Our Diocesan Vision Statement: To be a church that is inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit; a church that reflects the virtue and grace of Jesus; a church reaching out to proclaim God's love to a broken world. 

“He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed Him.” (Matthew 4:22)

Just as Jesus called the first apostles, He calls each of us to follow Him, too. Not everyone is called to leave their business or family behind, but we are expected to put God first in everything. Everything from our time in daily prayer, our talent in participating in one of our parish ministries, and our treasure to support the financial needs of missions that we wish to support. 

At this time of year when Annual Parish Meetings seek people to step out in faith to serve in the various ministries the parish requires, may we all hear Jesus calling us to use our time, talents and treasures to serve Him.

Please find attached a letter from Primate Linda Nichols. You may download it and please pass it along to anyone in your parish who may handle the bread or the wine for Eucharist, as well as anyone who takes Reserve Sacrament to shut-ins or nursing homes.  

March 7     Calgary,  Good Shepherd Church 

March 14   Red Deer,   St. Luke's Church

March 28   Lethbridge, St. Augustine's Church

This year's conference will take place May 4-7, at Waterton Lakes Lodge.

Our guest speaker is The Rev. Dr. John Stafford.

The Rev. Dr. John Stafford is an ordained Anglican priest and served various parishes in Manitoba.

He was the Dean of Theology and Chaplain at St. John’s College at the University of Manitoba for 16 years.  He was also an Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Providence University College in Otterburne, Manitoba.

Town Halls in March:

We will again be having our Town Hall meetings. This year we are excited to come and bring some of our Missional Coaches who will share their newly acquired training in mission in six different areas. Click here for more information and registration. 

Clergy Conference:

Clergy Movements:

The Rev. Rob Cowie and The Rev. Gerry Skeet were appointed on January 5th as Co-incumbents of Christ Church in Nanton. Mr. Dave Williams has been named as their joint Rector's Warden.

We thank The Rev. Natasha Brubaker, Incumbent at St. Martin's, for her service as the Regional Dean of Glenmore over the past three years. The Deanery of Glenmore will choose the next Regional Dean at their next meeting.

78th Convention of Synod:

Archbishop Greg Kerr-Wilson along with the Diocesan Council has announced that the 78th Convention of Synod has been called for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 5, 6 and 7, 2020. 

The Missional Footprint is on the website under “Resources | Documents  | Downloads”.  In the Missional Footprint, each Parish is invited to highlight their activities. The template has been updated and the format is much easier to fill out and to work through.

The Annual Returns can also be accessed here and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Tuesday, February 4 — Administration and Finance Committee, 2:00 pm

Tuesday, February 11 - BARDs, Holy Trinity, Calgary, 10:00 am

Thursday, February 13 - Compensation Committee, 9:00 am

St. Stephen, Calgary: Incumbent, full time; Job Posting here, Parish Profile here

Holy Trinity, Calgary: Pastor of Youth Ministries, part-time

Executive Assistant position — The Diocese Office is seeking an Administrative Assistant (half time) with organization skills, planning and logistics experience with events as well as administrative and office experience.

For more information on these positions, please contact pgateman@calgary.anglican.ca

After twenty years of seeking to have a new permanent home on the western edge of Calgary, St. Martin’s has successfully concluded the purchase for a church building.  Their new space is located in the Patterson Heights neighbourhood and allows us to be west of Sarcee Trail, the only Anglican parish to be located in that area of the city. 

The Calgary Alliance for the Common Good is exploring how we can equip people to better respond to the Mental Health Challenges of our Communities. This training focuses on understanding mental health, how we can respond to people with mental health challenges and focuses on some of the key soft skills. At the end of February, CACG will also host the Mental Health First Aid course which has more of a focus on the clinical aspects of Mental Health support.

This free educational two-session gathering at The Cathedral is designed for anyone looking to more fully understand what trauma is, how it impacts us as individuals and as communities, and the role of spirituality in living with and through trauma.  Resources for further use will be made available.

