• Those who are sick, suffering or in need: for Aris; for all who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19; all who are struggling with fear or depression; all who are doing their best to serve others, including those who are saving lives by staying home.
• Our brothers and sisters in Christ from Treaty 6 and Treaty 8 First Nations, from the Métis Nation of Alberta, and from the Métis Settlements in Alberta.
• Bishop Sixbert and the Diocese of Buyé (Twinned Parishes).
• Request a prayer Click here to let us know who you would like prayers for in the diocese. We will make sure they are prayed for by name.

As we come to the end of the second week since Alberta began implementing Phase One of the provincial relaunch strategy, the first steps taken to ease restrictions imposed to limit the spread of COVID-19, Bishop Jane has delivered to the Diocese of Edmonton an updated set of guidelines for when and how parishes might begin to gather in person over the next few months.  

The new guidelines follow an update from Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw. On Monday, May 25, Hinshaw and her team released six pages of guidance for places of worship, clarifying a two-page document previously set out May 10. Bishop Jane has referred to the updated provincial health advice and drawn on conversations with ecumenical partners from the Roman Catholic Church in Alberta, the Ukrainian Catholic Church of Alberta and British Columbia, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, to provide new direction going forward.  

More than 1,000 leaders of faith communities from across Alberta, including the Rt. Rev. Jane Alexander, Bishop of Edmonton, participated in a town hall meeting, held by phone on May 21, to discuss joint efforts to keep Albertans safe from the COVID-19 pandemic and to seek clarification on public health guidelines with regards to public worship. 

Hosting the call were Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw, who expressed gratitude to faith communities for the spiritual, mental, and physical support they have provided during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The June edition of The Messenger features individuals, parishes and ministries of the dioceses of Athabasca and Edmonton responding with love and kindness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Download or view online as a flipbook

Click here to subscribe to The Messenger or to change your subscription address. Print editions of the Anglican Journal and The Messenger are now mailed to confirmed subscribers only.

After 10 years as Rector of Holy Trinity, Old Strathcona, Fr. Chris Pappas is moving on to become Dean and Rector of Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented the usual style of farewell party on May 24, his last Sunday at Holy Trinity. Instead, Fr. Chris stood in front of the church while parishioners drove by, waved, honked, displayed placards, and otherwise showed their thanks and offered best wishes. Some gathered on the church lawn, appropriately socially-distanced, to watch the parade of cars pass by. At the end, the officers of the Southern Alberta Light Horse expressed their appreciation for his ministry as their civilian chaplain for the past years. Best wishes to Chris in his future ministry! Submitted by the Rev. Robin Walker  

We are a Filipino Anglican congregation in west Edmonton working on becoming a multi-ethnic parish. On a typical Sunday before COVID-19 struck and we entered isolation, our growing community would have welcomed lots of children running around the church and families visiting each other. We enjoyed many potlucks and parties in the hall of St. Matthias.  

We moved quickly to Zoom for virtual worship. This gave us a chance to see one another, but we were missing the fun and laughter. One night, we tried an experiment.  We held a "Zoom Church Family Game Night," adapting old youth ministry games we would play for an hour on Sunday nights. Families and individuals gathered around their computers, phones, or screens to do crafts, a scavenger hunt, or other types of games. It caught on and we've held a couple of virtual games’ nights. Soon we plan on moving this to about twice a month.     

Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus. What started in 2016 as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer. During the 11 days from Ascension Day on May 21, to Pentecost on May 31, it is hoped that those who takes part will:

• Deepen their own relationship with Jesus Christ
• Pray for 5 friends or family to come to faith in Jesus
• Pray for the empowerment of the Spirit that we would be effective in our witness

Each day, as Christians around the world join in Thy Kingdom Come, various members of Edmonton diocese will share a short reflection, either in words or in music, that can be used during Morning Prayer (or any time at all). The reflections will be based on scripture provided in Daily Prayer for Thy Kingdom Come, a publication of the Church of England.

The Canadian Council of Churches' invites you to join an Ecumenical Pentecost Vigil live, starting at 1:00pm, Edmonton time on Saturday, May 30. Primate Linda Nichols will join national leaders of eight other denominations in this virtual celebration based on Acts 2:1, "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place." Pre-register via Eventbrite to receive the link and the bilingual service bulletin. POSTER

On Pentecost Sunday, Archbishop Mark MacDonald, Archbishop Linda Nicholls, and Bishop Susan Johnson invite Anglicans across Canada to join in a virtual service of worship, prayer, and singing together with the Holy Spirit and Giver of Life. This virtual service is an offering of both The Anglican Church of Canada and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

There is a special video resource available of the Lord’s Prayer, compiled from submissions from more than 150 Anglicans and Lutherans across the country. All service leaders are welcome and encouraged to incorporate this video into their services this Sunday. 

Anyone without internet access can call in, beginning at 2 pm MST, with this toll-free number: 833-982-1276.

Your working-from-home diocesan staff, curators and content creators of Synod Scene, Messenger and edmonton.anglican.ca, would like to hear about your experiences in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. What has been the greatest challenge for you? Where do see God at work? How are you practicing your faith? What keeps you hopeful? If at all possible, please send us a picture that helps tell your story.

To help stop the spread of COVID-19 virus, worship services and church gatherings in the Edmonton diocese have been postponed until it is safe to meet again. Many parishes and dioceses are live-streaming and/or recording services and prayers online. This page lists online opportunities for prayer, worship, learning and virtual community in this season of social distancing. 

Spread the word: you don't have to move to Toronto to study with Wycliffe College. Whether it's Certificate, Masters, or Doctoral level studies that you are interested in, you can begin your program online with Wycliffe College. Admission for September 2020 entry is now open. Application deadline is May 31, 2020.

