201106 the highway

8
A SECTION OF THE ANGLICAN JOURNAL JUNE 2011 SERVING THE DIOCESE OF KOOTENAY ichael Harvey, the Church of England layper- son who is trying to unlock the growth of the church, presented two seminars in the Okanagan on Friday, May 6. He is the spokesperson for the “Back to Church Movement,” which began in a single English diocese, and has now spread throughout England, Australia, New Zealand and North America. Harvey’s message is simple, “How do we become an invit- ing church?” Archbishop John Privett asked congregations through- out Kootenay to send represen- tatives to one of these seminars. At St. Andrew’s, Okanagan Mission, there were only 25 registered for the first session, and at least half of them were M Lutheran. In some ways, the low turn out reflected Michael Harvey’s comments regarding the deeply ingrained lassitude within the church with respect to the possibility of church growth. Harvey challenges us to “just invite someone to church.” This apparently is more difficult than it seems. He said 20% of a congregation will do it, but the other 80% will not. He pointed out that even when congregations experience growth in numbers due to B2CS they still do not believe it could happen again, and make excuses why not to do it. Apparently, even finding one Sunday per year to have a Back to Church Sunday is a bit of a stretch for most congregations. Harvey, who has helped businesses and individuals Back to church BY JONN LAVINNDER “unlock growth” and “unleash potential,” recommends 12 Steps to Becoming an Inviting Church. 1. Vision — If everyone of us invited a friend and they accepted we would double our congregation. Let’s do it! 2. I as the church leader am going to invite someone, will you? 3. Make sure every member of the church has had a per- sonal invitation to invite someone 4. Teach about how God con- nects people through friendship 5. The Power of Your Story — To re-remember who invit- ed you 6. Get every member to ask themselves the question — Who has God been prepar- ing in my life? JUST DO IT! — Archbishop John Privett and Michael Harvey presenting Back to Church Sunday, St. Andrew’s, Okanagan Mission 7. Practice the question — Would you like to come to church with me? 8. Pray for courage to invite, and pray for those being invited 9. Make the invitation 10. Go and pick up your guest from their home 11. Introduce them to friends over food and coffee 12. Assume they are coming the following time you meet as a church and invite them again Back to Church Sunday is scheduled for September 25, 2011. Augsburg Fortress Canada is supplying churches with resource materials. The resource kit includes a poster set and 50 invitation/prayer cards for $40. The website for B2CS is http://www.back- tochurch.co.uk P 4. EFM Posters Created P 5. Mad Hatters Tea Party P 8. 50 Years of Ministry photocomposite jonn lavinnder P 4 KSM Theology P5 New Banner for All Saints

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The HighWay is a supplement of the Anglican Journal for the Diocese of Kootenay

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Page 1: 201106 The HighWay

A SECTION OF THE ANGLICAN JOURNAL JUNE 2011 SERVING THE DIOCESE OF KOOTENAY

ichael Harvey, theChurch ofEngland layper-son who is trying

to unlock the growth of thechurch, presented two seminarsin the Okanagan on Friday,May 6. He is the spokespersonfor the “Back to ChurchMovement,” which began in asingle English diocese, and hasnow spread throughoutEngland, Australia, NewZealand and North America.Harvey’s message is simple,“How do we become an invit-ing church?”

Archbishop John Privettasked congregations through-out Kootenay to send represen-tatives to one of these seminars.At St. Andrew’s, OkanaganMission, there were only 25registered for the first session,and at least half of them were

MLutheran. In some ways, thelow turn out reflected MichaelHarvey’s comments regardingthe deeply ingrained lassitudewithin the church with respectto the possibility of churchgrowth.

Harvey challenges us to“just invite someone tochurch.” This apparently ismore difficult than it seems.He said 20% of a congregationwill do it, but the other 80%will not.

He pointed out that evenwhen congregations experiencegrowth in numbers due toB2CS they still do not believeit could happen again, andmake excuses why not to do it.Apparently, even finding oneSunday per year to have a Backto Church Sunday is a bit of astretch for most congregations.

Harvey, who has helpedbusinesses and individuals

Back to church

BY JONN LAVINNDER

“unlock growth” and “unleashpotential,” recommends 12Steps to Becoming an InvitingChurch.1. Vision — If everyone of us

invited a friend and theyaccepted we would doubleour congregation. Let’s doit!

2. I as the church leader amgoing to invite someone,will you?

3. Make sure every member ofthe church has had a per-sonal invitation to invitesomeone

4. Teach about how God con-nects people throughfriendship

5. The Power of Your Story —To re-remember who invit-ed you

6. Get every member to askthemselves the question —Who has God been prepar-ing in my life?

JUST DO IT! — Archbishop John Privett and Michael Harvey presenting Back to Church Sunday, St. Andrew’s, Okanagan Mission

7. Practice the question —Would you like to come tochurch with me?

8. Pray for courage to invite,and pray for those beinginvited

9. Make the invitation10. Go and pick up your guest

from their home11. Introduce them to friends

over food and coffee12. Assume they are coming

the following time youmeet as a church and invitethem again

Back to Church Sunday isscheduled for September 25,2011. Augsburg FortressCanada is supplying churcheswith resource materials. Theresource kit includes a posterset and 50 invitation/prayercards for $40. The website forB2CS is http://www.back-tochurch.co.uk ❑

