The newsleTTer of THE CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

MonTreal, Quebec

june 2015

Tony Whitehead, senior ediTor Kieran Wilson & Roland Hui, assisTanT ediTors

Carolyn Roper, publicaTion design; Brian Morgan, cover

The Evangelist is published by

The Church of St. John the Evangelist 137 President Kennedy Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, h2X 3p6

redroof.ca • facebook.com/redroof.ca • office@redroof.ca • 514-288-4428The Reverend Keith A. Schmidt, recTor

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EDITORIAL

Last Thursday I saw the finest Opera Performance ever. It was the BOP presentation of Benjamin Britten’s “Burning Fiery Furnace”.

This is the retelling of the Parable of Nebuchadnezzar and three Israelites, Ananias, Misael and Asarias who, urged by the King’s Astrologer, were thrown into a furnace for refusal to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s god’s image, a marvellous papier maché towering gold statue. God saves them from death, and a voice of an Angel joins the Israelites in a “Benedicite”.

If Nebuchadnezzar reigned in Canada today, he would have put the Astrologer into the Burning Fiery Furnace and embraced the Israelites. However since he had cut the fund-ing, none of the furnaces worked.

Tony Whitehead

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Regular Services at St John’s:SUNDAYS

Low Mass: 8:30 a.m. Matins: 9:45 a.m. High Mass: 10:30 a.m.

WEEKDAYSMonday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 5:45 p.m. / Wednesdays: 7:30 & 9:30 a.m. / Saturdays: noon

Church of St John the Evangelist : 137 President Kennedy, Montreal, Quebec. H2X 3P6Rector : The Rev’d Keith Schmidt

Director of the Music : Federico Andreoni Church Office : 514 288-4428 e-mail : evangelist@redroof.ca website : www.redroof.ca

“The Evangelist”

Vol. 14, No. 3

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fROm ThE REcTORWith the Faith of Peter and the Doubt of Thomas

Dear Parishioners and Friends:

It is never easy being a member of a minority, be it ethnic, racial, linguistic, or theological. There seems to be something in the human spirit which desires a not entirely healthy conformity. Sceptics and doubters may be welcome in a university class, but rarely anywhere else, and even there it is probably safer to agree with the instructor on the examination paper.

As Anglo-Catholics in the Canadian Church we are well aware of our minority status. Undoubted-ly there are some among us, but by no means all, who are not entirely comfortable with the idea of a female Bishop, let alone an actual one as our Dio-cesan Chief Pastor. Yet that is, or will be shortly, our reality. It is not something we can change. St Ambrose is recorded as saying that God did not save his people by argument, which may not be a ringing endorsement for Synodical Governance. Theologians have spent Centuries trying to prove the existence of God, an argument interesting enough, but with which the Bible seems rather unconcerned. Few are the Prophets who do not experience at some point in their lives the seem-ing deafness of God. Yet if the Biblical narrative

tells us anything, the story of Abraham, Moses, Job, Hannah, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Paul, Peter, and Thomas, it is that only in wrestling with our relationship with God, fully and honestly and in the abundance of Love and Grace, that we can hope to discern God’s purposes for our Discipleship. Do we fully understand? No or at least not yet. Are we at times filled with angst, doubt, even confu-sion? Possibly, yet we also have these words from Christ in St John’s gospel: “The Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Let us pray for Mary, our Bishop-elect that she may be a faithful chief Pastor; a worthy successor to the Apostles, and that she may both by word and deed serve God in this office to the glory of his holy name and the edifying and well governing of his church.

Fr Keith +

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Dean Irwin-Gibson was ordained Deacon by Bishop Reginald Hollis in 1981 and Priest in 1982 at Christ Church Cathedral. She served her curacy in the Parish of Vaudreil (1981-84) and was then Rector of Dunham Frelighsburg (1984-1991), Rector of Holy Trinity in Ste-Agathe (1984-2009) and also served as Archdeacon of St Andrew’s (the Laurentians). She became Dean and Rector of St George’s Kingston in 2009. She is a graduate of McGill University and received an MBA from UQAM in 2005.

