The Saskatchewan Anglican, May 2012

Ce leb rat ing

Saskatchewan 197 2 to

The newspaper of the Dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle • A Section of the Anglican Journal • May 2012

40 yea rs–

201 2

anglican

Recalling a beloved friend

By Catherine Harnish

Thomas Hendricksen carries the cross from Christ Lutheran Church on the first portion of the Good Friday Cross Walk, organized by the Rosemont Ecumenical Group in Regina. Five denominations took part in the event – including from St. James the Apostle (Anglican) – which featured a procession to each church building and short services at each location, culminating in an ecumenical Good Friday service at St. Cecilia’s Roman Catholic Church.

Photo – Betty Wagner

Will the rising tide of dementia swamp our churches?

By Kylie Taggart In Canada today, a new case of dementia is diagnosed every five minutes. In 25 years, it will be one every two minutes.

Are churches ready for a fullblown pastoral crisis?

In 1985, Lloyd Hurst retired after 23 years as a Canada Customs Officer at a small border town called Snowflake, Man. He and his wife, Ruth, moved to a house in Morden, Man., with two big apple trees in the backyard.

Lloyd settled in quickly, becoming involved in the local United Church, the Legion and the curling club. An avid

woodworker, he would make wooden toy cars and trucks, selling them at craft sales.

He and Ruth started travelling to Texas every winter, and golfing became another passion. It was an active life.

Lloyd was in his 60s when he and his family noticed something was different. Usually easy-going and quick to laugh, he started losing his temper. “He really had no patience — none.

If something didn’t go right, he would instantly fly off the handle,” says his daughter-in-law Andrea Hurst. He began to forget things, too, wandering into a room and saying, “I can’t even (Continued on page 12)

Defining evil

By Jason Antonio REGINA – St. Augustine believed that evil isn’t a thing in itself and doesn’t have existence in itself, but instead, is the result of the lack of a good quality in a person or thing which has been turned from its original purpose.

“We wouldn’t know light if we didn’t know darkness. But what is darkness? Darkness isn’t the opposite of light in the sense of it being something, it is simply the absence of light,” stated Qu’Appelle Bishop Gregory KerrWilson recently.

“Blindness is not actually something; it is the lack of sight.

Cold isn’t something, if you know your physics. It is the lack of energy – heat.

“And interestingly, I don’t think Augustine knew his physics, but he said that evil is

not something in itself – because nothing can have existence without God – but is in fact the lack of some good.”

Kerr-Wilson used another example of a sword, which has no evil properties to it – it being a simple hunk of iron – but when is used by a person for evil purposes such as killing, it takes on the qualities of evil.

The object isn’t evil, but the choice to use something in a wrong way is evil.

Understanding what sin and evil are and how theologians have viewed the two over the centuries were two of the topics covered during a retreat on March 23-24 at St. Philip’s, Regina, entitled “Soul-full Living: Spirituality for a Busy World”. The retreat was put on by the Qu’Appelle School for Mission and Ministry.

(Continued on page 4)

PRINCE ALBERT – Clyne Harradence, DCL QC, a member of the Order of Saskatchewan, recipient of the Anglican Award of Merit, and Chancellor of the Diocese of Saskatchewan from 1962 to 2004, died March 17, at the age of 86.

He was born in Blaine Lake, Sask., on July 29, 1925. He is survived by his wife, Helen (Martin) Harradence, his four sons, David, Keith, James and Hugh, and their families.

A parishioner of St. Alban’s Cathedral, Mr. Harradence was well known and respected across the diocese. In 1962 he was appointed Chancellor of the Diocese of Saskatchewan and informally appointed himself solicitor-at-large for all of the dioceses clergy.

In both capacities he served tirelessly for 42 years, never remembering to send a bill.

Mr. Harradence was confirmed in St. Alban’s Cathedral on March 29, 1942, by Bishop Henry Martin, who was to become his father-in-law.

Bishop Michael Hawkins, of the Diocese of Saskatchewan, said about Mr. Harradence, “The Church on Earth is much less colourful with the passing of Clyne Harradence. He always had a firm handshake and an endearing smile and those were two complimentary sides of his personality.

“There was firmness to his advocacy both as a lawyer and as a traditional churchman as well as a gracious generosity. He was, in the words of the Prayer Book Baptism and Confirmation services, a “soldier and servant” of Christ in the Church and the community.

“A devout churchman for 60 years, he remained firmly and unabashedly committed to the (Continued on page 4)

2

The Saskatchewan Anglican

May 2012

Our Anglican strengths are also linked to our weaknesses

By Rev. Dell Bornowsky What do we as churches of the Anglican communion have to offer that other Christian communities cannot offer by virtue of the fact they do not share our Anglican tradition?

BIG COUNTRY PARISH (Qu’A) – I started to write a celebration of the strengths that drew me to Anglicanism.

As I wrote I realized that many of our Anglican strengths seem inextricably linked to our weaknesses. Now I wonder if we might also offer our weaknesses as instructive examples to nonAnglican Christian communities.

I also wonder if a weakness, once recognized and compensated for, might become another type of strength. Like the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, Anglicans value ritual and symbolic ways of expressing the meaning and history of our faith.

Non-liturgical evangelicals who once considered Anglican worship to be tradition-bound “empty ritual” are now beginning to see us as competent pioneers

in communicating the gospel through the liturgy, the seasons, the sacraments and other nonverbal symbols.

One unique feature that Anglicans have to offer as a model for being Jesus’ church in the world is the voluntary mutual submission between bishops in the global Anglican communion.

However, as more dioceses and parishes go their own way on issues where there is no consensus, such as sexuality and alternate Episcopal oversight, it seems that we are acting more like Congregationalists or Baptists, and as Turner and Radner point out in The Fate of the Communion, this unique potential is one we are perhaps losing.

One of the first things I noticed and appreciated about Anglican attitudes was the motif of spiritual journey. Evangelicals often focus on being born again; on getting over the threshold of faith.

The concept of faith journey expects there will be steps toward following Jesus both before and after a decisive step into faith.

When this combines with the Anglican tendency not to fear the

broader culture as much as some Christians, we are freer to engage in mission without so much of an “us and them” mentality.

However, as a weakness, too much comfort with the values of our sophisticated yet pagan culture is apt to overturn even our iconic stable three-legged stool of Scripture, tradition and reason.

Unlike Catholics we have no magisterium, an official body that specifies doctrine. Unlike many evangelicals, we are not defined by statements of faith beyond historic creeds and the 39 Articles.

Consequently, Anglicans are more apt to be recognized by our practices and attitudes than by our particular doctrinal beliefs, which are allowed to range widely from person to person along the communion rail.

This doctrinal ambiguity frustrates evangelicals and Roman Catholics alike, but as one of our strengths it means freedom, diversity and humility, and allows at least somewhat the peaceful coexistence of different opinions.

In our beginnings as the state Church of England we tried to find our way between the beliefs

and customs of medieval papal Rome and those of extreme Puritan revivalism. The way carved out was deliberately wide and Anglicans can claim to be both catholic and reformed.

Our breadth now also embraces high and low church, evangelical, liberal and charismatic.

As a strength, our determination to be inclusive means we welcome every kind of person into worship and fellowship. As a weakness, we tend to value “being accepted just as we are” over being transformed by the power of God. Inclusivism also becomes our weakness when we naïvely try to meld contradictory world-views into one Anglican identity.

Other Christian communities may be inspired by our capacity to tolerate paradox and ambiguity and diversity.

Will they also be able to see in our example the potential danger of trying to be everything to everyone to the point that we become nothing significant to anyone?

Anglicans have a rich tradition of relationship in diversity

By Rev. Ann Marie Nicklin SASKATOON – In the past there have been dividing lines between denominations.

Often we have prided ourselves on doing things so much better than another denomination. We may also have blinded ourselves to those things in which we have been weak.

In seminary I came across a short piece that spoke to the different gifts that each denomination had to bring richness to the whole of the Church. I keep that piece in mind when I hear of the Church trying to define itself by what it has that is better than other churches. This is usually used in a context of wanting to draw people in by raising ourselves above others – as the best choice.

I often wonder if this is not placing the Church at the centre of our faith lives rather than God and God’s call to us.

That being said, I believe that the Anglican Church of Canada, with its ties to the larger Anglican world and its rich history and tradition, has much to offer as the Church universal struggles to

fulfill God’s mission in the world.

Being from a multi-denominational family, I am well aware that the first thing that drew members to the Anglican Church was its liturgy. We have always held in common our worship, hence the name Book of Common Prayer.

Even in times of liturgical renewal our worship has held us together across diverse spectrums of ecclesiology and theology.

We understand that our worship expresses who we are as Anglicans and what we believe.

As a result, we approach worship with respect and great care. We work diligently to balance great tensions: immanence and transcendence, contemporary language of the people and timeless language, celebration of word and of sacrament.

Our worship resonates across spectrums drawing diverse people together into community.

Our diversity across those spectrums is also a gift we have to offer. Our identity as Anglicans came into its own in a time of great tensions.

It may well be that the way we worked to hold diverse understandings and practices together in

one church community has never fully satisfied anyone. However, we have learned and continue to learn how to survive in the messiness diversity can bring. We have managed to keep in relationship with each other. This is a relationship in which we listen with respect and value each other even if we do not always agree.

Relationship is another of our gifts. Outside our creeds we have little in the way of formal confessions or written doctrines. We have little that rigidly defines who we are as a Church. As a result, our definition of membership is fluid and we do not often use it to define who is and who is not a member of our church.

The one thing we do have is that “we meet.” We meet each other face to face. In the midst of all our diversity, including our many cultural backgrounds, we meet to discover each other, to celebrate what we have in community and to journey with each other through the tensions.

When the reality of living with diversity stretches our community to its limits we meet to grow, to learn and to discern a way forward together.

These are not things that hold us apart from other communities. Rather, they are gifts from the richness of our tradition that aid us in working alongside other Christian communities to meet the needs of a very diverse creation.

Our abilities for relationship in diversity, to walk with the tensions and to celebrate those things we hold in common, are touchstones as we reach out into the wider world. They are gifts we have to offer as we come together with others of different denominations and of different faiths to work in the brokenness of creation.

