A warm relationship between an Anglican outreach program in Toronto and a local residents association has resulted in a generous financial gift that will help the program serve the community for years to come.

The Common Table, a drop-in run by Church of the Redeemer, Bloor St., will receive $500,000 over the next five years. The gift is being facilitated by the ABC Residents Association, a volunteer organization that is committed to enhancing the quality of life in the neighbourhood.

The first installment of $250,000 was made during a cheque presentation at the church on March 21, with members of the church, the outreach program and the residents association in attendance.

“We are so grateful,” says Angie Hocking, director of outreach at the church. “Gifts like this not only affirm the direction of new and creative work, but they also let you relax and start to plan. It’s already had an incredible impact on our program.”

The Common Table has been helping homeless and marginalized people in the neighbourhood around the church for the past 30 years. It currently prepares food for between 60 and 100 people per day, five days a week. It also provides a resting space, activities like a movie group and a book club, counselling and nursing.

During the pandemic, the program also started using “outreach carts” to bring food and other supplies to those in need, an innovative service that it hopes to continue with the help of the new funds.

The relationship between The Common Table and the ABC Residents Association started several years ago, when a member of the association noticed the work that the program was doing and wanted to learn more. Ms. Hocking was eventually invited to speak at the group’s annual general meeting, and some residents began dropping off donations.

“The friendship grew organically,” she recalls.

The residents association held a couple of its annual general meetings at the church, further strengthening ties between the two groups. Food for the meetings was prepared by people in the outreach program.

Along the way, Ms. Hocking also helped local business owners and employees learn about the issues surrounding poverty and homelessness. She provided advice on how to assist homeless and marginalized people when they came into their stores. “They were curious and wanted to be helpful,” she says of the owners and employees. “Many didn’t know The Common Table existed and were glad to recommend our services.”

The Common Table has received financial gifts over the years, but none as big as the latest one. Ms. Hocking was shocked when the residents association informed her of the amount. The money is coming from a real estate developer who wishes to remain anonymous. The developer wanted to invest in the community, and the residents association recommended giving the gift to The Common Table.

Ms. Hocking says the money will be used to deepen The Common Table’s engagement with those in need in the neighbourhood. Some possibilities include hiring a new staff person, buying more supplies and creating new resources. The outreach carts will likely continue. “They were a stopgap at first, but now they’re the lifeblood of what we do. It’s proved to be a very effective way of connecting with the community and building relationships.”

She says churches are in a time when they have to be creative and innovative. “If we want to be relevant, for me it means always orienting ourselves to the poor and asking, what is the need in our community and how can we respond to that? At Redeemer, we’re in one of the richest neighbourhoods in Canada, but you still have to ask that question. It means serving the poor but also educating people and finding ways to bring them into the story. That’s how our relationship with the ABC Residents Association grew. It was because of caring, compassionate people in the neighbourhood who wanted to engage with us, and we opened the door a bit, and we kept going.”

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Christian faith leaders take part in a service for peace and unity in Ukraine at St. James Cathedral on April 3. The service, hosted in conjunction with the Greater Toronto Christian Council, included leaders from the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical Lutheran, Christian Reformed, Salvation Army, Lebanon Maronite, Presbyterian and United churches.

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In September 1972, eleven Anglicans met in the gymnasium of Erin Mills Secondary School in Mississauga, marking the first service of a new church community. They met in school gymnasiums and the basement chapel of the parish rectory for worship and fellowship. The diocese appointed the Rev. Canon Timothy Foley as its first incumbent. Early ministries for the young families included a children’s ministry, fellowship groups and social events such as camping trips and outreach walks.

Visioning and planning by parishioners and the incumbent led to building a new church on a five-acre site at the intersection of Erin Mills Parkway and Burnhamthorpe Road (land jointly purchased earlier by the diocese and four other church denominations, with the intention being for the five parishes to share the land and building). On May 29, 1977, parishioners processed from Pierre La Porte School to the church, which was hallowed by Bishop Lewis Garnsworthy. The Anglican congregation continues to share the building with Glenbrook Presbyterian church.

At the parishioners’ request, Canterbury Cathedral in England sent a commemorative stone, which remains imbedded in a St. Thomas à Becket church pillar to this day. In 1996, the church added a larger worship space.

There have been three incumbents since St. Thomas’s inception: Canon Foley (1977-1981); the Rev. Canon Jim Woolley (1981-2018); and the Rev. David Matthews (2019-present). Many ministries have developed and thrived during their respective incumbencies.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the Community Connect Ministry Team was started, to facilitate communication and support parishioners through the pandemic. Enhanced technology also helped maintain worship and communication.

Parishioners host an annual Caribbean Night and monthly Soup at Noon. The church also supports outreach ministries such as a Deacon’s Cupboard, Open Door and an annual Vacation Bible School.

