Anglican Life October 2013 Proof

7/29/2019 Anglican Life October 2013 Proof

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Photo:JeanEllis

Bishop Pitman to Retire

Continued on Page 2See: An Interview

The Right ReverendCyrus Pitman, the Bishopof Eastern Newfoundland& Labrador, announced hisintention to retire this com-ing November. Angl icanLife had the opportunityto sit down bishop BishopPitman for an interview.

Anglican Life: How do

you feel since you madethe decision to retire thisfall?

Bishop: I feel it is theright decision. It is the righttime. For me, it was a ques-tion of retiring either nextSpring or now. By doing itnow, the new bishop wouldhave a chance to have aSynod in the Spring and getoff to a good start.

An gl ic an Li fe : Whatplans do you have foryourself after you retire?

Bishop : ( Laug h i ng)Thats a good question!I do have many plans. Iwant to do some of thethings I have expected oth-er people to do all my life...Lay people in parishes. Iwill continue to engage in

ministry. Im not sure whator where but I want to beof assistance wherever Iam needed. I want to behelpful.

The first few months Iwant to get my thoughtstogether and not take ona lot of stuff. I have muchconfidence in the Church.I believe many people willstep up and be capable ofdoing what I was doingand more besides.

Ret i rement for mewont mean sitting back in

a chair...I have lots of differ-

ent interests. I want to dothe things I never had timeto do before.

An gl ic an Li fe : Whatthings during your episco-pacy would you considerchallenging for you?

Bishop: Well, early on inmy episcopate, we becameinvolved in the Anglican

Essentials situation. Somepeople were going off indifferent directions. Thatwas challenging. It wasnot just a challenging timefor me but for the wholeChurch. In hindsight, Ibelieve that process madeus stronger.

Some of the other chal-lenges involved personnel.There are no easy solutionsto these challenges. Dealingwith issues in particular toclergy and to lay peoplethat was very challenging.There are no easy solutionsto things like that. We areliving in an age of account-ability and everything ison the table. I think that isreally important. Whateverthe issues are regardingpersonnel, you have to dealwith them and we have hadsome serious issues.

Angl ican Li fe : Wh atwere the joys of being abishop for the past tenyears?

Bishop: There have beena lot of joys! One of thejoys has been trying to helppeople see that today is agreat time for the Church.The move that St. MichaelsParish (in St. Johns) hasmade in relocating hasbeen a great joy. The movemade at the Parish of theResurrection (in South Riv-er) made has been verygood. I think parishes thathave been trying to buildcommunity, which is hap-pening more and more...wehave some parishes that arebeginning to grow again

which is very positive. Partof the joy is seeing this newgrowth and planting someseeds that will grow inthe future. God gives the

growth!

Anglican Life: In youropinion, how has ministrychanged since you werefirst ordained a deacon?

Bishop: Thats a hugequestion! Some things havechanged dramatically, butthe mission of the Churchhas never changed. WhenI look at how I came intoordained ministry, someof the challenges are thesame. We still have to reachout into the community

further and further andnot be cloistered inside ourchurches. That was how itwas when I started and it istrue now. I came in as an or-dained person in the 1960sand that was not an easytime. That was the timethat people were saying,God is dead! Many peo-ple finished their trainingat Queens and decided notto be ordained. The wholesociety changed and theChurchs place in societychanged as well.

But in some ways, partsof what we were trying todo in ministry in the 1960swe need to do more delib-erate today, particularly inreaching out. When we talkabout the good old daysin the Church and all theyoung people that were go-ing...some of that was true,but some of that was not.What is true is that the Mis-sion of the Church is for usto reach out and it is urgentand we have to continuous-ly be working at. It is GodsMission, not ours. God willalways be in Mission. Weare not the Mission...Godis and we are partneringwith God in the Missionto the world. That is what

co-mission means...ourMission together with God.Some things have changed,and society has changedquite a bit but, as we readthe Scriptures, the City ofCorinth was also a verychallenging place to be aChristian. I think today isjust as challenging whetherit be in urban, suburbanor rural ministry. This is alife-saving and life-givingMission. It is an excitingtime for the Church and interms of clergy and lead-

ers, I believe people aregoing to have to be trainedmore deliberately to en-gage the culture. We arevery good in the cultureof the Church, but we arenot so great in the cultureof society.

Anglican Life: You havebeen ordained for over 40years. What do you thinkthe Anglican Church willlook like 40 years fromnow?

Bishop: I was ordainedin 1967. I think as we con-tinue to move into the fu-ture, we will continue todecline, unless we recap-ture the reason we existin the first place. We needto recapture that visionof why we are here as theChurch. The possibilitiesare endless and I thinksociety is crying out to theChurch to make a differ-ence.

The model will have tobe different. We will needto partner with other agen-cies and that is beginning tohappen already. This will


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Continued from Page 1

An Interview with Bishop Cybe critical to the future ofthe Church, but perhapsmore importantly, to the fu-ture of society. The Churchis the salt and the yeast.It is called to make a dif-ference in the world fromthe very beginning. This isa time of real opportunityfor the Church. Peopleare not negative about theGospel, they want to see itin action. They want theGospel to make a differ-ence in their lives and oth-ers. Someone said a longtime ago, When all is saidand done, theres more saidthan done! People want tosee what can be done.

The other thing thathas changed dramatical-ly, is that the priest didall the work of ministry.Lay people were mostlyconsumers, but that is notso anymore. People aremore engaged in the gov-ernance and witness of theChurch than ever before.We came through a longperiod when clergy werethe be-all and end-all.That is not so anymore andit is a good thing.

The other thing that haschanged quite a bit, is thatchurches have been in asurvival mode. I think weare coming out of that now.We are taking some risksand leaps of faith in reach-ing out to people. St. Mi-chaels Parish is an exampleof this. We are known to bea church that is always onthe ground and making adifference. It is so easy toget into a cocoon and do allthe churchy things, butthe church things are out

in the world.

Anglican Life:Is there aparticular portion of Scrip-ture that has been a sourceof strength for you duringyour ministry?

Bishop: For God soloved the world that hegave his one and only Son,that whoever believes inhim shall not perish buthave eternal life, from theGospel of John. That pas-sage has been very mean-ingful for me. At the heart

of it all for me, theological-ly, has been the Cross. Thecost of the Cross and the joyof Easter. That has been mygreatest joy! The Church is

an extension of Christ andthis is our great joy!

Ang lic an Li fe: If youcould give any adviceto your successor, whatwould it be?

Bishop: One of the thingsis that I will only give ad-vice if the new bishop seeksit! (laughs)

I have learned that.My only advice is to

focus upon the Cross andthe Mission of the Church.Look at all the possibilitiesaround us. We have somevery skilled and dedicatedclergy (in this Diocese) whoare committed. We need

to be able to look moreclosely at reaching out inthis particular time and inthis particular society andbe faithful to the Mission ofthe Church.

The question for theChurch is, Are our besttimes ahead of us or behindus?

My answer is that thebest days for the Churchare ahead of us. So that iswhy I dont see that we aregone in ten, twenty, or evena hundred years. The shape

of the Church will be differ-ent, but I think that if weare true to the Gospel, thebest days are ahead of us.

Anglican Life:What willyou miss the most aboutthe daily work of being aDiocesan Bishop?

Bishop: What I will missmost is the heavy responsi-bilities of being a bishop. Iwill miss seeing the biggerpicture of the Church inthe Diocese and across thiscountry. I had the privilege

of going to the LambethConference and I learnedthat we are a very diverseChurch.

To paraphrase formerArchbishop of Canterbury,Michael Ramsay, I believehe said, The fact that theAnglican Church looks somessy at times is at theheart of what it means tobe part of the One, Holy,Catholic, and ApostolicChurch.

I will miss the fellow-ship and moving around

the Diocese. That wasmore of an interest to me.Throughout this Diocesethere are a lot of very faith-ful people in very humble

situations. Each parish isunique but we have veryfaithful people looking forleadership. I will miss go-ing around to the differentparishes every weekend.That has been one of thebig joys for me. We havea strong group of clergyand I think we can do a lotmore together than apart.We have to work together.If not, it will be very chal-lenging for the Church.The direction to be one wasgiven by our Lord himself.

