anglican life january 2014

12014 january

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anglicanlifeJANUARY 2014 NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

The Ven. Dr. Geoffrey Peddle elected Eastern Diocesan Bishop

A New Bishop for the Church of God. The Most Rev’d Claude Miller (left) congratulates the new Bishop-elect The Venerable Dr. Geoffrey Peddle (right).Photo by Sam Rose.

Article byThe Rev’d Sam Rose

Editor

(With files from the Angli-can Journal)

The Venerable Dr. Geoffrey Peddle, Pro-vost and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s College was elected Diocesan Bishop in the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland & Lab-rador on November 16, 2013.

Bishop-elect Peddle was ordained a deacon in 1987 and made a priest the following year. He has served in various parish-es such as Cartwright, Lake Melville, Arnold’s Cove, and Mount Pearl. He also served as the Di-

ocesan Executive Officer with Bishop Cyrus Pit-man from 2005 until 2009.

“My vision of Epis-copal Ministry in the Di-ocese of Eastern New-foundland and Labrador is of a ministry close to all the members of our Church in their cares and concerns. A bishop must guard the faith, unity and discipline of the Church while constantly remind-ing the people of the love of God. In Holy Scripture and in the teaching of our Church a bishop is referred to as both Shep-herd and Pastor but I believe he or she must also be a “Father in God” (or a “Mother in God”), embodying all of the love

and respect, mutual care and nurture appropriate to a family, expressed within Christian com-munity,” he wrote in his Nomination Letter to the Synod.

Bishop-elect Peddle was elected on the second ballot. Other nominees were the Reverend Greg-ory Mercer, the Very Rev-erend Josiah Noel, and the Rev’d Canon David Pilling.

Quoting his hero Archbishop Wil l iam Temple, he asked the Synod to pray for him and especially for the Church and the world.

In his vision for Epis-copal Ministry, the Bish-op-elect wrote, “Bishops

today should also em-brace the role of teachers and be able to engage both the Church and sec-ular society confidently, creatively and respectful-ly. Bishops need to know the Kingdom of God well enough to recognize and affirm it in the Church while casting a renewed vision of what the Church might still become.”

In an interview with the Anglican Journal, the Bishop-elect said, “I want to do some work in community building and community renewal, but the great news is that the diocese is actually quite healthy. There’s a lot of good things happening here, and I just want to

build on the work that’s already been done.”

Asked how he feels following his election, the Bishop-elect said he has had “an incredible sense of peace” since the synod, as well as hope for the future. “I just consider that a gift from God.”

Bishop-elect Peddle succeeds the Right Rev-erend Cyrus Pitman who is retiring. His Consecra-tion as the new Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland & Labrador will be Friday, January 17, at 7 p.m. at the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John’s.

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anglicanlife

Dear Editor,

All Saints Parish in Foxtrap, Conception Bay South, is endeavouring to create a complete list of all clergy who have trained and/or worked in our Parish.

Here is the present list and I assume there are errors and/or omissions. Your input to make this complete and accurate would be greatly appre-ciated.

I may be contacted at [email protected] or P.O. Box 17082, Stn. Kelligrews, CBS, NL, A1X 3H1.

Yours,Calvin Taylor

Conception Bay South, [email protected]

Date Clergy1832 – Thomas Martin Wood (#)1846 – 1876 Rev. Benjamin Fleet (R)1876 – 1899 Rev. Edward Colley (R)1899 – 1903 Rev. Henry Petley (R)1904 – 1913 Rev. E.K.H. Caldwell (R)1913 – 1919 Rev. F.W. Colley (R)1919 – 1928 Rev. H.W. Facey (R)1928 – 1936 Rev. H.V. Whitehouse (R)1936 – 1947 Rev. Heber Gosse (R)1947 – 1959 Rev. George Elliott (R)1959 – 1964 Rev. Mark Genge (R)1961 – 1966 Rev. Everett Hobbs (A)1964 – 1970 Rev. David Genge (R) (Study leave July 1968 – July 1969)1966 – 1968 Rev. Kenneth Abbott (A)1967 – 1968 Rev. Benjamin Burry (A)1968 – 1969 Rev. Benjamin Burry (AR)1969 – 1971 Capt. William Rice (V & Y)1970 – 1978 Rev. Emmanuel Willis (R)1971 – 1973 Rev. Michael E. Fisher (A)1978 – 1989 Rev. Owen Coffin (R)1979 – 1981 Rev. Robert Peddle (I)1979 – 1981 Rev. Hugh Fudge (I)1980 (8 mo.) Rev. Robert H. Eadie (H)1981 – 1986 Rev. Morley Boutcher (A)1985 (6 mo.) Rev. Irving Letto (I)1987 – 1999 Rev. Robin Barrett (A)1987 – 1994 Madeline Critchell (L)1988 (4 mo.) Rev. Stephen Flower (I)1989 – 1993 Rev. Edward King (R)1993 – 2000 Rev. Cyrus Pitman (R)1993 – 1993 Rev. Paul Thoms (I)1997 (4 mo.) Rev. Gail Thoms-Williams (I)

1997 (4 mo.) Rev. Dennis Newhook (I)1999 – 2001 Rev. Steve Laskey (A)1999 (4 mo.) Rev. David Burrows (I)2000 – 2002 Rev. Owen Coffin (F)2000 – 2002 Rev. Everett Hobbs (F)2001 – 2004 Rev. Derek Thomas (R)2002 (2 mo.) Rev. Jessie Broaders (I)2002 – 2005 Rev. David Burrows (A)2004 – 2009 Rev. Byron Barter (R)2005 – 2007 Rev. Sam Rose (A)2006 – 2007 Rev. Wayne Parsons (V)2007 – 2009 Rev. Sheila White (A)2009–Present Rev. Sheila White (R)2007 - 2009 Rev. Edward Samson (V – 8 Mo.)2008 (4 Mo.) Rev. Paul Rideout (I)2009 – 2010 Rev. Mark Janes (A)2009-Present Rev. Sam Butler (V)2010-Present Rev. Robin Trevors (A)2010 – 2010 Rev. Margaret Hall (V)2012 (4 Mo.) Rev. Jeffrey Petten (I) 2012 – 2012 Rev. Juliet Nurse-Dicks (E)

LEGEND# Deacon to St. John’s OutportsR RectorAR Acting RectorA AssociateY YouthV VisitationF Fill-in ½ timeI InternL Professional Lay PersonH Hospital VisitationE Ease Back

Dear Editor,

This letter focuses on a major future event on God’s prophetic calendar.

