anglican life march 2016

7/24/2019 Anglican Life MARCH 2016

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1MARCH2016

inNewfoundland&Labrador

A Section of theANGLICANJOURNAL

NEWFOUNDLAND&LABRADOR

March 2016

The Rt. Revd Dr. Geoff Peddle

BishopEastern Newfoundland & Labrador

Jagoda|Shutterstock

Less Really IsMore!

Young Girl Helps at Home andReaches Across the Ocean

Article byKaren Torravile

Imagine what the world would look like if we all had the heartfelt desire to helpothers, as young Valerie of Indian Bay has to helped her home community andalso refugees who are an ocean away.The Revd David Cofn, Rector of the Anglican Parish of Indian Bay, recountedhow Valerie Oldford, who was nine at the time, raised funds after the church inIndian Bay was lost in a re in March of 2015.Valerie, with her entrepreneurial ability, decided to have a bake sale andmade cross bracelets to raise funds in support of the congregation. Her

efforts, along with others who helpedher, were well rewarded, and sheraised $1306.00 for her church.In the fall of 2015, as Revd David

watched the plight of the Syrianrefugees streaming across Europe, hewas inspired to motivate Valerie andher family once more to support others.Little Valerie understood that there werechildren and families, far from our rockyshores, who were without homes andfearfully facing the unknown.Valerie had helped her home community,and now she has taken up the cause tohave another bake sale to help thoseshe did not know an ocean away. Thanksto Valerie and her support team a totalof $768.25 was given to the Anglican

Diocese of Central NewfoundlandRefugee Fund.Thank you Valerie!

Photo by David Cofn

Pictured above, Valerie holds up her certicate of appreciation

Mathematics cameeasy for me in school butI cant say that I enjoyed itmuch. I was always moreinterested in Englishand History and SocialStudies because thosesubjects addressed the

complexities of humanlife in ways that I enjoyedmore. But the one thingI did like about Mathwas addition, more thansubtraction, and far morethan multiplication anddivision. Years laterwhen I worked withnumbers in fields likeCalculus and StatisticsI was reminded of why.For me, addition was

just so unthink inglysimple. Adding numberstogether was easy andI never had to think

about it. I could do it onautopilot. Unfortunately,what was true in mymathematical journeyremains all too true inmy spiritual journey. I stillnd it easier to add thanI do to subtract.

Ash Wednesday,February 10, marksthe beginning of Lent,ending with EasterSunday on March 27.The days of Lent are adistinctive time in thelife of our Churchs yearto prepare us for Easter

by encouraging certainspiritual disciplines sothat our lives may comemore fully into line withthe life of Jesus. Lent,of course, is inspired

by Jesuss own life andhis 40 days of testingand perseverance in thedesert recorded in HolyScripture. Lent can besuch a time of refocusingfor us if we commitourselves to better knowand serve God.

Life is pretty fast-paced today for most of

us and nding the timeto fit in even familiaractivities is diff icultenough let alone addingaddit ional spir i tualdisciplines during Lent.But if we are going tokeep Lent this year,maybe we need to startwith a little subtraction, alittle de-cluttering. I havesaid many times over theyears that Lent is as muchabout taking up as it isabout giving up but itseems to me that in ourmodern over-planned,

over-scheduled, anxiety-ridden world a littlegiving up might benetus more. Christians, inmy experience, oftenfind it much easier toadd than to subtract(remember what I wroteabout addition beingso unthinkinglysimple compared tosubtraction?) and yetLent really needs to startwith subtraction. It can beas simple as taking awaya few things to allowmore room to breathe

and focus better on whatis essential.

Of course, this letteris really a matter of do asI say and not what I do.I am, to quote from theBook of Common Prayer,a miserable offenderwhen it comes to slowingdown. As I write with myday planner before meI note that every singleday of every single weekover the next month isalready scheduled.

Fortunately I haveuntil February 10 to

gure out what stays inand what gets cut thisLent.

And so do you however you do thesubtraction.

The royalbannersforward go,The Crossshines forth inmystic glow,Where he, theLife, did death

endure,And by thatdeath did lifeprocure.

Jaroslav74|Shutterstock


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MARCH20162


Youth Choir Started at theParish of the Resurrection

Submitted byThe Revd Canon Gerald Westcott

The Power of Music to Connect Us

Emily F. Rowe

EditorMusic connects us

in a way that few otherthings do. On January10th, David Bowie died.I spent the day workingon this issue of AnglicanLife and listening to hismusic, and my periodicchecks on Facebookshowed a newsfeed thatfilled up with peoplespersonal favourite songs

of his, with their favouriteimages, and even withsimple favourite memoriesthat were set to Bowiesamazing music. We allhave soundtracks in our

lives, and certain songscan snap us back to amoment in time withan intensity that can bealmost overwhelming.We vividly recall how wefelt when that song wason constant replay.

