The Common Table Farm is an urban farm project of Flemingdon Park Ministry in Toronto. We grow and distribute fresh produce in Flemingdon Park, and our work is part of a broader movement working towards food justice in our city. The pandemic has exacerbated systemic injustices that impact communities like Flemingdon Park. With the urgency of these social issues, it may not be immediately apparent why we should take time and space on the farm for also planting milkweed and flowering shrubs, as we have in the past two seasons. But when it comes down to it, it’s not the farm team who is feeding the community – it’s the bees. Without these little guys travelling amongst the flowers, vegetable production would not be possible. Their work integrates with that of the worms and microorganisms in the soil, who create the nutrient-rich conditions for our plants to grow and bear fruit.

As a member of the farm team, I’m just one of many participants in this local food (eco)system that feeds upwards of 150 families each season. I love that this incredible web of life calls me to join in this work together. This really is a community affair! There are human counterparts as well: our team is solid each year, and I could not keep up my motivation all season long without the enthusiasm brought by our volunteers.

I confess that on many days, in the busyness of trying to stay on top of tasks, I can forget the sacred and interdependent nature of this work. Thankfully, at just those times, a lance of sunlight through the maple trees may slow me down, inviting me to take a breath and remember. We are physically embedded in the world, although many of us forget this basic truth. Working on the farm is a vocation involving muscles, breath and observation of the land. This kind of work roots the farmer in place. Nicola Creegan, a theologian based in New Zealand, observes: “We live within this life and not on top of it, though we have come to think of ourselves as living on the world rather than within it.” Living within this life – not above it – is transformative. We are brought home to ourselves, as creatures that need air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat. I have the privilege of holding soil in my hands on a regular basis, and that contact reminds me of how we daily depend upon on soil.

As a farmer, I also have the joy of handling many different kinds of seeds. We save seed at the Common Table for self-sustainability and continuity from season to season. The practice of seed-keeping is deeply spiritual in many communities. Seeds are the source of each year’s sustenance; they are also keepers of ancestral knowledge and familial history. Seeds are tied to the sovereignty and cultural integrity of nations and groups, holding connections to land and community. At this time of year, the farm’s season begins with seeds. Like the bees, these tiny beings hold power that is often overlooked. We fill trays with soil and carefully seed them. The small pockets of earth are watered daily and watched for signs of life. Each variety of seed has its own timing. Lettuce takes no time at all to make its appearance. Other seeds take a week – or even two – before sprouts emerge.

Every spring, I’m held in thrall by this process. I know what is going to happen. And yet, the physical experience – of planting, waiting expectantly, worrying about germination, and then being surprised by the force of life – never fails to delight. Tiny seedlings poke through soil and reach for light. They unfold their leaves, ready to begin their work. It won’t be long before they’re transplanted into the ground. There they’ll greet the bees, and our summer work together will begin in earnest.

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For some years, Laura MacNewman had been deepening her faith life by reading the sermons of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a 12th century Cistercian abbot. His sermons and theological reflections give readers an insight into the monastic life and his spirituality through a variety of topics.

Ms. MacNewman, an Episcopalian who lives in Michigan, enjoyed reading and reflecting on the sermons, but then felt the need to go further. “I thought it would be good to let go of them for a while and live it out,” she recalls.

Her spiritual advisor suggested a program offered by the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine (SSJD), an Anglican religious order that has its convent in Toronto. The Companions program gives women an opportunity to live at the convent for 11 months, living and working alongside the Sisters to develop a rhythm of life that includes private and public prayer and service to others.

Ms. MacNewman was interested in the program, but with two children at home and the COVID-19 pandemic raging, going to Canada wasn’t possible.

Fortunately, there was another option. The Companions program was being offered online.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the program suspended its in-person component and started an online version, continuing to provide a spiritual lifeline to women anywhere in the world. (The SSJD hopes to start up the in-person component again this year.)

“We wanted to provide an online space for women to come and join together,” explains Shannon Frank-Epp, the program’s coordinator. “With the online program, the idea is to help women live a Benedictine balance within everyday life – their work life, family life, school life, whatever life looks like for them.”

The online program is 11 months long and requires a minimum commitment of 10 hours a week. Participants need their own computer and a good Internet connection.

The program involves community gatherings, private and communal prayer time and course reading. On Sunday evenings, the companions are invited to join the Sisters’ livestreamed service of Evening Prayer. Once a week, the companions are paired up to pray at a deeper level for needs in their lives and in the world. They also gather with a mentor to talk about self-knowledge, different prayers, the history of the monastic life and how to take the rule of Benedict into the modern world.