These gifts are not just for the gathering in of people but also for the spreading of the good news of God’s kingdom. They are gifts that help us work with others to bring in the signs of the kingdom: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

(Luke 4:18-19)

Ottawa church goes solar OTTAWA – St. Mark`s in Ottawa is now solar-powered.

An 18-month project to replace the roof and install solar panels is finished and a large cross pat-

tern made with the panels can be seen on the sloped roof. Go to stmarksottawa.ca to see this.

The cost of the roof was $42,000 and the solar panels were

$85,000. St. Mark`s expects to generate $10,000 worth of electricity each year, which will be sold back to the utility company over the next 8.5 years.

After this, the diocese can pocket the revenue. The lifespan of the solar panels is 35 years.

Crosstalk

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

Published monthly except for July and August.

Whole No. 292, Vol. 40, 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 June issue must be recieved by the diocesan editor no later than Friday, April 27.

CONTACT INFORMATION Managing Editor: Jason Antonio SKAnglicanEditor@gmail.com 59 Roberts Place Regina, Sask., S4T 6K5 Phone: (306) 737-4898 Qu’Appelle: Joanne Shurvin-Martin wsmartin@accesscomm.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: Catherine Harnish catherine.harnish@gmail.com PO Box 538 Canwood, Sask., S0J 0K0 Phone: (306) 468-2264

PUBLISHING DETAILS Published from 59 Roberts Place Regina, Sask., S4T 6K5 Printed and mailed by Signal Star Publishing A division of Bowes Publishers Ltd. Goderich, Ont., N7A 4B6

May 2012

The Saskatchewan Anglican

3

Ecumenism not optional for Christians

By Bishop Gregory Kerr-Wilson Diocese of Qu’Appelle

REGINA – The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the heart of our Christian faith.

We proclaim it as the turning point, the singularity, the defining moment in history to which all that came before was directed, and from which God’s new creation has burst forth, reverberating through history with the revelation of God’s love and grace making all things new.

In this Easter season we celebrate and reflect on that wonderful gift for 50 days, in which our Scripture readings reflect on multiple aspects of that deep mystery. In an image of the first creation, Jesus breathes on His disciples, sending them forth as ambassadors and bearers of resurrection life.

We see humanity being turned in love toward the Father through

the self-offering of Jesus and the inner movement of the Holy Spirit. We are shown that our fellowship with Jesus cleanses us from sin, removing that which stands between us and our creator – conferring on us the status of Children of God. We are taught to reflect that status in our lives by enacting the same sacrificial love shown to us in Jesus, that we might love one another as He has loved us. And

we come to know through the mystery of the ascension that our very life, united to Jesus, has been “raised” and abides with Him at the right hand of the Father.

It is in the context of this great celebration and revelation that, having been asked to do so by the Interchurch and Interfaith Committee of the Diocese of Qu’Appelle, I want to fulfil a promise to reflect on ecumenism.

My sense, to be honest, is that for most of us ecumenical relationships are a specialized area of church life that is an optional extra for those so inclined. We might give a nod of approval, in recognition that it is a good thing to be respectful of other expressions of faith, or perhaps because we know we really ought to get along with each other.

I cannot help but notice, however, that Scripture’s witness does not include any vision of disparate expressions of

Christian faith in which we are clearly divided from, and not in communion with, one another.

On the contrary, it knows “one body and one Spirit ... one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all” (Eph. 4).

There are hints in Scripture that divisions do exist – but it addresses these with entreaties to “be of the same mind in the Lord (Phil 4:2),” and shares Jesus’ own prayer “that they may be one, as we are one, so that the world may know that you have sent me (John 17:22-23).” The words of Jesus bear witness that our divisions – our lack of visible unity – impede the effectiveness of God’s mission of love to a broken world.

This is not a call to ignore or take lightly the real disagreements that have grown up amongst Christians over the centuries.

Rather, it is a call to take seriously, in obedience to Christ, the necessity of working to

overcome those disagreements in a common pursuit of the truth of the Gospel - and to do so with all the generosity and tenacity of love that we have known in Jesus.

The resurrection of Jesus and the new humanity it creates for those who believe can only be known in its fullness when all those who are baptized into Christ are “of one heart and soul”, living as one family in a common, shared life (Acts 4:32).

Ecumenism – the movement toward bringing the whole of Christ’s Church into a full and visible unity – is not an optional extra. It is an expression of the very heart of the gospel which calls and draws all humanity to the one Saviour and Lord of all.

May the Holy Spirit soften our hearts toward all our brothers and sisters in Christ this Easter and Pentecost season and give us the will and strength to overcome our divisions as we live more fully into the gift of resurrection life.

Habakkuk’s justice World Day of Prayer for 2012

By Rev. Steven Page

Need a book? Vernon Bear (left) and his father, Rev. Gerald Bear, leaf through the many books they picked up from the Diocese of Saskatchewan Synod office for the new community library at Shoal Lake.

Photo – Mary Brown

A new library for Shoal Lake

By Mary Brown PRINCE ALBERT – Do you know what happens when a minister leaves the diocese or has died?

The Synod office gets BOOKS. In the last few years we have had quite a few ministers and a bishop leave! So you can imagine how many BOOKS we have accumulated. Add them to

the books Jack Guthrie has sent us from B.C. and you have hundreds.

So what do you do with all these books? You try to give them away and you advertise to the parishes that you have FREE BOOKS. You tell them they have to take at least 10. But you don’t expect a minister from Shoal Lake to come in with his son and a truck and load up all of the books to start

a library in his church in Shoal Lake.

Rev. Gerald Bear told us that the only religious books he had were the BCP and his Bible. He wants to have more to offer his community on the reserve. How wonderful for us to be able to provide him with a very good library thanks to the generosity of many.

HUDSON BAY (SKWN) – This March, our people gathered for the 2012 World Day of Prayer, which had the theme of “Let Justice Prevail.”

Biblical texts and themes were taken from Luke 18 and from Psalms 33 and 82. But what grabbed me most were the excerpts from the prophet Habakkuk. They grabbed me because Habakkuk is such a shocking and powerful story that is so rarely visited.

If anything, our day of prayer could have spent even more time mining the riches of Habakkuk’s theme of divine justice, and especially the shocking nature of that justice.

We started with Hab. 1:2-4, where the prophet complains to Almighty God that his fellow citizens were ignoring the Law of God and doing violence, oppression and injustice to others in their society.

“Do something about it!”

Habakkuk implores God. Then we read Hab. 1:5, the beginning of God’s answer: “I’m about to do something shocking, just watch” (my paraphrase).

Our service then continued with Habakkuk’s reply as found in Hab. 3:2, 17-19. The prophet celebrates God’s timing, God’s awesomeness, God’s mercy, strength and salvation.

It’s all good stuff! The prophet complains about injustice and oppression; God answers that something is about to be done; the prophet praises God. In our prayer service, we, too, prayed for God to bring justice, free the oppressed, comfort the

suffering. And we praised God for being the almighty bringer of divine justice. Yet I wonder if we missed the full power of the punch Habakkuk packs.

What God is about to do horrifies, shocks, even scandalizes the prophet. In Hab. 1:6 God says, “I’m letting the Babylonians come and knock your country down.

You will be invaded, conquered.”

This prompts a second complaint from Habakkuk. From Hab 1:17 to Hab 2:1 the prophet says, “WHAT??? Excuse me?!

They are a far worse people than us! Are you crazy? How can that possibly bring justice?” (My paraphrase).

God’s answer to this second complaint shows that God has a longer-term plan to topple the oppressive Babylonian empire, to restore mercy and justice, to be with the faithful through it all.

Most shocking of all is God’s plan to show that, in the end, not only are God’s great purposes NOT thwarted by evil forces like the invading empire, but that God actually brings about those purposes through the very efforts of the enemy to destroy and thwart them. Amazing!

No wonder Habakkuk answers as he does in 3:2 “I stand in awe of your deeds ... in wrath remember mercy.”

Or in 3:17-18 the prophet pledges that, even in the hard times that are to come (failed crops and economic disaster from the coming invasion) “yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my saviour.”

The World Day of Prayer program was wise to draw on Habakkuk, who cries for justice and praises our God who acts in history. How much more profound, powerful and amazing a glimpse of God’s justice we get from the full story of Habakkuk.

4

The Saskatchewan Anglican

May 2012

TRC releases interim report on residential schools

Evil is the lack of good (Continued from page 1) The 23 participants from across the diocese also discussed: what the soul is; challenges to living a soul-full life in the face of shame, guilt and human forgiveness; healing the soul through human forgiveness; and various ways to pray to fill the soul. The retreat was co-ordinated

by Rev. Catherine Harper.

The bishop presented the group with the idea of Theodicy, which is a specialized form of apology.

This can help Christians deal with how to speak to certain issues that get raised, particularly about evil.

For example, Christians hold to the notion that God is allknowing, all-powerful and allloving. But there are those who say God can’t be all those things because evil happens in the world.

God can’t be all-knowing because evil acts happen. And if He is all-knowing He can’t be all-powerful otherwise He would stop it, which means He can’t be all three.

Second-century theologian Irenaeus said the above statement is the wrong way of looking at the problem. The real issue is if there is no evil in the world, then people wouldn’t have the ability to learn and grow what goodness and love are. We wouldn’t know what light is without darkness.

“When we see things, such as people living on a side of a volcano, and they die (when it erupts), Irenaeus said we shouldn’t blame God because we chose to live on the side of a volcano,” Kerr-Wilson added.

Then there is 3rd century thinker Pelagius, who believed in original human innocence. He stated that we are neither guilty nor affected by Adam and Eve’s sin because it is all about human choosing. On the other hand, the Orthodox believe that we inherited the sinful nature but we do not bear the guilt of Adam and Eve’s fall.

St. Augustine’s approach to this issue was it is clear that God created the world good.

Evil is merely the consequence of the fall and we inherited that consequence.

Therefore, there is natural evil in the world (fallen angels) and human evil, which comes about because of our choices.

So overall, what is the nature of evil? Kerr-Wilson asked. It is the deprivation of good. God allows the devil to exist because His love and mercy are so deep God leaves the door open for the devil to turn and change.

Evil cannot have its own being, but exists when something is turned from its original purpose.

