Science, faith have chemistry, dinner hears

With a new venue, a dynamic young speaker and a lot of guests who were there for the first time, it felt like the Bishop’s Company Dinner had started a new chapter in its long and storied history.

The fundraising dinner on Oct. 18 was attended by 420 people, including a large group from the Parish of Minden-Kinmount and four tables of young people from across the diocese.

Held at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel in Richmond Hill, the dinner featured a performance by The Redeemers, a singing group from Church of the Redeemer, Bloor St., and an address by Anthony Morgan, co-host of CBC’s The Nature of Things. The Rev. Paige Souter of Church of the Redeemer was the evening’s MC, and Michael and Gwyne Willmot were the presenting sponsors.

“From the north, the east, the south and the west, we have come this night, and we are grateful for your compassion, your creativity and your generosity,” Bishop Andrew Asbil told the audience. He thanked all those who worked hard to ensure the event’s success, including Melissa Doidge and Peter Misiaszek of the diocese’s Stewardship Development department and staff of the Synod Office who volunteered.

In addition to raising funds for clergy in the diocese who are facing unexpected expenses, the dinner handed out bursaries to the following people for their theological education: Denise Byard, Grace Rockett, the Rev. Nkandyiso Mapumuto and Yuhoing (Rose) Wang.

The Rev. Jake Cunliffe with his spouse, Jenna Freudenburg.

The Rev. Roshni Jayawardena with Gowtham Ganeswaran.

Bishop’s Company Dinner presenting sponsors Michael and Gwyne Willmot with Bishop Andrew Asbil.

The Rev. Canon Joan Cavanaugh-Clark (centre) with members of the Parish of Minden, Kinmount, and Maple Lake.

From left, the Rev. Ravi Kalison, the Rev. Canon Stephen Kirkegaard, Rebecca Kalison and Denise Byard.

The Rev. Canon Nicola Skinner (centre) with, from left, Geoff Melbourne, the Rev. Ollie Lim, Aaron Dumpala, Tanya Melbourne, Jessica Carrington.

In his keynote address, Mr. Morgan spoke about how science and faith can help reduce suffering in the world. Mr. Morgan, whose family attends St. James Cathedral, is an award-winning science communicator, Ph.D. researcher, startup founder and game designer who has hosted dozens of TV programs.

Involving the audience in a few fun experiments, he showed how people can be unaware of “blind spots” in their thinking. These gaps can “misshape” the way they see the world, blocking them from solving problems or even making them worse.

“That’s why I think science is such a useful tool, because it inspires us to practice curiosity,” he said. “It looks for the blind spots in our thinking, and if we can do that, we can understand the sources of suffering more clearly.”

He said people are often unable to solve problems because of their assumptions. Without realizing they’re trapped in a particular way of thinking, they can inadvertently perpetuate suffering.

“That’s why I think the second huge benefit of science is that it encourages us to practice creativity – to identify and play with the blind spots in our thinking, ideally through experiments. Practicing creativity allows us to find the assumptions and blind spots that we have about the world and figure out which ones are shaky and which ones we’ve abandoned all together.”

One of the best ways to find blind spots in our thinking is to listen to outsiders and fringe thinkers, he said. “To me, this is the greatest advantage to the scientific approach – it encourages us to crack the problem in collaboration. If we all have blind spots in our thinking that are invisible to us, what’s the best way to find them? By talking to people who see things differently. If we do that, I think we can solve the problems of suffering. I think we can do it only that way – by working together.”

He said fear – particularly caused by a perceived threat to one’s identity – and a determination to “always be right” can also result in blind spots. “Fear shuts down the parts of your brain capable of creativity, empathy, open-mindedness and curiosity. It pulls us away from the best version of ourselves.”

Faith, he said, can play an important role in identifying and addressing the blind spots, assumptions and fear that people have. Church can provide a community and resources to help in times of need, either through the community itself or in the form of God.

“Faith helps us practice calm,” he said. “Prayer allows us to practice what scientists call ‘managed cognition.’ In other words, prayer allows us to notice what our goals are and when they have us stuck in fear, so we can choose different goals. Finding community and setting our goals allows us to reset our nervous system and use collaboration, curiosity and creativity.”

He said compassion can also bring about change. “One thing that faith has taught us again and again is that when you express compassion and concern for the suffering of even those who might wish you ill, it can inspire them to do the same. And that is why I think that the faith approach is so invaluable – not only because it helps us practice calm but because it helps us practice compassion. It’s taught me the most important lesson as a science communicator: before people care what you believe, they must believe that you care.”

The Rev. Paige Souter, the evening’s MC.

At the reception.

Bishop Jenny Andison with friends.

Sisters of the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine.

The Redeemers perform some doo wop hits.

Mary Asbil (second from left) with friends.

He said science doesn’t work without faith. “Science can tell us some incredible things about how to build things, how to go to other planets, etc., but it really only works when we find a way not to hate each other. It breaks down when we don’t have institutions that remind us that showing compassion, even to those who wish us ill, is necessary in order to find our blind spots and reduce suffering.”

Science and religion are complementary approaches to the problem of suffering, he said. “Science and faith are not what we think but how we think. They are ways of looking at the world. Science is an institution that helps us to practice collaboration, curiosity and creativity – to ask for help and look for blind spots in our thinking – and faith as an institution helps us practice noticing when our goals are not serving us and to choose better ones. Together, science and faith can help us transform our culture and leave behind goals that are unhelpful to focus on ones that will actually reduce suffering. Science and faith encourage us to practice courage, to lean into society’s discomfort. And I think that right now, this is what the Church is being asked to do.”

In his closing remarks, Bishop Asbil thanked Mr. Morgan for his challenging and insightful comments. “Thank you for opening our eyes and giving us an opportunity to immerse ourselves in experiments, to help us to see and experience the world in a different way. We have work to do, but I know the faith community in this room, which is so dedicated to the craft of what it means to have faith in a world where there is so little, will be able to do a new math that’s really an old math, because you really can feed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. Thank you for tonight, Anthony.”

For more on the Bishop’s Company or for more pictures from the dinner, visit www.bishopscompanytoronto.ca.