Joe McWilliams

Lakeside Leader

The Shambare family of Slave Lake is moving to Edmonton. Pastor Blessing Shambare, of St. Peter’s Ecumenical Church has accepted an appointment for a similar position at St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church in the city, starting in mid-August.

“I’ve enjoyed it here,” says Shambare. “I’m not leaving because of the congregation or the community. It’s an opportunity that has been placed before me. I’m taking a chance.”

Speaking of taking a chance, moving to Slave Lake from Zimbabwe nine years ago was taking a big one. It was a huge change, culturally and otherwise, and took some getting used to, for the whole family. That includes Shambare’s wife Florence and their three children, who have done a lot of their growing up in Slave Lake.

The kids, he admits, are not that thrilled about having to start over again.

“They have friends here. They came here very young.”

Being in the big city will be a different sort of challenge for the whole family, including the pastor. For one thing, Shambare expects the small-town experience, where “everybody knows everybody,” won’t be the same at all.

Slave Lake, he says, “has been very good, in terms of my grounding in Canadian culture. Slave Lake gave me the opportunity to understand.”

The St. Peter’s congregation has become like family, Shambare says, and he will miss them. In the broader community, he says he’ll also miss his involvement with the multicultural association and the mental health network.

The congregation will miss him, too.

“We’re definitely sad,” says St. Peter’s member Janice Nowochin. “When we heard the announcement there were a lot of tears.”

Shambare starts officially at St. John’s on Aug. 15. His term at St. Peter’s ends – officially – on July 6, but he’ll be back later that month for a scheduled baptism of 10 people.

In the meantime, St. Peter’s has set up a selection committee, whose job is to find a new pastor.