The Saskatchewan Anglican, November 2020

Saskatchewan

anglican

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

New Regina parish named Immanuel

By Saskatchewan Anglican staff REGINA — A new multipoint parish has been created in Regina and given the name Immanuel.

This parish has been created as one parish with five congregations: All Saints, St. James, St. Luke, St. Matthew and St. Philip.

The plan is for the five points to begin worshipping together in January 2021 as one parish and one congregation. The location has not yet been chosen.

Bishop Rob Hardwick named the parish after taking into consideration 65 names suggested by parishioners and the work of the ministerial team and the naming committee, which then created a short list of five names.

Parishioners had the

opportunity to comment on those names and report which name(s) they felt God was calling the new parish to adopt. Two names stood out as being most popular.

The current parishes presented a petition to diocesan council — which met on Oct. 3 — asking for the creation of the new parish. This was required by diocesan regulations to canons.

After diocesan council unanimously passed the petition, the bishop wrote to the five congregations providing an update.

In another letter issued Oct. 7, Hardwick wrote, “After much prayer, I felt drawn to the name Immanuel, the direct translation of the Hebrew text, meaning, God with us (Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23).

“Both the I and E forms of Immanuel were submitted but as ‘E’mmanuel is a translation of a translation, I decided upon Immanuel. I chose this in order to be true, both to the direct translation of the Hebrew and, to differentiate from other churches and our seminary named Emmanuel with St Chad, here in Saskatchewan.

“In all of this process we have perceived that this journey is a holy call upon a holy people, to birth in our midst a new church.

“We have recognized that the Immanuel, God, has been with us on this journey, most evident in the unanimous decision by your diocesan council (on Oct. 3).

“Equally we remember well our Scriptures of the prophetic call announcing

the one to be born ‘Immanuel.’ May we all continue to witness ‘God with us’ as we welcome the birth of the new church, Immanuel, in our midst … .

“In my prayerful discernment, I also saw further confirmation of the choice of this new name.

Change is at the heart of the arrival of the Immanuel; the Magnificat and the Benedictus are evidence of that.

“Change that even meant that the Holy Family had to leave the comfort of a home and seek refuge in a strange place until it was safe to furnish a new home in Nazareth.

“At this defining moment, as you are called to journey from the spiritual homes that have birthed or nurtured you, I pray you will all embrace the call

of Immanuel, the call to change, that in faithfulness to the vision you receive, many will be welcomed and experience the birth of the Saviour in their lives.”

The individual congregations will continue to operate with their own vestries until Immanuel holds its first annual general meeting — likely February 2021 — when a new vestry will be elected.

In the interim, a parish council formed from the wardens, incumbents and interims, ministerial team, and a treasurer, will govern the newly created parish.

The process of combining the existing parishes into a new one began in 2018 and more than 50 individuals have been working on various committees, working groups and teams since then.

When I nod my head, you hit it The Rev. David Butorac holds a log so Postulant Michael Lyons can split it. Butorac is very brave considering Lyon’s sight is challenged.

They were at Little Red River Park on Sept. 19 for a hot dog roast and games event for the joint Messiah Lutheran and Anglican youth group. Unfortunately, only three people turned up: David Butorac,

Michael Lyons and Pastor Fran from the Messiah Lutheran Church.

They were not deterred and planned a trip to a corn maze on Oct. 18.

The group meets on the third Saturday of the month at St. Alban’s Cathedral in Prince Albert. The Anglican-wide youth group meets the second and fourth Sundays evenings.

Photo by Pastor Fran

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2

The Saskatchewan Anglican

November 2020

God speaks to people in profound ways Does the biblical pattern of disaster and discipline with a call to repent apply to COVID-19?

By the Rev. Dr. Trish McCarthy

I

am in awe and deeply moved by the way God speaks to people through the biblical narrative.

You see, God typically speaks to people who 1) have been devoted in their prayer lives, 2) who reflect on Scripture, 3) then act on God’s guidance as learned in the Bible.

It follows that those who open themselves up to God and faithfully follow God’s guidance as discerned from Scripture, as understood through powers of reason, as received in spiritual tradition and as experienced first-hand, have an accurate lens through which they can see and experience God at work in their own environment.

Concept of revelation The most profound aspect of the biblical narrative for me is how God speaks and reveals Himself to us as processed through the biblical writer’s human mind, heart and life experience.

Just to be clear, I don’t believe that God physically guides a biblical writer’s pen or guides a priest or a scholar through the intricate use of a computer keyboard for that matter.

Rather, God often speaks to us from a page of Scripture that has been written by a human being about their experience of God in their own language, culture, familiar concepts and metaphors.

The way I understand

it, the human experience of God’s revelation is sifted through the writers’ worldview, their understanding of faith and their past experience of God as seen through vital religious tradition.

The report A biblical writer can be moved by the actions and sacrifice of someone who is responding to God’s call and who is sharing about God’s love and Word.

It is truly amazing to consider how God has reached out to people throughout history to guide, correct and comfort and to see how this is reported in biblical accounts.

An example Take for example, the story of Moses’ experience of God early in his adult life. Scripture conveys to us (Exodus 2:11-15) that Moses was painfully aware of his cultural and historical context.

He knew that his own people were being treated cruelly in bondage to the Egyptian government and army.

So, we know that Moses had a soft spot for his Israelite people (Exodus 2:12), since he witnessed an Egyptian soldier beating an Israelite almost to death and defended him.

The witness of God’s love It was after this and Moses’ flight to Midian to escape punishment when God appeared to him in the burning bush while he was shepherding his father-in-law Jethro’s sheep (Exodus 3:1-12).

In this pivotal moment of Moses’ life, God was calling him to lead the chosen people out of slavery into the promised land. God used Moses’

A wreath in Ypres, Beglium. Photo by Jason Antonio.

passion about and awareness of his people’s predicament to guide him in dialoguing with the Egyptian Pharaoh and then in leading his people out of Egypt.

I propose that through Moses’ love for his people and willingness to risk his own safety, that the writer of Deuteronomy could see God’s hand at work, was moved by this, and wrote about it.

God’s scribe Considering Moses’ writing of the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets, God had to use Moses’ compassion, mind and faith to compose these rules of faith.

Did God guide Moses’ hand in chiseling each letter and word on the stone? Not likely. Or did Moses ask God in prayer what guidelines to set in stone for people to live peaceably and lovingly with one another and with God? I believe that Moses had to pray fervently for God’s guidance in writing the Ten Commandments.

By reflecting on his own experience of God and comparing this to the spiritual teachings of his time, Moses discerned God’s guidance for his own people, based on God’s care, correction and compassion for people in the past and the results of his prayer life.

Parallels between life events and Holy Scripture I am reminded here of Peter’s view of things.

A New Testament acknowledgement of how God speaks to human beings can be found in 2 Peter 1:21 NRSV. He says, “No prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit from God.” We can confirm the Spirit’s presence and guidance by discerning parallels between Holy Scripture and our current immediate context.

I suggest that we human beings typically determine and discern God’s guidance by reflecting on the Bible, using common sense, being formed by tradition and moved by experience.

When we can find parallels between how God has spoken to others in the

past in Scripture and how we sense God speaking to us now, we can confirm God’s guidance for us in a particular situation.

