Inductions:

Archbishop Greg will, God willing, conduct several Services of Induction in the month of September:

The Rev. Dr. Julio Reis Simoes as Incumbent of Christ Church, Fort Macleod, on Tuesday, September 3, at 6:00 pm. 

The Rev. Simba Mutandwa as Incumbent of Holy Cross, Calgary, on Wednesday, September 4, at 7:00 pm.

The Rev. Tony Hilling as Incumbent of St. Paul, Calgary, on Wednesday, September 25, at 7:00 pm.

The Rev. Rob Cowie as Incumbent of Christ Church, Nanton, on Thursday, SEPTEMBER 26, at 7:00 pm. (NEW DATE!)

Please mark these dates on your calendar.  Clergy who are part of the respective deaneries are expected to attend and support these Incumbents in their ministries.  Color will be Red.

Clergy Day:

Save-the-Date: Our next Clergy Day will be Tuesday, September 10 held at Church of the Good Shepherd, Calgary (408 - 38th Street SW).  We will gather at 9:30 and begin at 10:00 am, with an ending time around 2:30 pm.  

Clergy Movements:

The Rev. Fariborz Khandani will be returning to his duties as Incumbent of All Saints, Cochrane, as of September 1, after a medical leave.  We are grateful to The Rev. Rafiq Masih for serving as Interim Incumbent for the past year.  We pray for Fariborz, Rafiq and the folks of All Saints as they continue in their faith journey.

The Rev. Joan Carson will be moving from St. George, Calgary to the parish of St. Andrew, Calgary to take up the role as their Assistant Priest.  We pray for Joan and St. Andrew's as they journey together in this faith ministry.

The Diocese announces that The Right Rev. Michael Hawkins, formerly the Bishop of the Diocese of Saskatchewan, and his wife Kathryn will be moving to be closer to family in Lethbridge at the end of this month.  We welcome him to be among us.

August 24 - Consecration of Lutheran Bishop in Edmonton

August 25 - Bishop's Visit - St. Ambrose, Redcliff

August 27 - 29 - Mother Tongue Healing Gathering in Strathmore

September 1 - Bishop's Visit - St. John the Divine, Acme

September 3 - Induction of The Rev. Dr. Julio Reis Simoes at Christ Church, Fort Macleod

September 4 - Induction of The Rev. Simba Mutandwa at Holy Cross, Calgary

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

Join us at St. Martin's Church at Heritage Park throughout the summer, as clergy from St. Peter, Calgary conduct a short mid-day prayer service from the Book of Common Prayer in this historic house of worship.

Built in 1896 in the Pincher Creek area, St. Martin's Church was donated to Heritage Park in 1964. The church grounds have been consecrated and put under the aegis of the Anglican Diocese of Calgary, meaning only ordained ministers are permitted to perform services there. Special Sunday services and numerous weddings are performed in St. Martin’s Church each year.

Revs. Bonnie and Rob will do their best to provide services that are authentic to the time period, with prayers, hymns and a short reflection. The church is small, but all are welcome!

To register for this course, please contact Barbara Labrecque.

What is worship?   Why do we worship?  What constitutes Christian Worship?  This course will examine the Biblical and theological foundations of worship and its particular expression in our Anglican liturgical tradition.  Students will explore the theology, structure, and purpose of the Offices and sacraments, with a view to building connections between understanding and practice, and growing in sensitivity and reverence.  The course will also cover practical matters, including instruction about appropriate use of vestments, and appropriate liturgical forms according to Diocesan norms.

This course is one of the requirements for obtaining License A, B and C.

Date: Saturday, October 19, 2024, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.  Location will be via Zoom and in-person at Holy Cross Anglican Church, Calgary.

Instructor: The Most Rev. Gregory Kerr-Wilson

For in-person students, please bring a bag lunch.

To register for this course, please contact Barbara Labrecque.

Looking for a way to deepen your understanding of the Christian faith and enhance the connection between what you believe and how you live your daily life?  The Education for Ministry (EfM) program combines independent study and weekly small group discussions to provide a basic grounding in theology to Christian laypeople. The EfM curriculum explores the content and origins of Scripture, follows Church history from its earliest days, and examines issues in Christian theology. Group members engage in individual and group theological reflection throughout their studies to bring our different life experiences and perspectives into conversation with our faith, helping to discern God’s call to each of us. EfM is an extension program of an Episcopal theological school; there is a lot to read (including the whole Bible) but there are no exams. Students commit to one year at a time and those completing all four years of the program receive a certificate of completion.   

For more information on registration or this program, please contact Jennifer Solem at efmcalgary@outlook.com.  

We will be gathering on Saturday, October 5 (from 9:45 am to 3:00 pm), graciously hosted by St. Barnabas, Calgary, to be together, to learn from others and each other, and to celebrate pastoral care ministry happening in our parishes.  This is meant to be a time of interaction and team building.

While this day may specifically be helpful to those with a pastoral care team (however formal or informal), others are certainly welcome.  Topics will include: grief and end-of-life; Hospice Calgary; prayer; Anglican Fellowship of Prayer; examples of pastoral care teams; diocesan parishes; and thoughts around a healing service.

You are asked to bring your own lunch/beverage, and consider a free will offering to support pastoral care in our Companion Diocese of the Windward Islands.

For more information, please contact Rev. Tracey.

The Missional Coaches have been busy these last two weeks, travelling to St. John the Evangelist, Pincher Creek and Holy Cross, Calgary to provide Missional Workshops.  It was our pleasure to spend time with them!

ALL Parish Councils have been asked by Archbishop Greg to have a Missional Workshop/Presentation from our coaches.  When will yours be?

Please email the Missional Coaches to book your workshop today!