P 4. EFM Posters Created

P 5. Mad Hatters Tea Party

P 8. 50 Years of Ministry

photocomposite jonn lavinnder

P 4 KSM Theology P5 New Banner for All Saints

Page 2: 201106 The HighWay

Diocesan committees and amuch needed properly con-structed area for our valuablearchives. As part of the discus-sion of the design is the recog-nition that the coming years inthe Diocese will bring some ofthe changes I discussed lastmonth. The Kootenay Schoolof Ministry will provide educa-tion and training for lay leadersand local clergy and the newDiocesan Centre will provideoffice and meeting space forthat initiative. Education forMinistry Canada which hasbeen sponsored by the Diocesefor 25 years will move into itsnew office space in theDiocesan Centre and ourdream is to significantlyincrease the number of stu-dents studying with EfM. Thenew archives will provide safeand accessible storage for over ahundred years of valuablerecords. Not a week goes bywithout inquiries that requiresour archivist to access oldrecords and files. Researchers

JUNE 2011PAGE 2 THE HIGHWAY

The HighWay is published under the authority of the Bishop of Kootenay and the Synod of theDiocese of Kootenay. Opinions expressed in The HighWay are not necessarily those of the Editor orthe Publisher.

THE

HIGHWAY

EDITOR

Jonn LavinnderSt. Saviour’s Pro-Cathedral723 Ward Street,Nelson, B.C.V1L 1T3Phone: (250) [email protected]

Submissions & Deadlines: All articles, advertising and correspondence submitted to The HighWayis subject to editing for length, clarity, timeliness, appropriateness and style in accordance with theCanadian Press. Letters should be limited to 250 words, columns and articles no more than 600words. Please include with all submissions your name, e-mail address and parish, as well as the nameof the photographer, if applicable. Deadline for submissions is the ffiirrsstt ooff tthhee mmoonntthh pprriioorr ttoo ppuubblliiccaa-ttiioonn unless otherwise indicated.

Advertising Policy: The acceptance of advertisement does not imply endorsement by the diocese orany of its principals. Advertisers and advertising agencies assume liability for all content, including text, representations and illustrations, and also assume responsibility for any claims and costs arisingthere from. Display advertising for commercial parties is available in accordance with our ethics and advertising policy.

Advertising material and inquiries should be addressed to the Editor. Payment is to be made inadvance to the Diocese of Kootenay.

Advertising is to be pre-paid to:The Diocese of Kootenay1876 Richter StreetKelowna, B.C.V1Y 2M9Phone: (250) 762-3306Fax: (250) 762-4150

Printed and mailed by printed & mailed by Bowes Publishing, London ON.A section of the Anglican Journal.

Editorial AssistantMicahel Lavinnder

n my last column forThe HighWay I outlinedsome of the key direc-tions emerging in the life

of our Diocese. One of thosewas the plan for a newDiocesan Centre that willreplace our old Synod Officesnext to the Cathedral inKelowna. The Synod Officeshave been in the former recto-ry of the Cathedral since 1994.For 17 years they have servedthe diocese well but changes atthe Cathedral and in the dio-cese call for a new vision.

When I first came to thediocese in 2005 I learned, a

I

should be completed forSeptember!

The new Cathedral facilitywill not have space for anyoffices, and so it has beendetermined that the Cathedralwill continue to use the recto-ry for office and meeting spaceand our Synod Office will beon the move. We have consid-ered several options: movingto existing space in anotherchurch in Kelowna, purchas-ing a house that could be con-verted into offices, or leasingoffice space in a suitable loca-tion. The options wereweighed and the various costsconsidered and a year ago, indiscussion with St. Aidan’sChurch in Rutland, we identi-fied a possibility that will ben-efit both St. Aidan’s and thewhole diocese. Since that timewe have worked with an archi-tectural firm in the design ofan addition that will bringimprovements to St. Aidan’s,provide offices for DiocesanStaff, meeting space for

Website: www.anglicanhighway.com

week after my service of instal-lation as Bishop of Kootenay,that the Cathedral Hall hadbeen condemned due to deteri-oration and water leaks! Thelast event in the hall was thereception after my installation.The Cathedral offices hadalready moved into the rectorycreating a cozy but crampedenvironment for both theCathedral and Diocesan staff.Plans were underway for a newhall for St. Michael’s and theoriginal design included spacefor the Diocesan offices andarchives. Over the years itbecame clear that withincreased building costs itwould not be possible to buildthe original dream of a newhall that could accommodateboth the needs of the Cathedraland the Diocese. The Cathedralhas faithfully worked toward agathering space that will servethe needs of the congregationand occasional diocesan eventsand construction is now wellunderway. God willing the hall

Privacy Protection: Photographs and articles submitted to The HighWay for publication requiresthat authors and photographers have received permission from parents or guardians of all minors(under 18) that have their names or whereabouts published in The HighWay.

will be able to work in ournew location.

Last evening (May 11) ourAdministration Committeeapproved the plans for the newDiocesan Centre. It is antici-pated that construction willtake place over the summerand that by the time you readthe September issue of TheHighWay our new Centre willbe a reality. In my view, thiswill be much more than aSynod Office. It will be aCentre for each and everymember of the Diocese andthe Centre for the future mis-sion of the entire Diocese.Your prayers and support forthe new centre will be neededand deeply appreciated.

Faithfully,++ JJoohhnn

found Michael Harveyvery convincing in hisBack to Church Sundaypresentation, which is

our front page story thismonth. Being influenced bymy first year of EFM, heappeared to me like an old tes-tament prophet admonishingthe Israelites that they hadmissed the point: “God doesn’tneed your burnt offerings.”

Here was a lone laypersontravelling the globe speakingto bishops and church leadersabout changing their attitudesof expectation and faith inGod’s power. If we were tobecome a welcoming church,it would be a wonderful thing;and yet I found myself fallinginto a category of “naysayers”;someone, “who doesn’t go tochurch for the purpose ofinviting others.” I had toanswer the question for myself,

“Why do I go to church?” AndI found, according to MichaelHarvey, that the reason I go tochurch was not valid — toworship God.

