Saskatchewan
anglican
The newspaper of the Dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle • A Section of the Anglican Journal • April 2018
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In the footsteps of Jesus
Bishop David Irving led 22 clergy from the Diocese of Saskatoon on a two-week pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where they visited the places Jesus and His disciples walked nearly 2,000 years ago. Above, the fourth day of the trip began at the Muslim Haram al-Sharif on the Temple Mount, where the group climbed the stairs on their approach to the top of the Temple Mount. For articles about the trip, visit page 11. Photo by Joan Irving
After 50 years, black priest sees changing attitudes By Alan Hustak Fort Times Newspaper FORT QU’APPELLE (Qu’A) – According to the most recent census, fewer than 10,000 Canadians of African descent live in Saskatchewan. But blacks have been a thin, taut thread in the fabric of the province since the first families settled here in 1910. They came from Oklahoma to escape Jim Crow laws enacted in that state and settled in the Maidstone area, where they built the Shiloh Baptist Church that still stands. The Liberal government of the day discouraged further black immigration saying the province was not suitable for AfricanAmericans. For a century, they also represented less
than one per cent Saskatchewan’s population. Rev. Canon Blair Dixon, a retired Anglican priest, who was the pastor of St. Matthew’s in Regina for 17 years and is on the board of the Saskatchewan African Heritage Museum, has a passion for Black History Month “that goes very deep.” He shared that passion with members of the Qu’Appelle Valley Christian Association (QVCA) in Fort Qu’Appelle Feb. 22. Dixon, who is 82, is the seventh in a family of 11 children who can trace their ancestry to black slaves from Louisiana who settled in the Maritimes after the Civil War in the United States. As a boy growing up in St. John, N.B., he played basketball Continued on page 5
Barb and Ron Cox share a laugh with Rev. Blair Dixon in Fort Qu'Appelle, after Dixon spoke to the Qu'Appelle Valley Christian Association for Black History Month. Photo by Alan Hustak
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April 2018
The Saskatchewan Anglican
God's self-sufficiency carries us through dark valleys Why is it important to dwell on God’s self-sufficiency? By Archdeacon Norbert Haukenfrers, DMin
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hen the light is fading and the darkness of the valley surrounds me, sometimes I can’t, I really can’t find the strength to overcome. God, where are you? I need your protection to shield me on all sides; to ground my feet and lift my head. So that with my remaining strength I shout to you, God. (Ps 3:3) I’m angry, scared, and desperate. My words are unfiltered, my shouting barely a whisper, my strength fails me. Where are you, the great I AM (Ex. 3:14), who simply and incomparably is? Power, goodness, and knowledge, reside in and with you. You’re the Almighty, eternal, just,
wise and merciful One. Not simply for me or all of us, but in your very being this is who you have revealed yourself to be. Your love is without bounds and is expressed with unlimited freedom. God, you define love. Your love is not a fickle emotion whose passion grows tired with time. Your love is expressed in a Trinitarian relationship of mutual and unilateral giving of the self for the other. You don’t need the world, for you are before and beyond. Time and space do not constrain you. Sin, death, and creatureliness do not belong to you: You are the Alpha and Omega who generates space and time out of your creative goodness. Yet, you put on creatureliness, took on our sin, and died for us. It is impossible to separate your being and
your attributes from you, for they are only knowable in you, and in your revelation of yourself in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Your love is made known in the Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and life and ministry in Galilee, and Jesus’ death on the cross of Golgotha. You know betrayal, suffering, loss and the pain of death but death could not contain your one and only Son. You are the one who loves with complete freedom. Your love is perfection. Love and perfection are unknown apart from you. Truth, beauty, and goodness are yours alone. Your independence has no limit, yet you chose with perfect freedom to create and share being with us.
You are the alive and active God who is engaging with your creation. You haven’t abandoned us, leaving men and women to our own devices. The Scriptures reveal your actions to be consistent with everything you have made known about yourself. God, you whisper “to us in our pleasures, speak in our consciences and shout in our pain,” for pain “is your megaphone to rouse a deaf world” (C. S. Lewis). “Your answer thunders from the holy mountain” (Ps 3:4). “I AM WHO I AM” (Ex 3:14). “I AM the one who bears witness about myself, and the father who sent me bears witness about me” (John 8:18). “I AM he who comforts you,” (Is 51:12) “who holds your right hand; it is I who says to you, ‘Fear not, I AM the one who helps you’” (Is 41:13).
Hope dolls offer strength to the sick and needy
Published by the Dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle. Published monthly except for July and August. Whole No. 292, Vol. 46, No. 8 A Section of the Anglican Journal SUBSCRIPTIONS For change of address, undeliverable copies and subscription list updates, contact: • Your parish • e-mail: circulation @national.anglican.ca • Or send to Saskatchewan Anglican, c/o Anglican Journal, 80 Hayden Street, Toronto, Ont. M4Y 3G2 RATES $10 in Canada $17 outside Canada SUBMISSIONS Submissions for the June issue must be received by the diocesan editor no later than Friday, April. 27. All pictures must be sent as JPEGS and 1 MB (megabyte) in size.
By Munden Coates A R BORF IELD (Skwn) – Bernice Gray, bless her, serves three secretarial roles at the Church of the Ascension, Arbor f ield. She is envelope secretary, vestry secretary and ACW secretary/treasurer. It was in her role as ACW secretary that she received a pamphlet from the Leprosy Mission of Canada reporting on how Hope dolls are used as a source of comfort for children, women and men su f fering from leprosy and other neglected diseases. The dolls are a source of comfort throughout treatment and an encouragement to look to the future with hope. K nitters were invited to create these Hope dolls. Bernice is quite the knitter, so she sent for the pattern and soon her knitting needles were clicking! Her whimsical dolls remind recipients that Anglicans like you care for them and support them throughout their journey to recovery.
