Several people come forward for the Sacrament of Baptism in the village of Metlakatla. The wharf above is where we came in and departed from. - Editor

Caledonia TimesMay 2013

The Diocesan Section of the Anglican Journal

To Metlakatla for Baptism at Easter timeSome time back now, a call came from Metlakatla asking if it would be possible to have baptism of a number of people in the village. As the person on the phone explained it, the congregation had been inactive for a number of years. And it had been some time since there had been a priest available for services including baptism. So after consider-ing the details, a time for the ferry was set and the preparations were set in motion.

On Easter Day (March 31, 2013) the weather was gorgeous. The morning had been taken up with the service at the Cathedral where there were nine baptised and three confirmed by the Bishop. Then there was the work to get ready and go down the dock. I had to fill my back pack with vestments, a service book, holy oil and other items that I needed for the service. Once done, The Bishop gave me a ride down to the dock where the boat was waiting to take a number of people from Prince Rupert to Metlakatla

The boat ride from Prince Rupert was beautiful as we glided over the calm waters of the harbour and out into the waters beyond. First we had to weave our way through the large ships waiting to dock, unload and reload with coal or grain or containers. As we cruised further out one of the elders showed me how the people of the village had picked places for their summer gardens and how the set them up; where the best places to get seaweed for the garden and for eating where, and how the coastline has changed over her lifetime. A concern is the erosion of the coastline of the islands. They have change greatly in the last 50 years or so.

The ride took about 45 minutes from dock to dock. From the Metlakatla dock the group that came over on the ferry marched up the ramp

An important reminder about Diocesan Returns

By now all parish returns need to be into the Synod Office in order for the Secretary-Treasurer to finish the paperwork necessary to get grant money for the parishes for 2014. All parishes must file their returns.Failure to file this paperwork, will not allow for the Synod to apply to the Council of the North for grants that have been used to support the local clergy’s stipend. If there is no paperwork for the Parish, there will not be a 2014 diocesan grant either and it may reduce the amount the Diocese receives even further. For assistance in these matters, please call the Synod Office @ (250) 635-6016.

A view of the Pacific Ocean from the top of the hill, above the wharf where we disembarked from the ferry.

with stuff in tow and were greeted by a man who offered us a ride to the community hall where the service would take place. There were about 70 people who came out for the service. We set things up in the gym: a make shift alter, the font and a prayer desk which was a memorial for Mrs. Stella Du Vernet. Chairs for seating were put out and arranged around the alter and font. The ser-vice itself was taken from the Book of Common Prayer and we sang a song without accompani-ment. Seven people of different ages, including a mother and daughter and brothers from another family.

As the service finished up word came from the dock that we were going to leave earlier than first planned, a group of people gathered up all that needed to go back to Prince Rupert and we were given cupcakes from one of the aunties of the to share on the trip home.

It is hoped that in the days ahead, we will be able to go over for a regular service and have time to learn from God and each other.

Prayers for the Parish & ClergyGuide and direct, O Lord, the minds of all who work for the reshaping of the Church in our time: Restore our faith and vision. enew our energies and love. Revive your people to new life and power. So may we live and speak for Christ before the world he came to save, and ever advance his kingdom; for his honour and glory. - Timothy Dudley-Smith

Pour out O Lord, your Holy Spirit, upon all whom you have called to serve your Church as pastors and teachers. Give them wise and understanding hearts; fill them with a ture love of you people; make them holy and keep them humble; that they may be faith shepherds and feed the flock committed to their care, ever seeking your glory and the increase of your kingdom; throug Jesus Christ our Lord. - Frank Colquhoun

