Anglican Life MARCH 2015

8/9/2019 Anglican Life MARCH 2015

1/12

1MARCH2015

facebook.com/anglicanlife anglicanlife.blogspot.ca twitter - @anglicanlife

A Section of the A NGLICAN JOURNAL

NEWFOUNDLAND& LABRADOR

March 2015

Take up

thy CrossMore on Page 6Photo: Parish of St. Augustine


2/12

MARCH20152

Christians in unity

Roman Catholic Archbishop Martin Currie (left) greets Anglican Primate, Archbishop FredHiltz (right) at Queen’s College for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Photo: Matt Barter

Why Seder?

Submitted byThe Rev. Dr. Alex Faseruk

As one would expect theWeek of Prayer for ChristianUnity took on a decidedly ecu-menical atmosphere at Queen’sCollege from January 19 to Jan-uary 23 with preachers from notonly the Anglican Church of Can-ada, but also the Roman Catholic

Archdiocese of St. John’s, thePresbyterian Church and theUnited Church.

The initial preacher wasthe Most Rev’d Martin Currie,Archbishop of St. John’s whopreached at the 11:00 a.m.service of Morning Prayer on January 19th, which celebratedthe Confession of St. Peter. TheArchbishop reected on growingup in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotiaand living in a community thatwas comprised almost equallyof one-third of Anglican, RomanCatholic and United Church con-

gregants, and how the commu-nities would often come togetherin a spirit of Christian fellowship.

Also in attendance at Morn-ing Prayer was the Most Rev’dFred Hiltz, Primate of the Angli-can Church of Canada, and the Rt.Rev’d Dr. Geoff Peddle, Bishopof the Diocese of Eastern New-foundland and Labrador. Arch-bishop Currie and the Primateworked together in Nova Scotiawhen both were involved in theadministration of the AtlanticSchool of Theology, which for 45

years has been involved in ecu-menical theological education.At the Eucharist on January

21st, the Rev’d Dr. Ian Wishart, inan ecumenical gesture, preachedin part from the Greek portion

of Esther, which appears in theApocrypha. While this part ofEsther is not included in theBible used by Presbyterians, itis part of the Bible used by theRoman Catholic Church. As anexperienced and highly adeptpreacher, Dr. Wishat was able tosuccessfully weave this readinginto his sermon. He also sharedthat last year the General Assem-

bly of the Presbyterian Churchhad prayed for Pope Francis.The last ecumenical part-

ner to preach was the Rev. BillBartlett from the United Churchof Canada. Rev’d Bartlett haspreviously been involved withQueen’s College as an instructorfor the clinical pastoral education(CPE) course. He talked aboutbarriers in the past betweendenominations that were slow-

ly, but surely, being addressed,although some continue to exist.He lauded Queen’s for their com-mitment to ecumenism.

The Rev’d Dr. Alex Faseruk inpreaching to the Queen’s Collegecommunity over the semes-ter has constantly emphasizedecumenism for Christians andnotes that the student body atQueen’s encompasses several

denominations, all of whichlearn from one another in theChrist-centered curriculum atQueen’s. The Roman CatholicArchdiocese and Queen’s havecome to an agreement in prin-ciple to offer a very innovativenew program, the Diploma inTheology and Ministry (RomanCatholic Option) with a plannedstarting date of Fall 2015.

Cynthia Haines-Turner

Columnist A chance conversation at

a social gathering just beforeChristmas got us to chattingabout the Seder meal. The

group included people who didnot know what a Seder mealwas as well as those who hadattended both a Seder celebrat-ed by Christians on MaundyThursday and a Jewish Seder.What followed was a livelyand interesting discussion.What is a Seder? Why do we,as Christians, celebrate Sederand should we?

Seder means “order”. Theorder of the service takes placearound the dinner table beforeand after a meal, which can bea symbolic meal or an actual

meal. Individuals take turnsreading from Haggadah, “thetelling”. The Exodus story is

told, the rich symbolism of theSeder meal recalls the storyof the slavery in Egypt of theIsraelites, questions are asked,symbols from the Seder plateare explained (for example, the

bitter herbs in the Seder mealrecall the bitterness of that life,herbs are dipped in salt waterto remind them of the tearsthey shed) and how Mosesled them to freedom (the un-leavened bread a reminder ofhow quickly they had to leaveEgypt, so quickly there was notime for the bread to rise). Butit is the salvation story of thepeople of Israel and it holds outthe hope of the coming of theMessiah, a Messiah that Chris-tians believe has already come.

The Seder, therefore, is not aChristian event but Christiansare interested in it becausemany believe that it was thelast meal that Jesus shared withhis disciples. It was at that mealthat scripture tells us Jesus said‘do this in remembrance of me’.We participate in this festivalto remind us of Jesus’ roots in

Judaism. It is also part of ourfaith tradition as the Hebrewscriptures form part of oursacred scripture.

