The Saskatchewan Anglican, June 2020

Saskatchewan

anglican

The newspaper of the Dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle • A Section of the Anglican Journal • June 2020

Ten bishops sign historic covenant

By Joanne Shurvin-Martin REGINA — The LAURC Covenant was released on April 2, signed by 10 archbishops and bishops signifying closer relationships among Lutherans, Anglicans, Ukrainian Catholics and Roman Catholics in the province of Saskatchewan.

The full text of the covenant is found on the websites of the three Anglican dioceses in the province.

The new covenant speaks of expanding the covenantal vision, and refers to the long history among the participants.

International and national dialogues between Catholics, Anglicans and Lutherans have led to many agreed statements on important matters of theological dispute arising from five centuries of separation.

Many 20 th -century reforms of the churches and their liturgies have drawn us closer in faith and witness.

Working together in social justice, care for the poor, chaplaincies, and other aspects of the church’s life and work has allowed us to grow together and increasingly to reveal the oneness of the body of Christ.

The covenant explains some of the history.

The union between the Ukrainian Catholic and Roman Catholic churches occurred in 1595-96, and has enjoyed a renaissance in mutual sharing and learning since Vatican II and the end of the Soviet occupation of Ukraine.

The Diocese of Qu’Appelle and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina have been partners in a covenant since 2011.

This covers the

Diocese of Saskatchewan

Diocese of Saskatoon

Diocese of Qu'Appelle

Roman Catholic Diocese of Prince Albert

Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina

Archdiocese of Keewatin-Le Pas

Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon

Evangelical Lutheran Church — Saskatchewan

southern part of the province.

Anglicans will be familiar with the full communion partnership between the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), which began in 2001.

This national partnership preserves the unique theological, liturgical, and spiritual traditions of each partner while allowing for an

exchange of sacraments and ministry. These same conditions apply to the Ukrainian and Roman Catholic union.

However, the LAURC covenant does not extend the provisions of the communion partnership to the new partners.

In particular, the covenant does not change the disciplines of our churches regarding sacramental life or recognition of ministry.

The covenant states:

As churches together we commit to finding ways to celebrate and to effectively live out our real but incomplete communion.

It lists five ways the churches can work together: prayer, study, action (particularly ministry to the poor, evangelism, hospital and home visiting and social advocacy), social life together and ecumenical leadership.

Almost two pages of the document are devoted to

Find the Saskatchewan Anglican on Facebook and Issuu!

practical commitments to common mission.

Among these are to hold annual prayer services with participants from each church; to remember one another’s churches and leaders in our intercessions; to join together on justicerelated initiatives; to find ways to work and pray together in times of great need or emergency; to hold meetings with First Nations and Métis elders and communities to promote reconciliation and healing; and to maintain communication among the churches, when any new development has implications or challenges for the others.

More than 20 other initiatives are also listed, many of which can be implemented at the parish level.

The signers of the covenant were Archbishop Bryan Bayda, Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon; Archbishop Donald Bolen, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina; Archbishop Murray Chatlain, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Keewatin-Le Pas; Bishop Mark Hagemoen, Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon; Bishop Adam Halkett, Bishop of Missinippi, Anglican Diocese of Saskatchewan; Bishop Robert Hardwick, Anglican Diocese of Qu’Appelle; Bishop Christopher Harper, Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon; Bishop Sid Haugen, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Synod of Saskatchewan; Bishop Michael Hawkins, Anglican Diocese of Saskatchewan; and Bishop Albert Thévenot, M. Afr., Roman Catholic Diocese of Prince Albert.

For a letter from Bishop Robert Hardwick to Anglicans in the Diocese of Qu'Appelle, see page 16.

2

The Saskatchewan Anglican

June 2020

How the Holy Spirit works in my life Do you have an idea for a column topic? We want to hear from you. Email skanglicaneditor@gmail. com.

How do you see the Holy Spirit working in your life?

Editor’s note: The Rev. Dr. Trish McCarthy has related ministry duties in Saskatoon as: coordinator for the Diocese of Saskatoon’s School of Discipleship, the diocesan co-ordinator of Safe Church, assistant professor at Emmanuel and St. Chad Seminary, and as parttime interim priest at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, 33rd Street in Saskatoon.

You can connect with her at tmccarthy@sasktel.net.

By the Rev. Dr. Trish McCarthy

T

here have been moments in my life in which the Holy Spirit was speaking to me in indisputable ways. At other times, after prayer and reflection, I have come to understand God’s guidance for me.

There have been times when I have intuitively sensed God addressing me because of familiar ways God has spoken to me in the past. In prayerful discernment, I can often confirm that I have indeed received a message from God through the Holy Spirit.

In my early 20s as a theological student, in a time of financial crunch, I was wondering what God wanted me to do about it all. The passages that were assigned in the Daily Office Lectionary were very puzzling and alarmed me. With pressure from my family, I was leaning in the direction of leaving my theological studies to get some paid work.

But three times that week, Matthew 6: 25-28 came up and hit me like a two-by-four: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink or about your body, what you will wear…

Consider the lilies of the field, they neither toil nor spin … .”

Initially, I wanted to simply say that this couldn’t apply to me. Yet upon prayerful reflection, I sensed the Holy Spirit inviting me to trust in God. So, I put off my

decision. Remarkably, a God-incident to be sure. a week later, God came The Holy Spirit guided me through and I finished my then. year of theological study.

Most of the time, I have One time I received experienced the Holy a request for pastoral Spirit when general ideas care in the mid-1990s. A and values have arisen parishioner was in an in my biblical study and intensive care unit 250 reflection. I have often kilometres away and felt these to be important her family wanted to divine promptings to hold discuss with in mind as me what I proceed measures through I regularly they should pastoral seek the allow the situations.

Holy Spirit’s medical staff I regularly to take, in seek the guidance as caring for Holy Spirit’s I read over their mother, guidance as an assigned given I read over the dim an assigned biblical text prognosis. biblical text for preaching.

When I for preaching.

I pray a lot got to the I pray a lot hospital at 9 with a text with a text a.m. the next and then and then morning, do some do some our beloved scholarly matriarch reading scholarly was sitting around the reading up, taking text. I also around the nourishment try to “hear” and joking my sermon text. I also with the from the try to “hear” family. point of view my sermon While the of different family was people in the from the apologetic congregation, point of view for having so that I of different called me, I have some spent some assurance people in the valuable that my congregation, visiting proclamation so that I time. of God’s This story Word will be have some is not over. relevant for assurance As I was people who that my waiting for will hear it. my husband Sometimes proclamation in the front I find that the of God’s lobby of that discernment Word will be hospital at of the Holy about 11 a.m.

Spirit comes relevant for that day in a with the people who city I did not study of will hear it. know, I was scholarly approached thought in an by a woman area. who was As I have choked up. “Are you Trish learned more about the McCarthy?” cultural and historical She proceeded to tell me context of a biblical text, I that her husband was very learn more about how the ill and that he was in that Holy Spirit may be moving hospital. I spent two hours in our day. with the couple and I was When I am being fed privileged to be present spiritually through the when the gentleman died.

Holy Spirit by Scripture, This remarkable coin my daily devotions, or incidence has remained as I prepare a sermon, with me: that there is a what I was chance that doing for the people to one person whom I am ended up preaching being done may also be for a totally fed. This is different another way person and that I believe reason! the Holy This was Spirit moves

in my life.

I have always found and still find that the support and insights of a trained spiritual director are indispensable for me in accurately discerning God’s guidance and will for me.

When I can share in a confidential way about my ministry and spiritual life, a spiritual director can reflect back to me ways he or she thinks the Holy Spirit is working in and around me.

At pivotal points in my life, I often have dreams and interesting coincidences that I will faithfully discuss with my spiritual director, who will confirm or help me to adjust my perspectives.

Carefully crafted questions are the most helpful tools in my spiritual director’s toolbox as I seek to discern God’s work in my life through the third person of the Trinity: The Holy Spirit.

In pastoral caregiving, a person being visited may give little clues that a certain topic is the issue or that the person is not ready to discuss something. We need to respect these sensed feelings.

As we keep up our prayer lives, engage ourselves in spiritual direction, carefully hone our listening skills and learn as much as we can about human nature, this can give us a sensitivity to the work of the Holy Spirit in someone’s life.

As we develop a good pastoral approach, there is a greater likelihood that we can help people who we visit to be more open to the Holy Spirit.

It is important to note that through the Holy Spirit, God typically reveals important things to groups and not to individuals. A prayerful community with prayerful individuals is an essential and fertile context for the Holy Spirit to act.

When we are regular in our communal and individual prayer life, our Bible reflection, and in discernment with the church — our bishop, lay and ordained leaders — we can have some confidence that we accurately receive God’s message, will and direction for life.

Photo courtesy WikiCommons / Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Published by the Dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle.

Published monthly except for July and August.

Whole No. 292, Vol. 48, No. 10 A Section of the Anglican Journal SUBSCRIPTIONS For change of address, undeliverable copies and subscription list updates, contact: • Your parish • e-mail: circulation @national.anglican.ca • Or send to Saskatchewan Anglican, c/o Anglican Journal, 80 Hayden Street, Toronto, Ont. M4Y 3G2 RATES $10 in Canada $17 outside Canada SUBMISSIONS Submissions for the September issue must be received by the diocesan editor no later than July 24..

All pictures must be sent as JPEGS and 1 MB (megabyte) in size.

