April 2011

1ANGLICANLife April 2011

ANGLICANLife

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AprilAprilAprilAprilApril20112011201120112011ininininin NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADORA Section of theA Section of theA Section of theA Section of theA Section of the

Anglican JournalAnglican JournalAnglican JournalAnglican JournalAnglican Journal

The Risen Christ - a detail from the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist’s oldest window, the tripartite Resurrection Window (1886) by Lavers,Barraud, and Westlake, which is the only stained glass to survive the fire of 1892. In the window, the “tears” visible on Mary’s face are molten lead,a direct result of the fire’s intense heat; lead has also run down the centre of Christ’s face. One quatrefoil above the main window contains thescrambled word “PAX,” indicating that it was installed backwards and upsidedown. Source: www.stjohnsanglicancathedral.org/resources/Anglican+Cathedral+Tour.pdf

EASTER

EASTER

April 2011 ANGLICANLife2

Personalitytype and prayer

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LET US PRAY

In her book The Sense ofthe Call, Marva Dawn out-lines four approaches toprayer related to differentpersonality types. Accordingto your personality type, youmay find that one way ofpraying ‘works’ better foryou than another. The fourshe presents are heartfeltprayer (primarily emo-tional), mindful prayer, mys-tical prayer and incarnationalprayer.

Some characteristics ofheartfelt prayer are spontane-ous conversations with God,writing your own psalms,looking for God’s movementin the day, journaling andprayer partners.

Mindful prayer includesthe use of collects, memo-rized prayers, praying Scrip-ture, praying questions anddoubts, rotating intercessionsand choosing a diversity ofnames for God.

Mystical prayer involvesmeditation, Taize chants,Lectio Divina, long periodsof silence, praying with sym-bols and icons and an empha-sis on the Trinity.

Incarnational prayer ismore external and involvespraying into action, marchesfor peace and justice, chants,songs and hymns for justice,praying with the newspaper,letter-writing and 12-stepprayer.

A valuable tool for somein growing spiritually iscalled the MBTI, whichtranslates into the Myers-Briggs (personality) TypeIndicator. It is based on Jung-ian psychology and it classi-fies personality types accord-ing to extraversion/introver-sion, perceiving/judging, sen-sation/intuition and think-ing/feeling. This can help toclarify your dominate per-sonality characteristics andyour less developed ones andbecause a measurement forassessing how you are matur-ing.

Its particular applicationto prayer is the subject of abook by Michael andNorrisev called Prayer andTemperament: DifferentPrayers for Different Person-ality Types. Ruth Fowkepresents a similar study inPersonality and Prayer. Itrelates to an old adage, ‘Prayas you can, don’t try to prayas you can’t.’ It simply saysthat there are certain ways ofpraying that fit you and oth-ers that are not helpful (andthe same could be said ofworship). This may havesomething to do with ourtemperament. These twobooks outline different per-sonality types and what kindof prayer may by most suit-able to each.

The Rev. Everett Hobbs

Fishy fundraiserfeeds Mount Pearlchildren

It was not quite the feeding of the 5000, but when a large group gathered at the Reid CommunityCentre in Mount Pearl for a fish meal on January 29th, something awesome happened. Theevent was the 23rd annual Char dinner for the Parish of the Good Shepherd and it saw some400 guests enjoy a meal of arctic char, a silent auction, and dance. While there were noleftovers to be found, the meal did generate much funds for the work of the Parish – a portionof which, totalling $1000, was presented to the Mary Queen of the World Breakfast Programto help provide nutritious breakfasts for city students. The Parish of the Good Shepherd ispleased to be able to continue the tradition of donating ten percent of monies raised at theannual Char dinner to such worthy charities and groups outside of the church. Pictured L to R:Phil and Fran Field (Shepherd’s Flock), Barbara Morgan (Principal of Mary Queen of the World),Elsie Colbourne (Assistant Principal), Archdeacon Geoff Peddle. Submitted by: S. Haskell.Photo credit: Joe O’Quinn.


let us pray

30 Roe Avenue, P.O. Box 348,Gander, NL A1V 1W7Telephone: (709) 651-4100Fax: (709) 256-2957email: [email protected]

Bishop Torraville celebrates his 25thanniversary to the Priesthood

On Sunday, January 30,2011, the congregation of St.Martin’s Cathedral in Ganderjoined with Bishop DavidTorraville and his wife,Karen, to celebrate thetwenty-fifth anniversary ofhis ordination to the Priest-hood. Bishop David presided

at the Eucharist and preachedthe sermon. The service wasfollowed by a reception andfellowship, during which acake, flowers for Karen anda gift were presented.

Bishop David felt a call-ing to the ministry of Christearly in his life and growing

up in a rectory allowed himto witness first hand both theblessings and challenges ofthis demanding role. This“inside” knowledge created inhim the need to spend someof his adult years reflectingon how to work out this call-ing in his own life. However,

Bishop David is very quickto point out that, having madea commitment to ministry,he now has no regrets. Hefeels that, along with thechallenges, there have beenmany blessings for him andhis family in this life that theyhave embraced. He is alsotremendously grateful to hisfamily who have inspired,supported and helped to keephim grounded.

After being deaconed onAugust 25, 1985 at St. Mar-tin’s Cathedral in Gander,Bishop David was priestedon January 29, 1986 at HolyCross in Eastport. He went onto serve as Deacon in Chargeand then Rector of the Parishof Twillingate from 1985 –1989; was Associate Priestand then Rector of the Parishof Gander from 1989 – 2000;and was Executive Officer forthe Diocese of Central New-foundland from 2000 – 2005.He was made Bishop of theDiocese of Central New-foundland on November 29,2005 at St. Martin’s Cathe-dral in Gander, and continuesto serve in this capacity to-day.