In 2016, two local churches challenged each other to a cricket match; this has grown into the diocese’s annual cricket festival involving 11 churches. The church’s Christian stewardship of the earth led to the installation of a rain garden in 2019; thanks go to TD bank for its generous support. In 2020, in conjunction with Mississauga’s tree planting initiative, the parish planted 100 trees on the property.      

The parish family is made up of many nationalities and ages, reflecting the diversity of the community. It gives thanks to God for half a century of worship and fellowship and eagerly looks forward to continuing its spiritual and pastoral role in the Erin Mills South community.

Submitted by St. Thomas à Becket, Erin Mills South

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The youth group of St. Paul on-the-Hill, Pickering came together on Sunday, March 13 to assemble personal care kits for the homeless in Durham Region. In the span of two hours, 12 teens and three adults put together 50 kits.

Each paper bag kit contained the following items: deodorant, a toothbrush, facial soap, body soap, Band Aids, a comb, and shampoo and conditioner. The teens decorated the paper bags with encouraging words and colorful drawings, to let the recipients know they were loved and prayed for.

Matthew Waterman, St. Paul’s youth pastor, says the event was also one more way to help the youth reintegrate with parish life after all the disconnect during the pandemic. “The teens brought a lot of creativity and care to their work and showed a real concern for the less fortunate.”

The suggestions for these items came from Gate 3:16, a ministry to the homeless in Durham Region. St. Paul’s supports Gate 3:16 throughout the year. This Lent, the church ran an almsgiving drive to collect urgently needed items for the homeless, like sleeping bags, backpacks, water bottles, socks, nail clippers and combs. The youth event that made personal care kits was part of the parish effort to help Gate 3:16 and its ministry. The money for the youth project came from the Love Thy Neighbour grant program, which is made possible by the episcopal area of Trent-Durham’s area council.

At a recent parish education night, Alan Perron, administrator at Gate 3:16, said that there are 226 homeless people in Durham Region, and the region has only been able to find rooms for 15 of them. The 50 personal care kits will help all those living on the streets while waiting for a home.

As Christians, sometimes we forget that Lent is not only a time for giving something up, it is also a time for giving.

Submitted by M.R.D. Bowman

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After a tour of the van and its components, Archbishop David Edwards of the Diocese of Fredricton, New Brunswick, prayed for the factory and its employees who outfitted the vehicle, offering thanks for their hard work. He prayed a blessing on the Companion Diocese Committee, the parishes that donated, and the many Rotary clubs, members and others who supported the project. He also asked for protective blessings on the vehicle’s journey, arrival and use, and most especially, for the many people who will receive medical care from it.

The blessing follows a two-year fundraising campaign that had a great deal of support from Rotary, individuals, parishes and parish groups.

“I’m very grateful to the people who donated and to God for his provision,” said Archbishop Edwards afterwards. “I hope it travels safely and is used for many years.”

New Brunswick Anglican

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​One of the individuals who sought out Mr. Perkins in his pastoral capacity at Christ Church, Hampton’s Corners was a parishioner named Grace Goodham. When she had asked him on Sunday after church if she might come and see him during the week, he really had no idea what she wished to meet about. Grace was the chair of the flower guild, that group of dedicated ladies who, week by week, the season of Lent excepted, adorn the altar and the chancel with beautiful arrangements and festive appointments according to the time of year. At Easter there are lilies, at Christmas poinsettias, on Palm Sunday there are palms and pussy willows, at Harvest time there are sheaves and gourds, and at other times all manner of colourful fragrant arrangements. I can scarcely think of any other little parish church in our whole diocese that is as beautifully and tastefully appointed with flowers than the parish of Hampton’s Corners. And like the arrangements she set out every Sunday, Grace was a beautiful person, inside and out. She brought joy and life into every room she entered. Everyone loved spending time with her. It felt so good to be around her, and when you were having a bad day, she was the one who would brighten it. She seems so self-confident, so kind, so forgiving of others, and so faithful. What was it that compelled her to speak with our favourite country parson in those Lenten days in which our story takes place?

​”Mr. Perkins,” she said, as she settled into the comfortable chair in his little office, “I don’t know where to begin, but… I felt like I needed to talk to you because…” She paused.

​”Because?” he asked gently.

​”Because I feel like such a fraud.”

​Mr. Perkins was taken aback. “What do you mean?” he asked quizzically. “You must be one of the most genuine people I know.”

​”That’s just it, Mr. Perkins, that’s what people think of me, but all my life I’ve had this feeling that if they only just knew me, the real me, not only wouldn’t they like me, they would hate me.”

​He could not see how this was possible, but he wanted to learn more. “Tell me, just what do you think you are hiding?”

​”I… I… don’t really know. I mean, I know — at least I know in my head — that I’m a good person. But I just don’t feel like I’m a good person. I do my best to try to make a difference, to be a kind person, to do everything I can to the best of my ability. As you know, I’m something of a perfectionist. I’m a bit obsessive about it, in fact,” she added.

