by Janice Seto
Advent 2009
Copyright 2009 by Janice Seto
The way in which this Advent edition of Aspire evolved was a surprise to me. I had imagined this would be a sort of splashy commemorative coffee table issue, shining a giant spotlight on the 150th anniversary celebrations of St John the Divine.
Not that this is a ho-hum issue at all. Highlights include John Bergbusch's very readable summary of the anniversary events, another thoughtful article by Derek Dunwoody, humour from Beryl, a contribution from one of our young people, and a disturbing report on Burma. All content is consistent with the defining themes of Aspire: Congregation,Community, Anglican Communion. This edition of Aspire is consistent with those of previous years, reflecting the tone and mission of St John the Divine. “For THINE is the glory....” seems to be our unspoken motto. Our anniversary is less about self-congratulation than about refocusing on our mission.
It is characteristic of St John's focus on its vision of Thy Kingdom Come, that the planning for the sesquicentennial has been largely collaborative, diverse, and inclusive. The events carry on and through and around the actual year 2010. Our way of celebrating will reflect our day to day culture of care for creation, in both ecological and social terms.
In this parish, we go about our business of being the Church in the world, a world in which the Kingdom of God is right here and right now. I was listening to our pod cast, a sermon our rector Harold Munn gave in January. In it he points out that the message of our Lord's first sermon is that the agenda for humanity has shifted. Until the coming of Christ, the agenda was understood as preparing for the coming of the Kingdom of God. Jesus is preaching that, guess what, folks, you don't need to prepare for the Kingdom of God. It is here already and we are living in it! It is in this realization that we are resurrected. We move from the Great Wait to the Great Life, serving God's Kingdom as it is manifested.
In these times of great change, we gather to reshape our models of congregation, community, communion. Care for creation sums up our models. This care includes self care (hence our roof campaign and fund raising for daily maintenance and outreach). In the midst of many successes and signs of hopeful change, we cannot help noting also the absence of former members of St John's family. Particularly in times of change, people leave for various reasons. Some have died or moved away but others simply slip away, sometimes leaving a residue of sadness and confusion. At some level we know that life and loss go hand in hand but loss can still hurt. Perhaps one perspective would be to see that loss is not always final, nor do we have the complete picture of what it means. John 14:2-3(NIV) tells us that “In my Father's house are many rooms (mansions-KJV); if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” Perhaps for now it is enough to immerse ourselves in the profound lessons given us by those who have shared their lives with us but are now gone from our congregation. Perhaps it is enough to know they are occupying other mansions in our Lord's great estate.
The place of the Lord is like Victoria's Doors Open festival (part of the celebration for British Columbia's sesquicentennial). Please join us as our spiritual home lights 150 candles.
Shalom. “For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever...”