The Saskatchewan Anglican, May 2020

Saskatchewan

anglican

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

A goode ye olde tyme Renée de Moissac (on harpsichord and organ), Ecumenia (Saskatoon’s ecumenical choir), Graylore Lutes, and other friends presented a concert of French Baroque instrumental and vocal music in Christ Church as part of the Allegorical Evening’s entertainment after the 17th century banquet. Photo submitted

How allegorical can you get?

By Rev. Peter Coolen SASKATOON — Christ Church, Saskatoon presented an evening of 18 th century music and food entitled “An Allegorical Portrait of Louis XIV, The Sun King” on Feb. 22.

The event was one of a series of events and concerts presented by parish volunteers and local musicians to raise money for the repair of the roof of the church.

The Allegorical Evening featured a banquet with music and a concert

of music and instruments of the period, evoking the French Baroque of Versailles in the late 17th and early 18 th centuries.

Those attending the evening’s festivities were encouraged to wear period clothing and were wined and dined in the parish hall, in regal and sumptuous Baroque style in the presence of His Royal Highness

Wearing Baroque clothing: oh so fun.

(aka Ted Engel) while being serenaded by music on the harp.

Following the banquet, everyone processed into the church where Renée de Moissac (on harpsichord and organ), Ecumenia (Saskatoon’s ecumenical choir), Graylore Lutes, and other friends presented a concert of French Baroque instrumental

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and vocal music, and an interactive display and explanation of musical instruments of the period.

Following the concert, coffee, tea, other refreshments and dainties were served in the hall. It was a highly entertaining, educational and enjoyable evening.

Many thanks especially to Ted and Kathy Engel and the many volunteers and musicians for all their efforts in making this evening a success.

For more pictures see page 12.

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The Saskatchewan Anglican

May 2020

Kids can model Jesus' leadership qualities Do you have an idea for a column topic? We want to hear from you. Email skanglicaneditor@gmail. com.

What does Christian leadership look like?

By Archdeacon Cheryl Toth

I

write this article in late March as we are practising physical distancing and working from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. I write this article on my son Dan Kristolaitis’ 36th birthday.

In light of this, I want to respond to the question of what Christian leadership looks like by telling a story of what I learned about leadership from Dan. In the late 1980s and early 1990s I was a children’s ministry consultant with the Diocese of Toronto and would often talk with my children about what I was learning in my work.

One day I came home and told them about someone who was visiting Canada from the Philippines; she came to speak in Canada through the ministry of PWRDF. She worked in her homeland with the church to help children who had experienced civil war in the 1980’s when soldiers and rebels fought and planes dropped bombs from the sky.

Even though things were getting better in their country the children still thought about those things and were scared.

The church helped that. them through children’s So, since we lived in ministry, art programs Toronto, Dan and I got and activities. on the subway to take the When I finished change they had collected telling my children about to the PWRDF offices on this, they asked some Jarvis Street. questions about war and I explained why we violence and we prayed had come and soon one of for the children there. their staff came to meet Then with us. six-yearRobin It (leadership) is old Dan Gibson did said, “We not work compassionate, have to do with the responsive to the something church needs of others, to help in the them.”

Philippines and willing to When I (that use whatever asked what person talents and he wanted was away) to do he but he abilities are said, “Let’s understood present to make have a that Dan a difference. parade and needed tell people. to know They can what his give us money to send them.” contribution would do.

His sisters agreed with He got a book of photos this plan and so over of the work the church the next day or two my was doing there and sat children joined with a down with Dan to show few of their friends from him what was happening church to decorate their to support children across bikes and wagons and the globe. make signs with their He also thanked Dan drawings of what had for helping others. Dan happened. handed over the envelope Then we took to our and we went home talking street to knock on the about what we had doors of our neighbours— experienced together. some of whom we knew What did I learn about and many of whom we did Christian leadership from not. this?

The children told From Dan I learned people why they were that leadership comes parading and what the from those who are money was for. willing to meet the By the end of the demands of a situation. parade they had collected It is compassionate, almost $20 in change. responsive to the needs Now what? I didn’t of others, and willing to want to take the money, use whatever talents and put it in the bank and abilities are present to write a cheque to PWRDF. make a difference.

My children were too I also learned that young to make sense of leaders are innovative

and creative in how they reach out.

They are willing to speak their convictions and explain what needs to be done and why. They are also practical and generous.

From Robin Gibson, I learned that every individual, no matter how young or old, deserves your time, your attention, your knowledge and your thanks.

All of these qualities we can see in the life and ministry of Jesus.

When His disciples were arguing about which one of them was the greatest, Jesus had a little child stand among them.

He reminded them that greatness was not the goal but rather welcoming the “little ones” in their society — the poor, the powerless, those in need. Those who received them welcomed in God. As Church we have many opportunities to welcome God in those who are hungry, sick, out of work, broken, oppressed and scared.

As our society deals with the short- and long-term effects of the coronavirus, we are called to be compassionate, responsive, creative, innovative, practical and generous in how we share God’s good news of love for the world. I pray we can do it as well as young Dan did.

The Ven. Cheryl Toth is Archdeacon of St. Cuthbert’s (Diocese of Qu’Appelle) and serves as Stewardship Officer for the diocese.

DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE

Renewal team begins work for St. Cuthbert's

By Joanne Shurvin-Martin REGINA — Work in the Archdeaconry of St. Cuthbert has been going on for more than two years and has now entered another phase, with the goal to combine five existing parishes in Regina into one new parish.

A renewal team has been formed with two representatives from

each of the five existing parishes, plus a few additional members appointed by Bishop Rob Hardwick.

This team will develop an implementation plan and have general oversight for the renewal, transition and implementation of moving to one parish.

It will report to the wardens’, incumbents’ and interims’ group of the five parishes.

The five city parishes

are All Saints, St. James, St. Luke, St. Matthew and St. Philip.

The team met first on March 11 and plans to meet twice each month.

(All services, gatherings and meetings in the diocese were suspended as of March 16, so the team will not meet in person but will use technology such as teleconferences and video conferences.)

The working groups are also continuing their work,

but have been slowed due to the COVID-19 precautions. They will report to the renewal team.

Work is proceeding to create a St. Cuthbert’s Archdeaconry page on the diocesan website (quappelle.anglican.ca) and then keep it updated.

It will include a calendar of events in the archdeaconry and regular progress reports on the process to create the one new parish.

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

Published monthly except for July and August.

Whole No. 292, Vol. 48, No. 9 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 September issue must be received by the diocesan editor no later than July 24..

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

May 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

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The Bishop's Corner

Choose this day!

By Bishop Rob Hardwick

S

ince the very earliest of times, humans have had the power to choose. Some of those early choices meant making life or death decisions, and they were often made by trial and error.