There are currently seven women in the online program, from Canada, the United States and Panama. They come from different denominations and walks of life.

For Elizabeth Chan of Toronto, the program was a chance to deepen her spiritual life. “Last year I retired, and I thought, `Okay, now there’s no excuse not to read the Bible.’ I wanted to deepen my walk with God and deepen my faith.”

A member of the evangelical Alliance Church in Toronto, she had visited St. John’s Convent before for spiritual retreats and had enjoyed the experience. One day she saw a notice for the Companions program in the SSJD’s newsletter and decided to apply.

“I thought it might be a great opportunity to learn more and be in the community, where we can encourage each other and walk alongside each other and seek God more,” she says.

Although she would have preferred to attend the program in-person, she is happy to have done it online, and has found that her prayer life has deepened as a result.  

“When we pray the psalms, we go through the different seasons and different experiences in life,” she says. “The words really help me and enrich my prayer life.”

She recommends the program to others. “Give yourself a chance to put down everything and make seeking God the main thing in your life.”

Ms. MacNewman is also glad she took the program. “It’s been wonderful to learn from the Sisters but also from the other participants in the group. It’s a big time commitment, which is often difficult to manage with the kids, but I am enjoying it. I’ve learned new things but also the same things in a different way – coming back to something and finding something new in it.”

The Companions program – both in-person and online – will be offered this year, starting in September. The cost is $100 per month for the in-person component and $50 per month for the online version. Financial assistance is available. The application deadline is May 15. To apply, visit the SSJD website, www.ssjd.ca.

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The Church of the Nativity, Malvern celebrates its 20th anniversary on Sewells Road in Toronto with an in-person and livestream service on March 6. From top: a video shows the late Bishop Michael Bedford-Jones, assisted by the Rev. Dr. Sonia Hinds, dedicating the church in 2002; the procession; parishioner Arienne Johnson, ODT, presents a history of the church; the church stands as a beacon of faith in the Malvern community.

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Parishioners of St. Michael and All Angels in Toronto take part in the Coldest Night of the Year walk on Feb. 26, raising more than $16,000 for local charities and the church’s outreach ministries, which have seen an increase in demand of 300 per cent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Rummage sales have always had a significant role in the life of the church. Not only does a sale draw the neighbouring community in to the building, but it provides a weekly connection for the volunteers who run the rummage sale. Some who live alone don’t see other people from one sorting day to the next. For those who give less financially, their contribution of time and care is helpful to the operation of the church. Those with great organizational and creative skills contribute and shape the sale.

On April 23, Christ Church will highlight the “reuse, recycle” focus of Earth Week by doing just that ± providing an opportunity for good clothing, shoes, costume jewellery and accessories to be purchased and reused and recycled. The sale will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The church is located at 1570 Yonge Street in Toronto, one stoplight north of St. Clair Avenue.

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Marlene Hayes, clothesline coordinator, said, “We had it all figured out. On the line we would hang hats, mitts and scarfs for those in need during our cold winter months. It came to our attention from one of our parishioners, Jim Somerville, who volunteers at the ministerial food bank, that there was also a great need for men’s socks, so they too were added to our list.”

It wasn’t long before the church had a wonderful selection of donated warm winter wear. Not only did the items come from parishioners, but also from others in this caring community.

The first part of the project was to get a clothesline. Bill Gaddows, an innovative parishioner of all trades, put three poles in the ground and strung up some leftover clothesline. Some clothes pegs arrived just in time.

A group of women got together at the beginning of November and bagged all the donated articles. They bought Ziploc freezer bags that would keep out the snow and rain. They were able to assemble 100 bags and still continued making them as more articles arrived.

The clothesline’s “start up” day would be the beginning of Advent and it would finish on Ash Wednesday.

The big day arrived and the church was ready! Thirty bags were hung on the line and replenished as needed at least twice a week by the clothesline keepers. By the end of January, the church had given out over 150 bags. Donations poured into the church from the community, as people wanted to help the less fortunate in town.

“It has been a wonderful outreach project for all of us at the Prince of Peace as we all share our talents with those who need our help including,” says Marlene Hayes. “Thanks goes to the fantastic knitters and those who crochet, those who packed all the bags, shovelled the snow to get to the bags, bought our much needed socks and the many others who have helped.”

