Our properties are resources for a changing world

This special edition of Beyond the Bricks is dedicated to one of the most pressing questions before our diocese today: how we steward our land and buildings as faithful disciples of Jesus.

Our diocese is blessed with over 400 properties consisting of churches, halls, rectories, cemeteries and acres of land. These properties tell the story of nearly 200 parishes and missions, spanning almost two centuries. Yet they are also resources for a changing world, where housing insecurity, poverty and the climate crisis confront us daily.

The call from Synod has been clear: we must reimagine our properties for the sake of the gospel and the communities we serve. This work is at the very heart of our diocesan vision, Cast the Net. As Jesus called his disciples to throw their nets on the other side of the boat, we too are being asked to do things differently – to trust that abundance lies where we may not expect it.

Among the 20 calls of Cast the Net is Call 18: adopt an integrated, theologically informed approach to property management. This special edition of Beyond the Bricks explores how that call is taking shape through our Strategic Property Plan, parish investments, and bold new initiatives in housing and community partnership.

What follows is a three-part journey:

• Part 1 lays the foundation, sharing how the Strategic Property Plan was born and why its “first iteration” matters.
• Part 2 explores the blueprint — the tools and instruments that are equipping parishes to steward their buildings and lands.
• Part 3 looks outward to the horizon, where housing projects and community partnerships are transforming surplus property into mission.

Together, these parts tell the story of property strategy as mission and faith in action.

Part 1 – Foundations for the Future

If you could walk the map of our diocese, you would see over 400 properties stretching from bustling city blocks to quiet rural crossroads. Each one is a living chapter in the story of nearly 200 parishes, missions and unique communities.

In recent years, Synod has repeatedly returned to a question that is both practical and deeply spiritual: how can we steward this vast network of land and buildings for the good of our communities today, while preparing for the needs of tomorrow?

For many, the answer has been clear: surplus church lands can be part of the solution to the housing crisis or can become secure spaces for food ministries, shelters and programs that meet the most pressing needs in our neighbourhoods. But vision alone is not enough. As we quickly learned, it’s like sailing the ship while building it.

That’s why, in September 2024, Synod Council adopted the first iteration of the Strategic Property Plan. Born out of many months of consultation and prayerful discernment, the plan sets out both foundational and strategic priorities. At its core are two guiding commitments: anchoring property and land decisions to our faith while aligning them with strong principles of environmental stewardship and creation care. Strategically (and practically), it focuses on property re-development, optimization and equipping parishes with the tools and resources they need.

This deliberate shift is directly tied to Cast the Net, the diocese’s strategic vision. Among its 20 calls, Call 18 challenges us to adopt an integrated, theologically informed approach to property management. That is what this plan aims to represent – property stewardship as a living expression of discipleship, rooted in our faith and directed toward justice, sustainability and mission.

Calling this a first iteration was intentional. Our goal was not to set every detail in stone, but to get the ship seaworthy enough to set sail. Along the way, we expect to evaluate, make course corrections and sometimes pivot entirely. This iterative approach also means we have made intentional space for shortcoming, without jeopardizing the overall integrity of the plan or the deliverables it holds.

This spirit reflects the gospel call to cast our nets differently. Like the disciples, we are learning to do things in new ways – not clinging to the familiar but daring to try the other side of the boat. It also echoes Call 16 of Cast the Net, which reminds us to see the diocese as a dynamic net of shared relationships. The Strategic Property Plan aims to cast differently and focuses our attention on navigating property towards mission.

Part 2 – Building a Blueprint

Big ideas are only as strong as the structures that hold them up. For the Strategic Property Plan, that means creating the right tools and foundations to support bold action.

The Building Stewardship Policy, which is now in active development, is one of those tools. It is our way of ensuring that property decisions reflect our deepest commitments – theologically, environmentally and missionally.

Where “policy” often screams bureaucracy, here it signals discipleship. Guided by Cast the Net and Call 18, this work grounds every decision, so that our faith is embedded in the very bricks and land we steward.

