On the following Sunday, some of us went to Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral for their morning service. I entered this beautiful Cathedral church building filled with numerous stained-glass windows. Images of Jesus, Joseph and Mary, the four Apostles, twelve Disciples and many saints were all illuminated. Most were given in memory, and to honour, long-deceased members—the Saints of this Church Family. Many tourists were traipsing up and down the aisles, their necks craned to enable them to observe these awe-inspiring, colourful windows. They did not care that a worship service was in progress in this sacred space. That disturbed me.

I suddenly wondered what would happen if each window showed a beloved person who had died, and whose life had mattered to them? I thought of a number of now-deceased people who, in my life, had mentored me, or made a real difference—my Saints. Who would be there, I pondered? There are always the obvious family members whose lives influenced us, but others came to mind: Those who were there for me in times of difficulty or mental instability; for support when I had reached rock bottom. They all cared.

I thought with gratitude of these people and then later made a list. Thirty people came to mind. All gave of themselves to others, but especially to me. None would consider themselves ‘saints,’ and none would feel comfortable having a stained-glass window erected to respect them. But I can picture each person being illuminated from a place of honour. I can also give thanks for their love, understanding and compassion to me.

This Advent, I suggest you make your own list of those people who have gone before you, and who deserve a place of honour and your thanksgiving for a life well lived—your ‘saints.’  Perhaps you could make your own Advent Calendar and fill each day with the memory of a person who really counted in your life. A time to give thanks, and to remember their gift of love.

Psalm 105:3(b) – 4, reads: “… let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; Seek his face always.”

Thanks be to God!

dduncanfletcher2@gmail.com

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Karl Barth says most joy is anticipatory. This means, firstly, anticipation can create joy. Secondly, this joy of anticipating something better in the future changes how we live in the present. For example, a glance under the Christmas tree can brighten our mood on a gloomy winter day as we imagine laughing with family and opening presents. That feeling of joy can carry into our day and change how we act. We might call our kids or parents because we can’t wait to see them.

The anticipatory joy of advent begins in Genesis with the promise that God Himself will come and defeat the evil of this world at its source. From then on the trajectory of the Bible is one of joyful anticipation of the coming of a Messiah. Everything from page one looks forward to the coming of Jesus Christ.

Fast forward to the gospel of Luke chapter two. The angels tell the shepherds what they’ve been waiting for is happening now and it is cause for “great joy”! At this pivotal moment, the joy of anticipating Christ’s arrival transforms into the joy of anticipating how He will change the world.

Then, on the cross, when it seems that Christ has been defeated, and hope shattered, the joy of the resurrection bursts forth new life. Though dying Jesus triumphs over evil and death! The rest of the New Testament is about how the resurrecting power in Jesus is granted to all his followers. The Church begins to experience the life-giving power of God’s Holy Spirit. They witness God permeating this world and confronting evil and death in the lives of people. Now, the Church points back in witness to Jesus Christ and his resurrection, while at the same time, joyfully anticipating His coming again in Glory.

This joyful anticipation transforms how the Church waits. In the same way that Canada prepares to receive a sovereign, the role of the church today is to lay the groundwork for the coming of the King of the universe.

Firstly, we do this through worship. We believe that who and how we worship matters because it shows the world who Jesus is, His work on the Cross, and His resurrection. Secondly, we believe how we live matters because it’s a witness to what Jesus’ kingdom will look like in the future. Think of it this way. In worship, we proclaim Jesus as God and King. Through our actions, we show what His Kingdom will look like. We feed the hungry because, in Jesus’ kingdom, no one goes hungry; we care for the earth because Jesus’ kingdom will be established here, on Earth; we forgive and work to advance reconciliation because Jesus’ kingdom is one of mercy and forgiveness; we confront evil with goodness because Jesus’ kingdom is the way of the cross; we evangelize because Jesus and His kingdom are for everyone.

Right now, the world looks gloomy. There are wars, earthquakes, and humanitarian crises. In Advent Christians look under the Christmas tree and find that the greatest present is a promise. King Jesus has promised to come back and there will be no more death, tears, mourning, crying, or pain. This world will be in perfect peace and God will rule as Just Judge. This is cause for great joy! And this joy transforms how we wait. We prepare the world and ourselves to receive Jesus. What is your role in laying the groundwork for the Kingdom of God? How does the joy of Advent change how you wait?

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All of creation glorifies God’s name who invites us to participate in His creation. I’m moved by the prayers for the preparation of the altar for celebrating the Lord’s Supper from the book of Common Worship, Church of England:

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation: through your goodness we have this bread to set before you, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.  Blessed be God for ever.

God is active in our lives and environment, calling us to participate in His life-giving creation. I cannot imagine a more meaningful way of life than heeding God’s call to bear fruit in the Kingdom of God. We bear fruit in this life, and in life eternal through Christ.

