March 2015

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rln rupert's newslandCONNECTING CHURCH & COMMUNITY

MARCH 2015

IN THIS ISSUE

7Small Church,

Big Story

10Spiritual

Direction

12Who is My

Neighbour?

15 The diaconate

2 RUPERT’S LAND NEWS

rln rupert's newsland C O N N E C T I N G C H U R C H & C O M M U N I T Y

Publisher | Bishop Donald Phillips Editor | Allison Chubb Accounting | Bernice Funk Layout & design | cityfolkcreative.ca Print & mail | Webnews Printing Inc. North York, ON. Rupert’s Land News - a section of the Angli-can Journal - is published 10 times per year (September - June) by the Diocese of Rupert’s Land, in the Anglican Church in Canada. It connects churches and communities from Portage la Prairie, MB, to Atikokan, ON. by offering news, events, opinion, and ideas to 6,000 readers per month. RLN is available in print and online:

• rupertslandnews.ca• facebook.com/rlandnews• twitter.com/rlandnews• instagram.com/rlandnews

We also deliver timely news and information via a weekly email. Sign up at: rupertslandnews.ca/email

Advertising: RLN accepts advertising in the print edition,

online, and in our weekly email. Our rate sheet is available at rupertslandnews.ca/ads. To discuss advertising call (204) 996-6172 or email [email protected] Editorial offices: Anglican Lutheran Centre 935 Nesbitt Bay Winnipeg Manitoba R3T 1W6 Subscription queries: Administrative Assistant for the Diocese (204) 992-4200 | [email protected] RLN welcomes story ideas, ` news items and other input. If you want to be in-volved in this media ministry, please be in touch with the editor. Contents copyright 2014 by Rupert’s Land News. All rights reserved. Cover:Zachary Reik, Navaeh Callioux, Bran-di Vezina, Quinn Reik, and Vincent Solomon of St. Philip's, Scanterbury, know that it takes all kinds of people working together to be the Church.

3RUPERT’S LAND NEWS

As the Diocese finds itself in the middle of Lent, Rupert’s Land News is in the middle of moving our monthly magazine online. The process is an exciting one, as the number of people connecting with one another and with the Diocese at large grows. RLN Weekly is our new weekly email, which delivers events, news, and feature stories to your inbox every Thursday morning. It also includes a link to the online magazine once a month.

The magazine is posted on our new website, rupertslandnews.ca, and can be viewed and downloaded for printing at any time. The website also includes a list of upcoming events of interest to the wider community, a list of news items, and a number of articles. At the top you’ll find links to the diocesan calendar and monthly cycle of prayer. Along the side you’ll find feeds to our social media accounts. This month, a new feature on our website is the events calendar, where you can go to find all the upcoming events.

If you have an email account, I encourage you

to visit our webpage and enter your address to begin receiving RLN on your own computer. It’s important to us that we stay in touch with you. However, if you do not have an email account, please let your parish priest know or give us a call. We want to be sure that anyone without internet access will still be enabled to receive RLN once we’ve moved online. No one should be left behind.

There are a number of ways in which those without internet access will continue to receive RLN. The ideal is that parishes will print off copies and take them to parishioners when they go for a monthly visit. If you are not connected to a parish community and are without internet access, please let us know so we can work toward a solution.

While it is exciting to see the Diocese connecting with a wider audience by engaging new media and communication, there is surely a sense of loss in ending the print edition of our paper. This will be more difficult for some than others. Sadly, printing a paper a month in advance, in Toronto, and shipping it to Winnipeg is simply not the best stewardship of our resources when parishioners are increasingly getting their news and connecting with one another online.

The intention behind this bold new step is to expand our possibilities for discipleship, not to diminish them. We hope that the move online will enable us to bring you colourful, engaging magazines for many years to come. Our dream is that you will be better enabled to connect with one another, with your diocese, and with the larger Church. In this period of transition, let’s work together to imagine new ways of being disciples together.

