For 30 years, climate experts and representatives of governments have gathered through the UN’s framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) at the Conference of the Parties, known as COP. COP27 was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November, and I was attending on behalf of the ACT Alliance, a global, ecumenical humanitarian, development and advocacy network.

Some people might wonder why faith groups are attending the climate conference each year. For me, the answer is very simple. Faith communities are on the front lines of climate change around the world, working with the most vulnerable people who are already facing the brunt of climate change. We are on the front lines because faiths are part of every community.

Faith groups believe that there is a moral and spiritual responsibility to care for the poor and vulnerable. As a life-long Anglican, I have always heard about and believe in God’s “preferential option for the poor.” My faith formation within the youth ministry of the Diocese of Toronto instilled a strong call to justice in me, and my work with ACT – which stands for “Action by Churches Together” – is how I live out that call.

In my work over the last 15 years, first with the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund and then ACT, I have visited communities that have been devastated by typhoons and cyclones – powerful storms that scientists warn us will get more extreme and frequent as global temperatures rise.

I have seen the devastation and spoken with survivors. People like Joaquina Jose in Mozambique, who spent three days clinging to the top of a tree with her baby on her back after Cyclone Idai inundated her village with three-metre deep flood waters in 2019. Her family lost everything to the floods, and it was the churches who provided food, hygiene and other items, including seeds to plant new crops.

At COP, my work is to help bring the voices of people like Joaquina into the negotiations, to share concrete stories of the impact climate change has in countries like Mozambique, or in Tuvalu, a Pacific island state that is in significant danger of disappearing entirely due to rising sea levels.

Our advocacy at COP takes many forms, from meeting with negotiators and leaders to holding prayer vigils and dialogues with representatives of other faith groups. We often work together in broader groupings to amplify our messages and show the strength of civil society through our collective efforts.

One example of this is the work of the Interfaith Liaison Committee (ILC), a wide range of faith groups ranging from the World Council of Churches to Brahma Kumaris. At the beginning of COP27, the ILC hosted a Talanoa dialogue. Talanoas were introduced to COPs in 2017 when Fiji held the COP presidency. In the Pacific islands, when major decisions need to be made, all stakeholders come together to discuss the situation, answering three questions:

1. Where are we at?
2. Where do we want to get to?
3. How do we get there?

The interfaith Talanoa discussed these questions around climate justice, and the results of the discussions were collated into a call from faith groups that was, in turn, shared with the UNFCCC Secretariat, as well as with media, negotiators and faith groups around the world. The call focused on issues including loss and damage (supporting communities who will lose their homes, livelihoods, culture and more to climate change), gender and youth (looking at the impact of climate change on vulnerable groups who are even more heavily impacted by climate change), and finance (how to fund climate justice work globally), among others.

While our work as ACT Alliance focuses on global outcomes and advocacy at COP, global outcomes require individual countries’ support of the decisions. To that end, we work with many countries, lobbying developed countries and supporting developing ones’ calls. At this COP, I worked with KAIROS and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, and together we had a meeting with Catherine Stewart, Canada’s Climate Ambassador. With KAIROS and a young person from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, I met with Mike Morrice, the MP for Kitchener.

In both meetings, we shared our experiences of climate change work around the world and our hopes for Canada’s improved engagement in justice-focused work, particularly on the issue of loss and damage, both for developing countries and also for Indigenous communities in Canada.

Prayer is an important part of the life of faith communities, and being at COP is no different.  ILC hosted an interfaith prayer service as part of the Talanoa dialogue. The World Council of Churches hosted an ecumenical service in the middle Sunday of COP. Both services were held at the Coptic Cathedral in Sharm el-Sheikh. The murals painted throughout the cathedral are stunning, and for me the wall devoted to Moses was particularly moving, as we were on the Sinai Peninsula. In addition, faith leaders often host times of meditation and prayer, spend time praying for and with negotiators, and we have held prayer vigils in the dying days of COPs.

So what was the outcome from this year’s COP and all the lobbying, media actions and prayers? From my perspective, we had a big win in the final hours of the conference, but that was the one high point of the overall results.

Our win was that the conference agreed to financing for loss and damage, something that churches and others have been advocating for for years. Loss and damage is one of the three key pillars of response to climate change that are outlined in the Paris Agreement. The first pillar, mitigation, is our work to limit the rise of the global temperature. The goal is to keep it to 1.5C, although each year that passes without major increases in ambition make that goal harder to reach. The second pillar is adaptation, helping communities and countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change, including droughts, storms and changing growing seasons. Finally, loss and damage is an acknowledgement of the economic and non-economic impact that climate change can have on people and communities when it is impossible to adapt to the impacts of the changing climate on their homes.

Since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, the focus of climate funding has been on mitigation and adaptation, and while there were discussions about loss and damage finance, no agreement had been made to create a methodology for funding the work. That changed in Sharm el-Sheikh, and is a big cause for celebration, as the needs of the most vulnerable are closer to being met.

Of course, there is lots of work to do in the coming months and years to define this financing – who will pay into it, how will it be offered to communities, how to define “vulnerable,” and much more.

The downside to achieving the breakthrough in loss and damage was that increased ambition on mitigation was lost in the give and take of multilateral negotiations. While we celebrate the inclusion of loss and damage finance, the lack of movement on phasing out fossil fuels is a cause for alarm, as it is increasingly urgent that humanity moves away from these sources of energy towards renewable ones.

Human rights, gender, and Indigenous rights were sidelined in the negotiations. Only 34 per cent of the negotiators at COP were women, and Indigenous people’s rights, knowledge, and experience are far too often missing. Climate justice requires centring the rights of all people, and particularly of vulnerable groups, and COP again failed to deliver.

One final bright spot in COPs in the last several years has been the increasing presence and role of young people. Greta Thunberg has become a household name, but she is only one of millions of passionate, committed young people who are working tirelessly to address the climate emergency. The Lutheran World Federation each year uses the majority of its spaces at COP to bring young people from around the world, and it is a joy and a privilege to work with them.

With a big win under our belts, but lots more work to do, people of faith will be part of the work of achieving climate justice at the local, national and global levels throughout the next year, and I will be there alongside them, continuing the work into COP28 in Dubai next November. Your prayers and actions, at all levels, are greatly appreciated and will help us to care for the Creation that God put into our care.

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Typically, I present an array of statistics to clergy and volunteers regarding church growth, giving and observed best practices from across the diocese. We discuss attendance and giving patterns over several years and try to discern a plan to respond to any number problems the parish might be encountering. Most of the time, my expertise is sought not because of a difficulty in finding choristers, but for a lack of financial resources and engagement.

In my fundraising training days more than 25 years ago, I was taught an important piece of practical wisdom: giving is done from top to bottom, inside and out. This means that for any fundraising effort to be successful, the leadership team must project and model the vision of the organization. Attendance at church services and meetings is insufficient. Clergy, churchwardens and everyone else sitting around the advisory committee table need to be givers. They must be able to speak with credibility about that which they expect others to do. If you want your congregation to give proportionately, you need to be doing it as well. Likewise, if you are launching a drive to increase the number of pre-authorized givers, make certain you are doing the same.

Can you imagine how any sort of campaign – fundraising or otherwise – would fare in reaching it is objective if its primary architects and visionaries were not on board 100 per cent? How can you expect others to do what you cannot and will not participate in yourself? Paul’s Letter to Timothy makes it clear what is expected of church leaders. And although the letter is written in the context of behaviour for bishops and deacons, it is equally applicable to any person of service in the Church: “Now a bishop must be above reproach… temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher… not a lover of money. They must manage their own household well…” (1 Timothy 3:2-4). Credibility rests entirely on modeling the behaviour and leadership one expects of others.

This same pattern of behaviour needs to span the breadth of church leadership: bishops, clergy, lay leaders, etc. The generous giving of our time, talent and treasure – in abundance and without question – needs be understood as a part of leadership, as a requirement to hold the office. It is normative practice in virtually every not-for-profit organization that board members are expected to give. Not only is it made clear in the position description, but the chair makes it clear at the first meeting of a new session. Giving by leaders is normative, expected and viewed as an honorable practice.

