Archived Thoughts 2005
St. Andrew's Church
An Anglican Church • Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
(I have them occasionally!)
Written by
Stuart Pike
Rector
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Saturday, Dec 31st, 2005
Christmas is not only a day, but a season of twelve days. Mid-way through the season of Christmas we experience a New Year. What will this New Year have in store? I am thankful that the New Year always falls during Christmas because it helps me focus that a New Year is about new birth. How will Christ's birth make a difference in my New Year? In what new ways might Christ be born in my heart this year? How might I recognize Christ in the faces of those I meet this year?
I wish you all a New Year full of God's blessings.
15 December, 2005
There's something wonderful about very cold temperatures. It seems that late at night, or very early in the morning the silence is all the more complete as i walk between Parish Hall and Rectory. Is it because the very sound is frozen? The only thing i can hear at those times is the soft crunch of snow under my feet and i usually give way to the temptation to stop and be still and listen to nothing.
The best and coldest of those times is when there is no cloud cover to trap any joules of energy, nor to hide the array of stars and planets sailing above me. I notice that, though sound is silenced in the cold, light is magnified. The light of the stars, their colours and pulses cut cleanly through to meet me...
... and i breathe slowly and silently for i fear to break the beauty. I think of the speed at which i am travelling through the universe - and all so silently. It is then that i might begin to hear it: deeper and richer than sound, it is a hum which holds everything: the ground, the stars and me into a kind of wholeness. And i smile deeply and feel my soul filling with joy, and in the silent coldness, i feel the awesome touch warming me.
17 November, 2005
It is off to Synod we go! Friday and Saturday (Nov. 18-19) the clergy and delegates from parishes accross our diocese will attend the 131st synod of the Diocese of Niagara at the Hamilton Convention Centre. We will hear the Bishop's charge, listen to reports, elect representatives to Provincial Synod, pass a budget and vote on the other resolutions which are before us. It is one way in which the people of the Church are prayerfully engaged in the decision-making of our institution.
If you are interested in learning more about synod, you may go to the website (just click on the Synod logo above.) Along with reports and documents you will also find a link to a live webcast of the synod. Also, we will have a report on synod on Sunday at both the 8 and 10 A.M. services.
Please pray for us as we meet in Christ's name to make decisions on your behalf.
26 October, 2005
In the midst of the rush and busy-ness of the day, the greatest gift that I can give myself is to remember to be grateful. If I can stop, even for a moment, even in the midst of negativity, and ask myself the question: "What am I grateful for at this moment?", then I can change my whole attitude in that moment. This change of attitude is really God's grace which can transform our moments, our days, our lives. And transformation of life is what faith is all about. Sometimes that transformation is moment-by-moment.
I am grateful for a transformation which is happening now to the ancient Japanese Maple which stands at our front door and blushes crimson with the touch of God's love, and reminds me of God's promise in me.
What are you grateful for?
2 October 2005
'Tis the season for weddings here at St. Andrew's. I think people have finally figured out how hot it is in these parts and most want to get married in the fall. I married a couple today. I married three couples last Saturday.
Weddings are right up there at the top of the list of my favourite things about my job. There is something so wonderful about seeing a couple in one of the most hopeful times of their lives. I get the best spot in the house as the couple actually say their vows to each other. And it is I who gets to say, "I declare that they are husband and wife in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
What they are really doing is forming a covenant. It is a promise about a holy relationship which they will have with each other and their vows are holy because they are made before the presence of God. As Christians we are called into such a covenant relationship with God as well. It is a promise about a holy relationship too. God says, "They shall be my people, and I shall be their God."
What neither of these covenants mean is that we will be perfect in our relationship. But it does mean that we will place the essence of our selves to be bonded with the other: to truly be with the other. It reminds me of a beautiful morning prayer which I often pray which starts out: "Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being..."
That's what a covenant is all about. Halleluiah!
