St. Hilda's By The Sea Anglican Church
5838 Barnacle Street V0N 3A0 Sechelt, BC, Canada

Happy Valentine’s Day. The Bucket and Spade metaphor. This metaphor has the couple going forward building sandcastles together. Building careers, building a family, building trust And then the tide comes in. All that building is swept away. A crisis! So, they begin rebuilding, maybe a little wiser this time. But again, the tide or the weather or whatever sweeps in. And again, they start to rebuild. The metaphor says that relationships of love, of friendship, of marriage, of deep commitment are about constructing and crises, about starting forward and being swept back by circumstances, about being in it together learning again and again the artforms of kindness, patience, endurance, and what matters above all.

Black History Month. Steven Biko ARTIST: Br. Robert Lentz, OFM ARTWORK NARRATIVE:... Steve Biko is a martyr of South Africa. His life was spent instilling pride and a sense of identity in fellow Blacks, held in subjection by the apartheid policy of the white government. Not since Hitler’s Nuremberg laws has any community suffered under so monstrous a burden of racial regulations. The quotation on the scroll he holds in the icon is how he defined "Black Power" during a court trial in 1976. The Greek inscription by his head reads "Holy Steven." Biko was imprisoned several times for his work and "banned." He died in prison on September 12, 1977, after being tortured and beaten. He was not a regular churchgoer, but he laid down his life for Christ. All human beings bear God’s image. Whenever human dignity is abused, God’s image is violated. At the Last Judgment Christ has told us He will say, "Whatsoever you did to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did to me." (Matthew 25:40)

https://bc.anglican.ca//popular-calgary-priest-and-communi

Light a candle and safely place in on your window for Holocaust Remebrance Day at 8:00 P.M. January 27. https://m.youtube.com/watch

St.Bernie. The People’s Saint

In Epiphany by Vermont artist Janet McKenzie, a multi-racial trio of female Magi visits the baby Jesus and his mother. Barbara Marian, who commissioned the painting, says, More than a few people have asked about the gender of the tallest Magi in [the] image. Male? Female? Trans? I find that stunningly wonderful because possibly three minority groups might be embodied in this portrait in the eyes and imaginations of so many viewers! She adds, It’s easy to get so caught up... in regal images of Matthew’s night visitors that we miss the core message Christ for all people. The unconventional portrayal of the Magi makes good theological sense. The story of the Magi in the Gospel of Matthew allowed the Jewish followers of Jesus to imagine the unthinkableGod’s grace extending to the outsiders, the gentiles. Who are the outsiders in our world? Can we imagine the favour of God extending beyond the human boundaries of race, class, nationality, ethnicity, religious devotion, and gender? Isaiah reminds us: Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to youMagicians, wise women, generous visitors. Treasures from around the world, and the gift of wisdom. Grace extending to the gentiles, the outsiders. Dreamers and visionaries, shepherds and carpenters. And here we are: Star-led people of all ages, all backgrounds, all faiths, meeting around a child of hope and wonder, sharing the good news. The love we share at Christmas and the wonder of Epiphany inspiring us, to recognise in every being, a precious God-child and Gift. For this is our story, our epiphany, our moment of realization: Arise, shine, for our light has come. Brownwyn Angela White spiritandfaithwords.com

There’s a story which I love to remember during the twelve days of Christmas simply because Christmas is the time to remember just how much promise arrives in the form of a newborn baby. I first heard this story from a very wise seminary professor and since then I’ have heard Marcus Borg and Parker Palmer tell it. I’m not sure that this story actually happened, but I am absolutely sure that this story is one-hundred percent true! It’s a story about a three-year-old girl who w...as the only child in her family, when her parents announce that they are having a baby. The little girl is excited by the prospect of having a new baby sister or brother. Now, it seemed to the little girl like it was taking for ever, but eventually the day comes when her Mom and Dad go off to the hospital for the birth. When her parents arrive home with her new baby brother, the little girl is simply delighted. They hadn’t been home for more than a couple of hours, when the little girl tells her parents that she wants to spend some time with the new baby, in the baby’s room, alone, with the door shut. She’s absolutely insistent about the door being shut. Her parents are none too sure about this idea of leaving their precious new bundle alone with their three-year-old daughter. They know she is a good little girl, but they’ve heard about sibling rivalry and they’re not too sure about taking this risk. As they were debating the idea, they remember that they’ve recently installed an intercom system in preparation for the arrival of the new baby. They realize that they can let their little girl have her wish, and if they hear the slightest strange thing happening, they can be in there in a flash to rescue their newborn. So, they let their little girl go into the room alone. They close the door behind her. They race to the listening post. They hear her footsteps move across the room. They imagine their little girl standing over their baby’s crib, and then they hear her say to her two-day-old baby brother, Tell me about God. I have almost forgotten. At Christmas, we are, all of us, that child, standing over the baby’s crib hoping against hope that the newborn baby will tell us about God; maybe because we have almost forgotten, maybe because we don’t believe, maybe because we want to believe, maybe because we’ve lost hope, maybe because we are endlessly curious, or maybe simply because T’s the season for hoping against hope that the child will tell us about the MYSTERY which we call God, because we have almost forgotten.

