Some of his parishioners at St. Peter’s, Churchill and St. John’s, Cookstown, had concerns as well. They were worried that raising funds for refugees might impact Christmas givings or take away from other work that needed to be done.

As it turned out, they needn’t have worried. Not only did they raise enough money to sponsor a refugee family, they learned something about their faith as well. “We served God by not listening to fear but by focusing on hope and compassion,” says Mr. McMillan.

St. Peter’s and St. John’s have been working with the United churches in the town of Innisfil, located south of Barrie off Hwy 400, since last fall. Together they have raised about $30,000, with more coming in each month. They’ve launched a Facebook page and a Go Fund Me website so that people in the community can give and participate.

The churches have formed a support team to arrange things like housing, schooling, translation, ESL classes, job training, health care support and transportation for the family, which is due to arrive in the spring.

Mr. McMillan says the steering group has taken a low-key approach to fundraising. “We simply presented the case,” he says. “We highlighted the need and gave people an opportunity to respond. It was honest and gave people the ability to decide whether to be part of it or not.”

Some people in the wider community were critical of the plan to sponsor a refugee family, saying that relief efforts should begin at home with the underemployed or poor in the local area. It’s a comment that has been heard by other churches in the diocese.

“What we were able to say was, our churches already do those things,” says Mr. McMillan. “We have food and hamper programs that support children and families. We’d like to try to help everybody, and we do it at different times in different ways. With the refugee crisis, there are folks who have nothing. If we could all contribute just a little, it would go a long way.”

One of the most important decisions that was made early on was that St. John’s and St. Peter’s didn’t try to do it all on their own. Mr. McMillan intentionally reached out to the other churches in the area. “I said, if we do this together, it will lighten the load and we can also do a little bit of ecumenism in our own backyard in an easy and life-giving way.”

It worked. The partnership between the Anglican and United churches energized parishioners and gave them a way to help. “The hearts and minds were already there,” he says. “It just required someone to step out and lead and pull it together. I think that’s what the churches can do. We don’t have to do it all. But if we can provide some pieces and building blocks and synergy, the people in the community and the pews are wanting to do God’s work and good things.”

He says it was important that the steering group learned from others but stayed true to its own context. “We heard what other churches were doing and we tried to learn from their story but not to recreate it. We tried to incorporate some of that into our plan while at the same time adapting it to local dynamics.”

He adds: “Don’t feel you have to do it on your own. There are many people who have done it before. It’s easy to do – it just takes time and energy and resources and a willingness to be out there where God is so that we can be served as we serve.”

The post Churches set fear aside, open hearts appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

We don’t know how Christianity came to Rome. Perhaps followers of Peter made it there early in the life of the church. We date Paul’s letter to about 57 CE. We know from the writings of Suetonius, a second-century pagan historian who wrote Life of the Caesars, that the emperor Claudius expelled all of the Jews, including the Christian-Jews, from Rome in 49 CE. Paul had met two of these exiles – Aquila and Prisca, short for Priscilla – in Corinth about 50 CE, during his second missionary journey, and he greeted them in this letter.

The emperor Claudius was murdered in 54 CE, and many of the Jews and Christian-Jews made their way back to Rome following this death. Was there difficulty for these Christian-Jews integrating back into a primarily Gentile church? This would explain Paul’s emphasis on God’s plan for the redemption of Israel (Romans 9-11).

This letter is undoubtedly Paul’s most important work. His mission in the area of the Aegean was coming to a close, as he neared the end of the third missionary journey. He planned to visit Rome on his way to Spain. He was actually hoping to establish a mission base in Rome for the conversion of the western end of the empire. His plan did not quite work out. He was arrested in Jerusalem and arrived in Rome a couple of years later as a prisoner in chains.

It is possible that Paul made it to Spain. It is one of those mysteries of the early church that may never be resolved. If we accept the possibility of a second imprisonment for Paul, he may well have made his way to Spain, writing the pastoral epistles to Timothy and Titus on his way there. We will discuss this concept further when we look at his pastoral epistles. Paul was executed in Rome during the Neronian persecutions about 67 CE.

In the Epistle to the Romans, Paul takes great pains to explain his understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Roman Christians. This letter becomes his treatise on the faith. Remember, Paul is not sitting down at his laptop, trying to polish every word. He is dictating to a scribe, pouring out his thoughts and trying to keep them in an orderly fashion. The scribe for his letter is mentioned in Romans 16:22. His name is Tertius. He manages to insert a small personal greeting into the letter.

The theme of this great epistle is found in Romans 1:16-17. It is God’s plan for salvation for the Jew first and then for the whole world, and God’s righteousness for all people. Paul outlines his doctrines on “justification by faith,” unity, the Holy Spirit, baptism, sin, salvation, grace, death, and resurrection. We will look at some of these theological topics from Paul in the months ahead.

Throughout history, this epistle has been used by scholars such as Martin Luther, especially chapters one to eight, which contain Paul’s explicit teaching on justification by faith. Calvin focussed on chapters nine to eleven, which are about Paul’s teaching on divine predestination. A more modern recovery of classical rhetoric has helped scholars to see the entire epistle as a single rhetorical argument, with each section of the letter serving a different function. We will attempt to discuss some of these issues in future articles.

