Posted by Webmaster on January 15, 2009 under Contributors, Webmaster Blog | 
Anglicans are not very imaginative when it comes to choosing patron saints for their parishes, so it is a bit of a surprise to find a parish named for St. Gregory of Nyssa. Its being located in San Francisco might explain it.
For several years now, some of us at St. Paul’s Church in the West End have been celebrating the Eucharist following ideas developed at St Gregory’s: we sit in the choir stalls, we discuss the sermon, we stand around the altar for the Eucharistic prayer, and we administer Communion one to another. After all this time a dozen of us thought it would be a good thing to visit St. Gregory’s to compare notes.
St. Gregory’s is a new church in an old part of town that is recovering from the demise of its shipbuilding industry. Entering the church from the street, the first thing one sees is the altar set in the middle of an empty rotunda. By empty, I mean that there is no furniture, just standing room only, but in fact one’s eye is immediately taken by the spectacular icon painted on the upper walls. 
All around the rotunda is a double array of ninety larger-than-life figures each with left leg raised in dancing pose. It is the colourful, captivating icon of the Dancing Saints.
The icon is not only striking but also thought-provoking: Malcolm X holds hands with Queen Elizabeth I, Lady Godiva with Janani Luwum, Eleanor Roosevelt with Li Tim Oi, Pope John XXIII with Florence Nightingale, Charles Darwin with Saint Symeon, Gandhi with Saint Seraphim, not to mention Saint Paul, Saint Patrick, Martin Luther and Charles Wesley with some local San Franciscans, all led by Jesus, Lord of the Dance. 
Depicted here are Cesar Chavez, Anne Frank, Su Shi, Ella Fitzgerald, Bishop Samuel Schereschewski, John XXIII and Florence Nightingale. Are all these really persons who have made God known to us?
When we arrived at 10 o’clock on Sunday morning, we were warmly welcomed and then invited to move into another part of the church. There we sat to join in the opening hymns and 
canticles (singing a capella), hear the Scriptures proclaimed and expounded, and join in the prayers of the people presented by the people. We were given the opportunity to touch the gospel book as it was processed, to comment on the sermon, and to offer our personal intercessions. Then we all danced into the rotunda singing a hymn as we went along.
At the altar, the priest consecrated the bread and wine while the people stood around, and then offered the Sacrament to everyone without exception. In a holy chaos we all received the Body and Blood of Christ. Finally, we sang “Let us with a gladsome mind,” circling round the altar in what one parishioner later called a Greek tavern dance.
How can we describe our experience of church that day? – unusual, to say the least. It was inclusive, colourful, rich, engaging, impressive, and deeply moving. We had had an encounter with the Living Christ present in Word, Sacrament and the people with whom we had interacted. We came back to Vancouver with much to think about.
If you go to San Francisco, don’t fail to go to St. Gregory’s, preferably on a Sunday morning. You can also visit them in hyperspace at saintgregorys.org. You might also like to get a taste of their approach to worship by visiting St. Paul’s at 9:15 a.m. any Sunday (except the first Sunday of the month). You won’t be asked to dance, but you will be invited to participate fully in our Eucharist
This article by Leslie Buck first appeared in Topic in January 2009.
Posted by stpauls on January 14, 2009 under Contributors, Staff Blog |
Article written by Leslie Buck.
Neurologists tell us that our brains function laterally: certain activities are associated with one side of the brain and not the other. For example, analytical problem-solving activities appear to engage mostly the left side, while intuitive artistic activities engage the right side. This leads to individuals being characterised as left-brain persons as against right-brain persons, depending on whether they are hard-nosed or soft-nosed (analytical or intuitive) in temperament.
We need to be very careful in following this line of discourse. To begin with, saying that someone is left-brain dominant instead of saying that he or she is artistic in temperament is not telling us any more about that person than we already know. It is rather like taking a proposition written in English and then translating it into Latin. This may indicate that we have had the benefit of a classical education, but it does not really add anything to the original observation.
More critically, it can lead us into false conjectures. We usually think of our physical characteristics as being genetically determined – baby has Dad’s eyes and Mum’s nose – and it is an easy step to suppose that a genetically-determined brain structure will lead baby to have certain behavioural characteristics too. In the not-too-recent past, such a line of reasoning led to the claim that persons with criminal tendencies could be detected (and thwarted) simply by measuring the bumps on their heads. Today, phrenology continues to fascinate some people but its practitioners are now usually found only in funfairs.