Now it’s time for me to get back down to Earth! Let’s talk more about God’s creation, especially apples, beans, squash, and blueberries. Did you know that all of these rely on pollinators for their growth? In fact, 70% of the global food supply relies on pollinators such as flies, beetles, butterflies, bats, hummingbirds, and, of course, bees!

What can we do to help our pollinating pals?

To answer, I’m handing this over to Bonita Slunder of the Friends of St. John’s, Prescott, and co-founder of our Greater Glory Garden.

Bonita: We know: Always Avoid Alliteration…But, how can we help it when we have 4 B’s, 3 G’s, and 2 P’s to unpack! Please, let me explain. The Greater Glory Garden is a community endeavour spearheaded by the Friends of St. John’s. Using a grant from the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund administered locally by Leeds & Grenville United Way and a team of dedicated volunteers from our congregation, we have converted an empty space behind the church and turned it into a heavenly haven where we come together to help combat household food insecurity while enjoying the great outdoors. Our garden has reserved four Big, Beautiful raised Beds for the Bees as part of our Pollinator Project currently being developed for the 2024 season.

In 2022, according to the Ontario Beekeepers Association, beekeepers across the province reported devastating losses of up to 90% of their colonies due to the varroa mite, climate change, habitat loss, and pesticides.

So, what can we do to help the bees?

Inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

This winter, we’re busy preparing for spring. We will plant flowers that the bees love and perhaps even get our own hive so they can flourish closer to home. The University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre offers a plethora of information, courses, advice and a fantastic brochure called ‘Creating a Bee Friendly Garden.’ The Greater Glory Garden Club plans to follow this easy advice and welcomes ALL from our community and diocese to come join us as we grow together; helping the bees thus helping ourselves, sharing space and friendship and the beauty of Mother Nature and the Glory of God.

We’re hoping that you, your church, or cemetery would like to start your own Pollinator Project. Please contact us at the Friends of St. John’s Web site: https://fosj2021.com/

Resources and links to learn more:

University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre

Bee Friendly Garden Resources

Ontario Beekeepers Association

https://www.ontariobee.com/

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Advent is about waiting and yearning. The deep desire of the ages—that all creation be wrapped up in the final, saving acts of God—is the subject of the whole season we have set aside and called Advent. This year we are facing a world seemingly gone mad. The war in Ukraine drags on, and now the tit for tat death-dealing of the middle east is out of control again. While it is the beginning of a new church year, it is also the season when the shadows lengthen, and the night comes early, and in the midst of so much darkness we begin cast about for light in our lives. In the midst of the darkness that has been unleashed in the world, we are looking for a little light, a little hope. The distance we have to travel mentally seems that much further, so we are not entirely sure if a little candlelight, or a little tinsel, and hanging some greenery will comfort us. At the same time that the grip of winter tightens and we cast our eyes to the sky to see how heavy the snow fall will be this time, we are mindful of the cycle of terror and death that stalks the land that Jesus called home.

The church, wisely it turns out, notes that the moment  the darkness begins to gather that we cast our minds to yearning. An eternal yearning, not just for light and peace which is part of the season but in what we read in scripture and what we sing in our churches – we begin to pay attention to the deep yearning we believe every soul has for God. Yearning is the deep desire for God to act: “Oh that you would tear the heavens and come down…” (Isaiah 64:1-9) and make a definitive conclusion to the changes and chances of this mortal life for all of us. It is a profound desire to see God and see God’s action in the world as it promises a new heaven and new earth.

Expectation for a Christian is the conviction that that God is going to act and chooses to wait vigilantly. Contained within that expected act of God will be a profound bit of good news for all those who find themselves hopeless, or helpless or hapless. The faith that in God’s declaration “Behold I am making all things new… ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. ‘” (Revelation 21.5) is the only hopeful word in this world of death and destruction.

I will be blunt, the world is wrapped in chaos, confusion and fear. The world would seem to be captive to death, war, famine, and pestilence. Add to that the political uncertainty and the explosion in the costs of ordinary necessities of life and you will begin to perceive the profound and unsettled way the world is feeling. It is no wonder the ancient prophets, whose oracles we read, when they experienced similar crises spoke of both their yearning for God to ‘hurry up’ and their expectation of the coming of God’s final action.

Christians, we have a triple duty in times like this: we have to live with the both our yearning for God to act, and testify to our faith as well as the  expectation that God is going to act as the people who yearn for justice and peace call out to him. Advent is the season in which we do this through prayer and preparation for the Christmas miracle. How trivial that makes the usual “24 shopping days left before Christmas” kind of expectation seem. Our drive to acquire things  is a cheap imitation of the real desire to prepare the heart and mind for the coming birth of the Holy Child.