Submitted by Prince of Peach, Wasaga Beach

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The ecclesiastical province has done its best to adapt amidst two years of constant change. Archbishop Anne Germond and the bishops of the province’s seven dioceses met virtually with increasing frequency to take on the ever-changing challenges presented by the pandemic. The executive officers of the dioceses continued to work at streamlining resources. Work that was going on before the pandemic continued, with demands increasing as the weeks of restrictions turned into months and then years. 

Along with the growing ministry workload, the issue of eldercare became an unexpected aspect of the ecclesiastical province’s mandate during the pandemic. The inadequate care of seniors in the secular provincial system became a glaringly visible crisis as the death toll from the pandemic increased. A once-hidden problem became a noticeable systemic failing. It became obvious that Ontario’s long-term care system for seniors was not just showing cracks in its stability but had turned into a clear breakdown of care. Its deficiencies not only affected seniors needing support but their paid and family caregivers, both in institutions and at home. 

The work to understand the magnitude of this provincial failing has been overwhelming for those in the ecclesiastical province who took this mandate on. The lack of consistent care and working support systems for seniors throughout the pandemic was evident, but finding a starting point at which to tackle the issue was daunting. 

A year and a half later, the ecclesiastical province’s Eldercare Working Group has found its footing. Appeals to the seven dioceses for input on seniors’ care, along with work with legal advocacy groups such as the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, has started the wheels turning. The working group is taking a two-pronged approach, with the first focused on the creation of a set of resources that all parishes can easily access and use. The work of gathering resources that will guide both seniors and caregivers has begun. The resources will contain information about powers of attorney, reporting guidelines, how and who reports are made to, care for an aging population, responsibilities of those caring for the elderly and how parishes and the community can support those who are struggling not only in care homes but also their own living spaces. These resources will be easily accessible to those in the ecclesiastical province who need them. This resource tool will grow over time as additions are made and maintained. 

The second aspect of eldercare that the ecclesiastical province will look at is one of advocacy. How do we as the Anglican Church make sure that seniors get the respect and care they not only need but deserve? What steps need to happen in caring for a group of people who are often vulnerable and alone? There is no quick answer on how to deal with this, and it will not be tackled until the first phase is complete. It will take time to assess, plan and move forward. As much as the ecclesiastical province would like to get everything in place quickly, it is not that simple. There is no quick fix for a system that has been failing for years. Small, thorough steps will move it forward in the hopes that advocacy will gain traction and encourage change. 

The ecclesiastical province will continue to be a strong ministry team as the world continues to adapt and change in a post-pandemic world. It will not forget the new things learned and the failings encountered. The forced adaption means that the often slow wheels of change in churchland have sped up. This is a good thing. Closer diocesan ties and expanded ecclesiastical support, along with working towards a better world for our seniors, is just the beginning of the ecclesiastical province’s mandate heading into 2022.

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As a bishop’s committee, we have a mandate, but still as we gathered, we wondered how to ensure that we were best serving the people and parishes of the diocese. We believed a good starting point was conversation. Since last May, Jeff and I have been visiting every clericus in the diocese ± and we are still working our way through! Clericus is a regularly scheduled meeting of clergy in a deanery where information is shared, and clergy are able to gather to support one another and stay connected. During the pandemic, most clericuses were meeting online, so our visits were done without leaving our offices! At each clericus, we shared information about the committee, but we also asked clergy to share their interfaith experiences and hopes for this new bishop’s committee.  

Through these conversations, Jeff and I have been able to hear about the successes, challenges and questions clergy have related to interfaith ministry. Many shared memories of partnerships parishes have made with local mosques, synagogues, temples and more. These partnerships resulted in conversations, children’s camps, educational events, pulpit swaps, refugee sponsorships and gatherings for holy celebrations such as Yom Kippur. In addition, clergy shared with us times where they have reached out to other faith leaders and had been turned away. Some clergy noted that they and parish leaders struggled to find time in the midst of all of their other ministries to reach out to other faith groups and build relationships. Sometimes parishes were also unaware of interfaith events going on in their community and so unintentionally missed opportunities to connect. We have heard questions about how to initiate contact with other faith groups: What should be said? What groups are best to reach out to? How can we make sure that we are being respectful and don’t say the wrong thing? Other big questions included how to approach differences between faith groups: Can we stay true to our belief in Jesus as our saviour while still learning about what others believe?