CONTACT INFORMATION Managing Editor: Jason Antonio SKAnglicanEditor@gmail. com 1501 College Ave Regina, Sask., S4P 1B8 Phone: 306-737-4898 Qu’Appelle: Joanne Shurvin-Martin joannesm@myaccess.ca 6927 Farrell Bay Regina, Sask., S4X 3V4 Phone: 306-775-2629 Saskatoon: Peter Coolen ptrcoolen@sasktel.net 820 Avenue I South, Saskatoon, Sask., S7M 1Z3 Phone: 306-244-0935,
Bernice Gray from Arborfield has created dozens of Hope dolls for people who are sick and suffering from such diseases as leprosy. Photo by Bernice Gray
Saskatchewan: Munden and Linda Coates linda.munden@sasktel.net Box 208 Arborfield, Sask., S0E 0A0 Photo: 306-769-8339 Advertising agent: Angela Rush saskatchewan.anglican.ads@ gmail.com 905-630-0390 PUBLISHING DETAILS Published from 59 Roberts Place Regina, Sask., S4T 6K5
The Saskatchewan Anglican
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April 2018
Jesus Christ won on Good Friday By Bishop Michael Hawkins
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e believe that Christ is risen, that in the end goodness is stronger than evil, in the end love conquers all. “Omnia vincit amor,” Virgil wrote, in words that seem as prophetic as the Song of Solomon, “Love (is) stronger than death.” Love conquers all, sin and death and the grave, and we too shall cede to love, must cede to love, concede to love. In the end love must conquer our hearts and minds and lives and world. It is that end, that new beginning and new end, that we also see at Easter, for you and me, for our bodies, for our entire humanity, for all of the world and all of creation. Jesus Christ won on Good Friday, against hatred, injustice, violence, ignorance, sin and suffering, doubt and darkness. Easter is the sign and vindication of that victory. To use a sports analogy, Christ won on Good Friday, hoisted the trophy on Easter Day, and led the victory parade on Ascension. The victory is forgiveness, the trophy is our resurrected humanity and the victory parade is into our
hometown, heaven. We believe in Forgiveness, Resurrection, and Life, because Christ died, Christ rose and Christ ascended. Our hope and our calling is also to following him. So I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. That also suggests those who have faith in the Risen Lord both look for and look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. We look for resurrection in people and their lives and stories, in marriages, relationships, congregations, communities, in works of mercy, hearts of compassion, in creation, in every day
as light conquers darkness and in the cycle of seasons. We look for resurrection in the cold, dead ground, the earth and trees and grasses, in buried bulbs and seeds and in cold, dead hearts. We are always looking for resurrection, for signs of Christ’s power and new life. We also look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. We long for and expect it. This hope is universal and cosmic. God did not make death and He does not delight in the death of the living. God who hates nothing that He has made, created us for incorruption, and made us in the image of His own eternity, and gathers up all of creation in Christ’s victory. The entire creation looks for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. The whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now, for the creation itself will be set free from its decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Jesus Christ reveals and shares a new beginning and a new end for all the world. We also begin to see and know that Christ is all in all. The battles of nations, Greek or Jew, religious wars, circumcision or uncircumcision, class systems, Barbarian or Scythian, wealth and status, bond or free, these no longer divide us. Humanity is re-made and reunited in Jesus Christ risen from the dead, and Christ is all in all. What matters most about you and me and everybody and everything is that Jesus Christ died and rose again. Our distinctions that have become differences and divisions are not wiped out, but all the dividing walls of hostility have been broken down, even between male and female, between living and dead. All the dividing walls of hostility have been broken down by Jesus Christ, who has created one new humanity making peace and reconciling us all together to God through the cross. Love conquers all, love is stronger than death. Christ is all in all, may we believe that, trust and hope that, see and know that, especially in this Paschal Feast, in the sweet Communion of His body and blood who died and rose again. Alleluia!
Anglicans fight child hunger with fun bowling tournament Submitted
Holy Trinity Kamsack supports Living the Mission
When Bishop Rob Hardwick visited Holy Trinity Kamsack on Feb. 16, Rev. Nancy Brunt (right) presented a $3,000 cheque from the congregation, for Living the Mission. After Evensong, the bishop spoke about his upcoming cross-Canada bike ride. He gave an update on Living the Mission, with a new video from the bishop of the Diocese of Muyinga showing the progress of the medical centre that Muyinga is building with help from the Diocese of Qu’Appelle. The congregation then shared a meal and fellowship. Photo courtesy The Kamsack Times
FREDERICTON, N.B — Anglicans in the diocese of Fredericton are hoping to raise $100,000 to help feed New Brunswick’s hungry children with their second annual bowling tournament this April. Organizers of the tournament, which will be held April 21 in Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John, hope to raise money partly through the sale of $15 T-shirts, to be worn by participants on the day of the tournament. A number of deaneries and parishes are also planning separate events to raise funds for the tournament. The proceeds this year will be donated to food programs in the three cities, such as the Student Hunger Program run by Fredericton Community Kitchens, a local charity. Launched during the
2013-2014 school year, that program now provides 355 bagged lunches to students in 15 schools every school day. It also provides 77 backpacks of food per week for students to bring to their families on weekends, and a bulk food delivery to two high schools. One of these schools uses this food to prepare 125 halal lunches per week; the other makes it into 300 bags of healthy snacks for students per week. According to a 2017 report by the Saint John Human Development Council, a group that researches social issues, nearly 28,000 children in New Brunswick live in poverty. Half of the children of single parents in the province, the report said, live below the poverty line. — The New Brunswick Anglican
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The Saskatchewan Anglican
April 2018
Women invited to join spiritual formation program in Toronto Submitted
are called to renew,” says Sr. Connie ince the sixth Gefvert, SSJD. century, St. The 2018-19 cohort Benedict’s Rule begins in September. has guided individuals A woman interand communities to ested in exploring live prayerful lives of the Companions’ loving service. program may request Today many a program descripSt. Benedict Christians are seeking tion, application and fresh ways to express further information ancient truths. The Sisters from the Companions’ coof St. John the Divine, an ordinator, Sister Constance Anglican order based in Joanna, by emailing cj@ssjd. Toronto, is planting new seeds ca or phoning 416-226-2201, ext. of community life and mission, 316. Applications will be considrenewing the monastic life ered anytime before June 15. both in the church and for the The Sisterhood of Saint John church. the Divine is a contemporary Companions on an Ancient expression of religious life within the Anglican Church of Path, an initiative of the Sisters Canada, founded in 1884. of St. John the Divine begun in 2016, invites women of any The SSJD is a prayer and denomination, age 21 and up, gospel-centred monastic to spend a year in spiritual community bound together formation, learning to pray, by the call to live out the serve others and study while baptismal covenant through the living alongside the Sisters in vows of poverty, chastity, and intentional community. obedience. Those who become For more information about Companions will access “a being a Companion, visit http:// unique expression of new mossjdcompanions.org/ and our nasticism within a traditional social media sites: community that speaks to the Facebook: SSJDCanada Twitter: SSJDCanada next generation of Christians in Youtube: SSJDCanada North America in an innovative Flickr: SSJD way, and is critical for the life of Photo by Vultus Christi the ‘Ancient Future Church’ we