First, please read 1st Thessalonians, chapter 4 verses 13 to 18. This reading describes the coming of the Lord Je-sus in the clouds to take home to heaven those who have given their lives completely to him, and are living their lives serving him. This event is commonly called the Rapture of the Church. Scripture uses the words ‘caught up’ or ‘snatched away.’ The word rapture does not appear in the Bible. Neither does the word Trinity.

For most Anglicans, topics like this are avoid-ed. Words like salvation, saved, born again, re-pentance, heaven and hell, are seldom, if ever, expounded upon. They are left for the most part, to the Evangelicals, even though they are biblical terms that appear in our own Prayer Books.

Jesus instructed his

disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, that is, the whole Gospel, not just the parts that sound good. Jesus said, “if you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Fa-ther.” We should never be ashamed to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. For the Christian, every word in the Bible taken in its proper text is Good News.

The passage from 1st Thessalonians quoted above, is saying that the Lord will come down from heaven in the clouds with his angels and with power and great glory. All of those who have died over the centuries who are believers and followers of Jesus Christ and have committed their lives to him will rise from their graves in the ceme-teries or at the bottom of the oceans to meet Jesus in the air. This is when we are given the new resurrected body. You see, at death, the body goes into the grave, but the souls of the believers and

followers of Jesus Christ go to heaven.

The second phase of the rapture, all of which is happening in a space of time too small to mea-sure, those who are alive, saved, and born again, now vanish from the face of the earth to meet the Lord in the air. Million’s of people will miracu-lously disappear. What an incredible event beyond our human imagination!

What will be the re-sult of all this on planet earth? The aftermath of this on earth is far beyond accurate description, but let’s look at a few possible scenarios.

First, let’s assume that at a certain time there are 20,000 aircraft in the skies of which 5000 are piloted by a born-again Christian and they will disappear from the aircraft controls. Assuming an average of 200 passengers per air-plane, 1 million passen-gers minus those up who have also been caught up, plunge to their death.

Second, there are mil-lions of automobiles on

our streets and highways at any given moment. Can you imagine the car-nage that will result in hundreds of thousands of Christian drivers in-stantly disappear from the steering wheels caus-ing millions of dead and critically injured. Our hospitals will simply not be able to cope.

Third, there are tens of thousands of patients being operated on in our hospitals on a daily basis. What happens when the Christian surgeon dis-appears in the middle of major surgery? Family members will be franti-cally searching for love ones unaware of what has taken place. Where have they gone telephones, emails, or text messages will not be able to reach them. Even with all this, many will still not be-lieve. Can we imagine our churches blocked to the rafters with mourn-ing people searching for answers and who have now realized that God’s prophetic clock has run out.

When will this hap-pen? The King of kings could come before you finish reading this article. The Bible clearly states, “but on that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son but only the Fa-ther (Mark 13:32)

How can you be cer-tain that if the rapture were to occur in your lifetime you are not left behind? To that question there is only one answer the full acceptance of Jesus Christ as your per-sonal Lord and Saviour.

We are indeed living in what the Bible refers to as the Last Days and it is widely believed that Jesus is coming much sooner than many think, maybe in our lifetime. Are you ready to meet him in that exciting mo-ment the greatest event in all of world history? It is indeed decision time.

Elridge ThorneNorman’s Cove, NL

[email protected]

Letters to the Editor

32014 january


An ancient, yet new ministry

Article byArchdeacon John Meade

First Vocational Deacon. The Rt. Rev’d Percy Coffin (left) with the new Deacon Elsie Rose (right). Photo by John Meade.

It was Friday, Novem-ber 22, 2013, at the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Burgeo. The occasion was the first ever Ordination to the Vocational Diaconate in the Diocese of Western Newfoundland. During this liturgy, The Rev. Elsie Rose, a teacher by profession, was ordained, by The Rt. Rev. Percy D. Coffin, Bishop of the Diocese of Western Newfoundland, to the Sa-cred Order of Deacons. She has been appointed to serve as Deacon, non-stipendiary, in the Parish of Burgeo.

As in most Dioceses in the Anglican Church of Canada, this Diocese is striving to meet the de-mands of ministry amidst clergy shortages, changing demographics, economic challenges and geographic

vastness. To this end, in recent years, we have, in some parishes, shifted from the old model of a full-time priest per parish into in-terim ministries, part-time ministries and cluster min-istries. In 2009, after much consultation, the Parishes of Burgeo and Ramea entered a new relationship forming a Cluster Ministry Unit. The aim was to have this new model served by a full time priest supplemented with a half-time Priest/Deacon. With God’s blessing, this has been achieved. The Rev. Elsie, who has studied extensively by distance through Queen’s College, will complement the minis-try of The Rev. David Tay-lor, Priest-in-Charge.

In the homily, the Exam-ining Chaplain, The Very Rev. Baxter Park, stated, “we are here tonight to do something very old and yet

also very new. It is old, even ancient because the minis-try of a Deacon is one of the distinctive ministries of the early Church. A Deacon is to focus or be a sign of the ministry of servant-hood in the Church and in the world. The Diaconate is to remind the whole Church that the essence of ministry is service. The ministry of servant-hood is particularly directed to those in need. So service to the poor and troubled, the outcasts and voiceless ones, the sick and the destitute within the Church and in the world, is especially signified in the Deacon’s ministry.”

