The Bishop's Easter Letter

Each year, Bishop Michael writes an Easter message to the Clergy and People of the Diocese of Niagara. This year's letter speaks of the promises Easter offers to a world yearning for transformation and renewal, and points to ways our shared ministry - including our 140th Anniversary Celebration - are furthering God's reign. Read the full letter below, and please share the Good News of Easter with your friends, family and neighbours.

 

On Easter Sunday morning the Collect for the day in our Book of Alternative Services offers the following prayer:

Lord of life and power, through the mighty resurrection of your Son, you have overcome the old order of sin and death and have made all things new in him. May we, being dead to sin and alive to you in Jesus Christ, reign with him in glory, who with you and the Holy Spirit is alive, one God, now and for ever.

Throughout the season of Easter we will hear the themes of passing from death to life, darkness to light, raising up that which has been cast down, overcoming old orders and in Christ's resurrection from the dead all things are being made new.  These are powerful images and they come to us in the context of a world and a society that cries out for this kind of transformation and renewal, not just in the Easter promise of eternal life but also in the ushering in of God's Kingdom here and now.

I believe that the power of this good news and this proclamation was guiding us as we planned our 140^th Anniversary celebrations. Passionately following Christ has looked different from generation to generation, but our response to God’s mission has been steadfast; shining light into the darkness of our world, time and again. With this in mind, our anniversary year includes a means of honouring our rich history of ministry in a way that will transform lives together through an initiative to sponsor refugees.

Against a backdrop of despair faced by refugees who have fled for their lives, we have a unique opportunity to live into the Easter story and to compassionately respond to one of the most pressing human needs of our time.  The hope and renewal, the transformation and light found within refugee sponsorship will give us yet another incredible chance to witness to the Easter miracle. Sponsoring a refugee family doesn’t just change their life; it changes everyone’s life!

Mary Jo Leddy put it so eloquently when she spoke to our diocese a few years ago: “Strangers and foreigners, who are also called refugees, they have given me the blessing of newness, a new way of seeing the culture I live in and a new way of being in the church where my faith has been planted. They have shown me the other face of God.”

We have met some of these faces through our past sponsorships: Marwan, Chance, Ahmad and Rima, to name but a few. I know that our hearts will be transformed again as we see the face of God through the eyes of our brothers and sisters.  Sponsoring 50 refugees to start a new life in Canada is bolder than we have ever dreamed before but as we witnessed through the cross, all things are possible with God.

In thanksgiving for all the many ways God has transformed lives through our ministry in Niagara, I invite you to give generously in your support of our 140^th Anniversary Refugee Sponsorship Initiative and encourage you to reach out to your neighbours and local businesses to make a contribution too.

May the Spirit continue to transform us as we bear witness to the overcoming of old orders and the raising up of those who have been cast down and may God bless all our ministries as we celebrate the triumph of our Lord Jesus this Easter.  Susan and I wish you the blessings of this Easter season.