A SECTION OF THE ANGLICAN JOURNAL

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

MARCH 2012 SERVING THE DIOCESE OF KOOTENAY

BY JONN LAVINNDER

P 4. CHANGEspiritual practice

P 5. ROW IN CHURCHhistory

Reporting diocesan events

EPORTING THEEVENTS and activitiesof Anglicans in

Kootenay diocese has been myprivilege and delight sinceSeptember 2007 and I hope Iwill continue to do so for someyears to come.

The diocesan newspaperyou hold in your hands is yourdirect line to everyone in theparish and the diocese. It ispart of a group of newspapersprepared for every person onparish rolls in the AnglicanChurch of Canada eachmonth.

This group of publica-tions, which is unique to theAnglican Communion, keepsus connected from coast tocoast to coast. It includes 23diocesan newspapers and ournational newspaper, which car-ries the regional newspapersright across the country.

This month, I ask you togive us your feedback aboutthese publications and how wecan improve them. What dothey do well? What are theynot doing well? Do you readboth the Anglican Journal andthe diocesan newspaper? Areyou online? Your answers willhelp us determine our nextsteps as we plan for the future.

Please take 10 minutes andgo to p. 8 of the AnglicanJournal to fill out the question-naire and to mail it in thereturn envelope provided. Or,go to ww.anglicanjournal.comand fill out the questionnaireonline.

I thank you for participat-ing. Your feedback allows us tostay relevant and remain vital.

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Photocomp: Jonn Lavinnder

HIGHWAYTHE

the name of the Lord, toobserve a holy Lent, by self-examination, penitence, prayer,fasting and almsgiving and byreading and meditating on theword of God.” A simple dailypractise can greatly assist us, aswe make this journey.

1. Take a moment of quiet toremember that we live ourlives in God’s presence.

2. Give thanks for the gifts andblessings of this day whichhave nourished your spiritsand were a sign of God’sgoodness.

3. Take note of the moments ofunkindness, selfishness, dis-tress or hurt you experi-enced and particularly howyou contributed to the hurtof others.

MARCH 2012PAGE 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.

EDITOR

Jonn LavinnderSt. Saviour’s Pro-Cathedral723 Ward Street,Nelson, B.C.V1L 1T3Phone: (250) 352-5711thehighway@shaw.ca

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 Kootenay#201 - 380 Leathead RoadKelowna, BC V1X 2H8Phone 778-478-8310Fax 778-478-8314

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

Editorial AssistantMicahel Lavinnder

HE CHRISTIANSEASON OF LENTbegins this year on

February 22 with AshWednesday. By the time youare reading this we will be two,possibly three, weeks into thisseason of the Spirit. The word“Lent” comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning thelengthening of days — so, atleast for those living in thenorthern hemisphere, it marksthose weeks which take usfrom the darkness of the win-ter solstice into the light of thespring equinox and beyond.

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us all. Even the best vacation,most coveted acquisition orexciting encounter soon leavesus aware of nagging emptinessor aloneness. Like the buds onthe trees or green shoots in theground we turn toward thelight seeking new life.

Lent puts us in touch withthe spiritual longing of ourlives through the gospel narra-tives. The invitation of this sea-son is to enter more personallyinto both the reality of thedarkness and the promise oflight and life. Through theSpirit of the Gospels we turnour hearts to the light of resur-rection.

At the Ash Wednesdayliturgy, the priest invites us toundertake this journey person-ally, “I invite you therefore, in

Website: www.anglicanhighway.com

After the dark days of winter,we welcome the coming of thelight.

The weeks of Lent are alsoa time for us to journey withJesus, through the gospel sto-ries, and follow his life, andministry through his death tothe resurrection. As we read,re-call and meditate on theevents of his life we are drawninto the Paschal (or Easter)mystery of his dying and rising.We are not meant to be merespectators, however, for thejourney from darkness to light,from death to resurrection is ajourney which we all seek andlong for. Each of us can identi-fy where we have been touchedby the darkness of the world.Grief, illness, loss, death, andthe weight of daily life touches

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.

4. Ask God to help you tojourney from darkness tolight, from death to life,with Jesus’ help.

5. Finish your quiet momentby saying the Lord’s Prayer.

In my view, it is not toolate to try this simple, dailypractise which can guide ourLenten journey and help usdiscover the reality of the wayof the cross to resurrection,through darkness to new life.May our Lenten journey whichwe share with Christiansthroughout the world bringfresh Easter blessings!

