office@ralphconnor.ca by Thursday at 11:00 AM

Ralph Connor Mission Statement: How do our activities line up with our Mission

•  to nurture the spiritual exploration and growth of all our members and adherents (Sunday service, Evensong, Bible Study, Children’s Church, Choir, Faith Leadership)

• to be an intentionally inviting Christian community that seeks, welcomes and embraces new members (Affirming Church, Interchurch relationships)

•  to reach out and become an agent for social justice in our neighborhood and in the global community (Rights relations, Healing Pathway, Affirming Church, CYAN, Prayer Shawls & many others, Being there for those suffering for any reason)

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We can sing alone but singing together, even if in a virtual choir, has an impact that goes far beyond each individual voice. We can pray alone but when we combine our petitions in the liturgy of familiar phrases we seem to reach into the heavens. Praying together virtually is another example of claiming community in this unsettling time. Our voices are more powerful when combined, even if it is a simulated closeness, and we collectively invoke the spirit. Last Pentecost, some Canadian Anglicans and Lutherans, marked the Day by speaking their faith in a plethora of tongues. More than 200 members from both churches, including the Indigenous Anglican church, took part in recording “One Family in Mission”. 26 languages are represented in the film from places around Canada and the world with several of the submitted videos in Indigenous dialects. National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop Mark MacDonald said part of the Lord’s Prayer in Ojibway: Apegish bi-dagwishinomaguk kid ogimawin, “Thy kingdom come.” Lutheran National Bishop Susan Johnson commented “This diversity is part of our giftedness and our strength. It’s wonderful to come together and celebrate, especially in the middle of a pandemic—we need good news!” click here~

This rendition of Amazing Grace combines prayer and music, diversity of nations and oneness of soul. click here~

Senator Murray Sinclair said: “Reconciliation is not a spectator sport. You have to become involved. You have to be engaged. And people have not yet embraced that idea.” Giving Canadians the ‘right to roam’ might be a small step toward answering the calls of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We must walk together. click here~

Again, these days we may also walk in groups while alone. MacKay United Church’s virtual 'locative walk' is one of many ways to use communal, virtual walking to pray, meditate and fundraise. Stittsville United Church’s ‘Walk With Me’ program purchased 250 pedometers and initiated a walking program for people of all ages. Tracking and accumulating their steps, they accessed live talks about the pilgrimages and travels of biblical characters, each week was a different journey. The Calgary Interfaith Council hosts virtual walks in various places of worship with different Calgary religious leaders.

Some of us still cannot walk freely and in safety. Journeying into the future is uncertain and as people act out, violence is increasing around the world and in our communities. We all become stronger by forming alliances across “label-lines”. On August 9th a local 2SLGBTQ+ group called "Inqueering Minds" will meet at 4:00 in Centennial Park in Canmore. The focus in August will be to examine the recent spate of attacks and messages against queer folks in Calgary and Airdrie. React, reflect, and chat as you wish, this casual discussion group for queer folks in the Bow Valley meets about once a month and during their first get-together in Canmore we can hear how aggression has gained an insidious foothold in our communities. Please join Aurora Claire Borin and the rest of the group with openness: minds, hearts, and ears…allies welcome, we’re all in this together.

An actual WALK by the Anglican Church will offer you a reusable mask from the clothesline on their Bell Tower. Grateful thanks to Theresa from Greg’s great idea.