The one place God cannot go is into the human heart because we have to allow Him in.

Conversely, we can also reject Him and keep Him out. But that is why Jesus Christ entered into our humanity, for a deeper connection with us.

In 2007 Clyne Harradence received the Order of Saskatchewan at St. Alban’s Cathedral in Prince Albert. In the picture, from left, are Lisa Harradence (daughter-in-law), Helen Harradence (wife, also a recipient), Bishop Anthony Burton, Clyne and his son David.

Photo – Bishop Anthony Burton

Harradence remembered by many (Continued from page 1) liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer and the traditional teachings of the Scriptures. His passing in the year that we celebrate together the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and the 50th anniversary of the 1962 Book of Common Prayer (Canada) is worth noting.

“His death and memory invite us in the diocese to recommit ourselves to the ‘Doctrine, Sacraments, and Discipline of Christ as the Lord hath commanded in his Holy Word, and as the Church of England hath received and set forth the same in “The Book of common Prayer” and to transmit the same to our posterity.’”

Bishop Stephen Andrews, of the Diocese of Algoma and former Dean of Saskatchewan, characterized Mr Harradence in his tribute to a good friend, saying, “He was a devout Christian, a devoted servant of the Church, and a great encouragement to his clergy.

“At the end of the annual meeting every year, he would rise and say, ‘Mr Dean, I feel we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge how fortunate we are for your leadership!’A persuasive criminal defence attorney, he would then employ his rhetorical skills in such praise that the decanal sins and ineptitudes of the past year were effectively dismissed, and

you thought maybe you should stay on for another year!

“And yet, for all of his barrelchested confidence, at heart he was a tender and a humble man.

He was slightly in awe of clergy, and even when he did not agree with them, he had a profound respect for their office.

“I think that this may have to do with the esteem in which he held his father-in-law, Bishop Henry David Martin (1939-59).

He felt that the priesthood was the highest of human vocations, and confessed to me that he could never be a priest because he wasn’t ‘good enough’.

“Indeed, a couple of times a year, as directed in the rubrics, I would read the Exhortation in the Prayer Book, and Clyne would say that it went straight to his heart.”

Bishop Andrews added: “What sums his stature up best for me was a woman at the Cathedral in Prince Albert who told me that, when she was a girl, she was convinced that the petitions in the service of Morning Prayer went: ‘O Lord, save thy people; and bless Clyne Harradence!”

In his homily at the Burial office, Bishop Anthony Burton, rector of the Church of the Ascension, ECUSA, and former Diocesan bishop and dean of Saskatchewan, remarked: “Clyne’s mastery in the courtroom was legendary.

“In his heyday, he was the passionate advocate in his Province, brilliant at cross-examination and nationally famous for his summations in which he could lucidly address a jury for half an hour without a note.”

Bishop Burton spoke about the passionate lawyer who believed in the self-worth of every individual, saying, “He believed passionately in justice and the rule of law as essential to a free society and human flourishing.

“What kept him going through the thousands of routine cases were those occasions, maybe one in a hundred, when he knew that had he not been there, a true and serious injustice would have occurred and the life of an innocent person would otherwise have been ruined. He took large numbers of legal-aid cases to defend the poor.

“Someone who to the public was nothing more than a noaccount criminal, was to Clyne Harradence a human being with a family whose life mattered, and no matter how poor or frightened or inarticulate he might be, he deserved a fair shake and so the best possible defense.”

The funeral for the late Mr. Harradence was held March 25 at St. Alban’s Cathedral in Prince Albert.

Rest eternal grant unto him, O Lord, and light perpetual shine upon him. (Book of Common Prayer, 1962)

Fewer dioceses in Eastern Canada?

MONTEAL – Delegates to this fall’s synod for the ecclesiastical province of Canada will be asked to consider reducing the number of dioceses in Eastern Canada from seven to as few as three.

A proposal from the Provincial Governance Task Force recognizes the decreasing number of parishioners and “the increased cost

of providing ecclesiastical services within the seven existing dioceses,” according to a background note accompanying the notice of motion.

The note suggests merging the Dioceses of Montreal and Quebec.

Similarly, it suggests the Dioceses of Fredericton and Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island could be united.

Newfoundland and Labrador, which was divided into three dioceses in 1976, could also be reintegrated into a single diocese, according to the motion.

The province’s leadership is asked only to “explore possible realignment of dioceses,” and then report back to the next Provincial Synod in 2015.

Gazette

Report entitled “They Came for our Children: Canada, Aboriginal Peoples, Residential Schools”

By Mary Ann Assailly Anglican representative on the TRC Saskatchewan National Event Working Group SASKATOON – The Truth and Reconciliation commissioners, Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair, Commissioner Marie Wilson and Chief Wilton Littlechild (Walking Wolf), released the TRC’s Interim Report on Feb. 24.

The report reflects the activities undertaken from June 2009,which include hearing directly from the people at many Community Hearings including: Regina and Key Lake in the Diocese of Qu’Appelle; Prince Albert, Pelican Narrows and Stony Rapids in the Diocese of Saskatchewan; and listening at the three National Events in: Inuvik, NWT; Winnipeg National Event; and Halifax.

The commissioners have heard from as many as three-thousand former students, staff and present day generational survivors.

The messages of loss that touched children and parents, messages of struggles and heroic recovery are powerful and connect our nation’s and our churches’ past and future.

It is not possible to summarize all that the Commission was told by those who were oppressed, victimized and silenced, or to summarize the stories of the gratitude some expressed for the education they received and the long-lasting relationships that developed.

It is important that each of us read the report ourselves and know the stories.

The TRC Interim Report puts forth 20 recommendations that touch on five areas including the operation of the Commission, education, support for survivors, reconciliation and commemoration.

To read the recommendations or obtain a copy of the Interim Report, go to www.trc.ca.

May 2012

The Saskatchewan Anglican

5

Diocese of Saskatoon Announcements for May 2012

Brydan Sigurdson carries the cross from St. James the Apostle (Anglican) during the Good Friday Cross Walk, organized by the Rosemont Ecumenical Group in Regina. Five denominations took part in the event, which featured a procession to each church building and short services at each location, culminating in an ecumenical Good Friday service at St. Cecilia’s Roman Catholic Church.

Photo – Betty Wagner

New lieutenant-governor a QDS grad Contributed REGINA – Saskatchewan’s new lieutenant-governor, Vaughn Solomon Schofield, has a connection to the Diocese of Qu’Appelle. She attended the Qu’Appelle Diocesan School (QDS) from Grade 7 until she graduated in 1962, and says “I loved that school.”

Schofield was sworn in as the province’s 21st lieutenantgovernor on March 22. The lieutenant-governor is the direct representative in Saskatchewan of Her Majesty The Queen of Canada and exercises powers as Head of State within the province.

Until her appointment as lieutenant-governor, she was president and CEO of Western Group of Companies, a business real estate organization in Western Canada. She has been very active in many community service organizations and received the Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal in 2009 in recognition of her service.

She was the Saskatchewan chair of the Canadian Forces

Liaison Council, which supports military reservists, and is the honorary lieutenant-colonel of 16 Saskatchewan Service Battalion.

Locally, Schofield has been involved in Hospitals of Regina Foundation, St. John Ambulance, Regina Airport Authority, MacKenzie Art Gallery, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Program and the Chambers of Commerce in Regina and Regina Beach.

QDS opened its doors in Regina after the First World War. The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine ran the girls’ school for both boarders and day students until it closed in 1970.

In order to be included in a timely manner brief notices for events should be supplied to the Associate Editor by fax, e-mail or “snail mail” by the last week of the month, two months before the month in which the insertion is desired (for example, April submissions will be in the June issue).

Detailed and longer texts of events will not be included in this section but, should space allow, could be the subject of additional articles or notices elsewhere in the Saskatchewan Anglican.

Happenings at St. James’ with the Refinery: the “Re[de] fining Church” Service is a regular 7 p.m. Sunday evening gathering in the church. It is an informal gathering of 15 to 25 people, sitting in a candlelit circle, with music led by our youth band “Reaching Out”, reading, and group reflection on the day’s gospel, and a gentle time of prayer.

Refining Readers is for people who love to read and want to explore spirituality, theology and issues of social concern in a relaxed, accepting and friendly environment; one Wednesday evening a month.

A DVD New Testament Bible Study will be presented on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. in the parish library.

The St. James’ Farmers’ Market and International Bazaar brings people and energy into the church every Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. International Drop-Ins are held on the second Sunday of every month, 2-5 p.m., in the lower level of the church. Also see www.stjamesrefinery.org for more information on these and other events.

Parish Nurse Health Walk: Inter-Church Health Ministries (ICHM-SK ) is holding a Walk for Parish Nurses in Saskatoon on Saturday, May 12.

Any member of a parish health committee, or parish members, who would like to have a nice walk along the river, raise awareness of parish nursing and also raise some money for both the church and ICHM-SK is invited to walk. For

more information, or to receive a pledge form, please e-mail Caroline Bykowy at cbykowy@ hotmail.com.

Diocesan External Outreach Event: On Sunday, June 3, at 5:30 p.m., the members of the diocese’s Baja external outreach mission and their families are gathering for a potluck meal in St. John’s Cathedral Hall.

Everyone is invited to bring a dish and join in this celebration.

Following the meal, at about 7 p.m., a Service of Commissioning for the Baja Mission will be held in the cathedral.

Saskatoon Deanery Training: A training seminar will be held for the wardens and the treasurers of parishes within the Saskatoon Deanery on Wednesday, May 2, at 7 p.m., at St. John’s Cathedral.

Saskatoon National Event: The Fourth National Event of the Truth and Reconciliation process, the Saskatchewan National Event, will be held at Prairieland Park, Saskatoon, from June 21-24.

The Saskatoon National Event is open to all to observe and to listen. Everyone is encouraged to attend. A full schedule of events will be available at a later date.

For more information please check the TRC web site at www.trc.ca.

CLAY (Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth) Gathering: The CLAY Gathering 2012, for Lutheran and Anglican youth between the ages of 14-19, will be held in Saskatoon from August 16-19.

Early Bird registration cost is $375, which covers the cost of lunch, dinner and program events over the course of the gathering, plus the cost of accommodations and travel (by bus with other Anglican youth from across B.C. and the Yukon).