Our Bishop, clergy, the people of the Cluster Min-istry, and the entire family of our Diocese offer Deacon Elsie and Levi, her husband, every blessing as they em-bark on this new path in their Christian journey.

Outreach all year

Allison Billard

Columnist

2014 is going to be year of big celebration in my family as many of us reach milestone anniversaries and birthdays. It never ceases to amaze me how blessed we have been. I know we some-times take it for granted, but every year Christmastime makes me really appreciate how good things are and the new year is always a new beginning.

I am certain that moth-erhood has mellowed me. I don’t worry about the small things anymore, at least not nearly so much. My biggest concerns are about my boys, always wondering what’s best for them and if we’re doing the right things by them. The best any of us can do is pray and listen to what God is telling us, and I’ve been making a conscious effort to do just that.

2013 was a challeng-ing year for sure, and who knows what lies ahead but I know we can tackle any problem that comes our way with God on our side. Which leads me to my point – God is on our side and we are called to let others know about it. Christmas always provides a great opportunity to do this: many churches and communities do ham-pers and dinners and other

outreach to those in need. However, it shouldn’t stop on January 1.

It is certainly true that we do participate in out-reach all year long, but I wonder if we put as much time, energy and resources into it. I am sure those that we touch at Christmas do certainly appreciate it, but are we helping them im-prove their station in life? Are we showing them God’s awesome power and en-during love? Or are we just trying to ensure they don’t have a miserable Christmas?

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t do hampers and dinners and all of those things. They are wonder-ful ways to show love to our neighbours and build relationships and enjoy the fellowship of a community of believers. These are all very important things. I just think we need to be more conscious of those neigh-bours at other times of year as well. Sponsoring a child or a family or a village in the developing world, doing food drives for the summer crunch at the food bank, vol-unteering at the local school or YMCA to mentor young people or whatever else you may choose - there are many ways to engage with the community and the world all year long that can make a lasting impact that goes beyond a Christmas meal and some basic necessities.

Once you have recov-ered from all the Christmas hustle and bustle give some thought to what comes next. How can we extend our hol-iday goodwill to those who need it the other 364 days?

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anglicanlife

anglicanlifeANGLICAN LIFE in Newfoundland and Labrador is the newspaper of the Anglican Church in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. A co-operative effort of the three Dioceses in Newfoundland and Labrador, it is publishes ten issues each calendar year with an independent editorial policy.

Anglican Life is a section of the Anglican Journal

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

Advertising Rates and other information may be obtained from:Bishop Donald Young34 Fraser Road, Gander, NL, A1V 2E8Phone: (709) 256-7701Email: [email protected] Subscription Rates: Newfoundland and Labrador: $15.00Outside the province: $20.00International: $25.00

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

Each parish is responsible for maintaining its own subscription list - please notify your parish office of any changes. Changes sent to parish offices may take months to take effect. Please also send your updated information to Circulation at the Anglican Journal (above) or to Don Young at 34 Fraser Road, Gander NL A1V 2E8.

Articles and photographs: Send to the Editor-in-Chief (above)

Letters to the Editor: Send to the Editor-in-Chief, Sam Rose (address as above). All letters must include the writer’s name, address, and telephone number. Telephone numbers will not be published. Anglican Life does not publish letters under nom de plume. Letters should not exceed 300 words (one double spaced typewritten page), and are subject to editing at the discretion of the editor.

These policies were adopted by the Anglican Life Committee.

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NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADORPut your hand into the hand of God

Bishop-Elect’s Message

The Rt. Rev’d Dr. Geoff Peddle

Bishop-ElectEastern Newfoundland &

Labrador

As I write my first letter for Anglican Life as the soon-to-be Bishop of the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Lab-rador it is with a deep sense of gratitude for the ministry of our Church in this province and for the way in which that min-istry has been supported by Anglican Life and its predecessors.

The month of January was named by the ancient Romans in honour of their god, Janus, who was always depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions. Janus came to be associated with be-ginnings and transitions, particularly those times when one looked to the past and the future. It was little wonder that January – the first month of the year – should take its name from this god.

C h r i s t i a n s k n o w much about the impor-tance of looking to the past and to the future and

holding both together in the present. Our life as a faith community is grounded in past histori-cal events, chiefly the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Throughout our history we have proclaimed his Good News in the present while always anticipating his future return. As one calendar year ends and another begins we are encouraged to remember the past with thanks-giving, to celebrate the present with joy, and to look to the future with hope. I know that is not always easy to do, par-ticularly if the past year has been difficult, or if the present is not ideal. It can be easy to lose hope for the future. However, we are reminded in Holy Scripture that our hope is not an earthly one but it is a hope grounded in the promise of God and in a living relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a time of tran-sition for our Diocese as Bishop Pitman retires and I move into the role of Di-ocesan Bishop. Our Dio-cese also looks both to the past and the future right now and I find myself doing the same. When I was elected on November 16 I quoted Archbishop

William Temple from when he first became a bishop in 1921 and asked the Diocese simply to pray for me that I might never let go of the hand of my Lord Jesus Christ. At this time of change I draw strength from the words of King George VI in his 1939 Christmas broadcast to the British Empire when he quoted the following:

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.” And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light and safer than a known way.”

As 2014 begins may we find the strength to remember the past with thanksgiving, the wis-dom to embrace the pres-ent with joy, and the cour-age to look to the future with hope. And may we do so in the fellowship of our Church and in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.

With every blessing, + Geoff

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52014 january


Happy New Year!

22 Tonnes for BelizeMission Accomplished

Article & Photos byRev’d Canon William Strong

Ronald Clarke

Columnist

Did you have a “won-derful time” this New Year’s Eve? And how did you feel the next day???

Having a “wonderful time” usually means eat-ing too much, drinking too much, and probably spending far too much money in the process.

What, and why, are we celebrating??? New Year’s Eve should be a time for thanksgiving, shouldn’t it?

God has brought us safely through another year, a year in which there were countless dangers to face, a year in which count-less others endured mas-sive suffering, perhaps, and certainly countless people died- some of them our relatives and friends.