Please take time to read through this epistle and contemplate the meaning of Paul’s words for you in this 21^st century. It will be quite a dialogue!

The post Paul writes to the Romans appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

A member of St. George on Yonge, Toronto, Mr. Wynter has been one of the church’s leaders in refugee sponsorship for the past five years. “I believe it’s part of our mission as Christians,” he says.

St. George’s is part of the Don Valley Refugee Resettlers (DVRR), a group of Anglican and United churches founded in 1994. Working with AURA (the Anglican-United Refugee Alliance), the group sponsors a new family every year, supporting each family for its first year in Canada.

Over the past 21 years, the DVRR has sponsored 21 families – 65 people in total – from countries such as Colombia, Bhutan, Somalia and Croatia.

Last September, the DVRR was ready to sponsor its next family. “We specifically asked for a Syrian family because we were aware of the need in that part of the world,” says Mr. Wynter.

After submitting an application through AURA, the churches received the names of a Syrian couple and their three teenage sons. They arrived in Toronto in late January.

“It usually takes four weeks to six months from the time a name is given until they arrive in Canada. This time, it took less than two weeks,” says Mr. Wynter.

With so little time to prepare, the experience of the DVRR was more important than ever. After the family arrived, volunteers helped them set up bank accounts, find their way around the city and organize education assessment for the children, among other tasks.

St. George’s was responsible for finding and setting up a home for the family. When an apartment was unavailable on such short notice, they were welcomed into the home of a parishioner.

“We have a ton of action we put into place when we’re told we’ve been matched with a family,” says Mr. Wynter. “We request donations of furniture, kitchen utensils, all sorts of things. We always get more things than we need.”

After five years of helping with St. George’s refugee sponsorships, Mr. Wynter’s advice to other churches is clear: get involved. “Do it. Now, it’s not easy to do. But see if there’s a way you can,” he says. He recommends joining with other churches and getting in touch with AURA to find out about its resources and training.

As St. George’s latest refugee family gets settled in Canada, moments of joy are emerging amidst the practical tasks. Over the Family Day weekend, members of the DVRR and new friends gathered to celebrate one son’s sixteenth birthday.

“To take someone who’s had bullets flying at them, who’s had to flee, and put them in an apartment in Toronto – you can’t tell me this isn’t God making a miracle happen in someone’s life,” says Mr. Wynter. “To be part of that miracle is absolutely fulfilling.”

The post Group settles refugee family on short notice appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

I recently went to a local fundraiser to support TC3 (the Toronto Children’s Concert Choir), a performing arts company that has been around for about 15 years. They want to spread Gospel and inspirational music all across Ontario and give other young people an opportunity to get involved. So I thought, “Why don’t we do something here in Mississauga?” I had a conversation with some other Anglican women and they said it’s a great idea, let’s do it.

As a result, we’ve planted a little community choir for kids that meets at St. Luke’s, Dixie South. We put the word out, and in early February 12 kids from local Anglican churches came to our first practice. At our next practice, we had more. They learn Gospel and inspirational music, taught by young people from TC3. They have choir practice in the morning, then lunch, then we help them with their homework in the afternoon.

The kids and volunteers love it. What we’ve seen is kids bonding and forming community over music, food and homework. Shy kids are starting to talk because they’re making friends. The adult volunteers see that they’re needed and they’re connecting with the kids and each other. It’s an amazing coming-together of people from different churches and the community.

The best part of my job is the incredible access I have to people’s lives. People open up to you and show you their authentic self. You get a view of the fears, hopes and longings, which is really profound. Most times, I get the opportunity to invite them out from fear and, in some cases, accompany them to love and to forgive themselves as God intends.

I try to be an instrument of hope – to say, this is not the end, this does not define tomorrow, this is a bump on the way. A year from now, you might have an incredible story to tell that might offer hope to someone else.  This experience might be shaping you into the person God wants you to be. I offer folks myself – what my journey has been – and remind them that they are not in this alone. God is with us, even in the ugliest part of our life. We are being refined in ways we can’t imagine.

I came to Canada during the 1970s’ mass migrations from the Caribbean. We were the generation who were streamed by the Toronto District School Board. They had this huge influx of black kids from the Caribbean and they didn’t know what to do with us. We spoke English but not in a way that was easy to understand, so we were streamed into “English as a Second Language Dialect” classes. We were separated from the rest of the students and streamed into remedial or general level in high school, as we were not considered smart enough for university. I’m a product of that generation. That was my introduction to racism.

In Grade 9 they took me out of the general level class and put me into the advanced class. I went on to finish high school and then my undergraduate degree at Wilfrid Laurier. I spent a lot of time travelling, where I got my best education. I got a Masters degree in social work from Carleton University in Ottawa, where my daughter was born. It was at Carleton that I became a feminist and learned that liberation is at the heart of who I am.

