A SECTION OF THE ANGLICAN JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2010 SERVING THE DIOCESE OF KOOTENAY

Bells ring out for the planet

RINGING CHURCH BELL FOR CLIMATE CHANGE — The congregations of St. Saviours, Nelson; St. Mark’s, Kaslo; and St. Mary’sAnglican/United Church in Sorrento. Bellringers: Anne Morris, KAIROS Rep. from Salmon Arm, Brenda Melnychuck and MikeJohnstone.

ince time immemori-al in cultures acrossthe world, musicalinstruments like bells

and drums have been used towarn people of imminent dan-ger and call people to action.On December 13, 2009, thecongregation of St. Mary’sAnglican/United Churchjoined churches around theworld to draw attention to thedire need of action regardingclimate change. 20 parish-ioners shared in the ringing ofthe almost 100-year-oldchurch bell at St. Mary's fol-lowing the morning worshipservice. KAIROS representa-tive Anne Morris from SalmonArm delivered a passionatemessage about the work ofKAIROS and joined the con-gregation in the ringing of thebell 350 times. (350 refers to350 parts per million — the

safe upper limit for CO2

in ouratmosphere). A petition toreverse CIDA’s (CanadianInternational DevelopmentAgency) decision to withdrawall funding for KAIROS wascirculated and signed by mem-bers of the congregation. Thepeople of St. Mary’s wereproud to participate withchurches around the world tolet their voices and bells beheard!

BY VAL JOHNSTONE

S

photos: bonnie holland, nelson; karen pidcock, kaslo; and verna nitsche, sorrento

P 4. Seasons of celebration

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P 5. Bread making as prayer

ing the ministry of theCathedral within the dio-cese.

The ministry of theCathedral is an importantone. In addition to beingthe parish home for theArchbishop and his family,the Cathedral is meant tobe a leader in worship, min-istry and mission. In thiscapacity it is a resource toall parishes as we exploreways to more effectivelycarry out the mission wehave been entrusted with. ACathedral is meant to be acommunity of faith thatwill explore and model highstandards in worship andoutreach and share what itlearned with all parishes.Major diocesan services areheld at the Cathedral andall parishioners throughout

FEBRUARY 2010PAGE 2 THE HIGHWAY

The HighWay is published under the authority of the Bishop of Kootenay and the Synod of theDiocese of Kootenay. Opinions expressed in The HighWay are not necessarily those of the Editor orthe Publisher.

THE

HIGHWAY

EDITOR

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

Submissions & Deadlines: All articles, advertising and correspondence submitted to The HighWayis subject to editing for length, clarity, timeliness, appropriateness and style in accordance with theCanadian Press. Letters should be limited to 250 words, columns and articles no more than 600words. Please include with all submissions your name, e-mail address and parish, as well as the nameof the photographer, if applicable. Deadline for submissions is the ffiirrsstt ooff tthhee mmoonntthh pprriioorr ttoo ppuubblliiccaa-ttiioonn unless otherwise indicated.

Advertising Policy: The acceptance of advertisement does not imply endorsement by the diocese orany of its principals. Advertisers and advertising agencies assume liability for all content, including text, representations and illustrations, and also assume responsibility for any claims and costs arisingthere from. Display advertising for commercial parties is available in accordance with our ethics and advertising policy.

Advertising material and inquiries should be addressed to the Editor. Payment is to be made inadvance to the Diocese of Kootenay.

Advertising is to be pre-paid to:The Diocese of Kootenay1876 Richter StreetKelowna, B.C.V1Y 2M9Phone: (250) 762-3306Fax: (250) 762-4150

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

Editorial AssistantMicahel Lavinnder

Dear Friends,write this in earlyJanuary as we offi-cially welcome TheVery Rev. Nissa

Basbaum as the incumbentof St. Michael’s Cathedraland Dean of the Diocese ofKootenay. Nissa (pro-nounced Neesa) comes toour diocese from theDiocese of Niagara whereshe was the rector of theParish Church of theTransfiguration in St.Catherine’s. She is marriedto Robin, and they have twochildren who are bothstudying at universities inOntario. Nissa brings agreat deal of experience andmany gifts to her new

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ARCHBISHOP’S PAGE

will look for wise adviceand private council. TheDean also exercises a leader-ship role in diocesan life byundertaking specific min-istries, which will developover time as the need arises.She is a member ofDiocesan Council, theAdministration Committeeand a member of BARDS(a quarterly meeting of theBishop with theArchdeacons, Dean andRegional Deans to assist theArchbishop in the leader-ship of the diocese). AsSenior Priest, the Dean alsois available to clergy forconsultation and advice,and provides confidentialpastoral support to clergywhen needed. The Dean ofthe Diocese also works withthe Archbishop in develop-

Website: www.anglicanhighway.com

BY ARCHBISHOP JOHN E. PRIVETT

responsibilities and I amvery pleased that Nissaresponded to the call ofGod to join us all in min-istry at the Cathedral and inthe diocese.

