Homily Pentecost 4A Parable of the Sower
Having served several rural congregations, I’ve learned a little about agriculture, and about the spirit and dedication of farmers in western Canada who still labour on the family farm and have survived, drought, flooding, poor commodity prices and high interest rates…to name only a few of the obstacles.
Farmers have had to become very resourceful to keep going, prudent in their decisions on how much land to seed, how much fertilizer to use, how much to spend on equipment. It’s a tough business.
And it was a tough business in the first century when Jesus taught this parable of the Sower.
What is so remarkable about the brief parable told in Matthew is that the Sower Jesus talks about doesn’t show any of that cautious, careful behaviour we’d expect from a farmer—then or now.
The sower distributes his seeds on the path, among the rocks, in the thorns, and in the good soil.
Since seeds were a very valuable commodity at that time, and most farmers worked for larger landowners in a tenancy system, it’s odd behaviour to say the least for the Sower to waste any seeds where they are unlikely to grow.
The thing about parables is that Jesus used them, to make us think. In this case Matthew also provides an interpretation of the parable a few verses later which is included in our Gospel reading this morning.
However before we accept that this as the only interpretation of the parable, we have to consider the possibility this was a later addition to the original text by an editor who wanted to have Jesus more fully explain the parable, rather than leaving it to the hearer or reader to figure it out.
My feeling is we are meant to struggle with parables, because they usually have some sort of twist, like the extravagant use of seeds by the Sower.
Then the task for us is to interpret what Jesus means, and what it might mean for us in our lives.
I think we could call this parable the “Prodigal” or extravagant Sower. The Sower could be seen as God, dispensing grace extravagantly—often on rocky ground, or where it will not take hold, but offering grace anyway in hopes the seed will take root in our hearts.
Or else we ourselves could be the Sower, passing on God’s grace, God’s love to others, whether it is returned or not, whether it takes root or not.
The return of the seeds which were sown on good soil by the Sower was 30, 60, 100 fold.
This kind of return would have been unheard of, even in a bumper crop, then or now for that matter despite all our high-tech agricultural processes to improve yield—the so called green revolution.
So what Jesus is teaching us is that God’s grace, when we receive it, or when we pass it on, can result in an unimaginable yield, beyond our wildest expectations.
And this parable can be seen as a way to explain God’s grace, rather than talking about belief.
That isn’t to say the interpretive section on the parable isn’t useful teaching as well.
One thing which strikes me is the description of what happens when the seed falls among thorns. The cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.
This speaks to the spiritual crisis in more affluent societies—where the church is declining. We have lost our spiritual compass thanks to a materialism that puts wealth and entertainment above faith, compassion and service.
I’m not saying faith, compassion and service are not present in our society, but they seem to have been eclipsed by a hectic and often disconnected lifestyle which grows ever more complex,but lacking purpose.
Church life and community life have suffered as families and friends are scattered. We have great mobility. But the chances of putting roots down, as many of you have here in Sarnia, are less than they have every been.
So we have to recognize the thorns in our society which choke our faith. We need to also recognize the many manifestations of God’s grace in our lives, and try to share God’s grace with others, freely, extravagantly.
Perhaps the most encouraging message from this teaching of Jesus is that God’s grace is available to all of us if we seek it, wherever we are. Perhaps we have to overcome thorns to recognize it. Or go through some rocky times.
But we have the assurance that it is there. Thanks be to God.
Monday, 11 July 2011
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Many Blessings for Canada
Homily Canada Day Weekend 2011
With all the attention Will and Kate are attracting with their visit this week, we are reminded of the far reaching impact, and awareness of the British Monarchy, even in the 21st century, when its power is purely symbolic.
Symbols are important. And some of the attention to the Royals can rub off even on Anglican clerics. Of course many of us can recall where we were in 1981 when Prince Charles married Diana Spencer. It was THE Royal Wedding of the century—with hundreds of millions of people watching all over the world.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, then Robert Runcie, officiated. When Runcie came to Canada to visit I recall him telling the story at St. James Cathedral in Toronto about a visit to a remote part of China after the wedding, where he was greeted like a rock star. The faces of the people lit up.
How he wondered could Chinese peasants recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury. The answer came from the people themselves, smiling at him saying “Royal Wedding, Royal Wedding.”
So symbols are important, and so is our national holiday, which has a special set of lectionary readings which I am using this Sunday.
Canada is a remarkable nation, peaceful throughout its history apart from a few skirmishes, and involvement in foreign wars in support of freedom and democracy.
When the prophet Isaiah speaks of Kings reigning in righteousness and princes with justice he was setting out the ideals which we should live by in our communities and nations.
