A series of lectures and workshops given by Rev Dr Karen Petersen Finch were held January 24-27, 2024 in Saskatoon and Regina. The first lecture, held at Campion College at the University of Regina, was titled “Re-imagining Lay People as Stewards of Doctrine” and the second lecture, titled, “Doctrine as the Fuel for Renewal”, was held January 25th in Saskatoon at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan. A workshop titled, “The Eucharist: Where is Jesus?” was held at Holy Spirit Parish in Saskatoon on Friday, January 26 and at Christ the King Parish in Regina on Saturday, January 27.
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Bishop Michael Hawkins, of the diocese of Saskatchewan, says he expects to resign from his position effective April 30, 2023 due to health problems he has been experiencing since a severe bout of COVID-19 in late 2020.
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Lutherans and Ukrainian Catholics joined the annual celebration of the Anglican and Roman Catholic ecumenical Covenant on Sunday afternoon, May 26. The Covenant began in 2011 between the Anglican Diocese of Qu’Appelle and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina. In recent years, the Covenant partners have been working towards a renewed covenant which will include the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) and the Ukrainian Catholic Church. This year’s annual covenant service was an opportunity to give thanks to God for drawing the four churches towards this renewed relationship.
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A Message from the Anglican, Catholic and Lutheran Bishops of Saskatchewan

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The events surrounding the tragic shooting death of Colten Boushie in August 2016, and the subsequent trial of Gerald Stanley and recent jury decision, have re-surfaced profound pain to families and communities. They have also raised enormously important questions and challenges for our province and our country.

As bishops who serve Christian communities in our province, we join all those who are longing to escape the slavery of prejudice, racism, anger, frustration, violence and bitterness. We wish to join all those who are re-dedicating themselves to work for reconciliation and peace among all people in our communities and in our nation.
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Pope Francis has named Bishop Donald Bolen of Saskatoon, Sask., as the new archbishop of Regina.

Archbishop Bolen’s appointment was announced July 11 at the Vatican. He succeeds Archbishop Daniel Bohan, who died in January.

Archbishop Bolen is known nationally and internationally for his work promoting Christian unity. From 2001 to 2008 he worked at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity at the Vatican, before returning to Regina in 2009. Since his return, he has served as a bishop member of the Christian unity council and as co-chair of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission. Since 2013 he has served as co-chair of the Joint International Commission for Dialogue between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church.

Speaking of his new appointment, Archbishop Bolen, who was ordained a priest in Regina and served as archdiocesan vicar general and chair of the archdiocesan ecumenical commission, said: “To be moved from the Diocese of Saskatoon is painful, because it has been such a grace-filled experience to live and to serve here as bishop, but, at the same time, to move to the Archdiocese of Regina is to go home. I am profoundly grateful to remain in my home province.”
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Religious leaders across Saskatchewan say doctors who don’t want to help patients die shouldn’t be forced to refer them to another physician who will.

Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders met with Health Minister Dustin Duncan at the Saskatchewan legislature Tuesday and said facilities should not be forced to help people end their lives either. Duncan said the province is looking at ways to accommodate those concerns about the new federal law that allows medical assisted dying.

The law says doctors can’t be forced to provide the service. But the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan policy also says they “must not abandon a patient who makes this request” and they need to arrange “timely access” to another physician or resources.

“We also feel that people do have a right to information,” said Mary Deutscher, with the justice and peace commission of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon. “We have no problem with providing that information, but there’s something different about a direct referral, that actually says that you need to find someone who will carry through on what we see as a very harmful action. Do you want to force doctors to have to harm people that they care for? And many of these doctors do see this as a harmful action.”
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Rev Cindy Halmarson, the former bishop of Saskatchewan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, has accepted a position in the Global Mission Unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Her new position as Area Program Director for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (Europe/MENA), based at the Lutheran Center in Chicago, will involve building and maintaining relationships with partner churches in order to strengthen Christ’s mission in the world. Mission accompaniment is focused on churches in Central Eastern Europe, including Siberia, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) as well as supporting ELCA-sponsored English language ministries in the typically Lutheran areas of Scandinavia, Germany and Western Europe.
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The Ven. Robert Hardwick is the new bishop of the Anglican diocese of Qu’Appelle, in Regina, Sask.

