Our Missional Coaching team have created some really simple presentations which came from questions  you were asking and wondering about the workshops. 

We would love to invite ourselves to your parish council meetings and share with you what we can offer the parish in terms of mission. Imagine, one less agenda to prepare!

Please be in touch with our missional coaches team by emailing MissionalCoaches@calgary.anglican.ca  and let us know what dates work for you. 

We can't wait to see you.

Due to a server migration, our website has been experiencing issues, and this is the first Newsletter to be created so far this year  Thank you for your patience.

If you are experiencing any issues with obtaining information from our website at this time, please contact the Diocese Office.

Treasurer of Synod:

Our Treasuer of Synod has stepped down as of December 31.  We are thankful for the time, effort, patience and ministry of Mrs. Karen Larsen in her three years of service to our Diocese.  She will continue her role as Chair of our Admin & Finance Committee.  

We are pleased to announce that Archbishop Greg has appointed Mr. Ken Lipsett as our new Treasurer of Synod.  Ken brings many years of financial experience both at the parish and corporate levels, and we look forward to his leadership and wisdom.  

Parish Changes:

Archbishop Greg is pleased to appoint the The Rev. Tony Hilling as Interim Priest-in-Charge at St. Paul, Calgary beginning January 1.  

We say goodbye to The Right Rev. Jerry Sagun, Honorary Assistant at St. Mark & St. Philip, Calgary, as he returns to the Philippines.  We are grateful for his ministry in our diocese for the past six months.

We ask for your prayers for these clergy as they transition to their new roles, and ask God to bless the parishes as they adjust to these changes.

January 18 - Anglican Fellowship of Prayer Committee meeting via Zoom

January 21 - Bishop's Visit to St. David, Elnora

January 23 - Clergy Day being held at St. Paul, Calgary

January 25 - Consecration of the Bishop of The Territory of the People, The Right Rev. Clara Plamondon, in Kamloops, BC

January 27 - AFP Event via Zoom (see poster below)

Please hold Archbishop Greg in your prayers as he serves as our Bishop and Metropolitan.

The Most Reverend Gregory Kerr-Wilson is inviting applications for the position of Incumbent of Holy Cross Parish in Calgary, Alberta.

For more information or to request a Parish Profile, please contact Executive Officer, The Ven. Dr. Pilar Gateman.

Interested clergy are invited to provide a recent resume and written response to the profile if they decide to apply.

Clergy from other dioceses are required to have the permission of their own diocesan bishop before applying.

Applications will be received up to March 1, 2024.

Clergy are invited to attend the first Clergy Day of the new year, on Tuesday, January 23 at St. Paul, Calgary, with gathering at 9:30 and beginning at 10:00 am.  

Our topic for this event will be Homelessness, with The Rev. Adam Bedford leading the discussion.

To register for these book studies and to receive the Zoom link, please use the email address found here.

Please join us on Saturday, January 27 via Zoom, for a time of Morning Prayer, of reflection, and sharing prayer concerns.

To receive the Zoom link, please contact The Rev. Joan Schellenberger.

Do you have an interest, calling or are just curious about Pastoral Care?  Maybe you want to be better equipped to support your changing church community, friends, or your own family?  We are all called to care and care deeply, with and for one another.  Maybe this is a "brush up" opportunity or a time for skill refreshing.  Please consider this as an invitation to join us.  Together we will reflect on who we are as pastoral caregivers and how we can use what we have to perhaps lessen the burden of another.  Pastoral care is in part about intentional listening and reflecting as the ministry of presence and pastoral theology as well as being rooted in our love for each other and in our faith.

In this course, there will be a bit of reading and/or reflecting as preparation for each of the evenings.  There will be learning through new information, sharing, wondering and skill development.  Some topics include: understanding our own theology and ourselves, communicating, grief, joy, healing and wholeness, learning about what is a visit and how to do it, as well as practicing confidentiality and learning some resources.  A pastoral community will form on its own with bonds of trust and discovery.

Dates: Tuesdays - January 31; February 6, 13, 20 and 27; and March 5 and 12, from 6:30 pm to 8:45 pm.  

Deadline to register is January 25 or a full class (15 people).

Please register with The Rev. Tracey Stagg.  Questions are welcome.  This course has some space still available, and a waiting list will be offered.

Not By Bread Alone: Exploring Jesus’s Temptation in the Wilderness

Please join us this Lent for an in-depth exploration and conversation around the Temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness. After an initial exploration of the Biblical text in the first week, we will have five unique sessions focussing on how five different theologians and saints have approached Jesus’s Temptation, looking for their unique wisdom and insight to this event in Jesus’s life and ministry. We are excited, as well, to have each session led by a different person from the Diocese! Hopefully this study will enrich your Lenten journey. We’ll gather via Zoom on Thursday evenings through Lent, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Please contact Barbara Labrecque at the Diocesan Office to register for the study.

Schedule

February 15 – Rev. Br. Jason Carroll (Biblical Introduction)

February 22 – Rev. Greg Clark (Karl Barth)

February 29 – Most Rev. Greg Kerr-Wilson (Rowan Williams)

March 7 – Rev. Chris Roth (Church Fathers)

March 14 – Rev. Br. Jason Carroll (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

March 21 – Rev. Elizabeth Short (Deitrich Bonhoeffer) 

We are getting excited and making plans for hosting the Provincial Synod in our Diocese later this year.

Stay tuned for details and volunteer opportunities.