God wants us to live in peace, in secure dwellings in quiet resting places, as prophet wrote.
What is so remarkable about Canada is that people from so many lands have come to live in our vast country, which is so rich in beauty and resources. My grandparents on my father’s side came from England in 1912 with nothing. My grandfather worked as a sleeping car conductor on the CPR.
Dad was the first in the family to go to university, but only after he earned the Veteran’s grant of either land or free tuition after serving in the army as a pay sergeant during world war two.
He became a teacher, and would have been proud to see his granddaughter graduate from University to Toronto with a Bachelor of Education last month.
So Canada has been a land of opportunity for my family and for many families. It hasn’t been easy. Some of you have vivid memories of the great depression in the 30’s.
But peace, compromise and community life have characterized our growth as a nation. We don’t have the same extreme of wealth and poverty as our neighbours to the south. Nor do we have the nastiness of the current political climate in the US.
We do have different values, more communal values.
That’s where Paul’s letter to the Colossians speaks to us—we are called as Christians to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, meekness and patience.
Canadians are sometime mocked when we demonstrate these values.
And above all we need to act out of love, and to be thankful for the gifts God has given us, as a nation, as provinces, as communities, as families, as individuals.
And Paul notes, we need to be forgiving, as we have been forgiven.
That’s hard sometimes. But the bitterness which continues in the absence of forgiveness can separate us not only from others but from God.
This passage concludes with important reminder about our worship. And it’s something we sometimes can forget. When we gather to teach, to pray, to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God—we need to do so with gratitude in our hearts, giving thanks to God.
On Canada Day Pat Harrison sent me a wonderful slide show via e-mail which had stunning photographs of many different parts of Canada.
In a way its overwhelming to think of the beauty of this vast country which God created and we are fortunate enough to live in. I’ve had the privilege to travel to all ten provinces, and worship in Anglican churches in all of them.
Living in three provinces--Alberta, Manitoba and my native Ontario--has given me an understanding of the diversity of this country---but also some of the things shared in common.
We have a lot to give thanks for. Easier travel in the past century has made people more aware not only of our own country, but the world.
We are amazed by the world’s diversity and what it has to offer, despite all its problems.
Yet when we come home to Canada, we realize how fortunate we are, blessed by our history of peace and democracy, our bountiful resources, our diverse population from many lands.
And for that we give God thanks!
With all the attention Will and Kate are attracting with their visit this week, we are reminded of the far reaching impact, and awareness of the British Monarchy, even in the 21st century, when its power is purely symbolic.
Symbols are important. And some of the attention to the Royals can rub off even on Anglican clerics. Of course many of us can recall where we were in 1981 when Prince Charles married Diana Spencer. It was THE Royal Wedding of the century—with hundreds of millions of people watching all over the world.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, then Robert Runcie, officiated. When Runcie came to Canada to visit I recall him telling the story at St. James Cathedral in Toronto about a visit to a remote part of China after the wedding, where he was greeted like a rock star. The faces of the people lit up.
How he wondered could Chinese peasants recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury. The answer came from the people themselves, smiling at him saying “Royal Wedding, Royal Wedding.”
So symbols are important, and so is our national holiday, which has a special set of lectionary readings which I am using this Sunday.
Canada is a remarkable nation, peaceful throughout its history apart from a few skirmishes, and involvement in foreign wars in support of freedom and democracy.
When the prophet Isaiah speaks of Kings reigning in righteousness and princes with justice he was setting out the ideals which we should live by in our communities and nations.
God wants us to live in peace, in secure dwellings in quiet resting places, as prophet wrote.
What is so remarkable about Canada is that people from so many lands have come to live in our vast country, which is so rich in beauty and resources. My grandparents on my father’s side came from England in 1912 with nothing. My grandfather worked as a sleeping car conductor on the CPR.
Dad was the first in the family to go to university, but only after he earned the Veteran’s grant of either land or free tuition after serving in the army as a pay sergeant during world war two.
He became a teacher, and would have been proud to see his granddaughter graduate from University to Toronto with a Bachelor of Education last month.
So Canada has been a land of opportunity for my family and for many families. It hasn’t been easy. Some of you have vivid memories of the great depression in the 30’s.
But peace, compromise and community life have characterized our growth as a nation. We don’t have the same extreme of wealth and poverty as our neighbours to the south. Nor do we have the nastiness of the current political climate in the US.
We do have different values, more communal values.
That’s where Paul’s letter to the Colossians speaks to us—we are called as Christians to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, meekness and patience.
Canadians are sometime mocked when we demonstrate these values.
