Advent Musings 1: Stilling The Heart

The Anglican Church of Canada is providing a series of meditations by Canadian Anglicans that will be published on the national website each Monday in Advent. 

The first mediations was written by the Rt. Rev. Gordon Light, Bishop of the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior. (Yep... that's where I'm at!) The prayer comes from the New Zealand prayer book.

The prayer in this weeks Advent Musing really spoke to me, I invite you to read and spend some time meditating on it. 

Lord it is night. 

The night is for stillness. 

Let us be still in the presence of God. 

It is night after a long day. 

What has been done has been done; 

what has not been done has not been done. 

Let it be. 

The night is dark. 

Let our fears of the darkness of the world 

and of our own lives 

rest in you.

The night is quiet. 

Let the quietness of your peace enfold us, 

all dear to us, 

and all who have no peace. 

The night heralds the dawn. 

Let us look expectantly

to a new day, 

new joys, 

new possibilities. 

In your name we pray. Amen.

Happy Advent!

Happy Advent!

Yep, Advent is upon us once again - the season in the church year of waiting and preparing for Christmas - Christ's birthday. It's the longing and waiting for Christ to come, quite exciting really!

The coming of Advent also means a few more things, usually the marking of other things that need to be done. It's now time to start preparing for the Christmas play the youth will present on Christmas Day, and it means that the Fall semester of school is almost over.

 

I had my last day of classes today, YEAH!! But, I still have four more papers to write and an exam next week. Even though its very exciting to be finished I still unfortunately have a fair amount of work to go before the freedom actually comes my way!

On Friday evening I attended Bishop Gordon's retirement banquet. It was really nice to be with him and many other people in APCI to celebrate his time and work in this ministry within APCI. We will miss him, but this is a part of the cycle, the cycle of life and leadership. It was great to see so many people there who I haven't seen for such a long time. In particular, Rev. Ethel and Jim came up from Alberta for the celebrations. I haven't seen them in a very long time - it was so great to catch up with them!

We had a youth sleepover this past weekend, twenty junior youth came - it was a bast. It was busy but we all really enjoyed it. Youth sleepovers mean many things, other than a great time together they also mean: many, many dishes; incidents like youth who end up sucking a sucker and it somehow ends up in the nostril cavity causing blue snot (ew); almost no sleep whatsoever; lots of fun games (Honey if You Love Me... I Have Never Ever, anyone?); silly camp songs; and the continuous use of the all important virtue: patience! I personally love youth sleepovers, I'm that person in the world who one day after the sleepover is ready to plan the next one - even after a lack of sleep!

Tomorrow Stewart and I are taking the kids to the Seussical! The Dr. Seuss musical - it should be great and lots of fun, it's our Christmas present to the kids and we are excited! The kids don't know, its going to be a surprise. 

BCYAYM Council Meeting

I spent the past recent weekend in Kelowna at the British Columbia and Yukon Anglican Youth Movement Council meeting. This is the working group that organizes the BCYAYM Fall Conference over Thanksgiving Weekend and usually also tries to do a Spring Retreat and Summer Ministries. This council tries to meet four times a year, our next meeting is in February. 

I am the Communications Coordinator, so I do some of the correspondence. Write thank you cards, and write to some potential theme speakers... all that fun stuff!

So, I took the bus on Friday evening to Kelowna, spent the evening visiting and watching movies, and then we eventually made it to bed. Saturday was filled with meetings and some free time in the afternoon. We had dinner and went to Kelly O'Brians for patchos for a late evening snack. Sunday we got up and cleaned our space and then joined the parish for their Sunday Service. 

We were at All Saints Lutheran Church which is actually a "church house". The pastor and his family live in the house upstairs and the basement is the church. It was very cool. I know the pastor and his family; him and his wife have a nineteen month old little girl who is so cute! I got to play with lego, dolls, books, and all that fun childhood stuff. They were all up at Sorrento Centre for a week during the summer, so I had met them there. 

This week I am doing a whole lot of school work. End of semester is always very full of work. I think I am down to six more papers and two tests/exams. Eventually I will be done classes and done assignments for the Christmas holiday. I'm looking forward to having almost a whole month off!

This Friday I have a meeting with the Task Force on the Future of APCI in the afternoon then Bishop Gordon's retirement banquet in the evening. I am excited to see so many people who I haven't seen for a few years. Friday will be my reward to a very full week!

We still don't have snow, I'm patiently (or trying to be patient) waiting for it to come!