Welcome to The Rev’d Alain Brosseau who has been appointed Associate Priest to St John’s. Father Brosseau was ordained Deacon in 2013 and Priest in 2014 and served his curacy at St George’s Ste-Anne de Bellevue. He has a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) and a Master’s of Divinity from the University of Toronto, and an MBA from Dalhousie. While in Toronto he was a member of St Thomas’s, Huron Street. We look forward to getting to know him more fully. He will officially join us on July 1.

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SummER SOLSTIcE:

chRISTIAn AnD PAgAn cELEbRATIOnS

Geoffrey McLarney

The summer solstice is one of those celebrations which long predates Christianity, but which the Church has “baptized” in the liturgical year. To contemporary Neo-pagans, it is known as Litha. Its Vigil is still “bonfire night,” a custom of Pagan origin which later became an occasion for the Church’s blessing and continues to be observed in the wider Secular Society of Québec today. Just as we celebrate the breaking out of the Light of the World near the Winter Solstice, Christians have seen Theological significance in remembering the Forerunner just as the days are at their longest, an echo of his prophecy that “He [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease.”

St John the Baptist is exceptional as the only Saint apart from Our Lady who is commemorated on the day of his birth. From ancient

times, the Church has commemorated the dies natalis of a Saint on his or her “heavenly birthday” (usually through martyrdom). Our Lady and St John the Baptist are commemorated not only on their respective August feasts of Dormition and Decollation, but on their “earthly” birthdays (the Nativity of the Virgin is September 8: in the Anglican Church of Canada it is the Principal Feast Day for the Sisters of St John the Divine). In the Eastern Churches, there is even a Feast of the “Conception of the Forerunner” on 23 September, com-memorating his Conception in the womb of St Elizabeth.

Just as Lady Day (the Annunciation) gives us a Little Christmas in Lent, the Nativity of St John the Baptist gives us a glimpse of Ad-vent in the Summer. We sing the same Hymns of preparation as in Advent, like “There’s a voice in the wilderness”; “Comfort, comfort

ye”; and “On Jordan’s Bank”. At my Anglican Summer Camp (which rented a Baptist-owned facility), this last was much loved in a parody form:

On Jordan’s Bank, the Baptists cry If I were Baptist, so would I They drink no gin, they have no fun: I’m glad that I’m an Anglican!

Solstice - cont’d p. 8

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A fond farewell to The Rev’d canon Dr John SimonsOn May 19, St John the Evangelist and the Montreal Diocesan Theological College joined together to celebrate the good fortune we have shared in the ministry of Father John Simons. He is retiring and leaving Montreal for Sackville, New Brunswick, after twenty-four years as Principal of Diocesan College and an Honorary Assistant at St John’s.

A late-afternoon mass in thanksgiving for Fr Simons’ leadership and ministry featured favourite hymns and a sermon delivered by The Rt Rev’d Dennis Drainville of Quebec. While two bishops, our

rector and an altar full of servers conducted the service, Father Simons himself sat with his wife Catherine in the congregation, on this occasion allowed to experience the beauty of our church’s music and liturgy as a partaker,

Fr Simons with MDTC alumni

not a leader.About a hundred friends and colleagues gathered afterward in the parish hall, decor-ated with banners and bunting made of artfully repurposed Diocesan College newsletters. Dinner was followed by testimonials offered by the rector and parishioners of St John’s, Dio-cesan College faculty, staff and alumni, and a few connected with both the college and the parish - Dr. Tony Whitehead, a parishioner and former Chairman of the Board of the Montreal School of Theol-ogy, and Dr Richard Cawley, Assistant Priest at St. John’s and long-time Board member of the college. Bishops Dennis Drainville and Barry Clarke spoke as well, and The Ven. Bruce Myers (college alumnus) read a testimonial letter from the Primate, The Rt Rev’d Fred Hiltz.After hearing from his friends and admirers and receiving several rounds of applause, Fr Simons took to the floor and delivered a funny and touching address, his retirement speech reflecting the humour, grace and humility that we have been blessed to know in Fr Simons for so many years. The parish thanks you, John, for your presence among us. ❖