Reflection on holy texts The Gospel writer, John, was a mystic and had strong discernment skills. Through much prayer and seeking God, John gained insight into human discernment and the sharing of God’s Word.

John certainly appreciated Jesus’ words: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. … he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (16:13).

To speak what you hear is to consider past reports.

Three moments of the human experience of God We have to remember that God uses men and women moved by the Spirit of God to speak words of truth. There are often three discrete moments of the human experience of God behind the biblical narrative.

First, there is the original human experience of God’s revealing to someone who hears and acts on it and then there is the formulation, description and writing down of this human experience of God for others. A third moment of divine experience is in our learning about and personal response to God’s Word as written down by a biblical author.

God draws us closer It is remarkable how God speaks and draws humans closer to the Divine through the biblical narrative.

People have an immediate experience of God, they formulate their experience in words, using metaphors and concepts that can appeal to the people of their day, and then others benefit from the original experience and live out the love of God in their day.

Meditation Question What is God calling you to do today: through your prayer with scripture and in your journey with God today?

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

Published monthly except for July and August.

Whole No. 292, Vol. 49, No. 3 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 January issue must be received by the diocesan editor no later than Nov. 27. 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

November 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

3

The Bishop's Corner

Keep your eyes on the prize

By Bishop Michael Hawkins

“

Keep your eyes on the prize.” So sang thousands of men and women in the civil rights movement. The lyrics, “Hold on, hold on, keep your eyes on the prize,” are from a highly edited version of an earlier Christian folk tune about the Gospel plow.

“Keep your eyes on the prize.” Saint Matthew begins and ends his account of Jesus’ earthly ministry with two sermons, chapters 5 to 8, what we call the Sermon on the Mount, and chapters 23 to 25.

Matthew sets forth this opening and closing emphasis upon the prize or reward, which is the Kingdom of Heaven.

He records Jesus’ teaching beginning with the Beatitudes and ending with the parable of the sheep and the goats. So, our Lord begins and ends His public teaching speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

In the first, the Beatitudes, those who belong to the kingdom, or rather to whom the kingdom belongs, are described in terms of who and what they are, humble and penitent, meek and kind, merciful, pure and peaceable.

In the last, the sheep and the goats, the saints are described in terms of what they do, they feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, care for the poor and homeless, visit the sick and prisoners.

Now we would much rather choose one of these over the other, but both are part of our Lord’s teaching and in this particular order. Being, and then doing.

In these two places Jesus speaks about a blessedness and participation in the Kingdom of

Heaven that is both present and future.

In our day there is little emphasis in the Church on the future prize, not I fear because of any theological integrity but because of our worldliness and impatience. We ridicule promises of pie in the sky, we who have pie enough and more.

There is throughout Jesus’ teaching an unavoidable focus on a future reward, beyond this world and this life. That reward is part of the surprising mercy and justice of God. We need to remember the surprise of the heavenly reward, as that is wonderfully expressed in the parable the rich man and Lazarus and in the parable of the sheep and the goats.

While the complaint is made that keeping your eyes on the prize may mean being so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good, the story of the Church and especially in our day bears out the opposite truth that the danger for Christians is we are so earthly minded that we are no good at all!

The Gospel is the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, and if Christ is not raised, our faith is vain and we are still in your sins. If our Christian hope has only to do with the life and age, we are of all people most miserable.

That is so true of those who

have no memorial whom we remember on All Saints Day. They were in so many ways the world’s losers.

As we read in Hebrews, they were mocked, whipped, chained and imprisoned, stoned, sawn asunder, tempted, killed, some wandered homeless, they were destitute, afflicted and tormented.

While we may remember or imagine a later holiness of life, some of our notable saints were also notable sinners, murderers, adulterers, thieves, and prostitutes. If for this life only, for an earthly reward, they had hoped in Christ they were most miserable.

There is little to celebrate in their life and less in their worldly end. But like Christ they served and persevered for the joy set before them. It was for the joy set before Him that Christ endured the cross, and the saints follow Jesus in this because they know that the sufferings of this present time are not be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.

This is the pattern of those who for the sake of the kingdom embrace poverty of spirit, for the sake of real comfort; embrace mourning; for the sake of a real inheritance forfeit their rights; who fast that they might be filled for ever; who invest in eternal forgiveness and mercy by practising forgiveness and mercy here and now; who have one desire, who sell everything for that one pearl; who risk all earthly membership to make peace that they may belong to the children of God. While much is often made about how blessedness is not happiness, I hope at least that it might include it. Many of you may know the Leonard Cohen comment, “I’ve studied deeply in

the philosophies and the religions but cheerfulness kept breaking through.”

We had and have that coming.

John Donne tells us, “Be not apt to think heaven is a hermitage or a monastery or the way to heaven a sullen melancholy; heaven, and the way to it, is a Communion of Saints, in a holy cheerfulness.”

All Saints is really a kind of spiritual Harvest Home, when we celebrate that day when all will be safely gathered in. Jesus commands, “Gather up the fragments that nothing be lost.”

Sometimes we feel like leftovers of a Christendom long pas,t and we are reminded of this by the world and by the Church, but remember, God loves humble leftovers and we too may hope to be gathered up, that nothing be lost.

God calls us and gathers us up together into the Communions of Saints, into a holy cheerfulness.

Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for your great is your reward in heaven.

The Communion of Saints includes the communication of saints, how we communicate with each other.

This communication has many facets. It includes our corporate worship, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

It includes our sharing of financial gifts, especially in our diocesan and national fair share or apportionment. It also includes that Holy Communication when we share together in the Eucharist.

Across the Province of Saskatchewan, we are being asked to consider this paper and its shape and purpose and use in the future and our shared communication.

Help this newspaper increase its subscriber numbers By t he e d itor i a l b o a r d

D

id you k now t h at t wo ye a r s a go, 2 , 0 7 1 p e ople wer e get t i n g t he S a sk at ch ew an A n gli c an i n t he D io c e s e of Q u’App el le, 9 5 4 p e ople wer e get t i n g t he p ap er i n t he D io c e s e of S a sk at chewa n a nd 1, 0 3 2 p e ople wer e get t i n g t he p ap er i n t he D io c e s e of S a sk at o on?

T h i s ye a r on ly 5 2 0

p ap er s w i l l b e s ent t o t he A n g l ic a n s i n t he D io c e s e of Q u’App el le, w it h 2 3 5 p ap er s goi n g out i n t he D io c e s e t he S a sk at chewa n a nd 3 0 5 i n t he D io c e s e of S a sk at o on .

T he r e a s on for t h i s sit u at ion or i g i n at e d l a st ye a r when ever yone who wa s r e c eiv i n g t he p ap er wa s a ske d t o s end t hei r n a me a nd add r e s s t o t he n at ion a l of f ic e c on f i r m i n g t h at t hey wa nt e d t o c ont i nue

r e c eiv i n g t he p ap er.

I ex p e c t a lot of p e ople who u s e d t o get t he p ap er a r e wonder i n g why t hey a r e not get t i n g it a ny mor e.

I f you a r e r e ad i n g t h i s t hen YOU a r e get t i n g t he A n gli c an Jour n al a lon g w it h t he S a sk at ch ew an A n gli c an.

