anglican life february 2014

8/13/2019 Anglican Life February 2014

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FEBRUARY 2014 NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

Mount Pearl parish youth reachout to the Philippines

Helping our Brothers and Sisters in the Philippines. On December 1, 2013, members of the youth group and servers from the Parish of the Good Shep-herd, Mount Pearl hosted Coffee Time for the Philippines. This event followed the 11 am service and parishioners received coffee, tea and treats.A donation box was made available for free-will donations. Our youth were very pleased to report to the parish on December 8th the grand total of$596.55. This money will be sent to Primates World Relief and Development Fund for the on-going disaster relief effort in the Philippines. Submittedby The Rev. Charlene Taylor.

PWRDF partners respond to Typhoon HaiyanArticle by

Simon Chambers

Soon after TyphoonHaiyan struck the Visayasregion of the Philippineson November 8, 2013, rep-resentatives of local NGOs,including the Central Vi-sayas Farmers DevelopmentCenter (FARDEC), Cebubo-hol Relief and RehabilitationCenter (CRRC) and SouthernPartners Fair Trade Center(SPFTC) all long timepartners of PWRDF basedin Cebu, Philippines wentto gather information andassess the situation in thecommunities where theywork. They also broughtwith them relief supplies:

food, water, clothes andmedicine donated to them bylocal communities that werenot affected by the typhoon.

They found that 90% ofthe 60,000 residents of 16settlements in the six munic-ipalities they visited were af-fected. They identified 9,467families who had not yetreceived any relief supportfrom the government andprivate groups/individuals.

Most of these familieswere either living with theirrelatives whose houses werenot totally destroyed, underthe houses of neighbors,or camping near their de-stroyed homes. Most of thefamilies did not want to goto evacuation centers be-

cause they wanted to guardtheir properties, includinganimals.

PWRDF has provided agrant of $20,532 to providetemporary shelter to a totalof 525 families in the mu-nicipalities of Bantayan andSta. Fe on Bantayan island,as well as enough food andwater for 5 days. BantayanIsland was chosen for theirrelief work because it is sofar from mainland Cebu.

Priority is being givento families who have losttheir livelihood due to thetyphoon, and to those whosehouses were destroyedby the typhoon and whoare now camping outsidetheir homes. These families

are already connected toPWRDFs partners, and areamong the most vulnerablein their communities.

In total, 8750kg of rice,1,050 kg of dried fish, 3150tins of Sardines, 525 litres ofcooking oil, and 1050 pack-ages of water purificationtablets are being distributedto the families. In addition,each family will be providedwith 5 meters of plastic sheetfor temporary shelter, andthe poles and materials totie the sheet will be arrangedby the community members.

All donations receivedfrom individual Canadiandonors between Nov 9 andDec 23, 2013 will be matcheddollar for dollar by the Ca-

nadian government intothe Typhoon Haiyan ReliefFund, which will be used bythe government to partnerwith NGOs and internation-al agencies to further reliefefforts after the storm.

You can donate toPWRDFs ongoing reliefefforts in the wake of Ty-phoon Haiyan by visit-ing www.pwrdf.org or byphone 1-866-308-7973 or bymail: please make chequespayable to PWRDF, markthem for Typhoon Hai-yan and send them to: ThePrimates World Relief andDevelopment Fund, TheAnglican Church of Canada,80 Hayden Street, Toronto,Ontario M4Y 3G2


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Article by

Dean Churchill

DAMA recognizes ministryof its members

On Sunday, October20, 2013, All Saints MensFellowship Club, Foxtrap,hosted a dinner for Di-ocesan Anglican MensAssociation (DAMA) mem-bers and their spouses torecognize the efforts andcontributions made to theDAMA Belize Project. InApril 2013 a team of menfrom DAMA went to Belizeto help complete St. MarksChurch, Hattieville, using

the materials purchasedfrom funds DAMA raisedfor the project. As the Be-lize Project is still ongoing,a free will offering wasaccepted with proceeds tobe applied to the project.During the dinner, memberclubs of DAMA presentedtheir contributions towardsthe Belize Project. This aug-mented funds presentedearlier by other memberclubs.

The DAMA Fall Gener-al Meeting followed the de-

licious meal. While the menwere meeting, our spousesgraciously helped withclean-up. The major topicon the agenda was the con-tinuance of our Belize proj-ect. When the DAMA teamthat went to Belize werepreparing to return home,the Bishop of Belize, BishopPhilip Wright, made threerequests of DAMA: 1) That

DAMA provide 100 chairs

for St. Marks Church, be-cause they would not beputting pews in the church;2) That DAMA purchase apublic address system forthe church; and 3) ThatDAMA adopt St. Marks,Hattieville for a period offive years to complete thechurch and parish hall andto build a rectory.

The first two requestswere addressed at DA-MAs annual general meet-ing (AGM) at Lavrock inMay 2013. To purchase the

chairs individual memberswere asked to contribute$20.00 for a chair. For thePA system, DAMA clubswere asked to contribute$200 each.

The third request wasdiscussed at the AGMwhere it was decided totable the request so thatmember clubs could dis-cuss it at the club level inpreparation for a decisionat the next general meeting.Reverend Edward Keeping,Chair of the DAMA Belize

Committee and a memberof the team that went toBelize, outlined for thegathering the history of therequest and Bishop Philipsobjectives. It was estimatedthat it would cost approxi-mately $25,000 to completethe work in the parish andprovide the parish witha rectory. Taking all thisinto account, a motion was

passed unanimously thatDAMA adopt St. Marks,Hattieville for five yearsand that each club wouldcontribute $500 per year tothe project for five years.