I moved back to Toronto and was travelling along Gerrard Street one day when I saw an AME church that was offering a children’s program.  We started to go to that church, and that’s where I became a Christian. I started reading the Bible and fell in love with the liberation stories and Jesus. I wanted to lead Bible studies but somehow that was off-limits. I felt a definite gender bias and sexism that Carleton taught me to detect.  I also didn’t see women in strong leadership roles. It was a man’s world that I felt unwelcomed in, so off I went.

I met a woman at a conference, the Rev. Dr. Wenh-In Ng, who persuaded me to take a course at Emmanuel College. Wenh-In was amazing and affirming. I discovered that I was right: that the Jesus I had come to know loved women. I took one course after another and eventually ended up at Wycliffe College, in the MDiv program, part-time, while working full-time as a policy advisor on women’s issues for the Ontario government. It was around that time that I started hanging out at Anglican churches.

I finished my MDiv in 2004. It was a difficult and painful experience of invisibility and exclusion. At the end, I had a lot of healing to do. I felt supported by the Wine Before Breakfast (WBB) Community, at Wycliffe College, where I remain a member. I also had a few good friends who kept calling and enquiring. Through WBB, I started supporting my ordained classmates. One day at church, I saw my friend – a new priest – being verbally abused by a parishioner. Somehow, in that horrible moment all the fear and anxiety in me was emptied. Shortly thereafter, I applied to the diocese to be a postulant.

God used a very unpleasant moment to raise me up, but my journey and the struggle continues. The legacy and damage of colonialism is still with us. People of African descent share a parallel history of racism and exclusion with First Nations people. We still have a lot of work left to dismantle this sin from our church. The disproportionate number of ordained people of colour and their retention, especially the retention of black women as priest, is discouraging. The need to be intentional to create conditions to attract and retain diversity in leadership with cultural competency to serve the complex needs of our global congregations is urgent. In my observation, we’re building a model of church where some folks are growing in their entitlement and privilege, while others are growing in disentitlement. I believe the Gospel has called us to something radically different.

The pain of exclusion is my gift to the church. My exclusion has formed my passion for justice and inclusion, and my journey has been costly. Our churches are wonderful assets to champion justice and inclusion to benefit and affirm the least amongst us. This is the work of kingdom-building we are all enlisted in and which we affirm in our baptism. I’m not prepared to be silent, invisible and uphold the status quo. My curacy at St. Hilary’s ends on April 30. Five years from now, I hope to continue to live out my baptismal covenant and follow Jesus. I look forward to being part of a church that welcomes, celebrates and nurtures the rich and wonderful diversity that God has given us.

My favourite passage from scripture is John 15:16: “You did not choose me, but I have chosen you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” It’s wonderful and exciting that we are all called as equals, chosen as equals, and appointed as equals by God for this incredible mission to go and bear fruit that is sustainable. It’s also wonderful to be reminded that we are not called to do this alone, that God is with us every step of the way.

The post I fell in love with the liberation stories appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Area Resource Fund Grants

Trent-Durham, Ascension, Port Perry 5,000
Trent-Durham, St. George, Pickering Village 900
Trent-Durham, St. John, Peterborough 662
York-Credit Valley, Good Shepherd, Mount Dennis 1,000
York-Credit Valley, Holy Cross Priory 1,016
York-Credit Valley, St. John, Weston 3,400
York-Credit Valley, St. Mary & St. Martha 5,000
York-Scarborough, St. David, Donlands 10,000
York-Scarborough, San Lorenzo, Ruiz 600
York-Simcoe, Christ Church, Waubaushene 2,000
York-Simcoe, St. Margaret, Barrie 10,000

TOTAL $ 39,578

Baker Fund Grants

Trent-Durham, St. James, Fenelon Falls 4,750
Trent-Durham, St. Paul, Lindsay 2,424
Trent-Durham, St. Paul, Minden 2,050
York-Scarborough, St. Bede 4,000
York-Scarborough, St. Nicholas, Birch Cliff 22,730
York-Scarborough, St. Peter, Carlton 10,000
York-Credit Valley, St. Philip, Etobicoke 25,000
York-Simcoe, Prince of Peace, Wasaga Beach 750

TOTAL $ 71,704

Carleton Fund Grants

Trent-Durham, St. Paul, Brighton 1,140
Trent-Durham, St. Peter, Oshawa 4,225
Trent-Durham, St. Thomas, Brooklin 7,035
York-Credit Valley, Christ the King 10,000
York-Credit Valley, Church of South India 8,000
York-Credit Valley, St. James the Apostle, Brampton 7,300
York-Credit Valley, St. Mary Magdalene 12,000
York-Credit Valley, St. Matthew, Islington 12,000
York-Simcoe, Parish of Churchill & Cookstown 7,000
York-Simcoe, Parish of Craighurst & Midhurst 1,808
York-Simcoe, St. John, East Orangeville 5,000