CONTACT INFORMATION Managing Editor: Jason Antonio SKAnglicanEditor@gmail. com 1501 College Ave Regina, Sask., S4P 1B8 Phone: 306-737-4898 Qu’Appelle: Joanne Shurvin-Martin joannesm@myaccess.ca 6927 Farrell Bay Regina, Sask.,

S4X 3V4 Phone: 306-775-2629 Saskatoon: Peter Coolen ptrcoolen@sasktel.net 820 Avenue I South, Saskatoon, Sask., S7M 1Z3 Phone: 306-244-0935, Saskatchewan: Mary Brown mary1949brown@gmail.com Box 25, Shellbrook, Sask., S0J 2E0 306-922-5159 Advertising agent: Angela Rush saskatchewan.anglican.ads@ gmail.com 905-630-0390 PUBLISHING DETAILS Published from 59 Roberts Place Regina, Sask., S4T 6K5

June 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

3

The Bishop's Corner

Do this in remembrance of me

By Bishop Michael W. Hawkins

F

or more than 10 weeks families and friends have been robbed of customary gatherings and traditions surrounding funerals and burials.

Grief, confusion, loss, and anger are all especially compounded when we have been prevented from being with loved ones as they lay sick and dying.

We should all be concerned about the buildup of unprocessed and unexpressed grief that has accumulated within us and around us during the extraordinary restrictions of this pandemic.

It may be helpful to remember that Jesus’ first disciples were denied the opportunity to give Him their customary burial honours and traditions. Jesus was unceremoniously buried. The women who visited His grave on Easter morning came after the burial, after the fact, to honour and to remember.

They are like so many of us who

have known this double grief, when the funeral or burial of someone we love but see no longer was not able to proceed in the normal way.

It was through the lens of her complicated and compounded tears that Mary Magdalene saw the Lord and knew the power of His resurrection.

She stayed at the tomb; she did not run from the confusion and sorrow. So with us and for so many of us, it is in our grief that we are renewed in our faith and hope.

There is another visit to a grave that gives us an example and hope.

Christ, recall, visited the grave of His friend Lazarus.

It was there or on His way there that Jesus wept. Lazarus had been already dead for some days and Christ knew that He was come to

raise him from the dead but still He wept.

Jesus shares in our grief and mourning. We deprive ourselves of so much healing and hope when we do not share our grief and mourning with Him and with one another.

At the grave or on recollection of the loss and powerlessness of these past months, we all need to weep. We need to seek to find ways to grieve and remember our loved ones, family and friends, as well as acquaintances.

I would suggest to all, and especially those in parish and pastoral leadership, that it is helpful and healing to bring that grieving and remembering into the Eucharist, and I hope once we are able to gather again, we will bring our common and personal loss and grief and offer them up to Jesus and with Jesus and in Jesus.

In a Requiem Eucharist, but also in every celebration of the Holy Communion, we remember all those departed this life in God’s faith and fear as we remember Jesus.

Their story is taken up into Christ’s story, their life and death into Christ’s death and resurrection, their memory into

Christ’s memory.

The Lord’s Supper is Holy Communion, but it is also Holy Remembering and Holy Thanksgiving. It is a memorial; that remembering is prayer. Don’t we often say, I will remember you in my prayers?

The greatest remembrance and the finest memorial is the Lord’s Supper and to remember the departed in Jesus and with Jesus.

To celebrate His memorial in and with their memory is the greatest honour we can offer them.

As we are bound to remember them, so we are bound to give thanks for them, and nowhere more appropriately than in the thanksgiving or Eucharist that Christ Himself commanded.

And the Holy Communion, those sweet pledges of Jesus’ love, is the blessed assurance of God’s favour and goodness towards us, but is also a taste of the communion of saints, of that blessed company of all faithful people. We are one bread, one body.

The fellowship that we have in Christ transcends the narrow stream of death. We share and rejoice with them in Christ’s real presence.

Rediscovering the Holy Spirit's refreshing presence in life

By Rev. Gene Packwood

J

esus is on my mind as I write this from my COVID-19 induced state of semiself-seclusion.

Along with the virus, anxiety is in the air.

Worship together in our Church buildings is suspended. Life has changed, but Jesus remains “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8).

How I know this and am able to take comfort in the knowledge is because the Holy Spirit fills and guides me.

Just as Jesus said, “the Helper, the Holy Spirit…will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26), and “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14). The Holy Spirit brings Jesus to me and to you. Supernaturally.

Barry Kissell, a priest in the Church of England, in Riding the Storm (Eastbourne:

Kingsway, 2000) wrote, “The Christian faith is supernatural.

It involves God supernaturally becoming a man in Jesus Christ.

Jesus lived, died, was buried and rose again supernaturally from the dead.

He went to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit not only to indwell those who believed in him, but also to work through them in power” (p130).

ARM Canada exists to promote and spread the supernatural truth that each of us Christians, even Anglican ones, “is given the manifestation of the Spirit” who dwells in us, teaches us,

reminds us of Jesus and fills us with power “for the common good” (1 Cor 12:7).

You and I “are not lacking in any gift” (1 Cor 1:7). LORD willing, I will explore the 1 Corinthians 12 Gifts of the Spirit in future columns.

There are close to 300 references to the Holy Spirit in the Bible. The first occurs in the second verse of Genesis. It is the Holy Spirit who hovers, broods and moves over the new creation.

This is the verse that prompted Canadian, Dr. A. B. Simpson, founder of The Christian Missionary and Alliance Church, in The Holy Spirit, his excellent survey of the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, to describe the Holy Spirit as “the Mother Heart of God”— an apt and fitting metaphor for the second person of the Holy Trinity who brooded over creation, brought it to birth and has nurtured it ever since.

A lovely image that resonates beautifully with the last reference to the Holy Spirit in the Bible — the warm invitation that comes five verses from the end — to come and drink freely of the Water of Life (Rev 22:17), the Living Water Jesus gives (John 4:10).

It is clear that the Mother Heart of God — the Holy Spirit who was there at the beginning — is with us now, and will be there to welcome us when we join Jesus again at the end.

ARM Canada prays and works so you will have opportunities to rediscover the Holy Spirit’s refreshing presence in your lives and in the Church.

Like and follow us on Facebook. Subscribe to Taste and See, our quarterly magazine at www.armcanada.org.

UPDATE: In my last column I mentioned a Holy Spirit weekend in Regina in June.

Unfortunately, we’ve had to cancel it because of the pandemic.

4

The Saskatchewan Anglican

June 2020

It's family first for P.A. couple during pandemic Article courtesy the Prince Albert Daily Herald PRINCE ALBERT — Twice a day, Percy Cunningham walks his two-kilometre circuit — not bad for someone in a younger demographic but rather notable for a recently turned 93-yearold such as Cunningham.

Even more notable: the reason he gets his steps in.

“I just came back about 10 minutes ago, for the second time around day,” he says over the phone, before starting to chuckle.

“And I go by that woman’s place who phoned you and started this whole problem,” he joked.

To be clear, there is no problem. Cunningham is not looking for publicity and his neighbours are not angry with him. They are actually impressed.

He walks for one reason and one reason only, and it isn’t for exercise or a desire to get out of the house, although those are benefits.

Instead, Cunningham makes the near-daily trek to bring gifts to his wife, Gladys, who he calls the “love of his life.”

She lives in Prince

Percy Cunningham Albert’s Good Shepherd Villa, a retirement residence and personal care home.

The couple, married for more than 70 years, haven’t seen each other in person since mid-March, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and social distancing rules and policies were put in place.

Almost every day he walks to the building, rings the doorbell and leaves a box of chocolates and bouquet of flowers at the door.

It’s a way he tries to stay connected during this

Percy Cunningham and his wife, Gladys. disconnected time.

“I said: ‘OK, for your Christmas present, I’m going to give you flowers and candy every week until the flowers come in the summer,” Percy said.

“So, I take them to her every week, but I’m not really in touch with her.

All I do is go down, ring the bell, and they come out and take the flowers and take them to her. I don’t see or hear anything. It’s hard.”

Percy and Gladys used to operate a service station together in Waskesiu.

She ran the counter in

Photos courtesy PA Daily Herald

the front. He ran the garage in the back. After retiring, they moved to Prince Albert, where they volunteered extensively at St. Alban’s Cathedral.

When Gladys moved into Good Shepherd Villa, Percy would typically visit three or four times a week.

They’ve done everything together for more than 70 years of marriage. Now, except for chats on the phone, they’ve been forced apart due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Percy remains optimistic despite the challenges.

Taking long walks two, and sometimes three, times a day brings some solace, and helps him reflect on the life he and Gladys have lived together.

He hopes Prince Albert seniors and older residents will understand that their relatives may not be able to visit during what he calls an “extraordinary time,” even though they want to.

He also hopes the restrictions will end by June. Until that day comes, Percy said, he’ll keep walking, all to maintain a connection with his true love.

DIOCESE OF SASKATOON EVENTS

Announcements for June 2020 g During the COVID-19 interruption in regular and church life, daily and weekly church services and videos are available from links on the diocesan website and diocesan Facebook pages, as well as on individual parish websites and Facebook pages and on YouTube. g Saskatchewan Anglican online! Did you know that you can read current and past issues of the Saskatchewan Anglican online at https://issuu.com/ thesaskatchewananglican or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ saskatchewananglican or the Diocese of Saskatoon website at www.anglicandiocesesaskatoon.com/ saskanglican? g What is our bishop

up to? Check out the bishop’s calendar on the redesigned and improved diocesan website. g New Ministry Preparation Program: The Diocese of Saskatoon has begun this new program that consolidates the separate programs of lay reader and locally raised clergy training, St. Bridget’s and training in ministry support.

For information on this program and the program’s courses, to inquire about applying for and to obtain application forms for this program, or to receive updates on the status of any particular course, please contact the program’s co-ordinator, the Rev. Dr. Trish McCarthy, at tmccarthy@ sasktel.net or 306-3708378.

g School of Discipleship, Spiritual Formation Course: The Spiritual Formation Course is a new course being sponsored by the Diocese of Saskatoon's School of Discipleship.

Costs for this course will be paid by the diocese.

Whether you are registered in the overall ministry preparation course or just interested in going deeper in your relationship with God, you are warmly welcome to consider this course.

Initially the course has been planned to accommodate the most people by using Zoom meetings for an hour, once every two weeks from June 2020 until February 2021.

The course will cover some core Christian spiritual disciplines as well as other prayer forms that could complement other prayer practices.

