Schedule

Thursday Jan 30        Provincial House of Bishops; monthly meeting with Youth and Family Ministry Coordinator; and Missional Imagination Conference

Friday Jan 31             Appointments in office

Saturday Feb 1           Missional Imagination Conference

Sunday Feb 2             Parish of Annapolis Royal Visit

Monday Feb 3            Day off

Tuesday Feb 4           Bishop’s Advisory Committee Meeting (Archdeacons)

Wednesday Feb 5      Regional Deans Meeting

Bishop Sandra’s Itinerary

February 2      Parish of Annapolis Royal

February 9      Parish of New Germany

February 23    Parish of Rawdon

March 2          Parish of Horton

Announcements

Bishop Sandra has accepted the resignation of the Reverend Paul Jennings as Rector of the Parish of Digby in Ecumenical Shared Ministry with Rivers of Grace Pastoral Charge, effective July 1. At this time, Rev’d Paul will move into retirement.

We are pleased to welcome the Rev’d Ann Turner back after her surgery in early December. At this time, Rev’d Ann is working from home and attending meetings in the Synod Office as needed. She is available by email at executivedirector@nspeidiocese.ca or by phone at 782-641-1795 . We are grateful that her surgery was a success and look forward to her full in-person return to our diocesan team in the weeks ahead.

Openings

Assistant Priest for Congregation Life and Community Engagement, full-time, Cathedral Church of All Saints

Rector, full-time, Ecumenical Shared Ministry, The Anglican Parish of Tangier & The Sheet Harbour Pastoral Charge of the United Church of Canada

Rector, 3/4 tme, Parishes of Musquodoboit and Ship Harbour

Rector, full-time, The Parish of Fall River and Oakfield

It is our pleasure to share with you that Tonia Wright has joined our team on Monday, January 27, as Administrative Assistant. She will be working fulltime, offering a warm welcome to our Synod office and guiding people and communications in all the right directions. Tonia comes to us with loads of administrative experience in the fields of communication and even some finance. Tonia can be reached at office@nspeidiocese.ca

Please join us in welcoming Tonia to the team.

As vacant buildings become more common for parishes, are you keeping yours insured?

Please be aware that vacant buildings are generally excluded under a standard policy if they remain vacant or unoccupied for more than 30 days. The Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Insurance program includes specific language to address the challenges that parishes encounter regarding their property.  It is essential to inform your Insurance Administrator or Broker if you have a vacant property to ensure that appropriate coverage is established for that property.

For more information on the requirements for a vacant property, and to access a checklist and inspection log for vacant properties... see the full article on the website.  

Have questions? Contact our Diocesan Insurance Administrator – Peter Flemming 

(902)-406-8991 pflemming@nspeidiocese.ca

Complete applications must be received by the Executive Secretary of Synod by those dates. execsecsynod@nspeidiocese.ca

Information for our Diocese in addition to the requirements from the Anglican Foundation

• The motion to move forward with this initative from the minutes of council are required
• The deadline for applying are earlier than the foundation dates as our applications must vetted and brought to Diocesan Council before they are sent to the foundation
• If the grant application includes working with youth your vulnerable sector policies must be included in the application.

To apply for a grant please go to the website  https://www.anglicanfoundation.org/apply/ 

and download all of the information to insure your application is complete.

Please feel free to send any questions to the

Executive Secretary of Synod, execsecsynod@nspeidiocese.ca

CHANGE CHALLENGES  

Annual meetings provide an opportunity to review the previous year, but most importantly, to look ahead. Every congregation is facing transition of some sort or other in 2025. Change is hard. Doing nothing to navigate change is even harder. 

Read about how an Episcopal (Anglican) church took steps to face new realities and grow with change. 

[Check out the article below, Embracing Change, written by Morris Thompson. ]

Thinking about Lent? Join the Diocese of Fredricton in a Lenten book study to read John Mark Comer's Practicing the Way. 

"We are constantly being formed by the world around us. To be formed by Jesus will require us to become his apprentice. 

To live by what the first Christian disciples called a Rule of Life—a set of practices and relational rhythms that slow us down and open up space in our daily lives for God to do what only God can do—transforms the deepest parts of us to become like him. "

The series starts on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, and runs six sessions (until April 16, 2025) at 6:30PM for 60-90mins. Registration is required for the Zoom link. Participants will receive the reading schedule after they register.

The Connectors is a group that journeys over the course of 12 months to explore fresh approaches to flourishing ministry. It involves reflection, prayer, discussion, study, goal-setting, trying out missional initiatives, mutual peer support and more!

• Do you sense that God is nudging you to try something new?
• Do you wish to reach out to people who might never come to Sunday worship?
• Do you desire to be the hands, feet and heart of Christ to your community?

This peer learning community begins in early 2025 for lay and clergy participants who want to explore discerning prayer, deep dive discussions, engaging readings, goal-setting, mutual support and encouragement. 

The Connectors SEVEN is a group of up to 10 eager pioneering-type people who gather monthly for 10, two-day sessions (a mixture of residential retreats and Zoom meetings). This is a skill-building environment for faithful Anglicans who want to reach out to others, but aren’t sure how. Participants in this cohort are a gift and asset to a local parish and their community. All costs are covered by the Diocese.

