This October, the Nobel committee announced that the 2017 Peace Prize had been awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a Geneva-based international coalition of which the Anglican Church of Canada is a member. The prize was awarded for ICAN’s work as the driving force behind the groundbreaking Treaty On The Prohibition Of Nuclear Weapons, which was negotiated at the United Nations earlier this year, approved by 122 nations in July, and opened for signature in September.

Known informally as the Nuclear Ban Treaty, it prohibits the development, testing, production, possession, and use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. It also prohibits non-nuclear nations from relying on nuclear-based security guarantees of other countries – such as the “extended deterrence” that the United States has historically offered to allies like Japan and South Korea. When 50 nations ratify the ban, it will enter into force permanently.

The Ban Treaty was not won without controversy. The world’s nuclear powers vocally boycotted the treaty negotiations, and encouraged and coerced their allies to do the same. Canada was notably absent from the negotiations. During Question Period in Parliament, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended Canada’s boycott by saying that the absence of nuclear-armed states from the discussions made negotiations “sort of useless”. The Trudeau government even declined to congratulate Canadian Setsuko Thurlow – a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bomb and an anti-nuclear activist – when it was announced that she would jointly accept the Nobel Prize with Beatrice Fihn, ICAN’s executive director, at the award ceremony on Dec. 10.

Supporters of the ban, however, see the opposition of politicians like Mr. Trudeau and President Donald Trump as an indication that they are doing something right. During a key session in the treaty’s development at the UN, US ambassador Nikki Haley held a press conference outside the chamber, declaring that the Ban Treaty would accomplish nothing. According to Ms. Fihn, however, Ambassador Haley’s actions belied her words. It was, Ms. Fihn said, like a neon arrow sign saying “progress happening here”.

From the perspective of Canadian history, the Trudeau government’s dismissal of the ban appears indefensible. Canada’s historic commitment to peace and disarmament is perhaps most notably enshrined in this nation’s leadership to ban antipersonnel landmines in the 1997 Ottawa Treaty. That treaty was boycotted and opposed by landmine possessors, and entered into force despite their opposition and non-participation. But the treaty’s articulation of a global norm against landmines has proven consequential even for those countries that still refuse to ratify it, resulting in a radical decline in the use of landmines worldwide.

The Ottawa Treaty example might explain the Trudeau-Trump fear of the nuclear ban. The ban is based on the recognition that nuclear weapons result in unacceptable humanitarian consequences. These range from uncontrollable local fallout in a limited use of nuclear weapons, to global famine resulting from regional nuclear war, to the omnicidal extinction of a nuclear exchange between superpowers.

The ban also recognizes the horrific humanitarian consequences of the simple existence of nuclear weapons. The development, testing, and possession of nuclear weapons has had a well-documented but underreported effect on women and children and the reproductive cycle, and disproportionately affected Indigenous populations.

Thus, by naming nuclear weapons as an existing humanitarian crisis, which threatens to become exponentially worse in the event of their use, the ban reveals the inherent injustice behind a security policy that relies on such weapons.

This injustice also speaks to the alignment of Christian theological and ethical priorities with the ban treaty. Christians have been among the most vocal opponents of nuclear weapons since their development and use at the end of World War II. In Canada, the Anglican Church has a long history of resolutions opposing nuclear weapons and supporting disarmament, including the 2007 General Synod resolution that led to the ACC joining ICAN. At a global level, the Holy See was one of the first nations to sign and ratify the ban, and there is little daylight between the Vatican’s anti-nuclear position and that of the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance, the other two world bodies representing Christianity.

This unity of Christian opposition to nuclear weapons is perhaps most fundamentally grounded in the Just War tradition, a theological framework for considering armed conflict that has historically guided Anglicans and Roman Catholics, among others. In brief, Just War forbids the use of weapons that do not discriminate between combatants and non-combatants, as well as violent force that causes more harm than the good it seeks to do. As a category, nuclear weapons fail both these tests, making them a de facto instance of weapons forbidden as mala in se (evil in themselves), like mass rape, torture, and genocide.

During the Cold War, the recognition of nuclear weapons’ evil was functionally outweighed, even for many Christians, by the conviction that only nuclear deterrence could prevent their use. Today, however, the spiraling crisis of world events reveals the alignment of moral virtue and prudential wisdom undergirding the ban treaty. Seventy-two years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we are leaving behind the era when one could imagine that we had to have nuclear weapons so that they would never be used. Now, we are entering a new, uncharted era, in which the increasing consensus of security experts is that the indefinite existence of nuclear weapons guarantees their eventual use. The crisis unfolding on the Korean Peninsula is just one instance of the danger we face.

Such crises confront us with our own powerlessness. They also invite us to what we can do, which is repentance and the refusal of complicity.

Toward this end, perhaps the Anglican Church in Canada will seek to live up to our imputed Nobel Prize: first, by forming an army of prayer that God will give us “time for amendment of life,” as the Compline blessing puts it. And, second, as an army of activism, insisting both as dioceses and faithful individuals that our government have the courage to name right from wrong by signing the ban treaty – and then doing the hard work of adjusting its security policies accordingly.

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John Strachan died 150 years ago this month. He was the first Bishop of Toronto. I am the eleventh. I was overwhelmed by the thought of following him as I walked to the front of the cathedral at that moment of my election some 14 years ago.

He had the energy of the Energizer Bunny on steroids. A larger-than-life character, brilliant, forceful, energetic and flawed, he set the stage for the Diocese of Toronto as we know it, not the least in this: he trained up an indigenized clergy, insisted on a locally financially self-sufficient church, enfranchised the laity in its governance, and respected a diversity of theological expression – within Anglican limits, of course. He set the DNA of the diocese as a Church that engaged fully in the life of the community. While he despised Baptists and Methodists, the Anglican faith he practised did not stop at the church doors on a Sunday morning.

Bishop Strachan instinctively exercised adaptive leadership to shape a new colony on firm, age-old Christian principles, but he had to face challenges that no one had ready-prepared answers for. He took risks, he tried new things, he had to adapt old ways to meet new situations. This Synod is a result. He convened a gathering of clergy and laity before it was legal or constitutional to do so. Yes, there were discussions in Parliament to begin the changes that would allow it, but there was a pastoral reality that could not wait. It was what Archbishop Rowan Williams more recently called, in another context, a principled loosening of the structures, to allow the mission of the Church in a local context to flourish. The Synod came first, the authorization came later. And so, we have our 157th gathering of our diocesan Synod today.

He convened the first Synod for the newly created Diocese of Huron to elect its first bishop, when bishops were still crown appointments. Queen Victoria graciously consented to appoint the elected candidate, ushering in a new age in Canada. Bishop Strachan was the last and only Bishop of Toronto to be appointed, not elected.

He was missional, encouraging the founding of churches throughout the growing region, but he also provided alternatives to the prevailing norms. He founded a traditional parish church, St. John, York Mills, in 1816 but then started a 7 o’clock Sunday evening service – a fresh expression, if you will – at the grammar school for those who could not go to the morning services at St. James Church (now our cathedral) because of their work or because they were socially uncomfortable, even unwelcomed.

He was an ardent proponent of education and formation, establishing grammar schools, public schools, three universities and theological training. In founding the York District Grammar School in October 1812, he provided a full range of academic courses to build the capacity of young men to take their roles in state and Church, offering reduced fees for the poor so that they, too, could rise into leadership.