Harvey indicated that Goddidn’t need our acts of wor-ship. This might be true.However, I believe that weneed our acts of worship.Harvey’s focus was on being acommunity in discipleship,and in mission together. Hesaid that there is a curse overthe church and that B2CS willhelp us remove it. May it beso. Yet again, I came under thecategory of those who say thatit might be the mission andresponsibility of others to dothe inviting, but it wasn’t nec-essarily mine. We might say,however, this article gets me offthe hook.

Over the course of the lastfew years, Michael Harvey has

heard it all. That is, all thelame excuses why B2CSwouldn’t work. Quite franklyhis presentation had an under-lying cynicism about it. Itseemed to me that he wascaught in the same dilemma asthe Church; namely, he felt noone was listening to him.

Harvey illustrated one ofhis points by quoting the nowfamous lines by DonaldRumsfeld: “There are known knowns.These are the things we knowthat we know. There are knownunknowns. That is to say, thereare things that we know wedon’t know. But there are alsounknown unknowns. These arethings we don’t know we don’tknow.”

Instead of getting tied upin this kind of mental knotswe should, “just do it!”

I

ARCHBISHOP’S PAGE

On the move

BY ARCHBISHOP JOHN E. PRIVETT

In My View

Dear friends,

Editorial

BY JONN LAVINNDER

Page 3: 201106 The HighWay

JUNE 2011 THE HIGHWAY PAGE 3COLUMNS

Why do so many peopledislike Christians?

BY NISSA BASBAUM

ast month, I men-tioned a study abouthow 16-29 year oldsperceive Christians.

Conducted by DavidKinnaman of the Barna Group,the results were published in“unChristian” (2007). Thestudy documents that an over-whelming percentage of 16-29year olds view Christians withhostility, resentment and dis-dain.

For example, Christiansare perceived to be “antihomo-sexual (91%), judgmental(87%), hypocritical (85%),old-fashioned (78%), too polit-ical (75%), out of touch withreality (72%), insensitive toothers (70%), boring (68%).He says, “It would be hard tooverestimate how firmly youngpeople reject — and feel reject-

ed by — Christians. Thesebroadly and deeply negativeviews of Christians aren’t justsuperficial stereotypes with nobasis in reality. This is basedupon their real experienceswith today’s Christians.”

“Think about it this way.When you introduce yourselfas a Christian to a friend,neighbour, or business associatewho is an outsider, you mightas well have it tattooed on yourarm: anti-homosexual, gay-hater, homophobic. I doubtyou think of yourself in theseterms, but that’s what outsidersthink of you.”

If nothing else, it’s a wake-up call for today’s church. Theearly church grew up in anenvironment just as hostile assecular society today.Documents from that time,however, paint a different pic-ture. Tertullian’s “Apology”described outsiders saying

about Christians: “Look howthey love one another … andhow they are ready to die foreach other.”

Other documents show thesame evidence. Early believersmade their communities a lotmore bearable, even in the faceof great persecution and mar-tyrdom. They took care of eachother, and their neighbours.They loved one another. Theytook care of each other whenthey were sick. They sharedtheir wealth and relieved eco-nomic distress. When plagueshit ancient cities, Christianswere the ones who stayedbehind to take care of the sickand dying. The new faith wasalso very attractive for women,a highly vulnerable group inRoman society.

Rodney Stark writes,“Christian believers offeredhope and charity to the home-less and impoverished. To cities

filled with newcomers andstrangers, Christianity offeredan immediate basis for attach-ments. To cities filled withorphans and widows,Christianity provided a newand expanded sense of family.To cities torn by violent ethnicstrife, Christianity offered anew basis for social solidarity.And to cities faced with epi-demics, fires and earthquakes,Christianity offered effectivenursing services.”

The church was attractivebecause they engaged in con-crete actions which gave hon-our and dignity to every per-son. They did what Jesus did,embracing the outcasts andlifting up the poor and thepowerless.

It may not be “cool” to beChristian these days, but thereare hungry and thirsty peopleall around us, people who areexcluded and ostracized,

f Adam and Eve’s first face-off with God had been in akitchen instead of a garden,I might be convinced to

become a biblical literalist. As itstands now, the fact that paradiseis described as trees and flowersrather than cake and ice creammakes the story just too unbeliev-able.

The alarm bells begin to ringfor me when summertime rollsaround and the Sunday gospels areonce again packed full of thosewretched “garden” stories; theparable of the mustard seed andthe parable of the sower, to namejust a couple. Have you anyinkling how hard it is to be anAnglican cleric who detests gar-dening? Any idea of the profoundimpact our English cultural andreligious heritage, filled as it iswith bucolic images of agriculturalbliss, has on someone whose onlyresponse to the feel of rich, darkdirt beneath her fingernails is anobsessive compulsive need toscrub her hands raw to rid themof that same dirt?

IFor many years, reading those

garden parables left me feelingguilty because I would rather havedone almost anything other thandig weeds and plant flowers.Somehow I couldn’t help but feelthat to be an Anglican priest, Ineeded to learn to love all thatdirt! I can’t tell you the number ofvegetable patches I have planted asa means of overcoming my dis-taste for gardening. At least ifthere were vegetables, I surmised,I could use these to great advan-tage in the kitchen, my much pre-ferred choice of environment. Yet,even those vegetable gardens had away of becoming the enemy, rarelyproducing enough for much morethan the odd salad or two.