Chopsticks and Geography

A few weeks ago Stewart and I went to the Wok Box for dinner. (It's really fabulous that we are both in university now, we spend more time together then we did in highschool - I think!) Anyway, Stewart starts eating his dinner with chopsticks, and I of course really want to but have never been able to successfully learn how to use chopsticks. Well, guess who took the time to teach me??!! Yep, Stewart!! I'm still thrilled to this day, I think I came home and ate potato chips with my chopsticks - I know that is just wrong and going way overboard. But, I was just so excited! Yeah, so along with a great visit with my brother I also learned how to use chopsticks!

Geography was really never my choice of subject to take, if I could of I never would have taken it. But I need six credits of lab science to get my Bachelor of Arts and Geography counted as three of those credits. I had my last Geography lecture for that course last night, and we are supposed to have like three more classes - I'm not complaining. One more lab quiz, two essays, and then that course will be finished. 

What I can't believe is that only 8-10 students out of at least 30 registered students actually show up for the class. It amazes me, yes your attendance might not be part of the final mark, and yes all the slides might be put up on moddle - but really?? The professor was a bit shy but had so much knowledge to share, I guess in the end they missed out. One class almost complete!

I am off to Kelowna this evening for the British Columbia and Yukon Anglican Youth Movement Council meeting. Somehow I also have to get homework done... this shall be interesting! Michael, Bailey, Deana and an adult parent supervisor are doing youth group for me tonight - a discussion on prayer in small groups, I'm sorry I'm going to miss it. It's one of my favorite discussions to have with youth, especially when they realize it doesn't have to be a formal process! Pray anywhere, however, whenever, and for however long! It's an amazing conversation anyone can have!

Hope you are all doing well!!

PWRDF Youth Council and last week...

Well, from November 7 - 10th I was in Toronto Ontario at the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) Youth Council. Over five hours on a plane both ways I learned that I can sleep on a plane and my feet swell up - which sucks when you need to get off the plane and put back on your shoes. 

Our meetings were held at the Church House, which is the home of the Anglican Church of Canada (I believe). And, by the way, the Church House does in no way look like a church. I was very disappointed when we pulled up and it was a flat sided building with windows -  nice enough, but definitely did not look like a cathedral! Yes, for some reason I had it in my mind that the Church House would look like a beautiful big Cathedral. But oh well, it was a nice enough building and the inside was done well. I even got to go into the Primate's office to drop off some pictures, he wasn't there - well no one was there, but I got to go into his office and write a note for him. Yeah, I'm incredibly weird - but it was so cool!

So, we sat in a room at a big table for two whole days. The meetings were great though, I learned a lot, met a lot of great people, and had a lot of fun. We have a huge list of things to do now which all came out of our conversations. There are opportunities to go on partner visits over the next coming years, so some of our members will attend those. I will not be embarking on any of these opportunities this time around. I figure I've got a number of more years of these opportunities probably coming up! 

On Friday we had a joint meeting with the PWRDF Board; we had dinner together, played some icebreakers, and the youth council gave a presentation on a proposal well, that we are proposing. It was really nice having that interaction with the Board members. Friday night we all gathered in one of our hotel rooms, we visited and got to know each other better. 

Saturday and Sunday were both full days of meetings, which I of course enjoyed! We went out for dinner both evenings. Walking downtown Toronto in the evening was an adventure. Did you know that they actually have those big televisions outside on the streets - it amazed me, and a diagonal crosswalk. I obviously do not spend enough time downtown in big cities. 

After about an hours worth of conversation we finally decided that our next meeting would be at the end of March in Winnipeg! Hello Snow!! Oh, and next time I'm in Toronto... I will plan on spending an extra day or two - so I at least can go see the Cathedral! 

Once I got home I went and visited my friend and met her boyfriend, since it was the first time the both of us had ever been in the same town at the same time. I met up with my mom, did some shopping for our youth meeting on Tuesday, and headed to Savona where I then slept. 

Our youth meeting on Tuesday went really well! We had a dinner youth meeting because no one had school (it was Remembrance Day), and I had missed the Friday meeting. So, we had tacos, played lots of games, and did a short prayer service. It was really nice, and a great way to remember all those who fought for peace, for those who said war was wrong, "may love flow over all the earth and cleanse us all - this day and always!"  

I only had two days of school last week, and was back in Savona on Friday for youth group once again. Ah... notice a pattern of where I spend a lot of my time... Pretty much I spent so much time at the church over the last week that I lost my cell phone there on Tuesday and then found it on Friday in the lectern. Nothing will ever surprise me anymore. 

