10 november 2014 ct final e copy

Caledonia Times

November, 2014 Volume 46 - Issue 9 The Diocesan Section of the Anglican Journal

Postponing 2018 Lambeth Conference is possible IBy Anglican Journal Staff

glican Communion.” (ACNA formed in 2009 after ongoing differences with the Anglican Church of Canada over the blessing of samesex unions in Canada and with The Episcopal Church’s appointment of a gay bishop.)

In an interview with the Church of Ireland Gazette on Oct. 3, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby addressed speculation that the next Lambeth Conference, which is usually held every 10 years and was expected to be in 2018, might be postponed.

Welby noted, however, “We are committed ecumenically to reconciliation of the churches, to visible unity...That is a profound commitment, and it is one that is a profound emotional commitment for me as well as a theological commitment.”

When asked by Gazette editor Canon Ian Ellis if he had made up his mind or was rethinking Lambeth 2018, Welby said, “I am not rethinking.

I’m following through with what I said to the primates when I was installed as archbishop, which was that I would, by the end of 2014, seek to visit them all in their home country, in their own home, discuss with them the future of what it looked like and then we would collectively make up our minds where we went.”

The speculation had been fuelled by comments made in late September by U.S. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori when she told The Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops that no planning or fundraising had yet taken place for a 2018 meeting. Archbishop Welby, she said, “has been very clear that he is not going to call a Lambeth [Conference] until he is reasonably certain that the vast majority of bishops would attend. It needs to be preceded by a Primates’ Meeting at which a vast majority of primates are present.” She added that, “As he continues his visits around the communion to those primates, it’s unlikely that he will call such a meeting at all until at least a year from now or probably 18 months from now. Therefore I think we are looking at 2019,

Welby added, “ACNA is clearly an ecumenical partner. It is a fellow member of the church of Christ in the world...As with all ecumenical partners, we seek reconciliation.”

The Most Rev. Justin Welby, 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury and Head of the Anglican Communion.

more likely 2020, before a Lambeth Conference.”

Leading up to the question about the Lambeth Conference, Ellis referred to divisions within the Anglican Communion and asked Welby about what the Anglican Church in North America’s (ACNA) relationship to the Anglican Communion is. Welby said that ACNA “is a separate church. It is not part of the An-

St. Wilfred’s Church has hot cooks!

Ellis asked if the appointment of Dr. Tory Baucaum, an ACNA priest, as one of the Canterbury Six Preachers who are called on to preach at Canterbury Cathedral on various occasions, was a sign of hope for that reconciliation. Welby said, “It’s too early to say.” He noted that Baucum “was ordained before ANCA emerged, many years before, and is validly ordained with Anglican orders...The reasons for his appointment were stated at the time. They were his commitment to reconciliation [and] his scholarship. He is a significant scholar in his own right, a very serious writer,” said Welby.

With files from The Church of Ireland Gazette/Episcopal News Service Picture y Ellif; cropped by Andy Mabbett (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Surfing for the Lord

By Ruby McBeth Wondering what you can do to help the environment? Why not start by getting informed. For Canadian info you can go to Friends of the Earth at <foecanada.org>. Endangered bees were the featured topic at the beginning of the fall. The bar at the top of the home page lets you into “issues” which includes environment, justice, climate and energy, and water. “Media” leads to news and media releases. Click on twitter at the bottom of the home page for up to date chat. Join other concerned citizens and get your consciousness raised on environmental issues in Canada. Happy surfing!

Those who serve and work in the Church’s Kitchen all reeived new aprons recently at St. Wilfred’s, Fraser Lake. From left to right are Hazel Edgewood Gunn, Gerry Irwin, Jean Swift, Revs. Roy and Gwen Andrews, Garry and Marion Watson, Mary Renshaw, Ken Ponsford, John Gunn. Photo creds to Gerry Irwin for sending in the picture.

