PAX Christmas 2011

Pax CHRISTMAS 2011

pho

to: J

ud

i Pa

ters

on

, Pic

ture

d f

rom

lef

t: F

inla

y C

rag

gs

McL

ean

, Pip

pa (

Ph

ilip

pa)

Cre

rar

, Su

han

a La

ud

an

1 | PAX: CHRISTMAS 2011 pho

to b

y W

end

y D

elam

on

t Le

es o

f C

iao

Bel

la P

ho

tog

rap

hy

PAX: CHRISTMAS 2011 | 2

This edition of PAX has a twin theme. It seeks to speak to the mystery of the Incarnation and also to one of the St. James’ mission objectives: “To develop relationships and

fellowship in open, honest and spiritual ways among parishioners, with our neighbours, and those in need.” The drawing together of these themes, at this season, might lead us to wonder at the impact of Christian faith in the Incarnation on all our relationships.

In other words, what happens to our relationships when we believe in the Incarnation? As we profess every Sunday at Mass, “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ… For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.” As we seek to live into this mystery by the grace of God, what happens to us?

There seem to be many Christian understandings of the Incarnation, even in the life of the Church. On the one hand, I have heard parishioners talk about “incarna-tional theology” as the belief that Christ is in everyone and everything (this is also used as a principal rationale for “inclusivity” in terms of moral theology and ecclesial practices), to the extent that the position seems essentially panentheistic. On the other hand, I have heard parish-ioners refer to incarnational theology in terms of the hypostatic union (that is to say, how Christ is one person who subsisted in two natures, the human and the divine).

What does the Church teach about the doctrine of the Incarnation?

“At a particular moment in history, God, the second person of the Trinity, the eternally beloved Son, known sometimes as the Logos or Word, took flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and, growing from infancy to adult-hood, walked on earth in human form. Yet throughout his birth, life, death, resurrection and final exaltation, this human being, Jesus, at no time ceased to be divine, the second person of the Trinity; nor did he at any time cease to be human; nor did he at any time cease to be one person, albeit a person with both a divine and human nature; nor did at any time the divine and the human, the Creator and the creature, cease to be distinct orders

of being. In revealing himself in this way, God displayed God’s character, demonstrated the depth and irrevocable extent of God’s love for the world, showed the signifi-cance of humanity in God’s eternal purpose, and focused the relationship between the Trinity and creation in a single life, defining the mediation of God to humanity and the representation of humanity to God. Incarnation is thus the foundational Christian doctrine from which all other doctrines flow.” (Encyclopedia of Christianity, Ed. J. Bowen. Oxford University Press: New York, 2005.)

For me, this is a sophisticated and nuanced elabora-tion of the clauses in the Nicene Creed. The impact upon our lives of this belief about Jesus Christ is revealed in the questions from the Baptismal Covenant (BAS p. 159), most especially, “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as your-self?” (See Matthew 25:31-46.)

What does living the mystery of the Incarnation look like?

Well, because of the mystery of the Incarnation, into which we are called to live, we are empowered to seek and serve Christ in the other. It is precisely and only because of the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ that we are enabled and expected to seek and serve Christ in all persons. It is this seeking and service which is the work of striving for the Kingdom of God.

During this season of Christmas and Epiphany, embrace the opportunity of allowing the Liturgy to renew your faith in the Incarnation; and allow the mystery of the Incarnation to be fulfilled in you by practicing incar-national living – seek and serve Christ in all persons.

In the words of an Anglo-Catholic hero, Bishop Frank Weston:

“Go out into the highways and hedges... Go out and look for Jesus in the ragged, in the naked, in the oppressed and sweated, in those who have lost hope, in those who are struggling to make good. Look for Jesus. And when you see him, gird yourselves with his towel and try to wash their feet.” (From “Our Present Duty,” the Concluding Address, Anglo-Catholic Congress, 1923.)

The Mystery of the Incarnation | Fr. Mark Greenaway-Robbins

Every Advent and Christmas, the songs from my youth fill my

thoughts. No matter how many new, “better,” songs I learn, the ones from childhood and university seem to play louder. These lyrics have been repeating themselves since the first Sunday of Advent:

Humbly you came to the earth you created,All for love’s sake, became poor.

As I write this article, I am still pregnant, several days past my due date, waiting for the fulfilment of the promise of new life. I’m waiting to meet my child, to know and be known by him or her. I’m waiting to become the mother of two. I’m waiting for late-night feedings, 10+ diaper-changes per day, feeling incompe-tent and insane, trials I can’t now predict, and I’m even eagerly anticipating the pain of labour and deliverance. All for love’s sake. It may be that motherhood demands a special kind of love, but I believe that all relation-ship requires both love and humility. Relationships of all kinds are both the hardest and the most rewarding things to which we can commit ourselves.

