A Section of the Anglican Journal March 2013 Serving the Diocese of Kootenay

Cross & Crown

HighWay w w w . k o o t e n a y a n g l i c a n . c a

By CHRIS HARWOOD-JONES

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3 Paschal Candles PAGE 4

Epiphany at St. Mark’s KalsoPAGE 5

Faith & FearPAGE 7

N THE fAll Of 2009 All Saints, Vernon, inaugurated a third worship service on Sunday mornings known as

“The Table.” With its relaxed atti-tude and contemporary music it was an instant hit in the parish and especially with newcomers, and in the four years of its operation has become an integral part of the wor-shipping life of the congregation.

This would not have been possible without the dedication of our worship band: in addition to myself we have Darren Strutt on bass, Jim Leonard on keyboards, Greg Baturin on drums, Anita Baturin and Karen Wiseman on vocals. As we were preparing for the new service I was anxious about the level of commitment that would be required from the musicians — Friday night practices and regular Sunday attendance with little room for absences — but the group was enthusiastic and we took the leap of faith. I should not have worried: at the end of the first year when I made a point of thanking the band for their will-ingness to give up every Friday night for the sake of our church, our bassist Darren summed up their response: “The way I see it, I don’t have to do this every Friday night; I get to do this every Friday night!”

In the end the band’s enthusi-asm proved infectious. Not only did it translate into an energetic worship service on Sunday morn-ing, but it has spun off into addi-tional performances: Diocesan Synod, outdoor ecumenical con-certs, and “coffee house” events in our church hall. Altogether we became a very active band by any secular standard. Because of all

this playing our mostly mid-dle-aged members started shaking off our musical rust, and many of us recommitted to a practice schedule and/or formal training (except for Jim, a recently retired church organist by trade who was not at all rusty, and in fact taught some of the lessons!). We actually started to sound pretty good, and church members began to urge us to make some sort of recording.

Finally in the spring of 2012 our singer Anita confronted the band: “If we don’t make plans for an album it’s never going to hap-pen. How can we make this hap-pen?” A bit of begging in the direction of a friend yielded a few free days of studio time in July, so we booked the dates and started making plans. The CD was to be a church fundraiser, so I got some manufacturers’ quotes and pitched the project to our church coun-cil. Everything was approved and the plans were set. The band nar-rowed down our favourite tunes to a list of ten, and prepared ourselves for the recording session.

A few weeks before the record-ing dates the studio offer unfortu-

nately fell through. As I happened at the time to be welcoming home a musician son with aspirations to YouTube glory, I decided to invest in some recording equipment. If we could not afford a real studio, my basement would have to do. We held to our dates.

I dedicated a full work week —morning, noon, and evening —to the project, much to the annoy-ance of my family. In addition to filling the basement with equip-ment I also attempted to control unwanted room echo by hanging blankets in all the corners, over speakers and anywhere else I thought might help. The band spent a full day laying down the basic instrumental tracks, and then I constructed a three-sided “vocal booth” in the middle of the room, with blankets hung over rough wood frames on two sides and a foam mattress pushed up against the wall at the back. The rest of the week was spent recording gui-tar and vocal parts individually in this vocal booth, a long process that ultimately spilled over into the succeeding weeks.

Once all the recording was done, the songs needed to be “mixed” — that is, the tracks had to be fine-tuned so that the voices and instruments could all be heard clearly. As we could not pay a pro-fessional for this, and I needed to learn how to use my own equip-ment anyway, I applied myself to this task. By this time I was back at my regular priestly duties, so the mixing had to get done in whatev-er spare time I could arrange; usu-ally late into the eve-ning. Unfortunately this was a much bigger task than I imagined; far more complex than simply

adjusting volume levels. In fact it is a professional domain in its own right: people get degrees in this sort of thing! Suffice to say that after a few weeks of trial and error, and self-education via Google, I again begged some expert help and found myself spending even more money on “proper equip-ment.” Who knew that $60 com-puter speakers could be such a problem? In the end, what with my learning curve, summer travel and a busy parish schedule, the final mix was not completed until late September.

The album art was much easi-er, thanks to the natural talent of my daughter Alexa who expertly arranged a band photoshoot, and the donated professional work of parishioner and graphic artist Jen Hall. The album was entitled “The Table” and dedicated to the memory of former band member Jonathan Oliphant. The CDs were manufactured, and the completed discs were shipped to Vernon just in time for our Christmas Bazaar. We made it over the finish line, albeit just!

The journey from volunteer-ing for the church to recording a CD has been intense, but also intensely rewarding. Through this process our members have recon-nected with music and consequent-ly with creativity, joy and transcen-dence, and it is a great privilege to share this experience with our faith community. The album has been a fascinating project for everyone involved, and as a bonus people actually seem to like it!

For more information about the album you can Google “The Table Cross and Crown” and click on the You Tube link.