The appointment of anew Dean is an importantevent for the whole diocese.Although Nissa will havethe Cathedral congregationand the city of Kelowna asher primary focus in min-istry, she also undertakes aspecial role within the dio-cese. As Dean, Nissa takeson the role of Senior Priestof the Diocese with an advi-sory role for the Bishop. Iwill look to Nissa as a col-league with whom I can dis-cuss my own ministry, mythoughts and concerns forthe diocese and to whom I

In My View

A new Dean for Kootenay

Privacy Protection: Photographs and articles submitted to The HighWay for publication requiresthat authors and photographers have received permission from parents or guardians of all minors(under 18) that have their names or whereabouts published in The HighWay.

the diocese are always wel-come at St. Michael’s at anytime. In my view, theappointment of a new Deanis an exciting event for allus. If you are visitingKelowna I encourage you tovisit your Cathedral, eithermid-week or on a Sunday.When you do come to visit,please introduce yourself,sign the guest book and letthe greeters know whatparish you are from—andbe sure to say hello to DeanNissa—welcome her per-sonally and let her knowsomething about yourhome congregation because,after all, she is Dean for allof us!

Faithfully,+ John

ou will see in this edi-tion a new diocesancrest. Actually, thiscrest is a stained glass

window from St. Saviour’s Pro-Cathedral, Nelson. The crest isalso used on the Home page ofthe Diocesan Website.

You will also notice thatthe type fonts, as well as thepictures, are crisper. And thereis a good reason for this. TheAnglican Journal, throughwhom all the diocesan supple-ments are published, is using anew company for presswork.You might have noticed asteady improvement over thelast two issues in the quality ofphotographs. In the past, someissues have been printed badly.Another factor in this equationis the way the photographshave been colour balanced. Inaddition, the fonts are nolonger blurry; rather than beingmade up of dots, they are pro-duced by mathematical equa-

tions. I won’t bore you furtherwith the technical side of pressproduction.

This is not the result ofinexperience on my part, butrather I made choices that Iwould not have made in thecorporate world. I would havequestioned the process a lotsooner than I did. However, Ifollowed the instructions I wasgiven using the software thatwas available and didn’t ques-tion the procedure because Ididn’t want to rock the boat.That being said, I’m not theonly one guilty of doing thissort of thing.

Peter Davison quotes froma new controversial book thismonth, “The Moral Fool, AComparative Case ofAmorality.” Consequently,parishioners in denominationalchurches are less likely to takerisks or think outside the boxwhen working for their church.

Why is this? Are we doingour church a disservice by notgiving it the best we have tooffer? It would seem that we areafraid of being disruptive or

uncooperative, and for the sakeof not making waves, we oftenback down when meeting withresistance.

Many people have skillsthat could be useful to theirchurch. And I encourage youto use them. Whatever yourministry might be, bring yourexpertise forward. Make a pro-posal: This is what I know;these are my qualifications; andthis is what I can do.

That having been said, thehard part is yet to come, whenyour offer is either not accept-ed or ignored. You must becourageous. Here is anotherpiece of corporate knowledge:Anyone worth their salaryshould not be afraid of puttingtheir job on the line. In otherwords, “those who want to savetheir life will lose it.”

I am not encouraging youto be contentious. I’m encour-aging you to help your churchin whatever way you can, andnot to park your expertise inthe Narthex.

Editorial

YBY JONN LAVINNDER

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FEBRUARY 2010 THE HIGHWAY PAGE 3COLUMNS

uring an enjoyableChristmas per-formance of TheNutcracker Suite

by Ballet Kelowna, I could nothelp but be distracted by ayoung woman who persistedin texting repeatedly on hercell phone. Not only was thelight annoying, but I felt it wasalso thoughtlessly inconsider-ate of others. Shortly after Iread a perceptive column inThe Vancouver Sun by ShelleyFralic, “Will a new decadespell the end of GenerationMe?”*

At the last CoGS meeting,the Draft Report from Vision2019 presented several keythemes, including the need forthe Anglican Church ofCanada to find new ways tofocus on youth and the family.The theatre encounter led meto thinking about how adult

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society and our church in par-ticular have been failing ouryouth. I want to be clear fromthe outset that there are fineyouth in our church who donot fit the stereotypes ofGeneration Me, but I contendthat they are relatively few innumber and are frequentlyoverwhelmed as they struggleto live the Gospel in the indif-ferent and often hostile worldof their secular peers.

Ms. Fralic contends thatGeneration Me young peoplehave been raised by "those in-their-own image baby boomersto think life is all about them,so coddled and cosseted thatthey emerged from theircocoons as generational posterboys and girls for sociallyingrained narcissism." And ifthat is not enough, "alongcame social media and the per-vasive influence of pop cul-ture, whereby Generation Meswallowed another dose ofconceit and becameGeneration Look At Me."

BY RANDALL FAIREY

CoGS wheelsRANDALL FAIREY IS A

DIOCESAN DELEGATE, COUNCIL OF GENERAL SYNOD

And finally the writer gaveexpression to my irritationwith the texting teen, “This,for the most part, is a genera-tion of youth raised withoutbenefit of feeling shame, ofpersonal embarrassment andboundaries, so obsessed withthe minutiae of their dailygoings-on and banal trivia thatthey’ve made billionaires ofthe lads who inventedFacebook, MySpace, Twitter,iPhone, Utube and everyother form of social media towhich millions are so attachedthat they spend more timetelling each other what they’redoing than actually doing it.”

