October News

Long-time parishoner Helen Shannon receives Order of Niagara
Congratulations to Helen Shannon who received the Order of Niagara on Sunday September 28, 2005. The service was held at Christ's Church Cathedral in Hamil-ton and was presided over by The Right Rev'd D. Ralph Spence, Bishop of Niagara.

Read about it here!

Music, pageantry highlight Bishop’s visit
On Sunday, September 11 St. George's was privileged to be visited by our diocesan bishop, The Right Rev'd D. Ralph Spence. In honour of his visit, Ron Greidanus, music director, and our parish choir prepared special music for the 9:30 am service which included an impressive J.S. Bach composition enhanced by timpani drum and trumpet.

In his September 11 visit to our parish, Bishop Ralph Spence posed with young Matthew Glenn, with Jeff MacDougall looking on.

October Georgian Editorial

By Lucinda Landau

What a marvellous thing it is to have Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
I grew up in a large family where I had four brothers and two sisters, so my understanding of brothers and sisters comes from a well lived model. To this day we remain all close and loving friends and our eleven children have special relationships with each other.

In the early 1990s, when my husband and I and our young children moved here to Georgetown from London, Ontario, I was in search of a family community to which I could fully relate. It took me a few years to find you, but here at St. George’s I was warmly welcomed first by the Thursday Morning Eucharist group and became a regular. Over the past twelve years of active participation here at St. George’s I grew in faith and knowledge in Christ to the extent that I became aware of a call to become a seminarian. I now find myself enrolled full time in the Masters of Divinity Program at Trinity College, University of Toronto.

In my first three days on campus, I attended eight worship services – and loved every minute of it! I have added to my family of brothers and sisters in Christ; fellow divinity students who are as charged-up as I am in our new spiritual journey and professors who are compassionate, humorous and loving. The spirit here at Trinity is one that seeks out adventure and experience in the name of Christ – that we may be emboldened to reach and teach others.
I’ve already sung my first solo during a noonday Eucharist and am slated for duty on a Liturgical team for two weeks in November. I’m studying the History of the Bible, The New Testament, Spiritual Formation in the Anglican Tradition, Identity, Church and Society and the Principles and Practices of Liturgy.

In case you’ve missed my enthusiasm here folks, let me spell it out – I’m having the time of my life! For the last 26 years I have been consecrated in the roles of wife, mother and co-worker, but now I’ve officially added the role of student of Christ. This journey will take me to new and exciting places, I’m sure. However, today, my reflection is one of deepest gratitude for the fundamental love and support showered down upon me by this congregation here at St. George’s.

I give thanks to God for each and every one of you!

Love,

Lucinda

The Meaning of Harvest Season

Rector’s Message

“I am part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.”

– Ulysses, by Alfred Tennyson

This is one of my favorite passages from this poem by Tennyson. It points me to two great truths about life. One is about the limits of our human life. I find the more we learn or experience, the more we realize that there is even more that we do not know or have yet to experience. Second is that even when faced by this most humbling knowledge, we must continue to move, to live, and importantly, to love. This passage from Tennyson reminds me of the challenge of Christ’s call to me – to follow him in my life. It is that call that keeps me moving forward in trust, in love and with faith towards the goal of God’s kingdom.

This may all sound a bit heady, but it truly applies to me and to my contribution for our ministry here at St. George’s. Here is the way I see things: the longer I walk with you in this place as your parish priest, helping, praying, singing, talking, and caring, the more opportunities for ministry I become aware of. In other words, the closer we get to each other, the more occasions I find to share the message of God’s love in Christ. One of the greatest challenges I face is not to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the openings which present themselves. Not a bad position to be in, but it does make the decision of where to best focus my energies a demanding one.

"The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest."
Matthew 9:37-38

Jesus knew that the mission of the church was always going to be something that no one person could do on their own. Jesus knew that it would take the combined gifts and talents of every follower to spread the saving message of the Gospel. In the face of the lonely wisdom I gain from the words of Tennyson’s poem about the ever increasing opportunities I perceive, is the knowledge that I am not to be alone in the endeavour; I will have your help. Together, you and I have our faith and commitment to Christ to strengthen us in our words and actions.

In this newsletter, you will have the opportunity to read about a few of the ways that members of St. George’s are carrying out the ministry Christ has called us to do. I give thanks for the help of every member of this parish, as we strive to become a better reflection of God’s kingdom and as we strive to help with the Lord’s harvest.