Page 2 Caledonia Times — May 2013

Back in the 1980’s, I was watching television one Eas-ter afternoon. On the TV was the Episcopal Bishop of Chicago. This bishop gave a weighty, half hour long discourse on the nature of Easter. I did not understand a word of it. He repeatedly said things like “We need to be Easter people”. He had a nice manner about him but I found the bishop’s presentation of the Resurrection con-fusing. I learned years later, this bishop did not believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ. In his mind, it was a metaphor for the deeper truths which should be sought in the most difficult of circumstances. It seems that what actually happened to Jesus (in this gentleman’s mind) was unimportant. This fellow who lived 2,000 years ago has nothing to do with the Jesus we talk about today in the New Testament. The Gospels were written by devot-ed followers of Jesus to reinforce their opinion of him. Therefore the Gospels are a bunch of pious fairy tales or clever propaganda according to this bishop.

After this television program at the Lambeth Conference, a bishop from Pakistan told of being mocked by an imam because the Pakistani bishop was keeping the Christian faith while the Bishop of Chicago and other North Ameri-cans were denying the same faith. Unfaithfulness in one part of the body has repercussions in all other parts of the Body and the world. I do not accept the theology of the former bishop of Chicago. In fact, if I thought what he said was actually true, I would find myself another job and give up all pretensions.

The Christian faith is not so inclusive that it can deny its basic beliefs and still be Christian. St. Paul tells us in I Corinthians 15:14 “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” St. Paul con-sidered the Resurrection to be the ultimate vindication of the Christian Faith. It is quite logical, if you deny the resurrection with the word “impossible” you eventually begin to deny everything else, the divinity of Christ, the Atonement and even the existence of God as a personal, loving being. He then turns into an impersonal “force” for good. So the Resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of our Faith.

The Gospels relay to us eyewitness accounts of the events of the Resurrection. Luke is distinct in that while he was not one of the original twelve disciples, he did investigate such matters and record testimony from the eyewitnesses. There is no reference to ghosts or visions - eyewitnesses saw someone alive who was dead. There is testimony that over five hundred people saw Jesus alive after the resur-rection.

It has been argued that the disciples stole the body to fake the resurrection. Stop and consider that the followers of Jesus were all tortured and martyred in some pretty hei-nous ways in a wide variety of circumstances. When you are lying you will usually fess up before you are killed in the hopes of saving you own life. Chuck Colson uses the following example: During the Watergate scandal when he worked for President Nixon, five men could not keep their stories straight for more than ten days. Yes, they were lying, and within ten days the whole world knew it because somebody felt pressured. The press did not have the power to torture them or kill them. They could annoy these five men to no end, but they could not impose any real suffering on their lives. The followers of Jesus were completely subject to bloodthirsty and merciless rulers. They could be tortured to get a recantation. They did not. They all went to their graves confident in their testimony of the resurrection.

It has been argued by certain cults, that Jesus was not re-ally dead. They believe Jesus had just passed out or fell into a coma. The Gospel witness to Jesus being executed by Roman soldiers. These men were some of the most vicious killers in the world. They were quite proficient at their work. Plus if you look at St. John’s Crucifixion narrative you can see that when the soldiers came, to take

him off of the Cross, finding him dead, they pierced his side with a spear. Both blood and water flowed indicting Jesus had been dead for some time. Therefore, the eye-witness accounts together with the understanding that the soldiers knew very well how to kill someone.

What does all this mean for us today? What are the impli-cations? The first implication is that Christ’s resurrection enables our regeneration. We are given new life in Christ and the surety of that life is in the Resurrection. St. Peter tells us that “He has caused us to be born again to a liv-ing hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). This is not to say that we are suddenly perfect. We are made alive and are going to be perfected. We can be confident in Jesus’ Resurrection. We can be confident in the work God is doing in us. We can be con-fident that the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us, Of course, we are limited by our bodies. Our new life is not completed in us until after the general resurrection and the restoration of all things at the end of the age. Nevertheless, that very work has begun in us, gradually infusing us with His life.