In other business, DeanChurchill was added to theExecutive as Director ofPublic Relations. St. Peters,Upper Gullies, offered tohost the winter generalmeeting which will be inthe new year; and, the 2014DAMA Weekend for Men isscheduled for April 11-12,2014 at Lavrock.

We then moved to the

Church for worship ledby Reverend Robin Trev-ors and All Saints MensFellowship Choir, Sons ofThunder, for a very up-lifting service of gospel

singing and praise. Insteadof a sermon, members ofthe Belize Project Teamwho went to Belize gave apresentation on their expe-riences with the construc-tion of St. Marks Church,Hattieville. During the ser-vice Rev. Keeping and Rev.Trevors installed the newDAMA Executive for theyear 2013-2014.

Shown in the picture,left to right, are Rev. RobinTrevors, Associate Priest atAll Saints; Dean Churchill,Director of Public Relations;Peter Stevenson, President;

Herb Reid, Vice-President;Henry Thorne, Treasur-er; Rev. Edward Keeping,Chaplain; Herb Dowden,Secretary; and Don Hig-gins, Past-President.

Any mens groups, orparishes wishing to forma mens group, can con-tact DAMA through anymember of the Executive orthrough Synod Office.

Archdeaconry Quiet Day. On December 12th 2013, theclergy of the Archdeaconry of Trinity-Conception heldtheir annual Advent Quiet Day. This year, meditations weregiven by Bishop-Elect, The Venerable Dr. Geoffrey Peddle.Clergy of the Archdeaconry, along with the Clinical Pasto-ral Education students of Dr. Peter Barnes, were led deeperinto the meaning of the Advent season through a focus onthe themes of watching, waiting, and hoping. Submitted

by The Revd Paul Rideout.

Advent Quiet Daywith Bishop-Elect


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Anglican Renewal Ministries

Renewed Anglicans. Participants of the Central Dioceses Anglican Renewal Ministries Con-ference at Mint Brook.

Turning theother cheek

Article byTrudy Collins

On October 22-23,2013Anglican Renewal Minis-tries held a very Spiritu-al Retreat at Mint BrookCamp, Gambo. This Tues-day supper to Wednes-day lunchtime event withworship, teaching, smallgroup discussion andprayer ministry did muchto enhance the Spirituallives of the 39 persons in

attendance .The Rev. Perry Cooper,Executive Officer of theCentral Diocese of New-foundland Labradorwho was recently chosenas the National Director forAnglican Renewal Minis-tries of Canada, spoke onWaiting on the Spirit. Heexpressed the importanceof asking Jesus to inter-cede for us through thepower of the Holy Spirit,

then waiting patiently forthe Spirits leading in ourlives. Learning to listenfor the still small voiceis a spiritual exercise weshould be willing to learn.

The Rev. David Coffin,Rector of the Indian BayParish spoke on Walk-ing in Obedience to theHoly Spirit. If we pray forthe power of the Spirit inour lives then wait for itspromptings, we must alsolearn to release our will to

God, listen for the Spiritsvoice and use it in our dai-ly lives. Learning to Obeythe Holy Spirit is a veryimportant stepping stonein the spiritual growth ofevery Christian.

During the retreatBishop Edward Marshprovided beautiful musicfor the singing of songsand choruses. The Rev.Daphne Parsons conduct-ed a very spiritual Holy

Eucharist service followedby the laying on of handsand prayer.

All in attendance en-joyed a wonderful timeof spiritual learning, fun,food and fellowship in thepresence of our Lord. Allwho participated in theorganization and presen-tation of this retreat are tobe commended for theircaring hearts and handsas members of the bodyof Christ.

Isaiah 6,v8 says, Iheard the voice of theLord saying, Whom shallI send, and who shall gofor us? Then I said, HearI am! Send me.

Do you hear the Spiritof the Lord calling you?Obey the prompting of thespirit and answer the callnow. Become the presenceof Christ in your commu-nity and the world.

The Revd Michael Li

ColumnistThe Sermon on the

Mount (Matthew 5-7) isprobably the best-knownpart of the teaching of Jesus.It talks about the nature ofthe kingdom of God. It tells

us how we are to find newlife in Jesus. It tells us howwe are to live as Gods newhumanity.

In Matthew 5:38 Jesuscited the oldest law in theworld - an eye for an eye,and a tooth for a tooth.That law was known asthe principle of retribution.The principle is simple - if aman has inflicted an injuryon any person, an equiva-lent injury shall be inflictedupon him. It was a law fora judge and not for a privateindividual. It defined justice

and preventing revenge. Notaking of the law into onesown hands by vengeance.The principle of retributionbelongs to courts of law, notto personal relationships.

Personal relationshipsare not to be based on jus-tice. Our duty to individualswho wrong us is not retali-ation, but the acceptance ofinjustice without revenge:Do not resist an evil per-son (Matthew 5:39). No

taking revenge on someonewho wrongs us.

Jesus gave us an exam-ple to clarify His point. Hesaid, If someone strikesyou on the right cheek, turnto him the other also (Mat-thew 5:39). A man strikesanother on the cheek, it is agross insult. If a right-hand-ed person strikes someonesright cheek, it is a slap by theback of the hand, consideredmore insulting than a slapby the open palm. Turningthe other cheek means to en-dure the same insult again.But, it should not mean tobe hit again literally. Turn-

ing the other cheek will befatal for battered women;they could be hurt badly oreven killed. The advice forthem is to leave home, torun away from danger. Wemust not let evil people runall over us.

