Called and claimed as Beloved of God

'Will you persevere in resisting evil and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?"

As we continue our look at the promises made at baptism, we come to the promise of repentance and forgiveness. Since the time of Jesus' baptism by John in the Jordan, this act has been about repentance and turning towards God.

In the stories of Jesus' baptism, we hear John the Baptist calling the people of his time to repent, confess their sins, and be baptized as a sign of this new direction. Jesus himself responded to this call and it is in the story of his baptism that we see the sign of God's love and forgiveness. As Jesus comes up out of the water, he hears the voice of God say to him, "You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased."

Because we believe that in baptism we are joining ourselves to Christ, we believe that we too are called by name and claimed by God. Baptism is the moment in our life of faith when we celebrate that to be in relationship with God is in our very nature, our fundamental orientation is towards God. If we, like Jesus, are beloved children of God, then it follows that God's forgiveness and mercy will be extended to us. When we struggle to resist evil and when we fail, we are assured of God's forgiveness and acceptance. No matter what we have done and how terrible we believe we are because of it, in God's eyes we are Beloved and precious.

In baptism we recognize this gift from God with our own promise to strive to maintain this relationship - both by resisting what draws us away from God and by confessing when we fail to resist it in order to heal the relationship when it is broken. Returning to God means taking the steps necessary to make amends for the pain we have caused and recognizing once again that we are fundamentally oriented towards God.

Persevering in resisting evil in one form or another is a daily struggle. It includes everything from biting our tongue when we are tempted to gossip or say hurtful things, to discerning how to be good stewards of the resources that God has given us. Returning to God when we fall can be even harder - we might feel separated from God by our own brokenness, unconvinced that we too are worthy of God's love and forgiveness. Whenever we remember our baptism - by renewing our baptismal vows, signing ourselves with the sign of the cross, being sprinkled with holy water or even just when we encounter water in our daily lives -  we are reminded of God's promise of forgiveness.

Next week we will look at our promise to "...proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ."

Capture the Flag; Rain or Shine

12 degrees and partly cloudy was the forecast for this past Sunday when Constellation Ministry was scheduled to hold its Capture the Flag game in West Point Grey. To Margaret Evans and myself, the two Ontario natives planning the event, this weather prediction sounded perfect! It seems we haven't yet adapted to the West Coast weather reality that no matter what the forecast calls for, it could always turn into a sudden downpour. So it was a dismaying surprise to us when around 1:45pm the bright sunny weather turned dark and rainy (with reports of hail from members of St Philip's confirmation class who were outside reflecting on nature when the weather suddenly turned).

"Why is this happening today?" I wondered as I huddled in my car by Trimble Park, hoping that the youth would still show up and that we would be able to use St Helen's building for our event. I decided to chalk it up to a reminder of baptism in honour of Will Fischer who was baptized that morning and all those being confirmed at Christ Church Cathedral that afternoon (because in a liturgist's mind, even the weather is liturgically appropriate).

As the youth arrived, we gathered inside St Helen's and explored how we might be able to play Capture the Flag inside the building. We played inside just long enough to realize that the game just wasn't the same in a building and by that time the sun showed up again. We spent the rest of the time outside in Trimble Park and played three games of Capture the Flag, adding a few local youth who were out in the park to our teams as we went. We finished the event with a snack of pizza and cookies at St Helen's. Thank you to the West Point Grey Ecumenical Youth Group for hosting this Constellation Ministry event and to St Helen's for letting us use their wonderful building at the last minute.

What is Peace?

This Sunday at Christ Church Cathedral, five young people from St Philip's will be confirmed. As a part of their preparation for confirmation, the students learned about how the work of PWRDF responded to the Marks of Mission and how they too can live out the Marks. As one of their homework assignments, they were asked to respond to the question "What is peace?" in a creative way. They responded to this question thoughtfully and creatively and have given us permission to share the fruits of their work. See the five pieces below by each of the candidates for confirmation. Please remember them in your prayers this Sunday as they are confirmed and if you can make it to their confirmation at 4:00pm at Christ Church Cathedral, all the better!

