Radio Brings Nunavut Hamlet Together During Pandemic
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ContactA Newsletter for the Council of the North Summer 2021 Responding to God’s Call to mission and ministry in the northern regions of Canada photo: contributed L-R: Bishops Lucy Netser, Annie Ittoshat, and Joey Royal at their consecration on March 31, 2019 Radio brings Nunavut hamlet together during pandemic By Matt Gardner committee to ask if she could bring her “In the Arctic, a lot of people go to Christian message to the airwaves. The church,” Netser says. “When something On Nov. 13, health authorities confirmed committee responded favourably, and like a pandemic is happening, that’s the first case of COVID-19 in Arviat, a other churches soon followed. when we really need to be there for each predominantly Inuit hamlet in Nunavut Today, Bishop Netser has a other and encourage each other and pray with an estimated population of 2,850. two-hour slot every Sunday on the for each other.” The following months saw Arviat local community radio station, Bishop Netser primarily uses the become by far Nunavut’s worst-hit Arviaqpaluk 96.5 FM. From 11 a.m. Inuktitut version of The Book of Common community, with 339 confirmed cases— to 1 p.m., she offers morning worship, Prayer to lead prayers on the radio, since more than two-thirds of all cases in the Scripture readings, and prayers and there is no Inuktitut translation of The territory as of April 30. encouragement for the community. Book of Alternative Services. She also Soon after the appearance of Other churches offer their own programs prays for the communities and offers COVID-19, the hamlet imposed tight afterwards, with Arviat Alliance Church listeners a brief period of silence to pray lockdown measures to control the spread starting at 1 p.m., Glad Tidings Church on their own for people they might be of virus. An Anglican bishop, the Rt. Rev. at 3 p.m. and St. Therese Catholic concerned about. Lucy Netser, contacted the local radio Church at 5 p.m. Continued on page 5 contact | SUMMER 2021 | A NEWSLETTER FOR THE COUNCIL OF THE NORTH | 1 Bringing summer Bible camp home to families By Matt Gardner If kids can’t go to Bible camp, the diocese of Caledonia will bring Bible camp to kids—and parents are welcome to join the fun. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year, the diocese realized it couldn’t hold its annual summer program at Camp Caledonia, located at Tyhee Lake, B.C. Traditionally, the diocese has hired a student seminarian each summer to teach Bible stories and lead activities for campers. Sending a seminarian to Camp Caledonia to lead virtual activities posed a challenge due to limited Internet access and poor cellphone connections. Instead, the diocese took a different approach with the help of partner On Eagle’s Wings Ecumenical Ministries (OEW), which offers Christian education programs for remote northern communities. The diocese has previously incorporated parts of the photo: on eagle’s wings OEW curriculum into its summer Bible Volunteers help assemble kits for Bible Camp in a Bag. program. In response to the pandemic, OEW turned its curriculum from an in- “Often they don’t realize they are person program to one that could be children, and instructions and materials because they’re just having fun, teaching done by families at home—using kits for making crafts. A memory stick or their kids. But they’re also hearing and in backpacks that give the program its DVD features OEW volunteers who lead name, Bible Camp in a Bag. The diocese engaging with the Bible story.” participants in making crafts, telling of Caledonia seized the opportunity Bible Camp in a Bag takes the regular Bible stories and singing songs. and held its first backyard Bible camps five-day Bible camp curriculum—led in One of the benefits of bringing of the in 2020, a trend that will continue this pre-pandemic times by an OEW team camp experience home, Hand notes, is summer. going into a community—and converts it that parents can experience the same “What we’re trying to do with this is into home programs that provide enough “basic level of Christian education to actually engage parents in the Bible content for three weeks of activity. alongside their children.” story along with their children so that Each child or family receives a “What we experience in a traditional Bible camp setting where there’s a team the parents are learning alongside the backpack with five different kits inside. that goes into a community is that children,” says the Rev. Lesley Hand, Each kit contains a booklet with prayers, parents tend to drop the children off Anglican priest and executive director of a Bible story, a note