A few years ago, I met acouple, one of whom was Jew-

ish and the other Anglican,who introduced me to two newadditions to the Seder meal, anorange and the cup of Miriam.As it was explained to me, thesetwo symbols speak of the con-tribution of women. Miriam,Moses’ sister, led everyone ina dance and song after theycrossed the Red Sea. Accordingto tradition, Miriam had theability to nd fresh sources ofwater. The orange, symboliz-ing fruitfulness, rebirth andrenewal, is there to represent

the inclusion of those on themargins. Originally introducedby Dr. Susannah Heschel, it wasintended to symbolize solidar-ity with gays and lesbians, buthas come to include all thosewho have been marginalizedfrom the community.

That other symbols couldbe added to the Seder mealto represent a deeper under-standing of our faith traditionspartly answers the questionof whether or not Christiansshould celebrate the Seder.When observed with respect for

its origins and its intent, it is astrong reminder of God’s prov-idence and of the strength andresilience of a faith community,including ours.

Hope BearPhoto

Contest Take a picturewith Hope Bear

wherever you travel!

To enter, go to

www.anglicanfoundation.org


3/12

3MARCH2015


A holy Lent

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Geoff Peddle

Bishop Eastern Newfoundland & LabradorOn February 18, the

season of Lent beginswith Ash Wednesday.Lent is the period offorty days (Sundaysare not counted) whichprecedes Easter and isa time of preparation inwhich Christians makeready to celebrate theresurrection of Jesuson Easter Sunday.

In the early centu-ries of the Christianchurch, the obser-vance of Lent was verystrict. Daily prayer wasobligatory and in someplaces only one meala day was permitted,usually in the late eve-ning. Meat, fsh, eggsand dairy productswere forbidden. Thesepractices were relaxedsomewhat after theninth century but Lentstill retained a certainspiritual discipline that

we are familiar withtoday.

The goal of Lentendiscipline is the re-

structuring of our livesto better conform tothe example of Jesus.This involves, frstly, anawareness of our hu-mility before God. AshWednesday is the startof this process whenwe are reminded bythe symbol of ashes ofour mortal bodies andtheir limitations (“Re-member you are dust,and to dust you shallreturn”). And secondly,we are challenged in

Lent to walk the pathJesus walked, a pathof faithfulness to Godin which we devoteourselves more fullyto prayer and acts ofcharity.

During Lent we notonly “give up” certainthings, we also “takeup” other things sothat we become moreChrist-like in our lives.Lent reminds us of ourhumility and challeng-

es us to reform ourlives in the image ofChrist. Let us keep aholy Lent this year.

With my everyprayer for a blessedLent,

+Geoff

Honourary CLBlife membership

Lt. Gov. Frank Fagan (right) presents Bruce Tilley with an honourary life membership into theChurch Lads’ Brigade, as Bishop Geoffrey Peddle looks on . Photo: Bernard Davis

Submitted byCaptain Robert Murdoch

Colonel Albert Pelley, Gov-ernor and Commandant of theC.L.B., takes great pleasurein announcing that Mr. BruceTilley has been awarded Hon-orary Life Membership in theCLB.

A native of Bell Island,

Bruce J. Tilley was never ayouth member of the C.L.B.,yet he held an abiding admi-ration for the Brigade all hislife. Mr. Tilley’s rst direct in-volvement came in 1993 whenhe chaired the very successfulDoor To Door operation of the“Marching Home Campaignto rebuild our C.L.B. Armoury.Then in 2003 at his retirementas manager of the St. John’sBoard of Trade and when theC.L.B. was encountering greatnancial difculties he chose

to assist the Brigade in re-struc-turing its fundraising program.Years later, when asked why hechose the C.L.B. as his favouritecharity, he said “I thought Icould make a difference “. A dif-ference he did make, over theensuing years he has present-ed countless papers, & reportson all sections of our Brigade.

Since the beginning ofhis involvement with the Bri-gade Mr. Tilley has also beena stanch supporter of the Reg-imental Band, he was a drivingforce behind both the fundraising for new band uniformsand with the recruitment andretention of band members,(he has also been involved inrecruiting new youth mem-

bers to CLB companies). Morerecently, he has been sittingon the committee dedicated toraising funds for the Regimen-tal bands 2016 Tour of Honour.Despite other commitmentssuch as being a St. John’s citycouncillor, Mr. Tilley has sat inon endless committees and atmeetings, and is well known

for using his contacts and in-uences to further the interestsof the C.L.B.

It is with great pleasurethat the Brigade Council rec-ognizes this tremendous bodyof work of dedication andcommitment by Mr. Tilley andhereby awards him an hon-orary life membership withinthe C.L.B.


4/12


5/12

5MARCH2015


Holy Cross in Daniel’s Harbour No defnition

On Saturday, November 22, 2014, the congregation of Holy CrossAnglican Church celebrated 50 years of ministry in the communityof Daniel’s Harbour. Archdeacon John Meade celebrate at the HolyEucharist and retired Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Leonard Whitten offer thehomily. Also at the time of the fellowship, Mrs. Hannah Pittman andRev. Terry Rose cut the anniversary cake. The congregation, diocese,and the wider community offer thanks of gratitude to all who madethis celebration success. Holy Cross Anglican Church looks forwardwith great faith to the new model of cluster ministry in their parish.Photograph and story submitted by the Rev. Terry Rose

Allison Billard

Columnist I often wonder what

our Creator thinks aboutour society and our need

to dene every little as-pect of our humanity. I’vebeen thinking a lot aboutone of those denitionslately and I’ve discoveredthat the way we talk aboutgender is frustrating.

