Grants help Anglicans re-imagine church

As of Sept. 1, the Our Faith-Our Hope: Re-Imagine Church campaign has given a total of $2,590,858 to churches, individuals and groups for work in the following area: leadership development, pioneering ministry, communicating in a wireless world, enabling parishes to become multi staffed and giving to others. Here is a summary of all the grants given to date.

Leadership Development

• Wycliffe College. $75,000 for development of a leadership program for new clergy and lay leaders.
• The Rev. Richard Dentinger. $2,698 for a professional development course at St. George College, Jerusalem.
• Spirit of Invitation. $120,400 for the diocese’s Spirit of Invitation working group to develop a course that uses video and instructional content to explore the concept of invitation in a practical, dynamic and engaging manner.
• The Rev. Stephanie Douglas-Bowman. $15,000 to assist with doctoral studies in children’s and family ministry.
• Archbishop’s Youth Ministry Team. $6,200 to offset the cost of the Diocesan Youth Retreat, scheduled for Oct. 3-5.
• The Rev. Kevin Wong. $5,415 to help finance the cost of taking an English language training course.

Pioneering Ministry

• Redeemer, Ajax. $361,200 to support a new church plant in Ajax.
• St. Matthew, Islington. $8,000 to pioneer a new ministry designed to bring focus to the creative arts and artistic expression as tools for ministry.
• Parish of Georgina. $16,500 to provide an outreach chaplaincy over three years at Sibbald Point Provincial Park during the summer months.
• Church of the Resurrection, Toronto. $269,000 ($151,000 in the first year and $118,000 in the second year) to enhance its ability to pioneer ministry in the recently disestablished parish of St. Columba and All Hallows, Toronto.

Communicating in a Wireless World

• St. Paul on-the-Hill, Pickering. $13,000 for new wiring and video camera technology to broadcast services and events on electronic screens and on the website.
• St. Augustine of Canterbury, Toronto. $4,000 for a Friday Night movie program to reach those in the community.
• Parish of Penetanguishene and Waubaushene. $10,000 to help equip all three parish points with technology to enhance worship services and special event overflow.
• Trent-Durham Area Council. $3,500 to launch a pilot project in video web-conferencing and social media for the purposes of Christian learning and sharing.
• Communications Department, Diocese of Toronto. $30,000 to make the diocese’s website and FaithWorks website viewable on mobile devices and comply with new accessibility standards.
• All Saints, Collingwood. $25,000 to enhance communications for those in the congregation who are visually, hearing or physically impaired.
• Church of the Ascension, Don Mills. $15,000 to purchase and install TV screens, create a welcome video for its website and improve its website.
• Christ Church, Kettleby. $3,500 to install a WiFi system in the church.
• St. Mary Magdalene, Schomberg. $9,000 to upgrade the church’s sound system and install a WiFi system.
• Christ Memorial Church, Oshawa. $27,298 to purchase video equipment and computer technology and upgrade its website.
• Church of the Evangelists, New Tecumseth. $9,000 to improve and develop its website.
• Grace Church in Scarborough. $4,000 to purchase flat screen TVs and screens to be utilized through the church, allowing the church to become paperless during worship and presentations.
• Grace Church on-the-Hill. $12,000 to develop a mobile app that provides Christian resources.
• Parish Website Pilot Project. $58,700 for the diocese to create missional websites and social media strategies for 18 strategic parishes over the next year and a half.
• St. Bride, Clarkson. $15,000 to purchase equipment to install a new audio and visual system that is enabled by its website.
• St. Cuthbert, Leaside. $4,000 for an improved sound system and website.
• St. George, Pickering Village, Ajax. $11,447 to purchase audio and visual equipment to strengthen their online communications.
• St. Hilda, Fairbank. $20,000 to install an in-house television channel that will provide ministry to residents of St. Hilda’s Tower and the Lewis Garnsworthy Residence.
• St. Peter, Erindale. $25,000 to create and implement a new communications strategy.
• St. Paul, Newmarket. $30,000 to expand its WiFi, improve its website and introduce video conferencing and webcasting.

Enabling Parishes to Become Multi-Staffed

• St. Mary Magdalene, Toronto. $75,000 to hire a youth minister.
• Church of the Transfiguration, Toronto. $52,500 to hire a children’s minister.
• Christ Church, Stouffville. $25,000 to hire a director of young Christian formation.
• Holy Trinity, Thornhill. $62,000 to assist in the hiring of a youth ministry coordinator.
• Oshawa Area Parishes. $52,000 to provide joint church ministry for youth in the Oshawa area.
• St. Jude, Wexford. $66,500 to hire an addition member for the pastoral staff at the parish, covering three years.
• St. Olave, Swansee. $49,000 to hire a part-time children’s youth worker.

Giving to others

• Council of the North. The Council of the North is made up of nine dioceses, the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior and the Archdeaconry of Labrador. They are in sparsely populated areas such as the Arctic, Yukon, northern and central interior of British Columbia, Alberta, northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, northern Ontario, northern Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. $500,000 for leadership training and support.
• Anglican Military Ordinariate. The ordinariate is composed of all of Anglicans in the Canadian Forces, including chaplains, military personnel and their families. $500,000 to fund the Office of the Bishop Ordinariate in perpetuity.