And above all we need to act out of love, and to be thankful for the gifts God has given us, as a nation, as provinces, as communities, as families, as individuals.
And Paul notes, we need to be forgiving, as we have been forgiven.
That’s hard sometimes. But the bitterness which continues in the absence of forgiveness can separate us not only from others but from God.
This passage concludes with important reminder about our worship. And it’s something we sometimes can forget. When we gather to teach, to pray, to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God—we need to do so with gratitude in our hearts, giving thanks to God.
On Canada Day Pat Harrison sent me a wonderful slide show via e-mail which had stunning photographs of many different parts of Canada.
In a way its overwhelming to think of the beauty of this vast country which God created and we are fortunate enough to live in. I’ve had the privilege to travel to all ten provinces, and worship in Anglican churches in all of them.
Living in three provinces--Alberta, Manitoba and my native Ontario--has given me an understanding of the diversity of this country---but also some of the things shared in common.
We have a lot to give thanks for. Easier travel in the past century has made people more aware not only of our own country, but the world.
We are amazed by the world’s diversity and what it has to offer, despite all its problems.
Yet when we come home to Canada, we realize how fortunate we are, blessed by our history of peace and democracy, our bountiful resources, our diverse population from many lands.
And for that we give God thanks!
Thursday, 30 June 2011
The 21st Century Church; Learning from Peter and Paul
Homily- St. Peter and St. Paul, June 26, 2011
Have you ever made a serious mistake in your life, but someone has given you a second chance, a chance at redemption?
That is what God did in the lives of two men who played a central role in the birth of the Christian Church; He gave them a second chance.
Paul, an educated Jew and Pharisee, made a reputation for himself as a persecutor of followers of Christ.
Yet it was Paul, who after his dramatic conversion on the Road to Damascus became the one who preached the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles, and through missionary efforts extended the church through Turkey and Greece into the very heart of Rome.
He left us his letters to Christian communities in that region, and they have become part of our sacred scripture.
Like Paul, Peter made mistakes. Always brash and headstrong, he was one of the twelve men who followed Jesus throughout his ministry. Yet he denied Jesus three times on the eve of his death.
This denial is echoed in our Gospel reading today with Jesus three times asking Peter if he loved him. Yet Peter still became one of the early leaders of the church, and is regarded as the first Bishop of Rome, the rock on which the Church was built.
Both Peter and Paul were martyred. They gave up their lives for what they believed in, for their faith in Christ.
As we honour their memory, we look for lessons in our own lives.
One lesson is the boundless grace of God, despite our failings. We can do, as the prayer says, “more than we asked or imagined.”
In the parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke’s Gospel, one of the most familiar and loved from scripture, the Father welcomes his youngest son back with a great celebration.
This, despite the young man’s ill considered request and receipt of his inheritance, his loss of his fortune in wasteful and extravagant living, and his return home penniless and in disgrace.
The father in the story doesn’t care about all that. All he knows is his son is back, and he wants to celebrate.
.
The character usually ignored in the story is the elder brother, the one who stayed with his father, didn’t claim his inheritance early, and hasn’t done anything wrong.
But he is resentful because his younger brother has been forgiven and restored to the household. The father even kills the fatted calf for the celebration, something he never did for the elder brother.
What links this parable with Peter and Paul is grace, God’s grace. A second chance. A chance for redemption.
In our life as the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Huron we are at a crossroads. It isn’t just in this parish we have memories of the 50’s and 60’s, when we were stronger and more vital communities. We are all in the same boat, although perhaps some boats are leaking more than others, to carry on that metaphor.
One of the things planned for the fall is a Diocesan wide study of a book called the “Prodigal God” by Timothy Keller, a Presbyterian minister from the United States.
In the book Keller takes a new look at the parable, shifting the emphasis from the younger son, with his wasteful or “prodigal” or extravagant spending of his portion of the inheritance.
Instead Keller sees God in the person of the Father in the story as the Prodigal, or extravagant one. God extends grace to us, no matter what mistakes we make. God yearns for our return to his fold, his household. He yearns for our repentance.
Keller also takes another look at the elder brother in the story, who he sees as being just as wrong as the younger brother—but in a different way---his resentful attitude towards both his Father and his younger brother; his refusal to take part in the feast of welcome back.
Lest we too easily agree Keller, he suggests many Christians have acted too often as elder brothers.
The point of studying a book like this is that we need to become a church with a mission and a ministry, which will address the needs of not only our members but our communities in this 21st century.
Just keeping the doors open and continuing with parish life as it has been won’t work anymore. It isn’t sustainable, either financially or spiritually.
We don’t know what the church will look like in the next 10 to 20 years, but we need to start finding out what the possibilities are.
