As reported late last month in an article written by Missioner to the Central Fraser Valley and Incumbent of the Parish of St. Matthew’s, Abbotsford, the Rev. Fr. Allen Doerksen, the January 29th, 2013, lecture Finding the Post-Modern Balance garnered over $1,000 in donations for Abbotsford Food Bank.
The lecturer was Bishop Michael Ingham and following the lecture, two panelists responded to his presentation in which according to Fr. Allen, “Bishop Ingham explored the contours of Christianity in the contemporary world thoughtfully drawing the conclusion that labels such as liberal and conservative are fast becoming irrelevant in churches where people of all ages, but especially the young, are looking for a deeper Christian spirituality that integrates the Bible, the Tradition, and developments in Science and Culture in interesting and helpful ways.”
Responding to panelists and to questions raised from the floor, Bishop Michael used humour and personal experience to make the point that as we embrace dialogue we bridge division. He challenged the audience to resist the temptation to label others and value resources in all of our traditions.
The event drew an audience of over 150 interested people.
The Parish of St. Matthew’s leadership, well aware of the challenges the local Food Bank is currently undergoing supporting 7,000 people, (an estimated 3,000 of them are children), decided early on that admission to the January 29th lecture event would be 'by donation' in support of the local Food Bank.I
The Parish presented their cheque, Sunday, February 17th to David Murray, Director of the Abbotsford Food Bank shown in the photo below.
Image: left to right: former Abbotsford Mayor George Ferguson, A. Douglas MacAdams, QC, David Murray, Director, Abbotsford Food Bank, Rev.Fr. Allen Doerksen, Rev. Art Turnbull, Bishop’s Warden, Carole Keighley
PHOTO: Peter Keighley