Share your pictures, stories and what’s on your mind with us! https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Diocese-of-Caledonia/

The Caledonia Times: Information and inspiration for the Faithful in Northern BC since 1905

Recently, in a conversation with someone, the question was asked: “Why are priests called ‘Father’? This is not what the Bible teaches. Doesn’t Jesus Himself say, ‘Call no man on earth your father, for you have one Father who is in heaven.’ (Matthew 23:9).”

St. Athanasius, the 4th century patriarch of Alexandria says that when Christians read the Bible, they are not to take passages out of context but rather to keep the “skopos”, the scope or “big picture” in mind. Let’s examine this question keeping the full scope — or “big picture” — of the Scriptures in mind.

First: the question asked seems to presuppose that this passage of Scripture should be taken literally as an absolute prohibition i.e., that we should call no man father. In other words, if we were to interpret Matthew 23:9 literally, no one could be called father, not even our biological fathers. Christians could not, for example, celebrate Father’s Day. Is this what Jesus intended? I don’t think so. Jesus Himself tells the rich young man to “keep the commandments” including the one to “honor your father and mother” (Matthew 19:19). And when the Jews questioned Jesus about His teaching that He is “the bread of life,” He responds to them by saying: “I am the bread of life. Your fathers (i.e. the ancestors of the Jewish people who took part in the Exodus from Egypt with Moses and are therefore called the “fathers” of Israel) ate the manna in the wilderness and they died” (John 6:48-49)?

Second: What would we do with the apostle Paul? When St. Paul discusses the Exodus, he — like Christ Himself — refers to the ancestors of the Israel of his day as “our fathers” (1 Corinthians 10:1)? When discussing discipline in the Christian family, he says “Fathers, do not provoke your children or they may lose heart” (Colossians 3:21).

Furthermore, with regards to spiritual fatherhood in the Christian community, to the Church in Corinth he wrote: “I do not write this to make you ashamed but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you might have 10,000 guardians in Christ, you

Bishop’s Notes Why do clergy get called “Father”? do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:14-15). And he describes his relationship with the Christians of the Church in Thessalonica as being “like a father with his children” (1 Thessalonians 2:11). St. Paul, in the above passages, claims to be the spiritual father of the Corinthian and Thessalonian Churches, their father in the Gospel - Father Paul, if you will?

Third: When interpreting Matthew 23:9, it is helpful to read the entire 23rd chapter of Matthew in order to get a proper understanding of the context of this passage. The 23rd chapter of Matthew contains the Lord’s indictment of the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy, their focus on the externals of religion without genuine repentance and a corresponding conversion of heart. So, not only does Jesus condemn the scribes and Pharisees for their use of the address “Father” in a vain and empty way, but in the very next verse says: “Nor are you to be called teachers, for you have one teacher, the Christ” (Matthew 23:10). Yet, many contemporary preachers describe themselves as “Bible teachers” and no one has ever argued that the Church should not have Sunday school teachers on the basis of this passage. Indeed, Jesus Himself acknowledged Nicodemus to be a “teacher of Israel” (John 3:10) and in the Book of Acts we read that certain men in Antioch were called “teachers” (Acts 13:1), to give only two examples.

Therefore, as can be understood when one reads the 23rd chapter of Matthew in its entirety, Jesus takes issue not with these titles and roles in and of themselves, but rather with their self-aggrandizing abuse by the scribes and Pharisees.

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Did you know that in 1956, General Synod established a Foundation to receive donations for the purpose of disbursing financial assistance across the country. It was also agreed that every parish give a $50 donation every year to support their Foundation.

Get on Board

Ask your church wardens if your parish is a member. 1 of 25 parishes in the Diocese of Caledonia are annual donors. We need 24 more parishes in your diocese to Free Up Fifty in 2015.

Free Up Fifty is our 2015 campaign for every parish to be an AFC member.

Speak with your church wardens to donate today.

www.anglicanfoundation.org

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Fourth: The term “father” when used to address a priest is not an assertion of his “higher” status in the community of believers; rather, it is a term of endearment, of intimacy and love, as the apostle Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians and 1 Thessalonians, already mentioned above. The spiritual fatherhood of the priest is intended to be a sign of the depth of intimacy and relationship which those in the life of the Church have with their leaders, a relationship based on the priest’s role in our second birth, our birth in the Gospel — our baptism. Just as our biological father has an important role in our birth and continuing nurture, so the priest — as the one who baptizes us — has an important role in our second birth, our birth “from above…of water and the Spirit” (John 3:3-5).