As well as this book study, we will have Back to Church Sunday this fall. You’ll be hearing a lot more about this as we get closer to the date. The idea is simple. All of us have friends, neighbours, children, grand-children. On one particular Sunday—September 25th, we will be asked to invite them to worship with us.
Ideally, we should pick them up and bring them to worship.
In Dioceses which have already tried this, thousands of people have come out in addition to the regular parishioners, and more important about 20 percent have stayed.
Think of how it felt to be worshipping on the 85th anniversary with people of all ages and almost 150 in the church. That’s the goal for Back to Church Sunday.
Studies have shown that the best way for churches to attract new members is by personal invitation by existing members—not church ads, not signs, not brochures or posters.
As we go into this summer period of refreshment, and the blessings of nature, I would offer a prayer for the coming fall to be an important time for renewal in this parish.
I can also announce Bishop Terry Dance will be here on Sunday October 16 for his first Episcopal visit since I was appointed.
Have you ever made a serious mistake in your life, but someone has given you a second chance, a chance at redemption?
That is what God did in the lives of two men who played a central role in the birth of the Christian Church; He gave them a second chance.
Paul, an educated Jew and Pharisee, made a reputation for himself as a persecutor of followers of Christ.
Yet it was Paul, who after his dramatic conversion on the Road to Damascus became the one who preached the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles, and through missionary efforts extended the church through Turkey and Greece into the very heart of Rome.
He left us his letters to Christian communities in that region, and they have become part of our sacred scripture.
Like Paul, Peter made mistakes. Always brash and headstrong, he was one of the twelve men who followed Jesus throughout his ministry. Yet he denied Jesus three times on the eve of his death.
This denial is echoed in our Gospel reading today with Jesus three times asking Peter if he loved him. Yet Peter still became one of the early leaders of the church, and is regarded as the first Bishop of Rome, the rock on which the Church was built.
Both Peter and Paul were martyred. They gave up their lives for what they believed in, for their faith in Christ.
As we honour their memory, we look for lessons in our own lives.
One lesson is the boundless grace of God, despite our failings. We can do, as the prayer says, “more than we asked or imagined.”
In the parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke’s Gospel, one of the most familiar and loved from scripture, the Father welcomes his youngest son back with a great celebration.
This, despite the young man’s ill considered request and receipt of his inheritance, his loss of his fortune in wasteful and extravagant living, and his return home penniless and in disgrace.
The father in the story doesn’t care about all that. All he knows is his son is back, and he wants to celebrate.
.
The character usually ignored in the story is the elder brother, the one who stayed with his father, didn’t claim his inheritance early, and hasn’t done anything wrong.
But he is resentful because his younger brother has been forgiven and restored to the household. The father even kills the fatted calf for the celebration, something he never did for the elder brother.
What links this parable with Peter and Paul is grace, God’s grace. A second chance. A chance for redemption.
In our life as the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Huron we are at a crossroads. It isn’t just in this parish we have memories of the 50’s and 60’s, when we were stronger and more vital communities. We are all in the same boat, although perhaps some boats are leaking more than others, to carry on that metaphor.
One of the things planned for the fall is a Diocesan wide study of a book called the “Prodigal God” by Timothy Keller, a Presbyterian minister from the United States.
In the book Keller takes a new look at the parable, shifting the emphasis from the younger son, with his wasteful or “prodigal” or extravagant spending of his portion of the inheritance.
Instead Keller sees God in the person of the Father in the story as the Prodigal, or extravagant one. God extends grace to us, no matter what mistakes we make. God yearns for our return to his fold, his household. He yearns for our repentance.
Keller also takes another look at the elder brother in the story, who he sees as being just as wrong as the younger brother—but in a different way---his resentful attitude towards both his Father and his younger brother; his refusal to take part in the feast of welcome back.
Lest we too easily agree Keller, he suggests many Christians have acted too often as elder brothers.
The point of studying a book like this is that we need to become a church with a mission and a ministry, which will address the needs of not only our members but our communities in this 21st century.
Just keeping the doors open and continuing with parish life as it has been won’t work anymore. It isn’t sustainable, either financially or spiritually.
We don’t know what the church will look like in the next 10 to 20 years, but we need to start finding out what the possibilities are.
As well as this book study, we will have Back to Church Sunday this fall. You’ll be hearing a lot more about this as we get closer to the date. The idea is simple. All of us have friends, neighbours, children, grand-children. On one particular Sunday—September 25th, we will be asked to invite them to worship with us.
Ideally, we should pick them up and bring them to worship.
