During the retreat, small group discussions encouraged participants to revisit St. Peter’s journey from the 1950s to the present, highlighting a consistent spirit of welcome, care and community. Stories of hope were shared, drawing from the parish’s rich history, to inspire a renewed vision. The retreat served as a pivotal moment – an infusion of energy and imagination for growing children and youth ministries, expanding community engagement and cultivating a church that is a true gathering place for all.

A key component of the day was the breakout group discussions, which centered around the four main sections of Cast the Net. Within this framework, the groups explored Cast the Net’s 20 Calls to Action, a collective roadmap for spiritual renewal and faithful service. These conversations provided a space for parishioners to voice their hopes, inspirations and vision for the future of St. Peter’s.

In alignment with the parish mission – “Serving God Together. Acting with Compassion. Proclaiming Hope.” – participants identified opportunities for innovation, deeper discipleship and advocacy, particularly for the marginalized. Ideas emerged around enhancing youth engagement, enriching worship through thoughtful discussion and fostering stronger social connections within the parish.

Looking ahead, the parish will continue this journey of reflection and renewal. From May through August, one sermon each month focused on the 20 Calls to Action, allowing the congregation to engage with them more deeply. This process will lead to a retreat in October, where the parish community will regroup, assess progress and discern a shared path forward.

As St. Peter’s marks its 200th anniversary, it is anticipated that the parish will be well-positioned to commit to a clear, purpose-driven future, one that reflects the 20 Calls to Action, resonates with the identity of the church and inspires both the congregation and the wider community.

Rooted in faith, St. Peter’s is ready to cast the net wide – welcoming all and building a stronger, more connected church for the years to come.

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That’s one of the key findings in the final report of the diocese’s Planning Feasibility Study, which wrapped up in April. The report is available on the diocese’s website at www.toronto.anglican.ca/feasibility-study.

In partnership with the diocese, M&M International, a Toronto-based consulting agency, undertook a feasibility study to assess the readiness, capacity and support for a proposed diocesan-wide capital campaign of $45 million over five years. Through 245 confidential interviews, nine open forums and 18 regional deanery meetings, the study gathered input from a broad cross-section of the diocesan community.

“These conversations offered deep insight into parish realities, priorities and the perceived feasibility of a major campaign,” says the report.

The study found that while 89 per cent of respondents expressed a level of support for the campaign’s proposed case for support, there was a clear desire for greater focus, clarity and alignment with urgent parish needs. “Trust, transparency and a well-paced, grassroots approach emerged as central themes,” it says.

M&M International found that the diocese would benefit from refinements to the case for support, stronger communications strategies and a readiness phase before launching a campaign. It recommended a revised campaign goal of $25-$30 million, contingent on implementing the recommendations in the report. It also recommended a minimum 70/30 sharing formula, meaning that 70 per cent of funds raised were retained by the parishes while 30 per cent were for diocesan initiatives.

Several initiatives in the case for support emerged as clear priorities, based on the respondents’ feedback. These included growing the capacity of churches, faith formation and discipleship, parish and diocesan-wide outreach, empowering leaders, invigorating generational ministries, shifting from maintenance to mission, and listening to and walking alongside Indigenous communities and taking prayerful action.

“These initiatives reflect deeply held values across the diocese – spiritual renewal, strong local ministry, future-ready leadership and better infrastructure to support mission,” says the report. “Respondents asked for detailed implementation strategies and emphasized the need for ongoing diocesan support that enables – not replaces – local action.”

Initiatives that received more modest support included parish-led advocacy, imaginative regional ministry, innovative parish initiatives, transforming and greening churches, and caring for neighbours. “Feedback on these areas included concerns about overlap with existing programs, perceived redundancy, and timing or lack of clarity on diocesan vs. parish responsibility,” says the report. “For instance, building improvements were widely recognized as urgent, but many felt they should be addressed through proceeds from the sale or lease of diocesan assets – not additional parish fundraising.”

The study concluded that a refined and prioritized case for support, with a reduced overall financial goal and clear articulation of parish benefits, would be essential for broad endorsement. “Respondents often mentioned the importance of parishes setting their own goals, voluntary participation (in the campaign) and transparent communication from the diocese,” says the report. “Campaign success will depend on focusing on what is most needed, supported and likely to strengthen local ministry for years to come.”

