On Newspaper Articles

Back in May, Marty Gervais of the Windsor Star came and interviewed me about the parish of St. Mark’s by-the-Lake. I had no idea when it went to press nearly three months later that it would be focused so much on me. The article in the Windsor Star today is flattering. I was most flattered by what the parishioners who were interviewed offered. There is however, a whole other story to be told. This parish has achieved much of  its success because of the hard work of the laity. It is the baptised who have made the place work so well. I hasten to make one correction to Marty’s article. It centers around my struggle in the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador. I had told Marty that the church was in a very different place there than I was, particularly after spending three years as a student in London in a very Dynamic parish, and that I was uncomfortable with the church hierarchy and I could no longer tolerate it. That was translated to "He had been stationed to a church in Newfoundland where he grew up but quickly discovered he no longer had anything in common with its people." I, in fact, continue to have (and am proud of it) much in common with Newfoundland’s people. Those who know me well, know that it is always a part of conversation with me. I love to talk about the "Holy Land." It is a great part of the fabric of what makes me who I am today. I want to make clear that my beef in NL as well as the ensuing vocational issues that resulted were not all all related to my connectedness to MY Newfoundland people. The issues were with church and officials. I did discover that I no longer had much in common with the church there. In any event, I guess you cannot have it all.

Having said all that I just hope that this article might motivate one or two more people who are in need of a community to come be a part of this dynamic and vibrant church. This church is a gem. There are no so many places that work so hard at being church. We make certain here that church is not just a Sunday Morning reality.

I thank Marty Gervais for taking the time to use his creativity to focus on “the church.” His series this week has been well written and informative. There is always so much in the paper that brings dismay. It is great to read hopeful stories.

Sorry for not blogging the past couple of days … we had some internet problems on this end. Our thanks go to Derek and John Simpson for getting us up and running again. You guys are great.