“The world is not as it should be, but the world will not be that way forever,” Archbishop Johnson said in the video. “With the first light of Easter day, everything changed, because Jesus had been raised from the dead.”

To share that message more widely, the diocese turned to paid social media advertising, spending $50 on Twitter ads and $200 to boost the video on Facebook. Boosting a Facebook post guarantees that more people will see it in their news feeds, a tactic many organizations use to reach larger audiences.

Six days later, the archbishop’s message had been watched nearly 900 times, making it one of the diocese’s most popular videos. It was shared 89 times on Facebook, within the diocese and beyond, and received 17 comments – more than any previous post.

This success wasn’t due entirely to paid advertising. Of the nearly 40,000 people who saw the posts on Facebook and Twitter, about 7,200 were organic views, which means they weren’t the result of the advertising campaign.

While the goal of the ads was to encourage people to watch the Easter video, they also helped to promote the diocese’s presence on social media. The diocesan Facebook page accumulated three dozen new likes in the week following Easter Sunday, a significant spike compared with previous weeks.

In addition to sharing the archbishop’s Easter message, the diocese also continued its use of social media advertising to invite people to church. This year’s ads ran from Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday with the message, “Christ has risen – celebrate with us! Find new life this Easter at your local Anglican church.” Each ad linked to the diocese’s Find a Church web page and featured a photo of a yellow daffodil.

For a budget of $250 split evenly between Twitter and Facebook, the ads reached nearly 60,000 people and received 457 interactions between the two platforms. In contrast to previous campaigns, Facebook users were more likely than Twitter users to click on the Easter ad.

Watch Archbishop Johnson’s Easter message on the diocesan YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/tordio135.

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Paul was loyal to the Torah as practiced by the Pharisees. He was familiar with the Hebrew Bible but used the Greek translation of the scriptures, called the Septuagint. He believed that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah and always went first to the synagogues to proclaim his message. He believed that a Jew must be obedient to the Torah; thus, when Timothy joined the team, Paul circumcised him, as Timothy’s mother was Jewish. Titus was not circumcised, despite the protests of the Judaizers, because he was not born a Jew. The Gentile converts only had to follow the dictates of the Council of Jerusalem (see my column last month).

Paul had a dramatic religious conversion. He was persecuting the church, for he believed that Jesus was cursed by God because he had been hanged upon a tree (Deuteronomy 21:23). On the road to Damascus, Paul was confronted by the risen Christ, an experience that changed the course of his life. He had been on the fast-track to become a Jewish rabbi; now he would be branded a heretic by his Jewish friends.

Paul’s letters were not theological, except the Epistle to the Romans, which we will discuss when we reach that period of his life. His other letters were primarily pastoral. We need to remember that we only possess one side of the discussion. Paul’s letters were usually answering questions or concerns that arose in the local Christian communities.

Paul was a Jew throughout his life. After his conversion, he focussed his life on the risen Christ and the importance of life “in Christ.” He believed that the new age of God began with the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus was the new Adam – a new creation. His missions were grounded in Jesus’s resurrection as the Lord of all humanity, for the Jew first and then for the Gentile.

We possess 13 epistles in the Christian Bible credited to Paul. Very early in church history, the Epistle to the Hebrews was considered to be non-Pauline in authorship. I think there could have been many other letters lost in antiquity. The amazing thing is that the churches kept these letters written by Paul and eventually copied and shared them with other Christian communities.

Now let us move on to his second journey. After Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch from their first missionary journey, they went to Jerusalem to plead for the Gentile converts. Silas accompanied them back to Antioch to help them interpret the findings of the Council of Jerusalem to the Gentile converts. Paul and Barnabas then decided to revisit the Gentile communities from the first trip. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark but Paul refused, as Mark had deserted them on the first trip. This led to a falling out between Paul and Barnabas; they were never reconciled in scripture, although Paul and Mark were (see Colossians 4:10 and 2 Timothy 4:11). I often wonder what would have happened if Paul and Barnabas had remained together. They were a good team and their split was unfortunate. We will never know what they may have accomplished together.

Barnabas took Mark with him to Cyprus and we hear no more about his ministry. Paul invited Silas to accompany him on this second trip, and together they set out to visit all the communities that had been established on the first journey. They strengthened the communities and helped them stand up against the Judaizers, who still insisted that Gentile converts must be circumcised.