Whoever becomes theBishop, will have to con-tinue to encourage the in-volvement of the whole

people of God in the Mis-sion of the Church.

An gl ic an Li fe :Whatwont you miss about theday to day routine?

Bishop: (Laughing) Iwont miss the foolishnessat times!

But seriously, one ofthe joys for me is to see thegrowth and maturity thatis happening amongst theclergy of this Diocese. Thatis really encouraging.

Rather than giving

it up, I see it as layingit down, and others willcome along and pick upwhat is good and disposeof what is not good.

Angl ican Li fe : Sharewith us something youaccomplished in your min-istry that was an importantachievement for you?

Bishop: There are anumber of things, but thething that is most import-ant to me is to encouragepeople to develop a deeper

sense of Mission.The most challengingplace on the planet for Mis-sion is the neighborhoodswe live in. I see so manyparishes trying to reachout and I know how chal-lenging that is for them.Trying to maintain a faithcommunity and to reachout at the same time is verychallenging. For me, if Ihave made any differenceat all, hopefully encourag-ing people to continue inthe Mission of the Church.

As I said before, I havegreat confidence in thefuture of the Church andI have great confidence inthe person God will raise

up to be our next bishop.God has already chosen

the next bishop, and Godwill call us together to tellus who that person is andI believe God is in the pro-cess. This is much morethan a job. I pledge I willnot interfere or cause thenext bishop any grief. If Ican be of any help to theChurch, I will be there. Iam very conscious of theco-mission of our Baptismand my goal is to continueto live out fully my baptis-

mal ministry with God.

Angl ican Li fe wishesBishop Pitman and his fam-ily our deepest prayers asthey transition into a newphase of ministry.

The Electoral Synod tochoose a new Bishop forthe Diocese will be held onNovember 15-16, 2013 atthe Church of Saint Marythe Virgin in St. Johns.

Photo:JeanEllis


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25th Anniversary for Springdale ChurchSubmitted by

The Parish of Springdale

Anniversary Gift. The ladies of St. Lukes Church in Springdale presented these throws toJill Wisemen of The Valley Vista Seniors Home to be used by the residents for their comfort.

St. Lukes AnglicanChurch in Springdale

celebrated its 25 anniver-sary May 25, 2013. Thebeginning of an Anglicanchurch was born in 1940by the late Mrs. EdithManual . In the fall ofthat year a visiting clergyfrom the Exploits Parish,Grand Falls and Buchanswould visit monthly.This continued until 1949when Springdale beganto boom and the Angli-can congregation grew.We moved from havingworship in the MasonicTemple to the UnitedChurch and from there toour own church building.The old Orange Lodgewas purchased, renovat-ed and named St. LukesAnglican Church after the

former church in LittleBay , it was our churchbuilding for ten years.

As the congrega-tion began to grow even

more, the Pentecostalcongregation did as well.They decided to sell theirbuilding and build a newone. We then purchasedtheir building in April1988 and renovated itto become the AnglicanChurch. May 25, 1988the building was openedand dedicated by the Rt.Rev. Mark Genge, Bishopof The Diocese of CentralNewfoundland.

Shortly afterward TheParish of St. Luke becamepart of the Diocese ofWestern Newfoundlandwith The Rt. Rev. StewartPayne the Bishop. We be-came part of the Parish ofSeal Cove which consist-ed of Seal Cove, Westport,

Purbecks Cove, BaieVerte, Nippers Harbour,

Tilt Cove, Round Har-bour, and LaScie. At thattime the rector lived inBaie Verte.

In September of 1988,an assistant, The Rev.Kenneth Penney arrivedwith his family to take upresidence in Springdale.This fulfilled our dreamof having an Anglicanclergy living in our town.He stayed until 1991.Following him The Rev.Randy Lockyer came onMay 1, 1992 and wasordained at St. Lukes,Springdale October 19,1992. This was the firstordination at st. LukesSpringdale. Followingthis the Parish becamerestructured again andwe now became knownas the Parish of Westportand included the commu-nities of Westport, Pur-becks Cove, Springdale,

and Pelleys Island. Rev.Randy Lockyer becamethe rector of the new par-ish. God allowed us toexperience much growththrough faith, prayers,and commitment of thecongregation. Followingthe dedicated servicesof clergy like Rev. IliffeSheppard, Rev. DiannaBrett Frye, Rev. SandraVoelker- Wock, St. LukesAnglican Church becamea Parish of its own andsupported a half time

ministry led by Rev. Mil-dred Tobin and presentlyRev Madonna Boone.

We are present lyblessed with two honor-

ary assistants Rev. RayBrett and Rev. David Sis-smore. Overall the parishhas seen many changesboth in structure withboundaries and leader-ship with the guidanceof Bishop Mark Genge,Bishop Don Young, Bish-op Stewart Payne, BishopLeonard Whitten andpresently Bishop PercyCoffin.

As a congregation wehave been blessed byGod and The Holy Spirithas led us and contin-ues to lead us. To markour milestone on May25, 2013 we celebratedwith Holy Eucharist ,a banquet that was at-tended by ArchdeaconEdward King, retiredBishop Don Young, Rev.Randy Lockyer, Rev. Mil-dred Tobin, Rev. DavidSissmore and our rector

Rev. Madonna Boone;various greetings wereread from former clergyand bishops who wereunable to attend.

We thank God for Hismany blessings and as welook to the future withhope we know that what-ever God has plannedfor St. Lukes AnglicanChurch, Springdale, Hewill lead us and throughfaith we will overcome,persevere and run therace with courage as the

cloud of witnesses didbefore us. Thanks Be toGod.

Cutting the Cake. The oldest and youngest members of St. Lukes in Springdale cutting theAnniversary cake. They are (left to right) Jersey Young and Gus and Mabel Oldford.


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anglicanlife

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 each

calendar year with an independent editorial policy.

Anglican Life is a section of the Anglican Journal

Editor-in-Chief:The Revd Sam Rose8 Croydon StreetParadise, NLA1L 1P7Email: [email protected]

Advertising Rates and other information may be obtained from:Bishop Donald Young34 Fraser Road, Gander, NL, A1V 2E8Phone: (709) 256-7701Email: [email protected] 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-in-Chief (above)

Letters to the Editor: Send to the Editor-in-Chief, Sam Rose(address as above). All letters must include the writers name,address, and telephone number. Telephone numbers will notbe published. Anglican Life does not publish letters undernom de plume. Letters should not exceed 300 words (onedouble spaced typewritten page), and are subject to editingat the discretion of the editor.

These policies were adopted by the Anglican Life Committee.

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Circulation: 20,486

NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

The Rt. Revd David Torraville

BishopCentral Newfoundland

How Can We BeThankful?

The harvest is in andwe take a time in Octoberto offer Thanksgiving.

While watching theNews the commercialshave already told me howunsatisfactory my life is. Ihave been told that I dontsmell as good as I should,my teeth are not as whiteas they could be, and whatmy grey beard and hair isdoing to my personal life,I blush to mention. Withthat blush fresh in mind, Iwill not presume to com-ment on how women are

encouraged to be dissat-isfied with themselves,and how they are toldthey can improve by buy-ing products which willcolour, remove, lift, slimor plump them to beautyand happiness.

How can we be thank-ful when we are called tounrelenting dissatisfac-tion?

On a much more se-rious note the Nightly

News tells of worldwideviolence; it recounts lo-cal murder and robbery;it informs us of refugeecamps around the world;it reports a slowly declin-ing middle class and ex-panding poverty at home.

How can we be thank-ful when we are remind-ed of such fear and pain?

