A Section of the AnglicAn JournAlJune 2015

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

Interfaith ChurchHosts Students PAGE 3THE

HIGHWAYServing the DioceSe of KootenAy The

Hole-yBible PAGE 7

God isYour“Bestie” PAGE 6

Detail of stained glass window, Dunbar Lutheran, ELCIC, photographs by Jonn Lavinnder

See pages 4 & 5

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THE HIGHWAY is published under the authority of the Bishop of Kootenay and the Synod of the Diocese of Kootenay. Opinions expressed in THE HIGHWAY are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Publisher.

eDitor

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By ARCHBISHOPJOHN E. PRIVETT

Archbishop’s Alphabet

Dear Friends,

No, this is not a column about hell and damnation, but rather about dams – that is those structures that can regulate water giving human beings the ability to control water flow on rivers and streams and often include the capacity to generate hydroelectric power. I have chosen to write this month about the river system that is central to

the Diocese of Kootenay and part of a major wa-terway in Canada and the United States. Dams are a prominent feature of this system. At the top of our Diocesan Crest are two wavy blue lines which sig-nify the rivers which flow through this stunning part of the world and are a reminder of the Living Waters of God’s grace that surround us in baptism and nourish us through-out our lives.

The Columbia is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest. Its headwa-ters are in Canal Flats in the East Kootenays and it wends its way north through Golden, to the Mica Dam and the forma-tion of Kinbasket Lake. The river continues to flow to Revelstoke and the Revelstoke Dam which caused the creation of Lake Revelstoke. It then flows south through Na-kusp and the Arrow Lakes which were formed by the Keenleyside Dam near Castlegar. The River con-tinues through Trail cross-ing the border into Wash-ington and Oregon where there are an additional 11 dams built between the border and the sea. If you include the other rivers which feed the Columbia there over 50 dams con-structed throughout this watershed.

The Columbia River Treaty was signed between the governments of Cana-da and the United States in 1964 with the twin goals of providing flood control and generating hydroelectric power. Al-though there is no expiry date, 2024 is identified as the first possible year in which either party may terminate the agreement after giving the other par-ty a mandatory minimum of 10 years notice. We are now within that time frame and there is a grow-ing discussion about the benefits and challenges that arise from the treaty.

We have learned much in the 50 years since the signing of the treaty and are keenly aware of the re-sponsibility we have to be good stewards of the land, the natural resources in this part of the world and of our responsibility to-ward future generations. Indigenous people and others want to participate in this conversation and include social and envi-ronmental considerations in any future discussions as well as the impact on fish stocks in the river and salmon access throughout the river system.

There have been many benefits which have result-ed from the signing of the treaty in 1964. The abil-ity to control large scale flooding has prevented billions of dollars in flood damage, and the dams have created the largest hydro power generating project in North Amer-ica. These have provid-ed renewable energy to millions of people. In BC we have been recipi-ents of annual payments from U.S. hydro power generation which have been a valuable contri-bution to the Province’s budget. Along with the benefits have come chal-lenges related to the life of communities along the waterways, the impact on agriculture and First Nation’s sacred sites, the integrity of fragile ecosys-tems and species and the impact upon traditional fish migration routes.

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We are entering an his-toric time for the treaty, and for the future of the beautiful waterway that flows through the heart of our Diocese. I participat-ed in a meeting recently which discussed some of the challenges and opportunities that this discussion presents. The meeting included mem-bers of indigenous com-munities, faith groups and scientists. I have learned a great deal and have a lot more to learn.

At our last General Synod meeting in Ottawa in 2013 our church added a new statement to the Baptismal Covenant. It reads: “Will you strive to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation and re-spect, sustain and renew the life of the earth?” “I will with God’s help.” The timing of the treaty conversation offers us an opportunity to embrace this promise in a personal and practical way. It is my hope that members of our diocese might become more informed about the Columbia River system, the International Treaty, and the many dams along its routes.

Faithfully,

+John

THE HIGHWAY

is for Dam

Brilliant Dam, Kootenay River BC

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By NISSA BASBAUM

Recently, someone sent me an article from Bedlam, an Internet magazine blog that describes itself as existing “in the space where faith and cul-ture crash against one another” and embracing “the chaos that comes from not having it all figured out…” (http://www.bedlammag.com/) The partic-ular post sent to me is entitled, “It’s not us, it’s you,” and it begins like this:

“As a member of the mil-lennial generation, I feel like I’ve gotten a bad rap. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t stum-ble across another article that discusses why my peers and I are leaving the Church and ‘destroying the conservative order.’ Occasionally these piec-

alongside them. What we are looking for is a space that is safe for us and for others. We want a place where it is okay to ask questions, and express our doubts. We refuse to draw lines in the sand and require people to check their baggage (minds) at the door before entering.”

