He desperately wanted to make it to Rome. His mission work around the Aegean Sea had been completed. All that was left was to return to Jerusalem, taking with him the donations that were collected from the mission churches to help the Jerusalem church. Then he would be free to make the trip to Rome. Little did he know that in Jerusalem he would be arrested by the Romans and end up in Rome in chains, a prisoner of the state.

Paul planned to send Phoebe ahead to act as his financial representative in Rome (Romans 16:1-2) and to start the collection necessary for his mission base there. Meanwhile, he started to lay the groundwork for it with his letter, outlining his understanding of the Christian faith. He realized there was a problem between the Jewish and Gentile Christians. This was probably a universal problem and he addressed the issue. (See Romans 9-11.)

Through the centuries, the Epistle to the Romans has been used by various scholars to develop their theology. Martin Luther concentrated on chapters 1 to 8 because they contained Paul’s most explicit teaching on Justification by Faith. John Calvin focused on chapters 9 to 11 because they contained Paul’s teaching on divine predestination. Paul’s main thesis appears in 1:16-17: the righteous person will live out his faith; the wrath of God is revealed among humans by the opposite of faith, which is sin.

This thesis is more fully developed in 3:21-31, showing how it is the faith of Jesus that saves humans. He then demonstrates this thesis with the example of Abraham as the person who models faith (4:1-25). He completes this argument through an appeal to experience (5:1-21), and then responds to a series of questions raised by this thesis (6:1-11:31). The questions seem to be, “If the Gentiles have this good news and the Jews are turning away from it, does this mean that God has failed?” Finally, Paul applies this argument to the moral life of the Roman community as exemplary for every community (12:1-15:6).

In chapter 8, Paul says that because we have been empowered by the Spirit, we can do what the law asks of us. In this letter, Paul is writing one continuous rhetorical argument. His final argument is that all Israel will be saved.

Throughout the letter, Paul develops an elegant and powerful argument based on the story of Jesus.

It is in the response of faith that establishes a human in a right relationship with God, as shown by Abraham’s faith in God while he was still a Gentile (4:1-11).

Human sin has inhibited the possibility of obedient, trusting faith (1:18-3:20). God has gifted humans with the power to respond with faith through the faithful obedience of God’s son Jesus (1:16-17, 3:21-26). Thus Jesus’ faithful obedience places humans in a right relationship with God (5:12-21). The power to respond as Jesus did is given by the Holy Spirit (5:1-11, 8:1-39).

God’s plan in history is to reconcile Jews with the Gentiles through the principal of faith (9:1- 11:36). We can all be righteous by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ (13:14). The Romans demonstrated this transformed mind by the quality of their lives (12:1-21). They especially demonstrated this by the mutual love that respects and welcomes all diversity in the community (14:1-15:13).

Paul is an intensely difficult person to comprehend. We need to remember that he uses the ancient convention of rhetoric as an instrument of persuasion. We should read his letters for argument rather than for a revelation of his personality.

Paul did not create Christianity. He used the stories of Jesus as they were known to the early church in developing his theology. Jesus is the centre of his writings. He used many earlier traditions, such as baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the words and the stories of Jesus throughout his epistles. He is also a creative thinker and demands that we think along with him. He provides us with a creative dialogue to stretch our minds and spirit. Enjoy the dialogue.

The post Letter outlines Paul’s theology appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Suzanne Lawson is sometimes introduced at conferences as a “rampant lay woman” because of her passionate support of the laity. It’s a title she is comfortable with.

“I’m not anti-clerical, but I think we have to step up and claim our call to be the church,” she says.

For the past decade, Ms. Lawson has been one of only three Canadians – and the only lay person – to sit on the Anglican Consultative Council, an international body that meets every three or four years and is considered one of the church’s “Instruments of Communion.”

On the national level, Ms. Lawson was General Synod’s executive director of Program in the early 1990s, working with the staff at Church House in Toronto. “That was an amazing experience,” she says. “I never thought I would work for pay in the church. I worked with an incredible staff and oversaw some really rich ministries.”

During her first week on the job, she attended the first meeting of General Synod’s working group on residential schools. Shortly afterwards, she hired two people – one in eastern Canada and one in western Canada – whose primary focus was to listen to the stories of residential school survivors. “We began to hear people’s stories when they hadn’t even told those stories to themselves,” she recalls.

