04 ct april 2015 easter edition final ecopy

Caledonia Times The

April 2015 /Easter Edition Volume 47, Issue #4 A Diocesan Section of the Anglican Journal

Happy Easter, Caledonia!

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. (Luke 24: 28-33 ESV) Photo: Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons - Matthias Stom (1615-1649) “le repas d’ Emmaus” photograhed by Caroline Lena Becker at Musee de Augustins in Ocotber, 2012.

The Caledonia TImes: Informing and inspiring the Faithful since 1905

Bishop’s Notes

The Claim and Reality of Easter Easter is often thought of as a time when Christians not only celebrate the resurrection of Christ, but as a time when we reaffirm our faith.

When I think about this I can’t help but wonder how we often tend to take the Easter event for granted, despite whatever words we say on Easter Sunday. The traditional greeting for this morning is “The Lord is risen!” echoing Mary’s proclamation when she returned from the empty tomb. The response is, “He is risen indeed!”

If only we could really comprehend the magnitude of what we are saying here. Note the exclamation marks; these greetings are supposed to be exchanged with breathless excitement, not muted indifference.

We are not, after all, talking about an abstract theological idea. We are not talking about a nostalgic bit of tradition. And we are not talking about an ancient myth.

We are talking about Jesus, who talks about himself as the Son of God, doing what people aren’t supposed to do – dying and then rising again to the amazement of His followers, and an ever-increasing circle of believers through the centuries.

As C.S. Lewis points out, such behaviour means that either Jesus is a dangerous lunatic or He is what He claims to be. There is no middle ground. This becomes the point we have to deal with as Christians, especially at Easter.

Either we truly and completely believe Jesus’ claims, or we don’t. There is no middle ground. Why? By way of answering that, let me acknowledge that there are some who claim to be Christians who propose that Jesus was simply a really good and kindly teacher.

They might even go so far as to say he was a holy man.

One can get away with this line of reasoning at Christmas time by simply claiming to celebrate the birth of Jesus, just as we all have birthdays. But the Easter claim of the resurrection is the turning point because not only do we now encounter someone who claimed to be the Son of God, but we encounter Him within the context of dying, and then rising from the dead. Either this story is lunacy, or it is true. There simply is no middle ground.

So we have a dilemma. If Jesus was nothing more than a delusional, self-proclaimed messiah, then the Church is nothing better than a fraudulent organization that perpetuates the delusional thinking. If we strip Jesus out of the Church, the Church has no reason to exist since deceiving people, regardless of how well-intentioned, is never a virtuous activity.

On the other hand, if Jesus is whom He claims to be, and if we are serious in accepting His claim, and the resurrection and post-resurrection accounts, then we face the challenge of actually living out in our lives the things Jesus commanded his followers to do. It then falls to us to align our lives with the reality of Jesus. We cannot seriously claim the right to redefine who Jesus is, and to limit the mission He entrusted to His Church if we really understand the significance of what happened on that first Easter morning.

Easter is, and must be, a time of wonder and a time of holy fear for us. It is a time of wonder because obviously something happened that does not happen every day – God came and lived and died amongst us so that our lives might have meaning and direction. Holy fear is that fear we have when faced with the incomprehensible - with something that is beyond our ability to rationalize because it is from God. And certainly God’s love for us is difficult to explain. Mankind has consistently

through the ages shown a remarkable capacity to ignore, oppose, trivialize and mock God’s work in the world, as well as to commit terrible atrocities against His creation. Yet God loves us and calls us into a relationship with Him in a way that can bring out the very best in people – service, compassion, healing and purpose.

His call to us comes through the Easter reality.

+William “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

A.C.W. Conference to take place in Aiyansh Calling all ladies of the congregations across the Diocese! You are invited to Attend The 103rd Diocese of Caledonia Anglican Church Women Annual Conference Friday April 24th – Sunday April 26th, 2015 in New Aiyansh, BC. The purpose of the ACW is to unite women in the fellowship of worship, study, and offering which will deepen and strengthen their lives and will lead them into fuller Christian service in parish, community, diocese, nation and world. The Anglican Church Women (ACW) of the Diocese of Caledonia is a serving community through Faith, Hope, and Love in Christ. Our role being to place an emphasis on Christian Family Life and to improve communications between women.

At the Conference, there will be a Craft Table and a Silent Auction will take place: Please feel welcome to contribute to these as the proceeds from these will go to Camp Caledonia.

To register, please contact: Mrs, Ingrid Whittington, 4616 Woodland Park Dr Terrace BC V8G-0B6 Phone: 250-635-3139 Email: irwhittington@citywest.ca

Come and join us in Aiyansh!

