The Indigenous People’s Alliance of Manitoba-North (IPAM-N) will use the funds to purchase and distribute face masks and supplies for cleaning and disinfecting. The items will be delivered to Sherridon, Pikwitonei, Thicket Portage, Grand Rapids, Wabowden, Cormorant, Easterville, Leaf Rapids, Lynn Lake, Moose Lake, Brochet and Thompson.

The needed supplies were identified by IPAM-N members, including Freda Lepine, who is also a member of PWRDF’s Indigenous Partner Advisory Committee.

“It’s a big thing,” says Lepine of the $50,000 from her home in Wabowden. “We stretch our dollar. We don’t want to help just one community, but this allows us to get cleaning supplies to many communities.”

Throughout the pandemic IPAM has been supporting several communities with food hampers, educational supplies, and delivering meals to those who are shut-in. They have also made it possible for food to be harvested and for younger people to learn about this cultural tradition, which also plays a vital part in food security. “We were able to provide funds for gas for hunters to get out and harvest six caribou which were then shared with the community,” says Lepine.

Lepine notes that IPAM may be able to include some of these cleaning supplies with food hamper deliveries, in order to maximize efficiency.

These four photographs are from the truck shipment to Bearskin Lake

PWRDF is in conversation with other communities in need, most notably Tataskweyak Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba, which declared a state of emergency due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant. At midnight January 7, the community of 3,000 went into lockdown, said Bishop Larry Beardy on Facebook. “Our health staff are tired and overwhelmed,” wrote Beardy. There are only two nurses at the health centre on five-hour shifts and two front line responders doing testing. “The cases are exploding in our communities. Please pray for the sick, and all in the communities.”

Bishop Beardy is the Indigenous Suffragan Bishop of Mishamikoweesh’s Northern Manitoba Area Mission. PWRDF Executive Director Will Postma has spoken with Bishop Beardy as well as with Bishop Geoff Woodcroft of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land about an additional emergency response that is being finalized. Goods and supplies for communities in northern Manitoba would be purchased in Winnipeg and then transported to the north. Bishop Woodcroft noted supplies purchased with PWRDF funds would add to goods and donations already received by the Diocese.

While temperatures plunge to 30 and 40 degrees below zero, please keep these communities in your prayers as they try to self-isolate and return to good health.

How can you help?

To make a donation to this response, go to the PWRDF website at pwrdf.org and click on the tab for “Give Today.” You may also donate by phone at 416-822-9083 or leave a voicemail toll-free at 1-866-308-7973 and we will return your call, or mail your cheque to PWRDF, 80 Hayden, 3rd floor, Toronto, Ontario, M4Y 3G2. Please mark Indigenous COVID in the memo field.

The post Responding to COVID-19 in Indigenous Communities appeared first on Anglican Life.

Being in hospital, Sundays were my worst days. I wanted to be at the altar—it was where I was needed. I was not “sick.” Yet with a kline splint and no weight to be applied to my left leg, and no bending whatsoever, I could not be at the altar. I was out for Easter. Yet over the years, when asked what did I want to give up for Lent, I would jokingly say that I would like to give up church for Lent. I gave up Church for Lent alright, but not because I wanted to, and not as a Lenten discipline. 

As the weeks of being in hospital went along, I feared how I would feel at Easter, especially on Easter Day. As one former parishioner said to me: “I have never seen someone love Easter like you do.” I love Easter. For me Easter is what it is all about. I could feel the depression sinking in. Knowing the day was coming when I should be standing and proclaiming my Alleluias, I was feeling anything but joyful. I was mad, angry, upset, and many other words that could be used. I was mad at myself and I was mad at God, and I was mad at anyone who annoyed me. After all there are only so many times in which a person can hear those words: “how are you?” and not want to scream. 