Outside The Walls, A Diocesan Gathering: A diocesanwide gathering will take place from Sept. 14-16, 2012 at Manitou Beach, Sask.

The event and 10 related workshops will be held at the Manitou Hot Springs Resort and Mineral Spa, Manitou Beach.

Accommodation will be available at the Manitou Springs Resort and Mineral Spa, local bed and breakfasts and in the adjacent

lake-side provincial campground.

The Canadian aboriginal bishop, Right Rev. Mark MacDonald, will be speaking at the gathering. The charge for attending the gathering is: $75 per adult (over 18 years of age); $50 per youth (13-18 years) and $30 (under 12 years).

Please note that the registration fee includes meals but does not include accommodation. More details and copies of the brochure for the gathering will be available in the near future and will be provided to each parish in the diocese and will also be posted on the diocesan website.

Integrity/Saskatoon: Meetings are held at St. George’s, Saskatoon on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m.

For more information contact Tom and Rose Rogers at (306) 373-5165, or Rev. Ann Marie Nicklin at (306) 381-9780 or benjie60@gmail.com. For further information and to view related articles, links and photographs of Integrity events: www. integritysaskatoon.blogspot.com.

Coffee and Breakfast at St. George’s, Saskatoon: The men of St. George’s, Saskatoon invite everyone (not just men!) to their hot Men’s Breakfast, which is held the second Sunday of each month from 9-10 a.m.

All are welcome to join the Parish of St. George’s Community Coffee House, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. for coffee, muffins and fellowship. The address is St. George’s Anglican Church, Parish Hall, 624 Ave I S., Saskatoon. For information call 242-7973.

Seniors’ Lunch, St. George’s, Battleford: The Friendship Committee of St. George’s, Battleford invites all Seniors to join them for Lunch on the first Monday of each month.

A Healing Service with Anointing and Laying On Of Hands is held on alternating basis monthly in the two Battle River Parishes. Please contact the Reverend Peter Norman at (306) 445-4155 or by e-mail at stpaulnb@sasktel.net for dates and times.

All welcome to the national TRC event in Saskatoon

By Mary Ann Assailly Anglican representative on the TRC Saskatchewan National Event Working Group SASKATOON – As busy as the planning and logistics are for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Saskatchewan National Event, to be held at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon from June 21-24, we do not, at this time, have the official program.

We do know, however, that t on Thursday, June 21 and Friday, June 22, the provision of treaty

annuities will be included. This is the ceremony where registered Indians, who are entitled to treaty annuities through membership to bands that signed historic treaties with the Crown, receive their annuity from an RCMP member.

June 22, will also be Education Day, for which information and invitations have been sent to Saskatoon schools and out-of-city schools for students to attend.

On these days and June 24, we will witness the Sacred Fire in Diefenbaker Park, Sunrise ceremonies, the introduction of

the Honorary Witnesses, statement gatherings, sharing circles, expressions of reconciliation and the commissioners’ sharing panel.

Other events will include a Church-sponsored birthday party for survivors, a talent show and times of Saskatchewan Aboriginal entertainment, community feasts and survivor feasts.

The Anglican Church of Canada and other churches will have a space for Indian Residential School display and archives at the event, and there will be an opportunity for us to listen together.

6

The Saskatchewan Anglican

May 2012

Residential schools ‘complex and multi-faceted’

By Bishop Michael Hawkins Diocese of Saskatchewan (Editor’s note: The following is based on the testimony of Bishop Michael Hawkins at the Truth and Reconciliation commission hearings in Prince Albert and Pelican Narrows. Our three bishops, Greg, David and Michael, as well as many of our clergy and laity, have been attending these hearings throughout the province.)

Kika-kiskeyihtenawaw maka tapwewin, mina tapwewin kika-tipeyimisohikonowaw.” (John 8:32) PRINCE ALBERT – My name is Michael Hawkins and I am the bishop of the Diocese of Saskatchewan, serving Anglicans in the Northern half of our province.

I acknowledge with you today the one true God, the Maker of heaven and earth, and that I am in Treaty 6 territory, in the area covered by the Prince Albert Grand Council, and I want to acknowledge those Nations, their chiefs, councillors, the commissioners, our Elders and workers, but above all else, those who attended residential schools and have been affected by their legacy.

I have been extremely impressed by the reverence shown here for the stories, pain and experiences that’ve been shared.

In my time serving in Saskatchewan I have learned something of the breadth of the residential schools experience. It is a complex and multi-faceted story with distinct individual experiences and stories which all need to be heard and respected.

I have learned something of the depth of this experience, the suffering that so many have

directly and indirectly endured and endure from the system and what so many have suffered at the hands of individuals in that system.

It is an honour for me to listen and a particular honour to speak here today. All I really want to do is to “tap back”, to try in some flawed way to communicate that I can hear you. I hear you and your pain and I say that as a bishop, as a Christian, as a Canadian and as a member of this community.

My hearing the truth here in these hearings, as difficult as it is, is liberating. Truth-telling and truth-hearing will bring us freedom. The truth will set you free, Jesus said.

The Diocese of Saskatchewan was involved in administering Government Schools in Onion Lake, La Ronge and Prince Albert and many of our people, especially from James Smith, attended school at Gordon’s.

I want today by my words and presence to extend to you the apology first given by our Primate in 1993, to acknowledge and apologize for the hurt and pain, shame and humiliation you have suffered and for the part the Church has played in your suffering as a people and individually.

It is God alone who can heal us and heal our relationship and we in this diocese are committed to that healing journey together.

Many who have been hurt and betrayed by the Church continue to find healing and strength within the Church, and we need to acknowledge and take into account the deep and unshakeable Christian faith of so many of our people.

There is a spiritual renewal going on in much of the North of

Canada; you see it many congregations and communities, in new leadership and confidence, as well as in the growing popularity of spiritual traditions and ceremonies. How these two relate in our day and for our people is being thought about anew.

In this diocese that renewal is partly expressed by the term Mamuwe Isi Miywachimowin, “Together in the Gospel”, which is our common commitment as indigenous and non-indigenous peoples to walk together as equals. It was in this diocese that the first aboriginal bishop, Charles Arthurson, was consecrated.

I have heard here recurring themes of Land, Language and Identity, as well as heart-breaking accounts of abuse. Land, Language and Identity: there is so much in our Church history we need to air and repent of in these terms, the ways in which we have suppressed these. But there is also much to celebrate and reclaim.

Today I want to mention one man, Archdeacon John Mackay, a man of mixed ancestry from Moosonee. Mackay, a Métis man, was fluent in English and Cree.

Mackay translated the Prayer Book and Hymns into the Cree of Saskatchewan and his translations are still sung across the North.

Mackay was also involved in treaty work, translating and encouraging chiefs to sign the Treaty. He worked hard to convince La Ronge and Montreal Lake to sign and gave the chiefs these prophetic words, “Someday all this land will be taken, the fish and the moose will disappear and you will be destitute.”

I want to conclude with two observations: - The issue of education, a

Letter to the Editor

Rural churches struggle to stay afloat I am always a little nonplussed when I learn of people and sometimes governments presenting ideas that so affect our rural way of living, and yet, those same decision makers have so little information as to the realities of life in the rural west these days.

Why do we who will bear the brunt of some of these decisions have so little say in the making of them? I am of course referring to the article in the March issue of the Saskatchewan Anglican, where Jason Antonio challenges Saskatchewan Anglicans and especially those in the Qu’Appelle Diocese to “open the purse strings and don’t be cheap” when it comes to paying our priests.

The reality is that in the rural West, churches of numerous denominations are struggling to stay afloat in this money-oriented society. We at St. Mary’s in Maple Creek are only one of them. There are 10 other places of worship in our town of roughly 2,200 people.

I have been an active member of St. Mary’s since 1950. I have seen our church budget more than triple over the years and I have also seen our attendance fall. It is one of the harsh realities of living in rural Saskatchewan.

Our small church was built in 1909 for $900 and much volunteer labour. Today it is a provincial heritage building but needs some essential repairs to its foundation, its roof and even the steeple, which is falling in pieces to the ground.

Being a heritage building, we had to get some advice (very costly advice I might add) from the heritage people in Regina, as to how we could go about implementing some of the repairs.

Drive through any area of the rural West and you will be appalled at the number of abandoned farmsteads, small town businesses, schools and yes, churches – buildings grey and dilapidated and bending to the

prevailing winds.

I agree with the writer of that article to the extent I do think our priests are underpaid, but how do we solve that problem when many of our rural churches are simply struggling to stay afloat?

Here at St. Mary’s we are forever fundraising with various suppers, raffles, teas, bake sales, rummage sales and anything else to put a few dollars in the church coffers. (Sometimes I feel we are a good competition to the other eating places in our small town.)

I do not know what the answer is. Maybe we have to look at our small town churches being subsidized in some way by those with larger congregations.

Many years ago, St. Mary’s was a ‘mission church’. Are we looking at that again or are we just going to succumb to the trend of centralization? It is a sad and troubling time for many in rural Saskatchewan.

Edie Dean, Maple Creek

Annie Ballantyne of Deschambault Lake, at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearing in Pelican Narrows on Feb. 13.

Photo – Contributed safe, sensitive, good education for First Nations, is still an issue before us.

In this place and in this context I want to raise the issue of the treaty right to education and how well that treaty obligation is fulfilled when we have what appears to be second class funding for First Nations students on reserve.

- These are hearings, and I want to say that my faith is that even when we don’t hear, God

hears. This was the word God gave by Moses to an oppressed people who were abused and discouraged and losing hope, “ I have surely seen the affliction of my people, I have heard their cry, I know their sufferings.”

May we all know the God who hears and saves, who is just and merciful. He heals those that are broken in heart and binds up their wounds.

Tiniki.

Spectrum works for Saskatoon’s seniors Contributed SASKATOON – Spectrum Core Community Services (SCCS) Inc. is a registered Canadian Charity “working with people living in the core neighbourhoods of Saskatoon to relieve the effects of poverty”.

Located at St. Thomas Wesley Church, on the corner of Avenue H and 20th, Spectrum has two projects in the core neighbourhoods to relieve the effects of poverty for those who are, or are at risk of becoming, homeless, and for the aged.