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Diocesan ACW President, Susan Kinney of Terrace

Friday April 24th, 2015 3 to 5 pm - Arrival &Registration 5 pm - Supper 6 pm - Business Meeting 8 pm - Evening Prayer 9 pm - social time & snack

Saturday April 25th, 2015 8 to 9am - Muffins / refreshments 9 am - Eucharist with United Thank offering 10 am - Business meeting 11:15am - Bible Study with Bishop Bill 12:30pm - LUNCH 1:30pm - to be announced be 5:30 pm - SUPPER 7 pm - Skits & Social evening

SUNDAY April 26th, 2015 11am: Service @ Holy Trinity Church Travel home safely!!

Caledonia Times Publication of the Diocese of Caledonia Publisher: The Right Rev. William Anderson Editor: The Very Rev. Jason Haggstrom Associate Editor: Audrey Wagner Published monthly, except July and August by: Diocese of Caledonia, 200 – 4th Avenue West Prince Rupert, BC V8J 1P3 (250) 627-1143 or (250) 600-7143 Address correspondence and copy to the address above or to caledoniatimes@gmail.com Submissions must be received by the first day of the month for the next month’s issue Send subscription orders, address changes Diocese of Caledonia c/o Anglican Journal 80 Hayden St. Toronto, Ontario M4Y 3G2 Printed and mailed by: Webnews Inc. North York, ON.

Caledonia Times — April 2015

Editorial Moments

Jesus reigns to make us rise Have you ever noticed that there is a classic line that seems to come up all the time in television and films that villains, when capture is near, and they are talking to their accomplices, or even the story’s unlikely hero will say, “If I go down, I am taking you with me.” And it usually followed by a threat like “I promise you that.” It is to make sure that the hearer knows that the speaker means business. The villain will not face the consequences alone. After all misery likes company? Right?

What about sharing it with God? Think about why we celebrate Easter. Genesis recounts how God questioned Adam and asked him “Did you disobey me? What have you done?” Adam responds by telling God that while he did eat fruit of the forbidden tree, it was the woman whom God had given him to be a companion, who gave him the fruit and told him to eat it. So really it was someone else’s fault. In effect, he was saying that if he had to take the blame that there was enough blame to go around. He was taking her down with him. And that attitude has been common amongst us from Adam until now.

It is similar to taking the family to visit somewhere and there is a horde of children in the house. They will be playing somewhere else and then as a group will come running into the living room or to the kitchen table with their complaints. One will say, he punched me! the respondent will say no I didn’t. He pushed me! Yeah but he said a bad word! Only because you where pulling my hair! It is in our nature to place the blame elsewhere, on someone else, on something else beyond us that we cannot have nor control.

So it is a small wonder that we are confused when we hear Jesus taking the blame for us. It is cause for a double take. We aren’t use to hearing someone else take on the penalty and serve the sentence. It is not standard operating procedure. It is foreign to our ears and alien to our minds. And yet if there is anything to come away from this experience of Easter, of resurrection with it ought to be at least this: when Jesus makes a promise, he is able to keep it. And because he is faithful to his promises, we can have faith in him and his word.

We need to be reminded at the empty cross and at the empty grave, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the power of God?”

Unfortunately, the churches of our day have taken more to making the threats than to living out the promises of Easter. “If you don’t believe like we do then you are not a part of us… if you are not active in your faith or in this church you are not part of us… if you cannot conform to our discipline then you have not part with us.”

As followers of God, we would do well to recall that Jesus did not offer himself up to bring us - any one of us - down but to raise all of us up through our faith and life with him. He took the fall for us and even when we weigh that out on our scales of human justice, we become aware that it should have been us in pain, us who should have been punished, forsaken and abandoned, crying out to God to be rescued. It is marvelous to discover that Jesus took the fall (Kairos Romans 5:8) for us. He invited all of us to come up with him; even those who would call for his death, even those who would crucify him, even those who would run away and desert him to hitch a ride and come up home with him.

Our lives have been changed; not because of things that have we done or are doing; not because we are nice people, though that may be true. It’s because of Jesus and what he as the risen Lord has done and is doing in the life of his Church. Jesus has changed things.

Through his death and resurrection, through our connection to him through baptism and faith, we are changing, moving from glory into glory. It is through his risen life that we live. He reigns that we might rise. It is through us that others can come to experience the cross, the grave and new life.