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(l to r) The Rev’d Richard Cawley, and Dr Tony Whitehead

Catherine and John Simons, Bishop Dennis Drainville

Head Table: Fr Keith, Bishop Barry Clark, Catherine and John, Bishop Dennis Drainville and Karen Egan; standing behind Catherine and John is Beth Reed

Festive dinner in the Parish Hall

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The Rector and Wardens:Church of St John the Evangelist 137 av. du Président KennedyMontréal, (Québec)H2 X 3P6

Dear friends,

Please convey my thanks to everyone who contributed to the festive events on May 19 marking my retirement from the Montreal Diocesan Theological College and the imminent end of my association with the Church of St John the Evangelist.

I am especially grateful that the college requested, and you agreed, to celebrate a solemn mass of thanksgiving for the occasion. For more than twenty years, in good times as well as in times of grief, the ministries of choir, clergy, and acolytes at St John’s have quite literally kept my spirit open to the mystery of God’s grace. And your influence has not only been in the formal setting of the church’s worship. It has been a great privilege to share conversation at coffee hour, in the bible study, in seasonal programs in the parish hall, and in other contests, with the faithful and beautiful individuals who make this church such an interesting community. I will always remember you with deep affection.

I do hope to visit from time to time, so this letter is an expression of au revoir as much as it is of adieu.

May God continue to raise the red roof!

Yours truly, in Christ,

JohnJohn Simons

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RED ROOf cOmmunITy muSIc : A SPAcE fOR fRIEnDShIP AnD SPIRITuALITy

Federico AndreoniIn 2014, under the Red Roof shared by St. Michael’s Mission and the Church of St John the Evangelist, the Music Programme and the Outreach Committee at St. John’s created Red Roof Community Music, an initiative for the creation of a Spiritual and Meditative space in the heart of Montreal’s Quartier des spectacles. Red Roof Community Music, originally conceived to provide a series of free therapeutic music sessions for the clients of St. Michael’s Mission, has been grow-ing to include the following projects:

1) Continuation of the programme of Therapeutic Music that began in 2014 at St Michael’s Mission, facilitated by Hannah Roberts Brockow, and found to be very successful in terms of its benefits to the clients of the Mission.

2) Continuation of a successful Art Therapy Programme (predating the Therapeutic Music Pro-gramme) sustained for several years by one very committed volunteer, Mary Lennon, who took on the job of supplying and facilitating the weekly Sessions.

3) A new Yoga programme. Many Anglican and Episcopal Churches in Canada and the United States are offering Yoga. We would like to begin offering monthly classes in Hatha Yoga (physical postures) and different types of Christian Meditation (Mandalas, Prayer Beads, Hesychasm and Icon Gazing, to name a few). The classes would include live contemplative music. These classes would be open to all—free to Mission clients and by donation to everyone else. Hatha yoga directly addresses deep, but largely unmet needs of some mission clients. It provides another avenue of Stress Relief, Spiritual Engagement, and an opportunity for Psychological rest and healing; it also allows a new possibility of recognizing and relieving physical problems that can result from, and are often buried under, issues of hygiene, hunger, and stress. Instructors for this programme will have specialized training in Therapeutic Yoga for trauma survivors, and Iyengar-style solid blocks and straps will be purchased to make postures available to all people taking part. Many adults between 18 and 40 practice Hatha Yoga weekly or more frequently, and we would like to reach out to this segment of the population while offering parishioners and members of the Community the chance to engage in the discipline for the many benefits it could offer them physically, mentally and spiritually.

