Jamboree

     I now know that the only thing better than attending a Challenger Baseball Jamboree is helping to host one. Challenger baseball players have varying degrees of ability and disability but they all share an intense love of the game. Many of the Challenger teams from all over B.C. attended this fun-filled day of sports, smiles and snacks in our own South Surrey. It started out cool, even a little wet but as it progressed it became warmer and brighter and even more enjoyable. We had so many volunteers, mostly parents of players who did their very best to make it a memorable day for us all. From the initial event and diamond set-up to the greeters at the information booth, the first aid volunteers, the awards table and the super organized food tent, it all ran like a well oiled machine. And of course our leadership was incredible with Coaches Kim and Steve doing their utmost to arrange, organize and encourage all the volunteers, players, coaches and their families. This had been an endeavour several months in the making and the preparation that was done showed in how successfully it all unfolded. 

     We also had huge support from the Jays Care Foundation, Rogers, 7-Eleven and Domino's Pizza who kept us all supported, funded, hydrated and fed throughout the course of the day. Everyone from these various organizations was unfailingly friendly, polite and helpful. And we had Korki the Clown present as well as an amazing wandering trio of musicians and a caricature artist. It was an incredible day! And it showed in the smiles on the faces of all the athletes, who for a whole day, could play with their teammates, witness the pride on their parents’, family's and caregiver's faces, make some new friends and revel in the safety of a wonderful community who was there for one reason and one reason only: to play ball!

Remembering

     As many people who have experienced loss through death will tell you, it is a profound comfort to have an opportunity to remember your loved one. Whether it is in telling their story or visiting their gravesite, there is joy in the remembering. Another way to memorialize them is to give flowers for the church altar or to pay tribute through the aumbry candle. It has given me an enormous amount of comfort to be able to remember our niece and nephew at various times throughout the year by giving flowers or lighting the aumbry candle to the Glory of God in memory of them. Whether it is their birthday or another important date, it feels wonderful to give my appreciation for my loved one a tangible, beautiful form of expression. There is a large calendar where you may choose the appropriate date for either donating flowers or the lighting of the aumbry candle. This is acknowledged in our weekly church bulletin which we receive at both services on Sundays. Our amazing Altar Guild purchases new seasonal flowers every week and arranges them for the church altar. Please take advantage of this lovely way to remember which also beautifies our church. Thank you!

Spirit

     Have you ever had an experience of the Holy Spirit? His Grace Archbishop John's sermon on Pentecost Sunday gave me much to think about. He suggested that many of us have had such an experience but did not know what to call it. He stated that it might be "in the presence of the birth of a child or the death of a loved one. We will recognize the presence of the Spirit this morning, in baptism, in confirmation, in the Eucharist. The Spirit may be known when someone tells us they love us or when we're all alone on a mountain top. The Spirit may be felt when we pray with the whole of our heart and mind, in a church or in a field or by still waters. The Spirit may be known in a thunderstorm or the quietness after it has snowed." And he also mentioned that as it happened in the past, when we talk about this experience someone might call us strange or even ridiculous so we might not want to talk about it, but we should I think. 

     My experience was a near death situation and I had not recounted it as the presence of the Holy Spirit because I did not realize it as such until yesterday. In staring into Jesus’ eyes and invoking His name over and over, even in my diminished state I knew then that I now had a relationship that I had never known before. I have had other comparable experiences in much more mundane settings but they all bear a strong resemblance to the moments His Grace spoke of on Sunday. You may have your own experiences of the Holy Spirit. And maybe you will share them. Because as His Grace told us it is in these moments that we draw closer to God; he said, “ … the Spirit invites us into a fuller, richer experience with God.” He further stated that “The Spirit nudges us away from complacency and urges us to see moments where God can be known.” A lot to think about? Yes! Come Holy Spirit!

Vigil

     Last night I had the privilege of attending an interfaith prayer vigil in remembrance of the victims of the Lapu Lapu Day tragedy: A Community in Mourning. It was held at 5 pm at Miramar Plaza in White Rock and was a moving tribute to the lives lost. Sponsored and organized by the local interfaith community, it included prayers, songs and remembrances delivered by those within the Filipino community as well as those affected, their friends and neighbours. As speaker Jeff Solis indicated, this vigil was holding space so our grief could be shared with others who care.

     The Himig Kabataan Cultural Society Choir gave us several musical offerings both in English and Tagalog that expressed a deep sense of longing to be connected with one another as well as our need to be comforted by our Lord. People from public office, faith leaders like our own Father Joe and community coordinators used words of hope and healing in acknowledgment of the pain and heartbreak caused by the festival catastrophe. In a very moving musical offering composed by The Rev. Eduardo Hontiveros entitled “Pananagutan” which translated means “responsibility” and also sung by the Himig Kabataan Cultural Society Choir, the song encouraged us to look out for one another: “We are all responsible for each other, We are all gathered by God, who is with Him”. I was uplifted as I saw so many of my fellow parishioners in attendance. Some of my friends from outside of the church also attended and were very touched by the service.