Maybe we need to consider things through this story: Joey was only six years old when he wanted to meet God. He know that heaven was a long way away so he go out a suit case and began to fill it with things that he would need for his journey. He tossed in a few clothes, his favourite toy; a couple of juice boxes and some of his mom’s freshly made chocolate chip cookies. Then he heads out the door and onto the street. Joey hadn’t gone very far when he stopped to get one of the juice boxes out of its storage place when he noticed an elderly man sitting on a park bench, watching bird in the fountain just beyond. Joey went over and sat down beside the old man. The old man turned and smile at him. There was a bit of silence and then Joey decided

Books on the Way

By Ruby McBeth My husband has pretty good people sense. If I tell him I am going to help someone, he will often reply letting me know that he thinks I should mind my own business. In the past I thought this meant he didn’t care as much as I did. Lately, however, I have started to see things differently. Reading the book Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself has shown me the problems of persistent “helping” behaviour. The author Melody Beattie identifies codependents as “people who felt responsible for the entire world, but they refused to take responsibility for leading and living their own lives.” People in helping professions and women with children could be especially vulnerable to this orientation to life.

Codependent No More is divided into two parts: Part 1: What’s Codependency, and Who’s Got It and Part II: The Basics of Self-Care. Part I gives examples illustrating codependency. The author includes enough stories to show the variety of causes and of degrees of the condition. One example is of a woman who becomes increasingly angry with her husband even though he

Caledonia Times — April 2015

has stopped drinking. Another is of a woman who constantly puts her husband and five children ahead of herself and becomes bitter.

The author ends the first section with a 10 page checklist giving characteristics of codependents.

Categories include the following: caretaking, low selfworth, repression, obsession, controlling, denial, dependency, poor communication, weak boundaries, lack of trust, and anger.

The reader can use the checklist to see where they fit in.

This sets them up for the second part of the book on how to deal with their specific problems.

Part II “The Basics of Self-care” occupies the bulk of the book. The author here encourages the reader to

that the elderly gentleman looked a little hungry. So he dug out his cookies, the second juice box and a sandwich that his mom had made for him. He offered half of his PB+J to the elderly man who turned smiled and nodded thank you in accepting the sandwich.

They sat in silence as they munched away first on the sandwich then on the cookies with intermittent slurps on the straws of their drinking boxes. They sat on that bench all afternoon, not saying a word, only watching the birds in the fountain just beyond.

When supper time came, and because Joey was feeling a bit tired now, he decided to head home. And as he rose from the bench, the aged gentleman turned again nodded and gave Joey a great big smile - the biggest one Joey had ever seen. He burst in the back door of his house a short time later to be greeted by his mother. She could see the elation in his face. “What made you so happy today, Joey?” “I had lunch with God!” And before his mother could say anything else Joey exclaimed, “And he has the biggest and best smile I have ever seen!”

A few blocks away the seasoned gentleman sat down to a meal with his son and his son’s family with a jubilant look on his face. His son asked him, “Dad what happen with you today that is making you so happy?”

The father answered, “Oh, I went the park today and I had lunch with God. We had PB+J sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies and juice.” And before his son could say anything else, the old man added, “and he is a lot younger looking than I imagined.”

This is why Jesus came to give us a lift. The world can be a hard, scary and unforgiving place to be. Together with Christ we can see through the hurt, the misery and the pain, the hatred and the mistrust, the violence and the death. Together, with the risen Christ we can discover hope for ourselves and become bearers of mercy and hope for one another. Together with our risen Jesus, we can discover the joy and life with God that God freely offers in Christ. He brings us to a new level, a new way, a resurrected way of living that is simply a bit of lunch in the park.

Jason+ Editor, The Caledonia Times.

seek God’s help, to think positively about themselves, to accept responsibility for their actions, and to learn direct communication. There are exercises at the end of most chapters which give the reader a chance to work on themselves. The book’s value lies in not being overly scholarly. The author connects the reader to the five stages of grief and the Twelve Step program in a user-friendly manner. The author is an adult child of an alcoholic parent and was also an addict herself. She shows obvious gratitude to the Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon programs (the Twelve Step Programs) for her recovery.

The notes at the end of the book acknowledge the author’s sources chapter by chapter. The bibliography while comprehensive is dated - the latest date being 1986. This book is recommended for adults generally and for people in helping professions especially. Understanding codependency could give new hope in the lives of burdened people.

Since this book came out Melody Beattie has published a workbook to go with it and more recently four other books on the topic.

Beattie, Melody. Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself.

Center City, Minnesota: Hazelden, 1987.

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Parish Life: Across the Diocese

Pictures from Haida Gwaii

... In the North Peace

Above: pictures of the East facing elevations of the a new rectory in the Diocese. In November, the Parish of the North Peace aquired a new Rectory for their clergy to live in. Monies from the sale of the fomrer rectory, church building and land in Fort St. John. Photo: Ruby McBeth.