To make matters worse, the Friday before Palm Sunday, at 8:10 am, my mother called my hospital room to inform me that just minutes before calling me, my sister had died. So here I was in the hospital in Channel-Port aux Basques, my sister had died at Western Regional Memorial Hospital in Corner Brook, my brother was living in Markham, Ontario, and my mom was in Conception Bay South; I could not do what I felt I was called to do and to be at that time. To say the least, it was a “Good Friday Moment.” It was a Good Friday moment, and the darkness of Saturday was heavy, it was very dark and; it was very real. My sister was buried on the day after Palm Sunday. Easter Day came but it was no Easter for me. It was dark, it was sad, it was depressing. My hospital room that day was the upper room where fearful disciples were locked in. In my upper room that day, I did not eat a thing, I did not want to see anyone. I did not want to even be washed and wear a clean johnny coat. It was not a good place to be and; that is an understatement. 

I returned to work in September 2019 going through the motions of things as I went back to work. It goes without saying that the person I was prior to injury and the person who returned back to parish duties was not the same person. Once we experience things, we change and we cannot go back, we live a “new normal.” As we approached Lent 2020 I was fearful, because Easter was falling on what was going to be the first anniversary of my sister’s death. God and I had a lot of arguing over that one. I was longing for the joy I had in Easter 2018. After the celebration of Ash Wednesday, and after attending a well needed retreat with my fellow priests and deacons, I felt ready for Easter. I needed Easter. Then the pandemic struck. It is often said that things happen for reasons, and as the hymn writer William Cowper wrote in 1777: “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.” Easter 2019, prepared me for Easter 2020. I prepared for an online worship service. I did it and after doing it, I sat in my living room and I cried. I thought I was going to have my Easter moment but I did not. But I did have the Easter moment I needed. The Easter Gospel for that year was from St. Matthew’s Gospel: the angel comes down and causes an earthquake. German Monk Anselm Grün, writes that when life is full of darkness and depression, the angel causing the earthquake wants to awaken our trust that the state of the grave does not remain permanent for adults and children. I realized when I proclaimed to an online congregation that the angel has come and caused to earthquake, I came to the realization of what it means to profess week after week my belief and my hope in the communion of saints, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. 

As I came to that realization, words came back to me that had been spoken by my bishop in his attempt to give pastoral care to me. He said: “Jeffrey, you will see your sister again,” and as that came flooding back, Easter meant something more, but not the way I would have liked. The way I would have liked to have felt the Easter joy was to stand at the altar and celebrate the sacred mysteries. Easter meant that in the darkest of times, there is light and it is just around the corner and it will be bright. At the time when my bishop said that to me, I said back to him: “I know, but I do not know what I will do first, hug her or slap her.” More than likely when that day of resurrection comes, I will probably do both. 

I need Easter. 

I need Easter this year to be like Easter prior to 2019, so that those 10 simple words of “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again,” that each and everyone of us can share in can be for me, and for those with whom I now live and work, words which will be words of praise. This year as we look with St. Luke at the empty tomb, we can ask ourselves: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” 

I look not for the living among the dead; I look for the living among the living. Looking for the living among the living is the reason why this year, more than ever before, I need Easter.

The post I Need Easter appeared first on Anglican Life.

Now, I’m sure that most of us have experienced, during our lifetime, a trip to the hospital as a patient. And whether for a short time or an extended period, a chaplain of one’s own faith has always been there to administer spiritual comfort as needed.

In his article, Mr. Gardener is writing and presenting a mini biography of two hospital chaplains and their individual beliefs or two different religious persuasions. He elaborates on how an overwhelming health crisis, namely COVID-19, influenced their decision to close the gap between their respective faiths. 

We are all fully aware that with the multiple waves of COVID-19, hospitals are at their highest capacity. Multiple emergencies have necessitated an urgent request for the help they provide as members of the clergy. With so much suffering and so few volunteers to help the chaplains, they found themselves forced to break with tradition. Regardless of faith choices, attention was prioritized to the patients who had the greatest need for spiritual comfort; but they were always cognizant that both of them were worshipping the same God regardless of the possible differences in their method of delivery. At the same time, good will between faiths was always displayed. 