I f e ach of u s wer e t o a sk a r ou nd a nd f i nd out who wou ld l i ke t o eit her h ave t hei r sub s c r ipt ion r enewe d or t o st a r t get t i n g t he p ap er,

we c ou ld double t he nu mb er of sub s c r ipt ion s.

At a me et i n g of t he S a sk at ch ew an A n gli c an e d it or i a l b o a r d , it wa s de c ide d t h at we wou ld c ont ac t t he n at ion a l of f ic e on t he b e st met ho d t o u s e t o i n for m t hem of new sub s c r ipt ion s f r om ou r d io c e s e s.

O nc e we get t h i s i n for m at ion , we w i l l let you k now s o we c a n st a r t t o i nc r e a s e ou r nu mb er s.

However, fe el f r e e t o s end you r

sub s c r ipt ion i n for m at ion t o you r r e sp e c t ive d io c e s a n e d it or : Jo a n ne Shu r v i nM a r t i n i n t he D io c e s e of Q u’App el le at jo a n ne sm@ myac c e s s. c a , Pet er C o olen i n t he D io c e s e of S a sk at o on at pt r c o olen@ s a sk t el . net , a nd M a r y Br ow n i n t he D io c e s e of S a sk at chewa n at m a r y19 4 9 br ow n@ g m a i l .c om .

We t h a n k you for you r c ont i nue d r e ader sh ip.

4

The Saskatchewan Anglican

November 2020

Prayer and Scripture are the daily bread in Moose Jaw

By Rev. Dr. Dean Pinter MOOSE JAW (Qu’A) — Like so many other congregations, St. Aidan is adapting its life together to realities created by this extended season of “Covidtide.”

In particular, when it comes to worshiping together – whether it is online or in person — we recognize that the oncea-week Sunday morning gathering is no longer our primary focus. Instead, “more and smaller” is now the heartbeat.

This does not, however, mean being busy. It means encouraging the congregation to participate in the traditional Anglican rhythms of the Daily Office — the daily bread of prayer and scripture — whether that occurs at home, online, in the chapel or the nave with groups of people that range from two to 40 people.

Alongside these daily rhythms, we are incorporating weekly Eucharist services for smaller groups to break bread together. We continue to “Navestream” Sunday Morning Prayer services at our usual 10:30

Matt Froese (foreground with headphones) monitors the sound for the Sunday morning service at St. Aidan, Moose Jaw, and for the livestream on YouTube.

Photo by Michelle Josefson a.m. time on our YouTube channel, and since Sept.

13 a smaller in-person congregation has joined the ministers and tech team in the building.

We will continue to experiment and adapt our service plan to meet the needs of the parish in our

context as the autumn progresses. For those who are interested, a schedule of the weekly services is available on our website www.staidan.ca.

Since March, we have expanded our outreach lunch. We now serve bread (bagged lunches

consisting of a sandwich, an egg, fruit, granola bars, and/or cookies) on both Saturdays and Sundays to individuals and families who need food in our city.

About 80 to 90 lunches are distributed each weekend. This program is generously supported

by those from within our own congregation and also from individuals in our community.

We are grateful to have seven teams of three or four people from our parish who joyfully make and serve the lunches to our neighbours.

DIOCESE OF SASKATOON EVENTS

Announcements for November 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 pre-registration.

If attending, please follow all the indicated seating, movement, distancing, masking and sanitization ins-

tructions 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 of Saskatoon 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 306-3708378. 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.

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. 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.

November 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

3

The Bishop's Corner

Keep your eyes on the prize

By Bishop Michael Hawkins

“

Keep your eyes on the prize.” So sang thousands of men and women in the civil rights movement. The lyrics, “Hold on, hold on, keep your eyes on the prize,” are from a highly edited version of an earlier Christian folk tune about the Gospel plow.

“Keep your eyes on the prize.” Saint Matthew begins and ends his account of Jesus’ earthly ministry with two sermons, chapters 5 to 8, what we call the Sermon on the Mount, and chapters 23 to 25.

Matthew sets forth this opening and closing emphasis upon the prize or reward, which is the Kingdom of Heaven.

He records Jesus’ teaching beginning with the Beatitudes and ending with the parable of the sheep and the goats. So, our Lord begins and ends His public teaching speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

In the first, the Beatitudes, those who belong to the kingdom, or rather to whom the kingdom belongs, are described in terms of who and what they are, humble and penitent, meek and kind, merciful, pure and peaceable.

In the last, the sheep and the goats, the saints are described in terms of what they do, they feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, care for the poor and homeless, visit the sick and prisoners.

Now we would much rather choose one of these over the other, but both are part of our Lord’s teaching and in this particular order. Being, and then doing.

In these two places Jesus speaks about a blessedness and participation in the Kingdom of

Heaven that is both present and future.

In our day there is little emphasis in the Church on the future prize, not I fear because of any theological integrity but because of our worldliness and impatience. We ridicule promises of pie in the sky, we who have pie enough and more.

There is throughout Jesus’ teaching an unavoidable focus on a future reward, beyond this world and this life. That reward is part of the surprising mercy and justice of God. We need to remember the surprise of the heavenly reward, as that is wonderfully expressed in the parable the rich man and Lazarus and in the parable of the sheep and the goats.

While the complaint is made that keeping your eyes on the prize may mean being so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good, the story of the Church and especially in our day bears out the opposite truth that the danger for Christians is we are so earthly minded that we are no good at all!

The Gospel is the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, and if Christ is not raised, our faith is vain and we are still in your sins. If our Christian hope has only to do with the life and age, we are of all people most miserable.

That is so true of those who

have no memorial whom we remember on All Saints Day. They were in so many ways the world’s losers.

As we read in Hebrews, they were mocked, whipped, chained and imprisoned, stoned, sawn asunder, tempted, killed, some wandered homeless, they were destitute, afflicted and tormented.

While we may remember or imagine a later holiness of life, some of our notable saints were also notable sinners, murderers, adulterers, thieves, and prostitutes. If for this life only, for an earthly reward, they had hoped in Christ they were most miserable.

There is little to celebrate in their life and less in their worldly end. But like Christ they served and persevered for the joy set before them. It was for the joy set before Him that Christ endured the cross, and the saints follow Jesus in this because they know that the sufferings of this present time are not be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.

This is the pattern of those who for the sake of the kingdom embrace poverty of spirit, for the sake of real comfort; embrace mourning; for the sake of a real inheritance forfeit their rights; who fast that they might be filled for ever; who invest in eternal forgiveness and mercy by practising forgiveness and mercy here and now; who have one desire, who sell everything for that one pearl; who risk all earthly membership to make peace that they may belong to the children of God. While much is often made about how blessedness is not happiness, I hope at least that it might include it. Many of you may know the Leonard Cohen comment, “I’ve studied deeply in

the philosophies and the religions but cheerfulness kept breaking through.”

We had and have that coming.

John Donne tells us, “Be not apt to think heaven is a hermitage or a monastery or the way to heaven a sullen melancholy; heaven, and the way to it, is a Communion of Saints, in a holy cheerfulness.”

All Saints is really a kind of spiritual Harvest Home, when we celebrate that day when all will be safely gathered in. Jesus commands, “Gather up the fragments that nothing be lost.”