How we listen to musichas changed so much,and the ease with which Ican use my subscriptionto Google Play Music toalmost instantly listen

to whatever I chose stillstaggers me. How cansomething so diverseand so immense stillcreate such connections?

T h e t h i n g a b o u tmusic is that it connectsus in our search forgreater meaning. A quickinternet search of anypopular song will giveyou a lyrics meaningresult, showing what theauthor was thinking orexperiencing when he orshe wrote the song; andif there is a comments

section, youll read aboutwhat the song means tovarious readers/listenerstoo.

A n d y o u r e a l lw ond er ing how I m

going to connect thisto the Church? To behonest, its one of thestruggles that I wi l lhave with writing theseeditoria ls. Theres noquestion that I am froma generation who oftenconsiders themselvesmore spiritual thanrel igio us. I am aregular at tender ofchurch, and more-or-lessalways have been, but

that doesnt mean that Iam disconnected frommy peers and a morenebulous spirituality. Weshouldnt feel threatenedby those who nd spiritualmeanings in music thatisnt overtly Christian.We are all just searching.And sometimes, thesearch leads people toGod, though it may takea lifetime to get there.

It s interesting tome that one of the rstpeople to respond toDavid Bowies death

on Twitter was CardinalGianfranco Ravasi, who isthe head of the VaticansCouncil for Culture. Hetweeted the lyrics fromBowies classic song,

Space Oddity, madefamous here in Canada byastronaut Chris Hadeld,ending with, and mayGods love be with you(David Bowie). Hadeldhimself tweeted, Ashesto ashes, dust to stardust,(referencing Bowies alter-ego, Ziggy Stardust), whichsounds very familiar tothose of us who are of thereligious mindset.

Were all searching

f o r m e a n i n g , a n dsometimes that comesin the form of a favouritehymn, and sometimesit comes from DavidBowie. And thats ne.Its all good. If I seereligious meaning in asong that wasnt writtento be religious, that isnta bad thing. If someoneelse sees somethingless dened, then thatscool. We cannot helpbut bring our own pointsof view into play whenlistening to music. But

were all connected, andwe learn from each other,and continue down thespiritual road, hummingour favourite tunes alongthe way.

The new Youth Choir of the Parish of t he Resurrec tion in So uth Riverhad i ts f irst performance on Janua ry 3rd. The choir is led by TiffanyWhalen, and will be performing on the rst Sunday of each month.

PhotobyTheRevdCanonGera

ldWestcott

Syrian Family ofFive For St. Marks

Submitted byHelen Escott

When Father MarkNichols, associate priestwith the Parish of St.

Mark the Evangel ist ,attended a presentationon refugee sponsorshipby the Association forNew Canadians (ANC) onSeptember 10th, he neverdreamt that the parish wouldbe welcoming a Syrian familyjust over three months later.

On September 27th apastoral letter from BishopPeddle was read during ourworship service calling onthe parishes of the Dioceseto respond in some way tothe Syrian refugee crisis. Wethen asked the parishionersif they were interested insponsoring a family, andthey overwhelmingly cameback and said yes. Theydonated the required fundsin a very short period oftime which tells you a lotabout the generous andcompassionate people inour parish community, saysFr. Nichols. At worship onOctober 25th, we were ableto announce that the parishwould be sponsoring arefugee family.

The Maatouk family, ahusband and wife with threeyoung children, arrived inSt. Johns on December19th. They are originally from

Damascus originally buthave lived as refugees inLebanon for the past threeyears. They are part of the25,000 Syrian refugees thatthe federal Governmenthas committed to bringto Canada by February28th and were sponsoredthrough a partnership withthe Association for NewCanadians.

St. Marks had to raiseat least $20,000 to sponsorthe family. These funds arerequired to cover the parishsshare of the income support

the family will receive fortheir first year in Canada,as well as start up costs andother expenses such asfirst months rent, damagedeposit, utilities hookup,clothing, furniture, personalcare items, etc.

