Our Diocese has a group of 20 Missional Coaches who have been trained to guide parishes in becoming more missional.

There is an overall workshop which helps us to understand where we are as a church and how we got here. It includes information about our history as a church, some conversation about attitudes and approaches as well as results of a national study. 

The other workshops address different areas of our lives together: 

Community Outreach

Missional Small Groups

Communication 

Organizational Structures

Youth & Children

Personal Sharing of Faith

These coaches are trained to come to parishes (or by electronic means) and provide a workshop on the overall information as well as any of the six topics listed above. The workshops contain the following areas for discussion. 

Naming present practice  - this is where the parish group discusses what is already happening in the parish and how this topic is already being addressed. 

Reflecting on present practice - this is a further discussion that goes a bit deeper regarding current practices. 

Scripture's Word  - This portion uses scripture to help us to discuss how we are perhaps called or might be guided by scripture on this topic. 

Implications for our context -   How might what we've learned affect our current situation? 

Envisioning and Committing to a new practice -  In this final step the parish prepares to put into practice a new thing. Perhaps a slight alteration to an already existing practice or a new one altogether. They set a goal and timeline to revisit and see what might be altered and to celebrate successes along the way. 

Sometimes thinking differently takes a bit of time and help. These coaches are all well trained and capable of walking alongside you and your parish to help that transformation happen. 

If you would like to have a coach come alongside your parish for any of the above workshops please be in touch!  

Collation

Please save the date for the Collation of The Ven. Brian Vickers as Archdeacon of Bow Valley on Tuesday, December 12 at an Evensong Service beginning at 7:00 pm, at the Cathedral Church of the Redeemer, Calgary.

Clergy are invited to robe up; color is Blue or Purple.

October 3 - 5: Canadian Anglican Cursillo Secretariat, meeting in Calgary

October 8: Thanksgiving Service and Dedication of Stained Glass Window, St. Theodore, Taber

October 12: BARDs, meeting at the Diocese Office

October 13 & 14: Diocesan Synod, St. Peter, Okotoks

October 15: Confirmation Service, St. Augustine, Lethbridge

Preparations are underway for our Synod 79, happening on October 13 and 14, at St. Peter, Okotoks.

Elected Lay Members and Licensed Clergy are required to attend.  

Payment of fees must be sent in to the Diocese Office prior to the Synod.

Please pray for this gathering as we plan, organize and meet in person in guiding this Diocese for the next three years.

On Sunday, September 24, Archbishop Greg inducted The Rev. John Chuol as Incumbent for St. Andrew, Calgary.

Please pray for Rev. John and the parish of St. Andrew's as they journey together in faith.

On Sunday, October 1, Archbishop Greg inducted The Rev. Canon Erin Phillips as Incumbent for Church of the Ascension, Coaldale.

Please pray for Rev. Erin and the parish of Ascension as they journey together in faith.

The Diocese Office is saddened to announce the death of our fellow servant in Christ, The Rev. Deacon Larry Nicolay, on Saturday evening, September 23.

Deacon Larry was ordained on September 13, 2003.  His twenty years of service were all at one parish, Holy Cross, Calgary.  Within the diocese, he also served as Education for Ministry Coordinator, Warden of Lay Readers, Chaplain for the RCMP and on Diaconate associations.

Details of his funeral are still to come.

Please pray for his wife Onna, son Richard and other family members and many friends, for comfort at this sad time.

May he rest in Peace and rise in Glory.

The Calgary School of Discipleship will be offering our Foundations for Preaching course in November and December. 

The course will run on four Monday evenings (November 6, 13, and  27 & December 11) beginning at 6:30pm via Zoom, and will be led by The Rev. Br. Jason Carroll, The Ven. Dr. Pilar Gateman and Rev. Steve Bateman from St. Augustine, Lethbridge. There will be a cost of $75; help is available if the cost is a problem.  This course is available to those seeking Licensing for Lay Ministry as well as anyone who is interested.

This course will provide students with the theological grounding of preaching in Scripture and prayer, education on how to craft and write a good sermon, instruction on good delivery and mechanics of public speaking, and opportunity to discuss the nature and specific challenges of preaching in a modern context. Students will be able to make connections between Scripture and the journey of faith, understand the importance and purpose of preaching in the life of the Christian church and the world, and distinguish appropriately between the office of preaching and the opportunity to express publicly their own private opinion, while being able to incorporate stories from their personal journey of faith in an appropriate manner.

For more information or to register, please click here.

Thanks be to God for answered prayer! We put out an appeal last summer to spread the word that a sponsor was being sought to enable a Christian woman and her two children to apply to come to Canada under a government program for personal care workers.  

This summer, someone came forward from one of our parishes to say they were willing to sponsor her part-time to look after their aging parent. Another part-time sponsor was secured and so the largest hurdle was overcome. As we speak, the VISA paperwork is being prepared for imminent submission after the mother completed her English language, police, and other required checks.

