"I don't believe in God..."

by the Rev. Ed Hird

an article for the April 2008 Deep Cove Crier

Today’s new atheism has been popularized by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris. Contemporary atheism reminds me of Alexandre Dumas’ book ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’. You may remember Jim Caviezel/ Edmond Dantes’ cry while in Chateau d’If prison: “I don’t believe in God”. Edmond had suffered so deeply and so unfairly for so long that he had given up on the concept of a loving and just God. His ‘cellmate’ Abbe Faria poignantly replied to Edmond: “God believes in you.”

Alexandre Dumas lived through many French revolutions during which belief in God became distinctly out-of-fashion or even dangerous to one’s health. Dumas experienced much disappointment in his life, and was frequently either breaking the heart of a female acquaintance or having his own heart broken. Yet in the midst of many setbacks, Dumas had a fascination with the God question that comes across in his over 250 novels, travel pieces, memoirs, and theatre productions. Best known as author of ‘The Three Musketeers’, ‘The Man with the Iron Mask’, and ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’, Dumas had a remarkable ability to touch deep into people’s souls. As his friend Victor Hugo said after Dumas’ death, Alexandre “fertilizes the soul, the mind, the intelligence; he creates a thirst for reading; he penetrates the human genius and sows seeds in it.”

In the Dumas biography ‘Genius of Life’, we are told about young Dumas’ tragic loss of his father: “Why should I not see (my father) any more?”
“Because God has taken him back”
“...I’m going to heaven”, said young Dumas, “I’m going to kill God who killed my papa.”

Dumas, being an avid reader, learned much sacred history from the Bible that later shaped many of his plays. Dumas encouraged the studying of ‘the bible as a religious, historic and poetic book’. At one point, young Dumas was given funding in a will to go to seminary and become a priest. This overwhelmed him, and he said “I am running away, because I do not want to be a priest.” Receiving his first communion had a profound impact on Dumas: “When the host touched his lips, he became dizzy, burst into sobs, and fainted. It took him three days to recover from this...Dumas would never again approach the communion table, except at the hour of his death.”

Our reactions to suffering and injustice can make or break us, turn us bitter or better. So often we are insensitive to the deeper issues of life until we have personally ‘hit the wall’. Edmond Dantes the Monte Cristo hero recalled that ‘the prayers taught him by his mother discovered in them a hidden meaning hitherto unknown to him. To the happy and prosperous man, prayer is but a meaningless jumble of words until grief comes to explain to the poor wretch the sublime language that is our means of communication with God.”

Edmond Dantes miraculously escaped from prison and found hidden treasure on the Island of Monte Cristo. Using resurrection language, Dumas commented, “When (Edmond) was at the height of his despair, God revealed himself to him through another human being. One day he left his tomb transfigured miraculously.”

But Edmond was consumed by a need for revenge that threatened to destroy his own new freedom. “I must have revenge, Mercedes! For fourteen long years have I suffered, for fourteen years wept and cursed, and now I must avenge myself.” Dantes admitted to Mercedes: “From being a kind and confiding nature, I made myself in to a treacherous and vindictive man...If you ever loved me, don’t rob me of my hate. It is all I have.” She wisely responded, saying, “Let it go Edmond. Let it go.

Edmond’s reappearance after so many years in prison called forth this memorable statement from Mercedes: “Edmond, I know there is a God above, for you still live and I have seen you. I put my trust in him to help me...Unhappy wretch that I am, I doubted God’s goodness...Cowardice was at the root of all my actions.” Edmond responded to her deep repentance by saying: “you have disarmed me by your sorrow...God had need of me and my life was spared.”

At the end of the book, Edmond faces the Christ-like choice of mercy or revenge. He painfully chose mercy which set him free from the root of bitterness that was eating him alive. Mercedes commented: “I repeat once more, Edmond, it is noble, beautiful to forgive as you have done.”

