By Rev. Canon Val Kenyon
As we read this issue of the Huron Church News, we have recently, or are just about to celebrate the most significant moment of the Christian year. And while it is a moment, and indeed a season, filled with many traditions that we bring with us from year to year, it is equally true that we arrive at this particular season of Easter not quite the same person as we were last year.
This is, of course, exactly as it should be as over the course of the last 365 days we have lived life, experienced joys, sorrows, frustrations and epiphanies. We have read and heard God’s word spoken and interpreted. We have prayed and pondered over matters local and global. We have been participants in and witnesses of great pain and regret, of hidden things revealed and of struggles at home and abroad. We have wondered both on our own and with others, what is needed for this present moment and for the moments ahead both in our parishes and in our own circumstances as this last year of Covid-19 has pressed in upon us all. How could we not have been changed, impacted, transformed?
In our Scripture readings during the Season of Eastertide we read of the transformation of Jesus’ disciples as he bursts into their lives through locked doors unannounced and unexpected. A wondrous thing has taken place, and they all needed help processing just what had happened. We watch as the community of believers are transformed by their evolving understanding of divine love and divine presence. We observe this collection of disciples, who have followed Jesus over the past three years, and how they are now confronted by a growing awareness of all that is taking place and the meaning embedded in Jesus’ life, death and new life. We see in the way of the disciples a description of Christian discipleship which cannot help but be transformative. And so, while the stories are not new, we receive them from our own context and so the transformation continues most especially if we welcome it and make room for it in our lives.
In the Education for Ministry cycle, we soon will be approaching that time of the year where we begin to look ahead to new and returning groups where actively engaging the process of transformation is the order of the day. Whether it’s the study of both the Old and New Testaments, 3000 years of history, Christian ethics, ecumenism or interfaith relationships, within every EfM group you will find opportunity to reflect and engage with our faith at the intersection of real life and you will be in the company of others wishing to do the same.
Watch for details in the months ahead about an online Open House and other opportunities to learn more. If you are interested in learning more about Education for Ministry at any point, please contact Libi Clifford, the Diocese of Huron EfM Coordinator or myself Val Kenyon at EFM@huron.anglican.ca
Rev. Dr. Canon Val Kenyon is EFM Animator in Huron.
(Featured photo: Suzanne D. Williams/Unsplash)