Bishop Andrew Asbil said he was encouraged by the level of participation in the study and thanked respondents for their valuable input. “We heard a lot! Pieces of feedback standing out are that parishes are burdened, leaders are tired, and that our Synod Office can be a loving servant for our diocese. We also recognized a deep hunger and thirst for spiritual renewal, for faith formation, for empowering leaders, and for sharing Christ’s love with our communities. Above all, we heard that we are in this together. While we are 195 parishes, we are all followers gathered in a boat on the Galilean sea, hearing Jesus call to us from the shore. In this study, we heard our collective longing to answer Jesus’ call.”

He added, “As we move together to embrace the 20 Calls in our Cast the Net strategic plan, we know that financial support will be important at the parish level. Over the coming months, we will reflect on the results of this study and next steps for a campaign, including the formation of a prayer team to guide our discernment. Thank you for sharing your time and perspective with this study. There is work to be done, and the Spirit is moving in our diocese, calling us into the future in hopeful new ways.”

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“We had said to ourselves, and I said it a lot, we’re not trying to build back the old St. Paul’s, because it’s gone,” recalls Bishop Jenny Andison, rector of St. Paul’s. “Covid was a once-in-a-century event and God had disrupted the normal course of ministry, and we needed to take the opportunity to ask ourselves where God was leading us. We weren’t going to build back better; we were going to build new.”

The church started a strategic planning and visioning process, and then along came the diocese’s strategic plan, Cast the Net, and its 20 calls to action. The calls, which were endorsed by Synod in 2023, encourage Anglicans to renew their spiritual lives, to seek justice for all, to support faithful and fruitful ministry, and to live and work as the body of Christ, each connected to the whole and each valued for their unique gifts.

“It was perfect timing, to see where we could come alongside where our bishops were leading us,” says Bishop Andison. “Being a bishop myself, I believe in episcopal leadership of our diocese, and I thought, okay, let’s pay attention to where our bishops are wanting us to go.”

The staff team at St. Paul’s sat down with the calls and began to discern which ones spoke to them. “The good thing was, we could find ourselves in the calls,” says Bishop Andison. “We went through them and said, where do the calls fit with what we’re currently doing that we’re going to keep doing? Some calls didn’t speak as loudly to us at St. Paul’s but there were a number that did, and we were like, oh yes, we can get behind this one, and this one is really good, too.”

The calls also helped the team think about what they needed to stop doing. “Just because we did something before the pandemic didn’t mean we needed to keep doing it,” says Bishop Andison. “It gave us the opportunity to have that discussion and pray into that. Are there things, God, that we used to do that you’re not calling us to do anymore? Having the calls to action during our strategic planning process gave us a lens to do that with. If we’re doing stuff that doesn’t find itself anywhere under the Cast the Net vision, why are we doing it? It was a pruning exercise, and it was helpful.”

After prayerful discernment, the church chose calls 1, 2, 4, 10 and 15. Call 1 is to enter into a Season of Spiritual Renewal to deepen personal and collective discipleship; Call 2 is to reinvigorate and recommit to children’s, youth, family and intergenerational ministries; Call 4 is to recognize and act on opportunities to participate in God’s healing work in the world; Call 10 is to better reflect the diversity of our communities in both congregations and clergy; and Call 15 is to introduce and use new ways to measure and nurture congregational health and effectiveness.

“Those were the calls that really fit with who we currently are and, maybe more importantly, where we feel God is calling us to in the future,” says Bishop Andison.

Since then, the church has developed a vision, mission and values statement that helps to guide its life, aligned with the Cast the Net vision.

And the calls are coming to life at St. Paul’s. The church is putting a lot of resources into prayer gatherings, with surprising results. After doing a “prayer audit” of the congregation, it found that while there were resources for personal prayer such as its Daily Prayer Guide, and people prayed during the Sunday liturgies and in small groups, there weren’t opportunities for medium-size groups to come together and pray for the future of the Church.

“We thought that was a gaping hole in our congregation, so we hosted our first Kingdom Come prayer night last summer, and 75 people came,” says Bishop Andison. “That was amazing, for an hour and a half of prayer. Then we thought, why are we not praying with the local churches? So, we had an ecumenical gathering this past January and 600 people came. It was unbelievable.”

She keeps a printed copy of the church’s mission, vision and values on her desk and refers to it almost every day, especially when important decisions need to be made. In this way, the calls have become an important part of the church’s decision-making process. “They sharpened our intentionality on certain areas of ministry. In the hustle and bustle of running a church, it’s easy to forget those things.”