In spite of his reputation as a partisan, he actually worked to set a standard for inclusiveness. Dr. Jonathan Lofft, a former member of Synod, spoke of Bishop Strachan at a recent event at the cathedral. In words both sacramental and racializing, Bishop Strachan expressed the core of his pedagogy: “Indeed the human mind, whether enclosed in a white, red, or black tabernacle, exhibits the same qualities and powers, when subjected to similar discipline; and the Scripture account, that we are all the descendants of one common parent, is corroborated by the natural history of our species.”* These words, originally published anonymously in 1819, conveyed sentiments profoundly unpopular, even disturbing, to many of Bishop Strachan’s contemporary readers, more than a decade before the abolition of slavery in the British Empire and more than forty years before Darwin dared to go into print. In them, we find a kind of charter, moderately jarring to our ears, too, but sincere, the mission statement of one who would court controversy his entire career in the cause of the Church he loved and served.

Among his notable assistants was Neil Alexander Bethune, a high churchman, one of his first divinity students who later headed up the theological training institute in Cobourg and eventually succeeded him as Archdeacon of York and then as the second Bishop of Toronto. As important was Henry James Grassett, whom he appointed as his curate in 1835. What is remarkable for a man of, shall we say, strenuous opinion, is that Strachan and Grassett were at opposite ends of the theological spectrum – Strachan high church, Grassett an Evangelical. Yet Strachan appointed him as his domestic and examining chaplain, and thus with responsibility for the selection of candidates for ordination, and appointed him to succeed him as rector of the cathedral.

One of Bishop Strachan’s enduring legacies is how he dealt with property to underwrite the ministry and mission of the Church. He convinced rectors to amalgamate their allocation of the clergy reserves (the land the government gave for support to the churches). Although he was able to get fewer allocations from the government than he hoped, his leverage of the lands the Church had been given still provides income today for ministry from the York Rectors and Etobicoke and Peterborough Glebes.

Last year, we adopted a new strategic plan that will set the direction for our work over the next five years. Do you hear the links back to our DNA? Leadership and formation. Stewardship of property and resources for ministry. Trust and culture. “Growing in Christ,” as it is titled, identifies these focus areas for our attention as a diocese, rooted in our vision of an Anglican community committed to proclaiming and embodying Jesus Christ through compassionate service, intelligent faith and Godly worship.

Our mission is the work that we as Anglicans in this diocese are being called to do: to build healthy, missional Anglican communities that engage faithfully with the world and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Note the mission and the vision: these do not change much over time, but the specifics of how we need to put them into practice in our particular context do. They are a continuation of the ministry that we have undertaken in this diocese since John Strachan’s days. They can easily apply to parish life as well, and inform both the “what” we do and “how” we engage to join in God’s work of transforming lives. We will take some time tonight to think through how it might apply to your parish – and it does apply to your parish!

Leadership and Formation

We have a pressing need for a renewed catechetical process, the forming of disciples who are formed and being formed in their faith and able to share our story winsomely. Bible study, yes; but more than that, we need to develop our capacity in apologetics –  not to apologize and “say sorry,” but in the older sense of the word: to give a cogent reason for the hope that lies within you.

This Lent, I am recommending that we all take part in a simple exercise: “Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of John,” a joint project of the Society of St. John the Evangelist and Virginia Theological Seminary. Please join me in this. There are booklets available at Synod for $2. You can receive a daily video to your email, and small-group resources are available online to parish groups.

There is no dearth of good and diverse resources available. You don’t have to create something from scratch. I want every parish to find a program and use it, and not only during Lent. Here are some examples:

• Christian Foundations – Grounding for a Life in Faith, written by the Rev. Canon Judy and Pat Paulsen and the Rev. Canon Susan Bell.
• Alpha; Living the Questions; the Pilgrim Series.
• There is funding available through the Our Faith-Our Hope grants for more intensive leadership development.

We are in the midst of rethinking our recruitment strategy so that our leadership reflects more broadly the society we serve.

We have an opportunity to rethink how the Congregational Development department integrates the work of mission, congregational health and formation, and how it fits into stewardship, communications and property. I am very grateful for the 30-plus years of ministry that Canon Dave Robinson has given to our diocese and the wider Church, and I thank the dedicated staff and highly experienced volunteers who provide an inspired model of leadership for other dioceses.

Governance

For a number of Synods, we have considered how we govern ourselves. We have not figured out how to use technology effectively to bring people together to share ideas and make decisions. The technology is growing easier and is more accessible.

We have an enormous Synod – two to three times the size of our neighbours’ Synods, 20 times the size of our Provincial Synod, more than twice as large as our national Synod and more than twice the size of the House of Commons. There are many good reasons for this, perhaps. It is especially good at bringing people together for celebration, consultation and learning, but it is a particularly cumbersome, expensive and inefficient way to make some kinds of decisions. And our 42-member Diocesan Council is 40 per cent larger than the Executive Council (the Cabinet) of the Province of Ontario.

The parish governance structure does not generally meet the needs of our parishes or our people, either. The rethink is not a rearrangement of deck chairs, but putting our structures at the service of our core mission – to be flexible and urgent in our response to the mission of Christ in our communities.

Innovation based on evidence

Some years ago at a Synod, I asked people to take some missional risks, to take the family car out for a spin. I was asked if people had permission to have the keys to the car. Yes! Yes! Yes! We need to take risks – calculated risks, to be sure, but complacency is not sustainable.

It is exciting to see what has been happening when people do take the keys. I hope you have looked in the Convening Circular to see what has been going on in the diocesan family. It is impressive. Reach and Stretch grants, church plants and reboots, leadership support, new forms of ministry started, traditional forms of ministry re-invigorated, substantial contributions to the work of the Church beyond our borders. More than $1.2 million has been given for healing and reconciliation and Aboriginal ministries, and half a million dollars in matching grants to parishes for refugee resettlement.

We will highlight four or five today and tomorrow in our Missional and Outreach Moments, but they are just the tip of an iceberg of ideas that are changing the way we understand and practice ministry – and we are also continuing excellent and exciting work as we have always done it. Both/and, not either/or.

Not everything has worked as planned. We are collecting the learnings, examining the data, figuring out what went well and repeating it, and figuring out what did not and making adjustments and trying again – that’s what innovation based on evidence is about: creating and maintaining a “continuous learning organization.”

Evidence-based innovation is about making decisions based on good data that marry the hunches we have with facts, so that our interpretations and decisions are based in reality, not just wishful thinking. It’s about making good judgments, and so it is related to governance. It’s about taking risks, so it requires trust. It’s about prioritizing our resources, so it’s related to stewardship. It’s what John Strachan did.

Stewardship

Stewardship is importantly related to leadership and formation – we need to be formed as stewards of God’s creation, a vow of our baptism.

Stewardship is not only about money, but people. We need to identify and call our potential leaders from all the cultures and traditions we have been blessed with in our diocese. We simply cannot afford to overlook or undervalue the gifts of people who look or think or decide differently than we do. We certainly cannot allow ourselves to do that with other Anglicans! I am committed to intentionally seeking this diversity for the health and faithfulness of our diocese.