The need for blood and blood products remains constant during the Covid-19 pandemic. Canadian Blood Services is thankful for the way donors have stepped up in the last couple of months: "From governments to hospitals; first responders to corporations; faith groups to community groups – we are all in this together and we appreciate the incredible support."

All precautions are taken to make giving blood safe during the Covid-19 pandemic. Please see the attached wellness infographic. Please visit www.blood.ca to find a donor centre near you and book an appointment. And if you haven't done it already, register here for the Partners for Life program to make your donation count toward the Diocese of Edmonton annual donation goal of 100 units. Our code is: ANGL696986. Registration must be done online. Even if you've given blood before, if you register now, your donations can be included retroactively toward our goal.

Many faith-based institutions have had to cancel their free tax clinics this year, but some have found a way to carry this work forward navigating the Covid-19 restrictions. Interfaith Housing Initiative has been working with partners to compile a list of Free Tax Clinics in the Edmonton area. 

Though we are unable to gather in person for the safety of ourselves and others, we remain a loving and connected community. As the Church, the Body of Christ, we hope to do all we can to support each other. In this time of uncertainty, we are grateful for all donations we receive. If you feel you are able, please continue to support the ministries of the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton. We continue to look for ways to support parishes and to ease the financial burden on those who will be struggling in weeks and months to come. You can make a secure online donation at edmonton.anglican.ca/give/donate. For more info,  contact the Rev. John Gee at treasurer@edmonton.anglican.ca.  

Contacts: 
*The Ven. Travis Enright, Archdeacon for Indigenous Ministry: rev.enright@gmail.com / 780-477-5931
*Fiona Brownlee, Aboriginal and Rural Communities Liaison: f.brownlee@edmonton.anglican.ca / 780-312-9070
*The Rev. Lori Calkins, Priest: loriinkster@gmail.com 

Resources:
Please see the Indigenous Ministries section of the diocesan website for leaflets, web links and other resources to help you pray and take action for reconciliation. See also the Anglican Church of Canada Reconciliation Toolkit.

On Pentecost Sunday, 2014 each of our parishes received a chokecherry tree to plant on our parish lawns. We were given these trees to bless our churches after they were blessed by an Elder at an all diocesan Pentecost service at All Saints' Cathedral. It was, and is, an act of reconciliation between the church and the First Peoples of this land. We all live, work and worship on Treaty 6 and 8 lands. Each year, starting in 2015, Immanuel, Wetaskiwin has held a Heart Garden memorial event to remember the children who attended Indian Residential Schools and especially those children who didn’t return. They have shared the story of Residential Schools, being honest about the church’s involvement. They have planted flowers, made hearts and memorial stones. The garden has been smudged and the people have remembered and learned...

Plan now to join the upcoming online Gospel Jamboree streaming LIVE and for FREE on June 5, 2020. Presented by Indigenous Ministries of the Anglican Church of Canada, Gathering at the River will feature songs, prayers, fellowship and laugher from and with folks across Canada and beyond. 

When: Friday, June 5, 6:00pm Eastern Time
Where: Facebook, YouTube, and live on the Anglican Church of Canada website.

In this week's penultimate episode of the Sacred Teachings podcast series, Steven A. Darden talks life in lockdown and how Mother Nature is blooming once more. Sacred Teachings is a joint initiative of Indigenous Ministries and Anglican Video at the Anglican Chuch of Canada. Find the podcasts on Vimeo, Spotify and PodBean.

Though it is not known when On Eagle's Wings will be able to have a physical presence in northern communities again, the Christ Loves All People (CLAP) Bible Camp curriculum is complete and will be offered as a virtual Bible Camp by video, accompanied by activity packs for the children. Bishop David Lehmann of the Diocese of Caledonia and Bishop Lesley Wheeler-Dame of the Diocese of the Yukon are collaborators and volunteers can also share their gifts and talents. Executive director the Rev. Lesley Hand invites volunteers to take a video of themselves telling one of the Bible stories, leading a craft, skit, song or another of the activities in the curriculum. The video can be taken on a smart phone or tablet and should be short so it can then be emailed or sent in Google Drive. For more info, see attached News Bulletin.

PWRDF has allocated $200,000 to partners responding to COVID-19. Specifically, they are funding prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in Burundi with Village Health Works and supporting the global response to COVID-19 by Partners in Health and the ACT Alliance. Through HelpAge Canada. PWRDF is funding the provision of food and other necessities to vulnerable seniors through more than 50 agencies across Canada, including SAGE in Edmonton. Please consider including a Prayer for PWRDF in your virtual services and bulletins or taking part in “Praying with PWRDF,” Thursdays at 11 am MST, via Zoom. Register here to receive the Zoom link.

The Primate's World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) is seeking candidates for openings on the Board of Directors, Honorary Associates and a Representative to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank Board. Click on the links below to learn more:

1. Board Member / Volunteer Treasurer

2. Honorary Associate

3. Representative to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank Board

Please Note: All nomination forms should be emailed to Mishael David no later than May 29, 2020, 4:00 pm EDT. Only nominees to be interviewed will be contacted. Elections will be held at the Annual General Meeting in September 2020.

Connie Pistawka, a member of St. Paul's, Edmonton, would like to find a home for her father's Antique Pump Organ circa 1870. Her father has been moved to a care facility. The organ was obtained from an old church in Pennsylvania. and was made by J.R. Julius Pianos and Organs, York D.A. The interior components have been cleaned and repaired. Dimensions: width 43 inches, length= 23 inches, height=84 inches. "The organ was appraised by an antique dealer at $400. However, we realize that one would probably have to pay someone to move it, so this is obviously negotiable," says Connie. If you are interested in seeing the organ, please send an email to chubbsy133@shaw.ca