She encourages other churches to choose a couple of calls that feel right for them. “What two or three calls are you uniquely positioned to fulfil, that will give life? It may be things you’re already doing, and you want to say, you know what, this is a medium priority now but we’re going to make it a top priority. And also, what two or three things do we need to stop doing – that aren’t drawing people to Jesus? The calls kind of give you permission to start doing that.”

Which calls are right for your church?

With Synod coming up in November, parishes are being asked to embrace one or two of the following 20 calls. The calls were approved by Synod in 2023 as part of the diocese’s strategic plan, Cast the Net.

Renewing Spirituality

We are renewed daily in our spiritual lives and share our faith with others. In that spirit, all parts of the Diocese of Toronto are called to:

1. Enter into a Season of Spiritual Renewal to deepen personal and collective discipleship.
2. Reinvigorate and recommit to children’s, youth, family and intergenerational ministries.
3. Share and use resources to enliven worship, faith formation, spiritual practice and evangelism.

Inspiring Faith in Action

We seek justice for all, walk alongside those in need, and respond with loving service and prophetic advocacy. In that spirit, all parts of the diocese are called to:

4. Recognize and act on opportunities to participate in God’s healing work in the world.
5. Make explicit connections between following Jesus and working for justice and peace.
6. Strengthen Indigenous ministry; engage non-Indigenous Anglicans in reconciliation work.
7. Take, sustain and communicate actions that promote diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism.
8. Intensify advocacy and action in response to the climate crisis.

Reimagining Ministry

We support and encourage faithful and fruitful ministry by all who serve the life of the church. In that spirit, all parts of the diocese are called to:

9. Actively embrace collaboration among congregations and innovation in new forms of ministry.
10. Better reflect the diversity of our communities in both congregations and clergy.
11. Understand the changing needs of lay leaders in congregations and support them in their work.
12. Continue and enhance support for all ordained people.
13. Enable and celebrate the work of ministries focused on service in the world.
14. Rethink clergy discernment, formation, and deployment for the church of the future.
15. Introduce and use new ways to measure and nurture congregational health and effectiveness.

Transforming Diocesan Culture

We live and work as the Body of Christ, each member connected to the whole, and each valued for their unique gifts. In that spirit, all parts of the diocese are called to:

16. Cultivate an understanding of the diocese as a dynamic net of shared relationships.
17. Continue assessing recent diocesan leadership changes and adjust as necessary.
18. Adopt an integrated, theologically informed approach to property management.
19. Ensure follow-through on this report, including implementation methods and metrics.
20. Invest in the vision with existing and new resources, using sound Christian stewardship principles.

For more information on the 20 Calls, including a discussion guide, visit www.toronto.anglican.ca/castthenet.

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“We’re seeing this as a season of deep, deep engagement, so that we’re not isolated outposts but part of the fabric of the diocese that is moving in a compelling way,” says Bishop Andrew Asbil.

In addition to the five large worship celebrations planned throughout the diocese this year, a group of clergy, laity and diocesan staff have come together to tend to Cast the Net and help parishes engage with its 20 Calls.

The 20 Calls, which were endorsed by Synod along with the strategic plan in 2023, encourage Anglicans in all parts of the diocese to renew their spiritual lives, to seek justice for all, to support faithful and fruitful ministry, and to live and work as the body of Christ, each connected to the whole and each valued for their unique gifts.

“The 20 Calls are the result of hours of thoughtful, prayerful discernment,” says Bishop Asbil. “They are both aspirational and challenging. They reflect who we believe we are being called to be by the Holy Spirit.”

The group is hoping that parishes will embrace one or more of the calls this year. Parishes can choose calls that they are already involved in or take up new ones – whatever best suits their capacity, context and vision.

The 20 Calls and a related study guide are available on the diocese’s website at www.toronto.anglican.ca/castthenet. The group is hoping that parishes will devote some of their vestry meetings this year to discussing the calls and using the study guide. There may also be a session about the calls at the diocese’s upcoming Parish Leaders Workshops in March.

Some parishes have already adopted one or more of the calls, and the group plans to highlight their efforts – and the efforts of others – through stories, social media posts and videos throughout the year. A “Call & Response” time at Synod in November is being planned so that parishes can tell their stories.

The first of the 20 Calls is already well underway. Last spring, the diocese launched the Season of Spiritual Renewal, to help Anglicans deepen their personal and collective discipleship. Coordinated by the Rev. Canon Dr. Judy Paulsen and Jacqui Hance, the Season has provided many workshops and resources, including a booklet of daily prayers called Prayers Through the Ages. All the workshops and resources can be found at www.toronto.anglican.ca/seasonofrenewal.

