Pond Inlet (Jan 03/00) - Like the much-fabled Blues Brothers of the rhythm and blues era, Joshua Arreak is on a mission from God.

And he takes that responsibility rather seriously.

So much so that even when he isn't technically practising his heavenly profession, he's still providing the guidance and leadership that go hand in hand with being at the helm of the Anglican church.

"I never really quit being a minister," said Arreak, who, first ordained in 1985, temporarily left his calling and his work in Nunavut and Nunavik to be with his wife who was attending school in Iqaluit.

"I was still involved with the church, especially the young people, and with the leadership in the church as well," he said.

The couple returned to their home community of Pond Inlet in 1997 where Arreak worked as an office manager until the hamlet's former Anglican minister left to take a new posting in Clyde River.

Arreak ascended to the challenge and by late last year, he was back in the pulpit again. That's the spot where he said he's known he's belonged for many years. "I felt that I was called into this ministry," he explained, of his deep link to his work and his employer.

It was after looking around and seeing groups like the RCMP and social services providing external guidance, Arreak said it dawned on him that there was a serious shortage of agencies providing Inuit with spiritual direction.

Enter God and his right-hand man, Arreak."Back in the 1980s or late 1970s, I got involved in the church because I felt people were hurting and in pain and needed help spiritually," he said.

Two decades later, Arreak is as devout as ever and along with continuing to face the challenge of spreading the gospel to Inuit, he's taken on the additional task of seeing the Old Testament translated into Inuktitut by Inuit ministers.

"It was decided back in 1978 by the Canadian Bible Society that the people who translate the Bible should have as their first language the language they're translating it into," he said.

And as for the issue of racial politics and whether or not Inuit are better at preaching to other Inuit, Arreak said he believed it was not necessarily for the mortals to decide.

"The authority and power we use comes from above, so I believe it can be an Inuk or a Qallunnaq (minister). If (the minister) is called by God, that's (the minister's) role."