Course work would include logging about daily spiritual practices and experience of them.

An in-person day retreat part way through the course and another, at the end of the course, is planned, but will be adjusted to accommodate to whatever health restrictions are in place at the time.

The registration form can be found at www. anglicandiocesesaskatoon.com/new-blog.

For more information, please contact the Rev. Dr. Trish McCarthy at tmccarthy@sasktel.net or 306-370-8378 or see the notice elsewhere in this issue.

Retirements and appointments: g The bishop announces the following diocesan appointments: As canon, the

Rev. Jessie Pei, the Rev. Debbie Ramage, and the Rev. Matteo Carboni; and as executive archdeacon, effective as of July 1, the Rev. Canon Alex Parsons. A service of collation and seating of canons will be announced and will take place at a later date.

Deadline To be included in a timely manner, brief notices should be sent to the Associate Editor by e-mail or “snail mail” by the last week of the month, two months before the month in which insertion is desired (for example, December submissions will be in the February issue).

Detailed and longer texts of upcoming events will not be included here, but should space allow, could be the subject of article and notices elsewhere in the paper.

June 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

5

Helpful isolation hints to apply during COVID-19

By Carol Kostiuk R.N. Editor’s note: Carol Kostiuk is parish nurse at Augustana Lutheran Church, Saskatoon, as well as St. Patrick’s Parish/ St. Michael’s/St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic churches in Saskatoon.

SASKATOON — Everyone is unique and will react to a stressful situation with variable coping methods.

This Easter season has come with special concerns — not only are we isolated from family, friends and neighbours but from our church community and the special Easter celebration of our faith.

Below are some coping methods that may be beneficial to help keep us in the here and now.

Living in the moment will help to keep us grounded in what we can do today: Write an encouraging message or note to someone.

Inspirational thoughts are beneficial for both the giver and the receiver.

Cards and letters are great, even when virtually received When possible, live stream church services or devotionals. TV, radio, CDs, even old records will suffice Prayer groups: set up a specific time for a prayer partner or group to pray.

Knowing someone who is also isolated and praying at the same time you are brings us together as one big family Have a virtual or phone coffee break with various people throughout the week Create a buddy system with your group of friends and family — check in at a certain time if need be If you are able, join with community dropoff initiatives such as the delivery of baking, groceries, puzzles, material, books. It is fun to receive a sweet surprise on your doorstep Share your gifts and talents, such as sewing masks, quilting, prayer shawls. Even a gift of song is wonderful. Phone someone and sing to them;

With prayer groups, set up a specific time for a prayer partner or group in which to pray. Knowing someone who is also isolated and praying at the same time as you brings together as one big family.

Photo courtesy Shutterstock grandchildren or an elder in a care home can sing along with you and know they are truly not alone

Outbreaks can be stressful and include fear and worry about your own health, the health of Get something done your loved ones, changes that you in eating, never had sleeping and When parents physical time for before: and caregivers activity rearranging patterns. deal with the a closet, There a drawer, may be a COVID-19 looking worsening of knowledgeably, mental health through calmly and old photo and chronic albums or conditions confidently, picking up as well as they can on a craft increased use you used to provide the best of alcohol and love tobacco. support for At-risk their children. people — the There are many vulnerable, Parents virtual the elderly, can be more tours of front line places, reassuring to and essential museums workers — others around are all in and zoos which are them, especially need of extra fun to watch TLC at this children, if unprecedented they are better time.

Call a front line Taking care prepared. or essential of yourself, service your friends, provider and your and thank them for family can help you cope keeping us all a little safer with stress. Helping others cope with their Put a happy face/ stress can also make your pretty picture in your community stronger. front window Ways to cope with Put on some loved stress: music and dance Take breaks from

watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media.

Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.

Take care of your body.

Take deep breaths, stretch.

Try to eat healthy, wellbalanced meals. Exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep. Avoid alcohol and drugs. Make time to unwind. Do activities you enjoy. Connect with others.

Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.

Help lines are available!

Understanding the risk to yourself and people you care about can make an outbreak less stressful.

Children and teens react, in part, on what they see from the adults around them.

When parents and caregivers deal with the COVID-19 knowledgeably, calmly and confidently, they can provide the best support for their children.

Parents can be more reassuring to others around them, especially children, if they are better prepared. Watch for behaviour changes in your child. Everyone is individual and may respond differently. Offer conversation and support.

Answer questions and share facts that the

child can understand.

Limit exposure to news coverage. Keep regular routines. Also, be a good role model.

Remember mental health problems can present as physical complaints (such as headaches, stomach aches or having trouble concentrating).

Common reactions to COVID-19: Concern about protecting yourself from the virus.

Concern that regular medical care or community services may be disrupted due to building closures or reductions in services.

Feeling socially isolated, especially if you live alone or are in a community setting that is not allowing visitors because of the outbreak.

Guilt if loved ones now need to help you with activities of daily living.

Please remember that asking for and accepting help is a sign of strength.

We are all in this together. Here’s praying this pandemic will pass by a little more quickly because of our unwavering faith and with a little sunshine and happiness sent to brighten someone’s day, especially from you.

6

The Saskatchewan Anglican

June 2020

DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE

Easter service created with help from across diocese

By Joanne Shurvin-Martin REGINA — It was truly a diocese-wide production.

Clergy and lay people from Rocanville to Maple Creek participated, and well over 1,000 people watched the Easter Sunday service on YouTube.

A “pew bulletin” of the service had been distributed in advance by email. To see this and other online services, go to www.quappelle.anglican. ca and click on Online Holy Week Services, then click on YouTube.

Dean Mike Sinclair of St. Paul’s Cathedral and Bishop Rob Hardwick were the main celebrants. Rev. Michael Bruce of St. Luke and St. Matthew, Regina, chanted the psalm.

Three deacons – Luanne Hrywkiw of Yorkton, Canon Michael Jackson of the Cathedral, and Arleen Champion of St. Aidan, Moose Jaw – shared in the reading of the gospel.

There was a wide variety of music. Chris Kayler of St. Aidan, Moose Jaw, played the piano and sang The Day of Resurrection.

Glory to God was sung

by Anthony Kelly of St. Thomas, Rocanville, who accompanied himself on guitar.

Three young members of the Duncan family from St. Giles, Estevan sang He Rose. Members of the Mills family from All Saints, Regina, sang the Easter favourite, Jesus Christ is Risen Today.

Most of the music was recorded in homes, but the Duncans were filmed in the empty church in Estevan.

Joan Phair, also of St. Giles, Estevan, and Lorna Wells from St. Mary, Maple Creek, read the first and second scriptures for the day.

Following Bishop Rob Hardwick’s sermon, the Prayers of the People were read by the Sunday School children of St. Stephen the Martyr, Swift Current, each in their own home.

Alex Campbell of St. Philip, Regina, said the Lord’s Prayer in Cree.

Then Bishop Hardwick led worshippers through the renewal of baptism vows.

Deacon Hrywkiw gave the dismissal after announcements.

A screenshot from the Easter service YouTube video shows kids from the Duncan family — William, Rebecca and Rachael — singing the gradual hymn "He Rose."

Photo courtesy Diocese of Qu'Appelle

You are invited into a

Spiritual Formation Course

sponsored by the Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon’s

School of Discipleship

Co-ordinated by the Rev. Dr. Trish McCarthy June 2020 to February 2021 one hour, every two weeks with two retreats Online Platform: Zoom Costs: Covered by your diocese

OPEN to Anglicans interested in going deeper in relationship with God Required course for those in the Overall Ministry Preparation Course YOU are warmly welcome to join us!

Please follow the link provided here to fill out a registration form:

https://www.anglicandiocesesaskatoon.com/new-blog

Hope to see you online!

If AFTER READING online course description, you have questions, please contact Rev. Dr. Trish McCarthy at tmccarthy@sasktel.net

June 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

7

Online and on the move By the Rev. Dr. Iain Luke Principal, College of Emmanuel & St. Chad In so many ways, our plans for 2020 and our expected routines have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the social restrictions that came in its wake. I want to share with you some of the effect we felt at the college, and some of the ways we are responding.

The first and most obvious effect was that in-person classes could no longer gather, for the last part of the winter term. Similar to most post-secondary institutions, though, we were able to convert our classes quickly to remote delivery.

In most cases, this meant using video conferencing to do what would have been done in class.

College life has other dimensions to it as well, so we had to shift to an online format for meetings.

Since our times together don’t just tick off administrative boxes, but also build trust, mutual care and collaboration, we also added a weekly “virtual coffee hour,” with no agenda at all.

Worship felt like a much bigger challenge,

but like so many parishes, we quickly adopted video conferencing for our regular services.

This turned out to have an unexpected benefit.

It became much easier to share worship with people from our partner colleges in the Saskatoon Theological Union (STU), with students who were away from Saskatoon, and with friends of the colleges in other provinces and countries.

This discovery is giving us a new way of looking at the effect of public health restrictions.

While the constraints have hindered our mission in some ways, they are also opening up new opportunities, and helping us to recognize what was already developing in our college and STU communities.

Our colleges are made up of people dispersed over multiple dioceses, in many different settings. It is wonderful when we can physically come together from so many contexts, but it is also wonderful to be in our different places and introduce them to one another.

When technology helps us to see into the lives of other communities, and participate in them, it is a real

which is not related to the pandemic but will have a big effect on Emmanuel & St. Chad in the coming year.

This column is the last one I will write from our current location at the Lutheran Theological Seminary.

Over the summer, both we and LTS will be moving to new offices in St. Andrew’s College building. This move brings our three STU colleges together under one roof.

All of us involved in this process have been struck by the gracious providence of God in making this move possible.

We are also conscious of a new call to work together more closely, and to create new partnerships for learning, using our three denominational traditions as resources for all that we do together.

