Historically known as an enthronement, the installation service marks the symbolic start of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s public ministry in the Church of England and across the Anglican Communion.

Bishop Bell is attending as co-chair of the Anglican-Methodist International Coordinating Committee, and one of only a handful of Canadians who will be attending, including the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

“I am deeply moved to be invited to attend this historic event, not only for the life of our Communion but for the spiritual leadership of women in the Church,” said Bishop Bell. “It’s a great honour and privilege.”

The bishop has asked that the people and parishes of the Diocese of Niagara be steadfast in their prayers for the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, and for the Communion. “We must pray for her and for our beloved Church, especially in the days leading up to the installation,” she says.

Rooted in centuries of tradition, the service will look forward with the hope of Jesus Christ and celebrate the diversity of the Church of England and the Communion.

Archbishop Mullally will be installed on the cathedra of the Diocese of Canterbury, the oldest diocese in the English Church. Following this, she will be installed on the Chair of St. Augustine as Primate of All England, which also symbolizes her ministry in the Anglican Communion.

“It’s a great honour and privilege to have the opportunity to represent Niagara and, of course, our wider Anglican Church in Canada, and bear witness firsthand the bonds of affection we share across the Communion with the see of Canterbury,” says Bishop Bell.

Back at home, the bishop invites parishes to organize watch parties for the historic event and to offer special intercessions on the Sundays bookending the installation.

The role of the Archbishop of Canterbury is not only that of the most senior bishop in the Church of England, but also the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury.

The Niagara Anglican

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“Yeah, it’s definitely got that rec-room vibe,” says the Rev. Mark Kleiner, incumbent. Nutflakes – a pun on the streaming giant Netflicks – is the video store/community centre that’s been operating out of the building since 2021.

At Nutflakes, there’s no membership fee and rentals are technically gratis (donations, however, are accepted, and benefit CHEP Good Food, a local charity fighting food insecurity). Don’t have anything at home that can read a DVD? They have players available. And if you’re just looking to browse and talk with the volunteer staff about your favourite scene in Leprechaun 2, you’re more than welcome to.

At Nutflakes, the hang is really the point. Mr. Kleiner came up with the idea during the pandemic while thinking up ways to serve the community at large, and it was founded by volunteers. Nutflakes is part of the “third spaces” movement that is addressing Canada’s loneliness epidemic: the idea that everyone needs a comfortable place beyond home or work where they can mix with their neighbours and just be themselves. A communal living room. Or in this case, a video store.

When Mr. Kleiner pitched the idea for Nutflakes to a group of volunteers at his church, he acknowledged the concept was maybe a little out of step with the times. “It seemed kind of joyously anachronistic,” he says, but he bet on “a homespun little pop-up video store” attracting people from the neighbourhood and beyond, and for nearly five years, it’s been doing exactly that.

“We get a really wide-ranging demographic,” he says. Some visitors are just curious to experience the novelty of it all; others are there because they might not be able to afford another entertainment option. Mr. Kleiner says he’s noticed families coming to Nutflakes because they want to show their kids an alternative to “just scrolling endlessly through digitized choices at home.”

“Do we want to bring back the … Blockbuster (store) experience? You know, not so much,” says Mr. Kleiner, who doesn’t hold any special nostalgia for the golden age of home video. Before streaming, the corner video store filled a different, more transactional need, he says. You were there to grab a stack of new releases and retreat to the solitude of your living room.

Options for accessing movies are greater today, even if neighbourhood rental stores have largely vanished. When it comes to acquiring physical media, Nutflakes was able to quickly build its library by collecting donated Blu-Rays and DVDs from people in Saskatoon.

What’s in short supply now is a reliable place where people can gather, and for the two days of the week when Nutflakes is open, Mr. Kleiner and a team of dedicated volunteers welcome visitors to feel at home. “It’s a very low stakes community-sourced and community-run operation, but I would say that’s the whole point — and its charm.”

CBC Saskatoon 

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The letter writing was part of Amnesty International’s annual “Write for Rights” campaign, which takes place on or around International Human Rights Day (Dec. 10). Each year, the campaign highlights case studies of real people whose human rights are being violated or who have lost their lives due to human rights violations.

For every case, there are two types of messages that people can write: one to a person in authority, such as a prime minister or president, and one to the person being advocated for, or their family, so they know they will not be forgotten.

The cathedral has been holding a “Write for Rights” event for more than a decade. This year, participants wrote 451 letters pleading for justice and mercy and offering comfort to grieving family members.