I am honoured to serve St. James’ by facilitating open, honest, and spiritual relationships. I am in awe of the relationships that St. James’ has engaged in over the years and I want to make sure that you’re aware of the ministries and guilds that have been organ-ized under this, the “Relationships and Fellowship” mission objective:

· Anglican Church Women· Families and Children· Education for Ministry· Latino Lunches· Literacy One-on-One· Pastoral Care Ministry· Women’s Guild· Mothers’ Union· Benedictine Community of St. Michael· Melanesian Brotherhood

I pray that you will both give to and receive from these groups in the coming year. In many ways, there is little difference between the giver and the recipient – both are humbled, both are loved, and both grow in relationship. That is to say, as we relate, we become more human. We “incarnate,” just as our Creator did. In this season of Advent, as we await the final coming of our Lord, the judgement of all that ought not to be, and the fulfilment of the promise of true and full life, I challenge you to commit to new relationships in the Church, perhaps by joining one of the above groups. And, if you are lonely or in need, please let me – or people from these groups – love you.

Relationships and Fellowship | Jen Amundgaard

St. James’ third mission objective:

To develop relationships and fellowship in open, honest and spiritual waysamong parishioners, with our neighbours, and those in need

3 | PAX: CHRISTMAS 2011


You are thinking about babies. Specifically, you are thinking about the baby Jesus placed there, in the centre-stage of the Nativity set on your sideboard. He is a sweet

ceramic baby, blonde curls and pudgy arms reaching out, nestled in a soft bed of ceramic hay. To the left, three adoring sheep look on.

The idea of a baby is a good one. You think cuddly, soft, gentle, warm. You think sweet, and cute. The tele-vision commercials encourage this. Your parents attest to this. Then you give birth to one and you wonder what on earth you were thinking. There you are, alone, after the mid-wife leaves or you leave the hospital, holding what might as well be a squishy, squeaky and leaking Ziplock bag. For whom you, alone, are responsible.

Then it gets complicated. This tiny bag of fleshy stuff is in fact a real human being. And there’s nothing generic here. This small human being is unique, has its own personality, is a person. Suddenly, nothing you have read or been told in preparation to become a parent seems to apply. There’s no manual for this particular model. You are dealing, you realize, with something completely NEW. And you are, you realize, completely terrified.

There is no terror to be found in most renditions of the Christmas story. It is a child’s tale, a fairy tale, filled with angelic visitations and glittering gifts and a perilous escape to a far-off land. It is wondrous and exciting, but it is not real. Real is a solitary girl on the cold ground of a dirty barn, her body urgent with con-tractions. Her only help is her husband, presumably inexperienced and equally scared. Maybe there is an innkeeper’s wife or some helpful lady from the local synagogue, but who knows? Or more likely, other, less savoury characters are keeping a sharp eye from dark corners. There is noise and pain and blood and injury to flesh. And yet, while it is all utterly harrowing, it is also harrowingly ordinary. The terror that is the deliv-ery room happens every day.

So Mary is faced with the new, and the not-new;

with a divine son and a human son. What mother does not search her newborn child’s face for traces of both parents: Is that my nose? Are those his father’s ears? What did Mary see? What was in that baby’s face? Here is God, come to earth in the most common manner possible--which is to say, the most human way. Does Mary believe it? Do you believe it? You go and study the sleeping face of your older daughter and consider this. You barely know how to raise your own child. How would you raise the Son of God? How to under-stand the Reality that lies behind the story? Better sometimes, maybe, to set out the pretty figurines and just pretend.

However. A picture, no matter how pretty, is not a living thing. You cannot love an image the way you can love another person, and the image certainly can’t love you back. Here lies the wonder of Jesus, the mystery of a God who desired to embrace us, and to have us embrace him, literally. For a baby, human touch is as necessary as food in order to live and thrive. Jesus needed Mary—needed us—to embody fully the Love whose presence in the world would change everything.

St. Irenaeus once said that the glory of God is a human being fully alive. In the morning you will hug your two daughters and know this to be true. Put the clay baby back among the clay sheep. Let it remind you of your life.

Gloria | Leah Postman

photo by Tracy Russell, Advent Lessons & Carols 2011


O Sing Unto Yahweh | Ruth Greenaway-Robbins

On a Thursday evening at around 7:25 pm at the Gore Street entrance of St. James’, a peculiar mixture of people hurry through the doorway. They have travelled from

Maple Ridge, Delta, North Vancouver, UBC, and East Van, while others come from just around the neigh-bouring blocks. They are all ominously carrying black binders and bottles of water. They scuttle on down to the crypt, going from the dark night outside into a room full of warmth, light and familiar faces. For a particular group of people, Mass is about to begin; for as the baton rises, the Saint James’ High Mass Choir begin their preparations for the Holy Mysteries.

For some members of the choir this has been a fam-iliar routine for forty years; for others it has been just a year or more. Each week the choir prepares the music for the coming Sunday High Mass, Feast Day Masses, or at this time of year, a host of music for the Advent and Christmas Liturgies. Visit us in March and you’ll find us frantically packing two hours of rehearsals with music for the Triduum and Easter (which really is an odd experience, singing Good Friday Reproaches and Easter Alleluias in one rehearsal!). Many people have come straight from work, others from putting the chil-dren to bed, and some squeeze in time between shifts at work: all come from busy lives to give and to receive something unique.