So, shouldn’t we spend a lot of time New Year’s Eve thanking God, wor-shipping him in church? Years ago people did that. How many people do that NOW?

Life is so uncertain today, everywhere. And, thanks to media, television especially, our own, and all the world’s calamities, come right into our own living rooms. So, there are always tragedies, to be concerned with, and to fear.

So, as we face 2014, shouldn’t we turn to God for his Almighty protec-tion and guidance? Only he can bring us safely through whatever the New Year brings.

Or, of course, we can try to drown out the whole thing with eating, drink-ing, and “merry making”.

Those who love and trust the Lord can con-fidently say to all they meet- “Happy Blessed New Year”.

God bless us all in 2014!

15 volunteers with con-nections to Archdeaconry of Trinity-Conception returned home on November 25 from a very successful nine day Mis-sion to Mahogany Heights, Belize.

The main purpose of the Mission was to send materials and a container to St. Agnes Anglican School: to establish a library for the school; to provide clothing for adults and children, bicycles, school supplies, toys, first aid sup-plies, bedding, linens, public health education, teacher support, and to spend time with the people of Belize. The project took over a year to plan and received support from thousands of people in the Conception Bay North and surrounding areas. It is estimated that total cost for the effort was about $50,000.

The container was placed on site and was converted to a library complete with stained book shelves and about 2000 books from Newfoundland & Labrador. The team was able to install a T-Bar ceiling along with florescent lights and elec-trical outlets. Bishop Philip Wright blessed our work and officially named the building to be the Lorne Kirby Library in honour of our dedicated team member who packaged the books with great interest

and enthusiasm.The team was able to

lead two worship services. One at St. Ann’s Church in Belmopan as well as a regular School worship service. Mary Mesh led a number of craft sessions with young people and became very attached to children who appreciated all that we offered them as well as demonstrating a very lively, genuine faith.

It was a trip that none of us will ever forget and the friendships made both be-tween the team and the people of Belize will last a life time. “We were able to do what we set out to do” reported Bob Parsons building supervisor.

Making up the team were : Rev. Canon Bill Strong from Upper Island Cove; Rev. Irene Sutton, Parish of Hearts Con-tent; Bob Parsons, Upper Island Cove, Robert Parsons, Calgary; Ed Mercer, Parish of Upper Island Cove; Aid-en & Mary Mesh, Parish of Spaniard’s Bay- Tilton; Bar-bara Dawe, Parish of Port De Grave; Trudy Hutchings, Parish of Shearstown/Butler-ville; Lorne Kirby, Parish of Bay Roberts; David & Norma Moores, Parish of Harbour Grace; Joan Noel, Parish of Harbour Grace, Keith Barrett, Parish of Carbonear, Joanne Butler R.N., St. Mark’s Parish, St. John’s. The team travelled at their own expense.

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anglicanlife

Article byAnne Barker

Originally published in The Packet

November 21, 2013

Bonavista’s Parish Men’s Group built the traditional arch for the Bishop. Photo by Shaun O’Connor.

Bonavista’s Anglican community celebrating 290 years of faith

Members of Christ Church Anglican Parish in Bonavista have good reason to celebrate. Their parish is now 290 years old, making it the second-oldest Anglican parish in Canada.

Established in 1723 by Church of England cler-gyman Rev. Henry Jones, the parish has seen many changes, including plac-es of worship, over the years. It was a Church of England parish until 1949 when Newfoundland entered Confederation, then Christ Church and all Church of England parish-es in the province became Anglican.

The current Christ Church is the fifth structure to serve its parishioners. It sits on land originally donated by Capt. Samson Mifflin, who arrived in Bonavista in 1763 from Dorset, England.

Rev. Shaun O’Connor, rector of the Anglican par-ish of Bonavista and Ellis-ton, has studied the church history. He says the parish has had its share of ups and downs since it was first established.

For 80 years, following 1744, the parish was with-out a rector. Three laymen took the reins and led ser-vices during that time. The next clergyman in the parish was Rev. Coster and according to church records, things began to improve. Then in 1827, the parish increased in size when Bishop Inglis conse-crated a new church in Bird Island Cove.

The parish has been fortunate in attracting cler-gymen who worked with their parishioners to keep Christ Church a vibrant, faith-filled community. Among the many clergy-men were Rev. Augustus Edwin Cawley Bayly and his son Canon Augustus George Bayly, who served the parish for 80 years be-tween them.

It was during Canon Bayly’s service in Bonavis-ta that the fourth Christ

Church and a rectory were built. With a rapidly growing parish the stone church, opened in 1931, was much larger than its predecessors with a seating capacity of 800. However, the ‘concrete church’ was destined to have a short life. It was deconsecrated on July10, 1977 by Bishop Mark Genge. The fifth and current church was opened in June 1980.

Frances Sweetland is a long time parishioner, vol-unteer and organist, who first filled in as a Christ Church organist in 1948. At the time Young was the main organist, playing for Sunday morning services. Two music teachers also took turns playing the or-gan.

“But since this church opened in 1980, I have played for both morning and evening services. Once I was responsible for two choirs; now I only look after one,” says Sweetland.

Sweetland gave an ad-dress in Christ Church during a Thanksgiving service in 1996, recalling the days when buckets and cans were the norm to catch the water and the church floor was continually being mopped.

“Many of us can re-member sitting in the choir with the water spattering on our hymn books as we sang and (the leaks) leaving brown spots from the tarry substance which was con-tinually being applied to the outside roof,” recalled Sweetland.

The leaks were only part of a bigger problem. In November 1976, when the heating system gave out, the church was given a complete inspection. A consulting engineer gave the bad news that repairs costing thousands of dol-lars were necessary. Even with these repairs, the church might not be safe for more than 12-15 years. When a special congrega-tional meeting was held, it was unanimously decided to demolish the church and build a new one.

That church, now 33 years old, is part of a much used structure, says Rev. O’Connor.