When we come to consider experiences like sensations, thoughts and feelings, we find the same tendency to explain mental activity in terms of physical structure. (This is, perhaps, because material objects are somehow more tangible than immaterial ones.) Thus, we know that as our neurological system responds to light of a certain wavelength, we have the immaterial experience of seeing red. But we should avoid concluding that it is therefore only the neurological response that is real and not also our experience of redness.
The claim that mental experiences are (or will be when we have sufficient knowledge) ultimately reducible to physical structures and forces is known as reductionism. Reductionists claim that all mental activity can, in principle, be explained in terms of biochemical and bioelectrical patterns in our brain, and that is where reality really lies. The immaterial mental world, by contrast, is not quite real.
Does this matter to us as Christians? Yes, it does, because if the mental world goes, the transcendental world will not be far behind. As Thomas Jefferson put it in August 1820: “To talk of immaterial existences is to talk of nothings. To say that the human soul, angels, god, are immaterial, is to say that they are nothings, or that there is no god, no angels, no soul.”
We claim that belief in transcendence, and hence in God, is rational. We ought not to undermine that position by allowing reductionism to creep into our discourse unawares. Ill-considered talk of left-brain persons and right-brain persons inevitably leads us along that slippery path.
This article contributed by parishioner Leslie Buck first appeared in the June 2008 issue of Topic, the publication of the Diocese of New Westminster.
Posted by stpauls on January 13, 2009 under Labyrinth, Webmaster Blog |
American storyteller Gioia Timpanelli published two of her stories in a volume entitled: Sometimes the Soul… The first story, “A Knot of Tears”, describes how a woman’s grieving and locked-up life is transformed by a parrot that begins to tell her tales.
Below are the opening words of “A Knot of Tears”
Sometimes the soul is tested. The body feels sore, the mouth dumb, the big red hands hang useless on their arms. Time passes. Surely the soul will have its way. It lolls. Time passes. And the soul waits. Nothing happens. Come on, make something happen. Make lists! There are always urgent things to do, things to do for this morning, for today, for next week, for a month, for the entire year. But then a laziness takes hold, and nothing on the lists proves as urgent as this lethargy, so the lists are left out in the sun in a shopping bag, become bleached, illegible, are rained on, and finally forgotten under the beach chair.… Minutes pass, hours, maybe a year, possibly a decade. At last, the soul is refreshed in the sweet company it has made.
Then, one day, it gets up and stretches. Today is not like yesterday. The soul notes the difference. To the neighbors, opening and slamming shut their doors, nothing seems to have happened. Nothing at all. Finally, now, the soul lifts its arms and with its graceful hands brings down the fertile rain.
Indeed, time passes. Our winter newsletter [This article was first published in St. Paul's Labyrinth Newsletter for Winter 2008-2009] welcomes the upcoming year. In its pages, you will find news about plans for greeting that new year and blessing the old year as it leaves. You will find information about story-telling evenings and a workshop that focuses on nurturing new creative life that may be awakening in your own soul.
Sadly, however, we have no parrot to offer.
Posted by stpauls on under Webmaster Blog |
Pastoral Appeal for the Al Ahli Arab Anglican Hospital in Gaza was read at all services on Sunday, January 11 and 18, 2009.
Dear Friends in Christ:
We are all watching with mounting concern the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza. Over 700 civilians have been killed in the last few days in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, most of them non-combatants. The United Nations has suspended relief convoys into the area. There is tremendous suffering among the people.
One of the few remaining hospitals in Gaza is operated by the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem.
I have personally visited there on two occasions, and can testify to the extraordinary work done by dedicated doctors, nurses and support staff, many of whom are volunteers. Four days ago, the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem issued this urgent plea for help:
“Every day since the beginning of military operations, the hospital has received 20-40 injured or wounded patients. A large proportion of them require hospitalization and surgery. These patients are in addition to those with non-conflict-related illnesses. About one-fourth of the patients are children.
In addition, the conflict has brought new types of medical and surgical conditions. For example, patients with burns and acute, crippling psychological trauma, are being seen more frequently. Because it is not possible for aid workers to enter Gaza at this time, the hospital’s staff is working around the clock, struggling with the effects of exhaustion and against limited resources in a conflicted area of ongoing military operations.