Do not resist an evilperson can mean do notresist violently. Jesus is notcalling on us to be non-resis-tant. He is calling on us to benon-violent. We cannot take

Jesus command, Do notresist an evil person, as anabsolute prohibition of the

use of all force including thepolice. Of course, we mustnot justify the violence of anoppressive government.

Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr. end ured unjust suffer-ings before he was assassi-nated in 1968. He had nobitterness in his heart, norevenge in his mind. Hepreached non-violence andthe redemptive power oflove.


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ANGLICAN LIFE in Newfoundland and Labrador is the newspaperof the Anglican Church in the Province of Newfoundland andLabrador. A co-operative effort of the three Dioceses inNewfoundland and Labrador, it is publishes ten issues each

calendar year with an independent editorial policy.

Anglican Life is a section of the Anglican Journal

Editor-in-Chief:The Revd Sam Rose8 Croydon StreetParadise, NLA1L 1P7Email: [email protected]

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Each parish is responsible for maintaining its own subscriptionlist - please notify your parish ofce of any changes. Changessent to parish ofces may take months to take effect. Pleasealso send your updated information to Circulation at theAnglican Journal (above) or to Don Young at 34 Fraser Road,Gander NL A1V 2E8.

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The Rt. Revd David Torraville

BishopCentral Newfoundland

I arrived in the parishin mid-December and inFebruary I was invited tolead a service for the Fish-ermens Lodge, on Candle-mas. There was always aService and then a Dinnerand Dance.

The Service over, mywife and I climbed the hillto the Fishermans Lodge.As we entered we weregreeted by a very friend-ly man who asked me ifI wanted a drink. I saidyes and he bought me

the drink, which I nursedthroughout the evening.At the end of the evening,as we were leaving, mynew friend, three sheetsto the wind, dragginghis poor wife, staggeredtoward us and in a slurredvoice introduced me to her.Heres the new Parson, Ilike him. He drinks - justlike I do.

Well, perhaps not justlike you, but over the yearsI have pondered that mo-

ment. We see what wewant to see and interpretmost things to supportwhat we already believe.

Just as this man used meto support his behavior,how often do I, how oftendo we, use God to supportours? I shudder to thinkhow many times that Ihave assumed that Godagrees with me. I havediscovered that my God

looks suspiciously like me,seldom disagrees with meand never frightens nordemands much of me thatI am not already willingto give. I suspect that I amnot alone in this, one who,as Peter Dunne said, doeswhat we think the Lordwould do if the Lord knewthe facts of the case.

The readings for theFeast of the Presentation,for Candlemas, include thestory of the Presentation,(Luke 2.22-40) the story of

Simeon who sees beyondthe glory of the incarna-tion. He sees deeply into

Jesus future as a signthat will be opposed andwhile she holds her infantin her arms Simeon speaksalso of Marys future as hetells her, that a sword willpierce your soul too.

When we walk the wayof the cross which we willsoon do as Lent approach-es, we need also to walkwith Mary, for we must be

open to the sword pierc-ing our soul, as we cometo realize that God doesnot always agree with usand that God is so muchmore than the sum of ourgood intent and best im-pulse.

The God whom weworship does not requireheedless compliance oruncritical faith but pro-found change in all of

us, as we become morefully the Children of God,the Body of Christ. To betruly faithful, must wenot, be called out of ourtraditional, progressive,evangelical, broad church,high church, BAS or BCPcategories and be open tothe sword piercing oursoul and open to changein our congregational lifeand in our personal life,as God calls us where wemay never have thoughtof going into lives of deep-

ening faith, fuller commit-ment, profound prayerand selfless service.

May we have the faithto discover the God whoshocks, the God whofrightens and the God whoinspires and the courageto follow where God maylead.


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Rural life inviting forformer inner-city minister

Article byChantelle MacIsaacCourtesy of

The Gulf News

Reverend Steven Makiis the new face many An-glican parishioners in St.Pauls Parish have beenseeing at churches here onthe southwest coast.

He is returning toNewfoundland, the placehe was ordained after sev-eral years working on the

streets in Boston.Maki grew up inLunenburg, Massachu-setts, outside of Boston. Hewas raised as a Lutheranand a Congregationalist.

He made the con-version to the AnglicanChurch, being drawn tothe traditional elements ofthe church, and consider-ing his beliefs to be as sortof a bridge between hismothers and his fathersbeliefs.

Growing up in the

church, he knew from avery young age that he hada calling to serve.

Starting in college,he studied courses inpre-seminary before head-ing to seminary, and fin-ished up his theologicaleducation at EpiscopalDivinity School in Cam-bridge, Massachusetts.

Bishop Leonard Whit-

ten of the Anglican Di-ocese for Western New-foundland had travelledto Cambridge to recruitseminarians because of thelack of Anglican priests onthe island.

He was encouraged byfriends to give Newfound-land a try and at that timeWhitten was retiring andPercy Coffin had becomethe Bishop.

Maki worked withCoffin, who had invitedhim to come and visit, to

look around, and invitedhim to serve here on theisland.

He spent some time onthe Northern Peninsula, inFlowers Cove and his firstimpression of Newfound-land was very positive.

The people were in-credibly warm and friend-ly, and so generous, saidMaki. The churches arebeautiful and I love thetraditions here.

He has found thatNewfoundland has a lot

of room for possibilities.He said the people want togrow, learn new music andworship styles, and peopleare excited to learn newprayer and meditationpractices.

Maki plans to learnand grow himself with hisnew position, saying thathe will be here as long asthere is a need for him.

