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The truth about short-term mission trips to poor, hot countries in the winter —

They're a blessing to everyone!

By Ann Deveau

Some people say short-term mission trips are a waste of time and money. The argument goes like this: it costs a small fortune to fly a group of well-meaning North Americans to a poor, hot country (in winter, of course) where they run around with a checklist for a week, trying to complete make-work projects before they jet home – never to be seen again by mystified, but probably grateful local people. Maybe it happens that way sometimes. But it wasn’t our experience as members of the Belize 2010 Missions Teams from Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton. We headed to the Central American country in late February-early March to work at St. Hilda’s Anglican School.  Read the story.

Camp Medley Staff House/Administration Building Grand Opening
June 19 at Camp Medley, Gunter Hill Road, Upper Gagetown
Reception 6:30 p.m. Official Opening 7 o’clock
Barbecue to follow.
Everyone is welcome.
Free-will offering appreciated.

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Congregational Growth and Development Fund
(A working title)

In response to decisions of Diocesan Synod in 2009, the Parish Support and Development Team is working toward the initiation in a diocesan fund similar to the "Builders For Christ Fund" created by Bishop Edward Salmon in the Diocese of South Carolina. The fund is intended to encourage parishes, groups of parishes, deaneries or archdeaconries to undertake innovative, risk-taking projects that will lead to spiritual/numerical/financial growth for the making of disciples. The fund will be distributed as grants to groups with plans which meet this criteria. The planning team has identified sound systems, musical instruments, puppet ministry materials, youth pastors, vehicles, Christian education materials, lunch programs for seniors/children, seniors clubs and family events as likely candidates for support, but it wants further input. Are there projects which your parish or a group of parishes might seek to develop if funding were available? Grants will range from a few hundred dollars to several thousands depending upon the response in the diocese. If you have ideas you might wish to see funded in your area please contact Archdeacon David Edwards <david.edwards at anglican.nb.ca>.

Prayer for Clergy College 2010

Prayer for the Speakers of the Clergy College
God the giver of wisdom, we give you thanksgiving and praise for the gift of knowledge. Give us minds to accept wisdom and hearts to live in wisdom.
We pray for your traveling mercies as our speakers travel to Fredericton for our Clergy College. We pray that the teachings shared by Eric Beresford, Gary Thorne and Brian Walsh in the coming clergy college will bring profound and living wisdom to all of our minds and hearts.
We ask your blessing upon our speakers as they carry on their professions as sharers of wisdom. May the seeds they plant grow to maturity in ways they could never imagine.

Download the brochure. Apply to register online.

Legacy Gifts Initiative
In partnership with the Anglican Church of Canada, the Diocese of Fredericton will launch a Legacy Gifts Initiative in May. It is an opportunity for the diocese to enter into a deeper relationship with those donors who express an interest in planned giving. See the 22 March 2010 media release.

Appointments and Announcements
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)

See a current listing of Diocesan Roles, Elections and Appointments on the diocesan web site.

To make a nomination or express interest in a position, contact committee chair chair Jack Walsworth <jwals at nbnet.nb.ca>.

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RCL Lectionary (Year B)

Sunday, May 9

Sixth Sunday of Easter (White)
Propers 341; Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10, 22—22:5; John 14:23-29 or John 5:1-9; Preface of Easter.

Cycles of Prayer
Pray for the Anglican Church of Korea, the Rt. Rev. Solomon Jongmo Toon, Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church of Korea and Bishop of Busan.

Visit these links:
Anglican Cycle of Prayer
Provincial Prayer Care
Diocesan Intercessions

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Advance notice of the annual Clergy Conference
Rothesay Netherwood School
August 30, 31 and September 1
Speaker: The Reverend Dr. Gary Nicolosi, Diocesan Congregational Development Facilitator, AnglicanDiocese of British Columbia.
Please reserve these dates, this is a conference well worth attending.

Health Care Encounter: A Place of Moral Meaning
With Dr. Nuala P. Kenny at Fredericton Inn, June 1, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. This workshop, sponsored by the Spiritual and Religious Care Department of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton, will focus on understanding the notion of spirituality in health care, and the challenges to palliative end of life care and assisted death. General registration $30 by May 21 ($40 after); spiritual and religious care department member registration $25 before May 21, $35 after; student registration, $10. Information available from <spiritual.religiouscare at horizonnb.ca>.

Diversity and Equity Leadership
Integrating Anti-Racism with Emotional Intelligence and Conflict Transformation

at Tatamagouche Centre, May 9-12.

Clergy College
10th Annual Clergy College featuring Eric Beresford, Brian Walsh and Gary Thorne

June 13-10, Hugh John Flemming Forestry Complex, Fredericton. Brochure.   On-line registion.

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May 4-5  ACW Annual meeting, All Saints, St. Andrews.

