Saskatchewan anglican
The newspaper of the Dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle • A Section of the Anglican Journal • April 2014
Millie Swan, the first St. Chad’s Volunteer to Qu’Appelle By Joanne Shurvin-Martin
Hosanna to the Son of David! “As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me ... .’ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’; ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’; ‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee’” (Matthew 21:1-2, 6-11, NIV).
Fred Says, ‘It’s good to be full of beans’ in Saskatoon By Mary Ann Assailly SASKATOON – January and February saw the second phase of the Primate’s World Relief and Development (PWRDF) Food Security Campaign. “It’s good to be full of beans” focused us on our initiatives with farmers in East Africa and to provide further support to them. Every $80 raised supported one farmer. In the Diocese of Saskatoon two parishes, Emmanuel and St. Stephen’s, promoted the Fred Says, “It’s good to be full of beans” campaign. By means of showing the video and informative notices included
weekly in the church bulletins, parishioners learned about PWRDF’s work with farmers in Burundi, Tanzania and Mozambique and about the campaign to train even more farmers. Both churches raised money by displaying a large jar of beans and having parishioners guess the number. Bev Orr was crowned as Emmanuel’s “Queen of the Bean Counters,” with the contest raising $210. St Stephen’s saw a three-way tie among Alice Brown, Rachel Snider and Pauline Elliott as they raised $148. That adds up to $358, which equated to fully sponsoring four
farmers and half of the fifth. And then Fred Said, “Let’s Jam.” The third phase of the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund’s threeyear Food Security Campaign is “Fred Says … Let’s Jam”. In March and April, “Let’s Jam” focuses on the development of sustainable agriculture in Cuba. PWRDF supports the Cuban Council of Churches Sustainable Development Program, which promotes self-sufficient agricultural initiatives at the community and family levels, to respond to food insecurity. Due to a limited access to fruit and vegetables and limited
skills for food production and conservation, a high percentage of the Cuban population does not have a balanced diet. Almost 3,000 Cubans in 15 provinces are receiving training in and increasing their knowledge on land use and restoration, selection of seeds, crop production and preservation, food preservation, water management compost making, worm cultivation and pest and weed control. In addition, close to 6,000 people benefited from the harvest of the food production carried out by the involved communities. See ‘Full of Beans’ on Page 6
REGINA — “I’ve never seen anywhere so flat” and “I was expecting the church to be more similar” were two comments from Millie Swan from the Diocese of Lichfield in England, on her impressions of the Diocese of Qu’Appelle. Swan arrived in Regina in January, to spend six months as a St. Chad’s Volunteer. She explained that the St. Chad’s Volunteer scheme is a program in which youth between the ages of 18 to 35 experience a different culture in one of the dioceses which is in partnership with Lichfield. It is a two-way program, she said, involving young people from the U.K., Germany, West Malaysia, South Africa and Saskatchewan. The program has been operated by the Diocese of Lichfield for about 10 years. Swan, who completed high school last year and plans to study Theology at Durham University, is the first volunteer to come to the Diocese of Qu’Appelle. While here she is helping with administrative duties in the Synod Office, assisting Julie Moser with children and youth ministry, preparing the St. Cuthbert’s House newsletter and plans to assist Rev. Dale Gilman in her work with urban First Nations and Metis people. Most recently she has been able to attend YouthQuake, a “youth retreat” held at Briercrest College and Seminary. “It was very full-on, but so worthwhile spiritually,” she said. “The bands and seminars were fantastic, but the highlight for me was the main speaker, Mark Clark, who was very powerful and challenging.” But possibly the most exciting part of the time for her was getting to see the northern lights for the first time! “I had to raise a certain amount of money,” said Swan, “which goes toward transportation costs and supporting other young people doing the same thing in Lichfield. See ‘Lichfield’ on Page 3