We look forward to discovering even more of what God is leading us towards, in our new configuration.

blessing. prayer services online, We know this will be or getting a chance to part of the mission of the experience what happens college into the future, in congregations they even beyond the time could not visit in person. of physical distancing This development requirements. matters especially From across Western for the work we are Canada, and elsewhere, beginning with local there are students who training partners, in want to join us in class, rural and remote parts but for whom the reality of northern and Western of travel or relocation is Canada. prohibitive.

People training for We also know that a ministry leadership now lot of people who had no have new, tested ways to experience with meeting interact with teachers, and studying online in mentors, and learning January now have a lot environments at a of experience! distance.

So, we will work Just a few months through the summer to ago this might have expand the availabilbeen a difficult abstract ity of courses through concept, but it has remote delivery. This become our reality. will enable us to be There is one other f lexible in the face of important change I want whatever restrictions to let you know about, may linger in the new academic year, and Home care Home care responsive to people designed Home care seeking new opportunidesigned ties through online designed especially especially study. especially for you for you Many people in the for you In the Saskatoon area, please call In the Saskatoon area, please call education sector have • Companionship • Palliative Care In the Saskatoon area, please call 306.652.3314 observed significant • Home Support • Nurse Supervised Staff 306.652.3314 306.652.3314 1.800.647.7730 increases in participa• Personal Care 1.800.647.7730 • 24 Hour / 7 Day Service 1.800.647.7730 tion in online learning.

• Nursing • Companionship • Client Consultations • Respite Services • Free In-Home Consultations These new • Personal Care formats • Palliative Care • Nurse Supervised Staff • Nursing • Companionship • Client Consultations •• Home Nursing • Companionship • Client Consultations SupportCare • Insurance Funding • 24 Hour/7 Day Service • Personal • Palliative Care Investigations • Nurse Supervised Staff are also creating new • Personal Care Palliative CareInvestigations Nurse Supervised Staff 2 to reach your local branch press ext.

• Home Support • •Insurance Funding • 24 Hour/7• Day Service Support • Insurance Funding Investigations • 24 Hour/7 Day Service ways• Home to worship, with www.bayshore.ca people seeking out daily ISOhas been enhancing the quality of life, dignity and independence of Bayshore HealthCare

306.652.3314

Bayshore HealthCare has been enhancing the quality of life, dignity and independence of Canadians in their homes since 1966.

Bayshore HealthCare has been enhancing the quality of life, dignity and independence of Canadians in their homes since 1966.

Quality 9001

Management System

Quality e g i s t e r e dISO C osince m p a n y Management Canadians in their Rhomes 1966.

9001

System

Registered Company

ISO 9001

Quality Management System

Registered Company

You don’t have to wait until Christmas to give a gift that will make a difference right here in Canada give local

give canadian

www.anglicanfoundation.org

www.bayshore.ca www.bayshore.ca

www.bayshore.ca

HealthCare HealthCare

HealthCare

8

The Saskatchewan Anglican

June 2020

Spanish Flu caused many 'churchless Sundays'

By Mary Brown and Fred Payton Editor’s note: Thanks to Fred Payton for sharing some of the following information about the Spanish Flu. When you read about the Spanish Flu you will see the uncanny similarities of what is happening to us now.

PRINCE ALBERT — On the front page of the Oct. 18, 1918 edition of the Prince Albert Daily Herald, the citizens of Prince Albert were advised that the city would close down for the epidemic. The epidemic was the Spanish Influenza.

Up to the beginning of October 1918, there had been few stories about the epidemic in the local newspaper.

That remained the case until Oct. 8, 1918, when a front-page story referenced the rise in the number of cases in Canadian cities such as Halifax, Toronto, and Quebec, as well as American cities such as Atlanta, Boston, and Columbus, Ohio.

On Oct. 15, Dr. McMillan, the Public Health Officer in Prince Albert, was reported as having been advised that the influenza was spreading over Western Canada On Oct. 16, the newspaper advised citizens that all cases of influenza must be reported, although few cases were believed to exist in the city. The public was being urged to take precautions, report suspected cases, and to maintain their general good health through sanitation and fresh air.

The following day five cases were reported, three of which were serious and were being confined in the isolation hospital.

Bishop Pascal of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Prince Albert approved and issued an order requesting that special prayers be offered against the epidemic.

On Oct. 18, citizens of Prince Albert were told that all places of public assembly in Prince Albert were to be closed by midnight by order of the public health committee to prevent a spread of the Spanish grippe.

The places to be closed included public schools, theatres, churches, pool

Fred Payton tells the story of Lawrence Clarke during a tour of St. Mary's Cemetery, in June 2018.

Photo courtesy Prince Albert Daily Herald

St. Mary's Anglican Cemetery in Prince Albert.

Photo courtesy findagrave.com rooms, dance halls, and every other place of public assembly.

There had been 16 new cases of the Spanish Flu reported in the city in the previous 24 hours. The majority of the cases to that point were being treated within the homes of those infected.

This led to what the newspaper referred to as the “first churchless Sunday” ever in Prince Albert. It was noted that the Salvation Army did conduct an open-air service that day with a “sick call,” and that Sacred Heart Cathedral was open for private devotions.

By the end of the weekend, 53 cases had been reported, with 20 of

them hospitalised.

The health officials were working hard to keep the citizenry positive about the work they were doing, but that only ended with people becoming complacent. That resulted in the people relaxing their efforts to protect against the influenza.

By the end of October, the health committee made a decision to expend between $500 and $600 to renovate the upper floor of the isolation hospital to create additional bed space.

Meanwhile, the school closure was requiring parents and students to do their studies at home. The boys from the P.A. Collegiate had been

organised to cut wood and tend to fires for those suffering from illness.

Meanwhile, volunteer nurses were providing assistance to families who were coping with the influenza in their homes.

The third “churchless Sunday” had come and gone, and on Nov. 11 the Armistice was signed, ending the Great War. The Right Rev. Jervois Newnham, the Anglican Bishop of Saskatchewan, called for a Service of Thanksgiving to be held at St. Alban’s Pro-Cathedral to celebrate the end of the war.

The service was to be held on Nov. 13. However, the ban on public gatherings was still in place, so the service was postponed.

On Nov. 14, it was announced that the ban on public gatherings would be lifted at midnight on the following Saturday.

The Anglicans, Presbyterians, and Roman Catholics, as well as the Salvation Army, determined that they would hold services, but the Methodists and Baptists chose not to do so.

The emergency hospital at the collegiate was closed on Nov. 14, and the four remaining patients were transferred to the isolation

hospital. Local schools, including the collegiate, were reopened on Dec. 2 after all received a major cleaning and sanitising.

On Nov. 19, it was indicated that the influenza was controlled in Prince Albert. However, the hospitals were still dealing with cases being brought in from the rural areas.

In the city newspaper on Dec. 18, it was reported that from Oct. 12 to Dec. 17, a total of 742 cases of Spanish Influenza had been reported, with 58 deaths.

Of these deaths, 18 were from the rural areas, resulting in 40 deaths of Prince Albert residents.

Between the years 1918 and 1919, 59 people (many of them children) were buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery, owned by the Anglican Diocese of Saskatchewan, due to the Spanish Flu. In Stanley Mission there were 244 deaths.

The Department of Indian Affairs wanted to cremate the bodies but the Rev. Phillip John Charles, in consultation with the chief, wanted a proper burial for their dead.

He arranged for a mass grave on an island near the Holy Trinity Church.

Continued next page

June 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

9

Prayer, fasting can help during tough times

By Rev. Gene Packwood

J

esus has me praying for Anglican Renewal Ministries (ARM) Canada and the Church on Mondays, because the ARM board decided it would be a good idea at a prayer retreat in Okotoks last January, before COVID-19 hit the fan. Supposed to fast, too.

I wasn’t there because of a funeral so I couldn’t warn about unseemly “enthusiasm” and being too “spiritual” for our boots.

So here we are. I just have to submit, suck it up and do it. To save face.

The chairman can’t be less “spiritual” than the board. Sigh.

The irritating thing is they’re right. Fact is, there’s nothing else for it.

Prayer and fasting—to deal with the pandemic and for the renewal of our organization and our Church.

As I’m sure you’ve heard, according to a recent report to the Council of General Synod, the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) is in serious numerical and financial decline. ARM Canada is part of the ACoC. Not a large part, but The LORD has used us over the years to bring

When people in the Bible realized (or were told) they were in trouble, they prayed and fasted (and worshipped). Look it up, says Rev. Gene Packwood with Anglican Renewal Ministries (ARM) Canada.

Photo courtesy Shutterstock renewal and life to parishes across the land.

Up until recently, however, we’ve shared the decline.

The conferences with 800 participants and the well subscribed Leadership Training Institutes of yore are no more.

And now, the truth is,

fundraising and clever programs won’t cut it. We need divine help.

... Spanish Flu and 'churchless Sundays' Continued from page 8 Be strong and courageous There are many prayers and inspirational quotes out there for people to read in this scary time.

One such message I found interesting was a post from the Church of the Incarnation in Dallas, Texas.

Quarantine: the Latin root of the word “quarantine” is 40.

And what does the Bible say about 40? The flood lasted 40 days; for 40 years Moses fled Egypt; for 40 days Moses stayed on Mount Sinai to receive the commandments; the Exodus lasted 40 years; Jesus fasted for 40 days; Lent is 40 days; it takes 40 days for a woman to rest after giving birth.

A group of theologians think the number 40 represents change and

the time of preparing a person, or people, to make a fundamental change.

Something will happen after these 40 days, so just believe and pray.

Remember, whenever the number 40 appears in the Bible, there is a change.

Please know that during this quarantine rivers are cleaning up, vegetation is growing, the air is becoming cleaner because of less pollution, there is less theft and murder, healing is happening, and most importantly, people are turning to Christ.

The Earth is at rest for the first time in many years and hearts are truly transforming.

Christ promises us that everything works together for the good for those who love God (Romans 8:28).

Remember we are in the year 2020 and 20 + 20 = 40.