The credibility of the Church requires that its leaders emulate the very behaviour we expect of others. In doing so, we can be bold in our endeavors and proud of our accomplishments. I would never be able to encourage others to be generous if I were not living that example as well.

I am often surprised when people suggest that I am too enthusiastic in asking for money; that perhaps I am asking too much of others or being too direct. I am secure in my request because the Church has something worth giving money to and I delight in giving to its mission and presence in the community. It has value. The mission of God’s Church requires that we be generous givers and that begins with leadership. I cannot be any other way.

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“One City Peterborough is a non-profit charitable organization. We operate on the belief that everyone belongs, and it is together that we flourish. To that end, we focus on supporting those who have experienced homelessness and/or criminalization towards their full inclusion into the community.

“Some of our programs look to create stability and increase wellness for those experiencing criminalization and homelessness, such as housing, employment and support programs; some of our work focuses on advocating for systemic change such as challenging laws that criminalize individuals; and some of our work addresses immediate needs, such as survival gear for folks sleeping outside.”

This would not prepare me for the eye-opening visit that the Rev. Christian Harvey, co-executive director, would lead me on. We began with a tour of the main house where the offices are located. Along with the administrative offices were two special rooms. There is the art therapy room. By helping the participants to develop their creative side, the art therapist helps them peer into their inner selves, explore their feelings and come to greater self-awareness and healing. There is also the simple joy of learning to draw and paint.

There is also the music room. It is a popular place to enjoy a tune, meet with friends and release the tension of the day in a healthy way. A wide variety of instruments are available for participants to enjoy. I’m sure there is never a dull moment here.

Christian also took me to visit one of their homes that is currently being renovated to better serve senior ex-prisoners who are struggling with mobility issues and other effects of aging, while struggling to find food, shelter and a job.

What was most moving for me was a room being created for prisoners in palliative care, that is, those who are in prison and near death. In prison, as you near death, you are assigned to a cell in isolation, often without windows. Worse than dying so alone, the myth in prison is that if you die in prison, you automatically go to hell. How terrifying this situation must be as the end draws near.

So, One City Peterborough is negotiating with Corrections Canada to allow palliative care prisoners to be transferred to its seniors’ home and die with others around them in a room with big, beautiful windows overlooking a garden.

I have been taught that a person is considered palliative if they are within six months of dying. Corrections Canada would like to release a prisoner to One City Peterborough’s care for only the last week of their life. OCP is negotiating for two weeks.

This is just a glimpse of my visit to One City Peterborough and what FaithWorks is about. Allowing someone to pass their last week or two in this life with some humanity, compassion and hope for eternal life is what your donation to FaithWorks supports. It is an expression of God’s love and mercy.

This article originally appeared in Faithlines. One City Peterborough is a FaithWorks ministry partner.

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St. Paul, Minden hosted the event on Oct. 22. It was to be a day with no business or other reports. Don’t we all love sitting through the business reports, which always seem to come after a big lunch!

A list of deacons in the eastern part of the diocese was made available, and invitations were extended. I understand the ACW will host another event for the western part of the diocese at a later date.

I was asked to pick the theme for the day and decided that a day to honour deacons would be appropriate, as their ministries are crucial to the Church. Deacons have a long history in the Church. Diaconal ministry is vital to building ministry, mission, congregational life and communities.

The importance and value of diaconal ministry for the Church’s growth, mission, outreach and spiritual health are not always understood or recognized. The Deacon’s Day on Oct. 22 was planned to bring more awareness of the importance of being called to the diaconate and the ministries born through such service.

The day began with a service that included gospel music. There was a presentation on the role of deacons in the Church and the importance of a deacon’s ministry in being a bridge from the church to the community, or the community to the church.

After lunch, each of the five attending deacons described their ministries in their churches. We heard from the Rev. Suzanne McMillian of All Saints, Peterborough, the Rev. Shiela Archer of St. Peter, Cobourg, the Rev. Martha Waind of the Parish of Minden, Kinmount, Maple Lake, the Rev. Marilyn Metcalfe of St. George, Pickering and the Rev. Barbara Russell of St. George, Grafton. It was exciting and enlightening to learn of the unique ministries born from the needs of the communities – ministries that extend from fitness classes to walking the labyrinth, thrift shops and places of gathering.

After the presentations, we engaged in an activity called “Dress the Deacon.” Each person had cut-outs (think paper dolls) with clergy shirts, dalmatic, stole, skirt or trousers, and alb. Then everyone put on a blindfold. Seeing everyone with a mask, then a blindfold, was quite a sight. It would be sufficient to say there was lots of laughter as folks tried to dress the deacon blindfolded! I am not sure how comfortable a deacon would be wearing a clergy shirt over a dalmatic, or a stole under all the robes, or process with one’s robes on inside out, but it was fun.  We had another game and then closing prayers and music.

Several people said afterwards that they learned much about the diaconate that they were not aware of.

Deacons have a long history in the formation of the Church and are essential to the growth of the Kingdom. They are a mainstay of the Church and its ministry, particularly in multipoint rural parishes. Thank you to all the deacons who work hard and diligently, often under stressful circumstances. You are so appreciated.

The post Day honours deacons, ‘mainstays’ of the Church appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Day 1

Morning Prayer
Synod began with Morning Prayer at St. John’s Convent by the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine.

Welcome and land acknowledgement
Bishop Andrew Asbil welcomed Synod members to the Synod. “Over the next day and a half, we will be working together, united in a common purpose: the mission and ministry of God’s Church in the Diocese of Toronto,” he said. “And even though we are many members, in many places, we are One as the Body of Christ. Let us hold that spirit of unity as we proceed with the business of today and tomorrow.” He also gave a land acknowledgement.

Agenda and Omnibus Motion
Synod approved the revised agenda for Synod, and in an omnibus motion it received Synod Council’s Report to Synod and approved the minutes of the 160th Regular Session of Synod, held Nov. 25-27, 2021.

Synod since 2021
Synod members watched a video about the Property Committee and its work, especially in the area of helping parishes that want to build housing that includes affordable housing.

Missional and outreach moment
In the first missional and outreach moment, Synod members learned about St. Luke, Creemore’s foodbank, which caters to the needs of several families in the community. Local merchants provide food to the foodbank, which is run by a dedicated group of people at the church.

Notices of Motion
Synod voted on the following motions. The motions can be found in Section A of the Convening Circular.

Motion #11 A – Affordable Housing

The Secretary of Synod received the following notice of motion on Nov. 26, 2021. “It was moved by Frank Cormier and seconded by Marion Thompson that the Synod of the Diocese of Toronto direct Synod Council to draft:

• Revisions to the policies, canons and Constitution, as applicable, of the Diocese to facilitate parishes engaging in creative and innovative land uses and partnerships; and
• Diocesan policies that give preference to the use of surplus diocesan lands for the purpose of affordable housing and other community-centric uses, where appropriate.

And that those draft revisions be brought forward at the next session of Synod for consideration.”

The motion was carried.

Motion #11B – Allotment

The Secretary of Synod received the following notice of motion on Nov. 26, 2021, and it was amended by Synod on Nov. 18, 2022 to read: “It is moved by the Rev. Canon Mark Kinghan and seconded by Gail Browne that given parish allotments cannot meet the primary financial needs of the diocesan budget, this Synod requests that a detailed report be submitted to the next session of Synod from Synod Council outlining that because diocesan staff and ministries are important, how they can be maintained in the future and how past and future budget deficits can be covered using diocesan investments rather than increasing parish assessments.”

The motion was carried.

Motion #11C – Staff position

The Secretary of Synod received the following revised notice of motion on Oct. 22, 2022:

“Whereas Bishop Andrew has encouraged this Synod to continue to ‘Love thy Neighbour’ by challenging us with the Synod’s motto: Cast the Net;

And whereas the co-chair of the Property Committee has stated the process of building affordable housing ‘requires a lot of time and expertise, especially in legal and property matters’ and the work ‘is done at the diocesan level, not by individual parishes, to avoid duplication of both effort and costs.’