The Resurrection of Jesus also gives us victory over sin. Romans 6:4 tells us that in the power of the Resurrection, we should consider ourselves dead to sin and raised to new life in Him. This is a powerful thing. We should not be enslaved to those things which control us. Christ liber-ates us from sin and brings us to the new life which has been designed for us. Related is that the same power of the Holy Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us to empower us for ministry in his Kingdom. We no longer have to trust in the force of our own will. We have his power dwelling in us.

The second implication is that the Resurrection insures our Justification. Romans 4:25 tells us that Jesus “Was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justifi-cation.” Jesus’ Resurrection was a symbol of the Father’s declaration of his approval of who he is and what he did. In effect, by raising him up from the dead, God declares that Christ’s work had been completed. There was noth-ing left for Him to do for our sins. If Christ was raised for our justification, the Resurrection is a sign of God’s acceptance of us. We cannot earn God’s Grace, howev-er, when the Father looks down upon us, we are viewed through the Cross. We are looked upon and considered just or righteous because of what Christ did for us.

In Jesus’ resurrection we have the promise that we will be resurrected. The New Testament clearly makes a con-nection between Jesus’ Resurrection and ours. In I Cor-inthians, St. Paul describes Jesus as being the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. This is a metaphor from Middle Eastern agriculture which indicates that there will be a great harvest later on. We are going to be that harvest. We can live in the hope that we too will be called up and stand in his presence.

Thus, the Resurrection is the key point in the Christian faith. It is not merely an academic exercise. Without the Resurrection, the work of Jesus would not have been complete. Without the Resurrection we would have no guarantee of Salvation. Without the Resurrection we have no New Life in Him. So I would put to you a ques-tion: have you put your faith in Christ? I am not asking if you go to church. I am asking if you have given your life over to him. Going to church will no more make you a Christian than going to MacDonald’s will make you a hamburger. But it all boils down to putting your faith in him, accepting his gift of love and new life and receiving that resurrection both spiritual (now) and physical (later) life which has been promised to you. I challenge all of us today to examine ourselves and accept that offer of life which he gives. Let us give ourselves over to him and rejoice in the power of His presence.

Father Ernest+

OPINION: Archdeacon Buchanan

Living out the Resurrection

Caledonia TimesPublication of the

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A “Worrelly” Welcome

Surfin’ for the Lord with Ruby McBeth

How could I have missed the official website of the Anglican Communion in all these years of do-ing web reviews?

Go to www.anglicancommunion.org for up-to-date information on our communion. The home page has a slide show explaining the links given below: welcome, communion, ministries, net-works, resources, and about us. At the bottom left is “Spotlight” not surprisingly this time featuring the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Also at the bottom, links to recent news items and the Angli-can Cycle of Prayer. This site which originates in London is a reference must for Anglicans.

Happy surfing,

Ruby

We want to welcome to the Parish of the North Peace, the Rev. Jacob Worrelly and his family all the way from the State of New Mexico. They have just started settling in at the Rectory in Fort St. John. They have arrived just in time for Easter.

Fr. Worrelly brings with him his wife Kelly and 3 children. We welcome thm to the Diocese and pray that the Lord will bless them as they work with and for the Lord and with the people of the North Peace Parish.

Caledonia Times — May 2013 Page 3

“Books on the Go” with Ruby McBeth

Recommended for those who give sermons or lead Bible studies.

Herbert O’Driscoll is an Anglican priest who lives in Victoria, B.C. He is a well known missioner, teacher and writer. All nine of the books in this series are available from Augsburg Fortress.

O’Driscoll, Herbert. The Word Today: Reflec-tions on the Readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, 2001.

An Editorial Thought

On being good stewards of relationshipsa way that goes beyond the mere tolerance of, as one former parishioner of mine put it, “what the cat dragged in” to actually be willing to use what we have in terms of time, talents, treasure, trees and tears to help another person deepen their trust and the faith in God? No congregation is ever going to say that they are unwelcoming; that they don’t want new members. Yet I would suggest to you that if we are not willing to reach out to the disenchanted members of the congregation, draw them in and show compassion for them then not only are we consigning our congregations to failure, we leave those we ought to love out in the cold. We’ve for-gotten what we have promised to do before God; to do everything our power to support these people, our community in their life in Christ. Why would God entrust someone new to us when we are known in the wider community for not caring for those we have?

