Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria is celebrating the return of artifacts stolen earlier this week.

I like to be able to control things, or at least fool myself into thinking I can control them. I think that this is why I am not that comfortable with the Holy Spirit. It is the part of the Trinity that I try not to think about. I think that this comes from my fear of what could happen if I let the Holy Spirit have a go at my life or the situation that I am in, because you hear stories of what happens when you let go and let the Holy Spirit in.

Why doesn’t the Anglican church avidly celebrate Pentecost, and its important encounter with the Holy Spirit, with the same fervour as the mega-feasts of Christmas and Easter? The Rev. Dr. David Reed, professor emeritus of pastoral theology at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, offers this possible explanation.

Victoria’s Christ Church Cathedral may soon step up its security system after the May 11 theft of at least $10,000 worth of historical artifacts, some dating back to the 17th century.

Two Toronto Anglican canons, one clergy, one lay, became honorary doctors of divinity on the May 14. The Rev. Canon Mary Alice Bielesch Medcof and Canon Robert L. Falby, QC, received these honours at the 2013 convocation of the Faculty of Divinity at Trinity College, University of Toronto.

The language at this year’s Wycliffe College Convocation took an unusual turn. A baseball feeling sneaked into the customary academic parlance as Toronto star pitcher R.A. Dickey—clothed in a scarlet gown instead of his Blue Jays uniform—received an honorary doctorate in sacred letters.

 

Bangladesh has a high rate of maternal mortality—about 194 per 1,000 births in 2010—but this is steadily falling. And the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) is helping the developing country to reach its targeted reduction to 143 maternal deaths per 1,000 by 2015.

 

It was a clear, crisp winter’s day when our six-day-old son was marked with ashes. That Wednesday in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, we were reminded that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. These words, in combination with Old Testament prophet Joel’s prophecy and the dark palm char on rosy newborn skin, left an indelible mark on my heart.

London, Ont.’s Huron University College presented three honorary degrees to three distinguished people at its theology convocation on May 9. Governor General David Johnston received a doctor of divinity degree, while Archbishop Thabo Makgabo, primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, both received honorary doctorate degrees.

Bishop Tom Corston has announced that he will retire from his position as bishop of the diocese of Moosonee on Dec. 31, 2013. His retirement will coincide with the date that a decision to restructure the diocese into a mission area will take effect.