Peace,
What is peace?
Peace holds us all
together and keeps us close,
Peace is calm and quiet

Peace is when everybody gets along
Peace is like a family,
Peace is like a still meadow
Peace is God.

By: Caleb Granger (spoken word poem).

Andrew Badanic - "United We Stand"

Ella Granger - "Peace is... Everybody and everything is in harmony. Peace is no war and everybody is at ease. Peace is being closer to God."

Matthew Stephens - "Peace is the world as one, not separated."

Owen Ker - "This is a picture from my family's recent trip to Hawaii when we went for a hike and found a waterfall just off the trail and went swimming together. Being in nature with my family and enjoying a relaxing swim is peace to me."

Eucharistic Prayer from Constellation Ministry Sleepover

During our recent Constellation Sleepover at St Mary's Kerrisdale, the youth had the opportunity to learn about and contribute to a Eucharistic Prayer which was then used for the Sunday service the next morning. The prayer was assembled by the Rev. Jeremy Clark-King, Rector at St Mary's Kerrisdale. Here is what they came up with.

God of life, you nurture and sustain your people.
You made everything and bless us with abundance;

you lead us into freedom.

In the birthing forth of creation you made us in your image
You gift us with friends and family,
with love and with talents to serve you and each other.
You feed your hungering people.

You have given us enough food and shelter, fun, friends and all we need;
call us to work for justice, to share our table with all creation,
to feed the needy at our door, to see nobody left in need.

For the blessing of your gifts, and the challenge of your call to us,
we lift our voices as we praise you with all our heart:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of power and might,

Heaven and earth are full of your glory,

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,

Hosanna in the highest.

The table we share is adorned with the gifts of creation,
gifts given for all to share in equality and justice, a table where all are welcome,
and from which nobody is to be excluded, from the greatest even to the least.

On the night he was betrayed,

Jesus, at supper with his friends,
took bread, gave you thanks, broke the bread,
gave it to them, and said, “Take and eat:
this is my body which is given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.”

After supper he took the cup of wine,
and when he had given thanks,
he gave it to them,
and said, “Drink this all of you:
this is my blood of the new covenant
which is shed for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this for the remembrance of me.”

Called anew to be your people we celebrate this Eucharistic feast, we call to mind that we have been helped on our way by friends and by strangers. Like Joseph, you have helped us understand our dreams; like Noah you show us how to care for all around us.

Nurtured by your word, nourished by your food;
Called anew to be your people, we proclaim your praise.

Send your Holy Spirit on us
that as we receive this bread and this cup
we may partake of the body and blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and feed on him in our hearts
by faith with thanksgiving.
May we be renewed in his risen life,
filled with love,
and strengthened in our will to serve others;
and make of our lives, we pray,
a pure and holy sacrifice, acceptable to you,
knitting us together as one in your Son, Jesus Christ.

In the spirit of this celebration, we rejoice and thank our God for all
we have received; but we do so in remembrance of all who are excluded from the table of God’s abundant life.

Awaken in us, O God, a passion for equality and generosity of spirit,
that all may be brought to the table of abundance, forgiveness and love
from which our God wants no one to be excluded.

This prayer we make in union with all God’s people, living and dead,
and particularly with those laboring for justice in our world.
May we all know the blessing of our loving God,
Creator, Liberator, and Holy Spirit, in whose power we gather here,
nourished and sustained, now and forever.  Amen.

Living out our Baptism - Apostolic gifts and promises

'Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?'

This is the first of five questions asked of those about to be baptized as a part of the baptismal service. Each of these questions asks us to make a promise to do certain things and to live a certain way. But within each of these promises, we can also see the many gifts from God that make living out these promises possible.

When we promise to continue in the apostles' fellowship, we remember that before he died, Jesus asked the apostles to love one another as he had already loved them. Even after the resurrection and ascension, Jesus did not leave us orphaned, but sent us another Comforter - the Holy Spirit - whose fellowship we recall each time we gather. In our worship, we begin with a greeting that invokes this fellowship and very often we close meetings here in the same way. At baptism, we promise to continue to dwell together in the presence of the Holy Spirit which Jesus has promised will be with us always.