In Dioceses which have already tried this, thousands of people have come out in addition to the regular parishioners, and more important about 20 percent have stayed.
Think of how it felt to be worshipping on the 85th anniversary with people of all ages and almost 150 in the church. That’s the goal for Back to Church Sunday.
Studies have shown that the best way for churches to attract new members is by personal invitation by existing members—not church ads, not signs, not brochures or posters.
As we go into this summer period of refreshment, and the blessings of nature, I would offer a prayer for the coming fall to be an important time for renewal in this parish.
I can also announce Bishop Terry Dance will be here on Sunday October 16 for his first Episcopal visit since I was appointed.
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Experiencing God in three ways
Homily, Trinity Sunday, June 19, 2011
Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday, the only Sunday in the church year which celebrates what is generally described as a doctrine. It’s not a Sunday about a saint, or an event in the life of Jesus.
It’s not one of those many Sundays after Pentecost. I guess when I grew up my first awareness of Trinity was that we had so many Sundays after Trinity in the old one year Prayer Book lectionary.
Now we use the Feast of Pentecost, as the beginning of this long season, so the Trinity is limited to this Sunday observance which goes back to the ninth century, and the Monks who helped the church survive the period often called the dark ages.
Our readings are vastly different, from the first of two creation stories in Genesis, to the grace in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, to the great commission, in which Jesus sends his disciples out to preach the Gospel to all nations, baptizing in the name of the father son and holy spirit.
If someone asked you to explain the Trinity, what would you say.
Of course this has been a great matter of debate among Bishops and theologians ever since the fourth century councils of the church.
But perhaps it isn’t important that we have a carefully articulated answer.
Instead we can see the Trinity as the way we encounter the divine—through the grace of Christ, the love of God and communion with the Holy Spirit.
One group of monks who helped us understand the Trinity were called Cappadocians. They described God in terms of three persons, in relationship to each other, inseparable, but in relationship to each other.
So instead of one God, remote and inaccessible, we have God who is creator of all, but who sent his son to be among us, and the holy spirit to care for us.
Through Jesus, who is fully human and fully divine, we have a place in the Divine life, as creatures made in the image of God.
I like this description by one writer of our faith in the Trinitarian God: “I believe in God, the creator and sustainer of all life, in Jesus Christ, in whom we see God at work for the flourishing of life; and in the spirit, who works in us so that we might live from, toward and with God.”
Seen in this light, the Trinity doesn’t have to be viewed as a difficult theological concept.
It’s simply a way to under God, which is unique to Christians. Other faiths have one God, or many Gods, but we believe in God, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, three persons, but one God.
And the most important thing about that is that the three persons are in relationship not only with each other,within the Godhead, but with us.
Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday, the only Sunday in the church year which celebrates what is generally described as a doctrine. It’s not a Sunday about a saint, or an event in the life of Jesus.
It’s not one of those many Sundays after Pentecost. I guess when I grew up my first awareness of Trinity was that we had so many Sundays after Trinity in the old one year Prayer Book lectionary.
Now we use the Feast of Pentecost, as the beginning of this long season, so the Trinity is limited to this Sunday observance which goes back to the ninth century, and the Monks who helped the church survive the period often called the dark ages.
Our readings are vastly different, from the first of two creation stories in Genesis, to the grace in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, to the great commission, in which Jesus sends his disciples out to preach the Gospel to all nations, baptizing in the name of the father son and holy spirit.
If someone asked you to explain the Trinity, what would you say.
Of course this has been a great matter of debate among Bishops and theologians ever since the fourth century councils of the church.
But perhaps it isn’t important that we have a carefully articulated answer.
Instead we can see the Trinity as the way we encounter the divine—through the grace of Christ, the love of God and communion with the Holy Spirit.
One group of monks who helped us understand the Trinity were called Cappadocians. They described God in terms of three persons, in relationship to each other, inseparable, but in relationship to each other.
So instead of one God, remote and inaccessible, we have God who is creator of all, but who sent his son to be among us, and the holy spirit to care for us.
Through Jesus, who is fully human and fully divine, we have a place in the Divine life, as creatures made in the image of God.
I like this description by one writer of our faith in the Trinitarian God: “I believe in God, the creator and sustainer of all life, in Jesus Christ, in whom we see God at work for the flourishing of life; and in the spirit, who works in us so that we might live from, toward and with God.”
Seen in this light, the Trinity doesn’t have to be viewed as a difficult theological concept.
It’s simply a way to under God, which is unique to Christians. Other faiths have one God, or many Gods, but we believe in God, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, three persons, but one God.
And the most important thing about that is that the three persons are in relationship not only with each other,within the Godhead, but with us.