It is probably not asecret that I count myselfamong the multitude offeminists out there work-ing every day towardsbetter equity and equalitybetween the sexes. I thinkeveryone should get a

fair wage for their work,I think we should all treateach other with respect,and I believe that if we all just looked out for eachother the world wouldsurely be a better place.

I also count myselfamong the pink loving,dress wearing, “lets justput on some makeup andpaint our nails” kind ofgirls. But I also love my jeans, and sweatpants,and spending the eve-ning watching hockey.

I am also a mom oftwo rambunctious andmischievous boys. Boyswho love dirt and noiseand trucks and trains.They also love playinghouse, watching Dora

the Explorer, and playingdress up. They like to readstories, sing songs, andplay “music” (which typ-ically involves banging

mercilessly on my uprightpiano until I cannot bearit any more).

The study of sciencehas shown us that boysand girls often developdifferently, but there areno blanket truths. Ste-reotypes are simply that,gross generalizations thatmay apply to some butnot to others. This realityis what fueled the fireunder the “Pretty in Pink”movement in responseto a single hate-filled

opinion piece about girlswearing pink. There wasmass outrage that anyonewould openly express(and a paper publish)such a nasty column di-rected at small children.Thankfully, I have seenmany wonderful respons-es which restored myfaith in humanity.

But I often wonderhow our Creator feelsabout these things. Hecreated us male and fe-male, and gave us freewill, hoping that we wouldchoose to love and followhim. No where do we ndit written that boys mustlike and do certain thingsand girls another. This isall cultural, and changesin each generation.

I hope we can standback from the stereo-types and the controver-sies and the differencesin opinion and acceptthat each of us, youngand old, male and female,

are all created in God’simage, and he loves us just the way we are. If hecan grant us that, surelywe can grant it to eachother, no?


6/12

MARCH20156

Taking faith to the streetsSubmitted by

Archdeacon David Pilling

How do we success-fully proclaim the GoodNews to our neighbour-hood? How do we seekto go beyond the wallsof our church build-ing and go out intothe world to proclaim?These questions haveshaped mucho f m y t h eo -logical think-ing, and thusmy ministry, inrecent years.

These ques-tions have alsobegun to shapehow I lead andserve within theworship capac-ity of my posi-tion.

“Becomingthe Story youtell” was pre-sented to theClergy of thisprovince in ear-ly November2013. I believe

it is one of themost completeofferings thatour church hasproduced sincepublishing theBook of Alternate Ser-vices in 1985. It was de-signed for the Seasonsof Lent and Easter andoffers some very prac-tical and doable sug-gestions for the liturgy,the proclamation of theGospel and Bible Stud-

ies. The premise sug-gests that we are meantto be more than merespectators in our wor-ship life and that our lit-

urgy should shape andmold our profession ofbelief. Worship shouldshape our profession ofbelief to the point thatwe do become part ofthe story we tell.

As we engaged thisprogram, our Deacon,the Rev’d Bob Earle wasable to recruit actorsfrom within the parish

who would each take arole as the Gospel wasacted out, and not justread. The use of theentire worship space ofthe church to make thispossible allowed eachworshipper to experi-ence both the surprise

of the Gospel’s mes-sage and the passion ofJesus as He told thesewonderful parablesheard every Lent.

W e w er e s o i n -trigued by this programthat we wanted to nd anew way of proclaimingthe message on ourChurch’s most solemnday. We chose to en-gage our neighbour-hood, Memorial Uni-versity, with a liturgicalretelling of the Way ofthe Cross. Combining

with the clergy and con-gregations of Pius X Ro-man Catholic, St David’sPresbyterian, Emmanu-el Chinese Congrega-tion, Pentecost Churchon Campus, Denomi-national Chaplainciesof Memorial and us, St

Augustine’s Anglican,we did the 14 Stationsof the Cross. This waswonderfully refreshing– for we were making a

public statement, thatchurches across thespectrum of practice, to join together in witnesson our most solemnday, and by allowing somany within our midstto carry the cross acrosscampus, to proclaimscripture and to praytogether, we found newways to become the sto-

ry we tell and to engageour neighbo urs. Wedid nd that a variety ofpeople spontaneously joined us in our pro-gression.

We had invited ourBishop, The Rt Rev’dDr. Geoff Peddle to be

with us at the begin-ning of our journey,when we had the Inter-national Gospel Choirof Newfoundland and

Photos: Parish of St. Augustine

Labrador, comprisingmanly Anglicans froma number of Africancountries, to lead in themusical ministry of ourChurch and we invitedhim back again for thelast Sunday of Easterfor a service of Conr-mation. During this ser-vice, through song (Ses-ame Street’s, Who is the

person in yourn e i g h b o u r -hood?) And vi-sual (picturesof our GoodFriday Stations

of the Cross),we presentedour neighbour-hood to ourBishop. Afterthe confirma-t ion, BishopGeoff invitedthe Congrega-tion to comef o r w a r d , t oseek anointingas we afrmedthe growth weh a d e x p e r i -enced by be-

coming the sto-ry we tell.

