We are so excited about JUNE!  We are going to be spending the entire month having worship, activities, a special Collect, Devotional resources, Spark sessions and a Tool Kit ALL FOR YOU to use during June to help you encourage prayer and conversation around Mission. We can’t wait for you to join us.  

Sometimes we have hesitations about the words mission or evangelism or even outreach. The month of June will provide us all with opportunities to see how simple it really is to consider a mindset that is geared toward mission. We don’t need to create a bunch of programs. We need only orient ourselves to thinking about what we are already doing in a missional way….    

O Spirit of God, we ask you to help orient all our actions by your inspirations, carry them on by your gracious assistance, that every prayer and work of ours may always begin from you and through you be happily ended. 

From Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits editor, Michael Harter, SJ

This week's message reflects upon Remembering the Past and Awaiting the Future.

We are excited to invite you to focus on mission for the month of June. A booklet will be sent out to parishes, clergy and wardens, which will include information on a bunch of events and resources that have been created to help you help one another focus on mission in June.  Be sure to ask your parish leaders for a copy.

All Saints, Cochrane:

The Diocesan Office announces that as of May 30, Fr. Greg Clark, Incumbent of All Saints Cochrane, will be retiring.  He has been priest there since 2002.  We thank Fr. Greg for his dedicated service to this parish, and pray for him as he looks forward to his retirement.

We also announce that beginning June 1, The Rev. Tony Hilling will be Interim Priest-in-Charge for All Saints.  Please pray for Tony and the Parish as they prepare for this transition.

The Cathedral Church of the Redeemer, Calgary:

We announce that as of June 1, The Rev. Helen Belcher will be The Cathedral's Interim Priest-in-Charge.  We  pray for her ministry going forward.

The Diocese is pleased to announce that, God willing, on Tuesday, June 29, Archbishop Greg will be ordaining six people to the order of Deacons:

Betty Nadurak, of St. Peter, Calgary, Vocational Deacon

David Bull, of St. John the Divine, Acme, Vocational Deacon

David Ginther, of St. Edmund, Calgary, Vocational Deacon

Dean Hartung, of St. Aldhelm, Vulcan, Transitional Deacon

Gillian Breckenridge, of St. Augustine, Lethbridge, Transitional Deacon

Jason Carroll, of St. Augustine, Lethbridge, Transitional Deacon

Please pray for each one as they continue to serve our Lord, now in ordained ministry.

Applications are being sought for this position.  To find out more, click here.

You may find the latest Letter here.

Although we continue to live under increased restrictions, we have many reasons to be hopeful that the end of this pandemic is coming. As restrictions achieve their purpose of lowering numbers, and vaccinations become more widespread, we can see that things may be restored to us in the not-too-distant future. However, we still have a way to go and need to be patient for awhile yet.

In addition to formal letters that are distributed to the parishes, the COVID-19 Task Force will be using this Diocesan Newsletter to provide more frequent, consistent communication about matters relating to our shared experience in this pandemic. While the work of the Task Force is serious, we certainly do not enjoy always being the bearers of bad news. We would like to use this forum as a way of sharing some of the good news from our diocese. We are asking for stories about ways that parishes are responding to need, caring for people, and strengthening and maintaining community in this time of not being able to worship with one another in person.

If you have such a story to share and believe that it might encourage others and provide ideas to try, please send it for inclusion in these messages. You can send your good news to Ven. Noel Wygiera.

Zoom Service Pro Tip – Assign service participants to breakout rooms during “coffee hour” at the end of your service. Not only does it create smaller, more intimate gatherings, but it has the added benefit of introducing people to others that they might not normally have coffee with.

With the continuing suspension of in-person church services, many of our churches are offering online formats.

For a list of parish offerings, please click here.

The Secretariat of the Anglican Diocese of Calgary Cursillo Movement are hosting an Online Silent Auction event to raise needed funds to assist with their operating costs. 

Donations of items for bidding will be accepted for one more week, until May 24.  Items may include anything made: baking, sewing, or grown, but we'll also take purchased items or gift certificates.  Used items are only accepted if they are antiques or collectibles.  Donations must include the name of the item, a brief description, a value, and up to four photos. To submit your donations or if you have questions, email us at silentauction@cursillo.ab.ca

The Bidding will occur from May 25 to June 25.  Please click here to find guided instruction on setting up a personal account to place your bids.