Cast the Net and the Season of Spiritual Renewal have created opportunities for Anglicans to come together for learning, worship and fellowship. This past Advent, hundreds of people attended four evenings of online worship and reflection with Bishop Asbil, Bishop Riscylla Shaw and Bishop Kevin Robertson.

“That taught us something about the deep desire of Anglicans wanting to be together – to pray together and to reflect together theologically and spiritually,” says Bishop Asbil.

He encourages parishes to embrace Cast the Net and one or more of the 20 Calls this year. “Knowing that you’re doing something alongside every other parish at the same time, in your own unique way, is so enriching. This is not a cookie cutter or off-the-rack program. It is a changing of a culture, of which we are all a part as followers of Jesus Christ. So large parishes can learn from small parishes about what they are discovering in this walk, and vice versa. It’s about deeper engagement with the cathedral and with communities east, west, north and south. In my mind, it’s about changing the culture of the Diocese of Toronto, to see the fabric and the ministry in a new way.”

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The diocese has engaged the services of M&M International, a Toronto-based fundraising firm that has done extensive work in the diocese and the Canadian church. The firm recently worked with St. Peter, Cobourg, St. Aidan, Toronto, and St. Clement, Eglinton.

The feasibility study will take about six months to complete and will seek input from clergy and laity across the diocese, says Peter Misiaszek, the diocese’s director of Stewardship Development.

“Our hope is to get the opinions of over a thousand people,” he says. “We want to listen very carefully to what people are saying to us about their vision for the future of the diocese, about the challenges they’re having in their parishes and how we can support them, and about how we can work together to advance Cast the Net.”

The listening stage of the feasibility study will include personal interviews, focus groups, online surveys and more. “We want to hear what people have to say,” says Mr. Misiaszek. “We will engage people in every part of the diocese, from every region – east, west, north and south.”

The feedback will help the diocese and M&M International develop a “case for support,” a document that will set out the financial goal of the campaign and the initiatives that will receive funding. The case for support will be used to solicit donations.

Mr. Misiaszek says a large percentage of the funds would stay in the parishes for mission and ministry. “We would like to have a sharing formula that really demonstrates our support for parishes and helps ensure that as much money as possible stays in the parishes.”

A portion of the funds would also support Cast the Net, the diocese’s strategic plan that was unanimously endorsed by Synod last year. Cast the Net calls on Anglicans in the diocese to take action in four areas: renewing spirituality; inspiring faith in action; reimagining ministry; and transforming diocesan culture. The plan is available on the diocese’s website, www.toronto.anglican.ca.

The feasibility study’s final report is expected to be completed by next March or April, at which time Synod Council will decide to proceed with a campaign or not. The diocese’s last major fundraising campaign, Our Faith-Our Hope, was held more than a decade ago and raised $45 million. It provided funds for hundreds of projects, from reconfiguring church space to buying video equipment for churches.

Mr. Misiaszek thinks Anglicans in the diocese are ready for another campaign. “A lot of parishes have indicated to me their desire to do a campaign independently, so if we can all work together to do a much larger campaign, we can support those parishes to achieve their objectives and support the diocese’s objectives as well. We could be more strategic.”

As with Our Faith-Our Hope, the costs of the campaign would be borne by the diocese, not the parishes, he says. If the campaign gets the green light, it could begin as early as late 2025 or early 2026.

He says M&M International would be an ideal partner for the campaign. “It’s an organization that is known in our diocese, and they know how to work in the Anglican culture.”

He has no doubt that Anglicans would rise to the challenge if called on. “Anglicans have demonstrated in the past that they can be very generous when an important case is brought to their attention. They have been so with FaithWorks, the Bishop’s Company, Our Faith-Our Hope and other campaigns, and I believe they would again.”

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The 96-page report includes the Diocese of Toronto’s new vision statement and 20 Calls to the diocese, both of which were endorsed unanimously by Synod in November 2023.

The new vision statement is “Followers of Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit, serve the world God loves!” and the 20 Calls are grouped into four areas: renewing spirituality, inspiring faith in action, reimagining ministry and transforming diocesan culture.