We have given attention to our patterns of financial giving. The stewardship education and mentoring programs that we have developed have been very successful and need to be extended. We are developing a program for legacy giving that you will hear about over the coming year.

A major opportunity for us is the gift (and the burden) of our property – $1.5 billion worth of it. As a basic principle, we cannot be possessed by our property. On the contrary, our property is bound by the mission. We are exploring new ways to manage these resources wisely and consistently, and seeking new ways to leverage these for the long-term benefit of the mission of our Church, just as John Strachan did with the clergy reserves some 175 years ago. We are seriously understaffed to do this work in-house, and we will have to think outside the box and change our governance models.

Culture and Trust

I have left this to the end, because in the long run it is the most important.

We live in a polarizing world: distrust of the “other,” however the other is defined; a society that has tolerated bullies and abuse, that has normalized highly charged discourse that publicly divides and mocks and diminishes opponents. It is often cloaked in a false tolerance in the name of free speech or expression of personal opinion. It is a worldview that has infiltrated the way we in the Church speak and act. It is wrong! It is not healthy debate. It is contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is contrary to the vows we make in baptism to respect the dignity of other. It destroys communion.

In the alternative, we are called in scripture to “Build all up with love.”

In a time when the boundaries of civil discourse are neither clear not agreed, I think we should establish some mutually developed guidelines and accountability that will express our values for Christian conversation, and model parameters for our interactions with one another in the Church, with the wider community, in person, in our meetings, and in our use of social media. Let us build a stronger culture of trust, for it is an essential component of Christian discipleship. It will impact our leadership, our governance, our capacity for innovation. It is a matter of the good stewardship of our human resources.

A challenge that continues to affect our life together, and yes, our mutual trust, is marriage. General Synod met a year ago last June in this very spot and approved the first step to amend the marriage canon to formally permit same-sex marriages in the Church. Over the next year, including this afternoon, there will be further consultations as we prepare for a second and final reading at General Synod in 2019.

With the advice of the chancellor of General Synod, supported by a number of canon lawyers, I have acted under the provisions of the Constitution of General Synod and the authority of what is known as “jus liturgicum,” – liturgical and pastoral jurisdiction of a diocesan bishop within his diocese – to provide alternative rites for this to meet the pastoral needs of some in our diocese. It is an interim pastoral measure, in a restricted number of parishes where it has been requested after consultation. I have authorized some same-sex marriages to be solemnized in certain limited circumstances. Neither parishes nor individual clergy will be required to celebrate marriages contrary to their convictions.

As I have said, not all welcome this development, some because it goes too far, some because it is not enough. The traditional position on marriage is an authentic, sustainable conviction that is historic and significant. It remains a coherent theological, biblical and pastoral position within our Anglican tradition, but not the only one. All of us need to extend to each the most generous Christian charity that our Redeemer calls us to exercise as we, together, seek to discern and live out God’s will.

We live in a very diverse Church. The diversity that our diocesan community demonstrates means we are called to witness to the faith in a variety of ways, and though such witness is rooted in differing interpretations and understanding of Holy Scripture and the tradition, the ways are recognizably Anglican. You will note that there are strong affirmations in the pastoral guidelines assuring a continued and honoured place in all aspects of diocesan life for those who do not agree with this response. We are enriched by the breadth of this diversity and would be lessened by the loss of any voice. I am committed to continue the long practice of this diocese to reflect this authentic diversity in the selection and appointment of clergy, in honoring parish traditions, and in the membership of committees and councils of the diocese.

I issued a pastoral statement a few weeks ago, fully endorsed by all the suffragan bishops, about how I intend to include in the life of this diocese clergy and laity who hold differing convictions about sexuality issues that we are struggling with today. It is not boasting to say that other parts of the Anglican Communion look to us as a model for dealing with patient generosity and gracious hospitality; it is a fact – they do. This is not to sweep under the carpet real and important differences. It is, rather, to recognize that such differences do not permit us to abandon our more basic need (our neediness) to hold one another in love as Christ himself commanded us. I have met and continue to meet with representatives, both conservatives and liberals, to work out practical measures to ensure that all may flourish to the greatest possible extent within our Church.

This willingness to accommodate difference has marked our approach in controversial issues for most of the history of our diocese; we have not always done it well, but we have never been a diocese of theological, spiritual, liturgical or political uniformity. I have worked deliberately to make this a reality during my four decades of ministry. In spite of his very strong opinions on many controversial subjects, this was Bishop Strachan’s legacy. I fervently hope that it will be my legacy to this diocese as well.

There have been many significant changes in this past year. We have had a number of important staff changes at the Synod Office. I am very grateful to Susan Abell for her willingness to serve as interim Chief Administrative Officer while we reassessed the scope of the role. I am delighted to welcome Angela Hantoumakos, whom I will introduce later, to the newly renamed position as Executive Director, providing leadership in implementing Growing in Christ, our strategic plan, and coordinating the services that we offer to the parishes and people of this diocese.

Three area bishops have moved or retired since our last regular Synod. All of them began their ordained ministry in Toronto and served our Church with great faithfulness, gracious wisdom and effective leadership. I am immensely grateful to bishops Linda Nicholls, Philip Poole and Patrick Yu for their service.

Just over a year ago, Synod met to elect three priests of this diocese to be bishops in the Church of God. They have now been ordained and consecrated, and soon will have been a year in their episcopal ministries in their assigned areas. Joining Bishop Fenty and me, they bring new energy, their own specific gifts and their deep commitment to the Anglican expression of the Christian faith that is a blessing to our Church for years to come.

Bishops, even though they are formed in a particular spiritual and theological tradition, do not serve a special-interest party; they are bishops of, and for, the whole Church. The area bishops have particular oversight under my direction for a region of the diocese, but they are also suffragan bishops and so have concern and responsibility for the whole as well as the parts. They have concern for all the people of God – and who doesn’t? – who live within the boundaries of the diocese, including those who are not part of any Anglican congregation. They link the parts to the whole and the whole to the parts.

My decision to retire at the end of next year is not sudden or capricious. We have a growing granddaughter and are excited to have another grandchild arriving in February. Ellen and I have decided to take up ballroom dance lessons, although for some reason the Chancellor thinks Ellen may not have enough insurance! I am not abandoning the ship, for the diocese is healthy and vibrant, but I sense that it needs renewed direction after 15 years – really 25 years – of my leadership. I ask you to concur in the election of a Coadjutor, who will automatically succeed me on my retirement. Being a bishop is not at all like being a parish priest; related, yes, but quite distinct – a completely different rhythm of work, a different level of complexity, a different set of relationships, a different order of ministry.

I was elected as a bishop suffragan of Toronto, consecrated on June 21, 2003, and given responsibility for the Trent-Durham area. Archbishop Finlay retired as the 10th Bishop of Toronto on May 31, 2004. A couple of weeks later, I was elected Bishop of Toronto. I had a much longer preparation for the role than the dates suggest. Since March 1992, I served as the Executive Assistant to the Bishop, and so for over a decade I worked in the closest proximity to the College of Bishops and Archbishop Finlay. It was a steep learning curve to move from the parish into the Bishop’s Office as Archdeacon, somewhat less so becoming an area bishop with that experience. Nonetheless, I faced a surprisingly big learning curve when I assumed responsibilities as Diocesan.