Dumas said in ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ that ‘the wretched and miserable should turn to their Saviour first, yet they do not hope in Him until all other hope is exhausted.’ My prayer for the Seymour/Deep Cove community is that we not totally exhaust ourselves before we finally admit our spiritual need.

The Reverend Ed Hird+
Rector, St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver
Anglican Coalition in Canada
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons

Good Friday Goodbye

Good Friday Goodbye
-an article for the March 2008 Deep Cove Crier

by the Rev. Ed Hird+

What a joy to celebrate twenty years of the existence of the Deep Cove Crier. I remember twenty years ago when Wilf Fawcett of Fawcett Insurance approached me about becoming a columnist for the Deep Cove Crier. Wilf wrote a DCC insurance article for many years before retiring.

I had no idea when I agreed to start that I would be still writing for the Deep Cove Crier twenty years later. As I have mentioned to Bruce Coney the DCC Publisher, my recent award-winning book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’ is a direct fruit of sharpening my skills by month-in, month-in writing for the Seymour/Deep Cove Community. Thank you, Bruce and Gail, for opening this door in my life.

Writing and books have a tremendous influence on all of our lives. Sometimes the most powerful writing we do is when we say ‘Goodbye’. Most eulogies at funerals are an opportunity to say Goodbye, to pay our last regards. Most of us say ‘goodbye’ thousands of times in our lives. Saying goodbye to our loved ones is always the hardest. As most of us are immigrants to Canada within the past number of generations, we know the story of how hard it was for ourselves, our parents or grandparents to leave our homeland and come to this strange land named Canada. My Nana Allen was born in Canada, but she still called England the mother country. She longed deeply for a land that she never saw until she turned 80. When the Irish left Ireland to come to the new world, many of their relatives had a wake, in effect burying them as dead.

Unless we learn to say goodbye from our hearts, we can never move forward in our lives. Many people will never let go. They easily become bitter, discouraged, and even physically ill. Letting go and letting God is not just a slogan. It is a vital key to restoring health in the 21st Century.

Jesus said ‘Blessed are those who mourn/grieve for they shall be comforted.’ Saying goodbye is the heart of genuine, healthy living. The term ‘goodbye’ is an English contraction of the phrase ‘God be with you!’ Why were our ancestors always saying ‘goodbye’ to each other? Because they wanted God to be with them. What better gift can we give each other that the gift of God being with them?

This month, we remember Good Friday and Easter. Jesus had to say goodbye on Good Friday before he could say ‘hello’ on Easter Sunday. Why did Jesus leave his best friends on Good Friday? He left them because he loved them and wanted God to be with them. As Jesus hung on the cross, he said ‘Goodbye’: “Into your hands I commit my spirit’. Jesus knew that unless he let go and surrendered to the cross, there would be no way forward. The resurrection joy of Easter Sunday is a direct result of Jesus saying goodbye on Good Friday. My prayer for you this Easter is the words ‘goodbye’. May you discover this Easter that God is really with you, that you are deeply loved.

The Reverend Ed Hird+
Rector, St. Simon’s North Vancouver
Anglican Coalition in Canada
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons

Greetings from the Windy City

Greetings from the Windy City
An article for the February 2008 Deep Cove Crier
By the Rev Ed Hird+

I recently flew into the Windy City in the middle of a snowstorm, and wondered what I was doing there. Because of mechanical failure, my earlier flight was cancelled and I had to fly to San Francisco instead. Thanks to a sleep mask and ear plugs, I slept wonderfully at 30,000 feet, ending up in Chicago at 6:30am the next morning. My Chicago meetings started immediately at 8:30am that same day!

So why was I in Chicago anyways? I had been invited to take part in a two-day strategy session designed to help Christians and especially Anglicans learn to love each other more. We had Anglican leaders from Canada, various parts of the USA, and England gathering together, praying together, eating together, listening together. Some of us knew each other before. About half of us were total strangers.