May 6-9  Growing in Kingdom Service, a School of Spiritual Healing sponsored by the Order of St. Luke and the Parish of St. Margaret's at St. Margaret's Church, 775 Forest Hill Road, Fredericton, with the Rev. Dr. Jack Sheffield and Anne Marie Sheffield of Deep River Ministries, San Antonio, Texas. Registration $50. Contact Elizabeth (Betty) Gayley <egaley at nb.sympatico.ca>

May 7, 5:30 p.m. Reception and Dinner in thanksgiving and celebration of the appointment of Archbishop Claude Miller as Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada. Tickets $50, available from Synod Office, 115 Church St., Fredericton and from territorial archdeacons.

May 8, 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Deacons Retreat, St. Luke's Church, Woodstock. The first of what will be an annual, community-building retreat. Two new aspirants, Barbara Haire and Agnes Scott, will be welcomed and congratulated.

May 8, 10 a.m. NB Cursillo Secretariat meeting at Christ Church (Parish) Church, Fredericton.

May 8, 7:30 p.m. Country Gospel Show in support of Canon Paul Jeffries, Bishop McAllister College in Uganda, at Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton. Hosted by Classic Country. Admission $7.50 at the door.

May 9, 7:30 p.m. Debut Atlantic presents Wendy Nielson and Peter Tiefenbach in concert with the Saint John Chorale, Cantabile Women’s Ensemble and the Saint John Men’s Chorus. Trinity Church, Saint John. Advance tickets $15 from choir members and the Trinity Church office (693-8558). Tickets $20 at the door.

May 10, 10:30 p.m. Administration Team meeting.

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Follow the PWRDF bike tour!
PWRDF Public Engagement Coordinator Suzanne Rumsey will bike from Halifax to the Island of Montreal after General Synod. She leaves Halifax on June 9 and hopes to arrive at her destination on June 27 with at least $130,000 dollars for PWRDF in celebration of its 50th anniversary. Most of her trip is through New Brunswick so we have lots of opportunities to see her and raise funds for her. Get all the details as soon as they become available.

Visit the Diocesan PWRDF or PWRDF National

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May 12, 4 - 6 p.m. Friendship Guild of Christ Church Cathedral 60th Anniversary Celebration, Cathedral Memorial Hall, Fredericton. RSVP Donna Wallace, 459-2114 or Lois Baker, 455-6064.

May 13, 6 p.m. A Spring Thing! celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Saint John Seafarer's Mission at the Lily Lake Pavilion in Saint John. Three course dinner, unique silent auction and entertainment by commedien Bill Carr. Tickets $75. For more information call 506/635-1731.

May 14-15 North western New Brunswick Shared Ministry Vestry Retreat with the Ven. David Edwards at Lakeside Lodge and Resort, 596 Gillespie Settlement Road. Take Exit 88 from the Trans Canada (Route 2) near Grand Falls.

May 15, 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Powerful Prayer, the Mothers' Union Spring Rally at St. Mary's and St. Bartholomews Church, 646 Westmorland Road, Saint John. Registration $10 through Deanna Morrison <dbmm at nbnet.nb.ca> by May 7.

May 15, 4 p.m. Taize Service at Christ Church Parish Church, Fredericton —prayer, music, contemplation and times of silence allowing us to center on our Heavenly Father. Please feel free to join us for this worship service.

May 30-June 2 The Atlantic Theological Conference for 2010 — Knit together in one communion: Anglican Identity and the Challenge of Diversity, St. George’s and St. Philip's Churches, Moncton.

June 1, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Health Care Encounter: A Place of Moral Meaning with Dr. Nuala P. Kenny at Fredericton Inn. Sponsored by the Spiritual and Religious Care Department of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton, the workshop will focus on understanding the notion of spirituality in health care, and the challenges to palliative end of life care and assisted death. General registration $30 by May 21 ($40 after); spiritual and religious care department member registration $25 before May 21 ($35 after); student registration, $10. Information available from <spiritual.religious care at horizonnb.ca>.

June 1, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Transformational Leadership for Mission and Ministry, a conversation with George Kovoor, principal of Trinity College, Bristol, UK. Registration $15 (includes lunch) through <info at taylorcollege.ca>. Presented by Anglican Communion Alliance (formerly the Anglican Essentials Federation) & Taylor College.

June 13, 1- 5 p.m. Camp Medley open house to see the new facilities, talk to management and some staff, swap Medley memories and enjoy the free-will offering barbecue.

June 18-20, Weekend Spring Retreat at Villa Madonna, Rothesay, and led by the Rev. Philip Chircop, an internationally known retreat master, public speaker and artist. The theme is Sacred Presents: Simple Gifts for Living with passion, Purpose and Grace. Registration $190 single, includes meals and accommodation; $115 for commuters (meals only). Non-refundable deposit of $75 required by May 15. Register on-line.

July 4-11 Choir School 2010, at Rothesay Netherwood School. Watch this page for registration and job application forms.

Aug. 30- Sept. 1  Clergy College at Rothesay Netherwood School featuring the Rev Dr. Gary Nicolosi, Diocesan Congregational Development Facilitator, AnglicanDiocese of British Columbia.
 

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Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton seeks two summer tour guides.
Applications and further information are available from verger@christchurchcathedral.com. Applicants must be at least 16-years-old, bilingual, and ready and willing to meet the public. They will be under the training and supervision of the cathedral verger, Hank Williams. Deadline for applications is May 31.