Archbishop Finlay served as a coadjutor to Archbishop Lewis Garnsworthy for over a year, although he was already a suffragan. Our second bishop, Neil Bethune, was coadjutor to John Strachan. Bishop Snell was coadjutor to Fred Wilkinson. This is a frequent practice in the Canadian Church, including recently in Huron and Quebec. Niagara, Rupert’s Land and even Yukon are planning to elect coadjutors this next year.

I believe that it is in the best interests of the diocese and my successor to have a reasonable period of orientation to the role. I urge you to concur in my request for the election of a coadjutor bishop to be held in June.

In the meantime, my assistants have given me a new Twitter hashtag: #ImStillHere.

I have another Synod to chair next November, but I want to say now how proud I am of this diocese, the quality of staff, the dedication of clergy, the faithfulness of lay people, the capacity of our volunteer leaders. I thank God – at least most days – for the opportunity and the privilege of serving as your bishop. Thank you, and may God bless you.

*(James Strachan [John Strachan], A Visit to the Province of Upper Canada in 1819. Aberdeen: D. Chalmers, 1820.)

The post I want to say how proud I am of this diocese appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Day 1

Synod begins with Eucharist
Synod began with a Eucharist, followed by lunch and the business session. During the worship service, Synod acknowledged it was meeting on traditional First Nations’ land. It also prayed for those who had died since the last regular session of Synod in 2015. One of the hymns in the service, We Sing New Songs of Hope and Expectation, was written by the Rev. Sherman Hesselgrave, the incumbent of Holy Trinity, Trinity Square, Toronto. There were 633 voting and non-voting members in attendance on the first day.

New canons, archdeacon named
Archbishop Colin Johnson announced new canons and an archdeacon. They are:

• The Rev. Canon Byron Gilmour, Christ Church, Brampton
• The Rev. Canon Christopher (Kit) Greaves, Christ Memorial, Oshawa
• The Rev. Canon Gary van der Meer, St. Anne, Gladstone Ave., Toronto
• Deacon Canon Jacqueline Boutheon, Christ Church, Scarborough
• The Rev. Canon Joan Cavanagh-Clark, Parish of Kinmount, Minden and Maple Lake
• The Rev. Canon Joanne Davies, chaplain at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and St. John Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto
• The Rev. Canon Philip Der, St. Christopher, Richmond Hill
• Canon Mary Conliffe, Diocesan Executive Assistant to the Archbishop
• The Ven. Kyn Barker, the diocese’s coordinator of Deacons, Archdeacon of Toronto

The installation of canons and archdeacon will be held on Jan. 21 at 4:30 p.m. at St. James Cathedral.

A first for Synod
For the first time, Synod had a social media wall – a large screen that showed a loop of posts about Synod from Twitter and Instagram. To see their posts on the wall, Synod members used the hashtag #synodTO with their messages and photos.

Archbishop delivers Charge
In his Charge to Synod, Archbishop Johnson spoke about Bishop John Strachan’s contributions to the diocese, the diocese’s new strategic plan, his thoughts about the diocese since General Synod 2016, his coming retirement and his request for the election of a coadjutor bishop.

Members practise electronic voting
As in previous Synods, members used electronic devices, called response pads, to vote. They were given instructions and took part in a few test polls to practise. In a light-hearted moment, Synod was asked to vote on a mock motion that Synod be adjourned. Seventy per cent voted in favour and 30 per cent were opposed.

Executive Director introduced
Archbishop Johnson introduced Angela Hantoumakos, the diocese’s new Executive Director.

A Christian community in the making
In Synod’s first Missional and Outreach Moment, the Rev. Jeff Potter told the story of St. Stephen, Maple, a new church plant that is a year old. The original St. Stephen’s closed in 2008 and the building was deconsecrated. However, the land was kept and eventually a reboot was imagined. The church was in need of repair “but we could feel the potential,” he said. In time, a small group came together and on Oct. 30 of last year Bishop Peter Fenty reconsecrated the church. The first public service followed on the first Sunday in Advent and was a great occasion. Since then, the church has grown and word continues to spread, reflecting the church’s motto, “a Christian community in the making.” Mr. Potter thanked the many people who were involved in this reboot, especially the Rev. Canon Susan Bell, the diocese’s Canon Missioner.

Constitution, canon changes approved
Synod approved changes to the Constitution that would give the Secretary of Synod the authority to deal with late registrations at Synod. Synod also approved revisions to Canon 10 – Clerical Appointments, Exchanges, Retirements and Terminations, to allow the combination of a churchwarden and deputy churchwarden to be members of a parish selection committee. Finally, Synod approved revisions to Canon 15 – Churchwardens, to allow for flexibility when the collecting and counting of the offerings of a congregation are conducted. There will be a two-step process whereby the churchwardens confirm the custody of envelopes, loose cash and cheques and then ensure that the formal count is conducted within a specified time frame. Churchwardens will be required to forward a copy of the annual budget with the statistical and financial returns to the Secretary of Synod.

Coadjutor election likely in June
Synod approved a motion to have an election of a coadjutor bishop in 2018. In September, Archbishop Johnson announced that he was retiring and informed Diocesan Council that he would be asking Synod to concur with his request for the election of a coadjutor bishop for the Diocese of Toronto. He said the electoral will likely be held on June 9, 2018.

Synod debates proposed election changes
Synod debated a motion that proposed amendments to sections 10 and 11 of the Constitution, which deal with the way bishops are elected. The amendments would have required a diocesan bishop or coadjutor bishop to be elected by two-thirds of the total votes cast in both the Order of Clergy and the Order of Laity. (Currently, only a majority of the total votes cast in each order are needed for the election of a bishop.) Furthermore, the name of the candidate with the lowest number of votes in the combined orders would have been eliminated in each round of voting, except when there were fewer than four candidates remaining or the candidate with the lowest total number of votes in the combined orders received 10 or more votes in each order.

The proposed changes applied only to the election of a diocesan bishop or a coadjutor bishop; the election of a suffragan bishop would continue to require a simple majority in each order.

A background note to the motion gave the rationale for the proposed changes. It stated that some other dioceses have a two-thirds threshold among clergy and laity for the election of a diocesan bishop. This ensures that the cleric elected has broad support across the Diocese and was able to represent that diversity within the Anglican Church of Canada and the wider Communion.

Diocesan Council had forwarded the motion to Synod with the recommendation that it be adopted.

After debate, Synod voted on the motion. Because it was a proposed change to the Constitution, it required 75 per cent approval to come into effect immediately. It received 68 per cent approval. Therefore, it will be required to come to the next regular session of Synod for it to be passed. The next regular session of Synod will be held Nov. 9-10, 2018.

Advice sought for marriage canon discussions
After wide consultation, Archbishop Johnson has convened a group to create a process for the diocese to discuss the proposed changes to General Synod’s Marriage Canon, which would allow for same-sex marriage in the Anglican Church of Canada. General Synod voted on the proposed changes last year and will do so again in 2019. In the meantime, it has referred the matter to diocesan and provincial Synods for their consideration.

The group consists of Marg Watters Knebel (chair), Chris Ambidge, the Rev. Canon Susan Bell, Pamela Boisvert, the Rev. Chris Harper, the Rev. Canon Philip Hobson, the Rev. Ian LaFleur, Ryan Ramsden, the Rev. Mark Regis, and it is facilitated by Janet Marshall. Its mandate is to formulate a process for the diocese that started at this Synod and will continue at the diocese’s next regular session of Synod on Nov. 9-10 2018.

