Earthquake Relief
Please keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts and prayers, and if you are able to offer financial support to this devastated area, please remember that money donated through PWRDF is matched by the federal government through CIDA. So for every dollar you donate through PWRDF, two dollars is sent to Haiti. A Wikipedia article contains up-to-date information on the beleaguered Anglican cathedral in Port-au-Prince.

Appointment
The Rev. Bonnie LeBlanc, Parish of Andover, was appointed Regional Dean of Woodstock for a three year term, beginning Jan. 15.

Parish Returns

2009 Parish Return and 2010 Officers and Contacts working forms have been posted to the Diocesan web site, available for download as a package or as separate files in PDF format. Please remember that Returns are due by 15 March 2010. Visit the Diocesan Information Managment System (DIMS) login page for those links.

View An up-to-date list of diocesan appointments and announcements.

Temporal Transactions

View an up-to-date list of property transactions within the diocese.

Open incumbencies

* Appointment process status:
     H - On hold
     P - In parish profile preparation
     E - Accepting expressions of interest
     I - In the interview process
     A - Awaiting appointment

Diocesan openings

The Nominating Committee currently invites nominations for the following positions:

    • Investment sub-committee (one member)

• Human Resources Committee (two lay positions)
• Nominating Committee Member (one lay and one cleric)

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RCL Lectionary (Year C)

Sunday, Jan. 24
Third Sunday after Epiphany (Green)

Propers 350; Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21. Preface of the Lord's Day.

PRAY for the Anglican Church of Burundi, the Most Rev. Bernard Ntahoturi, Archbishop of the Province of Burundi & Bishop of Matana.

Visit these links:
Anglican Cycle of Prayer
Council of the North Prayers
Provincial Prayer Care
Diocesan Intercessions

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Looking for an alb or two
Two new layreaders in the Parish of Stanley need gowns. If you have an extra one it would be appreciated. Contact the Rev. Canon Elaine Hamilton <hamil at nbnet.nb.ca>.

Taking Care of the Neighbourhood: Worship as Public Work for the Common Good
This 2010 National Worship Conference, jointly sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada will be held July 4-7 at the Vancouver School of Theology, on the UBC campus. Speakers include Distinguished Theologian in Residence Dr. Sallie McFague of VST, and award-winning religion columnist Douglas Todd. The event will also feature insightful workshops and inspiring worship. Deadline for early-bird registration is March 15. Information &registration.

The Anglican Pilgrimage  June 11-25, 2010

Every summer Canterbury Cathedral invites ordinands and newly ordained clergy from around the Anglican Communion to share their lives together, praying, studying and exchanging experiences and ideas. Guided by an international faculty, students live in the International Study Centre at Canterbury. They join the Cathedral community’s daily life which is centred on daily worship. Details and an application form are available on-line.

Mabel C. Dean Memorial Bursary
Applications for the $1,000 Mabel C. Dean Memorial Bursary in support of children of diocesan clergy at university, college or other post secondary institution will be accepted until March 31, 2010 at The Bishop's Office, 115 Church St., Fredericton, E3B 4C8.

Order of St. Luke International Conference Conference

OSL International Conference on healing for the person, the church and the world, June 21-25, 2010, at University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC. with speakers from Wales, Ireland, England, New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Canada. Membership in OSL is not necessary in order to attend. Register here.

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Jan. 20, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.  Diocesan Council, Christ Church (Parish) Church, Fredericton.

Jan. 25, 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.  Council Administration Team meeting, Synod Office boardroom, Fredericton.

Jan. 26, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Investment Committee, Synod Office boardroom, Fredericton.

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ACT Alliance Support Reaching Haiti
The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) sent an initial grant of $15,000 for ACT’s Rapid Response Program. As of Monday (Jan. 18) , PWRDF has responded with an additional grant of $35,000. Find a complete update on the PWRDF response to the earthquake in Haiti here.

Visit the Diocesan PWRDF or PWRDF National pages.

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Jan. 28, 12 noon Bridge party at St. Mary's Church (York) on McEvoy Street in Fredericton to raise funds for Hatian relief. The event starts with lunch and the entry fee is $10, ($40 per table). To register, or for more info, call Bettie Ann Boulter, 472-4224 or Shirley Hovey, 474-0022.

Jan. 30, 7 p.m. Dessert reception and silent auction fundraiser for the Cathedral Belize mission team at Cathedral Memorial Hall, Church Street, Fredericton.

March 5-7, Work and Creativity Retreat led by retired Bishop Bill Hockin at Villa Madonna, Rothesay. Registration $168 single, $248 double, contact Canon John Cathcart <john.cathcart at anglican.nb.ca>. Bursaries are available (contact Canon Neville Cheeseman <neville.cheeseman at nb.sympatico.ca>.

April 20-22, 2010, Clergy Spouse's Conference, Villa Madonna in Rothesay. Please reserve these dates.

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Job listings for the Canadian church.

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Is the local church disappearing?
The State of the Local Church - Part 1:

Canadian Christianity.Com

Jan. 19, 2009
In the late 1950s, the United Church aimed to have a church in every high school catchment area in Canada. Today, many of those congregations of 200-300 people have dwindled to less than 100. Some have closed altogether, and their buildings are being sold. The same thing is happening with other mainline denominations. Peter Elliott is chair of the Vision 2019 Task Force - an exercise "to discern, dream, and decide where we think God wants the Anglican Church of Canada to be in 2019." Elliott also headed an Anglican Diocese of New Westminster study group which, in 2009, presented a strategic plan called 'Growing Communities of Faith in Jesus Christ to serve God's Mission in the World.' The plan analyzed what is required for a vital, sustainable parish. Read the story.

