The Anglican, April 2016

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Bishop Poole eyes retirement

Two churches come together

Parishes receive millions in grants

TheAnglican THE NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF TORONTO

A SECTION OF THE ANGLICAN JOURNAL

www.toronto.anglican.ca

APRIL 2016

Bishop Linda Nicholls, surrounded by laity and clergy, cuts a surprise cake at the Trent-Durham Area Day at St. Peter, Cobourg on March 5. In addition to the cake, she was presented with flowers. The surprise celebration was in honour of her election as coadjutor bishop in the Diocese of Huron. PHOTO BY MICHAEL HUDSON

Bishop Nicholls heading to Huron ‘It’s been an incredible privilege to work in the Diocese of Toronto,’ she says BY MARTHA HOLMEN THE Rt. Rev. Linda Nicholls, suffragan bishop of Toronto and area bishop of Trent-Durham, was elected coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Huron at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, Ont. on Feb. 13. She will automatically become the 13th bishop of Huron when the current bishop, the Rt. Rev. Robert Bennett, retires. She will be the first woman to hold the position. “I’m feeling excited, very excited. Still a bit overwhelmed,” says Bishop Nicholls. She hopes to begin her new role on May 1. Her first task, she says, will be learn-

ing as much as she can about the Diocese of Huron, since all of her previous ministry has taken place in the Diocese of Toronto. “The first challenge will be getting to know the diocese physically and geographically, getting to know its history, and getting to know its culture, which is very different than this diocese,” she says. It’s an undertaking with which she has some experience. “When I went to Trent-Durham, I had never ministered there. So in some ways, it’s a similar process of getting out immediately into congregations, going around to areas, visiting, just driving. Figuring out

where the roads go,” she says. The Diocese of Huron, located in southwestern Ontario, has about 200 parishes. It also has a much larger rural population than the Diocese of Toronto, but Bishop Nicholls sees similarities. “The challenges for ministry are much the same as they are here – congregations with declining numbers,” she says. “How do we do ministry with lots of small units of congregation? I’m looking forward to seeing what the creative opportunities are for ministry.” Bishop Nicholls says she is also looking forward to building relationships with the people and

parishes in her care, something she has enjoyed about her time in Trent-Durham. “I come alongside congregations as a servant of the whole church,” she says. “To encourage and see the good things that are happening, and to have the delight of watching things emerge, exciting projects and creativity.” In Toronto, Archbishop Colin Johnson says he is both delighted for the Diocese of Huron and sad to lose Bishop Nicholls’ gifts in this diocese. “Linda will be a superb diocesan bishop,” he says. “She has not only the experience but a real sense of discipline and

REFUGEES OR THE POOR? – SEE PAGE 5

graciousness and wisdom. Linda has served the church in a whole variety of ways, as a parish priest, as a member of the national church staff and as a bishop in this diocese. She’s also served the church nationally and internationally. We are going to miss her here.” That feeling is one that Bishop Nicholls shares. “It’s been an incredible privilege to work in the Diocese of Toronto. Because of its breadth, because of its size, there is a richness of resources here, not just financial resources but resources of people,” she says. “I Continued on Page 2

2 TheAnglican

NEWS

April 2016

Donations to papers go up

Bishop Poole announces retirement Will remain in ministry BISHOP Philip Poole, suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Toronto and area bishop of York-Credit Valley, has announced his retirement. In a letter to the clergy of York-Credit Valley on March 3, Bishop Poole said he will be retiring on Sept. 30, 2016. “Today, during the Lenten retreat held at SSJD (Sisterhood of St. John the Divine), I informed those gathered that earlier this week I offered to the Archbishop of Toronto my resignation for the

purpose of retiring effective Sept. 30, 2016,� he wrote. “I did so with profound gratitude to God for the privilege afforded me in being bishop suffragan in the Diocese of Toronto since February 2005. “Whenever the opportunity affords itself, I share with others how blessed I am to serve with so many faithful, competent, creative and effective parish clergy, priests and deacons, labouring together for good in the name of Jesus Christ. I have been so

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Bishop Philip Poole gestures during a service at Holy Spirit of Peace, Mississauga on Feb. 28. He is flanked by the Rev. Canon Paul J. Walker (left) and Bishop Michael Pryse of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. See related story on Page 3. PHOTO BY MICHAEL HUDSON proud of you and your people in what I believe to be the most diverse area in the Anglican Church in Canada as we seek to be the best version of the Anglican expression of Christianity we can be in a challenging societal context. “I acknowledge with gratitude the great support of Arleane Ralph, my staff in York-Credit Valley, the staff at the Diocesan Centre, the chancellors and certainly my colleagues around the College of Bishops’ table. Of course, it has been a special and unique joy to have served episcopally with my long-time friend and our much-loved archbishop, Colin Johnson. “I do not plan to retire from ministry, and after a period of time for rest, relaxation and reflection I have offered myself to the archbishop in whatever way I might usefully serve our beloved church. May God be with you as we continue our journey through Lent to the foot of the cross and the empty tomb.�

Bishop Poole was educated at Wilfrid Laurier University and received his Master of Divinity degree from Trinity College in 1977 and his Master of Theology from Trinity College in 1988. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1978 and served in three parishes in the diocese before being elected bishop in 2005. He is a past president of the international Compass Rose Society, which supports the work of the Anglican Communion Office, with special attention on communications. He is the only Canadian to have held the post. The York-Credit Valley episcopal area, located in the southwest part of the diocese, consists of about 50 parishes as well as nine cemeteries and two schools. In addition to English, services are held in Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Malayalam, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. There are also Sudanese, Kenyan, Igbo and Ghanaian congregations. More information about Bishop Poole’s retirement will be published as it becomes available.

ANGLICANS in the Diocese of Toronto gave $125,656.75 to the Anglican Journal Appeal last year to support the diocesan and national newspapers, an increase of about $6,000 from 2014. The money is split evenly between the diocesan paper, The Anglican, and the national paper, the Anglican Journal. After campaign expenses, each received $49,417.86. The money helps to pay for printing, mailing, freelance work and other costs. “These generous contributions from our readers help to tell the story of our diocese every month,� says Canon Stuart Mann, editor of The Anglican, one of 22 diocesan newspapers across Canada. “We are very grateful for this support.� The Anglican is financially supported by the annual appeal, the diocese’s operating budget and advertising. The national appeal raised a total of $517,449 in 2015. Donations last year were 3.3% higher than 2014’s total of $499,807, and the highest since 2008, when the appeal raised $558,299. Bev Murphy, the Anglican Journal’s business manager, says the increase in donations in 2015 could be due to the national paper’s 140th anniversary and also to half-page messages from diocesan editors included in appeal envelopes. Since it began in 1994, the appeal has received a total of $9.3 million in donations, of which $3.5 million was distributed to the diocesan newspapers. With information from the Anglican Journal.

Bishop looking forward to building relationships Continued from Page 1

look forward not to saying, ‘Oh, we did it like that in Toronto’ but to saying, ‘I’ve got colleagues I can call on to help us think about

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things together.’â€? As she looks ahead to the end of her ministry in this diocese, Bishop Nicholls says she plans to carry on with the work she has been doing for the past eight years. “I hope to try to finish up ministry in a way where I can hand things over to whoever’s going to be responsible,â€? she says. “You don’t just stop; you carry on right up until the moment you hand it off to someone else.â€? She says she also hopes to connect with many people before she leaves. Two drop-ins in TrentDurham have been planned on April 23: • St. John, Peterborough, from 10 a.m. to noon. • St. Thomas, Brooklin, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The people of Trent-Durham are warmly invited to attend and offer their best wishes to Bishop Nicholls.

TheAnglican 3

NEWS

April 2016

Stars align for congregations Anglicans, Lutherans become one BY STUART MANN

THE Rev. Susan Climo was procrastinating over breakfast at a Cora’s restaurant in Mississauga when the Holy Spirit intervened. It would be the start of a remarkable journey that would see the union of an Anglican congregation and a Lutheran congregation that seemed destined for each other. “I literally felt as if the Holy Spirit kicked me in the butt and said, ‘Finish that coffee, get back in your car – you need to start doing this right now,’” recalls Ms. Climo, a Lutheran cleric who is the incumbent pastor of Holy Spirit of Peace, the diocese’s newest Anglican-Lutheran church. The story began several months earlier, when Peace Lutheran Church, located at the Square One shopping mall in Mississauga, was told by management that its lease would not be renewed and it had six months to find another home. The church had been located in the mall for 37 years. “It was quite a shock to the system for everybody,” says Ms. Climo. “It was the only home we had ever known, and it was a really traumatic experience to all of a sudden be homeless.” Unable to afford space in local strip malls or light industrial areas, the church turned to nearby Anglican churches. The Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, to which Peace Lutheran belonged, are in full communion with each other. But approaching every Anglican church for space was a daunting prospect. “To be perfectly honest, I was dreading it because we had such a tale of woe and I really didn’t feel it could be done on the telephone,” says Ms. Climo. “I had visions of having to visit every Anglican parish in Mississauga and tell the story over and over again. I wasn’t looking forward to it.” Then came the morning at Cora’s and the not-so-subtle push by the Holy Spirit. Still reluctant, she got into her car and drove to the

BRIEFLY Panel discusses assisted death A panel discussion on assisted death will be held at St. Matthew, 135 First Ave., Toronto on April 13 at 7:30 p.m. The panel will include a doctor, a palliative care hospital chaplain, a representative of the Canadian Disability Alliance, and a philosophy professor from Ry-