Archbishop Johnson called on Ms. Watters Knebel, the Rev. Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan, Mr. Harper and Mr. Regis to speak to Synod. A hard copy of their presentations was also made available to Synod members.

Ms. Watters Knebel said that both Archbishop Fred Hiltz, the Primate, and Archbishop Johnson have written pastoral responses that set the tone for the process. In a statement dated July 14, 2016, the Primate wrote: “More than ever we must make efforts not to turn away from one another, but rather to one another, not to ignore but to recognize one another, not to walk apart but together.” In a pastoral statement dated Sept. 27, 2017, which was published in the November issue of The Anglican and is available on the diocese’s website, www.toronto.anglican.ca, Archbishop Johnson wrote: “All of us need to extend to each other the most generous Christian charity that Jesus our Redeemer calls us to exercise as we, together, seek to discern and live out God’s will.”

Ms. Watters Knebel stressed the importance of the process not just to the diocese but the wider Church. “What we do here in the Toronto diocese is quite important,” she said. “It will be noticed. As the largest and most multicultural Canadian diocese, we have a distinct voice within the Canadian church. We have an opportunity to be a beacon of hope for the wider Church, by responding in a way that models unity in diversity, celebrates the strengths and gifts of diversity and reflects our common commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the mission of the Church. Our process may be of help to others and it will certainly be of interest as the national church prepares for General Synod 2019.

“The mandate before us is open-ended. Each diocese has been given the opportunity to consider the proposed change to the Marriage Canon in a way that makes sense for them. We have been given no specific directions or deliverables, and there is to be no vote. Our discussions and conversations need not be brought to any conclusion or decision. How we consider this is up to us.

“This afternoon we ask for the help of this body in creating a process that will serve you, your parishes and the diocese. We want our plans to reflect your ideas and wishes.”

To further set the context for the table discussions that followed, Mr. Harper, Canon Barnett-Cowan and Mr. Regis were invited to speak. Mr. Harper, the diocese’s Indigenous Native Priest, called the diocese “the poster child of diversity” with its many people and churches. “It is our diversity that we should celebrate with one voice, for in our diversity God reveals His glory and depth of love, for the love of the world He gave His Son,” he said. “In our diversity we are all called and named as children of creation and God knows us, and we are called to be His peace to the world. And as hope was given to us in faith, we are to witness hope to all that we encounter in all what we think, say and do.

“So I call you for a short time: express love, peace and hope as only you can, as a child of God’s calling. Set aside the divisive chains of politics and our own personal sensitivities, so that we might walk together and respectfully see each other for who we have been called to be… a child of God in the family of God, created in diversity.”

Canon Barnett-Cowan, who has held senior positions in the Canadian Church and the Anglican Communion, recounted some of the key moments in the Church’s discussions on homosexuality, same-sex blessings and same-sex marriage over the past 40 years. She said that at every point there has been an attempt to understand all points of view and to honour differences.

“When (the Church) is at its best has been when it has truly focused on listening: listening to the Scriptures, listening to the experience of gay and lesbian people, listening to those who come from different cultural and theological contexts, listening to those who truly do not know what is right, listening to those who are convinced that they are right,” she said.

She spoke about some of the times when the Canadian Church seemed to coalesce and find a common mind, describing the work of General Synods in 1995, 2004 and 2010.

“I could easily list the times when the opposite has happened, when process got in the way of discernment instead of serving it, and when people felt that they had been rudely overruled by a majority,” she said. “Moreover, many in the Church have expressed anguish about the length of time that this process has taken, and the personal cost to them.

“But I would rather you lift up your heads to consider that the path of dialogue, far from keeping the Church from doing anything at all, is in fact the only path it can follow if it is to maintain its unity and seek the truth in all honesty.”

Ms. Regis, an associate priest at St. Paul, Bloor Street, spoke about how Archbishop Johnson, following the contentious vote at General Synod in 2016, called a series of meetings with clergy who hold to the historic definition of marriage, to hear their concerns. Close to 70 clergy in the diocese voiced their concerns officially, along with many lay people, he said, culminating in facilitated discussions over two days with Archbishop Johnson and a group of representative clergy in August. These discussions were facilitated by Canon Barnett-Cowan and Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, the current Secretary General of the Communion. “During those discussions, a refreshed commitment to the validity of the historic understanding of marriage and those so convicted was affirmed, and a shared desire to move forward together as a Diocese was upheld,” he said. “This aim is reflected in the Archbishop’s recent pastoral statement which can be found on the diocesan website.”

Mr. Regis ended by saying: “The Canadian Church is in a process of discernment, and as this discernment continues, we in the Diocese of Toronto have a unique opportunity and possibly even a charism to engage and model a gracious way where divergent understandings of marriage and other significant matters of faith can faithfully bear with one another. Ongoing dialogue is essential in living this out… Let us continue in prayer as we listen for God’s voice in mission, asking for renewal within a time of great cultural and ecclesiastical change.”

After their presentations, Ms. Watters Knebel asked Synod members to discuss at their tables this question:

“There will be a Regular Session of Synod in 2018 where proposed changes to General Synod’s Marriage Canon will be discussed. What would be most helpful to you and the Diocese in preparing for that conversation?” (It was noted that in 2018 there will be a diocesan discussion, not a vote.)

After 15 minutes of discussions, Synod members were asked to individually record their ideas and suggestions on a piece of paper. The committee will use those suggestions as it designs a process for the conversation. The committee members said they would compile the suggestions and would report back on the second day of Synod.

Dinner features Sister Act
Synod enjoyed a hot meal and was entertained by Sister Act, a group of singers from the Parish of Kinmount, Minden and Maple Lake.

Synod’s sponsors thanked
Gratitude was expressed to Synod’s sponsors, who helped offset the costs of the event. They include:

• CGOV Asset Management and Letko Brosseau (dinner co-sponsors)
• Canso Investment Counsel Limited and Northleaf Capital Partners (refreshment sponsors)
• The Dalton Company (WiFi sponsor)
• AON (reception supporter)
• Ecclesiastical Insurance and Marsh Limited (refreshment supporters)
• Trinity College and Wycliffe College (worship sponsors)

Strategic plan lays out vision
After dinner, Synod members listened to a presentation about the diocese’s new strategic plan, Growing in Christ. The plan lays out a bold five-year vision (2016-2021) and sets the foundations for how we will work together to build healthy, missional Anglican communities that engage faithfully with the world and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here are the main parts of the plan:

Our vision: “An Anglican community committed to proclaiming and embodying Jesus Christ through compassionate service, intelligent faith and Godly worship.”

Our mission: “We build healthy, missional Anglican communities that engage faithfully with the world and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Our values: “Faith, compassion, collaboration, accountability, boldness.”

The plan has identified five Focus Areas to guide and determine the priorities for the diocese’s resources over the coming years: leadership and formation, trust and culture, innovation based on evidence, governance and decision-making, and stewardship of resources

Susan Abell, ODT, the Diocese’s interim Chief Administrative Officer, led the presentation. She introduced a video of an interview with Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, speaking on leadership, vision, mission, and energizing people.

