Saskatchewan anglican
The newspaper of the Dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle • A Section of the Anglican Journal • April 2015 www.facebook.com/thesaskatchewananglican —
www.issuu.com/thesaskatchewananglican
D I O C E S E O F Q U ’A P P E L L E
‘Be still and know that I am God’ A weekend retreat at the House of Prayer By Jo White
Jim and Jo White rest after their climb to the large cross on the House of Prayer property in the Qu’Appelle Valley. Both attended a retreat at House of Prayer, located in the village of B-Say-Tah. Photo —Jim White
Knowing is not enough: Taking action for missing, murdered aboriginal women By Marj Kirkby SASKATOON – Editor’s note: This article appeared in the Feb/ March 2015 issue of the Anglican Church Women, News & Views. Facts and background for this article came from “Walking Together,” an article in the 11/12/2014 “Bridges” section of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and from the RCMP’s report on missing and murdered aboriginal women, at wwwrcmpgrc.gc.ca/ pubs/mmaw-faapd-eng.pdf. Did you get to the presentation at the National ACW Leader’s Conference presented by Iskwewuk E-wischiwitochik (Women Walking Together)? Did you see the REDress Project at the University of Saskatchewan? Did you attend the
Walking with our Sisters exhibit at Wanuskewin? Hopefully you got to one of these events that focused upon missing and murdered women. But even for those unable to attend, the events and related media coverage have touched emotions and increased public awareness. These programs have encouraged us to look at, and respond to, the factors which leave many aboriginal and indigenous women at higher risk for violence and death. A report released by the RCMP last May found 1,181 cases of murdered or missing aboriginal women between 1980 and 2012. The report also found while aboriginal women make up 4.3 percent of Canada’s population,
their demographic accounts for 11.3 per cent of missing women and 16 per cent of all female homicides. Here in Saskatchewan, there were 153 aboriginal women murdered in the same time frame, accounting for 55 per cent of female victims. Aboriginal people account for about 15 per cent of the province’s population. These are just a few of the facts. The activists, educators, advocates and community organizers who have put on these events move beyond the simple facts to a deeper analysis. They highlight the social conditions that are putting aboriginal/indigenous women in vulnerable positions, such as poverty, poor housing, racism and disadvantage. See MISSING on page 7
FORT QU’APPELLE (Qu’A) – The quotation from Psalm 46, “Be still and know that I am God” is, I suspect, the most evident quote around the House of Prayer in the resort village of B-Say-Tah, just outside Fort Qu’Appelle. It also seems to eloquently epitomize all this establishment represents. My husband Jim and I arrived after dark, so the lights strung through the trees along the driveway were working their magic, twinkling beautifully amongst the dark branches against their snowy-white backdrop. I can’t remember now if the lights in the Chapel were on or off when we first got there, which is quite frustrating for me, as the
picturesque glow coming from the huge windows to greet those on the evening pilgrimage is so captivating, it really ought to be emblazoned across that part of my brain labelled “memories of really amazing things.” Such cognitive dysfunction probably speaks volumes on how much we needed this break from the intense joys and challenges (and most specifically the noise levels!) of being a foster-family, home-schooling seven (sometimes eight) children under the age of 10. We met Father Glenn Zimmer and Sister Margaret Dick, codirectors of the house, who gave us a guided tour of the main house that left us both discreetly pinching ourselves to check we weren’t dreaming. See PRAYER on page 5
Sandra Hill’s vanning ‘great adventure’ By Joanne Shurvin-Martin SWIFT CURRENT (Qu’A) – As a child growing up on a farm 36 kilometres (20 miles) from Swift Current, Sandra Wells and her family were visited by “vanners” of the Canadian Sunday School Caravan Mission. In 1963, the summer after her second year of university, Sandra became one of those vanners and travelled 4,840 kilometres (3,025 miles) throughout the Diocese of Qu’Appelle. She called her diary of that summer “The Great Adventure.” Beginning in 1920, young women, often from England, travelled the rural areas of Western Canada, visiting families who, especially in those early years, were isolated from their families, neighbours
Sandra Hill and their church. These were the days long before telephones and reliable roads, when many settlers were lonely and without spiritual nurturing. The Caravan Mission was founded and primarily funded by Miss Eva Hasell (pronounced Hazel), who 50 years later, was still driving a van every summer. See VANNER on page 4