We listened carefully to an exciting story about how Anglicans overcame their differences and gathered together on Sept 23rd in the first ever Anglican Awakening. More than 2,000 individuals met at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois to affirm their unity of faith and belief in Christ, and to hear a sermon from The Most Rev. Dr. Peter Akinola, Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria.

“Two thousand years ago Jesus prayed that ‘they all would be one, as we are one,’” Archbishop Akinola began. “Where is that unity? Has God not answered the prayer of His Son?”

Archbishop Akinola commented that Christians today don’t have the unity they desire because they have not been transformed by the power of the Gospel. “You cannot give what you do not have,” Archbishop Akinola affirmed an African saying. “We can’t have unity with one another unless we have unity with God.”

The Midwest Anglican Awakening included 20 participating congregations from a variety of ethnic and denominational backgrounds. The organizing committee was chaired by the Rev. William Beasley, the Midwest AMiA Network leader.

“I was delighted by the spirit of unity displayed in the service today, and I believe we are all more united in purpose than ever, to accomplish the mission God has for us both in sharing the Gospel of Christ and in serving physical needs around the world today,” the Rev. Beasley said.

Before the benediction, Archbishop Akinola strayed from the program to lead an extended time of prayer for healing, teaching the congregation an African prayer song imploring “Let the Spirit of the Lord come down on us.”

“I believe we felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in a powerful way today, and we all were encouraged and empowered to unite together in mission and purpose to reach and serve the global Body of Christ,” William Beasley said.

On Sunday March 2nd at 7pm , we will be having a Pacific Coast Anglican Awakening: first steps to which you are all invited. It will be held at Fraserview MB Church at 11295 Mellis Drive in Richmond. Bishop Bill Murdoch of the Anglican Province of Kenya and Anglican Communion Network Dean for New England will be preaching. The Rev William Beasley, AMiA Midwest Network Leader, will also be taking part. Please join us in celebrating the gift of unity in Jesus Christ.

The Rev. Ed Hird+
Rector, St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver
Anglican Coalition in Canada
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/

TAPS: Life after Death in 2008

http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/cr0801.html
TAPS: Life after Death
an article for the January 2008 Deep Cove Crier

by the Rev. Ed Hird+

As we enter the 2008 New Year, many are wondering about what lies ahead this year. Every new beginning is both a fresh start and a death to that which went before us.

I have discovered that you cannot say ‘yes’ to something new without saying ‘no’ to something else. Sometimes in our frantic culture, we keep adding endless things to our agendas, our lives, and our family. Eventually emotional indigestion sets in. Without healthy boundaries, everything crashes. The joy of life itself disappears.

In reflecting on the 2008 New Year, I was struck by the appropriateness of the bugle song Taps.

“Day is done, gone the sun
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky
All is well, safely rest;
God is nigh.”

What gives us hope for this 2008 New Year, as we have bid farewell to 2007? The Year 2007 is gone, never to be retrieved again, except in our memories. But we can safely rest, for God is nigh. In the uncertainty of the unfolding future, we can say ‘It is well with my soul’ for God is nigh. In the pain of grief, tragedy, and unexpected suffering, we can say that there is hope, because God is nigh.The bugle call was written in 1862 by the Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, an American Civil War general.

Taps also replaced "Tattoo", the French bugle call for "lights out." Within months, Taps was used by both Union and Confederate forces.

The Taps bugler continues:
“Then goodnight, peaceful night;
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright.
God is near, do not fear,
Friend, goodnight.

Taps is a very sad bugle song. Few songs touch our hearts more deeply. That is why it is so appropriate at military funerals. At the 1999 Taps Arlington Ceremony, Chaplain Colonel Brogan said the following: “Lord of our lives, our hope in death, we cannot listen to Taps without our souls stirring. Its plaintive notes are a prayer in music--of hope, of peace, of grief, of rest... Prepare us too, Lord, for our final bugle call when you summon us home! When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and death will be no more."