He was ordained just8 years ago and is perhapsone of the younger min-isters on the southwestcoast, although he hasexperiences that are outof the norm compared toother local ministers.

Before moving here,Maki spent almost fouryears as a street ministero n N e w -bury Streetin Boston.

S t a r t -i n g e a r -

ly in themornings,he wouldwalk thes t r e e t s ,parks, trains t a t i o n s ,look downalleyways,visit areashe k ne wthat home-less mightcongregateand speakwith them.

He saidhe didntso m u cha s p u s hhimself onthe people,but offeredhimself tot h e m i n -stead.

It was unique andout of the box, said Maki.There was a variety ofpeople: alcoholics, peoplewith mental illness, sub-stance abuse, prostitutes,ex convicts and more.

Rather than them hav-ing to come into the church,Maki went to them.

He said religious pref-erences didnt matter onthe street.

There was a mixed re-

action from people on thestreet, said Maki. Some-times they welcomed me,but with a lot of mental ill-ness, you have to be mind-ful of your own safety.

During his four yearson the street he had beenthreatened, assaulted,robbed and had a knifepulled on him during a

service.Despite the odds

and all they might havebeen confronted with,said Maki, they still holdthemselves together, andmaintain their faith andhope.

He considers New-foundland to be sort of ahome base, and so com-ing back felt like he wasreturning home in a lot ofways.

As much as I enjoyedmy time as a street min-ister, I really missed andwanted the home feelingthat comes along with aparish, he said.

He was very glad tosee how strong the Angli-can community had beenheld together with a lackof a priest in the area and

accredited thetask to devotedmembers andthe lay minister.

I t r e a l -

ly says some-t h i ng abo u tthe strengthof their faith,said Maki. Iam so gratefulto come into aplace like that.

He has no-ticed the lovepeople havehere, the mu-sical talent, aswell as fellow-ship and food.

My goal

and desire rightnow is just tobuild relation-ships , saidMaki. Therewill be no ma-

j o r c h a n g e sright now. I justwant to listen tothe people and

find out what they want.He said people are

starting to recognize himmore now and he is receiv-ing warm greetings fromthe public.

With over 600 familyunits in his parish, he saidit will take a while for himto be able to connect thenames with the faces, butit is a task he is going to beworking on.

Maki is looking for-ward to the summer activ-ities here: hiking, camping,sitting by the fire in thenighttime and looking atthe stars. He loves music,has a good vinyl collectionand loves photography.

A l t ho u g h ne w i ntown, and his things ha-

vent arrived yet, one ofthe first things he didwas adopt a cat throughScaredy Cat Rescue .


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Article byThe Revd Jeffrey Petten

Spirituality of tourists

Some may think thatthe Southeast Coast of Lab-rador may not be the primeexample of a tourist desti-nation. Some would consid-er it off the beaten path asit were. During the Summerof 2013, there were a lot oftourists within the bound-aries of the Parish of South-

east Labrador. To give thereadership of Anglican Life,a taste for the size of theparish: it is 264 km of gravelroad from furthest points(Lodge Bay to Cartwright)with the communities ofNorman Bay, Dominio/Black Tickle and WilliamsHarbour accessible only byboat or a very expensiveairplane ride. Within thisboundary there are such re-

settled communities as SealIslands, Spotted Islands,Batteau, Georges Cove,Rexons Cove, Indian Tickleand Battle Harbour, just toname a few.

One of the things thatthe clergy of the parish areused to is tourists want-ing to have such things ascommittals in the resettledareas, as well as weddingsand people of other nation-

alities coming ashore with-in the parish. The Rev. GailColey-MacDonald tookpart in a funeral where thecremated remains were in-urned at Batteau. She alsopresided at a worship ser-vice at St. James the Greatin Battle Harbour. This isthe second time that Rev.Coley-MacDonald has goneto Battle Harbour. This wor-ship service is arranged inconjunction with the BattleHarbour Historic Trust.Members from St. Marythe Virgin, Marys Harbouraccompanied their priest tothe historic site. Not onlydid they enjoy the bestworship space but also to

the hospitality of the staffof the site in a traditionalmeal of Sunday Dinner Labrador style.

The Rev. Jeffrey Pettenpresided at the weddingof Mr. & Mrs. Bryan andShelly Smith at St. Jamesthe Great in Battle Har-bour. Bryan was the lastinfant baptized at St. Jamesand was the latest person

to be married there. Fur-ther to that in Cartwrightthere was the arrival of acruise ship the CanadianAdventurer, the sister shipof the Orlav Orlobo whichwas in St. Johns Harbourfor a long period of time.The crew and passengersattended the morning wor-ship at St. Peters, Cart-wright which was used asthe central location for thebeginning and ending of alltours within the communi-ty. The ACW of Cartwrightprovided, tea, coffee andlocal treats such as Red Ber-ry (Partridgeberry) Punch,Bakeapple tarts and Black-berry cake.

Sometimes we maycomplain about touristsand how they want to takepictures and look around.They do have a spiritualcomponent to coming toour places of worship andwhen they take part in ourworship they walk awaymore blessed compared towhen they walked into ourbuildings.