... At

the Cathedral in Prince Rupert

Above: A picture of the interior of St. Andrew’s Cathedral with out the big blue tarp to catch the rain. A parishioner took video of the rain coming through the roof and posted to her facebook account back at the end of September, 2014. The resulting concern and support of the Cathedral congregation through the Fall and the Winter has been tremendous. A huge thank you goes out from the congregation to the donors and benefactors of the Diocese for giving so gracously. The Roof Fund currently stands at $26,710.99.

At the Annual Congregational Meeting on March 1st, the Cathedral congregation chose to put together a working group which is going to put together the information that is needed to help the congregation decide what they want to do about the long term life of the congregation. Dean Haggstrom present three options to the congregation to consider: (1) “Stay and pay” to renovate both the Church and the Deanery, (2) “Move onto Renovate” which would mean replacing the Deanery and hopefully have funds that will aid in the restoration of the Church or (3) “Move into the Future” which would entail selling all the properties, securing a new Deanery and looking at buying land and building a new, smaller, more efficient, more manageable building. The Working Group’s Report is due to Church Committee and to the Bishop for consideration May 5th.

Fundraising efforts have realized $26,710.99 since last July. Another major fundraiser is being planned for after Easter and donations from are The congregation expresses its thanks to all the donors and benefactors who have given of their

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time, talents, and treasure to make things happen thus far.

The goal of all this work is to find a way to be Church in Prince Rupert long term, supporting the priest and the physical structures the parish needs to make worship and ministry happen. It also will allow the Cathedral to be a place of not only local mission, but also of commission and sending where the rest of the Diocese is concerned. How all this is going to work out, no one knows at this point, save God alone. To that end the Cathedral asks that you join with them in the prayer that has been used as a part of this process: Heavenly Father, by grace alone you have called us into fellowship and service within your Church: embolden us to follow the example of our Patron, Andrew, who led his own brother Peter to Christ.

Help us to embrace your will for us as your people.

Sustain us by your Spirit on our way, that we may faithfully follow our Lord Jesus, proclaiming your message of Good News to the people of our city.

We ask this for the sake of your kingdom and in the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen.

Starting from, the top of this column: (1) St. Paul’s Church, Masset Inland Mission and the Thrift Store, (2) The “Beaver” that makes the twice daily 45 minute trek between Seal Cove (Prince Rupert) and the “Floats” In Masset; (3) St. John’s Church, Old Masset; (4) Archdeacon Peter Hamel and some of the many volunteers that operate the Thrift Store in Masset. The Store cares for about 250-300 people each week during openings on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Allof the Haida Gwaii Trip Pictures can be seen on the Diocesan Facebook Page. - Ed. Caledonia Times — April 2015

... in Haida Gwaii, meeting about future ministry

The Rev. Lilly Bell (Front row second from the left) and Archdeacon Peter Hamel gather along with people from the Parish of St. John’s Old Masset and St. Paul’s Masset Inland Mission to talk with the Dean about the future of ministry in their parishes and what that might look like, both in the near term and in the long term. - Ed.

Recently Dean Jason Haggstrom paid a visit to the two parishes on Haida Gwaii, to speak with them at the behest of the Bishop, about what the ministry in their area might look like in the near future and look to what it might look like long term.

There were two basic questions on which the evening’s discussions were based: (1) Are you content with the current situation? (2) Would it be possible for the congregations to support one priest for both parishes? This would not be an amalgamation but a sharing of both costs and personnel.

The group explored what they had in common and the things that are done together. There was pleasant surprise when it was discovered that there is a lot going on that the two congregations: the thrift store with its many volunteers, weddings and socials gatherings of one kind or another, special services Like Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Remembrance Day, hosting Mennonite services, do-

Caledonia Times — April 2015

ing things together at the High School and the local Hospital, including caroling at Christmas time.

They also noted that there was a recent celebration at the former St. Mark’s Port Clement’s at which many Anglicans and others gathered The parishes have significant struggles that they face: issues that are not dissimilar to that which are faced in other parts of the diocese and the rest of Canada. The local fish processing plant, a major employer in the area, has been shuttered for a while now owing to the fact that the local fisheries are decimated. There is an 80% unemployment rate in the communities and because of that, there is the real problem of outmigration to seek work and school amongst the younger people. It was noted that he congregations are getting older and once there are none of the current generation who are supporting the Church, what will happen then?

