor Street East and Sherbourne St.
Sherbourne Subway please exit at Glen Road.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
In 1991, a small group of evangelical persuasion at the St. Jamestown area mostly Filipinos started worshipping at an Old schoolhouse run by the french senior citizens of the Sacre-Coeur Church at Bleecker St. The Rev. Ariel Dumaran, a Baptist evangelical pastor left his church in Scarborough to form a Filipino Evangelical in Toronto near the Filipino community. At this time, 5 families gathered at this schoolhouse every Sunday morning. Rev. Ariel Dumaran, phoned the Diocese after so many months of soul-searching to inquire about ordained ministry. Rev. Ariel Dumaran attended an Episcopal Church in USA while he was in the seminary and was impressed by Liturgy. While he was at the evangelical church here in Canada, he started a group at St. Andrew's United Church where Rev. John Hartley started as a pastor. The congregration grew and decided to have a church in Scarborough. Rev. Ariel Dumaran, felt the need to become part of mother church instead of just being independent evangelical church. He then went to attend St. Paul, and found that he can be comfortable with the Anglican Church. He asked some of the people from his former church, and some remained to in their evangelical tradition as independent, while others decided to join and support the ministry in downtown. Others felt, that they want only to assist the formation of the church on an interim basis. About 25 members joined and we became part of the Deanery of St. James, and we contacted St. Peter's Anglican Church whose priest was at the time very receptive to helping us. Rev. Gordon Finney was the Rector. He was also a former missionary in Malaysia, and understood some of Filipinos cultural situation being himsef an American. The Rev. Roland Kawano, an American priest, met Ariel and arranged to have conversation with Bishop Arthur Brown and Bishop Terence Finlay of the Diocese of Toronto. At this time there was no Filipino Anglican witness to the City. The group has to undergo catechuminate or teaching and guidance. Rev. Gordon Finney, became Ariel's supervisor and mentor, while Ariel studied at UFT Wycliffe and Trinity College for Anglican content. Rev. Ariel Dumaran has Master of Divinity at Faith Theological Seminary, of Dr. Carl MacIntyre of the old Princeton Seminary. Ariel has to take some courses on Anglican Ecclessiology and others. He was appointed as Lay Pastoral Assistant while growing the congregation at St. Peter's. About 25 members were received into the Anglican Communion with their evangelical tradition and ethos. We were conferred a name after the Filipino saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz by Bishop Terence Finlay and according to canon 25 were made a "deemed" parish and a mission in the Diocese. A Parish without boundary as Fr. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church claimed later of his movement in England.
From then on, in 1993 Ariel was ordained as deacon and a year later was ordained presbyter "priest" and he became incumbent of the Parish of San Lorenzo Ruiz. He was ordained as a deacon in St. James Cathedral, and was priested at St. Peter's.
This moving toward a catholic and liturgical form of worship, did not take away San Lorenzo Ruiz zeal for the gospel, rather enhances their ministry towards new immigrants particularly that of the Episcopalians and the Aglipayans or the Philippine Independents. In a sense San Lorenzo Ruiz reaches the non-evangelical filipinos in their own traditions and comforts. Several liberal Roman Catholics joined us as well because they find the pastoral ministry of San Lorenzo Ruiz is welcoming to lapse catholics and others who are marginalized.
During this period, Christianity Today featured churches in the USA which were evangelicals and pentecostals but moved to a more catholic churches like Orthodox, Episcopalian, and Roman. Most of them were in groups like the members of the Assembly of God, Church of God, Seventh Day Adventists, Nazarenes, etc whose church leaders converted to Historic and Traditional Churches. We hear most stories of people coming from catholic churches moving to evangelicals. But in this case it is more of groups and leadership. Like the Campus Crusade in the south who became part the Antiochian Orthodox Church of America, and retained their evangelical approach to Mission. A Pentecostal group also in Georgia converted to Anglican Church somewhere in 1990's as reported by Christianity Today.