Sheila Sceviour ordainedArticle by

Harvey Locke

November 30, 2013, theFeast of St. Andrew, was a

joyous and auspicious oc-casion for the Parish of St.Mary the Virgin, Claren-ville. At 7:00 pm the com-munity of St. Marys alongwith clergy from manyparts of the Diocese, Li-cenced Lay Ministers and

representatives from thelocal Ministerial Associa-tion gathered to witness,to celebrate, and to affirm,the ordination of one ofits own to the Diacon-ate. Sheila Sceviour underthe hands and prayer ofBishop David Torraville,Bishop of Central New-foundland, became thefirst person to be ordaineddeacon in the Parish of St.Mary the Virgin. Whilethe ordination was a veryhappy and dramatic event

in the life of the church,behind the ordination ser-vice were months, almostyears, of discernment bythe people of the Parish

through a discernmentcommittee led by the Rec-tor, Rev. Daphne Parsons,as well as equal parts ofintrospection and discern-ment on the part of thecandidate. Sheilas call waspart of her lifelong call toservice to the communityat large and to her Church.

Sheila grew up in thetown of Botwood underthe guidance and nur-

ture of St. James AnglicanChurch until as a youngwoman she moved to St.

John s to co nt in ue he reducation at MemorialUniversity, graduatingwith a Bachelor of Artsin Education in 1971. Fol-lowing her graduationshe pursued the teachingprofession spending mostof her teaching career inthe Clarenville Area. Ms.Sceviour was a dedicatedteacher and insisted, evenwhen it became unpopular

to do so, that her pupilsalso receive nurturing inthe faith. Her faith andcommitment to her Lorddrew her to give of herself

as a Eucharistic Minister,and later, on November30, 2003 she became a Li-cenced Lay Minister. Later,her experience as a teacher,coupled with the Educa-tion for Ministry Programof the University of theSouth, encouraged her andaffirmed her in taking upthe role of Chaplain to G.B.Cross Memorial Hospital,the Dr. Albert OMahony

Memorial Manor and theClarenville CorrectionalCentre. The focus of Shei-las ministry will continueto be largely in the areaof pastoral care to theseinstitutions.

Needless to say, theevening concluded with atime of fellowship down-stairs in the Angus DroverHall. There, over cups oftea and plates of cookiesand sandwiches, providedby the good graces of St.Marys ACW, Sheila re-

ceived many good wishesfrom the gathered clergy,friends and family mem-bers.


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Parish News in Focus

Botwood Christmas

Fogo Island Christmas

Port Rexton Confirmation

There was a Christmas Eve pageant at The Church OfThe Holy Spirit, Fogo Island which had 54 childrenin attendance. Over 185 people were there to see thechildren perform the pageant. It was a great way tospend Christmas Eve celebrating the Birth of Jesus!Submitted by Donna Sibley.

Members of the youth from St. James Church in Bot-wood recently acted out the Christmas Story at thecommunity Christmas Dinner. Also they sang Christ-mas Carols for the audience. Submitted by MarilynChatman.

Seven people were confirmed by Bishop David Tor-raville in the Parish of Port Rexton in the Fall of 2013.The newly confirmed were: Allison Fisher, CarrieHookey, Erica Bailey, Tyler Hiscock, Jill White, MasonBallett, and Sandra Cooper. Submitted by CarolynFowlow.


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Gods strength

Stella Walsh

ColumnistPhilippians 4:13 - I can

do all things through himwho strengthens me.

We went to visit mymother for Christmas. OnChristmas Day, there wasturkey, vegetables cookedwith salt meat, peas pud-ding, blueberry puddingwith sauce, gravy, cran-berry sauce, bottled beetsand various desserts. Atleast thats what ev-eryone else had. I hadvegetables, cooked in alittle salt, cranberry sauceand beets, with two low-fat gluten-free cookies fordessert.

You see, I suffer fromsevere Irritable BowelSyndrome (I have beenknown to faint from it),with all kinds of intol-erances thrown in for

good measure, resultingin potentially damagingmalabsorption issues. Myentire physical make-upis hyper-sensitive to allmanner of things; chemi-cals, additives, light, noise,crowds you name it;the list is long. This hasresulted in me, very re-luctantly, agreeing to takea low dose of a mild an-ti-depressant to reduce thepain and sensitivity. Theidea of doing that annoysme because, when my

diet is strict and I am well,I am by nature cheerfuland positive. However,after several trial runs,and much prayerful con-sideration, I have done thesensible thing and given into the obvious benefits andrelief it brings.

All of these conditionshave combined to makefor a rather handicappedlifestyle at times. And itcertainly puts a damperon socializing. But the realdifficulty is that I have

always been a womanwho loves food. In fact,I love everything aboutfood; from cooking andtrying new foods to read-ing about their origins and

how to eat healthy. So, asyou can imagine, this hasnot been easy to live with.The resulting weight lossand severe anemia haveat times crippled me to the

point of having to give upon my career as a full-timeclassroom teacher.

I tell you all of this notbecause I want sympathy,but because it is an exam-ple. The point that I ammaking here is that whensomeone has somethingchallenging to live with ona daily basis, they cannotmanage it on their own.You can insert any numberof conditions or illnessesand change the personsname to get a similar, or

worse, situation. Most ofus have something in ourlife that weighs us down.What I have learned frommy journey with theseproblems is that we mustrely totally on God in ev-erything. Im no differentfrom anyone else. I havegone around the ring withGod a few times about theunfairness of this, and Ihave thrown myself somepretty elaborate pity par-ties. But in the end, I needto turn to Gods strength

every day to resist thefoods that I love so much.And like all of us, it is

hardest to do when I amfeeling well. Just like theIsraelites of the Old Testa-ment, when times are goodI have that same tendencyto drift away from the Godwho created us. Thatswhen the trouble alwaysstarts. I feel good, I eatsomething I shouldnt, andthen I pay the price. Andof course that sends merunning back to God like

a willful and disobedient,but repentant child. I canonly stay strong and resisttemptation when I placemyself in Gods hands andlive according to His will.Only then can I be used asHis instrument to bringglory to His name.

