This is to inform you as members of the Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador that the Board of Management brought forth a motion to close Lavrock permanently and divest ourselves of it.  This was not done lightly but following a review of the financial state of our diocese. The amount of work that needed to be done on the site was impossible to do without a significant investment of funds. There was little choice left but to close it permanently. This motion was accepted by the Executive Committee of the diocese.

Since the motion was carried, we have been seeking new potential owners, but to this date we have seen some interest but no firm commitment. We have a realtor who is assisting us to find new owners.

Why is the centre sailing into the sunset?  Many of you will be disappointed by the decision made by the Board of Management, but others will be excited about it. We cannot blame it all on COVID-19 or the financial situation of the diocese. Many of us have seen this day coming for many years, but the pandemic and current finances have sped up the process. The biggest problem which we have faced over the past number of years was that parishes or the diocese were not using the centre in the way we should have. Recently, only two parishes in the diocese have been using it on regularly basis. The other church groups using it have been the Diocesan ACW and DAMA. Other people using the centre are what we called “external groups.” We are not in a financial position to continue providing this type of service. We have no one to blame for this closure other than ourselves; we now are seeing this ship sail by us for the final time.  Lavrock will be gone forever and we will never have another site like we have enjoyed for the past 32 years. 

A number of years ago, we lost a couple of big supporters who were using the camp on a regular basis. The Army Cadet and the Cursillo movement were some of our big supporters. The church camps were cut to three weeks, and only operated during the summers. These things and more added to the problems that helped us to make a decision to close the camp. Without the help of our outside groups, we would have been closed for some time. The diocese tried to keep it going, knowing the writing was on the wall, but we had to make a decision that was best for the diocese at this time.

It is a sad day in our history as a church. But we know that God will open other doors to provide a place for our youth and adults to enjoy community and the things that Lavrock had offered for over 32 years.

Thank you for your support over those years and for giving of your time to help people to grow and have the experience of coming together and camping.

I want to thank the Board of Management for their hard work and commitment to Lavrock over the years, to the bishops who have served this diocese for the past 32 years and who have supported Lavrock through some difficult days. To those who have used the centre for many different reasons: we thank you for your support. Thank you to Mr. Todd Martin, Manager, and his team who have worked hard to make the centre self-supporting. Unfortunately, we had so much against us over the past few years. 

Personally, I fought to save our centre for a number of years, but the time had come to make this motion to close it permanently and divest ourselves of it. We have lost the centre and this church will not have another place like the properties and grounds or the pond we had at Lavrock. Sorry to see it go but now we must move forth in faith and trust that all things work together for the good.

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At the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, the hospital system was closed for a period of time to family members and visitors. Clergy who worked in the Health Science Centre were asked to assist in other hospitals and care homes in the city. Only two chaplains were ministering for a long period of time at the Health Sciences Centre: Father Francis Roche, the Roman Catholic chaplain, and me as the Anglican chaplain. My responsibility, at the time, was to visit all faith community patients on the fifth floor and the HVICU. Most of these patients were waiting for heart surgery so I was able to minister to them from the time they entered the hospital to the time they returned home. Father Roche was responsible for the fourth floor, ICU and CCU, as well as the emergency department. We were permitted on another floor if a patient needed the sacrament of anointing or was dying. The response from all patients was very positive because they were only seeing the chaplain or nurse throughout the day. As time progressed, the Salvation Army chaplain, Major Barbara Pearce, came back to assist us in this ministry. Later, all chaplains returned to their normal workplace until another surge in COVID-19 cases occurred and the hospitals were closed down again and we reverted to the previous arrangement for two chaplains. In the meantime, the Rev’d David Pilling, the second Anglican Chaplain in the health care system, was posted full-time at Pleasant View Towers. At times, I would visit St. Clare’s and the Miller Centre on behalf of Rev’d David. The policy for this time was that we couldn’t go into an acute care and then visit a long-term care home. Because I was already working in an acute care facility I was permitted to visit other acute care facilities. Rev’d David was ministering in a long-term care facility and had to stay there for the duration. 

The reason that the Salvation Army chaplains were not at the hospital during lockdowns was so that they could work from home, and then be available to replace us should either Fr. Francis or myself fall ill. 

