Saskatchewan
anglican
The newspaper of the Dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle • A Section of the Anglican Journal • December 2020
Service celebrates Christian unity and signing of covenant By Mary Brown PRINCE ALBERT — On Oct. 14 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, four bishops came together in a celebration of unity acknowledging the signing of the LAURC Covenant. It was officially signed on April 2 by members of the LAURC, 10 in all, representing Lutherans, Anglicans, Ukrainians and Roman Catholics in Saskatchewan. This group has been in existence for more than 20 years and Saskatchewan is the only province where there is such a group. It is unique in positive and respectful relations, especially in the level of commitment and progress on ecumenical relations. This camaraderie is evident in Prince Albert with Bishop Michael Hawkins being invited to address the Roman Catholic Diocese of Prince Albert stewardship conference and to preach the homily at the Holy Communion. Bishop Albert Thevenot was invited to address the Diocese of Saskatchewan synod. Only in Sacred Heart Cathedral are Anglicans invited to take communion.
Bishop Michael Hawkins and Bishop Charles Arthurson were both consecrated in Sacred Heart Cathedral. The Roman Catholic Diocese has been extremely generous in allowing use of its buildings for large Anglican funerals. In Birch Hills, St. Mary’s Anglican Church shares the same building with St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church. This same parish also has an AnglicanLutheran congregation in Kinistino. Another Anglican parish came together with the Lutheran congregation in Meadow Lake, with their services being held in the Lutheran Church. The celebration began with an opening song The Summons, “Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?” The first reading was Deuteronomy 6:4-9 read by Pastor Fran Schmidt from Messiah Lutheran. The second reading was from Ephesians 4:1-6. These readings were perfect for the occasion. In Deuteronomy, Moses tells the people the Lord and the Lord alone is our God, so love the Lord your God Continued on page 7
Which way to the King of Kings? With the pandemic preventing large groups from gathering, St. Stephen Anglican Church in Saskatoon filmed a Christmas pageant this past summer that could be shown soon. Pictured are some wise men who took part in the pageant. For story see page 2. Photo by the Rev. Amy Bunce and Julie Abell-Smith
Catholic Bishop Albert Thevenot signs the covenant while Bishop Michael Hawkins and Bishop Adam Halkett wait to do the same. Photo by Mary Brown
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The Saskatchewan Anglican
December 2020
Parish films summer Christmas pageant By the Rev. Amy Bunce and Julie Abell-Smith, Children’s ministry director SASKATOON — The year had been characterized by cancellations and disappointment. Vacation Bible School wasn’t possible and church school couldn’t meet together. But as the people of God, we at St. Stephen’s, Saskatoon felt called to create a Plan C by being Church creatively during the chaos of COVID. We wanted to dream and plan possibilities, rather than being paralysed by all of the impossibilities, of which there were many. One of the expressions of this desire came together in church school on the lawn. On some Sunday afternoons, we took advantage of the beautiful summer weather and created carefully demarcated space for families (maximum 30 people) to come together for a Bible story, craft and games on the front lawn of our church, each group in its own bubble. These events were a wonderful way for us to be church together, to keep connected, to continue to grow and learn. This gave us all a sense of hope and purpose in the midst of a listless season of prohibitions. We felt grateful and energized. We started thinking ahead. What about Christmas? We realized that our traditional Christmas pageant would not be feasible this year. This was a heartbreaking thought, as the Christmas pageant is a cornerstone of our parish life together. Most children in the parish have been the baby Jesus! Everybody has had a chance to be a sheep, an angel, Herod or the holy family. It’s a play, telling the greatest story ever told, but it’s more than that. It’s a community experience, a way for children to remember and act out the love of God come to us in Christ. We find the pageant creates an opportunity to invite those who are unsure about church, or who don’t attend regularly. It creates an open door for sharing the love of God in a way that is accessible and full of the beauty and
Published by the Dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle. Published monthly except for July and August. Whole No. 292, Vol. 49, No. 4 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
King Herod and his guards wear the appropriate COVID-19 armour during the filming of St. Stephen's summer Christmas pageant. Photos by Rev. Amy Bunce and Julie Abell-Smith
The carpenter Joseph appears during the summer Christmas pageant at St. Stephen's, Saskatoon. energy of children. The feeling of belonging and fun is something we pray the children will carry with them for their whole lives. In a phrase, it’s a big deal! What could we do? Nothing just didn’t feel like an acceptable answer. So, before school started, we began the most ambitious children’s ministry project of the summer, making a Christmas pageant video outdoors. We invited the
kids, one family at a time, to come to the church and listen to the story of the Nativity, using books, felt board and props. They then dressed up in pre-selected costumes and acted out part of the story for the camera. We had a flock of angels, 12 in total, and filmed over different days. The angels’ halos contrasted with the lush green grass and makeshift green screen. We had two Josephs, many shepherds and
several sheep. King Herod and his guards were wearing face masks too. The video is still in the production stage. Our editor used to be in the pageant. He has just finished a diploma in computer systems technology. Our videographer was 13 years old. If the video never gets completed, the experience would have been worth it. But now we have a video on the way, which we will share with the church community and friends via digital avenues. It’s a light in the darkness. It’s a bit of hope. We will show the video at church for the small in-person worship services we are currently holding, but we will also make sure that everybody has a chance to see it. We want all of the children to see themselves, and for the whole church family to feel a part of this story, both the story of the “little pageant that could” (in spite of COVID), and more importantly, the story of God made flesh, Emmanuel. Look for this production on the St. Stephen’s Facebook page in early December. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5).
SUBMISSIONS Submissions for the February issue must be received by the diocesan editor no later than Dec. 18. 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
December 2020
The Saskatchewan Anglican
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The Bishop's Corner
Looking forward and backward as we enter Advent By Bishop Christopher Harper
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n December we enter into Advent, a season of coming into place, view or being. Advent is an invitation to look both forward and back. Forward to new life, hope and into the promise given of God Almighty; backward to review and examine where we need to prepare and build up. First, we need to acknowledge that the Church is alive and changing before our eyes. Pressed through the restrictions of COVID-19, the Church evolved and adapted, and we have responded with new ministry never before anticipated. The lockdowns slowed us down enough to seek new possibilities and options; the ministry of the Church never stopped for one second. I pray with thanksgiving for the clergy who fought to adapt and continue, and with thanksgiving for the supporters of the church who gave and continue to give, trusting that God, who is faithful, is doing something in and amongst
us right now. The Church is alive and breathing, adapting and changing. As I have said before, the Church is not a sedentary monument to the past, but the Church is a living, moving body of the faithful. The Church is you. Advent brings us to the threshold of a new place and time that God reveals in our midst; in past issues of the Saskatchewan Anglican, we have all heard from the Bishops’ Corner, that our tri-diocesan conversations have now moved to deeper prayers and thoughts through dialogue.
Diocesan leaders have come together through the imperfect medium of Zoom to pray and seek new life and ministry in walking closer together as one, in the family of God. What will our Saskatchewan ministry in the coming months and years look like? We acknowledge that we need to be open, as the signs of seasonal change such as Advent, that we are brought into new being with God, faith and ministry. These conversations were instigated not by necessity, but by anticipation, of where we can walk together, as a family should, blessing and supporting each other, sharing our strengths, blessings and resources. What this ministry will look like and what we will be is part of that great Advent to come. We move forward because God is with us and we know that God is faithful. Looking back, especially in this moment of December 2020, we need to acknowledge that this has been a tumultuous year. We have gone through so much disruption, challenges, and sorrow in 2020. That which was familiar and comforting, that now seems so long ago, makes us long for that which was, to the point that we are even somewhat willing to push aside that which we were
embattled over in the past. We long to be the Church again with community and with each other. The elections in the world around us brought the faithful to prayer and the resultant reality is before us in the good and the bad. We also see that the reality before us is what we offer together, in all that we say and do. COVID-19 gave our world a timeout, where we were sent to our rooms to think about what we are doing to the world and to each other. The days and the seasons ahead — if we walk together faithfully and with the faithful — will be the lifting up in praise and ministry to God Almighty. In acknowledging 2020 — for it was aptly numbered — we will look back and together with derision bid it be gone. Advent is the Church’s new year; together we look forward with hope and praise to the new ministry and the new life in Christ. What Christmas will be like in the Church keeps us still in prayer, but we together hold Advent and Christmas in our hearts and lives. It is about us opening ourselves to what wondrous miracles God is enacting amongst us; for, God is with us. Let us keep the faith and stay in prayer and ministry to the glory of God our Creator (John 15:7-12).