To continue in the apostles' teaching, is much the same: apostles share with those around them how God is at work in the world and in their own lives. It is God's transforming power in our lives that makes this teaching possible. This is the help that God provides to empower us to fulfill this promise.

The breaking of bread and the prayers are two more gifts that God has provided for the fulfillment of these baptismal promises. When we gather to break bread and pray together at Church every Sunday, God nourishes us and hears us. But God's promise of nourishment and accompaniment in prayer extends beyond our worship and enables us to live out our baptismal promises by calling us together and then sending us out into the world; just as Jesus called the apostles and then sent them to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

In baptism, we recognize God's gifts to us in the apostolic community that is the Church and we promise to continue to be a part of it.

Next week we will look at our promise to "...persevere in resisting evil and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord."

Weekly youth groups all over the place!

Attending weekly Church activities is a great way for young people to connect with their peers and share their faith. This is why this year, St Philip's has teamed up with several other local parishes who have established weekly youth groups to connect youth from St Philip's other young people to share their faith on a weekly basis.

The youth groups that we have connected with on the West Side include: West Point Grey Ecumenical Youth Group and St Mary's Kerrisdale Youth Group. There are separate meetings for junior and senior youth with occasional combined activities. We have also connected with a youth group at Lakeview Multicultural United Church who offer a few different weekly activities.

In West Point Grey, the junior youth group meets Friday evenings from 7:00-9:00pm with their leader, Margaret Evans and the senior youth meet Sunday evenings from 7:00-9:00pm with their leader, Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff. Both of the groups rotate between one of three Churches in West Point Grey: St Helen's Anglican, West Point Grey United and West Point Grey Presbyterian. This youth group is already a combined effort and so they were happy to broaden their invitation to St Philip's youth as well. At the last Constellation event, we also discovered that many of the youth in this youth group attend the same schools as those who attend St Philip's. It was a nice surprise for the youth to see some familiar faces and discover that there are other people at their schools involved in faith communities.

At St Mary's Kerrisdale, youth group is held on Monday evening and led by their youth worker, Cameron Gutjahr and other volunteer leaders. The juniors gather after school from 4:30-6:30pm with their volunteer leader Lauren Byrne and the seniors meet from 6:30-8:30pm with the help of their volunteer leader, Kim Blair. Since we began working together on other youth ministry projects, I have also been attending youth group at St Mary's and lending a hand where I can. It is great to get to know another group of youth and hopefully this makes it easier for St Philip's youth to connect to this group. St Mary's and St Philip's have a lot in common with each other, and not just because we are in the same neighbourhood. Two St Philip's staff members, Parish Administrator Anne Richards and Communications Consultant Shaun McLean, are St Mary's parishioners. Plus, our choirs will be getting together to do some combined ministry in the next few months: on May 5th they will be singing a combined Evensong at St Philip's and on June 9th at St Mary's. It is wonderful to be able to collaborate with another parish in so many different ways!

I hope that the youth of St Philip's are able to take advantage of these opportunities to be part of a weekly youth group.

Living out our Baptism - The Promise of Christ in Community

The Church as seen through the font at the back of St Philip's

'Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?'

The question above is asked of all those gathered at the celebration of a baptism after the candidates have been presented by their parents or sponsors. The question to the community reminds us of one of the most important aspects of baptism. As we can read in the green Book of Alternative Services where the service of baptism is found,

"Christians are not just baptized individuals; they are a new humanity...Initiation into the Church was a vital concern of the whole Christian community and not only of the candidates for baptism and their immediate families...Becoming a Christian had as much to do with learning to live a new lifestyle within the Christian community as it did with specific beliefs. When the day of baptism finally arrived, the event took place within the context of the Sunday eucharist, when the whole community was gathered."

This concern and support for those being baptized is expressed the congregation's answer to the question above, "We will." The unity of the Church that comes from baptism is also echoed in the opening responses:

There is one body and one Spirit,
There is one hope in God's call to us;

One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all.

