Schedule

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

Thursday, September 17th - Picnic for Women Clergy, Victoria Park, 29 Park Road, Truro (11:30 am - 2 pm), Service of Deconsecration, Christ Anglican Church, Lantz (6 pm)

Friday, September 18th - Catch up day (reading and administration)

Sunday, September 20th - Parish Visit - Parish of Digby (Trinity Anglican Church, 10 am)

Monday, September 21st - day off

Tuesday, September 22nd - Orientation and Professional Development for Regional Deans and Archdeacons

Announcements

Bishop Sandra is pleased to announce the appointment of the Reverend Julia Ford as Executive Secretary of Synod, effective September 1. The Executive Secretary plays a leadership role in coordinating the business of our Diocesan Synods and meetings of Diocesan Executive Council. Rev’d Julia is also Priest-in-Charge of the Parish of Bridgetown, and brings management experience and administrative gifts to her appointment as Executive Secretary of Synod.

On behalf of the diocese, Bishop Sandra also wants to extend sincere gratitude to Dawn Purcell, outgoing Executive Secretary of Synod, for her hard work and dedication to this ministry over the last three-and-a-half years. Thank you, Dawn! 

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.

As the population in our neighbourhoods grows older, our ministry to aging members deserves to be just as vibrant and connected as ever. Parish leaders can always learn new ideas to organize intentional emotional, practical, and spiritual support to people who are older and isolated.

Read, A Practical Guide for Church Families Supporting Seniors in Need, by Justin Black, published by the Lewis Centre for Church Leadership. 

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 Scripture Echo.   Download the pdf here:   Flourishing Faith - Insert 2 

These 'micro-practice' faith inserts are designed to be plug-and-play, adaptable across multiple settings with zero extra preparation:

• 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

Its time to start planning our 2027 Diocesan Youth Camp!

We are looking for youth and youth leaders to join our team to help make our next event fun and meaningful for everyone who comes! If you would like to help make that happen, and hopefully grow in your faith along the way, email Allie at youthandfamily@nspeidiocese.ca to find out more!

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!

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.

We are well into the Season of Creation and now that it is a global event, celebrated by many Christian communities, including the Anglican Communion https://www.anglicancommunion.org/campaign/season-of-creation/, individuals and communities are encouraged to engage in prayer, sustainability projects, and advocacy for climate justice. Anglican's Powering Potential recognizes that it is a season that has the capacity to foster unity among different Christian senominations, promoting a shared commitment to environmental stewardship and the ethical treatment of the Earth.

Here are more interesting International/World Days for September

Sept. 15: International Day of Democracy

Sept 16: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer

Sept 17: World Patient Safety Day (World Health Organization - WHO)

Sept 18: International Equal Pay Day

Sept 20: World Cleanup Day

Sept 21: International Day of Peace

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.

Fall updates