LOGO angelican
February 2013
Vol 5 Issue 6
Labyrinth


Practicing Month to Month
 

Dear friends,

 

February is a busy month at St. Laurence.  But before I get to all that a big hooray as we finally have a working elevator in our building!  Many thanks to all who have worked so hard and given so much to make this a reality.  

 

The 'highlights' of February are outlined in the sidebar but please note that February 10 is our annual meeting.   Quickly following that the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper will be on February 12.   Ash Wednesday services are of course on February 13. Please join us. 

 

This year I will also once again be sending a daily Lenten prayer or reflection to those who wish to receive one.  If you'd like to receive these please reply to this message and I'll add you to that email list.   If you have prayers or reflections worth sharing please also send those along.  I'd like to collect a diversity of prayers from a wide spectrum of writers.

 

Finally, as we continue this year to look at Justice as a Spiritual Practice I encourage you to read the reflections of Norma Farquharson below.  Norma has long been involved in all sorts of justice work in our city and country and she is a prophetic voice amongst us!  May the rest of us be as committed and as wise.

 

 

Blessings,

 

Anna

 

 Norma Farquharson on Justice as a Spiritual Practice

 

 

When Anna asked me to write an article for this newsletter about why I have been involved in social justice issues I didn't know where to start.   It turned out I needed to go back to 1975 when I first became involved in the women's movement. My first paid job after being a stay at home mother was as a coordinator of a group for women on Social Assistance. I must say my parents had brought me up to believe that we all have choices. We either work hard and make the best of things or we are lazy and become poor.

 

I learned very quickly that isn't the whole story. The women I had in my groups were very much like me, except that they had experienced the desertion or death of a spouse, and suddenly had no support. I learned so much from the women I was supposed to be helping. I learned that poverty can happen to anyone depending on what life brings ones way.   Some of them became poor overnight.   My job was to help them seek options to turn their lives around. I discovered there weren't many. Even those who managed to get a job were paid poorly (women at that time, working full time, were making $12,000 less a year than men) and they were challenged by lack of child care options. My consciousness was raised in a hurry.(Even today Alberta has the largest pay gap in Canada between women and men).

 

As I grew in my knowledge of women in the workforce, I grew in my knowledge of women in the church. At that time the Anglican Bishop of Calgary took advantage of the "Conscience Clause", which meant that not only did he not have to hire any women priests, but also that any of his priests could refuse to take communion from a women when they were in another diocese.

 

My theology was enriched by my experience, first as a member, then as Chair of the National Anglican Women's Unit. I learned that in its earliest years, Christianity showed a remarkable openness to women. Jesus was a revolutionary. He wanted to change many things in the society in which he grew up. In the early days of his church, equality and cooperativeness and sharing were the norm. Somehow, instead of adopting what Jesus did, starting in the first century the church adopted power structures of submission and dominance which were not healthy for relationships, or for our planet, Earth. I wanted the Church to renew its theological perspectives, to seek changes in language and imagery which would include women and female children. I wanted the Church to seek changes in the structures of society; to work for peace, for equal pay, for ways to care for and nurture our greatest heritage, our children.

 

So, I helped to start a National Task Force called Poverty in the Midst of Plenty. I chaired the Provincial Committee which worked to get an Advisory Council on the Status of Women in Alberta. I sat on the Board of the Women's InterChurch Council for six years. I co-chaired the Social Issues Committee of the YWCA, chaired an Ecumenical Task Force on the Prevention of Family Violence and served on a Task Force on Churches and Corporate Respnsibility. I sat on vestry and pushed for inclusive language. From 1988 to 1998 I Chaired the Diocesan Committee of the World Council of Churches Decade of Churches in Solidarity Women, etc, etc.

 

I burned out!

 

I have been involved in several projects in the past decade, but not at the same pace, as previous years. So, although I am not the activist I once was, my faith has kept me grounded and I have not changed my theology. I see justice, equality, compassion and cooperation as what Jesus taught us. I cannot understand any theology that does not include these qualities.

 

My favourite blessing is:

"Go forth into a world where apathy and half heartedness are dominant.

Move the world a little.

In the name of God , the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer."

 


 

February at St. Laurence

Sunday, February 3 10 am Service at St. Laurence, Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist. Following the service please join us for 'Conversations' where will be discussing Doug Saunder's book, Myth of the Muslim Tide

 

Tuesday, February 7
9:30 am Centering Prayer Service with Geri Urch
  

Sunday, February 10,     10 am Service at St. Laurence. Annual General Meeting after the service. Sandwich lunch will be served.

  
Tuesday, February 12, 5:30 pm to 7 pm Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper at St. Laurence
  
Ash Wednesday, February 13 . Said Service at 10:30 am. Holy Eucharist at 7:30 pm

Sunday, February 17, 1st in Lent 10 am Service. The Rev. Don McLeod preaching.
 
Lenten Series
Wednesday February 20, 27 and March 6. Bible Study using The Jewish Annotated New Testament.
 
Thursday, February 21
9:30 am Centering Prayer Service with Geri Urch
  
Sunday, February 24, 2nd in Lent 10 am Service