A Priest, a Pastor and a Priestess walked into a bar...
And they talked and laughed and cried together. Then they planned how they could bring the community together to do these things.
In many Christian traditions, April 7 is a holy day: Good Friday, a day to commemorate the death of Jesus of Nazareth.
“My daughter, when she was little, used to ask me ‘what’s so good about it?’” mused Rev. Dr. Joyce Parry-Moore, new vicar in Gibsons and now resident on the Sunshine Coast. “I would tell her, ‘Sometimes it’s good for people to cry together.’ She was not convinced.”
Nonetheless, Parry-Moore, along with the Rev. Richard Hergesheimer, pastor of Living Faith Lutheran in Sechelt and the Rev. Dr. Steve Black, priest of St. Hilda’s Anglican parish, will come together on Friday night at St. Bart’s Anglican church in Gibsons. People may know St. Bart’s for its Food Pantry and hot lunch program.
“During COVID, we all experienced so much loss and isolation,” Pastor Hergesheimer, known by most as Hergy, said. “Now is our time to connect again, to process our grief and dream of a better future together.”
The three clergypersons met when Parry-Moore came to town, and became quick friends and allies.
“What we do is not easy. It’s great to have a colleague who gets your humor and your taste in music (Steve loves both Mahler and Grateful Dead). This year we’ll drive all the way to Gibsons since Joyce is the new one on the Coast!”
The service will begin at 7 p.m., and include poetry, vocal and instrumental music from all three faith communities. Everyone is welcome.
“Anyone who wants to continue the conversation can meet us down the hill at Tapworks afterward,” said Parry-Moore.
St. Bart’s is located at 659 North Road in Gibsons.