God blessings be upon you,
The Rev’d Robert W.A. Park

The Keys to a Welcoming Parish

The Magnetic Church Conference

By Helen Vandermay

The dictionary defines the word magnetic as “the ability to draw or pull; an attractive force”. A newcomer from our parish and I have just returned from the Magnetic Church Conference in Ancaster. I have not laughed or learned so much at a church event in years. I can honestly say it was probably the most fun I have had with a bunch of fellow church-going folks on a topic that most of you would find scary: Evangelism. The presenter, Andrews Weeks, is an Anglican from Montreal, now living and working in Rhode Island. He has an uncanny ability to share his faith, insights and knowledge of the Anglican Church – so that we can share with our parishes what it means to be welcomed to the church.

The goal of this conference was simple. Help this church become more AWARE!

A – Attract new comers, so you can
W – Welcome them in the name of God
A – Affirm them as children of God
R – Respond to their spiritual needs
E – Engage them to become disciples


At one time or another, each of you crossed the doorstep into St. Georges for the first time. Why are you till here? Some people cross the threshold once yet never return. Why is that?

Process & Product
Our job is not to fill empty pews, but to fill empty lives. We learned how Evangelism will succeed when we “recognize that in churches, the PROCESS of every activity is as important as the PRODUCT produced by the activity”. That is, how we undertake something is as important as what we are trying to accomplish. Are our volunteers run off their feet or do they discover helping hands? In other words, it is better to do three things really well as a parish than ten things poorly.

During the conference we learned how to create bulletins, newsletters and welcome brochures that would be inviting. In small groups, we critiqued a bulletin, news-letter and welcome brochure from another parish. Here at St. George’s, our parish publications appear to be doing very well in all three areas as we received very favourable feedback and only a few criticisms from another church.

In another workshop, we tried out welcoming a newcomer. We were put into random groups of four to practice greeting, being a visitor and also as an overall observer who critiqued the exchange between the parties. This was extremely nerve wracking and I never knew how difficult a task it was to greet someone and try to be helpful, welcoming but not too pushy.
Our last assignment was to walk around the Anglican Church hosting the event. We were to look at signage both inside and out, presentation of the building from colour, structure, to cleanliness, and even how many crosses were on the property. We looked at the parish grounds, parking and our overall impression of the parish. It was a wonderful exercise for the hosting parish as well; they were given an overall impression of their church property from over 100 people who had never set foot in the place before! They learned lots. I did also, as I now know how to go about looking at various aspects of our church from a newcomer’s perspective. (And we do have a number of ways I can see for improvement).

Evangelism at St. George’s
If you had never set foot inside St. George’s until today, would you feel welcomed? Every church claims to be a warm and welcoming place, but statistics show that more and more people are staying away from church. Why? It is my job as Evangelism Representative, with your help and encouragement, to find ways to make people who cross our doorstep feel welcome, by giving them what they need (and for each person, this is different). I hope to make newcomers feel that this is a place that they can belong to. That is no easy task and I will need your help. From the greeter at the door, to the person serving coffee, to the rector giving a sermon, all contribute to the experience of community at St. Georges.

I am looking to put together a core group of interested individuals in the parish that can help me look at St. George’s from the ground up and see if we are doing things that are inviting, welcoming and relevant to our parish. Whether you have just a few observations or you have specific ideas regarding welcoming newcomers, I want to hear from you. If you think that St. George’s is a place where more can be done to make sure all of our spiritual needs are being fed, then let your voice be heard. If you are interested in doing something like this, please speak to me at coffee hour sometime in October or call the parish office 905.877.8044 for my contact information. I look forward to hearing from you soon. The Magnetic Church Conference has shown me that the process of making our Church more welcoming will be as much fun as seeing the new faces arrive on a Sunday morning for worship with us.

The Importance of Parish Visiting

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another”, John 13:34
By Wendy Lovely

In April and May this year, Sue Graham, Jenny Tuffin and I took a Pastoral Visiting Course at St. Jude’s in Oakville. The course was run by Dr. Margaret Brockett, a teacher and parishioner of St. Jude’s.

We met over a period of five weeks with six other parishioners of St. Jude’s and each morning with Morning Prayer. The course was based upon a book by Jean Vanier, Becoming Human. Each week we would read a chapter at home and then discuss it at our meeting.