Parish as a Family Programme Coordinator
The Anglican Parish of Shediac seeks a full time coordinator for this new programme.
The Applicant will have
• an articulate Christian faith
• college or university training
• administrative skills
• the ability to work with individuals and groups
• and an imaginative vision for community building.
Program and job descriptions are available on request.
<anglican.shediac@nb.aibn.com> or 506 532-6960

Rector
The Diocese of Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island seeks a rector for the parishes of Petite Riviere and New Dublin, N.S. Parish profile and application available from Kelly Appleton at <bishopsoffice at nspeidiocese.ca>. Deadline for applications for both positions is May 14, 2010.
 


Job listings for the Canadian church.

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Diocese of Haiti planning for future, planning for partnerships
by Mary Frances Schjonberg
Episcopal News Service
April 30, 2010
Life still is not easy in Haiti nearly four months after a magnitude-7 earthquake devastated the country, but the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti is working on reconstruction plans and has begun again its long-standing education ministry. That was the report April 29 from the Rev. Kesner Ajax, Diocese of Haiti partnership coordinator, during a day-long meeting at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City. Ajax, who holds a number of positions in the diocese, is also the executive director of the Bishop Tharp Institute of Business and Technology (BTI) in Les Cayes in southwest Haiti. Read the story.

Lutherans see signs of convergence with Catholics on Eucharist issue
by Stephen Brown
Ecumenical News Intrenational
April 30, 2010
Geneva/Helsinki: A German Protestant bishop has urged Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches to draw up a joint declaration on their shared beliefs about the Eucharist, one of the issues that has divided them for hundreds of years since the Reformation. "Our understandings of the Eucharist or Lord's Supper are no longer that far apart," said Lutheran Bishop Friedrich Weber, who deals with relations between the Catholic Church and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD), a grouping of eight German regional Protestant churches. Read the story.

Six young people chosen for cross-Canada theatre tour
by Ali Symons
Anglican Church of Canada
April 29, 2010
Six young actors. A play about faith. A cross-Canada tour. It's a crazy dream that Ask & Imagine http://www.askandimagine.org/, the Anglican-Lutheran leadership development program, will be bringing to life in May. Read the story.

Catholic bishops in US slam 'draconian' Arizona immigration law
by Daniel Burke
ENI/RNS
April 30, 2010
Washington D.C.: The U.S. Catholic bishops have denounced a new
immigration law in the state of Arizona as "draconian" and called on Congress to stop political "gamesmanship" and pass immigration reform. Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' migration committee, said on April 27 that the Arizona law could lead to ethnic profiling and adversely effect how immigrants
are treated nationwide. Wester, speaking on behalf of fellow bishops, called on the Obama administration to review the law's impact on civil rights and urged Washington to enact federal immigration reform. Read the story.

Brazilian Lutheran leader mourned after unexpected death
Ecumenical News International
April 29, 2010
Geneva: The senior vice-president of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil, the Rev. Homero Severo Pinto, who had been tipped as a future head of his denomination, has died at the age of 58 after contracting malaria in Africa. "We will miss him for his support, his friendship and his collegiality. Many people saw him as hope for the future of our church," said the church's president, the Rev. Walter Altmann in an April 28 statement issued by the Gustav-Adolf-Werk, a German-based association that offers support to Lutheran churches outside Germany. Read the story.

A theology of philanthropy for our church
Anglican Church of Canada
April 29, 2010
How can we move from a theology of scarcity to a theology of philanthropy? In the latest General Synod web forum post http://www.ministrymatters.ca/uncategorized/a-theology-of-philanthropy-for-our-church/, Executive Director of Philanthropy Dr. Holland Hendrix explains how his department has been working to move the Anglican Church of Canada in this direction. His vision is of "a theology that is mission-driven and that inspires Canadian Anglicans to give gladly as a faithful expression of their Christian vocation."
Read the full article and offer your input. What would a theology of philanthropy look like in your church?

Celebrating 50 years
Anglican Journal
April 28, 2010
Archbishop Michael Peers, former primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, was the main celebrant at a special Eucharist April 25 at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Ottawa where he and the Ven. Allan McGregor (left) were ordained 50 years ago to the day. With them is the Rev. Bill Byers, Rector of St. Thomas. Three others were ordained with Peers and McGregor on April 25,1960 -- Canon David Lethbridge, who was not able to attend the service due to illness, Stan Haskell, who joined the Roman Catholic Church, and Dean Harry Hobbs, who was killed in a 1979 car accident. Please read the full story in the upcoming June issue of the Anglican Journal.

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Opinion: Vision 2019 in the context of the Marks of Mission

Commemoration of The Battle of the Atlantic

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Matthew 5:23-24 Cf Luke 12:57-59
“So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first to be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”

From the Ven. John M. Robertson, National Gift Planning Officer,

Department of Philanthropy, Anglican Church of Canada

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Don't let your worries get the best of you; 
Remember, Moses started out as a basket case.

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