2020 is perfect vision, so may our sight focus on the

Lord and we live according to His perfect vision for us, knowing He holds us in the palm of His hand.

In the Diocese of Saskatchewan our churches may be closed but continue in their ministry. Social media has become our makeshift church.

There are prayers and prayer requests online, you can attend a Zoom Bible study and morning and evening prayer and Sunday services.

The diocese broadcasts services from St. Alban’s Cathedral every Sunday morning at 11 a.m., with the hymn lyrics on the screen.

Unfortunately, some of our congregation members are not connected to social media.

However, they are getting weekly phone calls and letters of printed material from media posts.

When people in the Bible realized (or were told) they were in trouble, they prayed and fasted (and worshipped).

Look it up. We are in trouble: our Church (and organization) is in decline, while our health and economy virally compromised. ARM Canada’s board is right.

We need to pray and fast. Board members decided The LORD would like us to do it on Mondays. You’re welcome to join us. And when you do, decide to pray “at all times in the Spirit” (Eph 6:18). How does one pray in the Spirit? Start with this: Almighty God, without you we are not able to please you.

Mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

(BAS, p362—12-18June, BCP, p249—19th after Trinity) In all things, at all times, with all prayer and supplication, with all perseverance and for all the saints (Eph 6:18) directed and ruled by the Holy Spirit — all bases covered!

Why is praying the

Spirit so important? As always when looking for answers to such questions, start with the Bible.

In biblical studies when I was in seminary, one of the academic terms I learned was inclusio, which is a five-dollar word for a literary device also known as bracketing or envelope structure by which, scholars think, an author draws the reader’s attention to an important theme.

I am not a scholar and I didn’t learn about this in seminary.

However, since I’ve been involved with ARM Canada, I’ve enjoyed paying especially close attention when the Holy Spirit is mentioned in Scripture.

It has just occurred to me that the verses to which I referred in the previous issue of this publication — the very first and last references to the Holy Spirit in the Bible, the second verse, Gen. 1:2, and the fifth to last, Rev. 22:17 — may well be such an inclusio intended to highlight the vitally important presence and work of the Holy Spirit throughout the whole beautiful, sweeping, warp and woof of Scripture and the story of salvation in Jesus Christ.

It was the Holy Spirit who brought order and life out of the empty darkness in the beginning, and the Holy Spirit, along with the Bride, the Church, who ushers us into Eternal Life at the end, all the while breathing life and the truth of Jesus into hearts, souls, minds and bodies.

This inclusio of the Holy Spirit enfolds and warms us.

We are bracketed and enveloped with Gerald Manly Hopkins’ “Ah, bright wings!” And if that’s not an important biblical theme, I don’t know what is. That’s why praying in the Spirit is so important.

So ask the Holy Spirit to fill you as you pray, ask Him to speak to you, listen, watch for Him as you read your Bible and in your prayer books, “earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (1 Cor. 14:1).

In doing so, you will glorify Jesus.

10

The Saskatchewan Anglican

June 2020

Virtual choir honour

By Kara Kinna Reprinted with permission from the Moosomin WorldSpectator MOOSOMIN (Qu’A) — When the Creative Vision Choir joined their voices digitally together in a virtual choir to sing a song called God So Loved the World and posted the song on YouTube during the Easter weekend, the moment was monumental for one woman in Moosomin.

The song, which was from a musical performance called The Door, was sung as a tribute to Moosomin’s Rev. Marilyn Scutt, who is now retired.

In 1999, Scutt spend months organizing a performance of The Door.

The show told the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, and pulled members of communities and various churches together.

The performance was held on Easter weekend with more than 1,000 people attending to watch at the Moosomin Baptist Church.

Scutt says it was the beginning of a community choir in the Moosomin area, and planted the seeds for the Creative Vision choir.

“It was good for the community and the churches,” she says.

“It brought everyone together.”

This year, with everyone in lockdown due to the coronavirus, the Creative Vision Choir spent about three weeks working on the performance, with each

person recording his or her part digitally and sending it to choir director Sandra Poole and then to Kendra Parrish.

Parrish then pieced each of the parts together in a program called Wondershare Filmora.

Scutt had no idea the choir was working on the project, and says she was astounded and deeply moved when it was presented to her on the Easter weekend.

“It took me totally by surprise,” she says. “My daughter Mary told me on Easter Sunday that there was an Easter present on the computer for me, and that I should take a look at it. I had no idea what she was talking about.

She helped me get into it and get it started and then she left me by myself.

“It was very, very moving, the fact that they had been working so long just for me.

“I was very, very impressed. I thought they had done a marvelous job.

I don’t know how they did it, to tell you the truth.”

The Door performed in Moosomin Scutt says there is more to the story than just the performance of The Door that she put on years ago.

“I was very, very moved for several reasons,” she says. “First of all I was excited to think that they had done this for me. And secondly, it brought back such wonderful memories of a very successful weekend.

“But on top of all that, when we were just ready to perform the production (in

Individual members of the Creative Vision Choir perform their parts from home, with eac

Rev. Marilyn Scutt (right) directs the original choir in 1999.

1999), that was when my husband, Lyman, passed away. And so I had to put some things on hold. And it was very difficult to do those last few weeks, the practising and getting myself into the right frame of mind.

“But the thing is, when they found out that Lyman had passed away, I could sense that they were trying extra hard to do a good job so that it wasn’t too difficult for me.

“I just can’t explain, I stepped aside, and it was like another power taking over. I really did feel like God was urging us to go on, so I couldn’t cancel it.

“It brought back all of those memories. I had to admit I was in tears when I sat listening to it.

“It brought back wonderful memories, and that was actually the beginning of the Creative Vision choir because we didn’t have a combined

community choir at that time, and Lyman and I went to all of the churches and rounded up as many people as we could, and they all were interested.

“And when it was over, they wanted to keep going because they had all bonded together so well. And that was the beginning of the Creative Vision choir.

“And that’s why it’s so moving for me, because there are so many areas

June 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

11

rs Rev. Marilyn Scutt

ch video combined into one large choir. Photos contributed

Rev. Marliyn Scutt and her late husband, Lyman, review the program of "The Door" in 1999. that touched my heart. It’s really powerful.”

Performance was ecumenical Back in 1999, The Door involved an ecumenical choir of about 40 adults, three children’s choirs, including about 35 children, and around 25 people as actors.

Scutt says the performance was originally planned to be

a cantata, but a number of people involved wanted to go farther and do it as a musical, complete with costumes.

She says it was so powerful, that when the actor playing Jesus was hauled down the aisles of the church toward the cross by centurions, people in the pews found themselves reaching out to try to stop them from crucifying him, while the centurions pushed them

back.

She says after the crucifixion scene, the lights went out, the church went dark and God So Loved the World was performed in darkness.

She says some people told her afterwards it was as if they had witnessed the actual crucifixion.

The Door was performed again three years later.

Virtual choir in 2020

Sandra Poole, who spearheaded the virtual performance, says it was no small feat to get everyone singing together from their homes and to put it all together digitally.

Poole had helped with both performances of The Door years ago.

She says she knew she was up for the challenge of creating a virtual choir as soon as the idea was presented to her.

“My little sister sent me this video and asked me to listen to this virtual choir,” she says.

“It brought me to tears it was so beautiful. We had wanted to do a spring concert.

“We wanted to provide this music for Marilyn, so I thought why don’t we do it virtually, because who knows when the next time will be when we get to sing, and it’s an Easter piece.

“Then I texted Kendra Parrish and I said, ‘Can you do this? If I get the people and get the ball rolling, can you actually put it together?’ and she said, ‘Of course.’

“So I sang an audio version for Barry Rambold (the choir’s pianist) so that he could see how fast I wanted the piece to go and then he sent back an audio clip of him playing the piano, so I sent an email out saying, ‘Hey let’s do a virtual choir!’

“Then I put out a video of me singing one of the parts and directing, because how do people know when to start?

“This was a learning project, and so everybody sent their video back to me. It was so fun to see all of the different people

sending me their videos so I could check it and make sure that the tuning and timing and stuff like that was okay. “ Then I would send it on to Kendra and she would enter the videos into her program one by one.

“It was very involved, and for the last day, before we sent it out, I listened to each video separately and listened for timing and when they entered and when they cut off, and then I sent them to Kendra to edit one by one.”

Poole says she enjoyed the challenge, and would like to try it again.

“I am always up for a challenge and I like to keep busy, so I would like to try it again immediately.

Not everybody joined us because I think some people were unsure of how their voices sounded by themselves.

“It was very interesting how things changed, and it came together so beautifully, so I would encourage all of my choir members next time to try it, because when you sing by yourself it’s one thing, but when you’re put it in a group it is beautiful, so I was really glad that Kendra kept sending it to me piece by piece so I could hear how it grew.

Not being able to be in the same room with her I had to rely on her judgement.”

Poole says she’s not surprised at how well it turned out. “I expected it to be beautiful because we have amazing singers in our group,” she says.

The video of God So Loved the World can be seen online at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=A9MZlnPhFcs.

12

The Saskatchewan Anglican

June 2020

Library in Uganda finishes ahead of schedule Editor’s note: Bishop McAllister College in Uganda, under the direction of Canon Paul Jeffries, is the grateful recipient of long-term funding from many ACWs in the Diocese of Fredericton and the Diocese of Saskatchewan over the last few years.

Fredericton held a bowling tournament in 2017, which raised $7,500 and helped kick off the library project.

Saskatchewan has also given money over the years.

Story courtesy the New Brunswick Anglican

By Paul Jeffries UGANDA — There was much excitement among the students as we prepared to close for the end of our school year last November.

Library construction was completed far sooner than we had anticipated (by four or five years).

As parents were arriving to pick their children for holidays, many were snapping photos with their phones, quite impressed by our newest structure, which is our biggest project ever.

We are also so grateful to all those who have been supporting the project, locally and in Canada and the United States.

We have embarked on furnishing the library, starting first with the upper floor, which is a large reading hall furnished with tables and chairs.