The first chapter was on Loneliness, and after some discussion we watched a video concerning how lonely people can become upon the death of a spouse or a family member. This was especially hard to share for several participants as they had recently experienced such a loss.

The following weeks were followed by discussions on Belonging, From Exclusion to Inclusion, The Path to Freedom, and finally, Forgiveness. During our discussions, we talked about the vulnerability of older people and how they may need an advocate. They need to know that somebody is looking out for them and have their best interests at heart. They need to know that someone is listening and cares just for them.

Our homework one week was to bring in and examine information that would be useful to us as visitors. Topics ranged from Programs for Seniors to End of Life Decisions.

St. Jude’s in Oakville has a very active and caring Pastoral Visiting Group called Caring and Sharing. It is run by Dr. Margaret Brockett and Jean Ross. They meet regularly with their clergy and with their visitors. St. Jude’s also has a Pantry run by the Caring and Sharing group so that they have something to take when they visit.

The aim of Parish Visiting is to break down the physical and emotional barriers which isolate people from the support and friendship of members in the parish. This program at St. Jude’s was an enlightening and rewarding experience for all of us. It made us think about others and their needs during bereavement. We take with us a deeper appreciation of prayer, new listening skills and an awareness of our community resources and spiritual needs.

Parish Visiting has been on the go at St. George's for some time in the form of a very dedicated group who visit the Bennett Centre every Friday morning for a Eucharist service. I would like to see us expand on our visiting to include those at home and in the hospitial. We've already found this ministry to be very enjoyable; let me know if you want to be included.

How To Find a Spiritual Home-Away-From-Home

By Henriette Thompson

From March until this past July, I was assigned to a global change project with World Vision, located in a suburb of Los Angeles and a community just south of Seattle, in Washington State. As I travel frequently for my work, I relish the opportunity to explore other Christian churches. Well, this year I had a full five months in two distinct cities to explore the ‘spiritual’ landscape.

California is often depicted as the place of mega churches where several thousand people attend auditorium-sized churches on Sunday. I don’t find that particularly appealing, so my visits ran more toward the smaller community churches, like St. George’s.

One Sunday an American colleague invited me to attend his family’s church, Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena. This church comes from the holiness tradition with roots in the theology of Charles Wesley and in the Anabaptist tradition. The Church of the Nazarene has a strong teaching emphasis upon the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of the believer and in the congregation’s worship and ministry. Its focus is on transformation of the world by spreading scriptural holiness. Now I didn’t learn all this about the Church of the Nazarene in one Sunday visit! I did enjoy the warm welcome from people in the congregation and noted the church’s vibrant weekly congregational life for youth, children, and people of all ages.

Another Sunday, a colleague and I walked to St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Monrovia, the LA suburb where we were working. It is over 100 years old and the BAS service, with some twists, was familiar. The sermon time was an opportunity for the rector to link a local issue of plans for a nursery school on church property to broader issues of the church’s role to ensure that it promotes inclusiveness in its practice. Some people were planning for a privately funded school that would have prevented lower income families from accessing the school for their children. In comparison to the Church of Nazarene’s plenteous members, St. Luke’s was sparsely attended on this Sunday morning.

In May and June I lived in Federal Way, a community just south of Seattle, Washington. I began to look up the local Anglican (or Episcopal) churches in the local directory and noticed the churches within walking distance of my apartment. Since transportation was an issue, I settled on attending Calvary Lutheran Church.

Lori and Doug, a husband and wife clergy team, lead a congregation that strives hard to provide a central meeting place for children, youth, families and individuals throughout the week . Their programs included a “Not-so-young adults” gathering, youth and family ministry team meetings, and a “body and soul sisters” assembly. I enjoyed a six-week focus on vocation and work during which the sermon time was presented as an interview with congregational members working in various fields.

On Sunday, May 15 -- Pentecost Sunday -- the sermon linking the Tower of Babel with Pentecost was complemented by Syytende Mai Norwegian Heritage Celebration. This celebration is in honour of Norway’s Constitution Day, May 17. Many of Calvary Lutheran’s members are descendants of Norwegian settlers who first settled in the Dakotas in the early 1900s and then migrated to the Puget Sound area. Names such as Torvend, Peterson and Thurman reflect this heritage.