“The Angels in the Gallery” is a phrase often used to describe the motley crew that is the choir, who reside up in the loft on a Sunday. From this “lofty” place, between four and twenty musicians sing the liturgy. It would be understandable to imagine that one might feel set apart or a little removed from the liturgy, being in the loft; but for most it would seem not: it is a place of “being at home.” Singing the liturgy has become a practice through which one chorister “could not imagine worshiping God in any other way or in any other place.” One thing is for sure: you have to be involved or you could miss an entrance. In fact, you become hyper-sensitive to each movement within the liturgy, needing to hang upon every word of the cele-brant. One newer member describes the need to be so “vigilant” as a part of her ongoing formation:

“We participate in every aspect of the service; we attend to the liturgy at the front, as we wait for the next entrance. The whole thing grows more and more familiar. We attend every major service, gaining an appreciation for all the feasts we celebrate each year.”

The physical separation, or hidden nature, of the choir has many positive aspects. It tempers any pos-sible “choir idol” that does occur in many churches; it keeps the focus on God, not on the tenor section! It also provides the opportunity for some to feel safe to use their gift of singing with anonymity, allowing musicians once paralyzed by stage fright to lose the stage and finally sing to God’s glory:

“I used to have the most terrible stage fright, but two things have contributed to my overcoming that. The first is that nobody can see me up in the choir loft; the second is that if I truly ‘bomb,’ I just carry on, realizing that I sing for the love of God.”

Hopefully you are beginning to get a glimpse into the quirky group that is the choir. The main character-istic that you need to be part of this group is a serious sense of humour! Music sometimes has a tendency to go into places unplanned--that’s when the many mir-acles happen, or just plain hilarity. There are times when it goes amiss; but we either pull it back together, photo by Tracy Russell; St. James Choir; December 4, 2011


which is when you’ll see a few high fives going around the choir (who said St. James’ wasn’t charismatic!), or we “train wreck” and then--well, we just keep going, with many a wry smile.

Then there is the matter of family:“As we got to know the choir, they became family for us

in a city where we have no family of our own. We have our respective lives at school, but choir is a commun-ity that we share, and a community that is much more diverse than our mono-demographic school friends!”

Yes, it is a family, and like all families we go from bliss to the blues. Some days it can be hard work being in that family, but the majority of the time this social group of all ages supports one another through the highs and lows of life.

It could be easy to imagine that everyone who sings in the choir at St. James’ is a long-time Anglican or at least a long-time Christian, and surely an overt Christian. Yet the reality is complex. To be a member of the choir, one is not required to be either a member of the Parish or a baptized Christian. So we come in all shapes and sizes; our ranks include Mennonites, Baptists, former conservative evangelicals, and non-Christians. As true West Coasters, no one is excluded; we come together as we are, for singing is our unity. For some, however, it has been the beginning of their journey into a relationship with Jesus:

“I started singing at St. James’ as a ringer for the Christmas service of 2008, as a favour to a friend. I felt entirely out of

my element because I was so vehemently NOT a Christian. I used to bring Sudoku to play, while I was absolutely NOT paying attention during the services. The odd time, something would catch my ear, and I would inadvertently (and very begrudgingly) listen. I might actually listen to an entire sermon. It’s been three years now and I find myself purposely and even eagerly listening to every sermon.”

In preparing this article I asked the choir, “Is singing in the choir a part of your spiritual/prayer life?” There was a very clear YES, while a quiet, shy voice answered:

“It is my prayer life.”Often musicians have been brought up in choirs both

secular and sacred, and it has a profound impact upon them spiritually:

“For me it is a spiritual exercise. It is difficult to describe the transcendence of blending my voice with others around me, except to say this: As a child, the idea of eternity terrified me, until I imagined heaven as the most perfect song, sung by a vast choir, never tiring or dying away but only becoming stronger and sweeter and more beautiful.”

St. James’ is greatly gifted with this band of musicians who give many hours and make many sacrifices to be available to sing the liturgy with such beauty. Equally, in return St. James’ offers family, home, spiritual formation and sustenance to those who serve God as musicians.

“Sing a new song to Yahweh, for he has performed wonders, his saving power is in his right hand and his holy arm.” -Psalm 98:1

photo by Tracy Russell; St. James Choir; December 4, 2011


We await and celebrate at this time of every year the Incarnation, or “the entry of the divinity into human form and life” (The Oxford

Companion to the Bible, 301). Into our lives comes a love that disarms and conquers our myriad fears, a love that changes everything.

This gift to all persons may – and often does – much alter our relationships with others. We await, long for, and can be profoundly affected by the presence of God in Jesus or through someone who brings him to us. Martin L. Smith, formerly of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE) in Cambridge, Massachusetts has, in this collection of sermons, shared several such contacts for him.

When working as a bricklayer for the Taizé commun-ity in France, he encountered a “fiercely interrogatory and volatile” shepherd from the Pyrenees, a scarred and tattooed former criminal, and veteran of the French Foreign Legion. Instead of following a natural instinct to flee, he makes a split second decision and tries to make friends. How, he wondered, is it pos-sible to engage with this “other” with whom he would seem to have so little in common? How is it possible to experience the strange and actually enjoy it? (56)

Elsewhere Smith speaks of “the power eucharistic hospitality has in our lives.” (49) Whether among friends or strangers at the altar, he reminds us that we receive the same welcome, to partake of the same gifts, to belong to the same family. And it is a welcome and necessary thing in our society, this “well-being of belonging, this free assurance of identity with others,” as he terms it. (49)

Throughout these sermons, Smith makes clear that Jesus is the “stranger, the other, the one who comes not at our bidding as a genie from a lamp...but as the different one who challenges us to engage with him and risk being changed.” (56)

The title of this insightful and meditative little book is also instructive. The words “nativities” and “passions” both express concerns foremost in the author’s mind as well as serve to link the suffering of the Passion with birth, growth, and spiritual develop-ment of those who encounter Christ Incarnate.