Regular routine can help with coping in the pandemic By Canon Susan Page
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he past months have been difficult. Our lives have been altered, and many of the activities we valued and appreciated have changed or disappeared. Most of us are worried about the safety of ourselves, our friends, and families, and wonder when we will see the end to restrictions in our daily living. With restrictions in place that affect our ability to socialize, work, and visit others, there have been emotional and social consequences. Some of us are feeling an increase in mental distress that has manifested in anxiety, sadness, grief or fear. This is especially true in our vulnerable communities such as our elderly population, those living in long-term care, and people who live alone and are physically isolated from others. This past spring, I participated with my
former colleagues in a research project of the School of Nursing at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, which was funded by the Saskatchewan Association for Patient Oriented Research. Each of 40 respondents completed three interviews over the course of several weeks. The findings were the same as what I have heard in my role as a deacon in the congregations of Immanuel Parish. The research was primarily focused on older adults, but can be applied to anyone who is feeling anxious or depressed in our current circumstances. Some people were coping well, particularly at first. They were speaking with family and friends on the telephone, online, or through social media; working in their gardens or going for walks outside. As the weeks went on, there was more of a feeling
of anxiety and sadness, wondering if any of their friends or family had been affected, and when this was all going to end. Often, they were missing their families the most, while their children and grandchildren were never far from their thoughts. Feelings of isolation, loneliness and anxiety became more pronounced as the days passed. There was disruption in their social lives as well. Family events had been postponed, weddings and reunions did not occur, and events people had been looking forward to were no longer on the immediate horizon. This was a contributor to the sadness that was felt. Others had their daily routines disrupted. They were people who sang in choirs, went to the gym for exercise and socialization, and participated in volunteer activities in their communities. A few were still
employed and found doing their work on electronic media quite unsatisfying. The researchers were faced with this question: How do you support, encourage and assist those who are isolated to maintain their mental and physical health? This will be especially true as we enter a long, cold winter. It became evident that those people coping the best maintained contact with family and friends over the telephone and through social media. Many found ways to exercise their minds and bodies, and to maintain contact with their church and social groups. Engaging in hobbies and keeping a regular routine as much as possible also helped. The emotional and social effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is undeniable. Some folks cope better than others, but many people are handling this well. For those who are not
managing as well as they would like, there is help. In Saskatchewan, the 811 Health Line and your family physician can be of service connecting you with available resources. If you would like to talk, parish clergy and pastoral care workers and friends are also a source of support and encouragement during this time. Continuing to pray for those you know and love can be one of the best things you can do. Please pray for one another. Canon Susan Page is a deacon, a retired registered nurse, and a former faculty member at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. She serves the congregation of St. Luke and is actively involved with the new Immanuel Parish in Regina, serving as chair of the Pastoral Care and a member of the Communications and Engagement Working groups, and the Ministerial Team.
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The Saskatchewan Anglican
December 2020
Gordon Kirkby appointed chancellor of Saskatchewan diocese By Mary Brown PRINE ALBERT — Gordon Kirkby has been appointed the chancellor for the Diocese of Saskatchewan. He is what they call a cradle Anglican. He was baptized in All Saints Anglican Church in Melfort, and after his family moved to Prince Albert, he was confirmed by the Rev. Henry Roderick at St. David’s Church. His brother, Duncan, lives in Grenada and is the senior associate dean of University Academic and Student Affairs and professor of neuroscience at St. George’s University Medical School. His younger sister, Lynne, died of an asthma attack when she was 26 years old. His father, Gordon W. Kirkby, Q.C., was also a lawyer and died in 1993, and his mother Gwen is living in a Mount St. Joseph home in Prince Albert. The family attended St. David’s Church, and after Gordon and his wife Mary Ann returned to Prince Albert from
Gordon Kirkby is the new chancellor of the Diocese of Saskatchewan. Photo by Mary Brown Winnipeg, they joined St. Albans in 2005. You may know of Mary Ann’s best seller I am Hutterite that sold over 100,000 copies and Secrets of a Hutterite Kitchen that was No. 1 on the Globe and Mail Bestseller list. Their son, Levi, has just earned his master’s
degree in law and politics of international security from Vrije University in Amsterdam. The constitution of the diocese states that the chancellor shall be a communicant of the church resident in the diocese and will have had at least five years
standing as from 1993He is what they a barrister 97, mayor of call a cradle at law. Prince Albert Anglican. He He shall from 1988was baptized be appointed 93 and city in All Saints by the councillor Anglican Church bishop from 1985-88. with the His list of in Melfort, and concurrence appointments, after his family of the community moved to Prince executive service, Albert, he was committee interests and confirmed by and shall awards is as the Rev. Henry hold office long as your during the arm. Roderick at St. pleasure of Bishop David’s Church. the bishop. Michael It is Hawkins also the praised duty of the chancellor Gordon for his work to advise the bishop (or over the last few his commissary) and years. He has provided the synod in all legal tremendous work with questions. the sale of properties. He There is no doubt also resolved two land that Kirkby passes disputes with the federal all the criteria for a government involving the chancellor. He received diocese. his bachelor of laws, The disputes with 1984, and bachelor of the federal government science advanced degree occurred on reserve with great distinction in land in Loon Lake and mathematics in 1980. another, with a long His law firm has history, on reserve land been in operation on the Atahkakoop Cree from 2005 to now and Nation. before that he managed There is plenty of legal Kirkby Consulting work that goes on in a Ltd. Management diocese office and Gordon Consultants. He was a will, I am, sure meet the Member of Parliament challenge.
DIOCESE OF SASKATOON EVENTS
Announcements for December 2020 g During the COVID19 interruption in daily and church life, church services and videos are available from links on the diocesan website and diocesan Facebook and YouTube pages, as well as on various individual parish websites, Facebook pages, on YouTube and locally (for Battle River Parish) on radio. New dates for events already announced as being postponed in earlier issues of this paper will be provided in future issues as and when the information becomes available. As our churches slowly open, please check on service availability and the requirements for preregistration. If attending, please follow all the indicated seating, movement, distancing, masking and sanitization
instructions in order to safeguard yourself and protect others. 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's website at www. anglicandiocesesaskatoon. com/saskanglican? 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 306-370-8378. 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. 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. nglicandiocesesaskatoon. 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.
g Spring Courses at Emmanuel and St. Chad: The College of Emmanuel & St Chad welcomes inquiries and applicants for its spring 2021 courses. All teaching will be online. For other courses available through the Saskatoon Theological Union, please contact our office at 306-975-1550. 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.
December 2020
The Saskatchewan Anglican
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Alex Campbell ordained a deacon in Regina Submitted REGINA — On Oct. 17, Alexander Campbell became a transitional deacon, meaning he is in training to become a priest. It was an extraordinary ordination in several ways, involving two bishops, some Cree traditions, and COVID precautions. With Campbell’s family and faith family present, drummer Diane Campeau sang the Honour Song in Cree as she led the procession into the main sanctuary of Living Spirit Centre, which houses St. Philip Anglican congregation as well as Lutheran and United Church congregations. Bishop Rob Hardwick opened the service and introduced Bishop Chris Harper, of the Diocese of Saskatoon. Bishop Harper, who is of Cree ancestry like Campbell, began his address saying what a “wonderful relationship” there is among the three Anglican dioceses in Saskatchewan. His message, primarily to Campbell, was that the work of a deacon is to serve the church and community; to be a counsellor, server and supporter. “Be a teacher, preacher and messenger. But remember you are not alone,” said Harper. He referred to 2 Timothy saying, “Always be alert.” He said that Campbell’s diaconal ministry is for two worlds; a bridge of opportunity to be balanced by prayer. The bishop said the church is changing and he is thrilled to see drumming and sweet grass along with incense in the church. Campbell was presented for ordination by Diocesan Elder Rev. Dale Gilman; Rev. Nancy Yee of St.
