Parishes asked to adopt a call or two in 2025

With the arrival of 2025, the Diocese of Toronto is moving into a new and exciting phase of its strategic plan, Cast the Net.

“We’re seeing this as a season of deep, deep engagement, so that we’re not isolated outposts but part of the fabric of the diocese that is moving in a compelling way,” says Bishop Andrew Asbil.

In addition to the five large worship celebrations planned throughout the diocese this year, a group of clergy, laity and diocesan staff have come together to tend to Cast the Net and help parishes engage with its 20 Calls.

The 20 Calls, which were endorsed by Synod along with the strategic plan in 2023, encourage Anglicans in all parts of the diocese to renew their spiritual lives, to seek justice for all, to support faithful and fruitful ministry, and to live and work as the body of Christ, each connected to the whole and each valued for their unique gifts.

“The 20 Calls are the result of hours of thoughtful, prayerful discernment,” says Bishop Asbil. “They are both aspirational and challenging. They reflect who we believe we are being called to be by the Holy Spirit.”

The group is hoping that parishes will embrace one or more of the calls this year. Parishes can choose calls that they are already involved in or take up new ones – whatever best suits their capacity, context and vision.

The 20 Calls and a related study guide are available on the diocese’s website at www.toronto.anglican.ca/castthenet. The group is hoping that parishes will devote some of their vestry meetings this year to discussing the calls and using the study guide. There may also be a session about the calls at the diocese’s upcoming Parish Leaders Workshops in March.

Some parishes have already adopted one or more of the calls, and the group plans to highlight their efforts – and the efforts of others – through stories, social media posts and videos throughout the year. A “Call & Response” time at Synod in November is being planned so that parishes can tell their stories.

The first of the 20 Calls is already well underway. Last spring, the diocese launched the Season of Spiritual Renewal, to help Anglicans deepen their personal and collective discipleship. Coordinated by the Rev. Canon Dr. Judy Paulsen and Jacqui Hance, the Season has provided many workshops and resources, including a booklet of daily prayers called Prayers Through the Ages. All the workshops and resources can be found at www.toronto.anglican.ca/seasonofrenewal.

Cast the Net and the Season of Spiritual Renewal have created opportunities for Anglicans to come together for learning, worship and fellowship. This past Advent, hundreds of people attended four evenings of online worship and reflection with Bishop Asbil, Bishop Riscylla Shaw and Bishop Kevin Robertson.

“That taught us something about the deep desire of Anglicans wanting to be together – to pray together and to reflect together theologically and spiritually,” says Bishop Asbil.

He encourages parishes to embrace Cast the Net and one or more of the 20 Calls this year. “Knowing that you’re doing something alongside every other parish at the same time, in your own unique way, is so enriching. This is not a cookie cutter or off-the-rack program. It is a changing of a culture, of which we are all a part as followers of Jesus Christ. So large parishes can learn from small parishes about what they are discovering in this walk, and vice versa. It’s about deeper engagement with the cathedral and with communities east, west, north and south. In my mind, it’s about changing the culture of the Diocese of Toronto, to see the fabric and the ministry in a new way.”