St. Marks has puttogether a transition team of20 people who will help thefamily adjust to life in Canadaand integrate into thecommunity. Our transitionteam was able to obtainand furnish suitable housingfor the family with only 72hours notice. Since theirarrival we have walked withthem through the settlementp r o c e s s , p r o v i d i n gemotional support as thenlearn to adjust. We haveassisted them in applyingfor MCP, registering forschool and opening a bankaccount. We have also beenproviding transportation andassistance with shopping, aswell as medical and otherappointments. We havealso been blessed with theassistance of members of thelocal Arab community and,with their help, have ensuredthat the Maatouk family hasbeen connected with theMuslim faith community. Welook forward to helping themreach their goal of becomingself-sufficient members oftheir new home.

The Maatouk familyis very grateful for theopportunity to begin a newlife in a safe country and forthe parish volunteers whohave become their friends.When asked why a Christianfaith community would

sponsor a Muslim family, Fr.Nichols simply responds, Itis the Christian thing to do.We are all Gods childrenand so we need to take careof one another.


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News from St. Pauls, Baie VerteSubmitted byLinda Pinksen

St. Paul s Angl icanChurch, Baie Verte had aspecial birthday celebrationfor a wonderful man onDecember 13th, 2015:Elikiam Banks who turned90 on that date, is still afaithful member of our con-gregation. His contribu-tions through dedicatedattendance, on the spotmaintenance and churchgreeter makes him still abusy volunteer in ourcongregation. He has afantastic memory and lovesto share past stories of earlydays growing up in MiddleArm, White Bay.

St. Pauls congregationcelebrated with him at the

Sunday morning Eucharistofficiated at by the RevdMadonna Boone, and theservice was followed bydelicious pot luck meal.

Pictured with him are:Jeffrey & Christopher( g r a n d s o n s ) , h i s s o nGlenn, and daughter-in-law Brenda.

Moving Forward: Advent preparation gave anew meaning to St. Pauls, Baie Verte with theintroduction of Beverly Snow as its LicensedLay Reader. Beverly performed her rst serviceon December 7th, 2015, under the guidance of

Frances Elgar. Beverly and her husband, Bill,came to us with their gifts of music and singing,and now we are doubly blessed with Beverly asour lay-minister.Beverly was formally presented with her lay-readers license by the rector of the parish, theRevd Canon Dawn Barrett on January 31st, 2016.Congratulations, Beverly!

@anglicanlife


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MARCH20164


Barbara Boone

Guest Columnist

ANGLICAN LIFE in Newfoundland and Labrador is the newspaperof the Anglican Church in the Province of Newfoundland andLabrador. A co-operative effort of the three Dioceses inNewfoundland and Labrador, it is publishes ten issues eachcalendar year with an independent editorial policy.

Anglican Life is a section of the Anglican Journal

Editor:Mrs. Emily F. Rowe9 Darling StreetSt. Johns, NLA1B 1V7Email: [email protected]

Advertising Rates and other information may be obtained from:Bishop Donald Young34 Fraser Road, Gander, NL, A1V 2E8

Phone: (709) 256-7701Email: [email protected] Subscription Rates:Newfoundland and Labrador: $15.00Outside the province: $20.00International: $25.00

New subscriptions, cancellations, & changes of address shouldbe sent to:CirculationThe Anglican Journal (attn. Bev Murphy)80 Hayden Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 3G2(416) 924-9192 (O) (416) 925-8811 (fax)Email: [email protected]

Each parish is responsible for maintaining its own subscriptionlist - please notify your parish ofce of any changes. Changessent to parish ofces may take months to take effect. Pleasealso send your updated information to Circulation at theAnglican Journal (above) or to Don Young at 34 Fraser Road,Gander NL A1V 2E8.

Articles and photographs: Send to the Editor (above)

Letters to the Editor:Send to the Editor, (address as above). All letters must include

the writers name, address, and telephone number. Telephonenumbers will not be published. Anglican Life does not publishletters under nom de plume. Letters should not exceed 300words (one double spaced typewritten page), and are subjectto editing at the discretion of the editor.

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My Experience WithTheological Education

Part Two of the series on formation and theologicaleducation in our three dioceses:

We have often heardvariations on the saying:When one door closes,another one opens(Alexander GrahamBell). In life we cannever know what door(s)may open for us. Afterretiring from a 38 yearcareer in nursing, I have

found myself preparingto go through a door Inever expected to everapproach, let alone haveopen for me.