This Lentwe are againpleased thatwe will be us-

ing the program, ‘Be-coming the Story youtell.’ We are even morepleased, that on April3, 2015, Good Friday at12:00 noon, the church-es located on ElizabethAvenue in St John’s willagain be worshipping

together as col lec-tively we engage ourneighbourhood withthe Greatest Story EverTold.


7/12

7MARCH2015


Prayer quilts help warm hearts

Submitted byEugene Toope

The Parish of BonneBay North PrayerQuilt Group donatedsix prayer quilts forchildren and adults tothe Transition Housein Corner Brook. An-gela Decker, Chair ofthe Rocky HarbourRegional Women’sCommittee, accept-ed the donation ofthe Prayer Quiltson behalf of Transi-tion House (CornerBrook) and gracious-ly volunteered to en-sure the quilts aredropped off to the fa-cility. Photograph and storysubmitted by Dale Decker.

A growing parishThe Anglican Parish of

Windsor-Bishops Falls re-cently swelled its numbersin that St. Alban’s Churchat Grand Falls-Windsorincreased its roster by

having ten new membersofcially “join” and be “re-ceived” into the AnglicanFaith.

It is noted that TheAnglican Parish of Wind-sor-Bishops Falls recentlyappointed the Rev. JeffreyBlackwood as Rector ofour Parish and we offerour Congratulations andBest Wishes. Rev. Jeff, ashe prefers to be called,hails from Greenspond,

Bonavista Bay. He receivedhis early Education andHigh School at Green-spond and Wesleyville.

Throughout his high

school years Rev. Jeff wasemployed with Tourism.

He completed BA/Reli-gious studies at MemorialUniversity and while therewas employed as a page atthe Newfoundland House

of AssemblyHe attended Queens

College and did Chaplain-cy work at Cape Breton NSHealth Authority as well asa clergy placement at St.Mary’s Anglican Church,

St. John’s, and an Intern-ship at Fogo Island. He

also served briey at hishome parish of Green-spond-Newtown-PoundCove in Bonavista Bay.

Rev. Jeff comes to us

having served two yearsas Rector of the Anglican

Parish of Bay L’Argent,inFortune Bay.


8/12

MARCH20158

Rev. Canon Gerald Westcott

Columnist

Clicky clackers

Ron Clarke

Columnist Recently I had to visit

our family doctor. Nothingterminal, mind you, justsomething that had to be“looked into” (literally).

The waiting room was jammed, as I expected itto be, and so, there wereonly two empty chairs leftin a corner. I settled down,expecting a long wait.

Almost immediately

a “little old lady” cameto occupy the last emptychair, right next to me. Itturned out that she wasexactly my age (85), soconversation came easily.“Look at all the people”,she mused. “We’re theonly old ones!”

After our usual “how-are-you’s”, etc., we noticedsomething very interest-ing about all the others.

“Look at all thoseat things they’ve got intheir hands,” she said,“and they’re all clickingaway with both hands.They don’t seem to know

there’s anybody but them-selves here.”

“I’ve seen people do-ing that everywhere” shesaid, “even on the bus, inthe malls, everywhere.”

“Of course I’ve nev-er seen them do thatin church”, she stated,“because they’re neverin church; I’m sure they

would click away if theywere.”

Is n ’ t i t a ma z i ng ,though, how much elec-tronic devices have takenover our communicationswith each other!

Is that really all good??Electronic communica-tion, it seems, takes fartoo much of our time.Some retired friends ofmine tell me they spendmuch of their time thatway. Retirement couldprovide them all kinds ofopportunity to do thingsthat would help others,and give them great satis-

faction. Volunteering, forexample, or visiting otherelders who are “stuck” invarious places where theywould dearly appreciate“company”.

Family time is oftendiluted by “electronics”. Ivisited a relative recentlyfor some “family” chit-chatand pleasure. The moth-

er, I discovered, was en-grossed in “game shows”on TV. Both teens were“clicking” on their gadgetsand gave me only a quick“hi”. Father and I retired tothe kitchen.

I know the advantag-es of being “wired-to-the-world”, but “modern”communications, to meat least, seem so “imper-sonal”.

Even the lowly oldtelephone connects peo-ple more personally. Youhear the warm voice.

Then, too, electronicdevices, can be and so of-

ten are, abused. “Scams”etc. hurt far too many peo-ple far too often.

Electronic devices canbe, and are, very powerfulshapers of our attitudes.The good and evil seen onTV, etc. can strongly inu-ence children and youth.Negative attitudes can beespecially powerful. Peo-

ple have killed sometimes just for the notoriety.

Electronic communica-tion is only one aspect ofmodern living that is “dou-ble-sided”, that can be realgood, but also real bad.

We who truly believein Jesus Christ must beacutely aware of the dan-gers that face us today. Wemust not merely observewhat’s going on aroundus; we must be really ac-tive, in word and deed,in promoting the Goodword of the gospel. Wemust live in such a waythat we really illustrate to

others how meaningful,how wonderful, it is to livefor Christ.