Although Bishop Davidstrives to give himself freelyto all areas of ministry, heacknowledges that he has afascination with preachingand how it affects the life ofa congregation. In his ownwords, “It is central to theministry of Jesus and Paul,and it is really central, forgood or for ill, to how mostof us have received and cometo understand the faith. Theministry of preaching is parteducation and instruction and

must be based in seriousstudy, thought and prayer, aswell as the personal faith ex-perience of the preacher, butcannot be limited to it.”

Bishop David feels con-cern for how one communi-cates to people in today’s dig-ital culture. Not surprising,given his background as anEnglish teacher, he feelsdrawn to examine how thecommunication of the mes-sage of Christianity will af-fect the congregation. In hisown words, “I believe that the‘word’ spoken by humanvoice, undergirded by prayer,prepared by study andthought, grounded in faithand respectful of the hearer,still has the power to inform,inspire and call people toamendment of life; and fromthere to lives of service andaction, in a way that nothingelse can. How the congrega-tion models that preaching,lives its life in the Kingdom,worships, supports its mem-bers and reaches out to thewider community is themark of its faith journey andin large part, the effectivenessof its preacher.”

Bishop David’s family,church family and friends aredelighted to mark this mile-stone with him. They giveheartfelt thanks for the bless-ing of his many years of dedi-cation to his calling, prayingthat he will have many moreyears of service and preach-ing as he walks through hisfaith journey. Congratula-tions and God bless you,Bishop David!

Bishop David and Karen Torraville celebrate 25 years of ministry. Submitted by Stella Walsh.


ANGLICANLifein NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

ANGLICAN LIFE in Newfoundland and Labrador is thenewspaper of the Anglican Church in the Province ofNewfoundland and Labrador. A co-operative effort of thethree Dioceses in Newfoundland and Labrador, it ispublished monthly, except July and August, with anindependent editorial policy.

A section of the Anglican Journal

Editor-in-Chief:The Rev’d Sam Rose8 Croydon StreetParadise, NLA1L 1P7Email: [email protected]

Advertising Rates and other information may beobtained from:Bishop Donald Young34 Fraser Road, Gander, NL, A1V 2E8Phone: (709) 256-7701Email: [email protected]

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Each parish is responsible for maintaining its ownsubscription list - please notify your parish office of anychanges. Changes sent to parish offices may take monthsto take effect. Please also send your updated information toCirculation at the Anglican Journal (above) or to DonYoung at 34 Fraser Road, Gander NL A1V 2E8.

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Parish Bulletins and Letters to the Editor: Send to theEditor-in-Chief, Sam Rose (address as above). All lettersmust include the writer’s name, address, and telephonenumber. Telephone numbers will not be published.Anglican Life does not publish letters under nom de plume.Letters should not exceed 300 words (one double spacedtypewritten page), and are subject to editing at thediscretion of the editor.

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Father Sam RoseEditor

Roll away the stone

She stood by the gravesideweeping. She placed her handon the smooth marble, runningher fingers over the indented let-ters of a name, as if she weretrying to feel his loving touchonce again. Her heart was leftin pieces. Year after year asshe came back to this site whereshe placed the love of her life,it seemed that the pain grewstronger and stronger. It felt asif her heart would burst. Shehated the fact that she had tocome here, to this terrible place,to be with the one she loved.She remembered the wonder-ful times they shared - laugh-ing, loving, and living. But nowthat was over. It has been overfor ten long, agonizing years. Allshe has left are doubts, deni-als, confusion, and uncertainty.She kept asking herself, “Whydo I put myself through this tor-ture? Why can’t all this pain justgo away? Why can’t it all belike it was before? But theredoesn’t seem to be any an-swers to her painful questions.

If you can understand this

story, you can understandGood Friday. Someone onceasked me, “What’s so goodabout Good Friday? Jesus is leftto die for hours and hours andhours upon the Cross. So muchevil happened on that day - somuch betrayal, abandonment,denial, and death. What is sogood about Good Friday?”

Indeed, this is the reality ofGood Friday – betrayal, aban-donment, denial, and death. Inmany ways that is our realityas well. Death is a bitter stingwhich infects us all. We haveall suffered the sting of death,as St. Paul would put it. I haveseen the sting of death manytimes when I deal with familiesafter the death of a loved one.I have seen the sting of deathwhen a marriage breaks downand a relationship dies. Theemotions are all there - be-trayal, abandonment, denial,and death – just as they havealways been.

Mary Magdalene felt thesting of death. That first GoodFriday was not good at all forher. She had seen the whip-ping, the beating, the nailing, thescreaming, the tears, and finallythe end. And here she stood,weeping, agonizing, and per-haps running her fingers overthe cold stone tomb as if shewere trying to feel his lovingtouch once again. She couldhave been asking herself, “Whydo I put myself through this tor-

ture? Why can’t all this pain justgo away? Why can’t it all belike it was before? But theredoesn’t seem to be any an-swers to her painful questions.

You see, on Good Friday,the heavy stone had sealed upher dead Lord. It blocked Maryfrom seeing and touching herbeloved Master. That stoneseparated her life from Jesus.

That heavy stone still ex-ists in our lives today as well.That heavy stone represents agreater barrier of what we allexperience when we are con-fronted with great sorrow andtragedy in our own life. Thatheavy stone represents ourown doubts, denials, confusion,and uncertainty. Have you everfelt as if nothing made sense inyour life? Have you ever feltcut off from God? Have youever thought that God didn’tcare or love you? What is yourheavy stone that blocks youfrom seeing the Risen Christ?