TIMES OF TRANSITION Allison Chubb

FROM THE EDITOR


Lent is often perceived as a dark and solemn season. Common practices involve refraining from pleasures during these 40 days. What is forgotten about the season of Lent is that it is meant to cast light upon our Christian behaviour. The very word “Lent” means light. It is in reference to the lengthening of sunshine hours, but it is also a helpful metaphor. After we have celebrated Christ’s birth and enjoyed the many “epiphanies,” we have an opportunity to cast light on our mortality and relationship with God and others. Lent becomes both a private self-examination and a public iteration of our faith walk. The passage that best describes this comes from the

words of Jesus:“You are the light of the

world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before oth-ers, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

Lenten observance is a means to an end, not an end in itself. We begin the sea-son of Lent by remembering that “we are but dust and to dust shall we return.” It is the ultimate declaration of our humility and fragility before God. It is more than a cus-tom to adorn one’s forehead

with ash. The ashen cross is a mini sacrament. We have been signed with a represen-tation of death, but with the knowledge that the cross of Jesus saves us from eternal separation.

We, as believers in Jesus, no longer live under the pall of death. We live under the grace and protec-tion of Jesus. Paul states, “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14) Lent gives us the opportunity to ask, “What will I do with the grace given to me?”

There is an expectation that experiencing grace will change us. We, as believers in Jesus, must shine forth to all around us. It is not import-ant how one observes Lent. Instead, one should ask, “Why do I observe Lent?”

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of your-self to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:14)

Lent gives us time to ask, “In what ways can I be an instrument of righteous-

THE LIGHTER SIDEOF LENT Jonathan Blanchard

SEASONAL

Photo: Matthew Green


ness?” Each of us are unique instruments. We are equal but not identical. The Lord has gifted us with abilities and opportunities. It is not important how big we are as an instrument; rather, it is how useful we are. Take, for example, our vast universe. Every galaxy has various sizes of suns or light givers. God did not create these as identical bodies but each one casts light which we can see in the darkness of space. Age, ethnicity, sex, and physical ability are not to be regarded as impassable impediments. We may be constrained but we are never impeded in shining our light. Lent beckons us to consider: What is righteousness?

Sometimes perfection and righteousness are presumed as synonymous, but there is a big difference between “righteous” and “perfect.” Christians are called to be instruments of righteousness, not perfection. Righteous living is fraught with imperfect behaviour. Abraham was considered righteous, but certainly was not perfect. David was “the apple of God’s eye” but greatly sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba. Peter denied knowing Jesus but was called “the rock upon which the Church will be built.” There are countless other ex-amples of righteous followers who were not perfect by any stretch.

To be an instrument of righteousness means to accept and emulate the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

We are not approved by God because we have done great things. Instead, we are to do great things because we are approved by God. It is a subtle, but profound, difference. Righteousness requires us to hear our Lord say, “My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness.” We have to stop striving to be perfect and instead focus on being right with God and right with others.

Therefore, let us use this season of Lent as an oppor-tunity to shine Christ’s light on our attitudes and behaviours. Let us shine Christ’s light to others so that they may glorify God. Finally, let us use this season to make this

community, city, province, country, and world a brighter place by being “instruments of righteousness.”

SEASONAL

Jonathan Blanchard is the priest at St. Andrew's, Woodhaven (Winnipeg)


Who are the primary ministers of the Church? Its baptized members. Where does the majority of the ministry of the Church take place? Outside of the gathered congregation. Here are the facts to support these surprising claims. Every baptized Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit – the love and power of God carrying on the ministry of the risen Christ. The member-ship of the Church is defined unequivocally in the New Testament as the Body of Christ in the world, continu-ing to carry on the work of reconciling creation to God, and thereby living into God’s reign on earth. We have that Spirit working in and through us 24 hours a day.