A lovely video from the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. https://youtu.be/P-Im742U9FM

http://www.anglican.ca/lessonsandcarols/

Advent Love Story #8. Nittel Nacht Years ago, my friend Henry and I worked together in the travel industry. In addition to working as a graphic designer, Henry was also a Jewish rabbi. I learned a great deal from Rabbi Henry about the celebration of Christmas when he invited me to join his family for dinner on Christmas Eve. Rabbi Henry explained to me that it was the custom amongst some of his Jewish friends to gather on Christmas Eve for a commemoration they called Nittel N...Continue reading

https://www.anglican.ca//call-for-legislation-t/30028787/

Love Stories for Advent. # 7

Christmas is the celebration of new birth and birth is chaotic, messy, frightening, painful, and anything but silent! The parable of Christmas is a raw story, a bare bones story, to which we have added our own desires for a Silent Night. Whatever our imaginings about that holy night may be, one thing we can know for sure there was nothing silent about Jesus’ birth. It was a birth like any other birth, with all the mess of blood, urine, mucus, pushing, screaming, and amniotic ...fluid. This birth had more than its fair share of fear and anxiety. Whatever Jesus’ birth was it was not the Silent Night of our dreams. Jesus birth was just like your birth and my birth. Like every birth, Jesus birth was chaos filled with the excitement and the worries which come before something wonderful happens. I suspect that Jesus’ young mother, Mary, was screaming, cursing, pushing, crying, bearing down, and sore afraid. Christmas was not a silent night and therein lies our hope for the world. For a god who is a creator of angelic, surreal, nativity scenes, would be a god far removed from the chaos and the reality of our lives. A god who is devoid of the messiness of life, isn’t any kind of god that I want to be a part of, let alone worship. I need to know that we are all part of something so much bigger than we can begin to imagine that isn’t some kind of distant creature, aloof, and separated from the reality of our lives. I want to be part of the SOURCE of ALL, ALL that IS, a deity, a force, a LOVE which is capable of working in, with, through, and beyond us to bring order out of the chaos, to inspire scientists to create vaccines. I want to be part of the ONE who weeps with those who weep, who suffers with those who suffer, a LOVE which dances, sings, laughs and rejoices whenever and wherever LOVE emerges in the midst of the mess and chaos of life. I want to be part of a LOVE which is beyond my ability to comprehend and yet a LOVE which works in, with, and through those who work to heal the sick, care the dying, toil away in laboratories seeking vaccines, who seek for justice for the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized, a LOVE which works, in, with, through, and beyond us to heal the wounds of the afflicted. I want to be part of a LOVE which challenges us, and at the same time, a LOVE which allures us in ways which empower us to live fully, love extravagantly, and be all that we are created to BE. Dawn Hutchings

https://www.anglican.ca//anglican-and-lutheran-/30027960/

https://www.facebook.com/136453496698977/posts/1308711369473178/

One of our extended Sunday School families!

https://youtu.be/rUNq6tPvZks

https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/n/results-of-third-ballot

Positive and inspiring messaging. https://youtu.be/KYTQlr6CGOY

Third Sunday of Season of Creation. - Wilderness Sunday Earth Connections as seen through the colours of the Rainbow. The Rainbow Covenant Red is the fire of God's holy presence Filling with life the planet we share; Here is our vow to hold the Earth sacred, Tend it with love and covenant care.... Orange the clay that makes us all mortal Filled with God's breath since humans were born. Given a mission: treat Earth as partner! Now we affirm that calling once more. Yellow, like gold, means all things are precious, Each with a right to sing and be free; This is our pledge to hold all that's living, Valued as part of Earth's majesty. Green pulses flow through veins of creation, Till humans clear great forests in seed; This is our promise: keep all things growing, We will reverse our violent greed. Blue is the song felt deep in the ocean, Blues are the groaning deep in the sand. Now with our souls we promise to listen, Publicly giving a voice to the land. Indigo sounds a signal for danger: Refugees facing drought and despair; Here we respond as climates are changing, We will take steps, find ways to prepare. Violet announces Christ in our cosmos, Holding our Earth in all of its pain. Christ now invites us: join in my mission! Cov'nant with me to heal Earth again.