There are also some good things in the current ministry, like the Thrift Store and the ongoing commitment to things like Bible study and Christian Education. The Thrift Store has about 19 volunteers and there are openings on Thursdays and Saturdays every week. The volunteers make sure that the donations are dealt with every day of the week and then come in on Wednesdays and Fridays to sort and price things. The Store serves about 250 to 300 people each week. The volunteers are amazed that the support for the Store continues, despite the difficult financial situation the communities. There is also commitment to training new Lay Readers and other lay leaders so that there is the next generation of leadership within the congregations.

The Bishop hopes to make his next visit to Haida Gwaii later on this year. He will pick up and continue this conversation with the parishes at that time.

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Wider Church Life Canada in Brief

Diocese helps provide housing

The diocese of Toronto has tithed $100,000 to Habitat for Humanity in the Greater Toronto Area to help build 15 affordable housing units in Scarborough, Ont. It is the largest cash donation ever given by a faith group to the local non-profit housing organization.

One family that will benefit is a mother and her three children, who currently live below the poverty line but now will be able to buy their own house through this initiative.

In lieu of a cash down payment, Habitat for Humanity GTA requires families to put in 500 hours of labour called “sweat equity,” usually at the construction site or the organization’s retail stores or offices. They also attend training courses in personal finance, mortgages, insurance, home maintenance and legal matters in order to qualify for a 20-year, interest-free mortgage with monthly payments that do not exceed 30 per cent of income.

Habitat spokesperson Enloe Wilson said the formula enables low-income families to build assets.

“It’s key to breaking the cycle of poverty.”

The Anglican

North Bay church finds new home Christ Church on Vimy Street in North Bay, Ont., needed to upgrade its building. As renovation plans were being drawn up and fundraising events planned, someone suggested purchasing the Greenwood Baptist Church just two blocks away.

The congregation considered the facilities on Greenwood Ave. and then prayerfully decided to purchase it. It, too, required some renovations, but this past September, the congregation held its first service in its new home, which is now known as Christ Church Anglican on Greenwood.

Algoma Anglican

Report shows ‘drastic’ income gap Bishop Jane Alexander of the diocese of Edmonton said she was shocked by the “drastic” gap between rich and poor, mapped in a report from the Edmonton Social Planning Council released in January.

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“I knew it existed, but until I saw the report, I wasn’t aware how really bad it is,” Alexander said.

According to the report, the top one per cent of tax filers in the city saw a 50 per cent increase in their after-tax incomes, while the rest of the population gained 7.3 per cent.

Canada’s fastest growing and youngest major city also has a disproportionately high rate of working poverty. Many people who are employed (often full-time) are living below the poverty line.

In 2013, more than 75 per cent of jobs in metro Edmonton were in low-paying service sectors. The report also found that a disproportionately high number of aboriginal people are living in poverty, including 43.7 per cent of children under six years old.

The Messenger

More affordable housing planned for Saanich The Mt. Douglas Court Housing Society, a seniors’ non-profit organization, is considering construction of new buildings to provide additional affordable housing for seniors in Saanich, B.C. It also hopes in the long term to replace the existing 40-year-old building with further new affordable rental accommodations.

The property on Arrow Road, which was purchased in 1970 using funds donated by several members of the local branch of Anglican Church Women, will be debt-free this year, and the plan that is being developed calls for the construction of a new building of 100 affordable rental housing units, bringing the total number of units to 180. In a future phase, a new and bigger building would replace the original one, bringing the total units to 240.

According to Peter Daniel, asset manager for the diocese of British Columbia, the project is viable and the society has grant support from the Vancity Community Foundation. The diocesan council and directors of the society have approved the plan to send a rezoning application to the Saanich Council.

Surfin’ with the Lord

By Ruby McBeth Checking out the St. James Vancouver website I came across the Coming Home Society -intriguing. Go to <www.cominghomesociety. com> to learn about this alcohol and drug recovery program for young aboriginal women.

(It is organized by a board of Aboriginal people and concerned Anglicans). Warm friendly faces greet you from the pages of the website.

Under “successes” read a story of recovery.

Under “program” scroll down to view a video of women in the Young Wolves Lodge recovery program. A cheerful and inspiring website giving new life to people in the Downtown Eastside. Check it out. Happy surfing! the leaders in the diocese of Moosonee that they lacked a safe place to gather. The Anglican church there closed years ago, so Threshold Ministries has opened The Living Room—a space in an office complex downtown—as a sanctuary for all ages.

Evangelist Catherine Murkin writes that it will be a place to “find a listening ear, a cup of something warm…If there are concerns and cares you would like to pray about or discuss, we are here.”

The hope is that it will also provide a comfortable place for people to connect and enjoy companionship. “The younger crowd will find a great place to ‘hang,’ and we will have a play area for young children,” said Murkin.