And whereas this Synod expresses its gratitude for the volunteer work of both the Property Committee and the Working Group, it also understands the constraints of most appointees who have full-time employment and other life commitments;

And whereas the diocesan Synod, in November 2019, called for a diocesan Affordable Housing Plan which is to (1) determine the feasibility of building affordable housing on diocesan-owned lands; (2) prioritize strategic partnerships with industry experts in the fields of planning, development and affordable housing provision; and (3) establish specific achievable targets (e.g. 250 units by 2024);

And whereas this diocesan Synod, in November 2019, called for this plan to be completed by Nov. 30, 2020;

It is moved by the Rev. Hernan Astudillo and seconded by the Rev. Dr. Catherine Keating that the 161st Synod of the Diocese of Toronto recommends that the Diocese responds to the affordable housing crisis across the Diocese by appointing and hiring a full-time director who is completely experienced in building affordable housing, the funding for this position to be realized through the establishment of partnership, and requires Synod Council to make any necessary adjustments to the budget to make the hiring possible, reporting back to Synod and the diocese in six months and continue to do so at six-month intervals until a director has been hired.”

The mover and seconder spoke to the motion, saying there is a critical need for affordable housing. During the debate, the co-chairs of the diocese’s Property Committee said they were not in favour of the motion because work in this area is well underway and the hiring of a director at this point could hinder that progress. “We already have a highly qualified team in place,” said Peter Patterson, ODT, co-chair.

The motion was defeated.

Motion #11D – Church Energy Management

The Secretary of Synod received the following notice of motion on Sept. 23, 2022. “It is moved by the Rev. Dr. Alison Kemper and seconded by Stuart Hutcheson, ODT, that the Diocese of Toronto adopt the national Net Zero Churches Network approach as a model for management of diocesan property:

• Every church to begin to assess their energy management challenges by completing a self-guided building audit and energy audit no later than their next required building survey.
• Churches contemplating renovations/upgrades to HVAC to complete thermal imaging whenever possible and be given information by the diocese about recommended energy solutions for their building.
• Diocese to connect parishes with the necessary expertise and assistance (including potential financial assistance) to pursue net-zero type solutions.
• All redevelopment projects to clearly demonstrate efforts to adopt energy solutions that will bring them closer to net-zero GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions.”

The motion was carried.

Cast the Net visioning process
Synod members learned about Cast the Net, the diocese’s visioning and strategy process. The Rev. Dr. Alison Falby, co-chair of Cast the Net, welcomed everyone and encouraged their participation in it. The consulting team – Canon Ian Alexander, the Very Rev. Peter Elliott and Dr. Anita Gittens, ODT – were introduced. Synod members were given an overview of Cast the Net and the results of a Synod survey, and then broke into small groups to answer important questions related to it. In particular, Synod members were asked, “What would it mean as a diocese, in this time and place, to cast our net on the other side of the boat?”

Notices of Motion
Synod voted on the following motions. The motions can be found in Section A of the Convening Circular.

Motion #11E – Affordable Housing Plan

The Secretary of Synod received the following notice of motion on Oct. 14, 2022.  “It will be moved by the Rev. Angie Hocking and seconded by the Rev. Jeff Nowers that this Synod ensure that the Affordable Housing Plan (Motion #11, 2019) is implemented in a way that prioritizes the wellbeing of our communities as well as our congregations by:

• aiming to increase the number of affordable units in each new housing project;
• ensuring that a meaningful portion of new housing is financially accessible to those with incomes equal to or less than current social assistance levels;
• considering all diocesan lands as potential sites for affordable housing, especially vacant and under-utilized lands.”

The motion was carried.

Motion #11F – Amendment to Motion #11 from 2019 Synod

The Secretary of Synod received the following notice of motion on Oct. 14, 2022. “It will be moved by the Rev. Dr. Jason McKinney and seconded by the Rev. Angie Hocking that this Synod request Synod Council to respond to the affordable housing crisis across the Diocese by developing an Affordable Housing Plan. This plan will:

• determine the feasibility of building affordable housing on diocesan-owned lands;
• prioritize strategic partnerships with industry experts in the fields of planning, development and affordable housing provision;
• establish specific achievable targets; clearly define the meaning of affordability for each project.”

The motion was carried.

Governance Pilot Project
Chancellor Clare Burns spoke about changes to the diocese’s governance structure. “In June, an evaluation of the governance structure was initiated by a small group,” she said. “You may have read the article in the September issue of The Anglican. Joy Packham, a member of the regional ministry of St. Margaret, Barrie, Trinity, Barrie and Good Shepherd, Stayner, and Robert Hart, a member of St. James Cathedral are doing this work. They obtained feedback to get a sense of how people were finding the new model and if they felt the changes resulted in a more effective and efficient process for those doing business with Synod Council. The group submitted their report to the Risk and Governance Committee in October. Its findings showed that the majority of responses were positive and showed support for the new Synod Council structure, which is considered timely and efficient, fair and transparent, and representative of the overall Diocese. A few responses indicated it is too soon to tell.

“At this juncture, Synod will be asked to receive the Governance Project Review report. The group will continue its evaluation with regular reports to the Risk and Governance Committee leading up to our next Synod in 2023. There are two motions that deal with the Governance Project before this Synod. The first is the Governance Project Review report and the second relates to our Constitution and Canons.

“One year in, the new governance model has functioned largely as anticipated. Some minor changes will be made to how some of the committees do their work based on comments and recommendations made by the evaluation of the new structure. In order to continue, Synod will be asked to suspend Canons 2, 3, 5, 31, 36, 37, 39, 44 s.3, and 44 s.5(g) until the next Regular Session of Synod.”

Synod voted on the following motions dealing with the Governance Pilot Project:

Motion #4 – Governance Project

“It is moved by the Rev. Andrew MacDonald and seconded by Sheila Robson that Synod receive the Governance Review report dated Sept. 22, 2022.” For more information on the Governance Review report, see Section F of the Convening Circular.

Motion #5A – Suspension of Canons

“It is moved by the Rev. Andrew MacDonald and seconded by Sheila Robson that Synod suspend Canons 2, 3, 5, 31, 36, 37, 39, 44 s.3, and 44 s.5(g) until the next Regular Session of Synod, as recommended for approval by Synod Council and presented in Section E of the Convening Circular with respect to the Pilot Governance Project.”

The motions were carried.

Episcopal Leadership Implementation
The co-chairs of the Episcopal Leadership Implementation Team, the Rev. Canon Stephen Kirkegaard and Susan Abell, ODT, updated Synod on the team’s work, which will result in the creation of territorial archdeacon positions in the Diocese. They said work was progressing well and they thanked all those who contributed to this important initiative.

Missional and outreach moment
Synod learned about All Saints, Whitby’s Community Garden, which was built with the notion of sharing the love of God, and to share with those who are in need, bringing the community closer together. The garden was assisted by a Reach Grant from the Diocese.

Evening Prayer
Evening Prayer was led by members of the Bishop’s Youth Ministry Committee and youth ministry leaders.

Adjournment
Bishop Riscylla Shaw adjourned the meeting.

Day 2

Morning Prayer
Today’s session of Synod opened with Morning Prayer from the Priory of the Order of the Holy Cross in Toronto.

Constitution and Canon changes
Due to time constraints, Synod voted on three motions together that dealt with the Constitution and Canons. Before voting, Chancellor Clare Burns took Synod members through the various proposed changes to the Constitution and Canons. For more information on these, see Section E of the Convening Circular.

“The Constitution, Section 32, deals with the election of members to General Synod, and Section 33 concerns the term of office of members of General Synod,” she said. “The Constitution and Canons Committee has identified that there is no equivalent provision to Section 34 (of The Constitution) concerning the term of office of members of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario (Provincial Synod) and has recommended that an equivalent provision be added to the Constitution, Section 34, to avoid any confusion over the term of office of members of Provincial Synod.

“Advances in technology have allowed elections of Synod to be completed electronically in partnership with an arm’s length third party service provider ensuring a secure electronic voting platform at Synod. While the traditional method of casting a physical paper ballot should not be removed from the Constitution, the Constitution and Canons Committee has recommended that Section 22 be updated to also contemplate the current practice of electronic voting.

“Next are changes to Canon 10. The Bishop is ultimately responsible for the non-disciplinary termination of all clerical appointments in accordance with Canon 10. Proposed changes would permit the Bishop to delegate this responsibility to a Suffragan Bishop.