Many medical items are needed, especially bandages and supplies for burns and trauma. The hospital’s windows have all been blown out or shattered from rocket and missile concussion, and cold permeates the entire premises. Plastic sheeting to cover the windows could alleviate some of the cold but is unavailable now. Food supplies are scant throughout the Gaza strip and maintaining patients’ nutritional needs at the hospital has been difficult, especially for the most vulnerable.”
The Bishop of Jerusalem is asking for financial help from Anglicans around the world.
I feel sure many of us will want to respond. The political roots of this conflict are complex, but we have an opportunity now to respond in a compassionate way to the needs of the suffering regardless of politics.
I invite you today to give a special offering for the Anglican Hospital in Gaza in addition to your regular support of God’s mission through your Parish. I will make sure these gifts go directly and quickly to our sister diocese in Jerusalem within the next few days.
Please make your donation, if you are able, to your own Parish but marked clearly for the “Anglican Hospital in Gaza.”
And let us continue to pray for an end to this conflict, for peace and safety for people on all sides, for mutual respect and co-operation among Christians, Muslims and Jews, and for all who are engaged in the tough work of reconciliation.
Many thanks,
The Right Reverend Michael Ingham
Bishop of New Westminster
Posted by stpauls on January 12, 2009 under Labyrinth, Webmaster Blog |
Pavement labyrinths are found in many of the cathedrals and churches built during the 12th century in Europe. Information about their use is scarce; however, it is fairly clear that they were used for meditation and prayer.
The circle is a universal symbol for unity and wholeness. There is something about walking the path and turns that allows us to meditate and pray more deeply. Many people can walk a labyrinth at the same time, allowing people to meditate and pray together without the intrusion of words.
Labyrinths are often confused with mazes. Mazes are games or puzzles intended to confuse and trick the mind. Labyrinths have only one path that leads into the centre. That same path is then followed back to the beginning.
People come to walk for countless reasons. For many it is a way of centering themselves, slowing down, taking time to reflect.
Others walk it for insight during times of transition in their lives. It’s also common for people to come to walk the path of the labyrinth to commemorate anniversaries, both joyful and grief-filled. People walk it before significant times in their lives, such as the beginning of a new job or before surgery.
The Reverend Lauren Artress, creator of the Labyrinth Project and Veriditas at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, speaks of the process of walking the labyrinth this way:
Walking the labyrinth is a spiritual discipline that invites us to trust the path, to surrender to the many turns our lives take, and to walk through the confusion, the fear, the anger, the grief, that we cannot avoid experiencing as we live our earthly lives. The labyrinth is a place where we can open ourselves to the Holy Spirit. We can ask for guidance and pray for ourselves and our loved ones. It calms the confused mind and the chaotic, fearful heart. It allows us to release all that is in our way of relating to the Divine: our hard-heartedness, our judgements, our impatience. The healing power of gratitude often visits the heart.
Posted by Webmaster on under Labyrinth, Webmaster Blog |
Storytelling speaks directly to the soul.
We all thrive on that communication and acknowledgment, living for a while in a world of imagery that has lasted down through the ages, giving people strength. As we listen, we may try out various life possibilities.
The heroic story journey has much in common with a labyrinth walk — leaving the world of the ordinary, journeying to the center, digesting some kernel of experience, and returning home.
One these two evenings – January 23 and February 20 – storyteller and cellist Kira Van Deusen will share with us stories of transformation, joy, crisis, and resolution. And while the images still swirl in our consciousness we’ll walk the labyrinth and then discuss the experience.
January 23, 2009 — The Horsetail Girl
A heavenly woman came to share her wisdom and beauty with people on earth. She was born in a horsetail plant and was then transformed into a beautiful girl by an old shaman woman. On the way to her wedding with a brave hunter, her face was stolen by an evil spirit who took her place. Both man and woman undergo near-death transformations in order to be reunited.
February 20, 2009 — Woman of Steel
From the steppes of Central Asia — A girl was born to a father who wanted a son. Left in poverty and devastation when her father died and mother was abducted by enemies, the girl was raised by a kind and wise old woman. Then the enemy struck a second time, carrying the old woman away, and the girl was on her own. After finding her destined horse and the gear hidden by her father long ago, she defeated the enemy, met her life partner and eventually found her mother and brought her father back to life.