I n 2 0 1 3 a n e wp r o g r a m c a l l e d E x p l o r i n g F a i t h :Theology for L i fewas introduced to ourdiocese. This programis directed towardanyone who wishes tolook more deeply intotheir own faith, learnmore about leading a

life of discipleship orwanting to enter theordained ministry. It isan ecumenical programopen to everyone,whether or not you havea background in post-secondary education.It is delivered in three8-week modules a year,through home studyof assigned readingsfrom the course textand weekly gatheringswith a facilitator fordiscussion. The programfocuses on the studyand interpretation ofscripture, studying thetraditions and institutionsof the Christian faith, andlooking at how we are touse this to minister toour community (whetheror not we are ordained).The course assignmentsgive an option to chooseyour topic dependingo n y o u r f o c u s . I fpreparing for preachingministry one can writea sermon; if preparingfor pastoral ministry you

can reect on a pastoralexperience; while thosedoing education forDiscipleship can directthe assignment toward

reection on their ownfaith journey. Aftersuccessful completion of6 modules a certicateof higher education isobtained; with a diplomain higher education after12 modules. Completionof 18 modules leads to aBachelor of Arts degree

in Theology.The program wasd e v e l o p e d o u t o fGlyndr in Bangor, Walesand is now includedin the curriculum atQueens College. Itallows a person to studyin their own area withouthaving to move to alarger centre. There arepresently two groupsin our diocese: one inSt Johns, and anotherin Labrador West. Weare in our fourth year

of s tud ies , hav ingcompleted the certicatelevel in December 2014.

I e n t e r e d t h i sprogram to learn moreabout the Bible, ourChristian faith, and morespecically my own faith.The option to writepersonal reflectionsgave me deeper insight

into my faith journey,and how my growingup in a family of faithhelped guide me. Toenter the ordainedministry was not myoriginal intent; however,with encouragementof those around meand the guidance of

the Holy Spirit I haveopened myself to beconsidered for entry intothe diaconate.

This program, alongwith the other programsoffered through QueensC o l l e g e , p r o v i d e sanother opportunityfor anyone wishing totrain for ordination, orthose who wish to dotheology for personaldevelopment. It opensanother path for us tolearn more about what

it is to be a Christian,and how to live a life ofdiscipleship.


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5MARCH2016


Conscience of The State

The Revd Gregory Mercer

Columnist

Celebration of New MinistrySubmitted by

Jean Nash

On Sunday evening, January 17th, we celebrated a service of New Ministry for the Revd Lynn Courage asassociate priest at the Church of the Ascension. May God continue to bless and strengthen her as she sharesher many gifts of ministry on our journey together in the service of Christ.

Nowadays, societyis no longer shaped bythe church, nor doesthe church have thesame prophetic voicein challenging issues ofinjustice and other moralconcerns. In fact, it oftenhappens that when thechurch tries to take issuewith any moral battle, itis joined by other folkswho want to renounce

the religious right. Wesee this particularly whenit comes to such mattersas abortion or euthanasia,probably because evensom e b el iever s a r e

d i v i d e d o v e r t h e s eissues.

Nevertheless, theChurch is cal led toperform a prophetic rolein modern-day culture. Inboth the Old Testamentand New Testament,prophets were chargedb y G o d t o d e l i v e rimportant messages totheir contemporaries.They served as Godsconscience to thosethey were sent to. In

the United States, thethird Monday in Januaryis a national holiday inhonour of Martin LutherKings (Jr.) contributionto America. It was Dr.Kings constant insistencethat the church exist asthe conscience of statespeaking prophetically tothose in power. It is thechurchs responsibility tolobby the powers thatbe against any form ofinjustice.

Our churches aredoing a lot of fine work,

especially in terms oftheir outreach efforts,and in recent years theyhave stepped up theirefforts in fulfilling theirmission to the poor, the

needy, the oppressed,the imprisoned, etc. Wehave food bank ministries,gathering places for thosewho live on the street,prison ministries, clothingbanks, and the latest, afurniture bank all toserve the less fortunateand helpless. Then thereare numerous overseasmissions, humanitarianmissions, PWRDF, andthe list goes on. In recentmonths, our church in

particular, has stepped upto the plate in sponsoringSyrian refugees. I amproud of our church. But itseems that the church haslost its power to inuencegovernment on criticalissues of injustice.

What can be moreunjust than homelessveterans, unclean water,racism, the high murderrate of aboriginal women,the rights of the deprived,and climate change, justto mention a few? Theseare real issues where

the church not onlyhas a voice, but has aresponsibility to speakout and put pressureon our political leadersto act. This is probably

the most urgent need forthe church. I dare to saythat the church will notreach its full potential, itsfull maturity, without thisprophetic voice.

Now having saidthat, the church alsohas a responsibility topray for our leaders, ourgovernments, and for the

secular world. We alsoneed to pray that God willraise up prophets amongus, people who will speakon behalf of the church inits mandate to tacklet h e a r e a s o f u n j u s tsociety. For the churchto remain silent is, infact , an in just ice.