Much appreciation must be showered upon these individuals who unselfishly spend long hours right alongside health care professionals in this free will mission of humanity 

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6

The post Overlapping Denominational Boundaries appeared first on Anglican Life.

April is also a month when we, according to the Latin origin of the word, open ourselves up to the Canada Revenue Agency, and month’s end is the deadline for most of us to get our 2021 tax return in. Some of you are keeners and perhaps have all the work completed and have received your refund back already. However, I suspect that most of you are still sitting on your tax details and will not submit your return until the last minute.

You most likely know all this, but this is what financial experts say about what you’ll need to get your taxes done:

1. Social insurance Number and other personal information.
2. Any income T-slips (T-4, T-5 etc)
3. Any records of additional income
4. Tax receipts for deduction (Charitable donations, childcare, medical expenses, etc.)
5. RRSP contribution slips or repayments for the Home Buyers Plan or Lifelong Learning Plan
6. The tax package sent to you

One accountant suggested that medical expenses are the deduction that most people miss out on. For example, he says that the list of tax deductible medical expenses is quite extensive. For example, you can claim prescription drugs, diapers, fertility procedures, ambulance services and more. Certain conditions apply, but he suggests that you hold on to your receipts for all of these things.

The accountant noted as well that since COVID-19 has forced many people to work from home, the Canadian Government has simplified the process when claiming home office tax deduction. Every individual can now claim up to $400 in expenses if you worked from home.

You should also remember, according to that expert, that both the Canada Emergency Tax Benefit (CERB) and Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) are taxable. For CERB, no taxes were withheld by the source, but 10% of the CRB was withheld at the source for taxes. Note: if you were on either of these programs, it is taxable income.

Finally, if you are feeling somewhat overwhelmed or intimidated by the process, I would recommend you hire a tax preparer or an accountant to do everything for you.

Yes indeed, April is a time to open yourself up to CRA. Remember that old saying that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. Since we are not too fussy about dealing with death at this point, we may as well bite the bullet and do our taxes.

One final note, in a recent column I referred to the book about the Church of England orphanage. Well, I omitted saying that the book, written by the late Bishop Peddle, can be purchased at the Synod Office. All proceeds go towards the Anglican Charitable Foundation for Children.

The post April: From the Latin Verb “Aperire,” To Open appeared first on Anglican Life.

On divine matters it was my sense that just about everyone believed in God, and nobody seriously questioned whether or not there was a God. For sure there were different levels of devoutness but no evidence of outright disbelieving. Outside of church and school activities, very little discussion of God or faith issues took place. My parents regularly attended church and certainly believed in God, but they were never inclined, nor were their friends and co-workers, to openly discuss religious matters. There was this sense of hushed reverence over things spiritual, and that loose talk had connotations of being ungodly. 

In the province of Newfoundland, beginning in the late 1950s and picking up speed thereafter, churches began losing authority and influence. People were no longer committed to regular church attendance and seeing their lives through religious eyes. As experienced elsewhere in Canada, participation and attendance in main stream religions were in steep decline, and the fastest growing group was those who had “no religion.” The church did not seem to know how to meaningfully respond to such changes. Many churches have since shut down while others are just barely hanging on. 

Nowadays, it’s common to have discussions on religious and faith-based issues, both in private and in public life. Emerging evangelism, especially in the larger centres, contributes to some religious expansion but various survey results keep popping up to show a consistent downturn in traditional religions. Still, it’s fairly common to hear older folks talk openly, and often despairingly, about the demise of traditional, organized religions. 

Many people currently embrace individual spirituality, feeling and thinking it allows them more personal freedom in communicating to God, or whomever or whatever, as they see fit. They do not want to be hide-bound to pre-packaged practices and procedures commonly found within the well-established religious organizations. This opening up approach has resulted in the borders between the religious, the spiritual, the secular, the agnostics, the atheists, and so on, becoming increasingly more trouble free. 