4) A new World Music programme. St John the Evangelist has a reputation for offering beauti-ful Church Music in the Western tradition in its services. Our parishioners consistently cite Music as one of the reasons they choose to attend St John’s, and it is the reason why our Parish connects so deeply with this project to ensure that the transcendent experience of music is available for clients of St Michael’s Mission. St John’s also has a long history as a musical community builder and is strategically located within the Quartier des spectacles. We wish to introduce Spiritual

Red Roof Music - cont’d p. 10

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Music of other traditions into our services. We believe that offering these styles of Contem-plative Music occasionally to complement the usual service music will be a wonderful way to enrich the musical experience of our parishioners, and engage those in our parish and the wider community who do not connect as readily to the styles of Church Music they most often hear. We have also seen that children in particular and less experienced musicians enjoy experimenting with the very accessible instruments used in this type of music—exactly the reason they work well in a Therapeutic setting. We want St John’s parishioners to have insight into what is going on “downstairs” in the project in the Mission, through bringing it “upstairs” into the Church—not just in passing or as an aside, but into the heart of the St John’s Communal Life and Worship.

Red Roof Community Music is generously supported by the Anglican Diocese of Montreal with a GUM grant totaling $6,000; another $5000 is currently being raised. For this reason, and to celebrate its first year of activity, the Red Roof Community Music held a Fundraiser on May 31st, 2015, featuring Music Performances, Artwork and Poetry by the clients of St Michael’s Mission.

Please join us in building the future of Red Roof Community Music as a sustainable and thriv-ing Spiritual space in Montreal.

You can help by participating in and promoting our activities, and by donating through our website (www.redroof.ca > Red Roof Community Music > DonateNow button) or our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/redroofcommunitymusic), which highlights news, audio, videos and articles about our projects. ❖

Hannah Roberts Brockow with the “Sing-ing Bowl”

Aura West on the trumpet - she is also a member of the Choir

Michel Pilon taking his turn

♫ ♪ ♫

Red Roof Music - cont’d from p. 9

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The date of today’s Feast caused one of the changes in the Roman and Anglican Kalendars in the late 20th C. The removal of the Feast of the Visitation from July 2 to May 31 was justified on the grounds that it made sense for the Visitation to take place between the Annunciation and the Nativity of St John the Baptist. The Office Hymn for Vespers of St John, Ut queant laxis, is note-worthy because it gave the notes of the solfège scale their names. The first syllables of its lines, which are on ascending notes, were Ut re mi fa so la si (“S.I.” for “Sancte Ioannes”). Eventually “ut” was replaced with “Do,” making Rodgers and Hammerstein’s job easier.

In our Prayer Book of Elizabeth II, St John the Baptist is patron of Canada. July 1, which always falls the same day of the week as June 24, is splendidly titled “the Octave Day of St John the Baptist: Dominion Day.” There are two sets of Propers, as well as an additional collect for Canada. The second Proper is also the one used on occasions of National Thanksgiving, such as Accession Day (currently 6 February). The Beheading of St John the Baptist on 29 August has its own Collect, but uses the Epistle and Gospel of his Nativity.

In Québec of course June 24 has always been a day for Parades and Processions, and is now the official Fête Nationale. Bonfires are celebrated here as in many European countries. Con-rad Noel, the Anglo-Catholic Socialist Vicar of Thaxted and founder of the “Catholic Crusade”, stirred controversy when he led the Outdoor Procession and Benediction of the Blessed Sacra-ment at a Midsummer Service during the Octave. The Notice of the Service in the Church Times invited “all who wish to join in the Procession of the Divine Outlaw and to receive His blessing to encourage them in Battle. Mere onlookers are not welcomed.” The procession provoked a Riot, as Army Officers guarded it from violent villagers.

The Nativity of St John draws the Festal Season of “Processiontide” to a close, and encourages us in our resolve to heed the call to “turn again and believe the good news” through the remainder of ordinary time, until Advent comes and we hear the call anew for another year. ❖

Solstice - cont’d from p. 5

The newsleTTer of THE CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

MonTreal, Quebec

june 2015

Tony Whitehead, senior ediTor Kieran Wilson & Roland Hui, assisTanT ediTors

Carolyn Roper, publicaTion design; Brian Morgan, cover

The Evangelist is published by

The Church of St. John the Evangelist 137 President Kennedy Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, h2X 3p6

redroof.ca • facebook.com/redroof.ca • office@redroof.ca • 514-288-4428The Reverend Keith A. Schmidt, recTor