Anglican Diocese of Edmonton | Anglican Diocese in Edmonton, AB

Those who are sick, suffering, or in need: Pamela, Jenn, Savannah, Adam, Shannon, Ashley, Thomas, Miles, Noreen, Judy, Floyd, Bob, Paul, Rhea, Mitchell, Jen, Carye, Pam, Elliott, Elaine
Those who have died and those who mourn
Those affected by conflict or natural disasters around the world
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.
Add a name to this prayer list. We will use first names only. Names are kept on the list for two weeks unless intentionally renewed at the end of those two weeks.

The Anglican Diocese of Edmonton’s name has a long history. “Edmonton” originally referred to the “farmstead of Eadhelm”, which was named after someone lost to history in the years before William the Conqueror ordered the survey of much of England and Wales (1) in 1086. The site of Eadhelm’s farm eventually grew into a village until it was big enough for a train station in the 19th Century, which led to its absorption into Greater London, UK.

During the intervening years, and through many colonial initiatives, Edmonton House was built by the North Saskatchewan River in 1795. Its founders sadly ignored the Cree name amiskwacîwâskahikan and borrowed a name from the London (2) borough of Enfield, the hometown of several influential Hudson’s Bay Company members (3).

In 1870, Canada acquired Rupert’s Land (4), and the CP Railway arrived, leading to growth. The inauguration of Edmonton as a city in 1904 involved absorbing five adjacent municipalities (7). It was designated as the provincial capital in 1905 (8).

When the Diocese of Edmonton was established in 1913, having been divided from the Diocese of Calgary (9), its name was available because the Diocese of Edmonton (Catholic) had been elevated to an Archdiocese the previous year. The Synod Office of the Diocese of Edmonton (Anglican), which still regularly receives misplaced phone calls for the Archdiocese of Edmonton (Catholic), offers no comment.

The Diocese of Edmonton sat securely in the middle of Alberta for the following fifty-seven years, until events back in England challenged its governance (10). As Bishop Stephen (11) often observes, “every solution leads to more complications.” In our case, the complication came in the form of a June 11, 1970, royal decree, which allowed for suffragan bishops in the Diocese of London (14) and resulted in a multiplicity of Dioceses of Edmonton. This has caused worldwide confusion and even necessitated a disambiguation on Wikipedia.

This confusing state of affairs shows no sign of ending, as the Diocese of Edmonton and the Diocese of Edmonton both claim the name. The Diocese of Edmonton (15), however, has elected a Bishop London (16), which some may take as a sign of reconciliation. To the best of our knowledge, the other Diocese of Edmonton has not yet elected a Bishop Alberta.

Bishop London of the Diocese of Edmonton looks forward to welcoming Bishop Jeremiah of the Diocese of Edmonton, who will be travelling from London to the Diocese of Edmonton in August, to further solidify good relations between the Diocese of Edmonton and the Diocese of Edmonton (17).

Footnotes:

i. not that one

1. neither the sea mammal (+h) nor the early-20th-Century Queen of Norway nor the Canadian Arctic island

2. UK, not Ontario

3. none of whom, presumably, were related to Eadhelm

4. the Hudson’s Bay drainage basin, not the ecclesiastical province (5) or the diocese (6)

5. now the Ecclesiastical province of the Northern Lights

6. Still the Diocese of Rupert’s Land

7. Strathcona, North Edmonton, West Edmonton, Beverley, and Jasper Place, which may or may not still carry resentment

8. Calgary may or may not still carry resentment

9. refer to footnote 8

10. this isn’t familiar at all…

11. Not to be confused with Bishop Stephens of New Westminster (12)

12. British Columbia, not Westminster, London (13)

13. the city (see footnote 2), not the Bishop (see footnote 11)

14. refer to footnote 2

15. Canada

16. refer to the inverse of footnote 13

17. Gahh!

Saturday, April 4, 2026, at 7:00 pm

St. Paul's, 10127 145 St NW, Edmonton, AB T5N 2X6

Holy Saturday is a gestational pause that can form us spiritually.
If the enormity and infinitude of God can be swallowed up in a day, consider what an attentive two hours during that day has to offer you.
The Day of the Tomb... a womb for gestating our re-genesis.

********************
God’s Expiration is our Inspiration.
Respiration. Respiration, which consists of inspiration and expiration, ceases at death. The dying breath of every one of us is always an expiration.
Christ’s dying breath was an expiration.
The Spirit that breathed life into Adam...
Is the same breath that breathed life into desolation at the Valley of the Dry Bones in Ezekiel.
Is the same breath of the resurrected Christ who breathed peace onto his disciples in the upper room.
ALL of these life-giving breaths were expirations of the Breath of God.
And the expiration of Christ at Calvary is of this same Holy Respiration that imparts life.
Between expiration and inspiration, there is a pause. This pause embodies neither expiration nor inspiration and yet is a vital part of respiration.
Holy Saturday. The Day of the Tomb. Holy Saturday is the pause between Good Friday's expiration and Easter Sunday's inspiration.
Holy Saturday is a gestational pause that can form us spiritually.
If the enormity and infinitude of God can be swallowed up in a day, consider what an attentive two hours during that day has to offer you.
The Day of the Tomb... a womb for gestating our re-genesis.

Gestations in the Womb of Re-Genesis in 2024 was the birthing version of a new Windswept Worship liturgy. The liturgy in 2025 was presented with refinements. 2026 will have further enhancements.

Event Image: Womb Bowl, a 25th-anniversary gift Jim Robertson received from Darlene in 2005 to encourage his explorations in using artisan-crafted bowls as tactile mantras for contemplative prayer.

From Alongside Hope, the Anglican Church of Canada’s agency for sustainable development and relief:

Since February 28, the escalating military violence in the Middle East has been worsening and widening, with humanitarian needs rising rapidly:

More than 2,000 people have been killed, and more than 20,000 people are injured.
Nearly 4 million people are internally displaced. In Lebanon alone, more than 810,000 people, including 290,000 children, have been forced to flee their homes.
Hostilities have affected 14 countries so far, destroying or damaging schools, hospitals, health centres and energy infrastructure.

Until March 30, the Humanitarian Coalition (HC) is raising funds to rush life-saving assistance to people in need in Lebanon, Syria, and across the wider region. The HC comprises 12 leading international aid organizations in Canada, including the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. As a member of the Foodgrains Bank, Alongside Hope is able to participate in and contribute to emergency fundraising appeals.

In a pastoral letter against the escalating violence, the Most Reverend Hosam Nouam, Archbishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, called for “the global Church to join us in urgent unceasing prayer. We implore God to protect the innocent – the mothers, the children and the elderly – who are caught in the crossfire of this ‘operation Epic Fury’ and the subsequent ‘crushing responses.’ We pray specifically for a ‘sound mind’ for the leaders of the United States, Israel and Iran, that they might recognize the futility of this bloodshed and turn back from the precipice of a global catastrophe.”

Read the entire story

How you can help:

PRAY. Please continue to pray for the innocent people in the Middle East caught in the crossfire of this war.

ACT. Please share our emergency bulletin insert with your parish or community.

GIVE. Support our partner’s life-saving work with the Diocese of Jerusalem by donating online to Alongside Hope’s Gaza and West Bank Emergency Appeal. You can also donate by calling 1-866-308-7973. Or mail a cheque to Alongside Hope: 80 Hayden Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada, M4Y 3G2. Please indicate “Gaza/West Bank” in the memo field.