Pax mar2016 final no spreads

the resurrection by fra angelico, photo by wikimedia commons

Pax

EASTER 2016

Upon the Annunciation and Passion Falling Upon One Day* | John Donne Tamely, frail body, abstain to-day; to-day

Deals, in sometimes, and seldom joining these.

My soul eats twice, Christ hither and away.

As by the self-fix’d pole we never do

She sees Him man, so like God made in this,

Direct our course, but the next star thereto,

That of them both a circle emblem is,

Which shows where th’other is, and which, we say

Whose first and last concur: this doubtful day

(Because it strays not far) doth never stray:

Of feast or fast, Christ came, and went away.

So God by His Church, nearest to him, we know,

She sees Him nothing, twice at once, who’s all ;

And stand firm, if we by her motion go.

She sees a cedar plant itself, and fall,

His Spirit, as His fiery pillar, doth

Her Maker put to making, and the head

Lead, and His Church, as cloud; to one end both:

Of life, at once, not yet alive, and dead;

This Church, by letting these days join, hath shown

She sees at once the Virgin Mother stay

Death and conception in mankind is one.

Reclus’d at home, public at Golgotha.

Or ‘twas in Him the same humility,

Sad and rejoic’d she’s seen at once, and seen

That He would be a man, and leave to be:

At almost fifty, and at scarce fifteen.

Or as creation He had made, as God,

At once a son is promised her, and gone;

With the last judgment, but one period,

Gabriell gives Christ to her, He her to John;

His imitating spouse would join in one

Not fully a mother, she’s in orbity;

Manhood’s extremes: He shall come, He is gone.

At once receiver and the legacy.

Or as though one blood drop, which thence did

All this, and all between, this day hath shown,

fall,

Th’abridgement of Christ’s story, which makes one,

Accepted, would have serv’d, He yet shed all,

(As in plain maps, the farthest west is east)

So though the least of His pains, deeds, or words,

Of th’angels Ave, and Consummatum est.

Would busy’a life, she all this day affords.

How well the Church, God’s Court of Faculties,

This treasure then, in gross, my soul, uplay, And in my life retail it every day.

*Lady Day, March 25 and Good Friday fell on the same day in 1608, a rare coincidence in the calendar which John Donne (1572–1631) celebrates through the paradox of endless life and death.

From Incarnation to Resurrection | Fr. Kevin Hunt

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he coincidence of Good Friday falling on the customary date, 25 March, of the celebration of the Feast of the Annunciation, the entry into the sphere of time, as it were, of the mystery of the Incarnation, is a salutary reminder to us of the inextricable link between the birth of Jesus into the world, his death upon the cross, and his being raised to new life in the resurrection. The Christmas carol “Christians, awake, salute the happy morn” has the lines “trace we the babe who hath redeemed our loss, from his poor manger to his bitter cross,” and elsewhere in this edition of PAX we read John Donne’s poem “Upon the Annunciation and Passion Falling Upon One Day.” The Incarnation, God becoming truly human in the person of Jesus Christ, the Passion, his self-giving even to death on the Cross, to be raised to new life by the Father in the Resurrection, are the central tenets of our faith as Christians. This is the Gospel we are invited to proclaim afresh in every generation, the demonstration par excellence of the love of the Creator God for

us and for all that He has made. From this derives our duty to worship and to give thanks, to celebrate the sacraments of the new covenant, and to live into our baptismal covenant in our day-to-day lives.

How St James’ is being called to live and proclaim these truths in our generation is for the Canonical Committee to discern as it begins its work of drawing up the Parish Profile, with its description of the Parish, its context, our Mission aspirations and the “personspec” for a new Rector. It is important that all who have a love and care for St James’ uphold this Committee in prayer. You may care regularly to use the following: Gracious God, guide with your Holy Spirit the work of St James’ Canonical Committee as it prepares the Parish Profile. Give its members clarity of perception to set out our Parish context clearly, and wisdom and insight to discern with the congregation an enthusing vision for this next chapter in the life of St. James’. Renew us in worship, mission and service as we look for the arrival of a new parish priest. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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A Glimpse | PJ Jansen

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The Crow

e are having lunch at a restaurant in New Westminster and we see a crow peering through the window. A crow, on the outside looking in. At first glance, it seems nothing more than a curious oddity, but one by one, both diners and staff gather at the window.