Third Sunday of Season of Creation. - Wilderness Sunday Earth Connections as seen through the colours of the Rainbow. The Rainbow Covenant Red is the fire of God's holy presence Filling with life the planet we share; Here is our vow to hold the Earth sacred, Tend it with love and covenant care.... Orange the clay that makes us all mortal Filled with God's breath since humans were born. Given a mission: treat Earth as partner! Now we affirm that calling once more. Yellow, like gold, means all things are precious, Each with a right to sing and be free; This is our pledge to hold all that's living, Valued as part of Earth's majesty. Green pulses flow through veins of creation, Till humans clear great forests in seed; This is our promise: keep all things growing, We will reverse our violent greed. Blue is the song felt deep in the ocean, Blues are the groaning deep in the sand. Now with our souls we promise to listen, Publicly giving a voice to the land. Indigo sounds a signal for danger: Refugees facing drought and despair; Here we respond as climates are changing, We will take steps, find ways to prepare. Violet announces Christ in our cosmos, Holding our Earth in all of its pain. Christ now invites us: join in my mission! Cov'nant with me to heal Earth again.

Sunday, September 27 we commemorate Orange Shirt Day. Wear orange on Zoom and in church. https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/what-is-orange-shirt-day

Season of Creation mosaic from 5 years ago. With Stephanie Moul and Sher Sacks

Season of Creation mosaic from 5 years ago. With Stephanie Moul and Sher Sacks

Happy Labour Day Week-end. Joan Chittister says this about the Spirituality of Work. Chittister writes: A spirituality of work is based on a heightened sense of sacramentality, of the idea that everything that is, is holy and that our hands consecrate it to the service of God. When we grow radishes in a small container in a city apartment, we participate in creation. When we sweep the street in front of a house, we bring new order to the universe. When we repair what has bee...n broken or paint what is old or give away what we have earned that is above and beyond our own sustenance, we stoop down and scoop up the earth and breathe into it new life again. When we compost garbage and recycle cans, when we clean a room and put coasters under glasses, when we care for everything we touch and touch it reverently, we become the creators of a new universe. Then we sanctify our work and our work sanctifies us. A spirituality of work puts us in touch with our own creativity. Making a salad for supper becomes a work of art. Planting another evergreen tree becomes our contribution to the health of the world. Organizing a good meeting with important questions for the sake of preserving the best in human values enhances humanity. Work enables us to put our personal stamp of approval, our own watermark, the autograph of our souls on the development of the world. In fact, to do less is to do nothing at all. A spirituality of work draws us out of ourselves and, at the same time, makes us more of what we are meant to be. Good work work done with good intentions and good effects, work that up builds the human race rather than reduces it to the monstrous or risks its destruction develops qualities of compassion and character in me. My work also develops everything around it. There is nothing I do that does not affect the world in which I live. In developing a spirituality of work, I learn to trust beyond reason that good work will gain good things for the world, even when I don’t expect them and I can’t see them. In that way, I gain myself. Literally. I come into possession of a me that is worthwhile, whose life has not been in vain, who has been a valuable member of the human race. Finally, a spirituality of work immerses me in the search for human community. I begin to see that everything I do, everything, has some effect on someone somewhere. I begin to see my life tied up in theirs. I begin to see that the starving starve because someone is not working hard enough to feed them. And so I do. It becomes obvious, then, that the poor are poor because someone is not intent on the just distribution of goods of the earth. And so I am. I begin to realize that work is the lifelong process of personal sanctification that is satisfied only for the globe. I finally come to know that my work is God’s work, unfinished by God because God meant it to be finished by me. Chittister’s view of work as an expression of our lov See more

Sunday, September 6 is the first Sunday in the 4 Sunday cycle of the Season of Creation. This year the themes are 1) Forests, 2) Land, 3) Wilderness and 4) Rivers. WHEN I AM AMONG THE TREES by Mary Oliver... When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save me, and daily. I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness, and discernment, and never hurry through the world but walk slowly, and bow often. Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, Stay awhile. The light flows from their branches. And they call again, It’s simple, they say, and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.

Sunday, September 6 is the first Sunday in the 4 Sunday cycle of the Season of Creation. This year the themes are 1) Forests, 2) Land, 3) Wilderness and 4) Rivers. WHEN I AM AMONG THE TREES by Mary Oliver... When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save me, and daily. I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness, and discernment, and never hurry through the world but walk slowly, and bow often. Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, Stay awhile. The light flows from their branches. And they call again, It’s simple, they say, and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.

https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca//for-the-love-of-creation

Today is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. St. Hilda’s Justice Umbrella urge you to read the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. See https://www.newswire.ca//statement-by-the-prime-minister-o

Back for in person service on Sunday, August 30. https://youtu.be/CFduNE4pXAQ

St. Hilda’s will reopen for its first in person service on Sunday, August 30. For information on how this will be done safely please refer to the guidelines posted on our website. See http://www.sthilda.ca/news/church-reopening