In baptism, we are incorporated into the Church which is the Body of Christ. The support of the Christian community in living out our baptismal promises is another one of the ways that God's promises of love and support are fulfilled. Through our participation in the community of faith we show the love of Christ to one another and are sent out into the world to be Christ's hands at work in the world. Whenever a new member is welcomed into this Body, it rejoices and is strengthened with new gifts. As such, baptism is a moment for the community to recognize that we have been united in Christ. It is for this reason that at every baptism, the community reaffirms their own baptismal promises along with the candidates being baptized.

In their answer to this question, the community is speaking as the Body of Christ. They speak in the voice of God who became human in solidarity with us; who offered healing and service and new life by word and deed; who suffered and died and rose again to show the depth and power of God's love and forgiveness. In their answer they echo all of God's promises of help and salvation and in the worship, ministries and the whole life of the Church, they live out this promise and the others made in baptism.

Next week we will explore the first of these promises made by candidates in baptism: "...to continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?"

Contellation Ministry Sleepover...or Wakeover

This past Saturday and Sunday at St Mary's Kerrisdale, 32 youth and leaders from six different Churches in Vancouver, Victoria and Coquitlam came together for another Constellation Ministry event. This was the second in a series of sleepover/worship planning events the first of which was held at St Philip's in January. Constellation Ministry seeks to provide youth with opportunities to explore their faith in a broader youth community that includes young people from different parishes and Christian traditions. The sleepover events include both community building through games, meals, and activities as well as spiritual formation through prayer, worship planning and leadership.

This past weekend, though the weather was threatening rain all day Saturday, the sun came through for a couple of hours giving the youth a chance to get out into Elm Park for some fresh air and games. To celebrate the good weather, the youth created dances celebrating the sunshine. They also played extreme versions of duck, duck, goose and rock, paper, scissors.

After the games were done, we returned to St Mary's and welcomed the Rev. Jeremy Clark-King, Rector at St Mary's, who taught the group about the Eucharistic prayer. After a brief introduction to the various parts of this prayer and why they are there, the youth were divided into smaller groups and asked to come up with words and ideas around the themes of praise, thanksgiving, remembering and offering. As a group they shared their ideas and then also developed gestures and actions for the four moments in the Eucharistic prayer: taking, blessing, breaking and sharing. Jeremy took all these ideas and combined them into a Eucharistic Prayer that was used at the 9:15am worship service.

After a few more song and games led by some of the older youth who have begun leadership training through the LEAP programme, we all sat down to a wonderful dinner of tacos prepared by volunteers from St Mary's Community meal. Dessert was a special treat of apple nachos which was greatly enjoyed by all.

With very full bellies we resumed our worship planning for the next morning by breaking into three smaller groups: one to prepare the music, one to prepare the readings and one to create paper prayer trees in the sanctuary. Once the work was finished we played a Church-wide game of infection (where zombies search the Church for delicious youth brains to eat). The day ended with snack and night prayer and then it was off to bed for sleep...or as much sleep as one can expect at a sleepover.

Despite all the night's activities, everyone was up bright and early the next morning to get ready for worship. The group had another wonderful meal, this time prepared by volunteers from St Mary's Men's breakfast group.

The service itself was a chance for many of the youth to offer leadership both by sharing their dramatic interpretations of the readings and by engaging in small group conversations with the rest of the congregation during the reflection time. One of the most wonderful parts of the service were the prayers of the people, where people were invited to write their prayers of praise, concern and thanksgiving on post-it notes shaped like flowers, leaves and apples which were then added to the paper prayer trees which the youth had made the night before. The trees became beautiful, colourful expressions of the Church's prayer and those attending the evening Taizé service were inspired to add their own prayers.

Spotlight on Living our Baptism

During Lent, many people prepare for baptism, confirmation or renewal of baptismal vows. Then each year during the Easter Vigil, we all renew the promises made at baptism. This Easter season we will explore these promises and how we can live them out in our

Sprinkling with Holy Water at the Easter Vigil reminds us of baptism.

everyday lives. We will also think about the promise that God makes to us in baptism and how to recognize this in our lives as well. What exactly are we saying we will do and how do we go about it?

