St. Mark’s officially inducts Rev. Schellenberger

Chris Clegg
South Peace News

Although St. Mark’s Anglican Church is more than pleased to have a new reverend, the Rev. Joan Schellenberger will be the first to tell you the good news is not about her. “As a parish, it’s all about our relationship with God,” says Rev. Schellenberger, who conducted her first service at St. Mark’s on Jan. 7 and celebrated her induction Sept. 30. “That relationship has to be first.” Schellenberger, who also serves parishes in McLennan and Faust, comes to High Prairie most recently from Fort McMurray and Calgary. She immediately fell in love with High Prairie because it was much like her home town of Labrador City and the warmth of the St. Mark’s congregation. “We like the community, she says. ”We feel at home." Her father worked for Iron Ore Company of Canada Mining, her mother a nurse. She attended an Anglican Church all her life. She was ordained in 2005 and installed as the rector at St. Mark’s. Rev. Schellenberger says she felt the calling of the ministry in the late 1990s. She has extensive training in psychology but later felt the calling of theology. “I called a brother who’s a priest and I talked to the bishop,” she says. After that, the rest is history. Rev. Schellenberger served first as an assistant in Fort McMurray. The High Prairie posting is her first installment. St. Mark’s was without a minister for about a year after Rev. Roy Dickson left. The parish was in no hurry to find a replacement as they wanted to make sure they found the perfect fit. “I came here for an interview last August,” says Rev. Schellenberger. “I met with the board and I spent a day with the people’s warden and the rectory warden. We had supper and they interviewed me. After that, I put it in the Lord’s hands and that’s it.” Rev. Schellenberger says people must live by God’s Word and have faith. “It’s not just a Sunday faith,” she says. “You live it out in everything we do. We’re out there sharing the love of God in the actions we do. Then, we want to live in the way God wants us to.” Rev. Schellenberger wants to continue the work of having the parish and community grow together. She is very pleased to see the congregation makes efforts to reach out to the community through events like the Christmas Nativity Scene, Lenton Lunches and the operation of the Second Wind Boutique. She says it proves the congregation believes not only in God but its community and well-being. Rev. Schellenberger is married to Fred and they have two grown children; Stephanie, 28 and Krista, 27, who both reside in Calgary.

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