The parish of St Mary Magdalene, Fort Nelson, is in the north-eastern corner of British Columbia on the Alaska Highway. The local population is about 6,500 in an area that includes forestry and natural gas production.
"Our church is fully self-supporting and big in the Holy Spirit!" says Rector Seán Murphy, who is the Archdeacon of Liard. "We have about 35-40 regular families and our weekly attendance last year was just over 50. Frequently our congregations are larger during the peak part of the year, between June and September."
The parish has a Statement of Purpose to sum up what it is about: "To glorify God as a community of love, in all we say and do. Calling people to faith in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ; equipping and releasing them for service, under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit."
"In short," says the Archdeacon, "we are a worshipping, equipping, mission-minded church reaching out with the Good News of Christ in our community and beyond."
Archdeacon Seán Murphy emphasises the importance that prayer has in the parish. The parish has seen how God has responded to heart-felt prayer on many occasions. "When the people pray, the Lord moves!" he says.
The worship in the parish is lively and participatory, using a blend of contemporary praise and traditional hymns. Work with children is especially important to the parish.
"We need to put a greater focus on ministry to our youth," Seán says, although the Sunday School has run a strong program for several years. "And we hope to grow in this are in the future. Outreach and mission have long been central for our church. We support a foster child in Uruguay, and parish projects last year raised money to send Bibles to Russia and to support the victims of Hurricane Mitch."
St Mary's co-operates with other churches in the area and has joined in an initiative for '120 days of prayer for you city' organised by Christ for Your City.
"This program, which stresses prayer, holiness and unity among churches with the purpose of winning our cities for Christ," says the Archdeacon in recommending the project to the wider church.
"Our goal is to have a new facility someday," Seán says, "right now God is emphasising the importance of unity and outreach for our church. It is a privilege to serve the Lord in the Diocese of Yukon. Please pray for us as we seek to be faithful to God's call to lift up the name of Jesus in this part of the world."