Presidents
Report
Gentlemen of the BAC, a happy “Fall Season” to you all.
As I write this, I realize that I’m late since it is the day after
All Saints Day however the past month has been very busy and I just could
not find the time to get it done.
First I would like to address our Visioning Day held at St. Jude's
Anglican Church in London on Sept. 11, 2004.
I want to bring this up since only 20 men out of over 400 paid
members showed up. That’s
about 5% of you people that showed any interest in what you wish to see the
BAC become. I was not stunned by the turn-out but simply
disappointed since it took about 3 yrs. to get all the pieces into place to
give everyone an opportunity for this.
Our facilitator Rev’d Peter Wickerson concentrated most of the day
on the language of our Aims and Objects which are printed on the back of
your membership cards. The
theory was that we need to change the language so that our younger people
would understand what we are about. Quite
frankly I think Rev’d Wickerson did an admirable job presenting his
program but again I was disappointed in the fact that, seems to be, we
aren’t attracting new members because they don’t understand the
language. Someone suggested we
change the word “grow” to nurture. Well it means little to me whether transportation is called a
car or an automobile as long as it gets me to my destination.
Look around your parishes and ask yourselves how many young people do
you see in church between the age of Sunday School and 35 yrs.
Jesus said, come and follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
Now do we need to change that language so that your sons or your
grand sons understand what he meant. I
don’t. But we certainly need
to tell them.
It seems the original motion brought forward by Lambton Deanery
centred around inviting our wives to join us in the BAC and that would
increase membership, then someone mentioned we should involve the Lutherans
and maybe the Presbyterians. It
was suggested that the vision of Bishop Luxton in 1950 no longer applied in
the 21st. century. Interesting!!
Get on your computers if you have one and type in Church Of England
in your search engine. You’ll find some very interesting facts about our Anglican
Church all the way back to the 14th century. We have been fighting these wars of spreading the Gospel for
a long time. It won’t change
over-night but we need to work at it.
I just recently received an e-mail from a Mr. Steve Wolfe who is a
past chairman of a group called FLAME which was started in Toronto Diocese.
He came upon our website and realized that the BAC is active in the
Diocese of both Huron and Ottawa, where FLAME is not,
with basically the same aims but like the BAC has been struggling to
reach out to men under the age of “the Boomers” with little success and
would like to open a dialogue with us.
I have not yet had a chance to get back to Steve but certainly intend
to. Steve states he has a
brother in London whom he visits frequently and would like to meet.
I will also be attending a semi conf. Nov. 18th. or 19th.
with Dr. Robert Reid from Woodstock to listen to a speaker who is noted to
be a strong Christian motivator of mens groups.
I will report in the next BACKTALK how we make out and perhaps he may
be good for one of our conferences.
From the Chaplain
I was recently involved in a conversation with a
young person about the existence of God and the verity of what we believe
about God as Christians. It was one of those conversations that sneak up on
you, and reach a level of intensity and passion which is surprising and
indicative of huge investment of the heart. This young person yearns
hungrily, almost desperately, for God to undeniably, unmistakably show
Himself to the world- so that there can be no doubt about the divine, and so
that no one may be lost to God. In this young person’s words, I heard
echoes of the Psalmist’s lament “Why do you hide your face from me.”
(Psalm 88:15)
Why doesn’t God act to reveal Himself to the
whole world in unmistakable fashion? The answer to this question begins with
the acknowledgement that, in fact, God has done so! Jesus is the complete,
substantial, factual revelation of God to this world – enlightening
humanity about God’s infinite love; unfailing desire to bless, heal and
save; and driving determination to share His life with us forever. Jesus is
fact. Jesus is real. Jesus is documented historically. Jesus – His
thoughts, words, deeds, feelings – is presented in detail in the
Scriptures, and through the impression & experiences of those who first
knew Him and lived with Him. And Jesus is continually revealed to those who
enter relationship with Him through Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent that we
could grow in our understanding of who He is and what He means. And Jesus is
present in and presented by the Church which is nothing less than His Body
alive and active in this world!
The answer to my young friend’s question
begins here, with Jesus, the Son of God, Incarnate in this world. This is
the unmistakable, undeniable self-revelation of God which so many long to
see. But beyond this beginning, the answer must develop and grow-because
somehow, many are missing the answer-they don’t recognize the
“undeniable” revelation. Something has gone wrong. The answer to the
yearning for God’s self-revelation has been missed, overlooked, confused,
forgotten. Maybe it has not been presented with the clarity, diligence, and
animation both it, and the world it addresses, deserve.
Oswald Chambers, in “My Utmost for His
Highest”, notes that the birth of the Incarnate Son of God really must be
accomplished in two places. One is in history, as we have already noted. The
other is in individuals – in you and in me. You and I are born again when
we “yield so completely to God that Christ is formed” in us. When Jesus
is formed, or born in us, “His nature immediately begins to work”
through us. People see in us the revelation of God they so long for. We
become His hands, His heart, His mouth.
