The Reverend William Pike and his brother, the Venerable Andrew Pike were somewhat perplexed that there had been no diocesan wide event to commemorate the retirement of their friend and colleague the former Executive Archdeacon of the Diocese of New Westminster, former Archdeacon of Vancouver, former rector of St. Philip, Dunbar and St. Augustine, Maropole, the Venerable Ronald Harrison. Ron had retired after almost 42 years in ministry, December 31st, 2012.
They energetically took on the task of organizing a special night for Ron and decided that it would be fitting to hold a potluck dinner and testimonial at St. Philip, Dunbar. The Pike brothers received very positive response from St. Philip’s Parish Administrator, Ann Richards and likewise from the rector, the Venerable John Stephens current Archdeacon of Vancouver. The date was set for Thursday, February 28th, 2013.Invitations went out through the diocesan clergy and parish mail systems with the result, a crowd of over 100 people gathered at St. Philip’s for a very special occasion, an informal tribute to Ron.
The evening began with some drinks, appetizers and conversation in the friendly confines of St. Philip’s Fireside Room. Throughout that day and evening, William and Mary Pike , Andrew and Judith Pike worked with the St. Philip Hospitality Group to put on a first class event.
Following a delicious dinner in the St. Philip Gymnasium/Hall it was time for a variety of speakers to take to the microphone. Co-organizer William Pike was first to speak. After giving some background relating to how the evening came to be, he sincerely thanked the hosts, the St. Philip’s community and went on to read a list of regrets and congratulatory emails written by folks who were unable to attend.
The first guest speaker was the Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster, the Right Reverend Michael Ingham who began by relating the events that took place 11 years earlier when he invited Ron to lunch to speak with him about the Executive Archdeacon position in the Bishop’s office. Bishop Michael said that Ron was really quite incredulous, he kept saying that he was “the Rector of St. Philip, Dunbar” in a tone that communicated the message “I have a great ministry position why would I want to leave?”
But he did take the job. Bishop Michael shared with the audience that he felt that the atmosphere at St. Philip’s was very cold toward him for quite some time afterward until they had warmed up to their current incumbent, the Ven. John Stephens. The Bishop characterized Ron’s ministry style during his tenure in the Bishop’s office as “pastoral kindness and a spine of steel.” It was an extremely dynamic and stressful time in the Bishop’s office and he closed with these words, “We faced extraordinary challenges over the past 10 years and there couldn’t have been a better team assembled to work towards an open and inclusive church and Ron was key to that success.” He closed by saying that he’d just received a call from the Archbishop and Ron would be happy to know that the dual parishes of Spuzzum and Horsefly had just become available and that Ron could expect a recommendation.
The Bishop was followed by a succession of speakers sharing memories of their experiences with Ron. Andrew Pike spoke about the many times they had been roommates at clergy conferences where Ron’s proclivity to keeping military order in both his surroundings and his sleeping and personal preparation routines could prove difficult for a less organized individual. Ron’s colleague at the Synod Office, Business Administrator for the Diocese, Rob Dickson focused his remarks on Ron’s need to immediately respond to people who have contacted him with a question or a need for his assistance. Rob said that his purchase of a BlackBerry smartphone a number of years ago was “like giving crack to an addict.” Now that he had the ability to be in touch 24/7 Ron would constantly have to excuse himself to answer messages immediately. According to Rob “there was always a red light blinking in his pocket.”
The Venerable Stephen Rowe said that he always remembered the words of a friend of his who had recently been appointed Archdeacon, the newly collated Archdeacon said, “the worst thing about being an Archdeacon is that you can’t ask the Archdeacon about what to do.” Stephen went on to say “But in our case we could always ask Ron and Ron would have the answers and his answers were always well thought-out and extremely helpful.”
After several more testimonials including an hilarious story by the Reverend Marilyn Hames concerning a trip that she and Ron took to a mining site, it was time for the Venerable John Stephens,
Archdeacon of Vancouver, Rector of St. Philip, Dunbar to take the microphone and he wasted no time in inviting Ron and his wife Sandy to come up to the front where he presented them with a gift. Prior to the giving of the gift John let the assembled group know that he “is delighted that Ron is moving on.” First of all he succeeded Ron as rector of St. Philip’s and he had to hear over and over again all about “how Ron used to do things” and then he was appointed Archdeacon of Vancouver a position formerly held by Ron and again he had to hear all about how Ron used to do things and quite frankly he has had enough and is delighted Ron has retired. This tirade was met with a great deal of laughter.
Then it was Ron’s turn to speak and with Sandy at his side he sincerely thanked everyone who had spoken and who had contributed to the production of the evening’s event. He reflected on his almost 42 years of ministry and assured everyone that he had thoroughly enjoyed his calling and his three principal appointments: Rector of St. Augustine and St. Philip and Executive Archdeacon of the Diocese of New Westminster and that he was grateful to have served God’s Mission. Then it was time to cut and serve the delicious cake baked, iced and decorated by Mary Pike. The words on the cake offered a message of hope for a wonderful retirement, “Fair Winds and Following Seas.”
Images: Top, the more than 100 guests gather for dinner. Upper left and homepage, "Colleagues since 1971" the Venerable Ronald Harrison and the Venerable Andrew Pike. Middle left, Bishop Michael was very funny in his kindly roast of Ron. Middle right, the Reverend Marilyn Hames told a very funny story about Ron at a mining site (Ask her to share it with you if you have a chance). Lower middle, the assembled group are laughing enthusiastically at Marilyn's story. Lower right, Ron and the Venerable John Stephens. Below, Sandy keeps the plate steady as Ron cuts the cake.