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Quiet time during Lent
During Lent, St. Luke’s, Regina offered a weekly time for quiet prayer and contemplation called Sacred Spaces. Beginning with directed prayer, participants then had the opportunity spend time in quiet contemplation. Throughout this time, the church was lit by candles, encouraging peace and calm. Photo by Nigel Salway
DIOCESE OF SASKATOON
Announcements for April 2018 g Saskatchewan Anglican online! You know you can read current and past issues of the Saskatchewan Anglican online on the Diocese of Saskatoon website or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ saskatchewananglican. g No news is not Good News! Is your parish planning an event, a fundraiser or has it already held one and has something you can report? Well, don’t keep this to yourself! Your news and upcoming events are Good News to us all and the news of your planned activities and their successes can help put your parish and its activities in the news and perhaps give additional people the chance to consider supporting them. g Children's Choir Concert: Saskatoon's children's choir presents Sing, on Friday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Knox United Church. Tickets are $30 and $15 (limited sight lines) and are available at McNally Robinson Booksellers and at the door. g Anglican and Lutheren Women’s Spring event and retreat: “Walking by Faith,” the second annual Anglican and Lutheran Women’s spring event
will be held at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Saskatoon on April 20 and 21. For more detailed information, please see the notice elsewhere in this issue. To register (by mail or or email) please contact phone Lindsay at the Lutheran Synod Office, at 306-244-2474. g 2018 Theological Union Convocation: The 17th Convocation of the Saskatoon Theological Union will be held on Friday, May 4 at 7 p.m. at St. John's Cathedral, 816 Spadina Crescent, Saskatoon. All are welcome to attend. g Native Ministry in Saskatoon: St. George’s Anglican Church (624 Ave. I South) provides a monthly Anglican Native Ministry Service the last Sunday of each month. The service begins with a lunch in the parish hall at 1 p.m. with soup and bannock then at 1:30 p.m. a Eucharist and sharing circle in the chapel led by the Rev. Denise McCafferty and others. “We look forward to feasting and saying prayers with you to our Lord and Creator; please notify your friends and family and plan to attend.” g Celtic service begins in
Saskatoon: A new Celtic service has begun at St. George’s, Saskatoon (624 Ave. I South). Services are held every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Come and join us to share in a time of ecumenical Christ-centred meditation, communion and perhaps a bit of Celtic music, followed by a time of tea and community. Each night’s service format will be adjusted as the spirit moves us. g Community Coffee House and Bible Study: The Parish of St. George’s, Saskatoon holds its weekly coffee house and Bible study every Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon. Join parishioners for a warm social time with coffee, tea and baked goods at no charge from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and the weekly Bible study from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. All events are in the parish hall. g New Seniors’ Hub in Saskatoon: The Saskatoon Open Door Society operates a Seniors’ Hub on the west side of the city. This program is in partnership with the Saskatoon Council of The Aging, Luthercare Village and Medi Shoppe. This program is a great opportunity for seniors’ in our
communities to come out for free educational presentations, games, refreshments, blood pressure checks, Ask a Pharmacist Station, Forever in Motion exercise program, and socialization! No registration is required to attend. This hub will be the first Wednesday of every month. Appointments, anniversaries g The Rev. Amy Bunce was installed at St. Stephen’s Anglican Parish, Saskatoon on Feb. 18 (See captioned picture elsewhere in this issue). g Service of Celebration of Diamond Jubilee as Priests: The Rev. Canon Colin Clay and Fr. Bernard De Marjorie were both ordained as priests on June, 1958. At 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 3, in St John’s Anglican Cathedral in Saskatoon, Fr. Bernard and the Rev. Canon Clay will participate in Solemn Evensong to celebrate the diamond jubilee of their priesthoods. (Fr. Bernard is one of Saskatoon’s best-known ecumenists; he was responsible for starting the Centre for Ecumenism and is very active both ecumenically and with multi faith).
The Saskatchewan Anglican
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April 2018
... Black priest sees changing attitudes Continued from page 1 and then served in the Royal Canadian Air Force before he made history by becoming one of the first blacks in Canada to be ordained an Anglican priest. He talked frankly and with a touch of humour about the racism he faced along the way. “As long as I could play, and continue to play well, I was accepted on the basketball court, but ignored in the dressing room,” he said. Even worse was the cruelty of being excluded by the Anglican Church because of his race. Although he had served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and had a degree in sociology from Dalhousie University when he first decided to answer the calling in 1961, his bishop discouraged the idea.
“Coloured people were not welcome in the church. In order to become a priest, you needed to be sponsored by the bishop,” he said. “And the bishop of Fredericton, Henry O’Neil, refused to sponsor me.” Not one to be dissuaded, Dixon was determined to answer the call. He then went to Ottawa where Archbishop Ernest Reed agreed to be his sponsor. Dixon studied theology at King’s College and was ordained in 1966. He was assigned to a parish in Ottawa, ministered in Detroit, Mich., after the race riots in 1972, then worked in London, Ont., before coming to Saskatchewan in 1991. He applauded initiatives such as Black History Month for helping to change attitudes in Canada toward blacks. His own years of
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experience have taught him that each person should be respected as a person of value. “People should be encouraged to be independent and take responsibility for their own lives,” he said. Dixon spoke with pride of his own three children, one of whom, Sean Dixon, is a playwright, actor and a musician who co-founded a theatre company in Winnipeg. “Blacks have something more to offer than being able to play basketball or football. We’re here. We’re not going to go away.” Dixon said. “Back in the ’50s being black was a novelty. I am not bitter. I have a deep desire to understand. “Upon reflection, (unlike my grandparents) I had the freedom to do what I wanted to do and did it. I am one of the first blacks to be ordained. It is uplifting.”
