On Saturday, January 26, a cross-section of St. Matthias and St. Luke parishioners gathered to welcome Archbishop Fred Hiltz for a pastoral visit filled with laughter, deep sharing of faith stories from the past and present, and hopes for the future.
The program opened with a delicious homemade feast of Malaysian-style seafood curry, salad, garlic bread, cheese muffins, pecan tarts, and peanut butter cake. After lunch, Archbishop Fred took a tour of the church building. Signs of both the “old” and “new” co-mingled, from the newly-established “Kid’s Corner” in the sanctuary to the chapel’s stained glass cross made from shards of glass from Canterbury Cathedral, broken during WWII bombings. The Archbishop also read through notes from visioning exercises, learned from the Diocesan School for Leadership, that the congregation has engaged in over the past year.After the tour, everyone gathered in a circle and heard a brief history of the two parishes of St. Matthias and St. Luke before they joined in 1997, highlighting histories of self-sacrifice and caring for those inside and outside church. Each person then shared their personal story and connection to the Anglican Church, and their take on the challenges and hopes for God’s ministry in this place. The Archbishop assured the congregation that “your loyalty and your love and devotion to the [Anglican] Church does not go unnoticed… it’s exemplary.” He spoke of the powerful impact listening to everyone’s stories had on him, and how these stories demonstrated deep faith and a moving beyond the past years’ conflicts to a strong unity in diversity that exemplifies the Gospel in a very Anglican way. He also responded to questions on how to grow a ministry: “You begin with who you are… the beloved of God and members of Christ’s body,” and it’s the “little things that make a difference” in being a welcoming and inclusive community. Referring to the next day’s Gospel of Jesus reading from Isaiah in the temple in Nazareth, he challenged the congregation to reflect on whether everything the church does enables people to say this “scripture is being fulfilled.” Discussion continued on a wide variety of topics such as how each one of our ministry efforts can affect people’s perceptions of Anglicans and Christians, and the Archbishop’s thoughts on how the new Archbishop of Canterbury will impact the Anglican Communion.
As he was leaving, Archbishop Fred asked to take the “Welcome Archbishop Fred Hiltz!” sign on the door with him as a memento of the visit; he hopes to show it to others and say, “there is a story behind this,” a story of St. Matthias and St. Luke that he assured us he would share with the rest of the Church. We are so grateful for the Archbishop’s encouraging words and presence, and will continue to strive to share with our neighbourhood our story and its intersection with the Gospel.
Images: Top, Reverend Vivian Lam shows Archbishop Fred Hiltz a stained glass cross in the chapel made from shards of glass salvaged from Canterbury Cathedral, broken during WWII bombings. Upper right, lunch is always a highlight at StM&StL. Middle left, discussion circle.Lower left, more discussion. Below and homepage, members of the Parish of St. Matthias and St. Luke with their visitors, Dean Peter Elliott and Archbishop Fred Hiltz.
PHOTOS: Wayne Chose