A Pastoral Letter from Bishop Greg Kerr-Wilson

June 17, 2009

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Grace and peace to you in our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the fall of 2008 we as a diocese together took on the building of a Habitat for Humanity house as a way to mark our 125^th Anniversary as a diocese. Our intention was and is to bear witness to the love of God in Jesus Christ by being an instrument of that love in reaching out to a family in need. In this initiative we as a diocese took on providing one home to a family who would otherwise not be able to own a home; particularly providing money up front to build the house and labour to make it happen.

While raising the funds required went very well, we have experienced a few bumps along the way in getting the building itself begun, and then bringing it to completion. Despite those bumps we are committed to getting the house built in as timely a fashion as is possible. You may recall that initial plans for a family who would live in this house fell through. I am pleased to announce that another family has been assigned. What’s more, they have already completed their portion of the volunteer time needed and are now looking forward to moving in as soon as possible. Let me introduce you to our family:

Cheryl Taylor has lived in Regina most of her life.  She is a single mother of six great children and a grandmother to three.  She has four children and one grandchild living with her right now.  Shay, her oldest son is 19 and is taking post secondary education.  Her oldest daughter Tabitha is 18 and has a 2 year old daughter named Sara.  She is completing her grade 12 and has plans on taking a post secondary education as well.  Cheryl’s other two children are Justice who is 11 and Mykaela who is 9.  Her current living conditions do not allow for her children to have their own rooms.  She desires to provide her children a family home that allows them the opportunity to finish school without additional hardships.  Cheryl is a hard working mom looking for a hand up in life.  She is very much appreciative of the program that Habitat for Humanity has to offer and she would like to show her gratitude to the Anglican Church for helping her and her family.

The completion of our Habitat build is in sight. The next steps in the build are to begin installing insulation, vapour barriers and dry wall; painting and other finishing work will follow soon. We are at the moment, however, falling short on providing the volunteers needed to keep the work going and get it done.

Each work day requires only 3 to 5 volunteers. I am issuing a challenge to parishes to put together teams of volunteers to take on several days each (as many as you can) and help us fulfill our commitment. We will also need volunteers from each parish to help provide a lunch for their teams on the days they work. Steel toed shoes or boots are required for work on the site, but those who do not have them may borrow a pair from the Habitat Office for a returnable $20 deposit. Volunteers and volunteer teams should be in touch directly with Cindy Covey at Habitat for Humanity. She can be reached by phone at 522-9700 ext. 221 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Days available for work are Tuesdays to Fridays – and in July there will be a couple of Saturdays also. I will be doing my first day on the site on Friday, June 18, and will be volunteering another 3 to 4 days over the next month and a half. I look forward to seeing you there.

I realize that for parishes at a distance from the build site in Regina participation is more difficult to arrange. If you are able to organize a team or two for a day’s stint in Regina we greatly appreciate the assistance – if not, we would greatly appreciate the ongoing prayers of all of our folk as we seek to make this home a reality of Cheryl and her family.

God’s blessings be with you all.

Greg Kerr-Wilson

Bishop of Qu’Appelle

 The children of St. Alban's Sunday School in Moosomin, Sask, raised $150 by selling toys and cookies.  They donated all the money to the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund, for relief work in Haiti after the devastating earthquake.