I find when I get particularly busy and need my brain to relax, nostalgia is a powerful tool. Personally, I turn towards the music and TV shows of my teenage/undergrad years and just let it filter in my brain for a while. If you had to see my Spotify playlist from my post-teenage years, many of you may be shocked at the amount of classic rock and metal that I listened to.

But it brings me into a safe place mentally.

We all have our safety nets: seemingly mundane or odd activities that we do because they re-centre ourselves. Whether it is the twelfth time doing the same 500-piece puzzle, or the hundredth listen through of a favourite album, there is something to be said about having a safety net.

However, when we think to what we are called to as disciples of Christ, safety nets are what we are told to avoid.

Think to the first followers of Christ: leave home and don’t turn back. Leave it all behind.

And then when Jesus was arrested, they had nowhere left to turn. They’d abandoned their old safety nets years ago, and now their new one was in federal custody.

Talk about a free fall!

As a Church, we are challenged constantly to search for the way forward and forget about our safety nets. We are called into the new and the foreign, and not to turn back. It is easy to want to turn back though. We like comfort! The same worn-out pair of shoes that would be useless in the current winter weather feel just right for any activity. We love that favourite t-shirt or sweater that has worn so thin that it would scarcely function as a rag.

Of my several guitars, my safety net is a Yamaha F310 that I’ve had for over 30 years—it’s beat up and splintered in places, but brings me back to when I was still learning my first chords.

As a Church, our safety net may be an 11am Book of Common Prayer Eucharist that we have memorized by heart. It might be the same five hymns that mean so much to us. It’s what’s familiar and comfortable.

It’s long time we got rid of our safety nets, my friends. The Church for centuries has called the faithful into uncomfortable places and yet has survived it all! The first church in the post-resurrection era lived with the constant fear of arrest, persecution, and conviction; yet it continued to press forward without looking for a safety net.

As our hearts prepare to celebrate in the resurrection of Christ, let us be willing to shed our safety nets as a Church, continue to step bravely forward, and trust that the only safety we need is the Light of the World.

The post Safety Nets appeared first on Anglican Life.

Including how tired one can get.

Fatigue is normal. Yet for the clergy who live in rectories, getting away often requires more effort to separate oneself from everything to recharge.

Thankfully, we have a wonderful continuing education  program to help us find ways to recharge. Within the listings of courses and other development  programs, there is a section all about retreats. I looked through those listings, and after consulting my wife and my bishop, I booked my first non-diocesan retreat of my ministry.

Outside of Newfoundland. Outside of Canada.

I made the journey to the Society of St. John the Evangelist Monastery and Guest House in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Firstly, the international travel and border process was much easier in my experience than one would hear about on the news. Secondly, why Cambridge? Why not something local?

I’ve been a member of the Fellowship of St. John the Evangelist since 2022, and I was familiar with what the Monastery offered. I knew their rhythm, I was familiar with the Brothers, and it felt right.

So, in the middle of June, off I flew, solo, to somewhere I had never been before. Long story short, it’s somewhere I long to now return to.

I initially had no idea what to expect of the retreat itself. I knew it was a renewal retreat for active clergy. I figured I’d likely be the lone Canadian at an American monastery. Thankfully, I was one of three Canadians.

After gathering for the Eucharist, the twelve of us on retreat met with Brother Curtis Almquist, the facilitator. Brother Curtis gave us the schedule, and informed us that these were invitations instead of obligations. We were invited to take part in daily worship (Morning, Communion, Evening, and Compline) and to attend the two group sessions each day, but we didn’t have to.

The retreat was ours to do what we needed to do to recharge. Explore the area, relax on a park bench, take in the monastery’s library, whatever was needed for us. I was initially floored. I expected there to be multiple sessions with notes to be taken, adherence to the routine, and other preconceived notions of a silent retreat.But there was only one expectation: rest and recharge.

I explored Harvard Square and its museums and galleries. I explored the historic Mount Auburn Cemetery. I sat on a bench at JFK Memorial Park multiple times. I enjoyed the peace of the guest house. I immersed myself in the daily liturgies and mealtime fellowship with the Brothers. I had the most encouraging spiritual direction session with one of the Brothers.

And I flew back home with a new outlook on my ministry. Six days away from home, three days of silence, and a whole new outlook.

To my colleagues of excellence in ministry, if you can book a retreat away from the province, do so. Your batteries need the recharge; your soul needs the recharge.

Congregations and parishes: encourage your clergy to retreat for a few days. They need to be at their best for you all.  And if you can friends, clergy and laity alike, I recommend retreating with the SSJE. It quickly became another spiritual home for me.

For more information, visit http://www.ssje.org

The post The Need To Retreat appeared first on Anglican Life.

The post Children’s Prayer Walk appeared first on Anglican Life.

We began with a Prayer Walk on August 9th, which was held at the Landing Place Trail in Creston. It was a very moving experience for everyone involved, and funds raised from the walk helped fund the banquet, which was held in November. More on that in a bit!

On October 1st, a parish service was held to mark the patronal festival of St. Michael and All Angels. Bishop John Watton was in attendance, as not only did we celebrate our patron and our centennial, but four young men reaffirmed their baptismal covenant in Confirmation. It was a tremendously moving time, and (naturally) a luncheon followed which was enjoyed by everyone.

November 10th saw another time of fellowship with a gospel concert at St. Michael’s Church. A great assortment of performers contributed to a beautiful night of music, with all proceeds going to the centennial celebrations to follow.

The weekend of November 18th – 19th was the big celebration: the Centennial Commemoration Banquet & Worship. November 18th marked the 100th anniversary of the first worship service held in the present St. Michael and All Angels’ church, which happened to fall on a Saturday. It was decided that we would have a banquet on Saturday, followed by a commemorative Eucharist on Sunday. Community leaders, past clergy, deanery clergy, and Bishop John and Archdeacon Terry Caines were all in attendance, with the Rev’d Gloria Wendover serving as our guest speaker. The celebratory cake was cut by the two oldest members of the congregation, Meta Shirley and Grace Legge.

Our commemorative Eucharist was a truly beautiful event, with Archdeacon Terry preaching and Rev’d Jeff presiding. The worship was as closely structured to that which would have been used in 1923 as possible. A full house, and attendance from our past clergy and community leaders, helped make the final event for our centennial truly memorable.

The Congregation of St. Michael and All Angels’, Creston, would like to extend the biggest thanks to everyone who helped in any way to make the centennial celebration the memorable time that it was. May God continue to richly bless us all into the next hundred years!

The post Centennial Celebrations at St. Michael and All Angels’, Creston appeared first on Anglican Life.