Ephesians 6:10 - Finally,be strong in the Lord and inthe strength of his might.

Advent InductionArticle by

Cynthia Haines-Turner

Under the leadership ofBishop Percy Coffin, a largecongregation celebrated theinduction of the Rev BryanPearson as Rector of Pasa-dena/Cormack at St DavidsChurch, Pasadena, on Sun-day December 8th. It is onlyrather more thana year since RevBryan, an Amer-ican from theSouth, arrivedin the parish asLay Minister inCharge, and al-most exactly ayear since he wasordained to thepriesthood. Sincethen he has be-come very muchan essential partof the parish, a fact under-lined by the warmth andsupport shown by the largenumbers who shared in hisinduction.

It was only appropriatethat the Rite of New Min-istry should occur early inAdvent at a time when ourminds turn to the awaken-

ing heralded by the mes-sage of John the Baptist.Both in his talk to the chil-dren and in his homily,Bishop Percy stressed themessage of repentance,

renewal, hope and the dis-covery of the nature of faithin the twenty-first century.For the children, he demon-strated the nature of suddenwaking up by activating a

hand held fire alarm, whichserved to illustrate the ur-gent importance of awak-ening in a time of darkness.

As a part of the service,Archdeacon John Meaderead aloud the covenantbinding the Bishop, theReverend Bryan as Rectorand the people of the parish.

Points of particular em-phasis included the sharedresponsibility to nurture thespiritual life of the youngadults and young familiesof the parish and to ex-

plore what a broader YouthProgramme would entail.There was also a strongreference in the covenantto deepening the recipro-cal relationship between

the parish andthe communitiesof Pasadena andCormack (throughtheir Mayors andCouncils) in meet-ing common chal-lenges.

The wardens, anumber of lay min-

isters and membersof the congregationparticipated in theservice, which was

followed by a sit-down coldplate meal for over a hun-dred and twenty, a time offellowship which was muchenjoyed by all and whichgave many people a chanceto chat with the new Rectorand his wife Erin.


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Celtic Christianity

The Revd Everett Hobbs

ColumnistThe usage Celtic Chris-

tianity in its current formdescribes a modern revivalof what is believed to bea more spiritual and un-structured form of Christi-anity which was practicedin the early Church in

Britain and Ireland. It hasgained popularity in somequarters in recent years.

The word Celtic hasa number of applications,including its early historyand location, spiritualityin general, its associationwith modern Scotts, Irish,Welsh and Bretons, and asa language.

The Celts - identifiedby language more thanrace - came to the BritishIsles from Central Europearound 500 B.C. They came

in contact with Christiani-ty after the Roman invasionof Britain (Christianity wasestablished there in the 2ndcentury) And later what iscalled Celtic Christianitywas established in Ireland,Wales and Scotland, andamong its pioneers wasSt Patrick. In 597 St Au-gustine was sent to Britainto revive the strugglingChurch and he broughtthe form of Christianityrepresented by Rome. Thisgave a different perspec-

tive than that held by CelticChristians and for a timethere seems to have been astruggle over this. Histori-ans speculate that RomanChristianity gained thedomination, which wasconfirmed. at the Synod ofWhitby in 664.

But Celtic spiritualitynever disappeared com-pletely, its memory keptalive by some and also

preserved in customs, rit-uals and writings. The19th century saw a newinterest in things Celtic,especially its literature, artand folklore. This led to arevival of Celtic spiritual-ity, including its Christianexpression.

What is distinct in

Celtic Christianity is its

emphasis on certain teach-ing and practices. The sa-credness of all creationand an appreciation ofnature as Gods handiworkand revelation was a ma-

jor component. The thinplace was a belief thatthe natural and supernat-ural, the seen and unseenworld, were very closeto each other. Spiritualitywas expressed through theimagination, art, poetryand symbolism, such asin knot-work. Going on a

pilgrimage to a holy placeor a monastery emphasizedthe quest for holiness. Themonasteries were seen asexample of communitywhich was lived out inthe family and clan. Cen-tral to a relationship with

God and neighbour waspenance and confession.Having a soul friend (anamcara) was considered es-

sential for spiritual nurtur-ing. Hospitality was key towelcoming everyone whocame by and this includedtolerance and inclusionof the stranger. Leader-ship could include wom-en whose role was recog-nized and gifts used. Itstheology gave particularattention to the Trinity andthe Incarnation.

The Roman version ofthe Church tended to bemore authoritarian, hier-archical, male dominated,rational and legalistic. TheCeltic teaching was moresimple, neither discursivenor systematic, and avoid-ing dualism. Ian Bradley (The Celtic Way) describesit as gentle, mystical, affir-mative and holistic.

Michael Mitton writes:I discovered a burningand evangelical love for theBible . . . a depth of spiri-tual life and stillness . . . aradical commitment to thepoor and to Gods creation;and the most attractive ex-pression of the charismatic

life I have encountered . . .I am in no doubt that theSpirit of God is remindingus of the first expressionof the Faith in theses islesto give us inspiration forChristian ministry andmission today.

The faith of these earlyChristians is seen in themissionary monks settingout in their fragile coracleswithout sail or oar , rely-ing on God to guide themwherever he would.

Life in the Eucharist. Lucas Francis, and Cole Keepingcompleted Life in the Eucharist and took their first com-munion at Holy Spirit Church in Isle aux Morts. They

are pictured here with The Rev. Maryrose Colbourne.Submitted by Dorothy Rector.