Tomorrow Bishop Gordon Light is having his last service with us in Savona before he retires. I am excited to see him again but also saddened that this is his last service with us. We are having a potluck lunch after the service, and then a short meeting with +Gordon. After that I am heading back into Kamloops to do a whole tone of homework. I am very much ready for the semester to be over (December 9th is my last exam - please count down with me!!). I am currently hoping that next semester proves to be more interesting, only time will tell though!

Next weekend I am off to Kelowna where I will be at my first meeting of the British Columbia and Yukon Anglican Youth Movement council. I'm excited and time will tell and show what I will end up doing for this council!

Yes, I Should Be in Bed

I should be in bed... and yet I am not. 

Does a parent ever sleep - like seriously, with all that needs to be done in a day how does a person with children sleep?? By the time the meals for the next day are prepared, the house organized, and everyone else in bed, you get to go to bed but then your brain is going on and on about what will need done tomorrow. And you're constantly listening for a crying or talking child, something to go thump in the night, or the phone to ring. 

At least that is what I have found in the last two days of watching on the five kids who are at home this week. Dad and Sara went down to Calgary to clean out Grandma's house and visit with the family, which is really great. I have re-arranged my schedule so that I am around the house at least in the morning and evenings to be with the kids and get them organized. I love being with Deana, Wesley, Taylor, Rhys, and Aaron. They are great to be around, and it's lots of fun! And Deana is such a big help, this would not work if she was not here and so willing to help with the organizing. 

Anyway, the youth did the service on Sunday and they did a fabulous job. I really enjoyed the service, they enjoyed it, and the parishioners who were there enjoyed it also! The next service we are doing is on December 21st - I'm already excited!

This coming weekend I am heading off to Toronto, early Friday morning. I'm down there for the Primates World Relief and Development Fund Youth Council meeting - my first one. So exciting! Be well!!

Life changes...

My four most favorite trees on campus had their leaves turn red, the most beautiful shade of red I've ever seen. And unfortunately the leaves dropped to the ground for the second year in a row before I had a chance to capture the beauty in a pictures. And yet it is perfect, it is how God made it to be, and therefore perfect! It's part of the life cycle of living. 

I spent last weekend at Cursillo in Sorrento Centre. Cursillo is a short course on Christian Living, and it was truly amazing. We talked, shared, cried, laughed, listened, worshiped together, sang, prayed, and learned... and it was amazing! It passed all my expectations of what I thought the weekend would be. I learned so many amazing things, it has made me think, and allowed me to reflect, and my relationship with God got even closer. It was amazing, I can't even think of another word to use to describe it. I miss the group of people, I miss the opportunities to learn, and I miss being there - but I know "life in the real world" I must also continue on. What we call, the forth day!

On Sunday morning during one of our "sessions" I was given a message to phone home as soon as possible. (While at Cursillo I had no contact with people outside of our group, unless there was an emergency) So, as soon as I got the message I began to worry. I went and found someone in the chapel who helped me find a phone, and moments after my call home began I felt hands of comfort and support on my shoulders. I was told that my Grandma in Calgary passed away that morning. She had fought cancer for the last few years and had lived a great life. When my call ended, and with tears streaming down my face I went to see who was behind me, and all I heard was, "It's just me." I put my head in my hands and allowed the tears to come. Before I knew it others from the spiritual team, the Rectora, and those on team from Savona had entered in the room. I was led into the chapel where we prayed. Never was I left alone, or felt alone. My table group met me in the chapel where we prayed some more and talked. It was never-ending love and support. And I received more hugs in two hours than I ever have before! God's timing is always right, I could not have been in a more supportive and loving place. There is no other place where I would want to be to have had to hear that news. Even with the news I was able to finish my Cursillo weekend, and was a peace. After the weekend I went  home to be with my family. 

And at about the time Grandma passed away, early Sunday morning, I was being awaken my the most joyous sounds, by the beauty of God's grace. God's timing is perfect. 

So after an amazing weekend at Cursillo, and having met people I will continue to keep in contact with, I am on my forth day. Where my choices and decisions I think about lots before making them. I will continue to watch the beauty of God's perfect timing on campus, as the last of the leaves continue to fall, and eventually the peaceful snow flakes fall down. 

I am going home Thursday afternoon to Savona, where I will spend the weekend. Halloween is on Friday, so I will hand out candy to those who come to my door, I have youth group on Saturday, and church on Sunday, and then the week will begin again. We are having a youth service on Sunday which I am excited and nervous about, I'm sure it will go well though! Go out into nature and look at the beauty of the earth in the fall!