Growing healthy, vibrant Christian communities be-gins with those of us who are already in the Church. It is much more than having a personal relationship, just you with God. It is also about being connected with the other people that God loves. It is important to love Christ with all that you are but one doesn’t finish there. It is equally important then to go and love those whom Christ loves. This is a much more difficult thing but it is necessary. After all didn’t Je-sus say, “By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, by your love one for another”? (John 13.35) We commanded and required to look after those we find ourselves in relationship with and un-til we do, we will not see the Church grow.

Your congregation is a gift that God has given, not only to those who participate in the life of that par-ticular congregation. Each congregation is given

by God to the wider community in the life of the world. Each congregation is a gift of God to the world in which others live and take our daily bread from. We are the Church, the community of God, given to serve both God and neighbour in the name of the risen and ascended Lord Jesus. This means that we are not the Rotary Club, the Kinsmen or the Lions Club (as good and noble as those and all fra-ternal organisations are). We are the Church: That means we need to be having an impact on the life of the community around us so that people can see and know something of the kingdom of God. This is what is meant when you hear the words in the Eucharist, “the gifts of God for the people of God” and “Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord”. We are feed and dismissed that so that we might become bread, light, salt and life for those who need to eat and drink can consume us so that they can live. This is how you steward relationships and in turn help to grow the community. So let us find people God loves and begin to genuinely care and love for them in the ways that Jesus would and see what happens... see if the Church doesn’t grow.

I’ll let Pope Francis to finish here: “I would like that all of us, after these days of grace, might have the courage – the courage – to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Cross of the Lord: to build the Church on the Blood of the Lord, which is shed on the Cross, and to profess the one glory, Christ Crucified. In this way, the Church will go forward.” Let us look after each other well and let us follow Jesus together into community and into life.

Jason+

There are two words that we don’t very often put together in the Church, but I am find these two words together more and more. The first word is “stewardship”. Chances are pretty good that when I use that word, you are thinking that I am going to talk about money and only about money. Yet I will say that stewardship is not about money. You will smile, nod your head and think, maybe say to your-self, “Oh yeah. Right. It’s about money.” The word stewardship strikes fear and anger into the hearts of many Anglicans and thus I have been reticent to use precisely because it can be a loaded word.

Increasingly though, I have noticed that people are linking stewardship with another powerful word: “discipleship”. As Pope Francis noted in his first homily after his election to the See of Rome, “The same Peter who confessed Jesus Christ, says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I will fol-low you, but let us not speak of the Cross. This has nothing to do with it.” He says, “I’ll follow you on other ways, that do not include the Cross.” When we walk without the Cross, when we build with-out the Cross, and when we profess Christ with-out the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly, we are bishops, priests, cardinals, Popes, but not disciples of the Lord.” People in North American society want to have everybody else agree with them and hold the same theology as them and think the way they do. Christ calls and requires that we let go of our demands, our think-ing and our liturgies and follow him that we might reach out to the least, the lost and the last and draw them into a relationship with God and build them and ourselves up.

So let me ask you, how are we caring for the pep-le we have? Are we welcoming of each other in

Preparing sermons is for me both a chore and a treat. It is a chore because of the effort and the time it takes, but a treat because I grow and change as I grapple with the gospel of the week. I begin by gathering reference books and Bible around me and settle in to explore the text. Some reference books can really streamline the process of starting sermon preparation. This January I found one such book. The Word Today Year C Volume 2 was the perfect fit for this Lent.

