Newsletter of The Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
289 Spencer Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 2R1 (613) 722-9139
Vol. 8 No. 5 March 2006
I think that I’ll start an Anti-Groundhog Day. Yet again, the little critter was wrong! The prediction had been for an early spring, “just around the corner,” only two more weeks of winter from February 2. Instead, it seems, the worst of this winter hit following his prediction. Saturday, February 18 (more than two weeks after the 2nd, you will note!) was our annual sleigh ride for the kids of our three Ottawa area parishes. Minus 32 degree wind-chill according to the radio station, but it may have been much lower what with a few miles of unobstructed fields allowing a truly bracing north wind to assail Charlie Brophy’s farm. Actually, I’ve read many times that the “hit rate” for the groundhog is notably less than 50% - perhaps we should just turn the equation around? Of course the same is true of the weather prediction accuracy of The Old Farmer’s Almanac (in spite of their claims, also rather badly far off); and people continue to buy it in large numbers regardless.
Speaking of old farmers, just before we went to press last month, Lyall Gow, our 93 year-old kid, who ran a hobby farm for many years in the earlier part of his retirement, fell and broke his hip. Such an accident for most older people is indeed not a happy experience. Well, our old kid, was out of hospital and back in church before the middle of February – and not in a wheelchair! The unsinkable Molly Brown has nothing on the unstoppable Lyall Gow!
We also reported last month on the various health issues that have struck several parishioners. This month, we can report that, although proceeding more slowly than either she or her doctor would like, Margaret Heighton is recovering well from her surgery. Olive Ecclestone began radiation treatments for her cancer during the last week of February; while Jane Shaver is being a very brave trooper in her latest battle with that dread disease. Joyce Shaheen continues to make progress with her shoulder rehabilitation and hopes to be back in church very soon.
Late last year, Garey Ris, the non-biological uncle of the two, now seven year-old twin boys who lived next door to the church until late last year, brought us an update on Patrick (Hadden), for whom we have been praying. Now, we must pray ever more fervently. Garey reported in early February, “the news about Patrick isn’t good. Doctors say the tumour is not only wrapped around a kidney but also around many main arteries. Janet tells me the surgeon is willing to operate next week to remove what he can, but that will only ‘bid Patrick more time.’ The oncologist told her that because of the tumour he won’t be a candidate for the immunotherapy drug trial. As for chemo, it, too, will only extend Patrick’s life, not save it. (The drug trial has been stopped for now because a couple of the nine kids worldwide on the drug have had an adverse reaction.) I saw Janet Thursday morning and said that so long as Patrick hadn’t given up, I wasn’t about to, either, and that I was still praying for a miracle and keeping the faith. I also said that I’d always cherish every day I’ve ever had with him if he doesn’t make it and that I’d see him in heaven. It’s almost three years to the day that we first found out that Patrick had neuroblastoma; he was clear for about two years before the disease came back. Life certainly has many twists and turns, and Janet, David, and Patrick’s twin, Logan, have endured much, especially in the past couple of months. Patrick has been really strong through everything; that’s why I’m still hopeful despite the picture. What an inspiration he is!”
Later that same day, Garey emailed me to say that Dave and Janet are speaking to doctors in Toronto and San Francisco; and he sent me an article about a neuroblastoma boy in the U.S. in whom the same type of tumour spontaneously disappeared, following a storm of prayer by his family and friends. One particular sentence in the article about him (Brandon), and the grace that God gave to his parents struck me. The mother speaks, “There are times when Ryan (Brandon’s brother) says, ‘Why did God give Brandon cancer?’ and I don’t know what to say. But I do tell him that when God was trying to decide what family to give Brandon to, he searched and searched for the perfect big brother and picked you.” After Brandon was healed spontaneously, his father said, “You don't want to ask why. You just take the gift and pass it on.”
Fr. Carl
FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH
Life in Restricted Nations
In the latter part of January and early February, information from the following countries has come to light:
India: again during the past month, bodily violence against Christians, desecration of Bibles and other worship materials, and destruction of property including orphanages by militant Hindus continues in various States.
Turkey: apparently in the wake of the Danish cartoon debacle, violence against Christians has broken out in this country, including the murder of one Roman Catholic priest just after he had finished celebrating Mass, followed one week later by an attack against another priest.
Eritrea: detention of Christians by the government continues with now an estimated 1,800 Christians being held. Among the latest were 75 conscripts into the military who, when discovered reading their Bibles in private, were sent to detention – in opposition to Muslims in the military who are permitted to read the Quran openly and pray five times daily. Also, the government has deposed the Orthodox patriarch because of his outspoken criticism of the government's persecution of non-Orthodox churches.
Palestine: the Gaza office of the Bible Society was forcibly closed, and ordered not to reopen anywhere in that area.