Clockwise from above: the Rev. Susan Climo speaks to the congregation during her installation and celebration of new ministry; a cake marks the occasion; parishioners, clergy, dignitaries and guests fill the church; Bishop Philip Poole (left) and Bishop Michael Pryse sign the merger agreement. PHOTOS BY MICHAEL HUDSON

nearest Anglican church – St. Hilary’s. She asked to speak to the incumbent, the Rev. Canon Paul J. Walker, but was told that he was at a clericus meeting – a gathering of all the Anglican clergy in Mississauga. Ms. Climo couldn’t believe her luck. “It still gives me goosebumps when I think about it,” she says. She drove to the meeting – at St. Thomas a Becket – and met all the clergy. At the end of the meeting, she explained Peace Lutheran’s circumstances. One of the priests who listened to her was the Rev. Judith Alltree, the incumbent of Holy Spirit at the time, a small Anglican church in eastern Mississauga that was facing financial difficulties and struggling to find ways to use its space more effectively. Ms. Alltree hadn’t planned to go to the meeting that day because she was feeling despondent over how things were going at her church. Another priest had persuaded her to go – a pivotal moment, as it turns out. Ms. Alltree introduced herself to Ms. Climo at the end of the meeting, and the two women

erson University. The panel will discuss the implications and possible responses to legislation allowing assisted death. All are welcome.

Parish leaders invited to workshops Are you a leader in your parish or thinking about becoming one? Not sure what to do or what’s involved? The diocese is holding parish administration workshops

started talking about their churches. They agreed to meet again the next day. The conversation lasted for three hours. “We realized it was an absolutely perfect mix, a perfect blend for the two congregations,” says Ms. Climo. “It was going to meet needs on both sides and create some really exciting opportunities.” Right from the beginning, both women thought their congregations should be one some day. “We didn’t know how that was going to happen or how we could move that along, but we were excited about being part of it,” she says. The congregations were enthusiastic, too. “There was just enormous grace from all the people here at Holy Spirit,” she says. “They welcomed in the people of Peace very graciously at a time that was really difficult – mourning the loss of their home.”

for clergy, churchwardens, deputy churchwardens, treasurers and parish administrators as well as those thinking of stepping into those positions in the next year. Topics include risk management, property management, parish finances and human resources. Workshops will be held in the following locations: Christ the King, Etobicoke, on April 2; St. Paul, Innisfil on April 30; and St. Paul, Lindsay on May 7. To register, visit the diocese’s website, www.toronto.anglican.ca.

Ms. Alltree went on to become the director of the Missions to Seafarers, based in Toronto, and Bishop Philip Poole, the area bishop of York-Credit Valley, asked Ms. Climo to step in as the interim priest-in-charge of both congregations. They worshipped together over the summer – their first attempt to get to know each other’s worship styles and traditions. The Ven. Stephen Nduati, a priest from Kenya who was studying at Wycliffe College, led the Anglican congregation through the fall and winter of 2012-13. In the spring, Ms. Climo was re-appointed as interim priest-in-charge of both congregations. She led separate Anglican and Lutheran serv-

ices to start, shifting to joint worship services during the summer, then prepared to go back to separate services in the fall. That’s when the story took another turn. “We were about to go back to the same routine when a member of the Anglican community reached out to me and said a few of us were talking and we really liked worshipping together. Couldn’t we just keep doing that? That was music to my ears.” With Bishop Poole’s blessing and guidance, the congregations explored a full merger. In February of 2015, both vestries voted unanimously in favour of it. “That was just so energizing and beautiful,” says Ms. Climo. “The place just erupted – people hugging each other. It was a really joyful moment.” The merger was formalized at a service at the church on Feb. 28. Bishop Poole and Bishop Michael Pryse of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada signed the agreement, and Ms. Climo was installed as incumbent pastor. The church’s name officially became Holy Spirit of Peace and the two congregations became one. The service drew a large crowd that included clergy, dignitaries and other church groups. “Susan has done a brilliant job of bringing these two congregations together,” said Bishop Poole afterwards. “I’m also proud of the congregations for their vison and willingness to work together. It’s a good witness of what our Lord prayed for – that we would be one.”

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4 TheAnglican

COMMENT

Times of discernment are difficult A proposed change in the Canon on Marriage will come before our General Synod in July. Because statements from the gatherings of the Anglican Primates in Canterbury in early January and from the Canadian House of Bishops that met at the end of February have received some considerable attention, I want to outline and comment on these recent developments.

Primates’ gathering Our Primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, has given a fulsome report of the gathering of Primates that he attended, in addition to the communique from that meeting and the press conference given by the Archbishop of Canterbury and some other Primates. These are available at www.primates2016.org and www.anglican.ca. Many have found these documents distressing, either because they think the Primates have gone too far in their authority and conclusions or, alternatively, that they have not gone far enough. The Primates of the Anglican Communion are official representatives of their churches. They hold a moral authority but not jurisdiction. We are autonomous churches within a communion of churches that are independent, interdependent and mutually accountable. That means, I think, we need to take the Primates’ opinions into consideration as we make decisions in our own Province, and about how the proposed change affects relationships within the Communion and ecumenically. It is one factor, though not a definitive one, in coming to our own conclusions. The Instruments of Communion (Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ gathering) are just that: “instruments” in maintaining and nurturing relationship and communion, not binding legislative bodies. Note the terms within the names: “consultative,” “conference,” “gathering.” There is no easily defined magisterium in Anglican polity. The teaching authority is diverse and diffused. This is confusing, frustrating, delighting, challenging, and distinctively Anglican. And it means that there is considerable room for nuance and ambiguity within Anglicanism, even on important issues. That does not mean that anything goes, but it does mean that the boundaries are generous, particularly in pastoral matters. The Diocese of Toronto shares in that diversity. The full range of theological, liturgical and political opinion is expressed in this diocese, including on the subject of same-sex unions and marriages. The recent Primates’ statement does not change this. The majority at the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada in 2004 approved a resolution affirming the integrity and sanctity of monogamous adult same-sex unions. The overwhelming majority of our diocesan Synod agreed later that same year, even as it narrowly rejected formally blessing those unions. In 2011, by consensus, our Synod supported a pastoral approach to allow such blessings in some circumstances.

ARCHBISHOP’S DIARY BY ARCHBISHOP COLIN JOHNSON

Our process was adopted by General Synod in 2012, which in the absence of consensus across the church on blessings, asked for the most generous pastoral responses. To be clear, the debate was about blessing of same-sex unions but not marriage of samesex couples. Changing the Canon on Marriage The Canon on Marriage is a canon of the national church and does not come under the purview of a diocesan Synod. General Synod 2013 required that a motion to change the Canon on Marriage to accommodate samesex marriage be brought to the next General Synod in 2016. That resolution also asked that the Council of General Synod respond to a number of questions to support this. The Commission on the Marriage Canon, established by the Council of General Synod (CoGS), produced a fine and succinct report that is a significant contribution to the debate both in Canada and more broadly. It also suggested some intriguing possibilities. It is worth study. As required, a proposed motion was drafted. The constitution of General Synod requires that this motion be approved by a two-thirds majority in each of the three Orders. If there is approval at first reading, the resolution is then sent for consideration by the Synods of each of the four ecclesiastical provinces and the Synods of each of the 30 dioceses over the next three years. Then at General Synod 2019, the second reading of the motion with any amendments requires a two-third affirmative vote in each of the three Orders to become effective in January 2020. House of Bishops’ statement The Canadian House of Bishops met in February to continue its study of the proposed change to the Marriage Canon to include same-sex couples. We did not vote for or against the motion, nor did we ask that the Council of General Synod withdraw the motion. The bishops were not exercising a legislative function – that takes place in General Synod – but our pastoral and teaching responsibilities. Accordingly, we expressed concern that a legislative process may not be the most helpful way of dealing with this matter. As bishops, our ordination vows compel us to guard the doctrine, discipline and unity of the church, both within the diocese and in the national and international church. We have “the care of all the churches” before, during and after Synod. The bishops’ communication to the Council of General Synod and to the church is not a direction to any of the Orders of General Synod to vote in a particular way. Furthermore, it implicitly states that the Order of Bishops will not vote as a block at General Synod, but rather individually, like all the other members of Synod, as they feel led by the debate and the Spirit. There is considerable diversity of opinion in the House, and there is no unity of discernment or a com-

mon mind theologically that we can achieve at this time. The communication also observed that we did not think it likely that this draft motion would succeed in achieving a two-thirds majority in the Order of Bishops when the vote takes place. We believe that this is a fact, regrettable for many, including myself, but one that needs to be reported to CoGS and taken into consideration when the process for the discussion at General Synod is being developed. I think that communicating this was the right thing to do in the interests of being honest, transparent and realistic. This does not take the issue off the table – even those most opposed to same-sex marriage recognize that. It does suggest that we need to be realistic about expectations and that we need to consider creative alternatives to the “all eggs in one basket” approach. Unlikely as it may be that some bishops will change their minds and the motion will pass, that does not preclude different results with amendments or alternative motions. Finally, one of the truly significant points in the communication was that, in spite of these differences, all of the bishops pledged to participate in ongoing discussions with members of the church and all continued daily to share in Holy Communion together, a powerful sacramental sign of community. This has not always been the case in the past and is not the situation internationally. Unity does not require uniformity, nor is it the only goal, but it is one of the charisms of episcopal ministry and a good for which Jesus prayed, and it must be a factor in any decision. Where does this leave the Diocese of Toronto? The current practice of the Diocese of Toronto has not changed with the recent statements: • Clergy and parishes, after full discussion and by consensus agreement, may apply to me for authorization to offer blessings of committed same-sex unions. The guidelines for that are found on the diocesan website, www.toronto.anglican.ca, under “Same-Gender Blessings.” Fifteen parishes and two schools have received my formal permission. • We recognize that some of our clergy and postulants are openly partnered or in civil same-sex marriages. They are a valuable part of our clerical family. They are, or will be, available for placement, in parishes that will affirm this. • There is, and will continue to be, a significant place for both clergy and laity who do not support these decisions. This includes placement in parishes large and small, membership on decisionmaking bodies like Diocesan Council, and representation on policy and administrative groups. Times of discernment are always difficult. There are those who know with total certainty which direction the Holy Spirit is leading – unfortunately, not all of them agree on which direction that is! Most of us will continue to pray and ponder, study, and listen to each other and to the Spirit as we seek to determine in our time, the mind and wisdom of Christ, who continues as head of the church, his body.

