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At the ACW meeting of March 10th, our group gathered at the church hall in fellowship and prayer in an effort to plan fundraisers to meet our many commitments before the season stealthily comes to a close, with spring around the corner and summer approaching.

Before preparation starts for this busy time ahead, the course will be altered momentarily to pamper the women of the parish with a Quiet Day filled with enjoyable activities.

We will invite ACW members from other active parishes to participate, which is customary. This activity affords us the pleasure of interaction with other faiths outside our own church. We likewise reciprocate and acknowledge our neighbouring churches.

This has been scheduled to get underway during the last week in March—just before our two major fundraisers: a lasagna take-out in April and a chicken dinner in May. These fundraisers will enable our association to continue supporting much-needed charitable organizations.

When all these various proposed activities come to fruition, our ACW ladies will enjoy a short reprieve during the months of July and August.

We hope that more younger women will join us to participate in church activities. However, in today’s world, many are often too involved with work and family commitments. We hope that since the seed is sown in baptism, that seed will help germinate and eventually evolve into the spiritual commitment of more young families returning to church.

Then Peter said, silver and gold
I do not have, but what I do have,
I give to you.

– Acts 3: 6.

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On the streets of St. John’s, a bus is now doing more than moving people from place to place. Outfitted with cabinets, counter space, and supplies for daily outreach, the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador’s mobile wellness platform is on the road—bringing meals, basic care, and human connection directly to those who need it most.

The initiative emerged in response to urgent, visible need.

“In 2022, Newfoundland and Labrador experienced one of its coldest winters in recent history,” writes The Rev’d Canon Amanda Taylor, Canon for Justice and Peace. “As a result, many people were concerned for those in our community experiencing homelessness.”

The question that followed was a practical one: “What can we do to help fill this gap?”

The answer, now operating as the Community Connector, is rooted in presence as much as service. Taylor explains the bus offers “daily meals, housing support, basic health care, assistance with government documentation, clean needle supply, and distribution of personal hygiene items,” alongside something less tangible but equally essential—“a safe and welcoming space for street-involved individuals to access holistic wellness and community connections.”

For Bishop Samuel Rose, the ministry reflects both local experience and a broader theological commitment. “This initiative embodies the Church’s call to serve the marginalized and build inclusive communities where all are valued.”

The project is also deeply collaborative. Developed in conversation with outreach agencies, advocacy groups, and government partners, the initiative builds on existing work across the city while extending its reach.

“Our partnerships with organizations like End Homelessness St. John’s, and various outreaches underscore the collaborative spirit of this ministry,” Bishop Rose says.

With the bus now in operation, the program is supported by a combination of diocesan funding, community partnerships, and a $15,000 grant from the Anglican Foundation of Canada (AFC), awarded in 2025. That investment situates the Community Connector within a broader national shift in how AFC is supporting ministry across the country.

“In recent years, community ministries have become an increasing priority in the Foundation’s grant awards,” says Dr. Scott Brubacher, Executive Director of AFC. “In 2025, they represented approximately half of all grants awarded nationwide, reflecting a growing emphasis on projects that extend beyond church buildings and into direct engagement with local needs.”

Brubacher adds that, like the mobile wellness ministry in Anglican East NL, these initiatives often take shape through partnerships with health providers, social service agencies, and community organizations, and are rooted in long-term presence rather than short-term response.

From mobile outreach in Newfoundland to parish-based community hubs, newcomer support programs, and Indigenous–settler partnerships in other regions, AFC’s investments are helping to reimagine how the Church participates in community life across Canada.

For Taylor, the vision is both immediate and enduring. “We envision a society where no individual is left behind or overlooked,” she writes. “Through our mobile wellness platform, we strive to create a safe and welcoming place for street-involved individuals to access holistic wellness, build connections, and regain hope for a brighter future.”

Now on the streets of St. John’s, that vision is no longer theoretical—it is in motion—one stop at a time.

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Grudges are something we all carry as humans, often for seemingly good reasons. It is the old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me,” taken to the next level. We hold such resentment that it clouds every interaction involving that person. We carry a persistent ill will that gnaws away at us. We might say, “I don’t even think about that person anymore!” yet we spend a vast amount of energy saying that to anyone who will listen.

