A Section of the Anglican Journal March 2014 Serving the Diocese of Kootenay

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

The

40-Daysof Waiting& Renewal PAGE 7

About Prayer PAGE 5

KSM2014Schedule PAGE 4

Community Feasting

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When we moved from an emer-gency food program at the

Cathedral to the regular implementation of food dis-tribution for those who need this — particularly people who have no fixed address — one of the major issues expressed by members of our Outreach Committee reflect-ed a concern that giving out food, while certainly charita-ble, does not work towards positively changing the cir-cumstances of those we serve.

Because of this, we com-mitted ourselves to imple-menting something “more” once the Cathedral Cupboard was set up and working well, something that fits better with the sentiment behind the well-known expression: “Give someone a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach someone to fish and you feed them for a life-time.”

In partnership with Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, also in Kelowna, members of both congrega-tions held the first session in January of what we hope will be a regular and on-going Community Feasting minis-try. Five people (some of them clients of the Cathedral Cupboard) participated in the inaugural four-week cooking course, which aims

to teach people some basic cooking skills with simple but healthful food. On the last week of the class, stu-dents learned how to cook soup, making enough of this to bring to the Cathedral Cupboard the following Friday and share it among Cupboard clients, something warm for a cold day.

The classes take place at Christ Lutheran while the

By NISSA BASBAUM

funding is provided through interest income designated for Outreach purposes from the Cathedral’s Vanebo Estate, monies which we received in the fall of 2012. Parishioners from both Christ Lutheran and the Cathedral are helping with the actual classes. A particu-lar thank you goes to Susan Keller from the Lutheran Church, who has done an

incredible job preparing and planning for the initial start-up sessions. A retired Home-Economics teacher, Susan’s skills have been put to good use and have been a real blessing for this project.

Cooking on a Shoestring at the Cathedral

Dean of the Cathedral in Kelowna, Nissa Basbaum with one of the cooks in their on-going Community Feasting ministry.

Photograph by Lynette Stebner

Page 2 The HighWay March 2014Archbishop’s Page

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 5-7126 Hwy 3A Nelson, B.C. V1L 6S3 Phone: (250) 354-3461 anghighway@gmail.com

Submissions & Deadlines: All articles, advertising and correspondence submitted to The HighWay is subject to editing for length, clarity, timeliness, appropriateness and style in accordance with the Canadian Press. Letters should be limited to 250 words, columns and articles no more than 600 words. Please include with all submissions your name, e-mail address and parish, as well as the name of the photographer, if applicable. Deadline for submissions is the first of the month prior to publi-cation unless otherwise indicated.

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ay

By ARCHBISHOPJOHN E. PRIVETT

In My View

Be Strong

Dear Friends,

ast month I wrote to you about the choice that Moses set before his peo-

ple — the choice between life and death. I wrote about how this choice faces us at times in our personal lives and also in our churches. Some of our congregations have made the choice for life

and have set before them-selves challenges in renewing their mission for this time and place. And as some have reported to me they are growing – spiritually, in com-munity and in numbers. Others are still wondering about the choice and what they will choose. Others have decided not to choose life. I remember a conversation I had a few years ago with a congregational specialist in the United Church. We were speaking about a congrega-tion that was struggling and could not look honestly at the issues that were leading to their decline. He said to me, “You know, John, some congregations will choose to die.” I remember my heart sinking as I realized that he spoke the truth.

But for every congrega-tion that chooses to die, there are 10 or 20 or 30 who will choose life. The choice for life requires two things – faith and courage. After the death of Moses and a new leader was called to lead God’s people into the future God spoke to Joshua saying,

“Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dis-mayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9) Faith is fundamentally about the willingness to trust the future to God. It has been said that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but fear. One great obstacle to choosing life is the fear that prevents us from examining our current situa-tion with clarity and naming that there are patterns, prac-tises and points of view that are life denying. It takes courage to name our experi-ence and to look at our lives with honesty. Sometimes it requires someone who sees us better than we see ourselves to do that for us. And some-times it requires us to look deeply into our tradition of worship and scripture and to ask “What does God require of us; what does God desire for us?”

