This will be a renewal of a tradition of the King's Chapel, which has been for students to offer up their Reading Week and travel to a church somewhere in the Maritimes in order to be an encouragement to the spiritual life of a parish community and to assist in youth programs, evangelization, and parish visitations - especially to the sick and shut-in. Through their participation in these Reading Week visitations, students have come to a clarification of their vocation. This year students will travel to Trinity Church, St. John, NB, located in the south end of the city, which is an area that has demonstrated social and economic need. They will live in this community, say the daily offices, and be involved in various community outreach projects. This can be a challenging and rewarding opportunity for students. Pray not only for your own involvement, but that many might respond willingly.

Here you may read five short notes about Trinity Church from the Rector in Saint John, Fr Ranall Ingalls. All five are now available!

First Note

Trinity Church is the Parish Church for the Anglican Parish of Saint John. The Church is a very large and very beautiful Victorian Gothic-revival building. The parish takes in all of the original city of Saint John - everything south of Union Street on a peninsula at the mouth of the Saint John River that juts out into the Bay of Fundy. Its location presents both opportunities and challenges.

On one side is the city's Uptown business district, with shops, banks, the City Market, City Hall, and Kings Square. To the south and west is a small wealthy residential area along Germaine Street. South and east is the South End, the largest and most populous of five areas in the City of Saint John where a very large percentage of the residents live in poverty.

At one time the South End had a number of thriving and active Churches. In recent years, the Anglican and Baptist Churches have closed. A very large United Church has sold its buildings and relocated in a store front. The Roman Catholic parish holds on by a shoe string. Closure is a constant threat. Since the closure of the Anglican Parish in the South End, St James Broad Street, Trinity is once again responsible for those who live south of Duke Street, as it was before St James became a Parish Church in the mid-1800s.

Second Note

Trinity Church's beautiful and imposing physical presence draws some people to it, and drives others away. Tourists visit in the summer time. People who walk by on the street try the door to see if its open. Young couples come looking to be married there. At the same time, it has the outward appearance of wealth and power. For the most part, these things are no longer really there. However, the perception remains in many peoples' minds.

As Rector, I want both the building and the community that worships there to be signs that God comes to us in the flesh in Jesus Christ. More importantly, this is what the Scriptures and the Prayer Book teach us to desire for our Parish. Of course I would also be glad to see the building and the coffers full, but this must be left in God's hands. Whether we 'succeed' or 'fail' by the measure of numbers and dollars, God grant that we may succeed in bearing faithful witness to Christ, and Him crucified.

I invite you to pray with us and for us, whether you are coming on the Parish Mission in February or not. Be assured of our prayers for our Universities and Schools in general and for the Chapel and the Chaplaincy at Dalhousie and King's College in particular.

Third Note

Why does Trinity Church exist? What is it for? What could justify the expense and the demands on people's time to maintain it? The Catechism may help. 'The work of the Church in the world is to offer to God on behalf of all men the worship which is his due; to make known to all men the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and to unite all men to God in one family.'

Worship. Our worship and prayer is for all, but it is especially for those who live in that small corner of the world for which God in his providence has made us responsible. This is true even though many of those who attend Trinity do not live in the Parish of Saint John. When the holy Communion is celebrated on Sunday or Morning or Evening Prayer said through the week, it is the Church's prayer in this place for the people who live here. This is true whether or not they identify themselves as Anglicans or even Christians, and whether or not they choose to come regularly, or irregularly, or never. That said, when we pray for those present and those absent, what do we pray for? We need purity of heart to know what is good. Before that, our impure hearts need a reliable guide to the way that leads to this end. Do we have such a guide in The Book of Common Prayer?

Fourth Note

A second reason Trinity Church exists is to make known to all the good new or Gospel of Jesus Christ. But what is this good news? And what things prevent us from hearing and recognizing it as good news? What things prevent the business people who work on one side of the building or who live on another from hearing and recognizing it? What things make it difficult for the people who live in poverty on the other side to hear and know this good news? More particularly and more painfully, what are we doing at Trinity or failing to do that place stumbling blocks in the way of people who might otherwise hear and rejoice in God's good news?

A third reason for the existence of our Parish is to unite all to God in one family. How is this to happen? It is God's work. Do we have a part in it? If so, what is it? The Christian Church is fragmented. The Anglican Church is fragmented. We lack that unity and integrity of soul, that holiness, without which, the Scriptures tell us, no one will see God. We must begin humbly and close to home. We have no resources within ourselves to overcome all the divisions and confusions that perplex us. Christ indicates a place to begin. 'By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, that ye love one another.' By God's grace, can we do this? And not become a closed club, but remain open to the people and the neighbourhood around us?

Fifth Note

These past few weeks I have been sharing a few basic facts about Trinity Church and the Parish of Saint John, and asking questions intended to draw you into prayer with and for us, as students prepare to come to join us for several days. By God's grace, may this visit strengthen ties of Christian friendship between Trinity and Dalhousie / King's. May those who come gain a clearer sense of whatever it is to which God is calling them. It is a great blessing to us as a congregation, and very encouraging, to have young guests with an interest in and commitment to the good things that are our whole reason for existing. May this blessing extend to many people in our neighbourhood and Parish. As the Epiphany season draws to a close, may God lift up our hearts in expectation and anticipation that 'the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.'