Firstly, Spectrum’s seniors program for isolated and low-income seniors provides weekly gatherings that include a nutritious meal, exercise program adapted to meet their needs, health programs, socialization, fellowship and informative and interesting programs.

Last year, Spectrum’s Rainbow

50-plus Seniors Drop-In Program was recognized by the McClure Foundation and was given the “Golden Heart Award” for its work with seniors in Saskatoon.

Forty seniors (and 10 volunteers) engage in this weekly program.

Secondly, Spectrum’s free laundry service addresses the needs of low income people who don’t have access to laundry equipment in their homes and who cannot afford the cost of coin-operated laundry services.

Clean clothing and bedding improves the lives of people and gives them the self-confidence to attend school and participate in the life of the community.

Spectrum needs people who are interested in the work it does and can volunteer.

For more info, contact Linda Tweddell at lindatweddell@ sasktel.net. Program info may be obtained by calling Bonnie at 664-4605.

May 2012

The Saskatchewan Anglican

7

Opinion

Is fair a matter of where?

More dialogue about “Ministry on the Cheap”

By Rev. Dell Bornowsky BIG COUNTRY PARISH (Qu’A) – The essence of what Michael Jackson wrote (Qu’Appelle: Ministry on the cheap?, Saskatchewan Anglican, Jan. 2012) about fair and decent clergy stipends needed to be said.

Susan Boxall’s response (Letter to the Editor, Saskatchewan Anglican, March 2012) about the implications for smaller rural parishes also needs to be heard. How shall we work out this dilemma about what is fair for our stipendiary clergy as well as what is fair for our parishioners throughout the diocese?

I accept the old bromide that “life isn’t fair” but also expect that for Christians the concept of fairness is modified by the concepts justice, charity and obedience.

While Michael points to the hardship for stipendiary clergy (especially urban) if stipends are not increased, Susan ponders the hardships for parishioners if this results in the loss of sacramental ministry in rural communities. Is there any way we can compare these different kinds of costs?

For city parishioners, if a particular parish cannot remain viable the cost may be to merge with or begin attending another Anglican church in the same city. For rural parishioners, the cost may be to forsake Anglican heritage and liturgy altogether for another Christian tradition (a consideration which seems to have sparked Susan’s response) or to travel to a completely different community.

In my Parish of Big Country this can mean a round trip commute of as much as 200 kilometres to the nearest remaining active Anglican congregation.

Please forgive my rant about the woes of rural parishes, but

I do hope to engender just a bit of sympathy from my urban comrades by asking Anglicans in Regina, “How would you feel if you had to drive to Moose Jaw or even Weyburn to participate in the nearest Anglican church? If that were the case, wouldn’t you appreciate it if Anglicans in places with multiple congregations and clergy pooled their resources to help you support a missionary priest in your area?”

But even such sympathy misses a more basic issue. The questions are not just whether a parish can support its own stipendiary minister, or even if somehow sacramental chaplains can be provided for locations without sufficient resources for local stipendiary ministry.

The New Testament question is whether each Christian and every congregation understands that our mission, given to us by Jesus, is to proclaim the gospel and make disciples in the whole world, not just to provide ministry to those scattered through the diocese who already happen to be Anglicans.

This task is too important to leave to ordained clergy (stipendiary or otherwise).

Bishop Mark McDonald observes that the role of lay visionaries and prophets, “one of the most effective elements of Gospel ministry”, has been weakened by focusing mainly on ordained ministry (Unlikely Prophets…, Anglican Journal March 2012). It is not enough for each parish to grow numerically and financially in order to support its own clergy.

Each parish needs to grow in its vision to see that its very purpose, its raison d’etre is to support the ministry of the gospel, through multiple means and methods in other places, perhaps especially places where there are few, or not yet even any, followers of Jesus.

B.C. priest elected to social justice group VANCOUVER – Rev. Emilie Smith, on leave from the Diocese of New Westminster, has been elected co-president of the Oscar Romero International Christian Network in Solidarity with Peoples of Latin America (SICSAL).

Archbishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez of San Salvador is Smith’s co-president elect. Smith, who was elected in February, is the first ecumenical president of the organization that has been almost exclusively Roman Catholic.

Issues being addressed by SICSAL member groups include mining and resource extraction,

rights of aboriginal peoples, human trafficking, migration and the militarization of social protest.

These issues are close to the priest’s heart, as she has had considerable practical and theoretical experiences with all these issues.

As president, Smith does not have a term limit; she is copresidnet until she resigns. She will go as she is able to various regions (all of Latin America and the Caribbean) and represent the organization.

Visit www.sicsal-usa.org/about for more info about SICSAL. Topic

At St. Matthew’s, Saskatoon, the Haines family is proud to have four generations worshipping together every Sunday: Robert Haines, his son Neil, granddaughter Corrra and great-grandchildren Katherine, Elizebeth and Anna. In the picture, in the back, from left are Catherine Roberts and Rev. John Seib, rector of St. Matthew’s. In the front, from left, are Corra Roberts, Anna Roberts, Robert Haines, Elizebeth Roberts and Rev. Canon Neil Haines.

Photo – Julie Haines

The Anglican Church of Canada’s apology to native people A message from the Primate, Archbishop Michael Peers, to the National Native Convocation at Minaki, Ont., on August 6, 1993.

(Editor’s Note: Michael Geoffrey Peers (born 1934) was Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada from 1986 to 2004.)

My Brothers and Sisters: Together here with you I have listened as you have told your stories of the residential schools.

I have heard the voices that have spoken of pain and hurt experienced in the schools, and of the scars which endure to this day.

I have felt shame and humiliation as I have heard of suffering inflicted by my people, and as I think of the part our church played in that suffering.

I am deeply conscious of the sacredness of the stories that you have told and I hold in the highest honour those who have told them.

I have heard with admiration the stories of people and communities who have worked at healing, and I am aware of how much healing is needed.

I know that I am in need of healing, and my own people are in need of healing, and our church is in need of healing. Without that healing, we will continue the same attitudes that have done such damage in the past.

I also know that healing takes a long time, both for people and for communities.

I also know that it is God who heals, and that God can begin to heal when we open ourselves, our wounds, our failures and our shame to God. I want to take one step along that path here and now.

I accept and I confess before God and you our failures in the residential schools. We failed you.

We failed ourselves. We failed

God. I am sorry, more than I can say, that we were part of a system which took you and your children from home and family.

I am sorry, more than I can say, that we tried to remake you in our image, taking from you your language and the signs of your identity.

I am sorry, more than I can say, that in our schools so many were abused physically, sexually, culturally and emotionally.

On behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada, I present our apology.

I do this at the desire of those in the Church like the National Executive Council, who know some of your stories and have asked me to apologize.

I do this in the name of many who do not know these stories.

And I do this even though there are those in the Church who cannot accept the fact these things were done in our name.

As soon as I am home, I shall tell all the bishops what I have said, and ask them to co-operate with me and with the National Executive Council in helping this healing at the local level. Some bishops have already begun this work.

I know how often you have heard words which have been empty because they have not been

accompanied by actions. I pledge to you my best efforts, and the efforts of our Church at the national level, to walk with you along the path of God’s healing.

The work of the Residential Schools Working Group, the video, the commitment and the effort of the special assistants to the Primate for this work, the grants available for healing conferences, are some signs of that pledge, and we shall work for others.

This is Friday, the day of Jesus’ suffering and death. It is the anniversary of the first atomic bomb at Hiroshima, one of the most terrible injuries ever inflicted by one people on another.

But even atomic bombs and Good Friday are not the last word. God raised Jesus from the dead as a sign that life and wholeness are the everlasting and unquenchable purpose of God. Thank you for listening to me. + Michael Archbishop and Primate Response to the Primate at the National Native Convocation, delivered by Vi Smith on behalf of the elders and participants in Minaki, Ont., August 7, 1993.

“On behalf of this gathering, we acknowledge and accept the apology that the Primate has offered on behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada.

“It was offered from his heart with sincerity, sensitivity, compassion and humility.

“We receive it in the same manner. We offer praise and thanks to our Creator for his courage.

“We know it wasn’t easy. Let us keep him in our hearts and prayers, that God will continue to give him the strength and courage to continue with his tasks.”

(Picture from Anglican Journal)

8

The Saskatchewan Anglican

May 2012

Ian Gliddon (left) and retired Qu’Appelle Bishop Duncan Wallace stand in the dumpster before it is filled with junk from the basement of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Ian handles many repairs at the church and Duncan is in charge of tidying up before the parish hall is removed.

Photo – Margaret Ball

Follow-up to apology given

by Michael Peers

By Mary Ann Assailly Anglican representative on the TRC Saskatchewan National Event Working Group SASKATOON – As Canadians and Christians we know our commitment to reconciliation does not end with an apology, it only begins. As Anglicans, what are our tangible acts of apology to the survivors of Indian Residential Schools and their children and grandchildren?

How will or have we been working toward bringing healing and reconciliation come alive in our churches and communities?

In Primate Michael Peers’ 1993 apology, he “confessed before God and those attending the National Native Convocation our failures in the residential schools. We failed you, we failed ourselves, we failed God”.

This apology was made for many of us who had survived the stories, those of us who had heard of the stories and those who could not accept the fact these things were done in their name.

They are just words on a page until we act them out and make them real.

We know that the treatment of children, good or bad, in our Indian Residential Schools is part of our history. Without full understanding we would not know that we participated in colonization and genocide, “to kill the Indian in the child”.

The forced removal and isolation of children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture.

These objectives were based on the assumption the savage Aboriginal cultures and pagan

spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal.

The Anglican Church of Canada is committed to healing and reconciliation from the legacy of Indian residential schools.

This work takes place among indigenous groups and between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.

We support the mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) by working in our church, and in collaboration with other churches, Indigenous groups, residential school survivor groups and the government.

In addition to Michael Peers, the current Primate, Fred Hiltz, and various bishops at the TRC National and Community gatherings, have made other apologies The year 2012 is a historic time in our churches in Saskatchewan, in Canada and ourselves, as the world watches our storytelling, listening and weeping as we embrace and walk toward reconciliation and each other.

