The day began with Elder Larry Langlois offering a smudge and prayers outside the church.

Then everyone moved into the parish hall where Belle Bailey and Charmaine Leonard, who came to the event from Mādahòkì Farm, demonstrated two beautiful traditional dances. Bailey performed a Fancy Shawl Dance, and Leonard performed a Jingle Dress Dance. Afterward, they spoke and offered some insights from their Indigenous cultures and advice on how non-Indigenous people can learn more and work to contribute to reconciliation.

Everyone attending was invited to participate in a collaborative art project, adding their own designs to rocks that had been painted red, white, yellow and black. Then all the rocks were carried out into the parish garden to be arranged into the four quadrants of a medicine wheel, an important symbol in many First Nations cultures, which represents the interconnectedness of all life, the cycles of nature and a path to personal balance.

The parish offered bannock with strawberry jam and strawberry water as refreshments for all.

Perspective

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Following reports that communities were being evacuated and residents were arriving in Thunder Bay, Archbishop Anne Germond reached out to clergy across the Thunder Bay–North Shore Deanery to learn what assistance was already underway and how the Diocese could best support local efforts. Alongside Hope, the Anglican Church of Canada’s national relief and development agency, also confirmed that emergency funds were available to assist ministry responding to the crisis.

Those conversations quickly developed into a coordinated deanery-wide response. Working alongside local organizations and Indigenous partners already serving evacuees, Anglican parishes are focusing their efforts on meeting practical needs while ensuring that support complements the work already taking place on the ground.

The Matawa Training and Wellness Centre, one of several organizations welcoming evacuees to Thunder Bay, has become a central focus for the deanery’s response.

In a pastoral message shared with the deanery, the Rev. Elizabeth Sipos, Regional Dean of Thunder Bay–North Shore, invited Anglicans to respond in the spirit of the early Church. “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.” She stressed that many people have lost everything, fleeing only with their lives and, in some cases, their pets. She encouraged churches to be “a witness of Christ’s love, compassion and hope during this dark season.”

The Diocese of Algoma

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The team reviewed and provided feedback on draft liturgies, including a Cree Anglican Baptismal Liturgy with a decolonizing Thanksgiving over the Water, and a Rite of Acknowledgment of Baptism for a Stillborn Child. Once they are finalized, these liturgies will be brought forward for approval. The Rite of Acknowledgment will go to the Faith, Worship and Ministry Coordinating Committee for recommendation to the November meeting of the Council of General Synod. The Cree liturgy will be presented to ACIP at their meeting in October.

The Messenger

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The St. Barnabas young adults’ group, newly minted “Sanctum,” is led by young adults for young adults seeking a rich tradition of faith. The Anglo-Catholic tradition offers young people a tie to a deeply sacramental expression of Anglicanism. It offers something real and tangible in a world consumed by image and performance. As young people seek identity amidst the fractures, the sacramental life offers a connection and belonging that nothing else can. The group believes that fostering scriptural and theological integrity connects people.

Every week, they gather a little differently. The mainstay is the theology study group, in which they discuss scripture, theology and faith practice. The key point for outreach is the biweekly social group. Oftentimes, the group meets in local pubs or around kitchen tables. Other weeks, they’re having campfires, dinner parties and hiking excursions. Regardless of what they do, there’s a focus on ministry and creating a place where people feel they belong.

FaithTides

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