One of the servers realises that the bird has purposely has made its way to the window to ask for human help.

Amazing! She goes outside and discovers a string is entangling the crow’s foot. Initially, other crows are dive-bombing the good Samaritan while she works, but somehow they seem to realize that the server is actually helping the crow in distress, and they back off.

She manages to free the bird, which flies off, whilst the other crows sing the server’s praises. It is not a pretty song, as crows have not been gifted with a mellifluous voice, but praise nonetheless.

The Woman

The sun is shining through the windows as we gather in the Lady Chapel for mid-day mass on a Friday afternoon.

One by one people arrive, until eight of us are sitting quietly.

The bell rings and we stand up as the priest and server enter. “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” We settle into the rhythm of the liturgy: readings, prayers, preparation of the gifts, consecration, Lord’s prayer.

We move out of our pews to form a semi-circle for Communion when the front door opens. A woman enters 2 | PAX: Easter 2016

rather noisily, talking loudly as she makes her way to the front where we now stand together, ready to receive. She joins the group and at once she’s silent.

I look down and notice her bare feet. Did she take off her shoes in the narthex because she had entered holy ground? Then it occurs to me: she has purposely made her way to St James’ to ask for divine help.

The priest starts to offer the Holy Bread to communicants, one by one. When he comes to the woman, he stands in front of her, looks into her eyes, and says: “The blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with you and remain with you always.”

Hearing these words seems to free the woman

from what is holding her. She turns and peacefully leaves the church.

The Master

Sunday morning. The gospel reading and sermon focus on the parable of the prodigal son.

The homilist observes that we are all prodigals, really. We turn to God in repentance, looking for compassion, forgiveness, and to be freed from that which binds us up. To find true love.

“Love,” says John Piper, “is the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others.”

The words of my morning prayer come to mind: “Grant that, as we move among men and women this day, they may catch a glimpse in us of the Master, whose we are and whom we seek to serve.”

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For the Silenced Sheila Paterson

e are there, handing out leaflets which explain our presence: 11th Annual Lenten Vigil for the Silenced. We hold two vigils each year, one during Advent, and the other in Lent. The passers-by usually accept the descriptive paper we offer. Some ask questions, and some join us for a few minutes.

Who sent us? We were not sent, we say. We congregate here. Who are the silenced? The poor, the hungry, the unemployed or employed in misery, the imprisoned, the ever-resentful or forever friendless, without community, without words whose health diminishes or whose faith is tenuous, those who cannot talk to others, who have no answers for questions which trouble them, or those who quit trying to understand their ill fortune or cannot reconcile themselves to finding a way out of a sort of social nihilism.

Anyone who wants to stand on a corner with us is welcome. Up to now, the participants have come from St. James’ Anglican, St. Paul’s Roman Catholic, First United, Longhouse Ministry, Grandview Calvary Baptist, Fairview Baptist, Kairos, Lighthouse of Hope–Christian Fellowship, and a few others who have just joined us who stand on the corner with the banner.

Vigil sites this year have included: East 1st Avenue and Commercial Drive, and Georgia and Hamilton (CBC/ Library), from 12 noon to 1:00 pm.

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The Song of Mary | Fr. Kevin Hunt

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t the end of the Angelus, we pray the collect for the Annunciation, reinforcing our faith that we are redeemed by the Incarnation, Passion, and Cross of Christ. We affirm Mary’s role in the Incarnation as the God-Bearer who confirms that the divine Son is fully human.

Consenting by Grace, Mary is praying with and for the church as a companion in prayer and a fellow-pilgrim on the way. She may be viewed as a model of Christian living, an example of faithfulness and openness to God’s word: “Be it unto me according to thy word.”