We are looking forward to a response to our application for CRA Charity Status coming in mid-May.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to our donors who believe in the work we do.  This outreach is only possible because of the generosity of individulas, groups and organizations such as yourselves.  Many lives are touched because of your generosity.  Thank you hardly seems to be enough to express our gratitude.

Looking into 2024, our fundraising plans include:

Our Annual Garage Sale, on Saturday, June 29

Christmas Tea and Bazaar, on Saturday, November 30.

Mark your calendars for Friday, January 26th for Robbie Burns Night at the Church of the Good Shepherd (408 38th St SW, Calgary)!  Tickets for this event will be on sale online HERE. The ticket price is essentially a cover charge and will be $10 per person. 

This event will start at 7:00 pm and will feature a haggis with the traditional address, and beverages. We will have beer, wine, and Scotch available for sale, with coffee and tea and soft drinks available for free. We'll also offer a flight of 5 Scotches (0.5 oz each) to taste and discuss for $10.00.

The big thing about this event is that it will feature an Open Mic so that we can have a number of people recite some poetry (it doesn't have to be from Robbie himself), tell an entertaining story, perhaps sing a catchy tune, or whatever. The idea is to enjoy an evening where the attendees themselves are the entertainment!

The Church of the Good Shepherd, Calgary is offering an evening of fun and food, with their annual murder mystery dinner theatre; this year's offering is entitled "A Deadly Incentive."

You’re invited to Seamus O'Malley's Pub and Grub for a KILLER treasure hunt. It promises to be the adventure of a lifetime. The prize (assuming you survive, of course) is "A Pot of Gold." Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to solve a murder (or two) while the drama unfolds all around you.  Enjoy a three-course dinner while you put the clues together . . .

There will be four show times: Friday, February 9th and Saturday, February 10th, and Friday, February 16th and Saturday, February 17th.  All performances are held at the Church of the Good Shepherd (408 38th St SW, Calgary). Doors open at 5:30pm with the show beginning at 6:00pm. 

To purchase tickets, click on the link below. Be sure to indicate which show you plan to attend. There are only 36 spots available for each performance, so don't miss out:

• "A Deadly Incentive" Tickets

Note that this production contains adult themes, and may not be appropriate for children.

St. George-in-the-Pines, Banff and St. Michael, Canmore both have organs that they are seeking to donate to a good home.

If you or someone you know would be interested in either (or both!) of these organs, please contact the Diocese Office.

Leadership development is important. 

When we develop a community of skilled, knowledgable, connected leaders, our Alliance becomes stronger. 

The many trainings that the CACG provides are meant to be a chance for you, our leaders, to take the time to intentionally step back and reflect on yourself and the health of your institution: What is your purpose? Both yours and your organization's.  What are the things you care about enough to actually show up for? Personally and as a community. What are your skills, and where are your opportunities for growth? What's the most effective way to engage with members of your community? Who do you need on your team to make my institution stable/stronger/efficient? 

Our upcoming trainings, including Core Teams 101 (January 30) , Foundations for Community Organizing (February 7), and the online Anti-Racism Training by the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre (ACLRC) (February 21 & 28) are learning opportunities meant for leaders from across all of our member institutions, as well as people outside those institutions who are interested in relational organizing practices;  learning how to create spaces of belonging where people can listen to each other, find areas of common concern and shared purpose, explore power in their context, and then take action together for the common good. These trainings are opportunities to come together across the Alliance to learn from multiple perspectives, lived experiences, and best practices. 

Health and well-being - without one, the other simply isn't possible.  Likewise, the well-being of humans isn't possible without a healthy planet, something we are discovering every day as we face a growing and global climate crisis.

This is theme at the centre of PWRDF's 2024 Lent Resource.

Throughout the Lenten season, you will receive a daily email with a reflection from Dr. Sylvia Keesmaat, on what health, well-being and good living require of us in our lives and our relationships with one another, with creation and with God.

On this journey through Lent, PWRDF invites you to join Dr. Keesmaat as she walks with us, meditating on our current climate crisis and well-being of all creation, and offering lessons in repair and restoration that are both profoundly ancient and current.

Subscribe here.

Friday, February 2: Sarah Arthurs (Executive Director, Calgary Interfaith Council) and Howard Lawrence (Co-Founder, Abundant Community Initiative) will give the Lebel Lecture on Christian Ethics addressing the Calgary World Interfaith Harmony week theme From Strangers to Neighbours.  Register here.

Friday, April 12: Tina Beattie (Professor Emerita, Roehampton University) will give the Swanson Lecture in Christian Spirituality on The Art of Creativity: Art, Theology and Ecology.  This will be held at the Calgary Public Library, beginning at 1:00 pm.

Wild Church is experimenting with a different location (for January and February) - now at Lindsay Park, off 2nd Street and 19th Avenue.

Those joining us can meet at the FCJ Centre on the west bank of the Elbow River and we will walk across The Old Train Bridge into the park.  There will be space to meet indoors if the weather is inclement.  There is free parking at the FCJ Centre or on the street.

A cross pendant on a chain was found at Holy Cross, Calgary.

As it does not belong to the current or former rectors, we are seeking the rightful owner, perhaps a clergy person who attended an event held at Holy Cross some years ago.

If this belongs to you, please be in touch.

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 Israel and Palestine, and for Ukraine and Russia; - for the end to war;

- for those who are sick, suffering, isolated or in need.  We ask for prayers for Barbara and Elizabeth, Janice, Joan, Dan, Karen, Elizabeth, and Alyssa and her two daughters;

- for those who have died and those who mourn;

- 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.

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.