Scripture is not a sim-plistic story of good over-coming evil, it recountsGods people living and

praying and serving inthe midst of fear and pain.It is the story of slaveryin Egypt and a long andarduous journey in thetime of Moses; it is thestory of a despotic kingand thoughtless crueltyin Persia, in the time ofEsther. In Jesus time, itis the story of oppressionand death under the Ro-mans. The time of Pauland the early church is atime persecution. For the

centuries since, Christianshave battled other faithsand one another in ongo-ing acts of sinfulness.

We can be thankfulthat in spite of this wehave a God who has notabandoned us and whocalls us to gentleness andprayer, to supplicationand thanksgiving, in-deed even calling us toshow mercy and forgive-ness. We have a God who

comes to us in service.I was recently reading

Not Words but Deeds,by Sister Corona Wyse.Very early in the bookis a description of NanoNagle, the founder ofthe Presentation Sisters,which reads in part, Meeta woman whose love wasstronger than the vicious-ness, injustice, greed andviolence that swampedher city and nation

I give God thanks for

people who are strongerthan the pettiness andself-absorption whichswamps our age, who re-fuse to be swayed by thecreed of fear and greed. Igive God thanks for thosewho are strong enough tooppose injustice and vio-lence. I give God thanksfor people who are ex-amples of service andprayer, of forgiveness andmercy. I give God thanksfor those who do not see

the love of God as re-ward but as call, who seescripture not as a staticprose, quoted to controland manipulate, but as aliving faith, written on theheart and in the souls ofGods people to nurtureand encourage. I giveGod thanks for those whostruggle to live lives offaith and service, follow-ing the risen Lord.

Photo:Copyrigh

t:DavidP.Lewis


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30 Roe Avenue, P.O. Box 348,

Gander, NL A1V 1W7Telephone: (709) 651-4100

Fax: (709) 256-2957

Email: [email protected]

Churches and Young FamiliesSubmitted by

Claudia Yetman-LongMount Pearl

Churches cannot sur-vive without people. Withdwindling populationsin many Newfoundlandcommunities, and dwin-dling populations in manyparishes, this notion ismore important now thanever before. We have tomake our churches plac-es where people want tocome and want to stay.Most churches recognizethat we need more pa-rishioners to survive. TheBack to Church Sundaymovement around theworld recognizes this andattempts to help churchesidentify ways to invitepeople to attend. It is notenough, however, just todraw people to a specialchurch service. If we dontregularly reflect on ourdaily welcoming practicesand find ways to be con-sistently inviting, we mayindeed alienate some fromattending. One group thatis particularly vulnerableto this is the young family.

Families of young chil-dren who have made thecommitment to attendchurch regularly need tobe celebrated and sup-ported in every way byour parishes. It is not easyto be a parent in the twen-ty-first century. Raisingchildren in todays tech-nological world is not thesame as it was twenty,thirty or forty years ago.When a family makesa conscious decision tomake church a regularpart of family life we must

celebrate this and do all inour power to help make ithappen again and again.With the multitude ofsecular organizations andevents vying for the at-tention of children andyoung families, we needto embrace families whotake the time to come tochurch and to find waysto make it a positive expe-rience, one they will wantto repeat. The receptionreceived by these familiesin our churches can make

it a wonderful experience,or can make it a horrificone.

Our two children aregrown now. But when

they were young we madea conscious effort to con-tinue to attend churchregularly. An experience

we had when our oldestchild was three still mullsin my head from time totime, especially when Isee someone reacting neg-atively to young childrenin church. We used to sitnext to a beautiful andpoignant stained glasswindow of Jesus withchildren sitting aroundhim. Under it was thebible verse Suffer littlechildren, and forbid themnot, to come unto me: forof such is the kingdom ofheaven. (Mark 10:14) Thelower windows in thisbeautiful church were atthe level of the seats soanyone sitting by themcould not help but seethose stunning images.Our inquisitive little girl,who was just learning tocount, was very quiet-ly counting the childrenin the picture, and, in avoice just above a whis-per, excitedly told us howmany children were therewith God! A man be-hind us, in a much louder

voice grumbled Childrenshouldnt be here. Theyare disrupting the service.Why did they bring her tochurch? There was a lot Iwanted to say to this man,not the least of which wasto ask him to really look atthe image three feet awayfrom where we were allsitting. Common senseand manners prevailed,and silence ensued. Butwhat stuck the most wasmy hesitancy to return toanother church service

with my little girl. Whileit may very well be thatmy reaction was indeedan over-reaction, and theresult of only one personscomments, the negativefeelings were real andones that stayed.

Three years later, whenour second child was born,we came to the realizationthat we couldnt continueto keep attending our cityhome church. We wereliving outside St. Johnsin a nearby community.

It was just too difficult.The stresses of raising ayoung family were takingtheir toll on us. To makethe forty minute trek to

church in St. Johns witha new baby in tow, andthen wait for our daughterto attend Sunday School,

which took place afterthe service, was just toomuch. The time had cometo find a closer church toattend.

We started to attendour current church, a verynew parish at that time,with lots of young fami-lies. Children were an ac-tive part of every service.Our second child was,shall we say, somewhatboisterous during ser-vices. Although this wasstressful for us, and wedid all we could to reducethe restlessness, neveronce did anyone glare atus, tell us we shouldntbe there, or make us feelunwelcome. One EasterSunday, my respect forBishop Len Whitten, whowas our rector at that time,grew enormously when,towards the end of the ser-vice, our son had enough.I was preparing to quietlytake him out of the churcharea so he could have thefreedom to move andtalk out loud. Suddenly

he darted away from meand ran up to the altararea. The communionrail at our church formsan oval shape around thealtar. We stood there mor-tified as he darted underthe rail and proceeded torun around the altar. Ourwonderful priest calmlypicked him up, turnedto the congregation, andproceeded to give the fi-nal prayers and blessingswith our child in his arms.Our son, amazed by this

turn of events, just staredat the priest and didnt tryto squirm away. Once theblessing was over, BishopWhitten quietly walkedover to our stressed souls,smiled and handed ourson back to us. No chas-tising, no harsh looks, notut-tutting or head shak-ing from anyone. I wasprepared for anything atthat point, but amazingly,nothing happened.

These differing experi-ences, as well as a lifetime

of other experiences withyoung children, taught usmany things. There are somany simple ways parish-es and parishioners can

regularly make church aninviting place for youngfamilies:

1. Introduce yourself

to any new families. Makesure they are aware of thechild-centered things theparish offers.

2. Create a small qui-et childrens area at theback or side of the churchwith activity sheets, cray-ons, paper, puzzles, andstory books that childrencan use during the service.Be sure new families knowthis is a place children arefree to use before, during,or after the service.

3. Offer colouring /ac-tivity sheets or childrenspamphlets to children asthey arrive at church.

4. Invite children andyoung families to play anactive part in the serviceby involving them in tak-ing up collection, handingout bulletins, hymnals orother materials, offeringprayers, doing the read-ings, acting as greeters.If the children leave as agroup to go out to SundaySchool during the service,ask young families to leadwith the banner or cross or

whatever is used.5. Offer to help a par-

ent in church who may betrying to settle a restless ortired child.

6. Have childrenstalks that respect chil-drens feelings and al-low children to expressthemselves freely, withoutover-emphasizing a cuteremark. Thank childrenfor all comments and forbeing part of the talk.

7. Offer kid-friendlyhealthy snacks and drinks

every Sunday outside theworship area, but pref-erably not too far fromwhere the service is takingplace. Make them avail-able to parents to go outto use during the serviceand invite children tohave something after the

service.8. If at all possible

set up nurseries in closeproximity to the worship

area, with safe and cleanplaying spaces and toys.Provide a nursing chairand change table and ap-propriate accessories andsupplies. The most invit-ing nurseries are thosebuilt near the worshiparea with windows to thechurch so that young fam-ilies can see each other.

9. Make sure yourchurch web-page orFacebook page is up-to-date and accurate, andmake certain it highlightswhat your church offersto young families. Beaware that in todays elec-tronic age, many familieschurch shop online be-fore attending a church.