Yet any idea of Mary as passive or reactive is mistaken, for her “yes” is brave. In the Magnificat, she

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protests for justice in revolutionary terms: “He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek.” Unlikely though it seems, the Honorable East India Company, the arm of the British Empire which initially held sway in the Indian subcontinent, had the text of the Magnificat removed from the Office for Evening Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer lest the call to put down the mighty be taken too literally by the colonized masses.

The Song of Mary: Magnificat anima mea Dominum.

My soul doth magnify the Lord. Here is a re-rendering of Magnificat (1965) by Fred Kaan, an English hymn writer:

MAGNIFICAT NOW! Sing we a song of high revolt; Make great the Lord, his name exalt: Sing we the song that Mary sang Of God at war with human wrong.

Sing we of him who deeply cares And still with us our burden bears; He, who with strength the proud disowns, Brings down the mighty from their thrones.

By him the poor are lifted up: He satisfies with bread and cup The hungry folk of many lands; The rich are left with empty hands.

He calls us to revolt and fight With him for what is just and right, To sing and live Magnificat In crowded street and council flat.

When looking for this hymn text, I came across this blog of 2010 by Fr. Keith Hebden, coincidentally the Vicar of the parish where I was once a curate. He writes: “The words of the Magnificat should be a continued inspiration to us as we see the governments and rule makers of the world, ‘proud in their imagination,’ claiming to be able to fix climate change, make poverty history, transform majority world economies, bring freedom to dictatorships, and more besides, all at the point of a gun and without thought of relinquishing either power or wealth to those they claim to want to help. It is worth noting that Mary did not thank God who directs the paths of the mighty, or sends the rich away with instructions about how to use their wealth philanthropically. Mary gives thanks to the God who turns the world upside down; the God who rights the economic wrongs of the world so that the poor and oppressed might have all they need and be free.”

What is our Magnificat? What are the great things God has done and is doing for us? How is he calling us to share in turning the world upside down?

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Riverview Renewal | Christine Hatfull

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estled on 244 sloping acres near the junction of the Coquitlam and Fraser Rivers is a spectacular cultural landscape and unique 100 year-old arboretum. In 2012, it was placed among the Top 10 Endangered Places by the National Trust for Canada, and it continues to be “at risk” in 2016. This place is also the home of the former Riverview Hospital (1913–2012) that provided long term psychiatric care in British Columbia until policy changes in the 1980s and ’90s forced the move of patients into the community. Burke Mountain Naturalists (www.bmn.bc.ca) describes the area: The entire site is designed in the manner of a grand English country estate enhanced by magnificent trees and other pleasing landscape features such as stone walls and curved driveways. Riverview now hosts western Canada’s most significant collection of mature trees (over 1800 inventoried trees) collected from all over the temperate world. From 1911– 1925, it was the home of western Canada’s first Botanical Garden, which is now located at the University of British Columbia. The Hospital has a remarkable history, with outstanding

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heritage buildings and a graciously-designed site to support mental wellness in the midst of a world-class collection of trees.

The funnel out of the emptied mental health facilities at Riverview has always led to the Downtown Eastside—a culturally engineered moniker for a socially engineered ghetto—where 40% of the homeless are considered to be mentally ill and fall repeatedly into the care of policing and prison systems not set-up to cope with the mental-health crisis. Currently, anywhere from 200–300 people are estimated to be in desperate need of permanent mental-health care and appropriate housing, not available to them on the mean streets of downtown Vancouver. A duty of care is fundamental to our faith as Anglo-Catholics, and nothing could be more in need of care than the crisis in St. James’ actual parish, that is, the Downtown Eastside.

The issues are extremely complex and inescapably interwoven, much like the century-old root system that thrives beneath the Riverview site. But there is no doubt that the kind of intensive, market housing favoured by recent BC Housing planning and profit models would negatively impact the root system itself, and many trees could be lost. Meanwhile, Riverview’s

existing facilities are falling into disrepair, rather than being used proactively. The Province was unprepared for the fact that the costs of closing, in all their ramifications, have far exceeded the costs of reopening a hospital that perhaps should never have been closed in the first place.