Even today risk is involved in many a decision, and the power to choose often carries uncertainty.

From Genesis 2:16-17, when the fruit of good and evil was eaten, we have also found that choices have consequences.

Sometimes, at the outset of a journey, it can be easier to say “yes” to something, than it is weeks and months later, when we might face an uncertain future or a crisis in our faith. Peter’s, “Lord I will never deny or leave you!” came back to haunt him. Not at an interrogation by Caiaphas or Pilate, but in the probing words of a servant girl, by a fire in a courtyard.

Jesus, too, faced choices. The future of the world hung on the

choices He was called on to make.

He was tested in the wilderness, and tested to the full, the night before He died.

In those last hours, Jesus was tempted to pull the plug, to avoid the very essence of His call, “Father, if it is possible take this cup of suffering from me.” Until His prayers, prayers that made Him sweat blood, led Him to choose to submit to God the Father, “Yet not my will but yours.”

The events of Lent and Holy Week are an amazing insight into Jesus and the incredible resolve He had, to push through His agonizing and to take the final, and enormously sacrificial, step of faith.

We would do well to remember that a yes to the Lord never

removes the wrestling with choice. We need God and others to prayerfully help us. For it is often easier to give up, criticize or stubbornly refuse, than to make the changes to which God is calling us.

What is clear is that coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world and our church will not be the same and we will be called upon to make choices and changes.

As God’s agents, like Moses, Christians in our various areas of influence will be called upon to demonstrate and model leadership in our communities, influencing the future by leading well through the present.

Not leading like Pharaoh, for he tried to control the future by stalling the present, by not allowing the Hebrews to go.

It seems to me that Jesus and the greats provide opportunities in the present that influence the future.

To accomplish this, our federal, provincial, municipal and Church leaders will need our encouragement and our prayers that together we will build a better future.

In the coming weeks and months we will all need to lay aside the personal will, what each person wants, in what has been to date an “I” world, and move radically in the opposite direction, “Yet not my will but yours.”

All our choices will depend on whether we can place everything in relation to the revealed will of God and be attentive to one another and to God. So, through the many challenges that will face us — personal, provincial and global — we will be called to make choices.

Face them and make them we must.

Not for political or commercial gain but for the good of all and in accordance to God’s will.

For as the Archbishop of Canterbury said recently, “At a time of extraordinary circumstances, it is not appropriate to continue our lives in what we thought was a normal way. God is calling us to be ‘God’s Church for God’s World’ in new and responsive ways.”

May we be up to the challenge and to the responsibility that will be ours.

Guest column

A vision of the Church's role in changing times

By Allison Kydd QU’APPELLE (Qu’A) — In the last few months, much has changed in our parishes, in the diocese and across the country, and more change is coming, much of it difficult to predict.

During these changing times, most of us are focused on how to maintain our individual households and our wider relationships while practicing “social distancing.”

For those of us who attend church regularly, the changes have already been significant, and it’s quite natural if we feel a sense of loss.

Perhaps the greatest change is the need to avoid physical contact with our neighbours, our friends and members of our extended families.

Two metres seems unnatural for those who have shared a common cup, exchanged the peace by shaking hands or embrace each other, relished the intensity of Bible studies and spent

many hours discussing the concerns of the church.

Now that physical connection is problematic, it is necessary to keep in touch by other means, such as by phone, email and regular mail.

In some ways, we at St. Peter’s Church in Qu’Appelle have an advantage because we are a small parish. We don’t need a formal phone tree or email strategy.

One email message is enough to keep everyone informed, whether the message is about new tiles installed in the church aisle or an announcement that services and other gatherings in all the churches of the Anglican Diocese of Qu’Appelle are suspended.

Whatever the news, our diligent church wardens, Jean Kurbis (Qu’Appelle) and Linda Kort (Indian Head), can be counted on to keep the rest of us informed.

The only problem with having wardens and

other church officials who are good at their jobs is that the rest of us can forget to show leadership.

For instance, there is nothing to prevent any of us from calling fellow parishioners we haven’t seen for a while.

Showing such initiative is especially true at a time like this when we don’t have regular services to bring us together.

We can also help create the vision of the Church’s role in these changing times. What could Church look like?

We knew even before the Covid-19 crisis that our diocese needs change, that we cannot maintain all of our church buildings, however beloved.

Is this an opportunity?

Are there empty or little-used church buildings that could be used for storing medical supplies or even as “field hospitals”?

Do we have skills or resources that we could offer to help make the transition? I know people who are sewing face masks or other protective garments.

Is this something we could be doing together — at a distance and with appropriate instruction?

We might also find ourselves in primarily supporting roles. Unless we are on the front lines, perhaps this is a time for rest and regeneration or for simply expressing gratitude to healthcare workers and other essential services.

Just this week, several people have shared a wonderful reflection by the Irish poet Kathleen O’Meara. It begins “And people stayed home/and read books and listened/ and rested and exercised/ and made art and played/ and learned new ways of

being … .”

Our enforced isolation, therefore, can be an opportunity.

Another friend quoted Julian of Norwich: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

Others have reminded me of the Second World War poster directing Londoners to “Keep Calm and Carry On.” No doubt each of us has the resources to find the response we need.

This week, it was wonderful to join an online prayer session organized by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina. I would love to have this available every day.

Not only that, but I wish such prayer sessions or services (preferably ecumenical and interfaith) were available on radio, as they used to be when I was a child. It’s important to remember that not everyone has internet access or a “Smart” phone. Is this also an opportunity?

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The Saskatchewan Anglican

May 2020

Anglicans observe World Day of Prayer in Qu'Appelle

By Joanne Shurvin-Martin REGINA — The World Day of Prayer is observed around the world every year, with women in a different country preparing the service each time. This year’s service was prepared by women in Zimbabwe. Here are some examples of how the day was observed in the Diocese of Qu’Appelle: In the small Town of Qu’Appelle, 17 people attended the service at St. Peter’s Anglican Church.

Father Francis Hengen from Indian Head was the speaker. He had spent a number of years working in Zimbabwe and spoke about life there both before and after Ian Smith and the White Regime.

Fresh tropical fruit and corn chowder were on the menu after the World Day of Prayer service at St. Peter Qu’Appelle on March 6.

Photo by Cathy Farrer After the service, people shared a lunch of corn chowder and tropical fruit, chosen because corn and tropical fruit are common

foods eaten by people in Zimbabwe.

Several services were held in Regina. About 45 people attended the service

at Community of Christ, where Pastor Dan Esch and his wife served lunch following the service.

In Whitewood, there was

no service on March 6, but the community observed the World Day of Prayer on Feb. 11 with an ecumenical service held at the Roman Catholic Church.

