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A local example: a fire in the engine room of a small cargo ship in Montreal erupted as the ship was leaving for Portugal. Four days later, the fire was still not out and the accommodation in the wheelhouse had been destroyed. The ship is now underway, being towed to Halifax. The crew will be housed in a local hotel there – not abandoned this time – and the mission staff and volunteers in Halifax will step in with their unending and caring support. The ship will be sent to “the breakers,” where she will become razor blades. It is difficult not to hear on the news of the many tragedies these seafarers face each day.

When seafarers are allowed to come ashore, they need our support, friendship and understanding. That is what the Mission to Seafarers’ centres provide in more than 200 ports in 50 countries around the world: support, friendship, encouragement and understanding. Sadly, in the winter of 2019 the iconic Toronto mission building was destroyed in a flood and demolished completely later that year. So how do we bring “comfort and joy” to seafarers arriving in Toronto when there is no actual place for them to visit?

We do it the way it was done from the beginning of this ministry: we visit the ships. Ship visiting is still the number one way to meet and communicate with arriving seafarers. It is not about the building; it’s about the seafarers themselves. Certainly, it was great to have our building on the east side of the port for all those years – until it wasn’t. The cost of maintaining the building became overwhelming, and we couldn’t keep up. We had been in the process of moving the building when the flood happened. God clearly had another plan.

So, in Toronto we are back to ship-visiting: face to face, meeting seafarers where they live and work. Climbing the gangway, carrying bags of chocolates (a very welcome tradition), along with our friendship, support and hospitality. God has called us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of the sick and visit those in prison. This is what we do as ship visitors for the Mission to Seafarers. Not glamourous, sometimes heartbreaking and demanding work, but very much needed and always fulfilling.

Join our crew at the Mission to Seafarers and help us make sure our seafarers feel at home when they are far from theirs. The hourly commitment is small and flexible, but the impact can be life-changing.

To learn about volunteer opportunities with the Mission to Seafarers, email volunteerMTSSO@gmail.com or visit www.mtsso.org.

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That’s one of the happy outcomes of a warm relationship that has developed between the Swedish Lutheran Church in Toronto and St. Augustine of Canterbury, an Anglican church on Bayview Avenue.

The Swedish church has been worshipping and carrying out ministry at St. Augustine’s since last October. During that time, the two congregations have drawn close together.

During Lent and Holy Week, they celebrated Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday together. Earlier in the month, they welcomed Bishop Erik Eckerdal of the Church of Sweden. He was joined by Bishop Michael Pryse of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and Bishop Andrew Asbil of the Diocese of Toronto.

Bishop Eckerdal was visiting Swedish Lutheran congregations in North America. While here, he officially installed the Rev. Maria Scharffenberg as the pastor of the Swedish Lutheran Church in Toronto. In a sign of the strong bond between the Swedish Lutheran and Anglican churches, both Ms. Scharffenberg and Mrs. Jull were given informal permission to preach and preside at each other’s services.

The arrival of the Swedish congregation has breathed new life into St. Augustine’s, says Mrs. Jull. “It’s been a shot in the arm to our congregation. Instead of the church being empty on a Sunday afternoon, it’s full of another worshipping community. The building is being used and there are cars in the parking lot and the stained glass windows are lit up on Wednesday nights when the Swedish choir is rehearsing. The building was designed to do ministry, so having more of it happening here is good stewardship of our resources and honours the commitment and gift of the people who founded it.”

Ms. Scharffenberg says her congregation has been warmly welcomed by the Anglican congregation. “It’s been wonderful. We’ve become best friends.”

Although the congregations worship separately on Sundays and speak different languages, they have much to gain by being together, she says. “We express ourselves differently, but we worship the same God and use the same bible. At our core we are the same, and I see that as a great strength.”

There are about 30 Swedish Lutheran congregations outside of Sweden. The one at St. Augustine’s is the only one in Canada, and has parishioners from as far away as Elora, Guelph and Huntsville. Its worship services, which are held at 4 p.m. on Sundays, are primarily said and sung in Swedish. In addition to worship and ministry, the church seeks to preserve the Swedish language and culture.

