01 jan ct 2016 ecopy

Caledonia Times The

Happy New Year, Caledonia: May it be a truly blest year!

January , 2016 A Diocesan Section of the Anglican Journal

New Executive Committee meets for first time for orientation and to start a new triennium of work

The newly appointed and elected Diocesan Executive Committee of the Diocese met for the first time in the triennium in Terrace, November 20th.

With this being the first meeting of a new session, time was taken to introduce everyone and the Bishop explained to the new members of the Executive how things work in terms of votes and procedure. In particular, he pointed out that the Fall meetings tend to be about the finances of the Diocese, and in particular about the grants that are given to parish in need. In talking about the grants, the Bishop explained that the grants can only be used for clergy stipends and is applied at the source (the Synod Office) to the clergy’s cheque at the end of each month.

The Synod in September renewed its covenant with the Council of the North, making another three year commitment to participate in the Council. It is from this body that the Diocese receives a full two-thirds of its funding. The Council of the North receives monies from the National Church and in turn distributes monies to the various member dioceses of the Council, according to

a formula. Each diocese in turn has to share their financial and statistical status with the Council so that ministries are funded correctly.

The Executive Committee this year had six parishes apply for a grant-in-aid with the request totaling $94.736.90. All of these were approved for 2016. Some time was spent discussing with the Grants Committee how the new process went, doing the interviews either by phone or by Skype. It was noted that there needs to be some instruction around Skype and its use for more people to feel comfortable with it. The interviews themselves went very well and it was good for the Grants Committee to have a better sense of what each parish is trying to do and how they are working towards self sufficiency.

The Executive Committee also heard from the Property Committee. Some time was spent discussing the physical plants of the various congregations. It was noted that there is a lot going on around aged infrastructure across the Diocese.

The Committee is also trying to compile a complete list of all the properties in the Diocese and to find out what shape they are in. This includes churches that have been closed and properties that were purchased but have never been developed.

Parish are reminded that any capital project in excess of $5000 must be submitted in writing to the Bishop and Executive Committee for approval.

The Executive Committee meets again in the Spring prior to General Synod.

Happy New Year, Caledonia!

Cathedral receives gift from Metlakatla Band for Roof

As many throughout the Diocese will be aware, the Cathedral roof has been leaking and was in need of major repairs. A video was made of the problem and placed on Facebook by a parishioner.

As a result of that video, fundraising in the parish and beyond began in earnest to raise the funds to replace the Cathedral’s roof. All of this took place at the end of September and beginning of October, 2014.

To the beginning of December, 2015 had raised a little more than $40.000 for the roof. At the Fall Tea and Bazaar, a gift of $25,000 was given by the Metlakatla Band Council to the Cathedral Parish through one of their matriarchs, Judy Leighton.

When tallied with monies that have been given by a benefactor of the Diocese for this project, the parish now has enough to do the roof project next spring pending the approval of the Executive Committee

The presentation of the gift from the Metlakatla Band was made by Corey and Judy Leighton to Andy Cook (Rector’s Warden), Dean Jason Haggstrom and Paula Marks (People’s Warden) at St. Andrew’s. It was also Mrs. Leighton’s 81st Birthday and family celebrated that at the Tea and Bazaar.

The Cathedral Parish would like thank all of the givers through time talents and treasure it has made a difference. Thank you for the kindness and generosity. And a special thank you to all those who have participated in the canteen dinners and loonie auctions led by Canon Camilla Haines and her ‘commandos’ for the great leadership in different fund raising events.

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Bishop’s Notes

It is time to pray and respond As we begin another new year, there is much in the world that calls for our prayers.

free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Cor. 12, 12-13)

It is easy and commonplace for folks to be more aware of what is happening in their own communities than they are for faraway places. Although the Internet gives us unprecedented access to events around the world as they happen, the reality for many of us is that we are largely concerned about what is happening in our own communities. Sometimes this is a good thing for it is at home that we can often have the greatest influence. But sometimes it is not good, for we can become insular in our thinking, and assess world events through the narrow viewpoint of our personal experience.

This suggests that just as Jesus was concerned for all people, so also should we. This cannot be a mere theological abstraction. Our Lord came into the world to offer salvation to any who were open to it- He did not discriminate. We are called, as were the men and women of the early church, to make this a living reality in how we live our lives. And this means that we can never be unconcerned with what happens in parts of the Body of Christ that are geographically and culturally distant from our own experience.

One of the most fundamental teachings of our faith is that, through baptism, we all become one with Christ.