Nativities and Passions: Words for Transformation | Tim Firth

Nativities and Passions: Words for TransformationMartin L. Smith, SSJECowley Publications, 1995

PAX: ADVENT 2008 | 11

ASKBEAR!


Dear Bear, Many different titles are used for the clergy in the life of the Church. Please can you offer an explanation? — Clarke Jackson

Dear Clarke,A good place to start is by clarifying the distinction between

the Order to which a cleric belongs and an Office held.There are three Holy Orders of ordained Christian min-

istry: deacon, priest and bishop (see BAS pp. 631-666 for more details). In the Western Church the normative practice is sequential ordination. For example, a person is ordained as a deacon before becoming a priest. So a cleric belongs to one, or more, of the Holy Orders and is known by the highest order, and ministers accordingly.

There are many Offices to which a cleric in one of the three Holy Orders may be appointed. Since there is variety around the Anglican Communion and beyond, I will describe the practices in this Diocese and I will identify some of the clerical Offices we might hear about at St. James’.

Bishop: one who looks after a whole region (usually called a diocese) that includes parishes; a kind of chief pastor to all the priests.

Rector: usually a priest who is the chief pastor and shep-herd in a parish.

Curate: a priest, or deacon, who serves an “apprenticeship” in a parish and has recently completed theological training.

Regional Dean: a priest who has pastoral care of the clergy and parishes within his/her deanery (a loose associa-tion of parishes).

Archdeacon: a priest who has pastoral care of the clergy and parishes in a number of deaneries which constitute an archdeaconry. Also, a deacon who has oversight of all the deacons in a diocese.

Canon: a priest who has privileges and responsibil-ities at a cathedral. The title has ceased to be used in this Diocese since the 1970s (Fr. [Canon] Douglas Williams was made a canon in another diocese).

— BearBear is the first resident canine at St. James’ Rectory. As a member of the Greenaway-Robbins and parish family, he is privy to many and varied meetings, conversations, and gatherings. Though usually silent, in this column he offers his perspective on parish life.

Little GiddingT. S. Eliot (1888-1965)

I

If you came at night like a broken king,If you came by day not knowing what you came for,It would be the same, when you leave the rough roadAnd turn behind the pig-sty to the dull façadeAnd the tombstone. . . . If you came this way,Taking any route, starting from anywhere,At any time or at any season,It would always be the same: you would have to put offSense and notion. You are not here to verify, Instruct yourself, or inform curiosityOr carry report. You are here to kneel Where prayer has been valid. . . . (26-30; 39-46)

V

A people without historyIs not redeemed from time, for history is a patternOf timeless moments. So, while the light failsOn a winter’s afternoon, in a secluded chapelHistory is now and England.

With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling

We shall not cease from explorationAnd the end of all our exploringWill be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. (233-42) from T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets (London: Faber &

Faber, 1944)


Impact of the Saint James Music Academy on the Neighbourhood | Tracy Russell

One of our parishioners at St. James’, Elizabeth Brandson, has been volun-teering at Lord Strathcona Elementary School in the Downtown East Side for

a number of years. For the past four years, she has joined the same Grade Two classroom once a week to assist children one-on-one with their reading skills. A table and chairs are set up at the back of the class-room, and children come individually during class time to practice reading with Elizabeth and with other volunteers.

One day last spring, a student was reading a book to Elizabeth, and upon turning a page in the book, they saw that the next page was filled with a drawing of music notes. Not necessarily expecting the child to know how to read music, Elizabeth asked, “Do you know what these black symbols are?”

The child immediately answered, “Of course! It’s music!” Elizabeth asked her if she took music lessons. Her answer? “Yes, I go to the Saint James Music Academy every week!” The girl was positively ecstatic when telling Elizabeth about her involvement in the Music Academy, and pointed to her violin which she had at school that very day, as she was going to St. James’ for lessons right after class. The rest of the reading session was spent talking about the girl’s love for music, and how her involvement in the Music Academy was enabling her to develop her skills and appreciation for the violin.

This story illustrates the importance of the Saint James Music Academy (SJMA) in the lives of so many neighbourhood children. St. James’ Parish contrib-utes to its positive impact by providing generous space to the Academy every week, while many parishion-ers financially support its work. Children who grow up in this community and participate in the Music

Academy will associate the building of St. James’ with fond memories, as a place that is warm, fun, and wel-coming to them.

“For the longest time after moving into the neigh-bourhood, I didn’t know what was in this building,” says SJMA director Kathy Walker, of the fortress-look-ing structure of St. James’. “The more we can welcome members of this community into the sacred space we share and enjoy as a Parish, the more lasting our impact will be.”