Many local groups including the Burke Mountain Naturalists, the Riverview Hospital Heritage Society, the municipalities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, and others, as well as countless individual members of the public have spoken up for the arboretum, the heritage architecture, and a system of natural meadows, woodlands and watercourses that provide a home and refuge for at least 100 species of birds and assorted wildlife—and Finnie’s Garden with over 100 kinds of native plants.

In 2009, an attempt to declare it a National Historic Site was blocked by the Provincial Government. In 2014, Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart endorsed a report that recommended Riverview’s restoration to provide mental health services, addiction-rehab and an acute-care hospital. A public consultation report in 2015 reiterated the same concerns around “mentalhealth care and the site’s natural elements.” But no one

is sure whether or not the government can hear the vox populi.

One of the most visible and accessible groups working to preserve the site is the Riverview Horticultural Centre Society of which our Mary Brown is an original member. They have lobbied tirelessly for over twenty years to protect the entire site, to keep the land in public ownership, to protect and showcase the trees, to preserve and repurpose the heritage buildings, and to speak up for a centre of health care excellence. For now, the Riverview lands still provide a therapeutic landscape, a garden sanctuary, and a visionary masterpiece of nurture and peace to those who seek it. The best way to enjoy nature, gentle exercise, and a duty of care for this vulnerable public place is to attend one of RHCS’s Tree Tours or the annual Tree Fest held in September. The first tour of the upcoming season took place on March 20th, the second will be on April 17th, and a Heritage Walk (with mental-health focus) on May 1st, all at 1pm.

More information from Mary Brown, or www.rhcs.org (604-290-9910).

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Coming Home and Looking Out | Brian Rocksborough-Smith

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ight “coming home” and “looking out” help describe our Lenten journey and our canonical process at St. James’ through this Easter season? How have some of us come home with Christ during Lent? How are we rising and looking out with Him at Easter and beyond?

Following our vision of a “Christ-centred sacramental life rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition,” we’ve had the opportunity to come home during this past Lent. Through reading, reflection, and discussion of Henri Nouwen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son, we have in our Lenten Reading Group imagined ourselves as the Younger and Older sons and the Father (Luke 15: 11–32). Prompting each other to think of life, death, joy, sorrow and renewal in our own lives, we have attempted to move past the irresponsibility and resentment of the Younger and Older sons to “come home” to the compassion of the Father (that is, of Christ or God).

At our Annual Vestry Meeting, Father Kevin reminded us how the Interim Process gives us the opportunity to celebrate our achievements and also become more outward-looking, toward our church community partners and our neighbourhood. We have also begun to offer Godly Play, examined and modified

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some ways we worship, embarked on the Rectory and crypt renovation project, and considered appointment of a curate. Soon our Canonical Committee will be meeting to compose our Parish Profile.

Developing our Profile provides an important opportunity for our entire congregation to assess our parish life. With help and input from as many members of our worshiping community as possible, the following questions may be considered: How have we changed in the past ten years? What are our strengths and weaknesses? What does it mean to be Anglo-Catholic today?

How do we wish to continue to serve God and help our wider community to know Him? What are our hopes and dreams? What are our priorities? How do we want to be known as a parish? What kind of leadership do we need to go where we believe God is calling us?

Our Lenten journey, supported by meditation on the Prodigal son and his older brother and father, has helped many of us to examine ourselves and “come home” once again to be with Christ in the glory of Easter. Our on-going canonical process and the development of our Parish Profile by all of us together will help our “looking out” within our parish community and beyond. We are the Easter pilgrims of St. James’, “Coming Home and Looking Out.”

