In the classic movie, The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews, in the guise of Maria Von Trapp, sings that we should “start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.”  With all due respect, when it comes to Advent, quite the opposite is true!  If we want to enter fully into the story of the Christian year – the story that takes us on a journey from Jesus’ birth to life to death to resurrection, his ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit, we must begin at the end.  This is exactly why Advent and our Christian Year begin with the promised future of Jesus returning to make all things new.

It’s kind of a big ask though, this remembering the future.  We know how to remember and commemorate the past, in fact, we are liturgical experts at that!  We know how to worship and pray in the present moment, that’s completely natural.  But commemorating the future? That requires us to know something about the promised future!  Now, I admit, our Advent readings for the first couple of weeks are pretty daunting with the fire, and stars falling from the heavens, and the earth passing away – it’s a cosmic shake-up that can leave us confused at best, terrified at worst. But we must read on and know that this upheaval is leading to the ultimate goal of the re-creation of the heavens and earth and the eternal reign of Jesus who has defeated darkness, sin, and death. We get glimpses of this future in the Hebrew prophets, Jesus speaks of it, and John’s tries his best to describe it the Revelation:

I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “Look! God’s dwelling is here with humankind. He will dwell with them, and they will be his peoples. God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 

(Revelation 21:3-4, CEB)

This is the future we are to remember.  A future with the resurrected Christ at its centre, where the glory of God is the only light needed, and where the nations bring their in their beauty to honour the Creator (Revelation 21: 22-26).  

This future needs to be as real to us as anything that has happened in the past or the present. Some scholars call this “prolepsis” and it is usually defined as anticipation.  But much like our spiritual commemoration is no mere fond remembering of the past, our spiritual anticipation is not a wistful hope for the future.  Rather, anticipation should be understood as drawing the future into the present.  So, we integrate the return of Christ into our lives in the present, though this event has yet to occur in time as we experience it.  We live our lives on the razor thin edge of the present, remembering that the future is actually part of our experience right now, because it describes our hope, our expectations.  And our hope and expectations form and inform what we do in the present.

Remembering the future requires us to live in confident hope. This means we anticipate with certainty the victory of Jesus and his ultimate return to make all things new. We draw that reality into our present. Remembering the future also means that we are not fooled or swayed or taken off track when the world around us seems to be coming apart at the seams. As the Apostle Paul writes, 

“We are under all kinds of pressure, but we are not crushed completely; we are at a loss, but not at our wits’ end; we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are cast down, but not destroyed. . .because we know that the God who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us with Jesus.”

(2 Corinthians 4:8-14 CEB)

This anticipation is more than a fond daydream, and this is where we get to the heart of the matter.  Remembering the future involves our present commitment to living and worshipping in such as way that we reflect the future reality, in the here and now. It’s about actions and attitudes.  As the reality of Christ’s reign on earth in the future becomes infused into our present, it should cause us to live and work and worship in ways that are both contextually meaningful and eternally significant.  

Continued on page 4…

Our Diocese is in our own season of beginnings and endings.  We’ve elected a new bishop and we celebrate and anticipate a new beginning with the 8th Bishop of Brandon, with new vision, new energy, and new ideas. But of course, we have experienced endings as well, de-consecration of buildings, deaths of beloved members, and lay and ordained ministers moving onto various other ministries.  These endings are hard for us, as they require us to shift our ways of being.  We might even question what kind of plan God has for us when we experience these endings or losses. This is exactly when we need to remember the future! Jesus has called us to walk in his ways, to the glory of his name because we know the ultimate future – Jesus has conquered darkness, and sin, and death.  As we seek to live holy and godly lives, we are living in the reality of Christ’s return.  We don’t need to know the day or the hour, knowing that the event will occur is enough to shape our future.  When Peter writes “so, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace” (2 Peter 3:14, MSG), it is as applicable to us today as it was 2000 years ago.   Living holy and godly lives and watching our actions and attitudes makes so much more sense in the here and now if we understand the future that already is.  

So, as we journey into a new season in our Diocese and through this Advent season, take some time to start at the very ending, also a very good place to start.

The post Remembering the Future: A Word from the Archdeacon for Ministry and Training appeared first on The Mustard Seed.

The post Easter Water Gathering appeared first on The Mustard Seed.

In late August, Keith (my husband) and I had the honour of visiting “The Old Post” on Cedar Lake.  This was the traditional community site for the people of the Chemawawin Cree Nation.  Their territory was flooded by Manitoba Hydro in the early 1960’s to make way for the Grand Rapids generating station. About 202,343 hectares of land was flooded, changing the land and the waters and the plant and animal habitat of Cedar Lake forever. The community was relocated in 1964 to the south shore of Cedar Lake – a completely inferior place for traditional and community living due to poor soil and lack of resources.

The Anglican Church established a mission on what is now called “The Old Post” in in the early 20th century.  The church contributed much to the life of the community – social and religious gatherings as well as education. A new church and mission house was built in Easterville – the new site for the Chemawawin community – along with a new graveyard. When the community was relocated, folks still travelled, when they could, to the Church at the Old Post for memorials and services for special occasions. As the church was on a high point, it can still be accessed on what is now an island in the midst of Cedar Lake. The Old Post church was decommissioned, but many still travel to the church to remember their ancestors and to place the funeral bulletins of their loved ones who have recently passed on the altar.

