I am currently a director of finance and administration at a non-profit organization. I do a split function of finance and human resources, which I enjoy, as I get to work with the two disciplines that appeal to me. I was previously a director and board chair at a women’s shelter. It was a transformative time for me, as I saw first-hand the disturbing effects of abuse, and the sadness and loneliness of persons having to leave their homes. I observed being here the first December how difficult this was as I saw the families, especially the children, not being in their own homes at Christmas. As difficult as this experience was, I did a term of six years. I truly learned so much about life, and I felt at the end of that term that I was able to make a positive difference, not only to my own life and the things we take for granted, but to the lives of women at the shelter.

I am a member of the women’s ministry at the Church of the Nativity, where I have been worshipping for the past 30 years. I love to travel, and make the opportunity to do that often. I love to sing. One of my joys is singing the old familiar hymns that bring back so many memories of my youth, and I look forward to our monthly praise and worship service. Working with youth is another thing I look forward to, as you can learn so much from them. I have had many opportunities to travel with the youth group on our annual trips to the U.S., to visit different congregations and share our ministry with them, and be a part of theirs.

As a lay reader, I take the time to prepare the Prayers of the People before Sunday morning. As I prepare, I review the readings for the day and ask God to give me the guidance to pray for the needs of congregation and the current needs of the world. As an intercessory, I read the epistle and assist with Communion. Lay anointing is done with the permission of the area bishop. In this ministry, you are licensed and may minister to the sick through prayer and sacramental anointing with consecrated oil. This is a vital prayer ministry and is done during the Eucharist. As a lay anointer, the best part of my role is to be able to interact with and pray for people who have specific challenges or needs, to see the results of answered prayer and to receive positive feedback from the congregation.

Currently, I am working on my training as a parish selection committee coach. It is fulfilling to work in your home parish, but very rewarding and insightful to work in others’ parishes, as we all do worship a little differently and uniquely. The roles assigned to the parish selection coach include working with a congregation or elected group and the area bishop to find an incumbent for a parish. Having been the chairperson of a selection committee three years ago, I appreciate the discernment that goes into the process to articulate the needs of a parish, to assist in preparing the parish profile and the interview process.

Volunteering for me came very easily when I came to Canada, as it has been something I had done before, and it is a way to meet people and form bonds. Volunteering is a way of giving back your time and talents for the many abundances that are given to us. I started volunteering in Canada as a treasurer at the Church of the Nativity many years ago. After that, I continued my ministry as a rector’s warden, a leader in the youth group, youth mentor and a representative on the Synod nominations committee.

My spiritual journey started in Barbados. As a young girl, I observed the lives of my mother and my grandmother. I watched their continued participation in the organizations within the church. As I followed them to the numerous services and meetings, I acquired a liking for the music, the bible readings and the spiritual aspect. As I entered my teenage years, I noticed the peace and serenity in their lives from serving God, and it became my mission to follow their example, seeing their faith in the Lord as stepping stones towards my future. While at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Barbados, where I spent my formative years, I was involved with Sunday school and many youth activities. The one I will always be grateful for is the Church Girls’ Brigade, which helped me to develop social skills, confidence, discipline and leadership skills, to explore the bible and be part of a social network including dancing and traveling, which I still love to do today.

Being a Christian enables me to meet the daily challenges and stresses of life and work. I rely on prayer and meditation to see myself through the challenges. In the busyness of life and the social pressures that you face, you always know your go-to place. Working in the financial sector, the demands are many and the workload is great, especially in this environment that we live in, but I always know that I can reach out to God in prayer, while also relying on my relatives and church family for the support that I need. One of the advantages to being a part of a Christian fellowship is the mentors you meet along the way, the encouragement and the resources you acquire for growth, spiritual and otherwise, the friendships and the social activity. For the support I need, my trust in God gives me the confidence and strength to deal with personal issues that I may encounter in the workplace any given day.

Five years from now, with God’s help, I intend to be retired from the work environment and continuing to do God’s work either in Canada or Barbados.

My favorite passage of scripture is Proverbs 3:6, which states, “In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.” I need to call on this scripture regularly. This passage was given to me by my grandmother as I left Barbados many years ago to immigrate to Canada, and sometimes I can still hear her voice repeating this to me. My favorite hymn is “He Leadeth Me,” because I know that whatever situation occurs, Gods hand will be leading me.