Ms. Fralic ends on a lesscynical note hoping that“2010 will be the turnarounddecade, whereby GenerationMe gets a slap upside thehead, not from the MeGeneration but from harshreality, and transforms intosomething closer toGeneration We, where theoutward is once again equal to

the inward.”My experience with young

people in my Parish and acrossthe National Church is farfrom this bleak assessment.However, for most ofGeneration Me young adults,the Anglican Church ofCanada’s proclamation of theGospel is irrelevant; we seemto have sadly lost any moralhigh ground we once mayhave held. A fundamental keyfor successful youth and familyinitiatives resulting from theVision 2019 Project is for ourchurch to again become a rec-ognized place where parentsare enabled to help their chil-dren acquire confident moralindependence. And even ifparents don’t care to do that,then the church still has aGospel inspired imperative totry to reach and appeal toyouth who will otherwise beadrift. Where else are youngpeople going to acquire andhonour moral principles suchas selflessness and altruism,

that add real value to society?I believe that General

Synod will agree to the Vision2019 Project. We really don'tknow anymore how to suc-cessfully engage youth andtheir families and that is goingto demand some innovativehard work. When the harshrealities of life that Ms. Fralictalks about inevitably hitsyoung people from this andfuture generations, can they beequipped to meet those head-on by useful spiritual explo-rations and new foundationsin faith effected by theAnglican church? Might thatinclude turning the use ofsocial media from banal triviato the truly creative? If we failour youth, I fear we will havefew excuses, as our churchshrinks ever further away.

*See Shelley Fralic, The VancouverSun, Page A5, December 24, 2009

s Lent approaches, Ihave been thinkingabout past Lenten sea-sons and what makes

that time meaningful for me. Itprobably comes as no surprise thatmy answer is music; but it is notjust any kind of music. For me, itis that which touches my soul.Simply, it is the chants that I havecome to know primarily throughthe music of the TaizéCommunity. These chants orshort repetitive songs have apower to move one into the pres-ence of God without the con-straint of a lot of words. Manyhymnals now include themamong their offerings, but unfor-tunately, I think many parishesoverlook them because they areunfamiliar with this type of musicand there are no instructions as tohow to use the songs. (Check outyour hymn book for titles such as“Jesus Remember Me,” “UbiCaritas,” and “Come and Fill OurHearts.”) There is one exception,

however. It is the songbook,Spirit Anew, (“Singing Prayerand Praise”). It is published byWood Lake Books, and has beenin circulation since 1999. In theMusic Leader edition, there is anextensive introduction that dis-cusses singing as prayer andmantric chants. For those notfamiliar with this book, I wouldlike to pass on some of its helpfulinformation about the chants.

The mantric chant comesout of an ancient spiritual prac-tice of contemplative Christianitycalled “lectio divino” or “divinereadings.” This process has fourdimensions.1. “Ruminatio” or “chewing the

text” likens the repeating oftext over and over to a cowchewing cud and ruminatingon it. Not only is it a processof memorization, but earlyChristians believed that as thefacial muscles moved, thebody was shaped according tothe words that were beingrepeated.

2. “Meditatio” or meditation iswhen the mind focuses onthe text, drawing spiritual

nourishment from it andexploring what it may suggestabout life with God.

3. “Contemplatio” or contempla-tion is when one experiencesthe joy of God’s presence.

4. “Oratio” or the act of express-ing prayers to God is one'sresponse to what has beenexperienced of God's pres-ence.

All of the above can be experi-enced when engaging in mantricchant, and for many it hasbecome a daily part of life. TheTaizé Community in France isthe epitome of this form of wor-ship. It is an ecumenical com-munity of brothers that wasstarted by Brother Roger in1940. Over the years, a style ofsung prayer evolved with thework of composer JacquesBerthier. Through his music andthe work of Brother Roger, thecommunity became a populardestination for Christians fromaround the world, particularlyyoung people. Every year, thou-sands now make the pilgrimageto study and participate in servic-es of sung prayer that are offered

three times a day. For those of uswho would like to experience thisbut cannot go to France, theTaizé Community has publisheda series of music books and has awonderful Web site where onecan read more about meditativesinging and even learn to sing thechants. Just go to www.taize.fr.Click on your language prefer-ence, and then click on “Prayerand Song.” Once you navigate tothat page, go to the side bar onthe left and click on “Learningthe Songs.” A menu of letters willdrop down. These indicate thefirst letter of the many chantsoffered. You may look for a par-ticular chant or just browse.When you find one you want,the sheet music will pop up. Youwill also be able to listen to themusic in harmony or isolate aparticular voice part. The musicis presented in its original lan-guage, but various other languageoptions are included under themusic.