“Under Canon 48, the Registrar is responsible for seeing that certain listed records are maintained ‘at the Offices of the Synod.’ The register and other books, records and documents of the parish are not listed in Canon 48 so they do not fall under the responsibility of the Registrar. These records should be surrendered to the diocesan Archivist for preservation in the diocesan Archives.”

At this point, Synod voted on the three motions (#5B, #5C, #5D) in an omnibus motion that read: “It is moved by the Rev. Andrew MacDonald and seconded by Sheila Robson that Synod approve changes to the Constitution, Canon 10 and Canon 48 as recommended for approval by Synod Council and presented in the Convening Circular.” The motion was carried.

Chancellor Burns continued. “Considering the recent changes to the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (Ontario), which raised the audit requirement income threshold to $500,000 for non-public corporations, the Diocese reviewed its threshold as laid out in Canon 14 14(4). The Finance Committee reviewed the number of parishes that would require an audit under various income thresholds ranging from $100,000 to $500,000. Since the cost of an audit is greater than that of a review engagement or a notice to reader, the Finance Committee has recommended an increase in the threshold. However, to ensure an adequate sample of parishes are audited, the Finance Committee recommended increasing the threshold to $200,000 (versus $500,000) at which point 18% of parishes would require an audit. The Finance Committee also recommended flexibility under Canon 14 14(4) to consider income fluctuations due to special circumstances such as a capital campaign or a property sale.”

Synod voted on the following motion.

Motion #5E

“It is moved by the Rev. Andrew MacDonald and seconded by Sheila Robson that Synod approve the changes to Canon 14, as recommended for approval by Synod Council and presented in the Convening Circular.”

The motion was carried.

Financial overview
Synod voted on the following motions. For more information, see Section C of the Convening Circular.

Motion #6

“It is moved by the Rev. Andrew MacDonald and seconded by Sheila Robson that Synod receive the Audited Financial Statements for the Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Toronto and the Cemetery Fund for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021.”

Motion #7

“It is moved by the Rev. Andrew MacDonald and seconded by Sheila Robson that the firm of Grant Thornton LLP, Chartered Accountants, be appointed to conduct the audit of the Financial Statements of the Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Toronto and, on behalf of unitholders, as Auditors for the Cemetery Fund for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022, at a fee to be approved by the Audit Committee.”

The motions were carried.

Priorities and Plans 2023 and budget
Executive Director Canon Robert Saffrey and Controller Patricia D’Souza presented the Priorities and Plans 2023 document and the diocese’s budget for 2023. After their presentation, Synod voted on the following motion. More information can be found in Section D of the Convening Circular.

Motion #8

“It is moved by the Rev. Andrew MacDonald and seconded by Sheila Robson that Synod receive the document entitled Priorities and Plans 2023 and the Financial Budget for 2023 and approve the priorities and the financial budget contained therein and that Synod Council report back to Synod on this plan. It will be further moved that Synod approve that the Assessment Rate, as defined in Canon 4, remain at 24.7% for 2023.”

The motion was carried.

Confirmation of General Synod and Synod Council members
Chancellor Burns spoke to Synod. “At the Pre-Synod meeting, I reported on a survey of Synod members conducted by the Secretary of Synod earlier this year. Since the Synod members who responded to the questions indicated their overwhelming agreement that those elected in 2021 to General Synod and Synod Council should continue to hold these positions, the planning for Synod took this into account.”

Synod was asked to formally approve these decisions in the following two motions. The motions can be found in Section A of the Convening Circular.

Motion #3A – General Synod members

“It is moved by the Rev. Andrew MacDonald and seconded by Sheila Robson that Synod hereby confirms that the members elected at the 160th Regular Session of Synod to serve as General Synod members for the 43rd Session of General Synod continue to represent the Diocese of Toronto.” For clarity, the clerical names are the Rev. Canon Dr. Stephen Fields (St. James Cathedral), the Rev. Molly Finlay (St. John the Baptist, Norway), the Rev. Roshni Jayawardena (Trinity-St. Paul, Port Credit), the Rev. Canon Erin Martin (All Saints, King City) acting substitute, the Rev. Mark Regis (St. Mary and St. Martha), the Rev. Canon Nicola Skinner (Grace Church, Markham), and the Rev. Canon Claudette Taylor (Epiphany and St. Mark, Parkdale). Lay Members are Chris Ambidge, ODT (Church of the Redeemer, Bloor St.), Yvonne Murray, ODT (St. John the Divine, Scarborough), Vice-Chancellor Gail Smith (St. Andrew, Scarborough), Marion Thompson, ODT (St. Peter, Oshawa), David Toycen, ODT (Trinity, Streetsville), Laura Walton, ODT (Holy Trinity, Clearview), and Mary Walsh, ODT (St. John the Baptist, Oak Ridges).

Motion #3B – Synod Council members

“It is moved by the Rev. Andrew MacDonald and seconded by Sheila Robson that Synod hereby confirms that the members elected at the 160th Regular Session of Synod to serve as Synod Council members remain in their positions for the duration of the Pilot Governance Project.” For clarity, the elected members are Chris Ambidge, ODT (Church of the Redeemer, Bloor St.), the Rev. Canon Simon Bell (St. Margaret, Barrie and Trinity Church, Barrie), the Rev. Canon Dr. Stephen Fields (St. James Cathedral), the Rev. Canon Sister Constance Joanna Gefvert, SSJD (St. George on Yonge), the Rev. Maria Ling (Grace Church on-the-Hill), Heather McGregor, ODT (St. Mary Magdalene, Toronto), the Rev. Jesse Parker (St. John the Evangelist, Port Hope), David Toycen, ODT (Trinity Church, Streetsville), Laura Walton, ODT (Holy Trinity, Clearview), Eirene Wee (St. Paul, Bloor St).

The motions were carried.

Missional and outreach moment
Synod members learned about St. John, Bowmanville’s prayer labyrinth, which was created not only for parish members but whoever needs to have a deeper and closer relationship with God. The labyrinth was made out of grass on the lawn of the church.

Election of Honorary Secretaries of Synod
Synod voted on the following motion:

Motion #9

“It is moved by Chancellor Clare Burns and seconded by Vice Chancellor John van Gent that the following be elected for the ensuing term:

• Sheila Robson, Honorary Lay Secretary
• The Rev. Lisa Newland, Honorary Clerical Secretary
• Constance Kendall, ODT, Assistant Honorary Lay Secretary”

The motion was carried. Afterwards, Bishop Asbil thanked the Rev. Andrew MacDonald for his leadership as he retires from the position of Honorary Clerical Secretary of Synod. He served in that capacity since 2019. “We are grateful for the guidance and support that Andrew has provided over the years, especially as we learned how to do Synod in new and creative ways,” said Bishop Asbil.

Wrap-up
In his closing remarks, Bishop Asbil thanked everyone who made Synod possible, including Pamela Boisvert, the Secretary of Synod, and the sponsors of Synod. He thanked Chancellor Clare Burns, who is retiring as the Chancellor, and presented her with a bouquet of flowers. He also spoke briefly of Cast the Net, saying “it is an opportunity to go out into uncharted waters together.”

Closing prayer and hymn
Bishop Asbil gave the closing prayer and Synod members listened to a song from the praise band at Trinity, Streetsville.

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At the bottom of Perot Street in Ste Anne-de-Bellevue on the west island of Montreal, there is a boat launch and a little park overlooking Lake Saint-Louis. And early in the morning on Saturdays, my older brother and I would often go down with a tin can full of worms and a fishing rod in the other hand. Mine was a hand-me-down. It was yellow with a very primitive reel, and it had thick black line on it. My brother’s was new, with a new Fandango spin cast reel. It was really fancy.

We would take up our place in the little park next to the boat launch alongside other fishers. Most of those fishers were regulars, and they each had a place, and if you arrived you knew not to stand in somebody else’s place. And we had our own place, too. English was spoken alongside French. Some fishers like to be silent, some like to chat about the news of the day, some like to tell the stories about the fish that got away and the one that they caught. And with every telling the fish just kept getting bigger and bigger.

