Rector’s Report

Canon David Short

After 30 years as your Rector, I am so glad to testify to the constant goodness, grace, and mercy of our God and Father. It is a privilege to see God’s grace at work, to hear his word of truth, to see Christ changing us by his Spirit, and to be stretched in our faith as we seek to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus.

We have been pruned through COVID and we are not the same community coming out as we were going in. There is loss in this and fresh joy. Aware that it is not yet safe for some to join us, we no longer take for granted the ability to enjoy the blessings of God in each other’s presence. As you read this report you will see that from youth retreats to GriefShare groups, from the Father’s Day picnic to women’s breakfasts, from growth in Sunday school to growing older in grace, from Evensong to laser tag, from Introducing Jesus to Introducing St. John’s to Introducing Anglicanism, from home groups to Bible Camp, from catechism to beach parties, from Sundae Sundays to the youth choir, the grace of God is most powerfully at work among us.

God has kept us during the transitions of 2022. Dan Gifford was consecrated Bishop in the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) and we have welcomed new staff, including Jordan Senner as our new Vicar. Despite the snow and economic weather, we received record donations in November and December 2022, for which we give thanks to God.

In 2022, I had the privilege of serving on the ANiC Ordination Task Force, as well as helping with the creation of the ANiC Seminary called Packer College. In May, Bron and I spoke to the BC Mennonite Brethren pastors and wives conference. In November, we had our first in-person national Synod for ANiC in Ottawa, and I led the clergy day on the Gospel and weakness. In October, a group of us joined other pastors in the Rockies for a Preaching Refresher, and I intend to help lead two more this year.

In 2023 and beyond, how do we best respond to the grace of God?

There is so much opportunity and need. And there is so much resistance to God’s grace in us and around us. We will continue to search for a new building to call a church home (and a midweek ministry space). There are three strategic priorities we believe God has for us in this season of our life together.

Priority #1: to be a sending church.

The gospel is about how God sent his Son to reveal his grace and save us. It is ironic that the seed of the idea for sending out a group from St. John’s to plant a church came during COVID. At a time of missional weakness, God has been moving us forward. We are committed to supporting the King’s Cross church plant—led by Jeremy Graham and Joel Strecker—for the next three years. This is part of what it means to be a sending church.

Priority #3: to re-learn and practice Christian hospitality.

The gospel reveals God’s hospitality to us through the death and resurrection of his Son, welcoming us into his presence. Christian hospitality is not gourmet entertainment, which may be more about control and self-promotion than love. It is simply pursuing the love of strangers in response to God’s grace. It shifts the focus from programmes and events to real people and relationships. It is not charity or even kindness so much as cultivating a way of life that embodies the gospel.

Priority #2: to be a receiving church.

We pray weekly for God’s grace to be revealed in the terrible circumstances of many around the world. Among the most acute needs today is the overwhelming reality of 100 million refugees fleeing conflict, violence, human rights violations, and persecution. 16 members of the Akhtari family escaped Afghanistan in 2021 and now face daily threats, intimidation, and persecution. We have committed to receive them, as God has received us in Christ.

Christian hospitality may involve having others into our homes, but it is more than that. It is the attitude of heart that makes room for strangers, and each of us do that in different ways. COVID has left us with an epidemic of loneliness, and while the purpose of Christian hospitality is not necessarily evangelism, it is where real faith is often shown and shared, which makes it good for us and for others. It means being creative, practical, taking initiative, and starting simply.

All we do is based on the overflow of God’s grace to us. In all the changes and chances of this life, God remains constant, the same yesterday and today and forever.

- Canon David Short