Many hymnbooks nowinclude the music of Taizé, alongwith similar style chants thatcome out of the Iona

ACommunity or from other com-posers. Once a parish learns somechants they can use them inmany ways. A special service ofsung prayer can be created (seeSpirit Anew or Taizé books forformats) or they can be incorpo-rated into Sunday worship, usingthem in ways that include 1) singing before the service as a

way to centre the congrega-tion,

2) sung as prayer before a scrip-ture reading, or

3) sung as meditative music dur-ing communion. Thesechants may also be used toopen study groups and meet-ings or at home as part ofone’s daily routine. The possi-bilities are endless.

A favourite saying from theTaizé Community is somethinglike, “Those who sing praytwice.” During this season ofLent I wish you well on yourspiritual journey and hope thatalong the way you will take thetime to sing, and in doing so,pray twice.

BY NORENE MORROW

Those who sing pray twiceMusic

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Commentary

FEBRUARY 2010PAGE 4 THE HIGHWAYCHURCH LIFE

Final numbers have yet tocome in ... but we have raisedenough to provide more than565 kits — over $4500.

It’s been an amazing thing.The children of our Sundayschool have helped us catch avision of what we might be

he Sunday school atChrist Church hasdone it again. For thelast three years, these

young people have challengedthe parish to think beyondthemselves at the Christmas sea-son. In 2007, they organized aproject with the MennoniteCentral Committee to sendgoats to Jordan, Kenya andIndia. They set a goal of 16goats at a cost of $30 each.They ended up sending 86goats —$2580.

In 2008, they partneredwith Father Raphael Mponda,Anglican priest in the village ofBlantyre in southern Malawi, toprovide water filters forBlantyre. The original goal wasto raise enough money for 80filters, at $30 per filter. Theyended up raising enough moneyfor 136 filters —$4080.

Advent, Christmas & Epiphany activites around the diocese

This year, they partneredwith Father Raphael again.They asked him what thechildren in Blantyre needed.The most urgent needs weremosquito nets and school sup-plies — nets to keep the chil-dren safe from malaria-carry-ing mosquitoes at night, andschool supplies to help themlearn. They developed a kitwith the nets and supplies,determined the cost of eachkit to be $8, and set a goal.They would provide a kit foreach of the 501 children inthe school in Blantyre —$4008.

They publicized the proj-ect in the church; many peo-ple bought these kits as aform of alternative giving.The church provided giftcards, to let recipients knowthat kits were purchased intheir name.

EPIPHANY TRADITION — Those that found aring, a thimble or a dime in their cake have specialjobs for next year’s party: the dime must be invest-ed; the thimble to create something for the churchand the ring for who bakes next years cake.

photo john mcdonagh

They publicized the proj-ect in Cranbrook; townspeo-ple came to the church office,wanting to get involved. Someyoung people from the localhigh school heard about theproject, and decided to getinvolved, raising funds atschool.

able to do. Most amazing ofall is that people with littleor no connection to ourparish want to get involvedin this project. Truly ... achild shall lead them.

Seasons of celebration & givingA little child shall lead them...

BY YME WOENSDREGT

T

ANGEL MESSENGERS —Christ Church, Cranbrook Sunday school present a Christmas pageant.

St. Saviour’s, Nelson

photos bonnie holland

CHRISTMAS EVE TRADITION — The Sunday school children of St. Saviour’s perform the Christmas Eve pageant.

St. Barbara’s, Okanagan Falls St. Margaret’s, Peachland

photo frank warburton

COOL SHEPHERDS — Christmas Pageant at St. Margaret’s, Peachland.COOL ANGELS — Christmas Pageant at St. Barbara’s, Okanagan Falls.

photo donald friesen

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God’s grace, and multiply likeyeast, working in ways wecannot see. The sharing of thebread at the Eucharist and inthe home feeds that hope forme. We can do nothing with-out God or without eachother nor can we do anythingwithout being nourished by“our daily bread.”

Anyone who wishes tolearn the art of making breadwould be welcome to connectwith one of us.

love to bake bread - tofeel the dough begin tocome alive in my hands.I feel surrounded by

holiness as I knead; a holinessthat connects me with so manywho have done this task forthousands of years; those whopoured their energy into dough,transforming flour into food. Ithink of the many metaphorsbread has in multitudes of cul-tures and traditions—bread asthe staff of life, as money, ascommunity, as food for thehungry, as spiritual food for ourjourney and most of all, joiningme with the whole body ofChrist making us one. All thisin bread!

Today I am preparing tomake buns and I smell theyeast rising in a bowl waitingfor me to add flour, honey andseeds. Tomorrow many willcome to work here and I wantto have bread for our lunch. Icould buy buns but there is joyand a satisfaction in makingsuch an ancient food as athank-you to those who cometo help here. It is a symbol ofour deep connection — notjust through our work outside,but through the ancient historyof bread that we all share.

Bread has been found inearly Egyptian tombs datingback at least 5,000 years. It isfirst mentioned in Genesis3:19 “by the sweat of your faceyou shall eat bread until youreturn to the ground, for outof it you were taken; you aredust and to dust you shallreturn.” There are 302 men-

tions of it in our Bible with themost numerous in the gospelof John. Bread is deeplyentrenched in theJudeo/Christian tradition andwe ask for our daily breadwhen we pray the prayer thatJesus taught us.