18 September 2005
On Sunday Florence Martin of St. Andrew's Church received the Order of Niagara at the Cathedral. There were quite a few St. Andrew's people there to see her receive the award. Bishop John Bothwell spoke of commitment and how Henri Nouwen wrote that commitment has three main components. First of all, people who are committed to doing the work of God are vulnerable. They open themselves up to whatever will come, and they respond to it compassionately. Secondly, they are motivated by gratitude. They are grateful for the blessings of God in their own lives, and thus they give of themselves. Thirdly, they are caring. Committed Christians care about the other. They are willing to support others to allow them to grow.
We at St. Andrew's Church thank you, Florence, for your years of committed service through St. Andrew's Church. May God continue to bless you richly.
August 2005
There is something just so healing about water. I mean water in great quantities. A river, a lake, an ocean. There is something about how it can be so placid and yet so powerful at the same time. It is all too easy to ignore it: to drive by, to find it unremarkable.
This summer, part of my healing time was on a lake in the Muskokas, in a red canoe. You can't ignore water when it is underneath you. In a canoe you ride it like it is some great sleeping giant - fully alive. Will it wake up?
The power of your own arms and back aid your movement, but the current of the water, the swirl and eddy of it, and force of the wind are beyond your control. Your paddle provides the connection. Your goal and the goal of the water intersect and you find your own way: a new direction: co-crafted.
Or you can even just drift for a while and let your course be one with the water, and think: "Oh my God, you are great!"
How does the direction in your life follow or intersect a bigger direction? Is it easy? Is it struggle? Is it connected?
Where can you find a paddle?
9 July 2005
This is a photo of a small group of our Bible School members learning how to make masks in crafts. Forty children participated from Monday to Friday this week. A great thank you to all the staff who volunteered and did a great job in leading the program. It was loads of fun. We learned: to know God, talk to God, tell about God, love God and work for God. What a great way to live!
4 June, 2005
It's Parish Picnic time! The Garden gnomes have been busy tending the gardens around the Parish property. There are people working in the kitchen preparing food for the Picnic following the 10 A.M. service.
One of my favourite things about this Sunday is that we celebrate our main service outside (God willing, weather permitting!) It is a service of Holy Communion as is usual, but everyone sits in curving rows of chairs outside on the spacious front lawn of the Rectory. The cars and the people go by on Main Street as we celebrate. We get musicians volunteering from the High School next door: this year trumpets, trombones, saxophone, bass, clarinet, flute, violin and cello. Along with keyboard. The music is upbeat. The homily is especially focussed for the young.
It is wonderful to take our celebration of faith outdoors. Too often, it seems, the Church huddles behind closed doors as the Disciples did before they got the Spirit! So this Sunday, we take our faith outdoors, into the community. We share our holy meal - which is always open to anyone who wants to share - and we reenact Jesus sharing a meal with the multitude. It's a feast: all are welcome. Come and nourish your body and your soul.
How often, too, as individuals do we keep our faith closed up behind doors. How often might we rather have opened those doors and shared. With whom would you like to share the spiritual side of yourself?
30 May, 2005
I'm off to clergy conference! It is a three day conference up in Hockley Highlands, near Orangeville It is a beautiful area of our land: hills, trees, great hiking trails. It is a time to get together with other clergy, to pray regularly together, to exchange ideas and also to socialize! We always have a guest speaker and this year it is our own Primate, Archbishop Andrew Hutchison.
Clergy conference is always something which I look forward to. For me, it is very much like a retreat. It is interesting to see the mix of personalities which make up the clergy of this Diocese. There is a wide diversity of opinion on any given topic - especially the "hot" topics of the day. And clergy are usually not afraid to sound forth on their opinion. I think it is the praying together, though, which makes us more than simply a "clutter" of clergy. We are united in worshiping our God. It is in the discussing and sharing and arguing and praying and the breaking of bread together that we become a community of the faithful. And the centre of that community is Christ who is with us.
Clergy conference is really a microcosm of the Church as a whole. With all of our diversity of opinion it often seems that we are divided. It is important to celebrate that Christ is among us, if we will only just open our eyes and see.