One of the striking things about this quite frankly not uncommon critique of the Church is that – like those representing contemporary atheism – the arguments pro-pounded are always directed at the most fundamental and conservative of Christians, and there is a very good reason for this. These arguments would not catch much fire with those of us in the Church who also don’t sit comfortably with a Christianity that espouses absolutes and, by extension, preaches a morally judge-mental message.

The lines from this Bedlam article that particular rang true for me were these: “Over-whelmingly, my generation is trying to return to the roots of Christianity. We are looking for fellow believers that will practice what Jesus preached. The only people who Jesus openly condemned were the religious leaders. He ate with

es raise valid points, but often I am left shaking my head in utter disbelief.”

What most intrigued me about this person’s piece was the juxtaposition of Jesus with the Church, “In almost every article,” they wrote, “we are painted as either in need of a more relevant church expe-rience, or as Godless, secular fiends that choose sin over faith. But this is overwhelmingly untrue. In fact, I have scores of friends that are head-over-heels obsessed with Jesus; yet they, like myself, are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the Church… What we really desire is authentic communi-ty that isn’t concerned with image. We want people who we can do life with. We want lead-ers that are there for us when times get hard.”

Disenchantment with the Church is certainly not a new thing and hardly reserved for millennials; in some cases, disenchantment can be traced as far back as the early roots of Christianity. Perhaps the difference between then and now is that it was eventually considered impolite or disre-spectful to query the church’s theological assumptions, and it was certainly not common prac-

tice to question the authority of its leaders. We are all aware that at certain periods in the Church’s history, people were in fact burned at the stake for expressing opposing viewpoints to what was the accepted doc-trine.

I cannot count the num-ber of conversations I have had with older parishioners in each of the congregations where I have served who have expressed to me the dis-ease they felt growing up in the Church, a dis-ease which left them sitting silently in their pews, lacking comprehension if not completely disbelieving of much that was being espoused to them from the pulpit. In a few instances, some of these people questioned their priest but when they did so, they were given both the cold shoul-der and the party line. They stopped asking the questions; some of them stayed but, as we know all too well, many of them simply stopped going to church.

In the Bedlam article, the author goes on to write, “Mil-lennials as a whole are more di-verse than any other age group. We are comfortable with peo-ple who believe very differently than us, and can easily worship

Nissa Basbaum is the Dean of St Michael & All Angels Cathedral in Kelowna

tax collectors, forgave the adulteress, and reached out to the very ones that society cast away. Yet the Church today speaks out against every lifestyle it deems sinful; when in reality, rather than passing judgement, we should simply be pointing people to Jesus.” I am not a millennial – far from it – and, not surprisingly, the majority of the congregations I have served have not been filled with millennials. Yet I am certain that many of these old-er people would concur with the sentiment this young writer expresses.

Within the ranks of our Anglican Church, there are numerous people in search of the authenticity of Jesus rather than the layer upon layer of theology that seems to have so radically altered who he was for those he served. While it is true that what we have from the gospels can never be regarded as an historical picture of Jesus, at the very least the description of him in the gospels surely offers us a mirror image of how to be in relationship with one another. Millennial or not, what many of us seek from the Church is a gathered commu-nity that lives out of and offers to the world this mirror image. Perhaps when this message is preached, it won’t just be mil-lennials who come to church but also their parents, many of whom left before them.

Aging Millennials

By BREANNE MASSEY Interfaith Church Hosts Students

Master of Divinity student Matteo Carboni was impressed with the harmonious relation-ship of the Windermere Valley Shared Ministry. Seven students from St. Andrew’s College at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) visited Christ Church Trinity on Sunday, April 19 to experience an ecumenical shared ministry, which officially consists of members from the Anglican and United Church communities.

“Shared ministry is becom-ing more common in both the United Church and Anglican Church,” said Matteo, who is Anglican. “In a class situa-tion, you learn a lot of theory from books, but coming into a situation like this one where you’re meeting real people (practising), all of a sudden, it becomes very real. We learned about the struggles and the joys of doing this… what I’ve gained from coming out here is that I want to participate in something like this.”

United Church minister, Sandra Beardsall, who teaches church history and ecumenics at St. Andrew’s College at the U of S, wanted her students to participate in a shared minis-

try experience. “We’ve talked about these shared ministry congregations, how they’re formed and what some of the challenges are in abstract, but I thought it would be good for (my students) to see people who live their lives in this way,” said Mrs. Beardsall, “for some real world experience.”