At the heart of Taps is an assurance that the light of the dawn will shine brightly. Light is always stronger than darkness. Love is stronger than hate. Life is stronger than death.

Taps reminds us that there is life after death. Sometimes we experience smaller deaths like the death of a job, a marriage, or a relationship. Other times we experience the finality of a loved one’s funeral. Taps reminds us that even in great pain and tragedy, “God is near, do not fear’.
Life can be very hard, sometimes heart-breaking. In this 2008 New Year, may you find great comfort that there is life after every kind of death. Jesus on the cross assured that. God is near.

The Reverend Ed Hird
Rector, St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver, BC
Anglican Coalition in Canada
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/

Church Leaders often spend weeks preparing for Christmas service message

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Home+Family/071223/U122308AU.html (CBC News)
http://www.macleans.ca/canada/wire/article.jsp?content=n122354A (Macleans Magazine)
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http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=109619&Itemid=560 (Prince George Citizen)
http://www.canadaeast.com/news/article/165238 (Telegraph Journal)
http://www.cfrb.com/news/14/641051 (CFRB News)
http://www.570news.com/news/national/article.jsp?content=n122354A (570 News)
http://www.eastottawa.ca/article-cp82022032-Church-leaders-often-spend-weeks-preparing-for-Christmas-service-message.html (Orlean Star)
http://www.brandonsun.com/story.php?story_id=82847 (Brandon Sun)
http://www.940news.com/nouvelles.php?cat=23&id=122354 (940 News, Montreal)
http://www.news1130.com/news/national/article.jsp?content=n122354A (1130 News, Vancouver)
http://www.680news.com/news/national/article.jsp?content=n122354A (680 News)
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/canada/story/4097595p-4695838c.html (Winnipeg Free Press)
http://www.mytelus.com/ncp_news/article.en.do?pn=canada&articleID=2843032 (MyTelus, Alberta and BC)
http://www.topix.com/wire/ca/vancouver-bc (Vancouver Wire/Topix: Comprehensive Newsfeed)
http://www.dogpile.com/dogpile/ws/results/News/christmas%20carols/1/411/TopNavigation/Relevance/zoom=off/_iceUrlFlag=7?_IceUrl=true (Dogpile)
http://www.westmountexaminer.com/ (Westmount Examiner, Quebec)
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/newsfeed/?name=Religion (NewsNow, UK)
http://www.dailyheadlines.net/ (Daily Headlines, World Newspapers)
http://news.yahoo.com/rss (Yahoo News)
http://www.q92fm.com/news_full.php?cat=24&id=122382 (Q92 News, Montreal)
http://www.cssasfu.com/en/ (Simon Fraser University Chinese Students and Scholars Association)
http://www.inform.com/related_content/1350686,1 (Inform News Source)
http://www.ezrock.com/news/14/641051 (EZRock Radio)
http://www.torontosun.com/ (Toronto Sun)
http://www.ottawasun.com/ (Ottawa Sun)
http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/ (Calgary Sun)
http://www.westislandchronicle.com/article-cp82022032-Church-leaders-often-spend-weeks-preparing-for-Christmas-service-message.html (West Island Chronicle)
http://www.cjad.com/news/14/641051 (CJAD News)

