The first archdeacon of the diocese was Metis, and the first indigenous bishop of Canada, Charles Arthurson, who became a suffragan bishop in 1989, is from here. For many farming and native communities, the church is the hub of activity, Bishop Burton said. The joint is jumpin', and partly because people know that if they don't jump, they'll die as a church. A lot of congregations had so many move away and yet they are ready to make a go of it. Openness to trying new things is part of prairie culture, he noted.
Prairie people are survivors.
Many were once city people who were given land grants. They had to learn how to survive and they have kept that spirit of being open to doing new things. The diocese is active for its size. In the past 10 years it has built, rebuilt on a larger scale or expanded seven churches. Plans are afoot to rebuild two more.