When we are able to look at our current situation with honesty, then we can begin to imagine what we are called to be. What might my life or the life of our congrega-tion look like in the future if

we choose life? And when we begin to discern the answer to that question we once again may come face to face with the fear of what choos-ing such a vision might require of us. If what we are doing now is not giving life, then some of what we are doing will have to change. And so we will eventually arrive at the question “Do we have the courage to choose that life?” It often means choosing an unfamiliar path, letting go of some things and embracing others and at the same time learning to trust that the future is in God’s hands.

The choices that lead to life always require faith and courage. During the season of Lent our liturgies call us to acknowledge how we have fallen short of the glory of God. They invite us to acknowledge our brokenness and to turn in faith to God who gives us life in Christ. At the beginning of Holy Week we pray, “...may we walking in the way of the cross find it is for us the way of life.” IN MY VIEW, choosing life always requires faith and courage, a letting go so that we can receive something new, a dying so that we might receive life. That experience will take us to the very heart of our Christian life.

Faithfully,

+John

& of Good Courage

L

March 2014 The HighWay Page 3Columns

By NISSA BASBAUM

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ust before Christmas, I was transported back to the early years of my priesthood in a way that

I might have preferred not to be. The recent arrival of the Cathedral’s new Coordinator of Faith Formation was the cata-lyst for this catapult back into my past.

Some of you probably knew Ian Dingwall, who in the early days of his priesthood was a cleric in the Diocese of New Westminster. At the fairly young age of 37, Ian became the rector of St. Jude’s Church in Oakville, Ontario, where he remained for 17 years until becoming the Executive Archdeacon of the Diocese of Niagara. I met Ian in the sum-mer of 1983 when I did a stu-dent placement at St. Jude’s and worked part-time in that same parish until finishing my studies at Trinity College in Toronto; following graduation in 1984, I became the Assistant Curate at

St. Jude’s, a position I held for four years.

During my time as Assistant Curate, there were a number of other paid staff at the church, including the Organist and Choir Director, an Associate Priest (Peter Elliott, who is now Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver), and the Office Administrator. The oldest among us was Margaret, the Office Administrator, who turned 40 while I was there. The rest of us were in our early 30s; in fact, I think Jim, the Music Director may have been under 30. When I met him, Ian was about 50, almost 10 years younger than I am now, which is the part of this story that I have had the hardest time get-ting my head around.

Even though Ian “thought” young and never stopped read-ing new authors and the latest theology, the chronological age difference between him and the rest of us would occasionally rear its head, making some negotiating necessary to tackle minor disagreements. One of

find myself, then quickly move on. What I couldn’t have known many years ago, howev-er, when I was on the other side of the bridge so to speak, is that from this vantage point there is more than just a sense of humour required. A good dose of discernment is also necessary, discernment that will allow me to step back from a situation when it is obvious someone else needs to step in, someone else who may well be much younger than I. In this I am reminded of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, just recently cele-brated in church on the first Sunday in February.

One of the enviable things about Simeon in the Lukan scriptural passage that describes this presentation – or what Anglicans have long known as the Nunc Dimittis – is that this man was someone who knew when it was time to let go of the past in order to hand over the present to a future genera-tion. Simeon was probably a man with a great sense of humour!

the things that made this easier was Ian’s sense of humour and, more particularly, his ability to laugh at himself, both of which generally quelled any fires that might have been provoked by our different ages and, conse-quently, our somewhat different perspectives. Still, during one of his summer vacations, Ian found what he considered to be the solution to working with all of these younger people, bring-ing this back to hang on one of the walls in the main office. The plaque he purchased read: “Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill.”