The event was organized by the Whitewood Ministerial Association, and began with a supper, followed by the service.

In late January, a special Christian Unity service was held at St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Whitewood, to celebrate the covenant between Anglicans and Roman Catholics in the diocese.

It also included the Evangelical Lutheran churches of Wapella and New Finland. The unity service was preceded by a potluck supper.

Both services were well attended.

DIOCESE OF SASKATOON EVENTS

Announcements for May 2020 g During the COVID-19 interruption in regular and church life, daily and weekly church services and videos are available from links on the diocesan website and diocesan Facebook pages, as well as on individual parish websites and Facebook pages and on YouTube. 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 What is our bishop up to? Check out the bishop’s calendar on the redesigned and improved diocesan website. 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 Retirements and Appointments: It has been announced that the Ven. Ken Watts, executive archdeacon of the diocese is retiring in July from his position as executive archdeacon but will remain in active ministry.

The Rev. Canon Alex Parsons has been appointed as the new executive archdeacon effective July. The Rev. Matteo Carboni has been appointed the regional dean for the Eastern Deanery. g POSTPONMENT: The 19th Joint Convocation of the Saskatoon Theological Union: The College of Emmanuel & St. Chad’s 19th Joint Convocation of the Saskatoon Theological Union, originally scheduled for Friday, May 8 at Knox United Church, is postponed until fall 2020, due to the COVID-19 crisis.

g CANCELLATION: New Course at Emmanuel & St. Chad: HE/HL 321 Full Communion in Theory and Practice, from May 11 to 15, instructed by the Rev. Dr. Gordon Jensen and the Rev. Dr. Iain Luke, has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis.

For more information please contact the College of Emmanuel & St. Chad at esc.registrar@usask.ca or call 306-975-1550.

Other special church services and meetings: The following events and courses have been indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis and will recommence or be re-scheduled. Please contact each sponsoring organization or check future issues of this paper to ascertain when and where these events will begin once more. g Seniors’ Lunch in Battleford: St. George’s Anglican Parish, Battleford holds a monthly seniors’ lunch the first Monday of each month. The food is provided by the parish members and is complementary. g Community Coffee

g House and Bible Study: The Parish of St. George’s, Saskatoon holds its weekly Coffee House and Bible Study every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The Bible study is normally held from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

All events are in the Parish Hall, 624 Ave. I South. Dates for restart TBA. g Queen’s House: Centring Prayer is normally Monday evenings from 7 to 8:30 p.m.; Women in Ministry Luncheons, normally monthly, 12 to 1:30 p.m. (please call for schedule); Taizé Prayer, normally the second Wednesday of each month, 7 to 8 p.m. All programs to restart on dates TBA g Celtic Evening Service in Saskatoon: The fourth year of Celtic Evening Eucharist Service at St. George’s Anglican Church, 624 Ave. I South, Saskatoon.

Services are Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. and will restart at a date TBA. g All Saints’, Saskatoon: Thursdays at 5 p.m. (BCP) Said Evening Prayer followed by Low Mass. Restart TBA. g Christ Church, Saskatoon: Evening

Prayer (BAS) in the chapel followed by coffee/ tea and conversation in the parish office, every Thursday at 7 p.m.

Restart date TBA. g Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Saskatoon: Every Wednesday, lunch time Eucharist at 12:10 p.m. in the Lady Chapel followed by tea/coffee in the parish hall (bring your own bag lunch). Restart date TBA. g Weekly Taizé Service and Potluck in Sutherland: St. Matthew’s, Sutherland is holding a Taizé Service and potluck supper every Monday night. The supper begins at 6 p.m. and the service at 7 p.m. Restart date TBA. 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.

May 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

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Hoarder, repent! A new Robin Hood By the Rev. Mark Kleiner SASKATOON — The arrival of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan has changed everything virtually overnight for all of us.

For years, I have participated in church meetings with the recurrent mantra of: “We can’t go on doing things the way we’ve always done things, something’s got to give!”

And so here we are.

Perhaps a little sooner than some of us expected, but we’re learning, in response to this daunting and tragic and terrifying epidemic, how to be Church with most of our traditions stripped away.

Indeed, what was salvific in the past, gathering to celebrate the goodness of the Lord, has become potentially lethal at this present time.

By mid-March, both in response to the recommendations of health authorities and out of concern for a church membership largely in high risk categories, we had shuttered the doors of Christ Church to all services and church meetings, as well as to all the outside groups that customarily make use of

A typical day for donations for Project Robin Hood (PRH) at Christ Church Anglican, Saskatoon. Christ Church is open every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for PHR donations to redistribute to those in need.

Photo by the Rev. Mark Kleiner our building.

At around the same time, we became aware of the manic hoarding of hand sanitizer and toilet paper by many people, wreaking havoc on supply chains and leaving some people totally S.O.L. (Sheol Outta Luck) when they went to their grocery store in search of bathroom tissue.

Remember those adorable Royale bathroom tissue kittens, frolicking in the fluffy soft paper?

Well, overnight toilet

paper had come to represent in the popular imagination our collective fear of scarcity in the wake of an invisible enemy we still do not completely understand.

That’s also where Christ Church came in.

At the exact same time as we closed our doors to worship services and all other gatherings, we decided to keep those same doors open six hours a day for the duration of this crisis, so that people could donate to Project Robin

Hood (PRH).

PRH solicits gifts of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and nonperishable food items for those in our community most in need.

We instruct people to drop and go, not to tarry and fraternize, lest the church become an unwitting hub of dangerous social interaction.

People have complied with these directives and have been giving generously. We have also

identified households in need and been making deliveries.

Anyone can make donations to this initiative, between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at the dark blue door of Christ Church at 515 28th Street West in Saskatoon, on the north side of the church.

However, at heart, the program aims to give hoarders an opportunity to change their ways; we recommend all those with hoarded items to give a tithe of their cache back to those less fortunate.

Shortly after launching Project Robin Hood, we started Aisles No More (ANM), a program aimed at keeping our seniors and those with underlying health conditions out of the grocery stores and pharmacies.

As consumers, we certainly have many options for online shopping and grocery or pharmacy deliveries.

This program simply aims to fill in the gaps for those not comfortable or connected with such options.

If you or someone you know in Saskatoon can benefit from this initiative, we ask you to send an email to christchurchyxe@ gmail.com, with Aisles No More in the subject line.

Opera singer wows with songs in different langauges

By Mary Brown PRINCE ALBERT — I have never been to an opera. The only opera singer I know of is Maria Callas, who sang La Mamma Porta on the soundtrack from the movie Philadelphia staring Tom Hanks.