Faithfully,+ John

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From darkness to light

BY ARCHBISHOP JOHN E. PRIVETT

Dear friends,

Archbishop’s Page

HIGHWAYTHE

HE HIGHWAY con-tains features, newsitems and articles we

hope have a wide enough con-tent to be meaningful to all ourreaders. It is freely distributedand mailed to your homes,along with the AnglicanJournal, to all contributingmembers of parishes inKootenay diocese.

Archbishop John Privett isthe publisher, and I want tothank him for giving us free-dom in editorial content. Thisis something much appreciatedby all Anglican editors acrossCanada, and speaks to ourintellectual freedom asChristians, which reflects a tra-dition that is open and inclu-sive.

The feature article thismonth gives you, our reader, a

chance to express your opinionabout the Anglican Journal andThe HighWay. Due to manychanges in the way peoplecommunicate today, we wantto make sure that we are pro-viding information that is rele-vant and in a form that isaccessible

As I have mentioned inprevious months, we have losttwo respected columnists. Ispoke to Archbishop Johnabout this and he suggested wemight replace them with guestwriters.

If you have ever thoughtabout writing about your faith,ministry, or special interest,now is the time to step for-ward. It doesn’t have to be acommitment to produce anarticle every month. It mightbe a one-off or a series of arti-cles.

In the past, the series on“Different Ways to Pray” wasproduced by a team of writersfrom the Anglican Fellowshipof Prayer. It was very wellreceived. Currently, we have aseries on “Spirituality.” JaneBourcet has written an articlethis month called, “Change.”An individual writer could plana series or just submit one arti-cle. Let me know if you areinterested.

An article should be under600 words and emailed to meat thehighway@shaw.ca. Dropme a line first and let me knowwhat you intend to write.

Writing can be veryrewarding. It takes a lot ofpractise to be good, but themain thing is to start. It getseasier as you go along.

Editorial

BY JONN LAVINNDER

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In My View

MARCH 2012 THE HIGHWAY PAGE 3

OTWITHSTANDINGTHEIR IMPOR-TANCE, the adjourn-

ment of Annual Meetings inFebruary always seems to producea general sense of relief for clergyand congregations alike.Summary reports are received,budgets are approved, Wardensand Council members are chosen,Synod delegates are elected, layministers affirmed and the rhythmof routine congregational businessresumes.

It is around this time of yearthat the partnerships with a dio-cese come under closer scrutiny ascongregational statistics are

requested, canonical requirementsmore obviously intrude, the com-mitment for diocesan financialsharing [in Kootenay it is calledthe Diocesan Family Budget(DFB)] is carefully examined andaccepted, and commitments tocouncils and committees at theregional or diocesan level aremade. All too often the stresses ofthe moment tend to blur theessential and mutually supportiverelationships that should exist inthe Anglican Church of Canadabecause we are “episcopally-ledand synodically-governed.” Thedemands on the organization andpersonalities of each congregationby a diocese may too easily be seenas wearisome and restrictive. Addto the equation the transmitteddemands on dioceses fromEcclesiastical Provinces and theGeneral Synod and the ground isripe for creeping congregational-ism — after all “wouldn’t we bejust fine if we didn’t have to payfor all those budgeted programs ofDioceses, Provinces and General

Synod” that are too easily dis-missed as superfluous and waste-ful, or at least, “unaffordable”?

Fortunately in the life of ourNational Church most congrega-tions do understand that each isan essential part of a much biggerand surprisingly effective national,and even international, picture.Most Canadians, while perhapsgrumbling about taxes and theburdens of government, do under-stand that the strength of ournation depends on its citizens par-ticipating in the social contractsand services with government thatgive our lives purpose and mean-ing as a national society. So too inthe Anglican Church of Canadathe diocesan support we give tofurther God’s Mission in ourworld, should be judged as bothwelcome and necessary. Demandsalways present do not negate theministries we are only able to per-form together such that we truly“can do more than we can ask orimagine.”

The key to our partnershipsin mission for National Church,for Ecclesiastical Provinces, forDioceses, and for congregations isto demonstrate value-added end-points and economies of scale;Anglicans are generous when theysee that precious funds are careful-ly used, and when their congrega-tions are in ecclesial partnershipsthere is a loaves and fishes effecton resources and outcomes.