The two congregations have participated in a number of activities in the last six months. During the winter, they held a joint fundraising project, raising $10,000 to install a commercial dishwasher in the church’s kitchen. They held a Mardi Gras together and participated in a bilingual carol service. Ms. Scharffenberg also held a clericus meeting for Lutheran clergy in the GTA.

The churches plan to do more things together in the future, including shared worship services, community events and possibly faith formation study groups. “It’s been a really positive experience,” says Mrs. Jull.

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The newspaper headline still haunts me, months after the fact.

It referred to an episode early this year in which the prime minister showed up at a pub in the eastern part of our diocese with a local candidate for a federal by-election. Once the news spread, the pub owner was inundated with hundreds of hate-filled emails and phone calls, castigating him for allowing his pub to be used for this event. Threats were made. It was clearly an organized campaign that stunned the non-partisan pub owner, who made the comment mentioned above.

“You’re going to go bankrupt.” “We can’t wait for you to go out of business.” “I wish somebody had burned down your building.” These were a sampling of the comments and threats made against him.

This episode disturbed me deeply for several reasons. First, my late father-in-law lived in this riding, and when he turned 100 he received a warm handwritten note of congratulations from the former local member of parliament, whom my father-in-law had never met. Secondly, I’ve been actively involved in politics for more than half a century, and while partisan politics have been par for the course during that time, the level of vitriol and outright hatred, as well as the risk of violence that we see today, marks an ominous new trend. Could we have imagined 20 years ago that we’d see posters and signs on vehicles and around homes with the prime minister’s name linked to an obscenity, as we do today?

This disturbing trend speaks with a special urgency to Christians. After all, despising people who think differently about public issues flies in the face of the message of Jesus. His basic command to “love your enemies” is truly counter-cultural in our society, where online hate, in particular, is widespread. The gospel is full of messages of tolerance and respect, such as these: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away… along with all malice.” (Ephesians 4:31) “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  (Matthew 5:44)

How can we be inspired by our faith to respond to extreme intolerance?

An essential response is that if you hear or see something that smacks of intolerance, or outright hatred, speak up. The current situation, in which many people feel emboldened to express hatred for politicians and others, could not have developed without widespread tolerance or indifference. The good news element involving the pub incident is that once news broke about the torrent of abuse directed at the pub owner, some local residents took action. They showed up at the pub to stand with its owner, who was greatly encouraged by their support.

The second part of an action strategy to counter hate is more difficult. It involves trying to have a respectful dialogue to find out why some people are lashing out so vehemently at politicians and others with whom they disagree. Putting yourself in your “enemy’s” shoes is one of the most effective ways to show love for them. Seek to understand their perspective and try hard to recognize where they’re coming from. Is there an underlying reason for their attitude and actions?

The fact that times are tough for many people and that the pandemic has disrupted our lives is one reason frustration has spilled over into hatred. As well, modern technology makes hatred much easier to express than before. It’s easier to hide behind a computer screen, perhaps using a false name, and make hostile comments than to make those comments to a person face to face.

Hatred is demeaning. Rather than affirming the fact that we are all made in the image of God, hatred involves turning our fellow human beings into objects. Encouraging a more respectful climate of political discourse is more important than ever now, as Canada inches closer to a federal election. Will we be able to model Jesus as we debate the issues our country faces with a tone of mutual respect, even if we disagree on how to tackle them?

Civility is a Christian value. Hatred is not.

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The Diocese of Toronto’s annual FaithWorks campaign raised $1,482,700 in 2023 in support of Anglican-affiliated ministries throughout the Diocese and around the world.

The mission statement of FaithWorks is from the Gospel according to Matthew 25:35,36,40.

Jesus said, “I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was sick, and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” … and Jesus finishes, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

It is personal, for Jesus. God’s love for us is vast and limitless, but not impersonal and faceless. Jesus takes on our individual struggles for food, shelter, and safety, for companionship and community. He makes them his own too.