Alexander Campbell (kneeling) was ordained a deacon on Oct. 17. Bishop Rob Hardwick (seated) presided, and Bishop Chris Harper of Diocese of Saskatoon (standing, centre) preached during the service. Also shown, Canon Susan Page (far left) and Deacon Rita Brann, (behind Hardwick). Nigel Salway (far right background) recorded the service. Photos by Tim Yee
Newly ordained deacon Alexander Campbell, with his wife, Muriel, on Oct. 17. Campbell commissioned the creation of his deacon’s stole, and explains that the teepee with a cross “represents a home as well as a church at the same time. It’s a representation of the Indigenous community and a start to my ministry.”
Singer and drummer Diane Campeau participated in the ordination service of Deacon Alexander Campbell.
Philip; and Rod Ashley, a licensed lay reader at St. Philip. Bishop Hardwick presided over the ceremony and as the ordination documents were being signed Campbell was surrounded by 11 clergy. Archbishop Mark McDonald, the indigenous bishop for all of Canada, recorded a message of congratulations and encouragement for the newly ordained deacon, which was played on a TV at the end of the service. The recession was led by singer and drummer Diane Campeau. Campbell was raised on the Moose Lake Cree Nation in Manitoba. He worked for more than 40 years in federal, provincial and territorial public service, including the last 10 years with Health Canada and Indigenous Services Canada. He served in many northern communities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Northwest Territories
(now Nunavut). He has been a faithful Christian and follower of the Anglican Church ever since he was baptised in Moose Lake. In his life, he has always made it a priority to get involved in the local churches where he lived, particularly in the small, remote and isolated communities. Campbell has been influenced by such motivators as Bishop Charles Arthurson, Senator Myles and Mary Venne, Rev. Mathusala Kunuk in Iqaluit, and other elders. More recently, he has taken courses through the Qu’Appelle School for Mission and Ministry and the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad in Saskatoon. Since moving to Regina, Campbell and his wife, Muriel — who has been a steadfast in her support of his career and his calling by God to ministry — have become members of St. Philip, while he is a vestry member.
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The Saskatchewan Anglican
December 2020
Feeling the Holy Spirit
An Advent Collection By Rev. Gene Packwood
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esus, the glory of our great God and our blessed hope and Saviour (Titus 2.13), is the One for whom we’re all waiting this and every Advent. Even in the midst of this, what seems interminable, waiting for pandemic relief — for being able to meet again freely and face to face, to sing without a mask, for a vaccine, for somebody to blow the all-clear — this and every Advent we can confidently anticipate that, ultimately, all things will come together and hold together in Jesus (Col 1.17). Just as the Holy Spirit was instrumental in Jesus’ first bodily arrival on earth — Luke lays it out beautifully — in the Virgin Mary’s pregnancy (Luke 1:35), in her cousin Elizabeth (v 41), in preborn John in his mother’s womb (v 44), and in
his father Zechariah’s prophetic word (v 67) — our Benedictus — he is still as active and powerful in our COVID-curtailed waiting and preparing today. Consider the Advent Collects (BCP pp 95-102 and BAS pp 268-272), for example. We pray them all through Jesus who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit. These are not empty words. This is the same Holy Spirit whose work and presence Luke describes above and who also prompted the Nunc Dimmitis from Simeon’s
lips (Luke 2:25-32). The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at His baptism (Luke 3:22), filled Him to overflowing with wisdom and power, so He could baptize others with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16), and perform miracles. This same Holy Spirit ultimately raised Him miraculously, bodily and unmistakably from the dead. He is the Helper/ Comforter/Counsellor/ Advocate Jesus promised who dwells in and with us (John 14:17). The Holy Spirit teaches
us what we need to know, reminds us of what Jesus said (John 14:26) and is the Spirit of Truth (John 15:26, 16:13-14). So with this Holy Spirit in mind and with Advent anticipation, don’t let the Collects for the Sundays in Advent just slip by this year. Why not take them home with us and ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with whatever is necessary as we pray these four prayer points arising from those Collects: For the grace — which is God’s empowering presence to be who He made us to be and to do what He calls us to do — to cast away any works of darkness in our lives and to put on the armour of light. To truly hear, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Advent Scriptures that will prepare us to warmly welcome Jesus, Messiah,
by turning our disobedient hearts to the Lord. To become acceptable people in the Lord’s sight by preparing His way into our lives and removing those things that hinder our love of the Father, and by turning any disobedience in our hearts to the wisdom of the just. That the Lord will raise up His power and come among us with great might to help us all and deliver us from the sin and wickedness that so sorely lets and hinders us, and that we in all things may embrace His will and rejoice in our salvation. Amen and amen! May your Advent be filled with good, healthy Holy Spirit-inspired waiting, preparing, expectancy and delightful anticipation as you ready your hearts for the Lord’s return, and may your Christmas be very merry and bright indeed!
A journey in spirit, time, and place By the Rev. Rosemary Matthews
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y service of ordination to the priesthood took place on June 19 at St John’s Cathedral in Saskatoon. Later, I remember looking at the article about my ordination in Saskatchewan Anglican, titled “An ordination in the midst of coronavirus,” and my mind filled with thoughts of how I cherished the moment I was ordained. I grew up in Mumbai, India, with a younger sister and my parents who still reside in India. I moved away from my family and friends in May 2012, to achieve a dream and travel from Mumbai to Toronto and then to the small town of Lashburn, Sask., and then finally moving to Saskatoon to pursue my master of divinity in 2015 from the College of Emmanuel & St Chad. Thinking of this decision makes me look back to the strength and
Bishop Christopher Harper, newly-ordained priest Rev. Rosemary Matthews and Rev. Canon Alex Parsons pose after Matthews' ordination on June 19. File photo hope I had had and the welcome I received in each place I came to call home. Walking patiently through these years, I thought it’s not only the hardships you face in your life — the cold harsh winters and the wonders of warm soothing prairie summer — but also the places that you live that
instill in us and that bring about changes in us. It reminds me that it’s not me in here but God through His wonderful works guiding me through His path that He has in his plan. So, God changed me from a Mumbaikar (a resident of Mumbai) to a Prairie girl. It was an amazing
journey accompanied by the pleasure of being introduced to the yummy Saskatoon berries. In 2013 all my plans for my future career were falling apart; I was calling out to God for help, support, strength, and courage to survive all by myself. With nowhere to go and no job, I walked
one Sunday into All Saints Anglican Church, Lashburn, looking for God to help my longing, tired soul. Finding All Saints was the sign of God guiding me, which now gives me a sense of the realization of God’s plan for my life. As I entered the church, I saw a woman preaching the word of God and doing Eucharist; this was all new and inspiring for me. Rev. Jessie Pei, a wonderful servant of God and my inspiration, influenced me by teaching me the word of God. Being a Roman Catholic and accustomed to that way of worship, I felt the warmth and an atmosphere that welcomed me with open arms into the Anglican Church; a welcome filled with love, care and help when all the other doors were shut for me. Starting my studies as a seminarian at the college of Emmanuel & St Chad, the principal, the Rev. Dr. Iain Luke, proved to be a great support in making Continued next page
December 2020
The Saskatchewan Anglican
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DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE
Financial news from diocesan council By Joanne Shurvin-Martin
Bishops from three denominations pose for a picture after a service that celebrated the signing of the LAURC Covenant. From left are Lutheran Bishop Sid Haugen, Anglican Bishop Adam Halkett, Roman Catholic Bishop Albert Thevenot and Anglican Bishop Michael Hawkins. Photo by Mary Brown
... Service celebrates Christian unity and signing of covenant Continued from page 1 with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he also urges them to live a life that measures up to God’s standard. Be always humble, gentle, and patient. Be tolerant with one another, preserve the unity the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism with one Father of all mankind who is Lord of all and works through all and is in all.