After the video, Ms. Abell encouraged Synod members to read the Growing in Christ document in full. “We need to remind ourselves that the vision is something that will not change through time,” she said. “Our mission is what we are called to do today to realize the vision.”

She said a strategic plan helps Anglicans have a way of thinking and talking together. She said the conversations have been very rich. “It gives permission and support to lift things up and think together,” she said.

Synod heard from representatives of the working groups talk about their progress. At the end of the presentation, Ms. Abell asked Synod members to sit quietly for a moment and then write down on a notepad what impressed or interested them today about the plan, and what they would like to take back to their parishes to pursue further. They were encouraged to drop their ideas into a basket on the way out of the plenary hall, and to also take one of their comments back home with them as a reminder.

Synod ends day with prayer
Synod ended for the day with closing prayers led by the Rev. David Bryan Hoopes, OHC, the Synod chaplain.

Day 2

Synod opens with worship
The second day of Synod began at 9 a.m. on Nov. 25 with worship. About 638 voting and non-voting members attended the second day of Synod.

The Faith Hub reaches out
In the second Missional and Outreach Moment, the Very Rev. Andrew Asbil, rector of St. James Cathedral and dean of Toronto, spoke about drug use and homelessness in the area around the cathedral. He spoke about the outstanding work of the cathedral’s drop-in to address the needs. He spoke about how people from the nearby Roman Catholic, United and Anglican churches and others have come together to create The Faith Hub, to walk with and learn from those on the streets and living in poverty. He said the group hopes to create circles of support. He asked Synod members to pray for all those involved in The Faith Hub and invited people to join as volunteers.

Synod hears about Provincial Synod
Laura Walton, a Synod member and the Prolocutor of Provincial Synod, gave a report on the Provincial Synod for the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario, which took place Oct. 13-16, 2015 in Toronto, and has continued its work over the past two years.

She said Provincial Synod has the unique ability to liaise with the provincial government on many issues and interact with regulatory bodies dealing with cemeteries and historical designations and competencies.

She said the Provincial Synod has worked hard in the past two years to increase the utilization of its members’ gifts. It is working towards a more effective and engaging strategy that lets those on Council continue Provincial Synod’s work between their twice-yearly meetings. There are currently three working groups focused on homelessness, eldercare and engaging OPCOTE in discussions about what the theological colleges are doing in regards to working on actions named by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Provincial Synod is also working with the senior management teams of the seven dioceses in the Ecclesiastical Province, with an eye toward joint management and shared costs rather than each diocese paying for the same item. It moves toward its next meeting in October 2018 in Ottawa with a focus on creating a 10-year plan that supports all the dioceses of the Province.

Reports, financial statements approved
Synod received and approved the following documents:

• Priorities and Plans, 2015-2017 – Narrative Report. This report contains notable accomplishments as the diocese transitioned to its new strategic plan, Growing in Christ.
• Diocesan Council’s Report to Synod. This report contains a list of members, a summary of all policy and major items discussed or approved by Council, and a summary of grants, loans and other funding. One highlight of this report is that more than $19 million in grants and loans were awarded from 37 granting and funding streams from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2017.
• Financial Report for 2016, the Audited Financial Statements for the Incorporated Synod for 2016 and the Audited Financial Statements for the Cemetery Fund for 2016.

Town pitches in for refugees
In the third Missional and Outreach Moment, the Rev. Canon David Barker spoke of how the Rev. Canon Anne Moore and others at St. George, Haliburton contacted AURA in 2015 to help refugees. They held a town meeting and 95 people showed up. People joined committees on life skills, health, ESL and many more to help the refugee family. They received more than $64,000 in donations. A Syrian family of 11 had been selected to come and they arrived in September 2016. The family knew no English and the whole community helped to get them settled. The family got involved in the community. It was the small army of volunteers who helped on a daily basis to make it a success, said Canon Barker. It has been two years since the people of Haliburton started and they’ve all be changed by the experience, he added.

Synod prays following attack
Synod prayed following the attacks on Nov. 24 on a mosque in Egypt, killing more than 300.

Auditors appointed
Synod appointed the firm Grant Thornton LLP, Chartered Accountants, to conduct the audit of the financial statements of Synod, the Consolidated Trust Fund and the Cemetery Fund for the year ending Dec. 31, 2017, at a fee to be approved by the Audit Committee.

Synod hears 2017 update
Kathryn Rogers, the diocese’s Treasurer and Director of Finance, gave a financial update for 2017. She said that due to a number of unforeseen circumstances, which were for the most part one-time situations, the diocese was looking at ending the year with a small deficit. She said revenue was static and expenditures were, for the most part, under budget or in line, with the exception of higher than normal legal costs, and costs for relocation and retraining, which are expenses incurred to assist clergy during transitional periods. As well, the capital budget would be higher than expected. The plan was to replace the roof of the Synod Office in 2018 but rain leaking in forced that to be moved ahead to 2017.

Synod learns about work in Africa
Elin Goulden, the diocese’s Social Justice and Advocacy consultant, spoke about the diocese’s $500,000 gift to PWRDF in 2017 to help with work in Africa to improve maternal, newborn and child health, and to provide food security. She spoke about her trip in Tanzania to see this work, and said it has met with great success. Synod members watched a video about the work in Africa. William Postma, the executive director of PWRDF, thanked Synod and the diocese for its support. He said the $500,000 from the diocese has enabled PWRDF to receive more than $2 million from other sources for further work.

A Safe Place for LGBTQ youth
In the fourth Missional and Outreach Moment, the Rev. Erin Martin and Kit Woods talked about A Safe Place, a regular gathering at St. James, Sharon for LGBTQ youth in the area. “Young people need a safe place to be themselves and know they’re loved and accepted for exactly who they are,” said Ms. Martin. The group averages about seven to eight LGBTQ youth and their allies at the meetings. “We’ve seen a transformation in the kids and volunteers,” said Ms. Martin. A couple of months ago, the church launched an adult version of A Safe Place, where parents can talk in safety, she said.

Synod approves priorities and budget
Synod received the document Priorities and Plans 2017-2019 and the Financial Budgets for 2018-2019, and approved the diocese’s priorities and financial plans contained therein. Diocesan Council will implement and report back to Synod on the plans and take corrective measures from time to time as best serves the needs of the diocese.

Parish assessment rate approved
Synod approved an assessment rate for parishes of 24.70 per cent for 2018 and 2019. This is the same assessment rate as in 2017.

Desire to be stronger
In the fifth Missional and Outreach Moment, the Rev. Geoffrey Sangwine spoke about the amalgamation of the former St. Peter, Carlton Street and St. Simon the Apostle, Bloor Street, to become St. Peter and St. Simon the Apostle, Toronto. He spoke about the churches’ histories and ministries to their neighbourhoods. He reflected on the process that brought the churches together. At the heart of the amalgamation was their desire to be stronger as one parish rather than to be two weaker ones, he said. They focussed on getting to know each other. They are asking how they can reach out to the challenged neighbourhood around them with the hope of the gospel.

Members elected to Provincial Synod
Under the constitution of the diocese and the constitution of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario, Synod is required to elect four clergy and four lay members to serve as members of Provincial Synod. The Provincial Synod meets every three years and considers matters of interest in the provincial sphere such as theological education, social issues, government relations, chaplaincies, and vocational diaconate ministries. The next Provincial Synod will be held in 2018 in Ottawa. Clergy voted for clergy and laity voted for laity, following the rules of the diocese’s Constitution.

