A Vital Church Planting Conference is coming to Edmonton, May 18-20.

Keynote speakers include Canon Phil Potter and Harold Roscher from the Edmonton Native Healing Centre. There has been a real attempt to make the event relevant for Rural and First Nations ministry. Bishop Michael Hawkins hopes to attend the conference as well.

Brochures are available from Synod Office (ask for Mary Brown).

The Diocese has eight $1000 bursaries available for groups of clergy and laity who attend. The bursaries help the Parish cover the cost of sending their priest and a lay team (minimum of one) to this Conference.  This does not count as Continuing Education time for Clergy attending with a member or members of their Parish.

The deadline for early and discounted registration is March 15^th. Please submit applications for funding ASAP, including a brief budget.

An Ecumenical Church Plant in Sage Creek, Manitoba;
A prison minister's concern about tough-on-crime legislation;
and a creative PWRDF fundraiser in Newfoundland

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On April 21st, the Diocese of Saskatoon is hosting a training session for Back to Church Sunday.

Parishioners from all three dioceses in Saskatchewan - Qu'Appelle, Saskatoon, and our own Diocese of Saskatchewan - are invited to the training session. The three diocesan bishops are behind the program, and the dioceses will all be participating in Back to Church Sunday later this fall.

The program, which focuses on inviting lapsed churchgoers and non-churchgoers to come to church on a particular Sunday in September, has been phenomenally successful in Anglican churches in the United Kingdom and other countries. It provides normally shy Anglicans with the tools they need to invite friends and family to come back to church. And many of those who are invited keep coming back to church long after the program is over.

More details about the when & where for the training session will follow. For now, consider penciling this session into your calendar on April 21st.

To find out more about the session, click here. More info is available at the Back to Church website.

Click here to download the latest updates from PWRDF on the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, in the form of a bulletin insert for this week.

Early March brings the memorial of St. Perpetua and her Companions. The group became martyrs in 203, when they were imprisoned and later killed for their Christian faith.

Perpetua was a young woman, in her early 20s. She was a recent convert to Christianity, and was preparing for baptism as a catechumen when she and several others were arrested. One of the tensions in her story is what will happen to her infant child if Perpetua is executed?

The story of Perpetua is captured in her own writings, one of the earliest surviving Christian documents written by a woman. Read an English translation of her story by clicking here.

The date for the Consecration of St Stephen's Church in Red Earth has been changed.

Instead of in early March, the service will be held on Sunday, May 30th. Mark your calendar!

Read the latest news about the response of Canadian Anglicans to the earthquake disaster in Haiti, and download a possible bulletin insert about it by clicking here.

The Davis FamilyOn a stormy and snowy January night, the Very Reverend Kenneth Davis was inducted as the Rector of the Cathedral Church of St Alban the Martyr in Prince Albert, and the Dean of Saskatchewan.

Davis comes to the Diocese of Saskatchewan after twelve years at All Saints’ Church in Whitby, Ontario. “I’m delighted to be here,” he says with a smile.

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by the Reverend Tracey Lloyd Smith

CHRISTOPHER LAKE (Saskatchewan) -

Pokeweed and Mrs. Gasp – a one-act play on forgiveness and new life in Christ. Performers: Birdie Herriot and Ruby Thornton.It all began about three years ago, when the Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Les Martin, approached their priest about doing a Dinner Theatre at Christopher Lake’s Anglican Church. Several parishioners enthusiastically opted in to perform several plays, mostly one-act comedies.

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Click here to download the latest updates from PWRDF on the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, in the form of a bulletin insert for this week.

Recent weeks have been busy ones in the Diocese of Saskatchewan. Check out the photos in these Photo Galleries:

Induction Service for the Very Rev'd Kenneth Davis, the new Rector of St Alban's Cathedral and Dean of Saskatchewan.

Indigenous Council gathering in January.

The February 2010 session of James Settee College, with 22 students present.

News from the Diocese of Saskatchewan. This month: Appointments, Upcoming Events, the Bishop's Schedule, and Other Notes

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PWRDF hits $1 Million for Haiti Relief

Thank you for all of the support and prayers expressed for the people of Haiti. Here is a PDF bulletin insert for PWRDF Haiti relief, for Sunday February 14th enclosed. Feel free to use and circulate this insert.

by Dr. Anne Barlow

CHRISTOPHER LAKE (Saskatchewan) -

The following talk was given in December 2009, as part of a Stewardship Program that happened at the Christopher Lake Parish.

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A girl carries water in a camp for homeless families set up on a golf course in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which was ravaged by a January 12 earthquake. Photo by Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance.With a flood of donations coming in to help Haiti in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake, it’s clear Canadian Anglicans are moved by compassion and are digging deep.

“I think it’s absolutely incredible – there’s no limit to the generosity,” says Jill Martin, finance and administration team leader for The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF).

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by the Reverend Tracey Lloyd Smith

ST. LOUIS (Saskatchewan) –

Emmanuel Church of St. Louis, Saskatchewan, is a remarkable place. The community is close-knit and caring – like many of our rural communities in Saskatchewan; everyone knows one another very well and that made it possible for the entire congregation to share in an Instant Christmas Pageant, on Christmas Eve. From tiny tots to grandparents, all shared in the gospel story that night, taken from Luke 2 and Matthew 2.

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Click here for a new bulletin insert for Haiti, designed for the week beginning January 31st.

The bulletin insert can be printed as a two page document in Adobe Acrobat and photocopied back to back to give you a half page insert for use on Sunday. You will need Adobe Acrobat reader which can be downloaded free. If you simply want the information you can save the document as text to cut and paste into your bulletin.

PWRDF is eligible for matching funds from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Please read the Primate’s statement on Haiti.

Additional stories and information are available at www.pwrdf.org and on ACT International’s website www.act-intl.org.

Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support for the people of Haiti.

The South American Mission Society (SAMS) and Church Mission Society (CMS) will be integrated into a single organization as of February 1, 2010. A celebration of this integration will be held in May. Our diocese has ties to SAMS, especially through our former Bishop Anthony Burton, and CMS was active in the early life of our diocese, particularly through Howard & Jean Green and Barbara Deck.

For more information, click here. 

The World Council of Churches has produced an international, ecumenical cycle of prayer. Click here to view it - the content is also available for sharing on blogs and other websites.

Campers and leaders enjoyed playing on the new basketball campAfter a busy and exciting 2009 camping season, the Board of the Okema Society has been focussing on preparations for 2010. Here are some highlights as we look back at 2009 and ahead to 2010.

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