10 April 2008

Dear Pastors, Lay Pastoral Associates and Parishioners,

Since my last letter, we have celebrated the high holy days of the Easter Triduum. I have been keen to hear from many of you how these special liturgies have gone in the various parishes and missions of the archdiocese. The paschal mystery of the dying and rising of Jesus is so foundational for our spiritual life. My own prayer is that you have found spiritual nourishment by the faithful celebration of these liturgies.

Christianne Gaouette
In the first weeks of March, we had Christianne Gaouette with us in McLennan first and then in St-Isidore for a spiritual renewal. Her days among us were meaningful for those who took part. I am grateful to CEFFA (le Conseil de l’éducation de la foi catholique chez les Francophones de l’Alberta) for its leadership in making Mme Gaouette’s ministry available to us.

Father Casimir Przybylski
Father Casimir passed away on March 30th; his funeral Mass was held in Fairview on Monday, April 7th. Father Casimir, originally from Whitelaw, originally was an Oblate and later became a priest of the Vancouver Archdiocese and ministered for most of his priestly life in BC. For the last several years of his ministry, he worked at the cathedral parish in McLennan. He then retired in 2006 and took up residence at Harvest Lodge in Fairview. A good number of clergy and other faithful of the archdiocese joined his family for the Funeral Mass in Fairview on Monday, April 7th.

Returning to Spirit
At the end of March, I completed the reconciliation portion of the Returning to Spirit program in Saskatoon, SK. I spoke of this program in last month’s letter; at that time, I had done the first part of the program, for non-Natives. Having now completed the program, I can honestly say from experience that this would be a marvelous program to bring to this archdiocese in a concerted way. I hope to find a way to make this happen in the near future.

Planning Committee
As announced earlier in these letters, I have formed an Archdiocesan Planning Committee, which has already begun its work. At a recent (April 9th) meeting of pastors and pastoral workers from around the archdiocese, the committee members presented the survey questionnaires and the timeline that they will be using in order to offer me a report in the next year and a half to two years. You will all be hearing more about this in your parishes in the coming months.

Archbishop’s Dinners
We have now had all three of these events in the archdiocese. I have been very impressed and deeply touched by the labor of love that these dinners were for all who planned them and brought them about. While I understand that there are still some contributions yet to come in, I am pleased to announce that we have so far netted about $48,000.00 for the needs of the archdiocese. More than just fundraisers, these dinners have provided a venue for me to share some of my work over the past year and a half, as well as some impressions of our diocesan Church. Our web master is attempting to put my talk on the web site, for the benefit of those who were unable to attend the dinners. Many commented to me their delight at hearing more about the history of the archdiocese, and about the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.
I would willingly receive any comments about these dinner events and how we might improve them in the future.

Aboriginal Days
Treaty 8, which covers all of the land in our archdiocese, was signed between the Queen of England and the Native bands in our region on June 21, 1899. Like most of the treaties, this was seen as a friendship pact, which paved the way for Natives and settlers to live peaceably side by side in this part of the Province. About a year ago, a former chief said to me, “How come Natives celebrate treaty days, but white people don’t?” I had no answer for him. In the spirit of Canadian unity and solidarity, I would like to encourage any of you who can do so to support and participate in any Aboriginal Day celebrations taking place in your communities this summer. Because of the Eucharistic Congress in Quebec City this June, I am personally unable to take part in such celebrations this year, but I look forward to do so next summer.
On a similar note, Sister Eva Solomon, a Sister of St. Joseph and an Ojibwa Indian, is returning to McLennan on the weekend of May 2nd to 4th to share some of her insights and teachings on Aboriginal spirituality and Catholic liturgy. I am inviting a small number of Natives and Métis to join us for this. I need to keep this first initiative small for many reasons, but I hope it will be part of a growing outreach to the Native peoples in our archdiocese. Please keep us in your prayers during that weekend.

+ Gerard Pettipas, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop of Grouard-McLennan