When my husband Robinand I bought our first house, wechose it for a number of reasons,not least of which was the amaz-ing garden it had in the backyard.Recognizing that neither one of usliked to spend our free time dig-ging in the dirt, we thought dis-cretion would be the better of val-our; so we purchased a propertythat was already landscaped. Ittook us about three summers todestroy that magnificent landscap-

ing and then only two more forour neighbours to begin to won-der if, rather than the nice, quietclergy couple that they thoughthad purchased the house, we wereactually university students in dis-guise, swiftly lowering their prop-erty values. The only saving gracein those years was our almost 90-year-old next door neighbour, whokindly said to me one summer dayas, with shovel in hand, I grum-bled my way down the propertyline that divided our two homesfrom one another: “I don’t knowwhy you even bother pulling outthose weeds. They’re only going togrow back tomorrow!” God blessthe wit and wisdom of seniorswho have lived long enough tofigure out that there is much moreto life than what makes us all lookpretty!

The gardening tide turned forme several years ago when twopeople from our parish offeredfour hours of yard clean-up astheir donation to our bi-annualTalent and Gift Auction. On thenight of that auction, I foundmyself in a bidding war for thisitem. I was so bound and deter-mined to purchase those four

hours of clean-up that I evenwhispered into the ear of my bid-ding opponent that there was noway on God’s green earth anyoneelse was going to win the item;she might as well give up rightthen and there. As the ante wasraised just slightly above its esti-mated value, Robin and I becamethe proud owners of what Ibelieved was my ticket to paradise.By the next summer, the neigh-bours once again might considerspeaking to us.

To this day, I am convincedthat buying that yard clean-upprocured my salvation, at least asfar as this went on our small cul-de-sac. That purchase introducedme to: wonder of wonders, “low-maintenance gardening,” and italso helped me to overcome myunending guilt about our proper-ty. Good looks and not muchwork to make it so! Following thatTalent and Gift Auction, on oneof those wretched “garden gospelSundays,” I even opened my hom-ily with the confession that I wasa “born-again gardener!” Spendingless than five hours a week prun-ing bushes, digging weeds anddumping mulch came close to

transforming me into a flowerlover. No longer intimidated bythe beauty of our neighbours’landscape designs, I was almostable to appreciate the odd floweror two that popped up out of theground in our front and back-yards. I no longer felt like a failureas an Anglican priest because Icouldn’t make beautiful thingscome up out of the dirt.

No doubt, I still would bemuch happier if the originalGarden of Eden were a Kitchen ofParadise, which would fit muchbetter with who I am and what Ido best. Yet, perhaps there areother ways of looking at my gar-dening ineptitude... After Ipreached that homily on that sum-mer Sunday so long ago, someonein the congregation came up tome and said: “Don’t sell yourselfshort. You may not be very goodat making plants and flowers growbut I think you’re great at makingpeople grow.”

Ah, metaphor! Clearly, there’smore than one way to assist withthe blooming of God’s creation.

Garden of Eden or kitchen of paradise?

BY YME WOENSDREGT

TThhiiss ccoolluummnn hhaass bbeeeenn wwrriitttteennwwiitthh tthhee iinntteennttiioonn tthhaatt iitt mmaayy bbeerreepprriinntteedd iinn llooccaall nneewwssppaappeerrss.. ffoorrtthheeiirr rreelliiggiioonn ppaaggee.. YYmmee wwiillll bbeewwrriittiinngg aa sshhoorrtt aarrttiiccllee eeaacchh mmoonntthheexxpprreessssllyy wwiitthh tthhiiss ppuurrppoossee iinnmmiinndd.. YYoouu aarree ffrreeee ttoo rreepprroodduucceetthhee aarrttiiccllee wwiitthhoouutt pprriioorr aapppprroovvaall..DDrroopp uuss aa lliinnee aannyywwaayy..

TThhee EEddiittoorr

Lhomeless and abandoned.There are people all around uswho are hungry for spirituality,who long for community, whoache to be embraced. There arepeople who long to be includ-ed

It’s time for the church tobe “for” something: justice;shalom; compassion; hope. It’stime for us to be known onceagain as people who love andserve the world. It’s not onlyour heritage. It’s our calling.

Page 4: 201106 The HighWay

JUNE 2011PAGE 4 THE HIGHWAY

EDUCATION

he number of debatesabout who Jesus theChrist was, is, andwill be is staggeringly

huge. Yet, all of us have the jobof thinking about thesedebates, because they definethe message that we share withothers and the worship inwhich we engage. Here’s yourchance to take the questionsseriously. Kootenay School ofMinistry is offering a course inFoundational Theology at AllSaints, Vernon, July 29-Aug. 1,2011, taught by the Rev. Dr.Bill Harrison.

And here’s a hint of whatthe course is all about: One ofthe basic reasons for all of thedebate is that we can't agree onthe pivotal moment of Jesusthe Christ’s life and work. IsJesus' birth, the Incarnationwhich we celebrate atChristmas, the decisivemoment? What about hispreaching? Of course, manypeople argue that the Cross is

where our salvation is reallybased. Then again, others insistthat the Resurrection givesmeaning to all that camebefore. Some people insist thatPentecost and the Ascension, inclose relationship with the for-mal birth of the ChristianChurch, are the true worldchanging events. For somethinkers, including notableAnglicans, the eternal existenceof the Second Person of theTrinity is the fundamental real-ity from which everything else(including creation) flows.

I’m going to suggest thatthe best answer is “all of theabove.” Our understanding ofthe person and work of Jesusthe Christ is weakened by anypartial focus. We need to takeseriously all aspects if we wishto do justice to the Christiangospel.

The heart of Christian the-ology is worship. That’s whyour liturgical world is intimate-ly linked to our thinking aboutwhat Christianity means. OurChristian year makes a point oftrying to celebrate everythingabout Jesus the Christ, from hisparticipation in the DivineTrinity to his birth, life andpreaching, death and resurrec-

T

tion, ascension, and role in theKingdom of God.

