A few weeks ago, the newcomers event of Saskatchewan Conference was held at Calling Lakes Centre in Fort Qu'Appelle. The Retreat Centre was located on the north shore of Echo Lake in the beautiful Qu'Appelle Valley. The eight people who have been newly settled in Saskatchewan gathered together with the staff members to get to know more about the life and history of Saskatchewan and to be familiar with new culture of the Prairie. It has become an opportunity for me to see the lands and towns in different perspective with a bit of background knowledge and understanding of prairie life. Especially the beautiful scenery of Qu'Appelle Valley has made to change my stereo typical concept of Saskatchewan, nothing but plains.
When my wife and I came back to home, we drove through the side road 247 in order to wallow into the beauty of Qu'Appelle Valley. It was spectacular sight and more than good enough grandeur to change my whole concept of Saskatchewan, only Prairie Province. "Qu'Appelle," in native Indian, it means "Calling or to Call." It seemed like to call everyone into the beauty of Qu'Appelle Valley. Actually at the newcomers retreat, we shared with the ideas of calling, the real meaning of Qu'Appelle?
From the beginning of creation, the Qu'Appelle Valley has been calling, but calling what, whom and why? I guess that nobody knows an exact answer of this question, even the one who first called it Qu'Appelle, because it calls everyone differently. Some are called to be professional workers to help others. Some are called to be skillful workers for production. Or some are called to be artists to entertain and bring out human joy and pleasure. If everyone believes that they are called to be somebody and to do something rather than simply they think that they become and do what they want and like to, it will be a whole lot different concept of work ethics. Qu'Appelle, it still calls each one and everyone to be what they should be and do what they could do in order to help and support one another for together making a better, just and peaceful world.
Christian faith has begun with responding to calling. In the Genesis in the Bible, God called Abraham to leave from the comfort zone and to take a risky life. When Abraham responded God's call properly and faithfully, God called him righteous. "Righteousness" means to have a good, proper and right relationship with God and others. All the ways of life, Abrahams had faithfully responded God's call. So he has become the father of Christian faith. No matter what and who they are, everyone has to respond to call. Qu'Appelle is in everywhere and at any time in our life journey. How to respond to call? That matters.