Finally: it remains a simple fact that the overwhelming majority of Christians in the world today (Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, etc.) — and across the 20 centuries of Church history — have addressed and continue to address their clergy as ‘Father’.

(Adapted from an essay by Fr. Stephen Tsichlis)

+William Caledonia

Caledonia Times Publication of the Diocese of Caledonia Publisher: The Bishop of Caledonia Editor: The Dean of Caledonia Assistant Editor: Audrey Wagner Published monthly, except July and August by: Diocese of Caledonia, 200 – 4th Ave. W. 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 following 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 Ontario

Caledonia Times — November 2014

At Synod in 2012, our speaker, The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner posed a question to the Synod, which I have come back to now and again and had to ask it of myself and of the people I serve and lead: If we aren’t willing to swim upstream, are we worth knowing? Therefore I would put this question to all of us this month: “If we are not willing to swim or run for it, are we worth existing as a Church?”

There are some things we need to acknowledge if we are going to make the transition from being a mission diocese, to a diocese in mission in this part of the world. I list these things in no particular order as they are all important, regardless of how one weights them.

First, we need to acknowledge that we are (like it or not) becoming more and more a “Canadian” Church and less and less the echo of the colonial Church of England. We struggle to consider the future and being a self sustaining, self sufficient and interdependent diocese that we need to be because of our dependence on the old ways and the sources of monies that are provided from the South.

Second, we must recognize that we are in an age of unabashed individualism. We live in a diocese where only about 4% of the reported Anglicans actually go to Church and support their local ministries. We need to reach out to the other 96% of those Anglicans who do not come and who do not support the local parish. And we need to recognize the environment in which this invitational ministry happens: only 40% of all British Columbians claim spiritual affiliation of some kind. We need to reach out to the inactive, the disaffected, the outsider with the Good News of God in Jesus Christ, using all of the gifts, talents and resources that we have for their sake and the extension of God’s kingdom.

Third we need to work at being rechanted with the Gospel and understand that we offer a message that is counter intuitive and counter cultural to many of the people we deal with in our daily lives.

Therefore we need to learn what it means to swim upstream from here in terms of the proclamation of the Gospel so that people can hear and see that we live a life that is not only totally worth it, but that they can see that the message and being a part the community of faith are a package deal.

Fourth, we should understand that people judge

Books on the Way

By Ruby McBeth In our world self help comes in two forms. There are the books that pamper and cajole the reader.

They give advice on ways for you to become better adjusted, so that you can be happier. On the other hand, there is the Twelve Step approach that recognizes that some people must make a radical life style change if they are to even survive.

This program teaches that people cannot make that adjustment on their own; they need the help of a higher power. The formidable struggle and the need for God’s help are the central messages of the Christian classic The Pilgrim’s Progress. The Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegorical novel which has been used along with the Bible in teaching about Christianity. The author, John Bunyan, lived in the middle of the 1600’s when people in England were rebelling against the monarchy and the established church. John Bunyan was one of those Caledonia Times — November 2014

Editorial Moments Anyone up for a swim? both God and the Church by how obedient we are to the message we preach and the community in which we participate. When people see and know that we are following the Spirit and the Scriptures. We are to find relevance in listening to Scriptures and the doing of God’s will through the work of the Spirit in us people in the rest of the world will see and understand that we have something that is not only better; they will want to know how to get it for themselves.

Next, we need to realize that if there is to be real change that it is going to be scary and that if there is to be real change it needs to happen in our lifetime. There are lots of funny stories and jokes about the Church and change such as, “How many Anglicans does it take to change a light blub?” Answer? “Six hundred.” Why 600 people,” you ask?

Simple. It takes one to get the ladder and the bulb.