The coat of arms of Newfoundland, granted in 1638 by King Charles the first, has its motto “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” What impact it has on 21st century NL is a good question. Though, one can still hear reference to the old saying “On stormy nights at sea, there are no atheists.” 

The march of time, in Newfoundland as elsewhere, has brought about restructuring of social and economic life, and many aspects of the old culture have changed or disappeared. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians still take pride in their robust, independent, and sea faring history, “where Jack is as good as his master,” and are ever so quick to publicly complain against perceived societal wrongdoings. Rights of the individual versus collective rights, and rights of the state, continue to be broadly discussed. It’s fair to say that in Newfoundland, participatory democracy is in full bloom. 

Still, in our midst the well engrained old values of faith-based living, along with high levels of emerging individual spirituality, result in a collective appreciation of what’s right and proper for our time.

The post Reasonable and Probable Grounds to Believe appeared first on Anglican Life.

Anyway, Easter Sunday sunrise service is still very vivid in my mind from all those years ago. It seemed to me as though on every Easter Sunday, the sun was shining brightly as we drove to church. I know that isn’t possible because we live in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, but in my mind’s eye that is how I remember those sunrise services. I can see the rays of light dancing off the cross that was hanging behind the altar. The reflection on that cross on Easter Sunday was more brilliant than it was on the Sunday before or the Sunday after. The organ music also had a different sound at the sunrise service. When the clergy and choir began to walk down the aisle singing “Jesus Christ is Risen Today, Alleluia!”, I had goosebumps on my arms because of the joyousness and powerfulness with which the hymn was sung! Those sunrise services were magical to me when I was growing up!

All these years later, my favourite service is still Easter Sunday. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is such a gift from God to us. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins. He spent hours on a cross, suffering in pain so that we would be able to one day go to heaven to be with our Father. His sacrifice means that every one of us can go to a heavenly reward after death. Jesus cleared the way for us to spend eternity in heaven—a place so fantastic that the Bible says we can’t begin to imagine how wonderful heaven is until we actually get there! Our minds can not produce the glory and splendour of being in the same place as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Considering all the technology that humankind has created and all the things we can imagine, how marvellous is heaven going to be?

During these awful times where war and disease and torment are unfortunately a part of daily life, we, as Christians, should remember and focus on Jesus’ great sacrifice for us. He died that we might live! Through belief, we will have a great reward after death. No matter how hopeless our world feels, have faith that God will see us all through the chaos.

God bless you all and Happy Easter!

The post The Hope of Easter appeared first on Anglican Life.

On February 25 -26 the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador met for the 32nd Session of Synod, Part A. This gathering was like no other for many reasons, but one in particular—we meet entirely online through Zoom.

While the style of the gathering was different all the traditional elements remained, including:

• An Opening Eucharist
• The Bishop’s Charge
• Devotions led by Archdeaconries
• Financial Reports
• Elections for Provincial Synod and General Synod delegates
• Exploring our current and future ministry as a Diocese

Bishop Samuel Rose set the theme of our Synod with a heart-felt, realistic, and hopeful Charge to the Diocese. He reminded us of the work set out at Synod 2018 through the Report of the Commission on Parish Renewal and Viability, which is entitled Surviving or Thriving: The Future of the Church in the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador. The work of Surviving or Thriving had just begun in earnest when a global pandemic hit our shores. 

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the diocese to go into survival mode, and finances that had been earmarked for the work of the Commission had to be redirected to support parishes. While we are still making our way through these pandemic days, we have learned that the Church has been forever changed. 

Synod Part A received a report called A Way Forward to complement the 2018 Surviving or Thriving. This report provides data and financial trends in:

• Parish Revenue Declining
• Rising Deficits
• Assessment Arrears
• Principles and Process for Parish Sustainability and Reorganization 

In the A Way Forward presentation, we heard:

“Restructuring and finding new models of ministry is not just because of the pandemic, we have known for some time that demographic change, lower numbers attending worship, and declining financial resources have been part of our story for quite some time.  What the pandemic is teaching us is, we can no longer rely on the things we used to do to just get through. We have been and will continue to be changed by this global pandemic.”

