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But first, let us rewind to April of this year. The Church Lad’s Brigade (C.L.B.) Upper Island Cove Company #4547 was delighted to host the Annual C.L.B. Spring Parade. What a time it was to take in the lively energy of the Brigade with fellow comrades from both Avalon and Trinity Conception Battalions, as well as the beloved C.L.B. Regimental Band, who treated the congregation to their beautiful music during the church service. There were looks of surprise from the youth when Bishop Sam Rose opened his Sermon by pointing out The C.L.B. logo on his staff. The scripture of the day highlighted by Bishop Rose has been the motto of the C.L.B. for over 130 years and counting: Fight the Good Fight. A vibrant discussion with the youth then took place about the meaning of this timeless invitation, which included many insightful answers. Afterwards, a reception was hosted by The Royal Canadian Legion in Upper Island Cove. It was a heart-warming moment to see such strong community support for The C.L.B.. A group of people representing The Royal Canadian Legion, Loyal Orange Lodge, St. Peter’s Church Vestry team, members of the Parish of Upper Island Cove, parents of the C.L.B. youth members, and many community members in attendance worked together to help facilitate this large-scale event. The C.L.B. Regimental Band provided additional music at the reception for all to enjoy before travelling back to St. John’s with members from the Avalon Battalion.

Moving forward to early June, a group of 26 youth were confirmed at St. Peter’s Church. Pew by pew, confirmation candles and their brilliant flames carried by the newly confirmed, symbolized the renewal of baptismal vows and the vital energy of The Holy Spirit. A time of fellowship followed the service with Bishop Rose, the parish of Upper Island Cove ministry team, the confirmands, and their families.

Lastly, June 16th was a full and very special day for the Anglican Parish of Upper Island Cove. In the afternoon, the Annual Father’s Day Memorial Service took place at St. Peter’s Anglican Cemetery, hosted by the A.C.A.A. Branch #7. This service is a special tribute to past and current members of the A.C.A.A. over many generations. In fact, the service itself, is an intergenerational custom, held every year on Father’s Day. It is an opportunity to gather together to honour the gift of their lives by singing those beautiful hymns played and passed down over the 200 years of our parish.

Later that evening, we were blessed with a visit from Bishop Rose, who, as we learned, led his first consecration service. The consecration of St. John the Evangelist Chapel was held that evening in the beautiful, newly re-constructed, lower part of St. Peter’s Church, and references the third official sacred space in our parish as mentioned above. Equipped with familiar essentials that travelled from St. John the Evangelist Church in neighbouring Bishop’s Cove after its deconsecration only two years ago—also facilitated by Bishop Sam—these sacred items now have new life. They are once more the transitional objects which parishioners from Bishop’s Cove use again in their journeys of faith. Much as early June saw a church full of vitality in the flames and faces of candles and confirmands, it was another blessed evening indeed, as those in attendance witnessed the beloved St. John the Evangelist church “resurrect” in a stunning new form and bring with its transformation, the strength and hope of new life.

While it is true that the Church is not a building, and that God’s love certainly exists outside the four walls of the church, many people who attended the packed chapel of this deeply memorable and moving consecration service can attest that Church and God’s love exist within the four walls of a church, too. The appreciation and emotion felt and shared regarding this physical sacred space—once lost and now found—was palpable throughout the service. Many hands and much generosity went into the rebirth and transformation of St. John the Evangelist. Some might say the transformation of this new chapel is quite divine.

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• St. John’s and the metro area: Monday October 7, 2024, The C.L.B Armoury, 82 Harvey Road, 7:00 p.m.
• Conception Bay South: Monday September 23, 2024, All Saints Parish Hall, CBS Highway, Foxtrap, 7:00 p.m.
• Mount Pearl, please email: Capt. Ken Parsons at: kenparsons75@gmail.com
• Paradise, please email: Khafre Pike at khafre.pike@gmail.com
• Conception Bay North, please email: Major Wayne Lilly at: waynerlilly@yahoo.ca

Membership in the C.L.B. is open to everyone. The C.L.B. is divided into five age groups:

Little Training Corp (L.T.C.)     5–7-year-olds       Kindergarten to Grade 1

Young Training Corp (Y.T.C.)   7–10-year-olds     Grade 2-4

Junior Training Corp (J.T.C.)  10–13-year-olds    Grade 5-7

Senior Corp (S.C.)  13- 18-year-olds   Grade 8-12

Officers/Leaders  19 and up

The C.L.B. is a historic youth organization that has been inspiring and nurturing young people since 1892. Our mission is to foster personal growth, leadership and camaraderie among our young members while instilling important values such as discipline, teamwork and respect for others.

Our youth members participate in various activities including sports, crafts, outings, and camps while learning valuable life skills that will benefit them in their future endeavours. The C.L.B. is committed to shaping the future generations of leaders and making a positive impact on the lives of young people.

Join our Brigade of weekly programs where we have fun and enhance your skills.

Join our band—weekly evening programs where we practice and perform music of all kinds.

Become a leader with easy and flexible options to help guide and grow our youth in our province.

Come visit us!

We want you to come and grow with us and here is how you can contact us:
Email:  info@theclb.ca
Phone: 709-722-1737

Sincerely,

Colonel Sheila Mercer
Governor and Commandant of C.L.B.

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“Jesus said I am the vine; You are the branches, those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit because apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) This was the verse on the bookmark that was passed out to all the ladies who attended the service.