There are a few assump-tions that should support those opening statements. The first is that, for those who are not employed by the Church, the maximum

amount of time spent with, or focused on, the “gathered Church” would not exceed 10% of their waking hours per week. The other assump-tion is that no more than 1% of the members of our Church are ordained – the other 99% are not.

The result of bringing these two numbers together produces this interesting outcome: approximately 90% of the Church’s min-istry is done by those who are not ordained, outside of the gathered Church – in their employment or school, their families and personal life, and in their life in the community. This is not an idealistic statement; it is an objective statement derived from analyzing both the biblical affirmations about the Church and the statistical reality of our Church and our daily lives in the contempo-rary world.

However, we have a problem in our understand-ing of ministry, of who the ministers are, and perhaps even what the purpose of the Church is. Most Church members view the purpose of the Church as, primarily, to meet the spiritual needs of its members. This understand-ing is analogous to claiming that the primary purpose of a municipal paramedic service is to meet the professional training standards of the paramedics. But this is not the paramedic service’s pri-

mary purpose! Its main pur-pose is to help save peoples’ lives! All of the professional training, accountability, and skill development that the paramedic service offers is to help its employees save the lives of fellow citizens.

So yes, the local Church should be meeting the spiritual needs of its mem-bers. It should be providing life-giving worship, pasto-ral care and nurture, and opportunities for theological education. But it should see all of these functions, includ-ing those carried out by its ordained ministers, as sup-porting and equipping the (lay) members of the Church to carry out the majority of the Church’s ministry – that which happens in the mem-bers’ daily lives.

The contemporary ad-monishment that our Church must be missional is asserting exactly the same thing. The Church does not exist for itself; it is present in order to witness to, and participate in, the mission of God in the world. The Local Collabo-rative Ministry model is an excellent example of taking these conceptual ideas about who the Church’s ministers are and where they carry out their ministry, and making them a reality in the local congregation. It’s time to start identifying all of the Church’s ministers and taking their development seriously!

Donald Phillips, Bishop of Rupert’s Land

I'M IN MINISTRY?SINCE WHEN?! Donald Phillips

PASTORAL NOTE


If you visit the tiny church on the Brokenhead Ojibwa Nation in March, you will find Doc Vezina stoking the big wood stove in preparation for the afternoon service. His wife, Marcella, will regale you with stories of the surrounding na-tions and their ancestors. Outside, the wind rages, reminiscent of the storms weathered over the years by the little community an hour north of Winnipeg’s Perimeter Highway.

St. Philip’s, Scanterbury, is not just a parish church for Doc and Marcella; it is the centre of their communi-ty. Married at 16 and 17, they have fond memories of Friday night dancing in the church hall, of baptising one baby after another, and of caring for the surrounding yard. Most importantly, the church grounds are where their ancestors are buried. “I cared for great-grandfather’s grave as a child,” Doc ex-plains. “It is important to treat our ancestors with respect.”

Doc and Marcella are descended from many gen-erations of Metis who have made their home at the edge of the Ojibwa Nation. Their children are spread far and wide these days, but several return for services in the little building, which can seat up to 40 people. Between them sits Brandi, their grown granddaughter. Now living

in Winnipeg, Brandi returns to the beautiful church be-cause of the community she finds there. She struggles to find that sense of rootedness in the city.

Over the past year, the Vezinas’ once-dwindling home has grown from about 5 to 20 people on a Sun-day. After 120 years, they are excited to have their first Indigenous priest. Vincent Solomon, who works full time for the Mennonite Central Committee in Winnipeg, holds services in Scanterbury twice a month. “He’s down to earth,” says Marcella, “He tells us about his life and it’s just like my own.”

Her face falls as she thinks about the trials faced by her family and community in the last several decades. She recounts stories of war, alcoholism, suicide, and ill-ness, but takes some comfort in knowing that her spiritual teacher is one who has

walked familiar roads. Then she brightens and laughs, “[Talking with Vincent is] like talking to my son. I can boss him around!”