One of the many tragedies of the intentional flooding by Manitoba Hydro is that the community of the Chemawawin lost the burial place of their loved ones.  To make matters even more painful, after the flood, many headstones, bones, and bodies surfaced along the newly expansive lake or washed up near the Grand Rapids dam. After losing their traditional home and way of life, the violation of the resting place of their ancestors was yet another heartbreak.  The community members did what they could to treat the remains that were recovered with dignity and eventually, a memorial was erected telling the story in the words of the community members and listing the names and date of death of those whose burial place was destroyed by the flood.

There are still some inland places where you can find gravestones. We went to a clearing and saw 5 stone grave makers still standing – all children who had died.  As in many communities, the final resting of many were marked with wooden crosses which have long since disintegrated. The official memorial marker goes a long way to honour the burial place of so many and it was powerful to stand and read the hundreds of names etched on the memorial with their descendants.  However, it still takes a 45 minute boat ride to get there, with a skilled driver who knows the lake (of over 500 square miles) and can avoid the deadheads – ever present reminders that this used to be land.

It was a moving experience to be there with some of the community members and descendants of the chief who had to provide leadership for his community during the move.  Our host and guide, Billy Walker, knew the lake well. He worked for many years as a commercial fisherman and was also employed by Hydro every summer to clean up the debris that surfaced as a result of their intentional flooding.  Taking a trip to the Old Post requires a skillful driver, and a confident guide – it’s not a simple by any means! But the community members have adapted and still find ways to reconnect with their lands, much of which is now under water, save a few islands.  Walker’s daughter Maria told us that they grew up camping on various islands in the summer – her eldest sister joked that she was like Mowgli from “The Jungle Book” – completely at home in the bush from 2 years old!  This is the way many Chemawawin member stay connected with Cheemoneek – their word for the lands in and under the waters. 

It was amazing to see the lands and the history, the Old Post church, as well as the memorial.  But equally beautiful was to witness the resilience and love that the Walker family had for the land AND the waters and their generosity in sharing their story and connections with us. 

The post A Trip to “The Old Post” appeared first on The Mustard Seed.

Lepine was the right person to call because in addition to all of her work with the An- glican Church nationally and in the Dio- cese of Brandon, Freda also serves as the vice-president of IPAM-N, the Indigenous People’s Alliance of Manitoba, north. IPAM works primarily with non-status, off- reserve, and Metis people, and Freda recognized that many of these folks needed additional support in the midst of the Omicron wave of the pandemic. So, with her connections and the fact that she is respected in so many communities, Freda was very well positioned to spearhead and manage the distribution of the funding.

So Freda went shopping!

Of course, she had some good friends helping her, particularly Darlene Mulholland, and they purchased $35,000 worth of masks, cleaning supplies, toilet paper and tissues to make up dozens of hygiene hampers for elders, families, and those who needed ex- tra support. Buying such a large amount of goods was only the first challenge though, making sure people in the communities got their hampers was the next task.

Many of us in Manitoba understand what it’s like to measure our travels in hours, not kilometers. But travelling throughout the vast land between communities in north- ern Manitoba, gives you an appreciation of the distances between communities. Freda, Darlene, and others travel led for hours from Winnipeg (where the best deals are to be had, making the PWRDF money stretch as far as possible), to communities spread throughout the north. They travel on high- ways, secondary roads, icy gravel roads and even winter roads across frozen lakes and rivers, to make sure that these communities get the supplies that they need. These trips require careful planning, co-ordination with contacts in the communities, and of course – gas. Lots and lots of gas! In fact, if you look at Freda’s carefully crafted bud- get, 30% of the donated funds have to go to travel expenses. This is another reality in the north, where costs of basic supplies skyrocket the further you go from major centres, primarily due to transport costs. That’s why these hygiene hampers are so welcome for some elders and families who can then use their limited resources on oth- er household needs.

People all across our province are becom- ing more aware of the supply challenges that northern communities face, and many people really want to help. When Freda and Darlene were shopping in Walmart, drag- ging multiple carts overflowing with hy- giene hamper supplies, a woman stopped them to ask what they were buying for. When she heard what the project was, she opened up her wallet and gave them $50! Right there in the aisle of Walmart. She didn’t want a donation receipt and didn’t give her name. She simply felt compelled to give to the folks in the north

Through her network of contacts, Freda connected with clergy and lay leaders from the communities to arrange distribution of the hamper supplies. After dropping off hampers in Grand Rapids, Freda and Dar- lene were off to The Pas where Henry Budd College became a temporary distribution centre for the communities of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Easterville, Cormorant, and Moose Lake. Clergy and lay leaders these communities came into The Pas to load up their vehicles so that they could make sure the hampers got to those who needed them most.

Freda and Darlene still have their work cut out for them – deliveries are planned for the following communities: Wabowden, Thompson, Thicket Portage and Pikwitonei (on the Bay line), Leaf Rapids and Lynn Lake, Brochet and Sherridon.

We have all felt the effects of the pandemic, we have all felt the isolation, and maybe even some of us haven’t been able to get the supplies that we need, when we need them. The generous funding from the PWRDF will go a long way to alleviate some of the pressures felt in remote or isolated communities in northern Manitoba, especially those who don’t have support from bands or ex- tended families. But generous donations are only one side of this story. It takes people like Freda Lepine to make sure the aid gets to where it needs to go. The countless hours shopping, driving, and connecting with community leaders shouldn’t be taken for granted. Freda, Darlene, and the clergy and lay leaders who serve their communities are incredible examples of service in the name of Jesus. We give thanks to God for their generous and tireless service!

The post A Pandemic Shopping Adventure appeared first on The Mustard Seed.