It is personal, even though we hear of vast numbers of victims of conflicts around the world, thousands who struggle for food and shelter in Canada, and so many caught in the tragedy of addiction. Those numbers hide the faces of individual people who hurt, people like Amber and Cliff. Each struggling person has their own story.

It is personal, for us, when we offer support; a donation, volunteering our time, a shoulder to cry on. We too can make someone else’s struggle our own personal struggle when we offer more than is comfortable.

Thank you for your support of FaithWorks. Each and every donation makes a difference, as each and every person impacted by FaithWorks matters.

Thank you to all our donors, large or small, new or ongoing, individual, parish, corporate or foundation. Thank you to our dedicated volunteers in parishes and at the Diocese. Thank you to our ministry partners who struggle to bring well-being and security to so many.

Jesus taught us how to change the world. We do this one person at a time.

It is personal.

The impact of your donation to FaithWorks was felt across the diocese and throughout the world. The need for the services provided by FaithWorks’ ministry partners increased by 32% last year and almost 70% over the last two years. This presents us with a greater challenge than before.

In 2023, more than 36,000 people were served, including:

• 22,050 people who were fed, sheltered, nurtured and befriended
• 4,163 refugees, new Canadians and migrant workers who received support
• 2,047 young adults living with mental health challenges
• 2,998 people touched by the prison system
• 4,449 Indigenous people who received pastoral, outreach and mentoring services
• 8,996 families who received assistance
• 503 people impacted by HIV/AIDS
• 2,955 women, children and youth who received life skills and housing support

THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION DONORS

Thank you to our Corporate and Foundation Donors, who contributed $474,000 to FaithWorks in 2023. Your generosity makes it possible to improve the lives of thousands of individuals and families.

$100,000 – $150,999

• Anglican Diocese of Toronto Foundation
• Wilson Family Foundation

$50,000 – $99,999

• BMO Financial Group
• Fast Foundation

$20,000 – $49,000

• The Hayhoe Family Foundation
• New England Company
• VPC Group

$15,000 – $19,999

• Anglican Foundation – Apostolic Catholic Trust
• Burgundy Legacy Foundation
• Letko, Brosseau & Associates

$5,000 – $14,999

• Rogers Gardham ODT
• Manulife Investment Management Holdings

$1,000 – $4,999

• Aqueduct Foundation
• The Foster Hewitt Foundation
• Margaret Sisley Foundation
• Nursing & Homemakers Inc.
• Ridley College
• Society of St. John the Evangelist in Canada

THANK YOU TO OUR PARISHES

As communities of compassion and hope, our parishes are the heart of the annual FaithWorks campaign. 88% of parishes participated in the 2023 campaign. Contributions from our parishes were $835,700. Parishes retained $107,055 for local outreach ministries. Grants to the archdeaconries for outreach totaled $42,050.

Thank you for being communities of love and hope.

THANK YOU TO OUR MINISTRY PARTNERS

Our FaithWorks ministry partners struggle tirelessly each and every day to share the transforming power of God’s love with thousands of people in need. We thank our ministry partners for being powerful agents of the love that is changing lives and changing the world.

• A Place Called Home, Lindsay
• All Saints Church Community Centre, Toronto
• Anglican United Refugee Alliance (AURA)
• Flemingdon Park Ministry, Toronto
• Jubilee House, Orillia
• Migrant Worker Ministry, Durham
• North House, Durham
• One City Peterborough
• One Roof Community Centre, Peterborough
• Philip Aziz Centre for Hospice Care, Toronto
• Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund
• (PWRDF)
• The Foot Care Clinic at St. James Cathedral,
• Toronto
• St. Stephen in-the-Fields – Outreach program,
• Toronto
• Samaritan House Community Ministries, Barrie
• The Dam, Mississauga
• Toronto Urban Native Ministry

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Those who gave that answer were, technically, mistaken. There is indeed a human right to housing in Canada: not only in international treaties Canada has ratified, but also enshrined in the National Housing Strategy Act itself. But in a deeper sense, the quiz participants were correct. We have only to look around us to see that Canada is a long way from realizing the human right to housing. Small towns and major urban centres alike are seeing burgeoning homeless encampments as the number of people without housing exceed the capacity of local shelters. Tenants are feeling the squeeze as rents climb more rapidly than incomes, with more and more people frequenting food banks. And despite the number of construction cranes on the skyline, many of us know people who have had to leave our communities due to rising housing costs. We are not building our way out of the problem.