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Plans delayed to expand Fort church By Alan Hustak Fort Times newspaper FORT QU’APPELLE (Qu’A) – Plans for a $250,000 addition to St. John’s Anglican Church in Fort Qu’Appelle are on hold. Architectural designs for an L-shaped parish office to be built in the space between the historic church and around the parish hall have been completed, but faced with a dwindling congregation, diocesan authorities want assurances the parish can afford the building. St. John’s has lost about one-third of its congregation in the past three years. In 2017 no one was married, baptized or confirmed in the church, but there were three funerals. A meeting of the parish vestry in February was reminded that under canon law, before the project can proceed, the parish has to assure the Diocese of Qu’Appelle that “the funds necessary for the proposal will not in any way impair the ability of the parish or the congregation to meet its current commitments… and its share of support of the dicocese.” They were also told that they would have to have 20 per cent beyond the tender price held in reserve in case of cost overruns. The council unanimously approved a motion to put the project on hold “pending further investigation and consultation.” The scheme features a striking glass façade with an illuminated cross. Existing stained glass windows on the south wall would have been incorporated into a feature wall in the parish office. Even if the project does not go ahead, the church needs to deal with structural problems in the existing church hall and vestry. “We are faced with the challenge of declining populations. As our towns shrink, so to do our congregations,” said Rev. Warren Huestis in his annual report. “We are challenged by an aging population. More and more of our parishioners are of retirement age or older. As a result, we have less energy available for the work of the church and less money.” St. John’s Anglican stone church has been a landmark in Fort Qu’Appelle since it opened for worship in 1885. It is neither a provincial nor a national heritage site.
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The Saskatchewan Anglican
Double Belonging
Typical Anglican fudge? By Rev. Marie-Louise Ternier Editor’s note: Rev. MarieLouise Ternier, an Anglican priest, serves the Anglican and Lutheran parishes in Watrous. This column is copublished with the Prairie Messenger. Marie-Louise blogs at http://graceatsixty. wordpress.com.
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uman beings process experiences and information through layers of unconscious assumptions and judgments, motivations and interpretations, prejudices and stereotypes, all acquired and formed over a lifetime of conditioning, for good and for ill. These internal filters create a so-called mental map that serves as our operating system. We need mental maps; they help us organize, interpret and make sense of the
avalanche of impressions and sensory data that roll into and over us on a daily basis. Dissimilar mental maps, however, can hinder mutual understanding, generative learning and constructive dialogue. This can create significant conflict and misunderstanding, even leading to mutual condemnation, as our Christian history attests to rather bluntly.
Some even claim that unacknowledged, and therefore unconsciously operating, mental maps lie at the root of most of the world’s problems (David Bohm in the Discipline of Team Learning, Peter Senge). So it seems urgent and necessary to become aware of our mental maps instead of letting them control us at an unconscious level. This involves recognizing hidden assumptions and motives, attitudes and judgments, and to free ourselves from their destructive effects both in ourselves and in relationships: the task of every spiritual quest. Such awareness can then alert us when our mental map needs to change, expand or be corrected. We can then grow greater internal and
external harmony and understanding, moving us all to a deeper and richer level of relationships. Curiosity over mental maps was sparked when reading in an article last year, “in the end it was classic Anglican fudge,” (The Tablet, Jan. 16, 2016). One of the crazy contradictions in the English language is that word fudge. As a noun it refers to rich, delicious chocolate that many consider an irresistible taste of heaven. As a verb or in figurative speech, however, it carries such a pejorative meaning that none of us would appreciate our words or actions to be judged as “fudged.” Sure enough, I discovered that the term Anglican fudge gets used sometimes to ridicule the Anglican tradition. Perspective shifts when the vantage point of vision changes, creating a different mental map. Fr. Ron Smith, an Anglican priest from New Zealand, attempted
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April 2018
to point this out when he critiqued the use of the term “Anglican fudge” in the said article: “If the word ‘fudge’ means that the different Provinces of the Communion can actually agree to co-exist, without formal interference in the affairs of individual provinces, then perhaps this sort of fudging response might be thought to be better than outright schism. “What may not be clearly understood by the Roman Catholic commentator is that there is no ‘Magisterium’ in the Anglican Communion that can enforce the sort of disciplines available (…) in the Church of Rome” (Letters, The Tablet, date unknown). The Anglican Communion is held together by mutual bonds of affection and by a horizontal model of governance and authority that strives to balance moral autonomy with moral assent, instead of imposing juridical obedience to law. That model, as every model, comes with its own strengths and weaknesses. Not surprising, it also risks being misinterpreted and misunderstood by those who do not taste the inside dynamics of its operations. Anglican Bishop Linda Nicholls has pointed out that the Anglican Communion’s internal struggles have resulted in unexpected yet immensely valuable lessons: “One of the things we’ve certainly learned is how to have better conversations when we’re in conflict on deeply painful issues. “We’ve learned how to sit down together and listen in ways we didn’t seem to know how to do before. And that’s not a bad thing” (April 29, 2016, Catholic Register). Can the Anglican mental map therefore offer some precious and muchneeded gifts to the rest of the Christian family? Put another way: is the Anglican instinct towards bonds of affection, voluntary moral autonomy and moral assent borne of costly discipleship in response to Christ`s demanding call to love, reconciliation and communion? Or is it, as critics assert, lacking backbone? Which type of fudge is it: the wishy-washy twisting of truth or the taste of heavenly food?