The post Volunteering is a way of giving back appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Ms. Goulden’s academic background includes degrees in law and theology. Her prior work experience includes service at all three levels of government, including work for the Public Interest Law Centre of Legal Aid Manitoba and for Environment Canada, as well as working as a legal editor for several years before beginning her theological studies. She received her MA in theology in 2008 and taught two Diploma in Lay Ministry courses through Wycliffe College in 2008 and 2009.

Ms. Goulden is passionate about connecting the day-to-day life and work of the Church with the biblical call to justice and wholeness for all of God’s people and creation. She has long been inspired by Isaiah 1:16b-17: “Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow,” as well as the cosmic vision of redemption in Christ portrayed in Colossians 1:17-20: “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together… and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.” She and her family are active parishioners at St. Martin in-the-Fields, Toronto.

The post Diocese welcomes social justice consultant appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Well, a video on Facebook receives, on average, 135 per cent more organic reach than a photo. Recent studies tell us that Facebook users watch more than 8 billion videos every day, while more than 500 million hours of video per day are viewed on YouTube. By 2019, nearly a million minutes of video will be shared online every second.

Videos can be used to share a message, provoke a thought or spur an action. Even more simply, they can show a quick snippet of life in particular place. Much of their power lies in their ability to create an emotional connection with viewers.

The diocese has seen much recent success with its videos. Archbishop Colin Johnson’s Christmas and Easter messages have earned steadily more views and interactions since the first video was released in March 2015. With the help of a modest budget for ads on Facebook and Twitter, his recent Maundy Thursday message reached 48,000 people and received 24,000 views in its first week. Much of that success is thanks to Anglicans sharing the video online, spreading the message of God’s love among their own friends.

An example of the tangible power of video came this past January when, following up on his column in The Anglican, Archbishop Johnson appeared in a video urging Anglicans to provide short-term housing for refugee claimants through Romero House. Touched by the story of Tim, Kathy and Marino, Facebook and Twitter users shared the video more than 200 times, making it the diocese’s most-shared video. Within a week, it had reached 26,500 people without the help of paid social media ads. Romero House reported several instances of families joining its Community Host Program after seeing the video in their social media feeds.

Videos are also connecting people with the ongoing life of the diocese. Interviews with the nominees in last year’s episcopal elections were viewed nearly 15,500 times. The consecration of our three new bishops in January has been watched 4,000 times so far. Bishop Peter Fenty’s consecration, posted on YouTube in 2013, has nearly 20,000 views, many of them from well-wishers in Barbados.

But videos don’t need to be professionally produced, expensive or even long to reach people. The most effective online videos are less than two minutes long. On platforms like Instagram, videos as short as a few seconds can be incredibly effective. A choir singing an anthem on Sunday morning. Pealing church bells. Balloons floating up to the ceiling in celebration. A swinging thurible. A child’s shriek of joy during a baptism. These moments, easily captured, give viewers a taste of life in your community.

It has also never been easier to create and share simple videos. Facebook has a built-in tool that will let your church’s page create a slideshow of photos with music. On Instagram, you can record videos in the app itself or import them from your phone. Tools like Boomerang create short, looping videos that can be shared straight to Facebook or Instagram. Even livestreaming can be as simple as holding up a phone and tapping a button. Facebook and Twitter both have built-in live video functions that are easy to use. Smartphone cameras are getting better and better, and for simple moments, online audiences generally don’t expect the highest quality.

That isn’t to say we should indiscriminately record and post video of everything we see. As with any communication tool, video is best used in a strategic way to help achieve a certain goal. Will this video resonate with an audience we’re trying to speak to? Does it help us spread a message we’re trying to get across? Does it show something about our community we want to share?

I encourage churches to think about the ways they can incorporate video into their digital lives to show how God is working in their communities. Grab a phone, hit “record” and have fun!

The post Videos create emotional connection appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

When we entered his office, there was a warmth and genuineness experienced by both of us in our first meeting with Bishop Finlay. He was very interested in getting to know us and our young family. We shared the stories of our Christian journeys and family life. It was a pleasure to engage with him and, in that first encounter, have a sense of the pastoral care and support he offered clergy and their families. I had no idea that six years later I would be working closely with him as his executive assistant and Archdeacon of York.

I got to know Terry, as he was affectionately called, when I became a member of the Postulancy Committee and a regional dean. He gave wise counsel and offered good insight into challenging matters facing the church. His was a calming voice and a non-anxious presence. He offered strong episcopal leadership in the diocese, both pastorally and morally. He was a model of deep faith and prayerful thoughtfulness, and was genuinely concerned about the well-being of the clergy and laity under his episcopal leadership.

