Thursday, September 4 2014
(First Anglican Eucharist in Canada)
Psalm 78:18-25
Today in the Canadian Anglican Church calendar we are commemorating the celebration of the first Anglican Eucharist in Canada in 1578. It took place with members of the crew of the third Frobisher expedition from England, gathered on the shore of Baffin Island, celebrated by a Robert Wolfall, priest of the Church of England & a member of the expedition. This is seen by the Anglican Church as the first sign of the spread of Christ's Gospel and Church in this part of God's world.
This happening in this area of wilderness echoes the sentiments of Psalm 78.24 "The Lord rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them bread from heaven." In those days, people such as Wolfall sensed a vocation to share the story , the person and the life of Jesus with those who had never heard it, believing that they were enriching other lives. In many cases lives were enriched , but the harsh reality from history is that in some cases this was at the expense of denying that God, the great Spirit , had already manifested his reality in other guises to the local people. Today, I believe that a more enlighted approach is for us to look at the common sacred Ground that is of God in all ways of knowing God (but that is something that we struggle with) as we come to terms with what it means to understand that we are all One Family from one Source, united by Love.. When we realize this , the bread from heaven is true nourishment!
Archdeacon Ken Cardwell
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