That same person climbs up and hangs onto the old bulb. Meanwhile, it takes 598 people to turn the church around in circles, taking out the old blub and screwing in the new. When it is all done, it takes one more to look at the new bulb and expound on how much better the light of the old bulb was compared to the new one. The message of the Gospel and the idea of belonging to the Church as a community are both scary and counter cultural by their very nature. We have people in our congregations who are used to things in a particular way in a particular space at a particular time and for many of our beloved long time parishioners the Church is the last bastion to stand against the changes of the rest of the world. This is also why change in the Church is often so devastating to people and why they refuse and fear change. Moreover, we need to recognize that we are “overbuilt and under peopled”. We cannot maintain the many splendid buildings we have for those who might show up, but seemingly only appear when there is an event such as a funeral or a wedding. Over the next while, we are going to have to take on the task rebels. In this book the main character “Christian” sets out for the heavenly city and encounters many obstacles on the way. Each obstacle is shown as a character with a name such as Formalist, Envy and Hypocrisy. Good characters also have names such as Mercy, Faith, and Evangelist. Christian’s battles with evil monsters are filled with violence. Christian reaches heaven after crossing the river (death).

Part 2 has a gentler tone. It tells of Christian’s wife Christiana and their four boys as they become pilgrims and follow in Christian’s footsteps. They are accompanied by a guide and guardian Mr. Greatheart. This puts them at arm’s length from the giants and other evil influences. The hymn by John Bunyan “He Who Would Valiant Be” comes from the end of Chapter 8 in Part 2. The character “Valiant” has just explained how he overcame temptation by praying. The hymn sums up his valor.

Having characters represent abstract ideas is the special literary form called allegory.

Bunyan’s original text includes lengthy poems at the beginning of the two parts and archaic language throughout. Along with this we see chau-

of asking ourselves, “What truly is our mission and do we really need this?”

Lastly, we need to move out of the culture of poverty that we have lived in for so long; looking to other places and spaces to fund our church buildings, our clergy’s stipends and programs. We need to grow a culture of plenty and of giving. Maybe the ways of the First Nations have something that they can teach us in this regard. When I started going to community feasts nearly 20 years ago, I thought it a very long and tedious (not having been instructed in such things) process to pay and thank every person that had assisted a family in a time of need. As I reflect on those times now, I understand the importance of why happens. People need to be seen as giving and generous to the family and thereby they look after the community. They look after the community because one day, the need will be their own and they will need the community to come and help them. As I understand it, the wealth of the community is in its bonds and what is shared not in what one person can possess and thereby horde for person sake and use. The Church is no different and should strive to live in the same manner.

Allow me to leave you with one last thing to think about? When this editorial comes out, we will be near to the time of Remembrance Day, when we remember the sacrifices of men and women who offered themselves and their very lives for our lives and freedom. These people dedicated their lives to swimming upstream so that we could have peace and prosperity. Since that is the case, what will we bequeath to the next generations of Christians, of Anglicans? What will we risk? What are we swimming to and what are we swimming for? Will we take the plunge and swim upstream?

Jason+ Editor, Caledonia Times. vinistic language and excessive violence. In other words Bunyan was a product of his times. Because The Pilgrim’s Progress has been so valued over the years updated versions have been written. One retelling is Pilgrim’s Progress in Today’s English by James H. Thomas. It includes a few full page pictures. This book leaves out the introductory poems, and shortens the stories leaving out objectionable parts. Unfortunately it leaves out the hymn referred to earlier. While this shorter version opens the book up to children and more of today’s adults, the reviewer feels there is a place for the original for serious readers.

Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim’s Progress. Minneapolis: Successful Living, Inc., 1972. and Bunyan, John retold by Rames H. Thomas. Pilgrim’s Progress in Today’s English. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1992.