For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or

The 17th century poet and clergyman, John Donne, famously wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; … any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee....” (John Donne, Meditation 17, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions)

We are, as Christians, called to be a part of the whole, and as such to be concerned with all mankind, not merely our small portion of it. Our faith simply doesn’t allow us to turn a blind eye to events that happen far away and to other people. This means that we are called to be aware of the plight of refugees, of the challenges faced by our brothers and sisters in the faith around the world, of the need to pray for those who need our prayers, and so forth.

Each of us may be called to respond in particular ways based on the gifts God has entrusted to us – but there can be no doubt that we are called to respond.

So as we begin this New Year, let us intentionally look up from our home communities and learn what is happening elsewhere so that we can better pray and respond to the needs of people around the world.

+William Caledonia

St. Peter’s, Hazelton is working at presence The St. Peter’s Historical Anglican Church is situated in Hazelton BC. The first Mission was established 135 years ago and the Church built in the late 1890’s and officially opened Oct. 4th 1900.

This makes the anniversary date at 115 years old.

Youth groups who meet every Mondays, a Soup Kitchen every Thursdays sponsored by the Gitxsan Health Authority, the Vacation Bible School is held every summer and after each Remembrance Day Services refreshments are served in our hall.

The Church Committee which meets once a month have seen projects that desperately needed to be done such as : the painting of the Church exterior, replacing the ancient electrical wiring which has become hazardous and the replacing of the old roof.

As Layreaders, we visit the patients in the Wrinch Memorial Hospital, offer prayers and Reserved Sacrament to the ill, a Singalong once a month, visit the bereaved families and this summer for the first time we had marriage counselling sessions for two couples.

This past year 2015 we started fund raising and our first function was a Family Fun Night held in our Church Army Hall. There were lots of activities for everyone, especially the children’s games of fish pond, toy walk, hoola hoop and much more.

We had a bake table, sales of popcorn and food, white elephant table, also a loonie auction. It was a huge success and enjoyed by all.

On behalf of our committee I would like to thank the parishioners, various stores, organizations, and to all who generously donated towards our fundraising events, we have a grand total of $8,500.00

This summer we had an outdoor Strawberry Tea which was held at the Hazelton Pioneer Day Celebration.

We have an ongoing “ Raising the roof “ raffle consisting of three prizes : 1st prize “Orca in Oil “print donated by Roy Vickers ~ 2nd prize : an “amhalayt” pendant donated by Phil Janze ~ 3rd prize: eagle designed hanging throw and cushions.

Raffle will be drawn Dec. 11\15 This fall a loonie auction was organized by a parishioner & her family. They provided delicious soups and buns and were successful raising funds for the roof.

We received a grant from the Hazelton Bulkley Credit Union and with this grant we had our Church painted this summer. The first stage of the rewiring has been done.

Our outreach services to the communities are : Page 2

God Bless you all

Parishioners and the Parishes are invited to come and share their pictures, videos and storie of their ministries on the Diocesan Facebook page - we would love to see you there: https://www.facebook.com/The-Diocese-of-Caledonia

The Caledonia Times

A Publication of the Diocese of Caledonia Editor: The Dean of Caledonia Published monthly, except July and August by: Diocese of Caledonia, 200 – 4th Avenue West Prince Rupert, BC V8J 1P3 (250) 627-1143 or (250) 600-7143

Address correspondence and copy to the address above.

Or to caledoniatimes@gmail.com Submissions must be received by the first day of the month for the following month’s issue.

Send subscription orders, address changes Diocese of Caledonia c/o Anglican Journal 80 Hayden St. Toronto, Ontario M4Y 3G2 Printed and mailed by: Webnews Inc., North York Ontario

Caledonia Times — January, 2016

Skypoilot Moments God’s best epiphany

I

s there any hope? Is there any hope for the Church? That was the question that was put to me by a friend and colleague. We were having a meal together after a long day of meetings filled with facts and figures, joys and sorrows in life and ministry. We spent hours sharing, talking and eating. Eventually I answered his question and said, “Yes there is hope. But remember this: love God and pray for the Church.”

When I look at the descriptions that Jesus lays out for us in the Gospel (Luke 21.25-40) it might be frightening. It might be hard to remember that there is good going to come from the upheaval of not only this world, but of the entire cosmos. Looking at the state of the okiumene (the empire, the world) it is easy to get discouraged and doubtful.

We spend some much of our lives trying to making ourselves feel safe and secure. We do need to stop and recognize that there are things that we can do and situations we can exercise authority in but we can never have complete control. And when we recognize that we see that there is nothing in this world, this transitory life that we can honest have dominion over. There is nothing of this world, this life that is permanent: not the sun, the moon, the stars, this planet. Not the kingdoms, empires or nations of the earth. Nothing will remain. There will be signs that this life will pass away. There will

be signs that things are about to change. No one will be left out of the judgment – not one person.