A year later in March 2021, due to financial stresses in the diocese we lost our weekend chaplain, Canon Iliffe Sheppard. We thank Canon Sheppard for the wonderful ministry he shared with the staff, patients, and other chaplains in the health care system. Even today, patients ask about him and remark how they appreciated his ministry with them. We wish Canon Sheppard all the best as he continues to be faithful to his calling and ministry. We are sorry that we have lost a person who was committed and faithful to his special ministry of chaplaincy. Since, Canon Sheppard’s departure as our weekend chaplain, Rev’d David and I had to reorganize our schedules to ensure one of us is always available on call for the weekends. In so doing, we agreed to taking only a two week vacation period at a time. 

Sadly, and as a result of the pandemic, our Eucharistic Assistants have not been able to fulfill their ministry on Sunday mornings. They were faithful in distributing the reserved sacrament of the Holy Eucharist to the patients who wanted their communion. It has been almost two years since this ministry has been put on hold and there is no sign of any changes in the near future. Rev’d David and I want to thank our Eucharistic Assistants for their ministry with us as we look forward to the day when they are able to return. 

As we move forward, there are still a lot of uncertainties around this pandemic and how our diocese can support this ministry to the sick and dying. The diocese has agreed with the chaplains that one priest alone cannot do justice to ministering to those in the hospital setting. 

We are very thankful to Bishop Sam that he has asked the Finance Committee to go back and find a way to have the two chaplains continue their ministry as chaplains to health care institutions. We realize we will have to find new money as a diocese for this ministry to continue for this is a very important ministry we fund as a diocese. 

It is, therefore, important that when one is admitted to a hospital, either in the Admissions Office or the Emergency Department, that when asked if you would like to receive pastoral care and see an Anglican chaplain during your stay that you respond ‘Yes’ to this question. In so doing, you will be automatically placed on the list for the Anglican chaplain to visit. Presently, based on our survey of the situation, we are seeing about 50 percent of Anglicans coming into the hospital. 

As an example, recently, I saw a man who was at the Health Sciences for five weeks and was not put on the list until he stopped me to ask what I did in the hospital. He told me he was an Anglican. Following our chat he then asked to be put on the chaplain’s list for visitation. So, if you happen to be admitted to hospital, and would like to receive a chaplain’s visit, please ask your nurse to contact the chaplain, or respond ‘Yes’ to the question you are asked during the admission process. 

We are grateful to the bishop and the archdeacon for their support for this ministry. I know personally how important this ministry is to patients and family members from the number of Thank You cards I receive from all over Newfoundland and Labrador. More important still is the friendship that we develop with people, and the great privilege in the opportunity to minister to them in their time of sickness. 

Rev’d David and I want to thank the other faith community chaplains for their fun, fellowship, and cooperation in sharing our ministries together. We hope 2022 will be a good year for all of us as we work together as a team who minister to the sick and dying. 

Finally, I wish to thank Rev’d David for his continuous support and the wonderful ministry we share as chaplains. 

As I prepare this article for Anglican Life it looks like the COVID-19 pandemic is again on the upsurge due to the spread of the omicron variant of the virus. Once again, we see the health care system rapidly responding with changes around visitations to hospitals, long-term care, and acute care facilities. Before long, the chaplains may need to revert to ministry as provided in the early days of the pandemic. If this should occur, we have been given the assurance that we will be provided the time and resources to do our work. I ask your prayers for all chaplains as we continue to minister as best we can to the sick and dying at all times and especially in these more challenging times. 

Happy New Year to all readers of Anglican Life. 

Rev’d Canon Edward Keeping
Coordinating Anglican Hospital Chaplain, Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador 

The post Anglican Chaplaincy And The Pandemic appeared first on Anglican Life.

