A Thanksgiving Message

The Oji-Cree word for October is “pinaahkwiiwi piihsim” or the “the month of falling leaves”. This , I think is so much
more descriptive than the prosaic English “October” or “eighth month”.

October begins with the leaves having reached a glory that was unknown during the spring and summer. Modest green
is replaced with flaming crimson, gold, orange, and yellow. The hills are alive with color. If you stand in grove of birch
trees , the whole world becomes golden with their reflected splendor. Yet by the end of the month, a mere four
weeks later that glory is gone and the trees are left standing as skeletons with the wind whistling mournfully through
bare branches. The gorgeous leaves have been either blown away or reduced to sodden brown masses by the rain or
even early snow.

We are used to the transient glory of the leaves and take it as part of life. Yet we sometimes forget that human glory
is just as transient. Power, wealth, position and prestige are all fleeting…here one moment and gone the next. Jesus
warned us about this saying “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and
where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasurers in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” –
Matthew 6:19-21

What is this treasure? Surely it is the relationships we establish with the Creator, the creation and each other.

We are called to trust and obey the Creator, respect the creation, and love each other.

Recently, a relative and I were visiting. We began to reminisce about the community we grew up in and the people
that we had known there, many of whom are now dead. After we finished talking, I realized that not once did we
mention what any of them had. Instead, we talked about who they were. In other words, we remembered the
relationships they had established with us, their family and friends, and the world beyond.

As we give thanks for God’s many gifts to us, I hope we will remember the things that really matter namely, people ,
not possessions.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Thank you, Creator God, for all that you give us. We thank you for the gift of the earth and the life which comes from
it. We thank you for the gift of love which produces the blessing of family and friends whose loving care surrounds
us. We thank you for the gift of the church which shows us how to live together as a community in faith. Above all, we
thank you for the gift of your Son Jesus who by his living taught us how to live, by his dying overcame death and by his
rising to life again raises us to the life of your kingdom. Give us, we pray, the gift of your Holy Spirit that we may know
Christ and make him known that we with all your creatures may at all times and in all places give thanks to you in all
things.

Announcement

The Reverend Deacon Penny Cummine has decided to retire as Provincial Secretary effective December 31, 2012.

The Metropolitan, with the concurrence of Provincial Executive Council, has appointed Ms Susan Suppes as Provincial Secretary effective January 1, 2013.

Susan is no stranger to the position, having served as Provincial Secretary with several metropolitans in the past .

Penny and Susan will be working together over the next three months to ensure a smooth transition.

Thanks Penny for all you have done for us!

and

Welcome back Susan!!

September is harvest month.  It is a time of completion.  The hopes  and promise of spring have been transformed by the heat, work, and unexpected disasters of summer.  In some cases  the harvest is far less than anticipated.  In others, it is far greater than could be expected .  September is a time of endings and completion.

At the same time, it is a time of new beginnings.  Children go off to school, perhaps, for the first time.  The excitement, anticipation, tinged by anxiety can be overwhelming.  Students leave their summer jobs and return to university or college, looking eagerly (and a little frightfully) to the future whatever it may hold.  Programs that lay dormant over the summer spring into action.   September is a time of new beginnings and potential.

On October 12, 2012, God willing, Adam Halkett will be consecrated as the first Diocesan Indigenous Bishop in the Diocese of Saskatchewan.   He was chosen by  aboriginal people using traditional aboriginal methods.   He will walk with the diocesan bishop as a full partner as together in their work they model a new relationship between aboriginal and non-aboriginal peoples, co-operating, supporting, challenging, respecting and deeply caring for each other.

In many ways this consecration is the completion of a long-held vision, the result of countless hours of prayer by God’s people for a new way of walking together.  It will have been watered by the tears of many failures and nourished by the determination to create something better than what we have.   It will be built on the foundation of many stones:  Beyond Traplines, the Covenant, the New Agape and seven  Sacred Circles.  It will have been  made possible by the Provincial Synod in 2009 courageously making provision for alternate ways of choosing bishops when required and by the Diocese of Saskatchewan stepping out in faith  to build a new  way of being the Body of Christ in today’s world.  It will be a glorious harvest-a time of completion.