If all goes well, this part will have been completed when students arrived in late January. We have engaged a local carpenter who has been working for a while now at the school.

Then we will quickly start on the lower floor, the main library. We plan for a special section just for the primary students to encourage them to reading.

They have wellestablished reading groups now that Mari Robertson of Sackville started.

Project boys were still digging at the site this holiday, but they will soon finish this enormous task and we will begin landscaping.

Thank you so much to everyone for your continued support, and for making this ministry a success.

Students from Bishop McAllister College in Uganda gather at their school to celebrate the construction of their new library.

Photo contributed

St. Aidan's hands out bagged lunches during pandemic Article courtesy the Moose Jaw Express/ Today.com MOOSE JAW (Qu’A) — To help the community of Moose Jaw through the coronavirus pandemic, volunteers from St. Aidan Anglican Church have spent part of their weekends providing bagged lunches at the door of the church for anyone in need, free of charge.

Beginning at 11:45 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday, volunteers are on hand to give out prepared bagged lunches on a firstcome-first-serve basis, as a service to community members in need.

“These are more difficult times, and there are going to be people who are more vulnerable and (that) some of the people who were able to take care of their food needs may not be able to at this point,” said Michelle Josefson, parish administrator.

The parish usually serves a lunch meal after its Sunday service that is open to the entire community.

It decided to continue the idea even after government measures forced the church to close its doors.

“When the pandemic stuff came into play, we recognized that the need for food was not going to diminish,” said Josefson.

“So, if there’s a way for us to be able to help in that

St. Aidan Church in Moose Jaw started handing out bagged lunches on Saturdays and Sundays during the pandemic for residents who are less fortunate.

Photo courtesy Moose Jaw Today.com way, whatever limited way we can, it’s really important to us to be able to feed the hungry.”

After consulting Riverside Mission and the Salvation Army about the meals it is offering, St. Aidan’s found that there was a gap in service during the weekend.

“Lunches and suppers Monday to Friday were being covered by those two places,” said Josefson.

“But then there was nothing happening on Saturday and Sunday.”

St. Aidan’s volunteers chose to step up and fill that gap, first offering the to-go lunches on March 15 and March 22, before deciding to include hand-

out times on Saturdays and Sundays.

Josefson estimates they are providing meals to about 40 people, which usually consists of a sandwich, granola bar, some kind of fruit, and a bottle of water.

The entire project is run by volunteers, who both put together the bagged lunches and hand them out, while all of the ingredients are being supplied either by the parish itself or through donations from parishioners.

“Some parishioners are willing to just go and buy some supplies if they’ve signed up to make lunches,” said Josefson.

“But if not, then the church picks up whatever the rest of the cost is to be able to make reasonably substantial meals for people who are potentially not getting another meal on those two days.”

Being able to continue to provide a meal to the community on Sundays was important to the church, said Josefson.

“Some of these people have actually become part of our community, our church community,” said Josefson.

“And so they’re people that we know and care about and we want to make sure that they’re not going hungry in this more difficult time.”

June 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

13

Cancer, diabetes couldn't stop priest's positive attitude

By Mary Brown PRINCE ALBERT — Early morning on April 19, Norman Lloyd Young died. Lloyd was ordained into the diaconate on Oct. 22, 2011 in St. Alban’s Cathedral.

Two years later on Nov. 14, 2013, he was ordained into the priesthood in his home church of Church of the Good Shepherd in Cumberland House. He was also appointed as assistant priest in that parish.

In October 2019, I went to visit Lloyd at St. Paul’s Hospital. He was there recovering from the amputation of his other leg. Lloyd was diabetic and was suffering from complications of the disease.

He also had cancer. But he was still the upbeat guy I had known for years.

The nurses set him up in

New bishop installed in Nigeria Article courtesy Anglican News Service NIGERIA — A low-key service has been held in Abuja to install the new Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Archbishop Henry Ndukuba.

Many of the events planned to mark the retirement of outgoing Archbishop Nicholas Okoh and welcome the new archbishop were suspended or postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to journalists after the service last Wednesday (25 March), Archbishop Henry commended the federal and state governments for the work they had done to contain the virus; and he urged President Muhammadu Buhari to do more to establish test and isolation centres across the country.

Archbishop Henry also urged members of the public to following government directives designed to limit the spread of the disease.

“We need to be patient ...,” he said. “This pandemic is for a time. It will pass away ... ."

Tom Pelly and Rev. Lloyd Young. Young died on April 19 after a battle with cancer.

File photo his wheelchair and off we went. I got quite a work out pushing him all over the fifth floor.

He would have had me going all over the hospital, but I ran out of time.

Lloyd and his wife

Gwenda were regular students at the James Settee College. You always knew if Lloyd was in a group by all the laughing and joking to be heard.

What I remember mostly about Lloyd was his

humility and generosity.

When he would come to clergy functions at the Synod Office, he was always dressed in a threepiece suit representing his passion in the honour of being a priest.

His reverence of his calling also showed when he would be one of the few who would kneel at the altar for the Eucharist.

Sometimes there were mix ups with hotel reservations for students of the James Settee College.

One time, rather than bothering us, Lloyd slept in his car on a cold night in November.

Often Lloyd would have gifts for the staff in appreciation for their work in arrangements for the James Settee College classes.

I remember two such gifts; one was a beautiful poster of a woman surrounded by nature, while the other was a 3D picture of the Last Supper.

These gifts will always remind me of Lloyd (and Gwenda). Please pray for Gwenda and her family in their time of grief.

14

The Saskatchewan Anglican

June 2020

Armchair ministry blues By the Rev. Marie-Louise Ternier

H

as it only been two months since COVID-19 upended our normal? Where did everything go?

As if hit by a meteor, I felt disoriented and discombobulated (yes, I now know the full meaning of the term!).

Zoom meetings began to fill my day planner overnight. Some pastors and priests jumped online as if they’d been waiting for this moment.

I couldn’t; I froze. My mind and heart were absorbing the new reality as if in slow motion. Come on, get with the program, shouted the newborn televangelists of all denominational stripes.

I didn’t just lack the technical know-how; something deep inside resisted.

As a priest in a tradition that professes the Incarnation of God in our Lord Jesus Christ, I just couldn’t get excited over virtual worship, no matter how user-friendly the

Zoom platform turned out to be.

Our faith is a flesh-andblood faith; pastoral/priestly ministry is an embodied whole, an encounter between the Word-made-flesh and the human person. But COVID-19 has forced ministry from my living room armchair (or couch) with a laptop and the phone.

It’s not the same, not by a long shot — my spirit aches and grieves, deeply.

However necessary and understandable, this global lockdown strikes at the very heart of the Christian faith and of ministry in particular.

The physical distancing for the sake of our collective health is revealing in stark ways our bodily connectedness — not only across continents, but also in the intricate web of relationships at home.

We are embodied spirits; we need one another’s physical presence to grow and thrive. Similarly, when one of us catches COVID-19, we are all at

risk. No wonder God came to us in a human body — a body that laughed and cried, that reached out and loved, a body that hugged and healed through touch, a body that struggled and sweated, a body that suffered and died.

While online ministry grew exponentially, I remained too aware of a significant portion of the flock without any access to the digital world.

Pastors are hard-wired to ensure that all feel included. Phone calls and paper copies, handdelivered to doorsteps, replaced face-to-face visits.

My pastoral instincts groaned as I sensed another flattening of the three-dimensional Bodyof-Christ encounter.

I found myself hanging on every word at the other end, making sure she or he feels cared for, prayed for and included. Nothing can replace the holding of a frail hand. Nothing can equal the electric current that flows through the gazing into eyes full of emotion and beholding facial expressions, revealing wisdom and depth, sorrow and pain, humour and love.

The thought of parishioners in lockdown in the long-term care home, several without a phone of their own, was almost more than a pastoral heart can hold.

To my surprise, and unlike colleagues turning out lovely online sermons and wise words, some on a daily basis, I came up empty when drawing from my inner preaching well.

My creative spirit abruptly dried up in the midst of the societal and ministerial turmoil.

I desperately drank from the wellsprings of wisdom from others while the shifting gears to online thinking and ministering took all the energy, attention and ingenuity I was capable of.

But underneath that, the failure to preach into today’s crisis caused some guilt to nibble at my ministerial self-confidence — was I abdicating my duty to sustain the weary with a word from God? Finally, my extrovert default is becoming deficient. Without inperson interactions, my emotional motor functions on two of its four cylinders.

While some friends are enjoying introvert heaven, I crave physical presence and hugs, eye-toeye connection, touch and

holding hands in love. It is not that I dislike my own company; far from it.

I do solitary silent retreats for days, feeling deeply engaged and nourished in God. I cherish my time alone at home in the company of my husband.

But there is a difference between choosing solitude and imposed house arrest.

I wonder now if this is how oppressed people must feel.

It was definitely a Lentier Lent than anticipated.

It was the most chaotic and uncertain, disoriented and bewildering, stressful and scary Holy Week/ Easter I have ever undergone. Maybe this resembles in no small measure the turmoil, grief and uncertainty of that first Holy Week more than 2,000 years ago, when the world stopped, the sky darkened and the curtain of the Temple tore in two.

If God raised Jesus from the dead, trampling down death by death, then surely a virus will also be trampled down and usher in a new dawn of hope for all people. Christ is risen – Alleluia.

The Rev. Marie-Louise Ternier is priest in charge of All Saints Anglican Parish and Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church in Watrous.

DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE

521 parishes continue work toward one new parish

By Joanne Shurvin-Martin REGINA — Five Regina parishes in the process of forming one new parish continue to work, with all meetings held using technology while meeting face-to-face is not permitted.

A new working group, Children and Youth Ministry, has been formed, bringing the working group total to seven.

Each group has specific areas of responsibility, and has members from the five parishes.

Each parish also has two representatives on the renewal team, which meets at least twice a month.

The renewal team oversees and co-ordinates the work of all the individual working groups.