She played an integral role in creating General’s Synod’s first strategic plan, developed from 1992 to 1995. During that process, a national gathering of indigenous Anglican leaders made a covenant to pursue self-determination within the Anglican Church. The covenant extended “the hand of partnership to all those who will help us build a truly Anglican Indigenous Church in Canada.”

The statement, called “A Covenant and Our Journey of Spiritual Renewal,” became one of the foundational documents in the relationship between Canada’s indigenous people and the Anglican Church of Canada.

“At the time, we didn’t have a clue how valuable and central it would be to the whole future direction of General Synod,” says Ms. Lawson. “That was in 1994, and look where we are now. We still have a long way to go on our journey together, but to go from being totally separate to committing to walking alongside each other is amazing.”

At the diocesan level, Ms. Lawson was chair of a committee in the 1980s that formed the Logos Institute, one of the Diocese of Toronto’s most successful programs. A school of lay ministry, the institute trained more than 400 course leaders and taught the Christian faith to thousands of people.

“We had no idea what we were going to do,” she recalls. “We were told we needed to find a way to educate adults about the faith. But it worked. For years, it did the job superbly.”

Ms. Lawson has provided extensive training and volunteer management expertise to the church. She was the author of “Discerning, Deciding, Doing – a Process of Transformation: A Call to the Diocese of Toronto for the New Millennium.” Written in the early 1990s, the document recommended ways to improve the diocese’s governance. One of its recommendations was to reduce the size of Synod.

In the early 1980s, she wrote a Bishop’s Paper on volunteer management for churches, a document that has been widely used ever since by both the Anglican Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

Ms. Lawson says there are two reasons why she has been so involved in the church over the years. “One is that it’s the place where my faith has grown. It has given me opportunities to understand my faith better, to live it out better, and hopefully to live a better life. The other reason is, I’m very interested in systems and structures. I have felt all along that the church can do better at the way it does its work. It can treat people better. What are the systems we need in place so that we can be better?”

She says she is receiving the award on behalf of all lay people and volunteers. “So many people do their ministry and should share in such honours. All who give of their time and skills make the church a better representative of God’s mission – people like those who organize meals for the marginalized, churchwardens who give so much, leaders of Bible studies and those who visit the sick. I value so much of what lay people do.”

David Stovel has served the national church and contributed significantly to the growth of pension funds as a trustee to the General Synod Pension Plan, the Lay Retirement Plan, the Continuing Education Plan, the Long Term Disability Plans, and the Employees’ Benefits program. He has served as chair of the Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2010, as a member of the Central Advisory Group of the Pension Committee, as chair of the Asset Mix Sub- Committee of the Trustees and continues as a member. He was the Pension Committee’s representative on the Unit of Public Social Responsibility and the Socially Responsible Investment Group and treasurer for St. John, York Mills.

Mr. Stovel, vice-president and portfolio manager at RBC Wealth Management, told the Anglican Journal he was “truly honoured” to receive the award. He described the board of trustees of the General Synod Pension Plan as “without a doubt the most professional and competent board that I know.”

He added, “My involvement over the past 30 years has been most personally rewarding, and I have appreciated the opportunity to contribute to the financial wellbeing of the clergy.”

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, will present Ms. Lawson and Mr. Stovel with the award.

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 L’Arche is a worldwide network of communities in which people with and without intellectual disabilities share life together. The best part of my bivocational reality? I get to be part of two wonderful communities. The worst part? I can’t be in two places at once!

Karl Rahner talks about the task of ministry as “drawing faith out of people rather than pumping it into them… The Holy Spirit is in people. The art is to help them become who they are.” I delight in listening for the experience of the Spirit in people’s lives and encouraging them to articulate it in creative ways. Children have a wonderful way of doing this. For example, at St. Timothy’s we have Messy Church once a month. This is a worship gathering for families with young children. We explore Bible stories through drama, story and crafts. I love watching the faces of children and parents alike as they are drawn into a moment of deep reflection or joy. At our parish Good Friday family service, I was deeply moved as the crowd of young children caught onto the idea of kneeling down and washing one another’s feet, exclaiming “That feels nice!” and “I want to try that too!”

In my role at L’Arche, I am working on an educational initiative with the Faith and Culture Inclusion Network to help agencies that support people with disabilities better understand the spiritual dimension of the lives of the people they serve. Persons with intellectual disabilities, particularly those living in group settings, often find it very challenging to form an ongoing, meaningful relationship with a church community. We want to help support staff find ways of doing this well.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, the fourth of seven children. You don’t often hear of families of that size these days, but I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world. You learn to share and compromise and look out for one another from the get-go. My siblings are incredibly gifted, generous and funny.