The reason for Christiantheology is the message ofGod’s salvific action in theworld. A proper understandingof salvation depends upon afull account of who Jesus theChrist is and what he does.Indeed, our Creeds — ourcommon statements about thecentral meanings ofChristianity — take their cues

from the Church’s message ofsalvation. Our worship startedus on the journey to under-standing Jesus the Christ. Ourmessage of salvation has forcedus to think deeply about hisidentity and his importance tothe world.

In Foundational Theology,we will pursue these themes ofthe interrelationship amongworship, salvation, Christologyand Trinitarian theology. This

BY BILL HARRISON

is stuff that every Christianneeds to know and under-stand. Come and Learn!

Kootenay School of Ministry

http://www.kootenay.angli-can.ca/kootenay-school-of-ministry

BBee ttrraannssffoorrmmeedd bbyy tthhee rreenneewwiinnggooff yyoouurr mmiinnddss..

STAGGERINGLY HUGE — The Rev. Dr. Bill Harrison teaching a course at Kootenay School ofMinistry, November, 2010.

photo jonn lavinnder

Thinking about Jesus Christ:a taste of foundational theology

EFM poster series createdphoto micahel lavinnder

EXHIBITION — Jonn Lavinnder created 36 posters, as a personal project for EFM First Year. The posters pictorially represent a scriptural and secular view of theOld Testament using classic and contemporary art. The posters can be viewed on You Tube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0OD07HNozM

Page 5: 201106 The HighWay

JUNE 2011 PAGE 5 THE HIGHWAYAROUND THE DIOCESE

he creation of ournew service, The Tableinspired me to noticethe emptiness of six

pillars in the nave at All Saints,Vernon. There they were, eachwith one lone hook, highlight-ed by streaming golden sunlightfrom windows above. Otherthan six Christmas wreathsplaced on these hooks inDecember, the pillars stoodbarren. What if there was some-thing like a number of inspira-tional banners to help unite AllSaints’ three different servicestogether.

I first began on theInternet and found readymade banners from anAmerican supplier. After a fewvisits to other Anglicanchurches in Kelowna andKamloops, I learned and tookpictures of how they incorpo-rated their banners. Upontalking with parishionerfriends, I decided to present toAll Saints’ church committeean exciting proposal for theirapproval. A new committee ofeleven members was formed tomake this idea a reality.

From the beginning, ourintention was to complement,enhance and embrace the con-

temporary music and religiouscelebration experience of ourcongregation with our two tra-ditional services. After somediscussion, it was decided thatthe six basic liturgical coloursof green, blue, gold, red, purpleand white worn by our choirwould be used. We wantedsomehow to depict theOkanagan with its semiaridlandscape, lakes and forestedmountainsides with glorioussunsets.

All Saints has always had arich tradition of choral musicwith sopranos, altos, tenors andbasses singing wonderfulhymns and anthems from

New banner for All Saints, Vernon

ANTHEM FOR THE OKANAGAN — All Saints, Vernon, church banner for the nave.

BY ANDY MATHER countless pages of sheet music.Our group wished to use flow-ing, coloured musical staff lineswhere notes would be.Ultimately, actual notes ofAmazing Grace were plottedacross the sky, creating ribbonsof sunset clouds, using four-part harmony from the greathymn, with an Okanagan val-ley landscape below. Finally,three white doves were addedto represent the Trinity; God theFather, Son and Holy Spirit. Adigital continuous mural abovewas designed to go from onepillar to the next, as the eyemoves around the congrega-tion. Once approved, our

design was graphically reprint-ed locally in full scale and cutinto six banners. What you seenow on these six pillar hooksare the end result of ourefforts.

Lastly, thanks to our amaz-ing Banner Group of creativedesigners and quilt-makers:Debbie Parmenter, GraceMoorhouse, ThelmaMatthews, Maureen Bennett,Susan Dawson, Diana Muir,D. Gans, Jan Walden, BarbAngel and Kat Polischuck, asthe inspired force behind thisproject.

T

All Saints, Vernon, “Mad Hatters Spring Tea and Bazaar,”featuring Canon Chris Harwood-Jones welcoming guests inhis own ecclesiastical “mad hat,” a visitor looking like theQueen at the Royal Wedding in her finest yellow, and evendishwasher Eric Moore sported what some called “his mafiahat.”

photos peter davison

ST. SAVIOUR’S, NELSON, FOOD CUPBOARD — Volunteers at St. Saviour’s, Nelson, plan renova-tions for their food cupboard.

photo bonnie hollandphoto peter davison

Page 6: 201106 The HighWay

COLUMNS JUNE 2011PAGE 6 THE HIGHWAY

BY DOUG HODGKINSON

Movie review

As in heaven

tal gossip. It’s yer basic parishchoir!

At the point that Danielgets summarily dismissed bythe pastor the choir gets aninvitation to sing in a choir fes-tival in Innsbruck, Austria.They go as a community choirand at the very moment theyare to go on stage, Daniel islate, getting back from a bicycleride and when he hurries upthe stairs he collapses. As thechoir warms up without theirconductor each member beginsto find their own note. Soonthe whole concert hall is stand-ing and singing in harmony.

At one point in the devel-oping relationship of Danieland Lena he tells her of a pro-found moment in his career asa conductor when the lightswent out for 58 seconds at aconcert. The musicians couldneither see him as conductornor their music sheets. And yetthey played on because theyhad their “voice” and knew themusic. He confesses that he wasunnecessary.

s a child in a littlevillage in the northof Sweden, Danielwas bullied for his

interest in playing the violin,such that his single mothermoved them away when hewas seven. Now, he is a bigname conductor who isbooked eight years in advance.Unfortunately, he has a heartcondition which causes him tobleed from the nose when heconducts and one day he col-lapses on stage.

