Bishop Chris Harper of the Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon preached his last sermon at St. John’s Anglican Church in Lloydminster on Sunday before starting his new role as the National Indigenous Anglican archbishop and presiding elder of the Sacred Circle. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Bishop Chris Harper of the diocese of Saskatoon has been appointed Canada’s new National Indigenous Anglican archbishop and presiding elder of the Sacred Circle.
As Bishop of the diocese of Saskatoon since 2018, Harper had roughly 32 churches from the Manitoba border on the east to the Alberta border on the west, including St. John’s Anglican in Lloydminster.
Harper preached his last sermon at St. John’s Anglican Church on Sunday when the congregation celebrated his new role.
One member of Sunday’s congregation was Lydia Willoughby, who has attended church all her life and happens to be Harper’s aunt.
“It’s so sad because we’re losing him,” she said with a grin.
“I’m not sure if it’s because he’s my relative, but I feel good when I come out here, and now he’s going to be leaving and preaching somewhere else,” she said. “This was his last service here, and I knew I had to be here.
“I’ve known him all his life, and he was always good. I wasn’t surprised at all when he said he was going into ministry.”
Originally from Onion Lake Cree Nation, Harper has been in ministry most of his life, and starting in 1995, was a Lay Minister in charge of churches in Onion Lake, Fort Pitt, Paradise Hill, Frog Lake, and Frenchman Butte.
“Now, as an Archbishop, I will be, as a National body, representing, speaking for, addressing to the needs of, and seeking out, all the voices of all the Indigenous ministries from coast-to-coast-to-coast,” he said.
“I have a lot of upcoming responsibilities, but I foresee a great journey of hope, and hopefully my ministry is one of healing, of hope building, and at the same time, of trying to rebuild the church. This way the Indigenous People can have their own voice, their own way of recognizing this is their church, and their church they support and work with.”
For Harper, day-one responsibilities include bringing better communication to the table, while also being a conduit of healing.
“There is a huge undercurrent of individuals in our Canadian society that have not fully heard or embraced the truth-telling,” said Harper.
“As the Indigenous People have been telling their stories to bring a better understanding of what has happened, and the legacy that all of us inherit as Canadians, it’s hard sometimes to fully acknowledge and accept honesty and truth. Right now, I think the challenge before all of us, all across Canada, is to recognize the honest truth that there is open racism, inequality and injustice and that all of us need to work to be better Canadians.”
Not only will Harper be busy in his new role of archbishop, he’s also presiding elder of the Sacred Circle.
“Sacred Circle is the gathering of all nations from coast-to-coast-to-coast,” he said.
“Representatives from all Indigenous communities gather in what is called the Sacred Circle, which is much the same and akin to what we have for the Anglican Church of Canada when all representatives of the clergy, parishes and diocese get together, and that’s called general assembly.”