Currently serving as the diocese’s assistant to the bishop and executive archdeacon, Hardwick was elected on the first ballot of the electoral synod, held Dec. 8. He succeeds Bishop Greg Kerr-Wilson, who is now the bishop of the diocese of Calgary.
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On July 28, the Anglican diocese of Saskatchewan will convene a general assembly to elect a diocesan indigenous bishop as well as members of a new indigenous council.

The election will take place following changes to the diocese’s constitution and canons that provide indigenous members with greater self-determination.

The three candidates nominated for the position are: The Ven. Adam Halkett, archdeacon of the diocese; the Rev. Beryl Whitecap, incumbent at Little Red River Reserve; and The Rev. Canon Park Buck, priest-in-charge at the Church of the Good Shepherd, in Cumberland House.
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On July 16, 2012, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Sylvain Lavoie, O.M.I., Archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas, Manitoba, according to canon 401, §2, and at the same time appointed Father William Stang, O.M.I., as Apostolic Administrator of the same Archdiocese.
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Pastoral Letter of the Catholic Bishops of Saskatchewan on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

From June 21st to 24th, Saskatoon will host one of the seven national gatherings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). We are writing to invite you to give serious attention to this gathering and its aims.

As many of you are aware, the Government of Canada organized ‘Indian Residential Schools’, most run by Christian churches, from the 1840s onward, with the last school closing in 1996. Not everything that happened at residential schools was negative, and many people worked there with good will and generosity. However, the schools were a part of a policy of deliberate cultural assimilation of Aboriginal peoples, and over the decades, much abuse took place at these schools. As the Catholic Church in Saskatchewan, we were involved in the residential schools and we recognize a moral responsibility and obligation to be involved in healing and reconciliation efforts.
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Glad tidings for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon arrived a few days before Christmas with the appointment of Msgr. Donald Bolen of Regina as seventh bishop of the diocese.

Pope Benedict XVI’s appointment of Bolen as bishop was announced Dec. 21 in Rome. The diocese of Saskatoon has been without a bishop since September, when former bishop Albert LeGatt was inaugurated as Archbishop of St. Boniface, Manitoba.

Bolen, 48, is presently serving as vicar-general of the Archdiocese of Regina, and pastor of St. Joseph parish, Balgonie; St. Agnes at Pilot Butte; and St. Peter’s Colony, Kronau.

… continued
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A history of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism (PCE), a book entitled God’s Reconciling Grace, is a story of ecumenism over 25 years.

The editorial committee consists of Vern Ratzlaff, Ursula Wigg, Carol Pek, and Colin Clay with contributions from Fr. Bernard de Margerie and a cast of thousands, says Rev. Jan Bigland-Pritchard, director of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism.

“The book is filled with stories of ecumenical co-operation in Saskatchewan, focusing on the Prairie Centre, but not exclusively,” she says.

God’s Reconciling Grace ($10) will be launched at a banquet on June 4 that is part of the Summer Ecumenical Institute, a conference being held from June 2-5 at Queen’s House of Retreats.
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Bishops call for Critical Reflection on Uranium Mining and a Proposed Nuclear Power Plant in Saskatchewan

The Bishops of the Anglican, Evangelical Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Ukrainian Catholic churches in Saskatchewan call on their members and all Saskatchewan citizens to consider with care the issues surrounding the proposed expansion of the uranium industry in Saskatchewan and make their views known to the Government of Saskatchewan.

The Government of Saskatchewan is exploring “value-added” initiatives to expand the uranium industry in our province, including the possibility of a nuclear power plant being built in Saskatchewan. Bruce Power, the country’s only private nuclear generating company, has deemed an area of Saskatchewan (roughly from Lloydminster to Prince Albert) to be a potentially suitable site for such a development. In March 2009 a government-appointed panel is expected to make recommendations regarding such initiatives. It is critical that any recommendations be made only after full and open consultation with the people of this province.