“I’m glad to have such a functional building. It is really a centre for the com-munity hosting services like funerals when the pub-lic grieves; Vacation Bible School for children in sum-mer; Christian presenta-tions like the Watoto Choir, Bible study and Cursillo groups for encouragement and events to support mis-sionaries in Africa.”

Rev. O’Connor says it wasn’t originally planned to have a special event to celebrate the 290th anni-versary. However, when Bishop David Torraville heard the parish would have the anniversary when the Deanery meetings were scheduled to take place in Bonavista, he came up with the idea of a celebration.

Yesterday was the ac-tual anniversary date, but Bishop Torraville and del-egates of the Anglican Cen-tral Deanery arrived on Tuesday. Meetings were planned for yesterday morning and a walking tour in the afternoon. The anniversary dinner was scheduled for 5 p.m., to be preceded by a slideshow featuring historical events in the life of the Anglican Parish. It would be seen again in the church prior to the 7 p.m. ecumenical service.

“A very special hymn, Grace of God, will be sung during the service. The words were composed by Canon Bayly, and the music by a parishioner Dr. Rutherford. It was sung for the first time when the cornerstone was laid for the ‘concrete church’ in 1924. It has only been sung once in our church since then,” says Sweetland.

For an event not orig-inally scheduled to take place, planning committee members have put a great deal of work into the anni-versary celebrations.

“Our purpose for do-ing this is to glorify God for having been faithful to our parish for 290 years. The people too have been faithful in passing on that faith--a lively faith--for all those years,” concludes Rev. O’Connor

The oldest and youngest parishioners present at the Banquet, Aunt Frances Sweetland and Aidan O’Connor, cut the cake. The cake is made with the two building profiles of St. Mary’s, Elliston, and Christ Church, Bonavista. Photo by Sylvia Butler

Bishop David Torraville and Rev. Shaun O’Connor pose with Captain Samson Mifflin (Reg Butler), our special visitor from the 1700’s whose family donated the land upon which the Anglican Church and many other community institutions were built. Photo by Sylvia Butler

72014 january


Article byFather Sam Rose

Anglican woman slims down for a fuller church

Barbara Earle of the Par-ish of St. Michael & All An-gels in St. John’s, Newfound-land made a life-altering de-cision last year - she wanted to lose 50 lbs in order to get healthier. She also wanted her diet to be a fundraiser for her Church which is building a brand new facility. She called her idea “A Slimmer Barb for a Fuller Church.”

Seeking pledges from family, parishioners, friends, and even strangers, Ms. Ear-le, promised that not one dollar would be collected unless she reached her goal. She dieted, exercised, and fasted until she reached her goal one year later. Over-joyed with her success, she displayed her weight-loss journey with before and after photographs of her rapidly slimming waistline.

Ms. Earle, a survivor of major cancer surgery, made her decision to take this route of fundraising for her new Church as her way of thank-ing God for her recovery. She gave regular updates of her progression to her Church

family, but of course they could see for themselves how well Barb was doing. She would jokingly tell her con-gregation, “I hope you will be seeing less of me!”

Finally the day had ar-rived and Ms. Earle present-ed the Parish Priest, the Rev’d Sam Rose, with a cheque for $7850. The parishioners re-sponded to her tremendous achievement with three re-sounding cheers, “hip, hip hooray!”

Ms. Earle thanked her friends for their financial, emotional and spiritual sup-port over the past year. In-deed, her loss has been a huge gain for her Church.

To her supporters, Ms. Earle said,” In September 2012, I took on the challenge to lose 50 lbs in a year, to get healthier and to raise funds for our new church facility. I am happy to say that I have successfully accomplished all three goals and I have all of you to thank for it. Because of your unending emotional, spiritual and generous finan-cial support, we now have a ‘Slimmer Barb and a Fuller Church!” Meet the Slimmer Barb Earle. Ms. Earle (left) presents Father Sam Rose (right) with a cheque

for their new Church Building Fund after losing weight to raise money. Photo by Jean Ellis.

News from the Parish of Marystown

The Parish of Marystown held a combined Parish Service and Children’s Service at St. Michael’s in Creston on Sunday, November 17th. We all slipped back into childhood again as we sang songs such as “Jesus Loves The Little Children”, and listened to a children’s story. What a joy it was watching the children doing action songs. The children filled two shoe boxes, learned why they were filling them, and helped carry all the boxes from the altar to an area for pick-up. Gerald Barter, the regular organist provided music, and Ross Tilley played the guitar for the action songs. Positive comments from parishioners indicate they enjoyed the fellowship as much as the children.Submitted by Ruby Whiffen-Tilley. Photo by Ross Tilley

Honouring Leaders. On September 29, St Michael & All Angels Day the con-gregation of St. Michael & All Angels Church, Creston South recognized the ministry and commitment of it’s parishioner who had served in leadership roles and contributed to the life of the church community for 30 years or more. Those recognized were (back-left to right) Malida (40yrs+) & Gerald Barter (60yrs+) and Grace Legge. (60yrs+) Front- left-right - Clara Durnford, Rita Bonnell (both 30yrs.+) & Annie Foote.(40 yrs.+). Missing from the pho-to are Mary and Rick Legge, (both 30 yrs +) Gladys Durnford, (40yrs.+) and Annie Dodge. ( 60yrs.+) Rev. Gloria thanked these individuals and all those present for their commitment to the church community. Submitted by Rev. Gloria Wendover

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anglicanlife

Moments of grace and hope

Anglicanism versus Pentecostalism

Cynthia Haines-Turner

Columnist Archdeacon Gerald Westcott

ColumnistFor most of my adult

life, I have been active in my Church at all levels so there have been many op-portunities to experience what I would describe as moments of grace and hope. Some come when ordinary moments are transformed into the ex-traordinary, as happened one Christmas Eve when, having helped distribute the candles for the sing-ing of Silent Night and having turned out the lights, and there being too many in the congregation to easily make it back to my seat, I sat on the floor in the aisle at the back of the Church with my then-five-year-old daughter on my lap. I will always remember that moment of beauty and grace, the church aglow with can-dlelight and filled with the sound of everyone singing ‘All is calm, all is bright’ and my arms around my daughter.