​”Oh really?” he said coyly, knowing how much of a perfectionist she was. They both gave a little laugh.

​“Really,” she said, “And I can live with that, but when someone criticizes me, I just fall apart. I try so hard, I really do try to get it right, to be perfect, just like the Bible says, `Be ye perfect as thy Father in Heaven is perfect’, but I mean, how can any of us be perfect like God? It’s a bit much, don’t you think? It’s a tall order. And yet, I so want to be perfect, I strive to be perfect…”

​Mr. Perkins broke in, “and you are very near perfect, my friend, but none of us are perfect. You are a perfectionist, so what? You have high standards, but you don’t enforce them nastily on other people like some perfectionists do; they are standards to which you hold yourself.”

​”But I don’t think I can do it anymore… and I just collapse with self-loathing and disappointment when I think I have let someone down. When I let someone down, I feel like they see the real me, the me I keep hidden away, the failure.”

​They sat for a moment in silence, and then he said, “Grace, have I ever criticized you?”

“No, but last week Judy Jumblejump…” Now Judy Jumblejump was the church warden, who found fault with everyone. “Well, she snapped at me because she told me I had better not put out so many lilies this Easter, not everyone can cope with the scent… She told me that I am… excessive.”

​”Judy finds fault with everyone,” he said, “It’s her way. Don’t judge yourself on what Judy says. As I asked, have I ever criticized you? Has anyone else in this parish, aside from Judy ever criticized you?”

​”No… but I’m so worried you might, that you might see me, the real me, especially if I make a mistake and then…”​

​”And then?” he asked.

​”And then you would hate me. I’m scared you and everyone else would hate me if you really saw me — the real me.”

​Now what made Grace harbour such secret self-loathing, so expertly hidden under a joyous, loving, kind-hearted exterior? It’s not easy to say, and again, this is not psychotherapy, but I expect most of us experience this sort of imposter syndrome at some time or another in our lives, in which we mistake the authentic self we project out into the world as an imposter that hides and protects our true, hidden self. Sometimes we just cannot believe we are actually good people, that others like us, and that we offer something good to the world. Mr. Perkins knew this is what was going on with Grace and so he asked her a question: “Grace, I think I get what you are talking about. When I was singing the liturgy on Sunday, what happened?”

​”What do you mean?”

​”Did I sing it perfectly?”

​”Well,” she began tentatively, not wanting to hurt his feelings, “I think last Sunday you might have got a little tongue-tied at one moment.”

​”Grace, you are too kind. I got more than tongue-tied! I lost my place, repeated the words of institution over the bread twice and didn’t consecrate the wine. I got things all out of order. My pitch went south. Grace, the liturgy was an absolute mess.”

​”Oh, Mr. Perkins, it wasn’t that bad, I think most people didn’t even notice. You’re too hard on yourself.”

​”Maybe I am. I was so embarrassed, though — ashamed, actually. Do you know how long I have been a priest? Did you know I learned to sing the liturgy at Trinity College? I know the whole thing by heart, I have sung it a thousand times. I have done it perfectly many times, but last Sunday it was a disaster. I should have been able to sing it perfectly but didn’t. To be honest, I felt like a complete failure.”

​”Don’t be ridiculous. The last thing you are is a failure, Mr. Perkins.”

​”You’re right. I’m not a failure, and it is ridiculous, and you know why? Because immediately after the service you approached your parish priest who had just sung a train-wreck of a liturgy and asked to speak to him, and here you are, being so vulnerable, sharing your fears about yourself, your anxiety, and your doubt. You placed your trust in me, even though I am far from perfect.”

​She smiled and looked down.

​”Grace,” he continued, “I can’t make you be kinder to yourself, love yourself or forgive yourself. Self-compassion is not an easy thing, but you are a kind and compassionate person. Would you be so critical of others who make mistakes? Would you be so critical of me?”

​”Of course not.”

​”Grace, come with me. I want you to listen to something.” He led her into the church where Mary, the church organist, was practicing. Grace thought at first that maybe he was taking her into the church to say some prayers with her, but instead, as they sat quietly in the back pew, he put his finger to his lips to motion her not to let on they were there. Mary was hidden behind the console and could not see or hear them. She was working on a complicated Bach piece to be played as the postlude on the upcoming Easter Sunday — just a few weeks away. The piece was nowhere near being ready. Mary would play, and stop, and grunt, and sometimes even swear, and then she would start again, or pick up and play a measure or a section until she got it. Some passages were easier than others. Some flowed, and some seemed to defeat her. In her playing, at times you could hear her longing, and at times you could sense her rage and anger at Bach and at not being able to get it, or get him, and when she finally conquered a difficult passage, you could sense her ecstasy, and how much she was in love with old J.S. Bach.