Holy Cross, Calgary:

Lectio Divina: All are invited to an evening of silence, prayer and biblical meditation.   An Evening of Lectio Divina is held on the second Tuesday of every month, starting at 6:30 pm. The next one is on February 11.  Everyone is welcome. 

St. Augustine, Lethbridge: 

Six Week Lenten Lecture Series on "Living in a Secular Age" 

Questions to be discussed:

What challenges face people of faith in our time?
Is Christianity in decline?
What does it mean to feel “cross-pressured?”
Did the Reformation backfire?
What does the term “secular” even mean?
Do modern values promote unbelief?
How can the Church do its work in our current age?

St. James, Calgary: 

Steve Bell Concert, February 9th at 7:00 pm.  An evening of tunes and tales from Steve Bell's journey.  There are still about 100 tickets, available on Steve's website or at the church.  Phone toll-free for tickets at 1 (800) 854-3499.  This is Steve's first official 2020 concert.  He has loads of stories and songs to share!

Please join us for a Festival Worship Service celebrating the choral singing of our Diocese, on Saturday, February 1 at 4:30 pm in the Cathedral.  

The choirs of Holy Cross, St. Peter, Calgary, and St. Paul Dinka will be participating along with the Cathedral Choir.  In addition to a broad selection of choral music in varied styles, the service includes congregational hymns, so come and raise your voice in song with us!  

The final concert in the 2019/2020 season of concerts at the Cathedral will be on Saturday, February 8 at 5:45 pm.  Neil Cockburn will perform a one-hour solo organ programme featuring the new continuo (chamber) organ, as well as the main Casavant organ at the Cathedral.  Works to be performed on February 8 include J.S. Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582, and César Franck's Choral 2 in B minor.

The concert begins at 5:45 pm and will last approximately one hour, allowing you to go to another evening event afterwards.  General admission is $10 (cash only), payable at the door.  Programme details are posted on the Cathedral website.  Details of the new continuo organ are available here.

The Wycliffe Institute of Evangelism has excellent resources for both the parish and individuals.

Click here to access their web page.

In 2020, there will be a pilgrimage from Calgary to Taizé and Paris for young adults aged 18-35 from June 26 to July 10, 2020 led by Rev. Clara King.  

Taizé is a wonderful place for young adults to explore their faith, meet other young people from all around the world, and discover more about themselves. After a week in Taize, we'll spend 5 days in Paris. If you have young people in your congregation or in your wider connections, please help spread word of this opportunity.

Click the Read More button for more information and promotional tools.

Reduced price early bird registration closes on February 24.

   The Refugee Support Group is looking for sponsors to help with the following refugee family.  

Family size: 3,  Country of Origin: Iraq,   language(s) spoken: Kurdish  

A 37-year-old Iraqi mother and her two children arrived in early 2019 in Calgary accompanied by her brother and his family. Due to her traumatic background, and because she is a single parent in a new and unfamiliar environment, the mother struggles with raising her children. The mother is highly dependent on her brother for emotional support as he is the only male in the household. The mother also worries for the well-being of family members they were forced to leave behind in Iraq.

A sponsor could provide the family with the assistance they need to reduce their feelings of isolation and loneliness. The sponsor could assist the mother in accessing resources in the community which will increase her overall independence and confidence. 

For more information on sponsorship contact the refugee support group by email at anglicancalgaryrefugee@gmail.com  

Andre Visscher, Refugee Ministry Coordinator of the Anglican Diocese of Calgary  

Jesus asked us to make disciples. And most of us are doing our best. But it's hard: we live in an age of distraction, where so much competes with the call to follow Jesus, and so much undermines it. Is there a way to break through the noise and confusion, to find a clear and simple path forward?

At this year's Pastor's Conference, Ambrose University is teaming up with the Flourishing Congregations Institute to offer the latest research on Canadian churches as well as strategies from some of Canada's leading church thinkers and practitioners.

Participate in person or via Livestream.  Click the register button below for more details.

