Reflections of a Canadian Churchman

Chapter Thirteen: The Making of a Bishop Maddie readily accepted the Archdeacon’s apology. Although she had made something of an exit when she left his office, she was not actually that angry at him. She was not one to keep her feelings to herself when frustrated or mad, yet this trait turned out to be something of a gift.   Being able to express herself so readily, so honestly and freely, meant that things never built up inside of her.   In this way, she was so different from her mentor, who kept much of what he felt buried away inside.   Her ability to share her emotions without reservation confused him because this was not at all how he dealt with anger or conflict.   If she spoke her mind, he often mistook the sentiment as an enduring criticism rather than a momentary observation.   He marvelled at her ability to be so authentic and unreserved, and how she never held grudges.   As a consequence, he felt he was learning as much from her as she was from h...

Lessons and Carols Ever since he was a boy, the one thing Mr. Perkins looked forward to most about the Advent and Christmas season was the annual service of Lessons and Carols. Perhaps it was the fact that he had grown up in a large city church – a church with a long tradition of excellence in music and ceremony – that shaped his love for this annual event. In his quiet moments of nostalgia he would retreat into his early memories, like a trip through a well-known and oft-visited museum, and revisit the Lessons and Carols services of his youth. In his imagination, he would hear once again the haunting tone of the boy treble coming from the church entrance, echoing through the darkened silence the opening words of “Once in Royal David’s City.” And as the choir processed with candles, all joining in the remaining verses, his heart was warmed by the light breaking through the darkness of night. In his mind’s eye he would conjure up the ghost of his childhood rector, who in his best Ri...

Chapter Twelve: Great Men “What do you make of this, Tony?”   Young Tony had just gotten up to leave the room when the Archdeacon handed him a card. Tony looked it over. It was the sympathy card that Christa had sent the Archdeacon with the   terse inscription, “Tom, I’m sorry about the Bishop. Yours, Christa.” Tony studied it for a moment and then looked up at the Archdeacon, somewhat perplexed.             “It’s very odd. This is the only communication you’ve had from her since she left three years ago?”             “Yes. I’ve written her a couple of times, but never received anything back…until now.”             “But why would she even bother?   I mean, no communication for three years and then…this?”             “I know…I’m mystified.” ...

Chapter Eleven: Politicking The episcopal election was just a couple of weeks away. The Archdeacon was now embracing the fact that he had a good chance of being elected the next bishop.  He had been carrying out the late Bishop’s administrative work for some time now and things were running quite smoothly.  With a greater confidence, he was beginning to imagine himself permanently in the role. He had now set aside any scruples as to whether or not he “wanted it.” In this, he surprised himself. Once he had admitted the fact that he had the ambition and allowed his name to be placed on the ballot, he had come to a certain peace and set aside is previous anxious indecision.  Nonetheless, He took an arm’s length approach the campaigning that was going on in his name.  He had told Maddie that he would simply wait on God and let the Holy Spirit decide his destiny.  As such, in spite of the heavy weight of the diocesan responsibilities resting on his shoulders during...

  The Apocalyptic Imagination – Session Eight After the Destruction of the Temple: IV Ezra The textual history of IV Ezra is a complicated one.   The early modern English bibles such as the Geneva Bible, the Bishops’ Bible, and the King James version all included what we are calling IV Ezra as part of the Apocrypha under the title II Esdras.   The text we know as IV Ezra (or the “Apocalypse of Ezra” is contained in chapters 3-14 of II Esdras. The copy I have linked to for you to read includes chapters 1-16. Chapters 1, 15 & 16 are later Christian additions and did not form part of the original text.   They are useful to read to understand how Christians adapted a Jewish apocalypse for their own theological needs. There is a school of thought that suggests this is how the Book of Revelation was composed (an older Jewish apocalypse was Christianized).   For our purposes, we will be looking at IV chapters 3-14 as an example of a later Jewish apocalypse. D...

Chapter Ten: Courting Mr. Perkins There was a time when Mr. Perkins embroiled himself in the politics of the Church.  He loved sitting on diocesan committees, attending meetings, and being party to all manner of diocesan gossip and inside information.  It gave him, or so he thought at the time, an “in”. He like considering himself amongst the elect few who knew the all the diocesan “goings on”.  He enjoyed being an insider.  It led him to gain the false impression, as a young clergyman, that he was taking part in matters of great deliberation, and he prided himself on being “in the know” on many important matters.             Yet, as the years wore on, this all started to become very tedious.   As he took on more and more diocesan responsibility, it began to take him away from the calling he really loved, that of being a pastor to his people in the little parish of Christ Church, Hampton’s Corners. ...