When young children are baptized in the Anglican Church, the parents and sponsors (or Godparents) make special promises. They are asked two questions: "Will you be responsible for seeing that the child you present is nurtured in the faith and life of the Christian community?" and "Will you by your prayers and witness help this child to grow into the full stature of Christ?" The answer to both of these questions and many others in baptism is "I will, with God's help." In this response, is faith in God's promise of abundant support and love. Parents and sponsors look to God as the source of inspiration, communion and wisdom that in turn allows them to bear witness, nurture and teach their children about faith.

In this promise, we recognize that God's promise of love and support can be experienced through prayer, action, and the faith and life of the Christian community. We commit to "pay it forward" to those children who are being baptized in order that these things might one day be for them a sign of God's love and support and a source of inspiration, communion and wisdom.

The second question asks us to help children become Christlike. In other words, we are called to follow Jesus' example of love, justice, service and self-sacrifice. We come together as a community to figure out what this looks like in our own lives and to share our joys, concerns, struggles and revelations just as Jesus did with those around him. Parents and Godparents, pass this on to their children by speaking to them about these values, traditions and life experiences and giving them a community of other seekers in which they too can ponder what it means to follow Christ.

Ecumenical Easter Sunrise Service

For several years now, the Churches of West Point Grey have been coming together for a shared Easter Sunrise Service in Trimble Park. The service arose out of the shared youth ministry of the parishes in this neighbourhood.

St Helen's Anglican Church, West Point Grey United Church and West Point Grey Presbyterian Church are all engaged in a common youth ministry - the West Point Grey Ecumenical Youth Group. This group meets weekly, rotating between the three Churches with junior youth meeting every Friday and senior youth on Sundays.

The youth, together with their youth leaders, Vancouver School of Theology students Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff and Margaret Evans, planned and led the Easter Sunrise Service. The service began at 6:00am with a fire, coffee and hot chocolate. We began with some high-energy singing and drumming all in an effort to stay warm. Once we were good and energized, we did some creative Scripture assembly where teams had to act out or describe the missing words in the text. This activity engaged the whole group, even Muriel's little dog Manny who spent most of the time darting around the circle of worshipers. After we had filled in all the blanks and put the reading together, the text was read along with a spoken word poem about the Resurrection. We then were asked to share with the group why Jesus rising from the dead was important to us.

In timing that could not have been improved by Hollywood magic, it was just as we were reflecting on the meaning of the Resurrection in each of our lives that the Sun finally appeared over the mountains in the east. Bathed in the warm light of the sunrise we finished our reflections and then sang, drummed and danced our way to then end of the service.

This service, led and designed by the youth of West Point Grey, brought together people and worship elements from different Christian traditions to share how the Resurrection had touched each of their lives. The opportunity to do something very special for worship by getting up early, worshiping outside around a fire and watching the sunrise, set Easter a part as an important moment in the Church year.

As we at St Philip's continue to work with other youth groups through Constellation Ministry, we hope that youth from this parish can take advantage of wonderful activities such as this Easter Sunrise Service. If ever there was a good reason to wake up early, an amazing experience of the greatest mystery of our faith on the most important day of the year fits the bill.

Back to blogging

Well, it appears that I have been somewhat delinquent, of late, in posting to this blog. Don't let these appearances fool you though, in actuality I decided to give up blogging for Lent and just wasn't completely aware of it at the outset. Lenten fasts can be retroactively realized right? I mean it is kairological and not chronological time so thus, I was fasting from blogging the whole time even if the realization didn't come until now. I am going to go with that.

After looking at the other writing that I have been doing every week, it now appears to me that I have some other material that I am writing that could also appear here. For every weekly youth and family update that I write at St Philip's, I include a little story about a recent event or particular ministry and how it connects to youth and families at St Philip's. I also write a short piece on the spotlight theme of the liturgical season (Advent's theme was Darkness, Epiphany was Church for All Ages, Lent was Spirituality in the Home and Easter is Living our Baptism). I am going to begin cross posting these little pieces here on the youth and family blog so that they are available to the wider community as well as youth and families. 

Also, even though I haven't been blogging as much here recently, I have been writing a lot online. I would like to point everyone once again to the International Anglican Women's Network (IAWN) in Canada blog which we began for our recent trip to the Commission on the Status of Women in NYC. I expect to keep posting updates to that blog as well, so check it out.

Have a good social media day!