Today, Christ the King, is part of the Diocese in Valdosta, Georgia. For more information on this, look for Christianity today in Google.
The pendulum is beginning to swing in the other direction. Aside from this there is a growing number of churches that are moving to independent catholicism. Meaning, churches who formed catholic churches without Rome or Cantenbury and Constantinople.
According to one church historian, the catholic faith will remain strong in the 21st Century, and their population will continue to increase specially in the so-called Thirdworld countries. However, majority of them will retain their tradition with openness to Pentecostal leanings and charismatic practices even in the Mainline churches and denominations.
San Lorenzo Ruiz parish is basically an evangelical Bible Study group which sought to rejoin the mother church, and desired for sacraments understood in evangelical way. San Lorenzo Ruiz today maintain these two spirituality in its life. The evangelicals continue their Bible Study, emphasis in prayer meetings and evangelism, and like charistmatic spirituality as well and the catholic members their novenas, prayers, rosary and their love for the saints , respect for Traditions, Feasts, and even Roman's primacy, and respect for ecumenical churches. San Lorenzo Ruiz and its leaders maintain their evangelical connection. And at the same time respect our Anglican roots in the Episcopal Church and Philippine Independent Church.
From then on, in 1993 Ariel was ordained as deacon and a year later was ordained presbyter "priest" and he became incumbent of the Parish of San Lorenzo Ruiz. He was ordained as a deacon in St. James Cathedral, and was priested at St. Peter's.
This moving toward a catholic and liturgical form of worship, did not take away San Lorenzo Ruiz zeal for the gospel, rather enhances their ministry towards new immigrants particularly that of the Episcopalians and the Aglipayans or the Philippine Independents. In a sense San Lorenzo Ruiz reaches the non-evangelical filipinos in their own traditions and comforts. Several liberal Roman Catholics joined us as well because they find the pastoral ministry of San Lorenzo Ruiz is welcoming to lapse catholics and others who are marginalized.
During this period, Christianity Today featured churches in the USA which were evangelicals and pentecostals but moved to a more catholic churches like Orthodox, Episcopalian, and Roman. Most of them were in groups like the members of the Assembly of God, Church of God, Seventh Day Adventists, Nazarenes, etc whose church leaders converted to Historic and Traditional Churches. We hear most stories of people coming from catholic churches moving to evangelicals. But in this case it is more of groups and leadership. Like the Campus Crusade in the south who became part the Antiochian Orthodox Church of America, and retained their evangelical approach to Mission. A Pentecostal group also in Georgia converted to Anglican Church somewhere in 1990's as reported by Christianity Today.
Today, Christ the King, is part of the Diocese in Valdosta, Georgia. For more information on this, look for Christianity today in Google.
The pendulum is beginning to swing in the other direction. Aside from this there is a growing number of churches that are moving to independent catholicism. Meaning, churches who formed catholic churches without Rome or Cantenbury and Constantinople.
According to one church historian, the catholic faith will remain strong in the 21st Century, and their population will continue to increase specially in the so-called Thirdworld countries. However, majority of them will retain their tradition with openness to Pentecostal leanings and charismatic practices even in the Mainline churches and denominations.
San Lorenzo Ruiz parish is basically an evangelical Bible Study group which sought to rejoin the mother church, and desired for sacraments understood in evangelical way. San Lorenzo Ruiz today maintain these two spirituality in its life. The evangelicals continue their Bible Study, emphasis in prayer meetings and evangelism, and like charistmatic spirituality as well and the catholic members their novenas, prayers, rosary and their love for the saints , respect for Traditions, Feasts, and even Roman's primacy, and respect for ecumenical churches. San Lorenzo Ruiz and its leaders maintain their evangelical connection. And at the same time respect our Anglican roots in the Episcopal Church and Philippine Independent Church.
MISSION STATEMENT
"The mission of San Lorenzo Ruiz is to worship God according to Scriptures and to live our lives by the Power of the Holy Spirit, so that we become like Jesus Christ, whose purpose is to bring the kingdom of God in our world through the Gospel."
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