Mark your calendars for these CSMM courses being offered.  These are part of our Educational components for Licensed Lay Ministry.

Beginning Friday, May 28: Anglican Identity & Polity, led by The Rev. Greg Clark.  Four lessons will be offered over several weeks.  A password for the Google Classroom will be available after May 25.  For more information and to register, contact csmm@calgary.anglican.ca

Saturday, June 22: Leading Morning and Evening Prayer, led by The Rev. Betty Piwowar.  To register, click here.

Stay tuned for courses being readied for July and September, as well.

St. Vincent has seen a reduction in activity from La Soufriere, the volcano on the north end of the island. Violent eruptions have slowed significantly, and associated earthquakes have become far less frequent. As a result, NEMO (National Emergency Management Organization) has reduced the alert level from red to orange. The crisis, however, has not ended as the disaster moves into a post-eruption stage. Massive amounts of volcanic ash cover the island, particularly in the north. Recent heavy rains combined with accumulated ash have created flooding and mud slides.

We are once again appealing for help with stocking our Food Bank shelves.   We currently find that we are running short on canned goods – especially canned meats (tuna, salmon, ham, etc),  vegetables, soups, beans, etc. as well as cereals, snack foods for kids, and jams.  The Food Bank is open Monday and Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 for dropping off donations, or you can call Marilyn (our Food Bank Coordinator) at 403-288-6330 to arrange a time for drop-off outside of those hours (please leave a message and she will call you back).   If you would like more information about our Food Bank and how you can help, please email us.  Thank you for your support!

St. Laurence's companion parish is in Ramle, Israel, the parish of Emmanuel Church.  Its rector is the Rev. Canon Samuel Fanous.  Ramle is just south of Tel Aviv and close to Lod - hence in the centre of the unrest and rocket attacks.  

I have been in frequent contact with the Rev. Samuel Fanous over the past week, including a lengthy Zoom on Saturday.  To date he, his family and parishioners are safe.  The extremists that were bussed in to Ramle and other mixed cities did knock on Samuel's sister's door last week though.  Scary times for everyone in Israel and Palestine.  On Sunday, Samuel and the leaders of his church chose not to worship in their building due to the threat of rockets - they don't have a bomb shelter in the church and had rockets fallen the people wouldn't have been able to shelter.  

- The Rev. Carolyn Herold

The Diocesan Refugee Committee is looking for volunteers who have a desire to welcome Jesus in welcoming the stranger (Matt 25:35). Whatever experience you have or time that you can commit, we can find a role for you!
The Diocese is a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) which means that we work with the Federal Government to oversee sponsorships within our diocese. In the last six years, this Diocese has facilitated the sponsorship of over 500 people and currently has almost 200 people waiting for final approval and travel visas. This is exciting work and life-changing, not only for those who are sponsored but for those of us privileged to be a part of their coming.
We are looking for a few more Committee members to help with the oversight of the work of the SAH. We are also looking for people with experience with sponsorship or who are willing to learn the ins and outs of sponsorship to help support and mentor sponsorship groups. As well, we need parish groups who would be interested in sponsoring a refugee or refugee family. If you have an interest in volunteering or would like more information about where you might fit in this ministry, please email us.

Following the loss of a dear friend and tireless worker for Refugees in this Diocese, we have learned that donations can be made in Andre Visscher's name to The Canadian Food Grains Bank.  Please click here to find out more about a way to pay tribute to the ongoing work of this caring gentleman.

It's not too soon to start planning for further education in the Fall.

Education for Ministry (EfM) is a four-year program which offers a basic grounding in theology and scripture, and how to apply these to our lives today.  It runs from September to May.  Registration deadline is July 15.  For more information on the program, please go to the EfM Canada website, or contact the Diocesan Coordinator.

Please find below some upcoming events from the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good:

Training Core Teams:  May 20th, at 7:00 PM. Core teams support the work of the member institutions of the Calgary Alliance, take leadership on local and Alliance actions, and lead the transformation of their institutions. Learn more about this training and sign up here.

