Each synagogue had a number of “God-fearers” – Gentiles who believed in the one God of the Jews, but didn’t want to convert to Judaism. It was very costly to become a Jew in the first century. For male converts, it meant circumcision!

Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to investigate the work of the followers of the Way in Antioch. After his arrival, he realized that he needed help to maintain the work and to develop the community. He went to Tarsus and invited Paul to join him. The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26). Paul and Barnabas worked together there for more than a year.

The church in Antioch was an exciting place to be. The work of the Holy Spirit was very much in evidence. Prophets proclaimed that Barnabas and Paul were to be commissioned for a special work of mission (Acts 13:2-3). Together with Barnabas’s cousin, John Mark, they set out for the island of Cyprus. (Antioch was to remain the centre of Paul’s missionary activity. All of his missionary journeys started there, and it was in Antioch that he seemed to recharge his faith and find support for his work.)

Cyprus was Barnabas’s home, but it is evident that Paul was the leader of this small band of missionaries. Paul established the style that he continued throughout his missionary work. First, he went to the local synagogue, where he would teach about Jesus Christ. For Paul, Jesus was the Jewish messiah, and the Jewish people had a right to hear the message. But as most often happened, it was the God-fearers who responded to the message. A local community of believers was formed with mostly Gentile converts. Paul would leave a local person in charge and then move on, usually forced out because of unrest from the local Jews.

From Cyprus, the mission team crossed to the mainland at Perga, the capital of the Roman province of Pamphylia. Here John Mark left to return home to Jerusalem. We are not sure why he left. Perhaps he was homesick, or he may have been upset that Paul had taken over the team when he thought that Barnabas was to be in charge. This eventually led to a split between Paul and Barnabas.

The first journey moved in a circle around Asia Minor, travelling through centres such as Pisidian- Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. In each place, Paul established a small house church, with a local leader in charge. The team visited most of these communities as they returned to Antioch in Syria. It is interesting that Paul reported back to Antioch and not Jerusalem. We see here the start of a shift in authority from Jerusalem.

Paul was always conscious of his Jewish heritage and continually preached to the local Jews, but most of his converts came from the Gentiles. Jesus was the expected Jewish messiah, but his message was for all people. As Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles, the church grew daily.

Paul’s teaching was continually challenged by “Judaizers,” Jewish Christians who believed that all converts must become Jews before they could become Christians. This included circumcision for all male converts. This led to the first major controversy in the early church.

During this journey, Paul and Barnabas were confronted regularly by Judaizers, and eventually they went up to Jerusalem to fight for their Gentile converts. The first Council of Jerusalem is dated about 50 CE and can be read in Acts 15. This council included Peter, James and John, along with Paul and Barnabas.

It was James, the brother of Jesus, who came up with a compromise solution. If the Gentile converts would abstain from meat offered to idols, from the blood of animals and sexual immorality, they did not need to follow the other laws of Judaism, including the law of circumcision. The Gentile Christians received all that they wanted, but this controversy continued to plague Paul throughout his ministry.

Next month we will continue with the second journey and the beginning of Paul’s writings. Enjoy the dialogue.

The post Small team sets out on mission appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Throughout the next two and a half days, eight youth ministers from the Diocese of Toronto were stretched and challenged to delve deeply into the three themes of the conference: the Bible, theology and race.

Representing more than a dozen denominations, 400 youth leaders from across North America gathered at Fourth Presbyterian Church in downtown Chicago in March to wrestle with the urgent justice and faith issues of today.

The gathering, called the Progressive Youth Ministry Conference, was born out of the need for mainline and progressive churches to explore youth ministry within our own traditions, since most youth ministry events and curricula cater to evangelicals.

“Often the mainline church is not seen as a major player in youth ministry,” says the Rev. Christian Harvey, the youth minister for St. John the Evangelist, Peterborough. “It was inspiring to see youth ministers from mainline churches come together and challenge that preconception. They took the conversation beyond how to get youth to go to church and asked what it means to be a youth minister in a society that is dripping with racism and commercialism.”

Speakers taught us new ways to encounter scripture. The Rev. Debbie Blue, a founding minister of House of Mercy in St. Paul, Minnesota, encouraged us to appreciate the Bible for all its contradictions and ambiguities.

