• Those who are sick, suffering, or in need: Paul, Rhea, Madison, Mitch, Colin, Anne and Roger, Callie, Mel, Trevor, Les, Anne, Lorelei, and Gail.
• Those who have died; and those who mourn: Edmonton Police Service Constables Travis Jordan, Brett Ryan and Quebec police Sgt. Maureen Breau. We pray for all first responders who have been killed while trying to keep their community safe.
• The communities in Montreal, Mississippi and Nashville devastated by fire, tornadoes and gun violence.
• 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.

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.

• April 2: St. Mary and St. George, Jasper
• April 8: Diocesan Easter Vigil, All Saints' Cathedral, Edmonton
• April 14 to 21: Provincial House of Bishops, ACPO, and National House of Bishops
• April 23: Confirmation Service, St. Mary's, Vegreville
• April 30: Confirmation Service, St. Margaret's, Edmonton

Bishop Steve London is pleased to appoint the Rev. Christian Gordon as Interim Priest-in-Charge of the Anglican Parish of St. Patrick's in Edmonton effective Sunday, April 23, 2023.

Bishop Steve London is pleased to grant permission for the Rev. Ruth Sesink Bott to work with ICPM, serving as Interim Chaplain effective from April 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023.  

Over the last week, Bishop Steve inducted the Rev. Trina Holmberg as rector of St. Mary, Ponoka and the Rev. Canon Chelsy Bouwman as rector of St. Thomas', Sherwood Park. He also visited with the Dayspring Ministries' congregation at St. Saviour's, Vermilion. If you don't already follow the Bishop on Facebook, it's a great way to keep in touch with what he's doing. 

Pictured at St. Mary’s, Ponoka: lay readers Deb Stevens and Janny Smith bring up the elements; Bishop Stephen London gives the homily; Janny Smith reads the psalm; Heather Labrie and Kinsley Hanger present Treena Holmberg with a gift from the parish. Photos: Treena Hanger, St. Mary’s, Ponoka

Pictures from St. Saviour's, Vermilion found at https://www.facebook.com/StSavioursvermilion  

Pictures from St. Thomas', Sherwood Park, by Jeff Ostrosser, found at
https://www.facebook.com/sttomsherwoodpark

Download the April 2023 edition of The Messenger or view it online as a flipbook. Click here to receive a print subscription to The Messenger or to change your subscription address. The Messenger and Anglican Journal are mailed to subscribers for a suggested donation of $15/year.

The Cursillo Community will be helping serve a dinner at St. Faith's Anglican Church on March 31, 2023, and would love for you to join us. We'll gather for prep around 4pm and stay for cleanup after. Please click here to see the Cursillo newsletter announcement.

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

Friday Morning Prayer, 9 am - LINK HERE 

Monday Compline, 9 pm - LINK HERE 

What does it mean to be people of faith and love on this land? All are invited to participate in the Lenten education series We are a Treaty People, offered in part by the social justice team of St. George's, Edmonton. Led by the Rev. Nick Trussell and Fred Matthews, the series will run on Thursday evenings, 7 pm, on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85782094858 Please share the Zoom link with those in your life who would be interested. 

Companions on a Journey (St. Mary's musicians) will tell The Easter Story in Song at St. Mary the Virgin, 5042-48 Avenue, Vegreville, on Palm Sunday, April 2, 2-4 pm. All are welcome to come for Bible readings, songs and refreshments. Admission by donation. Click Here to join on Zoom  POSTER

Join Holy Trinity Anglican Church, 10037 84 Ave NW, Edmonton, for a lay-led service of Tenebrae, a service that leads us into the solemness of Maundy Thursday—Good Friday—Holy Saturday. We gather at 7 pm on Wednesday, April 5.

Preparation is underway for a Diocesan Easter Vigil Service on April 8, 8 pm at All Saints' Cathedral, 10035 103 St, Edmonton. Parishes that have their own Easter Saturday Vigil tradition are encouraged to continue their practice. 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.

On Friday, April 14, 7 pm, at St. Matthias Anglican Church, 6210  188 St NW, Edmonton, all are invited to hear Mary Concepter Obierois, Director for Relief, Development and Protection for Church World Service in Kenya, share a story of urgency and hope, and join Mary in expressing our solidarity for the cause of Ending Global Hunger. Mary deeply understands the food security situation in her country. As part of her role, she has partnered with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to provide emergency food rations to 3,000 households that lack food security due to the drought. In addition, Mary who is a member of the Anglican Church will also share about some of the innovative and successful responses that provide hope to those who lack access to food in Kenya.