The Saskatchewan Anglican
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April 2018
DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE
Festival highlights arts, spirituality, justice g Ordinations Susan Boxall, from Teachers of the Faith, Fort Qu’Appelle, and Debbie Hubick, from All Saints, Weyburn, were to be ordained to the Diaconate at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday, March 24. g Diocesan women’s meeting in Maple Creek All women in the diocese are invited to the gathering hosted by St. Mary’s Church, Maple Creek, on Saturday, April 21. The theme will be “The love of Jesus calls us to worship, learning, service and equipping the saints.” Bishop Rob Hardwick will be the guest speaker, and there will be worship, prayer and praise, a business meeting, and silent auction. Full details have been sent to each parish. Registration deadline is April 10. g Diocesan lay retreat The annual silent retreat for lay people will be held April 27 to 29 at Wood Acres Centre, Moose Jaw. The theme is Contemplatives in Action. For more information and to register, check the diocesan website at quappelle. anglican.ca/events, or the information emailed to each parish. g A Taste of Skylight Come and get a taste of the Skylight Festival, from April 20 and 21 at Living Spirit Centre, Regina. The Taste of Skylight is a festival of arts, spirituality and social justice held in Paris, Ont., each summer. Friday night begins with a free pre-event at 6 p.m. with Archbishop Don Bolen and Rabbi Jeremy Parnes offering a talk on Leonard Cohen's works. The paid program starts at 8 p.m. with live music. The program continues at 9 a.m. Saturday with a talk by Zarqa Nawaz. For most of the rest of the day there will be a choice between a speaker and a musician or artist. There will be a children’s program, including a Messy Church workshop for all ages together. The day ends with an all ages worship experience at 3 p.m. followed an optional session of Beer and Hymns from 4 to 5 p.m. Explore new ways of being church and expressing our faith and spirituality.
All are welcome, to this queer-friendly, wide tent of spiritual exploration. Spiritual but not religious are especially welcome. Advance tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for seniors, $10 for youth and young adults, while children are free. Tickets at the door are $30. Ticket price does not include lunch; a separate lunch ticket can be purchased, offered by Munch Café. If the ticket price is a hindrance to your attendance, please let contact us for information on how to register. To register and for information on speakers and schedule, check our website http://bit.ly/ TasteofSkylight. For more information contact russellmw88@gmail.com.
The uncomfortable pew: Learning ecumenical etiquette By Pastor Stewart Miller REGINA – Have you ever had a weird or uncomfortable experience when you have been required to attend a worship service at a church different in denomination or style from yours, such as a wedding or a funeral? Have you ever had someone say they had an uncomfortable experience when they attended your church for a service? What could have been done to make you feel more welcome? What could you (at your congregation) have done to make that guest feel more comfortable visiting your space? These are the questions 14 people discussed at the Living Spirit Centre on Feb. 7. Regina’s Living
Spirit Centre is the home of Bread of Life Lutheran, St. Philip Anglican and Eastside United churches. This workshop was led by Dr. Darren Dahl of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism. The group had an interesting time sharing experiences – good and bad – and then discussing how they could use those thoughts to guide our various churches as they welcome others. Suggestions to make people more comfortable ranged from talking to people – your own acquaintances – about what happens at church long before they ever dare come through the doors; to being clear about who is welcome in your services at the beginning of service. Being educational about
what to do and why we do it during the service is also important. Of course, being welcoming – with sensitivity – before and after worship is also critical. If anyone would like to have a similar workshop in their area, you can contact the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism (attention Dr. Darren Dahl). Phone 306-653-1633 or email admin@pcecumenism.ca.
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The Saskatchewan Anglican
April 2018
Christology provides us both answers and questions By Rev. Dr. Iain Luke Principal of the College of Emmanuel & St. Chad
T
here are a number of verses in the Gospels that bring tears to my eyes and they all seem to crop up in the liturgies of Holy Week. There’s only one, though, that makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time.
Child priests
It’s a verse we generally hear on Easter morning. Mary Magdalene is standing alone at Jesus’ empty tomb, bereft. Even angels can’t comfort her. She turns around to see a man who might help, and “supposing him to be the gardener,” asks for Jesus’ body. My heart breaks open all over again, every time I hear those words,
The liturgical colour for Lent is purple. Students at St. Luke’s Kids Club recently got the opportunity to wear the vestments of a priest. Here Alleigha wears the white surplice, Lenten stole and biretta with assistance from Rev. Michael Bruce. Other Kids Club members await their turn. Photo by Catherine Louise Crawley
“supposing him to be the gardener.” The gospel writer sets us up for that kind of reaction. There is so much unresolved tension, so much anticipation, at this point in the story. There’s also dramatic irony. We know, or think we know, who the man really is. In the story, though, Mary doesn’t. After the horror of Good Friday, an unbelievably happy ending is just about to begin, but no one knows it yet. The laughter and the tears are ready to flow together. But good stories also make us think. This one makes me think about a key element of Christian believing, which is also a key element of the theological curriculum. As a subject of study, we call it Christology, and it’s the exploration of the question, who is Jesus? The gardener episode raises so many fresh angles on that question. Mary knows Jesus better than any of us, but doesn’t recognize Him. How can that be? We may think we know who the man in the story is, but what are we missing? Does the resurrection make Jesus unrecognizable, or does it reveal who He really is? At one level, Christology offers answers to questions like these. There is a history of doctrine that gives content to the orthodox Christian picture
of Jesus. He is both fully human and fully divine, with two natures united in one person. He had a human will, in perfect harmony with a divine will. Christ’s divine nature is identical with the second person of the Trinity. There was never a time when the human Jesus “became” the Son of God, although the Resurrection revealed the fullness of God’s purpose in Christ. On another level, though, even many of these apparent answers simply lead to more questions. Also, one could say, that is their purpose: to create a space in which all the questions that need to be asked about Jesus, can be asked, at the same time. The classic example of this is the doctrine of the two natures. It arose out of a tension between two questions. How is Jesus the Saviour? Also, how can Jesus be our Saviour? If you ask only the first question, well, only God can save, and Christ is God. If you ask only the second question, then only a human being can be the person in whom human nature is restored. But we need to ask both questions, while at the same time, we need a Christology that allows for that. As a meeting point and union between divine and human, Jesus’ actions Continued on page 9
Join Saskatoon's clergy program Do you love God? Do you love the church? Have you been involved in lay ministry in your parish for quite some time and wonder about going even deeper? Perhaps God is calling you to diaconal or priestly ministry! “Who, me?” you might say. Yes, YOU! Stranger things have happened you know. God needs workers in the vineyard, including priests and deacons. Perhaps now is the time for you to consider it. The Diocese of Saskatoon has a program for training clergy…for training Locally Raised Clergy. The program takes
three to five years to complete, depending on how much time you can devote to it. There is no cost to you, as the training leads to a nonstipendiary (voluntary) ordained ministry. The program includes reading courses, inhouse training sessions, spiritual formation and a supervised apprenticeship. The path to Holy Orders is an awesome spiritual adventure. Take the plunge now! For more information, please contact the Diocesan Training Officer, the Reverend Shawn Sanford Beck, at greenpriest@hotmail. ca.