Kathy notes that the Music Academy, which has been running for five years, nurtures the creativity and self-esteem of children; it encourages them to chal-

lenge themselves in new ways; and it allows friendships to develop in group settings like choir and orchestra – rela-tionships within the Music Academy that wouldn’t exist in other contexts.

A further positive impact of the Music Academy on the neighbourhood is the opportunity parents are given to see their children thrive. The kids are excited about music and about their accomplishments in performing, and this excite-ment and confidence transfer to their parents, who are so proud of their children.

“Music is one way kids cope with the hard stuff of life – the challenges of growing up,” says Kathy. “These kids learn how to deal with stress and with sadness by playing and singing their hearts out.”

“Music is universal. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what you look like, or what language you speak – kids of all backgrounds come together and make music together, and learn and grow together.” And the Parish of St. James’ plays a key role in this community transformation, by offering the space and support necessary to help make the Saint James Music Academy possible.

“The more we can welcome the community into the sacred space we share and enjoy, the more lasting our

impact will be.”


pho

tos

by C

hri

s Lo

h, S

JMA

Ch

rist

mas

rec

ital

, 201

1


Nicholas Ferrar and Little Gidding | Paul Stanwood

This is a story of a pilgrim and of pilgrimage whose hero is Nicholas Ferrar (1593–1637). He came from a wealthy and distinguished family; he went up to Cambridge University,

showed great intellectual promise and ability, and enjoyed many secular rewards. Member of Parliament (1624) and active in the affairs of the Virginia Company, he nevertheless determined to enter upon a life of reli-gious retirement and seclusion. On Trinity Sunday in 1626, William Laud (then bishop of St. David’s) ordained him deacon, the position in which he remained to the end of his life; for by his own wish he was never priested.

Ferrar had in the previous year (1625) purchased a small manor house and farm at Little Gidding, in the remote countryside near Huntingdon (and some 20 miles from Cambridge), where he moved with his extended family, numbering in all as many as 30 persons of all ages. Little Gidding has always been a very small village, and in Ferrar’s time the place he bought contained only a few derelict build-ings and a chapel. Ferrar set to work at once to restore the house and the chapel, and with his family he organ-ized and directed a rule of devotion and practical works of charity.

Although the community’s life resembled in many respects the daily rule of most religious orders, it was not a monastic settlement. Nicholas Ferrar patterned his life and that of his large family around the essen-tial Christian themes of love and constant prayer. Three times a day the family would go to the chapel for Matins, the Great Litany, and Evensong. Ferrar himself customarily kept a night watch from 9 pm to 1 am when he recited in order the whole Psalter. Holy Communion was celebrated in the chapel on the first Sunday of each month, and on all of the

festivals provided in the Book of Common Prayer. The Eucharist was celebrated by the vicar of Great Gidding, the neighbouring parish.

The community prospered, remaining always simple in its desires and faithful to its purpose. A school was established for the children in the family and for those of the adjoining parishes. The men worked the fields, while the women did exquisite needlework, and developed extraordinary skill at bookbinding – some

examples may still be seen, especially the great concordance or ‘harmony’ of the gospels, now in the British Library. Such a life, so calm, so unadorned, and yet so full, encouraged many to visit the secluded house and chapel at Little Gidding, especially George Herbert and other friends from Cambridge. King Charles I himself visited on three occasions, in 1633, in 1642, and finally in 1646, as a fugitive seeking refuge. But the unrest of the Civil Wars, Ferrar’s death in 1637 and the dispersion of family members led to the eventual dissolution of the com-munity. After about 1657, everything that Nicholas Ferrar had developed at Little Gidding disappeared, and the chapel and the adjacent buildings fell

into decay.Nicholas Ferrar died at Little Gidding in the evening

of December 3, 1637. As he lay dying, and surrounded by his family, he is reported to have cried out, “Oh, what a blessed change is here! What do I see? O, let us come and sing unto the Lord, sing praises to the Lord and magnify his holy name together. I have been at a great feast . . . the great King’s feast.” His death reflected the faithfulness of his devotion, and showed forth his sense of Christ’s own serenity.

Nicholas Ferrar’s devotion and his commitment to the principles of Christian life and commun-ity were not forgotten, but swept aside for many

St John’s Church, Little Gidding, Cambridge-shire, UK. Wikipedia. JPG, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/St_John%27s_Church%2C_Little_Gidding.jpg (accessed 13 December 2011).


years. Renewed interest in Little Gidding began late in the nineteenth century, as one manifestation of the Catholic movement within the English Church. Joseph Shorthouse, in his novel John Inglesant (1881), in a softly romanticised view of the earlier seventeenth century describes his hero’s visit to Little Gidding in 1637. Rose Macaulay writes of the same period with similar sympathy in They Were Defeated (1932). But T.S. Eliot is the most famous of writers who evoke this time. Recalling his own visit to Little Gidding in May 1936, he drew inspiration for his great poem, the last of the Four Quartets, called “Little Gidding” (1942). In this poem, Eliot sees Little Gidding as a symbol of achieved spirituality, where he finds “the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling.”

With increasing public interest, the Friends of Little

Gidding was founded in 1947 to look after the main-tenance of the church, with annual pilgrimages led by the Bishop of Ely. A new community, known as “Christ the Sower,” was formed in the 1970s and con-tinued until 1998. Presently the church is in the care of a trust and of the local Parochial Church Council. Through all these changes, Little Gidding remains as always a place for pilgrims “to kneel / Where prayer has been valid.”

