• Those who are sick, suffering or in need: Don, Jan, Marcy, Rhea, Paul, Erin, Sandie, Yvonne and Justin.
• Those who are struggling with physical or mental illness due to COVID-19; for "bending the curve" and bringing down the number of cases in Alberta; for all who are doing their best to serve others in this time.
• Those who have died and those who mourn.
• Bishop Sixbert and the Diocese of Buyé (Twinned Parishes).  
• 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.
• Click here if you would like someone's name included in this prayer list. We will use first names only.

Download the January 2021 edition of The Messenger 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.

How are Christians called to interact with others who share our beliefs but express them differently? How are we called to interact with those who faithfully follow beliefs that are different to our own? The Rev. Canon Dr. Scott Sharman has developed a short, interactive study to help answer those questions. It includes four videos, a guide book, and the opportunity to join with others to explore this topic.

If you'd like to join the folks at All Saints' Cathedral for this study, email Sara at admin@allsaintscathedral.ca to get the Zoom link. The sessions will run Wednesday evenings at 7:00pm on January 20 and 27, and February 3 and 10, just in time for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and World Interfaith Harmony Week. If you'd rather work on your own, the videos and guide book are available on the diocesan website.

At the close of the year, 2020, the Diocese of Edmonton wrapped up the $5-5 Ways Campaign and forwarded $4085.00 in US dollars to the Diocese of Buyé to purchase medical cards. Thank you to all who donated. These cards will bring medical care within reach for seniors and many others who would not otherwise be able to afford it.

Please join us in a shared project to create a decorative textile for the Cathedral narthex. We will be gathering white knit, crocheted, and woven squares at the Cathedral until January 15th. The squares will be joined together into a shared piece that shows that even when we are apart, we can do great things together through Christ! Click below for full information, or download this instructions pdf. I hope you will consider contributing a square as a concrete act of solidarity with each other and an expression of hope that we will get to the other side of the pandemic and gather together as a diocese once more. 

Sarah Alexander, parishioner at Holy Trinity Riverbend, has taken on a project to raise $25,000 so that a young man named Dallin can have a the service dog he needs. Just over half that amount has already been raised. Read all about it on this GoFundMe page.

The Diocese of Edmonton has renewed its pledge to donate 100 units of blood over the course of 2021 through the Canadian Blood Services Partners for Life program. Our PFL ID is ANGL696986. New members can register at the link below. Just create an account or, if you already have donor account, enter your username and password to log in. Select ‘PFL organizations’ from the menu, add the PFL ID and select ‘join the team.’ 

And special thanks to the 31 team members who helped us pass our 2020 goal 2020 by 8 units!

Contacts: 
*The Ven. Travis Enright, Archdeacon for Indigenous Ministry: rector@stfaithsanglican.org / 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 

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.

Reconciliation Events in Alberta invites you to this personal and professional development opportunity January 21- February 25, 2021. This six-week series presents a diverse lineup of Indigenous women speaking on the topic of resilience. The sessions will be held on Zoom every Thursday from 12:00-1:00pm MT. They will also be recorded with the link available for a full week so those who can’t make the live session can still participate. There is a Q&A at the end of each live session. The cost is $90 for the full 6-week series.
SPEAKERS POSTER

Nukskahtowin, the Indigenous Meeting Place of Athabasca University, invites you to its winter series of Indigenous films and documentaries. January's movie, Our People will be Healed by Alanis Obomsawin, is about a Cree community in Manitoba that has been enriched through the power of education. 

Online Bannock and a Movie is set up so you can self-enrol even if you do not have an Athabasca University account. Click the link below. Create a new account or sign in if you have already registered. Please contact Ivy Lalonde with any questions at ivyl@athabascau.ca

This page lists online opportunities for worship, learning and virtual community provided weekly by parishes throughout the diocese.

In this time of continued uncertainty, the Church, the Body of Christ, remains a loving and connected community. we hope to do all we can to support each other, and the diocese grateful for any and all donations we receive. If 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 through the diocesan website.

Archbishop Linda Nicholls shares her reflections on the need to name and act on the pain we carry with us, as we move forward into 2021.

Resources are now available for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In the northern hemisphere, these eight days of prayer are traditionally held starting January 18th (the Feast of the Confession of Saint Peter) and ending January 25th (the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul). Please click below to visit the WPCU website and plan how your parish might join in.

Each year Calvin Institute of Christian Worship at Calvin University (a university of Christian Reformed Church in North America in Grand Rapids, Michigan) hosts an internationally-recognized on-site symposium on Christian Worship and worship renewal. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s symposium will be offered online and at no-cost. This is an incredible learning and networking opportunity for both clergy and laity alike and may just be the life-giving winter commitment that will help lend some buoyancy and creative energy to the coming long winter months.

Following a successful event in October, A Common Word Alberta is planning more frequent opportunities for interfaith dialogue. You are invited to: "Continuing the Conversation," a series of four winter-time Christian/Muslim Encounters. Topics will be: Knowing your Neighbour, Hospitality, Embassy, and Unity. Each session will be one hour, featuring opportunity for discussion in smaller 'breakout' groups. Regular meeting time will be the first Tuesday of the month with the first encounter planned for Tuesday, January 5 at 7:00 pm. POSTER

Stay connected this winter with conversations that matter! Join Linda MacIsaac & Lynnette Kaminski weekly on Zoom to reflect on The Second Half of Life by Angeles Arrien. In this wise, unique guide for those moving through mid-life and beyond, we are taken through a reflection process designed to deepen our most valuable relationships, reclaim creativity, and shift our focus from ambition to meaning. Pre-reading required. 9:30-11:00am on 1st & 3rd Thursdays, January 21 to May 6. Book not included. Please purchase, read and reflect on pages 1-40 before the first session.    

This nine-week series, The Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton, gently leads participants on a journey toward spiritual transformation and a more contemplative and peace-filled life. Each two-hour session includes further introduction to Merton, contemplative living through prayers, readings from Merton and other spiritual masters, and questions for small group dialogue. Series runs Wednesdays, January 27 to March 24, 2021.