Qu’Appelle is a Diocese of the Anglican Church of Canada, and part of the world wide family of the Anglican Communion. In some ways, we are a large diocese covering 196,846 square kilometres in the south of the civil Province of Saskatchewan. This area of Canada has a climate with extreme temperatures of (-40 C in winter, to +40 C in summer) and little rainfall (40 - 50 cm per year).

Southern Saskatchewan is mostly open farm land. Naturally-occurring trees are small and sparse. Agriculture, along with oil and natural gas, makes up the majority of the economy.

The Qu’Appelle Diocese stretches from the Manitoba border on the east to the Alberta border on the west; from the U.S.A. border to the south from Estevan and to  Kamsack, Kenaston and Kindersley to the north. The city of Regina is centrally located in the Diocese.

Urban parishes average about 300 members on the parish role. The average rural parish has about 150 members. Rural parishes consist of two to six active congregations. Half the population of Saskatchewan, 500,000 people live within our Diocese boundaries, with only 11,550 Anglicans. As you can see, we are "thin on the ground", and that is where we become a small diocese. We are divided into 43 parishes, many of which embrace several congregations to give us a total of 109 congregations. We are fairly evenly balanced between urban and rural members.

Regina is our "see city" where St. Paul cathedral, is located and the diocesan offices can be found.

The Diocese of Qu’Appelle was created by the Synod of the Province of Rupert’s Land. Our first bishop: Adelbert Anson, from Lichfield Diocese, was consecrated as the first bishop of Qu’Appelle on June 24, 1884.

The Church of St. Paul in the city of Regina, after having pro-Cathedral status for many years, became the Cathedral of the diocese in 1973. It has always been the goal of the diocese to become self-supporting. With the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the diocese finally achieved self-support in 1975. Worship and liturgy in the diocese has always been rooted in a strongly-sacramental tradition with a desire to be innovative, meeting the needs of succeeding generations. The vast area of the diocese and its sparse population, together with a continuing decline in rural areas, has challenged the diocese to be creative with structures for local ministry and to work at giving all members of the church for ministry.

The leadership and ministry of women has always been significant in the diocese. Ordained women in the diocese have held the posts of archdeacon, regional dean and honorary Canon of the Cathedral. About 15% of the population in the diocese are Aboriginal. In addition to congregations on several Reserves, the diocese is working with Native people to establish ministries in the urban native populations.

In the context of a growth toward full communion, Anglican parishes are involved in a mission-outreach project in new suburban locals/neighbourhoods, with other respective denominations, such as; Lutheran & United Church missions.
In the last decade, parishes could no longer afford the traditional stipendiary priest-model of local ministry, these parishes, with the cooperation of the diocese, have developed new models of local ministry. These approaches place an emphasis on the education, supply and demand for all members of the congregation, ministry and the local discernment of leaders for Parish teams, including the selection of persons for ordination. Some urban parishes are looking at these examples to extend the ministry in the church community.

Sincerely, Duncan Wallace
Tenth Bishop of Qu’Appelle