• Those who are sick, suffering, or in need: Graeme, Rhea, Erin. Megan. Madison, Jen, Paul, Dorothy and family, René and family, Anne, Walter, Gail, Sheila and Meredith.
• Those who have died: Peggy; Esther; and those who mourn: Gibbons family; Hamish and Rankin family.
• Those who continue to battle COVID-19 in Alberta, especially our health care workers, and especially in light of the increase in cases due to the Omicron variant.
• Archbishop Sixbert and the Diocese of Buyé (Updated list of Twinned Parishes).  
• Our relations 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. Names are kept on the list for two weeks unless intentionally renewed.

The synod office will be closed from December 24 until January 3. We will be checking our voicemail and email periodically. 

We pray for blessings and peace this Christmas season for you and all those you love and look forward to serving our diocese together in 2022.

The Synod Office received greetings from our partner diocese of Buyé this week, to share with all the diocese.

For the Filipino congregation at St. Matthias Anglican Church in Edmonton, Advent festivities include a series of nine evening Mass services. Traditionally, Misa de Gallo (the Rooster Service). also known as Simbáng Gabi in the Philippines, was celebrated at 4 am.

“It was called the Rooster Service because the rooster heralds Christ’s birth,” says the Rev. Eric Kregel. “People would have Mass before going to work. Our congregation celebrates Miso de Gallo in the evenings.”

Bishop Steve's calendar has been full in these first months of his episcopacy. As well as visiting for Sunday and special services in various parishes, he continues to make time for smaller meetings with rectors, vestries and corporations mid-week. You can keep up with Bishop Steve through his FaceBook page, and the Synod Scene has begun a collection of pictures from visits thus far.

Bishop Steve has hit the ground running in his new role in the Edmonton diocese and in the Anglican Church of Canada. One of his ambitions is to visit every parish in the diocese as soon as possible. The following events are among those in is his itinerary leading up to Christmas:

• December 24: Christmas Eve service, All Saints' Cathedral
• January 9: Sunday service, St. Andrew's, Camrose
• January 16: Service of Induction for the Rev. Madeleine Urion, St. George's by the U of A
• January 22: Consecration of the Ven. Helen Kennedy as bishop of the Diocese of Qu'appelle

Bishop Steve also has various visits booked to meet with rectors, corporations, and vestries over the coming months. 

Dear friends, we learned recently that Dorothy Marshall, our diocesan representative for the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF), Social Justice Committee co-chair, long-time columnist for The Messenger, as well as a faithful member of St. Andrew’s parish in Camrose, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. 

Dorothy’s daughter Leah has returned home from Holy Trinity Brompton in the UK to be the primary caregiver for her mum. (As many of you know, Dorothy built a house on her son Colby’s farm and Leah lived with her there until leaving for the UK.) 

We ask for your prayers for Dorothy, Leah and their whole family. Dorothy’s daughter Robyn, a member of St. John the Evangelist, Edmonton, posted on her Facebook page that the family has started a fundraiser for PWRDF, “the cause she holds most dear,” as a surprise gift for their mum. 

If you wish to contribute to PWRDF in honour of Dorothy and her ministry, please click here 

We have both reached and exceeded our 2021 target of 100 donations of blood and/or plasma! Thank you to all our donors for making a meaningful difference in another person's life. 

Our support is needed year-round, but especially during holidays. Select donor centres across the country will be open on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, in addition to regularly scheduled operating hours. Appointments are necessary as part of the COVID-19 protocol, and enhanced wellness measures continue to be in place in donor centres.  

Why not join our team? It's a simple but powerful way to give back to the community. Click here to join Team Anglican. Our Partner ID is ANGL696986.  To donate blood, call: 1-888-236-6283 or visit Canadian Blood Services.

A message and invitation from Bishop Steve:

One of my biggest priorities in the past two months has been getting to know the diocese. I have been visiting as many different parishes and people as I can. There is a central value to face-to-face conversations in seeing where we are as a diocese. There is also value in different metrics, such as the budget and annual statistics, which provide another important dimension. It is in this spirit of getting to know the diocese that Archdeacon Jordan Ware and the Anti-Racism Team she has developed suggested it would be helpful to explore the diversity of our diocese, particularly giving voice to people who might not be easily heard. They put a lot of work into developing this survey. It asks some personal questions, but we hope the survey will be received in the light of that core value of getting to know who we truly are as a diocese - all of us.

Google Forms will automatically generate the numbers and percentages that will provide the information about diversity that will be helpful to us. No potentially identifying information (such as the option to share your parish) will be used for any purpose other than to create a general picture of diversity in the Diocese of Edmonton. Email addresses will not be collected.