In our family, our faith education was embedded in our schooling. My siblings and I all went to the parish school a few blocks from our house. We walked to and from school together and home for lunch each day. We never, ever missed Mass on a Sunday or a holy day. My brothers were altar servers for daily Mass at 7:30 a.m., and I was a lector.

I did my undergraduate degree at the University of Notre Dame, where I first heard about Jean Vanier and Henri Nouwen. Henri had once taught there, and Jean came to visit during my time there. It was through a summer service experience that I came to hear about L’Arche. I decided to spend a year at L’Arche in Italy after graduation. That one year turned into two years, and then a two-month visit to L’Arche Daybreak turned into an 18-year stay.

My faith life has been profoundly shaped by the people I’ve encountered at L’Arche. There’s Silvia, a 12-year-old with Down syndrome, who drew me into my first experience of communion with someone who did not speak with words. There was Tracy, who neither walked nor spoke but could laugh with her whole body. She was always up for a practical joke or a road trip. She wanted to go everywhere, and usually succeeded in convincing her friends to get her there. There was Rosie, a tiny woman who grew up in an institution, confined to a cage. She learned to walk when she was 22 years old, when she came to L’Arche. When Rosie took your hand with her iron grip and wanted you to go someplace, you just went. She had a wisdom, an authority that you just couldn’t argue with. And the list goes on. When you’re in front of people, day in and day out, who embody God’s love and wisdom in such remarkable ways, it changes you. You start seeing grace everywhere you look, most especially as it is revealed to the world through “unlikely” characters.

After a number of years of living in L’Arche, I started studying theology at Regis College. It wasn’t long before the question of ordained ministry came up. A good friend of mine, now a Jesuit priest himself, encouraged me to consider how I might discern this vocational context in an Anglican setting. At the time, that idea seemed pretty far-fetched, but he persisted. In fact, it was he who first accompanied me to Church of the Redeemer on a Sunday morning.

Another key person for me was Archbishop Roger Herft, from Western Australia, whom I met at a L’Arche international gathering in Italy. Over several years, and at quite a distance, he encouraged me, through prayer and listening, to hear a bivocational call to both L’Arche and church.

Sometimes people will say to me, “Oh, so you became Anglican and got ordained.” And I’ll say, yes, that’s true, but that little sentence took me 10 years! It felt important to me to first discern if I could find a church home in the Anglican Communion, and that took a few years. And then it took a few more years to discern the question of priesthood with the diocese. You don’t become a priest in a vacuum. I’ve been enormously privileged to have been part of beloved communities that have called, encouraged and nurtured me.

In L’Arche there is a palpable mutuality to the sacramental life. When I offer the Eucharist to someone, it is not unusual to receive a word of blessing or thanks in return… or even a compliment! You give and you receive. It was Elisabeth, and then John, with whom I have lived and travelled and given talks over the years, who presented me at my ordinations. In our community worship, it is our core members who take the lead, welcoming people, voicing heartfelt prayers and gracefully serving at table.

In 1 Corinthians 12:20-23 Paul writes, “There are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honour.”

Where are people with special needs in our church communities? Are they present? Welcomed? Included? Called to leadership? I’ve heard it said that inclusion means, “If you show up, we’ll make room for you.” But belonging is different. Belonging means, “If you’re not there, we’ll go looking for you.” We are part of a body. We need each other.

The post You give and you receive appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Grants have been approved for 19 parishes in Toronto, Lindsay and Orono, with provisional approval given for an additional six grants in a number of communities, subject to the parishes submitting additional information or clarification to the Refugee Support Allocation Committee. Grants will be distributed to parishes once they have raised a minimum of 80 per cent of their contribution to the sponsorship costs and been matched with a refugee case through the Anglican United Refugee Alliance (AURA).

The amount of the grants ranges from $5,000 to $40,000. The proposed sponsorships will welcome as many as 160 people to Canada with financial and community support to help them transition to their new homes. These applications represent only a portion of the more than 65 parishes in the diocese working toward some form of refugee sponsorship.