On March 1 at St. Alban’s Cathedral, Megan Fournier Mewis sang for us, accompanied by her father Lawrent Fournier playing the guitar and Brock Skomorow on piano.

It was an awesome evening of beautiful music.

Megan graduated with a bachelor of music in voice performance at the University of Saskatchewan. While there she was a member of the Greystone Singers, the U of S Musical Theatre Ensemble, the Saskatoon Opera Association and was a section leader of the

Megan Fournier Mewis sopranos and altos of the University Chorus.

Megan moved to Cardiff, Wales, U.K., where she continued her opera training for three years.

In that time, she sang with the BBC Welsh National Choir and performed in various venues, gaining recognition on BBC Radio One and BBC Channel

One. She also backpacked through Western Europe with a voice trio, busking Canadian folk songs. She believes folk music ties us to our past and heritage and keeps us grounded.

She now lives in Prince Albert and is currently the artistic director of the Prince Albert Children’s Choir. She is married and has two children and works full-time at the Conexus Credit Union.

If only there was a way you could press a button and hear her voice. What was amazing was how easy she made it look to sing like that.

Before each song we were given an introduction to the history and translation of the meaning of the song. She said that the poetry and the story in the language came first and the music was second, which is why the songs are not translated into

English. But they are so beautiful it doesn’t matter.

The song is probably more beautiful in the original language; you would loose the whole ambience of the song translated.

Some of the songs we heard were Habanera and Je dis que rien ne m’epouvante from Carmen, two songs composed by Franz Schubert, who died at 31 years of age and actually wrote one of his songs at the age of 18.

Both of Megan’s grandmothers were singers and she sang Ave Maria in French, which was from her maternal grandmother and Un Canadien, a FrenchCanadian folk song from her paternal grandmother.

Megan did sing a few songs in English. One of them was Summertime from Porgy and Bess, which is one of my favourite songs. She kidded

that she has a really hard time with the Spanish language and so sang a Spanish piece, Recuerdos,

by Nana Muscari.

The song was hummed but it sounded Spanish.

She also sang All is Found from Frozen 2. If you have young girls or granddaughters you will have seen the movies Frozen I and II! I have always liked Pussywillows Cat-Tails by Gordon Lightfoot, but the way Megan sang it was truly beautiful and the Lightfoot version pales in comparison. The evening ended with O Sole Mio. St. Alban’s will possibly host another musical evening on May 31, featuring Peter and the Wolfettes Bassoon Quartet.

The recitals are freewill offerings. All proceeds will support youth music programs in Prince Albert and area.

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The Saskatchewan Anglican

May 2020

The Spanish Flu 1918-20: We've been here before

By Canon Trevor Powell Archivist, Diocese of Qu’Appelle

D

uring 1918-1919, the Spanish Flu relentlessly made its way across the length and breadth of Saskatchewan. Age, sex, ethnicity, religion, status, location, it made no difference.

When it came to choosing its victims, the epidemic did not discriminate. According to Government of Saskatchewan death statistics, close to 5,000 people in Saskatchewan died of influenza, more than the number of Saskatchewan men and woman who gave their lives on the battlefields of the First World War. According to historian Dr. Maureen Lux, one stood a greater chance of survival living in a larger urban centre. In cities, where greater medical care was available and the population had a higher immunity due to exposure to other diseases, the death rate was 6.6 per cent per thousand of population.

In villages and rural municipalities where medical care was almost non-existent and the people had a lower immunity, the death rate was almost twice that number. The above provincial death statistics did not include First Nations people as they were a federal responsibility.

Like rural residents, adequate medical care was largely unavailable to indigenous families who often lived in crowded

Prairie men wear masks to ensure they don't catch the Spanish Flu, which was a pandemic that ravaged the world from 1918 to 1920. Photo courtesy Parks Canada conditions, and being even more isolated, possessed a much lower immunity.

The Battleford Agency reported that the death rate of indigenous people was four times higher than the provincial death rate.

Under provincial legislation of the day, public health was largely the responsibility of municipalities. They were given the power to restrict or ban public meetings and gatherings, close schools and places of entertainment.

Citizens were told to have limited contact with others, remain indoors as much as possible and keep in contact with neighbours. On Oct. 20, 1918, the first “Churchless Sunday” was experienced when places of worship were closed across the province.

How long the churches were closed depended on the severity of the epidemic in a particular location, but as little as four and as much as 10 weeks. It was recommended that citizens stay home and read the sermons in the newspapers!

All clergy were prevented from holding public worship. Anglican priests continued to say the daily offices and, in the case of the rector of St. Paul’s Church, Regina, went so far as to offer Holy Communion at 8 a.m. on Sundays to a small group of parishioners in the rectory.

At considerable risk to their own health, priests spent time assisting the local doctor or nurse, anointing the sick and dying, helping to bury the

dead and comforting the bereaved.

A number contracted the illness and survived.

One Qu’Appelle priest did die in carrying out his priestly duties: the Rev. Arthur Mullins Harding of the Anglo-Catholic parish of Holy Trinity, Medicine Hat. A fellow-priest remarked that Harding’s death “was largely due to his own indefatigable efforts to help those suffering from the plague of influenza.”

Municipal authorities set up make-shift hospitals in churches, parish halls, and other community buildings, but it largely fell to volunteers and charitable organizations to carry the fight to the invisible enemy.

As an example, Emmanuel College

at the University of Saskatchewan, nearly empty of students due to wartime, was pressed into service.

University faculty and students assisted nurses in tending to influenza patients. Six of the nurses came down with the virus within days of the hospital opening. All recovered, but one male student volunteer died of the flu.

Due to the swiftness with which the virus struck and spread, there was an urgent need for victims to receive a quick burial. As the death toll increased, funerals were not held for the dead.

Health regulations called for the deceased to be taken to the nearest cemetery or, if in a rural area, buried close to where they had died. It was not unknown for a mass burial to be conducted in more remote communities.

Throughout the nightmare of the First World War and the Spanish Flu that followed, Christians of all denominations relied upon their faith to see them through.

Even though Anglicans could not worship together, by engaging in prayer and looking after one another they developed a stronger of community, which in turn helped to revitalize the Church.

Looking back at that time and looking at what confronts us now, it is important to remember that we have been here before and will, with God’s help, come through this pandemic as those who had gone before us.

DIOCESE OF SASKATCHEWAN

Closing churches due to COVID-19 a difficult decision

By Bishops Michael Hawkins and Adam Halkett In the time of my trouble I will call upon thee; for thou hearest me (Psalm 86:7).

D

ear sister and brothers, after much prayer, deliberation and consolation with our episcopal colleagues in the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert’s Land and the clergy of the Diocese, we are

suspending all public worship and gatherings of the Diocese of Saskatchewan effective immediately. This includes all our churches, chapels and buildings.