Jessica Baird is the Cathedral’s new Coordinator of Faith Formation. As such, her ministry is primarily with chil-dren, youth and young adults; though not automatic, it should come as no surprise that she is under 30. Nonetheless, it was a sobering moment for me when I realized that Jessica is young enough to be my daughter, or described more disturbingly, I am old enough (easily old enough) to be her mother. Each time I now reach for a book on

my shelf related to children’s ministry or I hearken back to some parish event for young people that I once organized, I am transported back to my days as an Assistant Curate at St. Jude’s and some of those con-versations with my former rec-tor and supervisor.

It wasn’t long after Jessica arrived that the penny dropped and the light dawned: “Oh my gosh,” I thought to myself, “I have become Ian Dingwall… and now it’s me who needs the plaque on my wall!” Unquestionably, age is all rela-tive and chronological age is often nothing more than a number on a page. Nonetheless, the realization that I am now the old lady on the block has certainly been an eye opener. Each time I come up with a “new” idea I find that I sec-ond-guess myself as to whether or not the idea is really new or just new to someone who wasn’t even born when I thought of it the first time. Sobering indeed!

Most of the time I, like Ian before me, am able to laugh at the place in which I currently

ur first page story leads the way this month with regard to the Cathedral’s

food bank highlighting its rele-vance in today’s ever-growing necessity to empower those who have slipped beneath the social blanket. This is a demonstration of Christian love in the world.

Archbishop John follows with a challenge to be Strong and Courageous, which is anoth-er demonstration in Christian life, not so much about com-passion; more about taking a risk — a leap of faith.

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Old Age and Treachery

I’m writing this editorial after receiving a long letter from Helen Moore, one of The HighWay’s occasional contribu-tors. She took the time to write an after-the-fact editorial on the January edition, praising some-thing on every page of the paper. Helen said she reads the entire paper from cover-to-cover as soon as it arrives at her home.

She gave “kudos” to Jim Hearne saying that she likes this writer because he is not pious and delivers the unexpected. This leads to Jim’s article this month entitled “Immolation,” which surprised me too. The

EditorialBy JONN LAVINNDER

Otitle of the article refers to the shocking events that led to the death, while on duty, of the Rev. David Dingwall who used to be the Incumbent at Christ Church, Cranbrook in the 90s.

It would be amiss of me not to mention Yme Woensdregt’s continuing series on “Together in Mission.” Yme mentions the “S-word,” which I presume refers to stewardship. People often talk about how Anglicans can’t handle change, but we are changing. That’s the thing about an emerging church; we are discovering who we really are and not who peo-ple think we are.

DevelopmentReliefRefugeesJusticeThe Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund is an expression for all Anglicans of their baptismal covenant to strive for justice and peace and to respect the dignity of every human being.

The Primate’sWorld Relief and Development Fundthe anglican church of canada80 Hayden St., Toronto, ON M4Y 3G2

To donate: Toll Free: 1-866-308-7973 Visit our website at www.pwrdf.org

Photo: Tamil refugee preparing spirulina, a nutrition supplement. Simon Chambers/PWRDF Charitable Number: 8664 34640 RR0001

Page 4 The HighWay March 2014

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Education

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Instructor, Rev. Jim Halmarson, Preaching 104 in Cranbrook

Kootenay School of Ministry

elcome to the exciting 2014 season of Kootenay

School of Ministry (KSM), your school of ministry!

We have two extra-special optional courses this year, which will be of interest and value to everyone. The first is a World Religions course (May 9-12; Christ Church, Cranbrook). All of us encounter people from different religions. Indeed, many of the big issues that engage our world are affected by religious differences. This is a chance to learn about other religions and ways in which we can live together pro-ductively. The course is offered by The Rev. Dr. William Harrison, Principal of KSM, and coincides with the publica-tion of his new book, In Praise of Mixed Religion: The Syncretism Solution in a Multifaith World.