Ian McBride, executive director of AURA, was happy to receive news of the grants. “I’m exceedingly pleased,” he said. “I hope that these very generous grants from the diocese will lead immediately to wonderful refugee sponsorships and help to build future refugee sponsorships. The grants help parishes, particularly smaller parishes, to have a degree of confidence in going forward that they otherwise may not have.”

Sixteen parishes that applied for funding are undertaking sponsorship for the first time. The sponsorship assistance grants are providing strong motivation and support as parishes consider taking on the commitment necessary to welcome refugees to a new life in Canada.

“Sponsorship in the diocese has grown immensely, particularly in the last year,” Mr. McBride said. “We applaud those parishes who’ve been involved for a long time and those who have recently become involved. We salute them for their efforts in this ministry.”

The 28 applications received by the March 15 first-round deadline reflected a variety of creative collaborations between parishes and their wider communities. Eighteen applications involved some form of partnership with other Anglican parishes, ecumenical and interfaith partners, or community groups. Partners included local Lutheran, United Church and Christian Reform congregations, an Islamic centre, and several networks of neighbours engaging with Anglican churches to pursue refugee sponsorship.

The announcement of these grants comes in the midst of significant discussion regarding changes to federal government policy related to the private refugee sponsorship program in Canada that may result in a slowing down of approval for refugee cases. Mr. McBride encourages parishes to be patient, but also to continue to engage in the process to make sure as many people in need are brought to Canada as possible.

“The current situation is extremely fluid and in some ways more challenging than we thought it might be,” he said. “However, it is very important that we continue our work, because our calling to this should not be dissuaded due to bureaucratic challenges. The work is the work is the work.”

A second round of applications for parish sponsorship support grants will be accepted until May 15. Information and application forms can be found on the diocese’s website, www.toronto.anglican.ca.

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Having a will drawn up was no big deal, yet surprisingly only 50 per cent of Canadians have one. In fact, most Canadians are hardly aware of the need for one; many only get a will when they are faced with an overseas trip or unexpected illness.

If a person in Ontario dies without a will, the law determines who receives the accumulated assets and the amount of any inheritance. The distribution of assets may not necessarily coincide with the wishes of the deceased. For example, no gifts will be made to friends or the church or a favourite charity, no matter how much they meant to the individual during his or her lifetime. By making a will, an individual can choose their own beneficiaries, based on existing and potential financial needs as well as their relationships. Furthermore, items of sentimental value can be given to specific beneficiaries, thus avoiding conflict among family members.

We are all familiar with the gifts we give to the church through our weekly offering, pre-authorized giving or some other special offering or fundraiser. These gifts normally come from our current incomes. We are less familiar with the many ways we can give to the church and its ministry from the assets we have accumulated over the course of a lifetime – assets such as real estate, stocks or life insurance. Gifts made from our accumulated assets are called “legacy gifts,” and they are a wonderful way in which we can provide additional resources to expand the mission of the church for generations to come.

Legacy giving seems like a relatively new concept in the church, but it is actually as old as the church itself. In the New Testament, Acts 4 tells the story of a man named Joseph, a native of Cyprus who sold a field that belonged to him and gave the proceeds to the apostles for them to distribute as needed. The gift of land from Joseph’s assets is what we would call a living-legacy gift. The apostles gave Joseph a new name, Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement” in Hebrew.

Estate planning is something most people approach with apprehension because it forces us to consider the intimate details of our lives, often in dicussion with lawyers, financial planners, family members and sometimes our clergy. It is not easy to talk about end-of-life issues, especially the end of our own life. Grappling with matters related to our estate inclines us to confront our own mortality, and for most of us, myself included, it is something we’d rather put off. Ultimately, we all have to deal with the reality that life in this world comes to an end. As Christians, we believe that there is something beyond the here and now. Planning for how a lifetime of dreams, hopes and memories is properly distributed following our passing is an important part of the legacy we leave behind.

I urge you to make your will if you have not done so, or to review it if you have one. When you do, please consider a gift to your parish, the diocese or Faith- Works. Even a person of modest means often has a considerable estate, when property and insurance are considered. A gift to the church can also help reduce your taxes. More importantly, your gift will help sustain the good work you have supported over a lifetime and enable new ministry to flourish as a result of your generosity.

