Christmas Day

Another Christmas Day has passed! Hard top believe it’s the end of December already. I had an interesting Christmas this year – I’m an honorary assistant at St. John’s Anglican in Ancaster, which means “volunteer priest”. It’s great – the rector (David) has graciously allowed me to be part of the ministry team at St. John’s while in between paid positions. The Bishop granted his permission, and officially this started in November. It’s VERY cool – great community, lovely people, etc. So – Christmas at St. John’s – 5 services. Yup, 5. The Thursday morning service is always at 10, and Olive led that one as normal (Olive’s another honorary; she’s a delight of a woman!!)
The first “Christmas Eve” service took place at 4:00, and I was officiating. This service is largely led by the youth of the parish – and WOW what a great time! It’s called “Come to the Manger”, and it takes place in a barn. This year was a horse barn of one of the parishioners, and we had folks sitting on bales of hay while the horses watched on. It was a really neat experience, albeit a hint cold (yes, we wore coats and hats for it  David and I used it as a gift to each other – I was REALLY excited about the service, so he let me do it – and I let him have the time to rest and just be prior to the full choral masses that we had.
We had 2 such services, 7:30 and 10:00. I got to read the gospel for the one service, and it was the prologue to the gospel of John (In the beginning was the Word, etc.). For those who don’t know, that’s one of my favourite passages of scripture. I learned Koine Greek so I could read it in its original. So reading it to a full church on Christmas Day was a warm fuzzy for me. After I had finished, I was thinking “NOW it’s Christmas.” David’s sermon was therefore a little spooky… he started by asking the congregation to think of the traditions that MAKE Christmas happen for us – there are the foods, the movies, the music, etc. – and everyone has their own thing that really means the holiday is here. His point was that the coming of the Christ child is different for each of us, and it’s our traditions and relations (as most of the traditions don’t take place without family there) that makes the Emmanuel moment so profound and unique. It was cool. And, to be honest, standing beside David as he sang the Eucharistic prayer was very cool – this guy is a formally trained vocalist whose talent is downright impressive. (Check out the Three Cantors). He’s also got as warped a sense of humour as I have, so it was just fun to joke around, nibble and chat between services with the choir, spend the entire evening in worship and among friends.
Christmas morning – ah, the blessed day when the clergy are normally so tired we can barely see straight! My puppies let me sleep in this year until the alarm (7:45! Bliss!); and after church I spent the day with some very good friends (pseudo-family), getting home late. All in all, it was a good day.
The weird thing for me this year was calling home. I mean, home home. Between services on the 24th, I called the Cathedral in Winnipeg, my spiritual home, and chatted very briefly with the folks there. That started the homesickness – I really wanted to be at St. John’s Ancaster, but I also really wanted to be at St. John’s Winnipeg. Christmas night, when I called the family in Winnipeg (11:00pm, the intention was for a fast call – 3 hours later…), I had the same homesick feeling. It’s an odd dichotomy – wanting to be in MB for the holiday (and yes, I even checked into the price of flying there for a few days last minute) but also wanting to be fully present here in Hamilton. A month from now I’ll be back home, so I wanted to do justice to my time here. It just felt weird – not right or wrong, but weird.
One of the really cool things about this Christmas was how very good it was – I have a history of not liking Christmas. That’s partially why I throw myself into worship at Christmas – it’s a place of peace and joy and grace –and being part of that is so essential to how I want Christmas to be. So to have had that positive experience extend beyond the boundaries of worship and the sanctuary of the church building was delightful. It was a GOOD day. Often in the simplest of things, we can be surprised by joy. What a gift.

CIDA cuts funding to KAIROS...

UGH!!! See link for details. http://www.kairoscanada.org/en/who-we-are/cida-funding-cuts/
See below for my letter to the government... please write too!

Dear Prime Minister Harper, Minister Oda and Ms. Biggs,

It is with great shock and disappointment that I write to you concerning the matter of the recent unexpected and unexplained cessation of CIDA funds to KAIROS Canada. KAIROS is an agency which represents Christian unity and charity throughout the world, through tireless work abroad and here within Canada.

The 2009-2013 KAIROS proposal to CIDA was carefully developed to integrate well with CIDA’s priorities: specifically those dealing with human rights and environmental sustainability. The proposal was approved at every level of CIDA before being declined, by telephone and without explanation, on November 30.

Especially in such difficult economic times, the work of church-based agencies such as KAIROS is imperative to maintaining and increasing levels of social justice for our brothers and sisters around the globe. In the past, Canada has proven to be a most generous country addressing these global concerns, and the work of KAIROS has been celebrated at ecumenical conferences globally. I attended the World Council of Churches 9^th Assembly in 2006 and was proud to be from a country so dedicated to acting compassionately. This termination of a 35-year relationship between CIDA and KAIROS Canada, especially when the public is being told by the government that the economy is improving, will mean the abrupt end of many life-giving projects and programmes around the globe. I would expect that the result of this will have an extremely negative impact on Canada’s reputation. The credibility of our government when our leaders speak of their commitments to issues such as the Millennium Development Goals and at the UN Conference on Climate Change being held in Copenhagen will be lost, as actions speak louder than words. This action to end CIDA funding to KAIROS Canada is deplorable and goes against that which Mr. Harper’s government is aiming to achieve.

I am a supporter of KAIROS and its mission to the world. I have seen their good works around the world, both in person on my many journeys and through the extensive communications distributed. I have benefitted by using the materials offered by KAIROS in teaching youth (through Scouts Canada and Girl Guides of Canada, as well as in the church) about their responsibilities as global citizens. My passion for justice, inspired by KAIROS work, influences my service in the Naval Reserve. I have contributed articles for KAIROS publications, I am a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada (one of KAIROS’s members); I volunteer with and donate to the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (another KAIROS member). My time, energy, skills and money are given to demonstrate my values; I would urge the government to do the same.

I strenuously recommend that the government and CIDA will reverse this horrific decision. This issue does not reflect one’s faith affiliation; rather it is based in one’s affiliation and commitment to the human race and all of creation. A reversal of the decision to cut CIDA funding to KAIROS would demonstrate to Canada and the world that the government takes its role seriously as a global leader.

Yours, as a fellow Canadian,

Lt(N) The Rev. Laura Marie Piotrowicz