Continuing the Journey | Leah Collins Lipsett

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he Christian is bound to perform many good works, but before all else what he [or she] ought to do is to pray, for without prayer no other good work whatever can be accomplished.” -- The Way of a Pilgrim Lent is the best time in the church calendar to remind ourselves of our personal faith. For some, that means a deepening of already well-ingrained beliefs; for others, it’s a tentative poke to make sure the conviction is still there. For many of us, it’s some mixture of the two.

Regardless, one of the best ways to attain spiritual focus is through prayer. The other two disciplines traditionally practiced during Lent, fasting and almsgiving, are almost products of the first. Through prayer, we are told, the glory of God can be revealed, as can our own place in His creation.

Unfortunately, it’s easier said than done. Most people’s lives don’t allow much time for prayer outside of church, nor is it easy to figure out what to say when the opportunity does present itself. The Lord’s Prayer?

Personal invocations for loved ones? We’re often urged to pray, but the “how” of it is rarely mentioned.

The Way of a Pilgrim, a Russian spiritual classic about one man’s journey through Russia and Siberia, has a lot to say about something it calls “constant interior prayer.” “Imagine yourself looking into your own heart,” advises one of the spiritual mentors the titular pilgrim meets on his journey. “Carry your mind, i.e. your thoughts, from your head to your heart.”

In the book, the pilgrim is taught to use a mantra to perform his incessant head-to-heart meditation: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” But interior prayer doesn’t necessarily require words relating to scripture—or even words at all—to be effective.

“Prayer is action,” says Dr. Stephen Blackwood, a Canadian theologian and scholar of philosophy. Any action, turned meditative and prayerful, becomes a prayer. Thus, scripture can form prayer, but so can poetry or song. Speaking or singing words can constitute praying—but so can breathing, walking, being.

When you lift a bite of food to your mouth, that can be a prayer. When you put one foot in front of the other, that’s prayer too.

The combination of the two concepts—prayer as a constant interior rhythm, and prayer as action—offers a form of prayer that is possible to do anywhere, any time.

It is a freeing thought. After all, as prayer becomes possible, so does spiritual focus. With that focus may come greater understanding of your place in the world, and your relationship with your faith. And it is with that understanding, born of prayer, that “good work… can be accomplished”: be it fasting and almsgiving, compassion for those who need it, self-forgiveness— whatever is necessary to your Lenten journey.

“From your head to your heart,” and from your heart, into the world.

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The Virgin Mary and the Mothers’ Union

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Celia Dodds an you imagine the consternation and fear of this young teenage girl when she realized what she had let herself in for when she said “Yes” to the Angel Gabriel? Here she was, unmarried and pregnant, in a country and at a time when her condition would have been scandalous. She no doubt expected her fiancé, Joseph, would denounce her, as well as her family and friends. How was she going to cope until her baby was born? We know that God stepped in and smoothed the situation over with Joseph; and we assume, although we are not told, that the marriage took place before the birth of the baby.

Not only was Jesus conceived out of wedlock, but he was born homeless, his cradle amongst farm animals

and his cushion their hay. He and his parents were then forced out of their homeland because of the ill intentions of the king and had to flee to another land as refugees for a few years. Not a very auspicious start to his life, you would say, but not unlike what is happening to many unfortunate families today.

It is not surprising that the Mothers’ Union upholds Mary as its model of motherhood and it’s significant that its founder is also a Mary, Mary Sumner. Our Fifth Object is to support parents, especially single mums, 12 | PAX: Easter 2016

and children that are suffering hardship and poverty, not only in our own community but all over the world.

Last December we at St. James’ provided food parcels at Christmas time to indigenous youth in our community in need of help and encouragement. In 2016 the Make a Mother’s Day campaign focused on needy families in Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi and Rwanda.

The Mothers’ Union’s second objective is to encourage parents to bring up their children in the Faith. We know that Mary instructed her son on Hebrew law and religion and that Jesus took it very seriously, because we read that at twelve years old she and Joseph found him in the temple at Jerusalem asking the rabbis questions. From Luke 2: 41–52 we read of Mary and Joseph’s rebuke of their son for his treatment of them, and his slightly cocky teenage reply, but also of his obedience towards them on their return to Nazareth. From the few occasions in the Gospels when Mary and Jesus are together, we are aware of the warmth, love, tenderness and respect between them, so we can assume that Mary did a good job of nurturing and parenting.