Electronic and me-chanical devices willeventually disappear. Thethings of the world, how-ever interesting, will be-come obsolete.

The word, and the waysof God, will last FOREVER.

The church’s business is friendship

I’ve read somewhererecently that lonelinessis epidemic in Canada.Our technology, so-cial media and Internetconnectedness, as im-portant and useful asthey are, can in no waymeet the deeper needsof the human soul. Thehuman heart is made

for friendship with Godand with others. In ourfragmented, distractedand disconnected soci-ety, the church shouldbe a place of warm wel-

come and intentionalfriendship.

At one level in thelife of the church, weneed to foster an openpresence and friend-ship with all those whocome across our path.Not just with thosewho look and think likeyou, but especially withthose who are differentthan you. Friendshipwith God is inclusive

of all souls and all ofcreation. There arerisks involved in thisopen stance to friend-ship. Being open andpresent to someonewho challenges yourcomfort zone translatesinto being willing to bestretched and changedyourself.

We recognize theplace and value ofcommunity friendship,but the soul also needs

friendship on a more in-timate level. There canbe people in our liveswho share commoninterests and living ex-periences whom we are

called into friendshipwith. Such friendshipscan be found support-ive in family life, pro-fessional living, anda multitude of socialsettings.

Probably the mostimportant form offriendship is the soulfriend (or Anam Cara inthe Celtic tradition). Asoul friend is someoneyou can share deeper

movements of heartand spirit. It is some-one who can help yourecognize barriers andobstacles in our ego’sand mind’s, as we openup to our deeper spiri-tual hearts. This deeperspiritual heart is ourtruest self made in theimage of God. A life ismore fully lived whenlived out of this deepplace of loving union,and deep place of

friendship. Soul friends,by opening spiritualhearts, each to the oth-er, experience deeplove which pours outupon all other friend-

ships and relationships.The Church’s busi-

ness is friendship. Solets be intentional onbeing friends withthose in our church,friends with our com-munity and beyond,and friends with God- our longed for Friend.

In the human heartthere is a natural longing

for friendship.

Friendshipthat promisesmore life,

in an unfoldingmysteriousexperience.

Wherefriendship and livingbecome synonymous.

Whereloving constantly is still not enough.

Wherethe friend reveals thelonged for Friend.


9/12

9MARCH2015


Corner Brook • Deer Lake

Stephenville CrossingPort aux Basques • Burgeo

Port au Choix • L’anse au Loup

Happy Valley - Goose Bay

During your most difficult times... we are here to serve you.

Go where life takes you, but plan ahead.

As a free spirit, you rarely look back. But youshould look ahead - especially to protect your

loved ones when you’re no longer there.

All it takes is a little preplanning.

Decide now on the funeral options and funding

arrangements that best meet your needs. You’ll

lessen the burden for those who are left behind.

To learn more, ca ll the number below. We’ll s end

you a free Wishes and Memories Planning Guide.

We’ll also provide you with a no-obli gation

consultation.

So make your plans, today.

Then fo llow y our pa th whe rever it leads.

FUNERAL HOMES

PreplanningCrematoriumChapel

MonumentsFlowers

634-0077 • 1-888-868-68006102663

Remain where you are

The Rev. Everett Hobbs

Columnist

Blessing of the animalsSubmitted byWillie Loder

On October 11, 2014 onThanksgiving weekend the peo-

ple and animals in Mary’s Har-bour, Labrador were blessed bythe Rev. Gail Coley McDonaldin St. Mary the Virgin Church.There were dogs, rabbits, bud-gie birds, and their owners,along with visitors.

I visited Mary Harbour forThanksgiving weekend to befriends who brought their twodogs to the service. Rev. Mac-Donald has blessed the animalsevery year since coming toserve in the Parish of SoutheastLabrador. This service was alsoRev. McDonald's fnal one since

she has moved to the parish ofSt. Thomas in St. John’s.

It was a beautiful and bless-ed weekend and we have lots togive thanks for by being there.

A brother went to seeAbba Moses, a desert monk,and asked him for a word. Theold man said, “Go and sit inyour cell and your cell willteach you everything”. (Say-ings of the Desert Fathers)

The desert monks of theearly Church lived lives ofsolitude, having little contactwith others. Essentially theywere by themselves - andwith God. The “cell” was theirhome, usually a cave or a hut

in an isolated place. Theirlives consisted of praying, fast-ing keeping vigil, scripturereading, doing penitence andmanual labour. Engaged in

this way against a backgroundof solitude and silence, theysought the truth about them-selves and God.

This way of life containsa great wisdom but few canlive like the desert fathersand mothers or contemplativemonastics today. How canwe practice “staying in ourcell”? We need time to bealone and nd out what is falsein our lives, our deceptionsand denials, our fantasies andillusions, our irritations andprojections, our shallownessand superficiality, our con-formity and disguises, ourvulnerability and weakness,our ambiguities and ques-tions and the list goes on. Itis what Jung calls the shadowside of life. Unearthing thisfalse self is how we becomeour true self. Confrontingthe shadow can be a painfulbusiness and so we avoidit. Pascal claims that all thetroubles that we have comefrom not being able to stayin our chambers Once we

undertake the practice ofstaying in our cell, we willfind it becoming a place oflove and light, a place whereGod dwells. The Light shines

in the darkness, showing usour true condition, what weare really like, what needs tobe removed and healed, whatwe can be, what God wants usto be. It requires making timefor solitude and silence, even15 minutes daily.

