Be Thou My Vision

       The fall equinox may be a few weeks away still, but the Labour Day weekend marks the end of summer for most people on the Saanich Peninsula.  We go on one last camping trip,  or take in the  Saanich Fair, or start clearing the annuals out of the flower beds.       

    Kids go back to school, church programs kick into gear, music lessons start up, choirs reassemble, the calendar fills with appointments.  We are at the end of one season and the beginning of another.

     Phyllis Lindsay chose "Be Thou My Vision" as one of the hymns at her farewell service.  I think it's a great poem to consider at the start of the Fall term.


Essay by Dr. Cecil Kirk:

Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 2. 1 - 13

This hymn, a translation from the ancient Irish, is the work of two women who together have produced one of the finest hymns written in this century. Mary Byrne was born in Dublin and educated at the Dominican Convent there. She entered the Royal University of Ireland and graduated in 1905. She became a research worker in Irish for the Board of Intermediate Education. Her contribution to the Dictionary of the Irish Language was noted for its erudition. An old Irish poem from the 8th century was translated by her into English prose in the journal called "Erin" in 1905. In 1912 that translation was versified by Eleanor Hull who was born in Manchester and founded the Irish Text Society in 1899. In 1931 she received an Honourary Doctorate from the National University of Ireland.

The Celtic Church existed from the fifth to the twelfth centuries and flourished in Ireland from the fifth to the seventh century. It was a church noted for its mystical fervour and its ascetic rigour. Its unique contribution to Christianity lay in its fervent missionary activity and its devotion to learning, so much so that Ireland became known as the land of saints and scholars. Missionaries went out to Scotland, England and many parts of the continent of Europe. The study of Greek was preserved and Celtic Christian art developed. During its time it kept Christianity alive while the so-called Dark Ages were casting their shadows across Europe.

It is out of this tradition that our hymn comes. Jesus Christ is viewed, first of all, as the Vision that draws us. The word is used to designate not only what we focus on but also what we strive for. When we set a goal before us we are enabled to develop a long-range perspective that helps us to see the disappointments and defeats of today as of little consequence when viewed against the heavenly vision. He is also called Wisdom, something dear to the Celtic Christian and highly regarded in the Old Testament.

Throughout the hymn there are constant reminders of things associated with this period in Irish history. It was a tumultuous time and Christians frequently had to fight for their very existence. It was the period of the Viking invasions from the north so it is not surprising that we have references to battle shields, swords, round towers, high kings and such like. As we have already noted, the Celtic Church was famed for its asceticism and so we sing "riches I heed not nor man's empty praise". These are fleeting things of no worth. It is Jesus Christ who is our inheritance, he alone can be "first in our heart" and of him we can say "My treasure Thou art".

As the people of the coastal areas of Ireland fled for refuge to the high towers when they saw the high-prowed Viking ships approaching, so we flee to Jesus for "my soul's shelter". He is our high tower; he is "Power of my power". The day will come, however, when "after victory won" we shall enter into the joys of heaven and we shall bask in the light and warmth of "heav'n's Sun". Until that day dawns we ask him to be our vision and the one who is "Ruler of all" in our life.

This is a hymn that throbs throughout with a sense of devotion and love to God and as such it has few equals. Everything is focussed on the climactic phrase, "thou and thou only, first in my heart" just as everything in our daily lives must have this goal also.

Ed. Note.  Thanks to Edna Kirk for sharing Dr. Kirk's writing with this blog.

Will Your Anchor Hold

    As mentioned before, I'm spending a few weeks presenting favourite hymns of the congregation, using Dr. Cecil Kirk's book as a resource.  As part of the farewell service for the Lindsays, Phyllis chose the hymn "Will Your Anchor Hold."  For a congregation situated on an island, a seafaring reference seems appropriate.


    Here is what Dr. Kirk had to say on the subject.


Scripture reading: Hebrews 6. 13 - 20

This rousing hymn is the official anthem of the Boys' Brigade, an organization founded in Scotland in the latter part of the nineteenth century and which has spread to many countries around the world. Its aim is to promote "obedience, reverence, discipline, self-respect and all that tends towards a true Christian manliness".

The author was Priscilla Jane Owens. She was born in Baltimore but came of Scottish and Welsh descent. For more than fifty years she was active in Sunday School work in her own home town and most of the hymns and songs she wrote were to promote this work.