Certainly, we have beentold that “we are what we eat”so the more healthy, less“processed” food we eat, themore (generally) healthy wewill be. As a result, “slow” foodis gaining popularity. Thehuman touch is important andseems to make all the differ-ence in food preparation.Homemade just tastes better.This is why I love to makebread. I find the kneadingmeditative and I use it as anopportunity to pray love into itfor those who eat it. Thoughthis is usually my family, it isalso friends and helping neigh-

bours who receive loaves as a“thank you.” Consequently (orcoincidentally), they are alwayseager to lend a hand.

The hidden process of theyeast at work in bread-making,seems to me, to be just oneexample of the mystery ofprayer. A little yeast performs aseeming miracle to those of usnot aware of the sciencebehind it, but we trust theprocess. Our prayers, and theactions that result from ourprayers go out, I believe, with

Many ways to prayPART 9

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BY NANCY SCOTT, & FLO MASSON

The Diocesan Committee ofthe Anglican Foundation ofPrayer

FEBRUARY 2010 PAGE 5 THE HIGHWAY

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PRAYER & CONFERENCES

Bread making as prayer

I joined the Order of St. Lukein Philadelphia in 1969 attheir North AmericanConference. I had gone therebecause their prayers hadhelped my mother overcomecancer. The conference was lifechanging and I had hoped tobegin a Chapter in Vancouverwhere I was serving in my ownparish, but I did not haveenough time for extra min-istry.

In 1988 I was struckdown with a terrible car acci-dent and had to retire fromfull-time ministry. On June 2,1990 I attended an OSL con-ference in Nanaimo, B.C., and

while there I prayed that Icould start a chapter inPenticton where my husbandand I were going to live. TheVen. Peter O’Flynn was theRector of St. Saviour’s andhelped me start a chapter here.In January 1991 we started achapter with 12 members.Now we have over 60 mem-bers from Osoyoos to Vernon.We hold local conferencesevery two years and today wemaintain a Healing Servicewith the Eucharist at St.Saviour’s every Wednesdaynoon with the assistance ofincumbents of St. Saviour’sand other clergy from theOkanagan.

The Order of St. Luke isinter-denominational, and wehave chapters all over theworld with a North AmericanConference every year and anInternational Conference everyfive years. Our membersreceive the “Sharing Magazine”each month and several veryfine studies on Christ’s heal-ing. We pray for many peopleand have seen many peoplehelped. If you wish moreinformation on the OSL, or

wish to join please contact meat 250-492-3347.

On June 21-25, 2010, weare holding an InternationalConference on Healing for thePerson, the Church, and theWorld, at UBC Okanagan,Kelowna, BC. You do notneed to be a member of theOSL to attend. Speakers arecoming from Wales, Ireland,England, New Zealand,Australia, the United Statesand Canada.

To register please go towww.osl2010.ca Registration forms are avail-able, as well as posters to dis-play in your Churches andpamphlets to circulate.

Order of St. Luke

UBC Campus, Kelowna BY THE REVEREND VIRGINIA BRIANT

International ConferenceVCP Conference

Vital church plantingEdmonton

The Diocese of Edmonton will host the Vital ChurchPlanting — West Conference, May 18-20, 2010, at TaylorSeminary in Edmonton, AB.

Themed, “Church | Culture | Hope,” this churchplanting conference is the first of its kind in westernCanada. Participants from across the EcclesiasticalProvinces of Rupert’s Land, British Columbia and Yukonwill gather to explore ways the church can meet the chang-ing needs of society.

Guest speakers will include: The Rev. Canon PhilPotter, Fresh Expressions practitioner, and Director ofPioneer Ministry for the Diocese of Liverpool; and HaroldRoscher, Director/Chaplain of the Edmonton NativeHealing Centre.

Individuals can register before March 15, 2010, toreceive the Early Bird rate of $200/person. Teams of threeor more persons can register for $150/person before March15, 2010. After March 15, fees increase by $50/person. Aspecial student rate of $75 is also available.

For more information on registration and accommoda-tions, please visit: www.vitalchurchplanting.com

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COLUMNS FEBRUARY 2010PAGE 6 THE HIGHWAY

You wanted to know

BY PETER DAVISON

Is Lent relevantanymore?

I’m writingthis at the endof December,when variousarticles have

appeared about why peoplecelebrate Christmas and Easterwhen our society has seeming-ly declared religion (and par-ticularly Christianity) irrele-vant. Many people who haveabandoned any regular churchobservance are nonethelessattracted to stories, music andritual, which point them to“that something Other beyondthe here-and-now,” and bindthem together in a sense ofcommunity they have other-wise lost. People have alsowritten that we don’t need

Q:

BY DOUG HODGKINSON

Movie review

Earth

A:

“We are all bastards. We are likethe lion caged in the zoo waitingfor the cage to open.” However,he is also the most developedcharacter in the movie and urgesthe diverse group of friends tostick together. He is a Christ fig-ure in his willingness to “give upall” (convert), as well as to carefor friends in the midst of theriots when Sikhs were hunted inthe street. His view is ironic inthat the ending is not happy andthere may be no “salvation,” butthat in the journey, we have eachother. The perspective of the filmis that betrayal is most egregiouswhen it happens between friendsand within one’s family. Hasanpays for such reasoned responseand loyalty to “others” with hislife.