Herbert O’Driscoll has written a series of nine small books called The Word Today: Reflec-tions on the Readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. There are three volumes for each of the three liturgical years A, B, and C. Volume one for each set goes from Advent through Epiphany; volume two from Lent through Trinity Sunday; and volume three covers the rest of the year. The copy the reviewer has is Year C Volume 2. After a page called “Using the book”, the author launches right into the Sundays. For each chap-ter he uses the name of the Sunday as the title. Immediately below he lists the Sunday readings including the psalm. The remainder of the first page is called “Weavings.” Here the author picks a theme he feels the readings share. He gives one

sentence to show the theme in each reading. For a few Sundays the author provides a note after the weavings. On the first Sunday in Lent, for example, O’Driscoll includes a note which shows a theme for all of the Year C Lent - sort of an overview “Weavings.” The Weavings prepare us for the Reflections which are the main content of each chapter. The lessons and psalm are given around a page of commentary each.

The aim of The Word Today series is to help a person prepare for a sermon or Bible study. The author has a simple workable format, but he is not willing to sacrifice content to form. For example, with the Passion Sunday gospel he sug-gests that because of the length of the reading we think of it as a play. By choosing to concentrate either on the settings or on the characters we can move through the story efficiently. He varies his method for Easter as well. Here he reverses the order of the lessons beginning with the gospel. He follows the life of Mary Magdalene telling the Easter story through her. O’Driscoll does try to connect us to the feelings of the people in the Bible readings and with his Easter story he is especially successful.

Page 4 Caledonia Times — May 2013

Across Canada: From the rest of the Church

Comic Corner

Clothes help make the man

The Bridge Prison Ministry in Brampton got a big boost in 2012 with a generous donation of business attire from Moore’s Clothing for Men. According to Garry Glowacki, the program direc-tor, 60 per cent of ex-offenders who participate in The Bridge have moved out of shelters, are off welfare, and are employed within two months of leaving prison. “The new clothing gives the men a sense of self-worth that comes through in their job interviews,” he says. “It also gives the community a way of making a positive difference in the lives of men who are determined to become produc-tive members of society.” The Bridge has been a ministry of the diocese of Toronto’s FaithWorks program since 1998.

—The (Toronto) Anglican

Kawawa celebrates Naskapi translation of Genesis

On Feb. 17, the Naskapi community in the diocese of Quebec celebrated the dedication of a translation of the book of Genesis into Naskapi.The Rev. Martha Spence led the congregation at St. John’s Anglican Church in thanks to God for the many years of work by the Naskapi Develop-ment Corporation (NDC) translation team. Sias Nabinicaboo, who was recently ordained a deacon at the Naskapi Church, has served as the lead translator on the project since 1996. The cover design of the books was inspired by the hand-painted caribou-skin ceremonial coats that were made and worn by ancestors of the Naskapi.

—(Quebec) Gazette

Archbishop supports peace efforts of Congo war refugee

Frederick Wangabo Mwenengabo, is an anthro-pologist and well-known peace activist in Freder-icton, who last year maintained a 48-day hunger strike to bring attention to the fact that millions continue to die and thousands of women contin-ue to be raped in the brutal war in the Congo.

In a letter that Archbishop Claude Miller of the

diocese of Fredericton carried to the provincial meetings in Newfoundland, Mwenengabo wrote:

“I trust that policy makers in Canada and around the world can play a well-informed role that can voice these terrible human upheavals in Congo. As the Apostle Paul wrote a letter of joy, hope and love from prison to his brothers and sisters, I am writing to you, not from a physical prison like where I have been before, but from a place where the victims of the Congo war are being captured and humiliated by dark forces of men who only know evil deeds and brutality. My joy today is that we all, as members of the human family, can unite, pray and act together to bring peace and hope for the victims of this man-made disaster and humiliation.”

Mwenengabo is willing to speak to people in a church of any denomination and can be contacted at wangabof@yahoo.fr.