10. Smile, smile, andsmile some more, at ev-eryone, but especially atyoung families!

I empathize withyoung families in churchtoday. It takes a lot of en-ergy, time, and planningto take young childrenplaces. Taking children toa park or playground, or

other child-centered area,is one thing. Taking themto a place where they areexpected to be quiet, andto sit in a confined area foran hour or more, is quitesomething else. I admirethose who do it weeklyand celebrate their ap-pearance at each service.Their commitment to faithis strong. They are doingthe right thing. Childrenare as much a part ofChrists church as adults.Young families in church

are to be celebrated. Weall need to do our part bymaking their attendanceat church a positive expe-rience.


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New Archdeacon

Submitted byRebecca Pennell

Corner Brook

New Archdeacon for the Western Diocese. The VenerableJohn Meade (left) was recently installed as the new ExecutiveArchdeacon and Assistant to the Bishop, The Rt. Revd PercyCoffin (centre). Also pictured is The Very Revd Baxter Park(right) the Dean of the Diocese and Rector of the Cathedral.Photo: Denise Francis

My Lord Bishop!

The Revd Gregory Mercer

Columnist

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(Please Notify your Parish when making changes)

It was Sunday, August18, 2013. The 10 a.m. wor-ship at the Cathedral of St.

John the Evangelist, Cor-ner Brook, was the venue.The occasion was the In-

stallation of the VenerableJohn D. Meade as ExecutiveArchdeacon and Assistantto the Bishop, Diocese ofWestern Newfoundland.Several of the Archdea-cons family, friends andcolleagues, along with asignificant representationof the Cathedral familyattended this momentousoccasion. As many do notfully understand the scopeand nature of this office,

during the Installation Rite,The Rt. Rev. Percy D. Coffinstated that the Archdeaconis the Chief OperatingOfficer of the Diocese, su-pervising all support staff,ensuring that all operation-al aspects of the Diocese runsmoothly, and that the Dio-cese fulfills its mandate as

efficiently and as effectivelyas possible, and that heshares with the Bishop re-sponsibility for Finances,Human Resources, Proper-ty, Planning, Program andGovernance.

Bishop Coffin presidedand Archdeacon Meadepreached at this worshipwherein the Archdeaconwas also appointed an Hon-orary Assistant for the Ca-thedral Parish.

His or Her Grace isa style used for varioushigh-ranking personag-es. For example, HisGrace the Duke of Devon-shire, or His Grace the Arch-bishop of Canterbury;or Your Grace in spokenor written address. In the

Anglican tradition it can beused to address some bish-ops during large gatheringslike a Synod but more oftenthan not a Bishop is ad-dressed orally as My LordBishop.

At the time of writingthis article (Sept. 1) twoweeks have passed sinceThe Right Reverend CyrusPitman, Bishop of EasternNewfoundland and Labra-dor announced his retire-ment and called an electoralsynod for mid-November.And in that time there has

been much talk, guessingand speculation on whomight be his successor. Andeven more importantly thanthat some people are notshy in saying what theywant in a bishop. Whoeverit is I hope he/she will dosomething about this or thator some other issue.

It raises an importantquestion: How should theparameters for a Bishop

search be decided? Shouldit be based on character, oreducation, or leadershipskills, or past successes,

or titles? Who and what isthis person who deservessuch a high-ranking ad-dress as, My Lord. Weknow what the functionof a Bishop is according tothe diocesan constitution:The Bishop shall functionas the President, Chief Pas-tor, Chief Liturgical Office,and Chief Administratorof the Diocese (Canon 1:1).The Bible spells it out quitedifferently. In his first let-ter to Timothy the ApostlePaul writes: The saying issure: whoever aspires to the

office of bishop desires a no-ble task. Now a bishop mustbe above reproach... temper-ate, sensible, respectable,hospitable, an apt teacher,not a drunkard, not violentbut gentle, not quarrelsome,and not a lover of money.He must manage his ownhousehold well... Moreover,he must be well thought ofby outsiders, so that he maynot fall into disgrace andthe snare of the devil (1stTimothy 3:1-4, 7).

Bishops are known toattend to their flock by min-

istering to their clergy. Thisis particularly important.A priority for any bishopis to care for his/her clergy.And this is not to makedistinctions between theneeds of the clergy over andabove the laity. But quiteoften healthy clergy meanshealthy parishes. And mostpeople would agree thatwhen their priest stands onthe chancel steps on a Sun-day morning to greet thechurch, they want to see aperson who is healthy andalive, spiritually, emotion-ally, full of the Spirit, confi-dent in faith. It goes withoutsaying that there is a strongcorrelation between thehealth of the parish priestand the life of the parish.By making the needs andhealth of the clergy a prior-ity the Bishop is indirectlyattending to the strength,functionality, efficiency, andvitality of the parish.

The Bishop is also to bea Visionary. I have heardthis said several times andI believe it to be true. Avisionary is a person with aclear, distinctive, and specif-ic (in some details) vision ofthe future. Not everyone isa visionary. Like all gifts itis a gift from God. A vision-

ary is a person who investshim/herself in meditation,dreaming, and planning,all in the context of prayer.

Such a person has the abilityand the charisma to bringothers alongside, to sharethe vision what do wewant our diocese to looklike five years from now?

Whoever the next Bish-op may be, he/she will haveto have a good handle onthe needs of the diocese. Asindividual parishes we canbe quite parochial, i.e., weare often consumed by ourown needs limiting us to anarrow outlook or scope.This diocese is so diverseranging from the small

outport communities alongthe Labrador coast (someaccessible only by boat orsnowmobile) to the largecluster of church buildingsin the city of St. Johns, thatit is quite inconceivable tothink of electing a Bishopwho is not particularly as-tute to these challenges as awhole. And it goes withoutsaying that the growingdisparity between the reli-gious and the secular is anissue that has to be tackledhead-on with truthful hon-est face-to-face talk. All

this is to say, should not theissues of the diocese be theguiding parameters for abishop search?

True the Bishop is thechief pastor and the chiefliturgical office of the dio-cese. True the Bishop is tobe a person well thoughtof by outsiders. But moreimportantly, a bishop is tobe a person with a goodhandle on all the issues andcircumstances, and willingto make tough decisions forthe sake of the whole. BeingBishop is no easy task. Whowould even aspire to be abishop unless that personwas absolutely sure it wasa call from God.

God already knowswho is going to be the nextbishop of the Diocese. Bymeans of the processes wehave in place, lots of prayerand open to the directionof the Holy Spirit, God willlead us to what he wants,his will. In the end we willall be able to rejoice togeth-er, united knowing that theperson elected was of God.It is only by the grace of Godthat with one voice we cansay, My Lord Bishop, andwelcome him/her as ournew leader.


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Vacation Bible Schoolin Harbour Grace

Want to advertise in Anglican Life?

Contact: Bishop Don YoungTelephone:(709) 256-7701

Email:[email protected]

Ronald Clarke

Columnist

Be Thankful

Jesus will always loveus.

This was the bible pointof our VBS which took placeat St. Pauls Church from

July 18-20, 2013. Each daybegan with prayers andmusic (or moo-sic ). Thiswas followed by the lessonfor the day. On day one,we read Luke 19:1-10. Welearned about how Zac-

chaeus changed after Jesuswanted to be his friend.

Jesus love and forgivenesscan change our hearts also.We asked God to help us bea good friend.

Day twos lesson wasbased on John 19. Welearned how Jesus died totake away our sins. Becauseof Jesus, we can live foreverin heaven with God. Eachday the children and lead-ers enjoyed healthy snacks,and had fun making crafts

and playing games basedon the lesson of the day.

On Saturday morning,we all gathered for a serviceat the church to share withthe parents a slideshow,music, and crafts. This wasfollowed by some watergames and a BBQ. We had awonderful time and we arelooking forward to anotherVBS next summer. Remem-ber Jesus will always loveus. Hes our friend!