When Mary returned tothat graveyard very early onSunday morning, she expectedto find that heavy stone stillthere. Mary remained stuck atGood Friday, at the emptycross, and the cold sealedtomb. Mary remained in herheart cut off from the one whogave her life. When she arrived,

Continued on page 5See: Heavy Stones


Giving can change your life

Kevin Smith

STEWARDSHIP

Just think about this:95% of Canadian donors

give because of the way itmakes them feel.

84% say their giving is anexpression of their hearts andsouls.

Four out of five Canadiandonors say that their giving

is an extension of their spir-itual beliefs.

These observations weremade recently by FraserGreen, a strategist with GoodWorks - an Ottawa companythat has been conducting sur-veys of giving by Canadiansin the last number of years.

When I read these state-ments, it brought to mind abook entitled “Give to Live”by Dr. Douglas Lawson, anordained Methodist minister.The central thesis in his bookis that giving is not just aminor influence on goodhealth but the key to bodilyand mental well being. Hecites studies that show for allages (but particularly among

the elderly) one way to escapepremature physical and emo-tional deterioration is bystaying active in the serviceof others.

Some examples of thestudies included the follow-ing:

A ten year study of thephysical health and socialactivities of 2700 men inMichigan found that thosewho did regular volunteerwork had death rates two andone half times lower thanthose who didn’t.

A life insurance com-pany surveyed policy hold-ers who lived to the age of100 years or older. One of thequestions was:”What is the

most important thing youhave learned in your longlife?” The most frequent an-swer was “To love thy neigh-bour as thyself.”

Two Harvard Universitydoctors discovered that peo-ple who watched a documen-tary about Mother Theresa’swork with the dying showedan increase in immunoglobin- A , the body’s first line ofdefence against viral infec-tion.

A Georgia study deter-mined that blood pressurelevels were lower amongresidents who frequently at-tended church while a Cali-fornia study found thatchurch members lived longer

than those who did not be-long to churches. Dr. Lawsonsuggests that “instead of theold slogan, “Give until ithurts,” it seems we shouldsay “Give until you feelgreat.”

Another interesting bookon the same subject is“Rambam’s Ladder” by JulieSalamon which constantlyreminds us on every page thatwe are measured not by whatwe have, but by what wegive.

A few thoughts to con-sider during this Lent andEaster.

Heavy stonesto her surprise she did not findthe heavy stone blocking thetomb. She found it rolled away.

And she heard a familiarvoice speak her name, “Mary!”Even through her tear-filledburning eyes, this stranger evenlooked like Jesus. But it wasJesus, alive, real, and risen! Je-sus tells Mary not to hold ontohim but to go and proclaim hisresurrection to the others.Mary leaves proclaiming thatshe has seen the Risen Lordand telling all the Good News.

The empty tomb of Eastermorning signals not only Jesus’resurrection but also our res-urrection – our new life as Je-sus’ followers. We no longer

have to live with those heavystones of doubt, denial, confu-sion and uncertainty. We nolonger have to live as if deathwill have the last word. Weno longer have to live as if weare cut off from God. Faithreplaces confusion and uncer-tainty. Grief turns to joy. Tearsvanish from eyes open withamazement. Fear becomesconfidence in God’s faithfulnessand love.

God does something com-pletely new and unexpected inraising Jesus from the dead.Jesus’ resurrection means thatyou and I will be raised into anew life as well – you and I canbe transformed when we seethe Risen Christ standing in ourown midst.

When Mary Magdalenerealized that the Risen Christwas standing by her side,speaking her own name, shewas transformed. Her sorrowwas transformed into radiantjoy – such joy that she becamethe first to share the goodnews! It is the experience of theRisen Christ present in ourmidst that can and does trans-form our lives as well.

The reality of Easter is thatGod is not held back by thethings that hold us back fromGod. The Good News ofEaster is that out of death, Godcreates new life. This veryday, there are people who en-dure heartache and suffering.Too many face a future that isdesolate and hopeless. So

many search for a purpose tolife, but feel like they are wan-dering in the wilderness. Thereare many who still find a greatheavy stone blocking themfrom experiencing the RisenChrist.

The Good News for themand for us is that our Godmoves heavy stones. For MaryMagdalene, the great stone ofgrief was moved by new lifeand hope. For you and me, theheavy stone we experience,whatever it may be, will bemoved as well. The stone wasrolled away from the tomb, notto let Jesus out, but to let us in,to show us that death is not theend - but rather a newbeginning.A beginning that pro-claims the victory of life over

death, and which allows us toturn our backs on the grave andface our future with faith andhope, confident that all ofGod’s promises will indeed bearfruit.

The joy of Easter comesfrom this glorious reality: Thatthe Lord is Risen! The Lord isRisen Indeed! Alleluia!

Continued from page 4


FROM OURBISHOPS

BISHOPS’LETTERS

EASTERGREETINGS

Circumstances in my personal life give rise to particular thoughts about the journey from the cross to resur-rection. As I write this my mother is in the “Quiet Room” at St. Luke’s Home. The folks there know what thatmeans. Mother is well into her 100th year. She is tired and weary. A few days ago my brother-in-law brought HolyCommunion to her. She is ready for her final journey. She is yearning to enter the eternal rest promised by therisen Lord.