The Northland

New Brunswick Anglicans to serve in Honduras A team of 14 people from several Anglican churches in New Brunswick plan to spend a week in March working to run a vacation Bible school and to finish building the walls of a church in Roatan, Honduras.

Holy Trinity in New Maryland, which also sent parishioners to Honduras in 2009, began planning a mission in 2013. St. Mary’s in MIramichi offered financial support. Then a couple of people from St. Margaret’s in Fredericton joined, along with two more from Hanwell Community Church.

A welcoming space

Then Canon Bruce McKenna of Holy Trinity heard that St. John the Evangelist was also planning a mission trip to Roatan. “We decided it would be better to have one large group [rather] than two small ones,” he said.

The church that the team will be working on will be hurricane-resistant and will act as a community shelter for people all over the island.

People in the town of Schumacher, Ont., told

The New Brunswick Anglican

The Diocesan Post

Caledonia Times — April 2015

The Teaching & Preaching Ministry of the Church

By Father Jake Worley Parish of the Bulkley Valley - From “The Messenger” On Devoting Ourselves to the Apostles’ Teaching and Our Anglican Heritage Last month I began (In the Messenger) an article series based on Acts chapter 2:42-47 where we see the marks of the early church, in its infancy, without accretions or secondary agendas. The things that they did, summarized in this passage, are informative and, I believe, instructive for us today as we look at the marks of our Christian life together today.

We should be asking ourselves if we resemble that church in Acts chapter 2. I don’t want to move too rapidly from this first mark of the church, which is devotion to the apostles’ teaching. In this day and age, the church cannot stress too much the importance of this mark. I wrote last time that the Anglican Church has always held Scripture in the highest authority, and that the Spirit of God leads the people of God to submit and devote themselves to the teaching of the Word of God. We are people of the Word, and that perspective has been built into our common worship since the beginning of Anglicanism under the hand of Archbishop Cranmer who designed and wrote the Book of Common Prayer. In the Book of Common Prayer, and by extension the Book of Alternative Services that we use here in Canada, the Word of God is “front and center” and infused in our entire liturgy.

And at the very center of our communion liturgy is the exposition of Scripture in the sermon. This is by design. Archbishop Cranmer intentionally

placed an emphasis on the reading and hearing of God’s Word and its faithful expository preaching.

Matthew Williams, the rector at St. James’ Old Cathedral in Melbourne West wrote an article about Archbishop Cranmer’s intention that Scripture and the preaching of Scripture have the central role in our worship: The Messenger 2 “[Archbishop Cranmer] emphasized the Bible and the preaching of it as the instrument of God for salvation and sanctification, and so sought the dissemination of the vernacular Bible out of that confidence. But he did not want that release mistaken for an endorsement of doctrinal individualism: he was as sure that men would be sinful as he was sure that God would be faithful, and so was at pains to instruct the people how to understand the Scriptures aright. Thus Cranmer neatly affirmed the sovereignty of God through Scripture, but not individuality in understanding Scripture and applying it to church life.”

In other words, Cranmer wanted God’s Word to be in the language of the common people so that they could come under its power and authority.

But he also wanted to ensure that the Scriptures were properly taught, that while we have the right to private judgment, not every interpretation of Scripture is right and good just because it feels right and good in the moment. He wanted to not allow for “every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4.14) to blow through the Church. As a result, only people who are 1 Williams, Matthew. “Read Aloud for Power, Read Together for Doctrine: The English Reformed Theology of the Bible.” Churchman 124.2: 143-53. Church Society. Web. Bibli-

cally orthodox and properly trained were allowed in the pulpit. And in those situations where that wasn’t feasible, a book of homilies containing sermons were to be read by lay people or clergy who couldn’t adequately preach. If you look in the 39 Articles (Article XXXV) you will find a list of some of those homilies. One of Cranmer’s contemporaries of the English Reformation, Rev. William Perkins, echoed Cranmer’s position, “The Word of God alone is to be preached, in its perfection and inner consistency. Scripture is the exclusive subject of preaching, the only field in which the preacher is to labour.”

The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy that the preaching of the Word was essential and takes precedence because of its effectiveness to quicken the hearts of those who hear it. It is God-breathed, the very breath of God that gives life to the lifeless. It is because of this biblical perspective on the efficacy of the Word of God to draw us to Him, to convict us of our sins, to encourage us when we need it, to correct us and confirm us, that we sit under its authority as the people of God, and do so happily. This is what the early church did, and classical Anglicanism affirms it.

