Dear Friends in Christ,

Happy First Sunday of Advent! This season of spiritual preparation and watching and waiting is an opportunity to reflect on our vocation and ministry. Someone recently shared a cartoon with me which says: “Look busy, Jesus is coming!” While there can be much busy work in this season, I hope that you will redouble your efforts to spend time in daily prayer, and in soaking in the love which called you into the service of God. We will not always know when we are serving Jesus and when we are missing the opportunity, but tuning our hearts and minds to love him as fully as possible will sharpen us up for the particular demands of Advent and Christmas ministry. I hope that this Advent will bring new richness and deep joy to you.

Appointments and Positions:

I am pleased to announce that I have appointed The Reverend Nicholas Forte as Incumbent of Saint George's Anglican Church, Châteauguay effective January 1, 2018. Fr. Forte was born in Georgetown, Guyana and raised in a suburb of Toronto. He was ordained a priest in our sister Diocese of Quebec and has been serving the two-point parish of New Carlisle and Chaleur Bay in the Gaspé. His first Sunday with the people of Saint George’s will be on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 7th. Please save the date for his induction at 4pm. Please save March 11th at 4pm for the induction of the new incumbent of Christ Church Cathedral and Dean of Montreal, the Rev. Bertrand Olivier. Bertrand will be arriving around February 8th. Please keep the Parish of St. Andrew and St. Mark, Dorval, Christ Church, Beaurepaire, (Parish Profiles are online) and the Parish of Chambly in your prayers as they seek new incumbents.

Visitors

The Right Reverend Monument Makhanya, Bishop of Zululand in South Africa is visiting us this week and will be in the Diocese of Quebec next week. He is accompanied by his wife Sizakele. While he is mostly here on vacation, I took the liberty of having him preach in the Cathedral this morning and he and Sizakele will visit the Diocesan College with me on Wednesday. Be in touch if you would like to meet him. The Diocese of Zululand web site says “The Diocese of Zululand stretches from the Tugela River in the south to the borders of Mozambique and Swaziland in the north, and inland to the Buffalo River – and consists of a rich diversity of people and parishes, the bulk of which are situated in rural areas.” Mission and Outreach

The Bishop’s Annual Dinner raised a healthy amount of money and those of us in attendance were inspired by the Rev. Dr. Jesse Zink as he spoke about how the Spirit is doing a new thing and we are being invited to be part of it, leaning into the Spirit and being open to where God is calling us.

Ecclesial

The Ven. John Meade, Bishop Elect of W Newfoundland, died last week and his funeral was on Friday. An election for a new bishop will be taking place in the near future. The Rev. Stanley Brooks, assisting in the Parish of St. Michael and All Angels, is home from hospital and is grateful for your prayers. He continues to receive treatment but is hopeful.The Rev. Wilmur Davidson was buried from St. Luke’s Church, Waterloo, on November 23rd.

Bishop’s Action Appeal

The Bishop’s Action Appeal has chosen The Territory of the People as one of the recipients. This will help them as they continue to minister to those who are recovering from the wild fires. The other recipient is the ministry we are doing with the Inuit in Montreal. Part of the Appeal goes to the National Anglican Appeal which is now known as Giving in Grace. This year, gifts which are not specifically targeted will go to the Anglican Healing Fund for healing projects in Indigenous communities. Please direct your gifts as you feel led. Donate here

Recent Episcopal Visits: Nov 5th Ordination and Induction (Jane Bell, Josée Lemoine), Holy Trinity, Ste-Agathe-des-monts Nov 12th Preached and presided at St. Simon’s & St. Bartholomew’s, Chomedey and presented a Bishop’s Award (posthumously) to Bruce Keller. Nov. 26th Confirmations in All Saints, Two Mountains Dec. 3rd Confirmations at Christ Church Cathedral

Learning and Conferences

I commend three opportunities to you which the Montreal Diocesan Theological College is offering in January and which are eligible for continuing education credits. Call to register or sign up online. From the College’s web site: “a new four-day intensive course from Montreal Diocesan Theological College titled “Debating Mission, Marriage, and the Eucharist in the Anglican Communion.” The course meets for four days in Montreal, from January 22 to January 25, 2018. It’s taught by Dio’s principal, the Rev. Dr. Jesse Zink, and the former director of pastoral studies, the Rev. Paul Jennings. Students will read a range of works by theologians, historians, and inter-church bodies to understand the theological rationales that have underlain the momentous shifts in liturgy and theology in the last half century. In lecture and class discussion, they will offer a critical appraisal of where the Anglican tradition in North America currently stands and how the church is called to respond to the world in which it now ministers. “Debating Mission, Marriage, and the Eucharist in the Anglican Communion” is one of several courses that Dio is offering in winter 2018. From January 15 to 19, 2018, a separate one-week intensive course is being taught by the Rev. Dr. Dale Woods on Congregational Leadership. Students will think deeply about models of Christian leadership and how they relate to congregational ministry in particular. There is also an online class, “Ancient Christian Tales about Jesus: (His)story through the eyes of peasants, bards, and biographers” taught by Dr. Fred Tappenden. This course is an introduction to the Christian gospels in their social, historical, and political context. Students will learn more about how early Christians thought about Jesus and how the gospels relate to one another. The course meets online every Wednesday from 6.30pm to 9.15pm (eastern time zone) beginning on January 10, 2018 and concluding April 11, 2018. Each of these courses is suitable for those preparing for lay or ordained ministry, those already in such ministry, or those seeking continuing ministerial education credit. The cost of each course is $355.”

The Ven. Robert Camara has just returned from the 2017 National Conference of Executive Archdeacons and Executive Officers which met in Victoria, British Columbia. Next year’s conference is planned to be in Montreal. The Annual Clergy Silent Retreat is scheduled for March 18-20, 2018. Details will be forthcoming.

Yours faithfully,