The report, designed and illustrated in an eye-catching format, tells the story of Cast the Net’s origin and the inspiration behind the strategic visioning process that the diocese has been involved in for the past two years. The document provides an in-depth look at what Anglicans in the diocese are thinking, feeling and hoping for as the Church emerges from the pandemic years.

The report is a response by the Cast the Net steering committee to everything it had heard during more than a year of intensive consultations with over 1,000 clergy and laity in the diocese.

A discussion guide has been created to help Anglicans engage with the report, the new vision and the 20 Calls. The guide includes a letter by Bishop Andrew Asbil and questions designed to spark conversations and decisions.

“We hope the questions here will seed discussions and decisions in advisory boards, parish councils and other church groups as each parish and parishioner considers which of the Calls they will take up and make their own,” writes Canon Janet Marshall, director of Congregational Development, in the guide.

The guide encourages Anglicans to focus on a Call or Calls that best support and inspire their parish’s ministry and mission. “Choose what best fits your congregation at this time,” writes Canon Marshall. “You can always review the Calls again in the future while listening for where God is leading you next.”

In his letter in the guide, Bishop Asbil says the 20 Calls are the result of many hours of thoughtful, prayerful discernment. “We believe that the Holy Spirit has led us to this point, and we are excited for the next step in our journey,” he writes. “These 20 Calls are both aspirational and challenging. They reflect who we believe we are being called to be by the Holy Spirit.”

The 20 Calls are featured in a poster designed for parish bulletin boards and other areas of high visibility. The poster can be printed in either colour or black and white.

The post Cast the Net issues calls to diocese appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

The program started in December 2022 with $300,000 in funding. It was thought that the funding would last for two years but the program has been so popular that the funds were nearly depleted by the end of the first year, prompting Synod Council to allocate another $300,000 for it. The money will come from the diocese’s Ministry Allocation Fund — $200,000 from its “congregational growth” stream and $100,000 from its “new or innovative forms of ministry” stream.

Nine parishes received grants in the first year, ranging from $18,400 to $40,000. Projects included drama and music ministry, a multicultural children’s drop-in program, pastors for online and community ministries and the start-up of a new dinner church.

All the projects will be reviewed by the diocese’s Project Enabling and Monitoring Group at the end of their funding so that learning can be collected and shared within the diocese. The Cast and Learn grants program gets its name from Cast the Net, the diocese’s strategic visioning process that is based on John 21.

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The Good News of Jesus Christ

We are disciples of Jesus Christ, whose Good News is the joy and challenge at the heart of our common life.

Renewing Spirituality

We are renewed daily in our spiritual lives and share our faith with others. In that spirit, all parts of the Diocese of Toronto are called to:

1. Enter into a Season of Spiritual Renewal to deepen personal and collective discipleship.
2. Reinvigorate and recommit to children’s, youth, family and intergenerational ministries.
3. Share and use resources to enliven worship, faith formation, spiritual practice and evangelism.

Inspiring Faith in Action

We seek justice for all, walk alongside those in need, and respond with loving service and prophetic advocacy. In that spirit, all parts of the diocese are called to:

4. Recognize and act on opportunities to participate in God’s healing work in the world.
5. Make explicit connections between following Jesus and working for justice and peace.
6. Strengthen Indigenous ministry; engage non-Indigenous Anglicans in reconciliation work.
7. Take, sustain and communicate actions that promote diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism.
8. Intensify advocacy and action in response to the climate crisis.

Reimagining Ministry 

We support and encourage faithful and fruitful ministry by all who serve the life of the church. In that spirit, all parts of the diocese are called to:

9. Actively embrace collaboration among congregations and innovation in new forms of ministry.
10. Better reflect the diversity of our communities in both congregations and clergy.
11. Understand the changing needs of lay leaders in congregations and support them in their work.
12. Continue and enhance support for all ordained people.
13. Enable and celebrate the work of ministries focused on service in the world.
14. Rethink clergy discernment, formation, and deployment for the church of the future.
15. Introduce and use new ways to measure and nurture congregational health and effectiveness.

Transforming Diocesan Culture

We live and work as the Body of Christ, each member connected to the whole, and each valued for their unique gifts. In that spirit, all parts of the diocese are called to:

16. Cultivate an understanding of the diocese as a dynamic net of shared relationships.
17. Continue assessing recent diocesan leadership changes and adjust as necessary.
18. Adopt an integrated, theologically informed approach to property management.
19. Ensure follow-through on this report, including implementation methods and metrics.
20. Invest in the vision with existing and new resources, using sound Christian stewardship principles.

