Christ Church

The collect for today, the Octave Day of Pentecost, commonly called Trinity Sunday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity: We beseech thee, that this holy faith may evermore be our defence against all adversities; who livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Lesson: Revelation 4:1-11
The Gospel: St John 3:1-15

Artwork: Neri di Bicci, The Trinity between Saints Benedict, Francis, Bartholomew, & John the Baptist, c. 1461. Tempera on panel with gilded frame, Santa Croce Museum, Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross), Florence. Photograph taken by admin, 17 May 2010.

“Mary has chosen the better part, which shall not be taken from her”

“’The time has come,’ the Walrus said, ‘To talk of many things:/ Of shoes-and ships-and sealing-wax – Of cabbages-and kings-/And why the sea is boiling hot – /And whether pigs have wings.’” And yet, we have just heard that one thing is needful, unum necessarium. “Mary has chosen the better part, which shall not be taken from her.”

Well, the time has come, if not “to talk of many things,” then, at least to talk of a few things, perhaps not “of shoes or ships,” or “cabbages” or “sealing-wax” unless, perchance, that is somehow on your diploma, but of your graduation today from King’s-Edgehill School. For you are all the talk of this day. As to “why the sea is boiling hot -/ And whether pigs have wings,” we will leave that to the climate specialists and the evolutionary biologists.

Today, you are the pride of the school, your parents and grandparents, your friends and family. We salute you for all that you have accomplished.

We have been through a lot together. Whether you have been here for one year or for six or seven, much has happened that has become, indelibly and indubitably, a part of you (I had to get that in for Jonte’s benefit). We have learned to laugh and sing, to pray and think, to march and run, and perhaps even to sit and listen, sitting even on the back of the Rev’s Vespa (I had to get that in for Kerri’s benefit). And yet, all the many things come down to the moment of your graduation.

Today you step up and step out but only so as to step into new things. Today is really a necessary prelude to other things that will constantly require a kind of thoughtfulness in the serious quest to know and understand, something which, I hope, has been an essential feature of your education here.

It is about taking hold of what has been opened out to you and making it your own. The many things of the many years – the many hours of cadets, sports, classes, chapel, concerts, choir, debates, exams, paddling pumpkins, climbing mountains, digging latrines, TOK, wonderful plays and musicals, IB therefore I am or not to be, that is, indeed, the question – are all concentrated in one thing, the one thing needful. It is this: the realization of ourselves as learners.

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“There came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind …
and cloven tongues, like as of fire…”

Pentecost. What does it mean? The fiftieth day after Passover, after Easter. What does it signify? In the Christian understanding, it signifies the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples to give birth to the Church.

What? Was there no Church before Pentecost? Yes and no. The Church is present yet hidden in the history of Israel as “the People of God,” a people defined by the Law, the Old Testament or Covenant. The Church is present, too, in the Incarnate Christ of the New Testament. But now, at Pentecost, the Church is present and empowered in a new way. How? By the Descent of the Holy Ghost or Spirit, sent from the Father by the Son, sent by the Father in Jesus’ name. A powerful pedigree and a moving and powerful scene. No Trinity. No Church.

Luke tells us about the event of Pentecost. At once exhilarating and strange, we all catch, I think, something of the ecstatic and experiential wonder of the event. “A sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind,” and “cloven tongues, like as of fire,” lighting and resting upon each of the disciples, inspiring them, it seems, for “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues,” the Spirit giving “them utterance,” it seems. A curious, yet awe-inspiring event. Everyone speaking in other tongues – other languages – but all singing from the same song-sheet, all singing “the wonderful works of God.” Somehow the confused babble of the nations has been converted into a unity of praise. That surely is a marvel. But what, really, are we to make of it? At the time, some thought they were drunk!

Peter, in the passage which immediately follows this morning’s lesson, is quick to respond. “These men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day;” it‘s a long time before happy hour, after all! Yet, it is a curious scene. It seems, well, rather unsettling, and, yet, John tells us in the Gospel that this unsettling Spirit is God the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. Is this what we should expect will happen to us at Pentecost? What does it all mean? What kind of birthday of the Church is this?

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This evening at 7:00pm, Christ Church will host “An Inspirational Concert with Rachel MacLean” as part of the Relay for Life undertaking. No admission cost but a food donation for Harvest House is requested.