The following lay members were elected to be members of Provincial Synod:

• Lawrence (Larry) Barker, St. Luke, Burnt River
• Jean Glionna, Holy Trinity, Thornhill
• Susan Schuschu, St. John, East Orangeville
• Laura Walton, Christ Church, Batteau
• (James Beckwith, St. Peter, Erindale will be a substitute lay member of Provincial Synod)

The following clergy were elected to be members of Provincial Synod:

• The Rev. Jeff Potter, St. Stephen, Maple
• The Rev. Canon David Harrison, St. Mary Magdalene
• The Rev. Karen Hatch, St. Margaret in-the-Pines
• The Rev. Canon Douglas Graydon, St. Andrew on-the-Lake

The following clergy will be substitute members of Provincial Synod:

• The Rev. Joan Cavanaugh-Clark, Parish of Minden-Kinmount
• The Rev. Jacqueline Boutheon, Christ Church, Scarborough
• The Rev. Canon Mark Kinghan, St. Paul, Uxbridge
• The Rev. Brad Smith, St. John the Evangelist, Peterborough

Lyds Keesmat-Walsh of the Parish of Fenelon Falls was elected to be the youth member of Provincial Synod. Stephen Warner of St. Peter, Erindale will be the substitute member.

Synod hears feedback on marriage canon process
Marg Watters Knebel gave feedback from the first day’s presentation about a process for discussing the proposed changes to General Synod’s marriage canon. There were more than 500 suggestions from Synod members, she said, which will be collated and used to shape the process. She said there was a deep desire for prayerful listening across differences. Among the requests was the inclusion of youth, LGBTQ, and Indigenous people in the conversations. There were comments about the need for parish engagement in the process, and the need for resources for parishes.

Archbishop asks four questions
Archbishop Johnson thanked the Rev. Canon Claire Wade, who was stepping down as the honorary secretary of Synod. She was presented with flowers and received a standing ovation.

Speaking to Synod, Archbishop Johnson said, “You are an amazing group of people” who provide enormous leadership in the Church and where they live. “I am deeply grateful for the work you do,” he said. He thanked the staff of the Synod Office.

He asked Synod members to take home and ponder four questions:

• What are two characteristics that you have most admired in a bishop?
• What are two critical issues that are affecting the life of this diocese and its mission?
• What are two characteristics that a bishop should have to lead this diocese in its mission in the next decade?
• What would you need in the process of the election to figure out if a candidate had those characteristics?

He asked members to email the answers to his office. Synod ended with prayers, a hymn and a blessing.

For more information on Synod, including motions, reports and financial documents, visit the Synod page on the diocese’s website, www.toronto.anglican.ca.

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Light is comprised of the spectrum of colours including red, orange, yellow, blue, green, indigo and violet. It is a mystery that these combine and separate to give us the variety of experiences that inform our life together. Colours stimulate memory, understanding, communication, even problem-solving and strategizing. Colour makes us feel, react, engage. Sports teams and political parties use colours for identification and solidarity. Anglicans use colour in the seasons of our church year to express aspects of our faith. We even liturgically dress in particular colours to facilitate worship. “Oh Lord, how shining and festive is your gift to us, if we only look, and see.” (From Mary Oliver’s poem Look and See.)

From Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (1:18), we are encouraged to come and see with the eyes of our hearts, that we may know the hope of Jesus. This is not hard to do; it just takes practise and repetition, like those sports teams that proudly wear their team colours, and faithfulness, like the chancel guild who, with steadfast love and reverence, sets our Eucharist table week in and week out.

Lean into the practise of reverence in 2018. This requires a humbling of self, in order to see that which is greater, more lovely, more significant and more awesome than self. Look outwards and see: in the bigger picture, zooming out, what are the colours/ideas/people we gravitate towards? What about those we overlook? Are you willing to invest discernment into seeing those whom we unconsciously avoid? How can we resolve to see deeper, farther, and with the eyes of compassion and love? “Resolution” is a term we use to talk about our intentions and goals for the future; it also refers to the ability to distinguish between separate but adjacent objects or sources of light. Pay attention to the Source, our Creator, the Light of Christ that resonates, reflects, reconciles us even in our cellular structure. We are made in the image of God, who is love and light.

Hear this invitation to see with fresh eyes the God-given gifts around us in the diversity of the faces and hands of our neighbours. It is through the spectrum of individual and community practises, theologies, and faith expressions that we get the beautiful light of our Anglican Church of Canada. I urge you to explore. Be seekers. Resolve to get to know more fully the complexity of your parish family and especially your broader community. In this time of social upheaval and rapid technological growth, there is plenty of room in our faith tradition and our worship spaces for the spiritually hungry and the desperately lonely.

I share with you a word of caution from The Old Hermit’s Almanac, by Edward Hays: “Treat with great reverence all you encounter, for according to the Rainbow Covenant of God with Noah, the Divine One is with all humans and all creatures, large and small.” Look under rocks, behind the barn, in the bus shelters in the suburbs. Walk down to the overpass and use the eyes of your heart to see the child of God who is living under the bridge. See the newcomers and the refugees, the under-employed, the single parent, the over-worked one who has no time for family or church or community. Go see – and participate in what God is up to, in living colour!

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The two congregations came together in 2008 to become St. David Anglican-Lutheran Church, but the agreement wasn’t finalized by all parities, including the diocese and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, until this past September.

Mr. Donald, a long-time parishioner and stalwart of St. David’s who had terminal cancer, wanted to hold the document while he still could. He was proud of the amalgamation and what the church had achieved.

“We came together and never looked back,” he said. “We’ve been a strong church family with lots of energy and commitment.”

Mr. Donald’s wish came true on Nov. 13, when he was presented with the agreement and a letter of commendation from Archbishop Colin Johnson and Bishop Peter Fenty, the area bishop of York-Simcoe, recognizing him for his faithful service to St. David’s over the years. “It was awesome,” he said.

Mr. Donald died a week later on Nov. 21. The congregation celebrated his life and faith on the following weekend.

Mr. Donald was one of the key people at St. David’s who kept the congregation together and moving forward as it entered into discussions and then merged with Holy Cross. He provided leadership as the two congregations came together and tried to figure out how to live as a shared community. It was one of the first Anglican-Lutheran mergers in the diocese and it wasn’t clear how they were going to do it.

“This is a tiny community, and Bob really helped people to trust,” says the Rev. Lori Pilatzke, the incumbent, who called Mr. Donald the church’s ambassador. “He was a giant of a man in physical stature, and he had a faith and a passion equal to his size. He made things happen.”

The merged congregations adopted several changes early in their history. One was to hold blended services instead of a separate service for Anglicans and another for Lutherans. The worship material was projected up on screens, so no on had to juggle books or find passages they weren’t familiar with.

“That made us strong right off the bat,” said Mr. Donald in an interview shortly before his death. “We decided to be the best of the best, and that’s who we were.”

The church also changed some terminology, to be more appealing and understandable to newcomers. For instance, the word “Churchwarden” was replaced by the Lutheran term “Council Chair” – an adjustment that Mr. Donald, who was a churchwarden at the time, readily embraced. “We don’t have wardens anymore – those are for prisons,” he said with a chuckle.