In 2012 the Diocese ofKootenay will be seriously study-ing a proposed major nationalfinancial and mission initiativethat integrates financial develop-ment with the strategic vision forthe Church that is articulated inVision 2019. The project is calledTogether in Mission (TIM) and inorder to do this properly a numberof small and large dioceses chosenby National Church will be deter-mining if they desire and are ableto participate in a feasibility study.Such studies will involve some up-front costs, borne by NationalChurch and by each Diocese who

N HER BOOK, The SpiralStaircase, author and theolo-gian Karen Armstrong takes

the reader through her journeyout of the convent and back intothe secular world. Armstrongbecame a nun in the early 1950sand left cloistered life after sevenyears. It was not long after herdeparture from the convent thatshe met Jewish academic and the-ologian, Hyam Maccoby, withwhom she had a conversationabout belief.

In that conversation,Maccoby told Armstrong that,unlike Christians, Jews don’t havea set of precepts to which theymust conform in order to be amember of the community.Instead, he said, “Theology is justnot important in Judaism, or inany other religion, really. There’sno orthodoxy as you have it inthe Catholic Church. No compli-cated creeds to which everybodymust subscribe… Nobody can tellJews what to believe. Within rea-

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son, you can believe what youlike.” Armstrong was stymied bythis. She could not “imagine a reli-gion without belief.” How couldthere be no orthodoxy, she won-dered? “We have orthopraxyinstead of orthodoxy,” Maccobytold her. “Right practice rather thanright belief…We Jews don’t bothermuch about what we believe. Wejust do it instead.” Armstrong,Karen. The Spiral Staircase. NewYork: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004, pp.235-236.

Years after converting, as I tryto remember what first attractedme to Christianity, there is nodoubt that it was indeed the per-son of Jesus, yet it was not somuch who he was but how heacted and what he did. As such,when I decided to convert, Iunderstood myself to be making adecision to follow rather than toworship this man. Following isabout how to live, not what tobelieve. “Love God and love yourneighbour as yourself.” Jesus wasn’tthe first to describe the faith in sofew words, but as he echoed theteaching of previous generationsthe message was obvious. Thething which is essential to God iswhat we do, not what we profess.The summary of the law saysnothing about who Jesus was or

even about who God is. Instead, itproclaims the behaviour whichGod expects of us. St. Augustinesummed it up nicely: “Love anddo as you will.” St. Augustine,Sermon on 1 John 7, 8

It strikes me that orthodoxy,in comparison to orthopraxy, is anextraordinarily passive response tolife. If I were asked to commenton why the church, somewherealong the line, began to preachJesus rather than Jesus’ message, Iwould probably suggest that bydoing the former, its leaders weremore apt to remain in control.Asking and allowing people tothink and act for themselves —something I suggest Jesus himselfwanted his followers to do — hasthe potential to create chaos, andit would not be far off the mark tosuggest that this, in fact, is justwhat Jesus did. By telling peoplethat the kingdom of God waswithin them and that they had thepower within themselves to makethings happen, he took an orderlysystem and turned it on its ear.

With the destruction of thetemple and by consequence thedestruction of temple sacrifice,Judaism would never be the sameagain. The priestly system towhich the Jews had become so

accustomed was forever lost, iron-ically to be replaced only a fewcenturies later by a new priestlysystem — this time under theguise of Christianity — and, of allthings, Jesus was at the forefrontof this new system.

The act of loving God andloving one’s neighbour quicklyseemed to take second chair tothe way in which the faith wasaccepted, understood, recited andmeant to be believed. The churchbecame a place that describedthose who were in and those whowere out. The unusually inclusivenature of Jesus’ teaching was lostin the fray of trying to provewhose beliefs were heretical andwhose were not. As a result ofnumerous conversations I havehad with people who have left thechurch, I have sometimes won-dered if the response to thisorthodoxy has been that peopletoday are no longer receptive tothis kind of control. By conse-quence, many have abandonedthe institution because of itsattachment to beliefs fashioned byyesterday’s world, a world thatbears little resemblance to the onein which we live today, a worldwhich had no science or scientiststo which the church was forced torespond.

Running the risk of faith,not belief...