There are excellent websites that describe the history and significance of Little Gidding and of the church: www.littlegidding.org.uk or www.littlegid-dingchurch.org.uk. See also the articles in the new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: on Ferrar, by Nicholas W.S. Cranfield; and on the Little Gidding community, by Philip West.

Little Gidding Church. The Friends of Little Gidding. JPG, http://www.littlegidding.org.uk/files/photos/lg-exterior-06.JPG (accessed 13 December 2011).


Mary’s House | Jan Strehler

It is believed that the evangelist St. John spent his last years in the region around Ephesus and is buried on the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill. Three hundred years after his death, in the

fourth century, a small chapel was constructed over his grave. The church of St. John was changed into a marvellous basilica during the reign of Emperor Justinian (527-565 AD).

St. John, or the Apostle John, was the writer of the fourth Gospel and alleged to be the author of the book of Revelation. The accounts of the Gospels agree that he is the son of Zebedee and that together with his brother James, began to follow Jesus while fishing in the Sea of Galilee. He became one of Christ’s closest disciples and was with him during various sig-nificant events, such as the Transfiguration and the Crucifixion. John writes that when Jesus was on the cross, he said to Mary, “Mother, this is your Son”; and to his beloved disciple, “This is your Mother.”

In October of this year my husband Brian and I took a cruise, and at one point we docked at the ancient port of Kusadasi, about seven kilometres from Ephesus.

We visited the grave of St. John, which lies--and is carefully tended--amidst the ruins of the basilica mentioned above. A short distance from where St. John lies buried stands “Mary’s House,” located on the top of a mountain. The house enjoys beautiful surroundings, hidden amongst the green trees.

According to popular Christian tradition, Mary was brought to Ephesus by the Apostle John after Christ’s resurrection, and she lived out her days there. Archaeologists who have examined the building, identified as the House of the Virgin, believe most of the building dates from the sixth or seventh century, while its foundations are much older and may well date from the first century AD, the time of Mary. The site had long been a place of pilgrimage for local Orthodox Christians.

The modern history of the Virgin Mary’s House is unusual. It was “discovered” in 1812 by a German nun, Sister Anna Katharina Emmerick (1774-1824), who never travelled away from her home. Sister Emmerick, an invalid confined to bed, awoke in a trance with a vision that included the Virgin Mary and Apostle John travelling from Jerusalem to Ephesus. She described her vision of Mary’s house in detail, which was recorded at her bedside by a writer named Klemens Brentano. The German nun went on to say that the Virgin Mary died at the age of 64 and was buried in a cave near her house. When her coffin was opened, however, the coffin and burial shroud were empty. The house was then turned into a chapel.

Years after Emmerick’s visions, French clergyman Julien Gouyet read Brentano’s account and travelled to Ephesus to find the House of the Virgin in 1881. He found a house matching the nun’s description and sent word to the bishops of Paris and Rome.

The House of the Virgin was later visited by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II, who confirmed its appro-priateness as a place of pilgrimage. On November 29th, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass here.

It was very special for us to visit the home of Our Lady before going on to see the sights of Ephesus, including the forum where St. Paul preached to the Ephesians.

photo by Jan Strehler


What Would Jesus Do? | Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

One of the slogans on the posters and banners in front of St Paul’s Cathedral has been ‘What would Jesus do?’ This started life in the US some years ago,

with people wearing wristbands with WWJD on them. It’s one of those things that looks wonderfully obvious, a quick way to the right answer.

Well, an archbishop is hardly going to suggest that it isn’t a good question to ask! All the same – the idea that it somehow provides a nice short cut to the truth needs a bit of challenging.

For a start, Christians don’t believe that Jesus is there just to give us a good example in every possible human situation. The Jesus we meet in the Bible is somebody who constantly asks awkward questions (especially questions addressed to religious people, moral people and rich people – all the sorts of people involved at St Paul’s…) rather than just giving us a model of perfect behaviour. Faced with what looks like a simple challenge about whether you pay taxes to the Roman Emperor or not, he fam-ously shrugs it off, saying, ‘Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give God what belongs to God.’

In other words: don’t just imitate me: think. What’s the exact point at which paying taxes to the Empire gets in the way of serving God? What’s the exact point at which involvement in the ‘empire’ of capital-ist economy compromises you fatally?

It may not be easy to answer this straight away, so don’t expect to become a hero of conscience over-night. And, just to rub it in, there are other places in the Bible where Jesus prods us to ask ourselves about our motives before we embark on grand gestures. Are we doing this for the sake of the real issue – or for an audience?

What matters about Jesus isn’t that he always tells us simply what to do. What matters is that he is there – claiming the right to probe our motives and stretch our minds. Faith isn’t about just his teaching or his good example but his whole life, his whole being. That whole life expresses a committed love that won’t go away whatever we do, and so has the right to ask the awkward questions: the questions posed to us by his birth in poverty and his childhood as a refugee – and the still bigger challenge of his apparent failure and his death.

