Bishop’s Opinion

Group of children and young people gather around an Advent wreath. One holds a candle lighter to light a candle.

Jesus, the Perfect Gift

It’s always hard for me to find just the right Christmas card. As I search, sometimes I like a particular image on the cover, but ...
Sunrise looking out of a round opening in the rock.

Practicing resurrection

One of my favourite biblical stories is the account of the raising of Lazarus in the eleventh chapter of John’s gospel. According to John, Jesus ...
Headshots of Bishop Riscylla Shaw, Bishop Andrew Asbil and Bishop Kevin Robertson.

We are here to support you

This is the College of Bishops’ pastoral letter to vestries, to be read or circulated on the Sunday of the parish’s annual vestry meeting.   ...
Bishop Andrew Asbil speaks.

It is the Lord who has brought us to this moment in time

O God, take our lips and speak through them. Take our minds and think through them. Take our hearts and fill them with love for ...
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For all the saints

The arrival of November signals the beginning of a season of remembrance in our Church. On Nov. 1 – All Saints Day – we remember ...
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Putting our faith into action

God is good! In the context of being faithful, courageous, wise and generous, how can we be influenced by the holy call for transformation, evolution ...
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Dare to be a priest

One of the joys of being a bishop is presiding at the ordinations of deacons and priests. Ordinations are full of joy and promise, and ...
Clusters of people exchange hugs and greetings in the aisle of St. James Cathedral.

We look ahead with great hope

The following is the College of Bishops’ pastoral letter to vestries, to be read or circulated on the Sunday of the parish’s annual vestry meeting. ...
A group of young teens gathers around an Advent wreath and lights one of the candles

O come, let us adore him

As a kid, I remember sitting down in mid-November each year to write two Christmas lists. The first was for Santa, to be sent away ...
A group of bishops in purple cassocks with some spouses stand outside Canterbury Catherdal

‘It is a privilege and honour to attend’

Bishops Andrew Asbil, Riscylla Shaw and Kevin Robertson of the Diocese of Toronto shared their thoughts on the 15th Lambeth Conference during an online conversation ...
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Resilience and hope in perilous times

God is good! I went to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan for the first time in October 2021, to witness the ordination of deacons. One of the ...
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Ensuring safe space for all

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your ...
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This Mortal Flesh: reflections on living with pain and uncertainty

God is good. As we lean into Lent, we all have been changed by this desert experience. Two years of pandemic living have alternately trudged ...
Four young people light a large advent candle

A gift of love

God is good! As we set our faces towards the Star of Bethlehem, let us recall that we are created and infused with love from ...
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Saints: the stars of our faith

On a recent walk through the Entertainment District in Toronto with my family, my eyes were drawn to a maple leaf-like star embedded in the ...

An important gathering of the Church

In October of 1851 the Anglican bishops of North America convened a meeting in Quebec to develop some common policies on a number of issues. ...
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A song of hope and healing

God is good! The air is heavy and sweet this morning, with gentle birdsong and cicadas chirping. It is near the end of a long, ...
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Troublemakers and co-conspirators

When American congressman John Lewis died last summer, he was honoured by leaders across the political spectrum and around the world. In various tributes that ...
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Getting out of our boxes – or letting each other out?

God is good! Genesis 1:27: “Humankind was created as God’s reflection: in the divine image God created them…” from the Inclusive Bible. What categories do ...

Our story begins again

Are we there yet? I have vivid memories of our family hitting the road for vacation in July each year. The old blue Pontiac station ...
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Jesus is our peace in the midst of the storm

I recently attended a virtual retreat led by Brother James Koester of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Boston. Normally I like to ...

We must do our part – together

On Ash Wednesday, the presiding celebrant invites us to step into Lent with these words: I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Lord, ...
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Letting go of certainty

God is good and hope is a gift from God. As we enter the one-year mark of this global pandemic, I encourage you to take ...
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God’s richest blessings for the year ahead

Happy New Year! 2020 was certainly a year for the history books, if not for the dustbin, and by time you are reading this article, ...

I pray we will not lose our 2020 vision

At 6:31 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2020, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan received the first of two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at University Hospital in Coventry, ...
A hand holds a small candle lit, with many other candles in the background

God is with us

What would Christmas be without traditions? For some families, Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without decorating the tree together, or hanging the mistletoe in the ...
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Raise up your head, look, listen

God is good! It is a privilege and an honour for me to be serving God, in this time, in this place. Recently having been ...
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