Issues in Death and Dying (Aug. 22-25; St. Andrew’s, Kelowna)will be a very practical course about the issues that arise for dying people and those who relate to them in our social and cultural contexts. We will discuss questions around end of life, including modes of dying (e.g. suicide). Family issues, such as ways to speak about death with children, will be examined, as will the challenges of grief. The course will be taught by Dr. Lynda Phillips, a Clinical Psychologist at the University of Alberta Hospital and in private practice, with a Ph.D. from the University of Alberta. This is a “must-attend” for everyone who deals with death and dying, whether in an official pastoral capacity or as a family member or friend.

Everyone seeking an LLM preaching license (course required) or ordination in the Diocese, or is simply interested in preaching, should attend

Preaching (Mar. 14-17; All Saints, Vernon). With special attention to narrative preaching, this course will focus on the basics of assembling and deliv-ering a sermon. The Rev. Dr. Garry Schmidt is Pastoral Counsellor, Spiritual Director, and Retreat Director with Fairhaven Ministries and has a D.Min. from San Francisco Theological Seminary.

If you want to be ordained as a Locally Trained Priest, you will need to attend the Liturgy course; if you want to become a Deacon or want to know how to work alongside a Deacon, you will need to attend Diaconal Role in Liturgy and Homiletics. Both courses will provide a solid introduction to history and theology of liturgy, along with practical training, and an introduction to preach-ing. The Rev. Dr. Richard Leggett, Priest-in-charge of Saint Faith’s Anglican Church in Vancouver and Professor Emeritus of Liturgical Studies at Vancouver School of Theology will teach Liturgy; The Rev. Christine Ross, Director of Deacons for the Diocese of Kootenay and a leading member of the Anglican Association of Deacons in Canada, will teach Diaconal Role in Liturgy and Homiletics, which will also meet together with the Liturgy class for com-mon work.

Have you ever tried to explain the doctrine of the Trinity (to yourself or someone else) and found that you

couldn’t? Ever wondered wheth-er there might be more to life and hoped that your church would have something to say about it? Take Foundational Theology (July 18-21; Christ Church, Cranbrook) and encounter the basic teachings of Christianity in a new way; you may discover that they don’t look quite like you expect! The Rev. Dr. William Harrison will teach this course, using his book Frequently-Asked Questions in Christian Theology and clas-sics of Christian theology.

If you have good news and you want to share it, then don’t miss The Ministry of Evangelism Today (Oct. 17-20; All Saints, Vernon). We will dis-cuss how evangelism can be lived in today’s Anglican Church, in the context of God’s mission in the world. We will think about Jesus as an evange-list, ourselves as evangelists in a pluralist world, and evangelism as an aspect of healthy parish life. This course is strongly rec-ommended for clergy and is required for those seeking ordi-nation as Deacons or Locally Trained Priests in the Diocese of Kootenay. This course will be taught by Dr. John Bowen, Associate Professor of Evangelism and Director of the Institute of Evangelism at Wycliffe College in Toronto.

Join us and watch your life become deeper and richer! Come and Learn.

Photograph by Jonn Lavinnder

By BILL HARRISON

The Rev. Dr. William

Harrison is the

Principal of Kootenay

School of Ministry

KSM COURSESMarch 14-17: Preaching (O 104 001)All Saints, VernonInstructor: The Rev. Dr. Garry Schmidt

April 4-7: Liturgy (P 104)St. Saviour’s, PentictonInstructor: The Rev. Dr. Richard Leggett

April 4-7: Diaconal Role in Liturgy and Homiletics (D 102)St. Saviour’s, PentictonInstructor: The Rev. Chris Ross, The Rev. Dr. Richard Leggett

May 9-12: World Religions (O 103 002)Christ Church, CranbrookInstructor: The Rev. Dr. William Harrison

July 18-21: Foundational Theology (P 100)Christ Church, CranbrookInstructor: The Rev. Dr. William Harrison

August 22-25: Issues in Death and Dying (O 104 002)St. Andrew’s, KelownaInstructor: Dr. Lynda Phillips

October 17-20: The Ministry of Evangelism Today (P102)All Saints, VernonInstructor: Dr. John Bowen

To register: www.kootenayschoolofministry.ca

For information: The Rev. Dr. William Harrison principal@kootenayschoolofministry.caor 250-275-2783

2014 Season

March 2014 The HighWay Page 5Around the diocese

Together in Mission

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he Campaign Committee for “Together in Mission” is hard at

work preparing the ground for our parish–based Diocesan financial stewardship campaign.