The MU Worldwide Parenting Program is being facilitated in over twenty countries, including Canada.

In April eight facilitators are to be trained in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Canadian Parenting Manual has just recently been translated into two Inuit languages, and it is hoped that a training of facilitators will take place in the not too distant future in the Diocese of the Arctic.

The Feast of the Annunciation, which we also call Lady Day, is very important to MU members. It is celebrated worldwide with special services written in honour of Mary, but because it so often occurs during Lent or Holy Week, it is often deferred until after Easter—on April 6th this year. Traditionally, Mothering Sunday (Lent 4) is also observed by members with the giving of flowers to mothers and caregivers, and the distribution of simnel cake.

Celia Dodds is Mothers’ Union branch secretary.

Silent Witness | Annie Grant

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or the last sixty years, the entrance to my driveway has been marked by a nondescript, plain-Jane tree. Crooked-limbed, gnarled, its simple, white spring blossoms pale in comparison with the double flowering cherries overtopping the house—the rhododendron tree with colour so deep and rich, one almost feels able to step inside, and into its glory, while the Manchurian lilacs share their scent with all who pass by.

Why bother with the dull old dogwood? Last Easter, when there was a request for flowers to decorate the church, I looked round, hoping to find some from my usual abundance. Too early, the weather had not helped, and I was disappointed, with nothing to share.

That was until looking from an upstairs window, I saw the humble old tree, gleaming in the sunshine, as if covered with a silken shroud of white petals.

The dogwood has its own legend, likely harking back in time, source forgotten and unfathomable.

Nowadays, we would prefer a more logical, scientific explanation. Our forebears were content to understand the inexplicable in more spiritual terms, seeing the hand of the Creator at work in even the most mundane.

Thus will I share the legend.

Once in times long forgotten, dogwoods stood straight and strong in the forest, so desirable

that their beauty caused them to be chosen for the most honourable of purposes. One day, the sad news came that their special attributes had been used to build the Cross on which our Blessed Saviour was crucified. Grieved and ashamed, the trees decided that from then on, their trunks and branches would always grow gnarled and twisted, but their pure white blossoms would always bear the stigmata of Christ’s Precious Blood. Even the berries, then rounded, would be scarlet, tear-drop shaped reminders of their sorrow, and nourish the myriad small birds who feed on them, even as we are fed by the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. And so the Dogwood will remain forever, a living memorial to the death of Our Lord.

Thus, my plain Jane, newly appreciated dogwood waits, keeping its ongoing vigil over our home. True or not is no matter, for the story fascinates, and will be remembered. Nothing changes; and I hope there are many years of silent witness left, its bloody-tipped petals continuing to honour and remind us of the Holy Season. Early Easter may make the blossoms a little late this year, but the message will never be too late to stir and bless our hearts. He is risen. He is risen indeed!

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Resurrection: A New Day, A New Life | Greg Farmer

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he tragic Friday and the sorrow-filled Saturday have passed; it is a new day, the day of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

And everything has changed for Jesus’ disciples. It took many years of praying, pondering, and discussing before the disciples finally grasped the meaning and the consequences of Jesus’ resurrection.

When they did, one expressed their understanding this way: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1: 3). This verse emphasizes the themes of God’s justification of Jesus, a new beginning, and hope based on His Resurrection.

Mary Magdalene, the first disciple to encounter the resurrected Jesus, learns about the change in Jesus. She is standing outside the empty tomb, weeping; a figure approaches, and supposing he is the gardener (it is a garden setting, so we think of the Garden of Eden), she asks him if he has removed Jesus’ body. Jesus calls her by her name, and she attempts to seize him, but

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he tells her not to try to hold him (John 20: 14–18), for Jesus now has a new identity: he has been glorified, and henceforth must be encountered in and through faith.