The story ofPhotos by Alexa Harwood-Jones

By ARCHBISHOPJOHN E. PRIVETT

Dear friends,

In My View

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Page 2 The HighWay March 2013Archbishop’s Page

REMEMBER

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

editor

Jonn lavinnder St. Saviour’s Pro-Cathedral 701 Ward Street, Nelson, B.C. V1L 1T3 Phone: (250) 352-5711 anghighway@gmail.com

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HighWThe

March 2013 The HighWay Page 3

Commentary

CoGS Randall Fairey is a Delegate to the Council of General Synod and Executive Officer of the Diocese of Kootenay

Columns

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By RANDAll fAIREY

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EDITORIAL

By JONN lAVINNDER

WHEELS

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By NISSA BASBAUM

UNMASKING

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HAD PlANNED THIS MONTH to discuss the outcomes and anticipated recommendations from the

National Consultation held in Mississauga in January. In that important meeting, senior Canadian Anglican leaders and invited clergy and lay experts addressed the restructuring of the governance and operations of General Synod. A significant report is to be presented at the CoGS meeting later this month from which key resolutions for the Joint Assembly in Ottawa are expected to emerge.

Rather I wish to focus on the more urgent issues in our National

Indigenous Ministry particularly juxtaposed against the “Idle No More” movement. This secular movement is developing as a major political and sociological influence in Canada.

In November of 2011 CoGS was alerted to the growing dissatis-faction among Indigenous Canadian Anglicans resulting from the glacial pace of vitally needed changes in their lives and commu-nities. The initial promise and enthusiasm surrounding the adop-tion of Canon XXII at the General Synod of 2010 has unfortunately given way to a frustrating ennui as the triennium has unfolded. During a hastily assembled sacred circle at CoGS that November, the members heard clearly the message of the September 2011 Mississauga Declaration (www.anglican.ca/im/foundational -documents/missis-sauga). I think all Canadian Anglicans should read this.

The urgency in the language of the Declaration was clearly heard. Although it is principally a

theological and pastoral statement, it has prophetic impact and fore-shadows the secular questions and issues associated with the evolving “Idle No More” movement.

CoGS heard that non-Indige-nous Anglicans in Canada were being invited to share with their Indigenous brothers and sisters in Christ in the journey towards rec-onciliation and healing. And with-out further delay they were being asked to recognize and engage the unsolved pressing problems of pov-erty, high suicide rates, and social deprivation. The tone and mood at CoGS was somber and the Indigenous members explained that there was no choice for their peoples but to immediately try to move forward, with or without the support of non-Indigenous Anglicans, who would otherwise be most welcome.

Subsequent to that meeting of CoGS there have been some encouraging events broadly includ-ed under the National Indigenous Ministry of the Anglican Church of Canada. The appointment in

January 2012 of Dr. Virginia “Ginny” Doctor as Indigenous Ministries Coordinator has been very welcome. The movements in Indigenous governance with the appointment of Bishops Lydia Mamakwa (Northern Ontario) and Adam Halkett (Saskatchewan) are historic. The foreseen possibilities of new Area Missions, Indigenous Dioceses and a fifth ecclesiastical province are exciting. With the facilitation of the Governance Working Group, the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) fleshed out new amend-ments to Canon XXII to be pre-sented at the Ottawa Joint Assembly in July. The Sacred Circle in Pinawa in August 2012 dis-cussed these and voted thoughtful-ly on furthering these essential steps towards self-determination, and a better understanding of achieving authority and jurisdic-tion.

However, many problems for Indigenous communities remain, largely unsolved, and the frustra-tion experienced in Indigenous Anglican lives has been increasingly reflected in the secular world and the Idle No More movement. But for Canadian Anglicans, the Christian authenticity of the Mississauga Declaration is in its grounding in the Gospel and the response to God’s call for renewal and restoration heard by the Elders. There is a vigorous com-mitment to re-establish the People

of the Land as a sacred trust.Non-Indigenous Canadian

Anglicans are perplexed by seem-ingly insoluble problems and although very willing to support the 1994 Covenant with Indigenous peoples, are paralyzed in how to proceed. However first steps are nearly twenty years over-due, yet have never been unduly complicated. These include becom-ing informed about the issues in both the Church and in Canadian society. All Anglicans may use the Marks of Mission as a focus when addressing injustices that involve our native peoples (Mark 4), and when they seek to safeguard the integrity of creation, and to sustain and renew the life of the earth (Mark 5). It means that Canadian Anglicans commit to understand the reasons for “Idle No More,” or at least understand the origins of frustration and impatience. It means that as responsible members of Canadian society we apply our Christian values to the political agenda and enact our Covenant duty to support our Indigenous brothers and sisters in their aspira-tions and claims. Becoming informed on the importance of “The Land” and the elimination of neo-colonial attitudes is essential to our first steps. We must pray, and act, both as individuals loved by God and collectively seeking the Kingdom as members of Christ’s Church.