April 2016

TheAnglican The Anglican is published under the authority of the Bishop of Toronto and the Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Toronto. Opinions expressed in The Anglican are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. Canon Stuart Mann: Editor Address all editorial material to: The Anglican 135 Adelaide Street East Toronto, Ontario M5C 1L8 Tel: (416) 363-6021, ext. 247 Toll free: 1- 800 - 668 - 8932 Fax: (416) 363 -7678 E-mail: editor@toronto.anglican.ca Circulation: For all circulation inquiries, including address changes, new subscriptions and cancellations, call the Circulation Department at (416) 924-9199, ext. 259/245, or email circulation@national.anglican.ca. You can also make changes online: visit www.anglicanjournal.com and click Subscription Centre. Annie Fenn: Advertising Address all advertising material to: Fenn Company Inc. P.O. Box 1060 King City, Ontario L7B 1B1 Tel: 905-833-6200, ext. 22 Toll free: 1- 800 - 209- 4810 Fax: (905) 833- 2116 E-mail: anglican@churchadvertising.ca

The Anglican Church In the Anglican Communion: A global community of 70 million Anglicans in 64,000 congregations in 164 countries. Archbishop of Canterbury: The Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. Justin Welby, Lambeth Palace, London, England SE1 7JU. In Canada: A community of about 600,000 members in 30 dioceses, stretching from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland and north to the Arctic Ocean. Primate: The Most Rev. Fred Hiltz, Church House, 80 Hayden St. Toronto, ON M4Y 3G2 In the Diocese of Toronto: A community of 254 congregations in 210 parishes covering 26,000 square kilometers. Of the nearly 5 million people who live within the diocesan boundaries, 376,000 claim to be affiliated with the Anglican Church, with about 80,000 people identified on the parish rolls. The diocese is home to many ethnic and languagebased congregations, including African, Caribbean, Chinese, Filipino, French, Hispanic, Japanese, and Tamil. The City of Toronto has the largest population of aboriginal peoples in the country. The Archbishop of Toronto: The Most Rev. Colin Johnson York-Credit Valley: The Rt. Rev. Philip Poole Trent-Durham: The Rt. Rev. Linda Nicholls York-Scarborough: The Rt. Rev. Patrick Yu

Visit our website at www.toronto.anglican.ca

York-Simcoe: The Rt. Rev. Peter Fenty The Diocese of Toronto: 135 Adelaide St. E., Toronto, Ont., M5C 1L8 1-800-668-8932/416-363-6021 Web site: http://www.toronto.anglican.ca

TheAnglican 5

COMMENT

April 2016

Who are we to choose? BY THE REV. CHRISTIAN HARVEY

F

rom a very young age, we are taught about “stranger danger” – fear and scepticism of the stranger, the other. They are unknown, unpredictable and don’t always play by our rules. The “other” could be people of another age group, like those loud, hormonal teenagers who run around kissing and yelling all the time; they could be people of another church affiliation, like those crazy Pentecostals with their joy and enthusiasm in worship; they could just be people with other passions, like baseball fans – I mean seriously, what kind of warped mind do you need to receive pleasure from such a boring sport? Whoever the other may be, we have been taught that our first reactions should be fear and scepticism. Keep them at a distance and ask, “What do they want?” Their mere presence makes us want to hold on to whatever we have a little

tighter, just in case they might be out to take it from us. Currently, the big “other” are refugees. Many of us have a big case of “stranger danger.” We are worried about what they are going to do when they get here. What if they are really terrorists in disguise? What if they come for my job? What if they come and live off my tax money? The “what ifs” are endless. What it boils down to is that we are scared. That is okay: admitting our fear allows us to deal with it. What makes fear dangerous is when we mask it behind other things. Instead of admitting that we are scared of the unknown, we pretend that our reluctance to invite refugees with open arms has a higher motivation. I oversee a ministry that provides shelter for the most vulnerable people in Peterborough – people who find themselves homeless. Out of nowhere, I have found myself pulled into the debate about welcoming refugees. People state, “How can we welcome in refugees when we have so many of our own living in the streets? We can’t welcome people from other coun-

tries until we have looked after our own!” Now, I am always happy when people want to do more to help house our homeless friends. But the remarkable thing is, until we started welcoming refugees, my homeless friends were the “other.” They were the ones we were worried about living off our tax money, living in our neighbourhoods and bringing down our house values. I’ve sought out some of my friends who are actively involved in fighting homelessness, and I haven’t found many of them saying such things about refugees. Most of us feel that the increase in church and community groups engaging in refugee relocation has opened up conversations we have been trying to have for a long time. People who are working with refugee families are now saying to us, “Did you know people on Ontario Works receive so little money? How can anyone live on this? Did you know that there is barely any wellkept, affordable housing out there?” The more people realize that our systems of support are inadequate, the better it will be for both our homeless and our refugee

sisters and brothers; it is not an either/or situation, but rather a both/and. Looking at scripture, I find it really hard to argue that we should serve one person in need before another. When Jesus tried to present this argument to the Canaanite Woman, she bested him (where the religious elite were unable) and Jesus ended up healing her daughter. The question isn’t who deserves our hospitality, but rather how do we create a nation that is hospitable to all? How can the church lead the charge in caring for both those who find themselves homeless in our backyard and homeless on the other side of the globe? How can the church be a model of how communities can move from fear of the other to embracing the other? The big question is not to whom we should show love, but how do we love all?

man society itself, was based on slavery. Even a good and kind master might feel a duty to punish a runaway slave. In conversation, Paul and Useful had agreed that Useful had to go back and face his master. It was a difficult decision, because neither of them knew what fate would await him: there was no limit to the punishment meted out to a recaptured slave. The decision to return was a real test of moral courage as well as trust in the providence of God. Paul decided to ask Philemon to do something as difficult as a slave returning to his master: to voluntarily release Useful from slavery into Christian service, despite the scandal it would cause in his circle. Paul would have gone himself if it were not for his imprisonment. Writing the letter was difficult. It was not simply a matter of being tactful. Paul had to get his thinking right. Did he have any spiritual ground to ask Philemon to do this, other than kindness or friendship? What was the real relationship between a slave and his master? It was clear in Roman law and custom: the master is the lord of the slave; he has absolute control over slaves and is entitled to absolute obedience. He owns them. But Jesus changed all of that. Paul remembered Useful and his friends, runaway slaves all, some seething with anger over their treatment, some beaten down by a script of worthlessness. Paul remembered telling them of Jesus, who also suffered at the hands of the powerful but was in fact the real Lord of the world, above any earthly master, above Caesar himself. The miracle of Easter confirmed that, as well as the implication for the fu-

ture of the whole human race. Jesus as the world’s rightful Lord is worthy of service and obedience, but also love. This Lord is at the same time friend and advocate. Yes, Paul will remind Philemon that when we call Jesus Lord, which is a confession at every baptism, all human dominance becomes relative. Two thousand years later, I sat in a worship service uneasily, and not for the first time. The liturgy was familiar yet strangely alien. Every reference to God, it seemed, had been scrubbed clean of the language of power. Jesus was a friend, a lover, a companion, but never Lord. God was creative and caring, but not almighty. The word “Lord” has been meticulously scrubbed from prayer and hymns. What is at the heart of that? People tell me that they find these references oppressive. Like “father” and masculine language, they remind them of people, sometimes priests and bishops, who applied the language of lordship to themselves and exercised dominance over them. I do not doubt that it can happen and has happened. Let me be clear that this kind of human arrogation is wrong and blasphemous. To the extent that religious language contributed to that, I am all for enriching it with other biblical images of God like friend, mother, wisdom, comforter, saviour and hope. The wonderful beauty of One who is God emptying Himself to become a slave, and the powerful paradox, ought to be reflected in our songs and our prayers. But I also think that a lot is lost if we do not also rehearse within ourselves that there is One Lord and One God, and to this God belongs our future. God has the right to be heeded

and, yes, obeyed. Martin Luther posed a paradox about the freedom of the Christian. A Christian, he said, is the most free lord of all, and subject to no one. We borrow, as it were, the Lordship of Christ and are liberated from all human oppression. Sometimes we need to lean on that. Millions of people who are today enslaved, oppressed, persecuted and powerless need to hear and own their identity in Christ: they are princes and princesses of the universe. But Luther also said that a Christian is also the most dutiful servant of all and subject to everyone for Christ’s sake. Most times, especially for the privileged – the Philemons of today – we need to heed – no, submit – to each other precisely because Jesus is our Lord. So I implore those of you who have power over liturgy to stay this languagecleansing of the authorized liturgy. I know that in most parishes it involves more than the priest. I am not directing you as a bishop, but pleading with you as an amateur theologian, to deal with misunderstanding about lordship language in worship not by eliminating it but by teaching about it. Teach about this paradox, this multi-faceted relationship we have with God who is incarnate in Jesus, the Lord who became a slave for us, so we can gladly confess with the apostles “Jesus is Lord.” It seems an appropriate thing to do in Eastertide, because if Jesus is not Lord, who is?