TOTAL $ 75,508

Curacy Grants

York-Credit Valley, All Saints, Kingsway 7,500
York-Credit Valley, Epiphany & St. Mark, Parkdale 30,000*
York-Credit Valley, St. Bride, Clarkson 7,000
York-Credit Valley, St. George on-the-Hill 25,000
York-Credit Valley, St. Hilary, Cooksville 14,000
York-Credit Valley, St. Martin in-the-Fields 12,800
York-Scarborough, Christ Church, Deer Park 40,000*
York-Scarborough, Grace Church on-the-Hill *30,000
York-Scarborough, Redeemer, Bloor Street 10,000
York-Scarborough, San Lorenzo, Ruiz 10,000
York-Scarborough, St. Andrew, Scarborough 25,000
York-Scarborough, St. Cuthbert, Leaside 40,000*
York-Scarborough, St. George on Yonge 25,000
York-Scarborough, St. James Cathedral 40,000*
York-Scarborough, St. John, York Mills 40,000*
York-Scarborough, St. Jude, Wexford 30,000

TOTAL $ 386,300

Ministry Allocation Fund Grants

Congregational Growth

Trent-Durham, St. Peter, Cobourg 46,000
York-Scarborough, Transfiguration 213,815
York-Simcoe, Maple Church Plant 132,051

Subtotal $ 391,866

Mandarin Ministry

York-Scarborough, St. James Cathedral 30,000
York-Simcoe, St. Philip on-the-Hill 60,000

Subtotal $ 90,000

New or Innovative Forms of Ministry

Youth Ministry Apprenticeship Program 60,500

Subtotal $ 60,500

Reach Grants

Trent-Durham, Christ Memorial, Oshawa 3,600
Trent-Durham, St. Barnabas, Peterborough 4,700
Trent-Durham, St. John, Whitby 3,000
York-Credit Valley, St. Mary Magdalene 3,535
York-Credit Valley, Area Council – Kenyan Ministry 5,500
York-Scarborough, St. Bartholomew 5,132
York-Scarborough, St. Matthew, First Avenue 3,300

Subtotal $ 28,767

Real Estate

York-Credit Valley, St. Elizabeth, Mississauga 300,000
York-Credit Valley, St. Philip, Etobicoke 1,100,000

Subtotal $ 1,400,000

Stretch Grants

York-Credit Valley, St. Philip, Etobicoke 5,430
York-Scarborough, St. Nicholas, Birch Cliff 20,000

Subtotal $ 25,430

TOTAL $ 1,996,563

Ministry Development Grants

Trent-Durham, Ascension, Port Perry 11,000
Trent-Durham, Parish of Belmont 3,000
Trent-Durham, St. John, Blackstock 3,000
Trent-Durham, St. Peter, Cobourg 7,000
Trent-Durham, Victoria Haliburton Deanery 13,250
York-Credit Valley, All Saints, Kingsway 1,000
York-Credit Valley, Christ Church St. James 2,500
York-Credit Valley, San Lorenzo, Dufferin 10,000
York-Credit Valley, St. Elizabeth, Mississauga 1,500
York-Credit Valley, St. Hugh & St. Edmund 750
York-Credit Valley, St. Joseph of Nazareth 2,000
York-Credit Valley, St. Martin in-the-Fields 800
York-Credit Valley, St. Mary Magdalene 800
York-Credit Valley, St. Michael and All Angels 5,000
York-Credit Valley, St. Peter, Erindale 500
York-Credit Valley, St. Philip, Etobicoke 3,000
York-Credit Valley, St. Stephen in-the-Fields 250
York-Credit Valley, St. Stephen, Downsview 5,000
York-Scarborough, Our Saviour 250
York-Scarborough, St. James Cathedral 10,000
York-Scarborough, St. John, Willowdale 8,000
York-Scarborough, St. John, York Mills 4,000
York-Scarborough, St. Matthew, First Avenue 10,000
York-Scarborough, St. Peter, Carlton Street 7,000
York –Simcoe, Emmanuel, Richvale 5,000
York –Simcoe, Huronia Cluster Ministry 18,000
York –Simcoe, Parish of Lloydtown 17,000
York –Simcoe, St. Margaret, Barrie 15,000
York –Simcoe, St. Paul, Keswick 15,000
York –Simcoe, St. Paul, Newmarket 10,000

TOTAL $ 189,600

Our Faith-Our Hope: Re-Imagine Church

Communicating in a Wireless World

Trent-Durham, St. George, Grafton 12,000
Trent-Durham, St. Paul, Brighton 12,800
Trent-Durham, St. Thomas, Brooklin 23,052
York-Credit Valley, All Saints, Kingsway 50,000
York-Credit Valley, St. Joseph of Nazareth, Bramalea 20,000
York-Credit Valley, St. Thomas a Becket 30,000
York-Scarborough, St. Bede 13,500
York-Scarborough, St. Matthew the Apostle, Oriole 25,000
York-Scarborough, St. Saviour, Toronto 8,475
York-Simcoe, Grace Church, Markham 25,000
York-Simcoe, Huronia Cluster Ministry 5,000
York-Simcoe, St. Andrew, Alliston 30,000
York-Simcoe, St. Mark, Midland 27,015
York-Simcoe, St. Paul, Innisfil 22,750

Subtotal $ 304,592

Pioneering Ministry

York-Scarborough, St. Paul, L’Amoureux 60,000
York-Scarborough, Sisterhood of St. John the Divine 100,000