Christian churches affirm that God created the earth and that God continues to establish and preserve a just and ordered life for all creation. Human beings are part of the vast ecosystem of the planet. Choices made by human beings must respect God’s creation in its careful interrelationship of earth, water, air and all living things. Exploiting the earth’s resources without regard for the consequences is sinful against God and God’s creation, according to Christian belief. Technology and economic development, including mining and power generation, must be subject to critical reflection in light of the impact that such actions have on people and the environment in the present and into the future.

The Bishops recognize the global need for urgent action on climate change and the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from coal-burning power plants in Saskatchewan. They appreciate the intention of the Government in proposing nuclear power to reduce emissions. At the same time, they see the necessity for careful examination of the costs and benefits of a range of energy options and encourage the Government to invite public participation in developing a new energy strategy for Saskatchewan.

The Bishops call on Premier Brad Wall, Crown Corporations Minister Ken Cheveldayoff, Environment Minister Nancy Heppner, Energy and Resources Minister Bill Boyd, First Nations Minister June Draude, Enterprise Saskatchewan Minister Lyle Stewart, and the Government of Saskatchewan to provide adequate opportunities for Saskatchewan citizens to engage in open, informed discussion based on unbiased and complete information before the Government acts on recommendations from the nuclear industry or the government-appointed panel.

+Rodney Andrews, Anglican Bishop of Saskatoon
+Bryan Bayda, CSsR, Ukrainian Eparchial Bishop of Saskatoon
+Cynthia G. Halmarson, Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
+Daniel Bohan, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Regina
+Gregory Kerr-Wilson, Anglican Bishop of Qu’Appelle
+Albert Legatt, Roman Catholic Bishop of Saskatoon
+Albert Thévenot, M. Afr., Roman Catholic Bishop of Prince Albert
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The Rev. Michael Hawkins was elected as bishop of the Anglican diocese of Saskatchewan on Saturday. The election was held at St. Alban’s Cathedral in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, the seat of the diocese. The bishop-elect has been rector of St. Alban’s since 2001, and also serves as Dean of Saskatchewan. Rev. Hawkins was elected to succeed Bishop Anthony Burton who took up parish ministry in Dallas last September. The diocese has announced that March 6th has been set as the date for the consecration of their new bishop.
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Multi-Faith Saskatchewan will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Saturday, November 10th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Craik, Saskatchewan. The meeting will be held at Solar Restaurant at the Eco-Centre. The AGM guest speaker will be Mr. Paul Hanley. He will speak on the theme of “Faith and Sustainability.” For further information, please contact Jean Parker, secretary at 306-522-1514 or mjean.parker [at] sasktel [dot] net.

Multi-Faith Saskatchewan is a new multi-faith organization formed in 2006 that is provincial in scope. It is open to provincial and regional single faith groups or faith related organizations and to individuals provided they subscribe to the objectives of Multi-Faith Saskatchewan.
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Faith played a vital role in the lives of our forebears. As villages were established across Saskatchewan, various denominations sprang up with them. It is this aspect of the province’s centennial that Christian church leaders want to celebrate. Rev. Allan Grundahl is head of a committee planning a Celebration of Christian Faith in Saskatoon. “This
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by Cameron Hoffman, Regina Leader Post Ken Cyr, pastor of Fort Qu’Appelle’s Valley Alliance Church, and his congregation will spend next week in churches other than their own, praying in the same pews as Lutherans, Anglicans, Catholics and United Church members, worshiping as a unified faith community. Christians in Fort Qu’Appelle will participate in the
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Growing up in Winnipeg, I had a stereotypical image of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Albertans were cowboys and oilmen while people from Saskatchewan and rural Manitoba were all grain farmers. Saskatchewan was flat, dull, and almost barren. We used to joke, half seriously, that when driving west from Winnipeg one should leave in the evening so
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