Schedule

Wednesday, September 9th - Friday, September 12th - Northumbria Regional Visit:

Wednesday - Meeting, Prayer Service and Blessing of Community Prayer Box, one-on-one time with clergy - Holy Trinity Port Hawkesbury, Parish of Strait-Chedabucto; meeting (evening) - Parish of All Saints by the Sea, Canso (St. James the Martyr Halfway Cove)

Thursday - Benefit concert (evening), Parish of Liscomb-Port Bickerton (St. James Sherbrooke)

Friday - Helping Hands (morning) -  shared ministry of St. George’s Anglican and Trinity United (Trinity United Church, New Glasgow); lunch, Parish of St. George, New Glasgow; one-on-one time with clergy (afternoon); visit to Palliative Care Unit, Aberdeen Hospital (evening - ministry of St. James, Pictou) 

Saturday, September 12th - Regional Council (10 am, St. Paul’s Antigonish); Wild Church (2pm) Parish of Three Harbours; one-on-one time with clergy (afternoon)

Sunday, September 13th - Parish Visit - Parish of Three Harbours (11am St. Paul’s Antigonish)

Monday, September 14th - day off

Tuesday, September 15th - Wednesday, September 16th - time off for bereavement

Announcements

Bishop Sandra is pleased to announce the appointment of The Reverend Laurie Omstead as Priest-in-charge (50% time) for the Parish of St. Stephen’s Chester, effective October 1, 2026.

Ordinations

God willing and the people consenting,

on Saturday, September 26th, 2026 at 2:00pm

at The Cathedral Church of All Saints, Halifax,

Bishop Sandra will ordain:

Deborah Beck

Annie MacQueen

Natasha Tobin-Bejarano

to the Sacred Order of Deacons

Your prayers and presence are requested for Deborah, Annie, and Natasha

as the prepare for their ordination and the vows and promises they will make

before God and the gathered community.

Clergy and Licensed Lay Ministers are invited to vest and process.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God willing and people consenting,

on Monday, September 28th

- The Eve of St, Michael and All Angels - 

at 3:00 pm at the Church of St. Peter and St. Thomas, Weymouth

Bishop Sandra will ordain:

Christopher Ryan Tidd

to the Sacred Order of Priests

Your prayers and presence are requested for Christopher

as he prepares for his ordination and the vows and promises he will make

before God and the gathered community.

Clergy and Licensed Lay Ministers are invited to vest and process.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God willing and people consenting,

on Thursday, October 15th

at 4:30 pm at Christ Church, Berwick

Bishop Sandra will ordain:

Kenneth MacIntosh

to the Sacred Order of Deacons

Your prayers and presence are requested for Ken

as he prepares for his ordination and the vows and promises he will make

before God and the gathered community.

Clergy and Licensed Lay Ministers are invited to vest and process.

Openings

Full-Time Rector - Parish of Christ Church, Amherst

Full-Time Incumbent - Parish of St. Luke's Hubbards & Parish of Blandford

Shared Ministry of the Parish of Digby, The Anglican Church of Canada and Rivers of Grace Pastoral Charge, The United Church of Canada

Full-Time Rector - Parish of St. Stephen's, Chester

Parish leaders are often looking for practical, easy ways to help people connect Sunday faith with everyday life. This week, we begin rolling out ready-to-use "Flourishing Faith In Daily Life" mini-resources. The topic is: The Midday Pause.   Download the pdf here:    Flourishing Faith - Insert 1

• Sunday Leaflets: Print-ready, vertical half-sheet bulletin inserts.
• Parish Newsletters: Compact reflections ready to paste straight into your digital or print communications.
• Social Media: Short, engaging snippets formatted for Facebook.
• Parish Meetings: Built-in devotional starters to ground Parish Council or committee meetings.

What: We are hosting an on-line conversation about Divine Feminine Energy as inspired by Mary Magdalene's Gospel

When: Thursday, October 1st - 7:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Who: Speaker is Linda Longmire, Spiritual Director, Barat Spiritual Centre, Halifax

Where: This gathering is hosted on Zoom

Register: email soulstirringconversations@gmail.com and the Zoom link will be emailed to you

Why: The character of Mary Magdalene was denigrated by the early Church and her written Gospel disappeared for over fifteen hundred years. Today there is mounting Feminine Divine Energy flourishing worldwide and the spirit of Mary is emerging like a phoenix out of the ashes to support our love for God and relationship with Yeshua/Jesus, and to empower women's spirituality and spiritual authority. This topic is likely to spark lively conversation and encourage self-reflection of our own sacred wisdom.

What to bring: your experience; an open mind and heart; a willingness to explore deep topics. Please know that this is a safe place to have an honest, authentic conversation about our emotions

Ground Rules: Be kind; be respectful; be supportive of each other; be authentic; take care of yourself; honor confidentiality.

Who we are: a collection of open-minded, affirming, authentic people associated with the Anglican Church of NS and PEI. All peoples are welcome to this important conversation in a trusting and safe environment.

This event is supported by the Prospect Road Recreation Association

On November 30 at 6 pm our diocese will gather in All Saints Cathedral, Halifax, to celebrate with an exuberant service of Holy Eucharist the 50

anniversary of our Church ordaining women to the priesthood. And because that date also happens to be the 6th anniversary of Bishop Sandra's consecration as bishop, an event that had no real public celebration as it took place under Covid restrictions, we will also celebrate her ministry among us.  A reception will precede the worship.

We hope every parish in the diocese will join in preparing for this celebration. More information will be coming throughout the summer, but here are some of the ways to get involved: 

• Make a list of the women ordained in or from your parish and female rectors – and also those who felt called and were not welcomed into ordained ministry; those stories are part of the fabric too. 