It would appear that while she is bound to her human form she has a cross to bear. I expect that she has sungthat familiar hymn often enough to know that just as there’s a cross for everyone there‘s one for her. Motherfrequently emerges from her naps or periods of meditation with some insight into the uncertainty of this dyingprocess. Last evening she propped herself up and emphatically stated that she is ‘like a bird in a cage’. Thelonging for release from this human form was beautifully expressed a long time ago by the psalmist who wrote, “Othat I had the wings of a dove; I would fly away and be at rest.” (Ps 55:6) The final departure is a longing, ayearning, to be free. The cage metaphor tells me that there is a point in our existence when separation takesplace between the body which comes from earth and the soul which comes from heaven. Is this, I wonder, true

spiritual maturity? Is the desire to let go of all, even our mortal bodies, the fullness to which we aspire? When we fold up this earthly tentthen do we truly entrust ourselves to our Creator’s gracious keeping because we have nothing else left?

When dear old Job was stripped of every possession and his dignity he confesses, “I know that my Redeemer lives and he shall stand atthe latter day upon the earth”. Jesus has done just that! Because of her faith in Jesus Christ mother will not die. The “Quiet Room” isreally the place where people go to live because there is only life. Well perhaps there is life and laughter...the laughter of the High King ofHeaven soaring where there is neither height nor depth nor death because death has lost its sting.

Jesus lives! To him the throneOver all the world is given:May we go where he has gone,Rest and reign with him in heaven.Alleluia!

“Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”. Easter is a victory, not apromise of a victory to come, not “Pie in the sky when you die” victory, but present victory. But what is “victory”,really? Victory is about more than merely winning a battle. One of the wisest insights about victory was, in myopinion, expressed by Golda Meir, one of the Founding Mothers of Modern Israel and at one time, its PrimeMinister. Spoken in a time of bloodshed and conflict during wars for independence and the survival of Israel, shesaid: “We do not rejoice in victories. We rejoice when a new kind of cotton is grown and when strawberries bloomin Israel.”

Victory is not only the defeat of an enemy; it is the creation of something better which must follow. ForChristians, the victory of Christ is not about hunkering down within a cloak of “personal salvation”, with a safegroup of like minded persons awaiting, as it were, the final salvation. It is about going into the world to proclaimthe “Good News”.

Easter is neither about a past resurrection nor about a future one. It is about a victory which has been won; itis about the Kingdom of God which has been proclaimed, in which we are called to participate and, with God’sgrace and the living Christ to guide us, build daily.

There are many ways to build something better. Supported by prayer, inspired by worship, impelled by a call to God’s justice, thereare countless opportunities in your community and in your church to nurture new growth, to help “strawberries bloom.”

There are senior’s facilities, food banks, shelters, youth programs, health foundations, choirs, prayer groups, servers guilds, andcountless other places in God’s Kingdom where you are called to live God’s love and proclaim the Peace of Christ to people who will likelyhear it from no one - but you.

On this Easter do not celebrate the blessing of the resurrection in Church alone, but proclaim it through living the “New Life” ofChrist in the community around you.

May the Blessing of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit fill you with the “New Life” which Easter promises that, in Christ, you too maybe a blessing.

Bishop Percy CoffinDiocese of

Western Newfoundland

Bishop David TorravilleDiocese of

Central Newfoundland

Bishop Cyrus PitmanDiocese of

Eastern Newfoundland& Labrador

Dear Friends in Christ,

Alleluia Christ is Risen!! I want to wish you all the blessings of Easter. As we celebrate Easter we are remindedthat the resurrection is at the heart of our faith and the basis of our hope. It is a sure sign that God is true toGod’s promises.

St. Augustine said years ago “We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song”. We are indeed Easter peopleand we are people of hope.

The Easter proclamation spreads throughout the world with the joyful song of Alleluia. Let us sing it with ourlips and live that way with our lives.

In the places where God has placed us may the Risen Christ always accompany us.

7ANGLICANLife April 2011 CHURCHLIFE

Article byLori HollettPassing on a legacy of faith

Great Grandmother sees seven great-grandchildren confirmed. Mrs. Elizabeth Peach of Arnold’s Cove is 93 years old and has been involved with thechurch since she was a young girl. She has been an active member of the ACW for many years and was a choir member from the time she was an adolescentand still sings in the choir each week. She also participates in other concerts and services throughout the year. In November she was very proud to attend theconfirmation ceremony for seven of her great-grandchildren at the St. Michael’s and All Angels Church in Arnold’s Cove. She has seven children, eighteengrandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren.

New CanonsTwo new Canons were installed at the Anglican Cathedralof St. John the Baptist by Bishop Cyrus Pitman on 16 January2011. The new Canons include The Rev’d Canon Eli Evans(Rector of the Parish of Heart’s Content) and The Rev’dCanon David Pilling. (Rector of the Parish of St.Augustine). Pictured (left to right): Canon Eli Evans, BishopPitman, Father Jonathan Rowe (Bishop’s Chapalin), CanonDavid Pilling, The Very Rev’d Dean Josiah Noel. Photocredit: The Editor.

April 2011 ANGLICANLife8 OURHISTORY

David Davis

The Document

John Leigh, 1822 (part three)John Leigh is well known

in Newfoundland, on thepositive side, for his vocabu-lary of the Beothuk aborigi-nal people and his reconstruc-tion of the parish registers ofTwillingate which are foundin the same correspondencefile as the document in thisarticle comes from. On thenegative side, he was presid-ing with Captain DavidBuchan in the SurrogateCourt when the notoriousButler and Landrigan casescame before the court. Bysubjecting these people to se-vere corporal punishmentMr. Leigh and CaptainBuchan sank into the emerg-ing Newfoundland politicalenvironment and found aquestion mark placed aftertheir names. Any reader in-terested in the Beothuk vo-cabulary can look at the arti-cle on John Leigh in the Dic-tionary of Canadian Biogra-phy on the internet by doinga Google search naming thedictionary and then followthe links offered. Mr. Leighappeared in two previous ar-ticles in this series: in April2008 (the price of provisionsin Newfoundland) and Feb-ruary 2008 (life inTwillingate). We will see atheme from this last articlerepeated later in this article.