Paul, writing to the early Christians in Corinth, tells them this same truth: “Although we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way” (2 Corinthians 5: 16). Encountering Jesus in a spiritual way is obviously difficult; but it is significant that when the resurrected Jesus meets the disciples as a group, after greeting them with the word “Peace,” he says to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20: 22). It is the Holy Spirit who enlightens, inspires, and encourages believers in Christ: Faith is a gift of God’s Spirit.

The next challenge for the first disciples, and for us, is to acquire the new spiritual thinking and understanding of Jesus as God so that we can continue His mission in our world. Our human ways of knowing reality assume that the evil, injustice, violence, and death we see around us are inevitable. But the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is proof that with God all things are possible. Paul’s words to the first Christians

Profile: Anne in Rome assure us of this truth: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you” (Romans 8: 11).

Early in the years following the death and resurrection of Jesus, Christian leaders focused on two sacraments, Baptism and Eucharist, as our means to acquire the spiritual thinking and understanding that would enable us to believe and carry our Jesus mission to change peoples’ thinking and understanding. Faith and these sacraments are still our means to change ourselves and our world—thanks to the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Kennedy

In her search for a way to deepen her faith, Anne discovered a community of monastic nuns: The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine (SSJD). This Canadian Anglican religious order has its mother house in Toronto, and a house in Victoria. Through a regular Rule of Life, and with pastoral care, community life, and stewardship, the SSJD is celebrating 130 years of prayer, love, and service.

In February, after a two-year period of discernment, Anne was received as an Associate of the SSJD. The commitment service was conducted during a quiet day led by Sr. Brenda of the SSJD at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Vancouver. St. Paul’s parishioners, some of whom are also associates of SSJD, hosted the quiet day.

During the prayers of dedication, the room suddenly filled with sunlight, which Anne received as a profound blessing of God’s love and delight. She states: “Becoming an Associate of SSJD is like having a trellis to support me in my own life and ministry of love in and for the world.”

Now Goeth Sun Under Wood Anon. Middle English Lyric; 14th Century?

Nou goth sonne under wode.

Me reweth, Marie, thi faire rode.

Nou goth sonne under tre.

Me reweth, Marie, thi sone and the.

The pun on sun and son is important.

But there’s also a pun on wode which can be the wood of the cross.

Mary’s rode also evokes rood, the cross.

The tree in line three is also the cross.

—Leslie K. Arnovick

[Now the sun sets behind the forest.

Mary, I pity your lovely face.

Now sets the sun under the cross.

Mary, I pity your son and you.]

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Did You Know? Parish Life at St. James’ ANNUAL VESTRY MEETING The St. James’ Annual Vestry Meeting was held on Sunday, February 21st. The following people were elected to positions of leadership in our parish: Wardens—Pat McSherry and Rhodri WindsorLiscombe (Brian Rocksborough-Smith remains Bishop’s Warden) Trustees & Delegates to Synod—Jerry Adams, Leslie Arnovick, and P.J. Janson

his perspectives based on his first eight months at St. James’. Attendees went on to discuss our welcoming of newcomers at St. James’, and how it could be enhanced.

The Sunday coffee hour was also reviewed with a view to its effectiveness in facilitating relationships, both with newcomers and amongst parishioners. The meeting was very productive with many good ideas coming forth.

GODLY PLAY

Alternate Youth Delegate to Synod—Elisha May Walker

Thanks to a grant from the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster, St. James’ has been able to implement a Godly Play program. Many beautiful and high-quality materials have been purchased, and a trained worker has been hired to deliver the program. The sessions are greatly enjoyed by those children taking part.

Parish Council President—Annie Grant

RECTORY AND CRYPT RENOVATIONS

Parish Council Secretary—Doug Ibbott

The renovations to the rectory and crypt are in the planning stage. A Renovation Committee has been formed, chaired by Peggy Smyth. A Project Manager, Nancy Holme of Echo West Developments, has been hired. We look forward to further developments as the project goes along.