We have made this decision as a precaution and out of deep concern for our congregations and communities and for our vulnerable neighbours.

We recognize how difficult and shocking this will be.

We call everyone in the diocese to daily prayer, especially in this season of

Lent and of this pandemic.

We will be providing means to assist us to gather in weekly worship — though not together in the same church building — including online services and we commend to your use the Family Prayers in the Book of Common Prayer pp.728ff. and the Home Prayers in the Book of Alternative Services pp. 687ff.

We want to affirm our commitment to the pastoral care of all. If you need a pastoral visit or

Holy Communion, please do not hesitate to contact your parish priest. Your priests are here for you and with you through this crisis.

Much of their work will be done by phone and online in the next few weeks, but please do call on them in case of a crisis, severe illness or someone dying.

We are prepared for our Churches to be open for private prayer at set and limited hours provided there is no public

prayer and that the total number of people never exceeds one-quarter of the number of pews in the congregation/nave.

We need to care for each other in the body and we encourage every congregation to work hard to stay in touch with each other, especially those who live alone, and to care for each other through the stress and fear of this time.

If you know of anyone who needs urgent pastoral Continued on page 7

May 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

Flattening the worship curve?

By the Rev. Marie-Louise Ternier Editor’s note: This article also appeared at www. praytellblog. com/index. php/2020/03/28/ flattening-theworship-curve.

A

nnouncing the suspension of all worship services until further notice was heartbreaking. The last in-person meeting with our vestry and council members (and two joining via Zoom) was emotional and bewildering.

Strong preference was expressed to find ways to keep the members of our two congregations connected. Online worship service, several suggested.

Without much thinking we all also thought we could do that.

Until one member cried from her heart: “That is not the same. Our faith is a relational faith, we need to gather in person in order to receive the fullness of the encounter with God and with one another.”

But we all knew that “gathering as usual” was not an option.

We are now asked to live the painful paradox of solidarity and communion by keeping apart from one another, all to fight this invisible enemy called COVID-19.

We are asked to live a painful physical separation just when we need one another the most. It’s not the kind of Lenten fast any of us had anticipated.

Within days of that

last in-person council/vestry meeting, online worship services popped up like mushrooms growing overnight.

Just like that, countless priests, pastors and ministers of all denominations became like televangelists, praying the daily office in front of a camera, celebrating the Eucharist/Holy Communion at the altar in an empty church or chapel.

Some parishes are livestreaming Mass every day, with the lone priest in a church with a seating capacity of more than 500.

Now televised worship has been with us for a long time. It is definitely a worthwhile alternative for the home-bound and infirm.

While they cannot partake of the Body and Blood of Jesus, or be physically present with the community, they can in good faith be united through faith or spiritual communion. I guess, in a way, we are all also now forced into this category.

Truth be told, we were truly caught off guard by this little nasty bug happily galloping around the globe.

Everyone scrambled to find alternatives to the restrictions on gathering and the need for physical distance.

Certainly, a spirit of grace and mercy, coupled with permission to fumble and slip up, is the least we can afford one another.

There are indeed surprising aspects to

O n c e th e worst of thi s h e alth c ri si s i s ove r an d we will be all owe d out of our pl a c e s of s elf-i s ol ati on , ju st think h ow am azin gly fe stive th at f irst Holy Eu ch ari st in th e church will be . this online worship development.

The medium connects us with one another beyond time and place, providing an acute sense of the universal nature of our Christian faith. Physical and denominational boundaries collapse as we encounter the face of Christ in one another’s virtual devotions and inspirational messages.

One of my colleagues wrote: Now that so many different churches are doing online prayer offices, I can dip into a Catholic morning prayer, a United midday prayer, a Lutheran evening prayer, and an Anglican Compline. And then I can mix it all up differently again the next day (Facebook posting, March 19, by the Rev. Scott Sharman).

But in the frenzy of livestreaming versions of the real thing — and while I’m all for the ecumenical

gift exchange in prayer — I still hope online worship doesn’t become the new normal.

I hope we will not forget to ask ourselves what makes worship worship.

What distinguishes worship from private prayer, or witnessing online praying? As Christopher Smith wrote in a recent article: “Worship was never intended to be a religious product that is passively consumed.” * What about many of our faithful parishioners without internet and social media?

How do we include them in online worship?

Holy Communion, the Holy Eucharist, is an incarnational worship experience. The distinct features that nourish the soul and grow our faith lie in joining our voices in song and prayer, in our corporate confession and the words of absolution, in the sharing of insights from Scripture, each person hearing what she/ he needs at that time, and the partaking in God’s holy meal of Christ’s body and blood.

Or in the words of Paul to the church in Corinth: “What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up” (1 Cor. 14:26).

In other words, worship, liturgy, is a corporate act, authenticated by the active engagement of the congregation, identified as the full, conscious and active participation of God’s holy people.

The Greek word

7

leitourgia originally meant the public work of the people.

If we lose sight of this, we risk cultivating a passive audience watching a spectator sport (with all due respect, of course, for the sincere efforts of clergy to sustain the spirit of the faithful as best they can).

Recall Jesus’ words: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Matt. 18:20). God is present with us as we are present to one another in prayer and conversation, in joint confession and forgiveness, in song and praise, in sharing Christ’s Body and Blood.

At the time of this writing (end of March), it is still unclear how our churches will fare in this prolonged Lenten season of corporate fasting from public worship services.

For now, it’s fasting from the Eucharist while feasting on the Holy Word in our homes.

Once the worst of this health crisis is over and we will be allowed out of our places of self-isolation, just think how amazingly festive that first Holy Eucharist in the church will be.

Like Christ rising from the grave, we will rise from our homes, shining like the sun, and singing for joy. Easter might come later than planned this year but come it will: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:32-33). *http://c-christophersmith.com/churchesshould-think-twice-beforewebcasting-their-worshipservices.

... closing churches a difficult decision for bishops Continued from page 6 care, please let your priest know.

We need to be exemplary and extraordinary neighbours.

How can you help and support those in your neighbourhood?

What support can we offer to working parents who are struggling to keep children home with school cancelled, those who are in self-isolation for two weeks and may need assistance with errands, and the elderly who need

a chat or encouragement to take recommended precautions?

We are currently working on two difficult issues: funerals and building use. The recommendations of public health authorities must be heeded for the good of all.

Changes to our funeral customs and traditions will be necessary in this crisis.

Effective immediately no public wake or funeral will be allowed in any of our Churches

or halls without prior consent from one of the bishops.

Families should consider smaller, familyonly funerals, graveside services and cremation.