Readers should have theusual warning that becausesome words in the text of thearticle are missing duemainly to damage to the mi-crofilm on which documentis available in Newfound-land and Mr. Leigh’s habit ofjumping from one topic toanother with little connec-tions in his letter, it is not al-ways easy to follow his treadof his thought. However thisdocument is one of the larg-est from a missionary inNewfoundland discussing is-sues of importance to thechurch so the writer will de-vote three articles to it. Read-ers might want to save theprevious articles to helpmake sense of the currentone(s).

The church in Newfound-land had laboured under asevere disability for manyyears: the lack of any over-sight or leadership positionto make the church opera-tions more effective. Also, itwas exceedingly difficult tofind missionaries and to holdthem, for any length of time.The first step in this processwas appointing a visitingmissionary. As is noted inthe text, this position would

be a traveling supervisoryposition such as was used formany years in education inNewfoundland, a combina-tion of an inspector of workand a resource person forimproved work.

When we begin the firstpart of this document, wefound Mr. Leigh had beenappointed EcclesiasticalCommissary for Newfound-land; the somewhat vague“visiting missionary” hasbeen given more substance.He has been made a sort ofan assistant bishop reportingto the Bishop of Nova Scotia.But as one would expect theappointment has made himnone too popular among hiscolleagues in the church. Ac-cusations are being hurled atMr. Leigh, or maybe hethinks they are being cast athim. Now with the prospectof higher positions being cre-ated there is space in thechurch in Newfoundland forclerical advancement. How-ever, his appointment wasone small step that led toAubrey Spencer’s appoint-ment as Bishop of New-foundland later.

At the end of this part ofhis report Mr. Leigh summa-rizes the persons who needthe support of the society suchas Mrs. Lampen who mightbe indigent without her hus-band’s salary but usually thesociety was reluctant to dothis. Also noted are the needsof school masters andcatechists and their situationwith the lack of priests andsigns of church and school

Due to the missing word(s) the symbol “. . .” has been used to mark the gaps.

Harbor GraceJany 22.1822

(Continued from the last issue)

The distress in this island is very great, and will be acutely felt this winter, I heartily pray the spring wascome, as it may bring us a fresh supply of provisions - and the minds of the lower orders, will then beengaged in the fishery - They are already issued diminished rations at Saint John’s - I already dread theconsequences - the winter so far has been severe in the extreme, more so then any I have hitherto metwith- ...this the efforts of the young men at . . . having what the legal consequences and support of themerchants there reasons believe enough has been exhibited to them, & consequently they wanted aleader - a strong . . . why those who have come forward, Mr Danson did here, and Mr. Colbournedid at Twillingate, should not be permitted to loose anything by so doing if it could be avoided -

It would be well if the Society would take the Attorney General’s opinion on the 57Geo.3 c.51 as theDissenting Ministers still continue to marry and we do not know what to do? –

There is one subject that I did not intend to mention at first, but perhaps a duty I owe to myselfcompels me to do so, however reluctantly - Which is that I fear Mr. Laughorne is not very . . .connected with the production of - . . . Evangalius - he has I know spared no pains to draw theattention of different persons to the Report about the school Altho. I to him denied it to be a statementof mine in the presence of Messrs. Carrington & . . . but even if he thought I had made a false report,he should have written the Society, need not have . . . me, which may have injured the course weengaged in, - I have a letter from a magistrate in the neighborhood of Twillingate, saying that a depositionhad been brought to him to prove that I had sold books and he says “It as the opinion of many herethat Mr. Laughorne is at the head of the above mischief, and that he had busy enquiring whether I hadsold any of the Society’s bibles - This is in return for my sparing him worse, and offering him furnitureout of my own house that he might be comfortable. The first winter - I do not deny that I have soldbooks, I have sold some pounds worth, I bought out with me Testaments Bibles prayer books, Ipurchased some from a Captn of a vessel who brought a lot from the Bible Society - and I wish Mr.Laughorne may never commit any greater sin, then to provide books at a cheap rate for his parishioners- The most charitable construction I can put upon his conduct is that he is not always in his senses, Ibelieve I assure you I communicate this with every great . . . Society. I do not wish to injure him, or tostand in the way of his promotion, but a duty I owe to myself, & the chance of his relating to theSociety on this head, & the advice of all my friends have induced me to state thus much - I haveforwarded his application to come here, & I do not wish that what I have been compelled to stateshould prevent his having the benefit of any privilege that his seniority may give him - I only want todefend myself- . . . the Bishop . . . directed under cover to his Lordship at Saint Martins Library, I donot know whether or not whether this be correct or not, pray inform me -

In the anxious hope of hearing from you early in the Spring, and which I may do if you send your letteraddressed to me to the care of Messrs. Slade Elson &Co. Poole , or Messrs. Hart, Robinson 28Walbrooke, London, early in February - by either of these concerns I shall hear two months soonerthen by way of Halifax.I remain