“My favourite part of the conference was Debbie’s talk about the Bible and about how it’s this really intense and outrageous book full of stories,” says Melinda Suarez of St. John, West Toronto. “It gave me curiosity and excitement to look at the Bible with new eyes and to encourage my youth to look at the Bible for all the weirdness and parables that it brings.”

Frank Yamada, the president of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, emphasized that “reading the Bible every day should not be the property of fundamentalists.”

Along with encouraging participants to reclaim a radical commitment to scripture, the conference wasn’t afraid to tackle serious topics and challenge the status quo. The biggest question asked by speakers was, ‘Is the church relevant today?’

The Rev. Amy Butler, who preached during the closing worship, asked hard questions about the relevance of church in people’s lives. As the new pastor of the historic Riverside Church in New York City, she asked, “In a world that considers our cathedrals and even the pulpit where Martin Luther King Jr. preached irrelevant, what is the future of our church?”

Speakers talked about racism and ongoing issues of police brutality as a defining issue of our times. In the United States, the killing of unarmed black men like Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri, by white police officers sparked protests and outrage across the country. Ms. Butler was among dozens of faith leaders who went to Ferguson to support the protesters. They had an honest message for religious leaders: your potlucks do nothing for us, nothing to keep black men like Michael Brown from being shot in the street.

Racism and racial profiling by police are problems in Canada as well. In Toronto, residents of lowincome communities have spoken out about the racial profiling faced by many people of colour. As youth leaders, we are constantly asked by youth these poignant questions: Why be a part of the church? What is the church doing about the justice issues of today?

“One-third of Americans report never entering a church,” said Ms. Butler. “We could be afraid or we could admit our irrelevance and get creative in love.”

The conference allowed us as youth ministers to hold the question of the irrelevance of church in one hand and deep hope in the other. As Ms. Butler lamented the loss of relevance, she also spoke of the deep importance that youth ministry brings.

“Youth pastors go into the most desperate places of human becoming (adolescence) and you camp there,” she said. “Desperate times of angst and discovery call for extreme investment. Who knows where hope and possibility might be born?”

I felt a deep sense of hope, knowing that today’s progressive religious leaders are inspiring new conversations in the church. Ms. Butler’s closing comments filled me with a reverence for where the Spirit is leading. When her teenage son said he didn’t want to attend the Christmas Eve service because he didn’t believe in God, Ms. Butler wished that she had told him, “People who don’t believe in God are welcome at church. They are welcome to bring doubts and raise questions. Church is a place where love is born, and love is lived out.”

As a youth minister, I hope to welcome all youth to experience church as this: a place where love is born and lived out.

The post Youth leaders inspired, challenged appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Archbishop Johnson was speaking at the Richard Gidney Lecture on Faith and Medicine, an annual forum co-sponsored by the Diocese of Toronto. He was joined by Maureen Taylor, a clinical assistant professor in the Physician Assistant Education Program at McMaster University. Ms. Taylor is the widow of the late Dr. Donald Low, a prominent microbiologist who spoke in favour of assisted dying in a video shortly before his death in 2013.

Although not personally in favour of physician-assisted death, Archbishop Johnson said the issue is complex and Canadians must guard against taking rigid positions in the debate. “It is not a subject on which everyone will agree,” he said. “This will not be resolved by assembling all the facts, assessing the data and coming to an unassailable professional conclusion – although there are many who would want precisely that.”

He said in such complex matters, the manner in which the questions are framed is more important in determining a way forward than providing quick fixes. “It seems to me that there will be multiple ways forward, not one or two,” he said. “Dealing with the transition between life and death, the mystery of a person’s being and final journey, is not simple; it is a holy moment. And it is a winding path.”

He said Canadians “desperately” need to have a conversation about death as a natural part of life. “How many of you have a will or a power of attorney for personal care? How many of you have had a conversation with your own family about your wishes as you age and as you approach death?”

In raising his questions about physicianassisted death, he said he was not trying to say it was wrong in every case, but rather to approach it from another perspective. He noted there were alternatives to assisted dying, such as improved home-based palliative care, which studies have shown is the least expensive and the most preferred form of care by patients.