In John’s Gospel 17:2026, Jesus prays to His father that we may all be one. May they be one so that the world will believe that you sent me. In his homily Bishop Hawkins spoke of the unity of the Father and Son in the Holy Spirit and that we stand together. We are blessed with Christian friendship of love and respect. We ask God to share in our comradeship that it may extend to our congregations and parishes. In the covenant document it is written that
it requires a fundamental commitment to working, praying and acting together in response to God’s call, yet it is not the final stage of life in communion. We engage in this covenant as a pledge of faithfulness and in hope of the full visible unity to which we are called. Maybe it was because of the small number of people — due to COVID — in such a large church that made this quiet low-key service seem so sincere, holy, and filled with hope for the future of all Christians in this province.
REGINA — Diocesan council met Oct. 3 on Zoom. Almost half (46.58 per cent) of parish Fair Shares to the diocese had been paid as of the end of June, despite churches being closed for worship for much of the year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Bishop Rob Hardwick pointed out that this is actually ahead of many years to this point. Some expected expenses, for example travel costs, have not been incurred. The minimum clergy stipend for 2021 has been increased by one per cent, which is tied to the cost of living. It was pointed out the biggest obstacle to clergy moving here is the low stipend rate. The diocesan budget for 2021 was discussed and approved. The bishop described some of the difficulties in planning during these uncertain times, and explained that the deficit budget will help parishes and allow for new
work being planned in the Mission Action Plan. He said, “God has provided unexpected funds” in the form of several large bequests. He continued, “It is my preference, even though there is anxiety about the future, that we should draw out of our storehouse to provide extra support.” The new budget projects total expenditures in 2021 of $890,000. It provides for new part-time positions (a communications officer and an accounting clerk) and continuing to pay for part-time positions for stewardship, children and youth, and risk management. Fair Share pledges have been reduced to assist parishes. To balance the budget, $150,000 will be drawn from bequests and undesignated diocesan trust funds. Hardwick reminded the council that at diocesan synod 19 years ago, the diocese could have been bankrupt within a year. “God has brought us through,” said the bishop.
... A journey of spirit, time, and place Continued from page 6 sure the students were supported well and taken care of, by welcoming an international student like me and by helping with me with my studies. I was also honoured to be placed under guiding wings of Fathers Daniel Hughes and Richard Spencer from All Saints Anglican Church in Saskatoon. I used to go to St George’s Anglican Church in Saskatoon when I was a seminarian student and was mentored there by the Rev. Emily Carr. I was also honoured to be married at St George’s and the Rev. Emily officiated at my wedding. I never imagined that the church in which I was married would one day be the first parish church that Bishop Christopher Harper would choose for me and for that I am deeply honoured. When Scott Pittendrigh, Dean of St John’s
Cathedral, gave me the opportunity to wear the chasuble worn by Rev. Elspeth McAlpine Alley — who became one of the first women to be ordained as a priest of the Anglican Church of Canada on Nov. 30, 1976 — for my ordination, I was overwhelmed and I can’t thank him enough. My family and friends scattered around the world found watching this unique and beautiful COVID ordination live was something they will never forget, and an experience we all will hold as one of our cherished moments. I would say I am blessed to be surrounded by people who know only to love and care, which is the greatest commandment of all taught by Jesus Christ. So if you ever come to Saskatoon, make sure to stop at St George’s Anglican Church for a service or for a coffee and for some wonderful conversation.
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The Saskatchewan Anglican
December 2020
Former campers remember Cam
Submitted REGINA — The property of Camp Knowles, a diocesan camp on the shores of Mission Lake in the Qu’Appelle Valley, was sold in August for $1,050,000. Net proceeds to the diocese, after realtor commissions and legal fees, was $994,243. The camp had ceased operation in the mid-1990s, and the property had been for sale for about a decade before being sold. The history of Camp Knowles has been hard to trace, as very little documentation is stored in the Diocesan Archives. It appears to have been started in the 1950s and operated under a variety of diocesan programs and local committees. Camp Knowles was named after the fifth bishop of Qu’Appelle, Edwin Hubert Knowles. He was born in British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) of British parents in 1874, and came to Canada in 1891. He received a bachelor of laws degree from the University of Manitoba, and was ordained deacon in 1905, and priested the following year by the Bishop of Qu’Appelle. Knowles served in several rural parishes and
was consecrated bishop on June 24, 1935. He served as bishop until he retired in 1950, and died in 1962. The camp had a positive influence on many hundreds of children and adults who attended and worked at the camps over the years. (Editor’s note: Thanks to Bruce Farrer who did the lion’s share of research and contacted many former campers, counsellors, and camp staff to collect their stories of time at Camp Knowles. This article would not be here without Bruce’s enthusiasm and hard work. Thanks also to everyone who shared their memories of camp. This article is part 1 of 2.)
Sharing a tent Bruce Farrer was a camper in 1952, when the camp was still quite new. He writes: When I was 10 years old the idea of attending a church camp was not high on my list of priorities, but learning to swim was, so my mom convinced me to join my cousin and a neighbour and attend Camp Knowles. We arrived on a pleasant sunny afternoon, and to everyone’s surprise, so did about 70 other
young boys. There were no cabins in those days, and there weren’t even enough tents to comfortably sleep everyone. I think there were about a dozen of us crowded into what would be an eight-person tent that first night, but after what I presume was a lot of scrambling behind the scenes we ended up in a tent for four kids for the rest of the week. We didn’t bring sleeping bags, just a ground sheet, but none of us can remember where the rest of the bedding came from. It didn’t rain that night, but it did the next and in fact every day that week, although there were sunny periods at some point most days. The four of us soon established the undeserved reputation for always being the first ones asleep. No counsellors of course, but when the supervisors checked on us all four would pretend to be fast asleep. This sometimes caused a bit of resentment among the other campers, as the supervisors always made sure everyone knew that at least one tent of campers was behaving the way they should.
None of us can remember anything about any organized activities. We had spear grass fights, games of tag, and one day my cousin and Bishop Coleman’s son had a wrestling match. The Coleman boy lost and then started crying. My cousin was convinced he’d go straight to Hell especially since it was, of all people, the bishop’s son
Camp photo albums go missing Two albums of photos recording many years at Camp Knowles have gone missing. If anyone knows where they are (or has other records from the camps) please send them to the Diocesan Archivist, c/o Diocese of Qu’Appelle, 1501 College Avenue, Regina SK S4P 1B8
December 2020
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mp Knowles after property sells
Photo from the Diocese of Qu'Appelle archives to whom he had done this. Monday morning I anxiously waited for the swimming lesson to start, but no instructor ever materialized and because of the wet weather the lake was often too cold to go into the water. After that first rainy week I never set foot on Camp Knowles property until 30 years later when our own children began attending. For about 10 years in the 1980s and early ’90s, my wife, Cathy, and I codirected camps. I recall that one year a bird nested right outside one of the windows in the dining hall. After every meal, the young boys would quietly sneak over to the window to see if the baby birds had hatched yet.
'The Itch' Sandra Kerr was first a camper and later was
a leader. She recalls that during the week of girls’ camp in the 1960s, teen idol Bobby Curtola had a concert in nearby Fort Qu’Appelle. (Readers of a certain vintage will probably be able to hum the Canadian rock and roll singer’s first international hit Fortune Teller.) Kerr was one of about 25 campers, and at least half of them decided to walk into town to see the concert. They first had to wait for everyone else fell asleep, and then walked the approximately two miles to town. They were able to see the end of the concert, and then walked back to camp, arriving just as the cook was getting up to prepare breakfast. She doesn’t recall the name of the cook, but remembers that she kept the girls’ secret about their late-night concert adventure. Kerr was a leader for a girls’ camp during the 1980s at which a number of the girls got chicken pox, but says that at first no one was concerned because they all assumed it was The Itch – as local people called Swimmers’ Itch. After a while, however, they realized it was not
responding as The Itch. They phoned the local hospital and were instructed to bring all the girls to the hospital. When the leaders said they couldn’t fit all the girls in the only two cars at camp, they were told to call the RCMP to report what they were going to do, and to pack them all in. After the short trip that would clearly be illegal today, the hospital staff were unable to determine who had chicken pox, who had The Itch, and who had both. Leaders phoned all the parents, and the camp ended one day early that year.