Acts 16 has Paul’s mission team in Derbe and Lystra, where they meet Timothy. He became like a son to Paul and is mentioned in a number of epistles. Luke tells us in Acts 16:5 that the mission churches were strengthened in their faith and grew daily. As the group moved through Troas, Luke joined them. In Acts 16:10, we see the beginning of the “we” passages. Luke was present and giving us a first-hand account of the mission. With one brief interlude, the “we” passages continue to the end of Acts.

In the next issue, we will look at Paul’s first and second letters, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and the beginning of his writings. Enjoy the dialogue.

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Prem Watsa, chairman and chief executive officer of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and a long-time member of St. Paul, Bloor Street, said being a follower of Jesus Christ has shaped every part of his life, including how he built and runs his business.

“I have been blessed my whole life,” he said. “When I look back, I see that the most important decisions of my life I had no control of. They have been blessings from above.”

Born and raised in India, Mr. Watsa immigrated to Canada in the early 1970s and settled in London, Ont., where he attended the Ivey Business School. In 1985, he took control of a small trucking insurance company and, two years later, re-organized and renamed it Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. The company today has assets of about $40 billion.

“Fairfax has been a labour of love for many people in our company,” he said. “We have a fair and friendly culture, treating all people well. We have prospered, but not at the expense of our founding principles.”

Those principles include valuing the company’s employees and their families. “We don’t want our employees to work at the expense of their families,” he said, adding that employees often have long careers at the company.

He said Fairfax donates one to two per cent of its pre-tax profits to the communities in which it does business. Last year, it donated $19 million to those communities. Over the years, it has donated $130 million.

“When a business does well, its customers benefit, its employees benefit, its shareholders benefit and also the communities benefit,” he said. “At Fairfax, we have a saying – Doing Good by Doing Well. We never forget that we have to do well over the long term so that we can do good in our communities.”

He added: “Business has a huge impact in the world, and with the good Lord’s help it can be a calling.”

The 54^th annual Bishop’s Company Dinner began with a reception at Holy Trinity, Trinity Square, followed by dinner and a silent auction at the nearby Marriott hotel. It was attended by 425 people and raised $150,000 to help clergy and their families in need and to provide scholarships for theological students.

The Rev. Stephanie Douglas Bowman, the incumbent of Christ Memorial, Oshawa, and her husband Michael spoke about how funds from the Bishop’s Company Dinner had helped them pay for the educational testing of one of their children in preparation for a move to a new church and a new city.

Standing at the podium, Ms. Douglas Bowman thanked the audience for its support, saying, “What makes the Bishop’s Company so remarkable is the recognition that clergy care doesn’t just mean supporting the priest.  It means caring for their families, too.”

As in previous years, scholarship recipients were announced at the dinner. Allison Dean and Vinaya Sagar Dumpala received the Terence and Alice Jean Finlay Bursary, which is given to two students, one each from Trinity and Wycliffe colleges, who are engaged in studies that celebrate and enhance the understanding of the diversity of the church. Mary-Catherine Garden was awarded the Kirubai Scholarship, given to a Trinity College divinity student who is specializing in liturgy and worship. Donald Beyers and Monique Taylor received the William Kay Bursary, which aids students who are engaged in theological education that will lead to ordination. John Sundara and Rebecca Spellacy received the George & Eileen Carey Bursary, awarded to Anglicans pursuing post-graduate theological studies.

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“Thousands and thousands of trees have been killed,” says the Rev. Stephen Kirkegaard, incumbent of Holy Trinity. “We have lost 130 trees on our property alone. It looks like a clear cut.”

The trouble for Holy Trinity began in 2012, when a few trees were removed. Since then, a few more have been cut down every year, culminating in a staggering 96 trees cut down in the first four months of this year. All that is left on the property is four trees.

The cost to the parish has been enormous, too. The bill for tree removal is approaching $50,000, and that is on top of $60,000 for a new church roof.

Fortunately, Bishop Patrick Yu, the area bishop of York-Scarborough, became the parish’s champion, and the area council gave Holy Trinity a grant of $15,000 to help pay for tree cutting. Parishioners also responded to a special appeal to cover the tree costs, and two fundraising concerts raised $29,000.

The loss for the church has also become a loss for the village. Holy Trinity is situated on a large, unfenced lot right at the village crossroads, and over the years it has sought different ways to engage with the community, outside the church walls.

As a result, the church property has become the village green, hosting concerts, theatre, a farmers market, an annual garage sale, barbecues, the Seniors Health Fair and Back to Church Sundays.