TRUTH

N WEDNESDAY fEBRUARY 13, Christians around the world attended

services in parish churches to share in a penitential service, which includes the imposition of ashes. Ashes made from last year’s Palm Sunday crosses were marked in the shape of a cross on each person’s forehead with the words, “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” It is the beginning of the Lenten journey toward Easter. By the time you read this, Ash Wednesday will be behind us and we will be 2 or 3 weeks into the season of Lent.

I was at a funeral recently

where the cremated remains of the person who had died were placed on a table at the front of the church in a small box. I knew the person quite well and I found myself thinking about her life, about her gifts and abilities, about her family, her devotion to her church, her faith and her commitments within the community. She was full of life and energy and during the course of her life had touched many lives. Those aspects of her life which could not die, lingered amongst us. Now as we gathered to com-mend her to God’s loving care, we sat with our memories, our faith and a box of ashes. It caused me to think about my own life and loves, my commit-ments and life energies and to wonder what my small corner of the world will be like when all that is left of me is a box of

ashes. And I remembered the Ash Wednesday admonition: Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.

The Lenten journey is meant to be a spiritual journey – a journey of the heart, mind and soul in which we consider our lives in the light of Jesus’ life and his own journey to the cross. As we think about his words, his example and his call to follow, we place our lives in the wider scope of God’s eternal life and God’s purposes. We are given a short time (perhaps as many as fourscore and ten years) to receive the many bless-ings life has to offer and to extend those blessings by the quality of our lives. Then we return to the earth as dust and ashes in the promise and hope of the resurrection.

My thoughts that day of

the funeral led me to consider what might remain when my life comes to the end of my days. What will I have experi-enced, but more importantly, what difference might my life have made? How will I have lived and what footprints will be left behind. What will be my legacy? I have many commit-ments and a few treasured pas-sions and I realized that one of the ways to leave my footprints is to make a commitment of the financial gifts I have received and built up over a lifetime to those things that have been important to me. Alida and I have left a gift to the diocese in our will and we have been glad to know that sometime in the future that will make a differ-ence to our Church and to whomever is there to receive it. In recent months I have been

aware of two bequests to two different congregations. Those congregations were not only the grateful recipients of those gifts, but have been moved deeply by the faith and care of the people who left them. Those gifts will make much needed ministry possible and they have added the gift of a morale boost to the people who make up the con-gregation at this time. In my view the gift of a bequest to your church can mean more than we know. Such a gift leaves a lovely footprint in the lives of those who follow and who continue to uphold the faith and values I carry today. For the faithful benefactors of our church we give thanks. May they rest in peace in the eternal presence of God and in compa-ny with the saints in light.

Faithfully, +John

ay

HE THEMES IN THIS EDITION of The HighWay are “music CDs” and “the Light of Christ.” The

front page story is about the music group “Cross & Crown” from All Saints, Vernon. I’m glad Chris Harwood-Jones shared the begin-nings of his new service called the “Table,” and also how their music CD was produced. Chris’s article gives a real example of the “emerg-ing church” here in Kootenay. The other music CD mentioned in this edition is the recording of the song “Hope,” which won the Marks of Mission competition in 2011. The quality of performance and pro-duction of this CD is excellent. “Hope” is a very melodic and mov-ing song. There is information in the back page article on how to get a free copy.

“The Light of Christ” theme was a pleasant surprise. Having three articles coming from different sources and influence from around the diocese was an interesting coin-cidence..

Here is an example of the dichotomy we face as Anglicans in a fast changing world: embracing the new and being relevant in today’s society, at the same time keeping in touch with our liturgi-cal roots. It has been my experience in several congregations, in which I have been a member, that when new music was offered, it was appreciated but when it came down to a choice, the old hymns were preferred. Having an addi-tional service was the solution for All Saints, Vernon.

In past editions of The HighWay, we have reported on “Messy Church” happening around the diocese — another example of the “emerging church.” Micahel and I were privileged to be part of one of the first congregations to experiment with Kid’s Church, with the unlikely name “Where the Wild Things Are.” The kids them-selves actually participated in the Eucharist. This was a great success

and also included contemporary Christian music. It was started as an alternate service, and actually drew and grew more of the congre-gation than the regular service. However, it’s demographic was in an area that had many young mid-dle-class families. To kick start “Where the Wild Thing Are,” the church purchased professionally compiled mailing lists: they made an investment in growing their church. I forgot to mention that they also hired church growth con-sultants. Nevertheless, the import-ant factor here was that the clergy person championing Kids Church was invested in the idea and excit-ed about it because she was a new mother.

Many factors were responsible for its success, including no expec-tation that the new parents would invest in the church. Now, howev-er, they are the leaders, movers and shakers at St. Paul’s in San Rafael. There is no simple answer to intro-ducing change and growing churches. It depends a great deal on leadership, vision, congregation-al support, and of course, prayer.