Subtotal $ 160,000

Revitalizing Our Inheritance – Enabling Parishes to Become Multi-Staffed

York-Credit Valley, Holy Family, Heart Lake & St. Joseph of Nazareth, Bramalea 32,800
York-Credit Valley, St. Elizabeth, Mississauga 75,000

Subtotal $ 107,800

Revitalizing Our Inheritance – Adaptive Reuse of Parish Facilities

Trent-Durham, St. George Memorial, Oshawa 35,000
Trent-Durham, St. George, Grafton 145,000
Trent-Durham, St. Paul, Minden 257,640
York-Credit Valley, St. Anne, Toronto 225,000
York-Scarborough, St. Andrew, Scarborough 40,000

Subtotal $ 702,640

TOTAL $ 1,275,032

GRAND TOTAL $ 4,034,285

*From the York Rectors Fund.

Grant definitions

Area Resource Fund Grants are available to address ministry needs. Grants are considered by the area bishop and Area Council. Baker Foundation Grants are for the building of or additions to existing Sunday Schools.

Carleton Fund Grants are for repairs or renovations to rectories occupied by clergy.

Curacy Grants support curacies in parishes.

Ministry Allocation Fund Grants are provided for real estate purposes, congregational growth and ministry resources and creating new forms of ministry.

Ministry Development Grants, part of the episcopal area budgets, are for projects and programs that will promote growth in faith and collaboration among area Anglicans to help equip the saints for ministry.

Our Faith-Our Hope: Re-Imagine Church Grants provide financial resources to renew, reimagine, and revitalize the church of tomorrow.

For more information on these and other grants, visit the diocese’s website, www.toronto.anglican.ca and search for “grants and funding.”

The post Grants to parishes total $4 million appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

But Paul had to do something about his most recent discovery about Useful. He knew that Useful was a runaway slave and that he had stolen money from his master. But what were the chances, as he had discovered just the previous week, that Useful’s master was none other than Philemon, one of a group of people whose dramatic conversion in Colossae was still vivid in Paul’s memory? According to Roman law, receiving service from Useful amounted to being in possession of stolen property. Paul knew very well that the whole Roman economy, in fact Roman society itself, was based on slavery. Even a good and kind master might feel a duty to punish a runaway slave. In conversation, Paul and Useful had agreed that Useful had to go back and face his master. It was a difficult decision, because neither of them knew what fate would await him: there was no limit to the punishment meted out to a recaptured slave. The decision to return was a real test of moral courage as well as trust in the providence of God. Paul decided to ask Philemon to do something as difficult as a slave returning to his master: to voluntarily release Useful from slavery into Christian service, despite the scandal it would cause in his circle. Paul would have gone himself if it were not for his imprisonment.

Writing the letter was difficult. It was not simply a matter of being tactful. Paul had to get his thinking right. Did he have any spiritual ground to ask Philemon to do this, other than kindness or friendship? What was the real relationship between a slave and his master? It was clear in Roman law and custom: the master is the lord of the slave; he has absolute control over slaves and is entitled to absolute obedience. He owns them. But Jesus changed all of that. Paul remembered Useful and his friends, runaway slaves all, some seething with anger over their treatment, some beaten down by a script of worthlessness. Paul remembered telling them of Jesus, who also suffered at the hands of the powerful but was in fact the real Lord of the world, above any earthly master, above Caesar himself. The miracle of Easter confirmed that, as well as the implication for the future of the whole human race. Jesus as the world’s rightful Lord is worthy of service and obedience, but also love. This Lord is at the same time friend and advocate. Yes, he will remind Philemon that when we call Jesus Lord, which is a confession at every baptism, all human dominance becomes relative.

Two thousand years later, I sat in a worship service uneasily, and not for the first time. The liturgy is familiar yet strangely alien. Every reference to God, it seems, has been scrubbed clean of the language of power. Jesus is a friend, a lover, a companion, but never Lord. God is creative and caring, but not almighty. The word “Lord” has been meticulously scrubbed from prayer and hymns. What is at the heart of that?

People tell me that they find these references oppressive. Like “father” and masculine language, they remind them of people, sometimes priests and bishops, who applied the language of lordship to themselves and exercised dominance over them. I do not doubt that it can happen and has happened. Let me be clear that this kind of human arrogation is wrong and blasphemous. To the extant religious language contributed to that, I am all for enriching it with other biblical images of God like friend, mother, wisdom, comforter, saviour and hope. The wonderful beauty of One who is God emptying Himself to become a slave, and the powerful paradox, ought to be reflected in our songs and our prayers. But I also think that a lot is lost if we do not also rehearse within ourselves that there is One Lord and One God, and to this God belongs our future. God has the right to be heeded and, yes, obeyed.

Martin Luther posed a paradox about the freedom of the Christian. A Christian, he said, is the most free lord of all, and subject to no one. We borrow, as it were, the Lordship of Christ and are liberated from all human oppression. Sometimes we need to lean on that. Millions of people who are today enslaved, oppressed, persecuted and powerless need to hear and own their identity in Christ: they are princes and princesses of the universe. But Luther also said that a Christian is also the most dutiful servant of all and subject to everyone for Christ’s sake. Most times, especially for the privileged – the Philemons of today – we need to heed – no, submit – to each other precisely because Jesus is our Lord.

