On Saturday evening September 6, Hope’s own National Historic Site, Christ Church Anglican Parish, welcomed the first woman bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster, Melissa Skelton, for an informal tour of the premises. Consecrated in November 1861, Christ Church is the oldest continuously operating church building in British Columbia and the oldest building in Hope, one of two that survive from the Gold Rush days that saw a great influx of Americans.
Bishop Melissa, is not only the first woman bishop of the Diocese, but the first American born bishop. Unlike the gold-panners seeking their fortunes, it was God’s call that brought Melissa with a strong understanding that God’s work through the church is not over. Like the gold-panners, we need to sift for gold, but we sift through all the talk of church decline and the tradition of the church to bring forth those nuggets that will enrich the world around us. There is much hurt and pain near and far in the neighbourhoods around us that God invites us to address.
On Sunday morning, Bishop Melissa preached and presided over the Sunday Service of almost double the usual congregation. This little church with cedar walls impregnated with the prayers of the faithful for almost 153 years, is a space in which God’s presence can be felt. Here, those in need know they are not alone and those taking up God’s work in the world are guided and strengthened.After the service and potluck, Bishop Melissa held a question and answer session. She related some of her experience at St. Paul’s in Seattle. That church was not sure how they would survive and began to work on congregational growth, reaching out to specific populations in Seattle. They discovered that God had other ideas. As they grew more deeply into relationship with their creator it attracted the unexpected and they grew in ways they had never asked or imagined. Today St. Paul’s is not just surviving, but thriving and this experience is what Bishop Melissa is now bringing to the Diocese New Westminster.
The congregation deeply appreciated Bishop Melissa’s words, her depth of faith and most of all her joy as a beloved child of God participating in God’s work in the world in a new and most meaningful way.
Images: Top and homepage, Bishop Melissa Skelton and the Rev Gail Newell greeting the congregation after the service. Right, Potluck social – Johanna Coughlin, Bishp’s Warden speaks with Mary as Diane, Joan and Carol work in the kitchen. Left, Bishop Melissa Skelton sharing from her heart. Below, Bishop Mellissa Skelton and the Rev Gail Newell outside Christ Church.