We’ve also continued to deepen our integration with the Congregational Development team so that parishes have hands-on support in aligning property use with local ministry plans. It’s a way of ensuring that we steward property towards strengthened ministry and community impact.

Recognizing that the cost of preparing land and buildings for development has risen sharply, Synod Council approved the Pre-Development Fund in June 2024, seeding it with $5 million and anticipating another $1.5 million through the disposition of non-strategic properties. This fund is already making it possible for parishes to move forward with projects that might otherwise stall at the earliest stages.

Since Synod 2023, parishes have invested $19.2 million in capital projects under Canon 6, with more than $3 million in MAF Real Estate grants and loans supporting nearly 20 parish-led initiatives. These range from accessibility improvements to ministry expansions, redevelopments and new community partnerships.

These facts and figures represent the scaffolding of our future. Each new tool, resource and investment is a beam in the larger structure we are building together.

Part 3 – Mission in the Making

At the heart of the property strategy is a vision that our properties can be a place where people find belonging. This is perhaps most visible in our housing work, where bricks and beams become homes, and church land becomes the soil for new community.

One of our most ambitious initiatives is the consolidation of Anglican housing projects into a single entity. This vision is not new – the diocese has been working toward it for more than 25 years. What once seemed aspirational is actively being executed, with the structures, partnerships and momentum now in place to carry it forward. If successful, this initiative would unite over 1,000 units under one roof, establishing one of Toronto’s largest non-profit housing entities. This would give Anglicans a stronger and more credible platform to access funding, negotiate partnerships and steward surplus church lands for affordable housing. With strong support from the City of Toronto Housing Secretariat, we anticipate launching a pilot in 2026.

This initiative is itself a course correction – a pivot made possible by embracing an iterative plan. While our initial focus was on parish and diocesan-led development, experience has shown that partnering through land leases is a faster, more scalable way to deliver housing. It is not abandoning our chart; it is adjusting our sails to make the most of the winds before us.

Already, we are seeing transformation. The former St. John the Divine property in Toronto has been converted into a 50-bed shelter. Renewed land leases at All Saints, Sherbourne and St. David, Donlands have preserved 110 units of affordable and supportive housing. The diocese’s MAF Real Estate funding has sparked plans for expanded affordable and assistive housing in two other parishes.

This work embodies Call 16 of Cast the Net: Cultivate an understanding of the diocese as a dynamic net of shared relationships. Housing consolidation focuses on weaving together parishes, diocesan leadership, government partners and community organizations into one strong, interconnected net. In the same way, Call 18 continues to guide us to manage property through a theologically informed lens, reminding us that these decisions are grounded in our faith and not simply in economics.

Through Cast the Net, we are reminded that property is never only about buildings. Housing becomes discipleship in action, justice laid in stone and the gospel embodied in neighbourhoods where people find home.

When we talk about housing, we’re talking about the gospel in action, and about a Church that is not afraid to imagine new ways to use its gifts for the sake of the world. This is mission in the making, unfolding one property and one partnership at a time.

Epilogue – Casting the Net Together

The story of property in our diocese is still unfolding. We are learning, adjusting and sometimes failing – but always with our eyes fixed on the horizon, and our nets cast in faith.

Our Strategic Property Plan is not an end, but a means of living into the vision God has placed before us. It reflects the wisdom of Cast the Net: that to follow Jesus faithfully, we must sometimes let go of old ways and dare to do something new.

As we work on the many initiatives covered here, we are reminded of the abundant promise of the gospel: that when we trust God enough to cast the net on the other side of the boat, we will find more than we could ever carry on our own.

This is our work: to steward buildings and lands as instruments of mission. To see them as vessels of hope for the future. To know that in bricks and mortar, in shelters and homes, in parishes and partnerships, the love of Christ is being made tangible in the world.

And so, we return to the vision that grounds us: Followers of Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit, serve the world God loves.

May we continue to cast the net boldly and faithfully, together.