The Windermere Valley Shared Ministry actually spans most of the Columbia Valley and consists of several commu-nities, some with active church congregations and some with-out. They officially became an Ecumenical Shared Ministry in 1965 thanks to the foresight of two visionary church leaders: Archbishop Ted Scott from the Anglican church and the Rev.

Dr. Elliott Birdsall from the United Church.

Christ Church Anglican and Trinity United churches in Invermere, British Columbia came together to create an interdenominational commu-nity known as Christ Church Trinity in 1998 by moving into one building together, but it still “thrives” in the community, according to Rev. Laura Her-makin. “We have this incred-ible gift of having this class,” said Rev. Hermakin about the visiting Saskatchewan ecumeni-cal studies class. “Sandra might not put it this way and would probably blush, but she’s the international guru as it were on shared ministries, which means

churches that have come together from different denom-inations to worship together rather than continue to be separate — it’s a big deal.”

Mrs. Beardsall and her husband, Bill Richards — an Anglican priest and a professor of New Testament language and literature from the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad at the U of S — practise what they preach. “Even in their mar-riage; they live this ecumenical shared ministry,” explained Rev. Laura Hermakin, “which is neat.” But the spirit of unity spanned more than the couple’s interdenominational relationship and the ecumeni-cal class that brought students

into the heart of the Columbia Valley.

Master of Divinity student Eva Biederman, 30, who is a United Church member, was pleased to gain a broader sense of the interdenominational community at Windermere Valley Shared Ministry by participating on this trip and seeing theory put into prac-tice. “We’ve been learning about numbers going down in congregations and (it’s) a great idea to have different traditions join one another for worship,” Eva explained. “I was speaking to someone (at lunch) about how, economically, it’s better to share the cost of one building together and you’re also learn-ing about the ‘so-called’ other.” She noted the challenges of a shared ministry were worth the effort of helping religious fol-lowers break down antiquated belief systems.

“I think (religion) is fairly emotionally charged,” she add-ed. “People have a lot of mem-ories and traditions that people hold really dear to their hearts; and sometimes those (beliefs) are challenged by somebody who worships in a different way so that can make it difficult to agree on things, but I think we have to keep talking to peo-ple, learning about them and become friends. It creates more understanding and (this) has been an awesome experience.”

Reprinted from the Columbia Valley PioneerApril 15, 2015

FAITHS EMBRACED — Students from the University of Saskatchewan visited Christ Church Trinity on April 19 to learn about the realities of running a shared ministry. The Rev. Laura Hermakin (centre).

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Photo by Breanne Massey

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Synod 2015

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By JONN LAVINNDER

The Diocese of Kootenay 62nd Synod opened with wor-ship on Friday April 24. In attendance were the follow-ing guests: Father Cerlou-ie, Pastor, St Theresa and Holy Spirit Roman Catholic churches of Kelowna; The Rev. Rick Schultz, Pastor and Dean of BC Southern Interi-or Conference, ELCIC; The Rev. Karen Medland, Min-ister, First United Church, Kelowna; presiding and preaching The Most Rev. John E. Privett, Archbishop of Kootenay.

In his charge to Synod Archbishop John Privett began with Isaiah 52.7: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announce salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

Archbishop John invited everyone to look down at their feet and said, “You are the bearers of Good News, of God’s work in our congre-gation and diocese.”

He reminded those pres-ent that three years ago at

the last Synod “Together in Mission” (TiM) was initiat-ed.

“Tomorrow night,” he said, “we will take time to share the Good News of “Together in Mission” and celebrate what is unfolding in the diocese.”

During the service Arch-bishop John Privett com-missioned The Ven. Trevor Freeman as Executive Arch-deacon and installed the The Rev. Canon Neil Elliot as Principal of the Kootenay School of Ministry (KSM).

In addition, during the celebration of the Eucharist Archbishop John blessed the LLM Medallions for distri-bution in the parishes at Pentecost.

On Saturday morning the work of Synod began with Morning Prayer, which was the Feast day of St Mark. The worship band consisted of The Rev. Roger Cooper, acoustic guitar; The Rev. Mike Stuchbery, steel guitar; Peri Best, acoustic guitar; and Canon Neil Elliot, bass guitar.

Motions and Nomina-tions were the main business

of the day with two sessions by Keynote speaker Bishop Mark MacDonald.

The new Executive Di-rector for Sorrento Centre, Louise Peters, also ad-dressed the delegates.

There were several motions to amend canons, which mainly involved mi-nor alterations or removal altogether as they were no longer relevant. The one motion that might have in-volved some discussion was shelved until the next ses-sion of Synod in 2016 due to the House of Bishops being in process of reviewing it.