Submitted byChristine LynchHarbour Grace

All Saints Sunday School in Corner Brook had a great year. Instruction was based on the

Whole People of God Curriculum and children talked about manners, baptism, prepa-ration for Lent and Easter. Fun activities included Halloween Bingo, Christmas Pageant(The Littlest Christmas Tree), pizza party, a visit from Santa, Valentines Party, and a StPatricks Day activity. The children sang a lovely selection to the congregation on MothersDay and received their certificates. A special thank you goes to Emma Hull (on left) andthose who helped out throughout the year. Submitted by Harry Balsom

All Saints Sunday School

October is the monthfor thanksgiving; howimportant is it to be trulythankful?

A good friend told melast year that he was notcelebrating Thanksgivingbecause he didnt have

anything to be thankfulfor, especially since he hadjust been laid off from hisjob.

Now this man has agood wife, three healthychildren, a two-year oldcar in excellent condition,and many friends. And hehas nothing to be thankfulfor? By the way, he wasonly unemployed for fourmonths before getting aneven better job.

Yes, God has been sogood to all of us, hasnt

he? Yet how many of us aredeeply thankful for all ourblessings?

But, maybe gratitudeis not important to God?Jesus, in the story of theten lepers he cured, madeit very plain that God doesexpect, and require ourgratitude for what he doesfor us. Of the ten curedlepers, you may recall,only ONE came back to

render thanks. Whereare the (other) NINE?Jesus asked in disappoint-ment, Werent there TENcleansed?

We live in an age whenpeople, more than everbefore, seem to take thingsfor granted- and no won-der! When we were young,we worked for benefits:cut wood, lugged water,ran errands, etc. to earnour rewards. We are nowinto our second (third,even) generation of peo-ple who got things largelyfor free in their youth.People get used to freehandouts. Unfortunately,if things come without

effort, they are not reallyappreciated very much.Little appreciation meanslittle gratitude.

I n th i s mon th ofthanksgiving, it wouldbe good for all of us tostop, consider, and takestock of all we have andown- not only the mate-rial, but also things likefamily and friends, healthand strength- non mate-rial things that are trulypriceless.

Having taken stock of

your treasures, it shouldbe easy to generate grati-tude to God, the giver ofall. The ultimate step, then,is to estimate (generously)what you can GIVE- toGod, and, of course, toyour fellow man (allyour brothers and sisterin Christ who need yourhelp).

God loveth a cheerfulgiver.


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Mint Brook ExcursionSubmitted by

The Revd Shaun OConnor

Photos by

James Spencer

Just sit down on this rockledge and then . . . let yourselfgoooooo! Splash! and gigglesall the way downstream. Werewith the Boys Camp of theCentral Diocese about two-and-a-half kilometers above MintBrook Camp, where the waterflows swiftly under a trestlebridge. The kids and adults are having a ball! Many of themhave never tried body-raftingdown a river.

Sometimes its fun to take a

little excursion out of the ordi-nary. Not that there is anythingordinary about Boys Camp! Butthis is different. We havent beenhere before.

Mint Brook is a delightfulwaterway. Many campers arefamiliar, of course, with theswimming hole near the Campitself, and the other one just alittle farther upstream at therapids. But this one is further.And, you know, there wasnt asingle complaint as we packedour lunches and headed alongthe dirt road for a late dinner.

Friends yakked and improvisedwalking sticks. The sun shoneand the breeze blew in the trees.The boys even gestured to somelogging truck drivers to honktheir horns as they passed by.

We were a colourful parade ofbeach towels, bathing suits andsandals.

Coming away to Mint BrookCamp is an excursion in itself.But taking a little trip outsidethe Camp opens up new possi-bilities, too. Its an adventure,a chance to learn somethingnew, to learn about oneself andothers.

The Christian journey is likethat: an adventure with Jesusand friends in new territory. Its

good to have some time away ata place like Mint Brook wherepeople can encounter God in away that they might not any-where else.

At Boys Camp this year wetook a wild ride through GodsWord during our morningsat Avalanche Ranch. We builtbirdhouses and put togethera quilt for Ronald McDonaldHouse. We played games liketug-o-war and Bible Hunt, anddid our chores. We entertainedeach other at campfire and wor-shipped together at the close of

each day.The boys and leaders willremember our time away withGod at Mint Brook Camp thissummer and our excursion upthe river that day.


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Submitted byThe Revd Moses Tucker

Harbour Grace

Another part of history wasrecognized in the Parish of Har-bour Grace this Summer. OnSunday, August 4th, 2013, theSignal Hill Tattoo, together withmembers of the Royal Newfound-land Regiment, attended HolyEucharist in St. Pauls Churchin Harbour Grace, for a specialblessing and dedication of thegravesite of Lieutenant GeorgeGarland Cawley, the oldest known

gravesite of a member of the RoyalNewfoundland Regiment.St. Pauls, built in 1835, is the

oldest stone Gothic revival stylechurch in Newfoundland andLabrador, and is the fourth An-glican Church on the site. At thetime, It was the garrison church ofthe Regiment.

Along with St. Pauls own pa-rishioners, many members of theRoyal Newfoundland Regiment,Veterans, and local and provincialleaders filled the Church, as wellas members of the local Naval Ca-det corps and the C.L.B. Hr. Grace

company #1009. Also in atten-

Harbour Grace Hosts RoyalNewfoundland Regiment

dance was The Venerable MajorShawn Samson, Brigade Chaplainof 37 Brigade, who preached atthe service.

The morning began with theTattoo marching from the Con-ception Bay Museum on WaterStreet to St. Pauls, dressed inWar of 1812 uniforms. Followingthe Eucharist, those in attendancefollowed the Tattoo, who marchedto Lt. Cawleys gravesite, whichhas been fenced together with aninterpretative plaque. The Tattooshot a 21 gun salute, the Rev.

Moses Tucker lead in blessing andprayers, followed by Last Post,two minutes silence, and Reveille.

At the reception afterwards,the chair of Royal NewfoundlandRegiment Advisory Council, Mr.Ron Penney, and Mr. Jim Lynch,the Chair of the BicentennialCommittee, gave a presentationabout Lt. Cawley and the historyof the Regiment. The Parish ofHarbour Grace is grateful for alltheir help, as well as the help ofBob Noseworthy, Bill Peddle andBern Pittman, in the discovery andrecognition of this addition to the

heritage of St. Pauls Church.

Remembering Lieutenant George Cawley. An interpretive plaque honouring Lt. Crawley of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment is unveiled by Mr. Ron Pen-ney (centre), along with Harbour Grace Rector, The Revd Moses Tucker (left) and The Ven. Major Shawn Samson, Padre of the Regiment.


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10

The Empty Nest

Stella Walsh

ColumnistAs I write this we are

helping our son, and onlychild, prepare to leave forHalifax where he will at-tend a private school forgrade twelve. He is doingthis so that he can alsoattend the professional

dance program at theMaritime Conservatoryof Performing Arts. Thedecision to do thiscame about rathersuddenly, follow-ing a dance campwith Jorgen Bal-let in Toronto,during August.

We, his par-ents, had beenexpecting to facethe empty nestnext year, not two

weeks after he camehome from camp. Need-less to say, preparingour hearts and minds inthe midst of getting himready to leave has been abit nerve wracking. Likemost parents, we worryand fret that we havemade too many mistakesand he is not ready.

However , in the

midst of all the turmoiland tears, there is onebright shining threadthat weaves its way

through our sons life;we have always takenhim to church. Some-times different churchesor denominations, but hehas always been aware ofthe importance of attend-ing worship as a family.And six years ago wewere given the blessingof joining the authenticand caring church familyat St. Martins Cathedralin Gander, where he wasalso confirmed.

At St. Martins our

son went from being

a little boyto a young man, andlearned the importanceof taking on responsibil-ities and serving withina Spirit-led Christiancommunity. Along withhis father, he has beensurrounded by male

role models who are notafraid to let the world seethe strength of their faithand commitment to fol-

lowing Jesus. It has beenan important factor in hisspiritual development ashe continues the processof working out his ownviews of his Christianfaith and heritage.