The Rev. Christian Harvey is a deacon at St. John the Evangelist, Peterborough, the Area Youth Social Justice Coordinator for Trent-Durham and the director of The Warming Room, a shelter for the homeless in Peterborough.

Jesus is Lord BY BISHOP PATRICK YU

P

aul sat down in his tiny cell after saying goodbye to his friend and marvelled at the irony of his present circumstance. He resented being in prison – who wouldn’t? – but this was the best prison he had ever been in. The cell was clean and his jailers were good to him. He had free access to visitors and the care packages they brought. The most amazing thing was that for the first time in his life he had the service of a personal valet, Mr. Useful*. Useful was one of the people who had come to the faith and had offered to look after Paul. He had been trained as a domestic slave: he was a good cook, did Paul’s laundry and was invaluable in being the conduit between Paul and the outside world. So paradoxically, Paul had never lived so well as in captivity! He uttered a prayer of thanksgiving to the One who, while on earth, had no place to lay His head. But Paul had to do something about his most recent discovery about Useful. He knew that Useful was a runaway slave and that he had stolen money from his master. But what were the chances, as he had discovered just the previous week, that Useful’s master was none other than Philemon, one of a group of people whose dramatic conversion in Colossae was still vivid in Paul’s memory? According to Roman law, receiving service from Useful amounted to being in possession of stolen property. Paul knew very well that the whole Roman economy, in fact Ro-

BRIEFLY Tickets on sale for Bishop’s Company Dinner Tickets are available for the Bishop’s Company Dinner on April 21. The evening will begin with a re-

ception at Holy Trinity, Trinity Square at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at the Toronto Marriott, Eaton Centre at 7 p.m. Bishop Mark MacDonald, the national indigenous Anglican bishop, will be the guest speaker. Funds raised from the dinner support the bishop’s emergency fund, which supports clergy and their families in crisis. The fund also helps with travel

emergencies, school support for the children of clergy, bursaries for religious scholarships, curacy training for the newly ordained and emergency medical expenses. Tickets are $175 for individuals and $1,550 for parish tables until March 31, or $200 for individuals and $1,750 for parish tables after March 31. For tickets, visit www.toronto.anglican.ca.

* “Useful” is a literal translation of “Onesimus.” The name of a slave was derived from his utility to a master.

TO PLACE AN AD IN THE ANGLICAN, call 905.833.6200 x22 or email anglican@churchadvertising.ca

6 TheAnglican

NEWS

April 2016

Grants to parishes total $4 Parishes in the diocese received just over $4 million in grants in 2015. Here is a list of the grants.

York-Scarborough, St. Jude, Wexford 30,000 TOTAL $ 386,300

Area Resource Fund Grants Trent-Durham, Ascension, Port Perry 5,000 Trent-Durham, St. George, Pickering Village 900 Trent-Durham, St. John, Peterborough 662 York-Credit Valley, Good Shepherd, Mount Dennis 1,000 York-Credit Valley, Holy Cross Priory 1,016 York-Credit Valley, St. John, Weston 3,400 York-Credit Valley, St. Mary & St. Martha 5,000 York-Scarborough, St. David, Donlands 10,000 York-Scarborough, San Lorenzo Ruiz 600 York-Simcoe, Christ Church, Waubaushene 2,000 York-Simcoe, St. Margaret, Barrie 10,000 TOTAL $ 39,578

Ministry Allocation Fund Grants Congregational Growth Trent-Durham, St. Peter, Cobourg 46,000 York-Scarborough, Transfiguration 213,815 York-Simcoe, Maple Church Plant 132,051 Subtotal $ 391,866

Baker Fund Grants Trent-Durham, St. James, Fenelon Falls 4,750 Trent-Durham, St. Paul, Lindsay 2,424 Trent-Durham, St. Paul, Minden 2,050 York-Scarborough, St. Bede 4,000 York-Scarborough, St. Nicholas, Birch Cliff 22,730 York-Scarborough, St. Peter, Carlton 10,000 York-Credit Valley, St. Philip, Etobicoke 25,000 York-Simcoe, Prince of Peace, Wasaga Beach 750 TOTAL $ 71,704 Carleton Fund Grants Trent-Durham, St. Paul, Brighton 1,140 Trent-Durham, St. Peter, Oshawa 4,225 Trent-Durham, St. Thomas, Brooklin 7,035 York-Credit Valley, Christ the King 10,000 York-Credit Valley, Church of South India 8,000 York-Credit Valley, St. James the Apostle, Brampton 7,300 York-Credit Valley, St. Mary Magdalene 12,000 York-Credit Valley, St. Matthew, Islington 12,000 York-Simcoe, Parish of Churchill & Cookstown 7,000 York-Simcoe, Parish of Craighurst & Midhurst 1,808 York-Simcoe, St. John, East Orangeville 5,000 TOTAL $ 75,508 Curacy Grants York-Credit Valley, All Saints, Kingsway 7,500 York-Credit Valley, Epiphany & St. Mark, Parkdale 30,000* York-Credit Valley, St. Bride, Clarkson 7,000 York-Credit Valley, St. George on-the-Hill 25,000 York-Credit Valley, St. Hilary, Cooksville 14,000 York-Credit Valley, St. Martin in-the-Fields 12,800 York-Scarborough, Christ Church, Deer Park 40,000* York-Scarborough, Grace Church on-the-Hill 30,000* York-Scarborough, Redeemer, Bloor Street 10,000 York-Scarborough, San Lorenzo Ruiz 10,000 York-Scarborough, St. Andrew, Scarborough 25,000 York-Scarborough, St. Cuthbert, Leaside 40,000* York-Scarborough, St. George on Yonge 25,000 York-Scarborough, St. James Cathedral 40,000* York-Scarborough, St. John, York Mills 40,000*

Mandarin Ministry York-Scarborough, St. James Cathedral 30,000 York-Simcoe, St. Philip on-the-Hill 60,000 Subtotal $ 90,000 New or Innovative Forms of Ministry Youth Ministry Apprenticeship Program 60,500 Subtotal $ 60,500 Reach Grants Trent-Durham, Christ Memorial, Oshawa 3,600 Trent-Durham, St. Barnabas, Peterborough 4,700 Trent-Durham, St. John, Whitby 3,000 York-Credit Valley, St. Mary Magdalene 3,535 York-Credit Valley, Area Council - Kenyan Ministry 5,500 York-Scarborough, St. Bartholomew 5,132 York-Scarborough, St. Matthew, First Avenue 3,300 Subtotal $ 28,767 Real Estate York-Credit Valley, St. Elizabeth, Mississauga 300,000 York-Credit Valley, St. Philip, Etobicoke 1,100,000 Subtotal $ 1,400,000 Stretch Grants York-Credit Valley, St. Philip, Etobicoke 5,430 York-Scarborough, St. Nicholas, Birch Cliff 20,000 Subtotal $ 25,430 TOTAL $ 1,996,563 Ministry Development Grants Trent-Durham, Ascension, Port Perry 11,000 Trent-Durham, Parish of Belmont 3,000 Trent-Durham, St. John, Blackstock 3,000 Trent-Durham, St. Peter, Cobourg 7,000 Trent-Durham, Victoria Haliburton Deanery 13,250 York-Credit Valley, All Saints, Kingsway 1,000 York-Credit Valley, Christ Church St. James 2,500 York-Credit Valley, San Lorenzo, Dufferin 10,000 York-Credit Valley, St. Elizabeth, Mississauga 1,500 York-Credit Valley, St. Hugh & St. Edmund 750 York-Credit Valley, St. Joseph of Nazareth 2,000 York-Credit Valley, St. Martin in-the-Fields 800 York-Credit Valley, St. Mary Magdalene 800 York-Credit Valley, St. Michael and All Angels 5,000 York-Credit Valley, St. Peter, Erindale 500 York-Credit Valley, St. Philip, Etobicoke 3,000 York-Credit Valley, St. Stephen in-the-Fields 250

&'%#%) ( $ & $ $ $ ' %+ '. % ' $ %*( $ $ (*&&%') )% ) %( , ) # $) " ") $ ) %$ "" $ ( , % ' %# " (( %' ) ' (! % %# " (($ (( ) %*( $ $ (*&&%') %# %&

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Parishioners, bishops, local clergy and politicians gather at St. Eliza project. The church received a $300,000 grant from the diocese’s M PHOTO BY MICHAEL HUDSON

York-Credit Valley, St. Stephen, Downsview 5,000 York-Scarborough, Our Saviour 250 York-Scarborough, St. James Cathedral 10,000 York-Scarborough, St. John, Willowdale 8,000 York-Scarborough, St. John, York Mills 4,000 York-Scarborough, St. Matthew, First Avenue 10,000 York-Scarborough, St. Peter, Carlton Street 7,000 York –Simcoe, Emmanuel, Richvale 5,000 York –Simcoe, Huronia Cluster Ministry 18,000 York –Simcoe, Parish of Lloydtown 17,000 York –Simcoe, St. Margaret, Barrie 15,000 York –Simcoe, St. Paul, Keswick 15,000 York –Simcoe, St. Paul, Newmarket 10,000 TOTAL $ 189,600

Grant definitions Area Resource Fund Grants are available to address ministry needs. Grants are considered by the area bishop and Area Council. Baker Foundation Grants are for the building of or additions to existing Sunday Schools. Carleton Fund Grants are for repairs or renovations to rectories occupied by clergy. Curacy Grants support curacies in parishes. Ministry Allocation Fund Grants are provided for real estate purposes, congregational growth and ministry resources and creating new forms of ministry.