We can attend to the mystery of the season and our above-mentioned triple duty by studying the words of the prophets who told us to wait for the One who was to come. We can deepen our trust in the Word of God by looking closely into those things which generations of our ancestors proclaimed, their hopes, their faith and even their eternal salvation. The cold winds and deep snows might then show us a way to reflect and rest and trust that the Spirit of God is still working in spite of the very terrors that might otherwise drive us to our knees. Jesus is coming, and he will gather us as his own into the eternal kingdom. Not even death can prevent this, because not even death could hold him. Yearn for that new life that is promised and expect the miracle that Jesus is preparing for each of us.

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“The generosity which arose from Ted Fulford’s desire to foster musical education and training in Canada allows churches and other music programs to reduce or eliminate financial barriers for young people who are seeking musical training,” says Dr. Scott Brubacher, Executive Director, AFC. On the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Fulford Trust, AFC is celebrating Ted’s generosity by encouraging Anglicans to name your passion and grow your legacy.

“Ted Fulford’s philanthropic spirit, and that of hundreds of other Canadian Anglicans, have formed the bedrock of AFC’s $15 million endowment,” says Brubacher. “These legacies have varied in size and do not come exclusively from wealthy philanthropists. The thread that unites them all, is a passion to make a difference.” AFC’s capacity to weather the pandemic, while also pushing its grants program to new heights in recent years is directly attributable to the “growing impact of enduring gifts.”

Whether motivated by their love for sacred music, belief in the value of leadership and education, a vision to reduce poverty, or a desire to support the Indigenous church, an increasing number of Canadian Anglicans are choosing to remember the church in their wills.

Brubacher says that among the many bequests it has received in recent decades, AFC is rarely the sole faith-related beneficiary. “Our experience has been that legacy gifts typically lift all boats by supporting the church at various levels—locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. It is especially heartening to see the benefit to the local church as well as to a donor’s family and charities. From hospitals to universities to animal shelters, Canadian Anglicans are putting a great deal of care, compassion, and consideration into how they put their wills to work.”

This year, AFC is joining the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund as well as dioceses across Canada to partner with Will Power, a national campaign of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP) that educates Canadians about the power of leaving a charitable gift in their will.

In the Diocese of Ontario, for guidance on how to make your church part of your estate plans you can contact: The Ven. John Robertson at johnm.robertson@sympatico.ca.

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The day started with a Morning Prayer service of praise to our Creator with joyous singing accompanied by Mike Fenn, the Music Director at Christ Church.

A sumptuous potluck lunch consisting of an abundance of plant based dishes was enjoyed by all.

Our keynote speaker, Bishop Michael Oulton, spoke to us of the Marks of Mission and how we are charged to care for the earth, reminding us of the fifth Mark of Mission: “to continue to strive to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, and respect, sustain and renew the life of the earth.”

He showed us photos of flooding due to the rise in sea level at Baie Vert, New Brunswick, his hometown. He spoke passionately about how, if global heating continues, his boyhood town can expect to be under the ocean as the Bay of Fundy rises. He thanked us for our efforts in taking measures which will help combat or cope with predicted changes in our climate, and reminded us to project an image of hope in the midst of the challenges we all face.

We heard encouraging reports of ways various churches are working to comply with the Synod 2021 resolution to reach 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Several churches in our diocese have taken up the offer of the Green Group to have thermal imaging done to show areas of heat loss. This service continues to be free and available to any church once the cold weather arrives. Simply contact greengroup@ontario.anglican.ca.

A cold weather heat pump is being used in one church and is being considered in a number of others. Cold weather heat pumps can heat down to 30C and cool in the summer and they use no fossil fuels.

We were reminded that 5 degrees C is the recommended temperature for a church when the building is not in use.

Many churches have answered Bishop Michael’s call to plant trees. Indeed, the city of Brockville is blessed to have a veritable forest on city property, due to the enthusiasm and efforts of the Anglican churches in Brockville. Brockville is also beautified by a team from St Lawrence Anglican who have “adopted” highways, keeping them free of litter.

Several churches in our diocese are establishing community gardens.

We discussed ideas of what churches and families can do to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. A simple, easy and economical way for individuals to reduce their carbon and methane footprint is to move to a more plant based diet. We viewed a graph showing the relative GHG costs of meat, especially beef as compared to grains and legumes. The difference is shocking!

Rev Dr Ian Ritchie and Jim Biagi spoke briefly of their experience with electric cars. They maintain that EV’s are the vehicles of the future. Members of the Green Group also discussed our personal experiences with solar panels, heat pumps and the Canada Greener Homes Grant Initiative and other grants for individual homeowners.

Our hope is for our churches to have a ‘green team’ of people to champion environmental efforts, including submitting the annual report to Synod council on reductions to GHG emissions. For further information contact greengroup@ontario.anglican.ca or see our website at diocese of ontario/mission/creation care.

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