—The New Brunswick Anglican

Anglicans are encouraged to use “planned” or estate giving to remember their local churches Despite the fact that in the Anglican Church of Canada, planned giving is relatively new, the con-cept is quite old. In fact, it is actually as old as the Church itself. Acts 4:36-37 tells the story of a man named Joseph, a native of Cyprus, selling a field that belonged to him and giving the proceeds to the Apostles for them to distribute the money as need-ed. The gift of land from Joseph’s assets is what we call a planned gift today. The Apostles gave Joseph a new name, Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement” in Hebrew.

Ever since the first edition of the Book of Common Prayer almost 500 years ago, the Church of England has encouraged people to ensure that their will is up to date. In fact, the BCP is quite specific with its advice to those visiting the sick:“And if he have not before disposed of his goods, let him then be ad-monished to make his Will, and to declare his debts, what he oweth, and what is owing onto him; for the better discharging of his conscience, and the quiet-ness of his executors. But men should often be put in remembrance to take order for the settling of their temporal estates, whilst they are in good health.”

As Christians, the Bible teaches us about God’s overwhelming generosity to each one of us, espe-cially in the gift of Jesus. In his old age, King David organized a huge collection to fund the building of the new temple by the next generation. “Everything we have has come from you and we give you only what you have already given us! We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a shadow gone so soon without a trace. O Lord our God, even these materials that we have gathered to build a temple to honour your holy name come from you! It all belongs to you!” (1 Chronicles 29. 14-16 )

God provides all our wealth and possessions on loan, and expects us to en- joy them and be gener-ous to others, particularly our families and those more needy than ourselves. Jesus also warned his followers not to have money and possessions at the centre of their lives. “Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own” St. Paul said: “Yet true religion with con-tentment is great wealth. After all, we didn’t bring

anything with us when we came into the world, and we certainly cannot carry anything with us when we die.” (1 Timothy 6:6) May we all be sons and daughters of encouragement? If I can be of any as-sistance, please do not hesitate to call me.

Kevin Smith is a gift planning consultant for the Anglican Church of Canada. He can be contacted at (709) 739-5667 or by email: Kevinsmith709@gmail.com -Ed.

New Diocese called for by CoGsThe Council of General Synod (CoGS) has thrown its support behind the proposal to create a new indigenous diocese in northern Ontario. The proposal, which will require the concurrence of General Synod when it meets July 3 to 7, has been approved at both diocesan and provincial levels. Archbishop David Ashdown, diocesan bishop and metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Rupert’s Land, shared a timeline that illustrated how the vision for the new diocese and its min-istry would provide “more meaningful and better spiritual services” to First Nations communities, articulated as early as over half a century ago.

The new diocese will cover 16 First Nations com-munities belonging to Treaty 9 around Kingfisher Lake, north of Sioux Lookout. The northern Ontario area mission currently has a bishop, Lydia Mamakwa, who was elected in 2010, and several local clergy. Mamakwa told CoGs that the northern Ontario area mission has grown over the years to include training for native clergy and a catechism and Bible camp. She said chiefs have been supportive of their journey toward a self-determining diocese. Stanley Sainnawap said the region has been self-administered since 2006 and has always produced a balanced financial state-ment. Once approved, the diocese of Keewatin will cease to function on Dec. 31, 2014, but will continue as a legal entity until Sept. 30, 2015, at which time Ashdown will end his term as dioc-esan bishop and metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Rupert’s Land. The name for the northern Ontario diocese has not yet been finalized, but Mamakwa said it would be “reflective of who we are as aboriginal people.”

Council members asked questions, including what would happen if General Synod withheld its con-currence. “We’re obviously hoping that [General Synod] would agree,” said Ashdown, adding that the creation of a new diocese was “just another step in a journey that General Synod began in 1969.” He added that changing diocesan bound-aries is not unusual and in fact, “has happened many times in the life of the church.”

BY MARITES N. SISON