Thank you for taking the time to fill out the survey. Please share as much as you feel comfortable sharing, and if you would like a member of the Anti-Racism Team to reach out, please include your contact information where that option is presented.

The Annotated Christmas Song Book is an original podcast celebrating the music and lore of the holidays. Each episode features an original performance of a Christmas song accompanied by an annotation; a story that illuminates the song. Tune in to the Holy Trinity Youtube channel for this entertaining and enlightening podcast celebrating the joys, wonders and eccentricities of Christmas. Listen HERE.  

The parishes of the Whitemud Deanery are joining together to host a reflective season of prayer this Advent on Zoom. Tune in every weekday at 7 pm from November 29 through December 23. 

The parish of Holy Trinity, Edson is holding Christmas Eve Sevices at the churches of St. Columba (north of Peers at the McLeod River cemetery), 2 pm; Grace, 7 pm; St. Catherine's, 10 pm. All are welcome!

Starting in January, St. Faith's Anglican Church will be home to a Collective Kitchen community on the second Tuesday of each month, from 1 to 3.30 pm. Enjoy cooking with a small, friendly group. Help make three ready-to-eat meals and muffins to take home for $4. Enter from the parking lot on 92 St between 117 and 118 Avenue, Edmonton and remember to bring containers to take your meals home. Please call Trish at 780-464-5444 to reserve your spot.

The Diocese of Edmonton Children’s Choir, conducted by Laura Hawley, will launch this January. Open and free to anyone ages 7 and up, this choir will rehearse on Wednesday evenings, 5-6, at Christ Church, 12116 - 102 Ave, Edmonton.

This is an opportunity for children and youth to learn music connected to the church’s worship to offer at church services throughout the diocese and special liturgical events, i.e. Lessons and Carols services, throughout the year. The choir will begin on January 19 and, for its inaugural season, rehearse into mid-May 2022. 

You are invited to join one of several Centering Prayer Groups meeting in person or online.

Centering Prayer is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer; rather it casts a new light and depth of meaning on them. It is at the same time a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship. This method of prayer is a movement beyond conversation with Christ to communion with him.                

Click here to find a group near you.

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.

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. You can make a secure online donation through the diocesan website.

Aurora Living: Formation Through Word & Creation. Why not make our winter module—Wilderness: From Slavery to Freedom—a part of your Lenten journey? Join a community at the intersection of faith & contemporary issues: creation care, social justice & reconciliation. Opening retreat: January 7-9. 

The Edmonton and District Council of Churches (EDCC) 2021 No Room In the Inn (NRII) campaign is now underway. Traditionally, many Anglican parishes in Edmonton have taken up a Christmas Eve collection for NRII. Please invite your parish community to support the campaign (information attached).

This year, No Room In the Inn is supporting L’Arche Edmonton, which provides supportive housing and assistance for adults with special needs. With the funding raised in this year’s campaign, L’Arche Edmonton will be renovating and upgrading one of their seven houses in the Edmonton area. 

Spiritual growth often occurs when we are able to talk about our experiences of God with another person, especially if that person is trained in deep and reflective listening. This is the primary activity of spiritual direction. The Studion School is currently seeking volunteers to receive spiritual direction from its second-year students, as part of a supervised practicum. The practicum lasts one year and begins in March 2022. If this opportunity interests you, please email thestudionschool@gmail.com, or call the Rev. Shelly King at the Synod Office: 780-439-7344.

As we emerge into a new context of living with COVID, The Forum for Intercultural Leadership and Learning is able to again offer the “Engage Difference! Deepening Understanding for Intercultural Leadership and Learning” program. A 12 week online course starting January 2022, it will be offered as an on-line program synchronous with the Wycliffe College course: “lntercultural Leadership and Learning: Engaging Ministry in Diverse Contexts."

*Ecumenical + interactive program    
*Practical ideas to use in your own context    
*Nurture cultural understanding + awareness in your community    
*Participate on-line from anywhere in Canada    
*Optional Academic Credit through Wycliffe College

Find the Forum for Intercultural Leadership and Learning on Facebook

Steve Heinrichs (from Mennonite Church Canada) will be facilitating a retreat/workshop February 11-13 at Star of the North Retreat Centre in St. Albert. He invites you to explore what settler colonialism means for Christian discipleship, and the possibility of Jubilee as a key path (perhaps “the” path) for restoring relationships. All are welcome, whether Christian or not. The retreat will take place in person only if health protocols permit. There is also an online option. Click here for more info and to register