Can you see Christ in others - even in those with whom you disagree?
May 2005
On Saturday some of St. Andrew's Parishioners went on a Parish Retreat at Mount Carmel Spiritual Retreat Centre. The retreat was on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and was led by a Carmelite Friar, Fr. David Simpson.
The first active gift of the Holy Spirit is Reverence or the deep awe of God.
In the experience of that gift is the realization of God's unconditional love and acceptance of us: just as we are. God created us as we are, and so the gift of reverence keeps us loyal to our own true selves. When we live in reverence for God, we can act out of the depths of our being, because that is where God touches us. Have you reached out to receive the gift of Reverence from the Holy Spirit?
On Saturday some of St. Andrew's Parishioners went on a Parish Retreat at Mount Carmel Spiritual Retreat Centre. The retreat was on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and was led by a Carmelite Friar, Fr. David Simpson.
The second active gift of the Holy Spirit is Fortitude.
This is a virtue which enables us to pursue the good in a difficult journey. When we fall in love with God, we cannot seem to get enough of God. Fortitude allows us to overcome major obstacles in a journey of faith and allows us to do two things:
1. Great acts of faith which might be noticed by others, and,
2. It keeps us faithful to the small and unnoticed duties in life.
It keeps pushing us forward so that we don't get stuck and shows us how to live so that we can remain in the Divine Presence of God. Fortitude dispels hostile, negative energy and calls us to love even in negative spaces.
How can the Holy Spirit's gift of fortitude help you in your life?
Recently some of St. Andrew's Parishioners went on a Parish Retreat at Mount Carmel Spiritual Retreat Centre. The retreat was on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and was led by a Carmelite Friar, Fr. David Simpson.
The fourth active gift of the Holy Spirit is Counsel.
The gift of counsel perfects in those who have it the virtue of prudence. It enables them to judge promptly and rightly, as by supernatural intuition, what should be done in difficult situations. The Holy Spirit speaks to the heart through the gift of counsel and shows those who have it what to do. The gift of Counsel not only inspires people regarding long-term goals, but it guides people with the day to day decisions. By the gift of Counsel, one can be aware of the constant availability of the presence of God to us. The Gift of Counsel ought to be invited by the seeker. When one practices the presence of God in one's life, the gift of counsel is often evident. When one experiences the gift of counsel one grows nearer and nearer to the heart of God, and others are enriched. Have you ever struggled with how to make good desicions? Pray for the gift of Counsel for you own life direction.
The First contemplative gift of the Holy Spirit is Knowledge.
It is through the gift of Knowledge that a person receives a true idea of what the created world is in relation to God. The created world is both a stepping stone to God and a manifestation of God.
Another side to this gift is the possible presence of disillusionment. This disillusionment happens when a person's paradigm of the world shifts from one which had seen the created world without God. There is a humbling characteristic that goes along with the gift of Knowledge when one realizes that one's way of looking at the world is not the only one nor the most acurate one. Often, along with this gift is the need to let go of something (one's own perspective, for example) and one might even experience a sense of mourning in letting go.
The gift of Kownledge changes and deepens and will lead one to peace. This holy peace happens when one is truly gifted with the knowledge that God is only in the now. The gift of Knowledge may lead one to realize one's own shortcomings and it may lead one to an experience of the Dark Night of the Senses (St. John of the Cross).
The Second contemplative gift of the Holy Spirit is Understanding.
This gift of understanding allows the person receiving it to deeply penetrate the truths of the faith. The inspirations of the gift of understanding are not ordinary thoughts but are deep impressions or insights which stay with the person. These insights may happen during prayer or not. There is often some image or connection which is made regarding some truth of the faith, and it makes it a personal connection. It provides to the one gifted with it a living experience of the mystery of God.
