The theme of this year’s outreach and advocacy conference was “seeking signs of resurrection,” but guests at the 64th annual Bishop’s Company Dinner, held the night before, heard a powerful story of resurrection as well.
Oshawa mayor Dan Carter was the guest speaker at the dinner, held Oct. 17 at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel and Suites in Richmond Hill. The sold-out event raised funds to help clergy and their families in need.
Mayor Carter told the remarkable story of his life, from being a homeless addict to becoming the mayor of Oshawa, an experience that transformed his faith and turned him into a passionate advocate for those who live on the margins of society.
“I wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for somebody who never gave up on me, and I am so grateful that person is my Lord and Saviour,” he told the audience. “He was the one who created a pathway that I’ve been able to follow as a mayor, a father and a stepfather.”
Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Mayor Carter was given up for adoption as a baby after his mother died and his father struggled to look after the family’s seven children. Shuttled from foster home to foster home, he was eventually adopted by an Ontario family but struggled at school due to undiagnosed dyslexia. He was sexually assaulted by a stranger at the age of seven, and a few years later lost his older brother to a motorcycle accident. Dropping out of high school, he turned to alcohol and drugs and ended up homeless in Toronto, an existence that lasted for the next 17 years.
With the help of his sister, Maureen, he started to turn his life around, quitting drugs and alcohol and eventually landing a job as a broadcaster. But tragedy struck again when Maureen took her own life. Devasted, he met with his pastor over many weeks, who helped him through the ordeal. “I learned that God loved me, that there was a place for me, that there was redemption and forgiveness,” he said. Devoting his life to public service, he became a regional councillor in 2014 and the mayor of Oshawa in 2018, being re-elected in 2022.
Bishop Andrew Asbil warmly thanked Mayor Carter for his courageous and compassionate remarks, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
There were 404 people from across the diocese at the dinner, including three tables of people from the Parish of Minden, Kinmount and Maple Lake, and three tables of young people, mostly teenagers. The Rev. Denise Byard, assistant curate at the Parish of Ida and Omemee and St. Luke, Peterborough, was the master of ceremony, and singer and songwriter Deb Whalen-Blaize provided the musical entertainment, accompanied by David King on piano and Ian Koiter on bass guitar. Recipients of the 2024 William Kay Bursaries were Jonathan Kang and Grace Rockett.
Bishop Asbil welcomed everyone to the dinner and made light of the fact that it was being held on the same night as the Toronto Blue Jays were playing the Seattle Mariners in the baseball playoffs. “Thank you for your dedication and your faithfulness for being present on the same night as the fifth game of the playoffs,” he said to laughter and applause. “I know how hard it’s going to be to not look at your phones once in a while, and we pray, along with Julian of Norwich, that all will be well.”
On a more serious note, he said that all season, when the Blue Jays were down, “they have found a way, and in some ways our gathering tonight seeks to do the same. There are times when our clergy and our families find ourselves in a place that’s hard and we are down. And we need encouragement and the financial commitment to help us through. In a likewise moment long ago, when (the disciples) came up empty-handed in the middle of the night, Jesus said, cast the net on the other side of the boat. And both the fish and the disciples were swept up into a new place, a new realm of abundance and grace. Your presence here tonight is helping to make a difference for many. We are deeply grateful.”
The dinner and reception were sponsored by anonymous benefactors. The evening’s other sponsors were Ecclesiastical, Northleaf, Nursing and Homemakers Inc., Mr. Ken Hugessen and Ms. Jennifer Connelly, McCarthy Tetrault LLP, AGF Management Ltd., the Anglican Diocese of Toronto Foundation, AON Risk Management Practice, Blair Franklin Capital Partners Inc., an anonymous benefactor, Faith Based Real Estate Inc., Focus Cleaning, RDH Group | Royal LePage Commercial and Xtra Mechanical Ltd.
I notice God in the mundane