Our visits to clericus have also led to brainstorming sessions about resources that would be helpful for interfaith ministry. The most requested resources were focussed on prayer. Particularly when acts of hate and violence happen against people of other faiths, how we can hold them in prayer? Are there specific prayers that can be said, or specific ways to host or be part of prayer vigils? Other requested resources included background information about different faiths that would share their key belief, practices and more. While our committee works to gather some of these resources there is a lot of great information on the national church website, www.anglican.ca/faith/interfaith-dialogue.

Most importantly, during our visits to clericus we have learned how different the interfaith landscape looks for different areas in our diocese. Parishes located in Toronto, Brampton or similarly diverse areas would likely find other faith groups just down the street or around the corner. On the other hand, clergy in some of the rural areas of our diocese described how it can be harder to find groups of other faiths to connect with because the demographics of their areas are not as diverse. Some cities have interfaith councils where faith leaders come together for conversation. In other areas, it is the post-secondary schools and hospitals that are hubs for interfaith ministry. Clergy also noted that families or extended families in parishes are becoming more diverse and include people of other faith traditions who may join in for services at Christmas and Easter. Finally, many clergy spoke about how the pandemic has united people of different faiths: just like our churches, other faith groups are having to learn how to worship online, adapt their services to new safety protocols, celebrate holy days apart and remain faithful in difficult times.

These clericus conversations have been very meaningful to the Bishop’s Committee on Interfaith Ministry. I realize that this reflection brings to light a lot of big questions, without answers. But sometimes answers to the big questions take time and there is no article that can provide an answer, let alone an answer that would fit everyone. To explore our big questions, we must intentionally take the time to pray, to listen, to read and to have conversations within our parishes and beyond our walls. Jeff and I continue to meet with clericuses and reflect on how the Bishop’s Committee on Interfaith Ministry can provide the best resources and support to all people and parishes that are well experienced, new to, or curious about interfaith ministry. So far, our interfaith conversations have been with clergy, but interfaith ministry is not just about what our priests, deacons and bishops can do. Interfaith ministry involves the whole Church, lay and ordained people with different backgrounds, experiences and gifts to offer. If you would like to have a conversation with a member of the interfaith committee to share your experience, or if you have questions or ideas, please contact us at interfaith@toronto.anglican.ca. We look forward to learning from you and alongside you as we continue on this journey together.

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Pilgrimage has always been an important part of the religious experience of humans and of the Christian life. However, like other expressions and disciplines of our faith experience, it has its seasons, its ebbs and flows of popularity and practice. Since the 1980s, both the Camino and pilgrimage in general have been experiencing a renaissance – until March 2020! Yet, as our horizons have narrowed, the idea of pilgrimage has taken on new urgency and even broader appeal. Our present context has not only sharpened the desire to make a pilgrimage, it has also paradoxically – and perhaps serendipitously – been an experience of the very vulnerability that is the lot of the pilgrim on the road. As we have had to sit and shelter at home, our walking shoes languishing on the doormat, our spirits have been untethered and thrown into the great and unfamiliar Unknown of a world discombobulated by pandemic. Unintentionally, and perhaps against our wills, we have all become pilgrims these past two years.

Dictionaries define a pilgrim as a person who makes a journey to a holy place for a religious reason. While that’s true, it’s a bit flat and non-descriptive. I like to think of a pilgrim as a person of daring, one who says “yes” to the divine call to leave their workaday life for an extended period of time, to venture forth into the great and wild Unknown towards a holy place; one who does so for some deep spiritual purpose not quite understood, but accepting that it will involve surprise, revelation and transformation. Richard Niebuhr once said that “pilgrims are poets who create by taking journeys.” And, I believe, one of the things they create or re-create is their very own self, and in so doing also the world in which they live and breathe and have their being.

Each pilgrim walks for a different reason. Each person has a different Camino. For some, a pilgrimage is a process of deep discernment, listening for God’s voice speaking to their questions of who they are, where to go or what to do next. For some, a pilgrimage is a process of healing a wound or a lifetime of wounds, mourning a loss, learning forgiveness, finding or recovering a sense of belonging. For some, it’s a commitment to Creation and to the fight against the planet’s degradation, as each step they take in slow time, each vista they enjoy without the barrier of windows or walls connects them more and more to the Earth and all her creatures. And then for some it’s a long rosary of thanksgiving and gratitude for a life of blessing. Whatever it is, the common element and driving force for every pilgrimage – whether conscious or just dimly known – is a desire to be with God. To live in the words of the Godspell song, seeing God more clearly, loving Her more dearly, following Him more nearly. Because pilgrimage awakens God’s Spirit within us in a way that almost nothing else does.