Decent, secure and affordable shelter is a foundation for dignity, security, community, stable education and employment, and improved physical and mental health. As Christians, our scriptures recognize the human need for shelter, security and dignity, and call us to care for the vulnerable and those in need among us.

Accordingly, the Social Justice and Advocacy Committee proposed that the 2024 social justice vestry motion call on all levels of government to protect and advance the human right to housing. Drawing on recommendations from the Federal Housing Advocate and other advocacy groups, and after consultation with the College of Bishops and the regional deans, the motion put forward four policy measures:

• calling on the federal government to ensure that federal subsidies and incentives are targeted to those developers and projects that demonstrably address housing need and uphold the human right to housing by meeting clear conditions on affordable rents, non-displacement policies and eviction prevention measures;
• calling on the federal government to end the favourable tax treatment of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and tax them at the regular corporate rate, with resulting revenues being directed toward the creation and preservation of affordable housing;
• calling on the provincial government to enact rent controls and vacancy controls on all rental housing and put restrictions on above-guideline rent increases; and
• calling on the provincial government to work with municipal governments to enact and enforce restrictions on short-term rentals to protect rental housing stock.

Parishes were provided with a backgrounder and links for further reading. Members of the Social Justice and Advocacy Committee and Housing Advocacy subcommittee responded to questions in a Q&A video posted on the diocesan YouTube channel. Some also made virtual or in-person presentations to interested parishes.

As always, parishes had the flexibility to amend the motion as they saw fit, but parishes that passed an amended motion were asked to send the final version to me as the Social Justice & Advocacy consultant.

By the end of March, I had heard directly from more than 50 parishes that had passed a version of the motion. Combined with information from the Incumbents’ Annual Statistical Returns, a total of 128 parishes, or 66 per cent of the parishes in the diocese, passed some form of this year’s vestry motion. The overwhelming majority of those parishes passed the motion as it was originally presented. Two parishes maintained the call to all levels of government to take measures to protect and advance the human right to housing but removed the specific policy measures outlined in the original motion. Two other parishes removed only the call to change the tax treatment of Real Estate Investment Trusts, and one removed only the call for vacancy control. However, 123 parishes, or 63 per cent of the diocese, supported all the calls outlined in the original motion. Some parishes added to the motion; for example, calling on the local municipality to require a certain percentage of affordable units in private developments, or calling for the construction of new co-op housing. One parish used the opportunity to commit itself to supporting local outreach and advocacy around housing initiatives.

This year’s motion was somewhat complex, and several of the policies outlined attracted vigorous debate, even if the motion ultimately passed. There was discussion about the role and impact of Real Estate Investment Trusts, the impact of rent control measures on the construction of rental housing, and what restrictions on short-term rentals might mean for parts of the diocese whose economies rely heavily on tourism. Overall, discussion is encouraging, because it means that people are engaging with the issues and grappling with the implications of what various measures would mean for themselves and their communities. The need to realize the human right to housing demands to be addressed – but we must also recognize what addressing this issue will ask of us.

Another encouraging sign this year was the number of people, both lay and clergy, who asked, “What happens after the motion?” The Social Justice & Advocacy Committee uses the results of these vestry motions in our communications with government leaders, such as our pre-budget submissions and our responses to the provincial budget, and in letters to and meetings with cabinet ministers. Demonstrating that we have the support of Anglicans across the diocese for our concerns gives our communications added weight. We also share the results of these motions with other members of ecumenical, interfaith and community justice coalitions working on the same issues.