BY RANDALL FAIREY

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agrees to participate. The purposeis to decide if a Diocese such asKootenay is truly prepared andcommitted to enter into a signifi-cant commitment with theGeneral Synod. A decision will beneeded to commit seriously toTogether in Mission. This promis-es to be a program of professionalfinancial development that willallow congregations to find andkeep significant amounts of newmoney in partnerships with theDiocese and the General Synod.Of course the hoped-for outcomeis that the sum will be greater thanits constituent parts in terms ofmoving God’s Mission significant-ly forward in the Anglican Churchof Canada. It begins, however,with shedding attitudes of congre-gational reluctance when Diocesesand General Synod are otherwiseonly seen to be making the sameold demands. I pray our MaySynod will understand this, andinstruct the new DiocesanCouncil to make this happen.

Commentary

COGS wheels

RANDALL FAIREY IS A

DELEGATE TO THE COUNCIL OF

GENERAL SYNOD AND

EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE

DIOCESE OF KOOTENAY

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Columns

At times, it has occurred tome that perhaps following Jesusand remaining in the church areirreconcilable options. Yet, choos-ing to leave has never seemed tobe the right answer either. In oneof my more melancholy momentsas a theological student, a profes-sor suggested to me that thechurch had always been a conser-vative institution and it alwayswould be. Leaving, he said, wasnot the answer. Instead, he toldme, the way to survive was to findthe pockets of radicalism that alsowould always be present and tolive faithfully within the context ofthese pockets.While the institutional churchcontinues to hold dear creedalstatements that are regarded bymany as outdated and outmoded,experience has taught me thatsomehow Christ still manages torise from the grave of these anti-quated proclamations, beggingthose of us who follow to proclaima faith of radical inclusion. It isnot a faith based on right beliefbut on right action. It is a muchriskier business dealing in ortho-praxy rather than orthodoxy but ifwe are to follow Jesus, it may be arisk we all need to take.

BY NISSA BASBAUM

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MARCH 2012PAGE 4 THE HIGHWAY

T VARIOUS TIMES INTHE YEAR — thebeginning of a school

year, Spring, New Year — weoften desire to make changes. Wewant to lose that elusive 10 lbs,get more exercise, eat healthier. Ormaybe our wishes are more life-oriented, such as finding a betterbalance between work and family,slowing down the pace of life, hav-ing more fun.

These desires arise in partbecause of the society we live in.We live in a world of “terminaldiscontent.” Advertisers surroundus, letting us know that we are notsuccessful enough, not attractiveenough, not intelligent or knowl-edgeable enough. Consumerism isbuilt on creating an idea of lack,which can only be filled by buyingthis company’s or that company’sproducts.

Another aspect of our worldis the concept of the “instant fix.”If we have a headache, take a pilland the headache will vanish. If

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Changewe need to lose weight, just followthe latest fad diet and the weightwill be gone in no time. If we arehaving financial problems, just fol-low this easy investment strategyand the money will flow in. “Allyou need is...,” “Just follow oureasy painless...” — we havebecome geared to viewing our-selves as a never-ending do-it-your-self project.”We have also been raised on thebelief of progress. “Day by day I’mgetting better and better.”Nirvana or Enlightenment orFinancial Independence is justaround the corner. The way I amtoday is never really good enough,because the way I will be tomor-row will be so much better.Woven into our sense of the waythe world works is this drive to goforward, to graduate, to get a pro-motion, to take a trip around theworld. The present then becomesmerely the jumping off point fortomorrow and all of the plans wehave for a more fulfilling life.

When we speak of change wealmost automatically shift to“What do I have to do? What’s theplan?” And so we come up withour resolutions and the plans toachieve them and then, by gosh orby golly, we shoehorn ourselvesinto our amazing, satisfaction-guaranteed programme for successand are astonished when our pro-gramme pops a button here orsplits a seam there. What wouldhappen if we were to turn our per-

BY JANE BOURCET

spective on life on its head? Whatif instead of focusing on how I amnot, I focused on how I am? Noton what I don’t have, but what Ido have? What about living in thepresent moment rather than fast-forwarding into tomorrow? Howabout being rather than doing?What if I don't need any fix at all?What if the person I am is justright for now? What would hap-pen if we were content, acceptingand peaceful?

� Content with our lives rather,than being dissatisfied with thelives we’ve got.

� Accepting of this day, ratherthan trying to make it better.

