| Review of Charisma! |
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I find it very interesting that the Ven. Grahme Spear, in his first two articles in this series, ended by identifying four streams of Charismatic experience flowing together in “One Intertwined River”. Since I became Rector of St. George’s, Brandon, some twelve years ago, there have been three different parishioners who had visions of water flowing out of the centre of the cross at the front of our church. This “river” flowed down from the cross, out through the pews, and then, on out into the community. In one such vision Pam Levenick, a young person, saw chains around the doors of the church; making it impossible for the river of life giving water to flow out into the community. I should point out that these three visions were given to three different people at three different times, completely independent of one another. This vision of water flowing down from the cross was also confirmed by a painting in a Christmas book that I discovered some years ago at The Lighthouse Bookstore here in Brandon. It shows a man kneeling down in a pew with water flowing down from the centre of the cross, washing down over him with the blessings of God as he is in an attitude of prayer.
Every Sunday at St. George’s we pause, just after our time of Praise and Worship, and ask if anyone has a “prohetic message” or special prayer of intercession that they would like to lift up to the Lord. We wait upon the Lord in silence; and often someone has a word of encouragement or instruction from the Lord. If not, we continue the service with the Collect of the Day. This is an example of the gift of prophecy, as mentioned in I Corinthians 12. This has become a very natural and gentle addition to our worship. It allows God a time-slot in our worship where He has an opportunity to speak to us. This is much like the time of silence after the scripture readings – time for reflection and meditation; asking God what teaching we might receive from these wise words?
These are just two examples of how The Charismatic Renewal has impacted our parish. St. George’s has been part of the Anglican expression of the renewal since the late 60s, when The Revd. Bob Reed was rector. Bob & Barbara were one of the five original couples who felt led to begin The Holy Spirit Conferences in the diocese. My wife Jackie and I were serving in the Swan River Valley at this time.
We were priviledged to attend the first Conference at The Agricultural Centre in Brandon in the early 70s. It was like a breath of spiritual fresh air in our journey of faith! The worship music and singing was so uplifting and glorious – it was truly amazing! Over 300 Christians were worshipping and praying together. The speakers shared how their prayers were being answered and how the bible had suddenly come alive for them. Late one evening, as people sat around the lounge just singing choruses and basking in the love of Christ, I turned to our Lay Reader and said, “Ever been at an Anglican Revival Meeting before?” He said, “No, but it’s kind of neat, isn’t it!”
Actually, the first evening of the conference I was wondering if this charismatic experience was even valid or real. I had just graduated from Seminary the year before and we had heard very little about this new movement. So I decided to look up the B.C.P. lectionary readings for that evening. I was directed to I Corinthians 2:12,13 (NIV), where Paul says, “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.” That was confirmation to me that this teaching was valid and real! This move of God’s Spirit was a genuine spiritual experience; and something to be studied and embraced more and more in my journey of life & faith.
I have personally met several people in other denominations as well as our own, who remember attending the Thursday night Prayer & Praise Meetings at St. George’s in those early days of the Renewal. Many lives were impacted in a very positive way by the Holy Spirit at those gatherings. There were healings, prophecies and many people received a fresh release of God’s Spirit in their lives. After Bob Reed left for Calgary, the Revd. Malcolm Harding came down from Birtle to become the new Rector. He and Marylou had been a vital part of the Renewal Movement in our diocese. Therefore the Renewal continued to blossom and grow under their leadership.
One way in which the Holy Spirit impacted the people was by calling them to a deeper commitment to God, Christ, and his mission to the world. Ed Finch felt called to reach out to the “Boat People” in the 70s; and sponsor these refugees in getting a new home and a new lease on life! After several years of this ministry some 43 people had been sponsored by the parish of St. George’s. Some of these people made a new life and settled in Brandon, but many have moved on to larger centres like Vancouver and Toronto. Many of them are still very appreciative of the help they received; and still keep in touch with parishioners like Bishop Malcolm & Marylou, Ed & Lee Finch, and Ken Vail. Interestingly enough, this ministry of helping refugees has continued to this very day; as St. George’s is still active in sponsoring and assisting refugees in getting settled in their new homeland.
Many of the new refugees are from Nigeria and Ethiopia. The native languages are very different than those of the early refugees but the needs are very much the same – homes, furniture, jobs, and E.S.L. language training.
Another result of the Charismatic Renewal at St. George’s has been a steady number of people feeling called to serve God in ordained ministry. It seems that, as people opened themselves up more and more to the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, several were called into training, and being equipped for, the ordained ministry in Christ’s service. The Revds. Fitz Griffith, Wendy Lywood, Ann & Paul Crossland, and Chris Arthur all started out in this parish. Even now, Marcel Archambault is also completing his training at The College of Emmanuel & St. Chad in Saskatoon. In addition there are also many people who have followed God’s call to serve in various lay ministries – nursing home and shut-in visiting; leading worship in nursing homes and seniors centres; music ministries; and catering and hospitality ministries. We have continually been blessed with many willing servants to share the ministry of Christ with the Rector, Clergy and Bishop.
Many of St. George’s parishioners have been very active in the diocese as well. Cursillo, an ecumenical renewal movement, came to Brandon Diocese from Rupert’s Land Diocese. Several folks from here became active in Cursillo; as a new method of impacting people’s lives, hearts and minds with the love of Christ. This also added a wonderful ecumenical dimension to our Christian experience and outreach! People grew in their appreciation of Prayer Ministry as they prayed fervently for a fresh outpouring of God’s grace in the lives of others. And we got to know many of our aboriginal brothers and sisters from parishes in the north!
And the Healing Ministry continued to flourish under the banner of The International Order of St. Luke the Physician. One of the first stories I heard when I began as rector was a healing that Mr. Bill Endall had experienced – through the anointing with holy oil and the laying on of hands. Bill was diagnosed as having a massive tumour in his abdomen, which was almost assuredly cancerous. He was prayed for by Bishop Malcolm and the O.S.L. group before he had to go for surgery. A massive tumour weighing about one pound was extracted; but it was not attached to anything else! Bill made a complete recovery; and there was much rejoicing! Recently one of our young people was admitted for exploratory surgery because of abdominal pain. I was called to the hospital about five o’clock to pray with her and annoint her for healing. When I got back from Church that evening around ten p.m. there was a message from the girl’s mother to say that the operation had been cancelled – just as the nurse was about to put some relaxer medication into the I.V., prepping her for surgery. The next day she was back at High School! Praise the Lord!
As you can see, the Charis-matic Renewal continues to have its effect on this parish. Many years ago St. George’s decided to work on the basis of a “Faith Budget”. We would trust the Lord to supply all the needs for mission and ministry in the parish. This approach is still working and He has never disappointed us. God has always been faithful in providing the financial resources. We are able to help support many outreach ministries today in addition to our own internal ministry needs. We are truly blessed with the Grace of God and His Holy Spirit! Currently we are celebrating our 100th Anniversary; and have embarked on a Parish Visioning Process for the next five to ten years. We pray that, as we look back in thanksgiving, we may also look ahead with the vision, purpose and hope of God,Christ and the Holy Spirit for more opportunities for mission and ministry in the future. Empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, we have truly learned that “All things are possible with God.” Alleluia!