Many of our facilities are also used for social service and support groups and we do not want to cut these off.

Please inform all groups who share or rent your facility of this decision, remind them of our concern for the safety of our communities, and

ask them what plans they have in place in the face of Covid19.

If you have groups or individuals that you want to continue to use our buildings past March 21, you must first convince us that this continued use is worth the risk, that extra precautions are in place and that this use would not undermine our decision as a diocese.

The synod office will be closed to the public effective March 18, but we will still be here to answer

your calls and emails and to book meetings by phone and Zoom.

While the decision to suspend public worship is difficult, it calls us all to recommit ourselves to worship at all times and in all places.

While the decision to close our churches is painful, it calls us to be the Church in prayer and in service.

In the time of my trouble I will call upon thee; for thou hearest me (Psalm 86:7).

8

The Saskatchewan Anglican

May 2020

DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE

Parishes respond to church services being suspended

By Joanne Shurvin-Martin REGINA — Across the Diocese of Qu’Appelle, parishes are finding creative ways to keep in touch and to worship, without gathering together. On March 16, Bishop Rob Hardwick suspended all church services, meetings, fundraising events and other gatherings across the diocese.

The response across the diocese has varied, from parishes using technology and social media, to oldfashioned but effective telephone calls and mailings.

As of the last week of March, The Saskatchewan Anglican was aware of activities by the following parishes to keep in touch with parishioners and to offer alternative methods of worship when meeting in church buildings was not possible.

Five Anglican parishes in Regina are in the process of combining to form one new parish, with a target date of January 2021. (see related article on page 2) When work began on this complex process, no one could foresee the pandemic that caused all church services to be suspended.

Clergy of the five parishes involved responded by working together to create a service that was posted on YouTube on March 22. Rev. Michael Bruce, incumbent of St. Luke and priest for St. Matthew, went to each church with his iPad and filmed clergy celebrating portions of the service.

Then, after watching a couple of videos on editing, Bruce pieced together a 34-minute program of BAS Morning Prayer for Lent 4. He added text of the Scripture readings and some of the prayers so viewers could follow and participate at home.

Each of the five church buildings is featured throughout the program, to give viewers in each of the parishes a sense of connection, but at the same time show them the other locations involved in the parishes that will be combining.

On this first attempt, and with no previous

Judy Salway watches the Lent 5 Morning Prayer service presented by the pastoral team of All Saints, St. James, St. Matthew, St. Luke and St. Philip, Regina. The service was pre-recorded and delivered on YouTube at 9 a.m. on March 29.

Photo by Nigel Salway experience in creating or posting to YouTube, Bruce didn’t complete the project until 3 a.m. Sunday.

Filming for the Lent 5 service was completed much earlier in the week, and Bruce said he was confident the sound quality, which had some trouble spots, had been rectified by additional equipment and advice.

The plan is for the clergy to rotate through the roles for each service.

The YouTube channel is called 521 Anglicans Regina (for the five parishes joining into one).

Rev. Ella Frank of the Parish of the Good Shepherd (Avonlea and Ogema) reports, “I am in contact with my parishioners on a weekly basis and they have been given the information regarding the service from St. Aidan, which those who have YouTube are using. I will be telling them to us the BAS for Sunday and daily Bible readings and services.”

At St. Aidan, Moose Jaw, Rev. Dr. Dean Pinter has posted short talks for both St. Patrick’s Day and the Feast of the Annunciation. He used Scripture, poetry and

personal reflection to tie together the feast days and the current situation in the world.

For Lent 4, a service of Morning Prayer was recorded and posted to YouTube.

St. Giles, Estevan, posted a service of music, Scripture, reflection and prayer, led by Archdeacon Wilma Woods, for Lent 5.

The 20-minute Facebook post featured music by the Duncan family, which was recorded in the church separately from Wood’s portions of the service.

Woods thanked parishioner Wendy Godfrey for her media skills in recording the service. The Scriptures and prayers were emailed to the parish list in advance of the service.

At St. James, Regina, bulletin notices, announcements and information from the bishop and the diocese are emailed to everyone on the parish list. Information is also posted on the parish website and Facebook page.

Vestry members phone those without email each week to keep in touch.

Vestry has planned to phone everyone,

including those with email, occasionally, as a more personal form of communication than email.

Warden Margaret Nicholls is sending cards to all parishioners in care homes and assisted living residences.

Gwen Rupchan, in charge of children’s ministry, is emailing a weekly package of materials to parents of children who attend St. James. The packages includes a children’s sermon, colouring pages, word puzzles, and links for video Bible stories, and words and music for songs.

She has also posted personal messages for the children on YouTube.

Regular updates from interim priest Rev. Nancy Yee are also distributed by email, while vestry meetings are held using Zoom. Yee preached for the Lent 4 online service.

At St. Luke, Regina, the phoning committee is operating as usual. A representative said, “We are encouraging people to phone others as the mood hits them.”

The first online service of the 521 featured St. Luke because the celebrant was Rev.

Winna Martin. Martin also e-mailed a package of materials including sermons, mediations, illustrations and much more to members of all three parishes where she is associate priest – All Saints, St. Luke and St. Matthew.

St. Mary, Whitewood, does not have a priest at this time. Warden Phyllis Armstrong reports, “We are phoning our church family regularly to ensure that everyone is safe and has adequate care by family and close friends.

“We continue to pray for our church family, the country and the world.

Some are watching the Sunday service from St. Giles, Estevan. Others are following services on Facebook.”

Dean Mike Sinclair of St. Paul’s Cathedral said, “In an effort to have people connected through worship in this time of isolation, I offered a service of Morning Prayer at 10:30 on Sunday, March 22 via Facebook Live, with only me present as the celebrant. It was streamed on St. Paul’s Cathedral’s Facebook page, where the service was also posted Continued next page

May 2020

... parishes respond Continued from page 8 for any to enjoy after the stream ended.

“It was a crash course in lighting, sound, and camera angles, and though we didn’t get anywhere near perfection, it was well-received with 1,300 views.”

At press time, work was under way to offer a single online diocesan service for Easter Morning.

Speaking of the twicemonthly Cathedral Lunch program, the dean said, “The very difficult decision was made to not serve a meal on the weekend as scheduled, as the crowds have been in the 275-305 mark for the last few months. Given the spread of Covid-19, there was no viable way for us to maintain safe practice for both our participants and our volunteers.

“There are some agencies still able to safely provide food, and we have decided for this week (March 28) to support their efforts instead. This decision will be revisited in coming weeks as the situation continues to develop.”

Bruce Farrer, an active member of St. Peter, Qu’Appelle, has been sending out the weekly readings to parishioners, and inviting everyone to send him their reactions to the readings.