So, whoever is called to enter into the pulpit and preach must preach the Word of God only. The gospel must be presented again and again. And we must not tolerate anything other than the biblical expository preaching of God’s Word, because nothing else has life, nothing else can give life. If the first mark of the church from its beginning has been the devotion to the apostles’ teaching, our Anglican heritage encourages us to continue in it.

Our liturgy presupposes that devotion, and our pulpits must maintain it.

Montreal Diocese launhes Inuit Ministry care and other institutions, and Inuit living in Montreal for a variety of professional and other reasons.

By Harvey Shepherd, Photo Credit: Harvey Shepherd “What we are doing is what God foreplanned,” the Rev. Annie Ittoshat from Nunavik in northern Quebec said as she launched a new ministry to Montreal’s Inuit community Feb. 22. Ittoshat led her first service, mostly in Inuktitut, before a congregation of over 30 Inuit and their family and friends, in St. Paul’s Anglican Church, in the west-central suburb of Lachine. The St. Paul’s parish closed in November 2012. (A Seventh-day Adventist congregation and other groups now rent the church or its hall.) She will also serve Montreal’s diverse population of Inuit in other ways, including visits to Inuit who come to the city for medical treatment, and participation in a modest eucharistic ministry, which Montreal clergy have offered for some time to these patients. She was also planning to make contact with other groups serving local Inuit, including drop-in centres related to the Anglican Diocese of Montreal.Along with patients and transients, Ittoshat also expects to serve staff working at health-

Caledonia Times — April 2015

cial or housing problems.

The Inuit population of Montreal has been estimated at around 1,000. Some are drawn by jobs, including positions in institutions that serve Inuit.

Others are in the city for studies, for health care or to accompany family members who are patients. They are transient for various reasons or are driven from the North by so-

Ittoshat and her family are living in the rectory of St. Paul’s Church, situated in an area where there are a number of Inuit and organizations serving Inuit, partly because of the proximity of Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

notes, on one of the standard Lectionary readings of the day, from 1 Peter 3, which says Christ “suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” She said (in a brief summary in English) that this should relieve one of the need for recurrent feelings of guilt. “We make a mistake, we ask (God) for forgiveness. If we ask for forgiveness, it is so.” The new minister and her husband, sons and one daughter arrived in Montreal from Kuujjuarapik, at the mouth of the Great Whale River. Ittoshat was accredited and ordained and served as a deacon and then priest in the North, and more recently, she studied for two years at Wycliffe College in Toronto, where she received a master of divinity degree in May, the first Inuk to do so.

Services in Lachine will take place weekly, with communion on the last Sunday of the month.

Harvey Shepherd is editor of The Montreal Anglican, the newspaper of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal.

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She was accompanied at the service by her husband, Noah, a miner at the Raglan base-metal mine in Nunavik, who has made arrangements to work on a rotating schedule that allows him to spend a couple of weeks at a time in Montreal, and a son and foster son, both named Peter. There are also two daughters, one living in Montreal and the other in the North.

The service included vigorous, unaccompanied congregational singing of Inuktitut versions of standard hymns.

The minister preached in an animated way, without

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Page 7

Diocesan Intercessions List Updated April 2015

Everyday: THE BISHOP: William and his wife Margaret PRINCE RUPERT: The Congregation of the Cathedral Church of St. Andrew; The Very Rev. Jason (Nova) Haggstrom, Rector and Dean; the Rev. Dr. Canon James (Bryann) Nuzzo, Honourary Assistant; for the Wardens, Church Committee and Lay Readers.

PORT EDWARD: The Congregation of Christ The King. The Rev. Sam Lewis Priest in Charge, The Rev. Peter (Loretta) Nelson, The Revs. Thelma Hill, Bertha Lewis, Yvonne Hill, and Anthony (Helen) Adams, Associate Clergy; for the Wardens, Lay Readers, Catechists and Church Army Officers.

KITKATLA: The Congregation of St. Peter’s; for The Rev. Matthew (Joanne) Hill, Priest, the Wardens, for the Lay Readers and Church Army Officers.

OLD MASSETT, HAIDA GWAII: The Congregation of St. John; The Rev. Lily Bell, Priest; for the Wardens, Lay Readers and Church Army Officers.

ST. PAUL, MASSET INLET MISSION: The Congregation of St. Paul; Fr the Venerable Peter (Margo) Hamel (Ret.); For the Wardens and Lay Readers.

KINCOLITH: The Congregation of Christ Church; The Rev. Harry (Florence) Moore, Priest; for the Wardens, Lay Readers and Church Army Officers.

TERRACE: The Congregation of St. Matthew; The Ven. Ernest (Corina) Buchanan, Priest; for the Wardens and Lay Readers.