But lest you think we are bereft of hope, we are not. That is why the King has returned – and I don’t mean Elvis either, thank you, thank you very much. God decided that he was going to send his Son to “stabilize” the situation (and yes, the pun is intended). Jesus is our hope and there is no one and nothing better than that. The King has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ.. We can expect to see great and awful things happening. There will be great signs in the sun and the moon and the stars. We will see things happen between nations and kingdoms both earthly and spiritually including wars and rumours of wars. There will be earthquakes, acid rain, global warming and so on.

There will be mass shootings and people are going to go missing and governments are going to falter.

Things are not going to get better soon. They will more than likely get worse.

So where is the hope? As I have said, it is in knowing that Jesus is coming and the sign of that is the cross. Jesus through his own life staked his claim to this earth and all that is in it. Christmas was meant to help us see that the kingdom of the Almighty is coming and has come amongst us. God’s kingdom is not like any other that we have known on this earth since the Fall. Christ brings with him his rule

of the new earth and the new heaven. Christ brings both grace and judgement. He brings division and mercy.

Therefore our hope must be in Jesus. The important part for us to play is to be willing and to actually seek out Christ to find in him something more profound than that which we call ‘Merry’ or ‘Happy’. We seek his presence. We want and desire his divine presence. We seek the serenity and calm of his company. We seek to be in that place, with him for eternity. Christ’s real presence with his Church is not a mere circumstance not is it an accident. It was God’s idea, God’s best epiphany. This is why it is our mission to seek, to see and to serve God in Christ – to find our perfect freedom because this too is God’s idea. I pray that you rediscover the hope and the peace that God offers in Christ by loving us enough that he did not withdraw but give himself completely.

As we walk into this New Year, into the Season of Epiphany, I pray this simple piece of scripture for each of you and for all of us: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13)

Jason+

Books on the Way

By Ruby McBeth

makes her story more believable.

From the earliest days of Christianity there have been individuals who left their riches behind to follow Christ. Memorable ones are St. Francis of Assisi and St. Ignatius Loyola. Recently in Tennessee a teenaged girl decided to leave her affluent life style. Katie Davis moved to Africa to serve Christ through the children she met there. Kisses for Katie is the New York Times bestseller in which Katie tells of her new life in Uganda.

Kisses from Katie is well organized to tell Katie’s story and inspire people to love God through their neighbour and possibly also to support Katie’s NGO. She was assisted in the writing by Beth Clark who in the foreword introduces Katie to the reader. This is followed by Katie’s introduction which briefly summarizes her story. At the end of each chapter Katie includes a page from her diary in her own handwriting. There are eight pages with coloured photos in the middle of the book. The book ends with “A Conversation with Katie Davis 6 pages of questions and answers.

Katie Davis’ relationship with Africa began in December of 2006 when she volunteered to help at an orphanage in Uganda over her Christmas holidays.

Reflecting on her return to the U.S. she writes: “I was forever ruined for comfort, convenience, and luxury, preferring instead challenge, sacrifice, and risking everything to do something I believed in.” (page 4) Despite her parents’ objections she returns to Uganda after she finishes high school and becomes a kindergarten teacher in Masese the village she had visited earlier. Eventually she adopts 14 girls and starts a nonprofit called Amazima Ministries to support the children of Masese.

The book does not dwell on the hardships of the people, but we are made aware that there is poor sanitation, extreme poverty, and terrible disease.

Near the end of the book Katie writes: “I am learning to hope when nothing makes sense and to know that God knows best, even when what He is asking of us seems so impossible.” Throughout this mission Katie is sustained by prayer and her love for the children. When she shares with the reader her hardships and moments of doubt it

Caledonia Times — January 2016

As you will have surmised Katie is approaching her faith in a very right brain way. She does not reason her way to action, instead she follows her heart. And the book is very inspiring because of that. No, she did not learn the language before she went; no, she did not study the culture before she went, and no, she was not trained as a kindergarten teacher. But that did not stop her from serving Christ through the people in a small village in Uganda. For us in North America who are bound by rules and reasoning Katie’s book shows a whole different approach where love rules. Love and trust in God are the only rules.

Recommended generally.

Davis, Katie. Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption. New York: H o w a r d Books, 2011.

Page 3

The Fall meeting of the Camp Caledonia Advisory Board took place at St. James’ Smithers on November 20th 2015. The agenda was a full one, needing to deal with many things from Board membership and the appointment of new members to capital and maintenance issues from the summer camping program.