• Collect the stories of these women, and those who supported them

• Create artwork depicting your parish’s women clergy and stories (a template and instructions will be sent out in advance so these are the same size and material; these will be gathered and hung in the Cathedral for the service)

• a collect will be sent for prayer during October and November)  

• Host a parish watch party for the national celebration being held November 25 in Victoria

• If you are too far from Halifax to attend, host a parish watch party for our diocesan celebration. 

We are making resources available to assist those who want to attend the national celebration in Victoria and need financial help to do so; please contact Lawrence Roche at financialcontroller@nspeidiocese.ca if you ware interested in going. 

And watch for further announcements about ways to participate in this grand celebration!

The next Anglican Foundation Grant deadline is September 15th, 2026.

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

**Once your application has been submitted, you will receive a confirmation email from the Executive Secretary of Synod acknowledging its receipt**

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

- The motion to move forward with this initiative from the minutes of council are required

- The Bishop does not compose her letter of support until after Diocesan Executive Council votes to forward the application.  This is taken care of within the Synod Office.

- The deadlines for applying are earlier than the dates on the Anglican Foundation website, as our applications must vetted by the committee, then brought to Diocesan Executive Council before they are sent to the foundation. Our dates are based on the dates the Diocesan Executive Council meets.

- 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

Looking for an accessible, low-pressure way to dive into scripture this fall?

Joine us for Lessons from Paul: Living a Christ-Centered Life, a Zoom Bible study series co-hosted across three dioceses (Calgary, Algoma and Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island) and Thorneloe University, Sudbury, ON.

Each session follows a simple, open format: a passage of Scripture is read twice, followed by a wide-ranging, accessible discussion on how Paul's writings apply to our daily lives.

Event details

When: Thursdays from Sept. 3 to Oct. 8 at 9:00pm Atlantic Time

Where: Online via Zoom

• Meeting ID: 827 3436 6468
• Passcode: 830537

Weekly Reading Schedule

• Sept. 3 - Colossians 3:12-17
• Sept. 10 - Ephesians 4:29-32
• Sept. 17 - Romans 12:1-13
• Sept. 24 - Romans 12-14-21
• Oct. 1 - Romans 13:1-7
• Oct. 8 - Romans 13:8-14

Co-Leaders

Mike Hobson - Postulant, Church of St. Andrew, Cole Harbour, NS (Diocese of NS & PEI)

Coery Brunatti - Parish of Trinity Muskoka Lakes, ON (Diocese of Algoma)

Rev. Mike Black - Parish of St. Martin's, Calgary, AB (Diocese of Calgary)

All are welcome! Grab your bible and join the conversation from wherever you are.

See what your parish offers in the way of prayer programs, contemplative gatherings, or quiet prayer times.

 Explore prayer gatherings from other parishes, perhaps not available at your church, or held at a time more convenient for your schedule; in person and on ZOOM.

Summer updates  

Now that we are officially in the Season of Creation (Sept. 1 - Oct. 4), there is an understandable draw to the natural world, as well as a strong sense of honouring how our food is harvested.

Anglicans Powering Potential remind Net News readers that the United Nations has declared 2026 as the International Year of the Women Farmer (IYWF 2026) to recognize and celebrate the essential contributions of women in agrifood systems worldwide. The Year spotlights the essential roles women play across agrifood systems, from production to trade, while often going unrecognized. Women farmers are central to food security, nutrition, and economic resilience. The International Year of the Woman Farmer raises awareness and promotes actions to close the gender gaps and improve women's livlihoods worldwide.

Here are some interesting International Days for the first week of September:

Sept 5 - International Day of Charity

Sept 7 - International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies

Sept 7 - International Day of Police Cooperation

Sept 8 - International Literacy Day

Sept 9 - International Day to Protect Education from Attack

God willing, Archbishop David Edward intends to ordain deacons Rick Cunningham, Dr. J. F., Rob Pitman and Virginia (Ginny) Wilmhoff to the priesthood and Ellen Kelly, Samuel Landry and Tyler Joseph McKenna to the (transitional) diaconate.

Ginny Wilmhoff and Samuel Landry studied at Atlantic School of Theology, Halifax, and have served in several of our Diocesan parishes. 

Please keep them in your prayers during this sacred time.

For more information on the ordination service visit: https://nb.anglican.ca/events/ordinations-to-the-priesthood-and-diaconate/2026-09-12

Atlantic School of Theology’s Certificate in Stewardship is a program that explores stewardship as a faithful response to God's gifts. 

Through engaging discussions, practical application, and theological reflection, participants will develop skills and perspectives to foster generous, healthy, and mission-focused faith communities.

This program is designed for clergy, lay leaders, church volunteers, and simply those who are interested in stewardship.

The Fall 2026 cohort begins Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Sessions will be online via Zoom from 7-9 p.m. and run over seven weeks.  

The cohort is facilitated by Rev. Cathy Lee Cunningham, an experienced ministry leader with a passion for helping congregations cultivate a vibrant culture of stewardship.

Whether you are looking to strengthen your congregation’s stewardship practices, grow in your own understanding of faithful generosity, or gain practical tools for ministry, this certificate offers a supportive learning community grounded in theological reflection and real-world application.

Cost: $600 per person. Limited bursary support is available for eligible participants.

Registration is now open - Click here to Register

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  - September 5, 2026 - September 11, 2026

Nova Scotia - $1.7123 Prince Edward Island - $1.7123

Growing community in our parishes requires conversations that go beyond the superficial. Yes, we love to talk about the weather, the price of gas and traffic challenges, but, what if we were intentional about deepening our discussions with new and old friends through being creatively curious?

Read this article, "Magical Questions" for Formation Gatherings, written by Jodi Belcher, Episcopalian and the Lead Editor of Build Faith, Virginia Theological Seminary.