Dear Supporter of Arctic Mission and Ministry,

Normally, by this time of year, you would have received another printed, full-colour Arctic News newspaper full of the good news of what God is doing across the North. With Canada Post still on strike, we’ve had to put the Arctic News on hold, so we’re turning to email to give you a glimpse of what has been happening, and to ask for your continued support.

Thanks to your support and God’s gracious provision, we’ve been on track to end the year with a small surplus… though the strike means many people in the North who depend on paper cheques have been unable to send in their usual year-end donations.

96% of our donations arrive by paper cheque in the mail.

These have been interrupted by the ongoing postal strike in Canada.

If you can, would you consider making a donation to strengthen the proclamation of the Gospel and the training of northerners for northern ministry?

Praise God, it’s been a fantastic fall!

Teens Encounter Christ brought youth from as far as Pond Inlet and Tuktoyaktuk to grow in their understanding of what it means to be a mature, committed follower of Jesus Christ.

We launched a new Anglican Radio Station in Iqaluit, broadcasting hymns, Gospel music, morning and evening prayers, and Bible messages of hope and encouragement in Inuktitut.

We’ve hosted Ministry Interns from theological colleges in the south, and have celebrated the ordinations of one ATTS-trained priest and two ATTS-trained deacons, and have hosted in-person Deacons Training Program courses in Yellowknife, Winnipeg, and Kuujjuaq.

And, as we prepare for the retirement of Bishop David Parsons after 12 years of faithful service as our Diocesan Bishop, we’re very thankful that he was able to make a final trip to six communities on the coast of Nunavik (northern Quebec) to encourage local ministers, preach the Gospel, and lay hands on maturing Christians as they set forth to follow Jesus boldly and renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil… and he even got to take part in the “first annual” Bishop’s Olympic Games in Kangiqsualujjuaq as part of 3 days of fun, feasting, and fellowship planned during his visit.

The winter gets cold and dark… but make no mistake – Arctic Anglican churches are places full of the hope offered in Jesus!

A big year ahead!

This Spring we’ll finish the translation of Celebrate Recovery – the Gospel-based 12-step recovery program – in Inuktitut. We’ll also move forward with the construction of a new church for Kinngait, and begin the exciting work of exploring how multi-purpose buildings (to have church, hall, and much-needed community housing all under one roof) can help ensure that parish churches are both more sustainable and better providing for the needs of their local communities for decades to come.

And, on May 9th, the elected delegates from each community will gather in Edmonton (Alberta) to prayerfully listen for who God the Holy Spirit will call to be the next Bishop of The Arctic. This will be part of our diocesan synod, meeting from May 8th to 14th, which will be a time of training, encouragement, and equipping our parishes to do the God-given work of making disciples and bringing Gospel hope to a world that is hungry to hear it!

We trust in God…

…to do all of this, while ministering with only 19 full-time staff across 49 communities spanning 3.5 million kilometers of the North, while receiving only $535,000 in outside funding from the national church.

And we feel called to do even more!

In the year ahead, God willing, we’ll hire a full-time church planter to reopen a Gospel-sharing, community-focused Anglican church in Inuvik, we’ll hire a new Principal not only to build on the great success of ATTS, but to expand its’ reach to offer more and more discipleship programs across the North, we’ll see Teens Encounter Christ multiply into 3 or 4 or 5 regional gatherings, and – above all – we’ll rejoice and give thanks as God gives the growth, as a new generation of faithful Arctic Christians steps into leadership, building on the only strong foundation that has been laid in Christ Jesus, and maturing into a Gospel-sharing team that overflows from the North, as God calls the faithful Inuit, Inuvialuit, Gwich’in, Dene, and Cree people to go as missionaries among those who once sent them missionaries, telling the old, old story, reminding the Church what has been forgotten.

Pray for us! And, if you can, make a donation this Christmas to help this vision of hope become a reality.

With your help, we can end the year strong, and move ahead boldly into 2025 and all the exciting growth it will bring!

Alexander+

The Ven. Alexander Pryor
Executive Archdeacon of The Arctic
867-873-5432 ext. 5
exe_officer@arcticnet.org