Another form of ‘stayingin your cell’ is how we dealwith our difculties and chal-lenges. How do we handlelife’s problems and pain? Dowe face them head-on or ndways of escaping them? Stay-ing in your cell means to staywith the situations or peoplecausing grief, to remain whereyou are, especially what wedread. We may be inclinedto ‘run away’, distancing our-selves physically or emotion-ally. Instead we need rst toaccept and them embracewhat is going on.

Those becoming Bene-dictine monks make a vow ofstability. It means to stay ina particular community andlive with the same peoplethe rest of their lives. You will

only nd fullness of life whereyou are now: changing yourcircumstances will not makeit easier, rather delay it as youmay be running away from

your self. If a situation is abu-sive and damaging, you mayneed to escape it.

We need to recognize themany ways we avoid ‘stayingin our cell’. Two obvious onesare distractions and busyness,as we fill up our lives withpossessions and activity whichtake up all our time and thereis no space for solitude andsilence.

There are various toolsthat others use in helping toidentify ‘false’ self and nd the‘true’ self: Examen, lectio div-ina, journaling, dreamwork,MBTI personality prole, theEnneagram., stages of faiththeory, Rule of Life

The desert testing of Jesuscan be seen as ‘staying in yourcell’. Lent can be a time for usto spend more time in our cell.


10/12

MARCH201510

Kevin Smith

Columnist Kevin Smith is the gift

planning consultant for the Anglican Church of Canada.He can be contacted at 709739-5667 or by email:[email protected]

The deadline forsubmissions to

Anglican Life isthe 1st day ofthe month

The Rev. Greg Mercer

Columnist

Environmental stewardship

“The earth is the Lord’sand all that is in it, the world

and those who live in it”(Psalm 24:1).

“Blessed are you, OLord... forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, are the great-ness, the power, the glory,the victory, and the majesty;for all that is in the heavensand on the earth is yours;

yours is the kingdom, OLord... for all things comefrom you, and of your ownhave we given you” (1st

Chronicles 29:10,11, 14).The nature of all resourc-es come from God and be-longs to God. Search theScriptures, from Genesisright through to the NewTestament, and you willdiscover God’s unique re-lationship with creation.Equally important is thathe has commissioned us asstewards to act responsiblyin how we care for whatbelongs to God. Sad tosay, this is not always thecase and just the opposite

happens – we destroy God’screation, sometimes un-knowingly and other timescompletely indifferent to itas if we own it. But not onlydoes Scripture support thenotion of environmentalstewardship, as Christianswe pray about this in our

churches. How can we prayabout something and not beprepared to do somethingabout it, not even to speak

out about it.Not all environmentalissues are easy to resolve.Some are great moral issuesthat only those in the toplevels of Government havethe power to resolve, likethe production and burningof fossil fuels and its effectson climate change. Foryears now scientists havebeen telling us that climatechange, and especially glob-al warming, is considered tobe one of the most pressingand severe global environ-

mental problems facinghumanity. And the effectsof this are only going to es-calate in the future causingmonumental problems forgenerations to come. Whatdo we do; what can we do?Our economy – transporta-tion, electricity, jobs, and

much more -- depend onfossil-fuels. But then againwe measure our stewardshipby healthy ecosystems and

sustainable, responsibleconsumptions.We can start by learning

as much as we can about theeffects of CO 2 released fromfossil fuels, and its effects onclimate change. As stewardsof God’s creation we can cer-tainly nd better and saferways to heat our homes.Where possible we can carpool to work. All this is to saythat there are any numbersof small steps that we can doas Christians who pray aboutthese things.

But environmental stew-ardship is not just aboutthe effects of fossil fuels onclimate change. Every timewe drive an animal to nearextinction we are destroyingGod’s creation. Litteringis a big problem; what wethrow in our garbage is a big

problem -- plastic bags inparticular are a huge dangerto wildlife and create havocfor the environment costing

our economy millions ofdollars every year. This isone area where we can makea signicant difference; it is just a matter of reducing,reusing, and recycling.

As Christian Stewards wehave a responsibility to prayand to care for what belongsto God, and truthfully we canmake a difference. Readyour Bible and learn howthe care of God’s creationis a moral issue. Join otherChristians and take a standon what matters to God.

Contact elected ofcials andlet them know the environ-ment cannot sustain greedand exploitation. Write yourlocal newspaper or yourchurch paper or start a blog.Everything we do as a stew-ard of God’s creation is an actof service and worship.

Legacy giving thriving in England

An article in a recentedition of the CHURCHTIMES wondered whatimpact the death of thebaby boomer genera-tion in the United King-

dom would have on leg-acy giving or as we callit in Canada, plannedgiving.