Giving our children aChristian foundation tocarry with them through-out life takes work andcommitment. It cannotbecome something thatis done in spare time oronce in a while. If theyare going to learn the

truth and value of Chris-tianity, parents have toshow up where it counts.

Regular attendance atworship, giving sac-

raments like Confir-mation a priority,and maintaining adevotion to faith athome and outsideof the church build-ing are essential.

Without this foun-dation young people

have nothing to car-

ry with them and drawfrom when they strikeout on their own. Andnothing with which toexplore what their faithmeans for them and theirlife.

As difficult as it is towatch our son leave thenest, we feel blessed thatno matter where he goesor what he does, he willalways have this solidgrounding in Christian-ity. And he knows thateach day there are people

who will pray for him andcover him with love. Andhe also knows that hehas a church family whowill always welcome himhome and be there whenhe needs them. In thefuture, we will have verylittle control over howhe decides to fit his faithinto his daily life, but wehave a measure of peaceknowing that he has thebackground required toencourage him to makethe right choices.

The Revd Michael Li

Columnist

Facing Death

Because of Adamssin, every human beingis now in a state of spir-itual death - separationfrom God. On the dayof Adams disobedience,the sentence of physical

death (separation of thesoul from the body) wasimposed; but by Godsgrace the execution ofthat sentence was de-layed. Adam did notdrop dead on that fatefulday. He died spirituallyand his physical deathcame later (Genesis 5:5).

The last enemy tobe destroyed is death(I Corinthians 15:26).It has not yet been de-stroyed. Until that timedeath remains a reality

in the lives of all people.But Christians can facedeath with confidenceand hope because thepenalty for sin has beenpaid in full by the deathof Jesus. Death is not apunishment from Godfor those who are in Je-sus.

Christians should notfear death because noteven death will be ableto separate us from thelove of God that is in

Christ Jesus our Lord(Romans 8:39). Chris-tians should not feareternal death or seconddeath which is the fi-nal, complete state ofeternal separation fromGod (Revelation 20:14).Though centuries maypass between death andresurrection, the deadwill have no consciousawareness of the passingof time. Jesus will returnagain to judge the worldand put all wrongs to

right. After that therewill be a new heaven anda new earth (Revelation21:1).

Paul wrote: For to

me, to live is Christ andto die is gain (Philippi-ans 1:21). Christianityis Jesus Christ. Christi-

anity is fellowship withJesus. We should getinvolved in this worldnow through makingdisciples, working forsocial justice, concernfor the environment, etc.We should live for Jesustoday, not just waitingfor our death. If Chris-tian life means beingwith Jesus, then deathmust be gain because itwill mean a closer walkwith Him. In life or in

death, we put our totaltrust in Jesus. We do notbelieve in Jesus becausewe believe in God. Webelieve in God becausewe believe in Jesus, whoshows us what God islike. We do not believe inJesus because we believein the Bible. We believein the Bible because webelieve in Jesus, who be-lieves in the Bible.

Christians face deatheveryday. They reactto the death of other

Christians with mixedemotions. We are hap-py that they have goneto be with God. At thesame time, we are sadat the loss of fellow-ship with the departed.Our mourning shouldbe mixed with worshipof God and thanksgivingfor the life of the depart-ed. Worship is especiallyimportant at this time, aswe see in the exampleof King David. When

his child died, the kingstopped praying for thechilds health, and wor-shipped God (II Samuel12:20).

The funeral liturgyis a worship service.We worship God hereand now. Our worshipon earth prepares usfor worship in the newheavens and new earth.During the funeral ser-vice, we can ask Godto help us not to focustoo much on our pain

and grief, but more onGods love and promis-es. May God comfort allwho have recently lost aloved one or dear friend!


11/16

11


If you find a twenty, its mine! said Horace Russell, jokingly. A group of us fromthe local churches and some other folk had just begun to clean up the litter alongthe shores of ODeas Pond in the middle of the Town of Bonavista. It took fourteenpeople two hours to clean up 38 bags worth of garbage and other refuse like car tiresalong a one-kilometer boardwalk. And wouldnt you know it: one of us picked up atwenty dollar bill! That paid for a nice round of coffee for everyone afterwards. Sub-mitted by Rev. Shaun OConnor

Pond Pickings

Anglican Renewal Ministriescoming to Central Diocese

Submitted byThe Revd Perry Cooper

Gander

Anglican RenewalMinistries (ARM) hasbeen empowering clergyand lay church leadersto lead parishes into re-newal in the power ofthe Holy Spirit for over25 years. Our quarterlymagazine, Anglicans forRenewal, offers interest-ing and enlightening arti-cles on personal renewal.

ARM will be host-

ing an overnight retreatat Mint Brook Campand Conference Centre,Gambo beginning withsupper on Tuesday, Oc-tober 22 and concludingWednesday, October 23after lunch.

The theme of the gath-ering will be, Waiting onthe Holy Spirit.

There will be worship,teaching, sharing and atime for prayer.

The event is open toARM alumni as well asothers who are interest-

ed in a time of spiritualrefreshment.

The cost is $40.00. Formore information pleasecontact Rev. Perry Cooperat 709 256 2372.

The Pain ofDeath

Kevin Smith

Columnist

A dear friend passed

away in June after a briefperiod of illness. I watchedher health deteriorate andsaw the anguish on the facesof her four children as theyobserved the slow but delib-erate trek towards the end.It was a heart breaking timefor all of us. Eventually adecision was made to allowher to die with dignity whichwas exactly what she want-ed. But once that decisionwas arrived at, the four chil-dren and I took turns sittingby her bedside, holding herhand and chatting about the

good times.When she finally passedaway on that morning in

Ju n e , t h e r ewas a senseof relief thatshe was inpain no lon-ger and thegrieving tookon anothertone. It waswonderful tohave so manypeople comethrough thefuneral home

to pay theirrespects andto tell storiesa b o u t t h i swonderful lady. This pro-cess helped each of us getthrough those next few daysand we were able to moveon. While we would missthis person terribly still, ourgrief was finally manageableand we tried to resume ournormal lives.

But a normal life is hardto achieve after the loss ofa mother. All four of herchildren went through the

various phases of griev-ing and still have issueswith her death. However,one of her daughters, whoserved as the executrix forher mothers estate and wasextremely busy followingher mothers passing, is onlynow coming to grips withthe terrible loss. She wroteme recently and describedthe void that seemingly cantbe filled. Her words movedme considerably and I re-quested permission to printsome of them here. Theyspeak volumes:

I have come to real-ize how much of an impactMom had on my daily life,even being thousands ofmiles away. Talking to hereveryday (most often nu-

merous times a day) madeit feel like she was here inAlberta with me being in-volved in all that we do. Imlonely now but not alone.Theres a void that my hus-band, my kids or my oth-er friends cant fill and it

bothers me that I cant comeup with a way to fix that.Mudder was one of my best

friends and itsdifficult nothaving thatconstant inmy life. To methe loss is thatshe just diedlast week. Ima whimperingwater pot andI detest that. Iwill give my-self some timea n d I m a y

see a gr ie fcounselor atsome point.I m hoping

that the need to cry lessensand I can learn to smilemore when I think of her.Mom would not want to seeme upset like this. I know itin my head, now I just needto get my heart to cooperate.Tomorrow will be a betterday.

One never knows suchpain unless we have gonethrough it. Im confidentthat my niece will even-

tually find strength andpeace which will allow herto move on and smile whenshe thinks of her mother.That same sentiment goesfor her three siblings. Thatis my hope and prayer.

By the way, that ladywho died was my sisterGrace who passed away in

June - a few weeks sho rtof her 65th birthday. I amreminded constantly thatdeath is only a breath away.I dedicate this column to hermemory.

Kevin Smith is the gift

planning consultant for theAnglican Church of Canada.He can be reached at 709739-5667 or by email: [email protected]


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Submitted byThe Revd Jeffrey Petten

Cartwright

Serving God in Southeast Labrador

September 1st is thefirst anniversary of myappointment to the Par-ish of Southeast Labra-dor. It has certainly beenan interesting experi-ence. Looking back overthe past twelve months,I realize that there is nopossible way theologicaleducation could everprepare someone to dothe things that are neces-sary on the Coast of Lab-rador. Those who haveserved in the formerparishes of Battle Har-

bour and Cartwrightcertainly know what Iam talking about.

