anglicanlifenl

GPS 2019

February 6, 2019 · by anglicanlifenl

Article by Phoebe Burrows (Ascension), Sarah Hedderson (St. Mary’s), Keara Savoury (Good Shepherd), and Keegan Pike (St. Lawrence)

For the past 5 years, youth between the ages of 12 and 19 have had wonderful experiences learning about God, their faith, and how to incorporate them into everyday life. GPS (God’s Positioning System) is an annual conference for youth held around the province focusing on vocation, self discovery, and building relationships with fellow youth.

In previous years, youth have had the opportunity to hear from many different keynote speakers including Scott Evans, Bill Cliff, Mark Dunwoody, and Sheilagh Mcglynn, as well as participate in other activities such as outreach projects for local charities, wellness activities, arts and crafts, and fun games. This year’s keynote speaker will be Jenny Salisbury. Jenny is an arts major from Toronto with a theatre background who is sure to provide a fun and enriching weekend for everyone involved. This year the conference will be held at the Lavrock Camp and Conference Centre from April 5-7th. This retreat venue offers great accommodations and an enjoyable outdoor environment, exceptional for fun and recreation!

Youth from grade 7 and up are invited to join us this spring for a faith enriching and overall fun experience. Everyone will be sure to have a great time. Many participants from previous years say it’s an incredible experience exploring faith while making new friendships outside of everyday church life, and all have enjoyed themselves tremendously. We hope to see new faces this April: all are welcome! GPS

For more information about GPS 2019, please contact Canon Amanda Taylor at:
revamandataylor@gmail.com
or Archdeacon Roger Whalen at:
angcathedral@nf.aibn.com

A few photographs from last year’s GPS Conference:

From the Diocese of Central Newfoundland

February 6, 2019 · by anglicanlifenl

Candlemas

February 2, 2019 · by anglicanlifenl

Candlemas Day—February 2nd—falls 40 days after Christmas. There are many traditions associated with this day in the Church, and indeed there are secular traditions that fall of this day as well (such as Groundhog Day).
Candlemas is called that because this is the day in the Western Church when priests would bless the beeswax candles that were to be used throughout the coming year, some of which would be taken homes of the faithful to be used there.
Increasingly since the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church has begun to refer to this day as the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, and references to candles and purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary are downplayed in favour of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple and the Prophecy of Simeon.
There are many poems and traditions surrounding the day as well. For example, the poet Robert Herrick (1591-1674) wrote:
“Down the the rosemary, and so
Down the the bays and mistletoe;
Down with the holly, ivy, all,
Wherewith ye dress’d the Christmas Hall.”
This was traditionally the day that the last remaining Christmas decorations were taken down, for if anything remained after today, it was said that it would bring death at that place before the year is out.

Everybody Needs to Confirm Subscriptions to The Journal and to Anglican Life

January 31, 2019 · by anglicanlifenl

Turning the Tables on the Migrant Worker Experience

January 30, 2019 · by anglicanlifenl

This article can be found in the February 2019 issue of Anglican Life:

Article by Dr. David Morgan
Member of the Society & Justice Committee, Anglican East NL

150 million.

Though an incredibly difficult figure to define and calculate, that’s the total number of international migrant workers in the world in 2013, based on a 2015 report of the International Labour Organization. That’s roughly 4 times the population of Canada, and roughly 300 times the population of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Most readers of Anglican Life have at least a small sense of what the migrant worker life is like. You might have a brother, daughter, or friend who was travelling “up to Alberta” on rotation. Or, you might have done it yourself. 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. 3 weeks on, 1 week off. Get up early, catch a plan, fly across the continent, live in a trailer, eat camp food, punch a long day of work, exercise in the evening, catch another plane and have a bit of time home before doing it all again. Constantly putting your life on hold—missing birthday parties and never tucking the kids into bed.

You know what…these Alberta-bound friends and family aren’t even counted in the 150 million because they are working in the same country in which they are citizens. Not to suggest that the Alberta commuting life is an easy one, but it’s the same language, same currency, and more-or-less the same climate, food, and culture. All the same Canadian rights and freedoms apply, your healthcare is (for the most part) still covered, and your mobile phone probably works fine.

So, let’s change it up a bit. Remember that friend who was catching a plane for Alberta? They’re now catching a plane to Dhaka. It’s way hotter there than it was back home in Pouch Cove. Hardly anyone speaks any English and the food is totally different (your friend had to travel with a bag of hard bread and a pack of Mt. Scio savoury “just in case”, but there was a long period of questioning by Bangladeshi Customs officers over the savoury and the treats from home were eventually confiscated).

Your friend lives in a basement apartment with four other people who also only speak a bit of Bengali. Every day involves an hour-long bus ride to and from work for a 12-hour shift (but not on every second Saturday, because that is their day off). Calling home is hard, because by the time your friend gets off work and back to the apartment, it’s the middle of the night back home.