When I was seven or eight, I could not master the art of casting the line. I would practice with hook, line and sinker in the backyard, but I could never quite master when to push the button to release. What made it worse on a Saturday morning is that you were literally wedged in between fishers on your left and on your right. And I was always afraid that I was going to snag somebody or hook somebody or injure somebody. My older brother was really good at it, so he would cast my line for me. But after about the umpteenth time of casting, he would become impatient, and so I found myself having to do that kind of feeble underhanded way. The hook, line and sinker would go out only a few feet, and it didn’t take long for it to come right back next to the wall. It’s really hard to catch fish right next to the wall.

But we were part of that Saturday morning casting and reeling ballet by the side of the lake. And every once in a while someone would say, “I’ve got something” and every head would turn. All the small fish, sunfish, smallmouth bass and small perch would be tossed back in, but I do remember the tremble of the line. Pulling too fast and seeing an empty hook and no bait. And I do remember the day that I caught a perch, and it was that big. You have to remember I was seven, so it was that big, but it was big enough to bring home for my mother to cook for dinner that night.

The thing about that fishing experience is that I really felt like I was part of something, that I really belonged in that place, that I was part of a ballet. The fishing in the summer of 1970 was glorious.

And then in November of 1970, in the aftermath of the FLQ Crisis, my parents announced to us that my father was taking a new charge in St. Catharines, Ont. This would be my fourth home and my third move in my young life, and I can remember feeling the burden of grief. Oddly, when I think of it now, my focus on the grief was actually on the fishing, because I never imagined that I would find another place where I would fit in quite like that.

Now my father, for his part, cast a different vision. He said, “As it happens, there is a river in the backyard of the rectory in St. Catharines. You could go fishing there.” And the misery in the middle of the night would turn some with the promise and the hope of a river running through it in the backyard.

If you can imagine, when we arrived at that rectory, the first place that I ran to was down the hill to the river, and there it was. And it was fast flowing, and it was wide, and it was green. It’s the Twelve Mile Creek. It’s part of the old Welland Canal. What we didn’t know then is that some days the water’s green, and then it would turn brown, and then it would go red, and sometimes it would have foam on the top depending on the effluent that was coming from the pulp and paper mills upriver.

We never fished in that river. The rod was put to the side wall of the garage, and there it sat as we found new ways of being able to navigate a new school, new friends, new neighbourhood.

Cast the Net

“I’m going fishing,” Peter says to the other disciples. It’s the first words in a script that we hear in John chapter 21. Chapter 21 is the culminating chapter of the gospel and invites us to step into a third resurrection moment with Jesus. And it is the hook upon which we drape our visioning process for the Diocese of Toronto, called Cast the Net.

The Cast the Net visioning is ably led by our steering committee, co-chaired by Dave Toycen with Alison Falby, and ably led by our consultants Dr. Anita Gittens, ODT, Canon Ian Alexander and Dean Peter Elliott. It is an opportunity for us to wrap ourselves in the story of chapter 21, to give us an insight of what it is that we experience at this moment as we emerge from Covid as a Church. Up to 90 per cent of our active clergy so far have already begun to be engaged in this process, and we’ll hear more about it tomorrow at Synod in the afternoon, and an opportunity over the next 12 months to engage lay people in this discernment pattern.

We are not where we used to be, and it is important for us in this moment to immerse ourselves in this new place. And so for the rest of this Charge, just simply to use chapter 21 to engage in this moment where we are.

“I’m going fishing,” Peter says. “We’re going with you,” they say. We are never told why they went fishing. Maybe they were bored, maybe they were hungry, maybe they needed to make some money. But maybe fishing became the focal point for Peter’s grief, longing to go back to a time when everything made sense and everything was clear, back to a time when at least four of them experienced that moment with Jesus on the beach, when they let go of their nets and they plumbed the depths of their experience with God and what it would mean to forgive and be forgiven. What it would mean to grow in faith, in grace, in love. What it would mean to run away on Friday, to be still on Saturday and to be raised again on Sunday.

Sometimes we long to go back, too. Back to a time in the Church when everything seemed so clear. Back to the Church of 1970, when churches were full, when choirs were overflowing, when there were children everywhere. But we know instinctively, just like the disciples discovered tonight, there is no going back. There’s only going forward.

We are told in the text that there are only seven disciples there that night, and I keep wondering to myself, “But where is everyone else?” And it’s a question we ask ourselves, too, in this moment as we emerge from pandemic, when we straddle in-person and online. And we put in the numbers for those who attended, and then we look back into 2019 and we see the gap between those who are present now. We know many have perished, we know that many have moved away, we know that many are wanting to stay home. We hear from some congregations that it is the young families and children who come to church and the seniors stay home, and in other parishes it’s the absolute opposite.

It is always a command to us as Church to seek out the lost, to keep in mind those we do not see, to find ways of grasping and holding and keeping and encouraging and keeping in touch with those that have been left behind. It is always in keeping.

They caught no fish that night. I imagine them going back and forth on the water, casting and pulling in, casting and pulling in. Their hands are getting blistered, their backs are getting sore, they’re out of practice. Not one tremble of the line. And imagine how they were feeling in that moment, as grumpy as they would be. “How on Earth have we arrived in this place? We don’t even know how to fish anymore!”

Imagine how tired they were. And we can, because we’re tired too. Our lay leaders are tired. Our staff is tired. Our deacons are tired. Our priests are tired. Our bishops are tired. Our health care workers are tired, our doctors are tired, our teachers are tired, the community is tired. We have been engaged in the three-year-long Covid ballet of understanding what it means to mask and unmask. To live at a distance, to live close. To live in isolation and online. And there is an exhaustion in it. And we long for the day when we can just put it all to the side.

Just after daybreak Jesus appears on the beach, but they did not know it was Jesus. In our biblical narrative there’s always something happening just around daybreak. All night long, Jacob wrestled with God and would not let God go until he had received a blessing. Just before daybreak, Mary would go to the tomb and see that the stone had been rolled away.

And Jesus calls out to them, “You have no fish, have you?” It’s one of the most honest moments in the text. They didn’t talk about the ones that got away, or the nibbles, or the little ones they tossed back. They simply said, “No.”

Sometimes it’s important for us just to be honest about where we are as church communities, to know that what we have left and what we have lost and what we pine for. And there are times when we too come up empty-handed.

Sometimes it’s important in our journey of faith to go empty-handed. Jesus reminded his disciples of that: “Go two by two and take nothing with you.” You see, when you go empty-handed, you receive what’s given to you. When you go empty-handed, you stay vulnerable and close to the ground. You see others around you who are just as vulnerable.

For the last almost three years, we have learned what it means to be vulnerable in the face of a tiny microbe. We have lived side by side with the most vulnerable: our seniors and elders, our homeless and those who live with food insecurity. Over the last two and a half years, we have faced the sin of racism and bias. And we have been reminded again, as we did at the beginning of this liturgy, of the legacy of the Church that has brought harm to Indigenous people. It is important when we look back to remember the times when we have snagged and hooked and injured others in our attempt to serve the mission of God. In this time, we strive desperately to make things right.

Cast your net on the right side. Make things right. It’s not an invitation; it’s a command. As Nike would say, “just do it.” When we are our most vulnerable, and when we are at our most wits’ end, and when we are most tired, Jesus says, “Do it again.” And in our doing it again, we hope not to catch or to snag, but to pull in, to rescue, to catch, to keep, to hold.

Belonging

For the last number of months, an encampment has grown outside the west doors of St. Stephen in-the-Fields. A small community of homeless people have built makeshift homes. Mother Maggie and her staff and people have done their very best to create sanctuary, and to assuage the hurt and the anger of local neighbours, and to work with city officials to find housing and dignity. There are Anglican communities right across this diocese, in small towns, in the suburbs, in the rural parts, in downtown, that are serving the needs of the poor in bringing dignity and hope. We face as a community the need to be able to create even more dignity, and a place for home and belonging.

Jamie Richards runs a market garden in Orangeville, and he is a member of St. John’s. When the pandemic began, he wondered if he should just close down his business. One day, he went into his greenhouse and he prayed to God, asking, “God, what should I do?” And the answer that came to him was, “Your ministry is to grow food.” So he kept it open, and he sold his food to restaurateurs and those who would drive by looking to purchase, and he would donate much of the food to the food bank.