“Why are we not advocating for appropriate resources to support what would serve a much larger component of our population? Individuals already have and exercise the right to refuse treatment. Would more do so in terminal cases if they had the support through the process of dying at the early as well as the imminent stages of dying? Would they choose to do so earlier if they had frank and supportive discussions of the realities of their prognosis sooner?”

He said society needs to recognize and support the role of the primary caregivers and family as well as the close community as they “support, grow, learn, share, grieve and are transformed through the experience of accompanying a person journeying toward death.”

What is a good death?

He asked what constitutes a good death. “Is a good death a death freed of all suffering? We are a society that abhors suffering and prizes instant gratification. Is physician-assisted death a technological quick fix to relieve anxious and aging boomers who are used to being in control of everything? I’m speaking as one of that demographic.”

In asking his questions, he stressed that his comments were not directed at every instance of physician-assisted death. “We do not have a right to ask or tell others that they must suffer for the sake of our own conscience or beliefs or world view. But what I do say – and this is a central part of Christian faith – is that while suffering is not to be gratuitously embraced, neither is it to be avoided as a straightforward evil at all costs. Suffering is not merely to be endured; it needs to be redeemed, to be given some meaning or purpose if it is to have any value. So a parent may be willing to endure privations on behalf of the betterment of a child. Some will sacrifice themselves for the welfare of another, even a stranger. Some suffering can break open the human heart to the deep pain of our world and grow into true compassion that is expansive and not constricting. At the heart of the Christian faith is the suffering of Jesus on the cross that we believe leads to the redemption of the world and opens a new relationship with God.

“Let’s remember that pain is an important indicator of deeper trouble, and masking it prematurely can lead to more serious issues: look at what leprosy does when it deadens nerves, turning off the body’s warning systems that protect the extremities. The psychological or spiritual pain of looking at a broken world propels some to engage in reforming that world.

“Suffering that is completely meaningless can easily become unendurable. And suffering that goes beyond a certain degree – and that point varies from person to person and situation to situation – can become destructively all-consuming. I have unfortunately witnessed nurses who are proud that they have been able to withhold narcotic pain relief from a pain-tortured individual who is going to be dead in a matter of days because he might become addicted. But I have also seen patients ‘titrated to snow’ without ever being consulted, frustrating their last chances to engage intelligibly with their loved ones. Before we simply anesthetize pain, we need to ask, ‘What is actually going on here? Whose pain is being anesthetized?”

Technicians rather than healers

He said a person is more than a machine. “We all know that, but is that what some of our medical interventions actually reflect? All too often, I observe mechanics, engineers and technicians at work rather than healers. I come from a faith tradition that has at its core a very high value on matter, the stuff of life, the physicality of the world. The Christian doctrines of creation and incarnation witness to that. Life is a sacred gift. The body and what you do with it is important. We are stewards and trustees of our life. In our tradition, the individual is deeply valued but so is the community. Health is about wholeness, the whole person – body, soul, spirit, and the whole community. Death is an integral part of that. Death is not always a defeat; sometimes it is in the long process of dying that the final and only moment of healing comes – healing of relationships, of memories, coming to terms with lost dreams and finding new hope; perhaps the release from the limitations or the pain that may have spanned the better part of a lifetime.

“There is a time for death. Who decides when that will be? What are the parameters of that decision or set of decisions? Death is a deeply personal issue but not solely personal. Who else is involved? We live in a society where individual autonomy is a highly cherished and guarded value. The ability to make choices is very important. But we need to balance that with a recognition that individuals find their lives lived with others and that we find our fulfilment not in isolation but in relationships, in community. Christians believe that the foundation of this reality is in God. ‘I am the boss of myself,’ is the protest of a petulant three-year-old. Maturity involves recognizing that this is only partially true and then only some of the time.

“Our moral decisions, if they are not simply self-centred and selfish, are made in reference to a wider public context and recognize that our choices have impact on others. When we are speaking of physician-assisted death, there are various publics being addressed – a whole array of stakeholders: the person, the families and friends, the ethicists and theologians, the physicians, nurses and technicians, the chaplains, social workers and caregivers; fellow citizens (I use this word rather than taxpayers because it conveys a wider range of responsibilities and obligations, as well as benefits). All of these are affected by the decision to seek physician-assisted death, and many will have conflicting values. Policies developed both to permit it and to safeguard others’ rights need to take this into account.”