Oh, and your friend isn’t gone for 2 weeks—they are gone for 8 months. But, it’s not like they could come home earlier anyways because they aren’t making much money and are sending whatever they can back home.

Last week your friend had stomach cramps and had to visit a doctor. The doctor and medicine cost a small fortune, and they weren’t totally sure they were given the right medicine anyways (they couldn’t explain their symptoms in the local language, they didn’t really have any friends that they could ask to go with them, and they can’t understand what the medicine bottle says). To cap it all off, on the way home from the doctor, someone cursed on them and told them that they should go back home because they were stealing jobs from Bangladeshis. When your friend called that evening to tell you about their horrible day, they cried on the phone for nearly 5 minutes. You told your friend to imagine that you were wrapping your arms around them in a big hug and that you were never going to let go; when the call was over, you cried too, and then your spouse gave you a hug for real.

The above photograph is showing migrant workers in a field in Ontario, May 23, 2018.
photo © intuit from http://www.shutterstock.com

This “reverse” tale of international migrant work might have upset you—for that, I am sorry. And, if you are one of the readers of Anglican Life for whom this story is a little too close to your reality here in Canada, then I am especially sorry if I have upset you; if you see me around and ever want to talk, please introduce yourself—we can have a chat (I’ll buy coffee, but I am not much of a hugger).

Nobody should be fooled into thinking that the hard realities of international migrant work can’t be found in Newfoundland and Labrador. There are plenty of international migrant workers in this province. In fact, the Government of Canada reports that, on December 31, 2013, there were 1236 people with permits to work in NL under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (that’s just one program—there are others). Some of these workers might have picked up a copy of Anglican Life around town, while others might be reading a copy while sitting a pew. When you see someone in your community who seems lost or alone, perhaps they are far from family and home – it only takes a second to offer a prayer or say “hello.”

God our refuge, you share the journey with migrants and refugees, lightening their footsteps with hope. For you, Lord, are close to the broken-hearted. Pour out your Spirit upon world leaders. May they see the tragedies of our human family, and be moved to respond with wisdom, compassion and courage. Open our eyes and hearts to the God-given dignity of all your people. Move us to welcome our neighbours, and so bear witness to your love. Through Christ our Lord, Amen. – Rachel McCarthy, Catholic Agency for Oversees Development

For more information and resources on social justice, check out http://www.anglican.ca/publicwitness/ And for more on local social justice efforts, check out http://www.parishoftheascension.ca/society.php and http://www.facebook.com/Anglican-East-NL-Society-Justice-Committee-500337617113660

Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul

January 25, 2019 · by anglicanlifenl

St paul.jpg

February 2019 Issue

January 24, 2019 · by anglicanlifenl

anglican life february 2019

What Liturgical Season is this? It’s Still Epiphany.

January 22, 2019 · by anglicanlifenl

Have you ever noticed that some people keep their Christmas lights up well past January 6th? That’s because they’re celebrating the season of Epiphany which lasts until the Feast of the Presentation (Candlemas) on February 2nd. This season can be understood as a continuation of the Christmas season, making it last for 40 days. There are three main events in Christ’s life which are focused on during the Epiphany season: the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus Christ, and Jesus’ miracle at the wedding at Cana.

The first of these is very familiar to many as the visit of the three wisemen to Jesus, bringing the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We know this one from our childhood Bible stories and from most nativity scenes. We usually celebrate this on or near January 6th; in Newfoundland, this sometimes called “Old Christmas Day.”

The second, the baptism of Jesus Christ, is often considered by scholars of as one of the two events in his life that have a certain degree of historical certainty about them (the other being his crucifixion). He was baptized by his cousin, John, and this began the formal years of Jesus’ ministry which led to his death on the cross. This is typically celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany Sunday.

Finally we have the miracle at the wedding in Cana. This is the first miracle we read about the Gospel of John, and is of course the one at which Jesus turns water into wine. This is the first sign that we have of Jesus’ divine nature. It was just celebrated last weekend in our Anglican Church of Canada, and the Gospel reading was the telling of this miracle.
But it’s not over yet! In these winter days when the sun is still going down early in the evening, keep your lights on, and continue to celebrate during this season of Epiphany; we still have another week and a half to go!

For Those of You With Print Issues:

January 21, 2019 · by anglicanlifenl

pass it on.jpg

St. Anthony The Great

January 17, 2019 · by anglicanlifenl

On January 17th, we remember St. Anthony the Great. Known as the “Father of all monks,” he was one of the Desert Fathers, a group of hermit monks who lived mainly in the Egyptian desert of Scetes around the third century AD. The majority of what we know about St. Anthony comes from a work written by Athanasius of Alexandria called “Life of Anthony.” It became a very famous book after being translated into Latin (from the original Greek), and was well known throughout the Middle Ages. His life’s example helped to spread the idea of Christian monasticism, and there are accounts of him enduring supernatural temptation which his readers found most inspiring. His followers credited him with being able to cure them of diseases, most especially of ergotism which became known as “St. Anthony’s Fire.”