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Tuesday, March 16, at 7pm, approximately 45 attendees participated in a Zoom event celebrating the launch of Canon Herbert O'Driscoll's latest book, "I WILL ARISE and Go Now".
Bishop John Stephens of the Diocese of New Westminster hosted and initiated the event withbrief opening remarks and an Opening Prayer. Bishop John has known Canon O'Driscoll all his life and he shared memories of the times that the two families would meet often on Boxing Day, the "Feast of Stephen",  a particularly special day for Irish Clergy. Bishop John's father, Archdeacon Bill Stephens was a priest of the Diocese of New Westminster and also Irish. Canon O'Driscoll was ordained in Ireland in 1952. Bishop John was ordained by Canon O'Driscoll's younger brother Bishop Percy O'Driscoll who was Bishop of Huron 1991-1999.

The Moderator was  Canon O'Driscoll's close friend and editor Ian Alexander.

Canon O'Driscoll was present to answer questions and respond to the comments of the panelists: the Very Reverend Robert Pynn and the Reverend Richard Lesueur both long time colleagues of the author.

Canon O'Driscoll also read two of the pieces from the book and a portion of another.

The Q&A session was very much focused on his time as Dean of the Diocese of New Westminster and Rector of Christ Church Cathedral during those turbulent times of the late 60s and 70s. A more recent retiree from those two positions, the Very Reverend Peter Elliott was also present and offered his thoughts about how the O'Driscoll era was a percurser to his incumbency particularly in regard to the rejuvenation, renewal and additions to the Cathedral that took place through much of his time in office 1994-2019.

All those in attendance thoroughly enjoyed the time with the author and the panelists. After 65 minutes, Bishop John Stephens closed the Zoom with prayer.

A NOTE FROM CANON O'DRISCOLL'S EDITOR, IAN ALEXANDER

Herbert O’Driscoll’s latest book – and perhaps his most eagerly anticipated after more than fifty previous volumes – is a collection of autobiographical reminiscences, entitled I Will Arise and Go Now.  The subtitle is Reflections on the Meaning of Places and People.  Altogether, there are almost a hundred short memory pieces, organized roughly chronologically, but ranging widely across both time and space.  They cover his youth in Ireland, his student days at Trinity College Dublin, his four-decade ministry in Canada, his extensive experiences in the United States, and his later years of pilgrimage, especially in Holy and Celtic Lands.

The book was published  February 17 with a Canadian price of $26.99  and is available in local bookshops and online.  It’s published by Morehouse Publishing of New York, an imprint of Church Publishing Inc. (follow the link). If your preferred bookseller doesn’t have it in stock, encourage them to order it from the Canadian distributors, Parasource: https://www.parasource.com/catalog/category/view/s/books/id/15/.  Watch also for news of more online events at bookstores and parishes in various locations.

The Zoom session is available below, posted on YouTube.

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Jane Dittrich's screenshot of Ian Alexander holding up the book near the beginning of the evening.