Alternate Delegates to Synod—Elizabeth Davies, Mary Hamilton, Paul Stanwood Youth Delegate to Synod—Emma Windsor-Liscombe

The Installation of Officers took place at High Mass the following Sunday. We thank these people, and all who were nominated, for their willingness to step forward to serve in these various capacities.

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING The first meeting of the Parish Council in 2016 took place on January 23rd. Fr. Kevin was interviewed and shared

16 | PAX: Easter 2016

LENTEN STUDY COURSE Fr. Kevin led a Lenten study group based on a book by

Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son. Nouwen’s reflections on the parable in Luke 15 were informed by his encounter with Rembrandt’s famous painting of the subject. The group was well attended and inspired much discussion and sharing amongst participants.

series featuring First Nations presenters. In the spirit of reconciliation, they will help us understand the trauma of the past, the challenging realities of the present, and their hopes for the future.

NEW CONTEMPLATIVE BIBLE STUDY: WEDNESDAYS

Former Vancouver Police Board member, Jerry Adams (Nisga’a), and Native Police Liaison Constable Rick Lavallee (Cree), will present a film produced for use in sensitivity training with new police recruits, and help us toward a compassionate understanding of intergenerational trauma.

The Street Outreach Initiative is offering a different kind of Bible Study, Wednesdays after the Noonday Mass. Using listening, silence, and reflection, this study explores short stories from the Gospels, documenting various people’s encounters with the Lord Jesus. There is some sharing among participants, but this is primarily a time for quiet reflection and not an overly talkative time.

Father Matthew and James Cheatley are facilitating these sessions.

COMING HOME SOCIETY OFFERS “FIRST NATIONS’ VOICES” SPEAKERS’ SERIES April 14, 21, and 28, 7 pm, Trendell Lounge, St. John’s Shaughnessy Anglican Church, 1410 Nanton Avenue.

This series is a fundraiser for the Coming Home Society’s new “Wisdom of Elders” program. Suggested donation is $10 at the door.

The Coming Home Society is offering a speakers’

“The Spirit has no Colour” Thurs., April 14

“First Nations 101 – tons of stuff you need to know about First Nations People” Thurs., April 21 Tsimshian author Lynda Gray introduces her book.

You will come away with a better understanding of our shared history and of the many issues that affect the daily lives of First Nations peoples.

“We are the future” Thurs., April 28 Features two of several young First Nations women (Nisga’a) who recently obtained Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Amy Parent and Melissa Adams (with Melanie Delva) will bring Aboriginal perspectives to the areas of Education and Archives.

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303 East Cordova Street, Vancouver, BC, v6a 1l4 Telephone: 604 685 2532 Fax: 604 685 7605 Email: office@stjames.bc.ca

www.stjames.bc.ca our vision: Discovering the beauty of holiness in our lives and neighbourhood, by living a Christ-centred sacramental life rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.

PAX no. 28 © 2016 St. James’ Anglican Church Editorial Panel: Paul Stanwood, Joyce Locht, Christine Hatfull Art Director: Sean Birch Writers: Fr. Kevin Hunt, PJ Janson, Sheila Paterson, Greg Farmer, Celia Dodds, Christine Hatfull, Brian RocksboroughSmith, Annie Grant, Leah Collins Lipsett Photography: Christine Hatfull, Sean Birch Distribution: Mary Brown PAX is free, but voluntary subscriptions of $10/year are welcome. PAX aims to be financially self-sustaining and therefore donations to support this ministry are greatly appreciated, and may be offered through your envelope (clearly marked PAX ), mailed to the church office, or submitted on the church website with a credit card. The material printed in PAX is produced by members and friends of St. James’ Church in Vancouver, Canada. A theme-based call for submissions is issued two to six weeks prior to each edition in the Sunday church bulletins. All submissions to PAX will receive acknowledgement of reception and be reviewed and edited by the editorial panel. Submissions are reviewed to the extent that they fit the mandate of PAX. All submissions may be edited for length, the maximum being 500 words unless otherwise specified.