The Guildwood community has rallied to the church’s support, its ratepayers association donating a couple of thousand dollars for the tree cutting. Now, as it plans the replanting of the property, the parish is in talks with the community.

“We’ve started a Trees Down/Trees Up campaign,” says Mr. Kirkegaard. “As we replant, we’re speaking to the community about how we can best use the property to serve the community. We want to try and capture a missional vision for it.”

He also anticipates financial help from all three levels of government. “I think all levels of government are saying there’d be some willingness to assist in the replanting,” he says. “Replanting is much easier to get support for than cutting down.”

Although it has been a devastating loss, parishioners’ morale is high. In the Our Faith-Our Hope campaign, Holy Trinity raised $236,000, exceeding its target by $91,000, says Mr. Kirkegaard. People felt very encouraged when, after Holy Trinity supported the diocese, the diocese in turn supported it in its time of need.

“For the parish, it was nice to see that immediate loop of support and fellowship from the diocese,” he says, adding, “Although we are dismayed by the loss of our beautiful tree canopy, we are excited about the missional possibilities of our Trees Down, Trees Up campaign.”

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The format for the evening was based on the “Slice of Life” event held by the Rotary Club of Whitby and promoted by RADAR (Rotary Action for the Development of AIDS Responses) as a template for groups interested in learning about HIV and AIDS.

After brief introductory remarks, representatives of Latinos Positivos, the Ontario AIDS Network, Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS), and the HIV & AIDS Network of the Diocese of Toronto were seated at banquet tables, where they were joined by up to six guests each. Each speaker had 10 minutes to share his or her personal journey as a person living with HIV-AIDS and answer questions. At the end of 10 minutes, a bell was rung and there was a short refreshment break before participants moved on to another speaker.

“It was eye-opening to meet people from different countries and cultures and hear their stories of dealing with AIDS,” said a St. Mary Magdalene parishioner. “I was saddened to hear about the lack of medical and social support for AIDS patients in Latin America. Even in Canada, we have a long way to go. I learned about grassroots organizations here in Toronto that support people of Latin American descent and people of Asian descent. These social support organizations are a powerful movement for caring and inclusion. The people I met were determined, hopeful, and resourceful, and the evening left me feeling totally inspired.”

The groups heard that federal cuts to refugee healthcare have meant that some HIV-positive people are unable to afford the medication they need to stay healthy. The situation is so dire that Latinos Positivos is looking to establish an emergency pharmacy so people will not have to stop their treatment regimens.

Another common theme was the vital importance of a caring and accepting community, especially when family and other traditional supports are no longer available because of the stigma often associated with an HIV-positive diagnosis.

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A fourth-year student in international development at York University, Ms. Oxley has transformed the Sunday morning program for children aged four to 12. The year started with lessons about Moses and the Book of Exodus, followed by rehearsals for the nativity play. By January, Ms. Oxley had engaged parents as volunteer teachers. She had also prepared her own lesson called Bible Basics.

The Lenten and Easter lessons focused on “God’s Big Plan for Our Redemption.” That was the theme of the Easter Saturday community event, which drew more than 30 children and their parents.

“We organized the day around six stations and areas of the church,” she says. “First, we welcomed people onto our parish hall stage to make fuzzy lambs.” The children glued cotton balls on a brown egg, turning it into a fuzzy lamb. “That helped us introduce two Easter ideas – the lamb and the egg.”

Next, the group formed a circle in the main hall. Ms. Oxley had set up a wall of cardboard bricks and explained how the wall represents sin, which keeps us separated from God. How do we break down that wall? “This is the whole point of God’s big plan for redemption: he sent his son Jesus to pay for our sins on the cross, and to ‘punch down the wall,’ as the kids like to say.”

From there, Ms. Oxley set the scene of Jesus entering Jerusalem and gave all the children palm leaves left over from Palm Sunday. Two children volunteered to dress up as Jesus and the donkey, and the group followed a sign to Jerusalem as the rest of the crowd waved palms and cheered for Jesus. Upstairs in the church’s sanctuary, Ms. Oxley had a few surprises waiting for them. In the chancel, mats were set up in the “the upper room,” where they assembled for the last supper. The Rev. David Burrows, incumbent, reminded the group how Jesus served the disciples bread and wine, and the kids all munched on pita and sipped grape juice.