In the evening The Rev. Yme Woensdregt gave a presentation and report on “Together in Mission.” He triumphantly announced that $1,000,000 had been pledged so far.

Howard Soon presented initial payouts for the end of 2014 and first quarter 2015 to All Saints, Vernon; Christ Church, Cranbrook; St Sav-iour’s, Nelson; and for first quarter 2015: St Andrew’s, Mission; St George’s, West-bank; St Mark’s Kaslo; and St Stephen’s, New Denver.

This was followed by the cutting of a TiM cake by Yme Woensdregt, Howard Soon and Martha Asselin representing M & M Inter-national Inc.

On Sunday morning Camp Owaissi and Kootenay School of Ministry made presentations. Pam Wilson gave a video presentation about life at Camp Owaissi, and Neil Elliot announced new KSM initiatives; such as, the monitoring of courses at a reduced price ($99) and the possibility of receiving a credit for taking Education for Ministry (EfM).

After the election results were announced Synod 2015 came swiftly to an end several hours ahead of schedule.

Bishop Mark MacDonald Addresses SynodBy JONN LAVINNDER

April 24 - 26

Keynote speaker Bishop Mark MacDonald addressed the 62nd Diocesan Synod of Kootenay on two occasions and was the preacher at the concluding service on Sun-day morning. The following are excepts from his address to Synod.

“Whenever I do some-thing dumb, my fourteen year-old says, ‘Ladies and Gentleman, the National Indigenous Bishop, Mark MacDonald’.”

Not all dumb things are negative: Bishop MacDon-ald said that usually we hear negative things regarding the Anglican Church of Canada with respect to indigenous people, but he is going to speak positively about the future of both the institutional church and the relational church.

“I could talk masses about the bad stuff,” he said. “The positive things that we can get in our indigenous rela-tionship is we’re going to get

a new past,” he added. “God did something

wonderful for indigenous people. The strong mission to indigenous people de-scribed as a failure due to the residential schools etc. 90% were Anglican. Reality

is Anglicans spread across Canada. But it hasn’t been recognized as such.”

Bishop MacDonald said that indigenous spirituality was outlawed for decades. It was officially against the law to practice it until 1960.

When he visited people from the community he was brought up in Minnesota, he would speak to them in their own language but tellingly they responded in English. An elderly woman told him that she didn’t know anything about the old traditions.

He said that the first doc-umented account of Chris-tian influence was reported by the Mohawks. They really liked singing hymns, and knew them by heart.

“Hymns spread across North America like wild-fire,” he said.

Bishop MacDonald said that even though hymn singing was very popular our religion was not so popular. However, the people became enchanted with the story of Jesus, and were inspired by Jesus’ non-violence.

In the absence of paid clergy, indigenous catechist lay people were trained. They were taught to focus on faith, discipleship, and

received tools to convene groups of people and en-gage them with the gospel.

Additional Excerpts:

n “Our elders tell us to greet everyone as a relative.”

n “Begin to see the wisdom of the elders.”

n “I was brought up to think what the Church did was a mess.”

n “The missionaries who did the best work were com-passionate and caring.”

n “An orthodox saying says: ‘Theology without love is a church of demons’.”

n “People are so obsessed about survival. You have to die to live.”

n “We have all these tools but they won’t save us. Only God can save us.”

n “Anglicans are preoccu-pied with orthodoxy and authority. We should let the spirit of love guide us.”

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Living Water, Living Faith, Living Mission

DIOCESE OF KOOTENAY SYNOD 2015

Report on Election Results

General Synod Clergy

Trevor FreemanNissa BasbaumYme Woensdregt

AlternativesMike StuchberyKatherine Hough

LayRandall FaireyJennifer PringHelen Hall

AltenativeAnne McMichael

YouthKayla Fish

Provincial SynodClergy

Neil ElliotKatherine Hough

Alternative Cathy Straume

LayRandall FaireyKayla FishElizabeth Peto

Alternative Helen Hall

Diocesan CouncilKatherine HoughRandall FaireyKayla FishRichard SimpsonSandra StickneyRichard FishPeter Stafford

Diocesan CourtClergy

Rick PaulinChris RossYme Woensdregt

LayGwen ChapmanRobert LemonAnne McMichael

WAITING IN THE WINGS - National Indigenous Bishop, Mark MacDonald prepares to address Diocese of Kootenay 62nd Synod

Photograph by Jonn Lavinnder

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Snapshots of Synod

BANNER PROCESSION: Opening service at the Cathedral of St Michael & All Angels, Kelowna

PROCESSION: Opening service at the Cathedral of St Michael & All Angels, Kelowna

EUCHARISTIC BLESSING: Archbishop John Privett blesses LLM (Licensed Lay Minister) medallions to be distributed in the parishes at Pentecost.

