Stories

Holy Comforter Parish was organized by the Anglican Church of Canada in 1959, to serve the spiritual needs of the Inuit people and others who were resettling in this area. Work had begun at the North Rankin Nickel Mine, and many Inuit were moving here to assist in the mining operations. Prior to 1959, lay leaders from the Continental Interior Mission provided spiritual care to the Anglican Inuit who had moved from Arviat (then known as Eskimo Point), Baker Lake and other places. This ministry was occasionally assisted by Anglican priests travelling along the Hudson's Bay coast aboard trade and medical ships.

As in much of this portion of the Hudson's Bay coast, this Parish in its early years relied upon lay leadership to look after the spiritual needs of the people, with priests travelling north, usually from Churchill Manitoba, and bishops travelling from Toronto, whenever weather and travelling conditions permitted. Mr. Moses Aliyak, a (now) retired catechist in this congregation, and his family for a long time worked to keep this congregation going.

Resident ordained ministry began around 1972 with the Rev'd. Armand Tagoona and his family moving to the Parish. It is he who built, with a lot of lay assistance, the church on what would become the community's main street. Mr. Tagoona served here many years, returning to his home community of Baker Lake for a time. Lay leadership again took charge until the Rev'd. Jonas Allooloo and his family arrived to minister amongst us, for several years. Mr. Tagoona returned to Rankin and Holy Comforter Parish for a number of years before his death late in 1991. Our current priest, Canon Paul Williams and his family moved into the parish in August, 1992.

In the late spring of 1991, the church that Mr. Tagoona built was partially destroyed by fire, and the congregation moved from place to place, initially using the Lady Chapel of the new Roman Catholic church, then moving for a time to the old Roman Catholic church and from there to the gymnasium of the local Elementary School, for our main Sunday services. Our evening services during this time were celebrated in the homes of congregation members. These years of "Church-in-a-box" helped congregation members to come to a broader sense of church, and strengthened the ties we were developing into the larger community.

Finally in 1994, the congregation was able to purchase the current building from the Government of the NWT, converting it from an Adult Learning Centre to the Parish Church. Plans are currently being explored to erect a new, larger and more efficient building. In the meantime, renovations are helping us use this building better.

Throughout our short history, we have continued to try to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Rankin Inlet community through the witness of our lives, our teaching, and our concern for all members of the community.