Farrer puts them together and sends these sermons, mini sermons, paragraphs and one sentence responses for everyone to see, along with the readings for the next week.

St. Philip, Regina, is one of the 521 parishes.

In addition to the online worship, the parish has formed a co-ordination and communications team to work through how and what to communicate to our parish members.

The team has sent a

letter by email or regular mail to all members. The parish Facebook page is updated frequently, and a private Facebook group has started for parishioners only, to communicate and keep in touch.

The interim priest, Rev. Nancy Yee, writes regular updates that are e-mailed to all members, and weekly announcements with prayers and information are emailed to parishioners.

St. Philip also uses a phone tree to contact each member.

Parishioner Sheilagh Garrett reports that Saskatchewan Gateway Parish used Zoom to hold a worship service on March 28. “Morning Prayer was led by Tannis McFarlane-Kelly, Rev. Delta Kelly and the folks at Rocanville from their individual homes.

“We also have an Anglican Church Moosomin Facebook page, on which we have offered daily prayers regarding the pandemic.”

Garrett says she has been posting each day since about mid-March, and plans to continue.

“We have also asked the community to post their own prayers or a story regarding the pandemic on the Facebook page. We hope this will keep people socially and spiritually connected while maintaining their physical distance.”

In Teachers of the Faith parish (Balcarres, Dysart and Fort Qu’Appelle), Deacon Sue Boxall emailed the gospel of the day, along with a short commentary, to parishioners and encouraging words to help everyone cope with isolation and uncertainty.

Editor’s note: thanks to all parishes that shared information for this article.

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DIOCESE OF SASKATOON

College cancels course in May Spring course at the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad HE/HL 321 Full Communion in Theory and

Practice: May 11 to 15 (Rev. Dr. Gordon Jensen and Rev. Dr. Iain Luke) is cancelled indefinitely due to COVID-19.

For more information please contact the College of Emmanuel & St. Chad at esc.registrar@usask.ca or call 306-975-1550.

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The Saskatchewan Anglican

May 2020

New ministry model emphasizes local experiences By the Rev. Dr. Iain Luke Principal, College of Emmanuel & St. Chad

O

ne of the biggest projects currently happening at the College of Emmanuel & St. Chad is a revamping of our Licentiate in Theology (LTh).

The new licentiate addresses the needs of the new model for local ministry training, which I described in last month’s column.

We are building this program in collaboration with diocesan schools throughout Western Canada, who are members along with the college in WECAN (Western Educational Collaborative Anglican Network).

The objective is to encourage dioceses to offer training in their local settings, while the college uses its academic resources to support, accredit, and encourage the development of local training.

As currently envisioned, diocesan schools will be able to offer courses that meet the learning goals set out in the LTh curriculum.

Students who complete

these courses successfully will make progress towards receiving their licentiate, under the joint oversight of WECAN and the college.

In some senses this is a return to history, as the college initially offered its LTh in order to facilitate clergy training during the early growth of the church on the Prairies.

Our attention to context and to the needs of the church hasn’t changed, even though the realities of mission and education have changed a great deal.

The use of the LTh credential also means something important to potential students. It will be a way to respect their effort and achievement, but also their right to have learning opportunities delivered to a measurable standard.

This should make it easier for individuals who move, to be received by their new diocese and bishop with a clearer sense of their training background.

Our first step, in developing the new curriculum, was to identify what is already being taught in local

courses.

It was striking to see how much these programs had in common with each other.

Nine subject areas were in evidence wherever lay and ordained leaders are trained locally: Bible, theology, Anglicanism, leadership, liturgy, preaching, teaching and learning, pastoral care, and ethics.

Much of that subject list would also apply to traditional seminarybased education, though there are a couple of twists.

In particular, the inclusion of leadership, and teaching and learning skills, acknowledges some emerging aspects of the role of clergy, in supporting the spiritual communities to which they belong.

The subject list, however, is not the whole story. Laid across these nine subject areas are some shared strategies that look quite different from the traditional model.

As an example, every aspect of curriculum content needs to be seen through the lenses of context, practice, and outcomes.

So, when students learns about the composition of the gospels, they also pay attention

to how that knowledge will be meaningful to the community where they are ministering.

They may work at developing Bible studies, which will speak the language of their congregation, designed to have an effect on the church’s ability to serve their neighbours and proclaim the good news.

This approach relates closely to the goals of practical theology, which I described in previous columns.

Increasingly, leaders of local churches need to have the skills to articulate how their people are living their own faith, and to speak out about the distinctive insights they see, right where they live.

Other strategies relate to the different realities of students who are learning “at home,” while continuing to worship and serve in their home church.

Spiritual formation is a focus when students come together, but also when they are continuing their learning on their own.

Students need mentors, with whom they can relate one-on-one as they learn new ideas and practise new skills. They also need opportunities to experience how church works in places other than

their home parish.

As we work at developing a curriculum around these principles, the practical realities of ministry in our region are foremost in our minds.

One important expression of this is the inclusion of a 10th learning area, which will address reconciliation and ministry with indigenous communities.

As a college, we look forward to working closely with our diocesan partners, since we have so much to learn from them about what God is doing in the places where they minister, and about how the church needs to equip itself to join God’s mission.

We also look forward to offering our own resources to this partnership in learning.

At the top of the list is our capacity to tap into new models of education, such as the outcomesbased approach that forms the basis of the revised LTh. By describing what students need to be able to do with their learning, and how they will demonstrate their capacity to use what they have learned, we can give full recognition to a model for ministry that puts the emphasis on local communities, local leadership, and local mission.

DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE

Diocese of Qu'Appelle responds to COVID-19

By Joanne Shurvin-Martin REGINA — Bishop Rob Hardwick emailed letters to clergy, vestries and congregations frequently in March as the situation with Covid-19 developed rapidly.

All church services, meetings and gatherings were suspended across the diocese on March 16.

Instructions regarding fundraising events, baptisms, weddings and funerals were quickly sent to all parishes.

On March 27, Hardwick sent a letter with a detailed update of actions taken by the diocese, to that point.

He told the members of the diocese that he had written to the premier, chiefs and municipal

leaders in the communities where the diocese has church buildings.

“The letter assures them of our prayers; our willingness to help where we can; and to offer our church facilities if needed.

They are most appreciative of our prayers and our quick and helpful response as a diocese.”

Parishes were instructed to make their buildings and church halls ready in case they are needed.

Hardwick expressed gratitude to all Anglicans who work in essential services. “We offer them, and all their colleagues, an immense debt of gratitude and pray that God will be their ‘shield and reward,’” referring to Genesis 15:1.

The bishop wrote, “I am

amazed with the quality and quantity of online worship that has been offered in the diocese. …

Thank you for being the Church that Christ Jesus has called you to be.”