Church leaders often spend weeks preparing for Christmas service message

Sun, 2007-12-23 21:21.
By: Elianna Lev , THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER - The mall isn't the only place that sees a boost in population over the holiday season.
Churches across the country typically see their attendance skyrocket over Christmas. Many of those attending are casual visitors, the ones who come only during the high holidays of Easter and Jesus' celebrated day of birth.
This fact isn't lost on church leaders, who say they often spend several weeks preparing for a message that will stay with the crowd attending for symbolic purposes.
Rev. Ed Hird with St. Simon's Anglican Church in North Vancouver takes the story of Jesus and tries to make it relevant and accessible to his patrons. He said it's important to remember that "Jesus is the reason for the season," and tries to communicate how his (birth) plays a part in everyone's life.
"I take the message of Jesus'birth and (show) how that could potentially impact all of our lives," he said. "I've seen many people who've turned up at Christmas, and that's been the turning point for them."
For Rev. Bruce Sanguin with the Canadian Memorial United Church in Vancouver, Christmas is the one time when he's not "preaching to the converted." He said he's happy to see people taking the time to attend church, even if it's for a symbolic reason.
"A lot of people come for the tradition of it," he said. "They're coming to hear the old carols and the scripture reading and be in the candlelight and sing Silent Night. All of that is fine with me so it's not a time to preach a theologically heavy kind of sermon."
Darryl Macdonald, minister with Christ Church United of Two Mountains in Montreal, starts preparing for his service in September. By October, he meets with his church's worship committee and in November, they have an idea for themes for Advent and Christmas services. By December, the details are taken care of and hymns are chosen.
"What I tend to do is work mine together so that all four Sundays of Advent and Christmas Eve all tie in with the theme," he said. "That's why I have to start much, much, much earlier."
Hird and Sanguin said they both take several weeks to prepare for their Christmas message. Hird said he even tries to prepare physically, as in the past he's pushed himself so hard that he often became ill.
Now he gets a flu shot, goes to the gym and eats properly in the weeks before Christmas.
For Sanguin, he makes sure he takes the time to relax and think clearly.
"While the rest of the world is speeding up and making all the Christmas preparations, I find it important to slow down and take a countercultural approach," Sanguin said. "Make sure I'm doing the yoga and create a quiet space within where the Christmas story can come alive for me."
Right Rev. Sue Moxley, the bishop of the Anglican diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, said she went on a weeklong retreat to pray and think in silence as she prepared for the Christmas season.
In the weeks since, she's been preaching at holiday-themed services every Sunday, and she'll speak to her congregation in Halifax on Christmas Eve.
Moxley said she wants parishioners to remember that Christmas is not "just an old piece of history," especially if they only make it into the pews once a year for the holiday.
"The point I think is to make the connection that this is a very old story, and we change every year, new things happen to us, so we hear the old story in a different setting each year," she said.
"Out of that, there's always hope that comes out of the story, no matter what kind of situation we're in."

Working Out

http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/cr0509.html

Working Out

an article previously published in the Deep Cove Crier

by the Rev. Ed Hird+

One of the things that I most appreciate about the our local North Vancouver Recreation Commission ‘Play Card’ is that it gives me access to nine weight rooms in 5 different locations.

One of my strongest motivations for going regularly to the gym is that it really helps reduce my intermittent neck pain. It is interesting how often physical aliments have parallels in the spiritual realm. Being stiff-necked can sometimes be both a physical and a spiritual reality. Fifteen years ago while at a renewal conference in Anaheim, the Lord spoke to me about my need to repent over my stiff neck. Rather than make excuses, I decided to agree with the Lord, and be willing to change. God did a deep work in me that I will never forget, teaching me how to be more surrendered to God’s will in my life.

I had no idea how serious the spiritual ‘stiff-necked’ condition was, until I read through the bible, finding nine references to this affliction.

In Exodus 32:9, the Lord said to Moses: “I have seen these people, and they are a stiff-necked people”. One of the main reasons why God made the Moses’ followers wait forty years before entering the Promised Land was the problem of their stiffneckedness (Deuteronomy 9:6) God’s solution in 2 Chronicles 30:8 was “Be not stiff-necked as your fathers were, but rather yield yourselves to the Lord and enter his sanctuary.” Being stiff-necked seems to be a generational condition, as Stephen mentioned in Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked..., you are just like your fathers. You always resist the Holy Spirit.”