In the midst of our reality as a Diocese, Bishop Rose reminded us that in times of uncertainty and change the one thing that is certain and never changing is our Saviour Jesus Christ—and thus “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering.”

The post “Let Us Hold Fast To The Confession Of Our Hope Without Wavering” Hebrews 10:23 appeared first on Anglican Life.

Heffernan says, “Many people reading this article would not have personally known, the late Geoffrey Peddle, former Bishop of the Eastern Diocese of Newfoundland and Labrador. As for me, he was my friend, and I knew of his work and total dedication to the Anglican Church of Canada, particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador. I was aware of his writing a book on the 114-year-old history of the Church of England Orphanage in St. John’s covering the noble work of the now Anglican Church of Canada.” He encourages anyone interested in learning more to read the book by Bishop Peddle, which is available from the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador (22 Church Hill, St. John’s, NL A1C 3Z9, or by phoning (709) 576-6697).

From the back cover of the book: “From its beginning in 1855 as The Newfoundland Church of England Asylum for Widows and Orphans following a devastating outbreak of cholera in St. John’s, until its ending in 1969, approximately 2000 children were cared for by the institution. And not just children; until 1908 widows were also included. And even when the orphanage closed, the Anglican church continued the good work it had done with children and their families by investing the assets into The Anglican Charitable Foundation for Children (ACFC). In the years since, the ACFC has helped more than 39,000 children and young people and distributed over $8 million.”

Heffernan added, “Might I also take the privilege of asking you, after reading it, to donate your book to another person who may also enjoy this wonderful story. As a non-Anglican resident of that orphanage from 1950-1956, I know that this story is true and accurate.”

The post A Salute to The Anglican Church of Canada appeared first on Anglican Life.

Regular Sunday worship at Queen’s chapel wasn’t what I’d expected either. The gathered community was not totally comprised of university students. In fact, many of the students who frequented the chaplaincy office area at the Student Center, didn’t attend chapel worship at all, but many others from the outside community did. I invested time throughout my whole student assignment trying to figure out what these diverse expressions might have in common. Of course, all of my cogitations (love that word!) were formed out of my own life experiences. 

I’ll go back to that first sermon. Standing in the middle of the Chapel, I began with the “in the Name of the Father, and of the…” formula. It’s a safe start for those who are nervous and afraid to pray. Then I offered as an introduction, “Today is my first sermon as a postulant. So, with you, I begin my ministry of proclaiming the Word.” Perhaps it was an appeal for mercy. The smiles and affirmations were warm.

That’s the only thing I remember about delivering the first sermon, other than the feeling that I wasn’t connected and had no business preaching to this community.

Long before I was ordained, I was a student of life—one who had many confusing and tumultuous ups and downs. Ever since I was ordained, as a student of biblical text and a preacher, I have searched, and will continue to search for connections, or to use a fancier word, correlations between things. To guide me, I turn to the story of Jesus. I turn to his invitation to a resurrection reality that was not an event in history, but a revelation that takes place in the hearts of believers every single day.

When we read the story of Jesus, his pattern of connecting people to each other is at the core of his work. We call this the Incarnation and the Atonement, connecting us was his work in birth, growing up, teaching, healing, death, and resurrection. Yes, it took work for people to make these connections. Some people didn’t. The disciples certainly had a lot to work out. The teacher had died, was emptied and cruelly disposed of. What’s more, in the “eyes of the unwise” he seemed to have given up. Like a lamb to slaughter: a God dying, exhausted, and defeated, dying on a cross. Oh what questions they had! Oh how far from realizing that he chose to empty himself as an evidence of love. There is a starting point for the connections we seek. 

The story of the Church: early beginnings, worship, persecution, councils and creeds, tells the story of a community in search of correlation. What are you searching for in this COVID-19 age? What connections do you need to find?