Ministry Development Grants, part of the episcopal area budgets, are for projects and programs that will promote growth in faith and collaboration among area Anglicans to help equip the saints for ministry. Our Faith-Our Hope: Re-Imagine Church Grants provide financial resources to renew, reimagine, and revitalize the church of tomorrow. For more information on these and other grants, visit the diocese’s website, www.toronto.anglican.ca and search for “grants and funding.�

April 2016

4 million

INTERVIEW

TheAnglican 7

I fell in love with the liberation stories The Rev. Jacqueline Daley is the part-time assistant curate at St. Hilary, Cooksville, Mississauga. I recently went to a local fundraiser to support TC3 (the Toronto Children’s Concert Choir), a performing arts company that has been around for about 15 years. They want to spread Gospel and inspirational music all across Ontario and give other young people an opportunity to get involved. So I thought, “Why don’t we do something here in Mississauga?” I had a conversation with some other Anglican women and they said it’s a great idea, let’s do it. As a result, we’ve planted a little community choir for kids that meets at St. Luke, Dixie South. We put the word out, and in early February 12 kids from local Anglican churches came to our first practice. At our next practice, we had more. They learn Gospel and inspirational music, taught by young people from TC3. They have choir practice in the morning, then lunch, then we help them with their homework in the afternoon. The kids and volunteers love it. What we’ve seen is kids bonding and forming community over music, food and homework. Shy kids are starting to talk because they’re making friends. The adult volunteers see that they’re needed and they’re connecting with the kids and each other. It’s an amazing coming together of people from different churches and the community.

abeth, Mississauga last June for the start of the church’s expansion Ministry Allocation Fund to increase its meeting and worship space.

Our Faith-Our Hope: Re-Imagine Church Communicating in a Wireless World Trent-Durham, St. George, Grafton 12,000 Trent-Durham, St. Paul, Brighton 12,800 Trent-Durham, St. Thomas, Brooklin 23,052 York-Credit Valley, All Saints, Kingsway 50,000 York-Credit Valley, St. Joseph of Nazareth, Bramalea 20,000 York-Credit Valley, St. Thomas a Becket 30,000 York-Scarborough, St. Bede 13,500 York-Scarborough, St. Matthew the Apostle, Oriole 25,000 York-Scarborough, St. Saviour, Toronto 8,475 York-Simcoe, Grace Church, Markham 25,000 York-Simcoe, Huronia Cluster Ministry 5,000 York-Simcoe, St. Andrew, Alliston 30,000 York-Simcoe, St. Mark, Midland 27,015 York-Simcoe, St. Paul, Innisfil 22,750 Subtotal $ 304,592 Pioneering Ministry York-Scarborough, St. Paul, L'Amoureux 60,000 York-Scarborough, Sisterhood of St. John the Divine 100,000 Subtotal $ 160,000 Revitalizing Our Inheritance – Enabling Parishes to Become Multi-Staffed York-Credit Valley, Holy Family, Heart Lake & St. Joseph of Nazareth, Bramalea 32,800 York-Credit Valley, St. Elizabeth, Mississauga 75,000 Subtotal $ 107,800 Revitalizing Our Inheritance - Adaptive Reuse of Parish Facilities Trent-Durham, St. George Memorial, Oshawa 35,000 Trent-Durham, St. George, Grafton 145,000 Trent-Durham, St. Paul, Minden 257,640 York-Credit Valley, St. Anne, Toronto 225,000 York-Scarborough, St. Andrew, Scarborough 40,000 Subtotal $ 702,640 TOTAL $ 1,275,032

The best part of my job is the incredible access I have to people’s lives. People open up to you and show you their authentic self. You get a view of their fears, hopes and longings, which is really profound. Most times, I get the opportunity to invite them out from fear and, in some cases, accompany them to love and to forgive themselves as God intends. I try to be an instrument of hope – to say, this is not the end, this does not define tomorrow, this is a bump on the way. A year from now, you might have an incredible story to tell that might offer hope to someone else. This experience might be shaping you into the person God wants you to be. I offer folks myself – what my journey has been – and remind them that they are not in this alone. God is with us, even in the ugliest part of our life. We are being refined in ways we can’t imagine. I came to Canada during the 1970s’ mass migrations from the Caribbean. We were the generation who were streamed by the Toronto District School Board. They had this huge influx of black kids from the Caribbean and they didn’t know what to do with us. We spoke English but not in a way that was easy to understand, so we were streamed into “English as a Second Language Dialect” classes. We were separated from the rest of the students and streamed into remedial or general level in high school, as we were not considered smart enough for university. I’m a product of that generation. That was my introduction to racism. In Grade 9 they took me out of the general level class and put me into the advanced class. I went on to finish high school and then my undergraduate degree at Wilfrid Laurier. I spent a lot of time travelling, where I got my best education. I got a master’s degree in social work from Carleton University in Ottawa, where my daughter was born. It was at Carleton that I became a feminist and learned that liberation is at the heart of who I am. I moved back to Toronto and was travelling along Gerrard Street one day when I saw an African Methodist Episcopal church that was offering a children’s program. We started to go to that church, and that’s where I became a Christian. I started reading the Bible and fell in love with the liberation stories and Jesus. I wanted to lead Bible studies but somehow that was offlimits. I felt a definite gender bias and sexism that Carleton taught me to detect. I also didn’t see women in strong leadership roles. It was a man’s world that I felt unwelcomed in, so off I went.

GRAND TOTAL $ 4,034,285 *From the York Rectors Fund.

I met a woman at a conference, the Rev. Dr. Wenh-In Ng, who persuaded me to take a course at Emmanuel

The Rev. Jacqueline Daley speaks at a forum on black youth in Mississauga on Feb. 4. PHOTO BY MICHAEL HUDSON College. Wenh-In was amazing and affirming. I discovered that I was right: that the Jesus I had come to know loved women. I took one course after another and eventually ended up at Wycliffe College, in the MDiv program, part-time, while working full-time as a policy advisor on women’s issues for the Ontario government. It was around that time that I started hanging out at Anglican churches. I finished my MDiv in 2004. It was a difficult and painful experience of invisibility and exclusion. At the end, I had a lot of healing to do. I felt supported by the Wine Before Breakfast (WBB) Community at Wycliffe College, where I remain a member. I also had a few good friends who kept calling and enquiring. Through WBB, I started supporting my ordained classmates. One day at church, I saw my friend – a new priest – being verbally abused by a parishioner. Somehow, in that horrible moment all the fear and anxiety in me was emptied. Shortly thereafter, I applied to the diocese to be a postulant. God used a very unpleasant moment to raise me up, but my journey and the struggle continues. The legacy and damage of colonialism is still with us. People of African descent share a parallel history of racism and exclusion with First Nations people. We still have a lot of work left to dismantle this sin from our church. The disproportionate number of ordained people of colour and their retention, especially the retention of black women as priests, is discouraging. The need to be intentional to create conditions to attract and retain diversity in leadership with cultural competency to serve the complex needs of our global congregations is urgent. In my observation, we’re building a model of church where some folks are growing in their entitlement and privilege, while others are growing in disentitlement. I believe the Gospel has called us to something radically different. The pain of exclusion is my gift to the church. My exclusion has formed my passion for justice and inclusion, and my journey has been costly. Our churches are wonderful assets to champion justice and inclusion to benefit and affirm the least amongst us. This is the work of kingdom-building we are all enlisted in and which we affirm in our baptism. I’m not prepared to be silent, invisible and uphold the status quo. My curacy at St. Hilary’s ends on April 30. Five years from now, I hope to continue to live out my baptismal covenant and follow Jesus. I look forward to being part of a church that welcomes, celebrates and nurtures the rich and wonderful diversity that God has given us. My favourite passage from scripture is John 15:16: “You did not choose me, but I have chosen you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” It’s wonderful and exciting that we are all called as equals, chosen as equals, and appointed as equals by God for this incredible mission to go and bear fruit that is sustainable. It’s also wonderful to be reminded that we are not called to do this alone, that God is with us every step of the way.