Sometimes we feel like leftovers of a Christendom long pas,t and we are reminded of this by the world and by the Church, but remember, God loves humble leftovers and we too may hope to be gathered up, that nothing be lost.

God calls us and gathers us up together into the Communions of Saints, into a holy cheerfulness.

Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for your great is your reward in heaven.

The Communion of Saints includes the communication of saints, how we communicate with each other.

This communication has many facets. It includes our corporate worship, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

It includes our sharing of financial gifts, especially in our diocesan and national fair share or apportionment. It also includes that Holy Communication when we share together in the Eucharist.

Across the Province of Saskatchewan, we are being asked to consider this paper and its shape and purpose and use in the future and our shared communication.

Help this newspaper increase its subscriber numbers By t he e d itor i a l b o a r d

D

id you k now t h at t wo ye a r s a go, 2 , 0 7 1 p e ople wer e get t i n g t he S a sk at ch ew an A n gli c an i n t he D io c e s e of Q u’App el le, 9 5 4 p e ople wer e get t i n g t he p ap er i n t he D io c e s e of S a sk at chewa n a nd 1, 0 3 2 p e ople wer e get t i n g t he p ap er i n t he D io c e s e of S a sk at o on?

T h i s ye a r on ly 5 2 0

p ap er s w i l l b e s ent t o t he A n g l ic a n s i n t he D io c e s e of Q u’App el le, w it h 2 3 5 p ap er s goi n g out i n t he D io c e s e t he S a sk at chewa n a nd 3 0 5 i n t he D io c e s e of S a sk at o on .

T he r e a s on for t h i s sit u at ion or i g i n at e d l a st ye a r when ever yone who wa s r e c eiv i n g t he p ap er wa s a ske d t o s end t hei r n a me a nd add r e s s t o t he n at ion a l of f ic e c on f i r m i n g t h at t hey wa nt e d t o c ont i nue

r e c eiv i n g t he p ap er.

I ex p e c t a lot of p e ople who u s e d t o get t he p ap er a r e wonder i n g why t hey a r e not get t i n g it a ny mor e.

I f you a r e r e ad i n g t h i s t hen YOU a r e get t i n g t he A n gli c an Jour n al a lon g w it h t he S a sk at ch ew an A n gli c an.

I f e ach of u s wer e t o a sk a r ou nd a nd f i nd out who wou ld l i ke t o eit her h ave t hei r sub s c r ipt ion r enewe d or t o st a r t get t i n g t he p ap er,

we c ou ld double t he nu mb er of sub s c r ipt ion s.

At a me et i n g of t he S a sk at ch ew an A n gli c an e d it or i a l b o a r d , it wa s de c ide d t h at we wou ld c ont ac t t he n at ion a l of f ic e on t he b e st met ho d t o u s e t o i n for m t hem of new sub s c r ipt ion s f r om ou r d io c e s e s.

O nc e we get t h i s i n for m at ion , we w i l l let you k now s o we c a n st a r t t o i nc r e a s e ou r nu mb er s.

However, fe el f r e e t o s end you r

sub s c r ipt ion i n for m at ion t o you r r e sp e c t ive d io c e s a n e d it or : Jo a n ne Shu r v i nM a r t i n i n t he D io c e s e of Q u’App el le at jo a n ne sm@ myac c e s s. c a , Pet er C o olen i n t he D io c e s e of S a sk at o on at pt r c o olen@ s a sk t el . net , a nd M a r y Br ow n i n t he D io c e s e of S a sk at chewa n at m a r y19 4 9 br ow n@ g m a i l .c om .

We t h a n k you for you r c ont i nue d r e ader sh ip.

6

The Saskatchewan Anglican

November 2020

Remembrance Day

Memories of Italy battle linger decades on for veteran Story courtesy Jayda Noyes/Prince Albert Daily Herald PRINCE ALBERT — Prince Albert veteran Ed Laird was 21 years old during the Battle of Ortona—the now 96-yearold survived out of the 502 men killed.

The battle was part of the Italian Campaign in the Second World War. That’s where Allied Forces, which included Canadians, invaded Italy in July 1943.

Just months later — from Dec. 20 to 28 — Canadian forces would attempt to capture Ortona.

They succeeded despite 2,300 casualties.

“You’re not scared until after it’s over,” said Laird about the war, for most of which he was a signalman.

He says he’s lucky to be alive to tell people about it.

Laird — who attends St. George Anglican Church in Prince Albert — spoke first about “The Gully” during the Battle of Ortona, when German forces dug in in an attempt to protect themselves from fire.

The Canadians eventually made it across.

However, Laird said the group of young men stayed in the frigidly cold weather for at least 10 days without shelter.

“We went house to house fighting, terrible,” he said. “There was some real bad fighting there...

Bad, long days.”

The tactic of going house to house was called mouseholing. This wasn’t something Canadians were taught, but rather made up because wandering the streets was too deadly.

Soldiers would make a hole with explosives between two buildings, throwing grenades through the hole to Germans on the other side. The buildings would sometimes collapse.

“Some of these buildings, you’d throw a hand grenade in there ahead of you.”

“We were there Christmas day. It was hard to believe, but the enemy on our side called a truce for about five hours during Christmas Day,” explained Laird. The Christmas of ‘43 was a peaceful one with

Prince Albert veteran Ed Laird — who also attends St. George Anglican Church in Prince Albert — poses after a Remembrance Day ceremony at Good Shepherd Villa in 2019.

Photos courtesy Jayda Noyes/Prince Albert Daily-Herald

An old photo of a young Ed Laird is on display at the Royal Canadian Legion in Prince Albert. no fire.

His most memorable moment from the Battle of Ortona continues to stick with him today.

“When it’s all happening, you’re so busy and excited and everything’s going on so

much that you’re strong and you’ve got your mind with you until it’s over.

That’s when you start to shake,” he said.

“I was sitting behind a big brick wall there. It had quieted down and I was shaking so bad.

A wreath hangs on a fence near the Lochnagar Crater in northwest France.

Photo by Jason G. Antonio

I remember he was a military padre, in fact he could see that I was nervous and shaking and I couldn’t talk decent.

“He come and put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘Don’t be afraid my boy, you’re never alone. God is always with you.’ And I remember that, funny I just kind of straightened my head out and I’ve often thought of that ever since. ‘You’re never alone. God’s always with you.’”

There are more details to that encounter that Laird’s son, Tom, was able to fill in.

“The priest says ‘Ed, you don’t ever have to worry about being alone if you believe in God.’ And dad says, ‘I don’t know what I believe in.’ He said, ‘Hey, you’ll be OK, you’ll be OK.’ “And so he starts to calm down a little bit and right out of the blue he says, ‘I promise I’ll be a good guy. I promise I’ll be a good guy, just get me home,’” explained Tom. “He doesn’t go home for another two-and-a-half years.”

Thinking about Remembrance Day On the way to the next battle in Monte Cassino, Tom said a German plan flew over and attacked 13 soldiers — Laird was one of only three who survived.

“About eight hours later after it was over, his commander says ... you need to go back and bury your buddies, and you bury them in shallow graves, take their dog tags off,” he said.

“Not only did you lose your buddy, he’s blown apart. And you’ve got to bury him. Tremendous trauma with that.”