He questioned whether the choices currently made for medical care are healthy. “I’m going to be somewhat provocative here to make a point. On one side we spend enormous amounts of resources – time, money, expertise, technology, space – to extend lives well beyond what is normal. We are reluctant to face the inevitability of death and we postpone the discussion of alternative measures until well into a treatment process, when it is often clear much earlier both to the professional and not infrequently to the patient that the prognosis is terminal. We have used technology to prolong life, sometimes with great benefit, sometimes grotesquely. Are we then turning to a new technology to shut it down and fix the problem?

“On the other hand, we spend a great deal of energy worrying about – but not devoting too many resources – to preventing young people from committing suicide. I am the bishop of a northern diocese where suicide is epidemic, where young and old are in the midst of deep despair and, to them, unendurable suffering, with little hope of that changing. You will note that the Supreme Court decision specifically does not limit its provisions to the terminally ill. What criteria do we develop that will differentiate between the conscious decision (consent) of a terminally ill adult to ask for physician-assisted death to end their life a bit sooner because of their unremitting and unendurable pain, and this group? Or are they the actually the same, except that the latter can access their own means of dying without professional help?”

Archbishop Johnson said he does not agree with those who say that physician-assisted death is a “slippery slope” that will lead to abuses, but he cautioned against putting too much trust in governments to make the right decisions on the issue. “Those who are concerned about the so-called slippery-slope effects of more permissive legislation are sometimes dismissed as fear-mongers. Indeed, some of them are, and some of their claims are outrageous! I am a good, card-carrying institutional- supporting liberal, you may have noticed. But I am not quite so sanguine about trusting our government or our society to instinctively do the right thing in such complicated matters. We do not have to look abroad to find examples. The history of the treatment of the First Nations peoples, the confiscation of property and internment of Japanese and German Canadians, the oppression of Chinese immigrant labourers, the Alberta eugenics policy for the mentally challenged, the ongoing serious and chronic abuse of the vulnerable elderly today should give us pause.

The ways of the heart and soul

“Already we know that some, perhaps many, patients make a medical treatment decision based on the impact it will have on their family, not on fact-based scientific data. How will that impact ‘un-coerced’ decisions about physician-assisted death? How will the rationing of healthcare dollars put pressure on critical decisions on end-of-life issues? It already does, in the way we inadequately allocate funds to home care, spiritual care, chronic care, palliative care and mental health services. The cult of efficiency is a business model that does not take into account the ways of the heart and soul or the unpredictable paths of the processes of life and death. It cannot be the primary way decisions in healthcare need to be formulated.

“Personally, I am not a proponent of physician-assisted death. I recognize that palliative care will not work in every situation, however, and I would not close off all avenues of physician-assisted deaths. But I think it should be exceptionally limited and we should spend much more energy and resources on alternatives that will impact far more lives and far more deaths. And I have real concerns about how we have come to focus on this without having the much more important discussion about death itself, especially how we have professionalized and sanitized death so that is no longer a normal stage of life.”

He finished by quoting Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh of the Eastern Orthodox Church: “The injunction ‘be mindful of death’ is not a call to live with a sense of terror in the constant awareness that death is to overtake us. It seems rather: ‘Be aware of the fact that what you are saying now, doing now, hearing, enduring or receiving now may be the last event or experience of your present life.’ In which case it must be a crowning, not a defeat; a summit, not a trough. If only we realized whenever confronted with a person that this might be the last moment either of his life or of ours, we would be much more intense, much more attentive to the words we speak and the things we do. Only awareness of death will give life this immediacy and depth, will bring life to life, will make it so intense that its totality is summed up in the present moment. All life is at every moment an ultimate act.” (From “Preparation for Death” in the book The Time and The Spirit.)

Ms. Taylor spoke about the death of her husband, Dr. Donald Low, the microbiologist who is credited with guiding Toronto through the 2003 SARS crisis. Her presentation included a short video featuring Dr. Low a week before his death in 2013.

