St. Michael - Newsletter 2013

UPCOMING EVENTS 

  • At the urgent request of Pope Francis, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has joined a global emergency effort aimed at involving the Church in Canada in assisting Syrian refugees seeking shelter and protection in the Middle East and parts of Europe.Thousands of Syria’s displaced families are now packed into overcrowded church buildings, tiny schools, crumbling houses and leaky tents. Thousands more have left Syria in search of safety and a better way of life.  With the freezing temperatures of winter fast approaching, many might not survive until spring.

           Our mission as Church is to provide assistance for families and others inside and outside Syria. Our goal is to keep these families warm, and keep them alive.  But we must do it before the temperature falls and snow arrives. Before it’s too late. It’s why our Holy Father need all the support you can provide.       The world these families knew is gone forever. But your gift of $108 or more can help one family stay warm until spring.       All parishes throughout the Eparchy of Edmonton are invited to take up a collection for the Syria Emergency Relief Fund.  The Federal Government will double donations made before December 2015 up to $100 million.

           Parishes can send their collections directly to Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA Canada) at 1247 Kilborn Place, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 6K9. Make cheques payable to “CNEWA Canada”.

           For more information, see attached brochure on a “Snapshot on Syria,” visit CNEWA Canada at cnewa.ca or call toll-free 1-866-322-4441.

           Please be as generous as you can!

           Thank you!    And God bless!
           Bishop David

     

  • Bishop David’s annual Name Day Celebration Tea will take place Sunday, November 1, beginning at 2:00 pm, at Saint Josaphat Cathedral Hall (Verkhovyna).  This year’s celebration is hosted by Saint Volodymyr Parish, Edmonton.

           The theme of this year’s Name’s Day Tea is Year of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky with guest speaker Very Rev. Stephen Wojcichowsky, Chancellor and Vicar General, and former Director of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute, Ottawa.

           2015 marks the 150th anniversary of his birth (July 29, 1865), and November 1 is the anniversary of his death (1944).

  • 2015 Presbyteral Council meetings – (2:00–4:00 pm, Chancery Office) – February 16, May 9 (note special time – 3:30–5:30 pm followed by 7:00 pm “Moleben for Life” at Saint Josaphat Cathedral), October 17.
  • 2015 Clergy Conferences – (10:00–4:00 pm) – February 17 (Saint Nicholas Parish, Edmonton), May 10, October 21.
  • 2015 Annual Clergy Study Days October 5-7 (Providence Centre, Edmonton) with Dr. Bob McKeon (emeritus professor of Newman Theological College) on the new encyclical of Pope Francis, “Laudato Si’ – On Care for Our Common Home.”

  • 2016 Annual Clergy Study Days – October 17-20 (Providence Renewal Centre, Edmonton) with Very Rev. Peter Galadza, Professor, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute (Ottawa) on “Byzantine Funeral Rites: History and Theology.”
  • 2016 Annual Clergy Retreat June 13-17, Sanctum Retreat Centre, Caroline.


ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • Bishop David appointed Rev. Julian Bilyj as Eparchial Vocation Director.  Father Julian currently serves as Pastor of Saint Nicholas Parish, Edmonton, and Chaplain for Edmonton Catholic Schools.
  • The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, through its Commission for Justice and Peace, issued a new pastoral resource, entitled “I was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me” – Pastoral Letter on Welcoming Refugees. 

           The pastoral resource is available through the CCCB website www.cccb.ca.

  • Catholic leaders worldwide call for urgent climate action and a major breakthrough at climate negotiations in Paris. The world’s regional groupings of Catholic Episcopal Conferences launched an appeal to the negotiators at the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention in Paris on Climate Change. The appeal, also signed by the President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, urges the negotiators to work toward a fair, legally binding and truly transformational climate agreement.

           A copy of the appeal is attached; it is also available at: https://www.devp.org/en/pressroom/2015/comm2015-10-26

     

  • The Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) issued its 2015 Message to Families, entitled, Parents, Will Your Children be Happy? – A Reflection on the Formation of Conscience.

           Christian parents are confronted with an immense challenge:  to lead their children to choose the good, the true and the beautiful, knowing that their eternal happiness will depend on their life choices.  The pervasive influence of relativism makes this challenge especially acute today.

           The Message to Families, together with a workshop guide, aims to help parishes, families, movements and associations deepen their reflection on this theme.  Both are available on the COLF website: www.colf.ca

  • The Office for Evangelization and Catechesis, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, has published its first issue of Encounter, a new electronic resource intended to provide practical support for diocesan and eparchial directors of religious education, parish catechists, and families who provide catechesis within their homes.

           Future issues of Encounter will be posted on the webpage of the Commission for Evangelization and Catechesis: www.cccb.ca.

  • 2015 Message for the Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples. This day of prayer is celebrated on December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas (Roman Catholic Church). This year, the members of the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council wish to provide a reflection on the commonalities between Catholicism and traditional indigenous spirituality.
  • Pope Francis on the occasion of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, “Migrants and refugees challenge us: The response of the Gospel of mercy,” which will be celebrated January 17, 2016.

 

      


 

© 2015 Eparchy of Edmonton
9645 – 108 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T5H 1A3
Tel: (780) 424-5496 Fax: (780) 425-2330
www.edmontoneparchy.com


Source: Edmonton Eparchy