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Views from the ARC
The title of our committee is too delicious to be able to refrain from punning, and as you begin to follow the short articles in this column, you will quickly to see that we are all, in fact, in the same boat.
In the next several weeks, we will look at some of the issues surrounding possible renovations at our church, from dire necessities - about which we can all agree, through problems that plague the various ministries, to our various wish lists.
Is it just another coincidence that at a recent congregational meeting our Rector, Garth, talked about the use of our talents - the treasures with which we have been entrusted, specifically, this magnificent heritage called St. John's Anglican Church; then, this past Sunday morning our Associate Priest, Sharon, shared thoughts on the parable of the talents? God appears to have a way of directing our thoughts, and we should be open to the quiet words that come to us at all hours of the day and night.
There is no doubt that we have inherited a wonderful treasure, in the form of a house of worship, meeting place, source of strength and inspiration for countless people, so what are we to do with it? The first thing that occurs to me, is that we need to fall on our knees and be thankful for what we have. Then perhaps we should be prayerful in our approach to change, asking not - what would I do, but what would God have me do.
These articles have, through necessity, to be brief, so let us begin our sharing of "views from the ARC" by opening our hearts to the will of God, and listening to his words to us, as spoken through the Gospel and through our friends.
If you missed Garth's excellent presentation "What Does Our Building Say?" given to the Church Architecture Seminar on November 2, you may wish to read it on the St John's web site www.cyberus.ca/~stjohns [see the above link] or in hard copy available at the entrance to the church. Thanks to David Bewley, our parish webspinner, all of ARC's reports to the parish can now be found on a new set of web pages accessed from the above address. This site will be updated regularly.
Views from the ARC
1 December 2002
Now that we are beginning to open our hearts to God's will for us, perhaps we could take a look at what we have. Just as Noah must have checked for leaks, we should begin to do an evaluation of the state of our ship, not only the worship space, but all the ancillary spaces and facilities. St John's is a building many of us come to only once a week, on Sundays; however, you don't have to attend church here for very long, before you realize that this is an incredibly dynamic parish. Our church is not simply a place of worship, but also a gathering place where socially minded people, directed by the Gospel, meet to find ways to alleviate the difficulties of their fellow men and women. If you visit St John's during the week, you will find it to be a hive of activity. You have only to see Garth's or Sharon's weekly schedule, to know that they and other members of staff are here many evenings of the week, in order to cover the needs of the community.
Could you imagine working at St John's on a regular basis, either as a member of staff or as a volunteer? How does it compare with your place of work? Is it bright and cheery, welcoming, heated and cooled adequately, accessible, safe? Future views from the ARC will include the experience of those who DO work at St John's; these are the people who are working for and with us. Can we make their working environment more conducive to their ministries, more like our own? I'm sure you will agree that we have a wonderful group of people looking after us, so how can we further enable them?
If you have time, perhaps you could drop in during the week, to see what's going on. Or better still, poke your head into the various offices and other rooms _ the basement!! _ the washrooms!!! - to see what they are really like.
If we regard our church in the same way we do our own homes, surely we will want it to have the features of comfort, cleanliness, efficiency, ease of access, security, etc. that we value.
Views from the ARC
8 December 2002
Last Sunday's Gospel, sermon and intercessions were filled with references to "light" and "enlightenment". Whom do we seek to enlighten, in addition to ourselves? Surely, it's our children and those seeking to lead a Christian life. Quite naturally, that leads us to Christian education, another vital ministry at St John's.
Through the leadership of Wanda Dillabough, we are provided with a rich variety of occasions on which we can explore our faith and its relationship to our daily lives. However, as is the case with many ministries at St John's, space and storage are at a premium. Wanda's office is about as far removed from all meetings as is humanly possible; in addition, storage areas for her ministry are spread throughout the building.