WORSHIP BAND: Peri Best, drum (left); The Rev. Mike Stuchbery, steel guitar; The Rev. Roger Cooper, acoustic guitar; and Canon Neil Elliot, bass guitar.

HEAD TABLE: The Rev. Canon Rick Paulin (Clerical secretary); Dean Nissa Basbaum; Geord Holland (Chancellor); Archbishop John Privett (Chair); The Ven. Trevor Freeman (Executive Archdeacon); Jennifer Pring (Lay secretary); Kathryn Lockhart (administrator)

TiM PAYOUT: Jane Gower receiving initial TiM payout for the end of 2014 and first quarter 2015 on behalf of St Saviour’s Nelson from Howard Soon and Yme Woensdregt.

LABOUR OF LOVE: Delegates hard at work.

Photographs by Jonn Lavinnder

Daily experience requires integrity to make choices. Some choices are very difficult and resonate deeply and some are simple with obvious respons-es. Our daily circumstances require us to pay attention to our inner voices in order to manage our feelings and emotions, thus enabling a re-sponse rather than a reaction. We are challenged unceasingly to go with God throughout the day. At some level within, we learn to recognize that it is our attitudes to the events and practices we experience daily that determine the choices we make. So we learn to manage our feelings and emotions but, what about our under lying attitudes? How do we go about becoming aware of the atti-tudes that are working in the background?

This is a question for God in prayer, quiet time spent with God on a regular basis.

In these times, God calls wanting to speak to us in a place, our true centre, the home where God chooses to re-side deep within us. So how do we know God is working in our lives? What are the signs that point to the movement of God at the core of our being?

In quiet time we ask God to be present. We can choose a variety of ways to move into quiet, perhaps lighting a candle, repeating the Lord’s Prayer and asking God to bless our families and friends. It takes a few moments to be-come quiet. It helps to decide to spend a pre-set amount of time, each time to establish the discipline. It might seem that nothing is happening at first so the tendency is to quit.

However, all friendships grow stronger, potentially, when time is spent and effort is made to listen attentively. So it is with God! We can take anything to God in quiet prayer and ask for guidance. A helpful question to ask in prayer might be: Does this situation, event practice, or decision bring me closer to God and my true self at the center of my heart or is it pulling me away from my truth, where God resides?

Margaret Silf in her book “Inner Compass” about the in-ner journey suggests, “we need to take a look at our inner land-scape, to establish our bearings and see where we actually are.” She suggests imagining our inner selves as three concentric circles. The ‘where’ circle is on the outer edge, these are all the things we cannot change, it is where we are in our daily awake lives; our unique situa-tions, family, genetics, upbring-ing, education, giftedness, health, disabilities and so on. Then, there is the ‘how’ circle a little deeper inside, the place we have a choice to respond to the events that happen to us. It is in this place, moving deeper within, where we are free to de-cide how we will respond to sit-uations and events happening to us. Making choices here can become habits that may or may

not help us to move towards being our true selves, living authentically with God. We come face to face with our own integrity where our responses will influence the whole human family one person at a time. We can choose to live here and ‘make personal choices (exer-cising) some control.’ There is however, a third circle a little deeper still. In this place with-in, there are no masks, no false pretenses, it is a place where I try to let myself be vulnerable before God; a place where I can’t fake it like I could choose to do in my “where” circle. This deeper place is my ‘who’, a place where I experience who I am with God in my heart. Where I see the life knots that hold me hostage, the shame, the guilt, the expectations of others that I tend to use for my reference points. There is much glory too in my ‘who’, as I allow myself to grow closer to God and closer to my true self. Need I say venturing deeper re-quires genuine trust in a God, who is full of surprises and never disappoints. The power of prayer and the gift of the in-ner journey is challenging me in ways that is opening doors to taking risks that I would never have asked or imagined. So the challenge is to go with God everyday feeling the joy of

knowing God is your “bestie”! (bestfriend)

“The Spiritual Develop-ment Committee exists to be a resource for regions, congrega-tions, and individuals to help them continue to grow in their relationship with God in Christ and fulfill God’s will for their lives.” (Brooke Mitchell) The committee can offer help with organizing Quiet Days, congre-gational missions, or setting up small congregational groups for Bible Study, prayer and/or meditation. In addition, the committee can offer support for the spiritual journey by providing prayer resources, and supporting the formation of prayer groups, study groups, and education resources to nurture and grow your Chris-tian life. If you are looking for a spiritual companionship, that is for an individual or a group to support you in listening and responding more fully to the loving action of God in your life ask a friend or your priest for suggestions. The resourc-es, both personal and mate-rial, offered by the Spiritual Development Committee are available through the Diocesan website or as listed in Kootenay Contact. If you wish to receive Kootenay Contact contact Kath-ryn at admin@kootenay.info to be on the mailing list. ❑

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God is Your “Bestie”...

