Saturday, November 3, 2012, 12:15 pm:

“The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, rector, issued a staff announcement today in which he reported that all Trinity staff members (roughly 180 people) are safe and accounted for.

“3. As a result of the status of 68 Trinity place and the continuing uncertainty around transportation and hotel re-opennings in lower Manhattan, Trinity Institute’s National Conference, scheduled for next weekend, has been rescheduled for December 7-9th when Sr. Joan Chittester, keynote speaker, is available. The Institute team is working on the implications of this decision and will make updates available on this site.”

Registrants through this Cathedral in Winnipeg please note:  Trinity Institute Conference with Webcast is postponed. Stay tuned to our office for further news shortly.

The Rt. Rev. Ronald F. Shepherd, retired Bishop of BC, died on October 24th, 2012.  Some of you will remember Ron Shepherd, who served as Incumbent of All Saints, Winnipeg from 1959 – 1965.   He is survived by his wife, Ann, and six children.

Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord.  And let light perpetual shine upon him.

Full obituary and details of funeral at www.mccallbros.com

Our English word ‘synod’ is from two Greek words (syn-h/odos) which literally mean ‘a way together.’  That’s good in itself, but this word ‘synod’ can also be translated a bit more loosely as ‘walking together’ or even ‘on the way together.’  The 111th Synod of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land, just completed (18-20 October), felt like something much more than just a long business meeting.  I have to confess that it was only my second Diocesan Synod, but I’m eager to share that it was great to be there.  It felt like we were walking together, a people truly on the way together.

To be sure, there were still difficult conversations on the plenary floor, but they were, almost without exception, respectful and loving even when it was clear that there was strong disagreement about fundamental matters.  From beginning to end it was most clear that, despite our differences, we are united not by uniformity on every issue but by our being joined together in Christ, people walking together as disciples of the crucified and risen Lord Jesus.  For me it was truly a gift, a joy to participate.

There are at least six references in The Acts of the Apostles to the Church as ‘the Way.’  Disciples of Jesus, Christians, are people of the Way, or, on the Way together.  We are in a wonderful sense always in synod, as we follow Christ Jesus, who joins us together, makes us one.  Our focus is on him, on Jesus as Lord; the earliest recorded Christian Creed, shared by people of the Way, on the Way in the first century of the Church’s history, was very likely ‘Jesus is Lord.’  (Cf. I Corinthians 12.3)  Our unity is a gift of Christ, the one we follow, together on the Way, walking together, with Christ, in synod.  Our unity is not in uniformity but in Christ, crucified and risen, ascended, and present now in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Our recent Diocesan Synod was this kind of experience for me.  The power and presence of Christ in the Holy Spirit was evident, thanks be to God!

Gratitude to God is always at the very top of our agenda, but I also want to thank our members of Synod, Shirley Godfrey, Rene Jamieson, and Roger Stagg.  All three will share more detail in worship on Sunday.  Thanks also to Bishop Don for his leadership; his Address to Synod, shared at the Opening Eucharist here at the Cathedral on Thursday evening, 18 October, is available for you.  Most Synod material is available for you on the Rupert’s Land website.  Thank you as well to ++Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, who spent the entire Synod with us, who was a peaceful and graceful presence in both word and deed.  Thanks also to our own ever-gracious Mavis Ford for organizing a wonderful reception following that Thursday service.  But always, always, thanks be to God for calling us to walk together on the Way, disciples of Jesus the Christ, following him on the Way of the Cross, the Way of Resurrection, the Way of Life.

Bishop Donald Phillips, Rupert’s Land

“Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”    Romans 15:7

Welcome to St. John’s this weekend, Bishop Don, welcome home to your Cathedral, where together we work to nurture and equip one another as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Thank you for being with us on Saturday afternoon, joining us for lunch after a busy morning, and staying for that important planning session before moving on to yet another part of your busy Saturday.  And thank you most especially for leading us in worship on Sunday morning, for proclaiming the living Word, Jesus Christ, in the Gospel words of your sermon, and for presiding in liturgy and at the Table of Our Lord, as we gather around and partake of the Source of our being.

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Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things hath done, in whom this world rejoices;
who from our mother’s arms hath blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

Happy Thanksgiving, one and all!  I hope and pray that all of us are able, with the Psalmist (Psalm 100), to say, “Give thanks to [God], bless [God’s] name.  For the LORD is good; [God’s] steadfast love endures forever, and [God’s] faithfulness to all generations.”  Our Recessional Hymn on Sunday, Now Thank We All Our God, was written by a German Lutheran pastor, Archdeacon Martin Rinkart of Eilenburg, sometime during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), when the most horrific and bloody deeds were done by both Protestants and Catholics in religious warfare with mind-numbing violence, while plague also ravaged the land.  Something like eight million people died, including all who died of disease and starvation, about a third of the population of the Germanys.

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“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2

It’s Back to Church Sunday again. You may have invited someone to come with you to church today, and, by the grace of God active in your courage and care, maybe they even came. That’s wonderful. But if they didn’t, or if you didn’t (invite, I mean), that’s OK too. Why? Well, there’s always next Sunday, and the Sunday after that.