“Real, physical letters can bring hope to people in the direst of situations,” says Susan MacRae, organizer. “When letters arrive in huge numbers, they are also an unmistakable reminder to the authorities that the world is watching. And for those who are engaging in this project as an action of their faith, letter writing becomes a prayerful project in which the person being written to or for is held in prayer by name.”

Faith Tides

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Mr. Budzin is a jazz fan. When he was a priest in the Diocese of Toronto, his parish offered jazz vespers twice a month for 13 years. Inspired by that experience, “I thought we should take the risk and offer jazz vespers in a rural setting.”

The monthly Sunday afternoon jazz vespers services at St. Paul, Osgoode, which began in 2024, have proved him right. “Attendance has been enthusiastic and strong. I think September and October, we had 65 folks, and then even on a dreary November day, we had 75. Several times, a number of people on their way out have thanked me for jazz vespers, and they say, ‘It’d be wonderful if this was offered more often.’” So, in the spring, the parish will test out holding services twice a month.

Mr. Budzin estimates that only 12-15 of those attending the vespers are regular Sunday morning parishioners. The rest come specifically for the jazz service. “They just love it, and they find it spiritually supportive and enriching,” he says. “It has really developed into its own kind of worshipping community. On her way out, one woman said, ‘I think you’re making me a recovering agnostic.’ I like that comment.”

Mark Ferguson is the leader of the quartet and plays keyboards and trombones. John Geggie is the bass player. Mike Tremblay is the saxophonist. The drummer is Jamie Holmes, and occasionally, for the quintet, Ed Lister is on trumpet. “Some folks scratch their head and say, ‘How do you get guys like this to come to Osgoode?’ But the musicians love it, too. They’re very committed and dedicated,” says Mr. Budzin.

The music is not all jazz. It’s a mix of music from artists such as Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, Stevie Wonder and Burt Bacharach.

Instead of a traditional homily, Mr. Budzin usually reads one or two poems and offers a reflection. He has read poems from Gerard Manley Hopkins,  e.e. cummings, Wendell Berry, Mary Oliver and other less well-known writers, and he usually includes a copy of the poem in the order of service. “I love poetry as much as I love jazz, so I pick a poem that I think people would appreciate,” he says. “And so far, I’ve struck a chord. Some folks have said they’ve collected all the poems that I’ve used for jazz vespers and keep them in a little binder.”

St. John’s church in Richmond has started a monthly Sunday vespers for harp and flute with two exceptional musicians, he adds. “That is doing very well, too. Not quite as high numbers as jazz vespers, but it’s getting 25 to 30 people and developing its own group of supporters.”

Perspective

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Art Roth runs All Saints’ Anglican Church’s skate lending program. Tucked inside the church hall are shelves and shelves of skates, in all sizes. He encourages people to come by and borrow a pair for a few weeks or the winter season.

“It’s our gift to the community,” he says.

Skate lending at the church started in December and runs until the end of February. The program started more than 20 years ago, with a donation of six pairs of skates from Mr. Roth himself.

He hasn’t counted the current inventory, but there are hundreds and hundreds of pairs — maybe close to 1,000 all told, he estimates. Last year, the program lent out skates 1,150 times.

On Saturday mornings, people can go into the church hall, where they’ll be fitted with a pair of skates and welcomed to sign them out. The skates come in most sizes and a variety of widths. Due to demand, adult skates are lent out for shorter periods of time, but kids skates can generally be borrowed for the season. There’s also a small selection of helmets.

The program lends out skates to a huge variety of people, says Mr. Roth, everyone from families enrolling their child in skating lessons to corporate and church groups for a fun day out on the ice.

In recent years, about half of their loans have been to newcomers to Canada. “It’s great,” he says. “Some of them come from countries where they’ve never seen ice, let alone do anything on it, so they’re keen to do that.”

The program runs on donations, both of skates and money, but it doesn’t cost much and the program welcomes skate donations every morning except Sunday. Says Mr. Roth: “Our paycheque, we say, is seeing people happy with a pair of skates and coming back with a big smile and say, ‘See you again next year. It’s been great. We’ll need a new size.'”

CBC News

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With a grant of $7,815 from the diocese’s Future Fund, the parish invites students to “come over to Julian’s Place” once a month for a warm meal, to check out the affordable Nearly New Shop and renew their sense of well-being by walking a labyrinth in the parish hall.