When I arrived onthe Coast, I was some-what familiar with theneeds of the area and ofthe people. In August2010 and June 2012, Iwas a Catechist in Cart-wright. Yet, I was notexpecting some of thethings I had to do. Forexample, I was asked to

read out a last will andtestament of a deceasedperson. I had only heardstories about this frommembers of my ownfamily. They told methat years ago, the min-ister was the one to readthe will.

I was not preparedfor the Churchs in-volvement with theschool, such as helpingorganize and participatein Graduation Services.When I was in elemen-tary school, I remembermy parish priest, TheRev. Allan Brake, wouldvisit the school for as-

semblies and concerts.It is great to see suchinvolvement here in myParish. Children knowtheir clergy and can callthem by name.

Coming from theAvalon Peninsula, I didnot appreciate ice con-ditions on roads untilthis past winter. I preferan ice road any day ofthe week more so thanpavement. The ice roads

are a pleasant feature toministry in Labrador,especially since it is overtwo hundred kilometresfrom the rectory in Cart-wright to the Church ofSt. Andrew the Apostlein Port Hope Simpson.

Another thing thatI reflect upon over thepast year is the peoplethat I have come in con-tact with. These are peo-ple who I have baptizedand married, given theBlessed Sacrament of theEucharist in their homesand buried their lovedones. In the past year,I have buried people

ranging in age from 26to 92. Now some peoplehave given me the titleof the grim reaper. Forthe most part, peoplethat I have buried diedwhile I was away fromthe Parish. I have alsobeen blamed for snow-storms when I travelbetween Cartwright andPort Hope Simpson.Shortly after I wouldleave town and/or just

before I would return totown there would be asnow storm that wouldclose the roads for a cou-ple of days.

People are the way inwhich deacons, priestsand bishops serve God.I have learned over thepast year, that as muchas prayer, bible study,meditation and otherthings are important; ifpeople are not the cen-tral focus of ministrythen what are we asclergy doing?

As I write this, thecontroversy in the prov-

ince of Quebec concern-ing people wearing re-ligious articles in publicplaces of work is in thenews. TheAnglican Jour-nal through social mediaasked a very importantquestion: Do you wear

religious symbols towork? Why/why not?Do you get any reactionwhen you do?

I shared the follow-ing on our Parish Face-book page: Of course Iwear a religious symbol.I wear the clerical collar.In stores and in otherpublic places peoplelook at me...and the lookat the collar. To someit makes them uncom-fortable as they mayhave issues with Jesus.They may have issueswith the institution thatis called The Church.

Others see it as com-fort, especially if theyare grieving because ofthe death of a spouse

The Revd Jeffrey Petten

Continued on Page 13See: Labrador Ministry


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Confirmation in TopsailA Charter forCompassion

The Revd Everett Hobbs

ColumnistCompassion is the

understanding of and/orempathy for the sufferingof others. Its universal

expression is the GoldenRule - Treat others as wewish to be treated our-selves.

On November 12,2009, a new Charterfor Compassion wasunveiled . Its aim is torestore compassionatethinking and compas-sionate action to the cen-ter of religious, moraland political life. Com-passion is to put our-selves in the shoes of theother; it lies at the heartof all religious and ethicalsystems.

The Charter of Com-passion is a documentthat transcends religious,ideological and nationaldifferences. It is a coop-erative effort to restorecompassion thinkingand action to all areasof life. The Charter wasproposed by Karen Arm-strong and undertakenby a Council of Con-science, a multi-faith,

multinational group ofreligious thinkers andleaders.

According to Arm-strong, the challengefaced by all human beingsis to withstand the me-first mechanism of theold reptilian brain. Shebelieves we can achievehigh levels of empathy,forgiveness and concernfor everybody. We are notdoomed to live in hatred,greed and envy.

The practice of com-passion means allowingyourself to feel the suffer-ings of the world, includ-ing your own. Dont run

away from pain: meet itwith a caring heart. Gointo action when peopleare hurting, to share inbrokenness, fear, con-fusion and anguish. Goeven further and in-clude other creatures,nature and the inanimateworld. Compassion alsocounters racism, sexism,ageism, class-ism and na-tionalism, as well as prej-udice and judgmental.

A book by Arm-strong, Twelve Steps to

a Compassionate Heart,offers guidelines onthe practice of compas-sion. Among the steps:Learn about Compassion;How Should We Speak toOne Another? Love YourEnemies. She counsels usto act each day in accor-dance with the GoldenRule, respect mystery,and incarnate hospitality.

Sound direction forshowing compassion isfound in the Prayer of StFrancis to make us instru-ments of Gods will. TheFranciscan Prayer of Dis-comfort is a parallel ver-sion. It prays:

May God bless youwith discomfort of easyanswers, half truths, andsuperficial relationships,so that you may livedeeper within your heart.

May God bless youwith anger at injustice,oppression, and exploita-tion of people, so thatyou may work for justice,

freedom and peace.May God bless you

with tears to shed forthose who suffer frompain, rejection, starvationand wars, so that youmay reach out your handto comfort them and toturn their pain into joy

May God bless youwith enough foolishnessto believe that you canmake a difference in thisworld, so that you can dowhat others claim cannotbe done.

Y ou ca n G oog l eCharter for Compas-sion to learn more andsign it.

This greeting was written by Ab-igail Garret who was the reporter forthis years Confirmation Class in theParish of Topsail.

She writes, Good morning andwelcome to everyone and to those whoare visiting from another parish! Thismorning is an extra special morning fortwo reasons. First of all we have ourBishop with us. Good morning BishopPitman and thank you for coming toour parish today. And secondly, todayis the day my friends and I get con-firmed. Today we renew our promiseto God that our parents and godpar-

ents made for us at our Baptism.

We have had a great year withMs Bonell and Ms Smith and we havelearned many things. We have learnedabout the Baptismal Covenant, the 10Commandments, the Lords Prayer,the Church Year, Advent, Christmasand Epiphany. We had a sleepover,made pretzels for the congregation andparticipated in family church services.Most importantly we have united withGod and made friends with each other.Thanks again to Ms Bonnell, Ms Smith,Rev Sandra, our parents and our parishfor helping us meet the requirements forconfirmation. We could not have done it

without all of you.

or child. Others see itas joy as I baptize theirchildren or witness theirmarriage vows. Othersview it as advice in thespiritual life.

Most of all, I wearit because I am an or-dained priest of theChurch, called by God.As Scripture says Be-fore I formed you in thewomb I knew you, andbefore you were born Iconsecrated you: I ap-pointed you a prophetto the nations.

In closing, I givethanks for all the expe-riences that I have hadover the past year. I haveworked with wonder-

ful people such as myPriest-in-Charge, theformer Territorial Arch-deacon, the executiveArchdeacon, my Bishop,

Lay Readers, Wardensand many others. It ismy hope and prayer thatthe next 39 years will beas exciting and inter-

esting as this past year.I have no regrets andI would do it all overagain.

Labrador MinistryContinued from Page 12


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Is Jesus on ?Submitted byStella Walsh

Gander

There are many peoplewho would answer thatquestion with a resound-ing, no! They do notbelieve that Jesus wouldbe found in that place ofinappropriate jokes, cy-ber bullying and gossip.I know this because I wasone of the people whowould have said no veryfirmly.

When I was a youngteacher, changes in tech-nology began to pick up arapid pace. Being a bit of a

purist at heart, my first in-stinct was to fight againstthis threat to the peace ofmind. I didnt like com-puters and I wasnt evergoing to own a cellphone.Of course, it wasnt longbefore I was caught up inthe march forward likeeveryone else.