By PAM WILSON

Pam Wilson is a member of the Dioce-san Spiritual Development Committee

Go with God!

By COREY RUNDELL

Corey Rundell is an Associate priest at St. Michael and All Angels, Kelowna

Reflection on Mission Part 4

Writing about the church is both rewarding and challenging. Some words from Rowan Williams book “Silence and Honey Cakes” have stuck with me. He writes that the desert fathers and mothers tell the church that its job is to be a “fearless community;” the habits of which are self-awareness and “attention to each other.” These habits are grounded in the constant exposure to

God in Bible reading and prayer. I am also confident that he would agree that reading about the faith is another way to become more aware of the delights and dimensions of the pil-grim journey, enriching to both ourselves and our faith communities. And so I offer this last review of what I have read recently about the mission of the church.

“The Missional Church in Perspective: Mapping Trends and Shaping the Conversation” by Craig Van Gelder and Dwight J. Zscheile is both a critique and encouragement for the church. One of the under-lying understandings is that there is “no how-to list or set of defining characteris-tics” to identify a mission-al church or a missional spirituality. Nonetheless, the missional church will shift emphasis “from governance

and control to empower-ment, encouragement, and mutual sharing” (p. 160). Part 1 is an overview of the missional church conversa-tion, and is a quick way to get a handle on what peo-ple like Alan Roxburgh are talking about, as they imag-ine the new landscape for the mission of the church. In Part 2, “Perspectives that Extend the Missional Con-versations” offers theological reflections on God’s “par-ticipatory presence” in the world. “God becomes pres-ent to us in the humility of the crucified one and in the humble elements of bread and wine.” “The corollary of God’s bearing humanity in Christ is the church’s bearing the burdens of its neighbours as it participates deeply in the life and strug-gle of the community into which it is sent and within which it lives”(pp 114-115).

Here is the sphere for deep theological reflection. Bishop Mark McDonald’s talks, at this past Synod, about the experience of Aboriginal Christians and how God works in secret and hidden ways to nurture and care for the faithful, was very enriching and a model of missional think-ing. Seeking engagement in creation and neighbour may at first be difficult to grasp in practical terms. It can be best summed up as the difference between doing something on “behalf” of our neighbours and “enter-ing fully into their reality” (p 115). The missional church is called to take seriously the realities of the world, and to see the everyday spaces which we inhabit, as places where God kingdom is inbreaking. Being trans-formed by the Holy Spirit to see and participate in

God’s world is our collective calling. We have to move away from the attachment to other “indicators of success or effectiveness” which “are skewed inward, toward the attractional programmatic, and institutional factors of Christendom, rather than the outward toward partici-pation in God’s mission” (p 154)

Lesslie Newbigin’s books are available for sale in conventional book form, and in e-book. George Carey’s book will most likely be found in your church li-brary, or in paperback from Amazon Books Canada, but it is now out of print. The other two titles on the mis-sional church are available as e-books or in book form, also from Amazon Books.

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By YME WOENSDREGT

This column has been written with the intention that it may be reprinted in local newspa-pers for the religion page. Yme will be writing a short arti-cle each month expressly with this purpose in mind. You are free to reproduce the article without prior approval. Drop us a line anyway... The Editor

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One of the blogs I read regularly is called God’s Politics. It comes from the Sojourners community, organized in the early 1970’s in an inner–city neighbour-hood in Washington DC. Led by Jim Wallis, this min-istry focuses on the relation-ship between Christian faith and social justice. Their mission is to “articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform in-dividuals, communities, the church, and the world.”

“One of our first activi-ties,” writes Jim Wallis, “was to find every verse of scrip-

ture about the poor, wealth and poverty, and social justice. We found more than 2,000 texts that we then cut out of an old Bible. We were left with a ‘Bible full of holes’ which I used to take out with me to preach.”

A Bible full of holes. That’s what you get when you take social justice and economic issues out of the Bible. A hole–y Bible. Chris-tian faith cares intensely about social justice issues in our world. Those who claim that Christianity is a private faith simply haven’t read their Bible. Let me give just a few examples.