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Y fIRST ExPERI-ENCE Of THEO-lOGICAl COl-lEGE was in 1978

when I did a year’s study at Salisbury and Wells in England. I was the only woman among about 65 full and part-time students.

Being the only woman had its advantages; among other things, a more elegant room in a quiet corri-dor and a bathroom all to myself! My closest neighbour was Tony, a third-year student who lived in the room directly above me. He was an extremely witty fellow who usually wrote each year’s college panto-mime. In England, a pantomime is a local take-off of one of a number of traditional children’s fairy tales, with men often taking women’s parts. Written by Tony, the 1978 pantomime at Salisbury and Wells was no different save for one thing: he added a real woman to the cast, a woman who actually had the leading role… not hard to guess who that was!

The script for this pantomime was the customary Cinderella tale with a few revisions; major among these, Cinderella herself, who was cast as a neurotic American prin-cess who couldn’t handle being touched by the prince let alone being married to him. Whenever I think about that role, I hope against hope that the part was cre-ated for me because of my magnifi-cent sense of humour rather than my incredible neurosis. Truth be told, it was probably a little of both. The Cinderella that Tony produced for this pantomime was what you might call a caricature of me, and we all know that most car-icatures bear some resemblance to the real thing!

I was 23 years-old when I attended Salisbury and Wells. Fairly recently graduated from journalism, I had just completed a year and a half of employment as the cub reporter for the Grand Falls Advertiser in Grand Falls, Newfoundland. I was also a ‘cub’ Anglican, having only converted to Christianity about six months prior to that move to England. Combine all of this with being Jewish, well, no wonder I was neurotic!

I had chosen to study theology because I had chosen to give up journalism, at least in the manner in which I had recently been employed in that profession. I thought religious affairs journalism had a nice ring to it so it seemed to make some sense to give myself a little more grounding in theology. Hence, my sojourn to England and specifically, to Salisbury and Wells. At the time, it seemed as good a place as any and, more to the point, it was far away from home, which meant I could work out the recent changes in my life in relative seclusion from close family and friends.

As I reflect back on that first year in England and recall some of who I was and what it was about me that produced that neurotic Cinderella, thankfully, I recognize that all of us have bits of our past that have to be reworked and reshaped in order to become the potentially divine creation that we’re meant to be. The way we do this is to let go of some of the attachments to which we have held onto for so long, attachments which we think make us feel secure even as we know deep down, they

are generally the very things that have a way of shaping and setting in stone our innermost insecurities.

Living behind the mask of humour that produced that neu-rotic American princess allowed me to hide the fears that I probably had about being the only woman at the college, the only foreigner at the college and the only new Christian at the college. That mask protected me from having to deal with so many doubts about my own competence, and it’s certainly not the only one I’ve ever worn. Over the years, there have been many disguises, all of them related to one anxiety or another that I have felt needed covering up.

At some point in our life, each one of us wears a mask, some of us more often than others. We hide behind these masks in the desper-ate hope that people won’t be able to see what we have convinced ourselves are our frailties and our failings. We fervently pray that these masks will shelter the real us from the real world. In this regard, one of the most powerful images for me about the final moments of Jesus’ life is what he was wearing when he died. If any of the pic-

tures come near to the truth, and I think they do, the reality of those final moments is that Jesus was pretty much naked in front of the crowd, stripped of anything that might have protected him from the gawking eyes of friend and foe alike. He had few clothes to cover him up, let alone any mask.

It’s been a long time since I’ve considered giving up something rather than taking on something for Lent. (I used to forgo eating ice cream for the season until I real-ized that sometimes ice cream is the only thing that gets me through the day!) Over the years, as I have reflected upon my time at Salisbury and Wells, however, and have considered that time along-side other moments in my life, I have come to realize that there might, indeed, be something worth giving up – not just for Lent but for life. With respect to this, it has become an ongoing process for me to learn to divest myself of some of the masks I wear.

The way I figure it, the reason for giving something up is for the sole purpose of bringing us closer to God and to those whom God loves. What better way to accom-plish this than to rid ourselves of all the masks that inevitably have a way of inhibiting us from doing just this?

DUSTthat you are

Page 4 The HighWay March 2013The Light of Christ March 2013 The HighWay Page 5Epiphany

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EPIPHANY at St. Mark’s Kaslo

TPhotograph by Helen Moore

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By HElEN MOORE

The two Columbia girls, Natalia & Valentina, (centre and right) are from the refugee family that so many of from the Diocese of Kootenay sponsored.

