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“I’m honoured, excited and happy to be coming home,” he says.

Harper says his first order of business will be to sit down and thank everyone who offered him their support and good wishes.

“I’ve been asking everybody for prayer. I know I can’t and won’t do this job alone. I walk with a great, wonderful and strong leadership.”

Following that, Harper says he will be looking to engage, bolster and uplift the ministry that is already in place in the diocese.

“The great struggle is always trying to do something new. My challenge to parishes is this: Do what you’re already doing, but strive to do it better. I see churches in this diocese being wonderfully blessed in how they engage the community, in how they’re involved in their communities. I want to be in those communities, too. I want them to know that their bishop supports them and walks alongside them. I want to share in faith and ministry with all.

“My other goal is to build bridges of reconciliation between communities, reserves and churches, and try to be that bridge of healing so we can all walk together in a new peace. Reconciliation is not an outreach program. It is a new, on-going way of living.”

Harper says the church right now has a desire to go directly into reconciliation, with a timeline.

“Let’s do this and we’ll be all reconciled within the next two years. Before that can happen there must first be knowledge, then understanding, acceptance and acknowledgement. There must be hearing of the stories before you can go into reconciliation. Indigenous people are still at the stage of wanting to tell their story, their history, their pain, their healing. And they need someone to listen.

“If everybody’s already left the table to go and work on reconciliation, half the table is missing. I am asking churches and the people of Saskatchewan to come to the table and listen, and let us all journey together in faith and ministry.”