The Dioceses of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Qu’Appelle support the mandate of the TRC. The vehicle for our working together is the National Event Regional Working Group, to which Mary Ann Assailly (Diocese of Saskatoon), Rev. Dale Gillman (Diocese of Qu’Appelle) and Very Rev. Kenneth Davis (Diocese of Saskatchewan) have been appointed.

Other representatives will be placed on the two committees of Planning and Logistics and Culture and Planning.

We would encourage you to attend the remaining Saskatchewan Hearings (at Fort Qu’Appelle, May 14-15; Buffalo Narrows, May 17-18; La Ronge, June 5-7; North Battleford, July

A corner of the Cathedral basement that has been cleaned of all unused junk. Bishop Greg Kerr-Wilson (left) takes a tour of the basement with Ian Gliddon and Dean Michael Sinclair, after volunteers had cast away must of the accumulation.

Photo – Margaret Ball

A time to cast away

By Laura Pogue REGINA – So you’ve decided to renovate. What’s the first thing to be done?

Well, probably take a step back, scratch your head and look at what there is to work with. The next steps would be to draw up a plan, get the family’s approval, put together an inventory and then toss out all the ‘junk’ that’s accumulated over the years! And that’s what St. Paul’s Cathedral did in March.

One volunteer pointed out, “Whether or not there’s going to be a new hall, it’s time this stuff was tossed.”

The oft-quoted verses from Ecclesiastes 3 tell us there is “... a time to keep, and a time to cast 9-10; Beauval, July 12-13; and Ile- a-la-Crosse, July 14) and the Fourth National Event, at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon from June 21- 24, as observers and listeners to learn more about and bear witness to the legacy of the Residential School System.

The Primate and the aboriginal bishop, Right Rev. Mark MacDonald, will also be attending the Fourth National Event in Saskatoon.

We would also encourage you to visit the TRC website at www. trc.ca for background material, updates, schedules of the Hearings, related events, live streaming of stories and of the Hearings and Events themselves.

There are several Anglican Church Truth and Reconciliation sites that you can visit as well.

For more information on the plans and actions of your church in this process, please contact: Mary Ann Assailly at rassailly@ sasktel.net or 382-0766; Rev. Dale Gillman at d.gillman@sasktel.net or 835-2845; and Very Rev. Kenneth Davis at kdavis.stalbans@ sasktel.net or 922-0044.

away.” That time has come!

On a chilly morning, a large dumpster was deposited behind the Cathedral and a small army, including young people, arrived to toss out stuff that had been stored in various boxes, nooks and crannies in the basement.

Items that had been long forgotten, buried and were taking up valuable and potentially usable space were tossed.

As Duncan Wallace noted in his report on the move to the vestry, “Churches are worse than our own basements for accumulating junk!”

The dumpster was carefully filled very quickly with everything from ancient kneelers, elderly metal chairs, doors from who knows when or what for, to old Christmas decorations and

lights.

There is still more tossing out to come – the hall, which must be demolished, is full of bits and pieces which must be either disposed of or stored.

Churchwarden Shelly Hawes said, “It’s exciting to see the renovations going ahead. It’s more than time for this to happen.”

Yes, your Cathedral is on the move to renovate: to build a new hall, offices, washrooms, an elevator to make the columbarium accessible, a renovated sacristy, choir practice space and a solarium.

In the meantime, the people of St. Paul’s Cathedral will be living in a time of mega-change and disruption. Stay tuned!

Baja Mission members gather for first time

By Rev. Ken Watts

SASKATOON – On March 3, many of the Baja Mission members and family members gathered at the Cathedral Hall in Saskatoon. The purpose was to allow people to get to know one another, get information and ask questions on the Diocesan Baja External Aid Project.

The list of people from the diocese, who will be going on the Baja Mission, from June 4-15, has been set. There will be 28 people from nine different communities across the dioceses going to build houses for two families in the Baja Peninsula of Mexico.

Photos will go on the diocesan website, at www. anglicandiocesesaskatoon.com, each day during the mission so everyone can see the progress that is being made.

Through the generosity of WestJet, those travelling as a part of the Mission will be permitted to take a second piece of luggage

(without charge) for the purpose of transporting humanitarian items for the community where the homes will be built.

If you would like to contribute to this part of the Outreach Mission, then we encourage you to gather such items as school supplies (no paper), blankets and deflated soccer balls.

Please drop your donations off at the diocesan office (1403 - 9th Ave. N in Saskatoon) by Friday, May 18, 2012. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday.

On Sunday, June 3, at 5:30 p.m., Mission Members and their families will gather for a potluck in St. John’s Cathedral Hall.

Everyone is invited to bring a dish and join in this celebration.

Following the meal, at about 7 p.m., a Service of Commissioning will be held in the Cathedral.

We encourage you to continue praying for those going on the mission and for the families receiving the new homes and their community.

May 2012

The Saskatchewan Anglican

9

Fresh Expressions Vision Day for Qu’Appelle Event discusses new ways of doing church for a changing culture

By Hertha Briggs WHITEWOOD (Qu’A) – A Fresh Expressions Vision Day for the Diocese of Qu’Appelle was held at All Saints Anglican Church, Regina, on Feb. 25.

The presenters for the event were Rev. Nick Brotherhood, team leader, Fresh Expressions Canada, from Montreal; and Rev. Carla Blakely, Senior Pastor of Bread of Life Lutheran Church, Regina.

Six members of St. Mary’s Whitewood attended the event: Revs. Brian and Wilma Woods, Ted and Hertha Briggs, and Ernie and Vickie Briggs.

A Fresh Expression is a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church.

Some forms of Fresh Expressions are Messy Church, Community Coffee House, Pet Blessing, Pub Church, Back to Church Sunday, Prayer in the Park and so on.

These are all signs of hope in a changing culture.

The Vision Day explained some of the features of Fresh Expressions, including a strong mission focus, a willingness to re-examine church and a commitment to existing and new forms of church.

People involved in Fresh Expressions know that God’s Spirit is at work outside the church building.

God is expecting faithfulness, rather than longevity of a building or a tradition.

Christians are trying new things and new types of church are being formed. The Church is people and family reaching out to the wider world.

Among the messages that participants took away from the Vision Day were that “we can’t do new things on top of everything else being done.”

God will do the acting of the Holy Spirit and Christians are called to humbly serve in the name of the Lord.

The participants from Whitewood found this event to be very educational and informative.

With great anticipation, prayer and guidance of the Holy Spirit, they are in the process of establishing Messy Church.

For more information visit www.freshexpressions.ca or e-mail vision@freshexpressions.ca.

Ecumenical panelists at the New Hope weekend organized by the Knights of Columbus in Regina.

Photo – Frank Flegel

New Hope a weekend retreat for men

By Frank Flegel REGINA – Bishop Gregory KerrWilson said it was a real pleasure to be in a room full of men serious about their faith.

“It’s like spotting a rare bird,” he said to laughter from about 140 Knights of Columbus – and a handful of Anglicans – gathered for a weekend of spiritual renewal in mid-March.

The bishop was part of an ecumenical panel comprised of Saskatoon Eparchy Bishop Bryan Bayda, who hosted the panel; Rev. Charles Kooger, pastor of Sonlight Christian Reformed Church; Otto Drieger, co-pastor, Peace Mennonite Church; and Harold Zettle, co-founder of Harvest Community Inc., a Christian community striving to enrich the lives of people with special needs.

The weekend was themed “So That the World May Know New Hope.”

The panel was the last program of the weekend which featured Archbishop Daniel Bohan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina, who celebrated the opening mass and delivered a homily on the New Hope theme, and presentations by Winnipeg (RC) Archbishop James Weisgerber and Saskatoon (RC) Bishop Don Bolen.

Bishop Kerr-Wilson led off the panel discussion with comments on Archbishop Bohan’s homily, which focused on trustworthy hope. “Faith, hope and love are Christian virtues,” said the Anglican bishop. “If we don’t know God’s love, how can we hope? Trustworthy hope is grounded in God’s love.”

He also spoke about the covenant between the Regina

Roman Catholic Archdiocese and the Anglican Diocese of Qu’Appelle, signed by the two bishops in 2011.

Pastor Kooger said, “If our hope is placed in unfortunate situations, it is misplaced (and) the solutions will be unsatisfactory.” He talked about hope in Haiti for food and housing that is not being fulfilled. “The hope in Haiti is bringing people working together.”

Pastor Driedger expressed hope in today’s youth. They are involved, he said, some in church and some not. He noted 1,600 aboriginal youth in the First Nations University. “They are recapturing aboriginal spirituality and Christian values. I am very hopeful,” he said.

He also had hope in interfaith and ecumenical relations, referring to several faith groups represented in a federal

corrections group in which he is involved. “These are very hopeful signs.”

The panel was asked what each saw as the most critical question for Christian communities.

Bishop Kerr-Wilson said, “We are not the dominant culture anymore.” Pastor Kooger said it was the prayer factor; Pastor Driedger said the computer is doing what Gutenberg did: “It’s taking us in a direction we don’t know”; and Bishop Bayda referred to technology, saying “There is an accelerated differential between those who have technology and those that don’t.”

Pastors Kooger and Driedger and Bishop Kerr-Wilson said many people don’t know or understand ecumenism. “We can work together but keep separate identity,” said Pastor Driedger.

Diocese of Saskatoon’s Habitat for Human project By the Diocesan Outreach Committee SASKATOON – The Diocesan Outreach Committee is a small group made up of co-chairs Christine Bennett and Mary Tyler and members Barb Clay, Klaus Gruber, Dave Tyler and Ken Watts.

The committee has been meeting over the last year with the objective of seeking an outreach project that would engage Anglicans from parishes, not only in Saskatoon, but from across the diocese, to work together to meet a very real local need, identified by consultation and discussion, that complements the diocese’s external Baja Project.

To this end, the committee has asked for project ideas through e-mail to parishes as well as through the Saskatchewan Anglican newspaper.

Several suggested projects have been considered. However, the desire to assist in providing affordable housing was regularly identified both within the committee and in feedback from people with whom the committee met.

Perhaps in response to the Baja project to build houses for the poor in Mexico, it was regularly mentioned that collaboration with Habitat for Humanity might allow Anglicans in the diocese to provide housing for low-income families here.

