Slideshow image

On the Feast of Pentecost, June 5, 2022, the Parish of Christ Church, Hope had a special addition to their Sunday gathering, a surprise celebration of the 30th anniversary of ordination to the diaconate for their vicar, the Reverend Tim Morgan.

In a June 6 email to Bill Siksay, Executive Assistant to the Bishop's and Executive Archdeacon's office, one of the organizers Lorna Nicol thanked Bill for his role in obtaining a letter of congratulations from Bishop Stephens and went on to say how succesful the surpise party was and that the Reverend Morgan was deeply moved by the kind and caring act of the parish.

Here is Bishop John's letter:

Dear Tim,

It is with great delight that I write this letter to congratulate you on the 30th Anniversary of your Ordination to the Diaconate.

1992 in many ways does not feel all that long ago, but in reality, those thirty years have brought an enormous amount of change. The world feels very different in 2022 and certainly life in the Anglican Church has changed much since then. I am sure that when you were ordained at Christ’s Church Cathedral in Hamilton you had no idea what God had in store for you for the next thirty years.

We knew each other back then, not well, but our paths had crossed on numerous occasions, and we shared some similar experiences in ministry. Who could have guessed that we would both be in the Diocese of New Westminster now?

I am very grateful for your ministry over the past thirty years. You have touched so many lives and deepened the faith of countless people. In the ordination liturgy for a Deacon, these words are read:

You are to make Christ and his redemptive love known, by your word and example, to those among
whom you live and work and worship. You are to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns,
and hopes of the world…. At all times, your life and teaching are to show Christ’s people that in
serving the helpless they are serving Christ himself.

Thank you for your response back in 1992, which was “I believe I am so called.” Thank you for living into these words and committing to follow Christ and inviting others to do the same. Thank you for your pastoral presence, preaching, administering the sacraments, and prayers. Thank you for living with compassion, listening, caring and challenging. Thank you for being an example to many.

I am grateful for your ministry now in the Diocese of New Westminster and at Christ Church, Hope. The Holy Spirit is clearly working through you and the parish as a whole. May God continue to bless, hold and keep you now and always.

Blessings and Peace,

The Right Revd John R. Stephens

Bishop

Here is the email that Rev. Morgan sent to the parish the evening of June 5, 2022:

I want to thank you very much for the wonderful reception today, marking my 30th Anniversary of Ordination to the Diaconate.  It was a complete surprise which moved my heart deeply.  I felt very honoured, and it will be a celebration I will never forget. 

IMAGE

Submitted

Yale
Christ Church, Hope