The writer RachelGiles reported that theChurch of England re-ceives more than 5000legacies each yearworth about 44.2 BritishPounds or 82.6 Canadiandollars. Earlier she wrotethat the UK legacy mar-ket generated more than2 billion British Pounds

per year and continues,”Only 6 per cent of peo-ple leave a legacy in theirwill but this 6 per centprovides 13 per cent ofall incomes to charitiesin the UK.” In addition,she quotes statistics that

show that death ratesare lower now than theywere a decade ago. Shealso writes that demo-graphic shifts are goingto mean further opportu-nities for charities:

“From 2020, the “ba-by-boomers” genera-tion – people who wereborn between 1946 and1957 – will start to die inincreasing numbers. Thisgroup represents 22 percent of the population

of the UK. From 2020onwards, deaths willstart to climb, peakingin around 2040......Risingcare costs for the boom-er generation could po-tentially erode legacygifts too. If people areliving longer with highcare costs, says SimonBurne of the Children’sSociety, it is possiblethat when they die, theamount of money leftwill be reduced, becauseassets have been remort-gaged or sold off.”

Ms Giles wonderedhow the Church of En-gland viewed the im-pending changes in so-

ciety. She interviewedEleanor Gill, the legacyfund raising ofcer at theChurch of England whosays, “We are aware thatpeople are living longer,and the cost of living isincreasing, and we willalways encourage in-dividuals to remembertheir family first....But,no matter how large orsmall, each gift can makea signicant impact ona church’s ministry and

mission. People havechosen to support thework of their church forhundreds of years, and Ibelieve they will contin-ue to show that support.”

Ms Gill notes thatlike many charities, theChurch of England istalking more openlyabout the importance ofmaking a will and leav-ing a legacy. “As a sector,we’re communicatingmore effectively, andsharing stories wherea legacy gift has madea real difference to ourwork.” She continues,“Fund raising is evolvingand there will always

be new and innovativeways to support yourfavourite causes; butlegacy giving will neverbe replaced.”

That’s an interestingpoint of view from acrossthe water and not unlikewhat is happening inthe Anglican Church ofCanada. Our plannedgiving program, underthe national direction ofArchdeacon John Rob-ertson at General Synod,

is thriving and, I suspect,will continue to do wellinto the future.


11/12

11MARCH2015


David Davis

Columnist

Laurence CoughlanThis article was great-

ly assisted by an itemin the Encyclopedia ofNewfoundland and Lab-rador(1981), Volume 1,pp. 548-49. Readers whohave further interest in theReverend Mr. Coughlanshould attempt to consultthis article by CatherineF. Horan which includesa bibliography of writ-ings on Mr. Coughlan. Ms.Horan’s work is especiallyrelevant for information on

Mr. Coughlan’s non New-foundland life for which in-formation is often skimpy.

Laurence Coughlanwas born and grew up inIreland. It is assumed thathe converted from RomanCatholicism to the newdoctrine of Methodism bythe Wesley Brothers in theearly 1750’s. He becameone of John Wesley’s rstconverts in Ireland, butthere seems to have beensome doubt about the rest

of Coughlan’s life, as weknow it. It may very wellbe a fact that the barriersbetween faith groups weremore exible in those yearsespecially when it came torecruiting missionariesfor distant colonies. It hasbeen suggested that theWesleys regarded them-selves as retaining a con-nection with the Churchof England during their

lifetimes. Their parentswere prominent Tories in

England. Tories at this timeregarded themselves asdescendants of the Stuartline of the monarchs ofEngland.

Whatever the affairsbetween churches, Lau-rence Coughlan was sub-sequently ordained by theBishop of London and wasappointed to the Missionof Harbour Grace andCarbonear in Newfound-land and arrived therein either 1765 or 1766.There is some question if

he had been living therebefore these dates andhad returned to Englandto be ordained. His Irishheritage and his fluencyin the Irish language mayhave made him attractivefor preaching to the largenumber of Irish settlers inConception Bay.

Mr. Coughlan may havearrived at his mission at thebeginning of September1766. There were 5621persons living in Concep-

tion Bay in 403 familiesof which there were 4494English persons and 1127Irish persons. He notesthat Natives(English?) at-tended church regularlyand some Irish came tohear Mr. Coughlan preachin their native language.There were 90 childrenin Harbour Grace ableto go to school. He hiredMr. George Jenner to be

school master, temporallyapproved by the Society

for the Propagation ofthe Gospel(SPG) whichpaid for the upkeep of themissions. Mr. Jenner wasthe nephew of EdwardJenner who developed

the treatment for smallpox,a widespread disease inthe England at the time.Mr. Jenner left the schoolbecause the salary of £16was too low. Mr. Jennerwas the means where-

by The Rev. Mr. Clinchat Trinity obtained the

smallpox vaccine to try inNewfoundland.Mr. Coughlan estab-

lished a chapel about vemiles from the churchand planned to build a

good house for the 30boys and 12 girls whoattended the school. In1770 he established thepractice of having commu-nion once a month and ongreater intervals at places

around the Bay in eightycommunities. In c.1771

Mr. Coughlan found a newschool master for HarbourGrace, Mr. Griggs, whowas given a certicate bythe Governor. The lack ofa school house and otherneeds slowed the useful-ness of the school master.