After the service, a Norwegian forum with displays of artifacts, books, and people in costume was held. We listened to people tell compelling stories of their families’ settlement in the US. My table conversations over coffee and Norwegian baked goods with two senior men were an opportunity to share immigrant stories, as my family, too, arrived as immigrants in Canada after World War II. It was particularly powerful to hear stories about how the faith (Lutheran, Protestant) was transmitted from generation to generation.

My American church pilgrimage also took me to St. James Cathedral in Seattle on Ascension Sunday. The Catholic liturgy has many similarities to Anglican liturgy; the music (Schubert’s German mass) and the lofty interior of the cathedral made me reflect on the majesty of God. The postlude, “Final” from Symphony No. 1 by Vierne, sent us out into the world in a resounding way.

My visits to American west coast churches were a discovery in the challenges of community, the struggle for relevance, and the striving for faithfulness in responding to the call of the Gospel wherever we’re placed.

When we pray the Anglican cycle of prayer for churches around the world every Sunday morning, I am reminded of our American cousins. My intercession is that we are all led by the Holy Spirit to live out our calling.

An Anglican Rule of Life

By Lucinda Landau

St. Benedict, founder of perhaps the most enduring monastic tradition in Christianity, is celebrated for his 6th century articulation of a rule of life. He had the unique capacity to create an order of community life which was balanced and moderate, hence the flourishing of Benedictine communities around the world over 1500 years later.

The Church in St. Benedict’s day had become identified with the powers that be and political strife was endemic in Church hierarchy. Many monasteries sprung up at the time as a means of truly living a Christian life. Discipleship in the Church was explored in a more meaningful manner by joining a community of like minded men or women to consecrate themselves to a fully devotional lifestyle.

St. Benedict wrote his primer for monastic life in a creative way, not as a didactic guide. He refers to it as a little rule for beginners to assist the brethren to hasten towards their heavenly home. The vows in a Benedictine community are not poverty, chastity and obedience. Rather, St. Benedict encourages stability, obedience and a willingness to be transformed by the monastic way of life.

His focus in the rule is on providing a community structure wherein everyone’s needs are met. He establishes a firm hierarchy under an abbot which builds confidence and security for the community. Benedict created a rhythm of life for the community which is a journey of openness and change. The disciples of the monastery are busy from dawn to dusk with community prayer, hard labour and personal meditation which is never intended to be harsh or burdensome. Professor Terry De Forest, in a recent lecture at Trinity College, observed that St. Benedict’s rule is a balance between gentleness towards others and fierceness in correcting personal shortcomings.

Yet, the call to monastic life is rare today. Few of us who are busy with earning an income to provide for our families have any such inclination. Oftentimes at the end of a hectic week, the invitation of a good sleep-in on a Sunday morning is too much to not give in to. That is not to say that we do not yearn for moments when we can reflect on the deeper journey of our soul.

Is there anything in the Rule of St. Benedict that might give us some structure for our daily living? Do we make provisions for nature’s necessities as we lunge into our daily commute to the job? What kind of an Abbott are we to those for whom we are responsible? What kind of corrective measures do we enforce for ourselves when we have clearly overstepped the bounds of acceptable behaviour? Can our own anchor to Christ withstand the assaults of 21st century living?

The Book of Common Prayer (BCP), initially assembled after the first Canadian General Synod in 1893, sets out a declaration of faith that as people of God, we endeavour to live as a new creation in Christ. The language of worship in the Book of Common Prayer hearkens back to a time when life had a better sense of order and the concept of good government applied even to an individual’s character.

On page 155 of the BCP is published the Anglican Rule of Life and its tenets are well worth considering.

Every Christian man or woman should from time to time frame for himself a RULE OF LIFE in accordance with the precepts of the Gospel and the faith and order of the Church; wherein he may consider the following:

• The regularity of his attendance at public worship and especially at Holy Communion.
• The practice of private prayer, Bible-reading, and self-discipline.
• Bringing the teaching and example of Christ into his everyday life.
• The boldness of his spoken witness to his faith in Christ.
• His personal service to the Church and the community.
• The offering of money according to his means for the support of the work of the Church at home and overseas.

The world in St. Benedict’s day carried no less upheaval and uncertainty than ours today, and certainly no less strain for our early Canadian church founders. Common to both eras is a willingness to be intentional in matters of faith. Can we find spiritual stewardship in the midst of our technological society?

St. Benedict well understood the liberation of obedience; can we rise to the challenge?