Smiles fill the room as the community gathers around the warm stove to share the peace of Christ with one another. The wooden beams look as though they might burst for the stories they hold. Doc remembers coming to church on a horse as a boy. Marcella thinks of her father out trapping during worship. They sit down in the front pew and Vincent tells a story of belonging. “When no one else wanted to listen to you, God called your name,” he says. “Here in God’s care we are wanted and loved.” The warmth of the stove is like the hope radiating out of the little church and twenty people gather around the al-tar, knowing they are home.

LITTLE CHURCH BIG STORY

PROFILE


He put before them an-other parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” -Matthew 13:31:33

This parable spoke to our parish of St. Thomas, Weston. Like other parishes in the Church today, we struggled with many issues. However, we realized that although we were chal-lenged with being a small

parish, we could accomplish good things and grow and spread into our community through our belief in Jesus Christ. A small mustard seed was planted by the Revs. Julie and Tom Collings when the parish of St. Thomas embarked on its journey into Local Collaborative Ministry (LCM) in December, 2005.

LCM is about engaging the ministry of all the bap-tized. It is about discerning the gifts that we all bring from our daily lives to the mission and ministry of the Church. It is about realizing that we are all ministers in different but equal ways.

We are each valued and given these gifts by God. LCM is a way of nurturing and developing these gifts. It is a journey that requires a change in our thinking from “doing church” to “being church”. This way of being the Church in the world may sound new but it isn't; this was the beginning of our early Church, as we learn from the book of Acts.

The first task on our journey into LCM was to determine the requirements for team formation, which involved road trips to two American parishes already engaged in LCM: one in Walhalla, North Dakota, and the other in International Falls, Minnesota. Each of these parishes had stories to share and helpful point-ers for our parish. Issues around sacramental support, Christian education, local ordination, and diocesan support were the main topics of conversation. Our greatest lesson learned there was the need for flexibility and creative problem solving in order to maintain and meet the needs of our faithful community.

The second step on the journey was to complete a three year Christian educa-tion program developed by

LIFE TOGETHER

THE ROAD TO LOCAL COLLABORATIVE MINISTRY

The St. Thomas ministry team (left to right, beginning with the top row): Rick Condo, Leonard Terlinski, Karen Terlinski, Courteney Robinson, Diane Fedak, Armelle Evoy, Marion Normand, Diane Bradshaw, Alice Williams


the Institute for Anglican Min-istry at St. John's College. At the end of this program, an assessment group from the Diocesan Local Collabo-rative Group (DLCMG) met with both the whole parish and the Ministry Support Team (MST) over the course of a weekend. After the completion of the assess-ment, it was determined that both the MST and the parish were ready to be commis-sioned. In December 2009,

the parish of St. Thomas, Weston, was commissioned as a Local Collaborative Ministry parish by Bishop Don Phillips.

The ministry and mission of the parish is supported by an MST and all the bap-tized of the parish. The MST consists of volunteers who have been called by the parish and commissioned by the Bishop to fulfill specific ministries in the parish. These ministries include Parish

Administrator, building and grounds, youth christian edu-cation, adult christian educa-tion, hospitality, evangelism and outreach, deacon, and priest. The team is supported by our ministry mentor, the Rev. Rick Condo.

Over the last ten years, the seed has grown and St. Thomas is well established in LCM. We had many new ideas to ponder, develop, and grapple with under this ministry model. We continue

to engage in on-going Christian education and support the develop-ment and understanding of LCM in the Diocese. We continue to be a part of the process for determining expec-tations for new team formation and second generation teams, de-veloping strong bonds with our partners in this journey, Pembina Hills.

While there have been a few bumps and growing pains along the way, what is greatly evident is the spiritual growth in both the mis-sion and ministry in our parish. Under this minis-try model, we have truly made a shift from an inwardly looking parish to a missional parish. We focus more on the needs beyond our own doors rather then how to keep our doors open. The Holy Spirit is alive and well at St. Thomas, Weston. The mustard seed continues to grow.