Along with these insights into the truths of faith, understanding also gives us a realistic view of our own weakness. The Gift of understanding reveals to us the roots of our secular 'programs for happiness' whether they be materialistic or culturally conditioned. Understanding also reveals to the person what is their own nemesis: what it is that they need to overcome or give away in order to progress spiritually. While understanding gives one this personal sense of God's truth it can also lead one to an experience of the dark night of the Spirit (St. John of the Cross.) Understanding leads one to realize our dependence on God grace in our spiritual journey.
The Third contemplative gift of the Holy Spirit is Wisdom.
Wisdom is perhaps the deepest and most holy gift. Wisdom gives God's view of things. The gift of Wisdom is often given in the midst of life's events (and often painful events.) One of the joys of this gift is the ending of doubts about God's presence and of God's infinite love for us. Because of this, Wisdom also brings to an end a poor sense of self-worth. If God loves us, how can we dispute our own worth?
Wisdom often manifests itself in a transitory way, but the gift is always there. It feels as though it comes from a source within and wells up unexpectedly.
In the life of the person gifted with Wisdom one always sees an increase in charity, mercy, fidelity in prayer and in the ability to forgive. Although Wisdom gives the person deep insight into the Divine, it almost always is manifested forth in the simplification of their life. Those who are given the gift of Wisdom will be called upon to share it for the benefit of others.
Do you have the gift of Wisdom? Or do you need the advice of someone who has this gift?
4 May, 2005
"Most of my prayer is completely inarticulate. I just mentally keep slipping the catch that yields my whole soul to love."
Thomas Merton
Contemplative prayer is about opening oneself simply to be in the presence of God. When in the presence of the Divine, words fail. That is why so much of our faith is expressed through art and music which can reach more deeply into the soul than can words. My soul recjoices in Merton's words, however, because he descibes the result of such an encounter of the Divine: Love. And that is Christ's meaning too: Love.
2 May 2005
"When we are quiet, not just for a few minutes but for an hour or several hours. We become uneasily aware of the presence within us, of a disturbing stranger, the Self that is both ‘I' and someone else. The Self that is not entirely welcome in his own house because he is so different from the every day character that we have constructed. There is a silent Self within us whose presence is disturbing precisely because it is so silent."
Thomas Merton.
A good deal of the contemplative life is about finding our own true selves. We live behind the mask of the persona which we have so diligently created in order to protect ourselves. We instinctively seem to realize that our true selves are so greatly fragile. And yet, we antend to our mask to such an extent that we too often forget our essential Self. It is this essential Self which listens to God and speaks to God.
When was the last time that you took an hour "off" to be with yourself and to listen for God? When can you next schedule such a time?
26 April, 2005
"There is a present moment, because God is present. Time is perpetual innovation ... God's gift to the world of space. Creation is that language of God.Time is His song, each one's environment, the consonants in the song. To sanctify time is to sing the vowels in unison with Him, to be an inner-artist shaping a unique world."
Abraham Joshua Heschel
God, the creator did not only create the universe and then walk away. We were not only created by God (in the past tense), we are always existing in God's creating work in the present which makes every moment full of possibility and potential grace. When we, God's creation, live fully in God's present reality, then we can truly live grace-full lives. How full is your present reality?
23 April, 2005
Didn't it rain?
The song, "Didn't it rain" is a spiritual version of the flood story: the story of Noah and all that rain. As I write this there are pails catching the drips from the leak in my study roof. It sounds like a percussion ensemble.
It has rained since last night and is to continue tomorrow. This morning in the chill rain, I buried someone's remains in the cemetery, and I thought of all the symbolism of water and rain.
Although the Noah story is a story about death, it is also the story of new birth. Today, I spoke with a man in the hospital who knows he is going to die soon. Better than that, though, he knows he is going to live on.
Having been in lands in Africa which know mostly drought and heat, I can appreciate that the cool rain means life and all the abundance of it. So which is it, then: death or life? I say it's both, and both belong to us.
Rising up out of the water of baptism, we burst through the surface of death to new life. Hallelujah, didn't it rain?