It is parish–based. Part of what that means is that parishes will be invited and encouraged to dream together about the ministry to which God is call-ing them. Let me encourage you to dream large. I am con-

vinced that the Spirit of God is at work in this. This is a time of tremendous potential and possi-bility as we respond faithfully to the nudging of God’s holy Spirit in our Diocese and our parishes. Half of the money raised in this campaign will be returned to the parishes who participate in the campaign.

In my regular column this month, I write about Lent as a 40– day period of waiting. This campaign is in that “waiting time”. Things are growing behind the scenes. Plans are being made. We are interview-ing consultants, with a view to

hiring the right one to help our Diocese and our parishes. We are planning so that this cam-paign might be a gift to the Diocese and our parishes, help-ing us grow together in our faithful discipleship.

One significant event that is being planned is a weekend for parish leaders, both clergy and lay. We want to begin the process of talking openly together about financial stew-ardship. Archbishop Douglas Hambidge, retired Metropolitan of our own ecclesiastical prov-ince, will lead us in reflecting about “The S-Word.”

This weekend will lay the groundwork for what is to come in the near future. We are preparing the ground for a growth which will be “more than we can ask or imagine.” Please be on the lookout for more information about this exciting event.

I have participated in and helped lead three stewardship campaigns in parishes in my life. In each case, the campaign became about so much more than the money we raised. In each case, parishioners grew in their discipleship. The parishes became stronger centres of wit-

ness and mission. It was an exciting time of growth beyond anything we had imagined.

This is such a time of excitement and hope for our Diocese. I encourage each of you and all of you to begin thinking about what God is calling you to do as an individ-ual and as a parish. How might you respond in faith and hope to the call of God in this time?

Please continue to hold this campaign and the Steering Committee in your prayers.

Burns’ NightSt. John’s, Fruitvale

n Sunday January 26, St John the Evangelist Church in Fruitvale held their sixth annual Robbie

Burns Night dinner. It was well attended by approximately 70 people who were treated to a traditional Burns Night menu of Scotch broth followed by haggis, steak or steak and kidney pie, mashed tatties (potatoes), mashed neeps (turnips), peas and car-rots. This tasty fair was washed down with wine and a wee dram of whiskey for the toasts. All of this was followed with sherry trifle and home made shortbread.

The evening flowed smoothly and was MC’d beautifully by Paul McCarron. The Rev. Garwood Russell started things off saying the Selkirk Grace. Then the haggis was piped in by Vicki Borsato and carried by Joyce Dodds. The address to the haggis was

given by Gordon Titsworth followed by Canon Neil Elliot giving the Sassenach reply. Over the course of the evening were all the usual toasts plus we were entertained by some beautiful Bagpipe music and some songs sung by Kathleen Russell. This year again we had a special treat as three high-land dancers from the Kate E. Shaw Scottish dance school in Trail who came to dance for us. Gordon Titsworth played the pipes while the girls danced traditional Highland dances including a sword dance and the Highland fling. All the dancing was simply spectacular. A great time was had by one and all and many commented how they we are already looking forward to next year.

By JOYCE DODDS

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Laying the GroundworkBy YME WOENSDREGT

Vernon Movie Presentation

Page 6 The HighWay March 2014

The Rev. Heather Karabelas is a deacon and a member of the Diocesan Spiritual Development Committee

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What I have learned lately about Prayer

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By HEATHER KARABELAS

t has been over a year now since I signed up to take a course offered by The Rev. Dr. Brooke

Mitchell entitled “Encountering Christ in Prayer.” The purpose of this program is to “deepen the participant’s life in Christ and establish an ongoing pat-tern of spiritual practice that one can continue after the pro-gram ends.”

