These suggestions come to us from the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John’s. While we are already into Lent, it is still worth having a look at these to see what you can do during this season of preparation for Easter:
ARCIC (III) Walking Together on the Way: Learning to Be the Church Local, Regional, Universal
Submitted by The Rev’d Dr. Alex Faseruk
After centuries of living apart, the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church have been on a pilgrimage together since the historic visit of Archbishop Michael Ramsey to Pope Paul VI in March 1966. The establishment of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), now in its third major phase of work, ARCIC (III), grew out of that visit as a tangible expression of the joint commitment to walk together the path of ecclesial conversion and renewal so that, as traditions, we might grow together into the fullness of communion in Christ and the Spirit.
St. Nicholas Anglican Parish, under the leadership of the Right Rev’d Cyrus Pitman, and Holy Trinity RC Parish, under the leadership of its Pastor, Father Paul Lundrigan, along with the Faculty of Theology, Queen’s College, Dr. Rick Singleton (Provost), the Rev’d Canon David Bell (Dean of Theology), Dr. Carmel Doyle and the Ven. Neil Kellett (the retired Chaplain) will offer a four-part series to help people become familiar with the Anglican and Roman efforts in promoting Christian unity.
Moderating the sessions will be the Rev’d Dr. Alex Faseruk, who comments, “When I was at Queen’s College and assisted at St. Nicholas, it was easy to see that the community of Torbay had a long and vibrant tradition of promoting interaction, understanding, and ecumenical efforts between Holy Trinity and St. Nicholas. We are hoping to build on these efforts to help spread the intended walking together far and wide beyond the parish boundaries.”
Christians of all denominations are invited to gather for these sessions that will help us better understand and appreciate their own roots, each other’s roots, and consider ways to work/walk together. The sessions will be:
Sunday, March 10 from 2:00 to 4:00 at Holy Trinity Church.
Sunday, March 31 from 2:00 to 4:00 at St. Nicholas Church.
Sunday, April 28 from 2:00 to 4:00 at Holy Trinity Church.
Sunday May 26 from 2:00 to 4:00 at St. Nicholas Church.
From the Parish of Forteau
Anglican Life just received lots of news from the Parish of Forteau, and it will all be in the upcoming April issue of the paper. Meanwhile, to whet you appetite, here is a story about the good work that this parish has done to help those who are in need during our coldest part of the year:
The ACW of St. John the Evangelist, and that Ladies of Capstan Island Labrador, proudly display their project of last fall. These are the knitted goods which were delivered to The Gathering Place in anticipation of the cold winter. A member of the ACW, Lily Fowler, delivered the items.
Above: knitted items that were given to those in need.
The donated items arriving at The Gathering Place
The Rev’d Mark Nichols ask the question, “What would Jesus drive?” in the March issue of Anglican Life
In his article on Creation Care in the March issue of Anglican Life, The Rev’d Mark Nichols posed some hard questions to us all: how can we reduce our vehicle emissions to help our world be okay for future generations (or as we say in our baptismal covenant, “to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation”)?
From his article:
Almost half of GHG emissions from the transportation sector (49%) come from passenger vehicles—the cars, pickups, vans, and SUVs that we drive. While emissions from passenger cars declined by 14% between 1990 and 2016, emissions from pickups, vans and SUVs have more than doubled over that same period.
Rev’d Mark spoke to a local couple who made the move to an electric car:
In June of 2017 they purchased a 2013 Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. On a full charge the battery has a range of 50-60 kilometres (40 kilometres in cold weather). It takes eight hours to fully charge the battery, which they do by plugging their car with an extension cord at the end of the day. In the first twelve months they owned the vehicle they travelled 17,000 kilometres, and spent a total of $300 on gas and $356 in additional electricity costs—an average of $55 per month. Let that sink in for a moment. Not only have they intentionally chosen a vehicle that honours their baptismal vow to “safeguard the integrity of God’s creation,”their fuel costs are a mere $55 a month!