So I implore those of you who have power over liturgy to stay this language-cleansing of the authorized liturgy. I know that in most parishes it involves more than the priest. I am not directing you as a bishop, but pleading with you as an amateur theologian, to deal with misunderstanding about Lordship language in worship not by eliminating it but to teach about it. Teach about this paradox, this multi-faceted relationship we have with God who is incarnate in Jesus, the Lord who became a slave for us, so we can gladly confess with the apostles “Jesus is Lord.” It seems an appropriate thing to do in Eastertide, because if Jesus is not Lord, who is?

*”Useful” is a literal translation of “Onesimus.” The name of a slave was derived from his utility to a master.

The post Jesus is Lord appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Currently, the big “other” are refugees. Many of us have a big case of “stranger danger.” We are worried about what they are going to do when they get here. What if they are really terrorists in disguise? What if they come for my job?  What if they come and live off my tax money? The “what ifs” are endless. What it boils down to is that we are scared. That is okay: admitting our fear allows us to deal with it. What makes fear dangerous is when we mask it behind other things. Instead of admitting that we are scared of the unknown, we pretend that our reluctance to invite refugees with open arms has a higher motivation.

I oversee a ministry that provides shelter for the most vulnerable people in Peterborough – people who find themselves homeless. Out of nowhere, I have found myself pulled into the debate about welcoming refugees. People state, “How can we welcome in refugees when we have so many of our own living in the streets? We can’t welcome people from other countries until we have looked after our own!”

Now, I am always happy when people want to do more to help house our homeless friends. But the remarkable thing is, until we started welcoming refugees, my homeless friends were the “other.” They were the ones we were worried about living off our tax money, living in our neighbourhoods and bringing down our house values.

I’ve sought out some of my friends who are actively involved in fighting homelessness, and I haven’t found many of them saying such things about refugees. Most of us feel that the increase in church and community groups engaging in refugee relocation has opened up conversations we have been trying to have for a long time. People who are working with refugee families are now saying to us, “Did you know people on Ontario Works receive so little money? How can anyone live on this? Did you know that there is barely any well-kept, affordable housing out there?” The more people realize that our systems of support are inadequate, the better it will be for both our homeless and our refugee sisters and brothers; it is not an either/or situation, but rather a both/and.

Looking at scripture, I find it really hard to argue that we should serve one person in need before another. When Jesus tried to present this argument to the Canaanite Woman, she bested him (where the religious elite were unable) and Jesus ended up healing her daughter. The question isn’t who deserves our hospitality, but rather how do we create a nation that is hospitable to all? How can the church lead the charge in caring for both those who find themselves homeless in our backyard and homeless on the other side of the globe? How can the church be a model of how communities can move from fear of the other to embrace of the other? The big question is not to whom we should show love but how do we love all?

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Primates’ gathering

Our Primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, has given a fulsome report of the gathering of Primates that he attended, in addition to the communique from that meeting and the press conference given by the Archbishop of Canterbury and some other Primates. These are available at www.primates2016.org and www.anglican.ca. Many have found these documents distressing, either because they think the Primates have gone too far in their authority and conclusions or, alternatively, that they have not gone far enough.

The Primates of the Anglican Communion are official representatives of their churches. They hold a moral authority but not jurisdiction. We are autonomous churches within a communion of churches that are independent, interdependent and mutually accountable. That means, I think, we need to take the Primates’ opinions into consideration as we make decisions in our own Province, and about how the proposed change affects relationships within the Communion and ecumenically. It is one factor, though not a definitive one, in coming to our own conclusions.

The Instruments of Communion (Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ gathering) are just that: “instruments” in maintaining and nurturing relationship and communion, not binding legislative bodies. Note the terms within the names: “consultative,” “conference,” “gathering.”

There is no easily defined magisterium in Anglican polity. The teaching authority is diverse and diffused. This is confusing, frustrating, delighting, challenging, and distinctively Anglican. And it means that there is considerable room for nuance and ambiguity within Anglicanism, even on important issues. That does not mean that anything goes, but it does mean that the boundaries are generous, particularly in pastoral matters.

The Diocese of Toronto shares in that diversity. The full range of theological, liturgical and political opinion is expressed in this Diocese, including on the subject of same-sex unions and marriages. The recent Primates’ statement does not change this.

The majority at the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada in 2004 approved a resolution affirming the integrity and sanctity of monogamous adult same-sex unions. The overwhelming majority of our Diocesan Synod agreed later that same year, even as it narrowly rejected formally blessing those unions. In 2011, by consensus, our Synod supported a pastoral approach to allow such blessings in some circumstances. Our process was adopted by General Synod in 2012, which in the absence of consensus across the church on blessings, asked for the most generous pastoral responses. To be clear, the debate was about blessing of same-sex unions but not marriage of same-sex couples.