The Saskatchewan Anglican
April 2018
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Young Anglicans take part in fun winter retreats By Julie Moser, Youth and Children’s Missioner CARONPORT (Qu’A) – Two weekends in January saw young Anglicans gathered to enjoy fun and fellowship focused around God’s word. The Confirming Faith youth retreat, held Jan. 12 through 14, and the Growing Faith children’s overnight retreat, from Jan. 20 and 21, were both held at Briercrest College. Confirming Faith retreat The third annual Confirming Faith retreat had eight young people from various locations. Ken Moser, professor of Youth Ministry at Briercrest College and member of St. Aidan, Moose Jaw, spoke from the book of Psalms. The memory verse for the weekend was the whole of Psalm 23. Participants came to see that God understands the things they feel and experience, while the Psalms give expression to every kind of emotion. Luke Johnson, youth minister from St. Aidan,
Camera-shy participants jump for joy at the Growing Faith children's overnight retreat. Photo by Catherine Louise Crawley Moose Jaw, provided music for the sessions. Apart from teaching times the youth enjoyed activities such as board games, wide games in the evening and the Prayer Book service of Compline to end the day. It was a wonderful time together. A big thank you to the leaders: Dave and Janice Kerr, Jesse Miller, and Catherine Louise Crawley. Growing Faith overnight retreat The very first Growing Faith children’s overnight retreat also had eight
children (and a couple of parents too!) attending from various locations in the diocese. The theme for the gathering was Growing Faith and teaching time focused on what is faith and how do we grow as Christians. The memory verse for the event was Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain about what we cannot see.” Along with great teaching sessions the children made paper bag puppets to act out some
Walking by faith: A liturgy of procession Second annual Anglican and Lutheran women’s spring retreat Redeemer Lutheran Church, Saskatoon April 20 and 21 During this retreat, to be led by Rev. Dr. Jessica Latshaw, our goal is to open hearts and minds to hear and respond to selected scripture from the Bible that can assist us as Christian women in deepening our relationship and communication with God the Father, His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The communication process and selected
activities that will be used may also be employed successfully by members of other faiths with other sources of holy texts to discern spiritual direction and to form caring communities that are faith-based. For this reason, all women interested in the process of spiritual discernment are welcome to attend this retreat. Friday night will be a welcoming session and the first step toward building a sense of community. Saturday will be spent moving through a series of prepared settings that will facilitate participants’ discernment of
God’s will in their lives and further the development of a supporting co mmunity. Date of retreat: April 20 (6:30 to 8:30 p.m.) and April 21 (9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.). Place: Redeemer Lutheran Church, 812 Preston Avenue, Saskatoon Cost of Retreat: $35 (includes lunch) Registration forms and information will be sent to churches and individuals at the beginning of March. The Lutheran Synod office is handling registration (online or by mail). Questions, please phone Lindsay at the Lutheran Synod Office at 306-244-2474.
Bible stories, had audio stories from Adventures in Odyssey, a scavenger hunt, a game of sardines, and a campfire. It was a jam-packed 27 hours! Thank you all around to a great team of leaders: Dave and Janice Kerr, Lyndon Lu, Katja Barnard,
and Catherine Louise Crawley. If you want to receive emails about what’s happening for children, youth and families in Qu’Appelle diocese please contact the youth and children’s missioner at julie.moser@sasktel.net.
... Christology provides answers and questions Continued from page 8 are God’s actions, but Jesus also takes on human nature, to bring it back to God. While this can feel like really abstract language, it is language shaped by real faith. The same faith we have when we watch Mary mistaking Jesus for the gardener. Since the first generation of Christians, none of us know Jesus except as the living Lord, who died and rose again. Christ is not a historical figure for us. We meet Him now, in our present experience. In bread and wine and in the “body of Christ,” which is the church in action; in the promised presence of Christ whenever two or three are gathered; in His solidarity with the “least of these;” and in the stranger who walks with us on our
Emmaus roads. The way we think about Jesus has to create enough space for us to ask questions about His presence in all of these encounters. Is Jesus really with us, or is that just something we tell ourselves? Does His presence make a difference, and if so, how? Is it only a spiritual experience? Or does it transform the way we live in our physical and social worlds? Even when Mary realized she’d found Jesus, in the very next breath He tells her that she cannot hold on to Him. Christology is like that. We explore it, not to pin Jesus down, nor to give up on knowing Him at all, but in order to keep moving on to the next question, the next encounter, the next mystery.
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The Saskatchewan Anglican
April 2018
DIOCESE OF SASKATCHEWAN
Order of Saskatchewan updates
Arthur Cay provides spiritual comfort with prayer
Arthur Cay By Mary Brown
Fun in the winter sun
Participants at the Confirming Faith youth retreat show they are ready for anything. For full story see page 9. Photo by Catherine Louise Crawley
DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE
Upcoming children and youth events Bishop’s appreciation lunch April 14, noon to 2 p.m. at St. Aidan, Moose Jaw A lunch will be held to thank those who have served their parishes in youth and children’s ministry. Please send details of individuals who should be invited to Julie Moser, child and youth missioner, via email at julie.
moser@sasktel.net or phone 306-690-2299. Grand day out April 28 A day out in the city of Regina for grandparents and their grandchildren for fun and fellowship. Don’t miss this! Watch for details to come. Summer camps Juniors (ages six to12) July 25 to 29
At Glen Harbour Kids Camp. More info will be posted to www.qcamps.ca. Teens adventure camp (ages 13 to 17) Aug. 13 to 17 At Banff National Park (departing Regina with pick-ups along the way.) More information will be posted to www. qcamps.ca.
