• Those who are sick, suffering, or in need: Les, Dan, Penny, Gail, Lorelei, Anne and Roger, and Iona.
• Those who have died: Jack, Joyce; and those who mourn: the Smith, Labelle, Dickie and Glidden families.
• 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.
• The victims, families and first responders of the Syria/Türkiye earthquakes.
• 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.

On February 17th, I turned 50 years old! I love having a birthday. I don’t usually do a lot for it, but I find that it is a day of giving thanks. And I have thought about this one for a long time. I have always admired my friends who turned 50 well. They have embraced two realities. One reality is that at this point in life, the stage is largely set, and the path (rut) is pretty well defined in that habits and ways of being are well-engrained. I know this well. I know what I enjoy and what I don’t. I have a lot of clarity on what makes me anxious and what makes me thrive. And for me, my job is set at least for the next several years. But the second reality is that there is an odd freedom in this time of life.

Please hold Bishop Stephen London in your prayers as he serves parishes throughout the diocese and connects with our partners and friends beyond the diocese.

• February 26: St. Peter's Filipino Congregation at St. Matthias', Edmonton
• Every Wednesday evening in March: Lenten Zoom series on Justice
• March 3: Youth Campfire Event at St. Augustine of Canterbury, Edmonton
• March 5: St. Augustine of Canterbury, Edmonton

Walk through Lent with Bishop Steve as he explores the call to justice at the core of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Is 'doing justice' part of the Gospel or an extra? This is one of the central questions that the Christian church has been wrestling with over the last century as we have lived through and meditated on the experiences of WWI, WWII, the holocaust, the civil rights movement, women's equality, the Cold War, Apartheid, the Residential School legacy, LGBTQ+ inclusion, the Great Depression, the climate crisis and many more. Does the Gospel of Jesus Christ have anything life-giving to say to the great challenges of our time? The answer is a resounding yes. 

Every Wednesday in March, from 7:00-8:30 pm  

Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86437570642

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Join us on Friday, March 3, 7 pm, at St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Church, 6110 Fulton Road, Edmonton, for a fun evening around a campfire. We will have games, campfire songs, snacks, hot chocolate and a chance to visit with Bishop Steve. Everyone from high school age to 25 is welcome.

Bishop Stephen London and the Parish of St. Mary's, Ponoka will celebrate the shared ministry of the Rev. Trina Holmberg who will be inducted as rector on Thursday, March 23 at 7:00 pm. Holmberg also serves as rector of St. Andrew's, Camrose. All are invited to show their support for Holmberg, her family and the communities she serves. Members of the clergy are encouraged to attend and to robe. The colour is white. Pictured above with Trina are lay readers Janny Smith (left) and Deb Stevens. Photo: Heather Labrie 

On Saturday, March 25 at 2pm, Bishop Stephen London will be pleased to officiate at a service of induction celebrating the new ministry of the Rev. Canon Chelsy Bouwman together with parishioners of St. Thomas' Anglican Church. The church is located at 4a Raven Drive in Sherwood Park. All are invited to come and support Bouwman, her family and the church community. Members of the clergy are encouraged to attend and to robe. The colour is white. 

Thank you to everyone who has been moving forward on the Safe Church Policies in their parish. Most parishes have now submitted the names of their coordinators and their list of those who must complete a police check to our Safe Church Coordinator. Thank you for your cooperation as we ensure all those who work with vulnerable people in our diocese have up-to-date screening and training. If you have questions please don't hesitate to contact Rev. Armand Mercier who is our Safe Church Coordinator. His email address is safechurch@edmonton.anglican.ca

Fiona Brownlee (pictured right) serves the Diocese of Edmonton as the Aboriginal and Rural Communities Liaison. As part of her responsibilities, she submits a year-end report to the Bishop. This year, Bishop Steve felt it might be encouraging for everyone to be able to read this report, so we've included it here in the Synod Scene. Please find it attached as a PDF.

Join lay reader Wynne Whitten-Holmes for Morning Prayer every Friday morning at 9am; and for Compline every Monday evening at 9pm throughout Lent. All are invited! 