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MARCH20168


David Davis

Columnist

Codroy Christmas pageantSubmitted byLinda Kendell

On Sunday,Dec.20th, 2015, the SundaySchool children of Holy Trinity Church inCodroy celebrated Christmas by taking partin a pageant depicting the birth of Christ. An

awesome job was done by all the children. Itwas a beautiful service and showed the truemeaning of Christmas as seen through theeyes of a child.

Pictured are from left to right:Shaydon Samms, Byron OQuinn, Malya Kendell, OliviaOGorman, Matthew OGorman, Miranda Spicer, StormFowlow, Olivia Taylor, Hayden Kendell, Jacob Taylor, DylanKendell, Katie OQuinn (in back)

School Masters Part II

Readers of this columnmay wish to consult thefirst installment of it,in the Anglican Life ofNovember 2015, foran introduction to theteaching environmentof the second hal fof the 18th Centuryi n N e w f o u n d l a n d ,

following the exampleof teaching in England.

To cont inue thestory, there is someconfusion concerningthe school master atHarbour Grace (Mr.George Jenner): whatyears he was teachingthere? What years Mr.Thomey was there in theperiod from1767-1769.By 1770-1771, JohnGriggs was the schoolmaster. The disparitybet wee n the salary of themissionary priest and

school master was asignificant disincentivefor school masters tostay at their posts. Also,records show that nextyear Mr. Griggs got theGovernors Certicate.

Mr. Griggs reportedin 1772-73 that therewas no school housea v a i l a b l e , s o t h a tprogress with the schoolwas slow. Often there wereproblems when the peopleput up buildings by freelabour, and ownershipof the buildings wasthen argued over in thecommunity. This mayhave happened in thiscase.

It should be notedat this t ime (1771),

the Society for thePropagation of theGospel (SPG) had onlyfour e m ploye e s inNewfound land : themissionaries EdwardLangman, James Balfour,and Lawrence Coughlin,and the school master,John Griggs.

Interestingly, at thistime, the effect of Mr.Coughlin began to be

felt. The rift betweenHarbour Grace andCarbonear came tolife: the Dissenters andMethodists in Carbonearwanted a Methodistteacher. About this time(1775), John Griggs leftHarbour Grace.

This was a periodi n w h i c h l i f e i nN e wfoundland wasvery challenging as thetrade from the AmericanColonies, especially thecities of Boston, NewYork, and Philadelphia,

were changing overfrom peacetime trade toprivateering. Privateersfrom there raided thecoast of Newfoundland.

In 1778-79, EdwardFreeman became thes c h o o l m a s t e r f o rHarbour Grace andCarbonear. Had theyresolved the requestfrom Carbonear for aMethodist teacher? Wasthere only one teacher?Was he at Harbour Grace?Mr. Freeman seems tohave had his own schoolbefore being employedby the SPG.

In the SPG records,there no reports ofschool masters in otherplaces in Newfoundland

at this time. It is likely thatschool masters that werenot connected with theSPG were not mentionedunless they joined theSPG. There were at thattime c1500-1600 peoplein St Johns. Were thereteachers there? In 1781-82 there was a winterschool at Port de Gravein Conception Bay, andanother at Carbonear.

No doubt this seasonalarrangement was usedso as not to interferewith spring and summersheries.

In 1782 Mr. GeorgeFullilove was found tobe school master atHarbour Grace. Therewere many poor parentsso he started a poorschool in the summerfor 40 students. Thiswas approved by theSPG. Many types ofschools, paid and unpaidby parents, were used

to meet the desire ofparents to have someschooling in these distantcolonies. In 1784-85 Mr.Fullilove went back toEngland.

The next year therewas another schoolm a s t e r a t H a r b o u rGrace. A Mr. Lamprey(Lampen) was appointedwith 75 students and hestayed for a long time.There is still a LampensLane in Harbour Grace,r u n n i n g f r o m t h eentrance to the churchto the old graveyard. Mr.Lampens employmentterm was for ve years,with an increase in salaryof 5 provided he tookmore poor children.

In 1788-89, Mr. WalterPrice, the missionary in StJohns, formerly Curateat Dartmouth in Devon(England), opened apoor school. Did he teachin the school as somemissionaries did? Didhe have an assistant? Hiswife? His sister?

A little more aboutMr. Lampen at HarbourGrace casts some light

on the poor schools. Hetaught 12 children forfree, 42 for pay, and 9in the evening. This stilldoesnt give us as muchinformation as we wouldlike. Were the eveningstudents free? Were theyadults?

