Going to the UN

 
It's that time of year again, when delegates from governments and civil society gather in New York City at the United Nations to discuss the status of women and girls in the world.

This year, I will attending as the Canadian Primate's delegate to the two week long Commission on the Status of Women. I thought I would share with you why it is this work matters to me, and how it connects with my work in the parish at St Philip's.


While I was in Ottawa in early January, I did an interview for the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa's website. They include videos about upcoming events and ongoing ministry in their 'Catch the Buzz' feature.

While I am away at the UN from March 7th-21st, there will be a break in my weekly updates as well as blog entries. But if you are interested you can still get updates from me on my time at the Commission since I will be posting to the IAWN in Canada blog and helping with communications for our delegation.

You can follow happenings at UNCSW through the International Anglican Women's Network blog.

What have we learned about the ministry of children?

As the season of Epiphany draws to a close, it seems an opportune moment for a look back on the various aspects of the ministry of children which we have explored together over the past weeks. Included are links to the blog posts on each.

We began, as well do, with the ministry of infants, looking especially at the amazing ministry of presence that Baby Connor has done at St Philip's over the past few months.



Next we moved away from specific kinds of ministry to remember that each individual child is called to ministry according to their gifts, gifts that are not the same for every child. We were reminded to be open to many kinds of ministry from people of all ages.

The following entry explored Children as Church musicians at St Philip's - an area in which this parish has been especially blessed by the active ministry of children alongside adults.



In addition to their musical gifts, many children at St Philip's have contributed to our worship by reading from Scripture. We looked at what it means to the children at St Philip's to read in Church and explored some of the secrets of their success!



Continuing on the theme of children as worship leaders, we celebrated those children and youth who act as servers on Sunday mornings at St Philip's. In this post, we also pointed out that youth are wholly responsible for the serving ministry at St Philip's, with Rachel Cassie serving as a ministry leader, in her role as head server. Providing leadership in ministry is another way some young people are called to serve at St Philip's.



Finally, last week we explored how the children have ministered through their wondering, both in Godly Play and in our worship. They have been examples to other members of the community of how to be open to our own thoughts and feelings about God as well as to sharing them with others.



This last week before we move into Transfiguration Sunday and then the season of Lent, I would like to conclude with a prayer for each of us in our own ministry at St Philip's and in the world.

I am only me, but I'm still someone.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
Just because I cannot do everything
does not give me the right to do nothing.
    Motto from an Amish school

Lego for All!

Weekly Monday night youth group at St Philip's continues to be entertaining, this past week, the junior youth group had 'Lego Nite' and the senior youth, not to be outdone, had 'Leggo my Eggo Nite.'

What exactly do such cleverly named events entail? Well, the first activity for each group was an INVENTION CHALLENGE! Each inventor was tasked with producing inventions to be judged by the patent board of a futuristic, dystopian police state (but as is often the case, the people were largely unaware that they were living in a such a totalitarian regime). The patent board was, of course, made up of two highly respected inventors: Dr. Doctor, who has a tendency to bestow on everyone the honorific title of 'Dr' and Caitlin, or Dr. Caitlin according to her colleague on the board.

Among others, the junior inventors presented inventions for maximum relaxation, speed, police and ambulance response and military fortification; the seniors presented discreet ninja tools, advanced water-crossing devices and waffle sculptures. Then the board members stepped out in order to deliberate on the future of these inventions and whether the inventors would be able to patent them.



When the patent board returned from their deliberations, Dr. Doctor began presenting their findings. Then, in a surprisingly cruel turn of events, not uncommon in futuristic, dystopian police states, board member Caitlin announced that she would be stealing all the inventions, no patents would be issued and that they would all be imprisoned by an army of enslaved, sentient, lego robots (Caitlin's most prized invention)!

Needless to say, the news was not popular, but after spending some 'quality time' with the robots, all of the inventors confessed that they had in fact stolen all the ideas from Caitlin's personal lab through extensive and highly illegal corporate espionage. They were sentenced to be converted into sentient lego robots to serve the state, a punishment which they reportedly deemed 'far better than what we deserve for such treachery.' Caitlin was relieved at their candor and conversion as well as by the fact that sentient robots never plot to overthrow the totalitarian regimes that enslave them. I am sure nothing else will come of this situation.