� At peace with ourselves, ratherthan always in the need of fix-ing.

The qualities described arereally the fruits of the Spirit, theresults of living a life steeped inour awareness of the divine in allthings. How we open ourselves tothe Spirit, led me to the Celts.

Celtic Christianity was avibrant faith, very aware of thedivinity of all things and the inter-weaving of the spirit and materialworlds. Nature was viewed as thevoice of God, which led to grati-tude for the beauty of the worldaround us, even in the harsh envi-ronment of the Irish Islands.There was a blessing in all of lifeand prayer was offered for every-thing, from the milking of thecows to the roar of the oceanwaves. To the Celts, God wasMystery, and our awareness of thedivine was caught in glimpses.

Revelation, which gets its rootsfrom “re-valere,” which means “toveil again,” means that our accessto the divine is not direct or per-manent.

The Celts felt that each of usat our birth is chosen. No one ishere by accident, so each of us hasa special destiny. Each destiny isunique, and the shape of each soulis different. The idea then is notso much striving to become someGod-clone, but rather openingourselves to the divine unfoldingof our lives held in the palm ofGod’s hand. Our task is to awak-en this unique sense of ourselvesand discover the rhythm — theebb and flow — of our own life.

“The only barrier is readiness.”— James Stephens, an Irish writer.

When we learned to walk, orto talk, did we study and plan?Did we organize ourselves with ascientific, educational plan, orwere we just ourselves until welived into walking and talking?

Maybe then, change is not sosuch much us striving to become“someone,” but rather allowingthis “someone” to unfold andbloom into us. Maybe we areexplorers, discovering the mysteryof our deep divine self.

“Behind the facade of our nor-mal lives, eternal destiny is shapingour days and our ways.” — JohnO’Donohue.

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Spiritual development

Water colour painting of St. Saviour’s Pro-Cathedral, Nelson, presented by theartist, Carol Greenfield (left) to Beth Woodbridge as a going away present.

Photograph: Susan Barrett Photocomp: Jonn Lavinnder

5 Marks of Mission in plain English

MARCH 2012 PAGE 5 THE HIGHWAYHistory & Education

Row in the church

EMBERS OF HISCONGREGATIONlocked him out and

he broke the padlock and entered— cause of the trouble.

Quite a sensation was createdin Kaslo last Sunday by an efforton the part of some of the mem-bers of the Church of England toforcibly keep Rev. H.S. Akehurstfrom occupying the pulpit onthat day. It resulted in the arrestof Mr. Akehurst and there is con-siderable speculation in regard towhat action he will take in thematter.

It appears that the troublearose over the so called highchurch practices; a few memberstaking exception to them andrefraining from taking the coursemanifestly open to them ofappealing to the bishop of thediocese. They evidently took mat-ters into their own hands which

culminatedin debarringRev.Akehurstfrom enteringthe churchlast Sunday.On thatmorning Mr.Akehurstfound aniron barstretch acrossthe churchdoor andpadlocked.On the doorwas a notice issued by Mr. E.V.Twiss to the effect that anyoneentering the building would bearrested and prosecuted. Mr.Twiss signed the document aschairman of the building commit-tee.

Mr.Akehurstinquired of aconstablewho wasthere, to pro-duce authori-ty for hinder-ing him fromentering. Theconstablereplied thatthe authoritywas from thesigner of thenotice. Mr.Akehurst, evi-

dently not recognizing the author-ity, broke the padlock and enteredthe church and the constableplaced him under arrest. He wastaken to Mayor Green who statedthat he considered Mr. Akehurstthe only person who had authori-ty of the building and he could

therefore do nothing in the mat-ter. He advised the constable toset his prisoner at liberty and assoon as this was done, Mr.Akehurst proceeded to thechurch, where he held services asusual.

When Mr. Akehurst arrivedat the church for evening servicehe found a line of men drawn upin front of the church door andamong them were Mr. JohnKeene and a special constable. Mr.Akehurst made a formal demandfor admittance, but Mr. Keenerefused to move from his position.Mr. Akehurst however was soonallowed to go into the building oncondition that after he had col-lected certain personal effects hewould at once come out again.He did so and remarked to Mr.Keene that he hoped he was satis-fied with the proceedings he hadtaken. He then turned to open

the door but Mr. Keene saw hisintention and pushed him awayfrom the entrance. Mr. Akehurst,seeing that resistance was useless,left the enemy in possession andretired from the field and no serv-ices were held that evening.