Mr. Donald helped Ms. Pilatzke and the church get through a difficult period when several members left after learning that Ms. Pilatzke was in a same-gender marriage. “He endured all of that and held the place together,” she says.  “Personally, I was not in a good place at that time and his words were, ‘We’re just going to keep loving you while you heal.’”

The episode helped to clarify St. David’s vision as a welcoming place for all. “Hospitality and Christ-like welcome – that, in essence, is what Bob represented in his walk with the Lord,” she says.

Mr. Donald’s generosity extended outside the parish as well. One day he saw a woman crying at the end of the church’s walkway. She was new to Canada and commuting from Toronto to work at a nursing home in Orillia. Mr. Donald and his wife provided her with a room in their home.

“It’s sort of in my nature to always care for others,” he explained. “I’ve always had a place in my heart for people who have less than me and less than others and who are very disrespected for no good reason at all. We serve a community that is very underserved – people on fixed incomes or are disabled. The only people who seem to care about them are the people who go to church.”

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Organizers convened the Service of Solidarity in aid of the hurricane-ravaged islanders of the Diocese of North Eastern Caribbean & Aruba, led by Bishop Errol Brooks in St. John’s, Antigua. In addition to Aruba, this West Indian diocese, established in 1842, comprises the hard-hit islands of Antigua, Barbuda, Dominica, Monserrat, Anguilla, Nevis, Saba, St. Bart’s, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts and St. Martin/Maarten.

Clergy urged the congregation to step forward in an act of intentional giving to assist the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund’s efforts to aid those devastated by this summer’s back-to-back Category 5 storms, Rita and Irma. The service raised more than $5,000.

After the immediate relief efforts, the need for restructuring is urgent. “It was just two months ago that one of the world’s most beautiful islands was left in tatters and totally demolished,” said Fran Delsol, the trade and investment commissioner for the Commonwealth of Dominica. About 90 per cent of homes and almost every school and church on the island was left in ruins; patients died after the hospital was destroyed.

Famous for its lush green vegetation, the island is now a near-lunar landscape. “You look around today and it’s all brown because every tree was uprooted,” said Ms. Delsol, adding that for the first time, you can see both surrounding oceans, the Caribbean and the Atlantic, from any vantage point. The good news is the extraordinary support from others in the Caribbean and around the world, including the Palestine Liberation Army, she said.

In his words of welcome and purpose, the Rev. Leonard Leader of St. George on Yonge, Toronto, urged people to pray for the affected areas while reminding congregants “as Christians, we know that prayer is our first response but it is not our last result.” Although their presence shows they stand with others engaged in relief efforts, words alone are not enough, he said. “We are also going to be providing for those in need by sharing the gifts with which we’ve been blessed.” He noted that the York-Scarborough Area Council recently voted to contribute $3,000 to hurricane relief in Aruba.

After outlining some of the PWRDF’s many international relief and development efforts, Will Postma, the fund’s executive director, said, “I’ve consulted with the diocese and I know its needs are really intense.”

He stressed that the PWRDF strategy is not to duplicate efforts of government and other agencies but to ensure that its funds are put to optimal use. Beyond food, clean water, and clothing, the PWRDF will provide personal-care items and “dignity kits” to help residents maintain their self-esteem in the face of so much loss.

Delivering the homily, the Rt. Rev. Peter Fenty recognized that people have difficulty accepting or understanding the reasons for great disasters and why God “permits” them.

Bishop Fenty drew on the story of Lazarus and Martha from the second reading (John 11:11-27), to emphasize that in the midst of horror, God’s presence is an unfailing refuge and strength. Unlike Martha, who blamed Christ’s delayed arrival at her home for her brother Lazarus’s death, we should not consider adverse events to be ordained by God, nor should we believe that God causes disasters as punishment for wrongs committed. “Don’t go down that road. It is dangerous. If that were true, we’d all have to be worried,” Bishop Fenty said.

He pointed to the inexplicable sufferings of Job from the first reading (Job 19:21-29) as an example of the seeming unfathomability of bad things happening to good people. “If we think we are faithful to our God, when adversity strikes, we may believe that God is not listening or God is absent,” he said, but God is with us in the midst of the worst tribulations, as the 23^rd Psalm tells us, “Yea, though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I fear no evil; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

Natural or manmade disasters offer an opportunity for us to test our strength and to respond, like God, with love and comfort, he said – “to discover the life that exists even in the face of death.” He urged attendees “in the depths of our hearts be responsive to the needs of others” and to give generously, not for what we might gain in return but wholly for the sake of those who suffer.

Other participating clergy were Bishop Kevin Robertson, Bishop Riscylla Shaw, the Rev. Jacqueline Daley, the Rev. Canon Donald Butler, and the Rev. Canon Jim Garland.

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Ms. Hantoumakos, the diocese’s new Executive Director, has a lifelong love of the Church and God. “I’ve had a special connection to the Church from the time I was quite young, and to have the opportunity to serve the Church at this point in my life – I view it as a blessing with all my heart,” she says.

Archbishop Colin Johnson introduced Ms. Hantoumakos (phonetically it is Han-too-mack-os) at Synod on Nov. 24, and she began her duties at the Diocesan Centre on Dec. 4. As Executive Director, she has oversight of all the administrative and program functions of the Diocesan Centre, including administration, archives, communications, congregational development, finance, human resources, property resources, stewardship development and social justice and advocacy. She will also work closely with Archbishop Johnson to ensure that the implementation of the diocese’s new strategic plan, Growing in Christ, is accomplished.

Ms. Hantoumakos brings a wealth of experience from the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. She has a strong background in finance, administration and strategic planning, and has worked with large public companies in the healthcare, aerospace, automotive, entertainment, government, management consulting, and retail and consumer products fields.

She has volunteered at women’s shelters and foodbanks and sat on the boards of several charities. She is currently on the board of directors of Bellwoods, a not-for-profit organization that provides support services and affordable housing for people with physical support needs in the Toronto area.

“It was ingrained in us that we had to give back at least what we got,” she says. “My parents and grandparents were always committed to volunteerism, as is my family today.”

She says she loves working with people and problem-solving – a skill she has honed over the past 40 years in various settings. “Different organizations in the for-profit and not-for-profit worlds handle things differently, so it has expanded my views on how to problem-solve and get things done in different environments,” she says.

She adds: “With all my heart I’m deeply excited to be part of the organization, and I look very forward to working with all of you.”

Archbishop Johnson says he is delighted with the appointment. “Angela brings a wealth of experience in the business world and in the not-for-profit sector, and has shown not only the skills and expertise to do the job but the capacity to build relationships and teams that work well together. She sees this not only as a job but as a ministry.”

He commented on the change in title from Chief Administrative Officer, which has been used by the diocese for the past several years, to Executive Director. “I think the new title, Executive Director, which is common in not-for-profit and charitable organizations, reflects how we hope to understand the role as coordinating and implementing the ministries of our Diocesan Centre in fulfilling Christ’s mission together.”

Ms. Hantoumakos succeeds Susan Abell, ODT, who has been in the position on an interim basis for the past year. “I would like to thank Susan for her gracious and effective leadership,” says Archbishop Johnson.

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