The committee has approached Habitat for Humanity in Saskatoon. Habitat would be happy to have a group of Anglicans working on one of the 12 houses they have scheduled to be built in Saskatoon this year.

To better organize our efforts in assisting Habitat, the Diocesan Outreach Committee suggests we

pick a day of work in the months from June to September.

On that day, we would provide a work crew to work under the supervision of the Habitat teams, as well as provide support by bringing refreshments, perhaps transportation and work as “gofors”!

Your response to this notice will allow us to judge the level of support from the Anglican Community in Saskatoon and across the diocese to the idea of building affordable housing in this type of partnered program.

The Diocesan Outreach Committee would appreciate knowing if we could count on your support as part of a concerted effort to work with Habitat for Humanity to build affordable housing for low-income families.

You could potentially help in several ways:

1) Planning Committee volunteers: Volunteers are needed to plan the work to be done in terms of providing building crews, supporting people assisting the crews, in fundraising and overseeing these and future project(s).

2) Volunteers for summer builds in Saskatoon 2012: Volunteers are needed for one day of work during the months from June to September. The days will probably be weekdays (Monday to Thursday), starting at 8 a.m.

If interested in being involved in this effort, please reply to the Diocesan office by Tuesday, May 15 and provide this information: name, parish, address, phone number (daytime and evening) and e-mail address. Please indicate that you are interested in supporting the Diocese/Habitat for Humanity project by: (Continued on page 10)

10

The Saskatchewan Anglican

May 2012

Managing divisive issues just one of the tasks for former managing editor “Saskatchewan Anglican” looks back on its 40 years with reflections from former editors

By Fred Stephens (Editor’s note: Fred Stephens was the managing editor of the Saskatchewan Anglican from 2006-11.

WEYBURN (Qu’A) – I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the Saskatchewan Anglican on its 40th year of publication.

During this time the paper has contributed much to the ongoing communication of Anglican news, views and happenings throughout the three dioceses which it serves.

When the paper was established, the board, which consists of the bishop of each diocese, the managing editor and the three associate editors, felt very strongly that editorial independence was to be an important feature of this publication.

It was important to the bishops, particularly, to know what the issues and concerns of the parish membership were, and to allow those concerns to be expressed without censorship or fear of retaliation.

Such openness then allowed

them to address concerns which might otherwise not have been apparent. Thus the Saskatchewan Anglican has had a history of editorial freedom which has been the envy of Anglican editors across the nation.

During the five years that I was the managing editor, we saw some major issues that had to be addressed.

One of the most divisive issues was that of the question of sexual orientation, and the ramifications of allowing gay marriages, the ordination of homosexual clergy and the impact of such decisions, not only within the various dioceses, but throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion.

While the Saskatchewan Anglican did not take a stand one way or another, it did report on the decision-making process within the Anglican Church of Canada.

Another major concern, and one that still continues, is the rather fragile fiscal position of the Anglican Journal.

Although each diocesan paper has its own editorial policy, for

the purposes of mailing subsidies primarily, they are shown as a section of the Anglican Journal.

Due to the financial situation of the National office, it has been an ongoing concern in recent years whether the Anglican Journal can continue to operate in print form.

As the major communication vehicle of the Anglican Church it is imperative, to me at any rate, that the Journal and the various diocesan papers continue.

While online publication is popular with many, there are still vast areas within Canada, and among certain categories of parishioners, that that medium cannot reach.

The last major change to the Saskatchewan Anglican during my tenure was the conversion of the publication to full colour.

We were the second-last paper to make that changeover and I feel it has contributed greatly to the appearance and the appeal of the paper generally.

I wish the existing and future boards of the Saskatchewan Anglican every success, and a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Book shows us how to invite people to church

By Stuart Mann How many times have you invited someone to church?

If you’re like most people, the answer is hardly ever, says Michael Harvey, the author of a new book on how to invite people to church.

Mr. Harvey, who is the founder of “Back to Church Sunday”, has spent the past year visiting 47 Anglican dioceses around the world. In each diocese, he asked people the following question: “What is stopping you from inviting your friends to church?”

He says the answers are the same around the world: - I’m too shy.

- I have no friends.

- I can’t invite people into an alien environment.

- I know they’ll say no.

- They said no last year.

By far the biggest excuse,

Michael Harvey he says, is the fear of being told “no.” Anglicans are simply too afraid of being turned down.

“If the Anglican Communion worldwide wants to spend any money on anything, it should be researching the fear of ‘no,’ because that is the fundamental reason under all the other rea-

sons,” he says.

The lack of invitation is “the elephant in the room” that must be addressed if the church is to grow and be true to its calling.

“Jesus said, ‘Come, all of you who are weary and I will give you rest’ and ‘Follow me.’ Invitation is right there at the heart of the Christian message, and it’s missing today.”

In his book, Unlocking the Growth: You’ll be Amazed at Your Church’s Potential, Mr. Harvey gives helpful hints on how a congregation can overcome its resistance to inviting. There is a chapter that describes the 12 steps to becoming an inviting church.

Another chapter looks at inviting someone for the second time.

In one of the most important chapters in the book, he writes about turning failure into a friend.

“We don’t like to talk about (Continued on page 11)

The 13th Station of the Cross: Jesus is taken down from the Cross, wrapped in linen and taken to the tomb by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Pastor Sid Haugen of Our Saviour Lutheran Church, ELCIC, read the Gospel and gave a brief reflection on its meaning. The 13th Station took place at the Cenotaph in Victoria Park in Regina, during the annual Stations of the Cross walk on Good Friday.

Photo – Frank Flegel

Saskatoon needs helpers for its Habitat for Humanity project (Continued from page 9) 1. Working on a planning committee 2. Being part of a work crew/ support team for builds in Saskatoon in the summer 3. Being available (please circle as appropriate): any day of the week; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday; or that you can make yourself available when you know the dates proposed

To advise us of your interest in becoming involved in this effort, or to send your comments and requests for further information and future updates on our Internal Aid Project, please write to: Diocese of Saskatoon/Habitat for Humanity Outreach Project, Diocesan Office, Diocese of Saskatoon (Anglican), 1403 9th Ave North, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2Z6, or e-mail the office at anglicansynod@sasktel.net.

May 2012

The Saskatchewan Anglican

11

Learning how to pray and fill the soul

By Jason Antonio REGINA – We as Christians can fill our souls and heal its challenges by using different methods of prayer to communicate with God. “One of our challenges… in caring for the soul, for the total being, is in wanting to fix things. It is not a problem-solving endeavor. So often in life we just have to sit and wait and be in places we may not want to be emotionally,” said Rev. Catherine Harper, “yet know that in the valley of shadow and death, God is with us.”

As we grow older, we should accept that life is not a race and while sometimes we travel more quickly through the places we like being in, we sometimes take longer to get through the places we don’t like being in mentally and emotionally, she continued.

We need to “learn to be at peace with that.”

This bit of advice was offered during the Qu’Appelle School of Mission and Ministry’s Soulfull Living retreat weekend, held March 23-24 at St. Philip’s in Regina. The retreat was coordinated by Rev. Catherine Harper, with participation from Bishop Gregory Kerr-Wilson.

Caring for the soul is not about problem solving or to make us problem-free, “but to give

ordinary life depth and value that comes with soul-fullness,” Harper continued. “We often want to ‘cure’ ourselves and have (this) intent of healing and solving and fixing and not (just) being.”

But we are made in the image and likeness of God and are called to have the mind of Christ. So when we pray, we should know before whom we are standing and stay focused on that.

There are several ways we can care for ourselves spiritually, the retreat co-ordinator explained.

The thing to know is the care we give to the body should similar to the care we give to the unseen parts of ourselves – namely, our inner body, or mind.

We can use the “five-fingered prayer,” where we pray something for each finger. For example, the thumb would be praying for those closest to us. The pointer would be for those who teach or have taught us.

The middle finger would be prayers for our leaders. The ring finger is for those who are weak, sick or homeless. And the pinky is for ourselves. “Using our hands, we have the whole world covered,” Harper added.

We should be silent and still more often, especially on the inside. Being silent means doing things differently. This allows us to find deeper meaning, enter into deeper prayer with God and

entering into a different sense of time.

“Five minutes of contemplative prayer is a very different experience of prayer,” Harper said. “It’s almost like being fully aware of time but not being fully aware of time.”

Contemplative prayer is a wordless prayer that encourages an awareness of the presence of God. To do this, you can use the ‘Jesus Prayer’, where you sit for a couple minutes being aware of your breathing.

Then you will think Jesus’ name in rhythm with your breathing. So you would think ‘Je’ on the inhale and think ‘sus’ on the exhale.

Another way to pray is through Lectio Divina. Deacon Susan Page explained it is about holy reading and holy listening.

One part of it, contemplation, is reading Scripture in a contemplative way and then developing prayers or questions that go with the Scripture, followed by actual contemplation towards the end.

“It takes longer than a few minutes. If you’re going to do it well, it takes a half hour to an hour,” she added. “It can be done in groups (and) it can be done individually. It is a very good way to bring yourself into the presence of God.” When we need to pray, the

Team Blackshirts at the first game of the St. James-St. Stephen Soccer League season. The Blackshirts won 5-1.

All photos this page – Rev. Jan Bigland-Pritchard

Book of Psalms is “a treasure” to use, Harper said. There is a psalm for every emotion. To read a psalm is to “linger in the Bible…

It is like walking through a garden with a variety of flowers and we stop to linger.”

A simple prayer we can use,

Churches kick off friendly soccer league

By Rev. Jan Bigland-Pritchard SASKATOON – In the first match of the St. James-St. Stephen soccer league season, a tense and dramatic game was presided over by referee Dianne (Cruncher) Mesh.

St. James supplied most of the players, with St. Stephen providing two fine players – including goal-scorer Anna Skinner – and most of the fans and the match photographer, Rev.

Jan Bigland-Pritchard.

Coach Stella (Take-noprisoners) Patterson officiated over the junior league match. The Blackshirts and the Whiteshirts offered a spirited but clean game, with no fouls and no injuries.