Trout River Confirmation. On September 29, 2013, theSacrament of Confirmation was administered at St. Si-mon & St. Jude Anglican Church in Trout River by BishopPercy Coffin. The confirmand was Griffin Crocker whowas instructed by Millie Crocker. A cold plate and cakewas presented after the liturgy and served by the parishACW. Submitted by Melissa Crocker.


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The Revd Gregory Mercer

Columnist

Gift of Stained Glass. The family of the late Dorothy(Dot) and Stanley Kettle donated two Stained Glass Win-dows in memory of their parents. Both Dot & Stanleywere active members of St. Pauls Church, Grand Bay andit is so fitting to have these Stained Glass Windows in thechoir area of our Sanctuary. It is there as a wonderful

memorial of those two people who were so dedicated toSt. Pauls Church. Submitted by Ernest Dowding.

Normans Cove Shoe-boxes. The Church of the Good Shepherd in Normans Covewere blessed to receive 88 Operation Christmas Child shoe-boxes from the youth andparents of the congregation. Submitted by Bonnie Newhook.

Where are all the children?

This might be a datedquestion but why are wenot seeing more childrenand young families in ourchurches? My wife and I tryto attend all the activities ofour grandchildren: recitals,school concerts, etc muchthe same as we did with ourown children -- and we are

amazed with the number ofchildren involved. In andaround the St. Johns Met-ropolitan area the schoolsare filled to capacity. Theybuild new schools and with-in a year they are addingportable classrooms. Whyare we not seeing the samenumbers in our churches?And this is not just aboutAnglicans; it is about all thedenominations. The dis-parity between the numberof children attending ourschools and those involvedin our churches are huge, Imean there is no compari-son. Why? What can be sowrong?

Lets just call a spade aspade? Young people are not

interested in InstitutionalReligion. They see no valuein it. And what is even morepuzzling is that they saythat they respect the Churchbut at the same time and inmany cases they are totally

indifferent to it. What canbe so wrong with Institu-tional Religion? What canbe so wrong about teachingyoung people about God,about faith, hope, and love?What can be so wrong aboutteaching children aboutJesus? What is wrong withbeing part of a communityof faith where we learn theart of loving and learn fromthose who have modeledsuch faith and love overthe years? In the Churchis where you will find as

many or more of the mostloving, faithful, caring, andcharitable people as youwill find anywhere. Theseare our role models andmentors. What is wrongwith that? What can beso wrong with being partof something bigger than

yourself a community ofbelievers whose way of lifetogether is living proof of aloving God?

Granted young familieshave a lot on their platethese days and with all the

extracurricular activities it isamazing that some make itto Church at all. But they do,albeit a few. The point is thatit is important to them; theyrealize the value in the storyand hence will find ways toaccommodate.

In his book Why Reli-gion Matters, author HustonSmith quotes a poem byStephen Dunn entitled Atthe Smithville MethodistChurch. Mr. Dunn andhis wife allowed their littledaughter to attend an Arts

and Craft at the local churchnot realizing it was a reli-gious fest. He decides, how-ever, to keep his daughter inthe one week program onlyto discover for himself thevalue of the biblical story.Here are a few verses fromthat poem:

Jesus had been a goodman, and putting faith in goodmen was what we had to do tostay this side of cynicism, thatother sadness. O.K., we said,one week.

But when she came home

singing, Jesus, loves me... theBible tells me so, it was timeto talk. Could we say Jesusdoesnt love you? Could I tellher the Bible is a great bookcertain people use to make youfeel bad? We sent her backwithout a word.

It had been so long sincewe believed, so long since weneeded Jesus

As our nemesis and friendthat we thought he was suffi-ciently dead...

Soon it became clear tous; you cant teach disbelief to

a child,Only wonderful storiesand we hadnt a story nearlyas good...

On parents night... thechildren sang a song about theArk, and Hallelujah,

An d on e in wh ich sh ehad to jump up and down for

Jesus...I didnt have a wonderful

story for my child and she wasbeaming.

All the way home in thecar she sang the songs, occa-sionally

Standing up for Jesus.We hadnt a story near-ly as good. The whole ofthe Bible is a story of Godssteadfast faith and love. It isthe story of salvation. Put-ting our faith in Jesus andliving the story of salvationis what we have to do tostay this side of cynicism,that other sadness. Andthats just the beginning. Itis easy to critic those whodont come to Church butlet us put that aside andinstead concentrate on ways

to reach out to those youngfamilies and their children.We all know the value ofthe story, the need for faith,and the importance of com-munity. These are the realtreasures by which we muststeer our lives.


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Kevin Smith

Columnist

Grim reaper or advocate?

Wikipedia says deathas a sentient entity hasexisted in many societiessince the beginning of his-tory. Death is often giventhe name Grim Reaperand ,from the 15th centu-ry onwards, came to beshown as a skeletal figure

carrying a large scythe andclothed in a black cloak.

Whats the connectionhere? Well, Some people, Ifear, regard me as a grimreaper of sorts Why? Be-cause they feel I am alwaystalking about death, Wills,

and the need to have aWill. But, thats my job andI make no apology for itbecause I choose to be anadvocate for the planningof ones estate regardlessof size.

There are those whowould argue that if youstart thinking about deathand wills, then it will has-ten your own demise. This,of course, is nonsense but itis held to be true by manypeople. Case in point, inNavajo culture, talking

about death is thought tobring it about so it is not

discussed.I have read and heard

about far too many caseswhere people have diedintestate a situation ofsomeone dying without a

legally valid will. Simplyput, this means that theprovincial governmentwill decide how your as-sets will be divided andnot you.