At this time, Ms. Oxley explained the deeper meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice, which we remember through Communion. “I explained to the kids that in God’s plan for redemption, Jesus paid for every sin – past, present, and future – with his own sacrifice on the cross, and that’s what we remember when we eat the bread and the wine.”

After the last supper, the group moved to the baptistry, where Ms. Oxley had a miniature Garden of Gethsemane arranged with the help of a parent volunteer. Children added spring blooms to the garden and learned how Jesus was betrayed and arrested there.

Back in the chancel, Ms. Oxley described the story of the crucifixion with the help of Hillary Eresto, a drummer with the South Sudanese Community Church that worships at St. Olave’s. Children each had hand drums to beat along with Ms. Eresto as the story turned darker and darker. The group sang, “Were You There?” The final verse – “Were you there when they rolled the stone away? – hinted at the resurrection. As children learned of the empty tomb, the mood lifted. They learned the hymn, “Sons of God,” adding rhythms with drums and other percussion instruments.

Finally, the group returned to the hall for a snack. Ms. Oxley had set up a mixer and ingredients to make “Tomb Cookies,” meringues that become hollow after drying out over a few hours in the oven. As each ingredient was added to the bowl, a short Bible passage was read to link it to a symbol from the story.

“All these fun activities were orchestrated with a view to help the children learn about the Easter story,” says Sharm Powell, who came with her five-year-old daughter, Liesl, a regular Sunday school attender. “I was amazed at how fun and educational it was. She loved it and so did I. The two hours just flew by – we didn’t want to leave.“

As the children dove into the cooking demonstration, parents relaxed and socialized. Ms. Oxley was pleased to see a mix of regular St. Olave’s attenders and visitors from the community. Part of the budget for the event was spent on advertising, through a community newspaper and putting up posters. Children were also given invitations and encouraged to ask friends to join them.

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Dubbing themselves “Team Body and Soul,” the pair will join 90 other cyclists on an eight-day, 600-kilometre ride to the major battlefields of the First and Second World Wars.

Each participant is expected to raise $4,000, the funds going to Wounded Warriors Canada programs that assist ill and injured members of the Armed Forces.

The ride is a continuation of the 2014 Wounded Warriors Canada Battlefield Bike Ride from Normandy to Vimy Ridge, in which Canon Warren and Dr. Burridge also participated.

This year, it starts at Vimy and ends at Groesbeek Cemetery in Nijmegen for the 70^th anniversary of VE Day and the liberation of the Netherlands.

Canon Warren, who was chaplain to the reserve forces until his retirement in 2013, says last year’s ride was the first long distance cycling he had done. He has been training for this ride ever since, in the gym for the winter months and on the road in better weather.

“Currently we’re supposed to be road-riding three days a week and one of those rides should be approximately three hours long,” he explains. Days on the tour begin at 8 a.m. and, with scheduled breaks, end at 4 or 5 p.m.

The biking should be easier this year, he says, as it starts in the hills of France and ends on the flat land of Holland. “Last year it was a lot uphill,” he adds. ”We found the one day of 120 km was just a little too much for everybody.”

Canon Warren praises the continuing support for Wounded Warriors that comes from Anglican chaplains in the reserves and regular military. He notes that the organization not only provides programs for the ill and injured, it also provides ongoing support for their families.

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I had been to different countries in Africa – Mali, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Malawi – and so I thought I knew something of what to expect in going to Ethiopia with a small team from my parish of St. George the Martyr, Parkdale. But Ethiopia is in many ways unique, and the food, clothing, coffee, traditions and other aspects of life were not what I had come to know as “African.” I found myself challenged, delighted and intrigued by everything I came across.

There were four of us on our team: our incumbent, the Rev. Simon Bell; our community pastor, Dan Brandsma; our churchwarden, Dale Hawke; and myself. Of the four, only Dale had never been to Africa, and Ethiopia was new to three of us.

Mission and outreach is a strong focus of St. George the Martyr, and while that generally is expressed in local neighbourhood forms such as a farmers’ market and other initiatives, we also want to have a global outlook. In 2014, the possibility came up for a partnership in Ethiopia with an organization called SIM (Serving In Mission). Dan, our community pastor, went last spring to check out SIM’s projects in Ethiopia. He discovered one called Hidden Abilities, which works with children with physical disabilities. He thought this would be a good fit for St. George’s, so in March we went to explore it further.