After learning she is to bear Jesus in her womb,

Mary sings the Magnificat, which includes these lines “God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”

Near the end of Mat-thew’s gospel, Jesus tells a parable in which the righ-teous and the unrighteous are judged on this basis: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Both the righ-

teous and unrighteous are surprised by this judgment. When did we do this, or not do this? Jesus’ response is that “as you did it (or didn’t do it) to one of the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.”

Israel’s prophets also thundered against the rich. In words that Martin Luther King, Jr would often use, Amos preached “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever–flowing stream.”

I could go on. When you check how frequently words are used in scripture, you come up with some surprising results. “Poor” and “poverty” appear 446 times in 384 separate verses. “Wealth” can be found 1,453 times. “Justice” appears 1,576 times.

On the other hand, “hell” only appears 237 times. “Heaven” shows up 771 times, and “love” 654 times. “Family values” doesn’t ap-pear at all.

“Justice” is mentioned twice as many times as “love” or “heaven,” and seven times

more often than “hell.” Isn’t that interesting? It seems ob-vious that justice is a pretty big deal to God.

Justice issues are at the heart of Christian faith. Followers of Jesus are called to help end extreme poverty, combat greed, build a more equitable economy at home and abroad, eradicate ma-laria and other imminently curable diseases from the world, and heal the environ-ment. Our faith is intensely this–worldly: loving the world with the same passion as God.

If one is to believe the Bible, this is what is in the heart of God. Or perhaps you’d rather read a hole–y Bible?

The Hole-y Bible

Yme Woensdregt is the Dean of East Kootenay and Incumbent for Christ Church, Cranbrook.

the highWAy June 2015 PAge 7

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By NEIL ELLIOT

What’s Better than a Book?In My Good Books

Neil Elliot, is the Regional Dean for West Kootenay and Incumbent of St Andrew/ St George, Trail

What’s better than a book?Well I know that for many

of you the answer is “Noth-ing.” Books are what many of us love, and there are few greater pleasures than sitting down with a good book which will absorb, inform and entertain us for a few hours or a few days. There are times when I, like you, can be so caught up in a book that nothing else happens, much to my wife’s chagrin.

But books are a short cut, especially when learning. There is something better

and that is a real live person. Imagine having an expert theologian on tap, or an acclaimed storyteller whose only job is to wait for you to want a story told. Or a “Do It Yourself” maestro just there when you need to work on a project. Books are second best to the real thing, a person. But we mostly can’t afford the in person event. Of course part of why we are part of a Church is that we can learn from real people

The best education comes from a person who we can dialog with, who can answer our questions and talk to us. And that is why the Kootenay School of Min-istry wants to make face to face education available for everyone. We have identified three courses which we want as many people as possible to be able to benefit from. We have dropped the price of our courses to $99, re-moved the assessment, and

located them where we hope there will be most demand.

People are sometimes a bit intimidated by the title of the “Kootenay School of Ministry.” They tell us they are not wanting to be professional ministers and they hated school, so why would they come anywhere near one of our courses? If that’s you, then let me say two things.

First our kind of school is not the “rote learning and beatings” kind of school. We get people who are passion-ate about their subject, and who are skilled at sharing their passion, to encourage our students. The focus is al-ways on the learners to grow not on the teachers to look clever or show off.

Second, we are all min-isters. God is at work in us and through us. For some of us that ministry is in the Church. For others it is a ministry of baking, or fixing

things, or administration, or visiting people. Kootenay School of Ministry exists to help ordinary people grow their ministry, not to pro-cess them into cookie-cutter clergy.

There are three courses running this year, which are awesome opportunities to learn.

i) We have our very own bishop, plus the bishop of New Westminster, coming to help us learn about congregational leadership – how can we all be better leaders. This is a “no brainer” course for all leaders in our churches – wardens, LLMs, committee mem-bers. It will help you in your church.

ii) We have one of our regu-lar instructors, Dr Gary Schmit, leading a course on spiritual formation. I do not know any Christian who is happy

with their spiritual life, yet few do anything about it. Here is your opportunity. Gary has a depth of knowledge on this topic and will be teaching in an inclusive not academic style. This is your opportunity to deepen your spiritual roots.

iii) We have a Lutheran seminary professor com-ing to teach Anglicans about Lutheran Identity. Why should you care about this? The superfi-cial reason is that we are now in communion with the Lutheran church – they are a sister church to us. The deeper reason is that in learning what they do, we will learn about ourselves. As we see how our two reforma-tion churches have grown, we will discover who we truly are.So there you have it –

three great courses and two great reasons to take them. What’s better than a book? These courses will be – bet-ter than almost any book I could recommend.