Changing the Canon on Marriage

The Canon on Marriage is a canon of the national church and does not come under the purview of a diocesan Synod. General Synod 2013 required that a motion to change the Canon on Marriage to accommodate same-sex marriage be brought to the next General Synod in 2016. That resolution also asked that the Council of General Synod respond to a number of questions to support this.

The Commission on the Marriage Canon, established by the Council of General Synod (CoGS), produced a fine and succinct report that is a significant contribution to the debate both in Canada and more broadly. It also suggested some intriguing possibilities. It is worth study.

As required, a proposed motion was drafted. The Constitution of General Synod requires that this motion be approved by a two-thirds majority in each of the three Orders. If there is approval at First Reading, the resolution is then sent for consideration by the Synods of each of the four Ecclesiastical Provinces and the Synods of each of the 30 dioceses over the next three years. Then in General Synod 2019, the Second Reading of the motion with any amendments requires a two-third affirmative vote in each of the three Orders in order to become effective in January 2020.

House of Bishops’ statement

The Canadian House of Bishops met in February to continue its study of the proposed change to the Marriage Canon to include same-sex couples. We did not vote for or against the motion, nor did we ask that the Council of General Synod withdraw the motion. The bishops were not exercising a legislative function – that takes place in General Synod – but our pastoral and teaching responsibilities. Accordingly, we expressed concern that a legislative process may not be the most helpful way of dealing with this matter.

As bishops, our ordination vows compel us to guard the doctrine, discipline and unity of the church, both within the diocese and in the national and international church. We have “the care of all the churches” before, during and after Synod.

The bishops’ communication to the Council of General Synod and to the church is not a direction to any of the Orders of General Synod to vote in a particular way. Furthermore, it implicitly states that the Order of Bishops will not vote as a block at General Synod, but rather individually, like all the other members of Synod, as they feel led by the debate and the Spirit. There is considerable diversity of opinion in the House and there is no unity of discernment or a common mind theologically that we can achieve at this time.

The communication also observed that we did not think it likely that this draft motion would succeed in achieving a two-thirds majority in the Order of Bishops when the vote takes place. We believe that this is a fact, regrettable for many, including myself, but one that needs to be reported to CoGS and taken into consideration when the process for the discussion at General Synod is being developed. I think that communicating this was the right thing to do in the interests of being honest, transparent and realistic.

This does not take the issue off the table – even those most opposed to same-sex marriage recognize that. It does suggest that we need to be realistic about expectations and that we need to consider creative alternatives to the “all eggs in one basket” approach. Unlikely as it may be that some bishops will change their minds and the motion will pass, that does not preclude different results with amendments or alternative motions.

Finally, one of the truly significant points in the communication was that, in spite of these differences, all of the bishops pledged to participate in ongoing discussions with members of the church and all continued daily to share in Holy Communion together, a powerful sacramental sign of community. This has not always been the case in the past and is not the situation internationally. Unity does not require uniformity, nor is it the only goal, but it is one of the charisms of episcopal ministry and a good for which Jesus prayed, and it must be a factor in any decision.

Where does this leave the Diocese of Toronto? The current practice of the Diocese of Toronto has not changed with the recent statements:

• Clergy and parishes, after full discussion and by consensus agreement, may apply to me for authorization to offer blessings of committed same-sex unions. The guidelines for that are found on the diocesan website, www.toronto.anglican.ca, under “Same Gender Blessings.” Fifteen parishes and two schools have received my formal permission.
• We recognize that some of our clergy and postulants are openly partnered or in civil same-sex marriages. They are a valuable part of our clerical family.  They are, or will be available for placement, in parishes that will affirm this.
• There is, and will continue to be, a significant place for both clergy and laity who do not support these decisions. This includes placement in parishes large and small, membership on decision-making bodies like Diocesan Council, and representation on policy and administrative groups.

Times of discernment are always difficult. There are those who know with total certainty which direction the Holy Spirit is leading – unfortunately not all of them agree on which direction that is! Most of us will continue to pray and ponder, study, and listen to each other and to the Spirit as we seek to determine in our time, the mind and wisdom of Christ, who continues as head of the church, his body.

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“I literally felt as if the Holy Spirit kicked me in the butt and said, ‘Finish that coffee, get back in your car – you need to start doing this right now,’” recalls Ms. Climo, a Lutheran cleric who is the incumbent pastor of Holy Spirit of Peace, the diocese’s newest Anglican-Lutheran church.

The story began several months earlier, when Peace Lutheran Church, located at the Square One shopping mall in Mississauga, was told by management that its lease would not be renewed and it had six months to find another home. The church had been located in the mall for 37 years.

“It was quite a shock to the system for everybody,” says Ms. Climo. “It was the only home we had ever known and it was a really traumatic experience to all of a sudden be homeless.”

Unable to afford space in local strip malls or light industrial areas, the church turned to nearby Anglican churches. The Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, of which Peace Lutheran belonged, are in full communion with each other.

But approaching every Anglican church for space was a daunting prospect. “To be perfectly honest, I was dreading it because we had such a tale of woe and I really didn’t feel it could be done on the telephone,” says Ms. Climo. “I had visions of having to visit every Anglican parish in Mississauga and tell the story over and over again. I wasn’t looking forward to it.”