The trauma also lingered when Laird left the military just before he turned 25 years old.

“I get nervous. I was in the hospital three times.

They didn’t know how to treat it, they called it post traumatic stress,” said Laird.

“At night, he would get these tremors and we’d have to give him medication just to calm him down,” added Tom. He returned to Prince Albert with no work experience or a driver’s licence. Eventually, he’d sweep the floors for a local Case IH dealer for $70 a month and then become a mechanic.

“Last night we started talking about Ortona and my brother and I happened to go over to Ortona about 10 years ago to go over to where he’d fought,” said Tom. “It triggers stuff you don’t even know you forgot.”

He recalled his dad saying the soldiers would be “eating maggots, dirt soup” because there was no food.

Tom said his dad and his friends had to remind themselves that the enemies were normal people just like them.

“It took a hell of a toll, but it also fortified him to be the great guy he is today,” said Tom. “Ed Laird is loved by everybody.”

Laird said he was shot three times during the war, all of which occurred in the Italy invasion. One hit him on his left foot, the other on his right hip, and the last showing itself as a faint scar on his face.

The bullet cracked the bone underneath his left eyebrow, which forced him to recover in a tent behind the lines for about four days.

“I’m glad I was able to go out and tell people about it,” he said.

“I was lucky.”

November 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

7

Remembrance Day

War is not glorious; war is horrible By the Rev. Canon Colin Clay Editor’s note: Colin has already published the first four volumes of a six-part autobiography of his life: book one “From Schoolboy to Soldier” covers 1932 to 1952; book two “Fifty-Nine Dinners” covers 1952 to 1959; “The Big Nickel” covers 1959 to 1970, and “Train for Thought” covers 1970 to 1977.

The fifth volume, detailing his service in the Church in Saskatchewan from 1977 to 1994, “It’s a Dry Cold,” will be available in the next few months and, the final volume, “The Sun Still Shines” covering 1994 to the present, will be available in the new year.

Orders for these books may be placed through colinpclay@gmail.com.

E

very November our thoughts turn to remember our departed loved ones on each of the first and second days of the month, while on Nov. 11 we remember those whose lives were sacrificed during the wars that ravaged our world through past generations and right up to our own time.

I have shared some of my memories in a book I wrote called “Schoolboy to Soldier,” and these thoughts come readily, especially as we observe Remembrance Tide and wear the poppy to remind us of those who gave their lives that we might live in freedom.

In the early 1940s, as the Luftwaffe launched its deadly bombing raids on England, I lived, as a schoolboy, some 24 kilometres (15 miles) from the centre of London.

We “went to bed” sheltering in the cupboard under the stairs.

One night a bomber, escaping from the centre of London and heading for France, lightened his bomb load, and a highexplosive bomb fell and exploded just two doors from our home, shattering our windows and ripping tiles from our roof.

A year or so later we were confronted with V-1 explosive rockets — the “doodle-bugs” — launched against southern England

Signalman Colin Clay, Royal Signals, 1st Commonwealth Division, Korea, October 1951.

Photos courtesy Rev. Canon Colin Clay from sites in France.

Since they came day and night, life had to go on as normally as possible, so we at school stayed in our ooms while a senior boy sat on the roof beside the big bell in its cupula, and if he saw a V-1 “buzz-bomb” heading near our school he was to ring the bell.

When we heard it, we were to climb under our desks and pray that the rocket might pass over us and therefore land somewhere else!

About a year later the most up-to-date weapon the enemy had was being used. This was the V-2, which rose 104 kilometres (65 miles) into the sky, turned face downwards and came crashing down over England at more than 4,800 kilometres (3,000 miles) per hour.

One night one of these plunged into the ground in front of our school.

Civilians everywhere were thus drawn personally into a battleground taking place around their own homes.

But in our town we also welcomed several hundred Canadian soldiers, and they shared much with all of us.

The day was to come when, in June 1944, most of them stormed the Normandy beaches; so many friends now lie in those graves in the Europe they so courageously fought to liberate.

But there are some men and women from those days who we forget,

such as the sailors of the Merchant Navy aboard the freighters that sailed in convoys across the Atlantic Ocean to bring us vital supplies.

So many died, but all were overlooked until many years after the end of the war; and also, the female pilots who flew unarmed aircraft from Canada to supply the allies in the United Kingdom.

In every community in Canada were those for whom taking any human life, including one’s enemies, was an affront to our loving God. Christian men and

The Rev. Canon Colin Clay. In 2018, a service celebrating his 60th anniversary to the priesthood was held at St. John's Cathedral, Saskatoon. women from the Quakers (Society of Friends), the Doukhobors, Mennonites and Hutterites were often badly treated because their consciences would not permit them to bear arms.

Nevertheless, many contributed so much to the well-being of our nation in those critical times, farming and building defensive highways, while others served in places of great danger such as The Friends Ambulance Brigade.

Five years after the ending of the Second World War another war broke out

in Asia, when North Korea invaded the south and the United Nations authorized governments to send troops to defend the south.

I was a soldier in the British Army, and by the summer of 1951, I was serving in the 1st Commonwealth Division in Korea.

As we travelled by convoy from Pusan in the south to the Imjin River Valley — near the border between the north and the south — we passed through towns where civilians were living in tunnels bored into huge garbage dumps, their communities destroyed in battle, families killed and maimed and almost everyone homeless.

Later, from our encampment near the Imjin, I was in a position to see black fumes rise over the dugouts of North Korean and Chinese troops as our fighterbombers were summoned to attack. They also dropped napalm bombs on those we understood to be our enemies; humans like us, engulfed in flames.

I am a veteran and proud to have served to defend the people of South Korea. But my experiences of the horrors of war have led me to be a passionate advocate for world peace and to be an equally proud Continued on page 8

8

The Saskatchewan Anglican

November 2020

Reflections on returning to church during COVID-19

By Allison Kydd QU’APPELLE (Qu’A) — “It feels a bit strange,” admits Rev. Cheryl Johnson, whose last service before churches were closed because of the pandemic was March 15. Then by July 12, we are again at St. Peter’s Church in Qu’Appelle.

After 14 weeks away, the parish has studied the requirements, completed the preparations, received special permission from the bishop and, on June 28, held its first Anglican service since the churches were closed. At that service, (Lutheran) Pastor David Hanes officiated, and for church warden Linda Kort it was a memorable experience.

“When we opened at that first service,” Kort said, her voice revealing her emotions, “David was so elated (that) we all felt elated too.”

Kort herself had spent the interim following streamed services from other locations and expected to wait until September to attend church in person. After all, that was the decision of the diocesan council.

For these reasons, she hadn’t expected to be so moved by “the blessing of being together again.”

To others, however, it was vital that the parish of St. Peter not wait until September. Jean Kurbis, the other warden for St. Peter’s, saw a risk in having parishioners find their nourishment elsewhere. “The longer you don’t have something,” she says, “the greater the danger you can lose it.”

“If we wait until the second wave,” Kurbis adds, “we might miss the opportunity altogether.”

Considering that almost everyone in the parish is “of a certain age,” that is always a consideration.

