In December 2021, the Very Rev. Chris and Amy Dow moved to Iqaluit with their 3 girls. Chris is the Rector of St. Jude’s Cathedral and Dean of the Diocese, and Amy is the Administrator of the Arthur Turner Training School. Here’s Amy’s story of their journey to Ministry in the Diocese of The Arctic.

Early in the days of my relationship with Chris, he had expressed an interest in serving in the Arctic. My answer was always the same. “Yeah! Maybe if you were single!”

We have lived in Toronto, Birch Hills (a town of a 1000 people in Saskatchewan) and, just recently, Chris ministered in a parish an hour outside of Toronto. We had a home there, friends and family. Everything we would ever need or want.

Yet here we are. In Iqaluit, Nunavut, where Chris is currently the Rector of St. Jude’s and Dean of the Diocese of the Arctic.

How did we get here?

This past summer, we felt God nudging us in a different direction. It all started when I found the job posting for the Rector of St. Jude’s/ Dean of the Arctic and passed it on to Chris saying. “Hey, your dream job is calling! The kids and I will come visit.”

From there, something changed. Chris felt a tug to pursue as I remained hesitant and reluctant to follow. Bishop Joey and Chris knew each other through Facebook and they started making a connection. After Chris got approval from his Diocesan Bishop, he applied. I wasn’t on board at the time, but I wasn’t totally opposed either. I had always told him from the start. “If it’s a no-go from me, I will tell you.”

But it wasn’t an easy journey. We looked at other options, too, as I was nervous about what little I knew about Nunavut.

Our children have various concerns that require specialists such as Ophthalmologists, Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapists. Due to the nature of how often they needed to be seen coupled with my lack of understanding of medical travel covered by the government, I was scared.

At some point, the issue with fuel in the water came out and that was hard to swallow. The kids were taking the school bus, loving school, their friends and their neighbourhood in Ontario. It felt like an injustice to take them away from all of that, on top of no longer being able to see relatives all the time.

We met with the bishops for an interview. I played my guitar and sang for them during our worship time. The interview went well. But what I appreciated the most was how the bishops showed concern for the kids and my well-being. I knew I would not be alone. Bishop David said, “If Chris were to gain all of Iqaluit and loses his family in the process, what then have we gained?” I loved the importance placed on family and community. I felt like they cared.

That’s when we decided to visit Iqaluit. In October of 2021, Chris and I came a for a few days and stayed in Apex. We had a great trip but the most important part of the trip for me was the sense of community. I immediately felt a sense of hospitality, friendship and love, from people I hardly knew. The shift for me happened when I met the people from Iqaluit, especially after the Wednesday service. I had never met any Inuit before, and I fell in love with the spirit of community. It would also be remiss of me not to mention how much Bishop Joey and his family have made us feel at home. It’s like we have known them for ages!

Sure, I didn’t get all the answers I wanted. I still feared the lack of daylight in the winter, the water issues, high prices, new transitions, and the lack of retail options (I like shopping!). The cons to moving to Iqaluit seemed to outweigh the pros. But I loved the people and wanted to get to know them more.

I remember thinking, ‘Chris would be happy.’ That meant the world to me. So we continued with the process. And he finally accepted the job.

We had a rocky start. It was hard to tell our family we were moving North. They would miss us and we would miss them. From the flight getting delayed a day, sick kids, a blizzard, Covid lockdowns and not being able to see folks during Christmas, it was like there were hurdles in most every direction.

We had a very warm welcome at the airport. My fondest memory was probably being welcomed into our home with Christmas lights, a tree, gifts, and new friends. We knew we were home. The parish had done an amazing job making the house ‘home’. They painted the kids’ rooms, got beautiful furniture, had stocked the kitchen with groceries, and helped us unpack.

Since our arrival on December 19th, we have settled in happily to our new house, our new community, and our new Church home. We look forward to meeting folks in person as restrictions loosen. The girls love their learning packages sent from school, though one has a little trepidation on starting school in person. Meeting new people can be hard for little ones.

I have started as the Administrator at the Arthur Turner Training School, a theological school in Iqaluit aimed at equipping Inuit and Indigenous peoples in Christian leadership and ministry in the North. To learn more about ATTS, please contact me at atts.admin@arcticnet.org or by cell at 1 (867) 222- 5502. We consider ourselves very blessed to be here and thank you for joining us on our journey.

Much love to you from Iqaluit, Nunavut!

Chris, Amy, Clara, Hannah and Abigail Dow