Many people assumethat if they were to diewithout a Will, their estatewould simply pass to theirspouse. However, thiswould only happen for as-sets that were held jointlywith right of survivorshipwith the spouse.

The Government of

Newfoundland and Labra-dor has intestacy rules that

define your estates benefi-ciaries and how much eachis to receive. Usually thatmeans your legal spouseand biological and ad-opted children will likely

end up with your estatesassets. These same rules donot taken into account anyintentions you may havefor distributing the assets.Even worse, intestacy canresult in additional legalcosts for your beneficia-ries.

This whole topic aroseafter I had an encounterwith a parishioner overthe Christmas holidays.When she saw me, her firstreaction was, Every timeI see you, I am reminded

that I dont have my Willdrafted and I always feel

guilty. Grim Reaper hov-ering? Well, I am delightedto report that, regardlessof the motivation, the ladyfinally has her estate inorder and she has a Will.

Isnt that marvelous!That kind of takes the

edge off the characteriza-tion of me being the GrimReaper, I think. If youwould like a conversationabout this very importantissue, consult a lawyer orgive me a call.

Kevin Smith is a giftplanning consultant for theAnglican Church of Canada.He ca n be con ta cte d at709 739-5667 or by email:[email protected]

Ronald Clarke

Columnist

Unto the least...

Retirement presents somany opportunities to enjoyservice to others. Servingothers, I discovered, bringsas much pleasure to theserver as to those served.I have had many amazingexperiences myself.

As a friendly visitor

I see so many wonderfulpeople in the hospitals andseniors homes I visit eachweek. Sick, lonely, agedpeople respond so warmlyto a friendly visitor. Leavingthem smiling is, I believe, a

major achievement.Sometimes, often even,a visit to the sick can pro-vide an unexpected spiritualexperience. I have sharedthis one, privately, withmany people.

One afternoon, whilevisiting patients at the Wa-terford, I entered a smallroom where a middle-agedwoman lay on a single bed.I had been told that this ladycouldnt talk.

I approached her smil-ing warmly, but, she staringstraight ahead, gave no re-sponse. I spoke kindly; noresponse; held her hand, noresponse.

After a while I decided

to leave, to visit other wards.As I walked away, I had anurge to go back to her, so Idid. Still no response.

I left again. I got almostto the door when, it seemedto me, that a voice, in myhead not my ear, stronglyurged me to go back.

I almost felt that I waswasting time, and I shouldbe visiting the other wardsnow. But I went back. WhenI spoke this time the wom-

an cried heavily. I tried tocomfort her, almost as if shewere a child. I embraced her.She sobbed. I wiped awayher tears.

Then she looked straightinto me, it seemed. Those

eyes bored into my soul.Then she licked her lips.I asked if she were thirsty.She nodded yes.

On a small table nearbythere was a glass of juice.I held it to her lips. Shegulped it down.

Then she looked at mewith the most radiant smile,and her eyes glowed.

I hugged her, and hur-ried towards the door, con-cerned that I must visit the

other wards before closingtime, my only thoughtswere of the others I mustsee.

Then the voice in myhead stopped me in mytracks. In as much, it stat-

ed clearly, as you havedone it unto one of the leastof these, you have done itunto me. Jesus said thatI thought. And I took hisstatement literally.

Looking back at thewoman I thought, oh my,I comforted Jesus when hewas crying. I gave him drinkwhen he was very thirsty. Iwas, you might say, trans-fixed.

A feeling went throughme that defies descriptionand it stayed for a long time.

Youve got a hyperactiveimagination, you mightthink. Perhaps so. At thetime, however, I wasntreally thinking about Jesus.I was anxious about beinglate to the other wards.

Sharing a very personalexperience like this is diffi-cult. But it does clearly im-ply that visiting the needyis a godly thing to do. Therewards to the giver aretruly substantial and veryworthwhile.

Some may think, Aw, Icant do that. You can! Allyou need is a genuine lovefor others. God, Im certain,will tell you what to say ordo. Just show people thatyou love them.


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This colourful group of young people are from Lead-

ing Tickles and they range in ages 4 to 11 years old.They have a meeting every Wednesday night at thechurch where they have fellowship and Christianeducation. This group preforms for special servicesthroughout the year. They are called the Jelly Beansbecause they are so different and unique and they letpeople know that its OK to be different. Submitted byMarilyn Chatman.

The Jelly Bean Group

On Oct. 13, 2013 at the Thanksgiving Service at St.Aidans in Port Blandford in the Parish of Smith Sound,The Revd Robert Oldford held a service of Admissionof Persons to the office of Licenced Lay Ministers. JuneHolloway, a member of St. Aidans, was admitted tothe office as a Licenced Lay Minister. Following the

beautiful service a cup of tea was held at the hall bythe ladies of the ACW for everyone. Pictured are TheRevd Robert Oldford, June Holloway, and FannieOldford. Submitted by June Holloway.

The Stewardship committee of St. Augustines Churchin Margaree - Fox Roost held their annual dinnertheatre on November 9th and 16th and it was a greatevening of fun and laughter. Participants included:Carol Ann Keough, Marie Farrell, Bernice Sweet andLorna Lafosse, Mary Carroll, Judy Seymour, MilliePark, Jessie Meade, Mary Carter, Rowena Doyle, Rev.Mary Rose, Karen Simon, Don Gillam and MaggieSeymour. Submitted by Karen Simon.

Parish News in Focus

New Lay Minister

Parish Dinner Theatre

anglican life february 2014

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