Hidden Abilities is run by SIM Ethiopia and is largely staffed by missionaries. It was started by John and Phyllis Coleman, long-time Canadian missionaries in Ethiopia who adopted twin girls, Amy and Abby, now aged 10. Abby’s physical disabilities opened their eyes to the lack of support for children like her in Ethiopia. Just over a year ago, Hidden Abilities was created to help them. It is currently helping 27 children, and there is hope to grow that number to 200 over the next couple of years.

Hidden Abilities is in transition, though: the Colemans will be coming home to Canada soon, and a key Ethiopian staff member, Semret, will be leaving in the fall. While local staff are being hired to replace Semret, more missionary support is essential at this early stage of the project.

When we arrived in Ethiopia, we didn’t know what to expect or what practical help we could give. Except for Dale, none of us had been trained to work with people with disabilities. But we quickly realized that we had two roles to play: to provide encouragement and pastoral support to the missionaries and staff, and to advocate for the project back home. The project needs financial support and equipment. It also needs people who are trained in physiotherapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy who can go for short periods of time. Prayers and encouragement from churches and individuals are also welcomed.

On our first day at the clinic, we met Emmanuel—a five-year-old boy, very small for his age, who can neither speak nor sit up without help. But his smile is big and his laughter deep. His mother works in the sex trade on the streets of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. For most of Emmanuel’s life, she was unable to provide him with proper nourishment for him to grow. When he began to attend Hidden Abilities, he was unable to move or make any sounds by himself. With the help of the trained staff, his improvement has been swift: he can now sit up with help. Emmanuel, however, is lucky: after about age eight or nine, the most that the staff can usually do is help a child (and their families) learn to live with their disabilities rather than heal them.

Emmanuel was just one of the many children we were able to meet on this trip. The work that Hidden Abilities does is beautiful and valuable. It is also humble – one stretched muscle at a time and one smile shared with a small child, showing them that they too are precious. It is only over weeks and months that change is visible. Patience is essential.

When people ask me what my favourite part of the trip was, I am at a loss for words. Do I start with these experiences: meeting and laughing with Emmanuel? Blowing bubbles with 8-year-old Rahel and seeing her huge smile? Getting to hear the incredible faith story of Semret?

Or do I speak of meeting with the Anglican bishop of Ethiopia, Grant Le Marquand, and hearing what exciting things the church is up to in Ethiopia? While there is currently only one Anglican church in Addis Ababa – due to a historical understanding of the Anglican Church as a “chaplaincy” to English-speaking expatriates – Anglican churches are flourishing in the province of Gambela, located in the western part of the country. Gambela borders South Sudan and hosts many Somali and Sudanese refugees who are fleeing conflict. Many of these refugees are finding a spiritual home in Anglican churches in the region. As Bishop Le Marquand remarked, new Anglican churches are springing up every time his back is turned.  One newly constructed church in a refugee camp, built to hold 1,000 people, was bursting with almost 2,000 at last year’s Easter service!

Or maybe I could say that my favourite experiences came during the few days when we explored the tourist side of Ethiopia. We went north to see the city of Gondar, where the kings and queens of Ethiopia built their castles in days gone by. It was fascinating to see the kings’ compound, where each king would construct a new castle when he began his reign. (There are 12 castles scattered over the compound.) We also spent a morning visiting ancient island monasteries on Lake Tana, where the Ark of the Covenant was rumoured to be housed in centuries past. It was humbling to watch faithful monks and nuns working, fasting and praying with such dedication, and to know that some of these monasteries had been in existence since the 14th century. On our way back to shore, we stopped by the mouth of the Blue Nile (the main tributary of the Nile), and saw a “bloat” of hippopotami swimming.

But to call any of these experiences my favourite wouldn’t do justice to the particular privilege of visiting beautiful Orthodox churches and learning something of their rich tradition, which saturates everything one sees and does. Ethiopia was one of the first states to officially adopt Christianity (in the 4th century), and the centuries of deep faith are evident across the country. The iconography is beautiful and powerful (eyes symbolize understanding, so any picture of the 12 disciples shows Judas with only one eye visible). Every action and artifact in Ethiopian Orthodoxy is steeped with symbolism, from the four steps leading into the Holy of Holies (representing the four Gospels), to the vertical movement of the priest’s staff, symbolising Christ coming to earth, being raised on the cross, descending to the grave, and ascending to heaven.

