Mission Work

A well known priest once said "if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans".  As was the case with the Fort Providence mission this year, things changed.  Time takes on a whole new meaning in the Northwest community.  The pace of life is slower, but yet time moves faster.  Things still get accomplished but not as quickly as you would like them.  We were observers, as much as learners, and workers, thankful the Holy Spirit guided us through it all.

On instructions from Fr. Wes, we renovated the back end of the small church. As a result of the new furnace being installed, the cold storage area needed a sealable door installed to keep the new heat in.  The old confessional was removed to allow for greater storage capacity and the church underwent a major reorganization with help from two pastoral parish elders.

With Debra and I staying in the rectory while Fr. Wes stayed in Behchoko waiting to administer last rites, we became Father's emissaries.  We were lay presiders at evening masses, held council with some of the elders, were parish secretaries, official church bell ringers, and provided transportation to and from mass.

Upon Fr. Wes' return, Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) was held in the rectory.  Along with a delicious potluck of traditional food consisting of fish, buffalo, bannock and burgers we had an extremely productive meeting.  We hoped we were able to provide energy, resources, and input. Throughout the evening it was abundantly clear that we all shared the love of God through ministry.

We were so pumped up, Fr. Wes, Debra and myself brainstormed until 2:00 a.m.  Fr. Wes summarized the effects last year’s mission team had on the community, the anticipation of the arrival of this year’s mission team and together we formed a new outline for next year.

Parish Mission ~ your servants in Christ, Debra and Randy