The final score was 5-1 for the Blacks. The only injury of the morning was to striker Sheila-Anne Whiteway during ill-timed warm-ups on the outdoor ice. Players ranged in age from four to ‘well over 40’. A good time was had by all.

Referee Dianne (Cruncher) Mesh (otherwise known as Rev. Dianne, rector of St. James), had her hands full during the first game of the St. James-St. Stephen Soccer League season.

Back to Church Sunday (Continued from page 10)

Team Whiteshirts in the St. James-St. Stephen Soccer League season. The Whites lost to the Blackshirts 5-1 in the opening game of the season.

added the bishop, is to say, “Come Holy Spirit and teach my heart,” right before we pray. Another option is to pray and thank God five times a day: at sunrise, at 9 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m. and at sunset. These can be moments of salvation.

failure,” he says. “I think what we’ve done in Christian life is swallowed the myth of success, that everything has to work the first time and we can’t fail.”

He says that, from the standpoint of Christian history and scripture, that attitude doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

“Failure is okay,” he says.

“Most of our learnings in life, and most of the stories we read about in the Bible, are failures. When somebody mucks it up or something bad happens, that’s when real learning happens. So it’s okay to get a ‘no.’”

He uses the example of Peter

walking on the water, and then sinking. “The question is, is Jesus going to be there when you sink?

Is God going to be there? You can only find that out in the midst of rejection.”

He says inviting, regardless of the outcome, would improve the lives and faith of Christians immeasurably. And it’s really not that hard to do, he says. “It’s just nine words. Here’s the training: Would you like to come to church with me?”

Unlocking the Growth: You’ll be Amazed at Your Church’s Potential, will be available May 1 from Augsburg Fortress Canada and can be purchased from www.afcanada.com.

12

The Saskatchewan Anglican

May 2012

Dementia will affect our churches in the future (Continued from page 1) remember what I was supposed to do.” Depression cloaked his life.

He stopped walking places, opting to drive instead.

“He quit everything and just ended up watching TV,” Andrea says. “Eventually, I think, he just gave up.”

Doctors were consulted, but only after Lloyd had surgery for a spinal stenosis in his neck did the family get a diagnosis. A magnetic resonance imaging test confirmed he had vascular dementia.

In this form of dementia, damage to the brain is caused by a stroke, sometimes one so small the patients themselves are not aware of it. Vascular dementia makes up 20 per cent of dementias diagnosed in Canada, second only to Alzheimer’s disease at 63 per cent.

In most cases of vascular dementia, the patient also has Alzheimer’s disease, and doctors refer to this as “mixed dementia”.

Dementia is already the most significant cause of disability for Canadians over the age of 65, with patients numbering 480,600 in 2008. And as the baby boomers reach their senior years, this figure is expected to skyrocket. Experts warn of overwhelmed caregivers and soaring health-care costs. For churches, a pastoral challenge looms in aging congregations.

The projections are stark.

According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada’s 2010 report, Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society, the number of new cases of dementia diagnosed in 2008 was 103,700, or one new case every five minutes.

By 2038, Rising Tide predicts there will be 257,800 new cases of dementia per year, or one new case every two minutes. This means in 26 years, 1,125,200 Canadians will have the disease, representing 2.8 per cent of the population. The dementia epidemic will touch all of us in some way, as a patient, caregiver or simply a taxpayer contributing to the health-care system.

When someone is diagnosed with dementia, “there is so much to learn and know,” Andrea Hurst says. “Everyone is affected differently, so it isn’t as black and white as people make it out to be.”

Diagnosing dementia is tricky.

Alzheimer’s disease can still only be properly diagnosed with an autopsy to detect the telltale buildup of amyloid plaque and tangles of a protein called tau within the brain.

Scientists are currently working on ways to identify the disease through imaging scans, but in the meantime, physicians use symptoms to make their diagnosis.

In older persons, symptoms of depression are sometimes confused with symptoms of dementia, and vice versa.

People with depression typically have problems with attention and memory, and people with

dementia often have some mood symptoms, like difficulty sleeping or reduced appetite, explains Linda Mah, a clinician scientist at Toronto’s Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care.

“Many clinicians will say, ‘Let’s hope it is just depression and treat it with an anti-depressant or offer some therapy,’” says Mah. With time, if it is dementia, the memory problems might become more evident.

Another big unknown is how quickly a person will decline after being diagnosed. “There is a lot of variability in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Some people will progress very rapidly, and some people will progress very slowly,” says Morris Freedman, medical director at the Sam and Ida Ross Memory Clinic at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care.

was left responsible for all the upkeep of their home in Morden.

It became too much for her to handle, so in 2008, the couple moved to Winnipeg to be closer to Andrea and her husband, Mike.

Andrea and Mike drove them to medical appointments and helped Ruth with errands.

As Lloyd’s primary caregiver, Ruth lived in constant uncertainty, not knowing when he might unleash his new sharp tongue.

Her husband’s personality had completely changed. He hardly walked and never went out. If the TV was on, it was loud.

“It was just draining all around,” Andrea says.

Soon Ruth was not able to leave Lloyd alone for fear that he would fall. A home care nurse came twice a week, allowing her time to run errands. For a while Lloyd attended — and enjoyed

The cost of caring for a person with Alzheimer’s ranged from $367 a month in the early stages of the disease to $4,063 a month in the later stages.

As Lloyd’s condition worsened, the impact on Ruth was hard to miss. “I think had it continued much longer, she would have been the one in the hospital,” Andrea says. And so two years ago, Lloyd moved into a longterm care facility in Winnipeg.

He looked forward to frequent visits with his family, whom he always recognized.

Last November, Lloyd was admitted to hospital with a fever and low blood pressure. His prognosis was poor, so he was moved back to the care home and made comfortable for his last days. Andrea says he was very peaceful when he died Nov. 15.

In Rising Tide, the Alzheimer

By 2038, 2.8 per cent of the Canadian population, or 1,125,200 people, will be affected by dementia.

Photo – iStockPhoto “What is clear is that if — a program at a local long-term Society of Canada estimates someone develops another care facility, which gave Ruth that while the direct health costs problem, like a head injury or a break one day a week. Lloyd of dementia were more than $8 a physical illness, their rate of benefited from it too. “He loved billion in 2008, they will rise to decline is worse.” As dementia it. He would come back in a good more than $92 billion a year by advances, it is sometimes frame of mind and was always 2038. The study also predicts a accompanied by disruptive anxious to go,” Andrea says. severe shortfall of long-term care behaviours, such as resisting Caring for a person with beds for dementia patients. care, agitation, aggression and dementia takes its toll: This means there will be a shift wandering. emotionally, physically and toward more dementia patients One thing doctors are certain financially. Depression among living in the community and a about is that dementia is not caregivers is common and can dire need for more home-care simply a normal part of aging. lead to deteriorating health services to relieve the stress on This January, the Alzheimer overall. Results from the caregivers.

Society of Canada launched a Canadian Study of Health and The key to saving healthcampaign to educate the public Aging, which followed 10,000 care costs and caregiver burnout is preventing dementia in the about the need for early diagnosis. Canadian seniors from 1991 first place. While none of us are A survey of 958 caregivers to 2001, show caregivers of immune to dementia, researchers revealed 44 per cent of dementia people with dementia reported have found that what is good for patients waited a year to see a more health problems than other the heart is good for the brain. doctor after symptoms started caregivers helping the elderly.

Scientific evidence shows because they considered the Then there is the financial that treating high blood pressure symptoms a side effect of aging or burden, as many middle-aged thought they would go away. children assume the task of caring helps prevent dementia, and exercising, quitting smoking, There are no medications for their parents with dementia. lowering cholesterol and eating a that can cure dementia, although Taking time off work, paying balanced diet might also ward off medications may halt the for medications and home the disease. But don’t wait until progression of symptoms for a help, and travelling to medical your senior years to start getting short time. These work best if appointments add up. In a study dementia is caught early. Early published in the Canadian Journal healthy — a recent paper in the detection also helps people learn of Psychiatry in 2010, researchers British Medical Journal showed coping strategies to improve their from Sunnybrook Health Sciences cognitive decline is detectable by age 45. quality of life and prepare for the Centre in Toronto followed a Intriguingly, faith may have a later stages of the disease. group of Alzheimer’s patients role to play in prevention too. In As Lloyd declined, Ruth living in the community.

a study published in the scientific journal Neurology in 2007, Morris Freedman and colleagues examined the decline of 70 people with Alzheimer’s disease or mixed dementia over time.

They found a significant relationship between less cognitive decline and high scores in spirituality. Carrying out private religious practices, such as praying at home, were also significantly associated with reduced cognitive decline.

Another scientific study published last year found elderly Protestants had less degradation in the hippocampus of the brain — the region known for memory processing — than Catholics or born-again Protestants. Atrophy of the hippocampus has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Faith might also be a tonic for caregivers. According to a 2007 study of 1,229 caregivers for persons with dementia, the devout had fewer depressive symptoms than those with weak or no religious beliefs.

While all the research warrants further study, it does suggest that faith, perhaps beyond the social benefits of worshipping with others, affects both our mental well-being and our brain health.

This is good news for churchgoers, but no magic shield. Many congregations are already struggling to care for their members with dementia, and the challenge will only intensify as patient numbers continue to grow.

What happens when your church’s beloved organist forgets the chords of the postlude?

How do you uplift the faith of a longtime parishioner who no longer recognizes you?

For Richard Manley-Tannis, deacon at Winnipeg’s United Church in Meadowood, where the Hursts are members, pastoral care begins with acceptance.

There is no reversing the course of dementia; instead, it is important to just spend time with those affected, to be there in the moment with them.

“I think that is why dementia becomes invisible, because we are so addicted to wanting to fix things,” he says. “Our responsibility is to be present in that illness, with the trust that people are willing to extend to us.” Since Lloyd’s death, Ruth has been going out more and participating in activities in her building. Lloyd is missed, and comments such as “He would have loved this” or “He would have had something to say about that!” pepper the family’s conversation, Andrea says.

At Christmas this year, Ruth gave Mike a glass inkwell that had once been given to Lloyd by his father. It was something she kept safe during all their moves.

A fragile thing, yet treasured, not unlike the human brain.

Special thanks go to the United Church Observer newspaper and its acting managing editor, Caley Moore, for assisting with this article.