Friday Morning Prayer, 9am - LINK HERE 

Monday Compline, 9pm - LINK HERE 

Edmonton Anglican Cursillo has changed their monthly Ultreya to be the 4th Friday of the month. Most long weekends are on the 3rd weekend of the month, so this way they are hopeful it will work better for people to attend. They also have decided to alternate between one month on Zoom and one month in person. February’s Ultreya will be in person this Friday, February 24, at St. Michael and All Angel’s Anglican Church, 5003 146 Ave NW, Edmonton, starting at 7:00 pm (see this Google map for directions!)

Tom Aylard will be the guest speaker. If you haven’t heard Tom speak before you are in for a great treat! If you have heard Tom speak before you know you are in for a great treat! There will be coffee,  snacks and awesome conversation afterward. All are welcome!

Some of Edmonton’s finest poets and musicians weave their works together to warm our hearts this winter. WARM HEARTS is a four-concert series to be held at Bleeding Hearts Arts Space, St. Mary's Anglican Church, 11203 68 St NW, Edmonton. The second event, to be held on Saturday, February 25, at 7 pm, will feature the works of spoken word artist and poet, Cay de Dios. These are ticketed events, with general seating available at a range of affordable prices. All ages are welcome. Tickets are available at Showpass.com. Doors open @ 6:30.  POSTER

Join us for one of two Lenten Quiet Days that will be held on Zoom and led by Sister Doreen of the SSJD. These will be held February 25 and March 4. The registration deadlines for each respectively will be February 18 and February 25. Our theme will be the deep desire to listen to the call to be more of myself: to be prayer, to be gift, to be whole. Email Dorothy Dahli at dorothydahli@shaw.ca to sign up. Zoom information will be forwarded by email once registrations are complete. POSTER

The theme for this year's World Day of Prayer is "I Have Heard about Your Faith" based on Ephesians 1:15-19 and developed by the Women's Inter-Church Council (WICC) in Taiwan. Please see worlddayofprayer.net for full information on the theme. Also see the WICC website for resources, including a 53 minute full service video, and ideas for donations.

If you are organizing a WDP event or have in the past and would like to connect with others, please email Linda Ervin at fieldrep567@wicc.org. As the WDP western Canada field representative, she is trying to rebuild the network following the disruption of the pandemic.

Holy Trinity Anglican Church presents a Lenten Noon-Hour Concert Series on Tuesdays starting at 12:00pm from February 28 to March 28. Join us during your lunch-hour for beautiful music in the contemplative surroundings of our sanctuary. Donations in support of Holy Trinity's Concert Series accepted at the door.

• February 28: Selections from Dvorak Legends and The New World Symphony ZUMI Piano Duo: Mikolaj Warszynski and Zuzana Simurdova, Piano

The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have starkly reminded us of the realities that threaten our planet. Christian faith is not a way of escaping these realities, but of engaging them in the struggle for justice and peace—motivated by love, enabled by faith, and sustained by hope. We will be exploring these ideas together through a study of the book, Faith Facing Reality: Stirring Up Discussion with Bonhoeffer. This series will run every Tuesday at 7pm beginning March 2. They will be led by Dr. Stephen Martin and will take place in person at The Anglican Parish of Christ Church, 12116-102 Avenue NW, Edmonton. To register, please email the church office at admin@christchurchedm.ca by March 1. The cost of the registration is $40, which includes the cost of the book. Space is limited to 15 people. Funding can be made available to cover the cost of registration if needed.

Please drop in at Good Shepherd's monthly potluck to support our Community Pantry. Everyone is invited to join us, bringing along a favorite dish to share and a donation for the pantry. March's theme is Keep it Green, to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We will have a free St. Patrick's Day craft available, please sign up on our Facebook page so we have enough supplies for everyone!