The grant was among the first three approved by the Future Fund, which was launched in 2024 to support innovative and effective initiatives that foster engagement with the wider community and the formation of new worshipping communities.

The parish saw that among Algonquin College’s 20,000 students, there were concerns about the rising costs of food, affordable housing and education.

“Our parish anticipates that developing relationships with Algonquin students through Julian’s Place will plant seeds for a more fulsome and sustained engagement between students, the Julian community and the college itself,” says the Rev. Karen McBride.

Three students from the college’s culinary skills program have been recruited to work with parish volunteers. They each get a $100 honorarium to lead the cooking and serving. A website design student has been awarded a $500 honorarium to build a new parish website.

Faith Tides

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Founded by the Rev. Natasha Brubaker, the support group received more than $3,000 last year from the local board of health to offer the monthly help sessions for the public at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Antigonish.

Ms. Brubaker moved to Antigonish County in 2022 and started the support group the next year. Soon after moving to the community, she had learned of the suicides of two young local men. They weren’t directly connected to her parish, but word got to her through church members. She wondered how much support was available in the community for those grieving a suicide loss.

Unfortunately, she had a close link to the topic: Ms. Brubaker lost her mother to suicide. “The question felt personal and urgent,” she explained. Plus, she figured, there were people grieving other past tragedies who may not have received support.

“Grief after suicide has its own contours,” said Ms. Brubaker. “It’s a traumatic loss, often complicated, and it requires special care and a safe, intentional space with people who understand its dynamics.”

The goal of the meetings is to help people understand “they’re not losing their minds, that what they’re experiencing is normal and that they’re not alone,” she adds.

Ms. Brubaker has since stepped away from the program, passing the reins to new help who are continuing the valuable work. At each monthly session, there’s a candle-lighting ritual to open the space, then a check-in to gauge how people are doing that day, that week or over the past month. A topic gets introduced, usually focused on what may have been broached by the group in a previous session, but the bulk of the time is left open for people to respond and talk. Participants are encouraged to speak from “I” statements, and not to give advice, interrupt or monopolize.

While Ms. Brubaker no longer has an active voice in the healing circle, she feels the program is in good hands. “Part of my role as clergy is helping others discover their gifts and how they can care for their neighbours,” she explained. “I try to cultivate that, create space for others to step in and then step back myself. So, I see the evolution of this group as a very good thing.”

Nova Scotia Health

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The event is the culmination of efforts by each congregation to grow in love and partnership. St. Paul’s shares its building with the other congregations. Each exercises its own worship and ministry and has its own office space. In return, St. Paul’s receives help in covering its financial obligations. “These relationships are about so much more than a blessing of space and finances: they have brought about a flourishing of spiritual vitality and mutual care,” says the Rev. Canon Stephen Silverthorne of St. Paul’s.

The churches’ commitment to prayer, along with social gatherings like the potluck, has been a powerful sign of care for one another, he says. “With each passing month, parishioners have grown more committed in friendship and in appreciation for each other’s way of living out a Christian life.”

Perspective

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Inspired by a parishioner who mentioned, “You don’t get a chance to go out to many places when you live alone,” the plan was to hold quarterly gatherings based around a meal. “We came up with a catchy name and a snazzy logo, but we were so excited that we probably moved too quickly, because our first outing had only three parishioners join us at the North Docks restaurant,” said an organizer.

Word spread, however, and the following three outings were well attended. Eighteen people gathered at the Saylor House Cafe in Bloomfield, 22 met at the O’Connor House English Tea Room in Deseronto, which was followed by a visit to an adjoining antique shop, and 26 attended a lunch at the Inn at the Lake on the Mountain on the Bay of Quinte.

“We make sure that anyone who needs a ride gets one, and we’re able to accommodate people with walkers or wheelchairs,” said the organizer. “Everyone is welcome to bring friends along, too.”

Dialogue

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Christ Church was honoured to welcome the group on June 26. It was one of 70 overnight stops on the journey. The church provided the group with dinner, social time and a place to sleep. Also that evening, the City of Saskatoon allowed the riders use of a community pool for a swim and showers. The following morning, the cyclists rose to freshly washed laundry, breakfast and food for the road. After an emotional farewell with parishioners, the police gave them an escort out of the city.

“We feel blessed to host this amazing group of young people very year and always feel, with each visit, that we have gained far more from their visit than we have given,” says the Rev. Peter Coolen.

The Saskatchewan Anglican

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