Much of the early

five parishes. * Communications and Engagement Working Group is working on a new website (part of the Diocese of Qu’Appelle’s website at quappelle.anglican.ca.)

Updates and information on the 521 process will be posted on this site, which will also include a shared calendar for events in the St. Cuthbert’s Archdeaconry.

(The term 521 is based on the five parishes joining into one.) * Results of the communications survey done last fall have been collated and summarized. work involved setting up goals for each working group, and guidelines on how their work would be acknowledged and put together without overlap.

Examples of the work

accomplished recently are: * Human Resources Working Group is collecting information on paid and volunteer human resources positions in the

* Finance and Buildings Working Group is developing a template to compare and analyze the financial resources of the five parishes to merge into one.

It is also initiating discussion on the repurposing and alternative use possibilities of existing buildings. * Work is also continuing by the working groups for Pastoral Care; Worship; and Growth, Vision and Mission. * In addition, the 521 Ministerial Group of clergy has been meeting every two weeks. * Since the fall, parishioners of the five parishes (All Saints, St. James, St. Luke, St. Matthew and St. Philip) have been invited to submit questions about the process of forming a new parish.

Those questions have been collated and the answers are being distributed back to all parishes.

June 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

15

Easter bonnet tradition continues in self-isolation

Susan Bornowsky

Mary Ann Dube

Hats on for a tradition

Donalda Ford

For several years the ladies of St. Philip, Regina, have celebrated Easter Sunday by wearing creative hats. This year some of them continued the tradition with photographs from home, and a couple of firsttimers joined in.

Pictured here is Edie Klein, peeking over a sign that reads, “He is Risen! Turning in winter gloves for Garden and bike gloves. Happy Easter. Staying put.”

In lieu of an Easter bonnet she holds gardening tools and a bike helmet.

All photos contributed

Nathan and Heather Brownell

Sandi Nicholson

Rev. Dell Bornowsky

DIOCESE OF SASKATCHEWAN

Volunteer cuts back on activities at age 90

By Mary Brown

Doris Bazley

CANWOOD (Skwn) — Doris Wideen Bazley celebrated her 90 th birthday a few months ago.

When I was talking to one of the Canwood congregants, they told me that Doris had cut back on her various volunteer positions.

Of course, what that means is, when you are

talking about Doris, she is no longer in charge of organizing the many groups to which she belongs.

Instead, she still takes part in everything, but has left the responsibility side of things to others.

Doris has been a lay reader since 1991, and in the absence of clergy, has conducted services in the parish and the

nursing home.

She is a loyal member of the ACW and always attends diocesan functions, such as prayer conferences and synods.

In 2007 Doris received the Order of Saskatchewan, a much deserved honour. In their approbation of her, the congregation told us she has held every position within the church more than once.

She has been rector’s and people’s warden, secretary treasurer, Sunday school teacher, president of the ACW, synod delegate, and executive committee member.

Doris is one of those people you can always count on and who is always willing to help in whatever way she can.

Photo by Mary Brown

16

The Saskatchewan Anglican

June 2020

PWRDF responds to pandemic at home, around the world

By Kim Umbach and Janice Biehn of PWRDF

A

s we adjust to restrictions and strains of COVID-19, the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) work supporting vulnerable communities around the world and in Canada continues.

PWRDF partners are doing their best to respond to the new challenges created by the pandemic, while continuing to deliver health programs and clean water, to empower women and girls, and to sustain or improve food security.

PWRDF is supporting seniors in Canada coping with COVID-19 through HelpAge Canada, funding prevention and treatment in Burundi with Village Health Works, and supporting the global response to COVID-19 by Partners in Health and the ACT Alliance.

For up-to-date information on these initiatives please see the PWRDF website at pwrdf. org.

Through HelpAge Canada, PWRDF is funding the provision of food and other necessities to vulnerable seniors through more than 50 local agencies, including Saskatoon Services for Seniors and the Lighthouse, also in Saskatoon.

Canadians are invited to join PWRDF staff members (who are working from home) on Zoom for Praying with PWRDF, Thursdays at 1

A member of a sewing collective in Burundi, supported by PWRDF, sews face masks from local cloth, with a small child beside her.

Photo by Lara Meguid p.m. Eastern Time.

This 30-minute service includes a short reflection, prayers for partners and an opportunity to ask for prayers, and is followed by a virtual coffee hour.

To register, check the PWRDF Facebook page each week or contact volunteer coordinator Kim Umbach at kumbach@pwrdf.org.

Executive director Will Postma or another PWRDF staff member is available to participate in virtual services (either with a

pre-recorded message or live via Zoom). Please contact Christine Hills at chills@pwrdf.org for more information on booking a virtual speaker for your parish.

A Prayer for PWRDF has been written and is offered for use in virtual services or electronic bulletins: Loving God, we pray for the work of The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund. Give PWRDF and the people

who depend on its support the courage and strength to persevere in this time of pandemic. Be with them in the challenges they are facing, and hold us to our vision for a truly just, healthy and peaceful world.

In the name of your child, Jesus. Amen.

Kim Umbach writes, “We at PWRDF are praying for all our volunteers and supporters.

We ask you to hold us and PWRDF partners in your prayers, as

well as those who are unwell, vulnerable to illness, facing financial uncertainty and for whom physical distancing is not possible.

“We continue to lift up our hope for a more just, peaceful and healthy world.”

It’s easy to give online at pwrdf.org/give-today. To direct a gift to PWRDF’s COVID-19 response, click on Emergency Response on our Give Today page, or call toll-free 1-866-3087973.

Bishop Rob Hardwick writes about LAURC covenant

By Joa n ne Shu r v i n-M a r t i n R EGI NA — On Apr i l 2 , Bi shop Rob H a rdw ick w rote to a l l t he p eople i n t he Dioc ese of Qu’App el le about a new c oven a nt w it h ot her Ch r i st i a n denom i n at ion s.

H i s let ter sa id, i n pa r t: W hen t he A ng l ic a n Dioc ese of Qu’App el le a nd t he Rom a n Cat hol ic A rchd ioc ese of Reg i n a entere d i nto a c oven a nt a l rel at ion sh ip i n 2 011, t hey rec og n i ze d

a l re ady t hen t h at it wou ld b e a blessi ng i f ou r resp ec t ive f u l l c om mu n ion pa r t ners wou ld b e i nclude d i n a n ex pa nde d c oven a nt .

For m a ny ye a rs, t he A ng l ic a n, Lut hera n, U k ra i n i a n a nd Rom a n Cat hol ic bi shops h ave met , t w ic e a ye a r, to sh a re c onc er n s a nd bu i ld rel at ion s.

T wo ye a rs ago we b ega n work i ng on a d ra f t of a n ex pa nde d c oven a nt t h at wou ld i nclude a l l of ou r chu rches i n Sa sk atchewa n,

w it h t he help of a n ex pa nde d i mplement at ion c om m it te e w it h a l l of ou r chu rches represente d.

T he COV I D -19 pa ndem ic prevente d a n i n-p erson me et i ng

i n m id-M a rch, but we met t h rou g h elec t ron ic me a n s to f i n a l i ze t he c oven a nt , wh ich we now rejoic e i n si g n i ng a nd m a k i ng publ ic.

T h i s i s a n h i stor ic event i n t he l i fe of ou r chu rches. We hop e a nd pray t h at t h i s c oven a nt br i ngs a s much joy to ou r p e ople a s it do es to u s a s you r bi shops.

It i s ou r hop e t h at t he si g n i ng a nd rele a se of t h i s c oven a nt w i l l b e a sou rc e of enc ou ragement at

t h i s d i f f icu lt moment i n t i me, a nd a l i fe g iv i ng en r ich ment of ou r chu rches mov i ng for wa rd.

W h i le t here a re m a ny prop ose d i n it i at ives i n t he c oven a nt , ou r hop e i s t h at ou r c om mu n it ies i n t hei r loc a l set t i ngs m i g ht b eg i n w it h one or t wo joi nt ac t ion s t h at wou ld en l iven t hei r pa r i shes a nd c ong regat ion s.

T he f u l l tex t of t he bi shop’s let ter c a n b e fou nd on t he d ioc esa n website at qu appl le. a ng l ic a n.c a.

June 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

17

Clergy use many tools to stay in touch with parishioners

By Mary Brown PRINCE ALBERT — What you are doing during the pandemic? That is what I asked some of our clergy recently, and I received replies from Rev. Gethin Edward, Tisdale/Melfort Parish (plus vacant parishes Hudson Bay, Arborfield and Nipawin), Rev. Richard Reed, St. David’s, Prince Albert, and Rev. Wendell Brock, Meadow Lake, Loon Lake.

Here are their responses.

Rev. Gethin Edwards Hi Mary, Happy Easter! I hope you are well. I am attaching the current edition of the Weekly Word, which I have been putting together — you guessed it — weekly, and sending via email, or home delivery (post or by hand).

I send a generic version of the Weekly Word to the wardens in each of my five churches, and they add the local notes and prayer list. Also included in some bulletins are the readings for the Sunday and extra columns such as In Our Prayers this Week, readings for the week, and Parish News and Notes.

The phone is getting overused, while Zoom meetings are starting to feel less weird, as we use it for ministerial meetings, Bible study, and committee meetings.

I am blessed to be able to spend more quality time with the boys, and also to walk about the town more often and freely.

Rev. Richard Reed We have been staying in touch via snail mail, with a letter from the wardens to the parishioners, and then a second letter from myself for Easter.

We will be publishing and mailing a newsletter to the parishioners early

Rev. Gethin Edwards meets Emme Szydlowski during the ordination of Bishop Chris Harper. Edwards oversees the Tisdale/Melfort Parish and others.

Photos by Mary Brown

May. I have been posting services on Sunday mornings on the St. David’s blog. I add YouTube hymns and songs, and a video message from myself.

We have continued our Monday evening Bible studies on Zoom.

We finished Ephesians and have begun Jonah.

