Bishop’s Message December 2021

In the middle of October, I visited the Territory of the People for their Assembly (what we know as a meeting of Synod). They don’t meet every year and this year’s Assembly was hampered by a recent increase in cases of Covid-19 in parts of the Territory and also by the wildfires this summer that had burnt down the town of Lytton where we would have been meeting. As a result, four regional gatherings were organized, one of them on Zoom. My husband Mark and I drove from Vancouver to Kamloops and carried the love, care and a few gifts from the Diocese of Montreal. I found myself wondering whether we would just be nuisance visitors but we were welcomed and thanked for coming in person and bringing encouragement and hope. It was a way of standing with them in their feelings of discouragement and fatigue, as they contemplate their future and as they pray about who might be a suitable candidate to be their next bishop.

Archbishop Lynne McNaughton led the Assembly through some lamenting and visioning exercises. National Indigenous Archbishop Mark MacDonald was also present, reminding everyone that Jesus is with us in a sacred circle wherever two or three gather and that keeping the Gospel at the center of our lives is a great force for us and a powerful agent of change. The way forward for all of us will demand more compassion, courage, wisdom, vision and faithfulness than we have had to use before. At the Eucharist on Sunday morning, Archbishop Lynne preached an inspiring and hope filled sermon. At the end of the service, our two dioceses renewed our partnership covenant for five more years. It was a promise to continue to be present for one another in mutual love and prayer.

The season of Advent reminds of us of God’s promise to come to us in Jesus, and Christmas celebrates the powerful presence of God-With-Us, of the fleshly presence of God in Jesus. As our churches have reopened for worship, many of us have been able to experience what it feels like to be together in one place again and not just online. We are able to receive the Body of Christ in the powerful presence of the sacrament and the gathering together as Christ’s body. Together we are able to encourage and help one another as disciples and followers of Jesus.

I think it means being present to one another as God is present to us in Jesus Christ. For as God came towards us filled with love to be tangibly with us, so we too can be present to others. After all we have been through, this may be the greatest gift we can give!