And how could I be satisfied that I had properly conveyed my favourite experiences if I didn’t mention the food and coffee? Anyone who has experienced Ethiopian food knows something of what to expect: multiple tasty dishes served on the sour, spongy flatbread known as injera. But we also enjoyed grilled fish fresh from Lake Tana and an assortment of stews and soups. There was also an Ethiopian take on “Western” food such as pasta and pizzas. The food was very flavourful, often very spicy and, in general, a delight. (But be warned: “green peppers” are actually little hot peppers that are green, not our large sweet variety!)

The coffee deserves a paragraph of its own. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, and Ethiopians take great pride and delight in their coffee heritage. A traditional coffee ceremony involves coffee brewed in a particular pot over a charcoal stove, and served in little cups with sugar on the side, accompanied by burning incense for smell, grass for beauty and popcorn for taste. But the Ethiopians wisely took some traditions from the Italians as well before they conquered them and sent them out of the country: among other things, a love of macchiato, the flavour and quality of which I have not seen equalled anywhere else in the world.

One final favourite: the weather was lovely, and sitting out on the second-storey, open-air restaurant at our hotel, sipping macchiatos under the stars, is a memory that will warm me for years to come.

We arrived back in Toronto on March 24, landing after a 16-hour flight to another chilly, damp Toronto morning. It was good to come home. We came back enriched by our trip to Ethiopia, with a deep respect for the incredibly diverse, complex, and beautiful land and people; and glad to have been able to share encouragement and fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters on the other side of the world.

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Of the 16 parishes that took part in the Growing Healthy Stewards program in 2013 and 2014, almost all are seeing increases in their offertory giving, FaithWorks contributions and pre-authorized giving. One church even credits the program with helping boost attendance.

“I would heartily endorse it,” says the Rev. Mark Gladding, incumbent of St. Margaret, New Toronto.

Growing Healthy Stewards is a year-round stewardship education program. One of its unique features is that it is coached. Each parish is teamed with an experienced lay volunteer who has a proven track record of leading stewardship in their own parish.

Another important aspect of the program is that each component has been tried and tested by parishes in the diocese. Over the past 10 years, more than 100 parishes have used various parts of the program. Based on their feedback, the material has been revised and collected into one manual.

Assisted by their coach, parishes in the Growing Healthy Stewards program work through the manual, which includes strategies for such things as introducing legacy giving, running an outreach campaign, celebrating gifts of time and talent, preparing a narrative budget and holding an intentional giving campaign. Some of the most innovative strategies, such as a “relay” of pledge cards from house to house, come from the parishes themselves.

“The program has been great,” says Mr. Gladding. “It gives you a plan to follow and it’s really simple.”

After two years in the program, St. Margaret’s has achieved considerable success. By the end of 2014, the church’s offertory givings were 14 per cent higher than budgeted and its contributions to FaithWorks had doubled. The average annual gift was $2,000 – this in a neighbourhood that has an after-tax household income of $52,663. Participation in pre-authorized giving increased by 36 per cent.

Not only has the church’s revenue gone up, but so has its average Sunday attendance, as it puts more time and effort into cultivating new members. “When you begin to focus on stewardship, you want to make sure that everyone has the ability to contribute,” says Mr. Gladding. “When a new person comes now, it’s not very long before someone is asking them if they would like to become a member of St. Margaret’s.”

He says the program has given parishioners more confidence to talk about giving and a deeper understanding of the church’s mission. Some members have given sermons on stewardship. “That changes how people look at each other, when someone is brave enough to preach a sermon on Sunday morning. That’s been a really good thing.”

Another church that has benefitted from the program is St. Timothy, North Toronto.  Its offertory givings in 2014 were 10 per cent above budget and its participation in pre-authorized giving increased from 28 per cent in 2012 to 54 per cent in 2014 – a considerable increase given that those who sign up for pre-authorized giving usually give about 30 per cent more than they would by using envelopes or the open plate. The church’s support for FaithWorks has also increased by 27 per cent.

“The program provides a structure, so you don’t have to invent one,” says the Rev. Canon Gregory Symmes, incumbent. “Often in stewardship, we know the language but we’re not quite sure where to start or have the confidence, and this helps us with that.”

He says the program helped the church set realistic and tangible goals and then work towards them in an intentional way. “I’ve never gone home after hearing a good sermon and said to my wife, ‘Honey, lets increase our givings to the church.” It just doesn’t happen that way. But it does when we’re asked to consider if we would sign up for pre-authorized giving or increase our donations to hire a new staff person or put in an elevator or accomplish more. Vision inspires.”