He decides to move backto the little village he camefrom and to live in the aban-doned elementary school,which was the scene of somuch torture for him as achild. The first person hemeets is Stig who has been pas-tor in the village for 25 years.Stig gives him a Bible as anewcomer and invites him

ship for two years, but had afamily back in Stockholm. Weare reminded of the adage thatin small communities peoplelive in the thin space betweenwhat everyone knows and noone says. She has been betrayedby that silence and eventuallyscolds them for it.

Then, there is Inga whodevelops the courage to finallysay to her pastor husband thatshe no longer believes in sin;that it is an invention of thechurch to corner the market onthe absolution business(whew!); Helen, whose drunk-ard husband Conny beats herand who finally developsenough voice to sing her ownsong of freedom; Tore who ismentally handicapped but isfinally welcomed into the choiranyway; Erik who is over-weight and has been tormentedby Arne since grade school andfinally blows up; Arne thebusinessman who has big plansfor the choir and himself andArne’s wife who is a judgmen-

over for dinner and perhaps toconsider conducting the littlechoir in the church, but Danieldeclines and says that all hewants to do at the moment is“listen.” Later, he does show upat choir rehearsal “to listen”and eventually he is pressuredinto leading. His motivation is“to create music that will openthe heart.”

Initially, he doesn’t practicesongs, but helps each personfind their own voice, gets toknow people and have fun. Thechoir grows to the point thatthe pastor begins to experiencejealousy. Many people areattracted to Daniel.Competition and ambitioninvade the choir and rumoursspread about his relationshipswith some of the women in thechoir. In particular he isattracted to Lena, a somewhatunconventional spirit in thetown. She is fearful of a rela-tionship because she wasbetrayed by a doctor in thetown who carried on a relation-

The story is a profoundmetaphor for the church. Awounded healer comes to townand in helping a fractured com-munity to discover its own giftsfor inclusion and growth con-tradicts the rules and proce-dures of the hierarchy. He isdismissed but the communitycarries on, discovering its owngifts in the voice that the healerhas helped them to find.

This is a movie for anyonewho has ever directed a choir,sung in a choir, listened to achoir, pastored a congregationor ever wondered why there isso much emphasis on sin!

Directed by Kay Pollok, starring: Michael Nyqvist (DanielDareus), Frida Hollgren (Lena), Helen Schoholm (Gabriella),Niklas Falk (Pastor Stig), Ingela Olsson (Pastor Stig’s wife, Inga),Lasse Petterson (Erik), Lermat Jahkel (Arne), Andre Sjoberg(Tore), Per Moberg (Conny), 122 minutes, Swedish with Englishsubtitles, 2004.

A

You wanted to know

BY PETER DAVISON

Who can speakwith authorityand tell mewhat I need toknow?

You’ve put yourfinger on animportant issuefor our time. Ipresume you’re

talking about the church and mat-ters of faith, but the issue ofauthority arises in all areas of life.In politics we used to trust gov-ernment with running the affairsof the nation, especially whenpoliticians were people who put ina few years of public service and,for the most part, retired withhonour and the thanks of the peo-ple. More and more, however, wehave come to see politicians aspeople who will say anything toget elected and stay in office.Truth and respectful debate ofissues seem to be increasingly rarecommodities, and this has con-tributed to widespread public cyn-

Q:A:

I feel the bishops would havebeen better advised simply toencourage all of us to explore thedeeper implications of Eucharisticfellowship. My own pastoral expe-rience has been that many peoplehave been attracted, for a varietyof reasons, to the church, andhave been moved to receive com-munion, even if they have notbeen baptised. In the course ofconversation they have oftenasked if this was alright. Myresponse has been that God oftenworks contrary to the rules, but, ifthey wish to be part of theChristian community, they shouldprepare themselves for baptismand formal reception into thechurch. The sacraments, after all,are what we call “liminal events,”in which we cross the thresholdfrom one stage of life into anoth-er. But I don’t think the church isin the business of protecting Godfrom seekers who may not knowall the regulations. The Eucharistis the pre-eminent sign of God’sradical hospitality to all of us,

ticipate in the Eucharist. This fol-lowed on the heels of an article inthe Anglican Journal which advo-cated such practice. The bishopssaid only baptised persons mayreceive — though this may well bea case of shutting the barn doorafter the horse has departed. WhatI think the bishops were getting atwas the danger of treating HolyCommunion casually. In the earlychurch, and in many societiestoday where Christians are perse-cuted minorities, being a Christianhas been literally a matter of lifeand death. For much of our histo-ry admission to the Eucharist waspreceded by intense instructionand preparation — but those weredays when church membershipwas seen as a serious matter. Todaymany churches are struggling forsurvival, and some are willing todo almost anything to draw newpeople. Some feel they are in theentertainment business, competingwith other attractions for cus-tomers, and with fewer resources.

icism and apathy. Many corpora-tions, too, seem to be driven onlyby a desire to maximise profits,and senior executives are paidobscenely large salaries and bonus-es even when they fail. We nolonger trust doctors as much as weonce did, now that we can searchthe Internet for medical informa-tion; and teachers who have thetemerity to discipline their stu-dents incur the wrath of parents,who themselves are often afraid toset limits for their children. As forthe church, we tend to be selectivein our beliefs and practices, andclergy who fail to measure up toexpectations may quickly findthemselves out of a job. More andmore of us like to think we areour own authorities on almostanything, so “Who are you, who-ever you are, to tell me what todo?”