The post A Christian legacy can enable new ministry appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

During my years of ministry in the Diocese of Toronto, I have encountered Anglicans who have come to our doors from other parts of the world to worship as brothers and sisters in Christ. I have also heard the stories of encounters in some of our parishes that were anything but the welcome the disciples gave on Pentecost – stories of people being ignored, shunned or told they were in the wrong church. Yet when I have travelled around the world, I have been received in churches – Anglican and other – with a warm welcome and delight when I want to worship there, most recently so in Jerusalem at St. George’s Cathedral. I have also discovered that I need to learn from my sisters and brothers in Christ who see the Gospel with different eyes than I do.

We live in the most multicultural city in the world! Our diocese has congregations from every part of the globe – China, Japan, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Central America. French, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and English in all its forms are found in worship across our diocese. Many parishes have people from places all around the globe. Yet, despite our desire to be a welcoming church, our clergy and councils do not fully reflect the diversity of our churches. We have work to do.

One of the most difficult aspects of that work is to tackle racism. None of us think we are racist. Yet I know there are subtle ways in which I make assumptions about other people that are based on the colour of their skin, their accent or their behavior, before I have even been introduced to them and know them as a person. Our communities and our social systems struggle with attitudes that reinforce prejudices, and racism lives in our communities and occasionally surfaces in acts of violence or hatred.

Scripture shows us the disciples dismissing a Canaanite woman based on her origins, and Jesus is challenged to heal her daughter (Matthew 15:21-28). Later, they will be shocked that Jesus talks to a Samaritan woman at the well. The conversion of St. Paul shows God specifically calling Paul to reach out beyond his own community to take the Good News to the Gentiles. Our prejudices are often rooted in our upbringing and past history and need to be constantly challenged to ensure that we retain the openness of Jesus to anyone who joins us in worship and the ministry of the Gospel. The Holy Spirit we celebrate at Pentecost can help us break through the barriers of our prejudices, our attitudes and systemic roadblocks. The Spirit can help us find that new place of shared communication and joy in the Good News of God in Christ – if we will listen! Come, Holy Spirit, come!

***

By the time you read this article, I will have started my new ministry as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Huron. I want to share my deep thanksgiving for more than 30 years of ministry that I enjoyed in the Diocese of Toronto. Thank you to the many colleagues with whom I have shared ministry – deacons, priests and bishops. Thank you to the lay people who have taught me much about faithful ministry in daily life and living in community together in conflicts and in joys. I now look forward to learning, growing and sharing ministry in a new part of God’s vineyard in the Diocese of Huron. Please pray for me as I will pray for all of you in our shared call for the sake of God’s world.

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More than saying the right words or simply empathizing, reconciliation is about listening with an ear to changing oneself. It is a willingness and ability to address policies and economic action, and to recognize and dismantle oppressive governance structures. Much good work is being done at local and diocesan levels to extend the discourses and frameworks of reconciling.

When I speak to local chapters of KAIROS, to parishes and in workshops, a common theme often emerges: “How do I do reconciliation?” From Marie Wilson: “We need people and commitments.” Now is our opportunity to pledge our long-term commitment to doing the hard work of partnering, theological reckoning and community healing. We are the ancestors of future generations. What legacy do we wish to leave? To answer this requires individual honesty, community honesty and Holy Spirit wisdom.

At our diocesan outreach and advocacy conferences in 2014 and 2015, we heard the question, “How can reconciliation be integrated into our way of life, especially when First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples aren’t in our spheres of influence?” It is a process: develop the ears to hear, and use them; teach listening; and invest in building relationships, which takes time. Reading through the 94 Calls to Action will remind each and all of us that we do indeed have a personal connection, no matter the sector in which we work and live. Attend a pow wow, visit a Native Friendship Center; spend time getting to know the first peoples of the land, who have generations of experience, wisdom and concrete ideas about how we can walk together into the future. (Be aware: one might not, at first, be comfortable with the concept of walking together. This will call for mutual respect, personal humility, a giving up of some firm beliefs.)

At a meeting with members of the Archdiocese of Toronto last June, I heard of many connections that our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers have developed for reconciliation – through the Catholic school boards, in parish and community partnerships, and in fundraising and sponsorship programs. Questions arose about ways to move forward in faith. “How do we bring the message of Jesus, which has the power to transform lives, through the same institution that brought messages of xenophobia and theological superiority?” The legacy that we as a church have inherited is not the same as the one we leave. As part of the colonization of this nation, the church often acted not in wisdom but in confusion and fear. But we share a future, we are bound together. Each and all of us have a role in realizing reconciliation, and the beauty of our efforts will bless our children’s children.

