About 14 years ago, his health declining due to HIV, Ron Chaplin decided to return after many years of absence to St. John the Evangelist, a downtown church located on Ottawa’s busy Elgin Street.
“My expectations were modest. I was looking for a place to die ”¦ I was seeking a place from which to be buried,” recalled Mr. Chaplin. “What I found was not what I expected. What I found at St. John’s was new life.”
Among those who welcomed him was the rector, Canon Garth Bulmer, by then two years into the job. “Garth Bulmer encouraged me, and indeed all the laity, to exercise (our) ministry. He was our tireless cheerleader,” said Mr. Chaplin. “We were encouraged and cajoled at all times to ask questions, to seek new perspectives, to not be afraid to challenge injustice or unfairness, and at all times to engage honestly and openly with each other in an attitude of prayer and mutual respect. Under his guidance, I found new roles to play in the community, and new purpose in life.”
So then to paraphrase: “My ministry was to the poor, the down trodden, the disenfranchised and I feel like I made a difference. Now, by ‘outing myself’ (after a 38 year career during which I might have served as a positive role model to others in similar straits) I’m demonstrating that I was really just being self serving. I have no problem talking about it now that I’m retired and my witness can’t be used against me”
It sounds as if he may have been more suited to a life as a social worker than a life as a priest. It seems that quite a few folks feel that wearing a clerical collar has more cachet and conveys more status than being a social worker.
[i] Slightly edited by elf for unnecessary cynicism. [/i]