The ministry of St. John’s was welcoming refugee families and immigrants, and he invited them to plant gardens in his property. While they were making food, they created community and a place to belong.

A place to belong.

“It is the Lord,” says the disciple that Jesus loved. It is the task of a church community always to make the connections where we see God at work. It is to us to bear witness to those moments when the rest of the world may not perceive it. To be able to point to those moments when the Holy Spirit, when Jesus, when God shows up.

And so moved by that experience, Peter puts on his clothes and jumps in the water. Still haven’t quite figured that one out. Maybe it’s just the desperation of finally being presentable and having a second chance. Some interpretations say he swam 100 yards. That’s maybe 100 meters. That’s two lengths of an Olympic-sized pool. That’s a long way.

Imagine Peter dragging himself on the beach, breathless, before Jesus. You can, actually. Nine hundred seventy-nine days of Covid pandemic, seven waves we have been through. You are not the same person you were when it began. Some of us have gained weight and our clothes don’t fit, and some of us have lost weight and our clothes don’t fit. Some of us have grey hairs and some of us have fewer hairs. And some of us have known the burden of isolation so long that it has affected our spirit. Some of us feel lost, and some of us are dealing with long Covid. But we are here.

We have arrived on the beach with Jesus after that length of time in Covid, and we are present. And the invitation that is given to us in this moment in time is, “Bring some fish with you and come down for breakfast.” Jesus sets the meal for us. Tonight, like every Sunday, bread and wine, body and blood. Sacrament. An invitation to live in sacramental living with Jesus.

And we bring with us our gifts. Every parish and congregation from around the diocese, large or small, brings all of the gifts that we have together as we meet for Synod. We bring our hospitality and our outreach, our prayers, our discipleship, our bible study. We bring all of that together. We bring our vulnerabilities and our strengths. We share what we have with each other. We learn to work together in a way that we have not worked before. And we live that promise that we are fed. When we say yes to our baptismal covenant, the Reign of God comes near. When we allow God to use those gifts that have been given to us, we are formed into the mystical Body of Christ and the Church is awakened. When we say “yes.”

Theologian Verna Dozier wrote a wonderful book called The Dream of God. In it she writes, sometimes Christians choose to make Jesus an idol, one to be worshipped rather than to be followed. Worship, unless in the use for discipleship, is blasphemy. Worship, unless used for discipleship, is blasphemy. We are encouraged to answer the call to discipleship, and that call to discipleship is an invitation to citizenship in the Reign of God, where we take on the love and the compassion of Jesus, where we are bound not by yesterday, nor afraid of tomorrow, nor do we draw a line between friend and foe or those who are in and those who are out. That is the call.

We are reminded in the last line of the gospel. After our bellies are full comes the moment when Jesus is inviting Peter to a deeper road of reconciliation and love. “Peter, son of Simon, do you love me more than these?”

Three things

In our want to make things right and to move together as a Church in the Diocese of Toronto, there are at least three things that we know that we need to work on continually. The first is to renew our commitment to reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis people of this nation, of this Canada. That we recommit ourselves to call to action and to do all that we are able to do to be emblems of healing and reconciliation.

Antonio Guterres said this week at COP27 – this is number two – we are on the highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator, and if we don’t move and change now, we will tip over into climate chaos. We know that.

Not very long ago, I was asked to moderate a conversation with a panel, and the question was, “What would happen if the Diocese of Toronto took climate crisis seriously?” We came up with all sorts of solutions. But at one point the question was asked, “But what will it take for us to change?” And one of our panelists, Brian Walsh, said “Love.”

To love the stream. To love the creek bed. To love the pond and the forest and the tree and every living creature on this planet. To love. It is love that pronounces a new vision that we hear in our first reading from Ezekiel of waters emanating out of the temple, at first only ankle deep, then knee deep, then waist deep, that moves out throughout the Earth, that replenishes all living things. Not rivers that are brown or red, but green and full of life. That vision is the vision that we must live out of as a people of faith in a time of deep and profound need, for the sake of not only ourselves but the generations and generations and generations to come. Our time is now.

The third thing: to commit ourselves to anti-racism and anti-bias. To commit ourselves to training and learning and tearing down all walls that divide us. To commit ourselves each and every day as the people of God to walk in unison and to make no dividing line between those who are in and those who are out, foe or friend. We stand on the cusp of a new time together. We are not to be afraid of what is to come, but to embrace it and to name those places where Christ calls us to serve, even if we’re tired, because we will be replenished. God is coming and counting on us to be present in this moment.

Gratitude

Tonight, as we head into Synod, one feeling that I feel at the top of the list is gratitude. I am so grateful for every lay leader in the Diocese of Toronto that takes their baptismal covenant to heart and says “yes.” I am grateful for our vice chancellors and in particular our Chancellor Clare Burns, 20 years of ministry. For your wisdom, for your love of the Church and for your presence. For every deacon who reminds us of the needs of the world. For every priest who breaks bread and pours wine. For our bishops Riscylla and Kevin, who signed up for way more than you could ever ask or imagine, especially in this time of transition. The weight has been extreme, and you have borne it well, and I cannot imagine doing this work without the two of you.

To the staff of 135 Adelaide, for all of our directors, for our executive director Canon Robert Saffrey, who carries a particular weight with such grace and deep humour. To Mary Conliffe, who keeps everything in order. For Jenn, who keeps it in order again.

And for Mary my beloved, who reminds me every day that all shall be well.

Amen.

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This is what happened for the 14 pilgrims and one pilgrim guide dog who stepped onto the Camino together on Sept. 23, 2022. High in the misty mountains of Galicia, at the village of O’Cebreiro, the pilgrims of the Church of the Redeemer in Toronto ventured into this current and didn’t turn back. Early that morning, we gathered, as we did every morning, to reflect on what it was we were about to do, to pray together and to receive my blessing.

Outside the village church, I offered words that were both descriptive and inspirational. With two Caminos under my belt, I knew something of which I was speaking. For most of the rest of our group, however, they were still theoretical words. Not yet real. But as it happened, they were profoundly prophetic.

I described pilgrimage as a transformative adventure in faith. I said that on this adventure we would step out of our rutted comfort zones of life into the great unknown. We will, I said, be invited to surrender to the process of stretching and stretching and stretching. We will be invited by God to radical trust, to give up our need for ironclad security and certainty in all kinds of physical, material, emotional and spiritual ways. We will try to live the words of Jesus, preached as he and his friends walked the roads of Galilee, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink,” and by extension where you will sleep or bathe, wash your clothes or even find a toilet.

And then we began the adventure in faith. And what an adventure it was!  Different for each pilgrim who walked and confronted their own needs and desires for certainty and security – in other words, their own difficulties trusting God – in different ways and on different levels.

What follows is the story of one of our pilgrims, Joan, who had a singular adventure of challenge and transformation. Joan’s account bears witness to the unique experience of a non-sighted person on the Camino, whose surrenders to the uncertainties of pilgrimage and whose need to trust herself, others and God along the road were greater than those of the rest of us. Despite all of that – and likely because of all of that – her deep plunge into this mighty current was both a transformative experience for her and for all of us who were privileged to share and witness her journey. It is the story of three pilgrims, actually, because on her right was her faithful guide dog Danielle and on her left her faithful friend and human companion Carla.

The Story of Three

Walking the Camino was a long-held, cherished dream. From the time I was first inspired in the mid-80s to the time in 2021 when Redeemer began seriously to consider making this pilgrimage, it called to me. I volunteered to be on the planning committee but was sure that “this ship had sailed for me.” While relatively fit and accustomed to doing 6 km hikes in the city, I am in my early 70s and doubted my capacity to walk 20 km days. Mostly I was unsure of the nitty gritty of walking this path without sight. I was daunted by the manifold uncertainties. So day after day as the Camino called, I prayed, “loving God, give me the courage to live this dream.” And “help me imagine how to overcome obstacles.”