8 TheAnglican

CANADA BRIEFS Mass composed for anniversary VICTORIA - This year, the music played at St. Barnabas Church on the fourth and fifth Sundays of Lent were the work of one of its own parishioners, composer Maria Eduarda Mendes Martins. The composition, a new setting for the Mass, was written in honour of the parish’s 125th anniversary, and after two months of preparation, it premiered March 6 and 13. The project began last May, when Ms. Martins had a Sanctus/Benedictus movement she had composed performed at a contemporary music concert in Victoria. “I had a number of friends and performers afterwards asking me when I was going to write a whole Mass,” she recalls. “Although I felt really excited about the project, I didn’t know for sure when it was going to happen. A few weeks later, when the Rev. Travis O’Brian asked me if I would like to write a Mass for St. Barnabas Church,

I accepted the project immediately and with much joy.” The Diocesan Post

At-risk youth paired with elders VANCOUVER - The Coming Home Society, an alcohol and drug recovery program for young indigenous women supported by the Diocese of New Westminster, has received a $10,000 grant from the Anglican Foundation to help fund a new program that supports at-risk indigenous youth by connecting them to indigenous elders. “Youth sometimes don’t have the privilege of learning from their elders,” said an anonymous 14-year-old writing in support of the program. “As the elders in our community are starting to pass on very quickly, we want to make sure that we honour our ancestors by taking the knowledge that our elders carry, so that us, the youth, can carry on our culture and traditions and may teach our children our ways of life.” The program, called Wisdom of the Elders, is being created in partnership with the Urban Native Youth Association and will help youth receive spiritual care, cultural teachings and ceremonies and individual one-on-

NEWS one support from a core group of indigenous elders. The program will operate out of the Native Youth Health and Wellness Centre on East Hastings Street in Vancouver, and will augment the health care and psychological counselling services already being offered. The grant was one of five awarded by the foundation to support “service or outreach projects that involve interfaith collaboration.” Topic

Service celebrates diversity and unity EDMONTON – More than 400 worshippers from 20 denominations came together at St. Faith’s Anglican Church on Jan. 31 to kick off Black History Month with an ecumenical service. “Out of many, we are one people,” the Rev. Miranda Sutherland, a native of Jamaica and interim priest-in-charge at All Saints’ Anglican Church in Drayton Valley, told the congregration. Ms. Sutherland presided at the service. In his homily, the Rev. Errol Campbell, pastor of Victory Family Fellowship Church in Calgary, spoke of an imperfect world, where co-operation is necessary for survival. “The time is now, when we must ap-

DID YOU KNOW?

The Anglican Diocese of Toronto Foundation can help you with your estate preparations.

April 2016

proach life with our neighbours without malice or scepticism; but with a lit candle of hope and goodwill,” he said. “This, certainly, was one of the reasons why Jesus asked the Father to make us one. Folks, we are not atomistic. We did not come into this life all self-sufficient. At some point in our lives, somebody invested in us for us to achieve. It is now our time to return the favour.” The service included remarks from Edmonton-Centre MLA David Shepherd, who spoke on behalf of the Alberta government to acknowledge the accomplishments of faithful and resilient black pioneers such as John Ware, who brought the first cattle to southern Alberta in 1882. The Messenger

Shelter closes soon after opening SAINT JOHN - Ten months after opening to great fanfare, Safe Harbour closed on Jan. 29 due to financial difficulties. “It’s a pretty sad thing that this is happening,” said Bishop David Edwards, who sat on the Safe Harbour board until a year ago. “We really need it to stay open. It’s necessary. It’s demonstrably necessary.”

In the 10 months, 55 young people sought refuge at the shelter, which sits on land once occupied by St. James Anglican Church on Broad Street in Saint John, New Brunswick. Social workers found alternate housing for all 10 residents before the shelter closed. Fourteen employees were laid off. Bishop Edwards, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Fredericton, had hoped that funding would be found, perhaps via the province, before the January deadline, but it was not to be. The financial problems stem from a $540,000 lien on the building. Not all the construction bills have been paid, due in part to construction cost overruns, a harsh winter last year and the fact that not everyone who made earlier financial commitments to the shelter has kept them. Safe Harbour board member the Rev. Jasmine Chandra suggests that contacting politicians might help. “People can donate, contact their MLA, the premier, the Department of Social Development and say this is important,” she said. “We want to see Safe Harbour open.” For information about making a donation, contact the Diocese of Fredericton at www.anglican.nb.ca. The New Brunswick Anglican

Through the expertise of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto Foundation and the Stewardship Department of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto we can provide tools to help you as you prepare or update your estate plans and will. WE OFFER:

• Will preparation kits • Legacy Gift or Will preparation seminar • Legal language for use in official documentation

Talk to your family; talk to your financial advisor and talk to us.

We would be delighted to connect and discuss the many ways we are here to support you and your parish. PLEASE REACH OUT TO:

Gillian Doucet Campbell Manager of Major Gifts and Legacy Giving Anglican Diocese of Toronto Foundation 135 Adelaide Street East, Toronto, ON M5C 1L8 Telephone: 416-363-6021 ext. 242

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April 2016

TheAnglican 9

Group settles refugee family on short notice Moments of joy emerge amidst practical tasks BY MARTHA HOLMEN

“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew are the only ones Max Wynter needs to explain his urge to help refugees. A member of St. George on Yonge, Toronto, Mr. Wynter has been one of the church’s leaders in refugee sponsorship for the past five years. “I believe it’s part of our mission as Christians,” he says. St. George’s is part of the Don Valley Refugee Resettlers (DVRR), a group of Anglican and United churches founded in 1994. Working with AURA (the Anglican-United Refugee Alliance), the group sponsors a new family every year, supporting each family for its first year in Canada. Over the past 21 years, the DVRR has sponsored 21 families – 65 people in total – from countries such as Colombia, Bhutan, Somalia and Croatia. Last September, the DVRR was ready to sponsor its next family. “We specifically asked for a Syrian family because we were aware of the need in that part of the world,” says Mr. Wynter. After submitting an application through AURA, the churches received the names of a Syrian couple and their three teenage sons. They arrived in Toronto in late January. “It usually takes four weeks to six months from the time a name is given until they arrive in Canada. This time, it took less than two weeks,” says Mr. Wynter. With so little time to prepare,

the experience of the DVRR was more important than ever. After the family arrived, volunteers helped them set up bank accounts, find their way around the city and organize education assessment for the children, among other tasks. St. George’s was responsible for finding and setting up a home for the family. When an apartment was unavailable on such short notice, they were welcomed into the home of a parishioner. “We have a ton of action we put into place when we’re told we’ve been matched with a family,” says Mr. Wynter. “We request donations of furniture, kitchen utensils, all sorts of things. We always get more things than we need.” After five years of helping with St. George’s refugee sponsorships, Mr. Wynter’s advice to other churches is clear: get involved. “Do it. Now, it’s not easy to do. But see if there’s a way you can,” he says. He recommends joining with other churches and getting in touch with AURA to find out about its resources and training. As St. George’s latest refugee family gets settled in Canada, moments of joy are emerging amidst the practical tasks. Over the Family Day weekend, members of the DVRR and new friends gathered to celebrate one son’s sixteenth birthday. “To take someone who’s had bullets flying at them, who’s had to flee, and put them in an apartment in Toronto – you can’t tell me this isn’t God making a miracle happen in someone’s life,” says Mr. Wynter. “To be part of that miracle is absolutely fulfilling.”

Amad Al Damook (middle) celebrates his 16th birthday with his family in Toronto. The Syrian family is being sponsored by St. George on Yonge.

The Rt. Rev. Howard Gregory, bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (top) greets parishioners after the black history service at St. Paul, L’Amoreaux, Toronto. Clockwise from above: members of St. Paul’s music program play steel pans; Bishop Gregory, family, friends and the Rev. Canon Dr. Dean Mercer cut a cake to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the service; the procession makes its way through the congregation at the start of the service. PHOTOS BY MICHAEL HUDSON

Local music program inspires bishop to create camp in Jamaica THE music program at St. Paul, L’Amoreaux in the Diocese of Toronto has helped to inspire the Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands to start a summer music camp for youth in his diocese. Bishop Howard Gregory was at St. Paul’s in late February to preach at the church’s black history service and attend a concert given by its choirs and musicians. Bishop Gregory’s two brothers and their families are members of St. Paul’s and his sister-in-law is coordinator of its music program. The concert, plus contributions from other groups at the church, raised $4,700 for Bishop Grego-

ry’s summer music camp for kids near Kingston, Jamaica. The twoweek camp, held in July, teaches inner city kids how to read music for choral purposes, how to sing and how to play instruments such the recorder, guitar, piano, drums and steel pans. The Rev. Canon Dr. Dean Mercer, incumbent of St. Paul’s, says his congregation was glad it could contribute to the summer music camp. “The benefit for us was to hear Bishop Gregory’s aspirations for his camp, which matched our aspirations 10 years ago,” he says. St. Paul’s music program for youth, launched in 2005, has provided opportunities for many

children and teenagers in the church and the wider community to learn and express themselves through music. About 40 youth are currently involved in the program. At St. Paul’s black history service, Bishop Gregory gave a powerful sermon on the legacy of slavery and the church’s role in it. He also preached on the subject when he first visited St. Paul’s in 2013. “He presented serious challenges in his Sunday sermons,” said Canon Mercer. “He made, I thought, an apt comparison to the ongoing challenge, and the church's involvement, with Canada’s native peoples.”

10 TheAnglican

NEWS

April 2016

LOOKING AHEAD To submit items for Looking Ahead, email editor@toronto.anglican.ca. The deadline for the May issue is April 3. Parishes can also promote their events on the diocese’s website Calendar at www.toronto.anglican.ca.