Make no mistake: maintaining anger and grudges takes energy. They suck the joy from our lives and, most importantly, they separate us from the forgiving love of God. How often do we pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us”?

But let me be clear: we are not forgiven because we have forgiven. God’s love and forgiveness are not a transactional service. We are asked to forgive because that is what Jesus does, and we are called to do likewise.

I was recently reading the story of the raising of Lazarus and was struck by Jesus’ command to “unbind him.” Isn’t that exactly what Jesus asks for all of us: to be unbound? To let go rather than hold on; to put down rather than carry. Holding on and carrying rob us of the energy we could put toward a far better use.

We are, after all, being watched by the next generation. I may not be over the hill yet, but I have definitely crested it, and I see younger generations coming to the Church seeking something that’s missing in their lives. They hear the Gospels and Jesus’ teachings, sometimes for the first time in their lives, and they will decide whether our community, is following those instructions or not. We are told in Matthew’s Gospel (5:23-24): “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

Our identity as Christians cannot encourage grudges, but by grace and love. We are called to be living examples of the Gospel, so put down the weight, be light, and be free of it. Lazarus was unbound so that he could truly live. What grudges are your grave clothes? Unbind, forgive, and follow Christ.

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Moliehi Mohare, 20, knows this all too well. She began her antenatal visits at a clinic closer to her home, unaware that the small facility didn’t offer delivery services. When she learned the nearest health clinic where she could safely give birth was seven hours away, she braved the long, rocky journey through the mountains to reach the Bobete Health Centre’s Maternal Waiting Home, supported by Partners In Health and Alongside Hope.

Upon arrival, Mohare was welcomed by nurses and received a baby starter pack containing a onesie, receiving blanket, hat, cloth diapers and baby shirts. “I didn’t know that Bobete Health Centre provided these things,” she said. “I had brought what I could from home, but it wasn’t enough. I’m really happy and grateful for the support I found here.”

Alongside Hope’s World of Gifts has featured the new baby starter packs for the last three years and they are a favourite gift for donors and churches. During Advent in 2022, St. Andrew’s in Cole Harbour, N.S. raised money to buy new baby kits for the Bobete Clinic. For every $25 that was donated, a diaper was added to a display in the Narthex to encourage donations. At the end of the campaign, the diapers were donated to a local women’s shelter and $2,000 was forwarded to Alongside Hope. You can still support the program at alongsidehope.org/worldofgifts. (Makes a great Mother’s Day gift!).

Like many women in remote communities, Mohare began her antenatal care late, not realizing she was pregnant until six months because her periods had continued. She arrived at Bobete in time to spend the final weeks of her pregnancy at the maternal waiting home, where she and other women received three meals a day and health education from nurses.

Lesotho continues to face one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates, an estimated 566 deaths per 100,000 live births. Given the challenges of inaccessibility to health care, many women must make a perilous choice between risking childbirth at home or enduring a dangerous journey to reach care.

Thus, Alongside Hope has stepped in with crucial support. Working with Partners In Health (PIH) Lesotho, the project has helped ensure that expectant mothers like Mohare are not left behind. Through the starter pack initiative and covering transportation costs for appointments during the first trimester, pregnant women are not only encouraged to come to Bobete, but this has also extended the reach of the health centre beyond Bobete’s usual catchment area.

Mojaba Mokoena, a registered nurse and midwife at Bobete, says the starter packs have a meaningful impact on the women she cares for. “These packs truly ease their worries,” she explains. “Many arrive anxious because they don’t have enough for their newborns, but receiving these items brings them relief and restores their sense of dignity as they get ready to give birth.”

Alongside Hope’s support reaches beyond supplies, also covering emergency transportation for pregnant women when ambulances aren’t available, and offering beds, mattresses, blankets, and food to those staying at the maternal waiting home. For mothers who must be referred to hospitals for delivery, financial assistance is provided to help cover their costs.

Through this support, Alongside Hope is helping women like Mohare bring life safely into the world, no matter how far or difficult the road may be.

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Naturally, this puts a great deal of strain on their relationship. As the movie progresses the two reach a point where they can barely stand to be in the same room with one another, as they wait for the house to be completed so that they can sell it and go their separate ways.

Spoiler alert… ultimately, they reconcile, their love being rebuilt like the house around them, and they decide to stay together living in what is now truly the home of their dreams.