And that challenge is: what if all your standards of success and failure are upside down? Christmas doesn’t commemorate the birth of a super-good person who shows us how to get it right every time,

but the arrival in the world of someone who tells us that everything could be different.

WWJD? He’d first of all be there: sharing the risks, not just taking sides but steadily changing the

entire atmosphere by the questions he asks of every-body involved, rich and poor, capitalist and protester and cleric.

Christmas tells us two big things. First, what changes things isn’t a formula for getting the right answer but a willingness to stop and let yourself be challenged right to the roots of your being. And second, we can find the courage to let this happen because we are let into the secret that we are in the hands of love, com-mitted, unshakeable love.

I hope that something of that great secret will find its way into your celebrations this year. Happy Christmas!

© Rowan Williams 2011. This article originally appeared in the Christmas edition of Radio Times magazine in the UK.

pho

to: R

uth

Gre

enaw

ay-R

obb

ins

pho

to: R

uth

Gre

enaw

ay-R

obb

ins

What changes things isn’t a formula for getting the right answer but a willingness

to stop and let yourself be challenged right to the roots of your being.

Our St. James’ Family Abroad

David, Maggi and Mary Creese moved to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK in August. David is teaching

ancient philosophy and Greek at Newcastle University and is happy to have found a church choir to sing with in time for Christmas. Mary, who turned one in September, learned to walk this month, is rapidly expanding her vocabulary, and takes Maggi along to her swimming and music groups. Maggi enjoys hanging out with Mary and does contract research for an international aca-demic society while Mary naps. They’re all having fun getting to know Newcastle and like it very much so far. They send their greetings to everyone at St. James’.

Dallas Southcott and family send their greetings from the east coast. It has been a busy few months

since they made the rural shift, and they’re soaking up lots of fresh air, tranquillity and locally-sourced natural foods, enjoying country living to its fullest. They’ve joined the Cathedral in Fredericton, and Dallas is back to singing every Sunday in the choir. Lincoln recently celebrated his third birthday and has become quite a spelling and counting champ. Levi is six months old (already!), and was baptized earlier this month. They keep St. James’ in their prayers and thoughts and miss everyone dearly.

Tanya Northcott and Rocky Rocksborough-Smith are happy to report that they LOVE life in their

little cottage in Peachland, while they build their permanent home and Bed & Breakfast (for which the foundation has just been poured) – hopefully in time for next summer! Rocky gets up every morning to chop the wood and get the airtight stove going. From then on, it’s toasty warm. They very much miss St. James’, their family and friends. To that end, they have engaged with Mother Jessica, Nancy Zimmerman and Betty Carlson in starting a St. James’ “Distant Friends” ministry, which they hope to initiate in early 2012. Tanya and Rocky will be in Maui this Christmas and New Year with their family, renewing their vows and celebrating their 20th anniversary.


pho

to: E

lain

e Ja

n

Here is some light relief after the “heavy duty” budget discussions of late. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:

≈ Announcement in a church bulletin for a national PRAYER & FASTING Conference: “The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals.”

≈ The sermon this morning: “Jesus Walks on the Water.” The sermon tonight: “Searching for Jesus.”

≈ “Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don’t forget your husbands.”

≈ The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled due to a conflict.

≈ Remember in prayer the many that are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say “hell” to someone who doesn’t care much about you.

≈ Don’t let worry kill you off – let the Church help.

≈ For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

≈ During the absence of our Pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.

≈ The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing “Break Forth into Joy.”

≈ Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

≈ At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be “What is Hell?” Come early and listen to our choir practice.

≈ Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

≈ Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

≈ Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

≈ The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility.

≈ Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 pm – prayer and medication to follow.

≈ The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

≈ This evening at 7 pm there will be a hymn sing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

≈ Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 pm. Please use back door.

≈ Weight Watchers will meet at 7 pm at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

≈ The Associate Minister unveiled the church’s new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: “I Upped My Pledge – Up Yours.”

≈ Our next song is “Angels We Have Heard Get High.”


Dollars and $ense | Angela Van Luven

photo: Chris Loh


NEW MEMBERS OF OUR CHRISTIAN FAMILYLynn Wilson was baptized on All Saints’ Sunday, November 6th. Lynn faithfully attends High Mass and is very happy to be a baptized member of our family.

IT’S A BOY!Dylan James Amundgaard was born on December 8th, weighing 11 lbs 5 oz and measuring 23 inches. Congratulations to parents Jen and Ben and to older sister Sophia!

HEART OF THE CITY FESTIVALSt. James’ Church offered many activities as part of the annual Heart of the City celebrations. Many people from the neighbourhood and wider city dropped by for the Women’s Guild Bargain Sale, as well as the All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day High Masses. Also well attended was Allan Duncan’s lively and entertaining church tour. People were fascin-ated by the display of our “Church Treasures” and by Chris Loh and Christine Hatfull’s photo exhibit featuring the interplay of light and architecture. And of course there was Dr. Paul Stanwood’s rousing re-creation of a sermon preached by John Donne in seventeenth-century England! A performance by the Saint James Music Academy was a treat for everyone. All in all, it was a wonderful showcasing of St. James’ to the city.