On a recent visit to the Sunday school classrooms, it was amazing to note how our teachers are able to cope in a variety of challenging environments. One group was working in the Burke Room, which has to be set up and cleared of material every Sunday (clean-up happens during the second half of the service, so the room can be ready for coffee hour). Another group was at a table in The Well, lost in the cavernous space built to accommodate hundreds. Yet another group was in a room with very small windows, outside the furnace room. The last group was in a similar room, but this time inside the furnace area. All the groups seemed to be happy and functioning adequately; however, not one group appeared to be in a space designed for educational purposes. Worst of all was the group inside the furnace area, beyond a large metal door with a notice clearly marked on it saying, "This is a fire door and must be closed at all times." What must new parents think, when first shown the location of some of their children's Sunday school classes!?
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have a series of rooms specifically designed for meetings, and adequately accommodating the needs of our children and their teachers. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could find a way to "free the captives (read - children) from prison" (read - basement).
During this next week, perhaps we might reflect on one of Sunday's intercessions, which said, "make clear our sight, for what is to come."
Views from the ARC
15 December 2002
Last Sunday the Bishop's sermon focussed on "barrier-free access for our God ... the need to remove barriers in individuals and systems." The lessons spoke of making the rough places plain ... the crooked straight. What more appropriate words could we hear, when we are in the process of thinking about ways of making our church and our God accessible to all, in both figurative and literal senses.
How can we, to quote the Bishop, "help set people free from the things that bind them" in a literal sense. Most of us are lucky that we have never had to contend with a wheelchair - going up and down sidewalks, over irregular pavements, trying to find access to buildings designed only for people who can walk. Perhaps you had to deal with crutches once, but can you imagine trying to get around our church in a wheelchair? It is possible, but not easy. On the other hand you may simply be someone whose knees don't work as well as they used to, or whose eyesight is less keen.
Given the diverse nature of our congregation, we have people with all sorts of physical disabilities, and if we are lucky enough to be totally healthy at the moment, who of us can say for certain that we will not be disabled at some point in the future? If you have ever broken a limb, you may have encountered some of the difficulties others face day by day. Things that seemed simple, suddenly become mountainous obstacles, and we may not even be able to surmount them unassisted. One's choices are definitely limited. For instance, if you were in a wheelchair, you could no longer pick and choose where you sat in the nave.
St John's is all 'up stairs and down stairs'; there are stairs everywhere you turn. Imagine yourself arriving at the church for the first time, in a wheelchair, with thoughts of entering by the Somerset Street door - forget it! What about the parking lot door? Forget it! The front door on Elgin? No way! The ramp? Okay, but if the gate is locked, you have to wait for someone to answer the bell! What about joining the choir - what, rehearsals on the second floor?! Then there is dealing with the washrooms, which are definitely not adequate for people with disabilities; and so the litany of difficulties continues.
If we are truly to be a welcoming church, this severely limited accessibility has to be addressed. As the Bishop said, "now is the time to set people free from the things that bind them." Let us pray for a way to make our church truly accessible in every sense of the word.
Views from the ARC
19 January 2003
When your knees begin to quake, that's the time to fall on them! Prayer is a fundamental ministry at St John's. Could you imagine attending church on Sundays and not devoting a substantial part of the service to prayer? Most of us have so many people to commend to God's care, so much to be grateful for, and such a great need for God's comfort and guidance in our daily lives, that prayer is the natural vehicle for this expression.
Those who are accustomed to gathering their prayers into one enormous litany on Sunday mornings may not be aware of all the praying that goes on throughout the week, most often led by our coordinator of Prayer Ministries. The primary times for group prayer activities at St John's, other than Sundays, are: Tuesday evenings, Thursday mornings, Friday mornings, and occasional special services.
The obvious place for prayer is the Nave or Memorial Chapel, and most group prayers are said in these locations. However, for very small groups, or individuals, the church lacks a place set apart, a place uninterrupted by the weekly traffic of parishioners. It can be rather daunting for a visitor, or even a parishioner, to sit alone in the vast cavern of the Nave or in the chapel. As important as the chapel is, it lacks privacy and a sense of intimacy.
When visiting the great cathedrals of Europe, one is often struck by the multitude of chapels devoted to one saint or another, and even Episcopal cathedrals have a chapel reserved for devotion to the Virgin Mary. We don't need a multitude of chapels, whereas a small intimate space totally reserved for private prayer and meditation (rather than adaptable to meetings) might serve to encourage people to take more time for prayer. Perhaps we could even think about a wayside chapel available to the host of commuters and visitors passing up and down Elgin Street, for people of all faiths seeking a moment with God.