The next game we played, this time based in our present reality, was lego pictionary. Instead of drawing, players had to build clues to each word out of lego. Chairs, lamps, bananas, cats, iphones and octopuses were all among the words that the groups had to guess over the course of the game. Despite Caitlin's repeated guesses, it was never a bird, a plane or Superman.



It may not seem obvious at first, why we spend our time on fanciful lego games in youth group. What does this have to do with Church? But then again, what does quilting have to do with Church? Or arranging flowers? Or BBQing at a picnic? For me, the goal of youth group is building Christian community and building individual relationships within that community. Through these games and activities, we learn to work together, to respect people who have different ideas from our own, to encourage one another, and to be creative like the God in whose image we are each made. We also share our lives, our highs and lows, with other members of this community and we are able to offer and receive support when needed. God in Christ is in this time that we spend together as we care for each other as Christ called us to following his own example of love for friends.

Photos from Keep Calm and Love God

Did you miss this year's youth winter youth retreat at Sorrento Centre? Keep calm! The following pictures will help make you feel like you were really there! Take a look at what 70 youth and leaders got up to this past Family Day Weekend.

Ministry of Wonder

Several years ago at St Philip's, the Church school began using Godly Play as the centerpiece of our approach to Spiritual Formation for young people. Godly Play is an approach to spiritual formation that is based on the child honouring principles of Montessori education.

There is an underlying assumption in Godly Play that children have an awareness of God and a relationship with God. Through Godly Play, children are invited to explore this awareness and to learn language to speak about God and the existential questions that are common to all people.



When one learns to be a storyteller or a doorkeeper for Godly Play, the training emphasizes that each time a child shares their thoughts or understanding or feelings, this must be honoured and respected. They are sharing their awareness of God; we all learn more about God from each others' experiences and so we must respect them.

Wondering time in Godly is when much of this sharing happens. Together the storyteller and the children in the circle wonder about different aspect of the story. Every storyteller can name moments of profound insight and faith that have happened during wondering time in Godly Play. In this time and throughout Godly Play, storytellers, doorkeepers and the children in the circle are all ministering to one another. They build a community of shared responsibility and respect that is deeply sacred.

When we have incorporated wondering time into our communal worship, we have also created such a circle of shared responsibility, respect and trust. Each person's contribution is honoured and helps us to learn about God's presence in the world and in our lives. We have benefited greatly from the children in these times, who have modeled these values for us during wondering time as they offer and receive thoughts with the whole congregation.

Children and servers and ministry leaders

One of the most visible ways that children and youth minister at St Philip's is as servers during Sunday services and on special holy days. But there is more to serving than just what we see during the service.



Our group of servers is not only made up of young people, but the scheduling and coordination is also done by one of this group, Rachel Cassie. Rachel took over as head server this fall after her brother Andrew left the role to begin university.

Being head server involves being in touch with the other servers, getting their availability, creating and distributing a schedule, liaising with the clergy and altar guild, updating servers on any changes in the schedule or procedures and making sure that all the servers know about any training that is taking place. This is a significant amount of volunteer coordination which is necessary for our services each week.

Rachel, as head server, is an important ministry leader at St Philip's and is an example to us of responsibility and engagement in this faith community. As a whole, the group of servers all demonstrate this commitment to St Philip's and our worship is richer for it.

Open Gym at St Philip's

This September, we began a monthly Open Gym night on the last Friday of every month. Families gather for a potluck dinner at 5:30 and then play games in the gym or board games until 8:00. In order to make this event a success, it takes many hands working together. Many people from the parish have volunteered as either adult supervisors for the games happening in the gym or as potluck hosts who set up food in the kitchen and clean up after dinner. Beyond those who have signed up ahead of time, there is a very helpful atmosphere amongst all those who come to participate to make sure no single person is doing all the work.

This programme has also been supported by St Mary's Kerrisdale who have included it on their monthly calendar of events for families and youth. Their youth leader Cameron Gutjahr has also made Open Gym a part of his ministry with young people. This is in keeping with the increased cooperation between Youth and Family Ministries in our two parishes. Our combined Monday night youth group has been an important part of this as well. This past Friday evening, two families from St Mary's, both with youth who attend our combined youth group, came to our Open Gym Night for the first time. This was a great opportunity for families from both parishes to hang out and have fun together.