Rev. Michael Bruce consecrates the elements of communion at St. Luke, Regina. Under COVID-19 protocols clergy and congregations are required to wear masks and observe social distancing. As of mid-September, 33 churches had re-opened or were in the process of re-opening for worship or small group meetings. The remaining 26 churches will review their decisions later in the year.

Photo by Nigel Salway Besides, as Kurbis says, the parish of St. Peter’s is a “small, close-knit group.

It’s not possible for all of us to (participate through)

"We do the best we can and be thankful" Zoom, and we wanted to see each other if nothing else.”

Jan Beattie of Indian Head is also glad to be back at St. Peter’s, though she too was attending virtual services in the interim. “It’s not the end of the world to be wearing masks; it’s not the end of the world to be sitting at a distance,” says Beattie.

She does miss the closeness and camaraderie that’s still not possible, but “we do the best we can and be thankful,” she says.

On July 12, my first day back, I found it odd to have the clergy do all the work during the service. Lay people usually assist as

... War is not glorious Continued from page 7 member of our city’s peace coalition.

There are so many wars in our world at the present time, and a number of us have loved ones serving with the military in dangerous situations and we pray for them.

We pray also for those hundreds of thousands of

servers for the Eucharist, by playing the organ or guitar or by reading the lessons, psalms and Prayers of the People.

men, women and children in refugee camps, forced to leave their homes and, in most cases, left with little hope for their future.

May this Remembrance Day be a time when we all pray for God’s love to prevail in every human heart, and for peace in every corner of God’s world.

Since these are early days, however, we are tentative and still don’t quite know how this will work.

Fortunately, Kurbis and Kort have put down tape, marked the pews with string and gathered together materials for sanitizing pews, switches, doorknobs and other furniture and objects.

Because we are a small congregation and our pews only about 10 feet long, the simplest thing is for each person or family to claim a pew and to leave every second pew empty.

Johnson has also thought out her strategy.

“I wear a face shield when the elements are open on the altar,” she says, “and a mask for well-known parts of the service. When I preach, so listeners can hear the words, I go to the pulpit, which is removed from the congregation, and I remove both mask and face shield.”

It is wonderful to celebrate the Eucharist after such a long time away, but it’s a different kind of Eucharist, with communion wafers only.

Kurbis has used sterile

tweezers to place paper liners or “cups” on a tray.

In each cup she has placed a wafer.

Singly we approach the table and take a cup, either briefly removing mask and swallowing the wafer there or taking it back to the pew. From the front of the church, the priest acknowledges each of us as we approach.

It’s not only the wardens and celebrant who have responsibilities. As well as wearing masks and maintaining an appropriate distance from each other, we bring prayer books with us, so we needn’t handle the common supply. The

services; that number is now 33. As you have seen in a previous issue of the Saskatchewan Anglican, St. Thomas’s, Vernon, initiated outdoor services.

This might have been a possibility for us as well, but our churchyard isn’t really conducive.

Furthermore, the Roman Catholic Parish of Immaculate Conception, with whom we share our building, restarted its services at least a month ago, showing us what is possible.

It might also have been the high percentage of former nurses in our small congregation who reassured us. After all,

"We do what we can do as a sign of our commitment to each other and to the world around us." collection plate is at the entrance, so there’s no need to pass it during the offertory.

We do exchange the peace, but from our separate pews, much like yoga practitioners bow and say “Nameste” at the end of their sessions. At the end of our service, we leave by the side door.

We feel a little awkward and shy, afraid of making a mistake, but we all agree it’s worth it.

On July 12, St. Peter was one of only 10 parishes in the diocese to have returned to indoor

nurses have dealt with health precautions before.

As Kurbis puts it, “We live out in the country, so we have to know how to do things.”

The gospel reading for July 12 seemed particularly appropriate for returning to worship during this difficult time.

It is the Parable of the Sower. Jesus was speaking about the early Church, but it is applicable now as well.

Johnson reminds us that even now “the Word doesn’t necessarily bear Continued next page

November 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

9

Communicating and acting in new ways By the Rev. Dr. Iain Luke Principal, College of Emmanuel & St. Chad

I

recently heard a radio interviewer ask someone who worked in the tech sector how his world changed over the last few months. He answered that the shift of technology “sped up by at least 10 years” due to the impact of the pandemic.

Ten years is a lifetime in the digital world. In a faculty of theology, though, we think in centuries and millennia.

Yet even here, 2020 has been a surprisingly fruitful time of new thought, new issues, and new methods.

Some of that, of course, is because of technological change.

From online teaching to electronic library resources, the education sector is changing as fast as any.

But our colleges also exist to support a church that has taken on digital communications in a way that alters how and what we do.

As theologians, we aim to ask deeper questions about these practical changes. How does the meaning and experience of worship change when it’s online? What happens to Jesus’ promise to be present “when two or three are gathered together”? What is our call to share the gospel in

the virtual world?

These aren’t ivorytower questions. Every parish, every diocese, every church leader, and indeed every Christian,

ecumenical and even global online gatherings, which would have been beyond my reach (and my travel budget) in the “old world” of physical

The answers to these questions are emerging one by one, as individuals and communities try new ways to be faithful to their calling.

Some feel the losses more keenly, others the new opportunities. What “works” in one place may not in another, and one leader dreads what another thinks of as an adventure.

has been wrestling with them. One of the silver linings in our pandemic experience is that we can do more of that wrestling together than we might have expected.

I’ve seen much more of my local clergy colleagues on Zoom this year than I ever used to in person!

In our regular video chats, we’ve shared news, compared notes, and discussed the impact of the pandemic on our lives and ministries.

Beyond our diocese, I’ve been amazed at the opportunities to participate in regional,

conferences.

These new methods are not perfectly inclusive and raise new questions about justice and access to our common life. But they also bring new voices to the table and make the table itself a lot bigger.

Yet we’ve also had to ask hard questions about how online communication changes our experience of

one another, and our experience of the church.

Clergy, in particular, report an extraordinary and sudden shift in their job descriptions, not just in practice but at a spiritual level too.

What does it mean to be a bishop, priest or deacon when the landscape has shifted so radically? For that matter, what does it mean to be a church?

The answers to these questions are emerging one by one, as individuals and communities try new ways to be faithful to their calling. Some feel the losses more keenly, others the new opportunities. What “works” in one place may not in another, and one leader dreads what another thinks of as an adventure.

All these reactions and responses, though, belong to all of us in the shared life of our church.

More than at any time I can remember, we need to be connecting the dots between Christians in one place and in another.

It’s a time to learn from the people who have something to offer us, and to support those who need us to be there for them.

That is perhaps the biggest boon our new

forms of communications can offer us; but the existence of email, Zoom or texting doesn’t automatically connect us to each other.

We need to use the tools at our disposal, pick up the phone, or send the message.

Call your neighbour in the next town over to ask what his/her church is working on; tell your regional dean about the puzzle your congregation needs to solve.

My priority for this term at the college is to ask people what they are learning, and what they are stuck on, so we can offer our support and our perspective. The STU colleges are a community of teachers and learners who live for this kind of challenge!

I would be happy to hear from any readers about how we can magnify the voice of your local congregation and reflect its discoveries and difficulties back to the larger church.

Because it is in your work of practical theology, lived out in your setting, that we are going to leap forward a decade, or a century, into the future God calls us to embrace.