LIFE TOGETHER

Hope Bear Photo Contest

THE ANGLICAN FOUNDATION OF CANADA invites your photos of Hope Bear wherever you travel.

Take your Hope Bear with you to a parish event or on vacation and take a picture!

Be imaginative • Be creative • Be adventurous!

To enter, go to

www.anglicanfoundation.org


Some years ago, when I was facing a dark time in my life and feeling over-whelmed, I began meeting with a spiritual director. The pace of life had left me feel-ing exhausted and began to sap the joy of living. Prayer seemed dry and unsatisfying, and I had begun to wonder about the meaning of my life. I longed for a guide to help me tap into the life-giv-ing joy of my faith again. I met with the spiritual director every month and found that the opportunity to pour out the stuff of my life with a compassionate listener was a balm for my weary soul. These times of journeying together provided me with a chance to attend more fully to God’s presence and to God’s call in my life.

Spiritual direction has a long history in Christianity, including many examples in Scripture. When Jesus met with Nicodemus or the woman at the well, or in his

training and formation of the disciples, we can see the elements of spiritual direc-tion. The language of these encounters was that of love and compassion, encour-aging the person to move towards healing and growth, rather than a focus on judg-ment and condemnation. Some of the early contempla-tives, the desert monks, also practiced spiritual direction.

Spiritual direction is de-scribed by one practitioner as, “the facilitation of one’s spiritual formation through a covenanted relationship with another, formalised in regular meetings for inquiry, conver-sation and reflection around one’s personal experience. The spiritual director is one who, by virtue of personal holiness and spiritual maturi-ty, helps the spiritual direct-ee to pay attention to the presence and work of God in her or his life.”

Thomas Merton describes spiritual direction as a way “to penetrate beneath the surface of a person’s life, to get behind the facade of conventional gestures and attitudes which one presents to the world, and to bring out one’s inner spiritual freedom, one’s inmost truth, which is what Christians call the likeness of Christ in one’s soul.”

Spiritual directors have engaged in an extensive program of formation, which may have included training in Franciscan, Benedictine, or Ignatian traditions. They are not counsellors or thera-pists, and they may or may not be ordained. You may wish to contact a spiritual director:

if you are feeling a need to pay attention to God’s personal revelation and to respond to God

if problems have arisen in your life

if you desire a deeper relationship with God

if prayer has become difficult

if your search for God is at a crossroad, and you want to explore new ways to pray

if you feel the need for someone to help in discerning the call of God for you

if you just desire a companion on the spiritual journey

There are a number of spiritual directors in Mani-toba, and several who call the Anglican tradition home. Most request a donation for their services. More informa-tion on spiritual direction can

SEEKING SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

DISCIPLESHIP

Nancy Philips is a spiritual director and occupational health nurse


be obtained from www.spir-itualdirectionmb.com or Spir-itual Directors International (www.sdiworld.org). If you

are a spiritual director in the Diocese of Rupert’s Land and would like to be included in the diocesan listing, please

let me know: [email protected]. The list of directors can be found at rupertslandnews.ca/spiritual-direction.

DISCIPLESHIP

Education for Min-istry (EFM) is a programme that comes out of the Uni-versity of the South School of Theology. It is a four year course offered to small groups of laypeople to help them deepen their under-standing of the Anglican faith and, therefore, improve and inform their personal ministry within their own community.

The small group is be-tween six and 12 people. In most groups, there are a number from each of the four years present. The first year is studying the Old Testament, the second studies the New Testament, third works through church history, and fourth year is discerning theological choices or per-spectives. Each year does particular reading according to that subject and shares struggles, insights, and won-derment among the whole group. In addition, there is a lesson or study that is com-mon to all present and fol-lows a theme for the whole year. In the year 2014-15, the theme is, “Living Faithfully in a Multicultural World.”