I have been asked, “How can we bring reconciliation into our churches? Into our holy conversations? Into our longing to be missional?” I pray and offer: let us expand our understandings and practices of reconciliation to redress and redistribute. This will require great courage in evolving from the colonial mindset to learning to trust, value and work for indigenous peoples’ self-determination, self-governance, sovereignty. How can we work toward recognizing the rights and responsibilities we each have for the up-building of all of God’s peoples, the sacredness of all creation? We remember that this story of our past is important for our healing, important for our national memory, for our church’s memory – and very important for our church’s future. There are things we can change. The past is not one of them. We need to address today head on – and to go beyond reconciliation. In the prophetic voice of Commissioner Marie Wilson: “We are here because we are not finished.”

The Rev. Riscylla Walsh Shaw is the incumbent of Christ Church, Bolton and an Ambassador of Reconciliation for the diocese.

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To the Clergy and People of the Diocese of Toronto,

We are in the midst of the Easter season, when the death and resurrection of Jesus and the new life we are offered in him are at the forefront of our personal prayers, our public liturgies and our teaching. The issues of life and death are also in the forefront of public discourse, with the violence of war and terrorist attacks killing innocents in so many places, the ecological disasters that lead to sudden death from catastrophe or the slow death of starvation, or the tragic epidemic of youth suicides that devastates too many indigenous communities. It is in these contexts that I write, with the support of the area bishops, about the upcoming changes in Canadian law regarding medically assisted death. (The terminology keeps changing.)

The Anglican Church of Canada has addressed this issue for a number of years. As a church, we have extensive pastoral experience, to add to our biblical, theological and moral traditions, to call upon. I commend to you an excellent resource, “Care in Dying,” first published in 1998, to assist our church in reflecting on the debate. It distinguishes between termination of life support, ending treatment and euthanasia (voluntary, involuntary and non-voluntary). As importantly, it puts the discussion of the debate in the framework of the call to care. Caring at the end of life is not only about medical practice, technology and legal doctrine. It raises the moral, ethical and pastoral obligations placed on all of us to respond to individuals, families, professionals and communities in a variety of circumstances.

The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in February 2015 declared unconstitutional existing laws prohibiting physician-assisted dying. It ruled that “a competent adult person who (1) clearly consents to the termination of life and (2) has a grievous and irremediable medical condition (including an illness, disease or disability) that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual in the circumstances of his or her condition” has this right.

A recent joint parliamentary committee has recommended extending that even further. The scope of assisted dying moves significantly beyond those who are in the last stages of a painful natural death. This may include options to pre-determine a time of death, extending the option to the mentally ill or to minors.

As Christian pastors and leaders, we find some of these very disturbing.

The Anglican Church made a substantial submission to that committee on Feb. 3, 2016, raising a number of questions that need to be considered in developing legislation and regulations that Parliament is expected to adopt in the next few months.

As archbishop, I have spoken and written publicly about my serious concerns. Among these are the reduction of the definition of “provision of care” to a medical/technical “treatment,” the almost exclusive focus on the individual in isolation from their community, and the nearly unquestioned equation of human dignity with the capacity to author independently one’s own life (and hence death).

End-of-life matters are complex, with many nuances that are not easily resolved with simplistic solutions. Anglicans hold diverse perspectives on this, but we share a core commitment, echoed in our baptismal vows, “to uphold the dignity of every human being.” We are created in the image of God and redeemed by God’s gracious love in His Son, Jesus Christ. As Christians, we find the meaning of our life and our death in relation to Jesus’ birth, life, suffering, death and resurrection.

A new document, “Living and Dying, We are the Lord’s: Resources to Assist Pastoral and Theological Approaches to Physician Assisted Dying,” has just been written (to be released shortly) by the Faith, Worship and Ministry Task Force on Physician Assisted Dying. It is worth reading. Along with “Care in Dying,” it provides us with a very helpful pastoral resource.

Whatever the outcomes of the ongoing discussions, we must recognize the urgent and ongoing need for pastoral care to the person who is dying (or who is in significant and unrelenting physical or psychological pain), to the caregivers and family, to medical personnel and to the wider community. The church is one of the chief resources for this care, and we must be prepared to offer it to the very best of our ability.