The Rev. Amy Bunce installed in Saskatoon
PRINCE ALBERT – The one overriding characteristic of most of the Order of Saskatchewan recipients is their humility. This is especially true of Art Cay. In 2002 the Parish of St. George’s in Kinistino nominated Art for the Order of Saskatchewan. Art is now semi-retired, which means he still does some work on the family farm. However, he is not semiretired in his participation in the Church. He is also uncle to nine nieces and nephews along with being great-uncle to their offspring. He attends all their games and events and plays a major part in their lives. As stated at his induction, he never
hesitates to witness to his faith or to pray for those in need of spiritual comfort. Those who are sick or grieving will usually get a visit from Art, which is a great comfort to them. He is a compassionate, humble member of the parish and is always ready and willing to help. Whether you know it or not, he is constantly behind the scenes getting things done. Recipient Norman Moore dies In the month of February two members from the 2002 Order of Saskatchewan died. Norman Moore, who was featured in the March Saskatchewan Anglican, died before he could read the article. Ted Morton, who would have been more than 100 years old, also died in February. He lived in Saskatoon but came to Prince Albert to attend the induction of new members to the Order. We sympathize with and pray for their families in their loss, but are confident they are now in God’s loving care.
A joyful crowd assembled for a service to welcome and install the Rev. Amy Bunce as incumbent of St. Stephen’s Anglican Parish, Saskatoon on Feb. 18. The Right Rev. David Irving, Bishop of Saskatoon, conducted the service, which was followed by refreshments in the parish hall. Pictured is the Rev. Amy Bunce (centre and to the left of Bishop Irving) surrounded by clergy who attended the service of installation. Photo by Cathryn Wood
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April 2018 11
On day three of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, at the River Jordan, Bishop David Irving led the group in a renewal of their baptismal vows while standing in the waters of the river. Photos by Joan Irving
Following the footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land By Rev. Peter R. Coolen Editor’s note: The Footsteps of Jesus was the name of a course at St. George’s College, Jerusalem that a group made up of Bishop David (the Right Rev. David Irving, Bishop of Saskatoon) and 21 clergy and spouses from the Diocese of Saskatoon undertook during the Jan. 27 to Feb. 10 period. The course allowed the group to follow the journey that Jesus’ first disciples made through the Holy Land as they followed Jesus. The group were guests of “living stones,” the local Palestinian Christian community, for most of the course with two nights in Nazareth. A detailed listing of activities, places visited and pictures from the trip are available on the diocesan website at www. anglicandiocesesaskatoon. squarespace.com/footsteps. In addition to the bishop, the pilgrims were: Joan Irving, Alex Parsons, Shelley Sadoway, Bill Richards, Sandra Beardsall, Gordon Lines, Dolores Lines, Scott Pittendrigh, Sarah Donnelly, Dan Hughes, Shawn Sanford-Beck, Trevor Malyon, Kenneth Watts, Barbara Forsyth, Gyllian Davies, Paula Foster, Jessica Latshaw, Marie-Louise Ternier, Janet BiglandPrichard, Jie Pei and Amy Bunce. Joan Irving organized the pilgrimage and was the co-ordinator of the diocesan group. This month, and for the next several months, we hope to include in each issue of this paper a series of
pictures from this pilgrimage, along with a group of short articles written by some of those who followed in Jesus’ footsteps. The general themes of the articles are outlined in the question, What did you expect to experience and see during your Footsteps pilgrimage and how did this compare to what you found? Did you discover anything unexpected about the trip, yourself, the Holy Land or anything else that impressed you? The first two of these notes, by Archdeacon Ken Watts and Rev. Canon Shawn Sanford Beck, follow.
What did you go out to see? By the Ven. Ken Watts Executive Archdeacon, Diocese of Saskatoon “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see?” (Matthew 11: 7-8). I was part of the group of clergy and lay people of our diocese who went on the pilgrimage to Israel in late January and early February for 10 days. What did we go to see? Certainly, the various places where Jesus lived and died. I will not try to attempt to list all the places we visited, but certainly in Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the visit to the Church of All Nations (encircling the trees that supposedly made up the Garden
The group visited the Dome of the Rock and went into the underground cave, which normally only Muslims can enter since they consider the site sacred. The women had to cover themselves with only their faces, hands and feet showing. of Gethsemane) on the western slope of the Mount Olives, across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem, stand out for me at this time. At both of these sites, where there has been almost 2,000 years of observance by Jesus’ followers of those crucial moments in Jesus’ – our Lord’s – life, there has also been the building up and destruction of structures that have over-laid the actual ground on which it happened. All this can be distracting, and yet, helpful. Distracting because none of the buildings, chapels, marble slabs and religious decor were there in Jesus’ time, yet they speak to the reverence of God’s people. At the sites of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial, both enshrined in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – or as friend so helpfully called it, the Church of the Resurrection – I found I needed to simply
put all the religious accoutrements aside, and as I knelt, to be present to that moment in Jesus’ life and say simply, thank you. This was also true in the grotto beneath the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem, a church, dating back to 565 A.D., filled with frescos – wall paintings of saints – and lamps hanging from the ceiling, commemorating our Lord’s birth in poverty. Maybe it wasn’t surprising that I found it easier to sense our Lord’s presence in the rural settings, away from the urban crush and out in the wilderness, east of Jerusalem and further east in the Jordan Valley where Jesus was baptized and then further north over-looking the Sea of Galilee. As time passes I look back to my time in the Land of the Holy One and realize that what I went to see, was Jesus. Is that not what we all long for?
A pilgrimage in the fifth gospel By the Rev. Canon Shawn Sanford Beck Diocesan training and education officer “Five gospels record the life of Jesus. Four you will find in books and the one you will find in the land they call Holy. Read the fifth gospel and the world of the four will open to you.” Attributed to St. Jerome of the fourth century, this pithy quotation certainly rings true to the experience of our recent journey to Jerusalem and the land of the Holy One. From Jan. 27 to Feb. 10, 22 clergy and spouses from the Diocese of Saskatoon were immersed in the fascinating, heart-wrenching, and spiritually nourishing reality of Israel/Palestine. Continued on page 12
The Saskatchewan Anglican
April 2018
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For the Journey: A Lenten retreat with Steve Bell By Nigel Salway REGINA – Steve Bell is a well-renowned singersongwriter. The son of a Baptist pastor, his first guitar lessons were from inmates at the Drumheller federal penitentiary, where his father was the prison chaplain. From this unusual beginning, Steve grew into a talented musician. Through his career, he played in a number of bands ranging from rock to folk to jazz, before settling into his current career as a singer-songwriter. His website identifies him as “ … a purveyor of truth and beauty and champion of kindness, on a focused mission to ‘encourage Christian faith and thoughtful living through artful word and song.’” Bell presented a retreat to just under 100 participants at St. Luke’s Regina from Feb. 23 to 25. The first event was a concert that attracted about 120. Anglicans and non-Anglicans attended both the concert and retreat. The retreat is entitled For the Journey. Bell told participants, “The retreat explores the fertile
taught this prayer, and its actions, to those present.