Also in Sri Lanka and China the persistent persecution as reported in previous months continues.
· Additional weekday services this month:; Tuesday, March 21 is the feast of St. Joseph of Nazareth. Also, Wednesday, March 1 is Ash Wednesday and Saturday, March 25 is the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, when we already have regularly scheduled services. Please refer to the calendar of the back of this issue for service times.
· For those of us who are blessed with iron constitutions, we tend not to think very much about a variety of things that, in the case of some people, can have rather uncomfortable, or even deadly, consequences. A few of our parishioners have very serious nut allergies; another suffers from celiac (cannot eat anything with wheat in it). Of course, these people are aware of their allergies, and take the necessary precautions. However, some others have allergies that are triggered by exposure to air-borne things. In particular, and in both our 8:00am Sunday regulars and our 10:00am Sunday regulars, we have parishioners who are not just sensitive to, but for whom exposure to perfumes and fragrances can cause allergic reactions. For them, it is not just a relatively simple case of themselves avoiding certain food products; rather, they are at the mercy of the rest of us, especially when we gather in an enclosed space. Please, therefore, for the sake of those who have these quite genuine allergies, may we all show compassion by not wearing strong perfumes or colognes to church?
· Do you have any real marble floors or countertops that have lost their lustrous sheen? Francis Bago of our parish is a Master Stone Restorer and would be happy to provide an estimate to you. 596-4212 or cell 294-3707.
· In preparing for the annual Vestry, I noticed from last year’s minutes that I was supposed to have provided an address in a subsequent issue of this newsletter. The address being that of the International Anglican Fellowship (IAF), our international missionary body headquartered in the United States. In previous years, both from the parish and from the diocese, we have been able to send financial support to various missionary endeavours around the world, via the IAF. However, in 2004 it became clear to us from Revenue Canada that our respective charitable status designations would be in jeopardy if we were to continue to send money to this “not recognized by Revenue Canada” charity. At last year’s meeting, we pointed out that individuals may certainly continue to support the important work of the IAF by sending money directly to them – acknowledging that you will not receive a tax receipt in so doing:
Mr Walter Kilian, IAF Director
Manchester, NH 03102 USA
Phone/Fax: (603) 222-1070
· The 2006 parish directory is now available, but, as usual hidden from public display. Please see either Fr. Carl or Barbara de Catanzaro for your copy.
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Our Christian walk and study of the Bible all point towards God the Father, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit; but, there are many other people in the Bible whose lives and deeds are all tied up in this marvellous journey. Included among them are many women, so let's learn something about at least one of them!
QUIZ about MARTHA
1. Where can one read about Martha?
a) the Gospel according to St. John;
b)the First Epistle General of St. John;
c) a book called Martha's Vineyard;
or
d) the Gospels according to St. Luke & St. John.
2. In what town did Martha live?
3. True or False: Martha was the sister of Lazarus, whom Jesus loved very much.
4. When Mary did not help Martha prepare dinner for Jesus, Martha:
a) did not complain
b) wouldn't speak to Martha for days.
c) asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her.
d) threw a vase at Mary.
5. What was Mary doing rather than helping Martha?
A bonus of 5 stars will be awarded ...if you can tell Barbara your answers without anyone else around - that is, NOT at the Sunday School table!
(Barbara would also like to thank Helen Combdon for providing some of these materials of quizzes for the Kids.)
“East is East and West is West:
A Pragmatic Approach to Ecumenism
for Anglican Traditionalists
In the sadly misplaced euphoria that accompanied the spurious innovations introduced during the heady days of post-Vatican II, “reaching out to our separated brethren” was all the rage.
Ill-conceived seeds of a “pan-christian” (the small “c” is employed deliberately) reunification of sorts were sown and even flourished among enthusiasts gleefully ignorant of the practical implications and necessary “accommodations” entailed.
Considered retrospectively, it was commonly held that a few symbolic gestures and affirmations of fraternal bonhomie would erase centuries of mutually visceral antipathy.
During each January 15th-22nd, Christians are encouraged to observe the “Week of Prayer for Unity,” which somehow seems to lose fervent impetus with each passing year.
Clearly, “ut omnes unum sint” (“that all may be one”) reflects the Lord’s express desire.
After all, does not the BCP deplore “our unhappy divisions” and their dangerous consequences (2.b, p. 40)? Even more emphatically, Holy Orthodoxy warns against the disastrous effects of our “lacerating discords” as reflected in “The Memorizer” – a prayer recited at Mattins in The Orthodox Prayer Book (p. 44).
Anyone familiar with the ultra-violent Islamic response in early February to some unflattering depictions of the Prophet in cartoons published by some Scandinavian print-media, as well as the worrisome inroads made by that religion’s militant proponents in sub-equatorial Africa, should be horrified by the lack of a co-ordinated response by a Christianity in sectarian disarray.