Although I have been a per-son of prayer all my life, I excit-edly began this program realiz-ing that my personal prayer life was usually hasty and short and something that if I had some

time leftover in my day I would do.

I was directed to pray daily using the gospel for the day. To reflect on the reading — even to get into the scene, its smells, its sounds and what was hap-pening in the lives and hearts of those I was reading about. To become part of the scene for twenty minutes a day. I was encouraged to learn what God values and to take that into my heart and not just my head. I became a participant in the Gospel scenes. I journaled my reflections and found that my spiritual life was being stretched and much was confirmed about my diaconal ministry.

I started off well and with good intentions but the chal-

lenge of finding a balance between a busy schedule and the need for quiet prayer time each day became increasingly difficult. The seasons of Advent and Christmas swallowed up my time.

My intentions were good, but where was I going to find the time? My active two year old granddaughter visits for three nights almost monthly. I travel to the Boundary once a month to visit my daughter and her family. As I age I maintain a physical fitness routine. I want to spend time with my hus-band. I have an active servant ministry. I function as Deacon liturgically at the Cathedral.

I knew that God was with me in my day-to-day life, but I sometimes skipped my prayer appointment with God. The alarm clock would ring but I was a no-show. I felt frustrated and guilty knowing that God was waiting for me to enter into a deeper relationship, but my ego and calendar had a grip on me.

So what other form of prayer could I use when my life

seemed so busy? How could I take the daily gospel reading into my daily life when I felt the 20 minutes of prayer time was not working for me?

My spiritual director sug-gested I use the “Head, Heart, Hands” form of prayer during my busy days. So I began to use this form for reading the text, thinking about what God’s mes-sage for me was during my day and then carrying a word or phrase into my actions for the day.

I also found a modified form of the Ignatian Examen helpful in that at noon and in the evening I would ask the question, “Is what I have done, thought or said bringing me closer to God or leading me away?”

I now use a combination of these prayer forms and find that they have helped me open my heart to the sacred.

I know life is a relationship with God and like any relation-ship one must spend time to move closer to those with whom we are in relationship .

When I remember to talk with God, I feel better. Life is better. I feel more centred, more present, more peaceful, more appreciative. When I go with-out honouring my prayer time I feel less present, less open, less centred.

I have learned that if I take time to engage with the scrip-tures at my level, God will sup-ply all that I require in order to enter into this communion. I have experienced a tipping point and have been drawn for-ward. It is up to me to show up, read and pray. The minutes spent in prayer pull us natural-ly into the fullness of Christ.

Margaret Silf in her book “Close to the Heart,” says, “every minute we spend in prayer, consciously close to God, will soak us in God’s fra-grance.” She suggests that per-haps this fragrance is joy, and what a wonderful gift to share in a hurting world.

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By JIM HEARNE

The Vicar Remembers

Canon Jim Hearne (retired) was the priest of a ten point charge in and around Kootenay Lake

Columns

t’s not often that a writer for The Highway gets scooped by “Maclean’s,” but I did. In the January

20th issue of that magazine, David Dingwall was featured in “Last Page First”... Dr. Foth’s phrase.

I knew David as the incum-bent of a shared ministry with the United Church in Chase, and latterly as Rector of Christ Church, Cranbrook. It was there he participated in an AIDS event and a number of his parishioners took exception to that. Because of this tragic flaw he was relieved of his living and hung out to dry – but I’m

getting a little ahead of my story.

Before his summary dis-missal from the parish of Cranbrook, he began a relation-ship with Brenda, whom he would marry. She lived in Maryland. We would give

David the gears with a phrase from a travel brochure from that state which said, “Maryland is for lovers.” Brenda had a high security rat-ing with NASA, but she elected to come to the interior of B.C. and become the wife of an

Anglican priest. She took an active part in parochial and diocesan activities.