Then came the morning at Cora’s and the not-so-subtle push by the Holy Spirit. Still reluctant, she got into her car and drove to the nearest Anglican church – St. Hilary’s. She asked to speak to the incumbent, the Rev. Canon Paul J. Walker, but was told that he was at a clericus meeting – a gathering of all the Anglican clergy in Mississauga.

Ms. Climo couldn’t believe her luck. “It still gives me goosebumps when I think about it,” she says. She drove to the meeting – at St. Thomas a Becket – and met all the clergy. At the end of the meeting, she explained Peace Lutheran’s circumstances.

One of the priests who listened to her was the Rev. Judith Alltree, the incumbent of Holy Spirit at the time, a small Anglican church in eastern Mississauga that was facing financial difficulties and struggling to find ways to use its space more effectively.

Ms. Alltree hadn’t planned to go to the meeting that day because she was feeling despondent over how things were going at her church. Another priest had persuaded her to go – a pivotal moment, as it turns out.

Ms. Alltree introduced herself to Ms. Climo at the end of the meeting and the two women started talking about their churches. They agreed to meet again the next day. The conversation lasted for three hours. “We realized it was an absolutely perfect mix, a perfect blend for the two congregations,” says Ms. Climo. “It was going to meet needs on both sides and create some really exciting opportunities.”

Right from the beginning, both women thought their congregations should be one some day. “We didn’t know how that was going to happen or how we could move that along, but we were excited about being part of it,” she says.

The congregations were enthusiastic, too. “There was just enormous grace from all the people here at Holy Spirit,” she says. “They welcomed in the people of Peace very graciously at a time that was really difficult – mourning the loss of their home.”

Ms. Alltree went on to become the director of the Missions to Seafarers, based in Toronto, and Bishop Philip Poole, the area bishop of York-Credit Valley, asked Ms. Climo to step in as the interim priest-in-charge of both congregations. They worshipped together over the summer – their first attempt to get to know each other’s worship styles and traditions.

The Ven. Stephen Nduati, a priest from Kenya who was studying at Wycliffe College, led the Anglican congregation through the fall and winter of 2012-13. In the spring, Ms. Climo was re-appointed as interim priest-in-charge of both congregations. She led separate Anglican and Lutheran services to start, shifting to joint worship services during the summer, then prepared to go back to separate services in the fall. That’s when the story took another turn.

“We were about to go back to the same routine when a member of the Anglican community reached out to me and said a few of us were talking and we really liked worshipping together. Couldn’t we just keep doing that? That was music to my ears.”

With Bishop Poole’s blessing and guidance, the congregations explored a full merger. In February of 2015, both vestries voted unanimously in favour of it. “That was just so energizing and beautiful,” says Ms. Climo. “The place just erupted – people hugging each other. It was a really joyful moment.”

The merger was formalized at a service at the church on Feb. 28. Bishop Poole and Bishop Michael Pryse of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada signed the agreement and Ms. Climo was installed as incumbent pastor. The church’s name officially became Holy Spirit of Peace and the two congregations became one. The service drew a large crowd that included clergy, dignitaries and other church groups.

“Susan has done a brilliant job of bringing these two congregations together,” said Bishop Poole afterwards. “I’m also proud of the congregations for their vision and willingness to work together. They’re a good witness of what our Lord prayed for – that we would be one.”

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In a letter to the clergy of York-Credit Valley on March 3, Bishop Poole said he will be retiring on Sept. 30, 2016.

His letter is as follows:

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Today, during the Lenten retreat held at SSJD (Sisterhood of St. John the Divine), I informed those gathered that earlier this week I offered to the Archbishop of Toronto my resignation for the purpose of retiring effective Sept. 30, 2016.

I did so with profound gratitude to God for the privilege afforded me in being Bishop Suffragan in the Diocese of Toronto since February 2005.

Whenever the opportunity affords itself, I share with others how blessed I am to serve with so many faithful, competent, creative and effective parish clergy, priests and deacons, labouring together for good in the name of Jesus Christ. I have been so proud of you and your people in what I believe to be the most diverse area in the Anglican Church in Canada as we seek to be the best version of the Anglican expression of Christianity we can be in a challenging societal context.

I acknowledge with gratitude the great support of Arleane Ralph, my staff in York-Credit Valley, the staff in the Diocesan Center, the chancellors and certainly my colleagues around the College of Bishops’ table. Of course it has been a special and unique joy to have served episcopally with my long-time friend and our much-loved Archbishop, Colin Johnson.

I do not plan to retire from ministry, and after a period of time for rest, relaxation and reflection I have offered myself to the Archbishop in whatever way I might usefully serve our beloved church.

I wanted you to know as soon as possible. News like this has a way of spreading quickly and I hope to be the one to tell you first!

May God be with you as we continue our journey through Lent to the foot of the cross and the empty tomb.

Your friend and Bishop,

The Right Reverend M. Philip Poole

Bishop Suffragan Diocese of Toronto
Area Bishop York-Credit Valley

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