​”I often do this,” he whispered to Grace with a smile, “I love to hear her practice.”

Mary continued, sometimes attacking the music, sometimes pulling back, sometimes taking a break, and yes, sometimes soaring to the heavens. Sometimes it was hell on earth, and sometimes it was sublime. Sometimes she was caught up in the clouds, and sometimes she came crashing to the ground.

​”Beauty,” he whispered, “is birthed in the maelstrom and chaos of imperfection.”

​And so they sat listening for quite awhile. They could hear the relationship Mary had with Bach — the struggle, the connection, the distance, and reconnection. Mr. Perkins knew Mary would bring the piece to near perfection by the time it was to be played on Easter, but the truth was, Mary never played perfectly, even when she was at her best. There were always a few little mistakes, but on Easter Sunday, mistakes and all, it would be beautiful. It would be magnificent. A worthy offering.

This moment was beautiful, too. For him, there was nothing lovelier than sneaking into the church mid-week and listening to her struggle away. He loved being a silent witness to her struggle, for the struggle itself was beautiful, and full of grace.

​After some time listening, he turned Grace. He saw a tear escape from her eye, but he also noticed that the corners of her mouth were curled heavenward in the holy communion of human imperfection and heavenly grace.

“Grace” is part of the collection of the Rev. Daniel Graves’s short stories, Mr. Perkins: Stories of a Simple Country Parson.

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He got started about five years ago when an elderly member of his previous parish mentioned a priest who had told stories of a fictional cleric from the pulpit. “I thought I’d try it out. I wrote my first story and shared it in the pulpit one week, and it was a pretty big hit,” he says. “Most of my writing over the past 30 years has been academic and professional writing. It was kind of fun to tap into that creative side.”

Since then, he’s written about a dozen stories about the Rev. William Perkins of Christ Church, Hampton’s Corners, six of which he’s posted online. A self-effacing country parson, Mr. Perkins always has something new to learn. “Like a lot of clergy, he has ideas about things, and then when he tries to put his ideas into practice, he learns that things are very different on the ground,” says Mr. Graves. “Usually Mr. Perkins has some little conversion of the heart and sees things differently.”

When the first COVID-19 lockdown began in the spring of 2020, Mr. Graves started writing and posting a new serial novel as a way to connect with friends and parishioners. The Archdeacon features newly appointed Archdeacon Thomas Fulman, tasked by his bishop with visiting parishes to see which may need to be amalgamated or closed. “It was an opportunity to make up several different parishes and talk about what goes on in them, and what the clergy and the people are like,” he says.

After getting a positive response from his readers, he started writing The Archdeacon Returns, in which the archdeacon runs for bishop. “It’s about what ambition does to us and how we deal with ambition in the Church, when we probably aren’t supposed to be ambitious, but we all are,” he says.

That might have been the end of the story, but Mr. Graves says he realized he was ready to return to an idea he’d had when he first started writing the Mr. Perkins stories. The Bishop follows the trials and tribulations of the newly elected bishop, as well as the story of Maddie, the archdeacon’s former assistant curate, as she takes up her first solo parish. “The Bishop is really about men and women, strength and gentleness, and the roles we play,” says Mr. Graves. “If the world is turned upside down — strength is weakness, the last are first, and these kinds of principles — what does that do to the roles we play as human beings, and the way people think they should be played out in the world?”

He says he doesn’t have concrete plans for a sequel to The Bishop, but he’s been thinking about one of his characters who used to be a bookseller, like Mr. Graves himself. “I do have a novel about a church book room in the back of my head somewhere that’s trying to get out, so that might be coming up soon,” he says.

Mr. Graves says he sees aspects of himself in most of his characters, including the less appealing ones, and he hopes they’ll also help his readers reflect on their own experiences in the Church. “I expect that people will see other people that they know, not necessarily intentionally, but because these are such broad types that you have in every parish and every diocesan office,” he says. “If it makes people look in the mirror and say, `Is that me?’ that’s a good thing. Self-awareness is rare.”

Exploring these kinds of stereotypical church figures also lends itself to humour, whether it’s poor Mr. Perkins trying to explain the Trinity to the Sunday School year after year, or a hotel bar sending home most of its staff on the mistaken assumption that Anglican synod members were unlikely to provide much business. “I’m really gratified when people laugh,” says Mr. Graves. “Maybe we can laugh at ourselves, but in that laughing have some reflection encouraged — use humour as a way to reflect on who we are.”

Though the humour of the stories may contain some cynicism, Mr. Graves says he hopes that he’s ultimately conveying an optimistic view of the Church and its future. “I think at the end of the day, touching the dark places helps us to stand in the light a little bit better,” he says. “I have hope for that.”

To read Mr. Graves’ past and ongoing work, visit his blog at www.danielgraves.blogspot.com.

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