Courage and imagination come in various forms, as do the answers to our prayers. In February 2022, Susan offered to guide me so that I could join the pilgrimage. Her kindness was the push I needed. But I also realized that, as the tour leader, she would be busy with many responsibilities. However, it was that very month that a little spark of a guide dog became my partner. Dani (aka Danielle) and I completed our training together and soon after I began investigating the possibility of taking her with me on the Camino. The French representative of the International Guide Dog Federation said not to take a guide dog. The Guide Dogs for the Blind call centre advisor said, “Don’t let anyone talk you down!” So I didn’t. So we went. Having found a second companion, Carla Agnesi, an experienced Camino pilgrim and librarian like myself, we set off on our great adventure.

There is no way to know what it will be like. From day to day, from step to step, one is swept into the Camino current with its many joys and vicissitudes. The paradox is that while planning is essential to a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage cannot be planned. So I prayed, “give me grace to walk in the moment.” That first day we stepped onto the Camino fully believing that we were prepared for what we might discover, yet over the eight days to come, we quickly became astonished, uplifted, overwhelmed, cast down, and lifted up again by what we experienced.

That first day we came across a statue and plaque dedicated to San Roque, the patron saint of dogs. Dani was delighted to have a clear path with no traffic lights, few cross streets, and everyone heading in the same direction. She literally ran her way down the path, with me hanging on as her companion. Her pleasure was infectious and we found ourselves climbing to new heights and descending into the low valleys, joyfully greeting pilgrims with “buen Camino.” A guide dog on the Camino is rare, so pilgrims were intrigued and stopped to give her their blessing, with a kiss on the head or a kind word. By the end of this first day, she was the toast of the Camino. Carla and I took breaks to hydrate and to ensure Dani could rest. Greg, one of the dog-loving Redeemer pilgrims, examined her feet in the evening to make sure her pads were not injured.

Many of our days were glorious. I felt the ever-changing Spanish ground under my feet, from the soft mush of the farmyard, to the granite pebbles of a hillside, to the asphalt of an urban sidewalk. I listened to the ambient sounds of the open farmland, the muffled sound of walking beside buildings and walls, the hushed cover of a forest canopy, the rushing of water when near a stream.

But mostly I was present to my body moving through space. Fear of the unknown and anxiety about the possible dangers ahead could be overwhelming, so it was a challenge to stay with my body in the moment. Often the steep descents were rock strewn and tough to navigate. One day, we were heading down a precipitous narrow path. We had to step from rock to rock. Dani couldn’t find her way. Slipping into the outer darkness of fear was not an option for me. Nor was hurtling off the edge! I had to remain in the moment and not let the fear of falling take over. I had to trust we would all reach the bottom of this hill safely. We had to take our time, all the while knowing that a pilgrim back-up was happening behind us. Slowly and meticulously and together, the three of us trusted one another and we made it to the bottom. Everyone cheered.

On our second day, on our way to Sarria, we came upon a stream with a rough stone causeway with no handrails. There was mist in the air, so we knew the way across would be slippery. It seemed impossible. But wet feet were safer feet, so Carla, Susan, Dani and I walked downstream and discovered stepping stones just beneath the surface of the water. I put my feet where Dani stepped and made it to the other side without incident. Dani walked across as if we did this every day.

In the days to come we crossed countless ancient bridges, clambered over obstacles, fled from unexpected motor bikes and insensitive bicyclists, trudged along paths next to highways, and endured hours of rain and damp. Carla kept us safe. The other Redeemer pilgrims kept us safe. But we had not yet encountered the worst, most hurtful of obstacles. When we did, I had to remember a petition in my prayer: “help me to forgive those who offer barriers.” Discrimination – wherever it takes place – is humiliating for me and painful for my companions. I had not expected to encounter so many opportunities on this path to forgive those who know not what they do. After all, this was the Camino! But there they were in technicolour: those who were indifferent or insensitive to my need for a guide-dog. Those who were ignorant and even nasty.

Late on the third day, when running out of momentum, the three of us were walking with Melanie and Susan. We made the difficult but prudent decision to call a taxi. Just then a taxi drove by, having just made a delivery, and stopped when we hailed it. However, the driver took one look at Dani and told me that the law forbid him to take dogs in his cab. We all felt anger at the lie. Carla came to the rescue by mentioning a fabulous vegan bar not far down the road. While the kitchen had closed by the time we arrived, their brownies were still on offer, still hot and amazingly delicious. We scoffed them down and Melanie composed a humorous protest song about our maltreatment, which we sang lustily between bites. Thus energized and re-regulated, we continued our journey to our destination.

This discrimination continued sporadically as some restaurant and bar owners misunderstood their legal obligation to welcome guide dogs. When we were denied entrance or asked to leave, we often found another bar or restaurant where we were welcomed with warmth and Dani was considered as another guest. But the worst was yet to come! One night we were staying in a beautiful stone farmhouse in the countryside a ways off the Camino. When our host saw Dani, he said she would have to sleep in the garage. My Spanish is limited, but my answer was a defiant and emphatic “no!” He called our tour company and was told he had to accept Dani as a house guest. Still sulking, the next day he refused to take Dani in his car to get back onto the Camino. An angry dispute broke out, as he and Lee debated his obligation to take all of us as he had promised (and as his duty as host required). His tone turned sour and abusive and Dani, Carla and I decided to take a separate taxi. While his rejection and lack of compassion stung, I choose to forgive this man and his failure of hospitality. His behaviour towards us was such a small part of the experience of pilgrimage, of walking and living the last petition of my preparation prayer: “open my heart to the love from those around me.” The three of us had been showered with love and grace and generosity by people from all over the world and by our Redeemer family.

When the three of us arrived in the old part of Santiago, a Galician piper was playing at the gate of the square surrounding the cathedral. We were there in time to attend the pilgrim mass and felt truly blessed to be at the end of our journey. We then visited the Pilgrim Office, presented our three credentials (passports with stamps verifying the many stages of the journey), and received our compostelas (certificates of completion). When the volunteer behind the desk discovered Dani was a guide dog, he issued a special one for animals accompanying their owners on pilgrimage.

As important and precious as my compostela is, the most valuable of the Camino’s gifts to me is the fulfillment of my prayer. Susan’s kindness transformed my attitude. Carla’s generous and thoughtful spirit made me realize the pilgrimage was possible. Redeemer pilgrims cared for us along the way. As Susan predicted, we stretched and stretched and stretched and were changed. I practiced radical trust despite my fears and stayed in the moment. I practised forgiveness. The many moments of grace and love contributed to and shaped my transformation. They fill me with the hope and the courage to continue to dream.

Carla and I still walk together. My Camino prayer has become my prayer for life. Perhaps it will be yours, too.

Loving God, give me courage to live this dream,
Help me imagine how to overcome obstacles,
Give me grace to walk in the moment,
Help me to forgive those who offer barriers,
Open my heart to the love from those around me.
In St. James’ name, I pray.

Written by Joan Robinson and the Rev. Susan Haig of Church of the Redeemer, Bloor St.

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During the trip, delegates will worship with Palestinian Christians, meet and reflect with Palestinian Christians, Muslims and Jewish Israelis and experience the realities of the Palestinian community living under Israeli occupation: the wall, settlements, checkpoints, confiscated land and demolished homes, refugee camps and environmental degradation. The group will also visit Bethlehem, the Mount of Olives, Nazareth, Capernum and Jabob’s Well. All on-the-ground costs are covered; delegates will need to pay only for their airfare.

To learn more, visit the Canadian Friends of Sabeel website.

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“The bishop and I have had many conversations about how we can reach out to clergy and lay people about the resources that we have in stewardship and how people can connect with the office,” says Peter Misiaszek, the diocese’s director of Stewardship Development. “Given that we had come off Tending the Soul, we realized that we now know this format and we have this interesting platform – why don’t we simply utilize that vehicle?”

As with the original series, the conversations were live streamed to Facebook and YouTube, with viewers asking their own questions along the way. Each session featured three lay and ordained panelists speaking about their own experiences of stewardship, along with Bishop Asbil and Mr. Misiaszek.

The recordings are also available after the fact for people to return to. “We’ve already observed that more people go to it after the fact than actually tune in. You can watch them at your leisure, perhaps with a group in your parish,” says Mr. Misiaszek.

The sessions covered three broad themes related to stewardship: what is stewardship; how do we implement a year-round stewardship education program; and how do I give. Mr. Misiaszek says he simply chose the most common questions he gets about stewardship.