We can choose other transportation alternatives such as walking, cycling or (gasp!) public transit. Christians should be leading the way in caring for our planet. Yet, almost two decades after the “What Would Jesus Drive?” campaign was launched, by and large, Christians still haven’t connected their transportation choices with their faith.
Check out the full article in the March issue of Anglican Life!
Pictured above is a Chevy Volt, an electric hybrid car (shown here plugged in). This car
operates as a pure battery vehicle with a gas powered internal combistion engine to extend
the car’s range as needed.
Gander Raises Funds for PWRDF
From the March issue of Anglican Life, written by Sheila Boutcher
On Thanksgiving Sunday 2018, the Reverend Brian Candow, Rector of Saint Martin’s Cathedral in Gander, challenged the congregation to raise funds to build a Medical Dispensary in Mozambique. It was listed as a “Big Ticket Item” in the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, World of Gifts catalogue. Raising $7,500 would become $52,500 under the All Mothers and Children Count program which is matched on a 6:1 ratio by Global Affairs Canada. Rev’d. Brian prepared special offering envelopes and distributed them to the congregation, along with an explanation of the project. The idea of being able to provide thousands of people with access to health care and thus save lives generated a lot of excitement and moved people to respond generously. Comments like, “This is the best gift I’ve given this Christmas,” were common. By Christmas, donations from the congregation had reached over $5,000 and Shawn Wiseman, a parishioner, music teacher and local entertainer, donated all of the proceeds from a Christmas concert he and his students held, to the cause: $3,800!
Surplus funds will be used to stock a dispensary and provide sterile birth kits, also available via the World of Gifts catalogue. In addition, I am aware of numerous gifts of goats, pigs, chickens, and even a whole farm, being given to family and friends through PWRDF. Many, many thanks and congratulations to the congregation of Saint Martin’s, Shawn Wiseman and his students—to God Be the Glory!
Matthew 25:40 NRSV And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
Open Door Ministry, Corner Brook
This article will appear in the March issue of Anglican Life,
written by The Rev’d Roberta Woodman:
The Open Door, a free lunch hosted by the Humber Deanery every Monday at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, graciously received a variety of donations throughout December! Items such as quilts, mitts, hats, scarves, socks, and toiletries help to enhance this outreach ministry. Many knitters and quilters, groups, churches, and corporate sponsors help to provide a much needed product for our guests. Pictured here are three students, Savannah, Joseph, and Ethan, from Eastside Elementary in Corner Brook who made a generous donation on behalf of all the students and staff. Thank you all for your kindness and support in helping to respond to human need by loving service. Pictured with them are The Very Rev’d Kay Short (Dean and rector), The Rev’d Tanya White (All Saints’), and The Rev’d Roberta Woodman (St. Michael and All Angels).
Septuagesima Sunday
Do we really need time to prepare to repent, you ask? Do we need to prepare for Lent for three whole weeks? Yes and no. While I don’t know that we need to spend every waking moment preparing for the great fast of Lent, I do think that it’s good to be reminded that it’s coming. Many of us lead busy, full lives, and Lent can actually sneak up on me. One minute it’s Valentine’s Day, and the next it’s Ash Wednesday, and I have to suddenly come up with a plan for the next forty days.
Last Sunday would have been called “Septuagesima” if you attend a church that still follows our Book of Common Prayer calendar. The Revised Common Lectionary did away with some of these older terms, which is a shame, as we have lost this part of our heritage. The word Septuagesima comes from the Latin word for “seventieth,” this being the seventieth day before Easter. The following Sundays are Sexagesima (for sixtieth), and Quinquigesmia (for fiftieth). After that, we start counting the Sundays in Lent until Easter.
This pre-Lenten time was a chance to prepare for the fast days of Lent—perhaps to decide what things you are going to take on for Lent, or what things you are going to give up.