Gordon Longman, a member of St. Thomas, Brooklin, is one of 14 coaches in the program and enjoys working with the parishes. “When I meet with the parishes, I ask about where they are and what they have done, and then we see what aspects of the program should be done next.”

He says the program does not offer a cookie cutter solution. “You can’t just impose it on the church. What I continually say is, ‘I am here as a consultant to help you manage your situation. It’s your program, not mine. The diocese has ideas and experience and processes that could help you, but it’s up to you to decide which ones you want to do.’ After that, I’ll give them whatever encouragement and follow-up is needed. It’s a co-operative process.”

Churches that sign up for the program must commit to following the manual as closely as possible, with some minor variations allowed. Each member of the parish’s stewardship committee must complete a personal stewardship audit and commit to a life of generous stewardship. All of the committee members, including the incumbent, need to become boosters of the program and lead by example, including speaking from the pulpit about discipleship and the importance of stewardship.

“It is a big commitment, but anything worthwhile requires a commitment,” says Peter Misiaszek, the diocese’s director of Stewardship Development. “If you can muster together, at minimum, four people to do the program, you can do it. When you start seeing the results, that will retain a high level of commitment.”

In return for signing up, the parish will be teamed with a coach who will meet with the parish’s stewardship committee at least four times a year to evaluate progress, plan activities and answer questions. At the beginning of the process, the parish’s current stewardship practices will be assessed, with an aim to improving them over the year. The parish will also have access to Mr. Misiaszek and other professionals in the Stewardship Development office.

For more information about the program, contact Peter Misiaszek, director of Stewardship Development, at pmisiaszek@toronto.anglican.ca.

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After being sent away from home during the 1939-1945 war and spending time at various convents, I went on to the school where my two brothers had been, St. George’s College, Weybridge in Surrey. My parents were both keen singers and my mother played the piano, so that from an early age I was singing at home. I was very lucky in that at St. George’s we sang folk songs in the classroom every day. I graduated to the chapel choir and developed a reasonable treble voice, encouraged by various teachers. When my voice changed, I continued on as a tenor in the chapel choir.

Meanwhile, I was taking piano lessons and became fascinated by the monster in the corner of the chapel. I was pushed into service quite often as organ-blower, which further encouraged my yen to play the beast. As well as wishing to play, I was intrigued by the mechanics of the organ. After much begging, I started having lessons and was allowed after a while to play for simple services. I practised late at night, much to the distress of the monks trying to pray at that time. However, Fr. Raymond, of whom I was scared, and Fr. Bede, of whom I was not, were very encouraging.

From school I went into national service in the RAF and had very little music except for Saturday nights in the NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes) and, magically at one point, meeting a chap who wanted to practise flute sonatas.

I went on to University College, London, and read English language and literature. I sang professionally in the choir of St. James, Spanish Place, and also for many groups specializing in Renaissance music. I even earned money singing for television. I also joined the London University Choral Society. I continued with the organ and played for some services here and there.

I fell madly in love with a Canadian girl, who sadly had to come back to Canada. My father was in charge of the European buying offices of Eaton’s. So I pestered him to help me get to Canada, and he got me a job at the Eaton’s Queen Street store, selling men’s shirts. Meanwhile, I sang for Elmer Iseler’s Festival Singers and in the choir of Grace Church on-the-Hill in Toronto. After a while, the money situation changed and very boldly I quit Eaton’s and supported myself by singing, playing the organ and working for an organ-builder.

I suppose the highlight of my career was conducting a 1,500-voice choir for the sesquicentennial service of the Diocese of Toronto in what was then the SkyDome. I was lucky enough to play for a papal visit to the Martyr’s Shrine at Midland. At St. James Cathedral, I had the honour of meeting several members of the Royal Family as well as distinguished Canadian figures. People have been kind to me and I have some honorary degrees and am a canon of St. James Cathedral.

A low point would be teaching combined music and civics at an English comprehensive school when I went back to England for three years in the 1970s. That after being head of music at Upper Canada College in Toronto! But I did have a job playing the organ and that saved my sanity.

My first wish for five years from now is still to be alive – I think. I would like to have the use of my fingers and a little of my brain, so that I can continue playing the organ for various churches.

It is very difficult to pick a favourite hymn, but the choice would, according to my mood or the day of the year, lie between “Praise my soul the King of heaven,” “O come down O Love divine” and “My song is love divine.”

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