*************************
The Advent/Christmas/Epiphany cycle lies just
ahead of us, and marks the beginning of the new Church year. Maybe they can
mark a new beginning for you as well. It is time for us to take our place
and do our part in answering the heart-felt question of my young friend. We
are being called to show to the world Jesus, who is born not only into
history but also in us. My young friend and countless others crave encounter
with the living Christ not just in history, but actively present and evident
in your life and mine – have you allowed your life to become a
“Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I challenge you to ask, and more
importantly, answer this question. God and your neighbours are counting on
you!
Praying that Our Lord will use our Christmas
worship and celebration to equip us as “God-bearers” to a world which
desperately needs and seeks Jesus, I wish you and yours a blessed
Advent/Christmas/Epiphany season.
Yours in Christ,
Robin +
BIOGRAPHY – The Rev. Canon Robin Lyons, B.A.,
M. Div., M.A.
Robin has served Christ in the Diocese of Huron in ordained ministry
since 1980. Parish placements have included a curacy at St. George’s, Owen
Sound; as well as incumbencies at the parishes of Brussels, Blyth, &
Auburn; St. John’s, Tillsonburg & St. Stephen’s, Culloden; Trinity,
St. Thomas; and currently All Saints’, Waterloo. Robin is married to
Jennifer and has three young adult sons – Jonathan, Gregory & Timothy.
St.
Mary’s Church - Walkerville celebrates Centennial
St. Mary’s Church - Walkerville in Windsor has been celebrating its
centennial for the past year. It
was a century ago that the current St.
Mary’s Church was consecrated on April 10, 1904 by the Right Reverend
Maurice Scollard Baldwin, Bishop of Huron.
The cornerstone had been laid a year earlier on May 25, 1903.
St. Mary’s Church - Walkerville was erected as a memorial to Hiram
Walker and Abigail Walker by their sons Edward Chandler Walker, Franklin
Hiram Walker and James Harrington Walker.
The Parish of St. Mary’s - Walkerville was initially founded in
another location in 1874. Both
the former and the current church buildings were gifts from the Walker
family, the distillery executives who also founded Walkerville.
The current celebration of thanksgiving began in 2003 to recognise
the laying of the cornerstone and culminated on Easter weekend of this year.
It has been a full year of thanksgiving for the parishioners.
Memorial services, outreach projects and parish socials have been the
focus of the anniversary. On
Saturday, April 10 current and former parishioners gathered at St. Mary’s
Church for a celebratory dinner and hymn sing.
This timing was particularly important, as it marked the actual day,
a century ago, when the church building was consecrated.
On the following day, Easter Sunday, the parish gave thanks for the
resurrection of our Lord and also for the hundred years of St. Mary’s.
The Right Reverend Dr. Bruce H. W. Howe, Bishop of Huron officiated
at the service. As part of the centennial celebration, St. Mary’s BAC
hosted the Annual Meeting and Dinner of the Brotherhood for the Essex
Deanery on Tuesday, November 18, 2003.
BAC members of the Deanery shared in Communion and a dinner meeting.
The parish of St. Mary’s - Walkerville has played a particularly
significant role in the history of the Brotherhood of Anglican Churchmen,
for it was here in 1953 that the Brotherhood was founded.
Under the spiritual guidance of the Right Reverend George
Nasmith Luxton, Bishop of Huron, layman of the Diocese were invited
to gather at St. Mary’s Church. It
was here on April 6, 7 and 8,
1953 that the need for a Diocesan Men’s organization was discussed. The result of this gathering was the formation of The
Brotherhood of Anglican Churchmen. The
final resolution of this historical assembly was that “the association be
‘The Brotherhood of Anglican Churchmen’ and that the cross of St. George
be the badge for the association. That
we as brothers wear the badge on our lapels and keep an identification card
bearing the emblem and the prayer from the confirmation service ‘Defend, O
Lord, this thy servant with thy heavenly grace that he may continue thine
for ever and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit, more and more, until he come
into thy everlasting Kingdom.”
Since the formation of the BAC in 1953, members from St. Mary’s
Church have been active participants within the parish, the deanery and the
diocese building a Christian community in which men may receive spiritual
refreshment, share Christian fellowship and concerns, and be encouraged to
witness, unite, grow, lead and extend.
We give thanks for the enduring presence of St. Mary’s Church -
Walkerville in Windsor and also for it’s Brotherhood of Anglican
Churchmen.
Membership Report for BACTalk, November, 2004
By the time your receive this copy of BACTalk,
you will have received the reminder notice about registration and dues for
2005. I sent a mailing to the
contact person of each diocesan chapter at the beginning of November.
We have always sent the reminder out at the end one year for the
upcoming year. The only income
the Diocesan BAC has is the five dollar membership dues that comes from each
member in Huron. For 2004,
there were 508 members in 28 parishes in 12 deaneries in Huron.