FUNDING OUR MISSIONThis fall our dedicated Stewardship team encouraged each of us to con-sider how we can prayerfully give

of our resources to support the mission and ministry of St. James’. To date we have received 57 pledge cards with a total commitment of $107,425 for the coming year. It’s certainly not too late to return your pledge card! Pooling our resources helps ensure that we will be able to minister to each other, to the com-munity and to the world in 2012.

ORDER OF THE DIOCESE OF NEW WESTMINSTEROn November 6th, Mary Brown and Jennifer Dezell of St. James’ received the insignia of the Order of the Diocese of New Westminster from The Right Reverend Michael Ingham in a joyous celebration at Christ Church Cathedral. Congratulations and thank you to Mary and Jennifer from all of us at St. James’ for your valuable service to the church and to the Diocese.

GRATIFY YOUR SENSESIf you like arranging flowers, hand-ling beautiful objects of silver and brass, or arranging snowy white linens, this is your opportunity. Both the Flower Guild and the Sanctuary Guild are looking for new members to help create and main-tain the beauty of St. James’, our Parish family home. Please contact the Church Office if you are inter-ested (604-685-2532).

THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLAThis fall, parishioner Joyce Locht and Sr. Monica Kaufer of the Order of the Sisters of the Cenacle introduced a group of eight parishioners to the

Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The experience has helped partici-pants encounter God and Jesus in new ways, has encouraged the disci-pline of regular prayer, and has been rich in sharing and mutual support. Thanks to Joyce and Sr. Monica for offering this wonderful experience.

CAN’T WAIT FOR THE PREMIERE!Did you know that Sylvia Murphy and her daughter, Sylvie MacCormac, have been selected to be part of a film on living hopefully with disabilities? St. James’ is Sylvia’s spiritual home and features in parts of the film. We can’t wait to see the premiere!

A LOOK BACK AT ADVENTAs we now celebrate Christmas, let’s look over our shoulders for a moment to appreciate the Advent experiences that have helped lead us to today. We recall the richness of the Lessons and Carols service, the peaceful and reflective Advent Quiet Day, the Formation Sessions on the Second Coming of Christ, and the inspiring Advent sermons, available on our website. During this season we welcomed special guests Fr. Bill Crockett, Dr. Lee Johnson, and Dr. Harry Maier (a Lutheran pastor and a professor of New Testament at Vancouver School of Theology). We also recall the fun of the Advent Boutique as well as the Saint James Music Academy Christmas concert, which had about 400 people in attendance! We give thanks for the Advent season of preparation and celebrate with joyful hearts the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Did You Know? Parish Life at St. James’

Order of the Diocese of New Westminster, November 6, 2011. Photo by Elaine Jan

Order of the Diocese of New Westminster, November 6, 2011. Photo by Elaine Jan

Dylan James Amundgaard, December 17, 2011.Photo by Tracy Russell


Coffee hour, December 4, 2011.Photo by Tracy Russell

Lynn Wilson’s baptism, November 6, 2011.Photo by Elaine Jan

Advent boutique, November 27, 2011.Photo by Elaine Jan

Baby shower for Jen Amundgaard, October 15, 2011. Photo by Tracy Russell

Welcoming Sr. Mary Christian Cross as Deacon, October 16, 2011. Photo by Elaine Jan

303 East Cordova Street, Vancouver, BC, v6a 1l4Telephone: 604 685 2532 Fax: 604 685 7605

Email: [email protected]

www.stjames.bc.ca

our vision: Discovering the beauty of holiness in our lives and neighbourhood, by living a Christ-centred sac-ramental life rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.

PAX no. 13 © 2011 St. James’ Anglican Church Editorial Panel: JenAmundgaard (on leave), Paul Stanwood, Tracy Russell, Mother Jes-sica Schaap Designer & Art Director: Miles Linklater Writers: Fr. Mark Greenaway-Robbins, Jen Amundgaard, Leah Postman, Ruth Greenaway-Robbins, Tim Firth, Bear, Tracy Russell, Paul Stanwood, Jan Strehler, Abp. Rowan Williams, Angela Van Luven Photography: Judi Paterson, Wendy Delamont Lees of Ciao Bella Photography, Tracy Russell, Chris Loh, Jan Strehler, Elaine Jan Distribution: Mary Brown Archivist: Jane Turner

PAX is free, but voluntary subscriptions of $10/year are welcome. PAX aims to be financially self-sustaining and therefore donations to sup-port this ministry are greatly appreciated, and may be offered through your envelope (clearly marked PAX), mailed to the church office, or submitted on the church website with a credit card. The material print-ed in PAX is produced by members and friends of St. James’ Church in Vancouver, Canada. A theme-based call for submissions is issued two to six weeks prior to each edition in the Sunday church bulletins. All submissions to PAX will receive acknowledgement of reception and be reviewed and edited by an editorial panel made up of the managing editor of PAX, a Warden, a member of the clergy, and one additional parishioner. Submissions are reviewed to the extent that they fit the mandate of PAX. All submissions may be edited for length, the max-imum being 500 words unless otherwise specified.

pho

to b

y Tr

acy

Ru

ssel

l, A

dve

nt

Less

on

s &

Car

ols

, 201

1

PAX Christmas 2011

Documents

person of jesus

jesus christ

human nature

human form

pax christmas

mediation of god

grace of god

terms of moral theology