Wednesday, August 11, 2021
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Mysticism is the awe with which we respond to existence and creation when we learn not to take it for granted.” Matthew Fox
“What makes you happy or unhappy is not the world and the people around you, but the thinking in your head. As well” Anthony de Mello, The Way to Love
I first met Walter when I began to volunteer at the Brunswick Street Mission. I offered a Bible study on Thursday afternoons. Walter and I shared a coffee that afternoon after each session and we continued this practice, on and off, for 15 more years. In 2010 Walter was part of the committee that asked me to serve Brunswick Street United Church on Sunday nights but disappointed I turned the sermon time over to the shared experience of the 12-15 people in the circle. Walter always preferred a 20-minute sermon. Still, for someone who claimed he didn’t like the format, he spoke as much as anyone during the sermon time. Walter could be profound. He loved to quote Matthew Fox’s Cosmic Christ or Anthony de Mello. Many in our circle struggle with loneliness. Walter would pull de Mello’s book out of his canvas bag and read passages about coming to terms with being alone, learning to enjoy one’s own company. Many afternoons I would find Walter sitting on a park bench in the Public Gardens. Walter would rent beautiful art works from the local gallery and hang them in his apartment for a month at a time.
Walter was a proud member of the United Church of Canada. He credits his trips to the Atlantic Christian Training Centre for his theological education. One lecturer, John Stewart, had a profound effect on Walter. In 1988, when the local CBC invited pro and con representatives of the UCC to debate ordaining gay and lesbian clergy Walter was chosen to represent the pro side. And of all the UCC institutions none meant more to Walter than the Brunswick Street Mission. He was a Board member for many years. Walter told me he had never missed one of the Mission Breakfasts, he could recite large portions from each of the guest speakers’ presentations.
One night, when we were discussing how we found our faith Walter told us about an experience on a farm. He was a young boy watching a baby calf being born. The farmer invited Walter to assist. “Never again did I doubt the existence of God. God was in that moment, in creation, in that miracle of life.”
Brunswick United Church misses Walter and we keep his family in our prayers.