The study is mentored, not taught. Each person is respon-sible for personal learning,

but sharing is an important part of learning how personal understanding fits in commu-nity. Mentors are trained and may be lay or clergy.

People who choose this kind of study may be decid-ing whether ordination could be for them. It could be that a layperson is hungry for more education, and Bible study is not quite enough. Or perhaps someone has grown up in another faith tradition and wants to explore in more depth what the Angli-can Church is about. What-ever the motivation, the study enriches faith in a variety of ways. For some, it gives language and clarity to ex-pressions of faith. For others, it prepares them to partici-pate within their own community with more confidence. For still oth-ers, it is the joy of study and sharing with others who follow Christ.

In Rupert’s Land, groups have been offered since

the 1990s. Sometimes, there are several groups offering the program. At present, there is just one, which means that people come from different church communities to study together. This is enriching too, because not all Anglican churches are the same!

I have been a mentor for nearly 10 years and contin-ue to learn and grow each year. Mentor training will take place in the late spring, and new groups will likely commence in early Septem-ber. If either of these interests you, please contact me at (204) 783-3357 or [email protected].

NOT YOUR AVERAGE BIBLE STUDY

Susan Roe-Finlay is the diocesan EFM coordinator and a lay leader at St. Luke's, Winnipeg.

The EFM group at St. Luke's


"Who is My Neighbour?" is a new column by read-ers' request that explores the faiths and traditions of our neighbours. We begin this month by ex-ploring a local counsel-lor's experience of Islam.

In light of January’s tragic events in France, you might be wondering, “Why would anyone choose to be Muslim?” I was born into a Muslim family; however, I did not start practicing my re-ligion until seven years ago. Until then, I would consider myself the “average woman” growing up in the West. I faced the typical struggles that many women face, such as whether I was beautiful enough and pressures to en-gage in premarital sex and drink alcohol. Embracing Islam only came later in my life, after critical examination and questioning. Today, I choose to practice my religion because I see it as a protection or “cloak” (as a friend calls it) against many of life’s hardships.

One of the values that Islam teaches is modesty. For women, modesty is practiced partly through how we dress. Some people assume that Muslim women who wear the hijab (a scarf which covers the hair and top of the chest) or abaya (loose dress that covers the arms and body down to the

ankles) are oppressed. How-ever, these forms of dressing are designed to encourage modesty and avert attention away from our outer beauty to our inner beauty. Although I admit to not regularly wearing the hijab or abaya, I value the idea of modesty in how I dress. This is my way of protesting against the standards of external beauty I am bombarded with every day because it invites others to see me beyond my physi-cal body.

Like many religions, Islam is no different in encouraging people to avoid premarital sex. As a heterosexual wom-an, I believe we face some-what higher risks compared to our male sexual partners whenever we engage in sex, such as the possibility of being abandoned following an unplanned pregnancy, or health complications resulting from a sexually transmitted

infection. Although marriage provides no guarantees, restricting sex to one’s spouse likely reduces the risk of either outcome.

Islam, similar to some Christian traditions and some other faiths (such as Bah’ai), prohibits the consumption of alcohol. I am aware of many horrific consequences resulting from irresponsible drinking. Although respon-sible drinking can arguably protect someone against these disastrous outcomes, for many people, drinking responsibly is a misnomer because alcohol, by nature, is addictive. Islam deals with the seduction, and possible dangers, of alcohol abuse by encouraging people to abstain from it altogether.

Islam has five basic tenets: (1) belief in one God, (2) regular prayer, (3) giving to charity, (4) fasting, and (5) performing the pilgrimage to

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? WHY I AM MUSLIM TODAY Natasha Ali

ISLAM


Mecca. Incorporating partic-ularly the first four helps me cope with daily life. Believing in one God reminds me to revere only One thing — not money, not power, not my partner, not my job, and not even my family, but God. This belief teaches me humility, be-cause it reminds me to move my focus off myself and onto God. It therefore allows me to reign in my ego as I ac-knowledge that I do not hold ultimate control. Paradoxical-ly, a certain relief and power comes with surrendering power. Erich Fromm argues in The Art of Loving that having faith is one way of managing existential anxiety. My choice to have faith in one God thus serves to relieve my anxieties about the multiple uncertain-ties in today’s world.

