The Evangelist • – When St Peter greets you at heaven’s gate, he will not ask what you have done that you should not have done, but what you have not done that you could have. $ Dearly beloved in Christ: Prayer, Persistence and the example of Christ be- I am putting these comments fore us, we can seek to overcome the darkness with together just after Candlemass the Light of Christ. and looking towards Lent and Too often we are afraid, afraid of rejection, Easter when you will be reading afraid of looking foolish, afraid of not being with this edition of the Evangelist. the “in crowd” –whoever they may be. There is One thing which links these two always a temptation for us just to keep our faith Festivals is the use of Candles. to ourselves. We begin each Lent by reading the As the name Candlemass sug- Gospel of the Temptation of Christ. We then fol- gests (The Purification of the low Jesus until we come to Palm Sunday, where BVM or The Presentation of Our Lord) Candles we dramatically experience that swing in popular play a central role in the Candlemas liturgy as do sentiment from “Hosanna to the son of David” to they in the Easter Vigil. Christ bids us to share His “crucify him, crucify him”. The 40 days of Lent, Light with others and the world. Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday are rest sta- The season of Lent allows us the opportunity to tions on the journey which bring us to the ultimate clear our thoughts and minds of those things which joy of Easter Day. weigh us down. Those past insults and hurts we Please take this time and opportunity to journey can sometimes say are forgotten but not forgiven. with the church as we move from the Passion and It is those very things we are called upon at Lent Death, to the Resurrection of Christ. All of us, to give up and over come. In the Ancient Church at some point need a time of self-reflection and it was the practice of the newly Baptized to be self-examination. What better occasion to do it, dressed in white garments after their Baptism to than during these forty days set aside by Christian symbolize that they were born again to New Life tradition to be with Christ in the desert, preparing in Christ. ourselves to be with him in his death and to follow Sometimes we can feel there are great rocks him into Resurrection Light. which are rolled in our path which keep us in Wishing everyone a very Holy Lent and a Joyful the dark and trapped, as if we are in a perpetual Eastertide. Lent without being able to reach Easter. But with Receive your “Evangelist” and information updates electronically If you would prefer to receive “The Evangelist” by electronic post please send your name and e-mail address to < [email protected] > and we will be happy to send you your copy by e-mail. Not only will you receive your information faster, you will be saving the church the cost of printing and mailing your documents, and saving a tree as well. Your information will only be used to send out information from St. John the Evangelist. It will not be passed on or shared. Regular Services at St John’s: SUNDAYS Low Mass: 8:30 a.m. Matins: 9:45 a.m. High Mass: 10:30 a.m. WEEKDAYS Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 5:45 p.m. / Wednesdays: 7:30 & 9:30 a.m. Wednesdays: 7:30 & 9:30 a.m., Saturdays: noon 2 Dear Reader, The Editorial for the Slattery Memorial Issue has been removed from this reprint, because both the comments have been outdated with the Quebec Election and recent Federal Government actions. The Opinions in the Editorial are mine and mine alone and reflect my understanding that we Chris- tians are in the World but not of the World and should therefore fear both the Love of Money and Propaganda from any source. I would appreciate Parishioners who disagree with any ideas I express in my Editorials to tell me so to my face and avoid the behind-the-back com- ments. Editorial As we said Farewell to Fr Oswald Slattery it be- hooves us to think of the way everything that was, comes round again. For Christians there is still the need to be vigilant in defending both Individual and Collective freedoms in Quebec and Canada. There is still the need to justify, defend and joyfully express our Anglo Catholic Spiritual Faith. As we look around us in the Church its Symbolic Brilliant Mosaic of Christian History tie us to the past of Fr h Slattery and our joyous future. ❖ Books for Lent: These are great for Lent and bring back the challenging fun of Scripture! The Romance