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By KAREN PIDCOCK

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DBy CATHY STRAUME

THE SERVICE OF LIGHT

T. MARK’S, KASlO CElEBRATED EPIPHANY by

lighting many candles to acknowledge the emergence of Light from the beginning of Creation to the present day, remembering some of the many Light-bearers of our spiritual tradition. This unfolding drama includes and involves children for the Nativity tableau and the Magi’s gift-bearing. Thirty members and village friends attended and enjoyed a deli-cious potluck that followed, which included the tradition-al surprise-filled Epiphany cake. Dirk Pidcock wrote this Feast of Lights, based on one experienced in the Diocese of Eastern Oregon, written by Bishop Remington. It is available in document form from eden-song-karen@netidea.com.

Photograph by Karen Pidcock

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HE DEACON lIfTS HIGH THE CANDlE, lit with the new fire and

sings: “The Light of Christ” and the congregation responds “Thanks be to God.” These ancient words are set to plain chant, one note or name to one syllable. The word neume derives ultimately from the Greek pneume or breath.

Arriving at the sanctuary steps the deacon sings the Exsultet! Commands are given: Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! Exult all cre-ation around God’s throne! We the people to Rejoice! Sing! Exult! We are, for this night, placed on the same plane as heavenly powers, choirs of angels and all creation!Now, go back in the Church’s year to Lent. The Paschal can-dle at St. Saviour’s, Penticton, is

kept in the former Baptistery. The photograph shows light in three states: light potential (the candle), light reflected (on the wall from the window else-where) and light illuminating (through the delicate stained glass window).

A photograph may be “read” as a book in lectio divi-na, thus moving us into the tra-ditional steps of meditiatio, ora-tio, contemplatio and incarna-tio.

The Christian life passes through these states: we have potential; we receive reflected light from mentors, teachers, spouses and family members. Allow yourself to be potential light, a reflected light and a light illuminating.

“THE LIGHT OF CHRIST.” “THANKS BE TO GOD!”

}Light potential

Light reflectedLight illuminating

3 PASCHAL CANDLES

URING OUR RECENT COURSE ON lITURGY at our

Kootenay School of Ministry, the question was asked, “How do we effectively administer sea-sons such as Easter in multi-point parishes especially where there are only two services a month and seldom a priest present?” This question had been faced by myself as a lay minister for some years now. We are a three point parish with one priest and a few lay per-sons. As it happens our priest Simon Shenstone comes to St. Mary’s Kettle Valley only once a month and for most years Easter does not fall on his Sunday. We have missed Ash Wednesday, Palm and Passion Sunday, Monday Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil and

the First Sunday in Easter. Services that, if I can, I drive a long way to attend because of what they mean to me. But I happen to live in the middle of our parish. Those out in Rock Creek are much further away!

How does one renew their Baptismal Vows without an Easter Vigil service? And I hav-

en’t even mentioned Pentecost! We now have three Pascal

candles, one for each congrega-tion. Each is properly prepared and lit from the fire outside the church at Holy Trinity, our main church. The person hold-ing the candle for St. Jude’s or St. Mary’s is conscious of that congregation and prays for

them. The congregation at Holy Trinity remembers that there are two more church families in our parish. All three lights come into the service as Simon shouts, “The Light of Christ,” with everyone following.

The next Sunday that the particular church is open, the service is modified in such a way that the congregation comes through the journey from where the church was on the last Sunday that a service. was held. For example, St. Mary’s this year went from Passion Sunday to Easter Vigil on the first Sunday of Easter. I officiated at this service and before the service I placed palms (Cedar fronds) and a bas-ket of palm crosses, a wooden cross, and the stand for the light of Christ. The Baptismal Font being brought close by. As I come into the service I call out, “The Light of Christ!” I

stop at each point through our season and say something, the prayer from the prayer book that goes with this service or a brief explanation of the service. After Good Friday I call out, “The Light of Christ” again. I explain the Vigil service and what we did the night before mentioning that the congrega-tion of Holy Trinity prayed for and honoured our presence and remembered us at their service, being mindful to bring the light of Christ into our congregations as well. Again I call out, “The Light of Christ!” We proceed with the service and we renew our Baptismal Vows together after a brief “Prayers of the People” with Confession. Just to be extra mindful I take the Cedar Frond from the foot of the cross and wet it from the font and splash each of us!

St. Saviour’s Penticton

St. Mary’s Kettle Valley

Celebrating “Bringing in the Light” to dispel the darkness” at St. Mark’s, Kaslo

PARISH POVERTY CHAllENGE

lent through Pentecost

The Diocese of Kootenay has accepted the challenge, from the Diocese of Ottawa PWRDF Committee, to hold an educa-tional/fundraising event. The purpose is to raise awareness of poverty issues in support of PWRDF development projects in Canada and the world from Lent until Pentecost.

Some suggestions might be:1. Hold a poverty lunch or din-

ner with a simple menu (i.e. soup and buns) and have the participants donate what they would normally spend on eating a similar meal at a restaurant.

