Voices from across Durham-Northumberland Deanery came together this Advent to share their faith and renew their connections in a new deanery-wide Advent devotional.
Titled Awaiting the Light: Daily Gospel Reflections for Advent, the devotional includes the daily gospel reading appointed by the eucharistic lectionary in the Book of Alternative Services. Each lesson is followed by a reflection written by a member of the deanery, which extends from Bowmanville east to Brighton along Lake Ontario.
The Rev. Canon Jesse Parker, the regional dean and incumbent of St. John the Evangelist, Port Hope, says he thought Advent would be the perfect opportunity to help people hold a space for peace in their hearts during a busy time of year.
“Advent is a beautiful, rich season theologically and spiritually and liturgically, but often that’s completely crowded out with Christmas craziness,” he says. “I wanted to really just hold a space in people’s hearts for the rich season of Advent.”
Canon Parker solicited reflections from a wide range of people in Durham-Northumberland, both lay and ordained. “My hopes were high, and I wasn’t disappointed,” he says. “We have this huge, rich trove of wisdom, a really deep sense of faith and a desire to share that faith.”
Having a breadth of voices represented in the devotional was a key part of the project, with the aim of showing the diversity of callings present in the deanery. Bishop Riscylla Shaw contributed a reflection, along with several priests and deacons, lay readers, children’s ministers and a doctoral student in theology – people who might not have a chance to preach on a Sunday but who have a wealth of spiritual insight to share.
“That’s one thing I wanted to underscore – there are many ways for us to live out our baptismal vocations, and there they are on display,” says Canon Parker. “It’s wonderful to hear what your friends and neighbours have to say about the gospel.”
Despite being one of the smallest deaneries, Canon Parker says it has a history of shared spiritual life between parishes. In 2013, not long after he’d arrived in Port Hope, a deanery-wide “confirmation reboot” program culminated in a joint service of confirmation, reaffirmation of faith and reception into the Anglican Communion. Canon Parker says that program laid the groundwork for a spirit of shared life in the deanery that continues to this day.
“It’s not unusual for people in this deanery to find themselves in each other’s parishes, and with a wider emphasis now on that kind of cooperation and collaboration in the diocese with the Cast the Net calls, with the Season of Spiritual Renewal, it really felt like the time was right for an initiative like this,” he says.
By the midway point in Advent, he had already heard from individuals in the deanery – and even from other dioceses – who had been using the devotional on a daily basis.
“I’ve been getting terrific feedback, and from some people that I don’t even know and who aren’t even necessarily in the deanery,” he says. “It’s wonderful to see how something that you know starts small can have a wide impact.”
He says he hopes that impact is one that lasts beyond the Advent and Christmas seasons, helping people ground their lives in scripture and prayer.
“My real hope is that for people who don’t yet have a daily devotional practice for all seasons that this would help to bring that about in their lives,” he says. “It’s been an indispensable part of my own growth as a Christian, having a daily rhythm of scripture, reflection and prayer. And I hope that it can help to bring that about for people.”
He says he’d also love to see the devotional work its way into the wider community to let people in the region know about what they might expect from their local Anglican church.
“I think a devotional can be a really approachable way for people to get into the faith,” he says. “If the person who wrote that is a member of that church, maybe it’s the kind of place that I’d like to go and spend some time.”
As the church year marches on, Canon Parker says he’s considering a Lenten devotional, possibly a parish initiative rather than a deanery-wide project. He also says he would consider making the Advent devotional a yearly endeavour, along with exploring more ways of bringing the people of Durham-Northumberland together.
“As we live into the Cast the Net vision of a more interconnected life in the diocese, I think deaneries are going to be a really important part of that – thinking of the deanery as a unit for cooperation and collaboration and building up those bonds of affection between parishes,” he says. “I’m really excited to see just a small example of how that can yield good results, and I think the devotional is that.”
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