Hole-y Bible belonging to Thomas Jefferson

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PAge 8 the highWAy June 2015

The time has come to “pack up the ole kit bag, smile, smile, smile” and head for camp! The first day of summer is almost here and Camp Owaissi is ready for the best ever “unplugged and unforgettable” summer filled with fun and friend-ships!

Owaissi’s board of direc-tors is excited to announce that a new water system is purchased, installed and running at Camp Owaissi. You are most welcome to come out for a drink of wa-ter on the house!

Staff and volunteers at Camp Owaissi have spruced up camp for the summer season. So, when you visit camp this summer see if you can spot what is new!

Here are some up com-ing Camp Owaissi Events and Opportunities:

Leadership Training Camp is July 6-8, 2015 for campers who are 14-17 years of age.

Walk Owaissi is on June 14, 2015 at 3:30 pm. Walkers will convene and register for the walk route in the picnic shelter at the East end of the parking lot of the Eco Centre Park on Springfield Road in Kelowna. Walkers

will walk on the Greenway. If you are from out of town, consider walking in your own community and sub-mitting your pledge form and cheque for the full amount to Bonnie Bailey at the Synod office, 201-380 Leathead Road Kelowna. A pledge form can be down-loaded from “ Forms” on the Website.

Teen Camp is August 10 -14, 2015 for all campers ages 13 -16.

By PAM WILSON

OwaissiLet’s Go to Camp

More information about these and other “happen-ings” at Owaissi are available through the website www.campoac.com. Please! Visit us there.

Owaissi’s 2015 Summer Staff: Consultant: Rich Chapman, Summer Director: Jo Dixon, Waterfront Leader: Roxana Diaz, Lifeguard: Teaghan Atkins, Crafts Leader: Kate Culver, Sports Leader: Willa

Holmwood, Head Cook: Shea McLean, Assistant Cook: Alex Hardy, Cabin Leaders: William Preston, Samantha Conway Robin Griffin, Shared Cabin Lead-ers: Tyson Reeve, Daniel Wallis, Erin Behncke, Sara Roggeveen.

READY, SET, GO! The first day of summer is coming fast! See you at Owaissi for ‘values added’ “unplugged and unforgettable” fun, laughter and friendships (www.campoac.com).

By JENNIFER SIRGES

Jennifer SirgeS grew up at All Saints, Vernon, and is now a member of St. An-drew’s Parish in Trail. She is on the Sorrento Centre Board of Directors.

Planting of the Sorrento Centre

The church of 60 years ago was similar to today in one very significant way: it was undergoing enormous change. When the seed of Sorrento Centre first was planted, the concept of lay people being ministers was new. A clergyman was the church: unordained believ-ers could hand out hymn-books or iron altar linens, but only as supporting play-ers to the man – still always a man -- in the lead role.

When the inkling first arose to conceive a lay train-ing centre in the Shuswap, Anglicans were only just

beginning to get their heads around a new role for the laity. The new message was “the Church is the people.” But what does this mean? And what will a training centre train us to do? A new vision of Church was involved, and wheels turned slowly. From conception to incorporation, Sorrento’s birth pains lasted seven years, from 1956 till 1963.

The doors were barely open when the first program was offered on site: fittingly, the first participants were young people. In 1963, a mobile vacation bible school spent 4 days with 103 children and teens. In a prophetic glimpse of leader-

ship to come, teenagers led younger children in crafts and activities and singing.

Picturesque Spes Bona – which means “Good Hope” – was the most functional building on the original property, and was used to fullest capacity. The Di-rector’s office featured a folding bed so was also his bedroom, while the Assis-tant Director had similar facilities upstairs. Eighteen people shared 3 other bedrooms, dormitory-style with double bunks. Meals, prepared and served com-munally from a very simple kitchen, were $1.

Sorrento’s early water supply was drawn from

Newsome Creek, on the east end of the proper-ty. From time to time the creek source would become unaccountably muddy: one day it was discovered that a free-roaming herd of pigs on a nearby farm enjoyed a swimming hole upstream. A lake pump system was promptly installed, and con-tinued until a connection to the village water supply was available.

A massive project was un-dertaken in 1968-69, when building supplies arrived on two enormous trucks, and were left behind in a huge pile. Teams of volunteers transformed raw materials into the Nova Vita lodge,

where accommodation, meeting space, and most importantly the busy kitchen and dining room are found. (In 2011, Nova Vita was re-named Richardson Lodge in recognition of Lance Rich-ardson, whose efforts were especially significant.)

These anecdotes are a reminder of the formative days and hard work that began Sorrento Centre. Be-ginning as a seedling idea in a changing church, this holy place has been nourished and tended by countless gifts of every-day people of faith, both lay and ordained. And so it is nourished still, and into tomorrow.

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