Hope springs eternal, and spring heralds the inevitable shift in… everything: the clocks, our gardens, the weather. Here in Fujairah - home of The Flying Angel about which I write in this issue - the cooling shawal winds are already heating up the entire Arabian gulf. It is 32C today, next week it will get really hot. So too Aspire is adjusting.
With this third issue, we can look forward to our second year as the editorial team for the journal of St John the Divine. You may notice the familiar 3 C’s - Congregation, Community, and Communion (Anglican Communion) – which are the staples of our content. Our masthead is diverse, from clergy to community activists. So too our talents, from webmaster Duane Lecky to 2 poems by Susan Mugridge and Cathy MacAdams. And Dorothy reminds us that we still need graphics, artwork, photos (and articles by October 31 for the next issue.)
For me, this issue is about how communication eases changes and life shifts. The handshakes to exchange the Peace; our elegant processional banner which Ann McLaren writes about – which will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year (wouldn’t it be grand to have a photo for Aspire with as many as possible of the original group ?) Our rector, Harold Munn, listens to a couple of important questions and offers informed answers. The second one concerns the final transition, and how to plan for that. Isn’t it always the unasked question that causes most anxiety? Dialogue cures stress.
Brian Turner comments on trends he sees in the church as theyaffect its place in the world. In a lyrical style, he concludes that Jesus’s final words of advice to all of us in the Gospel according to St John are the way forward: “Feed my lambs.” That enfolds all 3 Cs. Thank you, Brian!
Concerning the Anglican Communion, Bishop Barry Jenks wrote in the last issue about Burma – and we must not forget them, although the media's fickle attention has shifted away. Fortunately, with the Internet, we can access the latest from Gerry & Bruce Melville, our fellow parishioners, their VIM work in Tanzania and their experiences in Kenya, at http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Bruce-and-Gerry-in-Tanzania/. They are following other SJD parishioners in bringing individual resources to those who need it just as Angela Burdett-Coutts did, as related by Michael King’s article. We can see in her story the seeds of Planned Giving (which is something we all might want to consider as well.)
In an ongoing series, that most stalwart member of the Aspire team, Sara Chu, offers a glimpse into the life of the individual sitting in the pew. In this issue, it is Kathleen Gibson, who sings in the choir. (In the future, someone could interview Sara herself and we would love to publish that story.)
The new Epiphany passageway, lovingly crafted and generously donated by Frances Sidhe and Dieuwertje von Aesch, brings the physical senses alive as we move from one environment to another, one mental stage to another, one spiritual dimension to another. What I have learnt from the article offered to us by the creators and Derek Dunwoody is that passages – transitions – are as much a choice as an involuntary response.
We may not know where we are going and what may happen… but we are assured of unbounded companionship on our walk in this life: “Draw near with faith…”
Shalom, Janice Seto for the Aspire Team