At the same time, it will mark a new beginning.  While  there will sometimes be moments of anxiety about how this new format of episcopal ministry will  work in practice,  we are  excited about the new possibilities and opportunities to live out the call of scripture:

“In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who  were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, neither is there male and  female for you are all one in Christ”-Galatians 3:26-29

Please pray for Adam as he begins this new adventure in ministry

I have been asked ( and perhaps foolishly) agreed to provide some thoughts every couple of weeks or so on the Province of Rupert’sLand website. So here goes with my first attempt!!!
A number of people have asked me questions about Bishop Todd Atkinson who was our keynote speaker at the recent provincial synod and who robed and took part as an ecumenical guest in the procession at the opening service. These questions have been ones like “Is he an Anglican Bishop?” and “ What is Via Apostolica and what is our relationship with them?”
I know that there when some people are asking questions , there are always a lot more thinking them, so I thought theMetropolitan’s blog might be a good way to attempt some answers
First of all, Bishop Todd is not an bishop of the Anglican Church of Canada , nor is he a bishop of the AnglicanCommunion. He is a bishop in the movement called “Via Apostolica” which is dedicated to celebrating what theycall the five passions of Jesus Christ’s life: Presence, Teaching, Community, Calling, and Mission. Their mission is towelcome God’s presence, to teach his gospel, to love one another, to train leaders and to see a harvest of souls locallyand globally.
He was selected and ordained a bishop in his own tradition by the policies and procedures of that tradition. Theordaining bishops were from the Episcopal Missionary Church which is a denomination in the United States whichwhile it has Anglican roots is not in communion with The Episcopal Church in the United States or with Canterbury.Therefore, Bishop Todd is not considered (by either us or himself) as an Anglican bishop of the Province of Rupert’sLand or the Anglican Church of Canada.
Via Apostolica is actively engaged in ministry to young people, leadership training, and church planting. It is BishopTodd’s dream and desire to find ways in which that movement can work collaboratively with Anglicans and others ,sharing our gifts to most effectively promote the work and witness of the church.
As Anglicans we are committed to working with and providing encouragement for all Christians of good will who areactively engaged in the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ and the transformation of the world. As asign of that commitment, the Bishop of Qu’Appelle, at my request, attended the ordination at River of Life Churchin Lethbridge, AB May 16, 2012. He did not participate in the laying on of hands or take an active part in the liturgyother than to bring my greetings.
I believe that in the emerging church we are finding our current limitations being challenged and new relationshipsbeing forged. It is my hope that as we encounter other Christians in new and unexpected ways on our journey withJesus we may be able to learn much from each other and find new ways of mutual support and encouragement in thefulfillment of the mandate of Christ.

On behalf of the 2012 Diocese of Athabasca Youth Daze organizing committee we would like to invite all Diocese from the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert’s Land to share information regarding our upcoming 2012 Youth Daze Conference
“Living Like the Light” and encourage and support your youth in attending this 3rd Annual event.

Planning at it’s finest this morning

Please stay tuned for photos and videos from Synod over the next few days. Along with stories from out members.

Greetings in the name of the risen Christ!

“By the providence of God I have been present at the birth of a new people” These words were spoken by the first metropolitan of Rupert’s Land, the Most Reverend Robert Machray in 1888.

As  bishop and archbishop,  he  witnessed and actively participated in the rise and progress of Manitoba and Northwest Canada.

When the  Ecclesiastical  Province of Rupert’s Land, an area as large as Europe and one of the older structures of the Anglican Church in Canada, came  into  existence  on  August 3, 1875, the main activity in the region was fur trade.   The coming of the railroad, the influx of settlers, formation of local government and agricultural pursuits  created a period of rapid change and transition.  Archbishop Machray  encouraged the church to respond to these challenges by developing new structures  and approaches to ensure that the proclamation of the Gospel and the building up of God’s Kingdom would remain our highest priority.

Today, almost a century and a half later,  technological advances, aboriginal self-government, and resource development have created another period  of rapid change and transition.  We too are faced with the challenge of ensuring that our structures are shaped by mission, not our mission constrained by our structures,  in order that the Gospel may continue to be our main priority.

The theme of our upcoming provincial synod, June 7-10   “Walking in the Moment”-the Emmaeus  Experience” is focused on the exciting new expressions of the gospel and new ways of being church in the 21^st century.  Like Machray, we too, are privileged, by the grace of God, to ‘be present at the birth of a new people”.

In Christ

Archbishop David Ashdown

16^th Metropolitan of Rupert’s Land