Two of the glaring gaps in the public discussion are the inadequate provision of palliative care, along with the training of medical personnel in appropriate and effective pain management. If these are not widely available and easily accessible, the impetus for assisted death is much stronger. We urge you to advocate locally, provincially and nationally for comprehensive palliative care that, both short-term and long, will directly affect far more people than medically assisted death. In both advocacy and provision of care, we can call on our extensive practical experience in ministry with the elderly, the dying, and with those who suffer from mental illness.

These are deeply emotional issues. We urge you to deepen your understanding of this matter, to read, think and pray for wisdom, to discuss this with your families and neighbours, particularly with the medical professionals in your parishes. We encourage you also to write and speak with your local Members of Parliament to express your views as they make crucial decisions about the policies, laws and investments that will govern us all for a long time to come.

“Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” Romans 14:8-9

Yours faithfully,

The Most Rev. Colin Johnson, Archbishop of Toronto and of Moosonee

along with the Bishops Suffragan of Toronto:

The Right Rev. Philip Poole, Area Bishop of York-Credit Valley
The Right Rev. Patrick Yu, Area Bishop of York-Scarborough
The Right Rev. Linda Nicholls, Area Bishop of Trent-Durham
The Right Rev. Peter Fenty, Area Bishop of York-Simcoe

The Care in Dying document can be found on the national church’s website at www.anglican.ca/faith/focus/ethics/care-in-dying/.

The post A pastoral letter to clergy and people of the Diocese of Toronto appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Archbishop Colin Johnson has called for the elections after Bishop Philip Poole and Bishop Patrick Yu announced their retirements and Bishop Linda Nicholls was elected coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Huron. The ordination and consecration of the two bishops-elect will take place on Jan. 7, 2017, at St. Paul, Bloor Street.

Diocesan Council approved Archbishop Johnson’s request for the elections at a meeting on March 31. “It is important to begin the election process as soon as possible to develop a profile, solicit nominations and communicate the information about the nominees to the diocese and particularly to members of Synod,” he said.

The announcement comes as consultations are underway in the diocese about a proposal to reduce the number of episcopal areas from four to three. The consultations include a series of town hall meetings that Archbishop Johnson is having with clergy in April and May.

Archbishop Johnson told Diocesan Council that the result of the consultations could have a bearing on the number of suffragan bishops elected. “If the advice from the consultations indicates that we should move to three areas, I will make that determination by early June. If the consultations recommend that we stay at four areas, then I will make a request to Council by June to have an election of a third bishop at the same electoral Synod in September.”

More information about the episcopal elections will be published in The Anglican and posted on the diocese’s website, www.toronto.anglican.ca, as it becomes available.

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“You may have noticed a certain hesitation in Karen if you have asked about my future plans lately,” wrote Bishop Yu, referring to Karen Isaacs, his administrative assistant. “That is because she is aware of my retirement plan, which, except for the details, is possibly the worst kept secret in the Diocese of Toronto.

“I have written to the Archbishop asking to retire at the end of January 2017. With his concurrence I announced this today at St. John, Willowdale. It was with that congregation that I worshipped as a new immigrant in 1970 when they met at the chapel at St. Paul, and it seemed fitting to announce my retirement there.

“It has been a privilege and a joy to work with such a talented and dedicated cadre of clergy and the faithful and delightful people we all serve. After my retirement I plan on teaching at Minghua Theological College in Hong Kong for the spring term, and will continue that ministry each spring for the two following years and perhaps longer. When I am in Canada I will be glad to offer myself in ministry appropriate for my situation.

“Please be patient with the many changes in this great diocese as it undergoes significant transition. I will continue to hold it in prayer, and with it, all of you. Please also pray for me and Kathy as we begin a new chapter in life.”

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Bishop Yu was educated at Mc- Master University and received his Master of Divinity degree from Wycliffe College in 1981, followed by a Doctor of Ministry from the Toronto School of Theology in 1997. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1982 and served in four parishes in the diocese before being elected bishop in 2006, the first bishop of Asian descent in the Anglican Church of Canada. He was the chair of Anglican Witness, the evangelism and church growth initiative of the Anglican Communion, until June 2015. He also chaired the Ontario Provincial Commission on Theological Education from 2006 to 2012.

The York-Scarborough episcopal area, located in the eastern part of Toronto, consists of 55 parishes offering services in a variety of languages. The area is also home to Flemingdon Park Ministry, New Hope Mandarin Ministry, All Saints, Sherbourne Street-Community Centre, the Mission to Seafarers and the convent of the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine.

More information about Bishop Yu’s retirement will be published as it becomes available.

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