Friday, 3 June 2011
Canon Davis Turns 85
From an article submitted to the Sarnia Observer for publication June 4, 2011
Kay McPhail first attended Canon Davis Memorial Church when it was founded as a Sunday school mission effort of the Ladies Guild at St. George’s Anglican Church on Vidal in 1926.
Now Mrs. McPhail, who just celebrated her 90th birthday, is one of a number of parishioners with long ties to the parish who will see the church observe its 85th anniversary tomorrow.
The church, located at Russell and Maxwell Street, will hold a special anniversary service, with a guest preacher who grew up in the parish, the Rev’d Scott Forbes, who now works for International Justice Mission, an organization working to help children at risk in third world countries.
The 11am worship, which includes communion, will also include a light luncheon afterwards, cake, balloons and historical exhibits. The parish will welcome the new Anglican Archdeacon for Lambton-Kent, the Venerable Paul Millward, who will attend after his own parish worship at Christ Church, Chatham.
From its humble beginnings meeting as a Sunday school for children in what was then north Sarnia in homes and for a little while in London School, Canon Davis Memorial was set up as a parish, using the old Anglican Church from Oil Springs, moved to the current site.
It was named Canon Davis Memorial to honour the Reverend Canon Thomas Robert Davis, who was rector of St. George’s, Sarnia from 1882-1922. Canon Davis emigrated from Ireland as a boy, and spent most of his ministry in Sarnia.
While Anglican churches are usually named for saints, Canon Davis is one of two in Huron Diocese named after clergy. The other is Bishop Cronyn Memorial in London.
The growth of Canon Davis Memorial in the late 20’s meant the old church wasn’t sufficient for its needs, so plans were made to build a new church. The result is the current building, designed by Chester Woods, to be a Gothic structure in the English parish church style. It opened in 1931, with a mortgage of $17,500 a large sum for a church in the depression era.
The old Oil Springs church was moved a small distance to become a parish hall, until 1957 when a new parish hall was built.
The 30’s were a time of growth for the young parish. On one Sunday in 1932 attendance at Sunday school was reported at 236.
The mortgage for the church building was finally burned in 1949. The next year a new rectory was constructed next to the church, a brick two storey building with four bedrooms, for $17,000.
Families at the church have been very generous in donating memorials, most notably the lovely stained glass windows in the nave of the church.
The current rector at Canon Davis, the Rev’d Bob Bettson, arrived from the South Parkland Parish in the Diocese of Brandon, last September. He is the 11th cleric to serve the parish since 1931.
The last two rectors, the Rev’d Canon Bill Jones (1959-86) and the Venerable Gordon Simmons ((1986-2009) cover a remarkable 50 year span in the parish’s 85 year history.
The parish his issued an open invitation to all friends, former parishioners and members of Canon Davis Memorial to attend both the service tomorrow at 11am and the luncheon. Come and share your memories!
Kay McPhail first attended Canon Davis Memorial Church when it was founded as a Sunday school mission effort of the Ladies Guild at St. George’s Anglican Church on Vidal in 1926.
Now Mrs. McPhail, who just celebrated her 90th birthday, is one of a number of parishioners with long ties to the parish who will see the church observe its 85th anniversary tomorrow.
The church, located at Russell and Maxwell Street, will hold a special anniversary service, with a guest preacher who grew up in the parish, the Rev’d Scott Forbes, who now works for International Justice Mission, an organization working to help children at risk in third world countries.
The 11am worship, which includes communion, will also include a light luncheon afterwards, cake, balloons and historical exhibits. The parish will welcome the new Anglican Archdeacon for Lambton-Kent, the Venerable Paul Millward, who will attend after his own parish worship at Christ Church, Chatham.
From its humble beginnings meeting as a Sunday school for children in what was then north Sarnia in homes and for a little while in London School, Canon Davis Memorial was set up as a parish, using the old Anglican Church from Oil Springs, moved to the current site.
It was named Canon Davis Memorial to honour the Reverend Canon Thomas Robert Davis, who was rector of St. George’s, Sarnia from 1882-1922. Canon Davis emigrated from Ireland as a boy, and spent most of his ministry in Sarnia.
While Anglican churches are usually named for saints, Canon Davis is one of two in Huron Diocese named after clergy. The other is Bishop Cronyn Memorial in London.
The growth of Canon Davis Memorial in the late 20’s meant the old church wasn’t sufficient for its needs, so plans were made to build a new church. The result is the current building, designed by Chester Woods, to be a Gothic structure in the English parish church style. It opened in 1931, with a mortgage of $17,500 a large sum for a church in the depression era.