In this period, as fora long time to come,the post o f schoolmaster was somewhatinterchangeable withthat of the missionary.It was rare to have botha missionary and a schoolmaster in the same place.Often the priest beganas a school master, andthis reality continuedfor many years. How

many school masters(teachers) did a widerange of church activitiesin parishes, includingreading services as thewriter did.


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9MARCH2016


Ron Clarke

Columnist

The Cost of Discipleship

The Revd Michael Li

ColumnistJesus urged people

to count the cost ofd i s c i p l e s h i p (L u k e14:25-35). Many peoplehave made the decisionto follow Jesus withoutrst pausing to count thecost. To them, religion isa great, soft cushion. Itprotects them from thehard unpleasantnessof life. Jes us makestotal demands on Hisfollowers.

Every Christian iscalled to discipleship.Jesus said, You did notchoose me, but I choseyou to go and bear fruit

(John 15:16). He callsus to share our liveswith Him. He calls usto commit ourselveswhole-heartedly to Him.It is a call to say no to the

old life of sin. It is a callto say yes to Jesus.

Jesus never promisedHis disciples an easy life.D i s c i p l e s h i p o f t e ni n v o l v e s p a i n a n dtears. If we want to beHis disciples, we mustaccept His supremeauthority as Lord overevery area of our life.We are no longer ourown. Jesus i s thedominant factor inour li fe . We are to livelives that honour Jesus.We are to live lives thathasten the coming ofthe day of God.

Jesus calls us tof o l l o w H i m . A l s oHe calls us to join thenew communi ty o fGods people. We mustbe a loving and caringc o m m u n i t y b e f o r ewe have somethingcredib le to say toan unbelieving andbroken worl d. Godslove among Gods people

is the most convincing ofarguments for the truthof the Gospel.

The world is full ofbad news. Hatred, violence,and war occur nonstop

around the world. TheGospel of Jesus isGods good news forthe whole world. Godloves people of all races,backgrounds, cultures,and languages. We arecalled to share the goodnews of what God hasdone in Jesus. OnlyGod can save us. Godhas chosen to reach outto the needy primarilythrough His disciples. Atthe Holy Eucharist, we arespiritually strengthened inorder to serve God in theworld. This fellowshipmeal is a foretaste ofheaven.

Jesus tells us to makedisciples of all nations(Matthew 28:19). Weare called to makedisciples who will makemore disciples. What achal leng e! What aprivilege! What a life-long vocation!

God : Too OldFashioned?

Not too long ago,for us Christians, there

seemed so much aboutGod, about religion,and about the church,that was so sacred, sounchangeable for solong. We assumed thatit would go on forever.

But these last fewyears important changes,unforeseen changes,have occurred. Andmany more, it seems,are on the way.

Take marriage, forexample. For centuries,between a man and awoman. The scripturesapparently provided andapproved such a model.

Today the denitionof marriage has beenbroadened so widelythat civil- marriages,same sex marriages,all are widely approved.Indeed living togetherand staying unmarried iswidely popular now.

Does God approve,and bless all this?

And, of course, many

other dramatic changesare occurring right now.

T r a d i t i o n a l l y ,Christians died whenever

and however God willedit, however painful theend might be. Hes outof his miseries, wed say.

N o w , h o w e v e r ,death-by-choice willsoon be with us. Doctor-assisted death, which issuicide in other words,wil l be legal . Manycountries have alreadylegalized it.

Right now it all seemsso humane. We willonly euthanize peoplew h o a r e s u f f e r i n gterrible, unbearable, andfatal pain, they say. Weddo it for a sick animal,the reasoning goes. Itall sounds reasonable,doesnt it?

But, what kind ofslippery slope are weerecting?

After a while, whenassisted suicide becomeswidely practiced, howeasy will it be to assistanybody we want to getrid of?

And what aboutGods control over ourlive and death? Will heno longer be in control?

Change today seemsto be occurring far tooquickly.

Will the time comewhen Godly living will beobsolete?

Cant happen! Godis the same yesterday,today and forever! Wemust not forget that! Hesin control, and alwayswill be.

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10/12

MARCH201610


Revd Everett Hobbs

Columnist

Responding to HumanSuffering

There is no shortageof human suffering

a n d i t t a k e s m a n yforms: natural disasters,poverty, diseases, wars,tyranny, refugees, andthe list goes on. Howdo we respond?