But NASA did not let her go easily. From time to time David would travel to Maryland to visit Brenda. On one of those visits he met a man at a cocktail party. As he made his return journey to Cranbrook he changed planes in Chicago. During his layover in an O’Hare coffee shop he saw the same man. When he returned to Cranbrook, he e-mailed Brenda to tell her of the experi-ence. She said, “He wanted you to see him. Had he not, you wouldn’t have seen him. He was checking you out. That’s just part of NASA security!”

We visited David and Brenda during those days and found them pretty glum. Then there came the thought to them: “Perhaps NASA will take you back,” and they did. In a short while they were off to the

east coast of the U.S. In 2006 while visiting a

college friend in New York, I asked my host if we might not drive down to Ocean City, Maryland. He complied and the three of us, David and I and my friend had a lengthy, animated lunch on the fore shore of the Atlantic Ocean. Brenda entered into the conversation via David’s cell phone.

Fast forward to 2013. David’s parish: St. Paul’s by the Sea in Ocean City offered a food bank. During this event a troubled person entered the parish hall and set himself on fire after dousing himself with an accelerant. In the fire that ensued, David lost his life.

Was it Dietrich Bonhoeffer who said, “When you become a Christian, you may be called upon to die.”

“I will not murder the mankind of his going with any further elegy...”

“Immolation”

March 2014 The HighWay Page 7Columns

By NEIL ELLIOT

Jonathan Livingston Seagull – by Richard Bach

In My Good Books

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D

Neil Elliot, Priest for Kootenay Summits, BC ++Playing with Gravity++

S

By YME WOENSDREGT

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 with-out prior approval. Drop us a line anyway... The Editor

o you remember this book? I’m bet-ting many of you do. Released in

1970 it became a sensation, and was made into a movie with music by Neil Diamond. It summed up the spirit of the era – you remember – “the dawin-ng of the Age of Aquarius.” It was acclaimed as life-changing by some and panned as banal by others. It puts a “mish-mash” message of eastern religions into a distinctively western package, focused on a familiar bird, the

seagull.But I missed all that

furore. My mum gave me the book sometime in my teens, and it inspired me to dream. Maybe that’s why she gave it to me. It’s a book about hopes and dreams, and about

making those hopes and dreams a reality. It is a simple book, and a simple story.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a bird who wants to fly high-er, faster, slower, better than he can, to always exceed his own capacities. His experiments in

flight cause him to be excluded from the flock, but eventually they enable him to move to a higher plane where he meets others who live to fly. And finally he returns to earth to teach those who are trapped by convention and a lack of curios-ity.

So this isn’t the most theo-logical of books. But it has been hugely inspiring for me. It has encouraged me to dream and to make those dreams a reality. I look at this book and see inspi-ration for my vocation as priest. I look at this book and see a source of my PhD in the spirituality of snowboarding. It

is the kind of book that gets into your soul and unlocks the doors.

As we prepare for Lent, in which we look to renew our relationship with God, I invite you to read this again. It will only take half an hour.Remember the dreams you once had. Remember the hopes you have had of what you might be in this life, and the yearning you have had to connect with God. And believe that those things are possible. And take those dreams and hopes and yearnings into Lent, where God awaits you.

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ometimes a number is just a number. Other times, however, a number is much more

than that. Imagine, for example, a young person waiting to turn 16. Here is one of those num-bers fraught with meaning. It means so much more than hav-ing lived 5840 days. For most, it’s about being able to get a driver’s license, with all the attendant responsibilities and privileges and freedom.

The same thing is true in the Bible. One of the numbers that occurs over and over again in Scripture is the number 40. In her book “Treasures Old and New,” Gail Ramshaw reminds us that 40 is the symbolic num-ber for a religiously significant

time. It is not meant to be taken literally.

In Genesis, it rains for 40 days and 40 nights in the great flood. Moses is on the moun-tain with God for 40 days. Israel wanders in the wilderness for 40 years. The first three kings of Israel (Saul, David and Solomon) are said to have ruled for 40 years. Jonah gives Nineveh 40 days to repent before God will destroy the city. Jesus is tempted in the wilder-ness 40 days. In Luke’s chronol-ogy, there are 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascen-sion. There are other examples.

