The Reverend Mary Ryback has taken up the position as Incumbent at Trinity Anglican Church effective May 1st. She will be working on a half-time basis with Trinity and our sister church St. George’s, Grafton. Bob Owen of the Colborne Chronicle recently interviewed Mary for the paper. The article appeared this week in the Chronicle and also on the Northumberland Today website:

Mary Ryback grew up in Australia, spent some time in Europe, then moved to Canada - all before she was 25.

At 21, Mary and a friend decided it was time to leave Australia and see the world. They headed for Britain where they found jobs and traveled continental Europe.

With a return home to Australia looming, Mary decided she should see a little more of the northern hemisphere - she was unlikely to get back to it if she didn’t.

Life has a way of changing people’s plans, and so it was with Mary. She met Chet Ryback in a Toronto library where she worked. By the time she was 24 she was married to the widower and had taken on his three children. They had two more together in a lifetime spent together.

She was a stay-at-home mom - and loved it. The lifestyle suited her. She enjoys baking, sewing and socializing.

In 1980, unknowingly, she made another decision which was to drastically change her direction.

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I would like to thank the congregation of Trinity Anglican Church in Colborne for electing me to Synod 2007. It is taking place on the beautiful campus of Durham College. I will be reporting to the congregation as soon as I return on Sunday morning.

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Dear Friends:

Having almost traveled through the season of Lent, we prepare now for Holy Week beginning with Christ’s triumphant entry in to Jerusalem. We’ll travel with the human Christ as he experiences the ups and downs of the crowd welcoming and then condemning him, the fellowship of his community and the betrayal and denial of him by members of his immediate community. We’ll feel his stress as he struggles with going forward with events as they are meant to unfold. We’ll wince and weep as he makes those last painful steps through the city towards his crucifixion. We’ll be among the crowd watching those last agonizing hours as Christ dies upon the cross.

Finally, we’ll rejoice that Christ has risen!

It is in this final week of his earthly ministry that in many ways Christ sends us the most vivid images of His message across the ages. He knows of our stresses and strains, our triumphs and falls, the joys and pain we will experience as we travel through our lives. In the end, as believers and followers of His way, we know that we too will be received into God’s embrace as we leave our earthly ministry. Christ has died for our sins and we’ll be forgiven, no matter how many times we stumble in our struggle to follow His way. Read the rest of this entry »

Warden's Desk | No Comments »

Dear Friends:

Once again, the old church year has drawn to a close and a new one begins with the joyful expectation of the coming birth of Christ our Lord. As we enter the season of Advent, we are called to pause from the often rushed preparations for Christmas and reflect on where we’re at in our Christian journey. It is a journey which never ends. We may occasionally pause and pay attention to other pursuits, sometimes we might even get caught up in them and temporarily slide off the path.

Yet, it seems that the Holy Spirit has a way of finding us and nudging us until we pay attention and return to the journey. For those of us who are noticing a nudge, it seems  that Advent is a wonderful time to surrender to that nudge and renew ourselves in our faith journey. It can be a time for personal reflection, to reflect on how we follow the faith, on our personal and corporate ministry, on how we’re contributing to the church community we’re part of or on reconnecting with that community after having drifted apart from it. (We gather together every Sunday at 11am) Read the rest of this entry »

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It has been a while since we were last in contact. This seemed to be a good time to drop you all a line and let you know what is happening at Trinity. There are several upcoming events that we want all of you to know about.

On Saturday August 12th Trinity will be taking part in the community wide Trash N Treasures sale. Contributions to the sale are needed as well as helpers to get the sale setup. For more information call the church office.

The following day, Sunday August 13th will be an outdoor Folk Mass led by Rev. Jane Watanabe featuring the musical accompaniment of Brianne Swann a folk singer from Toronto. We understand this is reminiscent of services held on the front lawn years ago and we’d like to see as many out as possible. Bring along your lawn chairs. Fellowship to follow. If it rains that day, we’ll move into the parish hall. Service starts at 11am. Bring a friend. Read the rest of this entry »

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I’ve often wondered on Easter Sunday, or for that matter on any Sunday, why are there more women in church than men? Is it because men tend to be sceptical and have difficulty believing? Think about it for a moment.

Who would have believed it? The women went to the tomb early in the morning as soon as the Sabbath was over. They brought spices with them. The purpose of the spices was to prepare Jesus’ body for final burial. His death was too close to the Sabbath to allow them to do it on Friday. So they came to finish this gruesome task. But when they arrived the tomb was open. Read the rest of this entry »

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Friends:

Prepare the way of the way of the Lord,
prepare the way of the Lord,
and all people will see the salvation of our God.

It hardly seems like three months since I last wrote you. In that time we’ve moved from the season of Pentecost into the season of Advent and are rapidly approaching Christmas. As we prepare for the coming of Christ, we pause and reflect on our own individual and corporate journeys in faith.

In the rush towards Christmas do we remember to take some time out for quiet time with God? Do we remember to think of others who are struggling at this time of year and may need someone to let them know they are not forgotten? Do we remember to give charitably, not just in gifts for our family and friends?

The last several months at Trinity has been a period of change and growth in some ways. We’ve had the benefit of the willingness of several retired clergy to provide us with Sunday and pastoral ministry. What a gift to have the benefit of their experience and their willingness to share that with us. We as a congregation have also been reminded, that the ministry of the church truly needs to be the ministry of the whole church, not just that of the clergy. In doing so, there is much more of a sense of pulling together, communicating more openly and cooperating in order to get done what needs to be done. Read the rest of this entry »

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