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That’s one of the top findings coming out of Cast the Net’s consultations with about 450 lay people. The findings were presented to Synod Council in May.

The diocese’s visioning and strategy process, which takes its name from the Gospel of John, chapter 21, has been consulting with clergy and laity since last fall. The steering committee hopes to bring recommendations to Synod in November that will set a course for the diocese for the next several years.

In the consultations with lay people, participants were asked what it might mean for them to cast their nets on the right (or other) side of the boat. They were asked to imagine that it was five years in the future and there was a feeling of new life and energy in their church and the diocese. They were asked, how did your church try a different approach that resulted in new life? What new or different things did you focus on that brought energy and drew you closer to the life of Christ? What did you need to let go of to allow new things to happen?

Younger people wanted

In response to these questions, many participants referred to young people, including children, youth, young adults and young families. They felt that attracting young people to church was key to their parish’s future, and they hoped the diocese or another church would tell them how to do that. They were concerned for young people’s well-being and wanted to hear from them directly.

Participants suggested changes to liturgy and music to appeal to younger people and newcomers. They desired more energetic, informal and engaging liturgy, and worship that is relevant to community concerns and social justice. They suggested shorter services, updated liturgical language, modern music, relevant and interactive preaching, and different physical spaces and scheduling for worship.

Another common subject of discussion was relations with the wider community, in particular evangelism and outreach, social justice and the Church’s public image. Many participants said evangelism should focus on parishioners who haven’t returned to church since the COVID-19 pandemic, younger people, new Canadians and the “unchurched.” While some expressed enthusiasm for evangelism, others described barriers to it, especially a lack of ability to express their faith and a desire to do so.

In the area of social justice, participants felt the primary focus should be on meeting the material and social needs of those in the community, especially the provision of food and shelter. Advocacy and teaching and learning about social justice issues were also priorities.

Participants said a negative image of the Church may affect engagement with the wider community. They highlighted the Church’s role in the Residential Schools and Anglicanism’s British heritage as two causes of its negative image. They said the image of the Church and the image of Anglicans must change.

High expectations of clergy

In suggesting these changes, participants discussed the roles of lay leaders and volunteers, clergy and the diocese. Some favoured a larger role for lay leaders. “We have to expand lay leadership training,” said a participant. “We have to empower the laity, too.” However, others were concerned by the burden that would be placed on them. “It’s not easy or viable to have churchwardens doing all this work,” said another. “There are so many issues, and we are not supported. It is a tremendous burden.”

Participants had high expectations of clergy. They wanted clergy to be emotionally available and relatable, to be leaders in reaching out to the community, to make preaching and liturgical leadership relatable, and to have spiritual acumen. There was a desire for younger, more diverse clergy. They said pastoral transitions and incumbent vacancies were a significant source of stress in many parishes and encouraged different approaches to staffing. Only one participant mentioned clergy burnout.

Some participants were displeased with the diocese, for taking either too big or too small a role in parish life. They said the diocese could contribute to parish life by supporting outreach, creating a centralized approach to technology, helping with property issues and facilitating collaboration.

Throughout the lay consultations, there was a strong, consistent desire for collaboration among parishes and with other faith and community groups. There was also affirmation of the positive role of technology in parish life, although some feared that it discouraged in-person attendance and put a strain on the parish’s finances and staffing.

Buildings were seen as both a burden and an opportunity. Participants felt congregations needed to get out of their church building as well as welcome the wider community into them. The cost of keeping buildings open was a burden, they said, and many buildings had accessibility challenges. People spoke about letting go of buildings for the good of the community, such as providing affordable housing. Others advocated for a greater investment in buildings, which were seen as anchors for evangelism. They felt that church buildings were often the heart of the community.

Some participants expressed thoughts that were different from the dominant narrative of change for the sake of survival and growth. As a starting point for naming key values, they reflected on why they are part of the Church and moments when the Church had been particularly significant in their lives. They expressed a desire for spiritual connection with God and going back to the basics of their faith. They named a need to be the Church beyond Sunday by living as disciples of Jesus Christ every day.

A number of participants named spirituality, including spiritual experiences, core beliefs and values, as key to their involvement in the Church. “Why do I come to church?” asked one. “There are so many changes in the world; our God is not changing.” Some wanted a stronger emphasis on spirituality in the Church. “Church has become more social and less spiritual – get back to spirituality,” said one. Some called for simplicity, getting “back to basics” in teaching, learning and practicing the faith. Another quiet, consistent theme in the conversations called for a shift in focus from Sunday-only worship in church to living as disciples of Jesus Christ every day.

