EPARCHIAL NEWSLETTER: October 2011

UPCOMING EVENTS

Presbyteral Council meeting (2:00 – 5:00 pm, Chancery Office) – November 8.
Clergy Conference – November 9.
The Eparchy of Edmonton will host the “Bishop’s Second Annual Appeal” fundraising events on Thursday, December 1, Chateau Louis Conference Centre, Edmonton.

A rescheduled Eparchial Cantor’s Course will take place Saturday, October 1 at Saint Nicholas Parish (9507 Austin O’Brien Rd, Edmonton). The Course will feature a beginners level for those wanting to start cantoring by learning the basics, and an advanced level for cantors interested in expanding their current knowledge. For more information, contact your local pastor or the Chancery Office (780) 424-5496, chancery@edmontoneparchy.com.

“Blessed Nykyta: Bishop and Martyr,” a play with music commemorating the 100^th Anniversary of the Appointment of Bishop-Martyr Nykyta Budka as the First Ukrainian Catholic Bishop in Canada, presented by Rev. Edward Danylo Evanko, will take place 7:00 pm, November 1 at Saint Basil’s Cultural Centre, Edmonton. Tickets $20.00, available at the Chancery Office (780) 424-5496 or chancery@edmontoneparchy.com. Proceeds in support of the 25^th Anniversary of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute. Ottawa.

Join Bishop David Motiuk (Eparchy of Edmonton) and Bishop Ken Nowakowski (Eparchy of New Westminster) on a 7-Night Alaska-Hubbard Glacier Cruise from June 10-17, 2012 aboard the “Celebrity Century.” The Cruise is in support of the 25^th Anniversary of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christians Studies, Ottawa. Participants will have an opportunity to learn more about the Sheptytsky Institute, as well as make a personal donation towards the Institute in an amount of their choosing. Deposit of $100 per person due by September 30, 2011; balance due January 15, 2012. For further details, contact the Chancery Office at (780) 424-5496 or chancery@edmontoneparchy.com; or Solaway Travel, Burnaby, BC, toll free at 1-877-430-6789 or myrna@solawaytravel.com.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church held its annual meeting from September 4-10, 2011 in Curitiba, Brazil. Follow the link to read the synodal resolutions–written in Ukrainian, but an unofficial and approximate translation of the text can be generated with the built in translator at the bottom of the webpage.

The Commission for Justice and Peace of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops wishes to encourage the promotion and use of the Guide for Discussion and Action which has been developed for Pope Benedict XVI’s Encyclical Caritas in Veritate. Originating with the Jesuit Forum for Social Faith and Justice, the Guide was issued by the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario and published by the CCCB Publications Service. Designed to facilitate small groups in their study and discussion of the Encyclical, it has been formatted for seven sessions of group discussion. Pastors are invited to bring this resource especially to the attention of those working in the area of social justice. Printed copies of the Guide as well as of the Encyclical can be ordered from the CCCB Publications Service, www.cccbpublications.ca. An electronic version of the Guide to the Encyclical is also available on the web site of the Jesuit Forum at www.jesuitforum.ca/.

The Commission for Justice and Peace of the Canadian Conference of Catholic issued a Message to Young Catholics on Social Justice, inviting young people to be engaged in building a more just and joyful society, and to do so because of their faith. The Commission also thanks and congratulates young people for their generosity and perseverance in undertaking this mission in various sectors of society. The Message is available on the CCCB website at:www.cccb.ca

The Commission for Doctrine of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops earlier this year released a Letter on Pastoral Ministry to Young People with Same-Sex Attraction. An accompanying Study Guide is now available. Copies of the Study Guide can be ordered from the CCCB Publications Service at www.cccbpublications.ca. Based on the pastoral letter by the Commission for Doctrine, the Study Guide has been prepared by Salt and Light Catholic Television Network. It is a helpful tool to understand better the Church’s position on the issue of same-sex attraction. This resource will be useful for Catholic teachers, pastoral workers, and young people themselves.

Please read a letter of thanks from the Canadian Catholic Organization of Development and Peace (CCODP) Executive Director, Michael Casey, to the Bishops of Canada for the Horn of Africa Emergency Appeal. To date more than $4.7 million has been received from Catholics across the country in response to the emergency situation in the Horn of Africa. Thank you for your generous response. All contributions by individuals that were forwarded to CCODP by September 16, 2011 were doubled by the Government of Canada. Development and Peace is one of the select group of agencies recognized by the Canadian International Development Agency as a key Canadian responder to humanitarian emergencies.
Catholic Organization of Life and Family (COLF) offers an enthusiastic look at vocations in its 2011 Message to Families, entitled Families, did you know? Love is calling your children. COLF hopes this resource will support parents, teachers, priests and catechists in their important educational work and help young people, so often in search of meaning and ideals, to reflect and ask questions. The Message can be downloaded in PDF format or ordered from www.colf.ca. COLF is co-sponsored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus. It promotes respect for human life and dignity and the essential role of the family.
The Catholic Bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories issued a
Pastoral Letter entitled “A Legacy of Hope,” in recognition of and gratitude to the many Catholic Sisters who fearlessly and often sacrificially committed their lives to being a hope-filled presence of healing on behalf of the Kingdom of God.