A restless sleep Kelly Carty attended camp in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. She says a few memories stand out: One night we were going to sleep outside on top of one of those big hills behind the camp. We all went up there with our sleeping bags. In the morning they could not find me. I’m a very restless sleeper and in the night I had slowly slid down the hill almost to the bottom. I was woken up by frantic voices calling out my name. Startled, I got out
of my sleeping bag and started walking back up the hill to find the priest running down to call the police. I had no idea the fuss my slippery bag had caused. One night they took us to the drive-in in Fort Qu’Appelle. It was an Elvis movie, the one where I think he was a doctor who one of the nuns fell in love with. Apparently it was rather racy for the day. The camp staff told us not to tell our parents that they introduced us to that type of movie. (Editor’s note: The movie was probably A Change of Habit, also staring Mary Tyler Moore.) Kelly also remembered that a lifeguard from camp saved the life of a driver after his car plunged into Mission Lake. This story caught the attention of Bruce Farrer, who channeled his inner investigative reporter to track down the details, from old newspapers and local people who were there at the time. This is a summary of all the information he was able to find: Terry Upcott was 17 years old in July 1971. After midnight, he was driving his girlfriend
home, and his car went over the cliff at a point notoriously called Dead Man’s Curve, landing in the lake. His girlfriend, Deb Horsman, though injured, was able to get out of the car, but Terry wasn’t. Margaret Taylor, who was a lifeguard at Camp Knowles, had been up late with some of the young supervisors, enjoying a campfire on the beach, when they saw the lights of the car go over the cliff. They quickly canoed over to the submerged car and Margaret got into the car and pulled Terry out. He was unconscious and not breathing so she gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The police arrived at the top of the cliff, but could not get down the steep embankment to the victims, so Margaret and the counsellors took Terry in the canoe, back to the beach at Camp Knowles where the ambulance picked him up — still unconscious. The canoe went back to pick up Deb as well. Many years later, Terry got in touch with Margaret, who now lives in Ontario, to thank her for saving his life. Part 2 will appear in the January issue.
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The Saskatchewan Anglican
December 2020
A COVID Advent By the Rev. MarieLouise Ternier
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’m in the middle of suffering a common cold (pretty sure it’s not COVID!). But in this pandemic season, just having a common cold sets off alarm bells on the social barometer. Nobody wants me around. I had to miss a vestry meeting and leading the weekly Bible study. Nobody wants me around, not even our daughter, who expected us for a visit. Even at the best of times, no one is good company when sick. But really? Some hardship, sitting on a couch with hot lemon, nose wipes, books and virtual connections of all kinds, in a home that feels warm and safe and comfy, even while the days are getting colder and darkness closes in. The pandemic-induced social restrictions and isolation take my thoughts to prisoners in solitary confinement. How in the world do they stay sane and coherent? I used to look forward to empty days, but now it’s hard to remember what day it is. The hours seem longer, day in and day out. Falling into mental and spiritual rabbit holes has never been easier. Research in the effects
Grace @ Sixty of solitary confinement is affording prisoners an advising voice: set a routine, watch your health, maintain your physical space, engage in something positive or creative (a book, a hobby or craft, a course), and live in the present while planning for the future. Meaningful advice from prisoners; wow. COVID-19 has indeed turned our world upside down and inside out, but only for some of us; those of us who felt superior and free, secure and invincible. But upside down it is now: the ones we despise and lock away, are now sharing essential survival tactics while we move in and out of quarantine, dodging a nasty virus that’s dancing unfettered around the world. Similarly, we’re discovering that front-line workers, those we reward with a pittance — admit it, that’s what minimum wage is — are essential to keep grocery shelves stocked, garbage emptied,
hospitals and clinics clean and safe. Finally, the unwelcome halt to the insanity of our global rat race is having an unintended consequence: creation is yearning to breathe anew, desperately straining towards healing and regeneration for the sake of sustaining all life on this beautiful planet Earth, our common home. In our part of the world, Advent is cold and dark, pushing into the winter solstice. Against the gloom of COVID-19, of social confinement and growing dependence on manipulative media, faint Advent lights still dare to flicker: every valley shall be exalted and every hill be made low (Isaiah 40:4); he casts the mighty from their thrones, scatters the proud in their conceit, sends the rich away empty, and lifts up the lowly (cf. Luke 1:46-55). Truth be told, life is fragile, vulnerable and broken, most of the time for most people. COVID-19 is laying bare our sins with embarrassing clarity: plundering the earth for short-term gain, exploiting the masses and ignoring the plight of millions just to secure our own comfort. Never mind the epidemics, pandemics
The pandemicinduced social restrictions and isolation take my thoughts to prisoners in solitary confinement. How in the world do they stay sane and coherent? even, of family breakdown, drug abuse and domestic violence, and environmental destruction; we need our comfort and our toys, now. This is not the first time we are accused of crimes against humanity and creation. This is not the first time we are confronted with the social and mental breakdown that our self-serving rat race is exacting from way too many people at the bottom. But we have sputtered, objecting that we cannot possibly stop the economy and share our wealth, reduce our carbon footprint and scale back our rampant exploiting of the world’s resources. Now the response thunders: Here is a virus, practise. Across the ages of human selfishness
a faint whispering persists, insisting on believing in our capacity for repentance and transformation, our capacity for good and for love: I will not leave you orphaned or destroyed by your own sin. Lift your voices, see the One who comes through smallness and insignificance. Seize the promise of God in a tiny child, born in a manger among animals, a refugee in infancy, a messenger of Love rejected and despised, killed by darkness, but raised up in glory. Heavy thoughts for time-out on the couch, yes. But if not here and now, then where and when is God to break open hearts into urgent awakening and transformation? One thing I know for sure: Divine Love doesn’t give up, ever. Advent attests to this. Once again God’s vision pierces the cold and dark; how we need this right now. Head-heavy thoughts all right, but contrition and yearning for mercy and renewal spring forth in my heart. Sniffling and sneezing on the couch, I pray with all my heart: May it be so, O God, may it be so. Lord, have mercy. Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Anglican Foundation says 'yes' to Saskatchewan with funding By Canon Judy Rois Executive Director, Anglican Foundation of Canada
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t Anglican Foundation of Canada we love, more than anything, to say “Yes!” and to help our parishes imagine more. The foundation has been saying yes steadily and unfailingly — through good times and bad — for more than 60 years. In the dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle, since 2010, we have said “Yes!” to nearly $540,000 in grants and loans for your parishes. The vast majority of this investment has been in buildings and programs. In the Diocese of Qu’Appelle, AFC has
funded a number of accessibility projects, two consecutive years’ funding for the GetLiturgized project, pastoral counselling for clients on the Gordon First Nation, and new lighting for St. Paul’s Cathedral, Regina. In the Diocese of Saskatchewan, AFC has funded the Camp Paskwawaskink Project for two consecutive years, and Aboriginal Education and Cree Leadership Development through Wycliffe College in Toronto.