In the video, Dr. Low makes a direct plea to opponents of physician-assisted death by imploring them to reconsider. “I wish they could live in my body for 24 hours and I think they would change that opinion,” he said. “I’m just frustrated not to be able to have control of my own life, not being able to have the decision for myself when enough is enough.”

Ms. Taylor, a former medical reporter for the CBC, praised the Supreme Court ruling which gives Canadians the right to physician- assisted death. She said an overwhelming majority of Canadians supported assisted dying in certain cases.

“The slippery slope argument is a fallacy,” she said, citing studies from Oregon, which allows assisted death under certain circumstances.

The post Transition from life to death ‘is a holy moment and a winding path’ appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Many Christians support their churches and clergy with monetary contributions of one kind or another. Frequently, this is called tithing, whether or not it follows the 10 per cent rule of the Old Testament. However, as tithing was an ingrained Jewish custom by the time of Jesus, no specific command to tithe is found in the New Testament. Christians are not restricted in their giving to the Old Testament understanding of tithing. Instead, they are challenged by New Testament guidelines that describe giving as proportionate to one’s income, and as consistent, sacrificial and joyful.

Jesus’ measure is actually a tougher one to follow than the one commanded under Mosaic Law. We are not just asked to give a part of what we have, but all that we have. We all have gifts – some obvious and others less so. Consider what Peter says in his first letter: “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” As stewards, we gladly share with others our time, our talent and our treasure without ceasing. “All that we have belongs to God,” Jesus would say. Life is God’s gift to us. How we live is our gift to God.

So how can a newcomer to the church relate to our understanding of giving? Above all, make a commitment to give – your ability, your time, your prayers and your money. Make giving regular, reliable and real. Ensure that the gift is one that makes you feel like it is making a difference.

What should I give? If you are being introduced to proportionate giving for the first time, consider donating one hour’s pay per week to church and a similar amount to charity. Those who are retired are encouraged to consider giving an equivalent amount (2.5 per cent) from their retirement income. This approach can have two very positive outcomes: First, it makes the work week and the work of our hands holy because our act of giving is intimately tied to how we earn a living. Secondly, an hour’s pay is simple and profound and it may increase with time to reflect our progress in life.

What if I am facing serious financial burdens? Those who may be unemployed or facing serious financial burdens should consider how they might give of their time and talent to the church on a weekly basis and pray for the ministry of the church. Everyone, regardless of income level, should be encouraged to give something. Even in our hardship, we experience blessing.

Is it okay to just give time and talent? The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is the ultimate example of selflessness. Jesus gave everything and He gave it freely. Scripture does not run away from what we should give. Time and talent are important (and often overlooked) aspects of stewardship, but without treasure, the teaching is incomplete. To be a Christian is to bear witness to a life of surrender – and that includes our financial wealth as well.

What is a pledge? A pledge is a spiritual commitment to giving of our time, talent and treasure, and it is based on our belief that we give because we receive. It serves as a helpful indicator to church leaders of what they might expect to receive from the congregation, and it helps keep us focused on the needs of the church.

Pledge or plate? All gifts demonstrate a Christian witness to the importance of giving freely. A pledge, however, encourages the giver to consider the gift and its amount in a thoughtful and prayerful way. It encourages us to give of our first fruits as opposed to what is left over. In that way, we are making the needs of God’s church and ministry a priority in our life and ensuring that our gift will be regular, reliable and real.

Our material goods are often the greatest barrier to our trust in God. Therefore, it is important to take the time to teach newcomers how and why we must change our attitude to wealth. It requires persistence and careful teaching to wean people away from the materialism of modern life to a true understanding of Christian generosity. Next month I will discuss the mechanics of giving, or more specifically, how we can give.

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The Downsview Youth Covenant (DYC) is a not-for-profit registered charity that was established in 1997 and incorporated in 2009. It seeks to develop, promote and manage the delivery of programs and services to children and youth in the Jane Finch/Jane Wilson corridor. This is a highly populated immigrant community in which there are numerous families living below the poverty line. As such, there are many negative influences and barriers to success for our young people. Programming is designed to help the participants cope with any academic, social and emotional challenges, and provides them with guidance, positive role models and activities that will enhance their lives. This is achieved through a Monday-to-Friday after-school Homework Club, Friday night social activities, March Break and summer camps, and artistic expressions of drumming, drama and dance. Staff and volunteers challenge students to grow academically and socially.