“A lot of people think that it’s simply the Church’s way of raising money, but it’s a broader scope than simply that. There’s elements of discipleship and an understanding of Christian witness and how we give to support ministry,” he says.

Joining the conversations were lay and ordained members of the diocese with a particular interest or expertise in stewardship, among them churchwardens, treasurers, chairs of stewardship committees and diocesan stewardship coaches. “We were motivated as much as possible to try and get a snapshot from across the diocese so that we had people from different areas who could share their own experience,” says Mr. Misiaszek.

Each session began with the panelists sharing their own stories and histories with stewardship. Many spoke of how they learned about giving as children from their parents and faith communities. They all recounted how they became involved with stewardship more deliberately as adults in their careers or in their parishes.

“I was really blown away by the personal conviction that people have,” says Mr. Misiaszek. “I’m always amazed at people’s stories, their giving stories. I’m really touched by the fact that there’s a real conviction out there about supporting ministry.”

With each conversation deliberately grounded in the personal stories of the participants, the idea of storytelling reappeared throughout the discussion. Many panelists spoke about the power of personal testimonials to inspire others to give and to focus conversations about stewardship on the mission and ministry of the Church rather than simply money.

“There’s such a variety in the way in which people have come to giving. The stories we’ve heard here are examples of that,” said Dave Toycen, ODT, the retired president of World Vision Canada and a member of Trinity, Streetsville. “Make sure that you’re sharing stories of variety, not the people necessarily who give more – because oftentimes the people who give the least might be the most generous.”

Susan Graham Walker, ODT, a retired stewardship educator with the diocese and the United Church of Canada, described going up to people at coffee hour to ask them why they give. She said the stewardship team at Redeemer, Bloor St. uses short videos or written quotes from those encounters in their communications about stewardship. “It’s possible to ask that question of almost everybody in the congregation and get a different response that will inspire others,” she said.

Mary Pember, ODT, a member of St. Timothy, North Toronto and a coach for the diocese’s Growing Healthy Stewards program, spoke about using parishioners’ stories in narrative budgets, which themselves tell the story of a parish’s ministry. “In my experience, very few people have declined to take up that request to tell their personal story. They can be funny, they can be inspiring, they can be extremely touching,” she said. “Jesus told great stories. We all have great stories to tell.”

Those stories can not only inspire people to give, but also help a church community understand stewardship as it relates to its ministry. As part of its ongoing stewardship campaign, the leadership at St. Olave, Swansea compiled 35 testimonials from parishioners explaining what the parish means to them. “These tales served to connect us a community and celebrate the impact of our parish in our lives,” said Martha Drake, executive director of University of Toronto Schools and chair of stewardship at St. Olave’s.

Bishop Asbil said these conversations ground stewardship in the bigger story of our faith as Christians. “The stories that we tell about our journey in faith and how we give, why we give, when we give, become part of the architecture of what it means to be a disciple of Christ,” he said.

Another theme that emerged is that asking for contributions of time, talent and treasure, while important, is not the only aspect of stewardship. “Gratitude and thankfulness is at the heart of stewardship,” said Mary Lynne Stewart, a professional fundraising consultant and member of Church of the Resurrection, Toronto. “The greatest joy for me for the last 30-some years has been to say thank you to people.”

Ms. Graham Walker suggested that parishes can start to nurture a culture of gratitude before they invite people to give. “If you’re frightened of starting with the ask – with the invitation and the inspiration – start with the gratitude. I think you’ll find that the other two – inviting and asking – will come more easily,” she said.

Several panelists offered ideas of how to start cultivating gratitude, from writing personal thank-you notes to setting aside a time on Sundays to offer thanks. “How easy is it to, every Sunday morning in church, recognize and thank someone or some group in the parish? This is a very pleasant thing to do,” said Ms. Pember.

For his part, Mr. Misiaszek is pleased with how these conversations are helping to make stewardship more accessible. In the past, he says he’s found Anglicans reluctant to talk about stewardship, even staying home from church when they know he’s coming to preach. “What I hope is that stewardship isn’t an elusive topic for people, and something to fear,” he says. “It’s not something we should dread. It’s something we should approach with perhaps – should I say – enthusiasm.”

Given the success of both Tending the Soul and Tending the Soul of the Steward, Mr. Misiaszek says Bishop Asbil is keen to explore more topics for conversation in 2023. He’s considering conversations about legacy giving, gifts of time and talent, stewardship of the environment, and stewardship among diaspora communities.

“We have a lot of diaspora communities now in the Diocese of Toronto who come from Africa or China, folks who come from Latin America and Southeast Asia, and their experience of stewardship is very different. So perhaps we can share that experience with the rest of the folks in the diocese,” he says.

Meanwhile, he’s encouraging people to watch the conversations on the diocese’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/tordio135, to take a look at the stewardship education materials on the diocesan website and to reach out to his department if they need more support. “We’ve got to ensure that our giving to the Church is regular, it’s reliable, it’s real and it’s something that can help sustain our ministry,” he says. “The support of our membership is absolutely vital.”

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Since 1994, the Archives’ collection has grown extensively, with the addition of more than 500 accessions of material from 219 parishes. It has also become evident that some of the registers received need conservation treatment to stabilize and preserve the unique information they contain. Archives staff determine if a register needs conservation when it is accessed to either conduct genealogical research or to prepare copies of baptism or marriage records. If it is in critical need of conservation, the register is added to a conservation planning spreadsheet and categorized by the level of need.

In an effort to revive conservation work, the Archives connected with Vincent Dion of Conservation+Culture in August 2021 and collaborated to apply for a grant from Library and Archives Canada’s Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) to get the funding needed to begin conservation of 25 of the most at-risk parish registers. On March 31, 2022, we learned that we had been awarded a DHCP grant of $20,310 for this work. Since April 1, Mr. Dion has been working on the necessary conservation treatments. He has been able to work on-site so that the registers remain safely accessible in the vault, since such fragile registers could be damaged in transit. On the days that he comes to the Archives, he spends time evaluating the register for what damage exists and what repairs need to be done to remediate it, then proceeds to implement the repairs. He further documents the process to produce a report.

The registers that are part of the grant application may need conservation work for a variety of reasons such as broken bindings, brittle or damaged pages, degrading tape and damage caused by iron gall ink. Conservators have been trained in methods to help remediate those issues.

When registers have damaged bindings, the text block and pages are carefully removed as a preliminary step. For registers with brittle pages, the concern is that the edges begin to break off, causing important and irreplaceable information, such as an individual’s name or date of birth, to be lost. Many of the registers that are being treated have at least some brittle pages that show signs of flaking. It has been interesting to find that some more recent registers have more serious damage. One reason for this is the use of heavily processed wood pulp in recent paper-making that produces finer pages that are more susceptible to embrittlement and breakage than earlier papers made from cotton and flax fibers. The conservator uses Japanese papers and stable adhesives to create an edging that stabilizes the page, preventing any additional breakage.

In some cases, non-archival tape, such as regular transparent tape or even duct tape, have been used to try and secure pages to the bindings where they have pulled away, or to fix tears. These have caused pages to yellow and deteriorate where they have been exposed to the unstable adhesives. Additionally, in some places where they have been used to secure pages to the binding, the pages are beginning to split at the edge of the tape, causing loss of information. Where possible, the tape is removed using specialized tools, heat and/or solvents. Japanese paper strips are then used to join the two pieces of the page. The repair papers are thin enough that inscriptions remain visible through the repairs.

Some registers may have entries where very acidic iron gall ink was used and, with exposure to damp prior to coming to the Archives, the ink is beginning to eat through the page, leading to loss of information. Here again, Japanese paper is used, but with an alcohol-based adhesive. The most severely affected pages are then interleaved with an archival paper containing an alkaline reserve to buffer the acidity.

Specialized conservation work is not inexpensive and the market rate for such services range from $75 to $150 an hour for treatment time alone, with additional funds needed for supplies. While we are thankful for this grant to complete work on 25 registers, we currently have another 25 registers where we have identified conservation treatment is required and hope to find additional funding to move forward on their treatment when our current grant work is complete.

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