In the Diocese of Saskatoon, AFC has provided a grant to upgrade lighting at St. George’s in Battleford and restoration of the chancel at St. John’s Cathedral, Saskatoon. AFC’s commitment to theological education has resulted in student bursaries totaling $20,000 as well as grants to fund the ecumenical chaplaincy at the University of Saskatchewan. This past May, in spite of the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis and the
effect on AFC’s investment portfolio, we said Yes! to helping re-shingle the roof at All Saints in Watrous, and supporting the Hospitality Sustainability Project at St. Aidan, Moose Jaw. For nearly 10 years now as executive director of the foundation, I’ve had a front row seat to some of the Canadian church’s best ideas: the ministries and programs that parish visionaries might undertake if only they had some strategic funding to help them get started. Knowing what I know about the innovative and compassionate character of the church, nationally, I cannot help but feel hopeful about the future. Please be assured that AFC will continue to be a force for stability: we
have been there and will continue to be there no matter what the future may hold. In order for AFC to remain strong and vibrant, however, I am asking those who can continue to partner with us to do so. If you are a member I ask you to renew your membership. If you have never been a member of the foundation before, please accept this invitation to pay it forward. The social and economic effect of COVID-19 on people and communities will undoubtedly give rise to compassionate and innovative responses on the part of our churches. To those currently discerning how to meet a real and pressing need Continued next page
December 2020
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Prayer Book Society creates online app for Daily Offices Submitted
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At the first blessing of the animals service at St. John's, Borden, Anton Moradian brought his dog Spot to be blessed by the Rev. Sheldon Carr. Photo by the Rev. Sheldon Carr
Animals blessed in Borden By the Rev. Sheldon Carr BORDEN (Saskatoon) — Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 106:1). There are days when we just want to shout for joy. For me, Oct. 4 was one of those days. We at St. John’s Anglican Parish celebrated the Feast of St. Francis, the last Sunday in the church’s season of creation and we honoured the Sunday of Worldwide Communion.
It was a joyful celebration on a beautiful fall day. It was glorious! To honour the life and witness of St. Francis we had the first ever Bordon’s blessing of the animals aervice. It was good and appropriate to honour the animals that serve us, share our homes and our lives, comfort us in our trials and generally bless us with their fuzzy presence. For our first blessing service we had one animal visitor: Spot the dog was a champion. He had a heavy
responsibility as he was tasked with representing all of the animals with whom we share our lives. He was a champ. Thank you, Anton Moradian, for bringing Spot to join our worship service. To add to the perfect day, we celebrated the Holy Eucharist for the first time since March 8. It was different, it was wonderful, and it was a blessing. Thank you everyone who contributed to making it possible. Thanks be to God for all the goodness that is ours.
... Anglican Foundation says 'yes' Continued from page 10 in their communities — faithful leaders in the dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle among them — we want to respond as generously as possible. Join us and help AFC
continue to be able to say Yes! to the dreams and aspirations of the people and parishes in your dioceses, and to so many more across the country. To donate to the Anglican Foundation of Canada visit anglicanfoundation.org.
he Prayer Book of Society of Canada (PBSC) has released a free phone app that makes the Daily Offices more accessible to those who know and love them and to those who are discovering them for the first time. “Incredible! I could not have imagined something so easy and smooth to use. What a great gift for those who travel and what an encouragement for those starting out with the Daily Office,” said Bishop Michael Hawkins of the Diocese of Saskatchewan. “This is a gift to the entire Anglican Church of Canada and the PBSC is to be commended for the effort, imagination and determination behind this project. The recovery of the Daily Office and its permeation into the life and witness of the Church at all times and in all places as worship is key to any deep renewal in our day.” The Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer are treasured resources, required to be prayed by the clergy daily, but designed for every Christian to pray through. Without instruction on how to navigate the Psalter, Table of Lessons, Lectionary and rubrics of the Offices themselves, beginning to pray the Office can be a daunting prospect. In other jurisdictions, mobile apps have been developed to facilitate praying the office by removing the need to manually determine needed psalms, readings, and collects for a given day. The Common Prayer Canada web and mobile app will function the same way, for the first time making available the authorized Canadian Book of Common Prayer for use. The features of the app include: • Morning, Mid-Day, and Evening Prayer, Compline, and Family Prayers, and the Great Litany
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Simplified and streamlined, the app automatically and seamlessly presents the propers, Psalms, lessons, and collects of the day. Just press Pray! Available on Android and Apple devices, as well as through our website. Customizable features, including choice of three Bible versions: KJV, ESV, and NRSV; Appearance and ease-of-use settings, including font size and background colour; Default liturgical settings for novice users and advanced liturgical preferences for experienced users
Instructions on how to transition users from the app to using their own Prayer Book and Bible The goal of the app is to help familiarize individuals and families with the prayer book offices, as well as the family prayers, and make it a devotional tool. It is particularly helpful right now as families seek new opportunities to take charge of and maintain their spiritual health and devotions. The app remains in development and is expected to be released in time for the First Sunday in Advent 2020 to allow users to begin the new liturgical year praying the Office.
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The Saskatchewan Anglican
December 2020
Ecumenical quilts blessed in Borden A group of friends in Saskatoon, along with support from the Rev. Jan Bigland-Pritchard, the refugee co-ordinator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, are working very hard to bring a refugee family to Saskatoon. Tarek Balbouj, his wife, Mariam Al Masalma, and their four children, ages two, three, four, and five, are living in a Jordanian refugee camp. They will need housing and all that is required to support them in their new life when they are eventually come to Canada. The quilting women of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
in Radisson have donated beautiful quilts for the family. Some of the women of the quilting group are also members of a study group at St. John’s Anglican Church in Borden. On Nov. 1 the quilts were blessed by the Rev. Sheldon Carr at the Eucharistic service for All Saints Day at St. John’s Anglican Church in Borden. There was a good group of parishioners present for the occasion.
Photo by Brenda Tumbach
Changes in society lead to changes in worship By Rev. Cheryl Johnson
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n the fall, the gospel readings were from the Gospel According to Matthew, chapter 18. Behind these readings lies the question, “What does it mean to be church?” The word that is translated as “church” also occurs in the Old Testament. There it is translated as “assembly” or “congregation.” Its most basic meaning is a gathering of people. When this word is understood as church or congregation it has a religious connotation. When we look through the Old Testament, we find that there have been several different contexts in which we find God’s people. Prior to the time of Moses we do not know very much about how God was worshipped. It is only during the period of the Exodus that we get to see the festivals and ceremonies
practised at the time. When the Children of Israel arrived in the Promised Land, the patterns of worship had to change. Under King David worship was centralized in Jerusalem and the tribal sanctuaries fell into disuse. When Jerusalem was conquered and the people went into the Babylonian Exile, a new form of worship was developed: the synagogue. After the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. the synagogue became the centre of Jewish worship. Changes in the cultural environment led to worship changes. Today we are faced with a pandemic that requires us to make changes in our worship pattern. COVID-19 is spread through droplets the air. Face masks, frequent washing and physical distance have come to be the norm for interrupting or preventing the spread of the
virus. This also means that precautions have to be taken in our communion practices. Before I returned to Saskatchewan in 2003, I lived in the Toronto area in the time of SARS. At first it felt so very strange to receive communion in one kind only. In time SARS went away and things returned to normal. COVID-19 is different. It is going to be with us for some time, so we will have to do communion differently for at least the next while. I have been doing communion with small congregations since August. How we will do communion with larger congregations I am not sure, but we will work it out. Despite how we do worship, we are still church, we are the people of God. (This column first appeared in the fall issue of Plain and Valley Parish Newsletter).
Rev. Cheryl Johnson provides instructions to parishioners in Whitewood about how services will function during the pandemic. Photo by Phyllis Armstrong
December 2020
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Jesus matters in a modern society By Adam Z. Wright Professor, the College of Emmanuel & St. Chad
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s we enter the Advent season, we have many things for which to be thankful: family, friends, Christmas tradition — to name a few. However, for as many things as we are thankful for, we are often presented — especially this season — with a number of challenges that can change how we enjoy such things. Such a challenge is the spread of COVID-19, bringing with it the fear of infection, loneliness, and loss. It is a reminder that things can change quickly, and — seemingly — not always for the better. As a professor of New Testament, I am often
DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE
Deacon Rita Brann named PWRDF diocesan rep Submitted REGINA —Deacon Rita Brann is the new Qu’Appelle diocesan representative for PWRDF (Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund). She replaces Wilma Ward, who stepped down in the fall. Brann recently retired from active ministry at St. Philip, Regina, and is now interested in putting her time and energy toward the work of PWRDF.
asked how, and in what ways, Jesus matters to a modern society. After all, these stories are 2,000 years old, so how could such stories have any real effect on how we are to think about modern issues? If we are being honest, we also often ask ourselves this question as we sit, either physically or digitally, in the pews of our churches. Indeed, this is an important question.