The old Oil Springs church was moved a small distance to become a parish hall, until 1957 when a new parish hall was built.
The 30’s were a time of growth for the young parish. On one Sunday in 1932 attendance at Sunday school was reported at 236.
The mortgage for the church building was finally burned in 1949. The next year a new rectory was constructed next to the church, a brick two storey building with four bedrooms, for $17,000.
Families at the church have been very generous in donating memorials, most notably the lovely stained glass windows in the nave of the church.
The current rector at Canon Davis, the Rev’d Bob Bettson, arrived from the South Parkland Parish in the Diocese of Brandon, last September. He is the 11th cleric to serve the parish since 1931.
The last two rectors, the Rev’d Canon Bill Jones (1959-86) and the Venerable Gordon Simmons ((1986-2009) cover a remarkable 50 year span in the parish’s 85 year history.
The parish his issued an open invitation to all friends, former parishioners and members of Canon Davis Memorial to attend both the service tomorrow at 11am and the luncheon. Come and share your memories!
What a lawyer we have in Jesus
Homily for The Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 29, 2011
How would like to have Jesus as your lawyer? That may sound slightly irreverent.
But there is truth in this statement, and today’s Gospel passage from John teaches us an aspect of Jesus which is sometimes overlooked.
Jesus tells his disciples that after He is no longer on earth, God will send them an advocate, the spirit of truth, which the world will not understand, only those who have faith.
The Greek word for advocate is paraclete, which literally means an attorney for the defense and a comforter in suffering.
Indeed the whole of the Gospel of John is an exercise in signs, wonders witnesses, testimony and confession. The story of Jesus being arrested, tried and condemned to death has all the elements of a courtroom drama.
If we think of Jesus as a lawyer, an advocate for us, it is surely an empowering thought. After all Jesus stares down all those who challenge him in the Gospel narratives with great wit, wisdom and intellect.
He is the consummate advocate, the one who turns the tables, the one who we would like to represent us if we were on trial.
And that’s the whole point. Other faiths have remote and unapproachable deities, while Jesus is present with us, standing alongside us.
Many Christians have testified to that experience of the Holy Spirit working among us. It isn’t something that ended when the period of the early church came to an end, and the Christian faith became institutionalized.
Jesus is with us, as a comforter, as an advocate, during good times and bad.
Those Athenians Paul was preaching to worshipped an unknown God. Jesus is a known God, and we believe he is part of the Trinity, the triune God, one in three and three in one.
It may seem to some to be a theological construct, which is difficult to understand.
Throughout the ages the idea of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has helped us to grasp the infinite power and wisdom of the almighty, who can be both the creator the universe, and yet stands alongside us in our journey of faith.
I’m happy with the thought that I have Jesus as an advocate, a lawyer. And while lawyer’s fees have gone beyond the ability of the average person to afford, Jesus asks only that we have faith and follow two great commandments—love God and love our neighbour. That’s a pretty good offer.
Now I’d like to shift gears and turn over the rest of this sermon time to Wendy Heasman to report on our Diocesan Synod held May 15-17. It has been the tradition of our parish to have synod delegates report back. I am always available for any questions about the life and work of the Diocese and our Deanery. I plan to write something about the synod for our newsletter as well as the Huron Church News.
How would like to have Jesus as your lawyer? That may sound slightly irreverent.
But there is truth in this statement, and today’s Gospel passage from John teaches us an aspect of Jesus which is sometimes overlooked.
Jesus tells his disciples that after He is no longer on earth, God will send them an advocate, the spirit of truth, which the world will not understand, only those who have faith.
The Greek word for advocate is paraclete, which literally means an attorney for the defense and a comforter in suffering.
Indeed the whole of the Gospel of John is an exercise in signs, wonders witnesses, testimony and confession. The story of Jesus being arrested, tried and condemned to death has all the elements of a courtroom drama.
If we think of Jesus as a lawyer, an advocate for us, it is surely an empowering thought. After all Jesus stares down all those who challenge him in the Gospel narratives with great wit, wisdom and intellect.
He is the consummate advocate, the one who turns the tables, the one who we would like to represent us if we were on trial.
And that’s the whole point. Other faiths have remote and unapproachable deities, while Jesus is present with us, standing alongside us.
Many Christians have testified to that experience of the Holy Spirit working among us. It isn’t something that ended when the period of the early church came to an end, and the Christian faith became institutionalized.
Jesus is with us, as a comforter, as an advocate, during good times and bad.
Those Athenians Paul was preaching to worshipped an unknown God. Jesus is a known God, and we believe he is part of the Trinity, the triune God, one in three and three in one.
It may seem to some to be a theological construct, which is difficult to understand.
