A married couple, Brian and Wilma Woods, were installed and commissioned as co-incumbents to serve All Saints Anglican Church, with Bishop Rob Hardwick of the Qu’Appelle Diocese on hand to lead the service held Thursday evening.
The couple were ordained into the Anglican Church in 2009, and they spent two and a half years in the Magdalen Islands located north of Prince Edward Island before returning to the Qu’Appelle Diocese in 2012.
Wilma is an archdeacon in the Archdeaconry of Aidan, while Brian is the regional dean in the Anson deanery.
Prior to coming to Weyburn, they served as co-incumbents for an Anglican-Lutheran ecumenical community serving the communities of Whitewood, Wapella and New Finland.
Brian has been at All Saints since mid-September, and the congregation asked if he would stay and serve them.
Before entering the ministry, Wilma was a certified dental assistant in B.C. for over 26 years, and Brian worked for the department of Transportation and Highways for B.C., until “Black Thursday”, a day when a large number of government employees were let go by the government, including himself.
“I did one of those business management development programs before going to seminary, and I’ve found it helps in different areas,” said Brian.
The couple, who have been married for 31 and a half years, will share their ministry duties at All Saints, doing visiting, some informal counselling, and alternating with preaching or ministering the Eucharist.
Wilma is starting a women’s study group, and they are going to start a program called “Free Expression”, which will be a very informal way of reaching people where they are, such as in a cafe or a park.
“It’s a way of doing ministry beyond the walls of the church. We’re looking for it to be missional. Free Expression is reaching out to people who would never darken the door of a church,” said Brian.
“We try to work with other churches. Brian and I are very ecumenical,” added Wilma. “We like to invite people and let them know our doors are open here. It’s a very welcoming church.”
They will be starting Sunday evening services for Lent as well, starting on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m., and going for five weeks. “It won’t be a long service, and we’ll be trying a variety of different types of services,” said Brian. “We’re just feeling our way to see what works and what doesn’t.”