T h e r e a r ethree bas ic responses:indifference, sympathy,o r i n v o l v e m e n t .Indifference is to donothing, and to lookthe other way. Sympathyis to express concern butlittle else. Involvementmeans engagement andservice. As Christians,we look to the Bible for

guidance and examplesabout responding to

human suffering. Aclear statement is foundin Micah: What doesthe Lord require of youbut to do justice, and tolove mercy, and to walkhumbly with your God.

Joan Chitister writes:To those who have noame in their hearts for

just ice, no unrelentingunderstanding of theother, no consciousnessof responsibi l i ty forthe reign of God, noawareness of a call togo beyond themselves,n o co m m i tm en t tohuman community, andno endurance for thedailiness of it all mayindeed be seeking God,

but make no mistake,God is still only an ideato them -precious asit might be - but not aReality. . . Zeal has todo with caring enoughabout something tohave made being bornworthwhile . . . Goodzeal is to be drivenby the love of God,to the point of lovingeverything, everybody. . .

We can respond tosuffering in a number ofways. I have a threefolda p p r o a c h : P r a y e r ;

Engagement; Support.P r a y i n g f o r

others (intercession)requires intention andcommitment, time andattention. I try to do it daily,for about twenty minutes.To help me, I use lists thatare already prepared,such as that from theLeprosy Mission, theUS Church Army, andwe can also create ourown lists. You can ndresources online. I alsouse the daily news andbring that into my timeof intercession, at a laterpoint, and/or at the timeI hear about it, and I canoffer a prayer. In this wayI try to attain a sense ofsolidarity with those whosuffer and keep in touch

with the pain of others.We can use our momentsof pain to pray for otherswho are suffering in asimilar way. Ultimately,it is not my prayer alone,but in conjunction withothers, and joining withJesus in pleading to theFather. In this way, I ammore likely to see theworlds suffering throughthe eyes of God, andrespond with the love ofGod.

E n g a g e m e n t i slimited by circumstances.In most cases I cannot

actually be with thosewho suffer. What I can

do is advocate in someway on their behalf. Iwrite letters and signpetitions through suchorganizations as AmnestyInternational and ChristianSolidarity Worldwide.Again, these resourcesare online. Loc all y,w e c a n v o l u n t e e rwith organizations andprograms which serveothers in need.

I support financially

a number of charitiesw h i c h w o r k t oalleviate suffer ing. Mymethod is to selecta single charity fromd i f f e r e n t g r o u p s Ihave identified, suchas re fugees , s t reetchildren, illiteracy, healthissues, human rights, etc..

A useful resource inall this the SustainableDevelopment Goals(SDG), adopted lastyear by most of theworlds nations throughthe United Nations.In 2000 these samec o u n t r i e s a d o p t e dthe Eight Millennium

Goals, dealing withpoverty and hunger,equali ty, education,chi ldrens diseases ,health, environment,a n d s u s t a i n a b l edevelopment. The targetfor obtaining these goalswas 2015. This was notachieved, although therewas much progress, andthe SDG replaced it witha target date of 2030.There are 17 goals and169 targets. A regularcheck on their websitegives us a window onwhat is happening in ourworld.

Finally, we need tokeep before us the wordsof St Teresa of Avila:Christ has no body butyours; no hands butyours. Yours are theeyes by which he lookswith compassion on theworld . Yours are thefeet with which he walksto do good. Yours arethe hands with which he

blesses the world. Youare his body.

St. Michael & All Angels Hosts Second Free Dinner

On Saturday, January 23, 2016 the Parish of St. Michael & All Angels, St. Johns, held their second free community meal. The eventwas organized by the Mission & Ministry Committee.A delicious dinner of spaghetti & meatballs with cake and ice cream for dessert was served to approximately sixty-seven people inattendance. We were pleased to have our Bishop The Rt. Revd Dr. Geoffrey Peddle and his wife Kathy join us. The children had

fun making crafts while adults and parishioners chatted and mingled with each other.Our purpose of the event was to build community among those who are already members of St Michaels and welcome visitorsfrom the immediate neighbourhood and parts beyond.

Article byBarb Earle

PhotobyJeanEllis


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Kevin Smith

ColumnistKevin Smithis a gift planning con-

sultant for the Anglican Church ofCanada. He can be contacted at709 739-5667 or by email:[email protected]

The S Word

ACW Executive in Margaree-Fox RoostSubmitted byKaren Simon

Pictured above is the ACW executive for St Augustines in Margaree-Fox Roost.