Kira Van Deusen has been delighting audiences in Vancouver and beyond since 1992. In the words of fellow storyteller Helen May: “She radiates, actually glows from within—it’s beautiful to experience her voice, her cello and her story coalescing, weaving magic, lifting listeners into traveling with her. Really transformative.”
ADMISSION FEE: One evening: $15 Both evenings: $25
THE LABYRINTH @ ST. PAUL’S ANGLICAN CHURCH 1130 Jervis Street, Vancouver
To Register or for further information: 604-685-6832 (x17)
Posted by stpauls on January 11, 2009 under Labyrinth, Webmaster Blog |
A workshop with April Stanley and June Slakov.
Life is a series of new beginnings moving us through seasons, school, work, new places and situations. But sometimes we become stuck for all kinds of reasons—inertia, depression, grief, sometimes even too many possibilities. The Labyrinth is an ancient and powerful tool for transformation— a spiritual practice that opens the door on the imagination and helps us conceive of new directions.
This workshop will focus on how we move past our inertia and nurture the emergent new life as it begins its tentative steps forward. We will be using the labyrinth and creativity to work and play with three aspects of moving forward— what stands in our way; the relationship between desire and the conception of possibility; and perhaps most important of all, how to sustain and nurture the creative centre.
The workshop will be co-led by April Stanley and June Slakov. April is the initiator of the labyrinth project at St. Paul’s and has been leading workshops throughout Canada using the labyrinth and creativity since 1997. She has recently completed her doctoral thesis on the labyrinth and creativity. June Slakov, artist and art therapist, has worked extensively with cancer patients and their families. She has written two books for patients and families on dealing with cancer while at the BC Cancer Agency.
Friday February 6th, 7:00 pm – 9:15 pm
and
Saturday, February 7th, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Fee: $80
St. Paul’s Labyrinth 1130 Jervis Street, Vancouver
To register: 604-685-6832 (x17)
Posted by stpauls on under Staff Blog |
Mark 1:4-11 ~ The Gospel Reading for January 11, 2009
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Posted by Webmaster on under Webmaster Blog |
What a struggle it has been to get around in B.C’s lower mainland (Vancouver, the valley, Vancouver Island) since our first dump of snow on December 14, 2008! With our temperatures that hover just below and just above zero, the walking and driving conditions have been treacerous. The running conditions have been non-existent except for the intrepid. Or should that be the foolhardy? 
Some side roads have been completely blocked and are only just clearing now. In North Vancouver, there are still some shovelled banks of snow that are six feet high. It seems unprecedented for it to last close to a month.
And did you notice the difference between the sidewalks in front of some apartment buildings and others, in front of some stores and others? Did you notice the lovely clear sidewalks all around St. Paul’s Anglican Church?
Here’s the man you can thank: our hard-working verger, Dale Pleven. Thanks, Dale!
On my way to church last week, Dale was out shovelling that snow and he said it was a better workout than the gym! He claimed he’d lost 12 pounds during the previous two weeks, just from shovelling the white stuff.
I’m just so relieved it’s now mostly gone and I can walk at my regular speed without having to pick my way between puddles and icy patches.
Nina
Posted by stpauls on January 10, 2009 under Staff Blog |
On Sunday, January 11, 2009, we will celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord, which is the first Sunday after the Epiphany (6 January). As part of the service there will be a short blessing of chalk.
It is an old church tradition during Epiphany to bless chalk, which is then used to mark the lintel above the front door of your home for an Epiphany blessing. St. Paul’s Anglican Church invites you to take the chalk home with you to write the following on the lintel of your home: 20+C+M+B+09. The numbers obviously mark the year, but the letters stand for Christus Mansionem Benedicat, which is Latin for “May Christ bless this house.”
The letters are not the first three letters of the first names of the three magi, as is often falsely assumed.
Of course, chalk cannot bless or protect in itself (that would be superstition), but this is a symbolic act that reminds us of the true master of our homes: Jesus Christ the Lord.
Consider adding the following as you mark your lintel:
I place this mark over my door to remain as a constant reminder to us, to all who enter, and to all creation seen and unseen, that my house is truly a house of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, hear us as we mark this entrance and send your holy angels from heaven to guard and cherish, protect and visit, and evermore defend all who dwell in this house. Protect me, my family, and all who enter through this door from every harm and danger and make the door of my house the gateway to your eternal kingdom, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.
From St. Paul’s Anglican Church Bulletin for Sunday, January 11, 2009.