The story is told from theperspective of Lenny—baby whois about 10 years old and caredfor by Shanta because she has hadpolio and is in a leg brace. She isan innocent, dropping a plateand wondering whether a coun-

arth is the second ofthe trilogy Fire (1996),Earth (1998) andWater (2005 by

Toronto based, Indo/ Canadianfilm maker Deepa MehtaSalzman. Indians usually criticizeher for her “unfair,” “inaccurate,”and “biased” depictions of Indianlife and this film was no excep-tion. She kept a security guard fora year after the film was released.It was released in India as 1947,which was the fateful year depict-ed in the film about the partitionof India into two states. TheBritish colonized at leisure butabandoned India in haste. MostNationalists expected a couple ofyears but Lord Mountbattonwrapped it up in a few monthsleaving both states with little inthe way of infrastructure, laws orcivil society to make the transi-tion.

The action takes place inLahore, an apparently cosmopoli-

ed. He has been driven to a rageby the arrival of a train full ofMuslim refugees, all murderedand mutilated including his twosisters.

The trend is set early at aproper dinner party in theSethna’s home where Mr. Rogersand a Sikh guest get into a fightafter Rogers calls the Sikhs “fanat-ics.” On the issue of independ-ence for the Punjab region theywere fanatics and paid the price.While only 2 percent of the pop-ulation, and ironically foundedoriginally to be a bridge betweenHindus and Muslims, they wereBriton’s strongest opponents. Of127 Indians who went to the gal-lows, 92 percent were Sikhs.Sikhs were an easily identifiedgroup, because of their distinctivedress and a high percentage weremurdered because of it.

The film is dark and holdslittle hope for a resolution ofdeep religious and politicalhatred. Hassan the poet soundsthis note when he comments,

tan city, formerly in India, now inPakistan. It revolves around aParsee family (the Sethnas), theirmaid Shanta, a Hindu womanand their group of friends that iscomposed of Hindus andMuslims who live in an easy webof friendly insult and ribald com-mentary. Shanta is a great beautyand an attraction to all the youngmen. She likes Dil the ice candyman, but is in love with Hassan,the masseur and poet. TheSethnas, as Parsees, a very smallminority, see themselves as rela-tively safe and able to adapt towhomever becomes the ascendantpolitical group, but they areafraid for their servant and trymake plans for her to leave for aHindu area. All this is complicat-ed by Shanta’s announcementthat she is going to marry Hassanwho has promised to convert!

The ice candy man, Dil, is soupset about his rejection byShanta that he leads a mob to thehouse and she is carried off, likelyto be raped and forcibly convert-

try could crack like that, rippingapart one of her dolls and won-dering how she will get to herfavourite park if the city is splitup. In a nice touch, her characteras an old woman 50 years afterPartition is played by BapsiSidwa, the author of the book“Cracking India,” but first called“The Ice Candy Man.” She askswhether it was worth it that acountry was torn apart on reli-gious lines. That question playsout in our daily news.

years of Israel’s wandering inthe wilderness, the forty daysof Jesus’ temptation in thedesert, and the forty weeks ofJesus’ gestation in Mary’swomb — all symbolic times ofcleansing and anticipation.The church year reminds us ofour need to balance feastingwith fasting, both as physicalcleansing and an opportunityto counter our addictions (yes,all of us have them!), as well asan opportunity to examineour own deepest motives forour behaviour. Without thisbalance we become compla-cent and hidebound. Withoutfasting and penitence we loseour capacity to feast and cele-brate. Without acknowledgingthe reality of our temptationswe lose our ability to makereal choices, and therefore ourfreedom. All this applies to usboth as individuals and ascommunities and institutions.

on the one hand, and moralself-righteousness on the other.Those of us who observe AshWednesday and the beginningof Lent will be reminded that,in Matthew's gospel, Jesus tellsus, when we fast, not to makea show of it, but to be out-wardly joyful. Here, as inmany other places, Jesus showshow an outward concern forGod and neighbour can easilybecome self-serving, self-justi-fying and inherently immoral.His focus is less on what wedo, than why we do it. In T.S.Eliot’s “Murder in theCathedral,” Becket’s soliloquyon the eve of his deathincludes these famous words—“The last temptation is thegreatest treason, to do theright deed for the wrong rea-son.”

Lent’s forty days invite usto recall the forty days of theflood and Noah’s ark, the forty

God to be moral, which isundoubtedly true — but thenagain a recent social scienceexperiment in Quebec suggest-ed that people who took astrong stance on the environ-ment were more likely to cheatthan those who did not. Theresearchers argued that ourability to feel morally superiorin one area can allow us to beimmoral in others.Furthermore, Hans-GeorgMoeller (a philosophy profes-sor at Brock University) haswritten a controversial newbook (“The Moral Fool. AComparative Case forAmorality”), in which heargues that moral certaintiesand rigidities sometimes get inthe way of our finding solu-tions to many problems.