As Muslims, we are

required to pray five times a day at fixed times. This practice teaches me disci-pline and reminds me five times a day to take a break from the clamour of dealing with the stressors of everyday life. Prayer has the potential to rejuvenate my soul and strengthen my capacity to deal with stress as I contem-plate and reflect.

As Muslims, we are also required to give charity. A Muslim who cannot give money can instead give someone a smile or provide physical help. This practice reminds me to share, be-cause it makes others and me to feel better.

Finally, as Muslims, we are required to fast during a specific month of the year called Ramadan. From sunrise to sunset, we

abstain from food, drink, and sex. This practice, first of all, teaches compassion, because it reminds us that people exist who are hungry and thirsty. It also serves as a reminder that, as sensual be-ings, we tend to appreciate and enjoy food, drink, and sex more when we balance consumption with restraint.

Practicing Islam in today’s world is not easy, be-cause every day I am bom-barded with messages to do otherwise. However, after having submitted to the many seductions of today’s world, I discovered that they did not bring me the contentment and peace I have gained from practicing my faith.

Natasha Ali is a mental health counsellor who resides in Winnipeg.

ISLAM


PARISH NEWS ROUND UPSt. Paul's, Fort Garry

The personal preparedness workshop, “What if I Got Hit by a Bus,” is being offered at St. Paul’s on Saturday, March 14th, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. For more information, visit rupertslandnews.ca/hit-by-a-bus.

Chemin Neuf CommunityThe St. Charles Retreat Centre is hosting a seven day retreat based on the Ignition Exercises, April 24-May 1. For more information, visit rupertslandnews.ca/igna-tian-retreat.

Kairos Sharing Circle All are welcomed to a sharing circle around the theme of Aboriginal justice and reconciliation on March 22, 3:00-5:00 p.m. TRC Commissioner Jamie Wilson will speak about the Treaties and their mean-ing for both Indigenous and non-Indige-nous peoples.

Church of EnglandThe Church of England consecrated their first woman bishop on January 26. Earlier that month, another bold move was made by opening a position for an online priest in the Diocese of Lichfield. Interested in the news happening across the Communion? Get the latest updates at anglicannews.org.

St. George's, CrescentwoodIn recognition of their new incumbent and a new era of ministry among them, St. George’s is hosting a celebration of new ministry on March 8 at 3:00 p.m. Simon Blaikie began his position at the parish on February 2. All are welcome at the service.

St. John's College Bible and Breakfast will continue on March 14 at 9:00 a.m., with priest and University of Winnipeg professor, Jane Barter Moulaison. Jane’s topic is “Romans and the Philosophers.” Please RSVP to [email protected]. For more information, visit rupertslandnews.ca/bible-breakfast-2015.

St. John’s welcomes Bishop Linda Nichols from the Diocese of Toronto for the spring Laurie Wilmot Lectures from March 16-18. Bishop Linda will be speaking about “Difficult Conversations in the Anglican Church” on the Monday, “Difficult Conversations between Christian Traditions” on the Tuesday, and “Difficult Conversations between Faiths” on the Wednesday. For more information, visit rupertslandnews.ca/laurie-wilmot-lectures-2015. St. Stephen & St. BedeAll are welcomed to the Lenten Series, “Scriptures, Society, and Worship”, the first four Mondays in March at 7:00 p.m. Topics include, “A Guided Tour of the Bible” (Michael Wilson), “Who is my Neighbour?” (Charles Huband), “Can Christians Unite?” (Don McCarthy), and “Worship: A Journey with Buxtehude” (Lottie Enns-Braun). See the full schedule at rupertslandnews.ca/lenten-series.