Join Jeannette Austin-Odina for an afternoon seminar entitled, “Me? Racist?” on Saturday, March 18 from 1-3:30 pm, at All Saints’ Cathedral. Jeannette’s presentation will offer the opportunity to learn and explore together several aspects of racism and its impact on our community. There will also be time for a healing conversation about how to be anti-racist. Light refreshments will be provided. Please call the Cathedral office to register at 780-428-6323. 

This group meets on the third Monday of the month at 2:00 pm at Good Shepherd Anglican Church, 15495 Castle Downs Road, Edmonton. From Greek, Klaio means to mourn, weep, or lament. Grief and loss are difficult burdens to carry, and the support of others can help lighten the load. Klaio is a drop-in, grief support group open to all members of the community who are coping with loss. If you are looking to connect with others to share your experiences with grief and loss, please join us. The next meeting is on March 20. 

The Inner City Pastoral Ministry, a ministry of presence in Edmonton's inner city, invites all to its Annual General Meeting on March 23, 2023, 7 pm, at St. Mary's Anglican Church, 11203 68 St NW, Edmonton. As part of the program, they will screen the short documentary This is Where We Live, featuring the true stories of community members who have experienced homelessness. Finger food snacks will be served. The 2022 annual report will be available in hard copy at the meeting. It will also be available online at http://www.icpmedmonton.ca/wp/ closer to the date. Please RSVP by emailing  info@icpmedmonton.ca or calling 780-719-1548 (leave a message with your name and number of people).

On behalf of the Interfaith Housing Initiative, Housing Animator Michael Van Boom, the recipient of the Edmonton and District Council of Churches (EDCC) 2023 Marilyn McClung Award for Ecumenism, invites you to a provincial housing rally on Friday afternoon, March 24 at 2 pm, Alberta Legislature (front steps). Rallies are being organised across the province. Please share this Information and Invitation with your faith community, family, friends, neighbours and co-workers. To see the details for rallies in your local area, and to consider the key initiatives considered critical for success, please visit www.interfaithhousing.ca.

As we begin Lent and look toward our upcoming Easter celebrations, preparation is underway for a Diocesan Easter Vigil Service on April 8 at 8pm at All Saints' Cathedral. Many parishes that have their own tradition and practice for an Easter Saturday Vigil and are encouraged to continue those. However, if your parish is not holding its own service, please consider attending this one at the cathedral. Volunteers from several parishes will participate in the service to make this a truly diocesan event.

Last year at the beginning of Lent we began the diocesan Remembering the Children weaving project. At the summer solstice, National Indigenous Peoples Day, we blessed the finished project at a special service at the Cathedral. We now have the weaving available to visit parishes. You might think the only good time to have the weaving visit your parish is in September or October. Not true! Anytime you want to deepen your parish's connection to the ministry of reconciliation in our diocese is a good time to do it. Please contact Fiona at f.brownlee@edmonton.anglican.ca for more information or to ask if a particular date is available.

Let us help you promote your upcoming event in Synod Scene, our weekly e-newsletter to clergy, parishes and subscribers. Please click the link to the form below to tell us about your event (ie. youth gathering, parish fundraiser, worship service, community outreach, public lecture). Upload a graphic or picture (horizontal / landscape orientation; 1500x784 px), and your event poster. Events must be submitted by Tuesday at noon for inclusion in the current week's newsletter. Have Questions? Send us an email: churched@edmonton.anglican.ca

Those who give the gift of life in Edmonton diocese have a new goal! We are hoping to hit a donation target of 130 units of blood and plasma in 2023. To book your lifesaving appointment call 1-888-236-6283 or visit Canadian Blood Services and make sure you're donating as part of Team Anglican. First check your eligibility, then click here to enter our Partner ID: ANGL696986. 

Donate a Car Canada will turn vehicle donations into generous support for ministry in the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton. Working on our behalf, Donate a Car will accept your vehicle for a donation -- running, or not! Old or new! There is no cost to you, and the process is simple. Donate a Car Canada will facilitate all aspects of your car donation from the pick up to the final sale, ensuring that your vehicle will be sold for the highest sale outcome possible. They will then forward the net proceeds to us here at the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton and you will receive a tax-deductible receipt within two weeks of us receiving your donation. 