The best thing about my ministry as director is seeing the positive growth and development of our participants. Children strive in their academics, and youth gain leadership experience and support in life skills through volunteering. Carolyn Jackson, our present site supervisor, joined the Homework Club program as a child, after which she became a volunteer and then a staff member. She graduated from York University as a teacher and remains unwavering in her commitment as she works with the present DYC participants. Her life is testimony to the difference we can make in the lives of the young people we serve. However, funding is an ongoing issue as we constantly seek out sources for the continuation of our programs. This hinders growth and expansion, but thanks to FaithWorks and other church and community donors, we have been able to maintain our present programming.

I was born in Guyana, South America, and immigrated to Canada in the early 1980s. As a cradle Anglican, I was influenced by staunch Anglican parents who had active roles as lay leaders in the church and were also principals of church schools. I attended St. Joseph’s Catholic High School, where I participated in the weekly mass and was influenced by nuns and teachers who taught me to live a life of faith and integrity. As a child and teenager, church was life and life was the church. As an adult, I continue to live life in the same vein.

I arrived in Canada with strong Anglican roots and found my first and only church home in Canada at St. Stephen, Downsview, where I have been a member for over 30 years. I became actively involved in church life when I accepted an invitation to be a member of the parish’s advisory board by the late Rev. Tim Grew, one of my earliest spiritual mentors. That began a continuous commitment to lay ministry in the Diocese of Toronto. Strengthened by my lay minstry training at Wycliffe College, I later served in various capacites in youth, children’s and outreach ministries at All Saints, Kingsway, and St. David, Lawrence Avenue. My ministry to youth extends beyond church in my role as a school settlement worker, helping new students and their families settle in Canada.

I am hired as a part-time staff person, but part-time ministry does not exist. Ministry is a way of life. Ministry is not only a commitment to those I serve but also a commitment to God. So my ministry is my vocation. My passion has always been working with children and youth, and I pray that as long as I am called to this area of ministry I will be able to make a difference in the spiritual, educational and personal development of young people wherever God places me. When you hold a child’s hand, you help a child, a family, a school, a church, a community, a city, a country and God’s world.

I am a member of the Black Anglicans Coordinating Committee and have been a key organizer of the diocesan Black Heritage Service of celebration since its inception 20 years ago. One of my greatest church moments was being asked to preach for the 17th annual service, with the theme “Laity leading the way.” At this year’s 20th anniversary service, I was awarded a plaque for my contributions to the church and community. As an avid and former professional dancer, I have been the choreographer for the Diocesan Dancers, who over the years have also performed at the service and at church and community events throughout the diocese.

One of my favorite scripture verses is, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). I lead a full life but make prayer and Bible reading an important part of my day as I seek God’s guidance, wisdom and protection in all that I do. I thank my mother and siblings, my late father, grandmother and brother, other family and friends, youth and children, priests and parishioners who have prayed for, nurtured, journeyed with and supported me on my spiritual journey.

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I am writing after the final of four meetings of the Inter-Diocesan Learning Community of the Church of England. The project is funded by the Church Commissioners to help senior diocesan leaders undertake intentional change towards more effective and missional ministry. Each leadership team is subjected to an intense process that asks, “What is?” (For example, what is the current situation in the diocese? What are the issues we feel are most important?) Then we are asked, “What can be?” This is when the teams imagine ways to improve the present situation. Finally, we are asked, “What will be?” The meeting concludes with each team sharing its plan, from its general direction to concrete implementation, with names of individuals responsible for each action. Nine months later, we report to the other dioceses on whether and how we have acted on our plans. Through reporting, we are gently held accountable to our peers. Toronto is the only diocese outside the Church of England invited to this process. Besides me as bishop, our team consists of our diocese’s canon missioner, our director of Congregational Development, and the Archdeacon of York, who is also our chief administrative officer. We are the smallest team because of the distance we must travel.