As far as is known, the entiretrouble arose because there was across on the communion tablewhich Mr. Akehurst refused tohave removed. The chief dissentersare said to be the families of Mr.Twiss and Mr. Keene and theycontend that the cross was notlegal in the Church of England,notwithstanding the declaration ofthe bishop that it was perfectlylegal. The dissension has been inprogress since Easter time and asthe request to have the crossremoved was not complied with, itappears that summary measureswere taken.

Kootenay School of Ministry2012 Courses

http://www.kootenayanglican.ca/kootenay-school-of-ministry

God-Talk, Money-TalkSt. David’s, Castlegar April 13-16The Rev. Canon Michael Karabelas

The Ministry of Evangelism TodaySt. Aidan’s and Diocesan Centre, Kelowna May 18-21 Dr. John Bowen

Congregational LeadershipChrist Church, Cranbrook July 27-30Abp. John Privett and Alida Privett

Spiritual FormationFairhaven Ministries, Vernon August 31-Sept. 2The Rev. Dr. Garry Schmidt

The Gospel of John as StorySt. James, ArmstrongSeptember 27-30The Rev. Cory Rundell

Rev. H. E. Akehurst arrested last Sunday at Kaslo

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Published in the Miner, Nelson BC Nov 5, 1896

MARCH 2012PAGE 6 THE HIGHWAY

BY DOUG HODGKINSON

Movie review

Red

in which he acquitted a sailorhe later came to see was guiltybut the man became an exem-plary citizen. She invites him toattend a fashion show in whichshe is modeling.

It is the night before she isabout to leave for England, atrip in which he has advisedher to take the train and thechannel ferry. Following theshow they sit and have a longconversation, mostly abouthim. He reveals that he wasonce in love with a womanwho went off with someoneelse. She died about a year intothis new relationship and thenyears later the man appearedbefore him in court. In thiscase, he convicted him. Kerntells her that he has had adream of her at age 40 or so,happily in a relationship withan unknown man. This is along, intimate, even romanticconversation, between two peo-ple who are not romanticallyinvolved.

ED COMPLETESTHE TRILOGY basedon the colours of the

French flag and exploring thevalues of Liberty (Blue),Equality (White) andFraternity (Red) that weretrumpeted during the FrenchRevolution. Not surprisingly,Red is the warmest and mostcomplex story. Blue was ananti-tragedy and White was ananti-comedy so, Red is an anti-romance.

Valentine is a model inGeneva. She has a boyfriend inLondon who is jealous,demanding and immature andthey maintain their relationshipthrough frequent phone calls.August is a neighbour who isstudying to be a judge but theynever meet. Karin is August’sgirlfriend who provides person-alized weather reports over thephone but she is being unfaith-ful to August. Joseph Kern is aretired judge who lives in theupscale neighbourhood of

secret hobby which is to listenin and record the intimate tele-phone conversations of hisneighbours. Valentine is dis-gusted by this and promptlygoes off to inform neighboursand report the judge’s illegalactivity. She loses her nervewhen she is actually in theneighbour’s home and sees thedestruction that will occur ifshe follows through. In Kern’sopinion it will make no differ-ence since the family is on anas yet unrealized collisioncourse with disaster.

She reads in a newspaperthat the judge has been exposedin his eavesdropping activitiesand when she goes by toexplain that she has not said aword about it to anyone, hereveals that he turned himselfin! He also wants to show herthe litter that Rita has just hadand he seems to take delight init. Slowly, a platonic relation-ship begins to develop betweenthis November-May couple. Atone point he tells her of a case

Carouge in Geneva whomValentine meets when she runsover his dog, Rita, accidentallywhen she is out driving. Shereports the accident to Kernand is taken aback by thesupreme indifference displayedby what appears to be a lonely,bitter old man. She takes thedog to the vet who fixes up thedog but also informs her thatRita is pregnant. When shegoes to report this to Kern heinvites her in and reveals his

So, Valentine leaves forEngland. We see Kern watch-ing his television and there isnews of a horrendous ferryaccident in the channel. Only afew survive. Ironically they are;Julie and Olivier from Blue,Karol and Dominique fromWhite, August, her neighbourwhom she has not met andValentine. It is a fraternity ofcharacters whose lives havebecome closely connected butwith little in common.