The presentation to Synod Council in May concluded with some observations from Cast the Net’s coordinators. They said the volunteer facilitators who led the lay consultations reported a lot of positive energy in the groups, alongside considerable anxiety. Participants were grateful for being listened to and were keen for more such conversations, they said, and they were willing to change and work for the outcomes they wanted. There was a need to help people focus on spiritual renewal as opposed to institutional survival – transformational rather than transactional change, “resurrection, not resuscitation,” they concluded.

Not a realistic prospect

Cast the Net’s steering committee asked Dr. Sarah Kathleen Johnson to analyze the results of both the lay and clergy consultations. Dr. Johnson is a professor of liturgy and pastoral theology at Saint Paul University in Ottawa and oversees its Anglican Studies programs. Her analyses of the consultations, along with other documents, can be found on the diocese’s website, www.toronto.anglican.ca.

Reflecting on the lay consultations, Dr. Johnson says it is not a realistic prospect for most churches to have a lot of young people, given changing demographics and societal trends. “The desire for churches full of young people is disconnected from the demographic realities that we are facing in Canada,” she says. “The Canadian population as a whole is aging. Our population grows through immigration, and most new Canadians are not Christian, and if they are, they’re not Anglican. Each successive generation is less religious than the preceding generation. These are demographic realities, all of which are not in favour of churches full of young people. So that expectation is out of step with who lives in Canada now.”

However, she says it is important for Cast the Net’s steering committee and the diocesan leadership to hear that desire from lay people. “Recognizing that this is the direction people are looking in, and that there is this underlying anxiety, will be important for the Cast the Net team in shaping a vision.”

Dr. Johnson says one of the highlights of the lay consultations for her was the participants’ focus on liturgy. “There are ways to see it initially as a focus on attracting young people through changing practices, but listening a little bit deeper, there’s a call for liturgical renewal. I describe it in terms of three characteristics: liturgy that is more emotionally engaging and energetic; liturgy that is more relevant and connected to people’s lives and understandable; and liturgy that makes the connection to everyday acts of compassion and social justice that the Church is involved with. I found that really inspiring, to see that call for liturgy that’s more connected to spirituality and discipleship. Those are principles that can be valuable regardless of the style of worship or who’s part of the worshipping community.”

Visionary voices

In her analysis of the lay consultations, Dr. Johnson highlighted the quieter, less prominent voices in the conversations, what she called the “visionary voices.” She says these voices could play a prominent role in shaping a vision for the diocese. “My hunch is that a bold, transformative vision is likely to come from the edge of the Church rather than the centre, and listening to voices that are less central and have historically been marginalized will be important for thinking about ways forward. Looking and listening for those comments was inspiring for me.”

She says it’s important for the Church to listen to those voices. “That’s how we follow Jesus. That’s who Jesus was listening to and was attentive to – those on the margins of his community. One of the ways that we move into our calling as followers of Jesus is being attentive to those who are marginalized in our own context. That’s often where we see God at work, where we hear the prophetic call.”

She was impressed by the amount of energy and engagement shown by the participants. “It was good to hear the energy that was present and the enthusiasm that people had for a chance to gather together to share their stories and learn what other people are doing. I really applaud Cast the Net’s desire and success in listening broadly and deeply.”

Despite the challenges facing the diocese, she is optimistic about its future. “There’s fatigue and recognition of declining membership and participation – those things are real and important to acknowledge – but this is still a large organization. It has financial resources, social power and more than 400 people showing up for a conversation about the future – that’s a strong place to be starting from. While it’s important to acknowledge the fatigue and changing demographic realities, it’s also important to recognize that the Diocese of Toronto still operates out of a position of strength and can use that to shape a future that really serves communities, that serves congregations, that leads to deeper spirituality and discipleship.”

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That’s the top finding coming out of Cast the Net’s extensive consultations with clergy and laity.

Cast the Net, the diocese’s visioning and strategy process, takes its name and inspiration from John 21. Since last September, more than 500 clergy and laity have been asked to reflect on the scriptural passage and consider what similarities they saw between the situation the disciples found themselves in while out fishing after the resurrection and encountering the Risen Christ, and the situation they now find themselves after almost three years of pandemic.