Pilgrimage may beckon for a long time before the first physical step is taken.  This is so for the Church of the Redeemer community, which has been talking and thinking about walking the Camino for a long time. We are now contemplating the idea of doing just that, but also of exploring the lens of pilgrimage for our life in Christ in all of its fullness and varied expressions. The work is being guided by a small group that has named itself the Becoming Pilgrims Committee. It was struck last year, after Mervyn Chin, a parishioner, asked our incumbent, the Rev. Canon Steven Mackison, if the community could walk the Camino together. Knowing that I am passionate about the subject, Steven then asked me to lead it. I agreed in a heartbeat. I then asked a second parishioner, Henry Krol, to co-lead it with me. He agreed in a heartbeat. Mervyn, Henry and I have all been pilgrims on the Camino and so have experienced something of the holy mystery and transforming power of pilgrimage. Not to mention the joy and fun.

Word of the venture got out and the Becoming Pilgrims Committee was formed. It comprises Henry, Tony Crosbie, Joan Robinson, Lee Shouldice (also a Camino veteran, along with his wife Carol Ritter) and me. And now after some initial planning, a group of 30 or so parishioners are contemplating walking a portion of the Camino Frances for a week and a half in September of this year. Many others are contemplating making pilgrimages more locally in the city and the GTA; and still others are hoping to become pilgrims in other, less concrete ways by exploring and cultivating a pilgrim spirituality in their lives.

There is much to do before September! But we are in this together and are connecting internally with other committees and groups within and beyond our parish family to make it happen. We will piggyback on the work of our Indigenous Solidarity Working Group to walk a pilgrimage on the U of T campus in June. We are working with the Bishop’s Committee on Creation Care to develop a Redeemer pilgrimage within our own parish boundaries and will commence that project by walking a pilgrimage following the watercourse (buried) of Taddle Creek. We will walk and walk and walk throughout the spring and summer to ensure healthy, strong bodies for the road in Spain. We will learn some Spanish, sharing tapas and sipping Albarino. We will read and talk about pilgrimage, learning how to pray with our feet.

Above all, we will learn how to embrace vulnerability and liminality without fear or resistance – to take, as Steven said a few days ago in his Charge to Vestry, “a deeply hopeful journey together.” That is what pilgrimage is all about. That is what our life in Christ as the Church is all about.

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As the war began on Feb. 24, tens of thousands of Ukrainians fled for safety elsewhere in Ukraine or to neighbouring countries. HIA has been working in Ukraine for more than 25 years in humanitarian and development projects. It had already shipped 28 tons of food to support those fleeing to Hungary, and its staff has been working with refugees at the Ukraine/Hungary border.

Yelena was one of hundreds of Ukrainians in line at a border crossing into Hungary, waiting with her three children while her husband was on the front lines in Ukraine. She told ACT, “We heard that the Polish border is completely jammed, so we decided to cross the mountains and try to make it into Hungary. My sister is still on the way, I have no idea where she or my nieces are.”

On Feb. 27, HIA set up a 24-hour refugee support point on the Hungarian side of the border at Beregsurány, where the line of refugees trying to cross into Hungary is kilometres long, says an ACT communiqué. The support point was set up in a heated pavilion. HIA is providing hot tea, sandwiches, refreshments, blankets and basic hygiene items for Ukrainians, including many elderly and children who are waiting long hours to cross the border into Hungary.

“In addition to the tangible help at the support point, HIA also helps those arriving with information in Hungarian and Ukrainian, including how those in need can get temporary accommodation in Hungary,” says ACT. There is also support from local volunteers, such as a nearby Serbian bakery that is providing fresh bread, made with flour donated from Hungary.

“We’ve been standing here at this border checkpoint for more than five hours,” says Yelena. “It is cold and my children are freezing. It is amazing to see that people are here to help, and even just talking to you gives us hope for a better future.”

To make a donation, go to pwrdf.org/give-today and click on Response in Ukraine. You may also donate by phone at 416-822-9083 or leave a voicemail toll-free at 1-866-308-7973 and a staff person return your call, or mail your cheque to PWRDF, 80 Hayden, 3rd floor, Toronto, Ontario, M4Y 3G2. Mark Ukraine in the memo field.

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