The Vicars Pilgrimage to Canterbury

Friends

In 2023 we will enter our 70th year of mission and ministry to the West Point Grey and UBC neighbourhoods. As the parish approaches this jubilee year, we are making this a year of pilgrimage. Pilgrimage into our history, pilgrimage into a deeper sense of community, all of which is preparing us for the pilgrimage into the next 70 years of life together in the gospel. An anchor of our pilgrimage is prayer, which is a time of intentionality and sacred listening to the presence of God, that helps locate the sacred presence in the mundane everyday activities of life, like walking. 

To begin the pilgrimage towards the 70th jubilee of the parish, I am embarking on a pilgrimage to our patron saint’s grave at Canterbury Cathedral. I will be in London, June 5/6 for HM Elizabeth's Jubilee and will visit the shrine during that time. I'd like to take you with me in prayer as well! Until May 29, prayers, petitions, and intercessions of the congregation are being collected to be offered at St. Anselm’s grave.

Over the years we have seen the changes of decades of social challenges come through our doors. From the glory of packed pews to the grave side option of a “dignified closure'', this parish remains a living example of what the power of the Resurrection can do. New life floods every aspect. For the last 15 years, we have been a founding member of the West Side Anglican’s Neighbourhood Ministry, which, alongside our sister parishes of St. Philips, St. Helen’s, and St. John’s, Shaughnessy, seeks to serve and build community with those who are homeless and underhoused in our community. We take seriously the call of Christ to love our neighbor as we continue to discern and live a life which breaks down the walls and barriers of isolation students and seniors feel in an ever-changing world. We continue to be a bedrock of support for the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF), and  recently we expanded our commitment to support the work of the Vancouver General Hospital Chaplain and the work of the Urban Aboriginal Ministry. 

To offer your prayers before May 29, please speak to our Vicar Alex or email the office- office [at] stanselms.ca