The key question posed to both groups was, what might it mean for each of us, in our various ministries in the diocese, to cast our nets on the right (or other) side of the boat? For the lay consultations, participants were also asked to imagine that it was five years in the future and there was a feeling of new life and energy in their church and the diocese. They were asked, how did your church try a different approach that resulted in new life? What new or different things did you focus on that brought energy and drew you closer to the life of Christ? What did you need to let go of to allow new things to happen?

The Cast the Net steering committee has drawn up a list of the most common responses, with the top one being spiritual renewal, comprising spiritual development and formation, preaching the gospel, evangelism, discipleship and following Jesus.

“We have heard from clergy and laity a desire to get back to the basics of Christian believing,” says the Very Rev. Peter Elliott, one of Cast the Net’s coordinators, along with Dr. Anita Gittens and Canon Ian Alexander. “Over and over again, we’ve heard that we need to be centred in the gospel, we need to be rooted in the story of our faith, we need to be re-energized by it and its meaning in our lives. Not that it has been lost, but I think there was so much busyness that went on just getting through the days of shutdown during the pandemic, and it went on for so long, that there needs to be some time for renewal of our faith.”

The desire for spiritual renewal is so strong and widespread that Cast the Net’s steering committee, which includes Bishop Andrew Asbil, plans to bring a proposal to Synod Council in May in response to it. The steering committee decided to act on it now rather than waiting for the final report that goes to Synod in November.

“Our process from the very beginning has been to not wait until the final report is issued to start doing things,” says Canon Alexander. “This particular theme is so strong that we think we need to act on it now, so we’re developing a proposal that would take us past Synod and into some kind of pan-diocesan initiative in 2024.”

The committee is working on ideas and the proposal will be communicated to the diocese after the meeting of Synod Council in May, he said.

In addition to spiritual renewal, other high-priority responses from the consultations included attracting younger people, building up congregations and coping with decline, connecting with the broader community, greater cooperation among parishes and other denominations, addressing clergy wellness and volunteer burnout, dismantling racism and colonialism, and focusing on social and economic justice and homelessness.

Participants also articulated their hopes for the diocese. These included: being Christ-centred, loving and in a prayerful relationship with God; being bold and innovative; being less institutional, secular and bureaucratic; speaking to people where they are today; being more inclusive; having better communication and collaboration; and less emphasis on attendance and revenue as measures of success.

Despite the trials and tribulations of the pandemic, which saw churches shuttered for several months and restrictions imposed on gatherings, clergy and laity expressed a strong degree of hope.

Dr. Gittens says people are moving from grieving the loss of parishioners who didn’t return to church when they reopened to accepting the current situation. “People are starting to accept that this is the new norm and are asking, how are we going to move forward and what can we do? I’ve heard discipleship and evangelism mentioned a lot. Some have said that they don’t feel that they have the skills to share their faith with their neighbour, and that they need to learn how to do that.”

Canon Alexander says people are at different stages of emerging and recovering from the pandemic. “Some parishes that we’ve spoken to have actually found that the pandemic has been transformative in a positive way for them, and that while some regular church members haven’t come back, new folks have come in. So there is a certain level of emergence going on in some places and a turn towards hopefulness.”

Participants also expressed pleasure at working together, he says. “When we put people together from different parishes, at the end of the conversation we saw comments such as, ‘so good to hear that other people are going through similar things,’ and, ‘great to pick up on what others are doing.’ That is very much what this project is all about – getting the diocese to talk to itself and, as Bishop Andrew says, sing together again.”

While the clergy and lay consultations ended at the end of March, the committee planned to hold additional consultations in April and May with other groups, including young families, chaplains, Indigenous ministries, youth and children’s ministries, the Anglican Church Women and people who do not have the ability to meet online.

The committee has enlisted the help of Dr. Sarah Johnson, the Anglican Studies professor at St. Paul’s University in Ottawa, who will analyze the data and identify some of the key themes and minority voices from all the consultations. Her findings, together with those of the committee, will help the committee begin to form recommendations that will come to Synod in November.

On behalf of the steering committee, Dr. Gittens, Dean Elliott and Canon Alexander thanked all those who took part in the consultations and those who facilitated them and provided administrative support, in particular Janet Marshall and Elizabeth McCaffrey of the diocese’s Congregational Development department, members of the Diocesan Volunteer Corps, Amanda Lowry of the Bishop’s Office, Melissa Doidge of the Stewardship Development and Congregational Development departments, and Ajith Philip of the Administration and Property Support department.

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