Some such moments come as an unexpected bonus. In Waterloo, in 2001, when we, as the Anglican Church of Can-ada, signed our Full Com-munion agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, that the presence of God’s Holy Spirit was palpa-ble came as no surprise. Faithful servants of both churches had worked long and hard to achieve what we all believed was of God and when then-Primate Michael Peers and Presiding Bish-op Telmor Sartison spon-taneously danced, liter-ally, out of the worship space during the singing of ‘We are Marching in the Light of God’, their joy was both poignant and contagious.

Sometimes, the mo-ments of grace are expect-ed but no less extraordi-nary. This past Novem-ber, a commemoration was held to mark the 20th anniversary of the apolo-gy that Primate Michael Peers gave on behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada to the National Native Convocation in Minaki, Ontario for the role that it played in the Indian residential schools system. The words,“I am sorry, more than I can say, that we tried to remake you in our image, taking from you your language and the signs of your identity...I am sorry, more than I can say, that in our schools so many were abused physically, sexu-ally, culturally and emo-tionally” have echoed through our Church these twenty years, reminding us always not just of the wrongs in which we were complicit, but of the need to continually work and pray towards healing and reconciliation with the Indigenous peoples of this land.

Those members of the Council of General Synod and the newly formed Coordinating Commit-tees along with partici-pants and witnesses to that apology who were at the commemoration watched the video of the apology, listened to Michael Peers explain how and why he issued the apology, including that he had stayed up all night to memorize it, and watched members of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples pray over him and present him with a ceremonial blanket which he immediately donned and wore. It was a powerful moment in the life of the Church that was both historic and sacred and one it was a privilege to share.

My wife Valerie and I attended a Hill Song music and leadership Conference in New York City in October. I didn’t know much about Hill Song, only that Valerie uses some of their music in our liturgy. When she said she was going to a conference in New York, it wasn’t Hill Song that I was interested in, it was the experience of visiting New York!

The conference was held at the historic Radio City Mu-sic Hall on the corner of 7th and 50th Avenue, one block from Time Square. The Music Hall was filled to capacity with over 6000 Christians (the

majority of which seemed to me to be in their 20’s and 30’s). The music and worship was amazing and up lifting. The various speakers were inspiring and encouraging. The place was electric and alive with the Presence of God. And the whole thing - the conference and Hill Song - are Pentecostal.

There are aspects of the Pentecostal expression of Christian faith that don’t particularly sit well with me: the tendency toward biblical fundamentalism; the gospel of prosperity; the “are you saved” approach, to name some. I don’t like the repeti-tion of the “amen” “alleluia” and “in Jesus Name”. Nor am I particularly fond of the hands in the air and jumping up and down.

Having said that, Pen-tecostalism seems to attract young people, and those who commit themselves to Pen-tecostalism, really commit themselves. In other words, Pentecostalism is doing something right.

As an Anglican within

the more catholic stream of our diverse tradition, I tend towards a quieter spirituality. I like the practice of silence, of meditation and contempla-tion. I value the sacraments and the rhythm of our liturgy and liturgical year. These are all good and important, but they do not necessarily attract and retain the unchurched or the young.

Having now visited the 9/11 memorial at the site of the Twin Towers in New York City, a horrible reminder of the evil of intolerance and hatred, I am reminded of our need to be open to learning about and learning from those who are different from ourselves.

On a very much smaller scale, as an Anglican, what can I learn from churches and traditions that are different from mine? What can I learn from churches that are con-necting with younger peo-ple? What can I learn from churches that are growing and are making a difference in people’s lives?

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David Davis

Columnist

Mr. Kilpatrick in Newfoundland1734-1737

The purpose of this article to give a biogra-phy of one of the mis-sionaries who served in Newfoundland in the early years of the church, mostly in 1700’s. The first of these missionaries was Mr. Robert Kilpatrick who, in 1732, was listed in the Journals of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) as a “mis-sionary at New Windsor in the colony of New York in the Thirteen American colonies.” New Windsor was of course named af-ter Windsor in England. It was located on the Hud-son River north of the city of New York. It is still there with a population of approximately 25,000 persons.

While Mr. Kilpatrick is first mentioned in the SPG records in 1732, he arrived in Newfoundland in 1734. First, he spent three months in Placen-tia before moving to his mission of Trinity Bay. Placentia needed a mis-sionary badly but Trinity (called Trinity Bay) got Mr. Kilpatrick. It may be that his move from New York was connected with ceding of the French ter-ritories in Newfoundland to England in 1713.

His annual salary was £40 ($200), a considerable sum in Newfoundland at that time when very few people were paid any salary and had to get by using exchanges of goods to pay for most work (codfish for food). The SPG records were filled

with complaints from missionaries about the high cost food and goods in Newfoundland.

It should be noted, before this year missions in Newfoundland were part of the ecclesias-tical province of New England, they became separate after that year. At this time there were only two missionaries in Newfoundland, the oth-er being Henry Jones at Bonavista who had been so long in Newfoundland that he became almost legendary, at least he had been there since 1726.

On May 22, 1735 Mr. Kilpatrick wrote a re-port to the SPG, he notes baptizing 9 children and celebrating Holy Com-munion. He sees the peo-ple as zealously as he can despite the hard winters. He visited Old Perlican on the other side of Trin-ity Bay which was well established with 200 peo-ple. There was need for free Books of Common Prayer for the poorer people.

In his letter of Octo-ber 23, 1736 he notes the arrival of books from England. The scarcity of books for church and home use was a constant source of unhappiness in the missions. He again visited Old Perlican and reports good support for church activities in Trin-ity Bay. He found great scarcity and want and that people were gener-ally poor.