Steve Bell leads the audience in the signs for the Prayer for the Trinity, during the For the Journey retreat held at St. Luke, Regina. Photo by Nigel Salway tradition and spirituality of a Trinitarian faith, navigating a pattern for corporate worship based on Isaiah 6:1-9 in tandem with the Christian calendar year, the Hebrew psalms, and ancient prayers of the church.” The retreat is presented as a multi-media event with lectures and anecdotes by Bell in his inimitable style, interspersed with uplifting music. The retreat commenced with the following prayer for the Trinity. Bell
God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, They are three, but they are one. Jesus Christ is fully human and fully divine. And this is a mystery we seek to understand with all our mind, heart and strength.
Bell described the retreat’s four sessions in this way: Trinity: The Master Key Before we can know how or why we should respond to God, we must ask the more important question: who. Who is God? This first session established that God, in God’s very nature, is a communion of mutually self-donating persons, and that we have been made in the image of this God. This understanding is key to discerning the meaning of our worship,
... pilgrimage in the fifth gospel Continued from page 11 Hosted by St. George’s College in Jerusalem, we embarked together on the pilgrimage study course called Footsteps of Jesus, which took us north to south, east to west, backward and forward in time through the troubled and hallowed land. On this journey we were intrepidly guided by Canadian Anglican priest Richard LeSueur and Palestinian Christian Nedal Junaidi; the combination of perspectives offered by this dynamic duo was indispensable for our learning. By blending ancient history, natural geography, biblical meditation, contemporary socio-political reflection, and spiritual worship, our course did indeed put us in the place of the disciples, following in the footsteps of Jesus, and growing in the Spirit. As someone at least moderately aware of the
troubled modern history of Israel/Palestine, I admit I was initially hesitant to enlist for this pilgrimage. Would it be just a canned tour of fluffy piety, insulated from the complex and oppressive realities of colonial occupation? Would we be expected to turn a blind eye to Palestinian refugees, landmined borders, and the haunting of the Holocaust? As it turned out, no. These harsh and disturbing elements of life were woven intentionally and carefully into our reflections, specifically in our visits to a Palestinian refugee camp, a Jewish settlement, and the Holocaust Memorial. But really, everywhere we went we could see signs of the conflict, such as the wall of division in Bethlehem, the rockets we could hear in the Golan Heights, or the constant presence of young armed soldiers with the Israel Defence Forces.
However, in spite of this, we also heard many stories of hope. A leader from the Kids4Peace movement told us about his organization’s work building relationships between children of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim backgrounds. St. George’s staff member Bishara Khouri also cheered us time and again with his insistent hope one day there would be peace in this troubled land. Not just peace, but also a just peace. As we listened to the ongoing news of the Stanley trial unfolding back home, Bishara’s gospel words gave us hope as well that the peace of God will one day come, not just for Jerusalem, but for our whole world, including the troubled and divided holy land of Turtle Island. All pilgrims, of course, will have returned home with their own special memories of encounters with the Holy One. For me,
our practical love for one another, and our role as stewards of creation. Worship as Journey: From Alienation to Intimacy Using Isaiah 6:1-9, Bell laid out a rich, ancient pattern of worship that is both structured and open to innovation, but that helps the worshipping community journey from alienation to intimacy. The Story that Forms Us: Travelling Through the Liturgical Calendar This session examined the tradition of the Christian calendar year as a storied framework, and discussed how the idea of pilgrimage gives shape to our lives, forming us both as individuals and within Christian community. Psalms, Saints and Ancient Prayers: Nourishing the Faith Community Using selected songs from Bell’s body of work, this session delved into the treasury of psalms and ancient prayers, as well as the lives of particular saints, considering more deeply how they fashion and nourish the faith community. Bell reminded participants that Jesus is with them in death. He doesn’t save us from death but several things stick out in my mind. Our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee reminded me poignantly of the area where I live, the hill and lake country north of the Battlefords. As I immersed myself in the Galilean landscape, I could easily imagine Jesus teaching, preaching, healing and simply relaxing with His disciples and His people. This landscape was surprisingly lush and green, a pleasant change from the desert hills of the Judean wilderness. Another theme that emerged for me was that of caves. There were the caves of the Qumron scrolls at the Dead Sea, the monastic hermit caves of the rocky highlands, the legendary cave of souls under the great Dome of the Rock, the cave of the Annunciation, the cave of the Nativity, the cave tomb of the Holy Sepulchre, and the cave of the skull of Adam directly under the rock of Golgotha. This was a powerful reminder to me of how many
provides us the hope of resurrection. In an allusion to Hollywood, Bell provided an example of a pirate movie where some poor unfortunate person walks the plank. Similar to Errol Flynn, Jesus swoops in on a rope to join the victim on the plank. However, instead of Jesus saving the victim such as Flynn, he lashes himself to the victim and they jump off the plank together into the abyss. Although this seems like the end, the bonds between Jesus and us are unbreakable and these lead us to resurrection with Jesus. Bell concluded the retreat with the prayer of St. John Cassian, based on Psalm 70: Come to my help, Oh God, Lord, Hurry to my rescue. Cassian encouraged his followers to repeat this verse often as a means of finding peace. Participants were encouraged to pray it in their daily lives. The retreat was challenging and uplifting, while Steve Bell’s music and ministry was wellreceived by all. biblical realities were gestated deep in the womb of Mother Earth, to emerge with healing and salvation for the wider world. To be honest, every day of our pilgrimage was packed full of amazing sights, sounds, teachings, and events. The telling of our stories could go on and on ... . I am absolutely certain that the quality of preaching in our diocese will be enriched significantly by our experience of the Fifth Gospel, the life of God in the Land. A huge thank you to Bishop David and Joan Irving who worked tirelessly to organize this most excellent journey for us. As our psalmist has proclaimed: “I was glad when they said to me ‘Let us go to the House of the Lord.’ And now our feet are standing within your gate, O Jerusalem.” Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Thanks be to God!