And now the basic question which, however uncomfortable, must nevertheless be addressed: “IS IT REASONABLE, MUCH LESS REALISTIC, TO ACCEPT THAT CHRISTIAN ECUMENICAL REUNION CAN EVER BE REALIZED?”
Tragically, the answer must be a qualified NO, the qualification being dependent upon the eschatological return of Christ Himself to purify the Church.
Two problems underlie this admittedly pessimistic view:
1) Wherein would Christian “unity” exist?
Rhetorical pronouncements notwithstanding, it will always remain the official Vatican position that “reunion” is synonymous with a “quasi-penitential” return of “dissident” confessional bodies to a “maternally forgiving” Apostolic See.
Undoubtedly, such a prospect will not be readily accepted by the likes of Pat Robertson, Ian Paisley, Tammy Faye Bakker, Jerry Falwell et al. (For that matter, would Rome even want them?)
As for the Orthodox and other “Oriental” Rites (as defined by the Vatican), forget it!
2) Can the abyss – theological and liturgical – between “high” and “low” Christian denominations ever be bridged? Again, the answer must be a categorical NO!
Fundamentalists groups, for example, committed the core precept of the Reformation “Sola Scriptura” (“By Scripture Alone” or “The Bible is sufficient unto itself”) will never admit the “higher churches” emphasis upon the complementary role of Tradition into their creedal systems.
Where, then, does all of this leave US as Continuing Anglicans? Be patient, gentle reader!
Regardless of any surfeit of that singularly nebulous commodity known as “Good Will” on anyone’s part, the Roman Church – not entirely without some justification and not withstanding some “cosmetic” concessions – will invariably insist upon recognition of ITS terms for sacramental acknowledgement of all extra-baptismal acts performed under other auspices.
Witness the unfortunate example of the once-promising efforts of the Fellowship of SS. Alban and Sergius to promote positive relations between the Canterbury Communion and the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The decisions of the Church of England and ECUSA to ordain women and practising homosexuals to both the priesthood and the episcopacy have effectively sounded the death knell for mutual recognition.
But should CONTINUING Anglicans pursue inter-communal relations with the Apostolic See? ABSOLUTELY!
Should the TAC initiate consultations with the various Orthodox bodies independent of their respective patriarchal jurisdictions? EVEN MORESO!
Consider the following:
1) Certain Eastern liturgical elements are already present in BCP worship (e.g. Cranmer’s Great Litany and the Prayer of Humble Access);
2) Marian veneration and saintly commemorations provide no significant obstacles (indeed, several Orthodox feast days appear in the ACCC calendar as amended by Bishop de Catanzaro, and many RC saints are honoured as well);
3) A married clergy? No real problem! Orthodox and Eastern Rite Churches in communion with Rome have always recognized a non-celibate clergy, and there is certainly no barrier to a “mixed” clergy in the New Testament;
4) The ACCC, the RC Church and most Eastern Churches (HJS is not including monophysite bodies here [Ed. Note: those that hold to a doctrine that in the Incarnate Person of Christ there was but a single, and that Divine, nature, as against the orthodox teaching of a double nature, Divine and Human, after the Incarnation. The Monophysite Churches still in existence include the Copts and Abyssinians, Syrian Jacobites, and the Armenians]) maintain similar sacramental theologies – e.g. the Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist;
5) But what about married bishops? Herein lies a potential yet not insurmountable difficulty.
Orthodox hierarchs are selected from among the monastic clergy and, therefore, must be celibate at the time of their appointment/consecration. (Widowed bishops are not entirely unknown in Holy Orthodoxy’s history.)
That Bishop Mercer was a member of the Community of the Resurrection at the time of his election as third bishop of the ACCC, and that his successor, Bishop Wilkinson, is Father General of the Oratory of the Servants of God demonstrates that this is a relatively minor consideration.
Finally, one must ask: “What is the ULTIMATE GOAL of legitimate ecumenical endeavour? Should it be an Administrative Union, in which all constituent members acknowledge the primacy of a single “parent body” or a mutual recognition of inherent sacramental validity when rites are performed according to commonly accepted formulae?”
The foregoing observations have as their basis an alarming (alarmist?) overview of contemporary Christianity predicated upon a still more directly relevant question: Can ANY confessional body afford to “go it alone” in the face of prevailing secularism and increasingly aggressive, even inimical, proselytism by hostile elements?
In conclusion (mercifully!), the road to Christian unity can never be construed as easy – Christ never promised that it would. Indeed, if anything Church History reveals to its students that no group can claim to be “without sin” in the lamentable saga of mutual persecution.