In the spring of 2003 I received a call from the Archbishop’s office inviting me to meet with him. I thought I was going to be invited to sit on another committee of the diocese. He quickly got to the purpose of our meeting and asked if I was willing to be considered as a candidate for executive assistant and archdeacon. The position had become vacant when Archdeacon Colin Johnson was elected suffragan bishop. I was surprised when he met with me just before the clergy conference that year and offered me the position.

It was a privilege and distinct honour to serve as his executive assistant and archdeacon. I got to know Terry even better and learned much from him. I witnessed the depth of his faith and his concern for every parish in the diocese. He showed compassion, particularly for the marginalized and minorities in the Church and in the wider community.

Archbishop Finlay was very disciplined in his work. He worked long hours and paid attention to detail, thoroughly reading documents, letters or any material needed for meetings. It was also evident that he cared deeply for the wider Church and appreciated the importance of ecumenical relationships.

One of the qualities I admired about Terry was his willingness to make time for people. He made himself available to clergy and laity who needed to meet with him. I was often asked to join him in meetings with others, and it was evident that he always listened intently. He was very attentive to those with whom he was speaking. Terry was a pastor, mentor, friend and confidante.

Another quality I admired in him was his humility. He engaged with people in all stations of life. He was as comfortable talking and engaging with persons on the street corner or drop-in centre as he was with persons serving in public office.

One of the challenges he faced was the Church’s position on human sexuality. While in office he upheld the doctrine and discipline of the Church as diocesan bishop and metropolitan. On leaving office, he officiated in a same-gender marriage, for which he had to be disciplined by his diocesan bishop, who was once his archdeacon, executive assistant and suffragan bishop. In receiving the admonition, he told his successor in office that he expected nothing less from him and that he was exercising his episcopal ministry responsibly.

I believe that Archbishop Terence was leading the diocese in the direction of being more welcoming to those who were vulnerable, marginalized, voiceless and in the minority. He made a very significant difference in the life of the Diocese of Toronto. It is not surprising, therefore, to hear and read the very complimentary reflections that many have shared about their experiences of him. He exercised a servant ministry throughout his ordained life, and for that we give thanks to God for his example. I was privileged and honoured to have had the opportunity to know him as my bishop, mentor and friend. The Church has been blessed to have had him as a faithful bishop. He will be missed and leaves a legacy of exemplary leadership, humility, compassion and profound faith. We are grateful to his family for having shared him with the Church and assure them of our prayerful support. We give Archbishop Terence Finlay back to his Creator God with the same graciousness we experienced of him. May he rest in peace and rise with Christ in glory.

The post Serving Archbishop Finlay was a privilege appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

That letter came from John Strachan, the first Bishop of Toronto, in January 1854!

The Our Faith-Our Hope: Re-imagine Church campaign began with an idea I first proposed to Synod a decade ago. As it gradually took shape, we determined that it would be a cooperative program shared between the diocese and parishes that responded to the generosity of God’s many gifts to us to engage God’s mission. We identified the goals of Strengthening Local Parishes, Building the Church for Tomorrow, Revitalizing Our Inheritance and Giving to Others.

The Canadian North has many clergy and lay catechists in charge of parishes who work without a stipend. Many are isolated in communities that face traumatic pastoral issues including, unfortunately, the accumulated pain of dealing with multiple suicides. The Diocese of Toronto made a grant of $500,000 from Our Faith-Our Hope (OFOH) to fund a request from the Council of the North and Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples to hold regional circles where clergy and lay leaders could come together for mutual learning, support and refreshment. So far, 276 have participated from half a dozen dioceses. Grants ranged from $500 to $100,000. The Diocese of the Arctic, for instance, brought people from 48 communities together. The feedback has been astounding.  It makes a difference in peoples’ lives.

The Anglican Chaplaincy for the Canadian Forces elected its first full-time bishop to provide episcopal care for regular and reserve chaplains and their families, and to military personnel across the country. It only became possible because of an initial endowment of $500,000 from OFOH.

Another $500,000 grant from OFOH to the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) supports new work in maternal and child health in the developing world and midwifery services in remote northern communities in Canada. Ours is the largest single gift any diocese has ever given to PWRDF in its 50+ year history. Because of matching federal government grants, that gift created a value of over $2.5 million. Safe deliveries and proper health care are now available because of your generosity.