In 1774 Mr. Coughlanreturned to England andmet the SPG and resigned.

Although Coughlandid not return to New-foundland there is someevidence that he corre-sponded with people in

Newfoundland, such asa letter referring to JohnStretton of Harbour Grace(see the article by the writ-er in Anglican Life, June2008).

Mr. Coughlan’s leav-ing of Newfoundland hasbeen ascribed to ill healthbrought on by the harshweather and his vigor-ous work schedule cov-ering a large area such asConception Bay, but anequally likely cause was

his desire to amelioratethe working conditionsof the servant-shermen.One of the things he triedto introduce was one dayof rest per week (Sunday)which was opposed bythe merchant-planters, theemployers. They lobbiedthe Governor to hobbleMr. Coughlan’s efforts.

Mr. Coughlan’s back-ground may not have en-deared him to the estab-lished inhabitants such asGeorge Davis, one of the

leading merchants of thearea who led a campaignagainst Mr. Coughlan.

The Channel Islandsmerchant-sea captainsseem to have been an-ti-Coughlan and they wereparticularly influentialin Harbour Grace. Theyheld many of the water-front shing rooms at thetime. These rooms wereespecially convenient forunloading and processingof sh.

Mr. Couglan’s influ-ence was continued in

Newfoundland in the de-velopment of Methodism.


12/12

MARCH201512

NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

YES! I enjoy reading Anglican Life. Enclosed ismy donation of support:

NAME _________________________________________ TELEPHONE ( ________ ) _____________________________

ADDRESS _______________________________________ TOWN _________________________________________PROVINCE __________ POSTAL CODE ______________________PARISH ________________________________________EMAIL _________________________________________

$25 $50 $100 Other $___

Cheque Credit Card VISA Mastercard

Card #____________________________

Expiry (Month) __________ (Year) _________

YES, I wish to receive an Income Tax ReceiptCharity Reg No. 107020232 RR0001

Mail your gift to:

Anglican Life34 Fraser Road

Gander, NLA1V 2E8

Method of payment:

Signature__________________________

St. Giles turns 50The Church of St. Gilescelebrated their 50th

Anniversary. In atten-dance were numerousclergy as well as theHonourable Darin King,past and present con-gregation members,and the Rev. Gloria Wen-dover, the parish priest.Everyone enjoyed a cel-ebrating worship servicethat was presided overby Canon Tom Moulton.In Honour of St. Giles’Anglican Church’s 50thanniversary the Honour-able Judy Foote sent a

plaque to commemo-rate the occasion. Lat-er all enjoyed a potluckluncheon provided bychurch members. Theeldest lady, Mrs. Lou-ise Cluett, aged 98 andMr. Melvin Grandy, theeldest man, age 88 cutthe cake with Rev Wen-dover. The celebrationwas on September 28th2014. Photograph and storysubmitted by Robynn Toal.

Lenten Communionby Katharine Tynan

Rest in a friend’s house, Dear, I pray:Te way is long to Good Friday,

And very chill and grey the way.

No crocus with its shining cup,Nor the gold daffodil is up, –

Nothing is here save the snowdrop.

Sit down with me and taste good cheer:

oo soon, too soon, Ty Passion’s here;Te wind is keen and the skies drear.

Sit by my fire and break my bread.

Yea, from Ty dish may I be fed,And under Ty feet my hair spread!

Lord, in the quiet, chill and sweet,

Let me pour water for Ty feet,While the crowd goes by in the Street.

Why wouldst Tou dream of spear or sword,Or of the ingrate rabble, Lord?

Tere is no sound save the song of a bird.

Let us sit down and talk at ease

About Ty Father’s business.(What shouts were those borne on the breeze?)

Nay, Lord, it cannot be for Tee

Tey raise the tallest cross of the threeOn yon dark Mount of Calvary!

So soon, so soon, the hour’s flown!Te glory’s dying: Tou art gone

Out on Ty lonely way, alone.

Katharine Tynan (1859–1931)Irish nationalist writer Katharine ynan was born in Clondalkin,a suburb of Dublin, in 1859. She was educated at the Domini-can Convent of St. Catherine and started writing at a young age.Tough Catholic, she married a Protestant barrister; she and herhusband lived in England before moving to Claremorris, in Coun-ty Mayo. ynan was friends with W.B. Yeats and Charles Parnell.

Involved in the Irish Literary Revival, ynan expressed concernfor feminist causes, the poor, and the effects of World War I—twosons fought in the war—in her work. She also meditated on herCatholic faith. A prolific writer, she wrote more than 100 novels,

12 collections of short stories, reminiscences, plays, and more thana dozen books of poetry, among them Louise de la Vallière andOther Poems (1885), Shamrocks (1887), Ballads and Lyrics (1891),Irish Poems (1913), Te Flower of Peace: A Collection of the Devo-tional Poetry of Katharine ynan (1914), Flower of Youth: Poemsin Wartime (1915), and Late Songs (1917). She died in 1931.

(Source: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/katharine-tynan)

Date post:	01-Jun-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	samrose
View:	219 times
Download:	0 times

Anglican Life MARCH 2015

Documents