This is a free event. Coffee and snacks will be served!

St. Luke's Anglican Church, 8424 95 Ave, Edmonton, is holding an affordable Children's Clothing sale Saturday, May 27 at 10 am. Clothing will include items for newborns to 12 years of age and will be sold for $1 each. If you would like to donate clothes for this event, please drop off items at the church on any Thursday before May 27, between 12 pm and 4 pm; Sundays between 11 am and 12 pm or by appointment: 780-405-6938. All clothes should be clean and in good condition without requiring mending. Please, no underwear. Proceeds will help support St. Luke's Missions.

Join the Ven. Travis Enright, Archdeacon for Reconciliation and Decolonization, and the Rev. Canon Dr. Scott Sharman, Canon to the Ordinary and Ecumenical and Interfaith Coordinator, for the 8th Canadian Forum on Inter-Church Dialogues, organized by The Canadian Council of Churches, in partnership with The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism and The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism. Offered June 8-10 at All Saints' Cathedral, ᐯᐦᐅᓇᐣ / Pêhonân – A Gathering-Waiting Place: Voices of Indigenous Followers of Jesus in the Ecumenical Movement will feature workshops highlighting the experiences of Indigenous followers of Jesus in the ecumenical movement. Register on Eventbrite POSTER

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

Team Anglican is aiming for a donation target of 130 units of blood and plasma in 2023. Over time we have gone up from 28 active members donating on behalf of Team Anglican, to 35! To book your lifesaving appointment call 1-888-236-6283 or visit Canadian Blood Services and when you do, make sure you're donating as part of Team Anglican. Check your eligibility, then click here to enter our Partner ID: ANGL696986. Make your life-saving donation today!

Good Shepherd Anglican Church is seeking a Youth & Children’s Ministries Coordinator who loves to share the Good News of God’s love with children, teens, and their families. This is a part-time, independent contractor position with flexible hours and paid planning time. Join our team of passionate volunteers as we seek to equip families to grow in the knowledge and love of God not only on Sundays but all week long. Check out the Job Description! Apply by sending a resume and cover letter to rector@goodshepanglican.org. Applications should be sent by April 14, 2023. 

The Anglican Parish of Christ Church is hiring a Youth Minister to nurture and grow a youth group for pre-teens and teens in the parish, as well as a separate young adult group for post-high school folks. If interested, please submit your CV and a one-page letter describing what interests you about the position and what strengths you think you might bring to this ministry to Archdeacon Susan Oliver: sue@christchurchedm.ca  MINISTRY PROFILE

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 

Erin de Zwart, a French Language and Canadian Studies student at the University of Alberta is coordinating a community project to tidy up St. Martin's Sunnyside Cemetery, where the remains of some of her White, Milligan and Hewitt ancestors are interred. There will be a St. Martin's Sunnyside Cemetery (Bon Accord) work bee on Saturday, April 29 (weather permitting), from 10 am to 5 pm. This pioneer cemetery was last maintained in 1997, so volunteers are asked to bring wheelbarrows, gumboots, warm clothes, gardening gloves and steel-toe boots if operating machinery. There will be a safety briefing prior to the event. Coffee and donuts will be provided. Parking will be provided a few minutes away, with a shuttle from the parking lot. Interested volunteers are asked to visit the website for more info and to register.

Athabasca diocese invites your prayers and/or participation as it prepares for its third annual Holy Week Bible Reading Marathon, to take place April 2-6. If you have participated or watched people around the world reading the bible over Zoom and Facebook, you know the entire Bible will be read by people taking turns, beginning at 1 pm on Palm Sunday, until 5 pm on Maundy Thursday. After each hour is read, the subsequent person picks up wherever the previous person stopped. 

For improved access to grants and special funding opportunities such as Say Yes! to Kids, the Anglican Foundation of Canada has launched a Grants Portal. 
 
Upcoming deadlines:

• Applications to regular grants for organizations and individuals will be accepted through April 1.
• Team registrations for this year's Say Yes! to Kids campaign will be accepted through April 15.

