silence, song and prayer

      As the first harbingers of spring, robins have always been one of my favourite birds. Their generous size, their gorgeous orange chests and their work ethic with worms have always impressed me. I love all birds and enjoy watching their quick and quiet antics in my garden. My garden is a place of many moods; joy, solace, wonder and sadness are all experienced there. Nature is a good friend when you need a quiet moment or maybe a distraction; there is always something to do. And as in a church, prayer seems to come naturally in a garden.      When I learned that my friend Robin had died, my garden seemed like the best place to go. He was a man of wisdom, good humour and diligence. Getting to know him and working with him as wardens at Holy Trinity made me like him tremendously and respect and value his intelligence. He was a gentleman first and foremost, in every sense of the word. He was also a man who liked to walk and so I regret the pilgrimages Robi...

     As many people who have experienced loss through death will tell you, it is a profound comfort to have an opportunity to remember your loved one. Whether it is in telling their story or visiting their gravesite, there is joy in the remembering. Another way to memorialize them is to give flowers for the church altar or to pay tribute through the aumbry candle. It has given me an enormous amount of comfort to be able to remember our niece and nephew at various times throughout the year by giving flowers or lighting the aumbry candle to the Glory of God in memory of them. Whether it is their birthday or another important date, it feels wonderful to give my appreciation for my loved one a tangible, beautiful form of expression. There is a large calendar where you may choose the appropriate date for either donating flowers or the lighting of the aumbry candle. This is acknowledged in our weekly church bulletin which we receive at both services on Sundays. Our amazing Alta...

     Have you ever had an experience of the Holy Spirit? His Grace Archbishop John's sermon on Pentecost Sunday gave me much to think about. He suggested that many of us have had such an experience but did not know what to call it. He stated that it might be "in the presence of the birth of a child or the death of a loved one. We will recognize the presence of the Spirit this morning, in baptism, in confirmation, in the Eucharist. The Spirit may be known when someone tells us they love us or when we're all alone on a mountain top. The Spirit may be felt when we pray with the whole of our heart and mind, in a church or in a field or by still waters. The Spirit may be known in a thunderstorm or the quietness after it has snowed." And he also mentioned that as it has happened in the past, when we talk about this experience someone might call us strange or even ridiculous so we might not want to talk about it, but we should I think.       My experience was...