Heartfelt thanks to all who passed this request along to their parishes. Please pray that the process will be free of hindrances and that this family will be able to come to Calgary as quickly as possible.

The Diocese has learned of a refugee family arriving this week, who are in need of almost everything.

Their first need is a place to rent, preferably in the NW, (at least a three-bedroom unit) for a husband, wife and seven children.

The boys' ages are 20 and 18, and the girls' ages are 16. 14, 10, 8 and 5. 

What else do they need? 

They will need a lot: school backpacks, shoes, clothes, beds, mattresses or bunk beds. or anything for use in the kitchen and a TV.   Anything will be helpful.  

If there are any questions, please let The Rev. John Chuol know. For more information, please call 403-690-1527.  Thank you!

Horizons of Hope: A Toolkit for Catholic Parishes on Palliative Care seeks to:

• Empower and educate parishioners by addressing questions surrounding palliative care, dying, death, suffering, accompaniment, and bereavement in a holistic fashion.
• Present high-quality content that explores how palliative care is understood from a perspective of Catholic moral and pastoral theology, medical expertise and the Compassionate Community model.
• Facilitate meaningful conversations together so that our parishes and families become Compassionate Communities, grounded in the mercy and tenderness of the living Christ.

Additional information can be found on the Horizons of hope website 

These sessions will be held in conjunction with four other parishes in the diocese. To register, please call (403) 932-6556 or email Catherine at the church office.

Confirmation Classes: Based on a new narrative catechism developed by Br. Jason Carroll, All Saints is offering classes beginning Wednesday, October 4 at 7:00 pm (in person or via Zoom).  For more information or to register, please contact Rev. Elizabeth Short.

Monthly Prayer Services for Healing: all are welcome to attend.  Upcoming dates are Saturday, October 14 and Saturday, November 11 at 5:00 pm at the church.

Wanted: to borrow, a red server's cassock, size adult small (although a larger one could be temporarily altered).  Please contact Rev. Elizabeth at (403) 660-5636 if you have one.

Planning for the 2023 Fall Cursillo Weekends is well underway.  Now is the time to consider sponsoring someone to attend for the first time.  Is there someone you know who is moving forward in their Christian walk, that just needs a little nudge to fully take up a leadership role?  Is there someone who already is a leader, who needs to experience what this Cursillo Weekend is all about?

Attending Cursillo is a wonderful and special next step in their Christian walk!

The Men's Weekend will be held Thursday, October 26 to Sunday, October 29.  The Women's Weekend will be held Thursday, November 2 to Sunday, November 5.  

For more information, please contact Lay Director Al Stretton or Secretary Stew Perram

Click here to check out our Website.

Michael Harvey, of Unlocking the Growth fame and the Back to Church Movement, will be in the Diocese of Calgary from Sunday, October 29 to Saturday, November 4.

There are still available days for him to visit individual or multiple parishes, to speak with parish leaders.  To reserve a day or evening with Michael, please contact Rev. Carol at the Diocese Office.

Join us for quality conversation and community building at this November's Religous Leaders Brunch!  This event is for people who take leadership in their faith/religous/philosophical communities (religous leaders, elders, youth leaders, community representatives, pastoral care specialists and chaplains), who are also interested in getting to know other leaders from different religious communities in Calgary.

This will be an opportunity to come together, to reflect on our community leadership, share our stories, listen and learn from each other.  Ultimately, the hope is that we can grow into better public leaders who can then work together for the Common good of our common home.  

Interested but have questions?  Email Elyse here.

Cost: due to different dietary considerations, attendees will purchase their own food/drink at this venue.  Angel's Cafe has lots of menu options, including vegetarian and gluten-free choices.

To register, click here.

This virtual conference will be looking at an understanding of God gleaned from Scripture which shapes our call as Christians - the work of God in restoring humanity taken up by the church. During the one-day conference, we will be covering such things as the solicitude of God and how this is to be taken up in our own lives, the wonder of creation and how to live well within the created order, and the practice of presence with God and with people. Scripture will serve as a foundation out of which these themes are gleaned.

For more information or to register, click here.

Please remember in your prayers:

- for peace within our country, and in the world, for victims of violence and natural disasters, and for areas of unrest and riots.  We ask for wise discernment in our leaders;

- for those who are sick, suffering, isolated or in need.  We ask for prayers for Barbara and Elizabeth, and Janice;

- for those who have died and those who mourn, remembering at this time the Nicolay family;

- for the poor, the homeless, and the needy in our communities;

- our Indigenous brothers and sisters, and their leaders in our diocese and country; 

- refugees, remembering those fleeing regimes around the world, and those fleeing war in the Ukraine.

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.

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.