I urge all of you to get your memberships paid up and make sure your
chapter list is correct.
As you know, we had one new chapter started in
2004 – All Saints Church in Waterloo.
We have had queries from St. John’s in Brantford and we are hopeful
that they will start a chapter. Christopher
Pratt has become the rector at St. John the Evangelist in Kitchener and we
are also hopeful he will help us start a chapter there.
Some of you are aware of parishes that have
previously had chapters which may not be active now. Would it be possible to re-energize them?
Talk to your chapter about helping that to happen or contact once of
the Diocesan Executive. Any of us would be willing to come and help.
The list of members of the Executive and Diocesan Council contacts
are listed in this issue or on the BAC web site –
Francis Richardson
Membership Chair
Diocesan Executive Committee
Brotherhood of Anglican Churchmen
(BAC) report for BACTalk – November, 2004
Christ Church,
Meaford & St. James’, Fairmount Chapter
The most exciting news from our BAC
Chapter since the last BACTalk is that we welcomed 5 new members.
On June 27th, Bill Dinsmore, Tony Houghton, Joe Lawson,
Willard MacDonald and Bob Osman were installed into the Meaford & St.
James’ Chapter of the Brotherhood of Anglican Churchmen.
We are delighted that men in our parish are interested in continuing
on the aims and objectives that were established over 50 years ago.
I took this excellent news with me to
the Visioning Day that the BAC held on September 11th at St.
Jude’s Church in London. As
was reported by Mike Chambers, our Diocesan President, in this issue, the
attendance at that workshop was not overwhelming. That news I have to bring back to our deanery meeting on
November 21st. It is
frustrating when you are aware of how much good the BAC has done over the
years and how much good there is still to do.
We must never give up.
The BAC joined the other groups at
Christ Church and many parishioners in making the New Roof Fund Appeal as
success. We have paid $8,000
already this year and have pledged another $7,000 in 2005 for a total of
$15,000. The roof is now on,
looks wonderful and is paid for!
On Saturday, September 4th,
the men of the BAC again cooked a Pancake Breakfast to start the Meaford
& St. Vincent Agricultural Fair. Over
90 adults and children were served between 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
This is the third year that we have done this.
Archdeacon Christopher Pratt bid
farewell to the Deanery of the Saugeens in August. He was always a strong supporter of the BAC.
The three deanery BAC chapters – Christ Church, St. George’s and
St. Thomas’ – purchased three bed kits from Sleeping Children Around the
World in his name.
On Sunday, October 24th,
the BAC conducted the service of Morning Prayer at 11:00 a.m.
This, has become a regular ministry in our parish in October.
The ACW does the same thing in November.
Francis Richardson
Secretary/Treasurer
A little humour:
A father was approached by his small son, who proudly told him, “I
know what the bible
means!”
“Okay son,” said his
father. “So what does the bible mean?”
“That’s easy, Daddy.
It stands for ‘Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.’”
Sunday
School - A True Story
A sobbing little girl stood near a small church from which she had been
turned away because it
was "too crowded."
"I can't go to
Sunday School," she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by.
Seeing her shabby,
unkept appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and, taking her by the
hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class.
The child was so
happy that they found room for her, and she went to bed that night thinking of
the children who
have no place to worship Jesus.
Some two years later,
this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings. Her parents
called for the kindhearted pastor who had befriended their daughter to handle
the final
arrangements.
As her poor little body
was being moved, a worn and crumpled red purse was found which
seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump. Inside was found 57 cents
and a note,
scribbled in childish handwriting, which read: "This is to help build the
little church bigger so
more children can go to Sunday School." For two years she had saved for
this offering of love.
When the pastor
tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do. Carrying this
note
and the cracked, red pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her
unselfish love and
devotion. He challenged his deacons to get busy and raise enough money for the
larger building.
But the story does not
end there... A newspaper learned of the story and published It. It was read
by a wealthy realtor who offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands.
When told that
the church could not pay so much, he offered to sell it to the little church
for 57 cents.
Church members made
large donations. Checks came from far and wide. Within five years the
little girl's gift had increased to $250,000.00--a huge sum for that time
(near the turn of the
century). Her unselfish love had paid large dividends.
When you are in the city
of Philadelphia, look up Temple Baptist Church, with a seating
capacity of 3,300. And be sure to visit Temple University, where thousands of
students are
educated.
Have a look, too, at the
Good Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses
hundreds of beautiful children, built so that no child in the area will ever
need to be left outside
during Sunday school time.
In one of the rooms of
this building may be seen the picture of the sweet face of the little girl
whose 57 cents, so sacrificially saved, made such remarkable history.
Alongside of it is a portrait
of her kind pastor, Dr. Russel H. Conwell, author of the book, "Acres of
Diamonds".
This is a true story,
which goes to show WHAT GOD CAN DO WITH 57 CENTS.
(Received from Jim
Martin)
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