St. Timothy’s Anglican Church in the Laurier Heights neighbourhood of Edmonton is seeking a leader for our Sunday Morning “Kids’ Church” program.  We are using the sermons4kids resource. This provides a short sermon, colouring sheet, activity pages, song suggestions to accompany the weekly Lectionary Gospel. The leader would be supported by volunteers to maintain the necessary Safe Church ratios of children:adults and to provide musical support. This is a paid position. For more information, please contact the Rev. Clare L. Stewart at clare@sttimothy-edm.ca or 587.687.1490 

If you love to bake, we have an volunteer opportunity for you! We are looking for wonderful volunteers to help bake bread for the Lodgepole Bakery. We provide training in using technology and machines in the kitchen and will train you in the Lodgepole Way of baking sourdough bread and Ugandan-style Chapati bread. Some basic bread-baking knowledge would help, though! You will be involved in activities that require quite a bit of movement, including standing, walking, lifting and working with your hands.  

More than 36,000 people were killed and thousands more displaced at the borders of Türkiye and war-torn Syria by a series of devastating earthquakes. Please continue to pray for the victims, first responders and families. Donations to the emergency relief efforts can be made through the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) response online, or over the phone by calling 416-822-9083 (or leave a message toll-free at 1-866-308-7973 and we will return your call.) You can also donate by mail. Send your cheque to PWRDF, 80 Hayden Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada, M4Y 3G2. Please indicate "Syrian Earthquake" in the memo field.

In year two of PWRDF's Creation Care: Climate Action education focus, we are exploring the intersections between Climate Change and Gender. To launch Learning Module 2.2, we will hear from Bishop Jane Alexander, now ministering in the Territory of the People, and Mary Obiero, Director of Programs with Church World Service Africa, based in Kenya. They will discuss how women are affected by emergencies caused by climate change, be they fires, floods or droughts. How are women impacted differently than men? And how are they responding? Click here to register and receive the Zoom link.

McDougall United Church invites you to a special screening of the film “I Can’t Breathe” by Red Deer filmmaker Love Nwigwe on Sunday, February 26, 2023. The film shares true stories of racial discrimination faced by Black people living in Canada, and here in Alberta. It will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.
The service begins at 10:30am. McDougall United Church is located at 10025 – 101 Street, Edmonton. POSTER 

You are invited to the St. Albert International Women's Day Celebration, the theme of which is Embrace Equity. The gathering will happen from 7:30-9:00pm, March 11, 2023 at the St. Albert Community Centre, 17 Perron Street, St. Albert. Please RSVP to saintalbertinterfaith@gmail.com no later than March 4.

Kokopelli Choir Association’s annual "Stories" concerts return Saturday, March 18 at 2:00 and 7:00 pm. Òran and Kokopelli welcome internationally renowned Vancouver vocal ensemble musica intima, along with Andrew Balfour, a composer of Cree descent, and Cree-Dene singer/song creator Sherryl Sewepagaham. The concerts will take place in Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, 10821 96 Street NW, Edmonton, a beloved historical space that has hosted choirs for decades. The church, which was nearly lost to fire in 2020, is now restored and reopened.

Balfour recently curated Nagamo: History Reimagined, a ground-breaking collaboration with musica intima that reshapes Elizabethan masters with Ojibway and Cree perspectives.

At Stories, musica intima, Òran, Kokopelli and Sewepagaham will collaborate to sing excerpts from Nagamo, woven among performances by the individual choirs. 

You can purchase tickets, $25 (students $20, children $15) online at https://www.showpass.com/stories-nagamo/

The Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute's Youth Surge Conference will be held from March 24 to 26 in Camrose. This is a weekend event for Senior High (Gr 9-12) and young adults to come together for worship, fun activities, sharing our faith, and growing in our relationship with Christ. This year's theme, "Examining," aims to examine the life of Jesus, and how he is at work in us (and you) today. For more info and to register for the conference, visit https://clbi.edu/surge/  POSTER