Parishes around the diocese have been made physically accessible, youth work is being funded, leaders are being trained, pioneering ministries in new contexts have been planed and an amazing array of creative projects have been undertaken locally because of Our Faith-Our Hope – not just because of the financial resources now available, but also because of a reinvigoration of imagination and commitment.

We have succeeded in remarkable ways. While not every parish participated, the vast majority did – and achieved more than many had thought possible. Some of the parishes did not formally join the OFOH project because they were already in the midst of substantial funding efforts. Others added to their goals to meet parish capital needs and did spectacularly well. Taking that into account, at least $50 million in new funds has been contributed to ministry in the diocese and beyond in the last seven years, over our regular offerings and FaithWorks contributions.

We are a different diocese because of that. Yes, the money has helped us fund new ministries, adapt old buildings, engage in new mission, support vulnerable people in Christ’s name. More than that, though, it has helped build relationships between people, allowed people to share personal stories, identified and trained new leaders, built up confidence, and assisted people to articulate and share their faith.

I have been changed by the experience. I am more confident in speaking clearly about my faith and my commitment to it. I have discovered a new capacity to give generously. I have met the most amazing Anglicans, heard their stories and been moved by their faithfulness. I have rejoiced in the creativity and boldness of vision of people and parishes (and yes, to be honest, occasionally disappointed by a few). I think our church is in a different place because of Our Faith-Our Hope. We have begun to re-imagine church.

I am profoundly grateful to you and the many people like you who have made and are making a difference in our world because of your faith in Jesus Christ. And I am especially grateful to the lay leaders and clergy in our diocese who took the initiative and rose to it so graciously.

The campaign is now officially concluded, but the allocations continue and the mission God invites us to share is still on our doorsteps. As my first paragraph noted, this was not the first financial campaign, nor will it be the last – the work of the Church is not over. Let us continue onwards in faith and in hope.

The post Our Faith-Our Hope is changing lives appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

“It began about four years ago, when the church decided that we wanted to do some kind of fresh expression to reach people around us that weren’t being reached by conventional church evangelical methods,” says the Rev. Tay Moss, incumbent. The church convened a committee, including experts in business, culinary arts and architecture, to explore its options.

After commissioning an Environics survey, walking around the area and talking to local stakeholders, the team decided to create a space where its neighbours could gather in a comfortable way. “A lot of them are very consumer-based, and they like to kind of have this curated life experience based on consumer choices they’ve made,” says Mr. Moss. “It had to be something which was an open space, and cafés have that kind of character just naturally. People tend to linger.”

As the name suggests, the café sits in the church’s bell tower, contained on a cart with its own water and electrical systems. “It’s this gorgeous little space that everybody comments on when they come in,” says Vivia Kieswetter, who runs the café. “It’s got two stained glass windows in it, and the ceilings are at least 30 feet high.” There are also chairs and tables set up in part of the sanctuary, and the church installed a new Wi-Fi system for those who want to stay and work.

According to Ms. Kieswetter, whom Mr. Moss calls the “Brewmaster of Divinity,” the neighbourhood is starting to notice. “Word of mouth is starting to travel,” she says. “We’re getting a lot of support from the businesses around, kind of talking us up and sending us people.”

The menu of fair-trade coffee, handmade baked goods and organic juice is a deliberate choice. “Part of the mandate of the café was stewardship of the earth and stewardship of the environment, so it’s important to offer organic things and foods based on whole food ingredients,” says Ms. Kieswetter. Customers can also choose to donate $5 to the till, a menu item called “Giving Back” that helps provide coffee and pastries to the area’s less affluent residents when they come in.

While the café has been open mostly mornings so far, it was recently incorporated into an open mic night at the church. More events are being planned for the summer, including meditation and yoga classes and a series exploring artists’ spirituality.

Mr. Moss says one of the most gratifying parts of the café has been learning even more about the church’s neighbours. “You can actually find ways to meet people’s needs who don’t feel like they have needs,” he says. “Somehow they find their way in and they sit down and they hook up their laptop and they sit for a while, you maybe catch them looking at the stained glass window, and you kind of wonder, what is that person thinking about when they look at the stained glass?”

Learn more at www.belltowercafe.ca and stop by for a coffee at the corner of Avenue and Dupont in Toronto.

The post Café invites neighbours in appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.