“Ministering together when we are small and scattered…” That is how retired Presbyterian minister Jim McKay paraphrased the thrust of the upcoming Collaborative Ministries Conference being hosted by the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism. Marie Klombies puts it this way: “The purpose of the conference is to bring together people in Christian ministry — ordained, lay
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The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism has much to celebrate: new premises, a new director, and 20 years of bringing people of faith together. Board member Rev. Hugh Farmer says the location change has been in the works for a while, but the actual move from Second Avenue began in May. PCE‘s new home is the
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Sister Katherine MacDonald, or Sister Kay, sees herself as moving gently into retirement, no small feat for a woman whose 70-plus years of Christian service and achievement could fill a book. MacDonald was born and educated in Saskatoon. She earned a B.Ed. and a BA in History and English at the U of S, and
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Rev. Seung Kim’s faith journey has been circuitous. It began in his homeland of Korea, and two years ago, brought him to Saskatoon, where he is pastor of Calvin-Goforth Presbyterian Church on Sommerfeld Avenue. Kim was brought up in the Presbyterian church in Korea. “My grandfather was a Presbyterian minister. He was the first Christian
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Gambling ills too horrific, churches say: Pressure on city, province to halt casino expansion until problems addressed by Betty Ann Adam, Saskatoon Star Phoenix Saskatoon church leaders are raising their voices together against expanded casino gambling. Twelve leaders of churches have signed a joint statement directed to city council and the provincial government saying the
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Ecumenism at work: Nutana Park churches put theological concept into practice It started with one couple who wanted to practise grassroots ecumenism; today it is a grouping of nine churches of different denominations actively sharing worship experiences and learning what elements of the Christian faith they have in common. The group is the Nutana Park
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Sunday’s 17th annual Festival of Faith is particularly significant this year, according to Dr. Ivan Wilson, one of the organizers. Given the strong feelings aroused by the attacks on America, Wilson believes the Festival is especially important. “We need to understand one another and celebrate our religious diversity,” he says. “The Festival of Faith gives
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Man on a Mission: Incoming bishop encourages frank talk on future of Catholicism by Jason Warick, Saskatoon Star Phoenix The man who will take over this fall as Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Saskatoon isn’t saying where he stands on controversial issues such as birth control or the ordination of women, but he
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Facing an unprecedented shortage of priests, Roman Catholic officials in Saskatchewan have begun a massive restructuring that will lead to radical changes in the church. Shortages have affected rural areas for several years, but now the church can’t supply a priest to every parish in the city of Saskatoon. “I am very concerned about the diminishing number of priests. It’s challenging our identity (as a church),” said Rev. Ronald Beechinor, the administrator for the Diocese of Saskatoon, who is performing the duties of bishop until a new one is named. “We’ve got to make substantial changes.”

Many of the area’s 95,000 Roman Catholics from more than 100 parishes attended meetings this fall to suggest ways to deal with the loss of as many as 10 priests by next June. The reports from the seven deaneries in the area were discussed last weekend and a final plan should be ready by February.
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It was a Valentine in the form of a covenant signed by a Roman Catholic bishop, a United Church Presbytery chair, two local pastors and members of their congregations on the eve of Feb. 14.

The covenant was the formalization of a long friendship between McClure United Church and Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Parish. The covenant was written, according to the document itself “in response to the call of Jesus, “that they may all be one and that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:21-23).

“You must have been listening to the Spirit,” said Sister Anne Keffer, director of Saskatoon’s Centre for Ecumenism, where the official document signing took place.

“On behalf of the whole church, I thank you. I thank God.”

In total, some 40 members from the two congregations were present for the signing ceremony which involved joint prayer and reflections on healing and reconciliation.

Rev. Bernard de Margerie of Holy Spirit Parish, a past director of the Centre for Ecumenism, said the stages of the relationship between the churches were like any other. It first involved a courtship, which built into a relationship. The covenant itself was a gesture of solidarity, followed by the joint celebration of the formal covenant on Sunday. The last step will be ongoing faithfulness.
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It was more than 30 years in the making but on Sunday, parishioners from Holy Spirit Roman Catholic and McClure United parishes stood side by side.