Throughout the ages the idea of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has helped us to grasp the infinite power and wisdom of the almighty, who can be both the creator the universe, and yet stands alongside us in our journey of faith.
I’m happy with the thought that I have Jesus as an advocate, a lawyer. And while lawyer’s fees have gone beyond the ability of the average person to afford, Jesus asks only that we have faith and follow two great commandments—love God and love our neighbour. That’s a pretty good offer.
Now I’d like to shift gears and turn over the rest of this sermon time to Wendy Heasman to report on our Diocesan Synod held May 15-17. It has been the tradition of our parish to have synod delegates report back. I am always available for any questions about the life and work of the Diocese and our Deanery. I plan to write something about the synod for our newsletter as well as the Huron Church News.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
I Know that My Redeemer Lives-A Memorial Homily
Frances Skelton 1936-2011
I know that my Redeemer lives.
That memorable phrase from Job, in the Hebrew Bible, was immortalized by George Frederick Handel in his beloved Oratorio Messiah.
Fran Skelton was an exceptional singer, mother, wife, friend, and believer. I met Fran last fall when I moved to Sarnia. And her strong faith was evident from our first meeting.
It was a privilege to be with her a number of times during her last few months, as her health deteriorated. Her faith never wavered. She never complained. She displayed a courage and quiet confidence in the face of suffering which was amazing.
That’s why it is a privilege to offer a brief reflection this morning. In spite of all the suffering Job undergoes, in spite of all the pain, all the loss, Job refuses to deny God. His faith is rock solid.
Facing a terminal illness is a real challenge to our faith. It’s not easy to accept the pain, the suffering and the loss involved.
But our faith allows us to put our hopes and our dreams not only in the challenges of our life on earth, but in God’s promise, through his son Jesus, of eternal life, where there is no pain or suffering, where all tears are wiped away.
Christ offers to take our burdens, our cares. As St. Paul taught the people of the church in Rome so many years ago: nothing can separate us from the love of God, including death.
Those ringing words expressing confidence in Christ’s victory over death, God’s promise of salvation for all who believe, provide us with a way to face our culture’s fear of death.
And make no mistake there is an element of death denial, of science playing God, not only extending life, but creating life in our current secular society. The resurgence in militant atheism, displayed by authors such as Richard Dawkins, argues that once we gasp our last breath, it’s over. It is finished. There is nothing more.
As Christians, we have faith that they are wrong. We owe it to Fran and all those who have faithfully served this parish church through 85 years of its history to proclaim that as long as we are able---to speak truth to the faithless, to show by our loving and caring community and how we support each other that both our faith and the church do matter.
We know that our Redeemer lives. Fran certainly knew that. We give thanks for the privilege of having shared the journey of life with her.
I know that my Redeemer lives.
That memorable phrase from Job, in the Hebrew Bible, was immortalized by George Frederick Handel in his beloved Oratorio Messiah.
Fran Skelton was an exceptional singer, mother, wife, friend, and believer. I met Fran last fall when I moved to Sarnia. And her strong faith was evident from our first meeting.
It was a privilege to be with her a number of times during her last few months, as her health deteriorated. Her faith never wavered. She never complained. She displayed a courage and quiet confidence in the face of suffering which was amazing.
That’s why it is a privilege to offer a brief reflection this morning. In spite of all the suffering Job undergoes, in spite of all the pain, all the loss, Job refuses to deny God. His faith is rock solid.
Facing a terminal illness is a real challenge to our faith. It’s not easy to accept the pain, the suffering and the loss involved.
But our faith allows us to put our hopes and our dreams not only in the challenges of our life on earth, but in God’s promise, through his son Jesus, of eternal life, where there is no pain or suffering, where all tears are wiped away.
Christ offers to take our burdens, our cares. As St. Paul taught the people of the church in Rome so many years ago: nothing can separate us from the love of God, including death.
Those ringing words expressing confidence in Christ’s victory over death, God’s promise of salvation for all who believe, provide us with a way to face our culture’s fear of death.
And make no mistake there is an element of death denial, of science playing God, not only extending life, but creating life in our current secular society. The resurgence in militant atheism, displayed by authors such as Richard Dawkins, argues that once we gasp our last breath, it’s over. It is finished. There is nothing more.
As Christians, we have faith that they are wrong. We owe it to Fran and all those who have faithfully served this parish church through 85 years of its history to proclaim that as long as we are able---to speak truth to the faithless, to show by our loving and caring community and how we support each other that both our faith and the church do matter.
We know that our Redeemer lives. Fran certainly knew that. We give thanks for the privilege of having shared the journey of life with her.
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