of Religion (Fighting for Goodness, Truth and Beauty) and What the Apostles Really Believed and Why it Matters. “ The Evangelist ” Both are by Dwight Longenecker Lent 2014 - Vol. XII, No. 3 (RC ex-Anglican) 3 Father Slattery 1928-2014 The warden was Canon S.C. Joad. The College by Peter Harper was in Barton, but with the same regimen. Oswald spent two years there, doing three years in two, as Early Years the students had to seek ordination from an Over- Humphrey Oswald Slattery was born April 3, 1928, seas Bishop. So on Feb. 11, 1951, Fr Slattery was in Rugby and baptized ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Henry Hand- on May 13th in the local ley Vully de Candole, Bishop of Knaresborough Anglo-Catholic Church with license from the Bishop of Ripon, on behalf of of St. Oswald (left). His the Bishop of Fredericton in New Brunswick. parents married in 1919, Early Ministry: New Brunswick and settled in Rugby. In May 1951, Oswald set off for his first curacy Oswald went to the local in Saint John, NB, at the main city parish of Trin- C of E School of St. ity, which had a large congregation in a big Church Oswald (right), and was (built by our own architect William Tutin Thomas). confirmed on April 11 There he learned the ropes of city Ministry in a 1941 in nearby Bilton. Low-Broad Church environment. After the war, he did his National Service in Bishop Moorhead ordained Oswald when he the Army for two years, reached 24 years of age as required by the Prayer served in Britain, but mainly in Singapore and Book, on April 6, Palm Sunday. Burma. He did nothing useful there, but learned, In 1953, he married Frances Marie Pyne. They obedience and patience. honeymooned in Britain and they brought back his Theological Training and Diaconate mother to live with them. He was put in charge of His childhood desire to be a priest increased with the Parish of Prince William NB (with 4 churches) his contacts with the military chaplains. In 1949, along the St John River. Susan, their first child he trained for the priesthood with the Brotherhood was born there. Frances was a great support to her of Saint Paul, a private Anglican Theological Col- husband in the parishes they worked in and she is lege founded in 1910 by the Rev. Edward Mears well remembered for her communicative laughter (1864-1947) in his parish of Little Bardfield. It and fine organizing ability. was run on a “shoe-string” but “along sound catho- Curacy: St. John the Evangelist lic lines for ordinands from poorer backgrounds Fr. Slattery had visited and celebrated Mass at (...) to train men who might not otherwise fulfill St John’s and enthusiastically accepted the Curacy their vocation.” Mears charged only 25 guineas which Fr Hertzler offered him for the 8-9 terms. The students lodged locally and in 1955. The Slatterys lived in studied at the rectory. They pledged obedience cramped accommodations in to the Warden for the duration of their stay. They the Rectory, and their children, wore cassocks with a small cross on their belt and Veronica, Barbara, and Chris- skullcaps in Fr Slattery’s time. topher were born there. Fr The college was looked upon with suspicion by Hertzler was an excellent and fair Mentor who completed Fr some English bishops because of its High Liturgi- Fr. Slattery, then a cal practices and Theological Teaching. The col- Oswald’s Priestly training along curate, on the steps lege trained priests, mostly for the Empire where Catholic lines. of St John’s with his Rector, Fr Hertzler in it maintained an excellent reputation with the the mid-1950s. “Colonial” Bishops. continued, p. 9 4 My Thoughts on Being a Server Though it is said that familiarity breeds contempt, by Kieran Wilson the familiarity of the server with the liturgy only seems to grow their appreciation for it. It is en- I will never forget couraging that, even though we assist at the same my first Solemn High Mass with the same liturgy week after week, serv- Midnight Mass at ers are almost invariably having fun and, in loving Christ Church Cathe- the liturgy and the ceremony, cannot help but grow dral in Victoria, BC. I in love and thankfulness for the Church as a whole. was first struck by the immense beauty of the In calling me to be a server, I believe God has banners being borne in presented me with both an opportunity and a chal- procession. They truly lenge. The opportunity is to grow in knowledge of encapsulated the glory Him, and the challenge is to act on that knowledge.