Yours faithfullyJohn Leigh

Continued on page 9See: John Leigh


The stewardship of giving

The Rev. Greg Mercer

STRAIGHTTALK

Popeye! Rememberhim? Popeye the Sailor Man!Whenever Popeye was at hiswits end he would howler out“That’s all I can stands and Ican’t stands no more.” Andwith that he would breakopen a tin of spinach and be-gan throwing punches.Well, I am not at my witsend and neither am I about tostart throwing punches but Ican’t help but wonder whyAnglicans are at the bottomof the list when it comes tosupporting their church fi-nancially. This concerns mebecause, ultimately, it willaffect the future of the church

we all love.According to one report

that measured the annual fi-nancial contributions of An-glicans and Lutherans acrossCanada against other de-nominations, Anglicanswere SECOND from the bot-tom. That is to say, when itcomes to supporting theirchurch financially, Anglicanshold onto their money. Notnecessarily the kind of statis-tic that would make oneproud. And not only are theyat the bottom of the list, theyare the only denominationwhich is supported primarilyby an aging church. Themajority of our regular giv-ers come from those who areretired. Do the math. Intwenty or twenty-five yearsfrom now who will be left tosupport the AnglicanChurch?

Why aren’t we growingin this area of our steward-ship? Where is the growth

from one year to the next?Why aren’t we attractingmore givers? Surely Angli-cans have as much to give asother Christians. Jesus talkedfrequently about money,wealth and riches. In fact, inone particular parable com-monly known as ‘The Dis-honest Steward’ (Luke 16:1-13), Jesus holds us account-able for how we manage ourmoney. For all intensive pur-poses he is telling us to givehim an account of our stew-ardship. But we can’t eventalk about money withoutgetting upset. It’s almost likewe are afraid to talk about it;paranoid even. Why is that?Let’s get talking, that’s whatI would say. Money is oneof our primary resources,second only to time and tal-ents, i.e., our human re-sources, our volunteers.

The fact is we don’t doenough teaching on steward-ship. The only time we hearabout it is when the church

is in some dire straits. Stew-ardship encompasses thewhole of life. The giving ofmoney should be as naturalas the giving of ourselves butproperly understood in thecontext of who God intendedus to be.

The Old Testamentteaches tithing, i.e., ten per-cent. Not many Anglicansgive at a ten percent level. Infact, on an average, mostAnglicans give less than onepercent. The New Testamentteaches us to give by grace,which I would suggest ismuch more sacrificial thenthe tithe. But is that whatgiving is all about, someminimum standard, someformula, some calculated pro-portion? When Jesus talkedabout money it was almost,always a spiritual issue andNOT an economic one. Godcreated us to be loving, giv-ing, generous people. It is inour nature to give. I mean,when we understand who we

are, where we come from,and that our very lives aregifts, it follows that one ofthe most human and noblethings we can do is to be gen-erous givers. Generous giv-ing flows NOT from a de-mand placed on us, BUTfrom the core of our being.It is who God created us tobe.

So come on Anglicans,we can do better and in mostcases much better. The apos-tle Paul reminds us in his sec-ond letter to the Corinthians,9:7, “Each of you must giveas you have made up yourmind, not reluctantly or un-der compulsion [emphasisadded], for God loves a cheer-ful giver.”

Of course we can alwayseat more spinach but I am notsure that will help the situa-tion, unless you are chasingafter a girl by the name ofOlive Oyl.

development in ConceptionBay.

As usual there was a pe-riod of economic distress inNewfoundland at this time,which makes the establishedpersons nervous that thecommon people will becomehungry and make trouble.The government in St John’sis giving out some food re-lief and some merchants areadvancing some supplies.Mr. Leigh is aware that thesupplies advanced need to bereplaced or the financial sta-bility of the merchant housesmay be compromised, andthus reduce the credit theycould advance in the nextfishing season.

The issue of Dissentingclergy marrying was still anissue as we saw in a previous

article in this series. The de-sire of the church to maintainits authority over the sacra-ments had to be balancedagainst the rise ofMethodism in influential cir-cles in England. Also, thegovernment in London waskeen to maintain religiouspeace in the colonies: it wasno longer acceptable to usethe armed forces to suppressreligious dissent.

Most of this part of Mr.Leigh’s report again dealswith the accusations amongthe clergy. Again we haveonly a small part of the storybut the poisoned issue of thetestaments, bibles and prayerbooks seem to have a life ofits own. Of course, all bookswere very scarce in thosedays especially in remote

colonies. They were alsosymbolic of middle class as-pirations, as an encyclopediabecame later.

It appears that Mr. Leighis engaged in some delicateeroding of Mt Laughorne’sstanding with the Society.Missionaries are looking totheir futures in Newfound-land. The closing of the re-port reminds us of the slowpassage of the mails in theseearly years, especially theofficial mails which went onnaval vessels between majorcities or naval stations. Manypersons who were willing tocompensate the owners andmasters of commercial ves-sels got quicker service fromcommercial port to commer-cial port.

John LeighContinued from page 8


The Rev. Michael Li

Easter resurrection

Ronald Clarke

COLUMN

It is finished

Snow lies deep and heavyon my backyard garden. Mytrees, a mixed collection ofwillowy spindly three-tofour-year olds, that I havebeen nurturing tenderly andwatering faithfully throughhot city summers poke theirbrown dry skeletons throughthe chill white blanket, look-ing forlorn and dead. I fondlyremember them as they werelast summer-leafy, flower-

ing, some loaded with orangeand red berries. Now, alas,they are dead- no, not dead,but soundly, heavily asleep.I do not mourn for my trees,though they ”died” last Oc-tober, their leaves shrivelingto yellow, red and brownhusks. I know, indeed I amcertain, that they will resur-rect in spring’s warm sun-light. They will live andbloom again renewed, revi-talized. Now they sleep inuseful, necessary dormancy,but they will live again. Whymourn for trees that merelysleep?