On November 1737, he made another report which noted his visit to England which was a dangerous undertaking

especially if it was as late as November, and on the stormy Atlantic Ocean. He reports a letter from Jacob Tavener and Thom-as Floyd, probably from Old Perlican, who were Justices of the Peace, civic leaders in the community, asking for more mon-ey for the missionaries as there was little extra money in the community to help pay their salaries. While the SPG paid mis-sionaries a stipend it was understood that addition-al wages could be raises in the missions.

Also he reports a let-ter from Commodore Temple-West, probably of the naval convoy which protected the fishery, ask-ing the same thing as above; more money for the missionary, as prices were dear and Mr. Kilpat-rick had a large family of children. This lobbying worked as his salary was raised by £10 to £50.

On October 6, 1738 Mr. Kilpatrick reported he baptized 22 children and had communion. He noted that there were circa 250 people at ser-vices in the summer. Ser-vice were difficult in the unheated church in the winter but they did have a church. He registered converts from “profane life”.

In October 27, 1739 he reported 23 children were

baptized, and there were three new communicants. He acknowledges his increase in salary and comments that life was expensive. Mr Kilpatrick noted the seasonal round of moving Trinity’s pop-ulation away from the seashore in the winter for easier living conditions inland which was the practice, called “tilting”.

A letter of October 29, 1741 reports the death of Mr. Kilpatrick leaving a wife and a large family.

Mrs. Kilpatrick re-ceived £25 for her needs. The situation of cler-gy wives in this period

could be very precarious whether in a remote colo-ny or at home in England called “decayed gentility”

In those days very few missionaries had the luxury of living long enough to return to En-gland permanently and the coming separation of American colonies cut off a return home of mission-aries from those colonies. In the new United States the Church of England was seen as an agent of the English crown and thus unpopular in the new American state.

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Our History

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anglicanlife

Bishop Pitman’s final ordination

Final Ordination. It was an emotional ordination for Bishop Cyrus Pitman as he ordained three priests for the very last time. Pictured are (left to right) Rev’d Wayne Parsons (Bishop’s Chaplain), newly ordained priests, Rev’d Don Martin, Rev’d Fred Mar-shal, (Bishop Pitman) and Rev’d Jolene Peters. The Curate of the Cathedral, The Rev’d Jonathan Rowe, is also pictured. Photo by Sam Rose.

The Rev’d Gregory Mercer

Columnist

Christian hope

What is it that keeps hostages alive when they have no rational proof that anyone cares about their plight? What is it that entic-es farmers to plant seeds in Spring after three straight years of drought? What is it that gives us the power, the drive, the determination to look beyond circumstances that otherwise appear hope-less? The answer to these questions is hope.

In my nineteen years of ordained ministry I have preached a number of ser-mons on this very important biblical theme. What follows are a few thoughts from a sermon I preached during the season of Advent.

It is not always easy to see hope in spite of the fact that of all the longings in our lives, NONE is more pleasing than the need to make sense of the chaos and confusion and disappoint-ments of life. Such chaos

and confusion can be caused by any number of circum-stances: Job related stresses, poverty and hunger (evils that squeeze the life out of people), single parent fami-lies and the added pressure of making ends meet, death of relationships (divorce, es-trangement between parent and child), loneliness (the silent killer), terminal illness, tragedy leading to death (especially when it happens to young people), and the list goes on. There is nothing we can do in this world that the inevitability of death does not destroy.

The point is that some-times things can be so wrong and so confusing that the feelings of desperation end in despair; hopeless de-pression. It is what might otherwise be called ‘The Slough of Despond.’ I pre-fer to call it the death of the soul. It is a horrible feeling.

There is nothing else like it. Sometimes things can be so wrong and so confusing you feel like crying out to some-one, anyone, to tell you that things are going to be okay when you know it is not okay. Hope is the ingredient that keeps us going when things go wrong or we fear that life has lost its meaning.

It sometimes happens that Christians make the mistake of confusing hope with optimism. Believers sometimes say to me, “you have to be optimistic, right?” “Wrong!” Well I am not al-ways that forthright. All too often it is not the appropriate time to correct them. Need-less to say, Christian hope is nothing like optimism.

Optimism is the belief and disposition to look on the bright side of things; it is the doctrine that all things are ordered to turn out right, or for the best. This is not

always true. In 1739, Voltaire said that “optimism is the madness of maintaining that everything is right when it is wrong.” The problem with optimism is that it tricks you or seduces you into looking at the bright side of things at the RISK of not taking reality seriously. Optimism is prob-lematic because it deceives you into thinking that things are right when sometimes things are obviously wrong; it blinds you to reality.

HOPE, on the other hand, is being confident in God when you cannot be confident in your own cir-cumstances or your future. It is being able to trust God even when things don’t work out your way. “Hope is the rugged, more muscu-lar view that even if things doesn’t turn out all right, and aren’t all right, you EN-DURE through and beyond the times that disappoint

and threaten to destroy you” (Peter J. Gomes). Christian hope is about endurances; that quality of character that keeps you moving for-ward; the stuff that gets you through and beyond when the worse that can happen, happens.

Hope, therefore, is some-thing that emerges from the struggle but is grounded in God. To reiterate what has already been said, hope is being able to trust God and be confident in God when you cannot be confident in your own circumstances or future. For Christians, Mr. Hopeful is Jesus Christ who suffered and died through the most excruciating cir-cumstances but rose victo-riously. What that says to us is that we have hope, regardless of what life can throw at us because God is faithful.

Straight Talk

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Kevin Smith

Columnist

The Rev’d Everett Hobbs

Columnist

Bequest for Hodges CoveStewardship

There are many reasons why people support their Church. Perhaps the most important motivator is the quest for meaning. Most people want to believe that their lives have made a difference and they want to be remembered with appreciation and that their values and achievements

will somehow endure. Na-tional surveys have also suggested that some give out of compassion for those in need while others give to help a cause in which they personally believe or have been affected person-ally by that cause. A small number of donors give to take advantage of a tax credit. The bottom line is that people don’t give to the Church, they give through the church to help others.