Gospel truths seen in response to suffering I have spent more than 30 years pondering the person and the words of Christ, during both good and bad times. I have carefully read the words of those people who knew Jesus first, those earliest disciples who witnessed the miracles of Jesus, who watched sick people become well, the demon-possessed who regained their place in
society — the people who witnessed the brutal death of Jesus as well as His powerful resurrection — and there is one single thing that each professed: that the truth of the Gospel is not in how comfortable we are, it is in how we respond to our suffering. Truly, life is not without hardship and suffering, and our time is of no exception. But the power of the Gospel is in our reaction, and such a theme can be traced all
throughout the Hebrew Bible. It is found in the story of Moses, who left all he knew in Egypt and went into the wilderness. It is found in the story of Israel herself, who wandered through the wilderness for 40 years and who endured incredible hardships throughout her establishment. It is found in the story of Elijah, who experienced God in a powerful way, yet fled into the wild as he lamented his life. It is also found in the stories of David and Solomon — the kings of Israel — who knew endless comforts, but who still struggled amidst it. Yet, in each of these examples we find a simple truth: that God was found in the wilderness amidst their struggles. Continued page 14
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The Saskatchewan Anglican
December 2020
DIOCESE OF SASKATCHEWAN
Order of Saskatchewan winner Shirley Hoiland Reavie was a regular at Bible studies Submitted ARBORFIELD In (Skwn) — Shirley Hoiland Reavie Loving was honoured with the Order of Memoryin Saskatchewan October 2017. Of She was
nominated by the Rev. Jeremy Boehr and the Parish of the Church of the Ascension in Arborfield. She had belonged to the church since 1964 and not surprising had done just about everything. She held executive positions in the ACW, served as a vestry member, secretary and envelope secretary. She cooked at Camp Okema and taught Sunday school
in the days when there were so many children, they filled their hall. She was at the church on Sunday for services, Monday morning Bible study, Thursday evening bible study, plus monthly meetings. She would be the first and last person at the church on Sundays. Shirley died on Oct. 6 at the age of 86. Her children Heather, Donald and Kathy and their spouses and children and three great-grandchildren will really miss such a lovely
Shirley Hoiland-Reavie October 6, 1934 - October 6, 2020
Safe in the arms of Jesus
woman. As Rev. Gethin Edward said, she was a faithful, lively and lovely member of the Church of the Ascension. According to her obituary, she was born on the farm near Borden, Sask., before the family moved to Vawn, Sask. She later moved to Ontario and stayed with family; this is also where she was introduced to the Anglican Church. The church and her faith played an important role in her life. Hoiland Reavie enjoyed gardening, flowers, and taking care of her many houseplants. She was also cook for many years at Camp Okema with her good friend Betty. Rest eternal grant unto her, O Lord.
You are invited into a
Spiritual Formation Course
Sponsored by the Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon’s
School of Discipleship
Coordinated by the Rev. Dr. Trish McCarthy Online Platform: Zoom Costs: Covered by your diocese
OPEN to Anglicans interested in going deeper in relationship with God
... Jesus matters in a modern society Continued from page 13 But why did they have to struggle to find God, and is there not an easier way? The truth about hardship is it’s a great teacher. Said another way: hardship creates awareness. So much can be said about Solomon, who was considered the wisest person to have ever lived. But one cannot read about Solomon’s life without also recognizing his hardships — the very thing that led to his adoption of wisdom and an experience of God. So, hardship can also be understood as a method by which one becomes acutely aware of both the hardship itself and the thing that causes it. Hardship can further the Kingdom of God But this is only the first lesson. The second is the call that is placed on each of our lives, and that is: once we become aware of our hardship and its cause, we have the choice of whether we want to work to fix it. Said another way: our awareness leads to purpose. This is also precisely what we find in the story of Jesus. Jesus goes into the wilderness and experiences temptation and trial, but He then returns from such an experience to benefit those around Him. In doing so, he also alerts everyone to the cause of their suffering and provides for them a cure that leads to freedom. Such freedom does not mean an
exemption from hardship, it is that hardship can be transcended to further the Kingdom of God. This means Jesus granted to His audience a meaning and a purpose for their lives amidst hardship. Such a theme can also be found in the death and resurrection of Jesus: that suffering and hardship is met with vindication and resurrection. This not only means we will be granted resurrection on the great day of the Lord’s return — as we Christians understand and claim — it also provides a promise that there is hope amidst hardship, a promise that prompts us not to become bitter due to our hardship. This means that we can use our hardships to transcend the bitterness of suffering and, instead, wield it as a powerful learning tool to help those around us. And so, my friends, we possess an incredible power and freedom, a power to know your meaning and your purpose amidst your hardship! May you all find rest in Christ this holiday season, and may you know this powerful truth: that your life has great value and worth, and that in you rests the power to change the world with the unending love that Christ provides. Adam Z. Wright is assistant professor of New Testament and director of Online Studies at the College of Emmanuel & St. Chad.
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 at www.anglicandiocesesaskatoon.com/new-blog
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If AFTER READING online course description, you have questions, please contact Rev. Dr. Trish McCarthy at tmccarthy@sasktel.net.
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anglicanfoundation.org
December 2020
The Saskatchewan Anglican
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Prudence, wisdom, courage and lament By Rev. Dell Bornowsky Editor's note: This article first appeared in the fall issue of Plain and Valley Parish Newsletter. Though written for that rural parish, the ideas are valuable for many others in the diocese and the province.
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s All Saints, Lumsden plans to be the first point in the parish to resume holding at least some in-person worship gatherings, here are a few reflections I hope you may find encouraging. The virtue of prudence If you are hesitant or think it may not be wise for you to attend public gatherings at this time, and are concerned about how your decision may by perceived by others, please remember that prudence is the virtue that keeps the virtue of courage from becoming recklessness. As Josef Pieper has written in The Four Cardinal Virtues, “That is prudent which is in keeping with reality.” R.R. Reno, editor of First Things adds: “Moral principles and good intentions amount to little if pursued blindly. Action on behalf of the good requires accurate perception of concrete situations and circumstances.” (Sixty years ago Pieper saw how our permissive society devalued true virtues and mistakenly equated the virtue of prudence with a trivial prudery. His work helps us recover the significance of true prudence as a realistic foundation for all the virtues.) Each of us through prayer and discussion with our loved ones needs to consider carefully and choose the path of wisdom and faithfulness that is right for us. In these times when it is difficult to know with any certainty what our risk of exposure is to a potentially deadly virus, we may remember the old adage “prudence is the better part of valour.” There is no shame in choosing the prudent over the unknown. Indeed let us honour and respect those whose
Lamentation of Christ by Giotto di Bondone in the Capella Scrovegni, completed 1305. Padua, Veneto, Italy. faithful and prudent discernment leads them to abstain from gathering, as wise stewards of their health and that of others. We have all been learning to both cope with and learn from the various types of isolations forced on us by this epidemic. I trust as you have been reflecting on your relationship with the Lord through this time, new avenues and experiences, new opportunities and ways to be faithful to the Lord have been arising. In my childhood, we had no telephone, no television, and no newspaper. Today there are so many more means of communication than have ever existed. I encourage you to use some these. As the King James Version has it: But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased (Hebrews 13:16). The word “communicate” here means giving and sharing of all kinds, but the idea of keeping in touch through
letters or phone calls can certainly be included. The spiritual discipline and virtue of embracing difficult change If we think that gathering for worship in the church building will be a return to the “good old days” we will be disappointed. The things we must do to be safe and wise in the face of this invisible danger impinge on long-established and social practices that are very dear to us. However there are good spiritual and theological uses for the disappointment many of us will feel. The Lord has been giving us grace to adapt and will continue to do so. Some of the most precious metal is mined and refined through affliction. Spiritual growth is often accompanied by “growing pains.” I know this contradicts our instinct that church should be a place of comfort and consolation.
