Life is messy. Family is messy. Marriage is messy. Church is messy. How do we navigate through the complexities of daily life? A key to healthy sailing through life’s storms is gratitude.
The St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver community was birthed in 1945 seventy years ago in the Deep Cove Fire Hall. Many churches in the Seymour/Deep Cove area no longer exist. One of the keys to St. Simon’s ongoing vitality is the gift of gratitude. God has taught us that all things work together for the good for those who love the Lord. He has taught us that what was sometimes meant for evil, God means for good, even for the saving and helping of many other people.
On Harvest Thanksgiving Oct 11th 2015, the St. Simon’s NV community celebrated its seventy anniversary with a joint 10am service, followed by a complimentary barbeque. Here are some of the things that we are grateful for. We are thankful for our faithfully serving ACW Women’s Group that has served so many over the years in outreach and hospitality. Many of you will have attended an ACW Holly Tea or Garage Sale over the years. We are grateful for those women and men who have served others over the years at Lions Manor, Kiwanis Care Centre, Lions Gate Hospital, and the new Cedarsprings residence.
We are thankful for those who invested so much in working with our youth and young adults and in the local schools and rec centres, especially thinking of the Rev. Ken Bell, the Rev. Josh Wilton, Rebecca Bailey, Jill Cardwell, Tyler Gibson, and Mark Hird. St. Simon’s Church NV originally started as a Sunday school. We are grateful for the countless number of Sunday School teachers and co-ordinators who have invested in serving the children of Seymour/Deep Cove decade after decade.
We are grateful for the many home groups that people have led and hosted over the past decades, bringing a deep sense of fellowship and learning. We are grateful for our music ministry which was led by Janice Hird with many choirs and worship bands over the years. We are grateful for the faithful contribution of the late Charlotte Liberty who served as organist for twenty years. Music is one of the best ways to express our gratitude. We are grateful for those who are involved in our two Coffee Hours, for our faithful sidespeople, for our Flower Guild helpers, for our Sunday readers and Lay Administrators, for our Altar Guild ladies, for our St. Simon’s Prayer Chain, for our Church Council leadership, and for our Set-Up and Take-down teams. Many hands truly make light work.
We are grateful for the various clergy that have served at St. Simon’s NV in the past seventy years, especially remembering the late Rev. John Lombard, and the Rev. Bill Ferris who served as my predecessor. I often give thanks for Bill Ferris+ who laid such solid foundations that I was able to build on. We are also most grateful for the support and encouragement of other clergy and churches involved in the North Shore Pastors Prayer Fellowship. We are grateful for our St Simon’s NV missionaries who serve locally and around the world.
And last but not least, we are grateful for Bruce Coney and the Deep Cove Crier, for the great support they have shown to the Seymour/Deep Cove community over the years. Gratitude is the key to everything healthy in our lives. What are you grateful for on this Harvest Thanksgiving weekend? Happy 70th!
The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin
-an article for the October 2015 North Shore News/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a personally signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
The Rev. John Lombard helped many people become ready for the final transition of life. He did not let the difficult disease of Parkinson’s defeat his feisty spirit. John was ready to go, ready for the final phase of life on earth. John lived a full life, both in sickness and health.
John was a courageous, humorous, thoughtful, and compassionate man. It was a privilege to get to know John on a personal level. At his memorial service, many people shared about the deep humility that John displayed. To know John was to love John.
His dear wife Bev stood faithfully with John ‘for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and health’ in their forty-five years of marriage. During the difficult last phase of John’s life, Bev kept an online blog where she shared daily about her life with John. Bev has been a great inspiration to many by the way that she has not let John’s chronic illness defeat her. Her deep faith kept her going, because she knew that she was not alone.
As my honorary assistant priest at St. Simon’s North Vancouver, John was a tremendous help, covering for me when I spoke at various conferences. In 2004 when I had an opportunity to take a three-month sabbatical, John ‘held the fort’, enabling me to be deeply refreshed and renewed. Because of John’s covering at St Simon’s NV, I was able to travel to eighteen cities across Canada with 250 francophones and anglophones in a journey of reconciliation called La Danse.
In Nov 2004, our 10:30am contemporary service moved, because of overcrowding, to the Maplewood School. This was made possible because John covered for me at Maplewood School until I could drive there from Deep Cove after our 9am traditional service. John’s loyalty was a rare gift to me. I knew that you could depend on John through thick and thin. John was a man of his word. His yes was yes and his no was no.
John was not a yes-man. Many times when John saw a way that we could improve, he would freely share with me his insights. As his voice became weaker because of Parkinson’s, I had to listen very carefully. His mind remained sharp, even as his body faced serious challenges. I remember John’s helpful suggestions about how we could improve the quality of reading scripture on Sunday morning. His ideas resulted in a very informative Saturday morning Readers’ Workshop led by his wife Bev to about twenty of our readers. There was a remarkable strength in John’s spirit, even in the final days of his being in hospice. The last time I saw John, he really enjoyed viewing my iphone photos from our recent holiday in Hawaii.
One of my strongest memories of John was at the annual BC Christian Ashram retreats where John would tell funny stories and play harmonica during the talent show. John was a very gifted harmonica player who with his quirky sense of humour intentionally played the wrong harmonica notes in one song. John did this with a twinkle in his eye.
Born in Montreal and raised in Windsor Ontario, John spent most of his ordained ministry in southern Ontario. Instead of merely retiring, John and Bev moved to Greater Vancouver to become missionaries with WEC international. They served at the Gateway Intercultural Training Centre and led short-term mission trips to Fiji, Guatemala, and South Africa. After St. Simon’s NV adopted John and Bev as part-time missionaries, John wrote wonderful updates about how God was using them in raising up young leaders around the world. As a member of the national leadership team for the Anglican Mission in Canada, John co-ordinated prayer initiatives for the Coalition, sending out regular prayer updates. As a leader in VMTC, John prayed deeply for healing of others in body, mind and spirit. He gave and gave and gave. We miss John deeply. But we are so grateful that he is now with Jesus in his nearer presence.
-previously published in the Deep Cove Crier/North Shore News
P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…
A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.
Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?
Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.
If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or kindle.
-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.
To receive a personally signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
who have served others over the years at Lions Manor, Kiwanis Care Centre, Lions Gate Hospital, and the new Cedarsprings residence.
are grateful for our music ministry which was led by Janice Hird with many choirs and worship bands over the years. We are grateful for the faithful contribution of the late Charlotte Liberty who served as organist for twenty years. Music is one of the best ways to express our gratitude. We are grateful for those who are involved in our two Coffee Hours, for our faithful sidespeople, for our Flower Guild helpers, for our Sunday readers and Lay Administrators, for our Altar Guild ladies, for our St. Simon’s Prayer Chain, for our Church Council leadership, and for our Set-Up and Take-down teams. Many hands truly make light work.
Bill Ferris+ who laid such solid foundations that I was able to build on. We are also most grateful for the support and encouragement of other clergy and churches involved in the North Shore Pastors Prayer Fellowship. We are grateful for our St Simon’s NV missionaries who serve locally and around the world. 
Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.
Edhird's Blog 