This is the fourth year for Anglicans on the Move participating in the walk to raise funds for Feed the Hungry and Kairos low-income housing in Calgary. The date is February 22, and the Anglicans on the Move team will be joining hundreds of other walkers in Calgary and thousands of Canadians across the country to support and serve hungry, homeless, and hurting people and families in our community.

Dan Hines: Wayfinding and Leadership  Friday, March 6 to Sunday, March 8

Friday, 7:00 pm: Wayfinding as Life: Disorientation and Reorientation  Wayfinding is the traditional art and skill of navigation over water or land.  Dan will share what he has been learning with the blessing of Hawaiian navigators, as the art of wayfinding experiences an ongoing cultural rediscovery in the Pacific.  Wayfinding offers profound insights for how to live a human life.  Dan teaches 'sandbox style' with the use of visual imagination, storytelling, scientific knowledge, and meditations.

Saturday, 9:30 - 3:00: The Courage to Lead: Navigating Complexity  Courage is a virtue celebrated all around us as brave heroism, as bold acts of willpower in dangerous moments.  Yet, there is a more subtle form of daily courage that arises from a deeper source, by simply honoring what is true.  A life of courage is following the guidance of the quiet voice of inner knowing.  Guided by small group practices inspired by the teaching of activist and writer Parker J. Palmer, we will explore in storytelling, evocative readings, visual images, inner reflection, guided meditations, and facilitated discussions what traditional wisdom, our spiritual teachings, and open-ocean navigational learning may reveal to us.

Sunday: Preaching at the 10:00 am service  As co-founder of the intentional community RareBirds Housing Cooperative, Dan has a passion for exploring alternative living, innovative housing, and a more sustainable relationship to the land.

Early-bird Tickets (until February 20): Whole event - $80; Friday only - $15; Saturday only - $75.  Register here.

Save the dates:

Matthew Wright, May 5-8: "Holy Wisdom, Mother of God" Four-day Retreat at Kingsfold Retreat Centre

Pip Nicolls, September 17-20: Three-day Retreat at Kingsfold Retreat Centre

For more information on the Wisdom Centre, click here.

The All Saints Family Centre Society is a registered non-profit society connected to All Saints Anglican Church in Cochrane, providing community outreach.  We offer a variety of courses, workshops and retreats, as well as space for rent for courses, speakers and retreat days.  For more information or a tour of the facility, please contact Elizabeth Short at (403) 660-5636, or email Karen and Elizabeth at allsaintsretreatcentre@outlook.com

What's Happening Next Door at the Retreat Centre?: 

Sacred Space CoWorking: We have opened an ecumenical sacred co-working space for those who need a professional work setting free of distractions. The start date for our free pilot project has begun, with the space opening up for a fee starting in January.  If you are interested or would like a tour of the facility, please contact Elizabeth Short at (403) 660-5636 or send an email to allsaintsretreatcentre@outlook.com. You can also click here for more detailed information, pictures and pricing.

Spiritual Direction: We are excited to introduce Karen Wold who is a Spiritual Director and part of the Ministry Team for All Saints Retreat Centre.  For more information on what she has to offer or to get her contact information, please click here.

For more information, click here.

Rev. Larry Keddie asks our prayers for ongoing and challenging medical issues.

Please remember in your prayers:

- Archbishop Greg, during this time of sabbatical;

- those who are sick or suffering, remembering those suffering from the Coronavirus and their caregivers;

- those who have died and those who mourn; 

- the victims of the violence and natural disasters;   

- our Companion Diocese of the Windward Islands, and their Bishop Leopold Friday.

Request a prayer:

Send prayer requests to ctubman@calgary.anglican.ca to let us know how we can pray for you.  We will only use first names which will be removed after two or three weeks.  We will also pray for you during our regular Chapel services each week.  Please ensure that you have permission from those whose names you are submitting for prayer, and that they understand their name will be made public to all who subscribe to the Newsletter.

We are interested in what is happening in your parish and would love to highlight those events and news in our newsfeed.

We look forward to your contributions - feel free to forward your event announcements, your parish news, your stories.  Send in your details and pictures to communications@calgary.anglican.ca.