2. Have a bake sale with funds raised going to PWRDF.

3. Have a used book sale with funds raised going to PWRDF.

4. Have a Sunday service with a focus on the work of PWRDF. Worship resources are available from www.pwrdf.org

5. Give out recyclable coffee cups and ask people to save and donate their weekly cof-fee money to PWRDF.

6. Ask people to set aside a loo-nie for every pre-packaged or imported food they eat in a specified amount of time.

7. Ask people to give a specific amount of money for every freezer item they have and give the funds to the PWRDF parish poverty challenge.Please register your event

by sending an email to Heather at karabelas@telus.net. Photos and a brief description of your event would be greatly appreci-ated. A list of the events or ini-tiatives will be sent along to the Diocese of Ottawa PWRDF Committee.

Please send all PWRDF Poverty Challenge proceeds raised to the Diocese of Kootenay Office (Attention: Bonnie Bailey) with memo “Parish PWRDF Poverty Challenge”.

Kootenay, are you up for the challenge?

PWRDFSUBMITTED

March 2013 The HighWay Page 7Columns Etc.

Page 6 The HighWay March 2013Spiritual Practice

By NEIl EllIOT

A Thousand Farewells In My Good Books

By YME WOENSDREGT

W

By Nahlah Ayed $20 Amazon.ca

By BROOKE MITCHEll

Diocesan Spiritual Development Committee

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&FAITH

ADDING

This column has been written with the intention that it may be reprinted in local newspa-pers for the religion page. Yme will be writing a short article each month expressly with this purpose in mind. You are free to reproduce the article without prior approval. Drop us a line anyway... The Editor

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HE RESURRECTION Of JESUS CHRIST is about

many things. People have been discussing and arguing about it ever since Jesus’ tomb was found empty that first Easter morning. And such discussions invariably focus on whether the Resurrection is true. Did it actually happen, or was this a story made up by the early fol-lowers of Jesus? And while such discussions are always interest-ing for me, I agree with Paul when he wrote, “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” (1Cor 1:18) In other words, discussing whether the Resurrection is true or not

seldom helps anyone. If you are a believer, it means everything. If you are not, you won’t likely be convinced during a conversa-tion. In some way, the Resurrection must be experi-enced to be believed!

So, the Resurrection is about many things. But at its core, I believe it is a call to live a life of ever deepening faith and trust in God. It is a call not

to be afraid, whatever life brings. Of course, in some situ-ations, and in some parts of our life, this is easier said than done. But that is the mystery into which we are invited. It is a life-long journey. As the reali-ty of the Resurrection takes hold in ever-deepening parts of ourselves, we realize there is nothing to fear. “Who shall sep-arate us from the love of Christ?

Shall trouble or hardships or persecution or famine or naked-ness or danger or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:35-37)

The opposite of faith is not unbelief, but fear. In the Gospel of Matthew, the resurrected Christ appears to the two Marys as they are running from the

tomb. The narrative account says the women were “afraid, yet filled with joy.” Jesus greets them and then says, “Do not be afraid.” In Luke and John’s Gospels Jesus appears to the disciples who are gathered behind locked doors for fear of the Jews, and says, “Peace be with you.” The Resurrected Christ wanted his early follow-ers to be people of faith, not fear. The Resurrected Christ wants the same for us, his fol-lowers today. So the scripture teaches us not to worry about day to day things, like what we should eat or what we should wear. We are instructed to seek God’s kingdom, and God will take care of our food and cloth-ing. (Luke 12:22-34) And what about other worldly concerns? Jesus also said that we will face difficulties in this world, but we do so as people of faith who believe that God always has the final word. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

In this Easter season, may we sing our alleluias in the ever-deepening realization that we have nothing to fear. We are people of faith. Christ is with us, offering his love and peace in whatever circumstances may come. Yes, Christ is risen. Alleluia!

What are you

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W

FEAR

The Risen Christ central panel of Lawrence Lee’s Tryptch, based on a design by Martin Travers

LENT?for

E ARE WEll INTO THE SEA-SON Of lENT. How’s it going for

you?I wrote last month that Lent is

an opportunity for us to journey to the heart of our faith. As we repent we renew our loyalty to God. We examine the way in which we walk in the way of the cross with Jesus.

Understood this way, Lent is not so much a season of self–denial as it is a season of renewing our commitment to God’s gospel pur-poses. That’s why I phrased the title as I did.

The point of Lent is to open ourselves to God’s transforming love in a more intentional way. We seek more deliberately to be renewed by God’s love and the good news of God’s passion for the world. That’s why we “give some-thing up for Lent.” It’s not so much about self–denial as it is about freeing ourselves from those

things which distract us from our relationship with God.

If it’s only about giving some-thing for the sake of giving it up, we miss the point. When we focus on what we’re giving up, we lose our focus on God, and narrow our gaze to the thing we are giving up. Julie Clawson writes, “I’ve discov-ered that for me personally, legalis-tic denial for the sake of denial often achieves the opposite pur-pose. Giving up coffee doesn’t make me a better follower of Christ, it just makes me more irri-

table. Giving up Facebook doesn’t help me build community in the body of Christ; it simply helps me as a detached introverted person creep further into my shell. Those disciplines don’t assist me in emp-tying myself in order to let God in; they simply fill me with more of me.” I think she’s got it right.