AIYANSH: The Congregation of Holy Trinity. The Rev. Gary (Colleen) Davis, Priest in charge; for the Wardens and Lay Readers.

GREENVILLE: The Congregation of St. Andrew; for the Wardens, Lay Readers and Church Army Officers.

KITIMAT: The Congregation of Christ Church; The Rev. Luke (Sandy) Anker, Priest; for the Wardens and Lay Leaders.

HAZELTON: The Congregation of St. Peter; For the Wardens and Lay Readers.

BULKELY VALLEY PARISH: The Congregations of St. James; Smithers and St. John the Divine, Quick; For the Rev. Jake (Kelly) Worley for the Wardens and Lay Readers.

For St. George’s Day, April 23rd, 2015

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HOUSTON: The Congregation of St. Clement; For the Wardens and Lay Readers.

STUART NECHAKO LAKES REGIONAL PARISH: The Congregations of Holy Trinity, Vanderhoof, St. Patrick’s, Fort St James and St. Wilfred’s, Fraser Lake; Rev. Roy Andrews, Priest; Rev. Gwen Andrews, Priest; for the Wardens and Lay Readers.

MACKENZIE: The Congregation of Hope Trinity. The Rev. Henry (Jeanne) Dunbar, Priest; for the Wardens and Lay Readers.

HUDSON’S HOPE: The Congregation of St. Peter.

Marlene Peck, Lay Missionary, for the Wardens and Lay Readers.

CHETWYND: The Congregation of Chetwynd Shared Ministry. Marlene Peck, Lay Missionary; for the Wardens and Lay Readers.

NORTH PEACE PARISH: The Congregations of St. Martin, Fort St. John, St. Mathias, Cecil Lake and Church of the Good Shepherd, Taylor; The Rev. Enid Powe, Priest; for the Wardens and Lay Readers.

SOUTH PEACE PARISH: The Congregations of St. Mark, Dawson Creek and Christ Church, Pouce Coupe; The Venerable Tim (Beverly) Johnson, Priest; for the Wardens and Lay Readers.

SYNOD OFFICE STAFF AND DIOCESAN OFFICERS: Donna Demers Accountant; Cliff Armstrong, Diocesan Archivists; Audrey Wagner, Diocesan Secretary/ Treasurer. Diocesan Registrar, Desiree Read; Chancellor, Deborah O’Leary; A.C.W. PRESIDENT: Susan Kinney AND FOR DIOCESAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND ALL OTHER DIOCESAN COMMITTEES RETIRED CLERGY: Lance Stephens, Mike (Margaret) Monkman, Lorna Janze, Peter (Margo) Hamel, Mary and Charlie Parslow, Fay Lavallee, Ray Fletcher, Margaret Powell, James (Margaret) Moore.

The Cathedral Chapter: CLERGY CANONS: James Nuzzo, Lance Stephens, Peter Hamel, Gary Davis; LAY CANONS: Jennifer Davies, Camilla Haines, Eleanor Kustas.

For BIshop Mark Mcdonald, National Indiginous bishop; fOR THE aNGLICAN cOUNCIL OF iNDIGINOUS pEOPLES (acip) AND THE aNGLICAN cOUNCIL OF fIRST nATIONS (cALEDONIA)

CAMP CALEDONIA: The Rev. Luke Anker, Chairperson, Board Members, Staff and volunteers; and most especially for the campers.

BENEFACTORS & CONTRIBUTORS OF THE DIOCESE BISHOPS OF THE PROVINCE OF BC & YUKON The Rt. Rev. Melissa Skelton New Westminster The Rt. Rev. Larry Robertson Yukon The Rt. Rev. Dr. Logan McMenamie British Columbia The Most Rev. John Privett Kootenay and Metropolitan of BC & Yukon The Rt. Rev. Barbara Andrews Bishop Suffragan to the Metropolitan For APCI THE PRIMATE & OTHER METROPOLITANS Vacant

Rupert’s Land The Most Rev. Colin Johnson Ontario (Toronto) The Most Rev. Percy Coffin Canada (W. NF) The Most Rev. Fred Hiltz The Primate of All Canada ALL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGES AND TRAINING CENTERS. – especially Wycliffe College and Regent College. And for those studying for Holy Orders and to become lay readers in the Diocese and for those who will teach them.

FOR THE COUNCIL OF THE NORTH: Bishop Michael Hawkins, Chair and the other member dioceses of the Council: Yukon, Arctic, Athabasca, Saskatchewan, Brandon, Keewatin, Moosenee, Quebec, and the Deanery of Labrador.

Diocesan ACW – for the Diocesan Executive and the Primary Branches throughout the Diocese.

Comic Life

Caledonia Times — April 2015