It’s not every day that your Bishop calls and asks that you host the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada! “Oh, and by the way Elizabeth,” she continued, “make certain that whatever you plan has the whole of your “archdeaconry” represented.
The region for which I am canonically responsible is called the Northern region of the Diocese of BC. There are ten parishes in this region from Port Alice/Port Hardy/Port McNeill to Nanoose, and from Tofino to Denman Island. Our parish of St. Mark was to host the region in celebration of Archbishop Linda’s ministry. Unfortunately this meant trying to accommodate people both in the church and in the hall for a light lunch. We were restricted by the fire marshal to 100 guests and this meant that each parish was invited to send 10 people. We managed to fit in more folk from St Mark as the choir members and parish council members were asked to take a leadership role in the event.
In a way, this is my profound apology to the members of the parish who would have liked to attend. The Primate was gracious and appreciative of meeting people from the whole of the northern part of the Diocese, and even managed to meet the members of the Order of the Diocese of BC in this region. The only “Order” member who could not attend was John Dol – so the Primate came with me to visit John and Janet and bring them Home Communion.
During our visit, Archbishop Linda and John Dol figured out that her grandparents and his parents “probably” knew each other in Holland! It’s a small world!
In her remarks over lunch, Archbishop Linda called us to continue to pray for the people around the world who are suffering and in distress because of war that rages around them. Let us join our hearts to continue to pray for Archbishop Linda who will retire in the middle of September of this year, and continue to pray for whoever guides and directs the Anglican Church of Canada in ministry and mission in the coming years.
Bless you all.
Elizabeth