For their part, Western Christians must be prepared to admit such unpleasant facts as the rape of Constantinople by “Crusaders” in 1204, the failure of Catholic Europe to come to the aid of the beleaguered Byzantine Empire in 1453, and the shameful behaviour exhibited by RC bishops in North America toward “uniate” Eastern Rite Catholics resident in their dioceses. All of these remain vivid realities in the Orthodox psyche.
Similarly, which side “martyred” more than the other in 16th century England: the “protestants” in ascendancy under Henry, Edward and Elizabeth, or the Catholic reactionaries during the brief reign of Mary Tudor? Think about it….
Despite his inherent pessimism, the Deacon Residentiary will enter eternity still believing that “Scienta omnia negativa vincit” (“Knowledge overcomes all things untoward”).
Lententide Blessings!
Rev. Dr. Henry Stauffenberg, OSG
NOTES
1) Although a fact not well known in North America, functioning, married RC priests not only exist, but engage in active parochial ministries elsewhere. This is especially the case in England, as well as Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.]
In the first instance, not a few wedded Church of England clergy, disillusioned by the direction taken by Anglicanism’s Mother Church, have embraced Rome. Once accepted, the ex-Anglican cleric is formally received into his “new faith,” and, following “re-ordination” (conditional?), resumes pastoral duties duly recognized by the Vatican.
If already married-with-children, he simply continues in that state without any attendant scandal. The major problem in such cases is actually non-sacramental; rather, local RC officials must seek to “match” the former C of E minister with a compatible parish – one amenable to having a married priest for the first time.
Initial pastoral assignments are usually made for a probationary period, after which the diocesan authorities review the relative success of the arrangement. To the Doctor’s knowledge, the acceptance rate has been generally favourable.
On the Continent, most candidates for the “lateral transfer” described above come from “high” Lutheran and Old Catholic congregations.
2) Obviously, the common grounds extant between Western Christianity and Holy Orthodoxy have been treated here in necessarily cursory fashion. HJS hopes to address other matters of historical significance (including the credal (Nicene) FILIOQUE controversy) in May’s issue.
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During my trip to Sudan last December, I visited one country I had never been in before, Uganda, and spent time in a part of South Sudan which was new to me. God does not allow me to be bored!
Entebbe Airport is quite the introduction to a country. It sits on what is almost an island in Lake Victoria, the second largest body of inland water in the world after Lake Superior. Landing there after a long night flight from Heathrow is enough to wake anyone up. We made the long drive into Kampala, where we stayed for two nights in the house of a Catholic priest who serves in the United States.
I found myself engulfed by Christianity from the moment I left the airport customs hall. Greg Musselman, a Voice of The Martyrs employee from Edmonton and Tom Zurowski, the American whose school project we were there to visit, are pastors who live and breathe Christianity every minute of the day. They talk about little else and their fear of the Lord is deep and genuine. It is humbling and very instructive to spend a week in such company.
Uganda is a country in which you can see a church at almost every turn. Every year, on June 3rd. there is a spectacular Christian festival of prayer, song and dance called Martyrs Day. When I go again I will pick up a DVD of the 2005 festival to show the parish. I watched a lot of it on TV in the priests house and it is quite special.
An unexpected pleasure was a couple of hours spent in the company of Bishop Michael Lugor, who was in Kampala on business. Bishop Lugor participated in a memorable Mass in the Cathedral a couple of years ago, which he remembered well.
Before dawn on the third morning we were back in Entebbe. The flight to Yei in Equatoria is a little different from the flight to Dajo. For a start, it is actually a twice-a-week schedule, for which you check in at the regular check in desks at the airport.
We landed at Kajo Keji, just inside Sudan, long enough to pick up an MSF doctor, then on to Yei, where I was surprised to find an airstrip big enough to take serious aircraft. Furthermore, it was busy – ours was not the only flight. This was obviously different from the Eastern Upper Nile.
Dickson Mutiso, one of those remarkable Kenyan Christians who spend their lives serving their brethren in South Sudan, met us with one of the project vehicles. The other vehicle had recently been “borrowed” by the Lord’s Resistance Army, along with the driver. Thankfully, both were retrieved unharmed. Much to my surprise, we then drove on a real road, just like those dirt roads in Northern Ontario, to Loka.
More surprises. The compound in Loka had brick built sleeping huts, in which were real beds. There were real showers, clean, odourless latrines and a dining room in which we ate fine meals, cooked by two women who knew what they were doing.
Tom was devastated to find that the school students had rioted a couple of days earlier, ostensibly because their exam papers were late. They broke into the compound and damaged the hut Tom uses, among other things. Four of the senior boys had started the riot. We discovered that they had been thrown out of school in Yei for the same thing.
Tom and Mutiso called the students together in the large church the following day and requested some explanation and contrition. Observing this emotionally charged occasion it occurred to me that Christianity is not being driven deep enough. New project – Bible School and serious Christian instruction for staff and students.
Fr. Peter Jardine