On Monday morning, I invited the Rev’d Russell Osmond, retired priest in the Parish of St. Philip’s. Russell, along with his wife Joan and our friend Gloria, joined us for the first day of the retreat. After singing one of my favourite hymns of the season of Advent, “Come thou long expected Jesus, Born to set thy people free,” Rev’d Russell led us in Morning Prayer as we prepared for this occasion. He reminded us that the Advent season, like other liturgical seasons, is a season of hope and grace as he began his meditation with us. His presentation, entitled “And Grace will lead me home,” referred to God’s unmerited favour. It is goodness and kindness from God that we don’t deserve and cannot earn by our own merits. It is God’s goodness and benevolence, or his favour upon us as unworthy as we are to receive it. As far as we know, Jesus never used the word “grace,” but his person, his ministry, and his teaching disclose that he was full of grace. Grace was part of his character and nature. He taught us parables of grace; perhaps the best of them was the parable of the prodigal son. Using the scriptures and quoting people like Barbara Brown Taylor, Rev’d Russell put into perspective how God’s grace is a gift and how his grace is at work in our lives. He ended his meditation with these words: “As children of God, people onto whom grace has been bestowed, we enter a season of emphasis on waiting and yearning; hoping for wholeness, transformation; waiting for a time when all brokenness is mended; wounds are healed; when God’s peace and justice rules the earth; when the lamb and the lion can pasture together and we become the people God intends for us to be.” Grace will lead me home. Amen and amen.

On the second day, Father Rudolph Anthony, Rector of St. Augustine’s, came to share the morning with us. After prayers, we listened for eight minutes to Denzel Washington as he reflected on his personal faith and ministry. This led us into the theme for the morning: “Our Calling to Ministry” for both ordained ministry as well as the important ministry of our laity. Father Anthony’s talk caused us to reflect upon our calling and the ministry we share with others in the life of the church. His thoughts were focused from the Book of Acts, chapter 8, verses 26 – 33 and 34 – 40. We had time to share some of our own experience in ministry as we reflected upon these scriptural references. We concluded the morning by listening to a beautiful song by Jason Ingram and Kari Jobe, “Be Still My Soul (In You I Rest)”. 

The Right Rev’d Cyrus Pitman, retired bishop of our diocese, came on Wednesday morning to be my guest for this third day of meditation. After Morning Prayer and a renewal of our baptismal covenant, the bishop moved into his theme for the day: “The seasons of our lives.” This theme was based on his first reading in Morning Prayer from the Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, verses 1- 8. He talked about the different seasons in the life of the church, and said we as individuals go through seasons in our lives; sometimes we hurry through them rather than being present. Often, we find ourselves going back to the past or centring ourselves on the future and not enjoying the time we are in, whichever season that may be. I was able to more greatly appreciate the significance of the importance of waiting and taking time to be present in the moment in the seasons of life. 

Finally, on the fourth and final day of this retreat session, Archdeacon Charlene Taylor from Church House came to spend Thursday morning with us, and our friend Gloria once again joined us. Her theme was: “The Waiting Place of God.” In her opening devotion, Archdeacon Charlene focused on the sentence “Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 49:31) In her first reflection on waiting, she led us to think about the prophets by looking at the scripture of the Old Testament foretelling the coming of Christ into the world. Afterwards, we shared some reflections on some thought-provoking questions she had prepared. Her second talk centred on thinking about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the different “times of waiting” she experienced: the time she spent with Elizabeth, and waiting for the birth of Jesus, and the journey to Bethlehem as his birth was imminent; also the time of waiting at the foot of the cross. Our session concluded with a guided meditation before we closed with the sacrament of Holy Eucharist. In essence this final retreat session reinforced the understanding that when God works in our lives, no matter how long it takes, it’s always worth the wait. 

Each afternoon, after the guests left, I would do my daily walk which gave me time to reflect upon what I heard each morning. This experience was worthwhile and I encourage others to do it for their own spiritual growth. It was truly an experience of sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to the word, and having the word penetrate in my heart and mind. 

I want to thank my wife, Joyce, for preparing breakfast and lunch for our guests, and for sharing with me in these days of meditation as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Saviour. 

I want to thank Rev’d Russell Osmond, Father Anthony, Bishop Pitman, and Archdeacon Charlene for travelling to Chapel’s Cove to share with me in this personal retreat time. Your sharing and friendship have been a blessing in my life. I give thanks to God for this time together and for our many years of friendship. Thank You for sharing your faith, love, and commitment in the one who has called us into his ministry. With each of your presentations, you allowed us the time to share and reflect. We were glad to have others join us for these meditations and to be able to share their thoughts and feelings, too. 

These four days of prayer and meditation have indeed been a blessing for me as I move forward in my ministry and took the time to stop and smell the flowers once again. Have a blessed season, whatever “season” you find yourself in as you journey through your life and ministry. 

My prayer for you is the same as Father Anthony shared with us in his session on Tuesday morning in this Irish Blessing: 

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be ever at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of his hands. Amen.

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