This last point is borne out many times over the years from research which suggests that donors will give to the cause that is doing something worth-while and is making a dif-ference in the community. The question I always ask priests and vestries is: Is

your congregation doing some good? Something worthwhile? Of course, the Anglican Church is doing lots worthwhile ministries but aside from the odd thing which brings some publicity, much of what we do particularly at the parish level goes unnoticed by the community at large. How-ever, most people will agree that they are indeed doing good work for the honour and glory of God.

The Reverend Edward Mercer and his wife Ger-aldine of Bishop’s Cove have always been close to the Church. Father Ed-ward was made a Deacon in 1996 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1997.He served in a number of parishes including Cart-

wright and finally in Holy Spirit, Hodge’s Cove. Since 2004 he has been on medical leave and has moved back to his hometown of Bishop’s Cove.

Edward had a will when he was single but this past year both he and Geraldine had new ones drafted. What precipitated this move was the illness of a close friend. Now having the wills com-pleted has given the Mer-cers a sense of peace now that everything is in order. Edward commented that “Life is short and we can be taken at any time so we need to have our estate plan in order.”

When Edward and Ger-aldine were writing their wills, they included several bequests including one for

the Hodge’s Cove Church. When asked why they had made this decision, Ed-ward replied:” I wanted to give back to the Church in Random South where I was the parish priest for seven years, It was a great minis-try and we did good things and I would like to see that ministry sustained.”

What better reasons to make a bequest for your Church!

Kevin Smith is a gift plan-ning consultant for the An-glican of Canada. He can be contacted at 709 739-5667 or [email protected]

Honest Doubt

“There lives more faith in honest doubt,Believe me, then in all the creeds”

With In Memoriam, (1849) Tennyson ponders the mat-ter of doubt following the death of his friend, Arthur Henry Hallan at age 23, and amid the rapid change taking place in Victorian England, in particular its challenge to religious belief.

In a 12-part series “Hon-est Doubt” on BBC Radio, Richard Holloway explores the relationship between faith and doubt over the

last 3000 years (you can find the audio on the BBC or YouTube, and there is a book with the same title). He compares them to a piece of music: If faith is the melody, doubt is the descant. Each adds texture and depth to the other, and if we’re lucky, a sense of harmony. He claims that it is doubt, not certainty that makes humanity what it is. To doubt is to exist and to live authentically , to be vulnerable and to take risks

Another Victorian poet, Keats, coined the phrase “Negative capability.” It is to be capable of being in uncertainty, mystery, doubts without any irritable reach-ing after fact and reason .

Doubt with its curi-osity and questions is the way to discovery and new knowledge. You have only to look at science, medicine, ethics and religions. The earth was once believed to be flat and the center of the universe. Not long ago many believed slavery, segregation and apartheid were acceptable. The Angli-can Church once prohibited birth control, remarriage af-ter divorce., and ordination of women. Some one doubts their validity and begins to see the world in a different way. Books like The Com-fortable Pew, Your God is Too Small and The Courage To Be reflect the tension be-

tween staying with the status quo and moving on.

We need to see doubt as an ally of faith: It is not either/or but both. Faith is not certainty and doubt is not unbelief. The oppo-site of faith is sin (Kierkeg-aard). The opposite of faith is certainty (Holloway). St John of the Cross distin-guished between blind faith and naked faith. The former is expressed in the musical Book Of Mormons : “I can’t have one shred of doubt, I can’t allow myself to have any doubt.” I conclude with some random quotes.

“I must strip my views of all useless foliage and concentrate on what is truth,

justice and charity.” (Pope John XXlll)

“Much of what I’ve writ-ten comes directly out of my own doubts , skepticism and dark night of the soul where I found myself questioning everything.” (Rob Bell)

“You cannot be a person of faith unless you know how to doubt. You cannot believe in God unless you are capable of questioning the authority of prejudice, even though that prejudice may seem to be religious. It’s a decision, a judgment that is fully and deliberately taken in the light of a truth that cannot be proven. It is not merely the acceptance of a decision that has been made by someone else.” (Thomas Merton)

“Doubts are the messag-es of the Living One to rouse the honest heart . . . Doubt must precede deeper assur-ances.” (George McDonald)

Doubt comes to us in different forms. One is when the inquiring mind seeks more understanding. An-other is when we are con-fronted and challenged by change and crisis. Doubt involves a search for truth, while faith is the venture into the unknowing where we find the known. Doubt upsets our comfort, certainty, and complacency, pointing to mystery, paradox and con-tradiction. Faith is strength-ened when it has the courage to pay attention to doubt.

Spirituality

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anglicanlife

Benita Chislett (pictured) has been a Sunday School teacher for many years at St. Matthew’s Church in Heart’s Delight. She decided over the past summer to paint the Gospel stories of Jesus on the tables used by the children. She also painted Bible stories on the chairs that are used as well. The Parish is very thankful for Benita’s gift of painting. Submitted by Verna Chislett.

Paint me the stories of Jesus

Remembrance Day Service at The Church Of The Holy Spirit. It did our hearts good to see all the denomi-nations from Fogo Island represented at our church service while we remembered those that fought so we could live in peace. It was a wonderful worship with over 170 people in attendance. All clergy from the different churches on the island, the RCMP, The Beavers, The Cadets, The Fire Departments, The 50+ Club and many others attended and gathered after at the War Memorial in Seldom to lay wreaths in memory. The Rev. Gail Williams & The Rev. Ken Abbott from both Anglican churches on the Island participated. Submitted by Donna Sibley.

Awards of Recognition were presented by Bishop David Torraville at Port Rexton on June 16, 2013 to parishioners Ray Fowlow (left) and Mansfield Piercey (right). Mr. Fowlow served for 56 years as a Lay Reader in the Parish and Mr. Piercey was the Parish Treasurer for 32 years. Submitted by Carolyn Fowlow.

Parish News in Focus

Remembrance Day at Fogo Island East

Long service awards

anglican life january 2014

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