Diocesan Briefs

Hope "work bee" fixes up Christ Church

Retired military engineers from the Canadian Forces were among those involved in a sprint "work bee" at Christ Church Hope earlier this year. The renewal project included a new roof on entrances, the replacement of rotted wood, and installation of a water line to the church for the benefit of the Altar Guild. Ditches were dug, lawns mowed and raked, several loads of branches and cones hauled away to be composted, and a number of small maintenance jobs were completed. The priest-really-in-charge was the Rev. Fred Tassinari, a retired padre of the Forces. Military engineers have a long standing tie to the church, having assisted in its construction prior to the church's consecration in 1861.

Saturday services

St. George Maple Ridge experimented this summer with a a Saturday evening "Sport Family Service" for parish families who find themselves involved in children's sports programs and other activities during springtime Sunday mornings.

On the fourth Saturdays of April, May and June, the evening started at 6 pm with a short sports activity such as mini-soccer or volleyball in the parish hall or on the playground. After Eucharist at 6:30, families gathered in the parish hall again for food and continuing the games begun before worship.

Justice and Peace Unit

The diocesan Justice and Peace Unit wrote to Prime Minister Stephen Harper this summer to urge the government to move Canadian Forces away from participation in combat and towards technical support for the Afghan government.

"We are not helping the Afghan people at this time by having our Canadian soldier be part of combat," wrote the Rev. Margaret Marquardt, unit chair, and the Rev. Don Johnson, chair of the Social Justice Committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada, who is also part of the Anglican group.

Anglicanism 201

You may have heard about Anglicanism 101. Many adult education "students" have graduated to Anglicanism 201- taught and facilitated by the ever-enthusiastic Rev. Elizabeth Northcott of St. Mary's Kerrisdale.

Cradle Anglicans and newcomers alike learned about all things Anglican - from the history of the Nicene and Apostle's Creeds to the reason candles on the altar are lit in a certain order, to the most common "heresies"!

Questions were accepted and encouraged, experiences shared, and even some debate ensued as all present came to new or altered understandings of the beginnings, development, growth and theology of the Anglican church.

The major highlight was most certainly the "fashion show" of high and low church vestments, as well as stoles and robes delineating the liturgical year.

-Melanie Wallace

Bicycle allowance approved

The Administration and Finance Committee has decided that diocesan employees can claim a travel allowance when they travel on business on a bicycle. The rate of 26 cents/km includes 12 cents/km for depreciation and maintenance of the bicycle, and 14 cents/km for extra food required for fuel. The car allowance rate is 48 cents/km.