So what has this to dowith Lent? Well, it seemsmany people have been turnedoff religion by fundamentalism

So this Lent, as we recallboth Israel’s and Jesus’ tempta-tions, we might ask ourselveshow we think and act in self-centred ways, and with closedhearts and minds — aidedand abetted by the assumptionthat our often superficialbeliefs and moral certaintiesare used, not to the glory ofGod and the well-being of ourneighbours, but as an excusenot to grow or to show com-passion for others. These fortydays can be an occasion for usto deepen our faith andbecome more responsive toGod’s call to us, both as indi-viduals and as communities offaith. May our self-emptyingenable a new fulfilling, andour practice of compassionlead to true resurrection. Acreative Lent and a joyfulEaster to all!

Written and Directed by Deepa Mehta, starring: Maia Sethna (Lenny-babySethna), Kitu Gidwani (Bunty Sethna), Nandita Das (Shanta), Rahul Khanna(Hassan—the masseur), Eric Peterson (Mr Rogers—Brit policeman), Amir Khan(Dil Navaz-The Ice Candy Man), subtitles and English, 110 minutes, 1998.

E

Is Lent relevant anymore?

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FEBRUARY 2010 THE HIGHWAY PAGE 7COLUMNS & CLASSIFIED

ave you writtenyour thank youletters yet? In theweeks after

Christmas, my mother used tomake me write letters toeveryone I had received pres-ents from, irrespective ofwhether I had thanked themin person. I can’t rememberwhether this included my par-ents! This month I am com-mending a book that exam-ines in awesome detail thewhole phenomena of givingthanks. But first I should con-fess that this is not a book Ihave read through completely.The book is long and detailed,although never boring, and Isimply have not had the timeto do each chapter justice. Yet!

Visser has done us atremendous favour in thisbook. She has deconstructed

In my good books

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the complex elementsinvolved in the process of giv-ing thanks, and has clearlydescribed and analyzed them.In a book of nearly 400 pages(not including notes andindex) she gives us shortchapters that each focus ondifferent aspects of thanksgiv-ing. It is the book for whichthe phrase,“Who knew?” wasinvented. Who knew therewere 27 different aspects togiving thanks? Who knewthat the process was so com-plicated? Who knew that dif-ferent countries and culturesdo it so differently — if at all?

The book is so fascinat-ing because we know how todo this, we have been broughtup and socialized to do this,and yet we do not know whatwe are doing. We do not rec-ognize the social conventions

Vicar of Kokanee remembers

t was indeed an “outpostof the empire” as onemight intuit from thecommunity name:

Queen’s Bay. Its creation waslargely due to the orchards.There were two lords of anIrish peerage. They were theLords Kenneth Aylmer andBasil Aylmer. The latter at onetime played for the OttawaRoughriders in the 40s. Iwould direct those who areinterested to two publicationsfor further reading. They are“Lost Orchards” by Joan Langand a comprehensive local his-tory book of the area entitled“Kootenay OutletReflections.”

One story that was told tome dealt with an advertise-ment that was sent to theU.K. to encourage persons tocome to Canada to seek theirfortunes in fruit production.

This effort was enhanced bythe device of pinning applesto pine tree boughs to inducewould-be entrepreneurs tocross the ocean and seek theirlivelihood in the orchards ofBritish Columbia. GladysHirst and her daughter addedgreatly to the cultural milieuof the community. Many val-ued their instruction in danceand ballet. They were alsostaunchly Anglican.

Others were Ted andGeraldine Mahood. Ted wasthe son of the first vicar ofKokanee, the Rev. J. S.Mahood, who wrote TheHymn of the Kootenays.Geraldine immortalized her-self as a young girl by tyingonions to the pulpit at harvestfestivals. She and her friend,Kay Hughes, wanted to seethe vicar cry when hepreached.

A bell tower and bell wereadded by the Ough family inmemory of a son who diedwhile serving in the army.

In later years, oneHaroldine Copp came to the

community. She exercised ahigh degree of devotion to thelittle church. On a number ofoccasions one might see her in“mufti,” armed with paint buck-ets or some other tools of main-tenance, headed for the church.She would stain the siding andmend the roof when she waswell into her retirement years.

In the mid-90s we gathered

with the Right Rev. DavidCrawley for the de-consecra-tion of the church. We carriedout the altar, the lectern, thepulpit, the font, and all theother accoutrement of wor-ship. The altar and the fontwere taken to St. Francis in-the-Woods, Lake Country,which was a new church. Thediocese sold the building to

the Queen’s Bay communityfor the sum of one dollar, oncondition that they maintainit. When we had finished ourtasks of de-consecration,someone announced that itwas October fourth: the feastof St. Francis. No one hadplanned this.

St. Francis in-the-Woods, Queen’s Bay

BY JIM HEARNE

I

involved. Let me give you oneexample. We all know thatlying is wrong. But we alsoknow that we are expected toexpress gratitude for any gift,no matter how unwelcome itis. When someone gives yousomething, you say thankyou. It’s simple. So it’s okay tolie when saying thank you, infact it’s expected. So how dowe know if someone is reallygrateful...? The complexitiesgo on and on.