I am very excited about the future of this programme as it continues to grow at St Philip's. I am grateful for the participation of so many families and volunteers already and I am eager to let more people know about this great programme. As you can imagine, Open Gym is open to everyone and it is a wonderful opportunity for fellowship - it is like an extended coffee hour (except with pizza instead of coffee). I would encourage you all to drop in next month especially when we will be having a very special Mardi Gras themed Open Gym (Friday, Feb. 28th, mark your calendars now!). Bring your friends and family along and celebrate with us!

Miss Representation

This past Saturday, Constellation Ministry hosted a screening of the documentary "Miss Representation" at Lakeview Multicultural United Church. This documentary explores the representation of women in media and culture in North America and its impact on individuals and society.

It first came out in 2011 and since then, a movement has developed through their website and social media presence to call attention to how women are being represented in the media. Using the twitter hashtag #NotBuyingIt, followers of Miss Representation's page have called out advertisers and companies who have used the objectification or stereotyping of women in order to promote or sell their products. This campaign, which is especially active around the Superbowl commercials each year, has led several companies to reconsider how women are represented in their promotional materials.



The material presented in this documentary is heavy and this was reflected in the reactions of the youth and leaders who were present on Saturday. Many were shocked at how prevalent the objectification of women was in media and culture as well as how this affected the presence of women in positions of power in society. The experiences and stories of several teenagers are also an important part of this documentary. For the youth who were there, it was a chance to hear how different people from their generation were affected by these issues.

Three leaders from St Philip's and St Mary's combined youth group were present for the screening and the discussion. We have decided that we will show it at an upcoming youth group meeting in February. Particularly given our support of Evie Byrne's trip to the UN Commission on the Status of women, we believe that exploring the ways in which our culture constructs gender and how this affects each of us is an important next step.

Spending time learning about these issues and their implications for our faith is an important part of our mission as the Church as are our actions to support gender advocacy locally, nationally and internationally. The second mark of mission, "To teach, nurture and baptize new believers" is not simply an exhortation to prepare people for baptism through teaching. It also calls us to ongoing spiritual formation - to study how to live our faith in the world. Likewise, the fourth mark of mission calls us "To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation." Gender inequality has been identified by our Church as one such unjust structure and the elimination of the many forms of gender based violence to be a priority for us as we seek to live into the reign of God.

Thanks to Mayon Marcelino and the youth of Lakeview Multicultural United Church for hosting this event. I hope that many of the youth of St Philip's will take advantage of the opportunities to learn about gender related advocacy in the next few months.

"...and the Word became flesh and dwelt with us."...as a child.

This week's reflection on the ministry of children comes from some recent conversations I've had with some of my colleagues as well as with children and parents. I would like to take a moment and speak of the ministry of children who are readers in worship.

Reading from Scripture is one of the many ways that children at St Philip's have helped to lead worship. As children learn to read in school, reading in worship is often a way to connect what they're learning outside of Church with their faith. In school, there is a great deal of time and emphasis placed on reading. From learning to identify and pronounce words on a page, to reading in public, to reading comprehension, many different skills are developed with respect to written language.



In the Church, we also place a lot of emphasis on the Word. The Word for us is both the Holy Writings found in the Bible and the Word incarnate who is Jesus Christ. The children who read in worship at St Philip's help us all to make these connections. When children, especially young children read in worship they share with the community some of the skills which are most important to them. This reading is an event and an important accomplishment for them; this reminds us of its importance in our worship and our lives. Recently, a parent told me that her child was so eager to begin practicing their reading for worship that they had asked repeatedly whether this parent had received the reading yet. It was a very important opportunity to this child.

Part of this importance is conveyed simply by how much preparation children do before each time they read. Many come in to the Church during the week before and work with me on their reading. They also spend time practicing at home with parents and we spend time on this in our liturgy school class. For our Christmas Pageant Service, we have three rehearsals for all the readers before they read in worship.

There are many children who have a special talent for sharing the Word of God in worship, though this is not recognized by every worshiping community since there are some who question whether children are able to do this, or even if they can, whether they should. At St Philip's we are blessed with many people of all different ages who have a gift for reading in Worship; we are also blessed with a community that recognizes that all of these people should be invited to share these gifts in order to enrich our worship.