Bishop Leads Sunday Celebration at St. Patrick's, Whitecourt

“This is such an exciting day to be here at St. Patrick’s,” said Bishop Jane Alexander, greeting the  Anglican congregation in Whitecourt on the morning of August 19.

“Any one of these things would be cause for celebration. No wonder there’s a monster cake downstairs,” she said. Bishop Jane baptised Linkin Cairns, infant son of Tara Young and Jeremy Cairns; and confirmed and received into the Church of God, Ethan and Jacob House, Nicole Galang, Sheldon King and Mary Grace Gould. She also presented Maria Vasseur with an Anglican Church Women (ACW) honourary life member pin. Maria used her creativity and artistic ability to bead whimsical dogs and raise funds for PWRDF’s “Fred Says” food security program.

The celebration continued after the service with Bishop Jane leading the procession outside for the blessing and dedication of St. Patrick’s community prayer labyrinth. In just a few months, hardworking members of St. Patrick’s have transformed the empty lot behind their church into a beautiful oasis for the whole community to enjoy. A circular foot path representing the physical, emotional and spiritual journey of life, the labyrinth is sacred space intended to bring peace to those who walk it.

St. Patrick’s member Holly Heaven and rector the Rev. Rita Milne participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony with the bishop. They were involved with the project from start to finish. Milne said she was amazed and overjoyed by parishioners’ support of her dream for a community labyrinth.

On September 8, St. Patrick’s will host a celebration of the Labyrinth as a community space. The project was funded by the parish’s Reach campaign and a community beautification grant from the Town of Whitecourt. Watch the October issue of The Messenger for a story about St. Patrick’s community labyrinth project.