Enter social media - awhole other can of worms.With it came the opportu-nity to make public fools of

ourselves on a level rarelyseen before. If you wantedit to be, everything wassuddenly wide open topublic scrutiny, and some-times, even if you didntintend for it to be public.Making a statement onFacebook is like speakingloudly into a crowdedroom. You are never quitesure who is listening, orhow they may be affectedby what you said. Andlike everything social itis fraught with bugs and

viruses that you can catchwithout even being awareof it.

In the early days, Iregarded Facebook likemany people; somethingfor people to do who didnthave anything better to do.Or, worse still, a placewhere a lot of unaccept-

able behavior took place. Ihad zero interest in usingsomething so obviouslyagainst the Lords work.

But lets get back to thequestion. Is Jesus there?Well, if you look on Face-book these days, you willdiscover that I must havechanged my mind aboutthat. You will see that Iam very active there. Ipost constantly, keepingin touch with family andfriends; I help to run a cou-ple of church groups; I an-swer requests for prayer;and I offer encouragementwhenever I can.

So, what made me

change my mind? Well,actually, other Christiansdid. I saw them usingFacebook for good and Istarted to meditate on it.I began to realize that, ifyou think about it, Jesuscame to be among us andwalk with us. (John 1:14)He didnt say, Okay, Im

here, but Im only going tobe found in certain placesbecause there are someplaces where I might be of-

fended. Jesus walked, ate,talked and worked amongthe outcasts and sinners,the lonely and weak, thedesperate and dying. Andguess what else I realized?You can find them all onFacebook.

So, do I now believethat every Christ ianshould join Facebook andstart posting like mad?No, I absolutely do not.Facebook, like everythingabout computers and theinternet, is a tool. You need

to know how to use it,how to protect yourself,and how to make the bestuse of it for good. Differ-ent people have differentabilities and callings. Face-book is no different whenit comes to that. I knowlots of Christians whojust use it to keep in touch

with people and check outposted information. And Iknow others who use it asa form of active ministry

because they feel calledto do so and it works forthem. And be warned - it isa terrible place to go if youare prone to giving in tothe temptation of judgingand being offended.

But again, is Jesus re-ally there? These daysI answer that questionwith a firm, Yes, He mostcertainly is! You can findHim in the shared photoof a newborn, the personwho posts because theycant sleep, the teenager

struggling to find self-ex-pression, the person beingbullied, the person withcancer asking for prayers- all of us who populatecyberspace. Facebook ismade up of the peoplewho go there. Thats whereyou always find Jesus.

ACW Deanery Fellowshipin New Perlican

Submitted byEileen Matthews

New Perlican

In May approximately 60ladies met for the AnglicanChurch Women Spring Fel-lowship at the Veterans Me-morial Community Center,New Perlican. A Pot Lucksupper was served by the

Parish of Hearts Content la-dies. After the regular meet-ing was finished, the ladieswere treated to an overviewhistory of New Perlican byEileen Matthews, Chairper-son, Heritage New Perlicanwho took them back to NewPerlicans roots as far backas the mention of New Per-nican in Trinity Bay by SirPercival Willowby in 1597,from there to the HeffordPlantation discovery by BillGilbert, archaeologist, whichdates the community to 1675

and to present day whichincludes many historic areasand the renewed waterfrontarea complete with manystages and wharves. Theladies then enjoyed a tour

of the Community Centerwhich includes the Town of-fices, Library, Gym , HeritageRoom, a downstairs kitchenfor small events and theVolunteer Fire department.They also viewed the wallof pictures of War Veteransin the town office area. Afterthis the ladies were treatedto music entertainment by

Wayne Sutton and SnowdenNorris. Rev. Irene Suttonand Canon Eli Evans ofthe Holy Trinity area werein attendance and broughtgreetings. The event closedwith thanks and prayer byLorraine Walsh, ACW Dean-ery President.


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Why Tithe?Submitted byDebbie KabaSouth River

I was taught to giveto Jesus as a preschooler.I remember going to Sun-day School with my nick-el knotted in my hand-kerchief and the teacherhaving to help my littlefingers untie the knot. Iremember how excited Iwas to get to give to Jesus.As I got old enough for anallowance, I was taught togive 10% to Jesus. I sawmy parents tithe with joyand thanksgiving during

lean and bountiful times;my mother continued togive a percentage of herincome until she died atage 97. At age 25, whenI came to adult faith inChrist, I remember thatsame joy in giving to Jesus.When my joy in givingwanes, I stir up that giftso I am giving joyfullyonce again. I enjoy whenGod sends another personalongside to encourage mein the joy of percentagegiving.

Heres a few of thereasons why I believe per-centage giving is integralin Christian formation:

1. Its the easiest andmost simple way to showGod how much I love Himand appreciate what Hesdone for me. I know mon-ey will never repay a debtof Christ dying for mysins; but it reminds me tobe appreciative of Christs

sacrifice.2. It reminds me of

my love for Him; it helpsme feel connected to Him

in special ways. If I starthaving self-doubts thatI love God or God lovesme - I can remind myselfthat I love Him enough togive him a percentage andthe worrisome thoughtsevaporate.

3. It is one way for meto lay up my treasures inheaven. I know there isnothing I can do to get

God to love me more orto love me less; but giv-ing joyfully and happilyopens my heart to moreof heavens blessings andless of my egocentricity.

4. It helps me get myfinancial priorities correct.When I think of going intodebt, realizing if I mess upmy finances that it may

affect my ability to con-sistently give to God. Thathelps me not be selfish andpile up debt for stuff; but

to live in simplicity andmoderation and find joyin God instead of materi-alism.

5. Percentage giving isa great way I can learn togive so I can learn to giveto others with a humblespirit - whether that befinancially, materially, mytime or a listening ear.

6. Giving reduces the

amount I am required topay in taxes. That alwaysmakes me smile at taxtime!

7. It lets me feel Imbeing obedient to Jesussteaching in Matthew 23.23and Luke 11.42 (NLB),You should tithe, yes, butdo not neglect the moreimportant things. Giving,

for me, is a step in the rightdirection of not neglectingthe important things ofjustice, mercy and faith -

because giving increasesmy capacity to desire topractice those importantChristian qualities.

8. It increases my faith.Abraham and Sarah paidtithe to Melchizedek be-fore the law was givenat Mount Sinai and thathelped their faith growso they could receive thepromise of their son, Isaac.

9. An older womanpastor use to say, If Goddoesnt have my pock-etbook, then He reallydoesnt have me. I wantHim to be ruler of all of me- including my money andmy attitude about money.

10. It gives me an in-centive to pray for thechurch I give to. Most

of my percentage givinggoes to my storehouse- the place where Im fedthe Word and the Eucha-

ristic meal. If the orga-nizations I support aregetting my money, it keepsme consciously attuned tothe needs there, how I canmeet those needs and ithelps me pray for leader-ship so the money is usedwisely and as God directs.

11. Percentage giv-ing blesses my children,grandchildren and futureoffspring. (Hebrews 7.11).The way it blesses themisnt just because of thetithe I give but because ofmy increased obediencethat, for me, is directlyand positively affected bymy giving. That is why theapproximate tithe on myestate is already assignedto my church in my willand why a percentage ofmy RRSPs and life insur-ance policy is designatedto go to my parish.

12. I believe it helpskeep me thankful, hum-ble and pliable to Godsdirections. It helps me

remember the gifts andtalents I have that bringhome my income, are giftsfrom Him. Recognizingmy gifts are from Himhelps me want to developmy talents to use in Hisservice.

14. Percentage givinggives me one more meth-od to worship God andHes such a wonderfulGod to worship. It helpsme remember He is Godand Im not; it helps megrow in proper submis-sion to His holiness andlove.

15. Consistent giving,just like consistency inprayer time and Biblereading, is a method tohelp me grow. It teachesme to be faithful and toput my own wants asideto do what is best for my-self.

16. Giving gives meholy dignity. It gives mea venue to be Christlike.Christ gave His all; and

being able to give a per-centage of my resources,especially money, increas-es my ability to recognizeChrist in me - my hope ofglory.

Photo:iStock:princessdlaf


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