The Holy Spirit is full of surprises and may well have wafted in some first-time visitors, or some folks who haven’t been for ages. That too may be true on any given Sunday. Stay tuned, to the Holy Spirit, I mean, and to those around you. Be alert, be welcoming always, ready to leave your comfort zone to make new folks feel more comfortable. Take a risk and come out of your holy huddle and reach out to someone you don’t know. Do it today, for sure. But, by the grace of God, and maybe even with a bit of graceful tooth-gritting, do it regularly.

Do it today for sure; be as welcoming as you usually are, and then notch it up a bit. By all means, make sure everyone knows that they’re invited downstairs for a light soup lunch with us. Oh, and you come too, please. It just won’t be the same if you’re not there. Maybe you haven’t been in awhile? Welcome back to church! Welcome home! Come to the Lord’s Table first, our truest home, share in that limitless hospitality, eat and drink deeply of God’s welcome, which is the source and sustenance of the living church, and then come downstairs to our table, and share some hot soup and warm fellowship in this community we call St. John’s. Whether you’ve been here for eighty years or this is your first visit, you are most welcome back to church!

“Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

The Rev. Canon John B. Moorhouse, a retired Priest of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land died earlier today, Sept 26th, 2012, on his 86th birthday.

John served as Incumbent at Holy Trinity, Wpg., and St. Aidan, Wpg., and District Dean of the Southwest Winnipeg Deanery. He was a Canon of the Cathedral Chapter of St. John, prior to his retirement, when he assumed the role of Hon. Asst. To the Very Rev. James Setter, Dean of St. John’s Cathedral.
John moved to BC in 1987.

Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord.
And let light perpetual shine upon him.

“ ‘O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!’  He chortled in his joy.”  Sound familiar?  Some of you will know that it’s from “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll in his magnum opus, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, published in 1872.  While it may be a stretch to argue that this delightful poem is a thinly veiled interpretation of Christ’s victory over the power of death, we can at least delight in the sentiments expressed!  I love the way it rolls off the tongue so beautifully.

And I certainly chortle in joy at our frabjous day, as we begin our regular fall life together. Sunday School begins again; if you have children who might be interested, please do talk to Betty or Ted Ash.  Or, if you are feeling like you might be called to teach in this educational ministry of our parish, yes, please talk to Betty or Ted Ash for more details.

Choir resumes its leadership role in our worship life at the 10:30 Sung Eucharist.  They rehearse on Thursday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m.  If you’re interested in this musical ministry, please talk to our Music Director, Tom Packham, for an interview and audition.

Also beginning is The Dean’s Forum, which, for the next while, will be an express tour of the Scriptures commonly called The Holy Bible; this series we’ll call “Dusting off the Bible.”  This is not an original title, but I like it very much, so we’ll use it.  We begin at 9:15 a.m. and will finish by 10:05 a.m., guaranteed.  Stay after the early service, come early for the after service!  Please join us, and BYOB (Bring your own Bible).

I remind you also that, to allow us to share in a time of Christian education for adults, the early morning has been changed:  We no longer say The Great Litany together, and we begin the Said Eucharist in the St. John Chapel at 8 a.m.

For more information on any of these items, or to leave a message for someone, please do call the Cathedral Office at 204.586.8385 x 11.  Or e-mail at office@stjohnscathedral.ca .  Thanks!

So, won’t you chortle with me?  ‘O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!’                       Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.    (Phil. 4:4)

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I invite you to join me on a pilgrimage, a journey to last well into next year, an adventure challenging in many ways, fulfilling, I hope, in even more ways.  Beginning next Sunday, September 23rd, at 9:15 a.m. and finishing by 10:05 a.m., I’m starting a series called Dusting Off the Bible.  The time slot itself, an opportunity for lifelong growth in faith for adult disciples, will be called “The Dean’s Forum.”  For the next thirty plus weeks I’ll lead a survey of the Scriptures we call The Holy Bible, which have always been and remain normative and authoritative for the Church, the whole Body of Christ in the World.  In the future, others will be invited to lead short series, or even individual sessions, on topics related in some way to our life of faith as disciples of the Crucified and Risen One, Jesus the Christ.  But this year, it’s Dusting Off the Bible.

A few practical tips if you can come…  BYOB!  Bring Your Own Bible, that is.  In worship we use the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, as recommended by the Anglican Church of Canada, but there are many other good translations, and even a few helpful paraphrases.  If you have a Bible, and use it, bring that one, whichever version it is. 

Next week will be an introductory session, with discussion on the Book (Bible is a transliteration of the Greek word, Biblion, which means, ‘book.’), and how it’s been studied, and how we might go about doing that, what it means to you, to me, to us, to the Church, to many.  I think it will be a good discussion to have before we launch out together on our voyage of exploration.  I’m excited about the next months; I hope you’ll come and join with me and with others to make this a community experience, part of our growth together as disciples of Jesus, and part of our future as St. John’s Cathedral.  But do bring your Bible, even next week, and hang onto it for worship too.  Finally, pray; pray for me, pray for us, pray for this community we call St. John’s, that we might listen together to hear what the Spirit is saying to this church and so discern more clearly the future into which we are being called.  Thanks be to God!