Recently, I lost a long-time friend; but I did notweep. My friend was leavingfor Europe, and knowing hisdistaste for letter-writing, Idoubt that I will hear from

him again for a long time. Iknow, however, that he willreturn when his overseasposting is finished, and thenwe shall be reunited. Separa-tion of friends is painful, butsince I am certain we shall bereunited, I am satisfied. As Iwaved goodbye and watchedhim board the airplane, I feltgenuine sadness, but I wouldlook awfully foolish cryingover a friend from whomseparation was only tempo-rary.

Years ago, when I wasmuch younger, I stood at thegrave of my beloved father.Dad had been one of mydearest friends, one forwhom there can be no surro-gate, no earthly substitute. Ishould have been prostratewith grief. I was not. Again,

I did not weep “as one with-out hope”. Why should I?Christ, my father’s Saviourand mine, had taken this jour-ney before- and he had risen,returned to life. Christ prom-ised all who believe in himthe same thing- death, then,is no longer death, but ratherdeep profound sleep. It wouldbe just as silly, then, to weepfor my father as to weep formy Europe-bound friend.

Christ, by his Easter Res-urrection, has transformeddeath to sleep, and so dyingis no more permanent thantravelling. I was just as cer-tain that my father will res-urrect as I am certain that myflowers and trees will bloomagain next spring. I was morecertain that my father willlive again then I am that my

friend will return from Eu-rope, since earthly life, withits vicissitudes, is as uncer-tain for him as it is for all ofus. But the promises of Christare sure! Confident of theeventual resurrection, I expe-rienced at the graveside asense of peace, a pulse of joy.

To me and to all sincerebelievers, Easter is muchmore than a historical ortheological event. Easter isthe personal assurance thateach of us, like Christ, shallsurely conquer death. Be-reavement then is but a tem-porary separation. Death isnothing more than refresh-ing sleep. Thanks and gloryto Jesus Christ for Easter!

The Apostle’s Creedstates that Jesus “was cruci-fied, dead, and buried” (John19:17-42). Jesus made sevenstatements while He was dy-ing on the cross.

On the cross Jesus drankthe vinegar to moisten Histhroat. The drink of vinegardid not fully quench Histhirst, but it did enable Himto utter a loud cry saying “Itis finished” (John 19:30). AsHe spoke these words Jesuswas not yet dead. His deathwas only moments away. Hespoke anticipatively of thework now done. The loudcry stood for a shout of vic-tory, because the purpose ofGod has triumphed in Hisdeath.

When Jesus shouted, “Itis finished”, He referred tothe completion of the workof redemption. Nothing fur-ther needed to be done. Hedied on the cross for our sal-vation. On the cross He of-fered Himself as the one per-

fect sacrifice. In His dyingmoments, “the curtain of thetemple was torn in twofrom top to bottom”(Matthew 27:51). Nomore sacrifice would benecessary.

God became incar-nate and gave His life aransom for sinful hu-manity. Jesus referred tothe Communion cup asHis “blood of the (new)covenant, which ispoured out for many forthe forgiveness of sins”(Matthew 26:28). Theforgiveness of sin anddeliverance from sinwere made possible bythe death of Jesus.

The work of re-demption was accom-plished. It was donewithout the addition ofhuman merits. We must re-member that the forgivenessof God is a gift to be re-

ceived. Eternal life is a gift. It is free, not earned. Mark

8:35 suggests that a personcan either be saved or lost bygiving himself or herself

over to Jesus or not. Jesus said, “He who

stands firm to the end will besaved” (Matthew 24:13). Our conversion is only the

entry into salvation, which iscompleted only in the life to

come. There is a sin“will never be forgiven”(Mark 3:29), not becauseGod will not forgive, butbecause human refusesto be forgiven.

All the other reli-gions of the world are es-sentially systems of hu-man merit. The Chris-tian God is merciful tothe undeserving sinners. Nothing can be added tothe finished work of Je-sus. We cannot saveourselves. All we haveto do is to believe inGod’s Word andtrust the work of Jesusfor our salvation. Jesusis our Saviour.

11ANGLICANLife April 2011 COLUMN

Giving it up for Lent

A WHOLE NEW REVIEW“Jesus in the Power of Poetry” by Diarmuid O’Murchu

Reviewed byGail Brittain

Allison Billard

I’ve always been fasci-nated by the idea of giving upsomething for Lent. That youwould go without one of yourfavourite things for 40 dayswhen normally you would beattached to it like an append-age is really quite interesting.

I’ve always admiredthose who can fast. I’m waytoo big a wimp to fast for 40

days, maybe 24 hours or sobut that’s about it. I can’t lockmyself awayfor all of Lent,which is what itwould requireotherwise I’d befired from myjob and prob-ably abandonedby my familyfor being socranky and dif-ficult.

A couple oftimes I gave upchocolate forLent, and wowit was hard! Coffee was evenworse, it turns out your bodyreally can become dependenton a certain level of caffeine

intake and I had a headachefor 3 weeks! And I was for-

bidden by co-workers andfamily members from everdoing that again. Oops.

So maybe I will try tak-

ing up something for Lent in-stead. I’ve proved, if some-

what argu-ably, that Ican give upsome of myf a v o u r i t ethings, somaybe it’stime to tryto develop anew spir-itual habit. I’ve alwayswanted tohave a bet-ter, moredisciplined

prayer life, so maybe thiswill be my chance to makethat happen.

Lent is the season of

preparation and prayerful re-flection as we get ready tocelebrate Christ’s sacrifice forus. Each time we miss whatwe’ve given up we can bet-ter appreciate what Jesus gaveup for us and be thankful forit. Each time we set aside timefor purposeful prayer and re-flection on Scripture we arereminded of Jesus’ time ofpreparation for his own min-istry while he fasted 40 daysin the desert.