Reading this book, as Isay about many things, is likelooking in a mirror. We sud-denly see our society and our-selves in a new light. And

Visser’s scholarship, thoughshe is Canadian, extendsbeyond contemporary NorthAmerican and European cul-tures. She gives us insightsfrom history, from the world’scultures and from animals.She delves into the Romanand Greek roots of many ofour behaviour patterns. Sheuses sociological and anthro-pological sources. But all ofthis is done in a way that isaccessible, and you never feellike you are reading a dry aca-demic thesis.

There is one thing shedeliberately leaves out. Thething that you and I would

most love to read about is herperspective on “the thanksgiv-ing,” the Eucharist. I know,from a CBC interview, thatshe is a practicing Christian,and that she has consideredand spoken about theEucharist in this context. Ideeply hope that her reflec-tions will emerge, maybe as abook in their own right.

I will end with Visser’sown conclusions. “Gratitudeis of inestimable importanceto all societies...it also con-tributes to the spiritual well-being of every person, butespecially of those who arethankful.” ✙

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THE HIGHWAY PAGE 8FEBRUARY 2010DIOCESE & CLERGY

Kootenay ForwardFund

The Kootenay Forward Fundwas established in 1986 toassist any parish having diffi-culty meeting ministryexpenses. Perhaps a congrega-tion is still too small to meetfull clergy cost; or perhaps thecommunity is geographically

isolated and expenses are high; or perhaps a new way ofproviding ministry is being employed. In our diocesan lifetogether there have been many times when a little extrahelp has been needed. Over the last twenty years theKootenay Forward Fund has provided that little extra help.In the last few years over $100,000 has been distributed toa number of recipients. To provide this assistance, theKootenay Forward Fund relies on three sources of income:the Diocesan Family Budget, voluntary donations fromparishes and from individuals who want to support in aspecial and personal way. Please know that the need forassistance is still very real today in some of our parishes.By making a personal donation to the Kootenay ForwardFund, you are saying you care.

NameAddress

I am pleased to be able to donate $______ for the work ofthe Kootenay Forward Fund. Diocese of Kootenay, 876 Richter Street, Kelowna B.C. V1Y 2M9

Tax receipt will be issued.

First DIOCESAN COUNCIL

HIGHLIGHTS/NOVEMBER 20 & 21,2009

Congratulations to David Irving on his elec-tion as Bishop of Saskatoon. David willremain with us until mid-February. His con-secration will be on March 1st (St. David’sDay).

Nissa Basbaum arrived as the new Dean ofthe Cathedral. Her first service in the parishwill be on November 29. Her induction is at7 pm on Sunday, January 3, 2010.

Regional Reports

PWRDFHeather Karabelas stated that PWRDF ishalfway to the goal of 50 refugee sponsor-ships. Money for the refugees is ongoinguntil 50 families are sponsored. PWRDF isundergoing a Branding Exercise, duringwhich a new name and logo for PWRDFwill be designed, and revealed in June 2010at General Synod. Donations to September2008: $57,540 to September 2009: $47,790.

CoGSRandall Fairey reported that TheDepartment of Philanthropy is envisioning acampaign to raise $150 million over the nextthree triennia. These monies will be instru-mental in creating a solid endowment forChurch operations and programs. CoGS hasaccepted the proposed 2010 budget thatrequires the Church to reduce its deficitsyearly until 2012 when it will not permit anydeficit financing.

Cathedral Site DevelopmentPercy Tinker advised that the City AdvisoryCommission was in favour and recommend-ed to City Council the plans for expansion.They expect to get the Development Permitshortly. The Cathedral has raised$1,000,000 from the congregation. They arewaiting for three engineering reports inorder to continue.

Kootenay Boundary & KokaneeLetter received from Neil Elliot, RegionalDean of both regions, requesting that thetwo regions be amalgamated. The new WestKootenay Region will be instituted onNovember 21.

Archbishop’s ReportBishop John was elected Metropolitan at theProvincial Elections. He will be chairing theProvincial Synod and Provincial House ofBishops. The Provincial Executive will meetmonthly with conference calls. KathrynLockhart will be assistant to theMetropolitan. This is the first time in histo-ry that four new Provincial Metropolitanshave been elected in one year. There will beregular meetings with Fred Hiltz. John’s firstpriority will be life in the Diocese ofKootenay.

Diocesan Gathering: in July 2010 atSorrento Centre. The theme speaker will beGordon Light.

BY THE REV. HEATHER KARABELAS

CELEBRATION—Newly ordained parish priest, the Rev. NicoMontalbetti celebrates his first Eucharist service at St. Barbara’s,Okanagan Falls, on December 13, 2009. The Rev. Montalbetti willbe sharing positions as Curate at both St. Saviour’s, Penticton andSt. Barbara’s.

Communion

Baptism atSt. Margaret’s

photo donald friesen

photo frank warburton

BAPTISM OF FUTURE SOFTWARE ENGINEER—God parent’s Dale and Suzanne Fish (left),TheRev. Canon Andrew Irving with Madison Phaedra Holt, parents Alan and Gretchen Holt (right),St Margaret’s Church, Peachland, January 10, 2010 (10/01/01).