'I was certain I was going to die'
Caught in Haiti earthquake, Episcopal Church missionaries recount survival
by Lynette Wilson and Mary Frances Schjonberg
Episcopal News Service
Jan. 18, 2010
Two Episcopal Church missionaries in Port-au-Prince say that they feared for their lives during the Jan. 12 earthquake and in its aftermath that shook the Haitian capital. When the magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit just before 5 p.m. local time, the Rev. Canon Oge Beauvoir and his wife Serrette were in their Port-au-Prince home, he told Nathan Brockman of Trinity Wall Street in a Jan. 15 telephone call. Read the story.

Diocese of New Westminster files cross-appeal
by Leigh Anne Williams
Anglican Journal
Jan. 16, 2010

The diocese of New Westminster has filed a cross-appeal of a November decision in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The cross-appeal was filed in response to an appeal filed by the trustees of four Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) congregations in late December. Read the story.

Task force not keen to change primacy model
by Marites N. Sison
Amglican Journal
Jan. 15, 2010
Chateauguay, Montreal: The Primatial Review Task Force will not recommend a return to a model of primacy that existed before 1969, in which the primate of the Anglican Church of Canada remained a diocesan bishop after election. After extensive consultations that included provincial synods, the task force found “very little support” for changing the “detached primacy model,” said task force chair Bishop Michael Ingham, of the diocese of New Westminster, in briefing the House of Bishops. The task force report will be sent to the Council of General Synod (CoGS) meeting in March. Read the story.

Book on residential schools 'an exercise in revisionist history'
by Wendy Fletcher
Anglican Journal
Jan. 15, 2010
Indian Residential Schools: Another Picture by Eric Bays is designed to introduce an alternative reading of the residential school story. The author cites two earlier seminal works, A National Crime by historian John Milloy and Shingwauk’s Vision by historian James Miller, and acknowledges that these earlier works recognize the residential school experience cannot be told in black and white terms. Nevertheless, he persists in his project to present the “positive side” of residential schools. Read the story.

Think tank guided church through tough issues
by Ali Symons
Anglican Church of Canada Web News
Jan. 14, 2010
For 15 years the Primate's Theological Commission (PTC) has helped Canadian Anglicans think more clearly about their faith. The current team of 12 theologians will hold their last meeting from Jan. 20 to 23 in Niagara Falls, Ont. After that, the commission will be on hiatus as the Primate discerns how best to approach future theological work. Read the story.

Primate urges Canadian Anglicans to help Haiti
Anglican Journal
Jan. 13, 2010
The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) has released an initial grant of $15,000 to assist victims of a major earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, Jan. 12. “Hundreds, maybe thousands of people were buried alive” by the magnitude 7.0 quake, according to Action by Churches Together (ACT), a global coalition of church-based agencies working in emergencies worldwide, of which PWRDF is a member. It was the most powerful quake to hit Haiti in more than 200 years, according to the U.S. geological survey. PWRDF, the relief and development arm of the Anglican Church of Canada, issued the grant through ACT’s Rapid Response Program, which is already in place in Port-au-Prince. Read the story.

PWRDF responds to massive destruction in Haiti
Anglican Church of Canada Web News
Jan. 13, 2010
Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people were buried alive when a major earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, the capital of impoverished Haiti on Tuesday. The magnitude 7.0 quake sent panic-stricken people into the streets. Offices, hotels, houses and shops collapsed, and people were screaming "Jesus, Jesus", not knowing where to run. The presidential palace lay in ruins, and many churches have been destroyed. Members of ACT Alliance are already in place, assisting those affected by the earthquake. The ACT Secretariat in Geneva is coordinating the relief operations of its members, and more details will follow in the coming hours. Read the story.

A statement from the Primate on the disaster in Haiti
Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Anglican Church of Canada
Jan. 13, 2010
Haiti has been devastated by a terrible earthquake. Thousands are feared to have died and many more injured. The people in Haiti have suffered so much in the past 10 years. Hurricane Jeanne ripped through the island in 2004 and in 2008 tropical storms took a huge toll. Now a new disaster. Through the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund, our church has made an initial donation of $15,000 for emergency relief through Action by Churches Together (ACT).   Read the full statement.

Theological conference calls for new clergy training standards
by Marites N. Sison
Anglican Journal
Jan. 12, 2010

Chateauguay, Montreal: Anglican delegates to the first National Conference on Theological Education here have agreed to re-examine how they prepare candidates for ministry given the church’s changing context and crisis of leadership. At present, very little exists in terms of national standards, and dioceses have their own methods of preparing and accepting candidates for priesthood. Read the story.

Primate to lead Canadian delegation to World Religions Summit
by Marites N. Sison
Anglican Journal
Jan. 11, 2010
Chateauguay, Montreal: Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has accepted an invitation to lead the Canadian delegation to the 2010 World Religions Summit to be held in Winnipeg this June. About 100 faith leaders are gathering to pray and hold leaders of G8, the world’s richest countries, to their pledges of support for the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Religions Summit is being held June 21-23, just prior to the G8 Summit scheduled June 24 to 26 in Muskoka, Ont. Read the story.

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Council of the North Prayer Cycle

A Lot of Changes by Tim Elliott

Public Theology: Some concluding throughs

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Malachi 3:10

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. 

From the Ven. John M. Robertson, National Gift Planning Officer, Department of Philanthropy
Anglican Church of Canada

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Why can't chickens talk?

Because God doesn't like fowl language.

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