Tsula-tsu Lay-sa-pik – Go with care, Bishop

By LAUREEN McMAHON

Two things become crystal clear when discussing the appointment of Father Gary Gordon as Bishop of Whitehorse with members of First Nations bands.

Laureen McMahon / The B.C. Catholic Bishop-elect Gary Gordon presents Chehalis Band member and president of the Coqualeetza Cultural Education Centre Laura Williams with an artifact he discovered while hiking in the mountains near Chilliwack five years ago.

The first shared opinion is that he will make an outstanding bishop. The second is that he will be sorely missed.

Bishop-elect Gordon was honoured by hundreds of his closest friends on Feb. 15 at the Tzeachten Community Hall in Chilliwack.

The program featured entertainment, prayers, an open sharing session and many opportunities for the aboriginal community to say goodbye to Father Gordon.

Young and old, they came to wish their pastor and friend Godspeed before he leaves to prepare for his ordination and installation ceremonies in Whitehorse on March 22.

Shirley Leon, manager of the Coqualeetza Cultural Education Centre in Chilliwack, told The B.C. Catholic that she is still “in shock” at his imminent departure.

“This is like a loss in the family. Our experience in the mission before he came was that the priest would say Mass and leave. Father Gary taught us what it was like to have a resident-priest we could call a friend.”

The centre, said Leon, exists mainly to archive the Sto:lo First Nations language and history and develop usable educational materials from the rich legacy. It was work wholeheartedly respected and supported by Father Gordon.

When word went out about the farewell party, said Leon, calls began coming in from reserves in Boothroyd, North of Hope; Boston Bar; Mount Currie; Powell River; Vancouver and other areas. No formal invitations were issued, just the “moccasin telegraph” word of mouth to bring people together, she explained.

Leon has made Father Gordon promise to be a “skidoo” bishop not a “flying” bishop, that is, to stay off the small planes that have cost several priests their lives in accidents in past years.

“I also want him to use all the influence he has to bring us a second Father Gary. We are honoured that his gifts and talents are recognized, but we hope we are not going to have to start all over again! We are praying very hard that we will be blessed by another pastor just like him.”

One of Father Gordon’s best gifts, said Leon, was “just showing up.”

For instance, when she and her husband Rudy renewed their marriage vows in Vernon on their 50th wedding anniversary, Father Gordon promised he would be there.

“I was joking when I invited him but he asked, ‘What day is it?’ Sure enough, he showed up at St. Benedict’s Church on the Okanagan Reserve on the right date! To top it off, he brought along Bishop David Monroe, who had just been ordained for Kamloops.

“I have 12 siblings, so family took up three-quarters of the reserve. Father Gary’s presence turned our anniversary into an evangelization event!”

Elsie Paul from the Sliammon Band told The B.C. Catholic during a telephone interview from Powell River of Father Gordon’s support for the Archdiocesan First Nations Council organized several years ago by Archbishop Emeritus Adam Exner, OMI.

“He was very open, warm and friendly and we could count on him to listen. He took our concerns seriously which helped heal past hurts and foster new understanding. He was never judgmental and always tried to understand the issues.”

Paul, the mother of seven living children, 15 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, called the episcopal appointment “a great loss for local native people, but wonderful for Whitehorse. Our prayers and thoughts go with him.”

Linda Christensen, secretary at St. Joseph’s Church in Mission, and a member of the Douglas Band, recalled that when Father Gordon was first appointed Mission pastor, Emily Tomason, who now lives in Nova Scotia, was his new secretary.

“Father Gary said to her, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll make mistakes and learn together,’” said Christensen. “That put her at ease right away.”

Father Gordon, she added, always knew the right thing to say to native people in times of crisis or sorrow.

“I remember that, at the funeral of a young native lady from Chilliwack, he told her family not to worry because a respected elder who had also just died would take care of their relative in heaven,” Christensen recalled.

Yvonne Peters, a member of the Samahquam Band in the Lillooet Valley near Harrison Lake, spoke of the bishop-elect’s going to great lengths to minister to native people.

“We really appreciated him taking the funeral Masses at the Church of the Holy Cross in Skookumchuck and also doing the weddings and baptisms whenever he could. It’s a long drive and it certainly must have been difficult with his schedule.”

Peters said that Bishop-elect Gordon was a great comfort to her family when they were torn apart by the loss of their father in an accident in 1987.

“The family was so angry we had trouble accepting the flowers sent by the other person in the accident. I will never forget Father Gary’s beautiful homily on forgiveness and how it helped us begin the healing process.”

The B.C. Catholic will provide additional coverage of the Feb. 15 aboriginal celebration in the upcoming special edition to mark the ordination and installation of Bishop-elect Gordon on March 22.