We encourage parishes and individuals who support the motion to write and visit their elected representatives. Several parishes have already written to their MPs and MPPs, and template letters can be found at www.toronto.anglican.ca/vestry-motion. We are also hoping to set up a series of meetings with local MPPs. Anyone interested in participating can contact me, Elin Goulden, at egoulden@toronto.anglican.ca.

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The four foci of this endeavor include: widespread prayer for spiritual renewal; a richer knowledge of and engagement with Holy Scripture; a deeper commitment to worshipping God together; and a joy-inspired sharing of faith with the people around us.

As coordinator of this Season of Spiritual Renewal, here is a brief update on what has been happening during the first few months of this season.

Invites issued for steering committee

Bishop Asbil has been personally inviting a small group of leaders to serve on a committee that will support this season of renewal through their prayers, creative planning, guidance and wisdom. Our hope is that this group of ordained and lay leaders will form a team rich in a shared love for God and drawing from a variety of Anglican expressions, including different ethnic and liturgical backgrounds.

Potential resources researched

As coordinator, my primary work in this preliminary period has been to research a variety of prayer, scripture and discipleship resources, compiling them into a collection that parishes can choose from as they participate in this diocesan-wide initiative. Such resources include beautiful prayers from across the centuries, bible-reading plans for various ages, online and print resources to help us know the big-picture story of scripture, and resources that will help us use ancient practices of prayer, meditation and journaling as we delve into scriptures focused specifically on drawing closer to God.

Variety of workshops explored

One of the most encouraging aspects of these first few months has been talking with potential workshop leaders who are excited to share their experience in using various resources, from discipleship programs to ways to engage with and serve the communities around them. We hope to offer many one-hour online workshops that will help all our churches learn about how to use various resources on prayer and the study of scripture, how to enrich their worship, and some simple and winsome ways to share their faith with the people in their everyday lives.

Later, we plan to assist churches that want to start their own discipleship programs, by providing some leadership training. And for smaller churches that can’t offer these programs themselves, we’ll be offering some of these programs on-line and led by skilled leaders.

Communications platforms planned

As the research and development phase of this season of renewal progresses, we’ve also been considering how to best share resources with everyone in our diocese, and how to brand all this material so that it is clearly identifiable. To that end, we’re working with a graphic artist and have also created a holding space on the diocesan website especially for the Season of Spiritual Renewal. This is where information and many of our resources will be available to everyone with the simple click of a cursor.

We’re also exploring what platforms will work best for the scheduling and delivery of the many workshops we plan to offer over the next two years. Stay tuned for more information about this.

Administrative supports now in place

As someone once wisely said, “Every good idea results in work for someone,” and this season of renewal is no different. We have been seeking just the right person to take on the key role of providing administrative support for this initiative. We’re thrilled to announce that Jacqui Hance, who formerly worked in an administrative role for the Archbishop of Canterbury’s office, has agreed to take on this part-time role. Together with a great heart for the gospel, Jacqui brings a wealth of experience in resource sharing, event planning, and workshop and webinar logistics. As coordinator, I am very excited to be working with her!

Spreading the word

Finally, the first meetings were held to introduce this season of renewal, and I’m thrilled to say the responses have been so encouraging. Our diocese seems hungry for a deeper walk with God, and I’ve had several conversations with clergy who have told me God seems to be bringing new life back into their churches.

A preliminary meeting with the diocesan archdeacons and regional deans was held in early March. These leaders of our diocese were invited to share the information presented at that meeting with colleagues throughout their deaneries. One regional dean reflected, “This feels new,” and asked if the slides could also be shared with the lay leaders in his parish. Another mentioned that they loved having a choice of resources to explore with their church, while several others mentioned resources that they had used that could be shared with other churches.

It was also a real pleasure to meet with the priests and deacons of the Peterborough deanery in mid-April, and more of these deanery-based meetings will happen going forward. A presentation followed by a Q&A introduced the Season of Spiritual Renewal to Synod Council on April 18.

Together with articles in The Anglican, we hope all of these communication strategies will spark curiosity and engagement in the season of renewal and help cultivate in everyone across our diocese a deeper love for God, and a passionate desire to serve him in the world he is reconciling to himself.

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