Extraordinary Living Begins Here...

... Reflections on returning to church in COVID-19 Continued from page 8 fruit; the efforts of the Church are not always rewarded.” In the age of COVID-19, we face new challenges.

“How things have been in the past are not necessarily how they will be in the future,” says Johnson.

For these first services, we don’t have music, which seems strange, but it does make us aware of ambient sounds: cars on the highway or on the gravel just outside.

There is also something relaxing and important about enforced quiet. It allows us to have a new experience.

Two months later, on

Sept. 13, we were more relaxed. Not only have we worshipped with either Rev. Cheryl Johnson or Pastor David Hanes as celebrants, but last week, we even had a lay service for Morning Prayer.

We still wear masks or shields and carefully follow the rules about distances, but we are learning as we go how to do these things more gracefully. There is also something satisfying about this discipline.

Not only does it make it possible for us to become a community again, but we do what we do as a sign of our commitment to each other and to the world around us.

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10

The Saskatchewan Anglican

November 2020

Bike retreat break Terry Page (left), Bishop Rob Hardwick and Rev. Brian Woods take a break in the shade after cycling up a steep hill on a hot day during

their cycling retreat held at Camp Harding in the Cypress Hills at the end of July.

Photo by Nigel Salway

God's Kingdom advanced through clearly outlined volunteer roles Adapted from online descriptions by the Rev. Dr. Trish McCarthy for the Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon’s Safe Church Work.

By Rev. Dr. Trish McCarthy

I

n recent synods, the Diocese of Saskatoon has been reviewing the development of our Safe Church policies and procedures. The people and leaders of the Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon have shown, in adopting our Safe Church policies, that keeping our faith communities safe and secure for all is a high priority.

While this work has partially been done at the request of our Mennonite Insurance Company, there have been some powerful outcomes as we draft the roles and limitations of what Church volunteers are to do in their specific ministries.

It is very helpful for people to know the time commitment, skills needed and the limitations of volunteer roles for their faith community.

While drafting these descriptions, five of our parish clergy, working with our diocesan Safe Church co-ordinator this summer, have outlined the spiritual benefits to the volunteer as well as

the limitations of each role.

This work has the potential to raise the interest and engagement of potential church

with accurate and upto-date job descriptions (responsible ministry descriptions) not only helps church volunteers to know how they can

This work has the potential to raise the interest and engagement of potential church volunteers.

Would you accept a job offer without knowing your duties, the hours a role takes, who you report to or how your work would benefit the company?

Probably not, right?

volunteers Would you accept a job offer without knowing your duties, the hours a role takes, who you report to or how your work would benefit the company? Probably not, right?

But isn’t that the way we often try to recruit volunteers to serve within our church’s ministry roles?

We make assumptions that people know what a ministry role is about, how much time they will have to commit, what they will be responsible for etc.

Within a church, volunteers are members who want to use their talents or their background, to aid the church and to fulfill its needs with service and actions, as well as their regular donations.

Being clear about hopes and expectations

fulfil a role, but a current volunteer job description demonstrates how the faith community values the service volunteers provide.

It is also vitally important to adapt and have job descriptions

spiritual dimension in the benefits to the volunteer section of the job description.

A good practice is to mention job descriptions whenever there is talk of people serving somehow in the Church. Keeping these responsible ministry descriptions handy and referring to them regularly can allow church vestry members to update them easily without much extra effort.

Whenever parish members consider taking on a volunteer role, or church leaders are looking for people to fill roles, these brief descriptions can be very valuable.

Some congregations review yearly their

Whenever parish members consider taking on a volunteer role, or church leaders are looking for people to fill roles, these brief descriptions can be very valuable. Some congregations review yearly their responsible ministry descriptions during their vestry meetings.

that match the needs and realities of your congregation.

Responsible ministry descriptions can be a helpful teaching tool about the connections between practical tasks being done for the church and serving God. We can include this

responsible ministry descriptions during their vestry meetings.

Volunteers working together through selfless action without reimbursement show the contemporary face of Christ to the rest of a faith community.

Worship assistants,

teen ministry, children’s ministry, sidespeople, music ministry, greeters, social organizers, coffee hour volunteers, are just a few of the ways we contribute to the life of the Church.

When volunteer role descriptions are available, fewer misunderstandings and tensions will develop within the Body of Christ.

Working through the process of developing responsible ministry position descriptions helps vestries and church leaders in general to clarify what they actually want and need.

This, in turn, crystallizes the vision for the congregation’s ministry and leads to better communication.

A well-written volunteer job description is a way of sharing the congregation’s vision, developing a team, fostering longterm relationships and importantly, describing how your volunteer’s work can be an expression of God’s Kingdom here on earth today.

Please contact Rev. Dr. Trish McCarthy, our Diocese of Saskatoon Safe Church coordinator to assist you and your congregation in establishing or updating your parish or congregation’s Safe Church program at tmccarthy@sasktel.net.

November 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

11

Masks can't hide smiles as Christ Church, Nokomis reopens

By Deacon Jack Robson NOKOMIS (Qu’A) — On the first Sunday of September, at 11 a.m., the doors of Christ Church, Nokomis, swung open wide to welcome the congregation.

The joyful parishioners entered the beautiful sanctuary for the first time since March 15. It has been very difficult for the faithful congregation, as they were aware something of great importance was missing in their lives — worship of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Colleen McNichol and Doreen Riach had worked many hours planning for the reopening and marking the sanctuary of Christ Church, following the guidelines of Bishop Rob Hardwick.

The service of

DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE

Ordination to happen g Ordination in Oct. Alex Campbell of St. Philip, Regina, was to be ordained a transitional deacon on Oct. 17. He will serve in the five parishes of All Saints, St. James, St. Luke, St. Matthew and St. Philip, with particular emphasis on indigenous/ Metis ministries, both urban and reserve. g Postulant begins internship Postulant Brody Albers continues his studies at Wycliffe College, Toronto, and has begun an internship with Rev. Lauren Miller at St. Andrew/Trinity, Rosetown, and Holy Cross, Eston. g Clergy changes Rev. Susan Anholt, in addition to serving St. Columba, Kenaston, will now also serve St. Mark, Outlook as their priest.

For a number of years Rev. Lauren Miller has been licensed to the parishes of St. Andrew/ Trinity, Rosetown, and St. Mark, Outlook. As of September, his licence is to the parishes of St. Andrew/ Trinity, Rosetown, and Holy Cross, Eston.

Masks could not completely hide the smiles of joy and happiness of the congregation of Christ Church, Nokomis on Sept. 6, when members worshipped together for the first time since March 15. Photo by Deacon Jack Robson Morning Prayer was led by Deacon Jack Robson, with readers Lydia Dzurich and Susan

Smith and prayers led by Colleen McNichol.

We could feel the presence of the Holy

Spirit among us, as we sang, prayed and worshipped together. We again are able to feel the

blessings that are ours as children of the King, as we gather together in His name and worship.

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The Saskatchewan Anglican

November 2020

Back-to-school 521 worship service Above, Rev. Michael Bruce leads worship for the congregation at the 521 Anglicans back-to-school service held outside St. Luke, Regina, on Sept. 6. Family groups could sit together, but hockey sticks — leaning on the wall beneath the handicap parking sign — were handy to measure physical distancing.