Many analogies have been used to describe the Christian faith and Miss Owens was certainly not the first to think of it in nautical terms, indeed there are several well known hymns which develop this thought. The epistle to the Hebrews describes the faith of the believer as an "anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast". It is interesting that these last three words are the motto of the Boys' Brigade.

Anyone who has ever travelled by boat, especially if that journey has been made across any of the world's large oceans, will know of the dangers that may have to be faced. One of the most likely is storm. Then even large ocean-going liners can be tossed around like a cork, such is the power of the sea. A parallel is drawn between the storms on the ocean and those we have to face inevitably in life. How will we fare when "the clouds unfold their wings of strife"? When you are tossed hither and yon by conflicting viewpoints, when you feel the strain of being deserted by friends, when all around you people are losing their heads and blaming it on you, will you have a sense of security that will hold you firm "when the billows roll?" This is when we must be able to turn to the Saviour who knows all that is happening to us because he himself had to undergo such trials and trust the anchor of our faith that is "grounded firm and deep" in his love.

Another source of danger is described as "the straits of fear". This is when we find ourselves sailing close to the nearby reefs and we can hear the surge of the waves pulling the ship towards disaster. Here we can think of the temptations of life which, if we succumbed to them, would make shipwreck of our soul so that "the angry waves then your bark o'erflow". Jesus knew the subtle power of temptation and he can help us resist and sail through the straits until we reach the calm waters again.


Eventually every voyage ends in the port that is the ship's final destination and the passengers look forward with expectation and excitement to the landfall. The Christian voyager sails towards "the city of gold", the new Jerusalem that is our final resting place. We look forward to seeing its profile "through the morning light" and casting our anchor safe "by the heavenly shore". Then the journey will be over and life's storms "past for evermore". The best part of any trip is the joy of coming home again. As Christians we anticipate the end of our earthly travels and the joy of coming ashore in our Father's kingdom.
                                           ****
   Reading the commentary on this hymn it seems a highly appropriate choice for those setting out to begin a new phase of life.  Thanks Phyllis and Dr. Kirk.

Fare Thee Well

    The beginning of summer signalled a couple of good-byes at SPPC.  The first was the Men's Breakfast.  The second was a farewell to one of our founding members.


    

       June 30 marked the last Men’s Breakfast, in the current format. 

Eight of us came to celebrate the final breakfast hosted by Bill Stuart, who has looked after this mission of our church for the past 17 years.  Roy Napier thanked Bill, on behalf of the group, for his dedication over these many years.  Bill, in turn, thanked Al Ljunggren for looking after the money side, as Treasurer, for the entire 24 years since the breakfasts first began.

We still hope the breakfasts will continue, in some form, after the summer holidays.   by Brian Lawrence
                                               *****

     Along with eleven others, Phyllis Lindsay is a founding member of SPPC.  In 1983 this dedicated group, called St. Andrew's North at the time, were constituted a congregation and began meeting in the Sidney area.  They used schools, community halls, other churches and the Masonic Lodge as meeting places, before the present church was constructed in 1990.  Phyllis remembers the day the shovels went into the ground as a highlight of her life.  As well as being a founding member, she has served on various committees and is an elder of long-standing.  SPPC would not be what it is today without Phyllis.  Now, for family reasons, she and her son, Chris, are moving from the peninsula -- Phyllis to northern B.C. and Chris to Saskatoon.  

  
  To mark our appreciation for Phyllis and for Chris, we had a party.  Scottish tradition is important in the Lindsay family, so this little man came along.

Of course, we started with a meal, wonderfully prepared by a staff of volunteers.  Roast beef, ham, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots and bumbleberry pie for dessert.

Then we adjourned to the sanctuary, where we sang some of Phyllis' favourite hymns and a few Scottish ballads.


  There were many words of appreciation, good wishes for the future and the sadness of farewell -- and a couple of gifts.  The first, for a smile, was an electric wind shield scraper. Phyllis is going north!  On a more serious note, a watercolour, painted by our own Bill Richer, will travel with Phyllis as a reminder of SPPC and the peninsula.  The painting portrays the view from Dunsmuir Lodge out over the Saanich Inlet.

     We tried to give Phyllis the last word, -- she reminisced about the early days of the congregation and the people who built it -- but the final amen went to the choir who sang an Irish Blessing for Phyllis and Chris. 


 It's hard to say good-bye, but we wish them God speed and many blessings.