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First of all, I want to congratulate you on behalf of all the diocese for reaching your  1OOth anniversary. This is a very significant achievement.  We give thanks to God for you, and those who have gone before you, for 100 years of faithful witness to Jesus Christ in this part of the diocese.

A century is a long time. Whilst you have been here on the North Shore the world around has changed a great deal. And not always for the better.  Dr. Bob Moorhead writes this:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, gel angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate loo often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more food, but less satisfaction; we build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill.

You have witnessed all these changes at St. Stephen's, and in an important way you have stood against them. You have stood for a different set of values, a higher vision of life and its true purpose. You have been witnesses to Jesus Christ and his worldwide community, the Church. In good times and in bad, when it was popular and when it was not, you have had the courage to point to the truths that endure beyond the fashions of the moment. Your faith has created an opportunity for people in this neighbourhood to seek a peace the world cannot give, and to find a life more satisfying than superficial.

The fact is, as the world changes we need the Church. We need places of community. We need places of sanctuary. We need the quiet calm of the church's solitude, its restfu1ness, its welcoming atmosphere, its people. We need the hope and promise this church stands for. We need God; although some people take a long time to learn this, but when they do they seek out the church, and it's important we be there for them. Churches are important centres of hope and possibility in a world that seems confusing and increasingly out of control.

And St. Stephen's is an Anglican church. We stand in a particular part of the Christian tradition. We have a definite identity. These are often described with three words: Scripture, reason, and tradition.

First, we are a Scriptural church. We stand under the authority of God's Word. We teach a scholarly approach to the Bible and a thoughtful application of its principles to modem life. We are not literalists or fundamentalists, nor are we wishy-washy. We understand the Bible needs interpretation and that we have been given the gift of reason by God to discern its meaning and apply its teachings to the world we live in. Anglicans don't leave our minds at the door when we come into church. We seek the truth here, and try to apply the truth in our daily lives.When I say 'reason' here, I don't mean individual reason. I mean the collective wisdom of the church through the ages. Christians down the centuries have learned a thing or two about human nature, about the tragic tendency of history to repeat itself in destructive ways. And we also know about the power of God to make things new, to bring life out of seemingly inevitable death.

And so the wisdom of our tradition calls us into patterns of self-discipline and action that we know will help sustain human hope and bring strength in times of trouble. Tradition doesn't mean doing the same thing over and over again. Tradition means standing in a stream of wisdom greater and older than our single individual lifetimes.

We are not an exclusive church. We include people of many different lifestyles, races, language and cultural backgrounds and seek to build community together with them. We are not a moralistic or a puritanical church. We have standards, but our supreme and abiding standard is love. We invite people into the new life of Christ. This is a where people of every kind are welcomed. Anglicans arc people of compassion who can recognise Christ in the stranger.

In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus sends his followers out into the world to make disciples of all nations. In his last command to those who love him, Jesus tells them to avoid all religious privatism, that temptation we know very well to keep it all quiet and say nothing about the beauty and love of God to people around us. The words are addressed to us, of course.

While St Stephen's has stood here for a hundred years, our society has become gradually post religious, even at times anti-religious. Our schools can no longer celebrate Christmas. In Britain you can be fired for wearing religious symbols (such as a cross) to work. Until the 1960s in West Vancouver you were expected to attend church on Sunday morning. Today, those who come to church are resisting social pressures, swimming against the tide.

We are no longer a social club, but an intentional community. We are fewer, but also stronger. We are the last place where people sing together in public. We pray, we baptize new Christians, we send and support our youth on the great journey of faith.In the Letter to the Romans, St Paul asks: How will people believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how will people hear without someone who tells them? (Romans 10: 11.).  This, my friends, is that task God is giving us now. Because we are in a post-religious culture today, the work of Christ has to be upon our own lips and in our own speech. People cannot know Christ unless we invite them. The next century of St. Stephen's will depend upon our becoming an inviting community now. God will do the transforming. We must do the inviting.

The Spirit of God is calling the church to be open to change and ready to adapt. This church has done that and must continue to do it. We celebrate the last 100 years, but we also look forward to the future. Our destiny lies forwards not backwards. We must build the church afresh for the next generation, for our children and their children.

Thanks be to God for you and for this place.