Anyone who wants to join needs to email me at

rector@stdavidspa.org and I can add them to the Zoom invite.

We have continued our Thursday men’s study by Zoom, at 7 a.m.

We are studying 2 Corinthians.

I have been calling parishioners and checking in with them by phone. We have continued to produce our service booklets, and print some, which have been delivered to shut-ins in person.

We have added a number of ways to make it easy for people to continue to support St. David’s financially. We have also continued to hold out vestry meetings via ZOOM. Rev. Wendell Brock Hello Mary, I have been

mostly in prayer, devotion, reading Scripture and phoning my congregation, seeing how they are doing, especially the elderly.

On Sundays I go to church for prayer.

There are times I have prayed with some if welcomed. We mostly have an aging congregation.

On Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, I delivered bulletins to the elderly in town, for the others the bulletins were emailed out.

Then for Easter Sunday I went to church to pray and phone every member of the congregation to see how they were doing and say, “He is risen.”

I also wished everyone a blessed Happy Easter.

We were not in church, but I feel it was an opportunity to still

A perfect gift for Baptism Give a gift of Hope Bear to someone who is being baptized. Your $20 donation benefits a child in need in Canada.

www.anglicanfoundation.org

May the God of Hope fill you with joy and peace.

–Romans 15:13

participate on Easter Sunday.

In the parish of St. George’s, Prince Albert; MacDowall, St. Louis;and Leask/Shellbrook, Rev. Eyad has been conducting a Zoom Bible study and emailing his sermons to the congregations.

I expect that all of our clergy are doing as much as is allowed to minister to their congregations.

18

The Saskatchewan Anglican

June 2020

DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE

Christ Church Anglican Church in Nokomis is part of the Last Mountain Parish. Photo courtesy Google images

Rural parish responds to pandemic challenges

By Deacon Jack Robson NOKOMIS (Qu’A) — For the parishioners of Last Mountain Parish the COVID-19 pandemic has created the unthinkable: no church services, no worship, no fellowship and sharing.

Worship and sharing are ingrained in our

souls, and we share the loss of these priceless elements of our being, as do many members of Jesus’ church families in this parish, diocese and beyond.

With consultation and encouragement from the church wardens and congregations, Deacon Jack Robson has

continued to provide via email: weekly messages, Scripture readings and prayers each Sunday for all the faithful believers.

They are thirsting for the messages of Jesus’ living water or spiritual manna they require for their spirits.

These messages have been requested by several

other worshippers from other denominations as well, who were missing their Sunday sermons and worship.

The Last Mountain parishioners are contacted by telephone or email on a regular basis, just to keep in touch.

The parishioners are united in continuing their

weekly contributions to their churches and parish.

The Last Mountain Parish is united and strong, and with continual prayer and God’s grace, we will survive and overcome, and eventually gather for joyful services of grace and thanksgiving, in God’s houses of worship.

DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE NOTES

Alexander Campbell accepted as new postulant in diocese Subm it ted R EGI NA — A lex a nder (A lex) Ca mpb el l, a pa r i sh ioner of St .

Ph i l ip A ng l ic a n Chu rch, Reg i n a, h a s b e en acc epte d a s a p ost u l a nt w it h i n t he Dioc ese of Qu’App el le.

Rev. Na ncy Ye e, pr iest-i n- ch a rge of St . Ja mes, St . Ph i l ip a nd Urba n I nd i genou s M i n i st r ies, sh a re d t h i s news at t he end of t he YouT ub e worsh ip

ser v ic e on Apr i l 2 6 .

She descr ib e d Ca mpb el l a s “a m a n of G od, a m a n of t he Spi r it , a nd a m a n of i nteg r it y.”

Ca mpb el l somet i mes end s h i s em a i l s to Ye e l i ke t h i s: “ Ekosi t apwa ke ech i.

Ke ech i m a n itou kewe ech a aw i k,” wh ich me a n s “ T h at ’s it , t h a n k you ver y much.

C re ator wa l k s w it h you.”

Ca mpb el l descr ib es

h i m sel f a s: I a m F i rst Nat ion a nd I wa s bor n a nd ra i se d i n t he sm a l l nor t her n I nd i genou s c om mu n it y of Moose L a ke, M a n itoba.

I met my b e aut i f u l a nd lov i ng w i fe, Mu r iel, i n t he su m mer of 19 75. She i s or i g i n a l ly f rom C u mb erl a nd Hou se, S a sk atchewa n.

We h ave b e en h appi ly m a r r ie d for 4 3 ye a rs t h i s c om i ng su m mer. I n t hose

ye a rs we h ave b e en blesse d w it h f ive wonder f u l ch i ld ren (fou r g i rl s a nd one boy), t h re e g ra nd son s w it h a set of t w i n s, a nd t h re e son s -i n-l aw.

For over 4 0 ye a rs, bot h Mu r iel a nd I h ave b e en publ ic ser va nt s, work i ng most ly i n nor t her n Ca n ad a ( M a n itoba, Nor t hwest Ter r itor ies, Ont a r io, S a sk atchewa n a nd Nu n av ut).

My c a re er wa s i n

loc a l, mu n icipa l, a nd reg ion a l gover n ment development; l a nd cl a i m s i mplement at ion; su st a i n able a nd ec onom ic development; t ra n sp or t at ion; a nd i n t he l a st 13 ye a rs i n he a lt h m a n agement a nd ad m i n i st rat ion.

We h ave l ive d i n Reg i n a for 10 ye a rs.

B ot h Mu r iel a nd I a re rec ent ly ret i re d a nd lov i ng t he much ne e de d t i me toget her.

June 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

19

P.A. Legion holds special event for two veterans Story courtesy paNOW.com PRINCE ALBERT — The Prince Albert Legion was packed when members and supporters gathered to celebrate two Second World War veterans a couple of months ago.

Ed Laird and Loyd Smith were recently announced as two of the 14 people to have streets named after them in the City of Prince Albert.

(This info about Laird was briefly reported in the April Saskatchewan Anglican.)

Smith, who is originally from Choiceland and joined the Canadian Armed Forces when he was 18, wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to making the list.

“I never thought about it really. It would be kind of nice if I am around to see it,” he said.

The Prince Albert Legion honoured Loyd Smith and Ed Laird — the latter a parishioner at St. Alban's Anglican Cathedral — recently.

Photo submitted After his two years of service in the war, Smith returned to the family homestead before moving into P.A. to work in a box factory. He then

re-enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and went on to serve for 23 years. Following that, he moved to Saskatoon and Candle Lake before his

return to P.A. in 1997.

Smith said the event on Feb. 7 was a surprise — one he appreciates. “(It’s) pretty nice,” he said.

Ed Laird (an Anglican parishioner in Prince Albert) described hearing the news as wonderful.

He added it was especially nice to see so many people come out to mark the occasion.

“It’s quite a celebration.

A lot of people here all shaking hands and telling me I am a good guy. I am not used to that,” he said.

Laird enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces where he worked to transmit messages. This job saw Laird transmit one of the most important messages of the war.

“I passed the ceasefire to first, second and third field regiment, the artillery,” he said.

Following his service, Laird returned to P.A.

and eventually made his way into a career as a mechanic, which stretched for over 30 years. Laird said while there have been changes over time, one aspect has remained consistent.

“People have always been so good to us veterans,” he said.

Brenda Cripps, a service officer and zone commander with the Royal Canadian Legion, said Laird continued to serve the community beyond his term with the Canadian Forces. He spoke at school assemblies for more than 30 years and volunteers at the Herb Bassett Home.

Cripps said it is fitting to have Laird’s name on the list as he was the one who brought forward the original motion to the city in 1964 suggesting streets be named after veterans.

She added the legion and P.A. are fortunate to have both men as members.

Anglican Church of Burundi and UNICEF mobilize young people for peace-building efforts Article courtesy Anglican News Service BURUNDI — The Anglican Church of Burundi, in collaboration with the United Nations’ children’s organisation UNICEF, has conducted an intensive training course for youth in peace building and social cohesion.

Thousands of young people in Kibago, Mabanda, Nyanza Lac and Rumonge are running social activities to deepen social cohesion between members of their communities.

The training was intended to help young people address issues related to social instability, such as poverty and unemployment.

During the training sessions, held once a week, young people engaged in discussions about how they could tackle the issues in their communities.

The young people also initiated incomegenerating activities in order to help them address issues of poverty and have been given loans to help get them started.

The Anglican Church of Burundi has partnered with UNICEF in a peace-building project in the conflict-riven country.

Photo by J. Bariyanga / USAID For example, one group of young girls in Nyanalac have invested in growing rice.

The Anglican Church of Burundi ha said that the training has been especially important at this time in Burundi as they are heading into elections.

It is among several initiatives being undertaken by the Church

to encourage people to approach the election process responsibly and engage in peace building with their communities before, during and after the elections.

The Bishop of Matanya, Seth Ndayirukiye, leads the initiatives.

He said, “the elections should be considered as a normal process that has the potential to help the

country progress towards further development, rather than as a source of conflict and crisis.”

Youth are being urged to be examples to their peers of those who promote and keep peace.

The initiatives they are undertaking are assisting adults, and entire communities, to find solutions to the challenges they are

facing.

Last month, the UN Human Rights Council warned of a deteriorating situation in Burundi as the country heads towards its general election on 20 May. The UNHRC singled out a youth league linked to President Pierre Nkurunziza’s ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy– Forces for the Defence of Democracy party for carrying out multiple attacks against opposition politicians and their families.

The commission said that the group have continued to carry out “killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detentions, acts of torture and ill-treatment and rape against actual or alleged political opposition members.”

Burundi has suffered from conflict and instability since it gained independence in 1962; including assassinations, coups, episodes of ethnic cleansing, civil wars and genocides.

The last general election, in 2015, was accompanied by a failed coup attempt.

20

The Saskatchewan Anglican

June 2020

The visition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth "At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of

his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home." (NIV, Luke 1:39-56)

Photo courtesy Shutterstock