Three to receive national award

Growing up in a rectory next to the church in Cranbrook, B.C., Suzanne Rumsey got a close-up look at the human condition.

In a biography that she is writing about her late father, the Rev. Gavin Rumsey, she includes a section on “The Parade at the Door,” the endless stream of people in need who wanted to speak to “the reverend.”

That experience and others led her to a life of service, she says. “You don’t realize it at the time, but I think that’s where my commitment comes from.”

Ms. Rumsey, Nancy Hurn and Teresa Mandricks – all from the Diocese of Toronto – have been chosen to receive this year’s Anglican Award of Merit, the Anglican Church of Canada’s highest award for lay people.

Canon Ian Alexander of the Anglican Diocese of Islands and Inlets and Jane Osler of the Diocese of New Westminster will also receive the award. Canon Alexander helped the Diocese of Toronto create its strategic plan, Cast the Net.

Ms. Rumsey, a member of Redeemer, Bloor St., has worked for Alongside Hope (formerly PWRDF) for many years on a variety of issues, including food security, care for refugees, climate action and reconciliation.

Prior to joining Alongside Hope, she served with the Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America, supporting the human rights of Indigenous peoples in Latin America. She worked with communities in Mexico’s southernmost state of Chiapas at times of unrest and assisted with a visit by Anglican bishops to an Indigenous village when bodies of villagers were returned. She also served on the World Council of Churches’ commission on the churches’ participation in development.

She says she was completely surprised by the award. “I think it’s a validation of the work of human rights, international development and justice education, which are the three areas of work I’ve done for three and a half decades. It’s so important that the award exists because there are so many people who do such good ministry in the Church.”

Nancy Hurn, a lifelong member of St. Matthew, Islington, was General Synod’s archivist for 14 years, playing a key role in digitizing the archives’ database to make it accessible online. She was also instrumental in making archival records available to researchers and survivors of the Residential Schools.

A believer in the healing power of archival records, she organized displays and interacted with participants at meetings across Canada, educating the public about the Residential Schools and making photographs and other records available for the benefit of Indigenous people.

“Understanding the faith of the Indigenous people has been a gift to me and has changed the direction of my life,” she says. “Their care for the land and care for each other is such a Christian way of life, and there’s lots to learn from them.”

Ms. Hurn has volunteered with the Toronto Urban Native Ministry and is the chair of the Indigenous working group in her parish. She is also a facilitator of Mapping the Ground We Stand On, a workshop that explores the Indigenous presence and settler arrival on the map of Canada/Turtle Island.

Born in Nairobi, Teresa Mandricks came to Canada in 1989 and worked as the program assistant in General Synod’s Indigenous Ministries department. In that role, she supported the work of Indigenous ministries, gatherings of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples and of the Sacred Circle for three and a half decades. She was essential to the planning of the logistics of the Sacred Circle, ensuring that participants arrived and departed safely and were made comfortable.

In an interview with the national newspaper, the Anglican Journal, Ms. Mandricks said she was surprised and humbled to learn she would receive the award, highlighting the support she has received from General Synod colleagues, bishops and others. “The support that I received from everybody around – and the elders, especially the Indigenous elders – really was very important to me,” she said.

Archbishop Anne Germond, the acting Primate, planned to present the award to the recipients in their churches.