The resurrection story is meant for us to have a common place from which each of us may start. Easter’s first glance is an empty one. Look inside the grave. It’s empty. It is an invitation to start with the impossible, realize that you know nothing but your own longing for connection, truth and meaning.

If you listen closely, you will hear the voice of one you think is the gardener, softly calling your name.

When you hear it, go with him. It is Jesus. He will show you the connections you need, and you won’t be alone. Many of us will be sharing the journey with you.
Isaiah 65 offers:

I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name,
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’

Many, many, blessings for Easter and beyond.

+John, Central Newfoundland

The post Jesus Will Show You The Connections You Need appeared first on Anglican Life.

I am writing to you all about some changes that are coming to the Anglican Life website, or may have already come depending on when you’re reading this. I have been part of a digital working group from across the country since the early fall of 2021, and we have been working towards the launch of an exciting new project called Anglican News Canada. 

Anglican News Canada is a completely new digital platform, and works to bring together the Anglican Journal and a growing number of diocesan (or tri-diocesan in our case) publications. They will be together under this single “umbrella,” but also still separate and unique. The purpose of this platform it to allow Anglicans to more easily connect with each other from across Canada and beyond. With a few clicks of your mouse, you will be able to access information from all of the Anglican Church of Canada publications, as well as international news, spiritual reflections, opinion pieces, and much more.

In addition to these exciting things, our own Anglican Life website is getting a redesign. You’ll still be able to read the paper online, and download a PDF of it to print out if you want to, but you’ll also be able to more easily access individual articles and columns within the paper, and share those with friends by email, or on social media. It’s hoped that this will greatly improve our online readership, but it doesn’t not spell out an end to the print paper. At present, there is no plan to stop printing Anglican Life, but this gives you a better way to enjoy it even more, and to share it digitally with those who might enjoy it too!

So when you get the chance, please do check out the “new look” website for Anglican Life. We’re keeping the same address: anglicanlife.ca, so we aren’t changing everything, and it shoud be just as easy to find us online as ever. Back issues will also be available as PDFs, as they have been since the website was set up a few years ago. Feel free to let me know what you think about it by writing to: anglicanlifenl@gmail.com. I hope that you enjoy the new website and also take time to explore anglicannews.ca. 

About the new logo for Anglican Life:

As I have worked towards becoming a part of this new national digital platform, I have been noticing that some of the other papers from across the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) have logos that are instantly recognizable, and that can be used as a handy graphic in web design as well as for print publication. I thought, “Well, if they can have that, then so should we.” But what to chose as a symbol for Anglican Life?

At a meeting with the digital working group, I suggested that fish were the obvious choice for a paper from Newfoudland and Labrador. You’ll all be proud of me to hear that when they asked what kind of fish, I responded with “There is only one fish, and that’s cod. Everything else is called by its name: haddock, sole, trout, etc. But when you say ‘fish,’ you mean cod and cod only.”

After the meeting, I took some time to think about the idea of a logo, and while I had just thrown the idea of fish out there, the more that I thought about it, the better it sounded to me. I reached out to the Joint Committee Officer, the Rev’d Fred Marshall, and he agreed that it’s a good choice for Anglican Life, and he then reached out to representatives from the three dioceses to see what they thought.

When everyone had agreed that fish were both a good representation of the province of NL, and also a good Biblical reference for a Church publication, the next step was to reach out to Saskia Rowley who is the head of the graphics and print production department for the national office of the ACC. For anyone who has had the chance to work with Saskia, you’ll agree with me that she is a worker of miracles and is also one of the loveliest people in the world. I sent her a rough sketch of a fish, and she sent me several amazing options for Anglican Life’s use. In consultation with the three dioceses, I chose the one that you see in this month’s paper. You’ll have to forgive me that they aren’t exactly codfish: the addition of fins and the beard-like barbel made the logo feel too busy. I hope that you like it, and the new colours for Anglican Life, and thank you all for the support that you give to your paper.

The post From the Editor About the Redesigned Website and Our New Anglican Life Logo appeared first on Anglican Life.