Left to Right: Phyllis Carroll (Calendar); Roberta Strickland (Family Life and Youth); Shirley Osmond (Mission & Outreach); Arlene Lilling-ton (Altar Guild); The Revd MaryRose Colbourne; Sharon Billard (President); Julia Spencer (1st Vice President); Joyce Clevett (Treasur-er) & Bernice Sweet (Secretary) Missing: Lorena Kendall (Worship)

The fundamentalprinciple of biblicalstewardship is that Godowns everything - weare simply managerso r a d m i n i s t r a t o r sacting on his behalf.Stewardship expresses

our obedience regardingt h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o nof e ve ry th ing G odh a s p l a c e d u n d e rour control, which isa l l e n c o m p a s s i n g .Ste wardship i s thecommitment of ones selfand possessions to Godsservice, recognizingthat we do not have theright of control over ourproperty or ourselves. Inother words, stewardshipis all that I do, with allthat I have, after I say, Ibelieve.

H o w e v e r , w h e np r i e s t s t a l k a b o u tstewardship and what itmeans, Bishop DouglasHambidge suggests thatour eyes glaze over. He

says that if you tell thecongregation that thesermon is on stewardship,youll lose all of them,except perhaps theparish treasurer, whohopes youll drum upa few more dollars to

ease the pressure on thebudget.Why is this? Why has

stewardship or the Sword gotten so muchbad pre ss? B ishopHambidge, a well knownstewardship writer andpreacher, suggested itis a long, sad story: InCanada, it began whenall necessary fundingcame from the Church ofEngland. When that wascut off and we were onour own, we had to raise

money, and we called itstewardship.

Douglas reflectedback on the variouscampaigns which hashad limited success inthe past when it comesto stewardship. For

example, the EveryMember Canvass, theWells campaign andthe sector plan werenothing more than thinlydisguised attempts tobalance the budget.

T h e p r o b l e m ,according to Douglas,was that deep downinside, people wereconvinced the realmotive of all stewardshiptalk was to get themto raise their financialgiving level, to provide

the church with thesupport it needed tokeep going.

The Bishop wondersif there is another way oflooking at stewardship inrelation to what motivatesour giving? He suggests

the best known verse inthe whole of scripturesays it all:

God so loved theworld that he gave.....John 3:16

These words sum upGods attitude towardsgiving and Gods givingis motivated by Godslove. The Bishop sayswe have always knownthis, but most of us failto relate it directly tostewardship and ourapproach to giving.

What does this mean?Bishop Douglas offers ananswer:

We are called not somuch to engage in

stewardship programsas to be stewards. This

means that life is livedas an offering of faithand thanksgiving, andin full awareness of the

giving of God, whichcalls from us a life of

giving in response.


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MARCH201612

in Newfoundland&Labrador

News from St. Peters, Upper GulliesSubmitted byJack Morgan

The congregation of St. Peters in Upper Gullies (C.B.S.)has had reasons for celebration! There was a wonderfulPatronal Festival, where Mr. Clarence Morgan kindlyinvited people to come and enjoy time on the farm anda hay ride. Lunch was provided by the Mens Serviceclub. There was also an evening of dance and music,with the talented Darcy and Regan Scott (picturedabove).Also, the Revd Jean M. Smith was inducted as the rectorof the parish on January 17th (pictured on the right).

Pillowcase DressesSubmitted by

Lisa Brown

Ladies of the ACW of St. James Church, Port aux Basques, recently made

72 pillowcase dresses for the children of Jinja, Uganda. These dresseswere blessed by The Revd Clayton Billard on January 31st at our 10:00 amChurch Service. The dresses will be hand delivered by Sandra and JenniferSpencer. This mother/daughter team will be traveling to Uganda on March18th on behalf of Jorjas Journeys - Empowering Orphans.

Front Row: Myrtle Strangemore, Alma Porter, Gertie Tapp, Edna Reid, Marguerite White,Sandra Spencer.Back Row: Bessie Blackmore, Phoebe Payne, Cora Farrell, Claudine Matthews, JenniferSpencer.Missing from photo: Diane Hewitt, Gail Northcott, Dale Barnes and Loretta Skeard.

Presentation to SarahQuinton

Submitted byBernice Stokes

On Sunday 6 December 2015, Sarah Quinton, along-time member of St. Michael and All Angelsin St. Johns was recognized for her devotion andmany years of service to the parish. With heartfelt

thanks and appreciation, she was presented witha bouquet of owers. Her friends sincerely hopethat all of Gods blessings will always be with her.She has gone to take up residence in Ontario.

PhotobyJeanEllis

Pictured above, Sarah Quinton is presented with her owersby Bernice Stokes, Altar Guild President. Also pictured are theRevd Jonathan Rowe and the Revd Bill Noel.

anglican life march 2016

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