If you have questions, or if you would like to book a consultation about this year's Say Yes! to Kids campaign, please email Michelle Hauser, Development & Communications Officer, Anglican Foundation of Canada at mhauser@anglicanfoundation.org. 

The Outdoor Way of the Cross is an ecumenical prayer event marking the suffering and death of Jesus. It is a time to reflect on how the gospel values of Jesus apply to individual and public life today. This year’s theme is based on Micah 6:8: "And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
People of all faith traditions are welcome.
The two-km walk through inner-city Edmonton is held on Good Friday, April 7, starting at 10 am. Free street parking is available near the start location. Light refreshments will be provided at Hope Mission after the final station. Please share this invitation with your parish communities. 
For more information, contact Marguerite Watson or visit the
Way of the Cross website.  POSTER

All are welcome to an ecumenical Good Friday Prayer Around the Cross service in the Taize worship style of scripture, silence and meditative song. The service will be held April 7, 7 pm, at Lendrum Mennonite Church, 11210 59 Avenue NW, Edmonton. Please share this invite with your parish communities. POSTER

Join popular speaker and Christian activist Shane Claiborne, author of several best-selling books including Common Prayer: a Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals for a public lecture and retreat weekend (April 14-16) of stories and reflections on the world of grace and bombs. With tears and laughter, Shane unveils the tragic realities of our fragile world and the incredible hope that "another world is possible." To join in person at Star of the North Retreat Centre or online, register at 780-459-5511 or at www.starofthenorth.ca/possible. Registration fees: Friday Public Lecture: $20 | Weekend Retreat: Online $140 | Commuter $205 | Live-In $345. 

This workshop to be held on Saturday, April 22, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, followed by six Tuesday evenings, is for the curious, questioning…all those seeking a deeper relationship with Ultimate Mystery through a prayer practice of interior silence. Centering Prayer is a simple, and inclusive practice deeply rooted in the Christian Contemplative tradition, popularized by Fr. Thomas Keating, a Cistercian priest & monk, and one of the principal founders of the practice. This workshop provides background on the four guidelines of the method, time to practice, and learning from the teachings of Fr. Keating. Registration is $100.

Mondays: April 24, May 29 and June 26 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at Star of the North Retreat Center. Come to one, two or all three. Cost for each day is $55 with discounts available for teams or couples.

These retreat days are designed for those in ministry, training for ministry, retired from ministry, and spouses. The day will begin with a contemplative prayer practice, followed by a morning of silence to rest, reflect, walk, journal, pray, etc. After lunch, we'll have another contemplative prayer practice and more time for personal reflection. We'll end the day in a closing circle.

Facilitators: Julianne and Jon Gilchrist, Gilchrist Coaching and Adventures.

Edmonton Grandmothers will be holding a fabulous fabric frenzy on April 29, 9 am to 3 pm, at Strathearn United Church, 8510 95 Ave, Edmonton. Come for fabric, yarn, notions and craft supplies. Admission is $2. For more info, email: EdmGrandmothersFabricFrenzy@shaw.ca 

POSTER

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP) has launched its annual appeal to fill a sea can of food, and new or gently used items for the village of Ulukhaktok, NWT, and the Anglican Church of the Resurrection which is in need of repairs. The sea cans are packed in early May, and shipped in May and June while the McKenzie River and ocean waters are open.

Donated items (click here for suggestions) can be dropped off at:

Catholic Parish of Holy Family parking lot in St Albert:
- Wednesday, April 26: 7:00 to 8:30 pm
- Sunday, April 30: 8:30 to 11 am; 4:30 to 5 pm

St. Albert Parish parking lot:
- Sunday, April 30: 8:30 to 11:00 am; 6:00 to 6:30 pm

Monetary donations are also gratefully accepted. Please see attached Bulletin Info and Poster

The Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS) is excited to announce the 2nd Leading Change Summit, May 2-4, 2023 at various locations in Edmonton. This summit will focus on ideas, research, and emerging practices in visioning, fostering, and sustaining more ethical spaces in gender-based violence prevention. Early bird deadline is this Friday, March 31!

Online registration is now open for Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth CLAY 2023: Ashes & Embers, to be held August 10-13 in Waterloo, Ontario. Please spread the word to youth and leaders in your parishes!