In each of these cases, we can see the value of those 40 days or years. They were times of waiting for God, times of testing, times of purifying. This time was a time of healing and growth, of reconciliation and wholeness.

The church enters the sea-son of Lent, a 40–day period of repentance and renewal. I’ve used the image of “coming home” before for this season. It is a time of healing in our lives as we draw nearer to God and come home to our truest and best selves.

That is honestly what “repentance” means. It’s not

about feeling guilty, or being really really sorry. Repentance has to do with a change in one’s heart. It’s a positive renewal of our love for God and our neighbour.

For 40 days, we focus more intentionally on those two rela-tionships in our lives. We take stock of all the ways in which we have moved away from God, all the ways in which we have lived more selfishly rather than more graciously. Once more, we renew our loyalties. Once more, we reorganize our priorities.

But Lent is not just a time for doing. It’s also a time for waiting...waiting on God...wait-ing for God’s holy Spirit to flower in us. It’s like the waiting of the farmer, who tills the soil, preparing it, sowing the seed and waiting for the harvest to begin growing. It may not look like anything is happening, but then comes the day when the first green shoot pops up and we know that new life has been growing silently, hidden but nevertheless potent.

I love the way Archbishop Rowan Williams puts it. “Repentance happens when you suddenly see the abundance of God’s love and generosity in someone else and you come to the realization that you must change. Not only must you change, you want to. You want this in your life.”

Once more, we are given the gift of this significant time once more. We are given the gift of 40 days of renewal. We are graciously invited to cease our wanderings and return home. Come on a 40–day pil-grimage towards wholeness and renewal.

40 Days of Waiting and Renewal

Page 8 The HighWay March 2014Camp

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pring is just around the corner when with excitement, we look forward to all new life springing

forth from the ground up. The board of directors is grateful to you for your dedicated support and welcomes you to come and see for yourself just what is “going on” at your Diocese of Kootenay camp on the shores of Lake Okanagan. Come and See!

Staffing for 2014 is under-way and all information for positions available and applica-tion processes are on the web-site. The board of directors invites you to consider the new position of Property Manager posted on the website. Click on the Employment tab on the website for more information www.campoac.com

Consider volunteering this summer at Owaissi. There are numerous opportunities to live in community at Owaissi and experience the growth and development of children and

youth leadership in a supportive and nurturing environment.

Spirit Day (May 10, 2014) is an opportunity for youth at least 14 years old by July 1, 2014 to come to Owaissi for the day to discover what it means to be a volunteer youth leader. Mature, enthusiastic youth who have experience working with children and are interested in assisting the cabin leaders and summer staff with their duties are encouraged to attend Spirit Day. Youth volun-teers will be selected at Spirit

Day and offered volunteer camp sessions for the summer of 2014. Attendance at Spirit Day is a mandatory prerequisite to volunteering as a youth leader.

Other volunteer positions include volunteer camper assis-tant and camp nurse or medical

attendant; both require a mature adult with commit-ment to the aims and purposes of Owaissi. Weekly volunteer positions with room and board are available. A job description and applicable qualifications are available upon request for these positions from the Camp Director at campowaissi@hotmail.com

RV and Family Site rentals still have spots available for the summer months either weekly or seasonally. Click on Family Sites in “blue” on the website

for contracts and cost informa-tion. There are still a number of summer weekends available for Group Rentals if you are think-ing of bringing your family or church group to Owaissi for a weekend of fun. See the web-site again for additional infor-mation. Renting an RV or Family Site or a Group Rental are awesome ways to “Come and See” Owaissi!

The board of directors welcomes you!

S

Owaissi“Come and See!”

By PAM WILSON

If you are interested to come to Spirit Day, send your volunteer youth leader application form to jobs@campoac.com Deadline May 5, 2014.

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