However I believe we can prepare our faith and our hearts to grow strong through disappointment and sorrow. Coming as I did through Christian traditions that emphasized praise and rejoicing, when it was first suggested to me that lament was an appropriate form of prayer I had a difficulty accepting it. I thought lament sounded too much like complaining or whining. But then I realized how much of the Bible included prayers of lament. I also realized that lament is just being honest with God when we are having a rough time. In a way lament is the most honest form of prayer because there is little motivation to pretty it up or be pretentious about our real feelings. Lament is bringing our faith to bear on difficult and tragic circumstances that are beyond our control. Lament is often paradoxical in that it is calling out when we feel god-forsaken to that
apparently absent God for help, in the midst of fearing that none will come. Lament is an appropriate response when the judgment of God seems harsh, while it gives voice to our feelings of compassion that are prompted by love. I do not know how close the direct effects of the epidemic have come and will come to our parish and our community or extended families, but we pray in solidarity with those whose family and loved ones have died or become sick from the virus, and for those who have been deprived of the ability to give or receive comfort because of quarantine measures. Whether you are considering attending public worship, please consider calling or emailing your pastor or Christian friends with prayer concerns and thanksgivings. Don’t hesitate to call or write your family, friends and neighbours.
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The Saskatchewan Anglican
December 2020
Book review
Author was one of the first female deacons in C of E Reviewed by Deacon Canon D. Michael Jackson Diocese of Qu’Appelle Deacon by design: The up and downs of an Anglican deacon. By Gill Kimber Self-published through Verité CM Limited, Worthing, UK, 2019
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he title of this book says it all: deacon by design. Gill Kimber was not — is not — a deacon because she had to be to qualify for the priesthood. She chose the diaconate as a permanent vocation, something still all too rare in the Church of England. Was it smooth sailing? The secondary title gives the answer! Ordained in 1991, Kimber was in the first wave of women deacons in the C of E. Most of them went on the priesthood when it was opened to women in 1994. Gill Kimber deliberately did not. Deacon by design is a very personal story. Deacon Kimber, daughter and granddaughter of priests from the Catholic tradition of the Church of England, had no intention of marrying a clergyperson or being one herself. Her husband was a Baptist and they both served as lay missionaries in Nigeria for 10 years. Returning to England in 1985 with four children, they found their lives completely up-ended. Gill’s husband Geoff followed a call to ministry in the Church of England
and persevered through seminary to ordination as a priest. Then it was Gill’s turn to experience a call — to the diaconate. Her chapter titles are revealing: “Fighting God”; “God’s Mysterious Ways”; “Now It’s Your Turn”; “A Bumpy Ride”; “A Deacon At Last.” Discernment, acceptance for ordination, theological college, the parish “curacy” required for C of E clergy, all presented challenges for a mother of four. But Gill Kimber faced even more obstacles. Women’s ordained ministry was still a novelty in the 1980s and opposed in particular by two parties in the Church of England: at one end, conservative AngloCatholics who shared with Roman Catholics and Orthodox the belief that only men could be ordained; at the other end, conservative evangelicals with a “powerful conviction that the Bible teaches that women should not be in any kind of spiritual leadership” (63). After Kimber was
ordained deacon in 1991, a hostile incumbent from the latter school made her parish curacy painful. The diaconate was also widely regarded as a dubious form of ministry, essentially a pro forma training year for the priesthood. Attending one of the first ordinations of women priests in 1994, Deacon Kimber experienced patronizing comments, familiar to many deacons then and since, that she too would eventually graduate into the “higher order” of ministry. Deacon Kimber shared in her husband’s parish ministry and worked at Coventry Cathedral. Then in 2002 they both felt a call to serve abroad, for three years in a health and education project in Sibiu, Romania. This was followed by a two-year stint teaching at a theological school in Alba Iulia at the invitation of the Romanian Orthodox archbishop, together with involvement in an evangelical Orthodox group. Throughout the five years in Romania, although her husband was acknowledged and welcomed as an Anglican priest, Gill Kimber could not identify herself as a deacon, given Orthodox sensitivities to women’s ordination — hence the chapter title “Undercover Deacon”! The couple returned to England in 2007, ministering in an innercity parish in Birmingham until retirement to rural Devon in 2012. Fortunately, the story does not end there. Finding herself in the
deacon-friendly diocese of Exeter, Gill Kimber made contact with the local church authorities and was soon asked to take over as warden of the diocesan College of Deacons. She also found that a great supporter of the diaconate, Dr. Paul Avis, was canon theologian at Exeter Cathedral and visiting professor of theology at the University of Exeter. She promptly recruited him to speak at the annual diocesan deacons’ day. Deacon Kimber had been actively involved in the Diaconal Association of the Church of England (DACE), formed in 1988, and shared in its great disappointment when the report For such a time of this on diaconal ministry was rejected in 2001 by the House of Laity in the Church of England’s General Synod under pressure from lay readers. It was, says Ms. Kimber, “a serious blow, one from which DACE never really recovered” (68). The organization disbanded in 2017. Gill Kimber then took active steps to revive diaconal dialogue through a deacons’ network, a website and a blog at https://deaconstories. wordpress.com. She found a strong advocate in Bishop James Newcome of Carlisle, who contributed the Foreword to Deacon by design. In 2018, her group organized a major conference on the diaconate in Birmingham, with Paul Avis as a keynote speaker. By 2020, the bishops
and dioceses of Chichester, Portsmouth, Carlisle, Exeter, London, Plymouth, York, and St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich had expressed support for the diaconate and a number of diaconal ordinations had taken place, including 17 readers ordained by the Archbishop of York. Although there are still fewer than 200 distinctive deacons in the Church of England, the future looks brighter than it has for a generation. Deacon Kimber concludes the book with a series of recommendations. End prejudice and discrimination against the diaconate. Clarify the distinctiveness of each ministry – “there is no need for [lay] readers to see deacons as rivals.” Establish a national policy on the diaconate. Create “relevant vocational discernment and training” (140). Find suitable posts for deacons, notably in team ministries. Will the day will come when “deacons will at last be able to take their rightful place, affirmed, respected and deployed as the third order of ministry within the Church of England?” (139). “My prayer,” she says, “is that this hope, shimmering on the horizon at present, will be a real oasis at last and not yet another mirage” (142). If the vocational diaconate finally turns out not be a “mirage” in the C of E, it will be largely due to the dedication and leadership of deacons like Gill Kimber.
DIOCESE OF SASKATCHEWAN
Diocese welcomes back postulant camps will govern Sunday schools and youth programming. g The Rev. Eyad Ajji will leave the diocese at the end of January for the Church of the Evangelists, New Tecumseth, Ont., in the Diocese of Toronto. g Postulant Michael Lyons has returned to the diocese. He will assist the Prince Albert Deanery part-time under the direction of Bishop
Michael Hawkins, as he continues his education virtually at the University of Saskatchewan. g Prince Albert Anglican Youth Group for grades 7 to 12 meets on the second and fourth Sunday of the month from 6 to 8 p.m. For next dates and times, contact Father David at 306-922-0044, Father Eyad at 306-7640382, or Father Rick at 306-764-1310.
Foundation Forward
ideas that i n s p i r
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g The directives of the most recent version of the Reopen Saskatchewan Plan are to be carefully observed in every parish, church, hall or other building in the diocese. Please pay attention to pages 14-17 (work place), pages 17-18 (cleaning), pages 19-22 (protective equipment), pages 24-25 (cloth masks), and pages 34-37 (places of worship). The section on day
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