Rev’d Neal Buffett, with the assistance of Martin, preached on “Mother’s love.” It was precious. The word “WOW” turned upside down is “MOM.”

Luncheon followed the service at Holy Spirt Hall. The youngest mother (who was Rev’d Beverly) and oldest mom (who was Molly Hewitt) cut the cake for us.

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At the “Out in Faith” event this year, there was a feeling of increased concern with rising hatred and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community—that the world is once again turning to homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, etc. As a Church, it is essential to stand up against such hate, and to reassure everyone that God loves us, just as we are.

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There’s another song. It’s from the same period. It’s called “Smells Like Nivana,” and it’s by Weird Al Yankovic. Like most of Weird Al’s hits, it’s a parody. It’s a reflection of the original in melody, but with wildly different lyrics giving a wildly different message. While “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is a disjointed expression of teen angst, “Smells Like Nirvana” is a very direct commentary on Nirvana’s loud and often incomprehensible music. It’s written specifically to poke fun at this Seattle garage band, mocking them and the way they sing and play.

And I love it.

Don’t get me wrong. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” has deep personal meaning for me. It symbolizes a particular time in my life: the friends I had, the place I lived, and a bevy of experiences both good and bad. But “Smells Like Nirvana” does absolutely nothing to diminish that meaning. Sure, it’s a joke at the expense of the original song and the original artists. In every way, it ridicules something important to me. But that doesn’t mean I need to be offended. It doesn’t even exclude liking the parody for its humour and its tribute.

Both can exist, and my world is no worse off for it.

And boy, do I wish that was a perspective shared by more people. We seem to have reached a point in our society wherein “being offended” is somehow a valued state of being. Someone says or does anything which even appears to mock something, and in rushes the crowd, chanting righteous indignation and demanding cancellation of all that offends.

And, sadly, many Christians are right up there on the soap box. Most recently it has been the fiasco surrounding the Paris Olympics opening ceremonies, which included a scene which somewhat resembled Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” populated by drag queens. Christians all over the world began to steam at the ears. I couldn’t touch social media without slamming headfirst into someone expressing how this was an attack on all that is good and holy, and that the Olympic Committee should be ashamed of itself.

And I ask you: what is the point? Christian faith is mocked and derided left, right and centre. Sometimes it is done through jokes and ridicule. Sometimes we’re outright insulted. So what? I’m pretty sure our calling is to proclaim the Gospel to all people—not spend every waking minute getting all up in arms about every perceived slight that’s out there. People made fun of Jesus too. He endured it and kept doing the good he was sent to do, without distraction.

A few weeks ago I saw a copy of Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam,” but God had been replaced with the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Big whoop.

I don’t know if the Olympic presentation was intended as a joke at Christian expense or not. It doesn’t matter to me if the Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” is shown with drag queens, white Europeans, or the cast of “Friends”: it’s just a picture. It’s one artist’s interpretation of a Gospel event. Another artist may show it differently. I can accept the message as presented or reject it. And none of it has any bearing whatsoever on the grace given to me by the sacrifice of my Lord Jesus Christ. Even if, as Monty Python would have it, there was a kangaroo and a mariachi band!

It’s idolatry, whenever we move the value of our faith from what God has done into someone’s image of it. We can like the image. We can even allow the image to help us to consider and explore our faith. But the moment the image becomes so important that we replace love with outrage, then we’ve lost sight of what we’re meant to be doing.

Believe me, no matter how offended you are, no amount of indignation will silence mockers as much as any amount of love.

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Linda has a lifetime of ministry and service in the Church—ordained a deacon in 1985, priest in 1986, she served as a parish priest for almost twenty years in the Diocese of Toronto, as the Coordinator for Dialogue for Ethics, Interfaith Relations and Congregational Development with the General Synod, Area Bishop of Trent-Durham in the Diocese of Toronto and Bishop of the Diocese of Huron. She participated in ecumenical dialogue with the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission III and in the Canadian Anglican Roman Catholic Dialogue. She was the first woman to be elected Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada and only the second woman to be elected primate in the Anglican Communion.

As we say farewell to a faithful Primate, I want to add my voice to the many who have expressed their appreciation.
I met Linda when I served on the Partners in Mission Committee and our paths crossed many times since then, including when she came to Pasadena to lead a parish retreat. Most recently, I worked with her as co-chair of the Planning and Agenda Team for the first four years of her primacy. I have found her to be a thoughtful, committed servant of God, passionate about caring for God’s people and furthering God’s mission.
You can see that in her pastoral response to Anglicans across the country as we struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic, when she wrote “During this difficult time of the pandemic, I want you to be assured that I am committed to supporting our diocesan and parish leadership and would be happy to accept invitations to worship (preach or participate), simply attend a coffee hour, study group, youth group, confirmation class or share in other online gatherings during our isolation!” I know that she didn’t just ‘say’ she was open to invitations, she accepted those invitations, being present electronically to people when they most needed the encouragement.
I watched her raise money for the Ride for Refuge of the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund as she took requests and played and sang favourite hymns, combining her love for music with her commitment to PWRDF.
I have been aware of the many relationships she has cultivated internationally as she as been present and participated in that arena in such a way that makes us Canadian Anglicans proud. As in the time when she visited a PWRDF project in Kenya between other international commitments.
It has been an honour for me to have been along for part of Linda’s journey, to have been enriched by her ministry and again, I add my voice to the many who wish her joy as she continues in God’s service, albeit in a different forum.

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