I have been lurking on this list for some time and am happy that it
has been revived and seems to have
some more interest than previous. I think it is a good if not necessary
idea to have questions for
discussion posted from time to time.
I belong to a 30 member congregation in Arborg, Manitoba, Canada. The
town has a population of 1200,
and the surrounding area another 2800 people. The majority of our members
live outside the town, at
least most of the ypounger members do, while the older people have
moved to town from the farms. The
area is largely farming and the town an agricultural based service
center.
The church, which is 75 years old, was built by Icelanders in the area
who whished to experience a more
liberal religion than the more popular Lutheran denomination could
or would provide. The Arborg Church
has been designated a Heritage site as has the Unitarian Church in
Gimli which is a community a half
hours drive from Arborg. At one time there were 8 churches in this
area of the provence north of
Winnipeg, now there are only 3 left. The Arborg Church meets on the
1st and 3rd Sunday from
September to June, while the Gimli Church only has services in the
summer, and has only recently been
reopended for that purpose.
Our Minister, Rev. Stefan Jonasson, attends at least one times a month.
I am the president and also am
the Chaplain. We are strugglig to provide adequate progamming for children,
something that was lost for
a few years. We are also the owners of the Fresh Air Camp on the lake
15 minutes from Arborg, where
we also own the 3rd church which is used infrequently for services
and weddings in the summer.
As a farmer, I am interested in starting a discussion around the issues
and concern of the crisis
in agriculture which is becoming an ever incresing problem in this
province. What is the responsibility of
the church in relation to people's suffering, often in silence and
isolation, on the land? Is there a role for
the church in anything beyond providing support to individuals who
are experiencing the pain from the
threat top their livelihood?
There is much more that I would like to share with you but will do
so in follow up discussion to any
comments, which I would really appreciate receiving.
Sylvia Sigurdson