Kieslowski explores spiritu-al questions without an explicitreligious presentation; ques-tions of destiny and choice;solitude and communication,cynicism and faith, doubt anddesire. Lives are affected byforces beyond rationalization.Red weaves together threadsprevalent throughout the trilo-gy; the imperfections of humanlaws, the prevalence of loss, themystery of death, and theinevitability of resurrection.

Directed by Krzystof Kielowski and starring Irene Jacob (ValentineDusot), Jean-Louis Trintignant (Joseph Kern), Jean Pierre Lorit(August Bruner), Frederique Feder (Karin), French with English subtitles, 99 minutes, 1994

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COUNT IT A PRIVI-LEGE to have been able tovisit Palestine on two occa-

sions. One was on a familiar-ization tour sponsored byTourism Israel. The second wasa clergy conference, fiftystrong, replete with two bish-ops and all sorts and conditionsof clergy and spouses. The onlydownside of this exercise wasthat all but three of the groupelected to visit Cairo to shop,and only three of us (Colleenmy wife, and I and the Rev.Gordon Jackson) made our waydown the Sinai Peninsula toSanta Katarina to ascend themount of the Decalogue.

One day, a visit to Jerichowas on our itinerary. We struck

out early in the morning. Asone travels from Jerusalem toJericho, a highway sign informsthe traveller of being below sealevel. Near that spot weencountered “The Inn of theGood Samaritan.” We stoppednearby at a goat skin tent thatlooked something like a geo-desic dome. We were servedstrong, sweet tea. After a cup ofthat and a session with a spit-ting camel I wandered off tosurvey the landscape. I saw ashepherd wailing the tar out ofsome wild asses that had infil-trated his herd. The topogra-phy reminded one of the areawhere the man fell amongthieves in the good Samaritanstory.

After a short visit to thecity of Jericho, we were usheredto a Greek Orthodoxmonastery, where we saw cablecars stretching across the valleyused by the monks to insuresolitude for their meditations.The community itself wascarved out of the rock face. Theblue and white flag of Greececaught our eyes.

We approached the com-munity by way of a stony pathwhich bore the marks of anancient stairway, and stoodaside for a narrow gauge tractorand cart that was bringing insupplies. These vehicles arepopular in the Middle Eastbecause they are able to negoti-ate the narrow streets.

IBY JIM HEARNE

Wadi Kelt

The Vicar of Kokanee remembers

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Once again we were servedthe “strong, sweet tea” of theHoly Land with citrus fruits.These comestibles simplyappeared on tables set out forthat purpose, but none of themonks were ever seen. We onlysaw the lay workers toilingaway at their tasks.

Another extraordinary fea-ture of this community was thatseveral of the former abbotswere in evidence, laying in statein glass topped coffins in per-fect preservation.

This was the experience ofWadi Kelt, and its fascinationcalls me back for another visit.

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ELCOME TOLENT, the time forus all to remember

to slow down and deepen ourconnection with God. Andwhen I do that I am alwaysbuilding on the base I estab-lished with this book, a long,long time ago.

I couldn’t tell you exactlywhen I got this book, but itwas in the early days of myconversion/re-commitment. Iwas hungry for God, and partof both a high Anglicanchurch, and the evangelicalChristian Union at university(There’s a story!) I had been onat least one retreat at aFranciscan monastery, whichhad been pretty mind blowing,and I was also experiencing thecharismatic renewal movement.In all of this I felt I was tread-ing a unique ( and sometimelonely) path. People seemed tobe either committed evangelical

Nottingham. But her journeywith God had taken her to theCatholic Monasteries andConvents. The book describesthis journey and the resourcesand practices she found on thejourney.

It is the story of a womanwho was prepared to step out-side the box of her tradition inorder to grow in her relation-ship with God. It left many inher home church concerned,telling her she was “Betrayingher evangelical heritage.” Evenher husband was concerned,and at times “Our minds failedto meet.” The book is a recordof her reconciliation of thesetwo parts of our tradition,bringing the evangelical,catholic and charismatictogether. For me it was anaffirmation that it was, is, pos-sible to hold these together,and laid the path for me toembrace liberalism too. As I

have suggested, the road wasnot easy for Huggett, and thebook takes us through the painand uncertainty as well as help-ing us find the joys of the deepspiritual path. I only discoveredlater that the book itself hadmeant leaving the publisher ofher previous “orthodox” evan-gelical books and moving to alarger more secular publisher.