COMMUNITY

Do you have an event of interest to the wider diocese? Send us the details at least six weeks in advance of the next paper (for example, a notice to be published in the May paper is due March 18).


Jesus came to bring good news to the poor. That is one of the reasons the Church calls people to be deacons, who will help us find and be among those who are poor of body and spirit. Churches of the Orthodox, Catholic, Reform and Evangelical traditions all have some way of signifying the ministry of diakonia (pro-nounced dee-AH-kon-ee-ah). As a sacramental church, we Anglicans ordain people to the diaconate, to be living signs and reminders to the people of God that Christ came to serve.

When speaking of the diaconate, I like to stay with the Greek word diakonia rather than the com-mon translation of “ministry” or “service” because it has a richer meaning. The noun form, diakonos, has been linked with konis (dust), sug-gesting someone who works close to the ground, not as a doormat, but as one whose authority comes from being in touch with what is basic and earthy, who reminds us of the dust of which we are all made.

For centuries, the di-aconate has been consid-ered an inferior and largely transitional order in the life of the Church. At best, it has

been understood primarily as having an “assistant” role in relationship to the priest-hood. Slowly, in my lifetime, the diaconate is coming to be seen as a ministry with its own meaning and integ-rity, a “full and equal” order alongside the episcopate and the priesthood.

Louise Williams, a Luther-an deaconess and former

president of an ecumenical diaconal association, gave five pictures or snapshots of the ministry of a deacon: servants, table-waiters, sto-ry-tellers, door-keepers, and light-bearers. We are most familiar with the image of the deacon as the one who washes feet, just as Jesus washed the feet of his disci-ples. Jesus’ action was both practical and symbolic, both menial and authoritative. He was setting an example to his disciples: this is how you are to be with one another. The deacon’s role is to be an example of service to others, and to teach and

lead with authority.In the Eucharist, dea-

cons act as table-waiters, preparing and cleaning the altar vessels and receiving the bread and wine, actions that elevate simple, domes-tic tasks to the level of the sacred. Jesus’ daily ministry often took place at table, sharing meals with “outcasts and sinners.” Deacons signi-

fy to us that we live out our baptism among those we meet in our daily lives, not just among fellow Chris-tians on Sundays.

Deacons are story-tell-ers, door-keepers, and light-bearers. Reading the Gospel, whether done by a deacon or layperson, is

still a diaconal function, in the sense that every Chris-tian is called to share the good news of God in Jesus Christ with others. There is a role for deacons to serve as Christian educators, as

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Diakonia Serving with Authority Maylanne Maybee

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Maylanne Maybee is a deacon and the Principal of the Centre for Christian Studies.

"Deacons are story-tellers, door-keepers,

and light-bearers"


catechists who help prepare people for baptism and con-firmation, and as leaders and facilitators of Bible study.

As door-keepers, the place for deacons is as go-betweens, interpreters to the Church of the needs, hopes, and concerns of the world. Good deacons will have a spirituality that is grounded equally in Scrip-ture and in the daily news,

able to help the gathered community to pray for justice and peace and to remember those at risk or in need who are not among us.

At the Easter Vigil, deacons are light-bearers. It is their privilege to carry the Paschal Candle, singing “The light of Christ!” and to sing the Exsultet, the great proclamation of the resur-rection. Deacons minister

especially in places of need and vulnerability, where they may also witness hope and resilience: that is what gives them the authority to speak or sing of resurrection.

The BBC series, “Call the Midwife,” is a wonderful illustration of what deacons are about and why the Church needs them. It’s the story of a group of midwives working in the slums of East London while living among a community of Anglican nuns. Nurtured by the prayerful life of community and faith, they are strengthened to go out on their bicycles to help women give birth to new life, indeed to help wherever there is need. Just as the Church needs priests to gath-er us in community for prayer and worship, we also need deacons who lead us out in service and action.

rln rupert's newsland CONNECTING CHURCH & COMMUNITY

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March 2015