In parts of the early church, Lent was a time to prepare for bap-tism at Easter. If you’d already been baptized, it was a season to consid-er your baptismal vows and re–dedicate your life to God. In Lent,

we remember that we belong to God.

As people who belong to God, we seek to honour God’s values in the world—to cherish justice, make peace, seek reconciliation, desire wholeness, and live with compassion. That’s part of what it means to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and might. We embody God’s gospel purposes in all we do, living with compassion and hope.

As we seek to live in ways that honour God, we open ourselves to God’s transforming love so that our hearts might be renewed.

We learn to listen in a new way for the whisper of God in our lives and in our world. Because we are spiritual beings, it’s important to nourish our spiritual life. God comes to us in countless ways, again and again, whispering a word of life into our lives, nudging us to see things from a new perspective, prodding us towards renewal and transformation.

This vital truth is central to all the great religions of the world. All

call us to wholeness and holiness. All whisper to us of renewal and hope.

So let me ask again: “What are you adding for Lent?” What do you need to do to help you become more open to God’s transforming love? How can you respond more faithfully as one who walks in the way of Jesus?

As we do that, we journey to the heart of our faith, embraced by God’s love, following the one who promises us that as we give our-selves away, we will find our deep-est and truest selves.

HO IS NAHlAH AYAD?

Ayad is a CBC reporter. You may have heard her on the National, reporting from all over the world, as well as (occa-sionally) from Canada. But, as her name suggests, Ayad has unusual family roots. She is Canadian by birth, but her family were Palestinian, and when Ayad was 6, her family chose to move back to the refu-gee camps of Jordan. Ayad returned to Canada when she was 13, graduated and studied to become a journalist. She returned to the middle east via Afghanistan – as a reporter for the Canadian press to cover the

initial reprisals for the 9/11 attack. She then decided to go back to the refugee camps of Jordan as a freelance journalist. Her journey took her to Iraq for it’s second war with the West, and then to Beiruit in

2004. Because of her back-ground and experience she has become CBCs go-to person for insight on the changes in the middle east since 9/11/2001. She is currently reporting from Egypt during it’s ongoing crisis.

WHAT IS “A THOU-SAND fAREWEllS”?

That’s a difficult question. It is partly autobiographical, telling Ayad’s story. It is partly report-age, telling the story of the Middle East over the last decade – through the second Iraq wars, the brief civil war in Lebanon, then the events which lead to the Arab spring. It is a history lesson on how the Middle East got to be where it is. It is an insight into Arab culture and language, the kind of insight we can only get from an insider. It is a reflection on the nature of journalism.

But for a simple answer I would say this book is truth. It rings true on every page, it con-veys truth with every word. The truth it tells is truth about how our world is; about the ter-rible things which are happen-ing in our world, even as we sleep comfortably in our beds and go about our daily life. It is truth about the cradle of civi-lization. Truth about the cul-tures of Islam. And truth about how Western governments

behave. This book tells us the truth we need to hear about them and about us.

WHY READ THIS BOOK?

In the last forty years there has been a significant shift in Arab society. Briefly put, the hope for many young Arabs has become “radical” Islam. The children of progressive, liberal Arab families have embraced conservative religion, to their parent’s dismay. This has been due to the failure and corrup-tion of Arab and western lead-ers. In my lifetime we have moved from a sequence of proxy wars between the USA and the USSR, to a series of wars between the West and Muslim countries. The result of the Arab Spring has been the installation of democratically elected Islamist governments across the Middle East, in countries which previously had secular despots supported by the countries of the West. Ayad’s book gives us insight into why and how this has hap-pened.

A Vicar Remembers

By JIM HEARNE

half century ago during those halcyon days before I came to Canada, I was a

Methodist pastor. When I was called upon to officiate at a burial, I would don a dark suit and walk to the funeral home. As I walked along, cars would slow down, windows would be lowered, and the drivers or the passengers would call out to me, “Who died?”

The mortician in our little town of a thousand souls was Duane Thornburg. Duane once showed me a credit card once with that he used to charge the fuel for his hearse and flower

car. It read “Thornburg Fun. Home.”

His wife was an Episcopalian. This was one of my early brushes with Anglicanism. Her priest tutored me as to how I should behave at the altar, instructing me to the extent of such prac-

tices as “fitting the veil.” I visit-ed his rectory once and on his coffee table was a copy of the Qu’Appelle Messenger. That was a harbinger of my Canadian experience.

I officiated at the burial of a person who had taken their own life. We had arranged for

the burial at a nearby cemetery owned by a rather conservative church group. When our party arrived at the graveyard we found the gate locked. We had to pass the coffin hand by hand over the fence. It was their way of telling us that they were

A

uneasy about the burial of a sui-cide.