The diocesan executive committee is meeting weekly via online web conferencing. While neither synod nor diocesan council are meeting, the executive committee has the power and authorization to transact all business that diocesan council would do.

(The only exception is to change regulations to canons). So the business of the diocese is able to continue during these exceptional times.

Among the decisions the executive committee has made to support parishes

are the following: — The diocese will pay for a Zoom web videoconferencing licence for a parish or archdeaconry, using Living the Mission funds.

— Diocesan Stewardship Officer, Archdeacon Cheryl Toth, has prepared information on stewardship, specific to these times when the church cannot gather as usual. “A time such as this calls for sacrificial giving where possible.”

— Bishop Hardwick and executive officer Shelley Baron have written to the prime minister, the premier and the leader of the Opposition requesting financial assistance, not just for charitable organizations, but also for all faith communities

during this difficult time.

— They have also written to the Anglican Foundation, requesting it to consider freezing parish loan payments for the foreseeable future.

(Note: the response was not available at press time.)

Additional measures were being considered by the executive committee.

Hardwick also announced that plans were being made for a diocesan Easter service to be available online.

In each communication the bishop encouraged all to continue to pray — for all people affected by the health crisis; for those working on the front lines; and for their communities.

He asked everyone to also pray for the finances of parishes and the diocese.

May 2020

The Saskatchewan Anglican

11

'The Screwtape Letters' an intricate, complicated book

By Mary Brown PRINCE ALBERT — C.S. Lewis has written many books. You may know him from his children’s classic The Chronicles of Narnia. I have read a few of his books, but in my opinion the best one was The Screwtape Letters.

It is a book of letters that Screwtape (the devil) is writing in answer to letters from his nephew (Wormwood). In his letters they discuss how to overcome the Enemy (God) in the patient’s life (the patient being the common man). It is a very intricate complicated read.

About eight of us get together for a meal at Karen’s house and then settle in for a discussion of the letters. The Rev. David Butorac leads the discussions.

In the first session he read the opening lines of Anselm’s Proslogion, written in the 11th century by the Archbishop of Canterbury: Come now, insignificant man, fly for a moment from your affairs escape a little while from the tumult of your thoughts.

Put aside now your weighty cares and leave your wearisome toils. Abandon yourself for a little to God and rest for a little in him.

Enter into the inner chamber of your soul, shut out everything save God and what can be of help in your quest for him and having locked the door seek him out. Speak now my whole heart, speak now to God: “I seek your countenance, O Lord, your countenance I seek.”

Come then: Lord my God, teach my heart where and how to seek you where and how to find you.

We decided we would read five letters a week and discuss what stood out for us in what we read. The first week we looked at the first two letters.

Screwtape starts out affirming Wormwood for encouraging his patient’s association with a “materialist” friend.

He tells him to keep him busy with the flux of weekly press. Encourage him to rely on jargon to think of doctrines as “academic” or “practical,” outworn or contemporary, conventional or ruthless.

Make him think

materialism is strong, or stark or courageous — that is the philosophy of the future. They (mankind) find it impossible to believe in the unfamiliar while the familiar is before their eyes.

Keep pressing home on him the ordinariness of things. Give him a grand general idea that he knows it all.

Letter number 2 starts out with Screwtape noting with grave displeasure that the patient has become a Christian. But he tells him not to despair since hundreds of these adult converts have been reclaimed after a brief sojourn in the Enemy’s camp and are now with us.

He states that one of the great allies is the

church itself. The local grocer and one of his neighbours he has avoided.

Provided that any of those neighbours sing out of tune, or have boots that squeak, or double chins, or odd clothes, the patient will quite easily believe that their religion must be somehow ridiculous.

Screwtape does not want the patient to have any real humility. It is better to keep him in the state of mind that he is showing great humility and condescension in going to church with his commonplace neighbours at all.

Week two we were going to discuss letter 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. We got as far as letter 4, two letters.

In letter 3 it shows how family is a good tool for tripping up Christians.

Screwtape advises his nephew to keep the

patient’s attention on himself. Encourage him to make his prayers very spiritual more concerned with the state of his mother’s soul than her medical problems.

His attention would then be on what he regards as her sins, which would mean any of her actions that were inconvenient or irritating to him.

Also in this letter, he tells his nephew to keep in touch with their colleague Glubose, who is in charge of the mother.

Letter 4 is about the best way to keep a patient from praying. The sort of prayer they want is, to not pray with moving lips and bended knees but have him compose his spirit to love and indulge a sense of supplication.

Turn their gaze away from the Enemy towards themselves.

Keep them watching their own minds and trying to produce feelings such as, if they are asking God for charity, let them instead start trying to manufacture charitable feelings for themselves.

Wormwood must keep the patient praying to a composite object that he has made rather than to the person who has made him.

Screwtape says if the patient directs his prayers “Not to what I think thou art, but what though knowest thyself to be,” the situation is desperate for Wormwood.

These letters have generated some very interesting discussions among the participants and everyone is eager for the next session.

Unfortunately, everything is on hold until the COVID-19 virus is over.

12

The Saskatchewan Anglican

May 2020

Food and drink in the time of Louis XIV

Ted Engle, as a stand-in for Louis XIV (who was apparently indisposed and unable to attend) acted as host for the Allegorical Evening’s banquet, held at Christ Church in Saskatoon on Feb. 22. For story see page 1.

All photos courtesy Ted Engle, Tom Nieman, and others

The banquet at the Allegorical Evening event at Christ Church was accompanied by Dr. Sharon Neufeld on the harp.

Len Turple, posing here in his 17th century finery, was one of the many volunteers who made the Allegorical Evening at Christ Church a success.

Some of the many guests that attended the Allegorical Evening at Christ Church.

DIOCESE OF QU’APPELLE NOTES

Several clergy changes take place in diocese g 2021 church calendars – order early!

St. Augustine Anglican Church, Saltcoats, will be handling the ordering of 2021 Church calendars for the Diocese of Qu’Appelle.

At this time the cost of the

calendars is not known, but if you would like to place an order please contact: Edith Maddaford at 306-744-2216 or esmadd@ sasktel.net or Sharon Gibler at 306-744-2901 or s.s.gibler@sasktel.net.

Order before July 31. g Bruce appointed regional dean Bishop Rob Hardwick has announced that Rev. Michael Bruce has been appointed regional

dean of St. Cuthbert’s Archdeaconry. This appointment was effective March 15. g Osborne retires On April 30, Rev. Mark Osborne of Big

Country Parish will fully retire from ministry in the diocese. Osborne previously served the parish of St. Giles, Estevan. He will move to Edmonton to be closer to family.