Fall will soon be here, and Cursillo activites are moving into full swing after a summer break.

Mark your calendars for the upcoming Commissioning Service for the Fall Weekends.  This Service will take place on Saturday, September 21 at Holy Cross, Calgary (2828 - 19th Street NW) beginning at 9:30 am.

The Fall Weekends are a go - October 31 to November 3 for the Men's Weekend and November 7 to 10 for the Women's Weekend.

Now is a great time to sponsor someone who needs to experience a Cursillo Weekend!  Applications to attend and to sponsor can be requested here.

Please also remember to share your Cursillo experiences with others in your church community and continue to pray for the Cursillo movement in our Diocese and around the world!

Also, we are still looking for more parish reps to share information about Cursillo with their parishes.

The next Ultreya will be held at Holy Cross, Calgary on Friday, September 13.  More information will be coming - stay tuned!

Our office has had an update from Rev. Chris regarding his daughter Lily's situation.

The Wall family thanks everyone for the continued prayers and support.  God answered those prayers and led the family to where Lily is.  Chris writes, "I'm convinced we had angels working with us, we were stunned." 

The family is still journeying through daily challenges and are trying to "glue things back together."

We offer thanks to God for all who reached out in so many capacities and put everything they had into helping the family. Please continue to pray for Lily, for strength for those around her, and particularly her mum Vicky, and her sisters who have been affected by the situation.

Michael and Bethany Hoskin recently completed a one-month mission trip to Lubango, Angola.  Together they taught an English Bible study and repaired a 91-foot mural that depicts the story of the Bible.  They also led worship at the annual Spiritual Life Conference attended by missionaries.  

For more details about their mission, you can request a copy of their prayer letter here.

The Rev. John Gishler has written a book entitled, "Recovering Truth, Freedom, and Democracy: Challenging Woke Totalitarianism."

A book launch will be held on Saturday, September 7 at 10:00 at Holy Cross Anglican Church. Rev. John will give a brief explanation of what the book is about, why he wrote it and facilitate a group conversation about the difficulties in challenging woke totalitarianism in Canada. There will also be a brief presentation and book signing later at 2.00 pm at Better Books and Bibles, 600 – 16 Ave NW. 

More information, free downloads and online purchase information is available through www.Spirituallifeteaching.info

Two brothers with Bachelor Degrees in Accounting and Finance from their home countries, as well as diplomas from SAIT majoring in accounting, are seeking volunteer opportunities in accounting or office administration so that they can build up job experience for work resumes.  They are in their mid-twenties and their English is excellent.  If your Calgary-area parish can offer some weekly volunteer hours where they might fulfill this request, please email the office at St. George's, Calgary or call (403) 280-3579.

Many people have been wondering how to help the good folks in Jasper.  As is common in these situations, it takes time for people and organizations to sort out details after attending to the emergency issues.

There are two ways to donate funds to this cause:

1. An e-transfer to The Anglican Diocese of Edmonton

2. Cheques to The Anglican Diocese of Calgary, with Jasper Wildfire in the memo line, or an e-transfer to our office.  We will collect funds until August 31, at which time we will forward all funds to the Diocese of Edmonton who ensures us that all those funds will go to ministry efforts in Jasper.

Donations to either of these will guarantee a donation receipt.

Thank you for your consideration of a donation, and your concern and care for our brothers- and sisters-in-Christ in Jasper.

Please keep them in your prayers.

One of the gifts of belonging to a global communion is that we discover our family ties with Anglicans around the world and become more aware of our responsibility as siblings in Christ to support and care for one another.  The Anglican Church of Canada shares a particular concern for the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, its Archbishop, Hasam Naoum, and its people as the land of Jesus' life and ministry, and in the midst of ongoing political tensions in the Middle East and the current war between Hamas and Israel.

The Companions of Jerusalem was formed to nurture and support our relationship with the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and its ministries and to educate ourselves in preparation for pilgrimages and for advocacy for justice and peace in the Holy Land.  

Anglicans across Canada are asked to consider a modest donation and share information about the Companions of Jerusalem.  A video has been created, teaching about the land and its people.  Click here to become a Companion.

Thank you for your mutual support as part of the family of God.

Many folks may not know that the Diocese of Calgary is corporately a member of The Compass Rose Society.  The Compass Rose Society was created in 1994 to support the global ministry of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Anglican Communion, and has become an important financial resource to the Communion and a valuable voice in supporting the work of maintaining and improving unity in the Communion.   It is involved in and supports life-improving projects all over the world – working in impoverished and overcrowded cities in Brazil or in the church-run orphanages that house HIV/AIDS victims in South Africa amongst other projects. 

While the Diocese is a member corporately, the Compass Rose Society also seeks individual members to support the work and engage with the projects.  The Society meets once a year in London, and members also have rare opportunities to participate in Communion Visits to Anglican churches around the world. You will meet church, political and governmental leaders and travel in the company of the secretary general of the Anglican Communion.  Canadian members also become members of the Canadian Chapter of the Society.

If you are interested please do visit the website, and/or speak to the Diocesan Office.

Please remember in your prayers:

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

- for the Windward Islands recovering from Hurricane Beryl;

- for the Town of Jasper, and the people of the Parish of St. Mary & St. George, suffering the loss of their church home;

- for those who are sick, suffering, isolated or in need.  We ask for prayers for Barbara, Dan, Karen, Ruth and James, Kate, Rosemary, Janet, Winnie, David and Gay, Victoria, Patricia, John, Joanna, Lester, and Wendy;

- for the Wall family - for peace and strength during this difficult time, and for Lily, that the Lord will keep her safe and cared for and that she will find a way to return home;

- for those who have died and those who mourn;

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

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

- for 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.