Old and young sang beautifully together. They taught their children together, hugged, prayed and worshipped as brothers and sisters in Christ at Holy Spirit Parish. Afterward, they walked together through the streets of Saskatoon to break bread together at a community lunch at McClure United.

This was done to mark the signing of a new covenant between the parishes which has been discussed since 1966 and which both pastors hope will mark the beginning of an even better relationship.

“I believe this to be the will and the work of the Holy Spirit that has brought us to this moment. It is not merely our efforts or our decisions,” said McClure’s Rev. Ron McConnell.

Holy Spirit pastor, Rev. Bernard de Margerie, agreed. He said the covenant means that the two congregations pledge to grow together to “help create a more stable relationship that is more worthy of life within the Body of Christ.”

In his portion of the joint sermon, McConnell compared the covenant relationship to a marriage.

“The questions people most often ask about the covenant include: ‘Does this mean you’re exactly the same now? Do you now see everything the same way? There are no more differences?” The answer is — are you kidding? Does that sound like any marriage you have ever known?’ ” he said.
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Good neighbours: McClure United and Holy Spirit congregations have always been close; now they’ve put it in writing If Covenant 2000 were a play, Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church and McClure United Church would be well into the second act. The two churches recently signed a formal ecumenical covenant, committing themselves to breaking down barriers
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by John Goranson, Saskatchewan News Network Saskatoon’s largest-ever church service drew thousands of Christians intent on celebrating their faith together at Saskatchewan Place, despite -22 degree temperatures and a frustrating 45-minute traffic jam Sunday. “It’s so packed. I’ve never seen it this full for anything — and for a church thing that’s really great,” said
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What will you be doing on Jan. 2, 2000 — the first Sunday of the new millennium? Church leaders in Saskatoon hope you’ll be among the many thousands expected at SaskPlace to attend SONday 2000, a “city-wide day of celebration of Our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ.” The 15-member task force organizing the event explains
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As Alice through the looking glass, when we enter the world of ecumenism everything seems to be a little bit different. Through the looking glass, everything looks different, we look at it differently and we experience it differently. The Saskatoon Centre for Ecumenism is hosting a national Summer Ecumenical Institute that will assist us to
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When Bernie and Shirley Karstad were considering marriage, they had an added twist to consider. While both were dedicated, devoted and active church members, the catch was that they belonged to different churches. Neither had any interest in switching to another church tradition. Adding further complication, each was bringing children from a previous marriage into
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Winifred M. O’Rourke, a founding mother of the Saskatoon Centre for Ecumenism, went to be with her Lord on October 8, 1997 at the age of 85. When the Centre was begun, she was responsible for setting up the library, spending many hours in organizing and cataloging the books. Her work and love of the Centre has been appreciated in so many ways through the years. Winifred also had a remarkable library of her own. Following her passing, her daughter Jennifer O’Rourke made many of those books available to the Centre. It is with sincere gratefulness that we have accepted this generous gift, as the collection of books has made a valuable addition to our library. For those of us who had the opportunity to know Winifred, it is like having a part of her with us.” All the books listed elsewhere in this issue are from this collection, and are available for borrowing. We wish to publicly thank the O’Rourke family for recognizing her mother’s deep love and understanding of ecumenism and thereby realizing that by passing on these books to our Centre, Winifred’s memory will continue to live on in the hearts of many people.
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Giving visible witness to Christian unity is the goal of a number of Saskatoon churches which have joined themselves together in Covenanting 2000.

Rev. Walter Donovan, of Calvin Goforth Presbyterian Church, is an enthusiastic supporter of the Covenanting 2000 project. His church has been twinned with Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church for a two-year period.

Donovan is one of the eight church leaders and representatives who has signed the Covenanting 2000 pastoral letter encouraging local inter-church initiatives. It has also been signed by leaders and representatives of the Anglican Church of Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Mennonite Ministerial, Orthodox Church of America, Roman Catholic and Ukrainian Catholic Churches, and the United Church of Canada.
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by Virginia Battiste, Saskatoon Star Phoenix Dr. Roy Oswald has some advice for churches who want to keep their pastors in long-term ministry. He says it can help to avoid both clergy burnout and the frequent changes of clergy that can be disruptive and costly to a parish. “We live in a high stress culture
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