Let us find a special place where all God's faithful people can seek refuge and comfort in the midst of this busy and hectic world.
Views from the ARC
26 January 2003
One of the most significant ministries offered at St John's by members of our community, supported by the Diocese of Ottawa and the City of Ottawa is The Well / La Source. This ministry serves women who for one reason or another are in need of assistance, be it physical, emotional, psychological or financial, or who may simply be seeking companionship. In the course of a week women, sometimes with their children, come for breakfast or lunch, then get involved in various educational or simply pleasurable activities.
The program has grown considerably since its beginnings, and the present facilities, in our basement, are woefully inadequate for serving those in need of them. A quick inspection of the washrooms in the basement will give a clear indication of the level of deterioration. There is one washer and dryer, in a passageway, contravening city regulations. The room nearest Elgin Street, called the computer room, has a major problem with mold in the walls. Storage space for food supplies is nowhere near the kitchen, and the office of the Director of The Well, formerly a cloakroom, is small and gloomy with no natural light.
Last winter The Well offered over-night accommodation to women with nowhere to sleep during the winter months. Experience showed that we cannot presently provide this service because of the danger of fire, lack of security, and lack of adequate washroom facilities. But perhaps our renovations could provide appropriate space for a similar program in the future. The problem of homelessness is not going to go away, and what do women do when all the shelters are full, or it is a dire emergency?
These women are our mothers and sisters in Christ, and as such deserve to be treated with the utmost respect. Can we at St John's honestly say that we are doing all we can to look after them? What is presently offered is definitely a start, and as a community we are trying to do our share, but is it enough?
How wonderful it would be if we could say, "come to St John's all you who are weary and heavy laden, and we will refresh you." May God help us find more ways to bring relief to the needy, rest to the weary, and comfort to those who are troubled.
Views from the ARC
2 February 2003
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! That's not so difficult to do at St John's, as we are truly blessed with a beautiful building that seems to exude holiness. When the idea of a renovation was first suggested, many people feared that we might 'throw the baby out with the bath water.' The opposite is in fact the truth, and foremost in ARC's determination is to preserve our heritage, while making it fit for generations to come.
Worship is indeed a thing of beauty at St John's; however, a difficulty experienced by those leading worship [i.e. priest, organist and choir], is that worship takes place in two separate rooms. The chancel arch is really a dividing point, which serves to separate clergy and choir from the congregation. You may have noticed that the choir moves out of the choir-stalls to sing anthems from the Chancel steps; the reason for this is that the choir literally cannot hear the organ from the chancel, and therefore, co-ordination of choir and organ is almost impossible.
Another major difficulty is that the altar, which is at the heart of our liturgy, is set apart from the congregation, on the other side of the choir. Similarly, the celebrant is off in the distance, in a position which makes building a sense of community with the congregation very difficult. Garth has often referred to the congregation as appearing as a haze of far-off faces, beyond the glare of the fluorescent tubes of the Chancel arch.
One of the goals of a renovation to the Nave is to have clergy, choir, congregation and organ, all in the same space - truly worshipping together, as one family. The Nave sub-committee of the ARC will be looking into ways by which this might be accomplished, and will then make suggestions to a future Vestry, for congregational consideration. A major concern will be how to achieve this goal, without losing seating space. St John's congregation is such a dynamic part of the Ottawa community, that one can envisage only a growing number of parishioners over the coming years, especially given the increasing population density of the downtown area.
Regardless of the changes we may make to the building, St John's will remain a community of dedicated people, conscious of our calling to be stewards of God's future. It is unlikely that we are ALL going to like ALL the changes made, but where in town can we go to find worship and a sense of community finer than St John's? After all, it is not the bricks and mortar, nor the pews, nor the stained-glass windows, nor the music, nor any one of us individually that constitutes St John's, but all of us acting together as a united community of faith.
While listening to, and loving our neighbours, may we keep our hearts focused on our constant companion and guide, our ever-loving God - the reason for our community - and avoid being distracted by wood, brick and glass.
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