What will be your un-dertaking for Lent? Will yoube giving it up or taking iton?

Have you ever wonderedhow Jesus might have felt orthought of Judas after his be-trayal? How about thethoughts and questions thatran though the minds of thetwelve disciples? Jesus in thePower of Poetry, byDiarmuid O’Murchu allowsus to meet the human Jesus,the Jesus who shares his mostprivate thoughts. We readabout Mary’s struggle as awoman and mother. We hearher as she bears the shame ofhaving a child out of wedlock.We feel her pain as she wor-ries about her son’s travelsand rebellious nature.

The Gospels invoke in usthe desire to know Jesus as theSon of God come to empowerthe oppressed, themarginalized and the victimsof the political and religiousrulers of the day.

In poetry we have li-cense to “speak the unspeak-able, uncover what has beensubverted, illuminate the in-visible and give voice to di-mensions of life that tend tobe subjected to invisibilityand inaudibility.”

The poetry in this bookshows us another side of Je-sus, the side that will not onlylead us to God but a Jesus whoempowers us to seek justice,

to heal and forgive, to loveand live in community cel-ebrating God’s goodness.

Jesus in the Power ofPoetry enables us to stretchourselves. See the mystery;experience the suffering, andpain. Reach out for justice.Imagine the anguish of thebleeding woman before shedared to touch the hem of Je-sus’ garment. Such empow-erment! Experience the purejoy Zaccheus must have feltwhen Jesus beckoned himfrom the tree and befriendedhim. So inclusive!

Diarmuid O’Murchu hasauthored many books such asQuantum Theology and

Diarmuid O’MurchuJesus in the Power of PoetryA New Voice for Gospel Truth

The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York206pp. $22.95

978-0-8245-2521-7

Catching Up With Jesus. Heis a social psychologistworking with couples, thebereaved, and the homeless.I’ve read Jesus in the Powerof Poetry several times andcontinually go back to it. Init I find the familiar parablesand miracles of Jesus told ina way that invites me to ex-perience Jesus and the peoplein his life in everyday situa-tions, with everyday feelings;making the Gospels, as rel-evant today, as always.

This book is available atThe Diocesan Resource Cen-tre, 19 King’s Bridge Road,St. John’s.


YouthYouthYouthYouthYouthLifeyouth ministry in newfoundland & labradoryouth ministry in newfoundland & labradoryouth ministry in newfoundland & labradoryouth ministry in newfoundland & labradoryouth ministry in newfoundland & labrador

Bonavista youth reach out to seniors

The Bonavista YouthGroup have fun when theyget together every secondweek. While trying to keepthe meetings entertaining,much of the content of themeetings revolve aroundhow the Lord can work intheir lives and how they canwork for the Lord.

As part of a communityservice in December theyheld a “cookie crusade”where we made cookies todeliver to those that had

been sick. We also visitedseveral seniors’ homes tosing Christmas Carols.

Working with Youthcan be very demanding butit can also be very reward-ing. We have seen howmany of our young peoplehave opened their lives toallow the Lord to intervenein different circumstances.They grow in their faith anddevelop a close bond to oneanother as they learn toserve the Lord.

Submitted byDebbie Ryder

Ask & Imagine PoemAsk & Imagine PoemAsk & Imagine PoemAsk & Imagine PoemAsk & Imagine Poem

Submitted byNathan Buffett

Ask and Imagine was a friendly place,People came from everywhere with a smile on their face,

Nobody was ever left out of a game,Each and every person was treated exactly the same,

The first day there was more of meet and greet,We played all kinds of games that were really neat,

Six count, hot chocolate, touch the G and body drumming,Was some of the games we played

when guitars was strumming,We had to plan for some eventslike worship and CLAY 2010,

Creating a workshop working time to the end.

CLAY 2010 was a bonus for this Ask and Imagine,We done a workshop about different topics,

Stuff, permission to fail, and time were some,We all worked hard but yet had lots of fun,

Sat5 down with people from all over from coast to coast,Met all kinds of people who I shall miss the most,

We sung and danced at the CLAY gathering,Played games that were fun and tiring.

Even after these days of CLAY 2010,We weren’t even close to the end,

All oup preparation for the workshops and presentations,We even had our own little presentations,

Between mind blowing presentations from Bill,And learning about different Gods,

religions and peoples will,We even had a day about colors and what is meant,

Blue, gold, green and orangewere the colors where our time was spent,

Of course the colors have different meanings,

Gold being responsible, green being curious,orange being adventurous and blue being harmonious,

We all lived in the one house together which wasn’t bad,Even cooking dinner and supper was pretty rad,In this house is where everything went down,

Nobody ever had any type of frown,That’s where we ate, slept, showered and lived,

Felt just like home it really did,Welcomed from the very first day,

Everyone got there in all different ways,Between the planning and games,

We all had fun nobody was ever shamed.

Couple little activities that we have done,Tree climbing, visiting an oldened town

and going out having fun,Being 40-50 feet up in the air,Havin’ the feeling your flying

and you just don’t care,Or goin’ to an old England place,

Having fun seeing smiles on the peoples face,Seeing an old church and tractor filled with hay,

Riding on the trailerlooking out to people and say “hey,”

This experience was a blast,I recommend it to everyone to apply fast,

To have just as much fun as I had,Not one person would ever come out sad,So this is about my A&I CLAY 2010 trip, Hope it inspires you to apply and go for it.

April 2011

Documents

Transcript of April 2011