for parents on On Eagle’s Wings. how to work through activities with Continued on page 3 THE COUNCIL OF THE NORTH is a Specifically: grouping of financially assisted dioceses, supported through grants by General • Diocese of the Arctic • Diocese of Athabasca • Diocese Synod, that serve sparsely populated of Brandon • Diocese of Caledonia • Indigenous Spiritual areas in the Arctic, Yukon, Northern and Ministry of Mishamikoweesh • Diocese of Moosonee • Central Interior British Columbia, Alberta, Diocese of Saskatchewan • Territory of the People • northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba; and northern Ontario. Diocese of Yukon • 2 | contact | SUMMER 2021 | A NEWSLETTER FOR THE COUNCIL OF THE NORTH photo collage Some of the items found in Bible Camp in a Bag kits Continued from p. 2 Indigenous, a northern-Canadian- built around the theme “Christ loves and come and pick them up three designed program made far more sense all people” and proved a hit among hours later,” Hand says. “Because in my mind,” he adds. Anglican families. Lehmann says that COVID has made us adapt to a virtual The partnership between the the kits were “very much appreciated”. environment, we decided that we diocese of Caledonia and OEW greatly “Kids [were] tearing into stuff … would structure it in such a way that expanded during the pandemic. They didn’t need the videos to do the we can actually engage those parents.” Unable to host their in-person Bible crafts,” he recalls. “Most of the kids just The Rt. Rev. David Lehmann, camp, the diocese took advantage looked at the [instruction] sheets and Bishop of Caledonia, one of the of the backyard Bible camp kits that got into it. I dropped some off to one founding board members of OEW, teams of OEW volunteers put together. family myself and stood back and was has used the ecumenical group’s “They count out the markers and just amazed at watching the kids get material in his parishes since the late cut the length of yarn that they need excited and engage in the stories—and 1990s. After becoming bishop in 2018, and count out the paper plates that the parents appreciating the fact that he incorporated parts of the OEW they need,” Hand says, “This is a we couldn’t get together [in person], curriculum into the diocesan program whole crew of volunteers that love this but we had a resource for them.” at Camp Caledonia. ministry and love the north and love The theme of this year’s camp “When I became bishop, I realized the Lord, and that’s their motivation to is “Living in God’s house together.” the summer campers [were] creating do this.” Lehman hopes the experience will help their own summer program from It was July last year by the time the parents and children to “step out of the scratch,” Lehmann says. “We were diocese of Caledonia received its Bible regular routine that’s been happening hiring people and they were trying to camp kits and was able to distribute and to engage in some Bible story, do come up with a curriculum and all I them to families, “just because we were some crafts and some activities … to thought was, why re-create the wheel?” shifting gears and then we had to learn think about how God connects us all “Because the bulk of the people a bunch of technology,” Lehmann says. in this and that God is with us in this attending our summer camp are The first backyard Bible camp was pandemic.” Ω contact | SUMMER 2021 | A NEWSLETTER FOR THE COUNCIL OF THE NORTH | 3 Mentoring new clergy in the Diocese of Moosonee during a Pandemic By the Rev. Diane Hilpert Mcilroy Mentor for Clergy and Spiritual guidance, Diocese of Moosonee 2020 was a year that most of us will not soon forget. We were separated from our families, friends, neighbours, schools, jobs, and churches. The global pandemic changed most of what we call “normal.” Many people began to rely on the Internet for shopping, socializing, working, and even worshipping. Before the pandemic began, although I am retired, I had been doing some supply work, but obviously, with churches closed, supply clergy were not needed. After a few months of lockdown I began to question what God might be asking of me. Early one morning I prayed that Jesus would reveal God’s plan to me. photo: contributed That very evening I received an email The Rev. Diane Hilpert Mcilroy (R) with Archbishop Anne Germond from Archbishop Anne Germond asking me to prayerfully consider the position of mentor in the Diocese of Moosonee. preached and how the Presbyterian Hall, and Gregory Kerr-Wilson, and Archbishop Anne and assisting author and professor Rev. Dr. Tom Long others that are listed at the end of this Archbishop Fred Hiltz were looking for preaches. And lastly, we looked at how article.