There’s a line said by the contractor near the end of the film that has always stuck with me. He says, “No, this wasn’t an easy one, but the foundation was good, I’ll say that. And if that’s okay, then everything else can be fixed.”

The Church (note the capital “C”) can often times seem like a house that is slowly (or swiftly) falling apart. Sometimes it seems like the roof is leaking, the walls have started to sag; maybe the wiring isn’t what it could be, and there’s a draft coming from somewhere bringing an odd smell. We get worried about the state of the liturgical framework, fearful that a wall of doctrine that we particularly liked may fall, or that we might find holes appearing the floor of the Church Canon.

In our anxiety we begin to grumble at one another, losing patience and starting to blame one another for the state of things. The anger grows, the yelling starts, and before you know it: schism!

“I’m not staying in this Church with you any longer!”

“Fine by me!”

And in the midst of all our emotional drama the Carpenter just keeps working, doing the things which need to be done, whether we take notice or not. Because the foundation is good. The chief cornerstone is solid and will not be moved.

Christ gives us a foundation of love. It is upon that base everything else is built. Our liturgies, our worship, our canons, doctrine, and every program and prayer that we do. And yet time and time throughout the Church’s history we keep thinking that these things that we have buit, the walls, the roofs, the pillars and the pulpits of our faith, etc…that these are the true foundations. Whenever we see them threatened, whenever we see them shake or begin to crack, we think the whole structure is coming down. We panic and prepare to either defend some precious edifice, or we get ready to move house.

But the true foundation hasn’t changed. It’s always been there, as solid as ever. And it’s the only thing that’s truly important. Everything else can be fixed, or discarded, or rebuilt in a different way. As long as the foundation of love holds us up we never need to worry. The Church will always stand.

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I could go on all day.

Through Creation, God expresses and reveals himself to everyone, everywhere, every moment of every day. We might not always pause to fully experience God in Creation, but he is ever-present. The smell of summertime crowberry bushes mixed with salt sea air is the Creator’s way of saying that he is with me. The peace of still woods in winter is the Creator’s way of reminding me of the importance of Sabbath. The sight (and smell) of a working farm assures me that the Creator will provide. Indeed, Creation is God’s loving gift that keeps on giving, not just for you and me, but for everything in it.

And we are part of it. Humankind created by the Creator. An integral part of Creation. Just like stars and moons, sea and sky, eagle and moose, cod and seal, and fern and fungus. Inseparable. Kin.

But nobody is perfect. We sometimes allow ourselves to get separated from Creation and the Creator, failing to live in harmony with Creation as stewards. We treat Creation as if it is ours, exploiting it. Bulldozing forests, flooding river valleys, polluting skies, and filling oceans with garbage—usually unjustly, at the expense of “others” who are “elsewhere”. Acting with little to no thought of sustaining and renewing the life of the earth for all the generations to come. Some of this is the product of our governments, institutions, and economies. Some of this is the product of our technologies. Some of this is the product of our day-to-day choices.

Fortunately, we have forgiveness and absolution through Jesus, who once walked among us. And, by the grace of God, we will learn to live in better harmony with Creation, honouring the Creator in the process. Sometimes we will get this right, and we should celebrate that. Other times we will get it wrong, and we should learn from that. On a day-to-day basis, there isn’t a “best” way or a single “right” way to live in harmony with Creation. But, if we are guided by the commandments to love the Creator with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbours as ourselves, that will set us on a good path.

As the somewhat newly-appointed Canon for Creation Care & Stewardship for the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, I hope to connect with you all from time to time through Anglican Life. Some articles will highlight environmental issues. Others will offer tips and strategies for living in good relationship with the rest of Creation, or highlight examples of great practices from around the province—there are many wonderful things happening. Or, if the Holy Spirit moves me, you might get a reflective piece like this one. In the meantime, if you would like to continue exploring your relationship with Creation, I encourage you to check out the work of the Diocesan Creation Care & Stewardship Team online at: https://anglicanenl.net/creation-care-stewardship/

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Then, on the 27th of February 2026, the Rev’d Kenneth Abbott celebrated his 90th birthday. An open house was held on Saturday, 28 February, at the Good Shepherd Anglican Church hall in Norman’s Cove.

Clergy from various parishes attended to honour him on this special occasion.

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