Music & Worship MARCH 25 - Good Friday Ecumenical Stations of the Cross on the Danforth, beginning at 10 a.m. at Riverdale Presbyterian Church, 662 Pape Ave. and continuing on to Holy Name Catholic Church, St. Barnabas Anglican Church, Danforth Church, and ending at Eastminister United Church, where there will be reception following the service. MARCH 25 - Sacred concert of Heinrich Schßtz’s The Passion According to John, 2 p.m., St. Barnabas, 361 Danforth Ave., Toronto. Free admission. APRIL 9 - Handel’s Messiah Singers at St. James, Orillia, 58 Peter St. N., which is celebrating its 175th anniversary. APRIL 10 - Thomas Bell: Music by Bach, Boelmann and Widor, 3 p.m., St. Paul, Bloor Street, 227 Bloor St. E., Toronto. Admission free. APRIL 16 - Healey Willan Singers presents a celebration of music by women composers and poets, with the Brown Public School Junior Choir, 8 p.m., St. Martin in-theFields, 151 Glenlake Ave., Toronto. Tickets (cash only): $20 for adults, $15 for students/seniors.

FOR LEPROSY MISSION Members of St. John, Craighurst present a cheque for $761 to the Leprosy Mission of Canada in Toronto on Feb. 4. The funds were raised at the church’s bazaar. The children of the church’s Sunday School also donated 5,300 stamps, which the mission will sell to raise money. The children snipped and trimmed the stamps from donated envelopes while listening to their lessons. ‘It was a great way to connect,’ say leaders Marilyn Bidgood and Rebecca Campitelli. The mission visited the church to present a slideshow. Holding the cheque are, from left, Dinh Van Le and Laura Bickle (mission staff members), and St. John’s members Sheila Craig, Cole Campitelli, Ben Craig, Marilyn Bidgood and Rebecca Campitelli. APRIL 24 - 175th anniversary service, 10 a.m., St. James, Orillia, 58 Peter St. N. MAY 1 - Listen to our handbells, handchimes, band, choir and organ at “MusicFest 2016: 200 years

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of Musical Memories!� at 3 p.m. at St. John, York Mills, 19 Don Ridge Dr., Toronto. Celebrating the 200th anniversary of St. John’s. Proceeds to aid Sleeping Children Around the World and St. John’s. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children. Visit www.sjym.ca, call 416-225-6611 or email musicfest@sjym.ca. JUNE 3 - Organist Sarah Svendson, 3 p.m., St. Paul, Bloor Street, 227 Bloor St. E., Toronto. Admission free.

hats included. Cost is $15 for adults, $5 for children under 12. Call the church at 416-755-5316. APRIL 30 - St. Cuthbert’s Annual Spring Fair, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Celebrate St. Cuthbert’s 125th anniversary in the Leaside community. Baked goods, books and more. Barbecue and kids’ entertainment on the green. The church is located at 1399 Bayview Ave., Toronto. No admission charge.

Rummage & Fairs

APRIL 2 – The Christ Church Players present “Murder on the Lust Boat: A Murder Mystery,� 7:30 p.m., 254 Sunset Blvd., Stouffville. Tickets $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Call 905-640-1461. APRIL 8-9 – Annual Monks Cell dinner, St. Theodore of Canterbury, 111 Cactus Ave., Toronto. Dinner includes New York Strip steak or chicken cooked over our open hearth by professional

APRIL 16 - Semi-annual rummage sale, 8:30 a.m. to noon, Grace Church, Markham, 19 Parkway Ave. Bargains on clothing, linens, household goods and more. Call 905-294-3184. APRIL 23 – Annual spring tea party, 2-5 p.m., Grace Church in Scarborough, 700 Kennedy Rd. Refreshments and fashion show of

WORLD BRIEFS New mission supports seafarers MYANMAR - The city of Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon) is home to the Mission to Seafarers’ newest port facility. The Anglican agency’s newest mission centre was dedicated on Feb. 28 during a service at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Yangon. The new coordinator of the mission, George Ko Ko Gyi, said: “Yangon is one of the main seaports in Myanmar and also a key city for supplying labour to the shipping industry worldwide. We will provide vital wel-

Food, Film & Gatherings

fare support and pastoral care to all seafarers and their families, in partnership with the local church and port authorities.�

Church condemns nuclear power plants TOKYO - On the fifth anniversary of a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami that caused widespread destruction and killed 15,893 people, with 2,572 still missing, the Anglican Church in Japan is reissuing its call for a world without nuclear power plants. The earthquake in 2011 triggered a nuclear disaster, with meltdowns at three reactors at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. A 20km area around the power plant remains off limits due to contamination, and residents outside the exclusion zone are living in fear of

chefs, potato, apple pie, wine and more. Tickets are $40. For tickets and seating times, call 416-2226198 or email monkscell@hotmail.com. APRIL 14 - The film “The Shiftâ€? will be shown at 7 p.m. at St. John, York Mills, 19 Don Ridge Dr., Toronto. This is a fundraiser for Contemplative Fire. Soup at 6 p.m., the film at 7 p.m. followed by a discussion afterwards. $20 suggested donation. Call Anne Crosthwait at 416-834-3400. APRIL 17 - Choral Evensong for St. George at 4 p.m., followed by St. George’s Tea. At 5 p.m., Douglas Cowling discusses the life and music of William Shakespeare and his contemporary, English Renaissance composer William Byrd. At St. Olave, Bloor and Windermere streets, Toronto. APRIL 23 - 175th anniversary celebration banquet at St. James, Orillia, 58 Peter St. N. APRIL 23, 30 - Lay Pastoral Visitor workshops, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., St. Paul, 227 Bloor St. E., Toronto. Bring a bag lunch. For more, call Shelley Tidy, 416-425-3205. APRIL 30 – 1950s Sock Hop dance and dinner, beginning at 6 p.m., Christ the King, 475 Rathburn Dr., Etobicoke. $50 per person. Call 416-621-3630 or email info@christthekingetobicoke.ca.  MAY 17 - Laurie Atkins, gospel singer, composer and musician, will present a musical drama of the story of Mary at 2 p.m. at St. John the Baptist, Lakefield, in honour of the 150th anniversary of the parish. Tickets are $15 and available at door. Refreshments included.   MAY 27 - The Royal School of Needlework, Hampton Court Palace, England, is coming to Canada for the first time and its chief executive will be speaking at St. James Cathedral Centre, Toronto, on May 27. The morning will be devoted to “The History of Embroideryâ€? while the afternoon will focus on “Colour in Textilesâ€? and will tell the story of not only the discovery and use of various colour but also of power, war, politics, the papacy, and science. Advance registration of $60 includes lunch. For more information, contact Nancy Mallett at 416-364-7865, ext. 233, email archives@stjamescathedral.on.ca or visit www.stjamescathedral.on.caÂ

radiation poisoning. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Anglican Church in Japan) has been organizing day trips and camps in safe areas of the countryside so children can run around outside without fear of contamination. Other initiatives include providing care for elderly people forced to relocate, including opportunities for socializing and exercise. The church is calling on the Anglican Communion to join its call to put a stop to nuclear power. Archbishop Nathanael Makoto Uematsu, Primate, said recently: “Nuclear power plants are a danger. We cannot control this power when an accident occurs. The problem of re-processing spent nuclear fuel has been neglected. We will continue to walk together with victims in the disaster areas. We ask everyone, please continue to pray for these victims.�

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11. The Chapel of St. George, Gore's Landing 12. Christ Church, Deer Park 13. Grace Church on-the-Hill, Toronto 14. Church of the Messiah, Toronto 15. St. Augustine of Canterbury, Toronto 16. St. Clement, Eglinton 17. Eglinton Deanery 18. St. Cuthbert, Leaside 19. St. John, York Mills 20. St. Leonard, Toronto 21. The Bishop's Company of the Diocese of Toronto 22. St. Timothy, North Toronto

PRAYER CYCLE FOR APRIL 1. St. John the Evangelist, Port Hope 2. St. John, Bowmanville 3. The Good Steward Foundation 4. St. John, Harwood 5. St. Mark, Port Hope 6. St. Paul, Brighton 7. St. Paul, Perrytown 8. St. Peter, Cobourg 9. St. Saviour, Orono 10. Durham & Northumberland Deanery

IN MOTION Appointments • The Rev. Pamela Lucas, Honorary Assistant, St. Cyprian, Toronto, Feb. 7. • The Rev. Geoffrey Lloyd, Honorary Assistant, St. Matthew, Oshawa, Feb. 14. • The Rev. Canon Harold Nahabedian, Interim Priest-inCharge, St. George-the-Martyr, Parkdale, Feb. 14. • The Rev. Lyn Youll Marshall, Honorary Assistant, Trinity East (Little Trinity), Feb. 14. • The Rev. Dr. Raymond Porth, Honorary Assistant, Parish of Elmvale, Feb. 15. • The Rev. Annette Gillies, Incumbent, Parish of Roche's Point, March 1. • The Rev. Colonel Douglas Clark (Diocese of Athabasca), Incumbent, St. George, Newcastle and St. Saviour, Orono, March 1. • The Rev. Keith Joyce, Incumbent, St. Paul, Brighton, March 15. • The Rev. Simon Davis, Incumbent, St. George-the-Martyr,

Parkdale, April 10. • Jeff Potter, Assistant Curate, Holy Trinity, Thornhill, May 1. • Richard Webb, Assistant Curate, St. Clement, Eglinton, May 1. • Joan Wilson, Assistant Curate, St. Margaret in-the-Pines, West Hill, Aug. 1.