I was conducting a grave-side service once and I became aware that the mourners were somewhat distracted. Their attention seemed to be fixed on something behind me. When I finished what I had to do, I turned to see what they were looking at. I saw the blackest of clouds far to the southwest. As we drove home we were told by our car radio that a tornado had touched down in a nearby town. Late that afternoon we drove over the path of the storm. It had gone down the main street. It appeared as though a giant vacuum cleaner had “hoovered” out the town. The windows were all sucked out and the contents of the shops were strewn miles away.

I will add to this in another piece of similar genre in a subse-quent edition of The HighWay.

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Composite photograph by Jonn Lavinnder

Grave Matters

Page 8 The HighWay March 2013Camp

SUBMITTED

THINK SUMMER

HOPE CD RELEASED

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HE SNOW IS MElTING and the water in Lake Okanagan is rising

up closer to the dock, which soon will be filled with children happily enjoying another sum-mer at Camp Owaissi. This is a busy time of year for the Camp Board and myself as we contin-ue to promote and market our Children’s Camp. In fact if you

T

have been a camper in the past and you refer a first time camp-er, we will say thank you and take $25 off your registration cost. We have set a target of having 300 campers on-site this year enjoying an “Unplugged and Unforgettable” experience; so let your friends know that this is an awesome place to spend a part of your summer. What do we mean by “Unplugged and Unforgettable”? In today’s fast paced environment of social media and cruising the Internet, “unplugged,” simply means all campers leave their cell phones, Ipads etc at home while we engage them in “face to face” interaction with each other.

Unforgettable are the memories we strive to give to the campers and staff through waterfront activities, creating incredible arts and crafts, vigorously play-ing a game of soccer or simply quietly sitting and chatting about how God fits into our lives. Camp Owaissi has provid-ed this for many generations and I am awed every time someone is kind enough to share with me how our Camp has impacted his or her life.

I have been going to vari-ous churches within our catch-ment area bringing a “Camp Owaissi” message on Sunday mornings. I share some of the memories and stories of last summer and of course our

By KEITH THOM

Keith Thom is the Executive Director of Camp Owaissi

@ CAMP OWAISSI

dreams for the future. If I have not been to your church yet please contact me and I would be delighted to arrange a visit.

Aside from children’s camp our facilities are available for renting. If you’re having a fami-ly or church reunion and need some place to have it, think Camp Owaissi. If your compa-ny or organization needs a place to have a retreat or seminar, think Camp Owaissi. If your family wants a week or two away camping or RVing, think Camp Owaissi.

As always, I would welcome any of you who have not seen our facilities and property to give me a call and arrange a time to come by for a visit. I

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will pour you a cup of coffee and proudly show off Camp Owaissi.

Peace and BlessingsKeith Thom – Executive Directorwww.campoac.com or 250-769-3676

TORONTO, JAN. 10, 2013—A melodic pop song has won top prize in an Anglican Church of Canada contest to promote the Marks of Mission—a set of priorities used throughout the global Anglican Communion.

“Hope” by Jaylene Johnson and Jim Kimball topped more than 70 entries ranging in style from rock to choral.

The Anglican Church released the song today on a multimedia site that includes the original music video and behind-the-scenes features on collaborators, including the Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir and producer Randy Murray, a former member of rock group BTO.

“Hope,” drew in established talents, who volunteered their time. Johnson, a Winnipeg-based singer-songwriter has fea-tured music on the TV shows “Pretty Little Liars” and “Degrassi: the Next

‘Hope’ for the Anglican Church General Synod, Anglican Church of Canada

Generation.” Nashville musi-cian Kimball has toured with Reba McEntire, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Justin Timberlake. Supporting musi-cians brought similarly star-studded resumes.

Johnson’s hopeful lyrics were inspired partially by her battle with chronic pain after a car accident.

“I think hope is mysterious or maybe not so mysterious

when we walk with God,” she said.

Her lyrics describe a hope that’s deep and enduring, beyond cheap gestures of “pull-ing petals off ” or keeping “fin-gers crossed.”

The national song contest called for entries that represent-ed the Marks of Mission—five priorities for ministry used throughout the global Anglican Communion. These “marks”—

include “responding to human need through loving service”—and show a church focused on spiritual transformation and social justice.

Song entries were judged by a team of expert musicians. The church also ran two other relat-ed contests to celebrate the Marks of Mission: a Sunday School curriculum contest and a photography contest, open until Jan. 31.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Share on facebook -You can re-post from our con-tent at https://www.facebook.com/canadiananglican

Share on Twitter-We’re at @generalsynod

forward the web story- http://news.anglican.ca/news/stories/2556

Buy the song -- http://www.jaylenejohnson.com/fr_news.cfm

Get a free DVD for your home Anglican parish- email marks@national.angli-can.ca