I attend St Mary Magdalene Anglican Church in Winnipeg. We are a vibrant group with people committed to worship and to the exercise of their gifts in God’s service. The building is well used during the week by community groups from Guides and Scouts to Seniors, and is used by AA and for wellness programs by a community clinic Although there are families with young children, young adults are not well represented in our worshipping community but seniors are. We pay our Diocesan Apportionment and have several members who are active in the Diocese e.g. Diocesan Council, Anglican Fellowship of Prayer, PWRDF. We have money in the bank and try to give responsibly to mission locally and nationally. We have recently completed a renovation of our own space with good leadership and a lot of help from our own congregation and the groups who use the building. We are concious of our neighbourhood and explore ways to reach out and interact where there is need and encourage those who use the buiding mid-week to seek pastoral care when the need arises. We are part of ongoing plans with ELCIC to support church expansion into a new neighbourhood. There is always an underlying concern about the future when the habit of worship does not seem to exist in the rising generation and when the old ways seem to have lost relevance. Happily our priest and our music leader are ‘Thirty somethings’ so keep us current. I have no doubt that ‘God is working his purpose out’ and that should our buildings no longer be needed ‘the Church’ in some form will go marching on. With love in Christ…Heather B

48 notes and prayers from members of St. Mary’s la Prairie,  Portage La Prairie Manitoba in response to the question “Where is your church now, and where do you want the Anglican Church of Canada to be in 2019?”.  If this is taking a long time to load, individual responses can be read on Flickr.

Where is my church of St. Paul’s Fort Garry right now?

A number of months ago, while administering the host for the first time (having administered wine frequently before) a young mother asked me for a blessing for her son – my initial inner response was, “I can’t do that – I’m not qualified” – whatever that might mean….fortunately that only lasted a nanosecond, because of course I would give her son a blessing – she had asked; who was I to withhold? After all, the blessing was God’s to give albeit through me at that point. The feeling I had after that event was that I was the one who had received the blessing – what a gift to be seen as having God within me!

At St. Paul’s all are welcome, and encouraged to receive the feast. It is evident that our youngest members feel a very real part of the feast. At a recent service a 2 ½ year old boy, who was up with his mother singing, ran back to the rest of his family loudly calling “It’s bread time” and then gathered a young friend to be first in line. Yes, it is unlikely this young boy has any theological concept of what “bread time” is, but he has a very real sense of belonging and celebration. (more…)

Within the Aboriginal community, it is easy to identity with and agree to the five marks of mission. With the assistance of our bishop, Donald Phillips, and the Diocesan Council, we formed Rupert’s Land Wechetowin Inc., an arms-length agency, to work at healing, reconciliation and self-determination.

Wechetowin is Cree for “People helping People,” and we do this through pastoral and spiritual care of Aboriginal people in hospitals and care homes, through an Elder’s Circle to provide guidance, a theatre program that teaches about Aboriginal issues and Restorative Justice. We work ecumenically and with those in our city who want to partner with us in our objectives. We need each other, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal in the effort to heal and reconcile. We are all treaty people and together we can strengthen the fabric of not only the Church but society overall. God’s unconditional love is for all.

I would like to see partnerships grow in the years leading to 2019, involving all ages and cultures. At Holy Trinity in Winnipeg, where I serve as Honorary Assistant, you can look out on our congregation and see faces from many different cultures-African, Jamaican, First Nation, Asian and of course those of European origins. This is the strength of our Church and our faith. Let is continue to nurture this as a way forward in Christ.