by Janice Seto
Advent 2008
"Long distance relationships don't work," For many relationships, maybe it is better to move on. I miss my spiritual home, wish I were back in Victoria running through the doors of St John's for the 8 am Sunday Eucharist service. With the internet, however, I am finding I can at least retain my ties to home.
When Aspire started up again in 2007, we wanted to make fuller use of the internet to communicate and share. Glancing through the leaflets online, I read about the Welcome Tea, the Divine Brunches – and Ann and Dorothy keep me posted on how things are moving at The Iron Church. Sara Chu is now a grandmother, and I expect to see pix in my email soon. We have Bruce and Gerry Melville updating us from Tanzania. Jim Luke records and sends out the Sunday service to parishioners. And Ted and the finance team have successfully set up a link to donate to SJD. That in no way replaces our envelope secretary! It just enables parishioners like me to support St John's from my remote location.
This is where Duane has made possible links from Derek's article on Rev Cynthia Bourgeault's book, The Wisdom Jesus, to Koinoia Christian Books, and colour photos of St John's Court, the 2008 Iona trip, the church in Myanmar, Ethiopia, and the Gulf States of the Middle East. We continue to present poetry and history.
It is obvious when you just are down the road from St John's how nurturing our parish is. We are a thoughtful and busy group and we 'draw near' those who are intrigued by our quiet energy. The Wednesday breakfasts, the evening study sessions, our food bank, members participating in our governance. The Three C's of Congregation, Community, Communion. The Contemplative Society chooses SJD for their major meetings. I have spotted fellow parishioners at the John Albert Hall lecture series at UVic. As Bob McIntosh, who takes over layout on the Aspire editorial team, writes on how we are all preparing to celebrate the 150th anniversary events in 2010.
I remember someone once said that the longest distance is between two people who have nothing in common. In our Anglican Communion, we may differ in our approach but we still hold true to our one mission. In his June 8 sermon, referring to the report by the Steering Committee of the Mayor's Task Force on Breaking the Cycle of Mental Illness, Addictions and Homelessness, Harold talks about the strength gained from the clarity of our vision of a society where everyone has a home and everybody has dignity. Through the communion we are "... drawing upon the profound reality that underlies everything that is available to us as we enact the world that God made."
May Aspire reflect the home we have at St John's. (We look forward to your articles, poems, and photos by March 31 for our next issue.)
Shalom,
Janice Seto for the Aspire Team