Following the completion of the opening hymn, Trevor greeted the congregation and although most of the folks seated in the pews already knew what he was about to say he informed those that might not that this would be his “last service as a full-fledged full time priest.” He pointed out that he had been a full time priest since November 30th, 1975. Then it was time for the baptism. Trevor positioned the baptism in the context of this specific occasion when he said “as one ministry ends, another begins.”
Following the baptism of baby Lincoln and the readings it was time for the Gradual Hymn, “This Train is Bound for Glory,” which featured parishioner and pianist Peter Vanderhorst’s nephew Andrew Huggard on the blues harmonica. His musical emulation of an accelerating steam engine set the tone perfectly for a resounding rendition of the well-known spiritual.Between the Gospel , Matthew 16:21-28 and the homily, the accomplished Vancouver jazz singer, Joani Taylor sang a bluesy version of S.S. Wesley’s anthem “Lead Me Lord” accompanied by Peter Vanderhorst.
Energetically pacing backing and forth in front of the chancel entrance without the aid of notes, Trevor preached his last sermon as the Rector of St. Stephen’s, West Vancouver. He began by telling the story of a youth group conference he had attended in his native New Zealand in 1969. At this conference facilitated by a popular “live-wire” priest the plenary were divided in half and separated, with one half asked to focus on and then list the attributes of a good spiritual leader. The other half were asked to focus on and list the attributes of a good Christian. When the flipcharts had been filled and the two groups brought back together, the lists were exactly the same. This was a revelation for the young Trevor who up to that point had always considered priests (spiritual leaders) to be a “different” group, separate from the rest of the faith community. He then went on to apply this observation to each of the three readings offered that morning for Pentecost 12: Exodus 3:1-15; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28. For Trevor the messages in these scriptures are extremely relevant for his last Sunday as a full time priest, and they also contain good counsel for the community of St. Stephen’s as they face this time of transition. These are challenging times for faith communities existing in a society that is becoming more and more secular. “Everyone in every generation has had to make a decision about what we are here for and what we are here for is to - -LOVE. God doesn’t want us to waste our lives but to make the most of them…with God there are no endings.”
Following the homily there was more music, prayers and of course that focal point of worship, the Eucharist. Following the Eucharist and the Blessing, Trevor once again spoke to the community. He thanked the musicians and singers who had led the music in worship and on behalf of himself and his wife Andrea he said a profound and heartfelt thank-you for the generosity and kindness of the parish. He assured them that he and Andrea had read every card more than once and listened to the “voice quilt” of 62 recorded messages “stitched” onto an audio CD that had been presented to them at their retirement party/dinner Friday night, August 29th. He closed by saying “you allowed me to make mistakes, you allowed me to grow…Although our time together has come to an end we need to remember that there are no endings, only new beginnings.” This prompted Peter Vanderhorst to launch into an impromptu rendition of the Parker and Charles classic made popular by Vera Lynn “We’ll Meet Again”. During the singing of the tune the congregation all stood and sang and remained standing for the closing hymn, Trevor’s favourite “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah.”
The Reverend Trevor Fisher has had a remarkable 39 years as a full time priest including of course the five years at St. Stephen’s, West Vancouver. Please join with the Parish of St Stephen’s in prayer that in the next chapter of Trevor’s and Andrea’s ministry that they will be blessed with joy and good health under the sunny Okanagan skies in their new home in Oyama, BC.
(The preceding is an excerpt from the feature article that will be published in the October, 2014 issue of Topic the monthly publication of the Diocese of New Westminster)
Images: Top and homepage, Trevor enjoys the harmonica intro to This Train is Bound for Glory with bass player, Casey Tolhurst behind. Upper right, the Children of the Parish help prepare the Font for the baptism. Middle left, Andrew Huggard plays the intro to “This Train” . Lower right, Joani Taylor prepares to sing Lead Me Lord. Bottom left, Trevor smiles as he listens to a letter of gratitude written by the choir and music director. PHOTOS: Randy Murray.
Below 1, Andrea Fisher holds a heart at the Friday, August 29th, Variety Show and dinner. She was a holding the heart as four parishioners each holding one of the four letters from the word L O V E serenaded her with the Nat King Cole song. When they finished they each gave Andrea a hug and the letter they were holding as a keepsake. Below 2 and 3, the diners enjoy Shepherd’s Pie and Berry Crumble prepared in the kitchens of three parishioners and transported to the Parish Hall. PHOTOS: Charity Reddington