Photo by Meagan Pekar

At left, Kaleesi Pekar (left) and Alleana Walker (right) share a laugh with Rev. Michael Bruce after the back-to-school service on Sept. 6, the day before school started. The five Regina parishes that are in the process of becoming one have been calling themselves 521, until the new parish name is selected.

Photo by Barb Cameron

November 2020

Preaching the truth By the Rev. MarieLouise Ternier

T

he title drew me: Let's Talk about Truth. “A book for preachers,” it said, “preaching about truth in this post-truth society.” Even more intriguing was the fact that the author is a Roman Catholic female theologian teaching homiletics in an RC seminary.

I was hooked instantly: a book about preaching truth written by someone officially barred from preaching in her own church’s celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The author must be either naïve or incredibly bold, I thought.

I was pleasantly surprised, found my assumptions exposed and corrected, and had to admit the content was brilliant. The author is Professor Ann Garrido from the Dominican Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, MI. While drawing heavily from Thomas Aquinas’ thought, she nevertheless

Grace @ Sixty writes in an engaging and accessible style, using her own sermon texts as illustrations.

Rather than presenting truth as an object to be possessed or as a set of church doctrines requiring assent, the focus is on truth as a “way of life,” a way of being, patterned on Jesus’ way of being in the world.

With a nuanced, Scriptural approach, and drawing on contemporary communications and conflict theories, Garrido writes, “The more important question isn’t ‘Who’s right?’ but ‘Why do we each see things so differently?’”

She describes four ways in which we practice truth: seeing the world as it is, forming good judgments,

communicating with others, and being in relationship.

This approach opens the concept of truth, such as walking into an unexpected bright clearing after wandering through a thick and potentially suffocating forest.

As each page brought a smile to my heart, a bold idea of my own emerged.

What about gathering a group of pastors who’d be willing to discuss the book’s content on Zoom?

I contacted the author and told her we would be an ecumenical group of clergy discussing her “Catholic” book. She was very excited about this idea and expressed interest in learning of any further insights we could add.

Eight courageous women and men — preachers from four different denominations — took the bait. We each ordered the book and explored one chapter per week.

Our conversations were invigorating, personal and honest, possessing a genuine curiosity, sprinkled with a generous dose of respect and

You are invited into a

Spiritual Formation Course

Sponsored by the Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon’s

compassion, patience and humour.

As we opened ourselves to the author’s insights and challenges, we encountered in our own interactions the pitfalls and misunderstandings, rash judgments and blind spots about truth that can arise in communication.

How do we live, communicate and preach from inside the tension between conviction and openness? How do we preach truth in a posttruth world?

In living out the gospel vision of communion, the hard work of listening deeply to today’s vast array of different perspectives is necessary.

With the help of Garrido’s description of the Ladder of Inference, our group learned to see the different personal, cultural and religious layers of formation that together result in “our truth.”

This helped us understand how we come to hold vastly different opinions, interpretations and perspectives on the same event, subject or experience. As one participant said, “We want to listen to each other and share freely.

We want to learn from one another. Perhaps we need to listen sometimes without sharing even if our thoughts are relevant to the conversation.

But would we lose out

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 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

Hope to see you online!

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

The Saskatchewan Anglican

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if we held back when we thought we had something to contribute?

Some of our own stories were helpful in opening up the topic, even though at times it caused some conflict and suffering. So much food for thought.”

Engaging such hard listening and self-reflection in turn grew our compassion and our capacity for respect and acceptance among ourselves, and by extension, towards those who hear us preach and who turn to us for guidance and advice.

While not included in her book, Garrido’s treatment of truth aptly exemplifies the following words from Pope Francis: “The truth, according to Christian faith, is God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. So the truth is a relationship! Each one of us receives the truth and expresses it in his or her own way, from the history, culture and situation in which he or she lives… .

“This doesn’t mean that truth is variable or subjective; quite the opposite. But it means that it is given to us always and only as a way and a life.

Did not Jesus himself say, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’?

“In other words, truth being altogether one with love, requires humility and openness to be sought, received and expressed” (November 2013).

Obituary

Car accident sparked search for faith in priest Submitted

R

ev. Tom Needham, who served in the Diocese of Qu’Appelle for eight years, died July 16.

Born in Sarnia, Ont., in 1942 he joined the Royal Canadian Airforce at the age of 22, and transferred to the army two years later.

He served throughout Canada, and was sent to train in Germany.

While there he was seriously injured in a car accident, which marked the beginning of a search for faith. In 1974 Needham had a dramatic conversion experience. He left the regular forces and joined a reserve unit in Winnipeg, later enrolling in St. John’s College in 1975.

He received a bachelor of divinity and was ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood in 1978 for the Diocese of Keewatin. He re-enlisted in 1981, serving as military chaplain from 1981 to 1996 at CFB Shilo (Manitoba), as a U.N. peacekeeper in Cyprus, CFB Penhold (Alberta), CFB Shearwater (Nova Scotia), and CFB Trenton (Ontario).

He retired with the rank of major in 1996, accepting a call to be rector of Holy Trinity, Regina.

Needham enjoyed his time as priest, and retired from full-time ministry in 2001. He was appointed priest-in-charge of Indian Head from 2001 to 2004, when he relinquished his exercise of ministry.

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The Saskatchewan Anglican

November 2020

Caring neighbours help clean up after plow wind hits

By Mary Brown ARBORFIELD (Skwn) — Ken and Betty Edwards could not get out of their driveway because there were five grain bins rolling around their yard.

Their son Ryan and his wife Amy, who live in the same yard, run a seed cleaning plant. Betty said the roof of the plant blew off and flew over their

house and into the field next to the house.

They started their seed cleaning plant three years ago and were still in the process of building up their business. They do not plan on reopening their plant. Ryan also farms 13 quarters of land and will still be farming.

The most crop damage was to his canola; the cereal crops fared better.

Ryan and Amy have three children: Matthew, 13, Ava, 11, and Ellie, 8.

With all the grain bins rolling around and roofs flying, it is unbelievable that no one was hurt.

Ken and Betty had hail damage to their siding and shingles and now have a leaking roof.

The next day neighbours came out to put up all five of the

hopper bottom bins.

Nutrien, the local fertilizer company, turned up with enough pizzas for all the helpers. One of the ladies at the church cooked up bread and buns for them.

Betty said there was no shortage of food. So, it was like a giant potluck lunch and supper for days.

Gavin McAdam, the student minister,

also made supper for them, while members of the church were very supportive with phone calls and visits (and I expect food).

We are all probably surrounded by generous and caring people, while it takes a catastrophe such as this for us to realize how lucky we are.

All pictures by Betty Edwards

A small girl checks out a big problem.

The storm uprooted trees and damaged buildings.

Neighbours use a trailer to clean up.

November 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

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... Caring neighbours help clean up after plow wind hits

Ken Edwards checks out what was once a shed.

The storm scattered debris across the property.

This shed will need to be replaced.

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The Saskatchewan Anglican

November 2020

Our Saviour Jesus speaks to our hurts

Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed

are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5: 3-10).

Photo by Jason Antonio/2014 Pilgrimage of Remembrance to Europe