Our Anglican House ofBishops recently ruled against“open communion” — theincreasingly widespread practice ofinviting all persons present to par-

unworthy though we all may be.And we who have been receivedunconditionally by God are alsocalled to welcome one another inlike fashion. The story of Peter’svision in Acts 10, in which he istold not to call anything in God’screation “unclean,” applies also tous. Eucharistic hospitality is notonly welcoming newcomers, butwalking with them as compan-ions (literally, “bread-sharers”) onthe journey of faith. And there isnothing casual about either ofthese things.

In the end, I believe the onlyreal authority any of us has stemsfrom people’s perception that weindeed love and care for them, aswe ourselves have been loved andcared for. And that’s what 1 Corinthians 13 (so often mis-used in maudlin and sentimentalfashion at weddings) is about —radical hospitality and care forone another in Eucharistic fellow-ship.

Who can speak with authority and

tell me what I need to know?

Page 7: 201106 The HighWay

JUNE 2011 THE HIGHWAY PAGE 7COLUMNS & CLASSIFIED

m not much of acrime reader normally.I have found much ofthis genre to be dis-

mally predictable. Worse thereis an obscurity about many ofthe plots, by which the authorsrevel in unlikely surprises. Inshort they lack the ring oftruth. But the Father Brownstories are not like that.

These are stories to take onholiday with you, to read slow-ly and gently, rejoicing in thegradual unwinding of a well-thought through plot. OftenChesterton sets a mystery thatseems impenetrable and thenpulls at just the right point andthe knot unwinds. Thisunwinding is in itself a thing ofbeauty. But Chesterton has adelightful hero in his detective.Fr. Brown is a short anddumpy man, with no outward

BY NEIL ELLIOT

I’

Phone: 250-426-8117 Fax: 250-426-8127

EEmmaaiill:: mmaarryywwooooddrreettrreeaattss@@sshhaaww..ccaa WWeebbssiittee:: wwwwww..rreettrreeaattssoonnlliinnee..nneett//mmaarryywwoooodd

MARYWOOD RETREAT CENTRE

821 Westwood DriveCranbrook, BC V1C 6V1

redeeming features. His mindis, however, razor sharp. In factthe most unlikely feature of thestories is the power of Fr.Brown to discern truth fromfiction. He is accompanied bya foe turned friend, Flambeau,who provides a more glam-orous aspect to the stories.

But it is not the plotswhich endear these stories tome. Rather, it is Chesterton’sunderstanding of humanitywhich provides the “truth”here. Father Brown knows thedark side of humanity. He seeswhere we go astray, and has aparticular nose for those withan outward veneer ofrespectability, indeed of virtue,which conceals a much darkerside. This is accounted for inthe stories themselves, whereFr. Brown tells Flambeau thatit is his experience in the con-fessional which enables him to

recognise the patterns of dark-ness in the mysteries he solves.The world of Fr. Brown is notthe dillusional world we hopeto inhabit, where everyone isnice. Rather, it is a more realworld where everyone has amixed character.

Another appealing featureof these stories is the combina-tion of the priest and theappeal to reason. ForChesterton there is no conflictbetween the religious establish-ment and sound reason. Faithis not held in spite of reason,faith is entirely reasonable. Fr.Brown does not use a pseudo-scientific methodology to solvethe mysteries, he thinks anduses his intuition and imagina-tion. In other words he worksit out. He is not opposed tothe existence of the supernatu-ral, but more often he sees thenatural, while others are

DIRECTED PERSONAL RETREATS:July 21 - 29 August 4 - 12

DIRECTORS: Nina Glinski CNDClara Nasello CND, Guest Director, Ottawa

The Father Brown stories by GK Chesterton

Available free from gutenberg.org

In My Good Books

uestion: What pitchcannot be thrown asthe first pitch of abaseball game?

Answer: A change of pace.

It’s about time for a change ofpace for these monthly offerings.Up to this time, the memories Ihave been sharing with you havebeen of fellow clergy. It’s hightime a lay person is featured.That one is Sandy Martin.

I met Sandy in the early daysof my residency in Canada. Hisfull name was Marcus AlexanderMartin. He was one of the war-den’s of St. Andrew’s, Trail. Howhe got “Sandy” I’m not sure.Perhaps it was his hair colour inearlier days. He was quite folicallychallenged by the time I met him.

He told me a couple of storiesabout his early life. He was hang-ing around Balfour one day whenhe was about 16. A man came upto him and said he would payhim $10.00 to row him toNelson. This trip would be on theWest Arm of Kootenay Lake. It ispart of the Kootenay River. It is adistance of about 20 miles. Sandywas fit, but he thought he mightbe spelled off at the oars fromtime to time. Every time he sug-gested that, the man would say,“Anytime now you’ll begin to feelthe pull of the current.” Sandyrowed the entire distance. Henever felt the pull of the current.

On another occasion anothergentleman asked him to drive himfrom Fruitvale to Trail. Thiswould be accomplished over theold Waneta Road before the newroad through Montrose cut out ofthe cliff-side along the ColumbiaRiver was built. It was winter.The roads were like glass and

Sandy started his trip down theriver. On the way down, the manbegan to get cold feet. He askedSandy to stop the car. Then hebegan to offer money to stop thecar. He would extend his handwith a bill in it across the seat inSandy’s direction. Sandy wouldthen have to take his eyes off theroad and make a grab at themoney. Each time he would grabfor the money, the man wouldpull it back. This went on all theway down the mountain.