     At the end of the vigil we were encouraged to bring forth our flowers and candles which formed a beautiful visual statement of Jesus’ second great commandment: Love thy neighbour as thy self. The final prayer comforted us and readied us to go out in the world once again:

God of Astonishing Mercy, Compassion and Immeasurable Love, restore our broken hearts and enliven our confidence to find new ways to revive our world to become one of peace. Amen

Floor

     About forty years ago the Church of the Holy Trinity had a new linoleum floor installed. According to my father, it was a huge project with the parishioners literally doing all of the heavy lifting. All 30 or more pews were unscrewed from the floor, lifted onto dollies and dragged around the corner to the church library to be stacked and stored until the floor was redone. The job took a couple of weeks and so the Sunday church services were scheduled to take place in the church hall. At the first one the rector at that time, Father John Prince, declared it to be “the best service that we’ve ever had”! The cost of the floor was more than the church had then but he preached a sermon that resonated with the congregation and the money appeared. The linoleum floor lasted for years eventually needing to be taped in certain high traffic areas; it was cracked, dull, old and worn. But over the years that floor had known the tread of many feet: weddings, funerals, baptisms, confirmations, Sunday services, Christmas pageants and Easter celebrations too. Flower petals, ashes, candle wax and tears had dotted the floor along with the innumerable rain drops, snowflakes and debris that floors can gather.

     The floor needed replacement after all those years and this last month it was redone. This also was a huge venture for our parish but fortunately we had help with the heavy lifting. A local contractor and his team assisted us. It still took an enormous effort on the part of parishioners to make this floor a reality. And we also had to have wonderful services in the church hall; close, cozy but wonderful nonetheless. So now we have a a new epoxy floor: bright, clean, colourful and hard-wearing. (And as our daughter found out at the Easter Vigil, it’s fire resistant!) There will be years and years of Sundays and other days: celebrations, funerals, petals and ashes; God is with us always, regardless of where we are.

Home Again

      When I was a child we moved around a lot. We immigrated to Trois-Rivieres, Quebec from England when I was a toddler and my brother was a baby. Later we moved to other cities in Quebec where my younger brother and my sister were born. We then moved to Ohio for a few years and then back to Canada to live on the West Island of Montreal. There we adopted another sister. From there I moved south and the rest of my family moved west to Alberta and then Saskatchewan before landing in B.C.. There were still more local moves after that and I ended up here too.

     I knew that when I had my daughters that I would want them to be able to stay in one place, if possible. They have both lived within several miles of the hospital that they were born in, their entire lives. We have attended the same church for most of their lives. They only have a second family doctor because the doctor that delivered them retired. They have only known one pharmacist and photos of their little faces are still taped up on the pharmacy fridge door, vestiges of past Christmas card photos. They've had the same wonderful dentist all their lives. They attended one elementary school and one high school. And to top it all off, they have more than a dozen aunts and uncles and several dozen cousins living in the Lower Mainland. It's amazing!

     The value of this security and familiarity is immense to me having never grown up with the constant presence of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We were it. Friends were made, lasting friendships endured but family was across an ocean regardless of where in North America we were. I missed those connections. I finally have an amazing cousin and his Canadian wife close by with whom I can share family history. I feel blessed that my daughters have the opportunity that many take for granted. They can say: This is where I am from. This has always been my home. And whether they choose to remain here or not, that will always be true. Here they are home again.

Snow

     I love the quiet of snow, the silence buffeted by all that flakey, freezing white; I am drawn in by that cocoon of pillowy coldness. I just want to fill up my bird feeders, make some popcorn, put on my jammies and watch a great movie.…The shoveling can happen later. Staying inside is what it’s all about!

     When I was a little girl though, the sight of the snow made me want to get bundled up in my snowsuit, force my double socked feet into my boots and waddle outside. Of course I would be back inside five minutes later to go to the bathroom and have to peel it all off and then get suited up all over again. And forget it if I slipped outside and fell; I was there until some kindly soul helped me up (usually a brother). Then it was all about being outside! Winters in Montreal felt endless; the snow drifts were as high as the roof!

     Now as an old lady, and living in B.C., I am quite happy to be just a witness to the wonderful whiteness outdoors. A slip on the ice years ago and the resulting fracture has made me leery of icy sidewalks and uncleared walkways; it’s safer indoors. And it’s infinitely, completely and utterly much more beautiful outside in the lovely, pure white snow. The shoveling can wait!