Looking back over the last three years of our involvement, the exercise has been fruitful. Our particular focus has been on every level of leadership. The exercise gave impetus to the recruitment and training of congregational leaders. To give just two examples, every postulant now participates in a course in mission and evangelism before their ordination. The diocese is also close to deploying a few trained, intentional interim priests for a longer period of time (around two years) in those parishes that need special care.

By engaging with other dioceses, we found support from people and places that struggle with similar issues and work toward similar goals. We liked the process so much that we imported it back to Canada. The other dioceses involved here are Edmonton, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and Algoma, and we meet in Toronto. Our diocese’s team for the Canadian process is bigger and younger. Those of us in the original team who went to Liverpool are busy handing over to the new team.

On every trip, additional benefits accrued before and after the official meeting. For example, we came to know Stephen Cottrell, the bishop of Chelmsford in England. We invited him to lead our clergy conference last year. His talks, which are on our diocese’s YouTube channel, were widely acclaimed.

There is not one trip in which I do not bring back some new resource, connection or idea. This time I got to examine an alternative to our current way of clergy formation. I had heard about St. Mellitus College for some time but finally visited it with Canon Susan Bell on our way to Liverpool. The college is a joint venture by the dioceses of London and Chelmsford, and Holy Trinity, Brompton. It provides a parish-based approach to theological education. Rather than taking candidates away from the parish to train, the college insists that the student stay in the parish and use it for formation. The sponsoring parish employs the student halftime and sends her or him to school the other half. The academic curriculum is rigorous and is accredited through the universities of Durham and Middlesex. While the student’s formation is based in the parish, he or she also experiences college life, which intentionally helps them to appreciate and respect all the streams within Anglicanism without trying to put them into a particular mold. Started only seven years ago, the college already has 157 students in the ordination stream – that’s a significant percentage of the prospective ordinands in the Church of England. The college has students in other streams as well, such as youth ministry and church planting. Susan and I look forward to reporting to the Diocesan Leadership Team, and I will ask for some time in the House of Bishops to present this exciting concept of theological education.

I also had the privilege earlier this year of teaching in the Anglican seminary in Hong Kong. One tangible benefit of this is that I brought back ministry resources in Cantonese and Mandarin for our Chinese churches and New Hope Mandarin ministries here in the Diocese of Toronto. I also brought back observations and reflections from having experienced the church operating in another setting. In my report to our Diocesan Leadership Team, I pointed out the willingness of the Hong Kong government and the church to take risks investing in the future, something that is in contrast with our own often cautious stance. For example, the St. James settlement building is wholly dedicated to social service and continuing education, and its exemplary service attracts volunteers and financial support from society at large. There is more: the photo (see this page) was taken from the roof of St. James Church, which occupies both the bottom floors and the top floor of a brand new building, with a church-sponsored primary school in between. The government paid for the part that housed the school, but the church had to raise the funds for their own floors. The vicar spoke of the cliff-hanging years of fundraising, which stretched her faith and that of her parishioners.

But learning is not all one way. Through interaction with others, I have come to appreciate the strength of the Diocese of Toronto. God has been very gracious in guiding us into policies and practices that have been widely acclaimed, somewhat to our surprise and much to our delight. When you visit our Diocesan Center in Toronto, you can look into the cupboard opposite the reception desk and find a yellow “Lambanana,” which is the trophy our team took home last year for the most innovative idea! Our diocese is unique and we must weigh every new idea against what we already do well. We have learned not to chase every new idea, or simply copy what other people do, but to use the insights we have gained to embark on the hard work of choosing and developing our own strategies.

Obviously, the extent of the bishops’ involvement as a proportion of our diocesan responsibilities is subject to discussion, and the College of Bishops does engage in this discussion. (Actually, with today’s communication, the concept of “away” is blurred and all the bishops, including myself, deal with crisis situations and correspondence as much as we can.) So next time you find that your bishop is away, be patient and realize that she or he is likely contributing to the wider church as well as bringing benefits, both tangible and intangible, to our common mission in the Diocese of Toronto.

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“As the brain cancer took her away from me, it became very important to her,” he says. “When I saw the comfort she received from it, it really impacted me.”

During one of his visits, he had an idea. A similar channel would work well at St. Hilda’s Towers, the senior citizens’ complex in Toronto where he is the chief executive officer and incumbent of the church that is located in one of the buildings.