Sandy made this Hoosier boyfeel welcome. I accompanied himon two trips on the water. Thefirst was to circumnavigateKootenay Lake. His boat wasmoored at Balfour. It took usthree days to make this triparound the shore of this 85 milelong lake. At the south end weentered the Kootenay River andmade a brief visit to the UnitedStates. This was north Idaho andwe attempted to report to the

U.S. Customs. We found the cus-toms house but no one to reportto. The best spot on the lake wasFletcher Creek with Fletcher Falls.Once during a visit there I saw theKokanee (red fish) crowding thecreek like sardines. One could notput a foot down in the streamwithout stepping on a number ofthem.

The other water trip I madewith Sandy was from Castlegar toRevelstoke before the building ofthe High Arrow Dam. The watersof the Columbia River are now 30feet higher than before. It took usthree days. We camped on thebeach north of Nakusp at theGates of St. Leon. Some of thecommunities we visited are nowbelow 30 feet of the waters of theArrow Lakes.

A few months after I arrivedin Canada, the World Seriesbegan. Sandy thought that thisAmerican boy might like to watchit on T.V. I was invited to come to

his house, watch the games, eattoasted cheese and onion sand-wiches, and drink Dago-red wine.The sandwiches were call “WorldSeries Specials” and still have aplace in our family menus,although in a somewhat embel-lished form.

Sandy lost his first wife,“Nook,” sometimes called“Whizzer.” His last days werespent in nursing homes inCastlegar and Nelson as shadow offormer self. He still followed hock-ey and curling with eagerness andhe still wore his old curlingsweater.

Sometime after Sandy’s deathhis daughter came to me with hisashes. She edits a newspaper inChristina Lake. We drove up toAinsworth to put Sandy’s ashes torest and there they were depositedon the waters of his belovedKootenay Lake.

Q

“Sandy”

bemused or enmeshed in super-stition.

So I invite you to down-load this to the book reader ofyour choice, then sit back andenjoy. While you are visitingthe gutenberg web site youmight browse round and see

what other great authors areavailable from here — I’m sureto be recommending some-thing else from here soon. Andif you prefer to read paperbooks, you will be able to findthese great books in your locallibrary.

Kootenay School of MinistryFoundational Theology

July 29-Aug 1, All Saints, VernonThe Rev. Dr. Bill Harrison

LiturgySept 2-5

St. Saviour's Pro-Cathedral, NelsonAbp. John Privett and The Rev. Anne Privett

Liturgy for DeaconsSept. 2-5, St. Saviour's Pro-Cathedral, Nelson

The Rev. Chris Ross, The Rev. Dr. Cathy HallFor details and a copy of our 2011-12 Course Catalogue, seehttp://www.kootenay.anglican.ca/kootenay-school-of-ministry

or contact: The Rev. Dr. William Harrison at 250-275-2783 [email protected]

BBee ttrraannssffoorrmmeedd bbyy tthhee rreenneewwiinngg ooff yyoouurr mmiinnddss

The Vicar of Kokanee remembers

BY JIM HEARNE

Page 8: 201106 The HighWay

JUNE 2011PAGE 8 THE HIGHWAY

DIOCESE

Cathedral Building Project — St Michael's House

St. Michael and All Angels — our diocesan Cathedral — isnearing the end of a financial campaign to fund the construc-tion of St. Michael’s House. To date, through gifts, pledges andbequests, the parish has raised over one million dollars, defi-nitely something to celebrate; yet additional funds are neededfor the construction to be completed.

Approval to proceed is in part dependent on financial con-tributions to the project. Your support of our Cathedral,through immediate gift or timed pledge, will help to realizethis venture and to encourage a revitalized diocesan ministry.Please assist us in achieving this goal.Here is my gift or pledge to help complete the construction of St. Michael’s House. (Tax receipts will be issued.)

I pledge $__________/ month for ______ months OREnclosed is my gift of $_________

My name:____________________Phone:____________

My address:____________________________________

_____________________________________________

Please mail this, and make cheques payable to:St. Michael’s Cathedral, 608 Sutherland Avenue, Kelowna, B.C. V1Y 5X1St. Michael’s supports the Kootenay Forward Fund

arly in April a large groupof volunteers (25) gatheredat the Camp for springclean-up. We arranged a

pot luck BBQ for the Saturday andour lunch together was a time offellowship and team building. Theabundant contributions of saladsand desserts were devoured withenthusiasm and needless to say wewere all fed not only in body but inmind and spirit too!

We enthusiastically welcomeMichaela Johnson to the CampOwaissi team as our Interim CampDirector for the 2011 summer sea-son. Michaela is our primary con-tact for the camp and she can bereached by phone or fax 250-769-3676 or through our websitewww.campoac.com We invite youto visit camp this summer and joinus in welcoming Michaela.

Our summer camping seasonhas begun with group rentals andstaff training during the months ofMay and June. We look forward towelcoming our first campers on sitefor Junior Camp ages 9-11 on July11-18. We have seven camps sched-uled for the summer and on-lineregistration information and pay-ment is available on our websitewww.campoac.com

Camp Owaissi is ready for the2011camping season

E

HAY EH! — Camp Owaissi volunteers gathered for spring clean up.

t. Margaret’s, Peachlandcelebrated their interimpriest’s 50thAnniversary in

Ministry. On May 8Peachlander’s, associates, friendsand relatives, from as far acrossCanada as Toronto, gatheredafter the Sunday service.

The Rev. Jim Kiddell’s ordi-nation service was held in St.James Cathedral, Toronto, onthe second Sunday in May1991. He served in a number ofpositions from deacon to rectorin the diocese of Toronto. In1998 Jim retired and moved tothe Okanagan Valley. He waslicensed by the bishop ofKootenay to assist wherever heappointed, and some appoint-ments have been interim priest-in-charge. He was also appoint-ed at the cathedral as pastoralvisitor from 2007-2009.

50 years of ministry

Sphoto frank warburton BY FRANK WARBURTON

BY PAM WILSON