Saskatchewan anglican
The newspaper of the Dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle • A Section of the Anglican Journal • February 2016 www.facebook.com/thesaskatchewananglican —
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In memory of ... By Joel Houston
Numerous candles are lit at St. John’s Anglican Church in Nipawin to commemorate all those people who have died over the years. Photo by Joel Houston
Beyond the pulpit By the Rev. Shawn Sanford Beck BATTLEFORDS (S’toon) – Editor’s note: This article has also appeared in the Battleford’s Anglican parish newsletter, The Epistle. The Rev. Shawn Sanford Beck is interim priest for Battleford Parish (St. George’s, Battleford) and St. Paul’s, North Battleford. May the special blessings of this past Christmas season be upon you! As many of you know, our family recently returned from an absolutely amazing epic journey to the east coast of Canada. We had been preparing and saving for this trip for years and it did not disappoint. We managed to do everything we hoped to do and found just the right balance between visiting family and friends and being tourists. Thanks be to God for such a marvelous opportunity! One thing that really sticks out for me as I recall the trip was our visit to Romero House in Toronto. Romero House is a community serving refugee claimants. It has a very special place in our heart, as it is where my wife Janice and I met and married 17 years ago. We were both volunteers there and spent countless hours living and working with refugees from all over the world. It was truly a life-changing experience for both of us. We were very excited to reconnect with former friends and mentors in the community. Romero House taught me many
things, about faith, justice and gratitude. But one of the things that stands out most clearly for me is this truth: Jesus was a refugee. Don’t ever forget it! Check out your Bible: Matthew 2:13-23 tells the poignant story of a vulnerable Holy Family fleeing the wrath of a murderous tyrant and finding refuge in a foreign land. Sound familiar? It should! This past Advent season we were faced with the reality of thousands of families like the Holy Family, who were fleeing for their lives from Syria, Iraq and from many other war-torn places in the world. The Word of God is clear on this matter: do not shut your hearts to those in need, especially refugees. There are so many in our society who are caught up in fear, and often in ignorance as well, who would like to shut the door and build a fortress around our nation. But my friends, that is not the Christian Way. This season, remember in gift, in prayer, in action and in attitude, those who are desperately seeking safety. Let us all do what we can to reach out to all in need: the poor, the oppressed and especially the refugees of this broken, beloved world. I’d invite you to pray with me now, this collect for the safety of refugees everywhere: Compassionate God, make your loving presence felt to refugees, torn from home, family and everything familiar. See PULPIT on page 5
NIPAWIN (Skwn) – St. John’s Anglican Church in Nipawin held a special service of evening prayer to remember and commemorate loved ones that who since passed. In our fast paced world, there is constant competition for our attention, with digital reminders prioritizing what we should think about, and when. Whether birthday reminders on Facebook or doctor’s appointments scheduled into our electronic day timer, there is no shortage of things to “remember”.
Simply taking the time to remember our loves ones is a radical re-prioritizing of the demands of the day. What better way to remember than to sing praises to the great giver of gifts, God Himself, who, in His mercy, granted the opportunity to share a portion of life’s journey with those who have since passed into glory. Perhaps it is best then, to close in the words of the Book of Common Prayer, “…We praise and magnify thy holy Name for all thy servants who have finished their course in thy faith and fear…”.
Deacons becoming more important in the church By Jason Antonio MANITOU SPRINGS (S’toon) – All baptised Christians are called to serve others, just as deacons – the oldest order of ordained ministry – are called to regularly serve the community. “The diaconate has a long and storied history in Christendom,” explained Deacon Susan Page. “Christ Himself modelled for us the behaviour of a deacon. His affinity was for the poor, the marginalized and the sick in body, mind and spirit.” The word “deacon” comes from the Greek “diakonia,” which possesses a variety of meanings, said Page. But at its heart – and as defined by the early Church – diakonia means to be sent out and to serve. “The diakonia of Jesus and the Apostles inaugurated the Holy Reign of God, in which the hungry would eat, the blind would see and the deaf would hear … (It) therefore belongs to all members of the church through baptism. We are all to help bring God’s reign on Earth.” The role of deacons and diaconal ministry was one topic featured during the 48th Synod of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert’s Land, held at Manitou Springs in the Diocese of Saskatoon. Page, a deacon at St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Regina, has been president of the Association of Anglican Deacons in Canada for the past year. The first three centuries
Deacon Susan Page of the early Church were called the “Golden Age of the Deacon,” explained Page, for as Christianity spread, the diaconate flourished. Deacons developed distinctive functions within the Christian community, such as collecting and distributing money to the poor throughout the Church in Rome. “Then as now, deacons have always had a special relationship to their bishop, by serving as the bishop’s eyes and ears (and) by making known the concerns of the community,” stated Page. Moreover, deacons had roles in the liturgy, calling people to prayer, reading the gospel, assisting in distributing communion and assisting in various ways with baptism. Once the Church experienced dramatic growth following the conversion of Emperor Constantine, though, the diaconate began to be overshadowed. The diaconate soon became a stepping stone on the way to
priesthood, while the vocational deacon – of whom Page is one – faded from existence, with only a few exceptions. Quoting Canon Michael Jackson from the Diocese of Qu’Appelle, Page remarked the diaconate has been “moribund” for the past two centuries. However, Jackson has pointed out the resurgence of deacons is due to the growing ecumenical movement and in the participation of the church community in the liturgies. Two major events in the 20th century have led to this resurgence. The first was in 1962, when the Roman Catholic Church voted to restore a permanent diaconate, during the Second Vatican Council. Then in 1968, the Anglican Lambeth Conference passed a resolution to restore the diaconate throughout the Anglican Communion. As of 2014, Page explained, the Association of Anglican Deacons in Canada estimates there were 340 vocational deacons in Canada. About 300 are active, with 37 potential diaconal candidates. About two-thirds are women. There are three main categories of appointment to the diaconate in the Anglican Communion: 1) Parish deacons: Those found at the heart of many congregations, whether small parishes or large cathedrals. See DEACONS on page 7