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Canada in Brief - Wider Church Life Showing solidarity with Middle East Christians Montreal Anglicans were among a crowd of people marching through the city in solidarity with religious minorities, especially Christians in Syria and Iraq on Aug. 24. Starting at the Greek Melkite Catholic Cathedral of Saint Sauveur on L’Acadie Boulevard, more than 1,000 marchers, many of them members of eastern churches including Maronite Catholic, Orthodox Syriac, Greek-Melkite Catholic, Antiochian Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, Orthodox Coptic Catholic and Orthodox Chaldean, as well as protestant churches, walked to MarcelinWilson Park.

Montreal Anglican

Photo project inspires youth In June 2013, Holy Trinity Anglican Church— partnered with the Knights Templar and the Old Strathcona Youth Society (OSYS)—invited high-risk and street-involved youth to meet at the church for a weekly meal and photography instruction. “We looked at ways relationships and the arts can be used to empower and support youth,” said Holy Trinity rector Chris Pappas. Youth were given donated digital cameras and asked to photograph signs of hope in their neighbourhood. About 16 youth participated and matched their favourite photos with scripture quotes. With help from the Anglican Foundation of Canada’s Kids Helping Kids Fund, the images were then published in an 18-month calendar. Proceeds from the calendar, available at Holy Trinity, the Diocese of Edmonton Synod Office and the OSYS resource centre, will help support the youth society.

The Messenger

Helping homeless prepare for winter With a grant from the City of Vancouver, St. Faith’s Anglican Church plans to run its third annual Take a Bite Out Of Winter program, which provides a meal and a chance for people in need to pick up free winter clothing.

A tent will be set up outside the church to welcome people, and “valet service” will be offered, so people can leave their shopping carts/backpacks outside. “Personal shoppers” will be on hand to help select winter clothing, blankets and sleeping bags.

Last year, the program served close to 100 people, said organizer the Rev. Christine Wilson. “Our church hall was alive with conversation, laughter, handshakes and hugs,” she said.

Topic

Celebrating a century On Oct. 19, a celebration will take at St. Alban’s, Ashcroft marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Cariboo in 1914. Barbara Andrews, Bishop of Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior, and Archbishop John Privett of the diocese of Kootenay, will take part in the anniversary event. “Imagine the courage it took to request the formation of a new diocese in the midst of the declaration of World War I, when men and women from across the Central Interior were volunteering to join the Canadian forces and heading off to Europe,” Andrews writes in an article in The Anglican Link about the anniversary. The diocese of Cariboo was closed in Dec. 2001, after financial problems resulting from lawsuits by people abused as students of church-run Indian residential schools made its operations unsustainable.

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The Rev. Gary Thorne, Anglican chaplain at King’s College and Dalhousie University in Halifax, was pleased to announce on Sept. 7 that an altar cross, stolen from the chapel at King’s College in August, had been recovered. Although the iron and brass cross with some inset glass was not worth much money, it was missed by the chapel worshippers. A young man responded to the offer of a $200 reward and brought the cross to Thorne. “To my mind, the young man was desperate for money and must have been disappointed when he realized it had no resale value,” Thorne wrote in The Diocesan Times, thanking students for their efforts to publicize the missing cross and reward.

The Diocesan Times

Car for Haitian orphanage Since 2010, St. James in Carleton Place, Ont., has supported two orphanages in Haiti, with parishioners Jennie Blackburn and Ronette Vines co-ordinating funds and supplies.

When parishioners heard that Dieudonne Batraville, the founder of one of the orphanages, was having great difficulties with her vehicle, which was reaching a point beyond repair, the Rev. David Andrews approached local car dealer Mike Pitre of Carleton Ford for help. He generously donated a 2006 Ford Escape with an extra set of tires for Batraville to use for the orphanage and her work there.

Crosstalk

The Anglican Link

Diocesan Life in Pictures

Above: Ladies from the ACW Conference with the Rev. Gwen Andrews of Vanderhoof gather for a group photo. Photo Credits to Crytstal Bright, Greenville.

Lost and found

Comic Life

At the request of the Church Committee, the Bishop recently licensed a new Lay Reader for the Cathedral: Johsua Haggstrom. He joins the ministry team at the Cathedral. Photo Creds to Nova Haggstrom, Prince Rupert.

Caledonia Times — November 2014