Monday, June 13th, Monday After Pentecost
10:00am Holy Communion

Tuesday, June 14th, Tuesday after Pentecost
6:00pm ‘Prayers & Praises’ – Haliburton Place
6:30-7:30pm Brownies’ Mtg.- Parish Hall
7:00pm Holy Communion
7:30pm Parish Council Meeting

Saturday, June 18th
9:00am Encaenia Service at KES Chapel
10:15 Graduation & Prize Day Ceremonies at KES

Sunday, June 19th, Trinity Sunday
8:00am Holy Communion
10:30am Holy Communion
4:30pm Evening Prayer at Christ Church

The collects for today, The Day of Pentecost, being the fiftieth day after Easter, commonly called Whit-Sunday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O GOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

O GOD, who makest us glad with the yearly remembrance of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon thy disciples in Jerusalem: Grant that we who celebrate before thee the Feast of Pentecost may continue thine for ever, and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit, until we come to thine eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lesson: Acts 2:1-11
The Gospel: St John 14:15-27

Artwork: Pentecost Dome, 12th century, Gilded mosaic, St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice.

The collect for today, the Feast of St. Barnabas the Apostle, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O LORD God Almighty, who didst endue thy holy Apostle Barnabas with singular gifts of the Holy Spirit: Leave us not, we beseech thee, destitute of thy manifold gifts, nor yet of grace to use them alway to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lesson: Acts 11:22-26
The Gospel: St John 15:12-16

Artwork: Unknown Lombard Painter, San Barnaba, 17th century. Quadreria Archives, Milan.

The collect for today, the commemoration of Columba (c. 521-597) Abbot of Iona, Missionary (source):

Almighty God,
who didst fill the heart of Columba
with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
and with deep love for those in his care:
grant to thy pilgrim people grace to follow him,
strong in faith, sustained by hope,
and made one in the love that binds us to thee;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 3:11-23
The Gospel: St. Luke 10:17-20

Artwork: The St. Columba stained glass was made by the firm of James Powell and Sons, Middlesex, England, and installed in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, St John’s, Newfoundland, in 1951. Photograph taken by admin, 7 September 2009.

I have been asked about the decisions of the recent Synod of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as reported in the media. I can only offer the following observations in what is an attempt to explain what seems to be rather confusing.

The Politics of Confusion?
Some Reflections on the Recent Decisions
of the Diocesan Synod of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island

Truth, it is often said, is the first casualty of war. More often than not, there is simply confusion. In the ‘sex-wars’ within the Anglican Communion, confusion reigns supreme. The recent Synod of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island provides a case in point.

The Synod discussed and debated a number of motions regarding the issue of same-sex blessings. The four motions were, one might say, aggressive in their zeal for providing some sort of arrangement, blessing, marriage, or otherwise for same-sex couples. Most remarkable is the degree of confusion about the word, ‘marriage’.

The motions included keeping a roster of parishes and clergy “amenable to the blessing of same-sex civilly married couples”; providing a liturgy for “blessing covenanted or committed unions outside marriage”; requiring clergy to “cease acting as agents of the civil government in performing marriages until such time as the clergy of the Diocese may officiate at the marriage of all legally eligible persons”; and a motion that, on the one hand, called for the Bishop’s Pastoral Letter on Human Sexuality (2010) to become an Episcopal guideline, while, on the other hand, seeming to advocate the principle of local option.

Overall the motions are, well, intriguing, ranging from the blessings for those already civilly married, as if the Church were to bless whatever the state has allowed, to forcing parishes and priests to declare themselves on this matter as if such things lay within the purview of either. Not to mention the idea of the clergy going on strike and refusing to marry anybody until everybody in the Church is compliant with what the state has determined are legal marriages. Once again, in this view the church is seen as subservient to the state and not independent.

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“The end of all things is at hand.”

This might seem rather stern and threatening. The Gospel reading, too, talks about hard things, like persecution and death. But it also tells us about the coming of the Comforter. Somehow, the sense of “the end[ing] of all things” is not just frightening judgement but joy and mercy. Comforting, somehow.

We meet in the Ascension of Christ. I am struck by how relevant and powerful the fundamental creedal principles of the Christian Faith often are with respect to the issues of our post-Christian and post-secular culture. It shouldn’t be surprising, of course, because what we have before us is precisely a way of thinking that empowers and informs a way of living. That is the important insight of the ‘perennial philosophy’ expressed in one way or another in all of the great religions of the world.

In the Christian understanding, the doctrine of the Ascension is especially suggestive and important about our understanding of our humanity and our world. The Ascension signals the completion of the mission of Jesus Christ. He has come forth from the Father and has come into the world and now he leaves the world and returns to the Father. In those motions, we see the comings and goings of God in which there is both revelation and redemption. These comings and goings open out to us a spiritual and intellectual understanding of human life and of the world in which we find ourselves. Christ is not some will ‘o the wisp who comes and goes without reason or purpose.

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Tuesday, June 7th
6:00pm ‘Prayers & Praises’ – Haliburton Place
6:30-7:30pm Brownies’ Mtg. – Parish Hall

Sunday, June 12th, Pentecost
8:00am Holy Communion
9:30am Holy Communion – KES
10:30am Holy Communion
4:30pm Evening Prayer at Christ Church
7:00pm “An Inspirational Concert with Rachel MacLean”. No admission cost but a food donation for Harvest House is requested.