The Gospel lesson for Septuagesima Sunday is from Matthew, chapter 20: the parable about the labourers each receiving a penny for their work, regardless of how long they’d been there. St. Chrysostom wrote of this passage: “[Jesus] calls the first last, and the last first, not so that the last may be more honoured than the first, but that they may become co-equal; and that between them there is no difference by reason of time.” What a reassuring thing to think about as we prepare ourselves for the fast of Lent and the forgiveness of Easter—it is never too late to return to the Lord.
Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard by Lawrence W. Ladd (from http://www.commons.wikimedia.org)
St. Valentine’s Day
Editorial from the February 2018 issue of Anglican Life:
And just like that, we’re back to the shortest month of the year, and often one of the coldest and most miserable for us in Newfoundland. February is the month that I always use in my examples of horrible weather, as in: “Well that’s a nice long driveway in the summer, but just think of shovelling it in February!” While we started winter months ago, we had the warm cheer of Christmas, and then new year and its resolutions. But now February has set in, and it’s cold, and it’s still dark.
But we have a lovely bright warm spot in the middle of the month with Valentine’s Day. As a kid, that meant making a “mailbox” in school from an old cereal box or something, and then the excitement of passing around Valentines to our friends, and getting them in return. As we get older, there is the romantic pressure of the day—the expected grand gesture or gift. But of course there must be more to the story of Valentine than the gifts, the fancy suppers, and even more than the funny little cards that we gave to our classmates.
Actually, there is very little that we know for certain about St. Valentine. We know that he existed in third century Rome, and that he was martyred for his faith and buried in a cemetery that is north of Rome. The name “Valentine” itself was popular at the time, and comes from the word valens, which means worthy, strong, or powerful. There are about a dozen saints in the Roman calendar who are venerated, and who share this name.
The most common version of the legend of this St. Valentine is that he was the Bishop of Terni, Narnia, and Amelia in central Italy. While under house arrest, a Roman judge questioned him on the legitimacy of Christianity and the faith in Jesus Christ. Valentine was challenged to restore the sight of the judge’s daughter through the power of prayer, and if he could do that, the judge would do whatever Valentine asked. So Valentine put his hands on the girl’s eyes, prayed, and her sight returned.
The judge asked what he should do in response to this miracle, and Valentine replied that all of the idols that were around the judge’s house should be destroyed, that the judge himself should fast for three days, and he should then be baptised a Christian. The judge agreed, and also freed all of the Christian slaves that were under his authority—he, his family, and all of the members of his household were baptised.
Valentine was later arrested again, and was sent to the emperor Claudius Gothicus himself. The emperor liked Valentine, but grew angry when Valentine tried to persuade him to be baptised too. Claudius insisted that Valentine should renounce his faith or else be beheaded. When Valentine refused this request, he was executed on February 14th, 269.
There are many other legends of Valentine, and many reasons given for his later association with romantic love, including theories about Valentine’s Day being an attempt to take over the pagan holiday of Lupercalia (celebrated mid-February in Roman times). Many of these legends were actually invented in 14th century England, notably by the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, and are now dismissed in serious academic circles. However, in the almost complete absence of any real stories of Valentine, there seems little harm in taking time in the middle of a cold and dreary month to think about loved ones, to celebrate important relationships in our lives, to cut out red cardboard hearts, and maybe even to eat a bit of chocolate. The saints are there to point us to the love of God, and in many ways, regardless of the truth behind his many legends, St. Valentine reminds us all to love, and that is fundamental to our lives as Christians.
Confirmation in the Parish of Bay St. George
On December 16th, 2018 the Parish of Bay St. George was proud to welcome The Rt. Rev’d John Organ, Bishop of the western Diocese and his wife, to St. Michael & All Angels’ Church in St. David’s for the celebration of confirmation, followed by fellowship in the church hall.
This story will appear in the April issue of Anglican Life.
