What does my church family mean to me, and why is it worthy of my support?
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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PrintTo Haiti, with love - an Update
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).
An instant Christmas pageant – for the whole family!
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.
Haiti Bulletin Insert for January 31st
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.
SAMS and CMS to be integrated February 1st
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.
Ecumenical Cycle of Prayer
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.
Camp Okema Update
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.
Joyful Adult Baptism & Confirmation in Hudson Bay
Baptismal & confirmation candidate Carm Silvey with service participants and baptismal sponsors (like godparents, only for an adult). L-R: Back row - Sponsor Caron Hallen, Bishop Michael Hawkins, Sponsor Ray Dickson, the Reverend Steve Page. Middle row - Sponsor Sharon Washburn, the Reverend Julie Golding Page, Baptismal candidate Carm Silvey, Bishop's Chaplain Liam Washburn. Front row - Servers Emily Hallen & Tyler Dickson, Cheyenne Silvey, Sponsor Cheryl Leason.By the Reverend Julie Golding Page
On Sunday, January 17, Bishop Michael Hawkins was at St. Patrick's Church, Hudson Bay, for an adult baptism and confirmation.
Update: Haiti Quake Relief
Here are some updates on the relief work in Haiti, as well as a new bulletin insert for this Sunday.
Cultures and Parishes Intersect at the Cross
Braeden Edwards works with the table saw, under the watchful eye of Munden CoatesWarden Munden Coates calls it “the making of an Anglican.” Sixteen-year-old Braeden Edwards considers it a fun wood-working project and a cool way to take up his own style of service in the church after his recent confirmation. No matter how you look at it, wood-workers Mr. Edwards and Mr. Coates are quite literally serving as the hands of their church. Both are members of the Church of the Ascension in Arborfield, a small town an hour northwest of Melfort. Mr. Coates is also a teacher of wood-working at the local school, and Mr. Edwards is one of his grade ten students. Together they are building a six-foot-tall cross made of walnut and maple.
PWRDF Church resources for Haiti Earthquake
The Primate's World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) has produced a bulletin insert. This is intended as a resource to help connect individuals and congregations with ways they can help with the relief efforts in Haiti after this week's devastating earthquake.
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. If you simply want the information you can save the document as text to cut and paste into your bulletin.
Click here to download the bulletin insert (in PDF format).
Reflections on Christian Unity
The New Year often comes for many of us with a sense of regret as, “we have left undone those things we ought to have done, and we have done those thing which we ought not to have done” (BCP p. 4). It is with this in mind my thoughts turned to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 17
The Rev'd Rob Stringer, Diocesan Ecumenical Officer, on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Government of Canada to Match Generosity of Canadians in Response to the Devastating Earthquake in Haiti
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 14, 2010) - The Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, today announced that Canada will match individual donations to registered Canadian charitable organizations to support humanitarian and early recovery assistance to people affected by the earthquake in Haiti on January 12th.
"Many Canadians are deeply concerned about the suffering and loss of life as a result of this catastrophe in Haiti," said Minister Oda. "Canadian citizens have shown time and again their generosity with countries in urgent need, and our government is prepared to match their contributions dollar for dollar."
The Government of Canada will match the contributions of individual Canadians to eligible Canadian charitable organizations in support of humanitarian and recovery efforts in response to the earthquake in Haiti, up to a total of $50 million. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will allocate these funds to Canadian and international humanitarian and development organizations.
Donations made by individual Canadians to eligible Canadian charitable organizations over the period of January 12 to February 12, 2010 will be matched by the Government of Canada through the CIDA-managed Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. The Fund will support Canadian and international humanitarian and development organizations with significant in-country capacity to deliver humanitarian, early recovery and reconstruction assistance in Haiti.
Details will be made available on the CIDA website at www.cida.gc.ca
The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) is eligible for matching funding.
Please make a donation to PWRDF, Haiti earthquake, through CanadaHelps www.pwrdf.org or call 1-866-308-7973. Donations can be mailed to PWRDF, 80 Hayden Street, Toronto, ON M4Y 3G2. You may also make a donation through your local Parish or Congregation.
Diocese of Saskatchewan F.Y.I. – Jan 2010
Bible Verse for 2010
Bishop Michael has selected Galatians 5:22-23 as the Bible Verse for 2010 for the Diocese of Saskatchewan: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Executive Committee Highlights
- Six people have been nominated to serve on the Finance Committee: Ernie Morgan, Caron Hallen, Rita Stanley, Chris Harper, Norbert Haukenfrers and Elaine Vandals.
Final Text of Anglican Covenant released
The design group working on an Anglican Covenant to be presented for approval to the members of the Anglican Communion has released what it describes as the "final" text. If approved, the covenant would describe relationships between provinces of the Anglican Communion. Click here to read the full text.
St Nicholas Day an Overwhelming Success in Hudson Bay
Tyler Dickson gives the boot-shaped piñata a whackImagine a parish hall bursting at the seams with children under 12 years of age. That was the exciting reality at St Patrick’s Anglican Church in Hudson Bay in early Advent.
The church, which averages only three or four children in Sunday School each week, offered its third annual St Nicholas Day Children’s Event. They advertised the event with posters and radio ads, but most importantly by word of mouth.
Canada Notes: They Bought and Moved a Church
For many years St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Sweetgrass First Nation, between Battleford and Cut Knife, Sask., served the First Nations communities in the area.
But in recent years, it had been unused and needed restoration and care.
Canada Notes: Run raises $8K
Volunteers from St. John in the Wilderness Anglican Church, Brights Grove, Ont., in the diocese of Huron, raised $8,000 for a local hospital when it hosted the fourth annual Bluewater Trails Half Marathon and 10 km Run Walk last fall.
A Message from Archbishop of Canterbury on the Anglican Communion Covenant
As the final version of the Anglican Communion Covenant is sent to the member Churches of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury has given the following message explaining the purpose of the Covenant and the processes surrounding its adoption.
For a transcript of this video clip, click here.
Church of the Ascension in National Anglican Calendar
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by the Reverend Steve Page
Arborfield (Sask)
Next Easter season, the eyes of Canadian Anglicans from coast to coast will be on Church of the Ascension in Arborfield. The reason? This small church, located in a tiny, rural farming community (population 400), two hours east of Prince Albert, will be featured for a month in a calendar.
Every year, St Peter Publications, in Charlottetown, PEI, publishes an “Anglican Church Calendar.” Each month features a watercolour painting of an Anglican church’s exterior or interior. The artist, Peter Bresnen of Montreal, bases each painting on photographs of the churches. The dates in the calendar follow the seasonal colours, saints’ days and holy days found in the Book of Common Prayer (Canadian 1962 edition).