Facilitators are: Kim Lively, Parish of Oakfield & Fall River; Bishop Ron Cutler (retd); Lisa Vaughn, Director of Mission and Ministry Development. 

ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS …

... are willing to lean into their growing edges and take risks.

... commit to participating in all the sessions and an average of 3 hours per month of study, reflection and discernment/visioning for themselves and their congregation(s). Additional time required for missional initiatives.

Application deadline for The Connectors SEVEN is Friday, February 28, 2025.

INFO & SIGN-UP HERE:    http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ConnectorsSEVEN

(Got questions?    E-mail:  missiondirector@nspeidiocese.ca   or  call:  902-789-4840.)

Anglicans Powering Potential want you to know about events in honour of World Interfaith Harmony Week (Feb. 1 - 7), With the idea of celebrating spiritual diversity, you can attend Joining Hands in Turbulent Times: Saturday, February 1, 2025; 2 - 4; Halifax Central Library. All are welcome! This program of art, music, dance, readings . . . and snacks is free of charge.

Check out the full range of opportunities to learn about spiritual diversity and to celebrate World Interfaith Harmony Week (Feb. 1st- 7th)

Praying with the DEN Community, Diocesan Environment Network (DEN) 

For more information contact DEN at: endionspei@gmail.com

If your parish is looking for ways to offer meaningful and fun ministry for kids this summer, let Community Roots help you make it happen! Our summer staff team will be travelling throughout the diocese, equipping and empowering local leaders and having lots of fun leading day camps for kids together! Find out more about our program here, or join us for a zoom information session on February 5,  and if you are ready to apply, you can do that here!

The Youth and Family Ministry VSST is having a meeting on March 1 at 1 pm (location TBD, but it will be somewhere in the HRM), and it is open for anyone interested in youth and family ministry to attend. If you’d like to join us, either in person or virtually, email Allie (youthandfamilyministry@nspeidiocese.ca) for more details!

Join us for an informal opportunity to connect with others who are finding ways to intentionally welcome families into the life of their churches! Bring your stories, your questions, your ideas, your challenges, bring whatever you've got!

No need to commit to every month, but we'd love to have you there whenever you can make it! Our first one is February 6 at 1 pm – hope to see you there!

Sign up here to get the zoom link!

Atlantic School of Theology announces a cohort in Systematic and Historical Theology for 2025-26 within the Master of Arts (Theology and Religion) program. Led by Professor Rob Fennell, this cohort will be a small group of student-scholars pursuing a degree focused in the area of Systematic or Historical Theology. 

The cohort will meet biweekly in a required seminar (September 2025 through April 2026) to form a community of encouragement and support, and to focus on your academic goals. Join with other MA students focused on Systematic or Historical Theology to share peer support, explore your interests, discuss an article together, prepare for thesis writing, share in social events, learn from established scholars, receive mentorship, and more.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE linked below to learn more about funding opportunities, program expectations, and how to apply.

Deadline: Apply by March 1, 2025 to be considered for funding.

Questions? Contact Dr. Rob Fennell at rob.fennell@astheology.ns.ca

Join the parish of St. Margaret of Scotland for a Casserole Luncheon this January!

Thursday, January 30th 11:30am - 1:00 pm

Admission $12.00

Students & Seniors $10.00

All are welcome at the Church of St. Margaret of Scotland, Halifax for a Cribbage Social!

Admission- $5

Looking for 56 players!

For more information, or to register, contact: Doug King (902-237-5999)

Join St. Luke's Church for their next community flea market !

9 Veterans Ave, Dartmouth

Saturday February 8th, 9:00am- 11:30am

Join St. Luke's Hubbards for their Community Potluck on Valentine's Day!

On Friday, February 14th at 6pm at the Parish Hall, 10 Shore Club Rd in Hubbards.

All are Welcome! Free Admission. Please bring your favourite dish to share.

Join for a moring of learning, advocacy, and partnership around Human Trafficking at the Church of St. Andrew, Cole Harbour. Guest Speaker, the Rev'd Kiersten Wells.

For more information contact: 

The Rev'd Marian Lucas-Jefferies marian.lucas.jefferies@gmail.com

The Diocese of NS and PEI Heating Oil Program with Irving Oil offers Churches of the Diocese and eligible Diocesan Clergy and Diocesan Staff a discounted rate based on non-profit status. This rate is not offered to individual Anglican parishioners. For more information, please contact: The Centralized Commercial Account Manager for the Diocesan Heating Oil Program, Ms. Sharon Williston by name at 1-888-310-1924 or by email Sharon.Williston@irvingoil.com 

The Furnace Oil price for the period  - January 25 to January 31, 2025.

Nova Scotia - $1.1391  Prince Edward Island - $1.1391

• Thursday, January 30 - 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
• Saturday, February 1 - 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Jubilee 2025 is a global initiative that builds on the transformative success of Jubilee 2000, which canceled $100 billion of debt for 36 low-income countries. 

The Global South still faces a devastating debt crisis, with many countries spending more on debt repayments than on healthcare, education or climate action. Be part of a national and international movement calling for Debt Cancelation.

Join us on February 19 and invite your friends and community. This webinar will be in English and French with simultaneous translation. Hear Indigenous and Global South partners, biblical scholar Sylvia Keesmaat, and more. Learn how you can be part of the success of Jubilee 2025.

-Kairos Canada