My family has physically suffered from stiff necks for generations. That is why we have often turned to physiotherapists, chiropractors, and menthol rub. Regularly going to the gym appeals to the frugal part of myself, because I estimate that I am actually saving money on medical bills by preventative maintenance. By working out regularly and using a neck-stretching machine, I hardly ever have headaches any more, and rarely ever need aspirin or Tylenol.

The Good Book says in 1 Timothy Chapter 4: “Exercise daily in God: no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts at the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today, and forever.” The Bible is pro-exercise, but realizes that physical exercise will only take you so far. That is why the famous YMCA Red Triangle stands for Spirit, Mind, and Body. All three parts needs exercising, not just the physical!

Bishop Tom Wright, a well-known English member of the Windsor Commission, commented: “The last time I made a serious effort to get physically fit, I had a specific purpose in mind. We were about to launch into a complicated move of house, and I knew that I was going to be on my feet all day for a long time, carrying boxes, books, pictures and goodness knows what else. I was going to be climbing ladders and moving furniture, not to mention sorting out a garden. I needed to go into training, and I did. It worked. I really ought to be doing it again now...”

As I and my family have just completed moving locally, I relate to Bishop Tom Wright’s sentiments. I have just finished moving and unpacking what felt like a thousand boxes! If it wasn’t for my years of training at the local gym, I would be stiff necked and aching everywhere. But instead I feel fit and free. But it is not enough to be physically fit, while letting our spiritual life go flabby.

Have you ever thought of the Church as God’s Gymnasium? Would you like God to remove a few kinks in your stiff neck? My prayer for those reading this article is that we would exercise the whole person, in Spirit, Mind, and Body.

The Rev. Ed Hird
Rector, St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver
Anglican Coalition in Canada
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/

RG Letourneau: Model of Generosity

http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/nsnews019.html

RG LeTourneau: Model of Generosity
-an article for the North Shore News ‘Spiritually Speaking’ column

by the Rev. Ed Hird+

One of the most amazing ‘rags to riches’ stories is the life of RG LeTourneau, as told in his biography “Mover of Mountains and Men”. LeTourneau began his career in obscurity in Stockton, California, where his first job was transporting earth to level out farmland. His frustrations with moving dirt drove him to find a better, more efficient way. In 1922 he constructed the first all-welded scraper that was lighter, stronger and less expensive than any other machines.

G. LeTourneau became the greatest obstacle-mover in history, building huge earth-moving machines. During World War II he produced 70% of all the army's earth-moving machinery. He spoke of God as the Chairman of his Board.

As a multi-millionaire, LeTourneau gave 90% of his profit to God's work and kept only 10% for himself. A special friend of Billy Graham, in his early days, LeTourneau designed a portable dome building intended for Graham crusades. He also founded a university that is thriving to this day.
LeTourneau said that the money came in faster than he could give it away. LeTourneau was convinced that he could not out-give God. "I shovel it out,” he would say, “and God shovels it back, but God has a bigger shovel."

Many people see Letourneau as one of the most influential people of the past hundred years. http://www.letu.edu/about_LU/museum/Museum_Online/ .

As the father of the modern earthmoving industry, he was responsible for 299 inventions. These inventions included the bulldozer, scrapers of all sorts, dredgers, portable cranes, rollers, dump wagons, bridge spans, logging equipment, mobile sea platforms for oil exploration, the electric wheel and many others. He introduced into the earthmoving and material handling industry the rubber tire, which today is almost universally accepted. He invented and developed the Electric Wheel. His life's verse was Matthew 6:33: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you."

LeTourneau’s example reminds me that we too can be Mountain Movers. As the Great Physician said in Matthew 17:20, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” RG LeTourneau once said: “You will never know what you can accomplish until you say a great big yes to the Lord.” My prayer for those reading this article is that God may raise up many creative leaders who, like LeTourneau, will be movers of mountains and people.

The Rev. Ed Hird
Rector, St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver
Anglican Coalition in Canada
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/