If you are hungry for God,if you are looking for resourcesin your spiritual journey, if youare prepared to lay aside yourprejudices in your search forthe holy, then read this book.Huggett does not portray her-self as an expert, but as a learn-er. She is open about her emo-tional and theological baggage,so we can trust her to guide uswell. Not everything here is foryou, but some things will be.

Open your heart. Trust.Slow down. Listen for God.

W

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BY NEIL ELLIOT

or catholic — or just goingthrough the motions.

Then I found this bookwhich describes one woman’sjourney deeper into a relation-ship with God. The womanwas (is) an Anglican minister’s

wife, and was well connectedin the Charismatic renewalwhich swept the UK in the70s and 80s. She and her hus-band were part of a large andwell known evangelicalAnglican congregation in

Listening to God by Joyce Huggett — Amazon.ca $13

In My Good Books

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

Lent: time of coming home

e are well into theseason of Lent. It’san important sea-

son in the life of the church. Inthese 40 days, we focus ourlives and our hearts more inten-tionally on God’s passion forthe world. It’s a time of self-examination as we renew ourcommitment to walk in theway of Christ, following thepath of wholeness and compas-sion and healing.

Above all, Lent is a seasonto remember that we have beenbaptized. God claims us. Webelong to God. We are not ourown. Our calling is to lovewhat God loves, and to live outGod’s gospel values: justice,compassion, peace, reconcilia-tion, wholeness. As God hasblessed us, so we bless others.

As God makes us whole, so wetouch other lives gently andcompassionately. As Godincludes us by grace in a com-munity of hope and grace, sowe reach out across all the bar-riers which keep us apart.

On Ash Wednesday, ourforeheads were marked withthe cross in ashes. The ashesare a sign of our mortality aswell as our repentance. Ashesare powerful symbols that “weare dust, and to dust we willreturn.” But like any true sym-bol, the ashes speak of morethan one thing at a time. Theseashes are also symbols of graceand hope. God takes the ordi-nary stuff of our mortality tocall us home.

Lent is a season of repen-tance. Now “repentance” is aterribly misunderstood word.Most dictionaries define it interms of feeling remorse orregret, as if the best way torepent is to feel really reallysorry for what we have done.That's a small part of repen-tance, but there is so muchmore.

Repentance has to do withchanging one’s heart. It hasmore to do with a positiverenewal of our loyalty to Godthan a negative assessment ofour lives and feeling remorse.Repentance is more a way ofliving into the future than aprocess of regretting the past.I suggest that repentance is aprocess with two distinctmovements.

The first is to realize thatwe have moved away fromGod. One of the biblicalmetaphors for this is exile. Welive in exile. Sometimes wemake that exile for ourselves.We ignore God. Or we get sobusy that God just fades intothe background in our lives.Or we simply forget.

Sometimes, other forces inour lives and the world distractus and draw us into exile. Welose our focus. Our attention isdrawn away from what is cen-tral and most important in ourlives. The first move of repen-tance, then, involves a new andgrowing awareness that there isa God-sized hole in our lives.

The second movement isto listen once again for thewhisper of God in our lives.It’s a movement towards heal-ing and wholeness, for whichwe all long. God whispers aword of life into our exile, giv-ing birth to renewal and re-orientation in our lives. Godwhispers words of wholenessand holiness.

I love the way ArchbishopRowan Williams puts it.“Repentance happens whenyou suddenly see the abun-dance of God’s love and gen-erosity in someone else andyou come to the realizationthat you must change. Notonly must you change, youwant to. You want this in yourlife.”

In Lent, we journey to theheart of our faith. We respondto God’s call to come home.We take small, faltering stepsas we yield ourselves to God’shealing embrace.

So, while Lent is a seriousand solemn moment in ourlives, it need not be gloomy or

depressing. We are being calledhome. We are being graciouslyinvited to return to the heartof God. We are beingembraced by God’s love. Weare being healed by God’sinsistent Spirit — healed inour personal lives and healedin our communities.

So come again on thisjourney to the heart of ourfaith. Come, follow the onewho promises us that above allelse, we will find rest and heal-ing.

W

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