Ending Poverty Together: On June 5th at 9:00 AM, the team at Ambrose University's Canadian Poverty Institute is running a workshop on poverty and justice, and explores the big questions about the causes and solutions to poverty in our neighbourhoods. RSVP here.

Anti-Racism and Collective Hope with St. Mary's University:  On August 10th, St. Mary's University is delivering a workshop using popular theatre and Métissage as the foundation for exploring the concept of human plurality and how we can develop perspectives of the “other” to become allies in combatting racism and building communities of hope within our classrooms and work environments. Learn more here.

We are writing to invite your participation and support of the upcoming NWC, “Disruption and Grace: Learning Edges in Liminal Times”, July 6-7, 2021. As planners we want this online NWC to provide an important opportunity for those involved in worship and music in our churches and ministries to be able to listen, reflect and talk thoughtfully together about the significant disruption and grace we have all experienced during this pandemic and to glean new learnings and possibilities together.   

The NWC will include opening and closing worship, the conferral of the Companion of the Worship Arts to the one Anglican and one Lutheran recipient announced last spring in recognition of their local and national contributions to worship in our churches, and lastly, in this 20th anniversary year of the full communion partnership of the ACC and ELCIC, and July 7 being the day of signing the Waterloo Declaration and the NWC being the first national full communion event of our churches, we are hoping to also celebrate this anniversary milestone together.  

For more information and to register, visit our Website.

As you may have read in the Anglican Journal, the Rev Dr Neil Elliot is encouraging Anglicans from across Canada to participate in a survey on how COVID has affected the Church.  Your opinion is needed.  Please tell us what you think, so we can better plan for the "new normal" after COVID.

The link to the online survey can be found here.

We recently passed the one-year anniversary of the declaration of a global pandemic. This has been a time of extraordinary upheaval in our lives and the life of our churches. It has also been a time of discovery. We discovered the pain of many losses—personal and communal. We discovered that we are more resilient and more creative than we may have previously thought. We discovered God in our midst—and we have been Surprised by the Spirit.

The ask is for Anglicans to consider taking on three activities: 

- Pray for our Primate and her leadership

- Share the Pew & Beyond Facebook Link with your friends so that the conversation gets out there.

- Begin to organize a group for this conversation, yourself.

A beautiful vintage Hammond 820 Church Organ in excellent condition is looking for a new home.  Purchased new in 1981, it is currently appraised between $1000 and $1600.  If there is a church that would like to have it, donation would be a consideration.  Please click here to be put in touch with the owner.

There has been several phishing attempts reported to the Diocesan Office in the past few weeks.  If you receive a request from one of our staff asking for your help, and you are suspicious, please do not respond and delete the email.

We ask two things:  1.  ALWAYS read the email address the message is coming from; all of our correspondence comes only from @calgary.anglican.ca    2.  Know that the Archbishop, or the our staff will never ask you for money or the purchase of gift cards on our behalf.

These emails are not harmful to your computer, just annoying. 

We are interested in what is happening in your parish and would love to highlight those events and news in our newsfeed.

We look forward to your contributions - feel free to forward your event announcements, your parish news, your stories.  Send in your details and pictures to ctubman@calgary.anglican.ca.

Please remember in your prayers:

- our clergy and churches as we continue to find our way forward in these strange days;

- those who are sick, suffering, fearful or in need, remembering those suffering from the Coronavirus and their caregivers, those feeling isolated and those who are vulnerable;  

- for Michelle, Paige, Monica, Tim, Jim, Jane, Wendy, and Aus;

- those who have died and those who mourn;

- the victims of violence and natural disasters;   

- our Companion Diocese of the Windward Islands, especially during these stressful days of volcanic activity on the island of St. Vincent, and their Bishop Leopold Friday.

Request a prayer:

Send prayer requests to ctubman@calgary.anglican.ca to let us know how we can pray for you.  We will only use first names which will be removed after two or three weeks.  We will also pray for you during our regular Chapel services each week.  Please ensure that you have permission from those whose names you are submitting for prayer, and that they understand their name will be made public to all who subscribe to the Newsletter.