Camp Board met with Bishop in November

The Bishop was present for the meeting and he took some time to explain how the Board was originally formed and membership appointed by him from across the Diocese. The Bishop appointed two new members to the Board.

Financially speaking the Camp is doing well. There are other groups including a College who are coming and renting the Camp on a regular basis outside the times of the summer program. The monies from Camp rentals for weddings and outside groups go to support two basic things: the summer camping program and the physical structures of the Camp, in terms of both maintenance and in terms of capital projects. Discussion then turned to the number of physical needs that the Camp has and is dealing with.

The Board approved the installation of a wood pellet stove to heat the rental house that is on the property. This is to supplement the baseboard heating that was already installed and was found to be very expensive for the renter. The Board is looking at dealing with some other maintenance issues in 2016, especially the floors of the camper bathrooms and redoing the roof on the Chapel which is the soul of the camping experience.

Campers at Youth Camp awaiting a lunch time meal. the shade of the Dining Hall provides some rest as they wait for lunch to begin and from the busy activities schedule. - Ed. These items will be discussed at the Budget meeting in January.

In addition to these needs, the Board is looking into doing addition work including the replacement decks on the rental trailer, are looking at the expansion of the current docks system, adding more water “play” equipment and purchasing a new lawn mower.

Ads will be out soon for finding staff for the 2016 camping season which will include a new Program

Wider Church Life - Canada Briefs Montreal parish to be replaced by ‘plant’ on U.K. model A 150-year-old parish in Montreal is slated to be replaced over the coming months by a new “church plant” project aimed at new parishioners through a model of evangelism recently developed in the U.K. “It is with great joy that the Anglican Diocese of Montreal hopes to ‘plant’ a new church congregation into the historic Montreal-centre parish building of St. James the Apostle in 2016,” the bishop of Montreal, Mary Irwin-Gibson, announced recently.

The goal, she said, is to attract young, urban professional and multicultural people “through a modern Anglican form of worship and evangelism,” and the project is part of the diocese’s exploration of “what [the] 21st-century church will look like in Montreal.”

The project, according to a statement from the diocese, is in line with the diocese’s 2010-2015 Mission Action Plan, which stressed a need for “the planting of vital churches.” It follows research into work done at the Diocese of London, England, which has enjoyed a 70% increase in the size of its adult worshipping population in recent years, and then the establishment of a relationship between the Diocese of Montreal with a London church, Holy Trinity Brompton. This church is where the Alpha Course, a program introducing newcomers to the basics of Christianity, was first developed.

Many current parish activities and appointments, including that of its incumbent priest, are scheduled to end by Christmas, and there will be a basic program of worship until Easter. Then the new Page 4

project will take over. It will be headed by the Rev. Graham Singh, a Canadian priest who has already “planted” three churches on the model of Holy Trinity Brompton.

Anglican Montreal

Director and a Camp Administrator (which will be a volunteer position). The Camp will need to find counsellors, kitchen staff, medical staff and chaplains for each week of Camp. The Board is starting to explore the possibility of adding a camp for special needs. The discussion is still in the earliest stages, as there are a lot of things to consider but it is being seriously considered. Brochures will be out early for the camping season this year and you should be able to find those in your local Church.

Rosypskye’s decision to include the brick “gave such an incredible additional meaning to the power of the work,” Berezan said.

A short documentary, “Carving Reconciliation: Art and Conversation at Sycamore Commons,” has already been produced about the carving.

Topic

In Powell River, B.C., rotting stump transformed into powerful memorial A wood-carving project funded by the Anglican Church in British Columbia has turned into what some are calling a powerful memorial to victims of the Indian residential school system.

On October 20, a work by Ivan Rosypskye, a wood carver from the Heiltsuk First Nation, was unveiled before a gathering of some 150 people at Sycamore Commons Permaculture Garden, on the grounds of St. David and St. Paul Anglican Church in Powell River, B.C. The work was a carving made into the remains of a 12-metre-high cypress tree.

Rosypskye had been approached about doing the carving two months earlier by Ron Berezan, co-leader of the garden project, which has been funded by the diocese of New Westminster for the last two years.

Comical Life

The stump features various symbols from nature: a sun at the top, an eagle, a killer whale, a bear and five salmon. In addition to carving these figures, Rosypskye also embedded into it, about halfway up, a brick taken from the ruins of St. Michael’s Residential School in Alert Bay, B.C., which was attended by the artist’s mother and aunts.

The brick, interrupting as it does the natural flow of life that unfolds in his carving, is an apt symbol of the way residential schools interrupted the flow of First Nations culture and community in Canada, he said.

Caledonia Times — January, 2016