“I realized I needed to bring a channel like that to St. Hilda’s,” he says. “We have a wonderful facility that really takes care for its residents, and I wanted to make sure that we added one more amenity.”

The church, also called St. Hilda’s, received a $20,000 grant from the diocese’s Our Faith-Our Hope campaign to get the channel off the ground. Together with funds from the federal government, Canon Shea and his team set up a broadcast centre, had cable and other infrastructure installed throughout the complex and bought video cameras.

The channel will be available in all 500 rooms and the church, reaching between 450 to 500 people, many of them Anglicans. There will be a mix of programs, including worship services and specials events from the church, and presentations from the staff on things like cooking, health, fitness and medicine. Entertainment will be provided by the residents and outside groups.

Most of the programs will be taped in the broadcast booth or the church, but a mobile camera will allow shows to be filmed elsewhere as well, including outdoor events like barbecues.

Canon Shea expects the channel to go live soon. In the meantime, a couple of test broadcasts have been well received. “People are getting very enthusiastic about it,” he says. “They have a sense that this will bring together the community even more. Very often the only place we come together is at special activity events and mealtimes. Now here’s a chance to have activities sent directly to people’s rooms. It’s especially important for those who are unable to get out because of physical challenges.”

The channel’s arrival is timely, as St. Hilda’s plans to create new space for people with dementia and those who require palliative care. “It will be available in their rooms and they can see what’s happening in the community,” he says.

Two senior citizens’ buildings across the road from St. Hilda’s have expressed interest in receiving the channel. For now, however, Canon Shea and his team are focusing on the getting it launched. “I’m very appreciative of the diocese and the federal government for the funding that has allowed us to get it underway,” he says.

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The church’s anniversary celebrations, which began in Advent, have included a visit by Bishop Michael Bedford-Jones and the launch of a book about the parish’s history.

Archbishop Hiltz says he is grateful for the opportunity to spend an entire week in the parish. “It is so nice for a bishop to be able to be in one place, with one parish family, for the whole week,” he says. “I’ve spent many Holy Weeks in a different place every night of the week, so it’s a real joy to be able to walk the liturgies, from the glory of the palms to the glory of the resurrection, with a community.”

The Rev. Canon Philip Hobson, OGS, incumbent of St. Martin in-the- Fields, says that spending the week with the Primate was a powerful experience. “I was thinking all this week of those fellow Anglicans and Christians across the country, and that sense of us walking together with Christ on the journey,” he says. “It was a tremendous delight to have him here.”

As Primate, Archbishop Hiltz has spent past Holy Weeks in Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver, Calgary and London, Ontario.

“I’ve always loved Holy Week,” he says. “These liturgies are very dramatic, and they really help us get a sense of what it is that we’re celebrating in that journey. It’s a journey of the soul. As we remember our Lord’s journey, it becomes in fact our own journey.”

During his week at St. Martin in-the-Fields, Archbishop Hiltz participated in a variety of services. He celebrated the Eucharist on Palm Sunday and at the Easter Vigil, led the Stations of the Cross, concelebrated with five other clergy on Maundy Thursday, and preached on Good Friday and Easter morning.

While he says he loves the drama of each Holy Week service, Archbishop Hiltz was particularly moved by the meditation on the cross during the Good Friday service. “As the people came forward to kneel before the cross, all you could hear was feet. That’s all you could hear in the church, not another sound, just feet making their way to the cross. That was quite powerful for me,” he says.

In addition to participating in the liturgies of Holy Week, Archbishop Hiltz says he also appreciated the opportunity to connect with parishioners. “You feel drawn into the community, you feel drawn into its life of prayer, and you feel drawn into the devotion of this community to Christ,” he says.

Members of the parish community were struck by the Primate’s friendly presence throughout the week. “He’s quietly calm, very gracious and makes it extremely easy to talk to him,” says Lynn McKnight, who served alongside Archbishop Hiltz during several liturgies. “He is very engaged in whatever everyone has to say. That’s amazing.”

St. Martin in-the-Fields will continue its anniversary celebrations with visits from Archbishop Colin Johnson and Bishop Philip Poole, a community fun fair in June and a special patronal festival in November to wrap up the year.

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