Vacant Incumbencies Clergy from outside the diocese, with the permission of their bishop, may apply through the Diocesan Executive Assistant, Mrs. Mary Conliffe, mconliffe@ toronto.anglican.ca. Trent Durham • Parish of Bobcaygeon, Dunsford & Burnt River • St. George Memorial, Oshawa York – Credit Valley • St. Olave, Toronto • St. John the Baptist (Dixie), Mississauga • St. Paul the Apostle, Rexdale York – Scarborough • St. Luke, Coxwell • Church of the Redeemer,

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23. Church of the Transfiguration, Toronto 24. All Saints Church-Community Centre, Toronto (The Rev. David Opheim, priestdirector) 25. All Saints, Kingsway 26. Church of the Atonement, Alderwood 27. Christ Church St. James, Toronto 28. Christ the King, Toronto 29. Church of South India (CSI), Toronto 30. Ghanaian Anglican Church of Toronto (GACOT)

Bloor Street York – Simcoe • All Saints, King City • St. Mark, Midland • Trinity Church, Bradford

Retirements • The Rev. Canon Dr. Murray Henderson’s last Sunday at Christ Church St. James, Toronto will be June 26.

Ordinations • The Rev. Jonathan Turtle was ordained a priest at St. Mary and St. Martha, Toronto on Feb. 20. • The Rev. Christopher D'Angelo was ordained a priest at St. George on-the-Hill, Toronto on March 6. • The Rev. Vernon Duporte was ordained a priest at St. Andrew, Scarborough on March 19. • The Rev. Timothy Taylor will be ordained a priest St. John, York Mills on May 5 at 7:30 p.m.

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READING THE BIBLE BY THE REV. CANON DON BEATTY

Paul writes to the Romans A s we continue our dialogue with the epistles of Paul, we come to his longest and most important letter: the Epistle to the Romans. This letter is unique, for Paul had not established the church in Rome, nor had he visited it. He knew very few of the people involved there, unlike in his other letters, which were written to centres he had set up and to people he knew as brothers and sisters in Christ. Most of his letters were written to help solve problems that had arisen in the mission field. Rome was different. It was the centre of the empire and the heart of Roman authority. It is obvious that Paul longed to visit there, so his letter was to prepare for a future visit. We don’t know how Christianity came to Rome. Perhaps followers of Peter made it there early in the life of the church. We date Paul’s letter to about 57 CE. We know from the writings of Suetonius, a second-century pagan historian who wrote Life of the Caesars, that the emperor Claudius expelled all of the Jews, including the ChristianJews, from Rome in 49 CE. Paul had met two of these exiles – Aquila and Prisca, short for Priscilla – in Corinth about 50 CE, during his second missionary journey, and he greeted them in this letter. The emperor Claudius was murdered in 54 CE, and many of the Jews and Christian-Jews made their way back to Rome following this death. Was there difficulty for these ChristianJews integrating back into a primarily Gentile church? This would explain Paul’s emphasis on God’s plan for the redemption of Israel (Romans 9-11). This letter is undoubtedly Paul’s most important work. His mission in the area of the Aegean was coming to a close, as he neared the end of the third missionary journey. He planned to visit Rome on his way to Spain. He was actually hoping to establish a mission base in Rome for the conversion of the western end of the empire. His plan did not quite work out. He was arrested in Jerusalem and arrived in Rome a couple of years later as a prisoner in chains. It is possible that Paul made it

to Spain. It is one of those mysteries of the early church that may never be resolved. If we accept the possibility of a second imprisonment for Paul, he may well have made his way to Spain, writing the pastoral epistles to Timothy and Titus on his way there. We will discuss this concept further when we look at his pastoral epistles. Paul was executed in Rome during the Neronian persecutions about 67 CE. In the Epistle to the Romans, Paul takes great pains to explain his understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Roman Christians. This letter becomes his treatise on the faith. Remember, Paul is not sitting down at his laptop, trying to polish every word. He is dictating to a scribe, pouring out his thoughts and trying to keep them in an orderly fashion. The scribe for his letter is mentioned in Romans 16:22. His name is Tertius. He manages to insert a small personal greeting into the letter. The theme of this great epistle is found in Romans 1:16-17. It is God’s plan for salvation for the Jew first and then for the whole world, and God’s righteousness for all people. Paul outlines his doctrines on “justification by faith,� unity, the Holy Spirit, baptism, sin, salvation, grace, death, and resurrection. We will look at some of these theological topics from Paul in the months ahead. Throughout history, this epistle has been used by scholars such as Martin Luther, especially chapters one to eight, which contain Paul’s explicit teaching on justification by faith. Calvin focussed on chapters nine to eleven, which are about Paul’s teaching on divine predestination. A more modern recovery of classical rhetoric has helped scholars to see the entire epistle as a single rhetorical argument, with each section of the letter serving a different function. We will attempt to discuss some of these issues in future articles. Please take time to read through this epistle and contemplate the meaning of Paul’s words for you in this 21st century. It will be quite a dialogue!

The Rev. Canon Don Beatty is an honorary assistant at St. Luke, Dixie South, Mississauga.

Send your parish news to editor@toronto.anglican.ca

12 TheAnglican

NEWS

April 2016

Churches set fear aside, open hearts Despite initial concerns, sponsorship takes off BY STUART MANN

THE Rev. Matthew McMillan waded into the refugee sponsorship process at one of the busiest times of the year – Advent and Christmas. “I often thought, ‘What the heck are we doing?’� he recalls. Some of his parishioners at St. Peter, Churchill and St. John, Cookstown, had concerns as well. They were worried that raising funds for refugees might impact Christmas givings or take away from other work that needed to be done. As it turned out, they needn’t have worried. Not only did they raise enough money to sponsor a refugee family, they learned something about their faith as well. “We served God by not listening to fear but by focusing on hope and compassion,� says Mr. McMillan. St. Peter’s and St. John’s have been working with the United churches in the town of Innisfil, located south of Barrie off Hwy 400, since last fall. Together they have raised about $30,000, with more coming in each month. They’ve launched a Facebook page and a Go Fund Me website so that people in the community can give and participate. The churches have formed a support team to arrange things like housing, schooling, translation, ESL classes, job training, health care support and transportation for the family, which is due to arrive in the spring. Mr. McMillan says the steering group has taken a low-key approach to fundraising. “We simply presented the case,� he says. “We highlighted the need and gave people an opportunity to respond. It was honest and gave people the ability to decide whether to be part of it or not.� Some people in the wider community were critical of the plan to sponsor a refugee family, saying that relief efforts should begin at home with the underemployed or poor in the local area. It’s a com-

PARISH NEWS Church’s ringers bring joy Bells have been ringing at St. John, York Mills for nearly 40 years, bringing joy to the congregation and the broader com-

ment that has been heard by other churches in the diocese. “What we were able to say was, our churches already do those things,� says Mr. McMillan. “We have food and hamper programs that support children and families. We’d like to try to help everybody, and we do it at different times in different ways. With the refugee crisis, there are folks who have nothing. If we could all contribute just a little, it would go a long way.� One of the most important decisions that was made early on was that St. John’s and St. Peter’s didn’t try to do it all on their own. Mr. McMillan intentionally reached out to the other churches in the area. “I said, if we do this together, it will lighten the load and we can also do a little bit of ecumenism in our own backyard in an easy and life-giving way.� It worked. The partnership between the Anglican and United churches energized parishioners and gave them a way to help. “The hearts and minds were already there,� he says. “It just required someone to step out and lead and pull it together. I think that’s what the churches can do. We don’t have to do it all. But if we can provide some pieces and building blocks and synergy, the people in the community and the pews are wanting to do God’s work and good things.� He says it was important that the steering group learned from others but stayed true to its own context. “We heard what other churches were doing and we tried to learn from their story but not to recreate it. We tried to incorporate some of that into our plan while at the same time adapting it to local dynamics.� He adds: “Don’t feel you have to do it on your own. There are many people who have done it before. It’s easy to do – it just takes time and energy and resources and a willingness to be out there where God is so that we can be served as we serve.�

munity. For more than 25 years, Carolyn Martin has directed and developed this music program, which has grown into three handbell choirs and a chime choir. They’ve played in everything from the Santa Claus parade at Fenelon Falls to the Toronto Christmas Market in the Distillery District of Toronto. The money raised at performances supports World Vision, Anglican missions, the Sandy Bay Elementary School in

A HAPPY NEW YEAR The diocese’s Anglican Mandarin Fellowship hosts a Chinese New Year celebration at St. James Cathedral’s Snell Hall on Feb. 7. The evening included music, food and presentations. Clockwise from top: Bill Ko conducts The Millennium Chinese Music Workshop; James Liu and Morning Wong give flowers to Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell; the Rev. Canon David Brinton, sub-dean and vicar of the cathedral, presents a certificate and a Bible to Michelle Li; children play; Snow Bai plays the erhu. PHOTOS BY MICHAEL HUDSON Jamaica and Sleeping Children Around the World. For more information about the handbell choirs and chime choir, visit www.sjym.ca.

Sponsorship vote is unanimous The vestry of St. George, Pickering Village in Ajax voted unanimously to work in cooperation with St. Paul on-the-Hill, Pickering and other parishes in the Oshawa Deanery to sponsor a refugee family from the Middle East. Prior to the vestry meeting, the parish welcomed Ian McBride, executive director of AURA (Anglican-United Refugee Alliance).

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