As Paul arrived in Corinth, he met up with Priscilla and Aquila, a Jewish couple who had converted to Christianity. They had been expelled from Rome during the ethnic cleansing by the Emperor Claudius, who had ordered out all of the Jews. This expulsion happened in 48 CE, so we can date Paul’s time in Corinth to sometime after that. Priscilla and Aquila were tent makers, and Paul began working with them as well as attending the local synagogue each week. After a brief time, the Jews drove Paul from the synagogue, so he and his new friends started to convert the Gentiles there, especially the God-fearers.

Timothy and Silas caught up with Paul in Corinth. Timothy reported on the state of the church in Thessalonica. Remember, Paul was in Thessalonica for only a brief time and was concerned for the church’s welfare. The church in Thessalonica continued to grow and thrive, but it had a major problem: trying to understand the second coming of Christ. The followers were grieving their dead and felt that the deceased would miss out on this important part of their life with Christ. This was an essential doctrine for Paul and the early church, so he proceeded to write the first epistle to the Thessalonians, addressing the issue that the dead will be raised up with Christ. Here we see the beginning of Paul’s correspondence, usually addressed to churches or individuals dealing primarily with pastoral concerns. 1 and 2 Thessalonians are probably the oldest Christian literature that we possess, dating from 51-52 CE – about 20 years after the crucifixion.

These two epistles should to be read together. Some scholars believe that the second epistle may not have been written by Paul, primarily because of Paul’s response to the issue of the second coming is very different from his answer in the first letter. I think there is an easier explanation to this problem.

Let us look at Paul’s initial response to the problem of eschatology (end times).  The Thessalonians’ faith and love were very strong, but their hope was lacking conviction. Paul reminded them that the end times will come “like a thief in the night.” We do not know when it will come, but we must remain vigilant. We need to live our lives as though the second coming of Jesus was imminent, always prepared to meet the Risen Christ.

This message from Paul was so strong that many Thessalonians decided to stop working and sit around waiting for the second coming of Jesus. When that message reached Paul, he wrote the second epistle, very strongly recommending that if they don’t work, they won’t eat. (See 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13.) This was a very different response, as he tried to keep them theologically correct and morally responsible. We do not know the day or the hour when Christ will return. The early church believed it was imminent, but as time passed and Jesus did not return, it became evident that the second coming was a future event, and would remain a future hope for most believers.

Paul’s concern in these letters was primarily pastoral. The Gentile Christians in Thessalonica needed to be assured that Jesus would accept all who lived and died in Christ, and that although we must always be ready to accept the risen Christ, we should not avoid living useful, productive lives.

You can read about Paul’s mission in Corinth in Acts 18. When he left this important city after one and a half years, he took Priscilla and Aquila with him across the Aegean Sea to Ephesus. Timothy and Silas may have stayed in Corinth. Aquila and Priscilla remained in Ephesus to work in building up the church in there. Paul would return to Ephesus during his third journey and would spend more than two years there.

I have often wondered if Paul’s church in Ephesus was still in existence a few years later, when John and Mary, the mother of Jesus, arrived there having fled Jerusalem during the persecutions of the late 80s or early 90s CE. It is probable that the Gospel of John was written in that city, but I can find no connection between the Pauline Church and the Johannine Church. This is an interesting question. I must do more research on the early Ephesian Church.

Next month we will look at the first council in Jerusalem, the third missionary journey, and Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. The first epistle to the Corinthians is Paul’s second longest and probably the second most important letter next to the epistle to the Romans. Enjoy the dialogue.

The post Paul writes to Thessalonians appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

“It started as a challenge among family to ride from Toronto to our family cottage,” said John Stephenson, All Saints’ former manager of outreach to the nearby Dan Harrison housing complex. “The first year, we had three people. The second year, we thought it would be a good way to raise money for All Saints.”

This year’s ride on Aug. 29 raised $3,400 for All Saints from donations included in the riders’ entrance fees. Mr. Stephenson hopes the funds will help support Take This Bread bakery, where they would cover nearly a year’s worth of ingredients for Toronto Community Housing tenants learning to bake and sell bread to the local community.

In addition to raising money, the cyclists also hoped to raise awareness of the challenges facing Toronto’s homeless population. “Mental health issues can be a big part of life for the homeless, sometimes hand-in-hand with addiction,” said Mr. Stephenson. “Programs like the ones offered at All Saints are needed and important.”

The ride is a serious undertaking for amateur cyclists. In one day, the cyclists rode from All Saints to Kennisis Lake in Haliburton, 230 kilometres away.

“You have to have trained all summer. We were on our bikes for seven and a half hours,” said Mr. Stephenson.

This year, the riders were joined by Tyler Hamilton, a well-known retired professional cyclist. Mr. Hamilton, who travelled from Montana to participate, is a former Olympian and Tours de France competitor.

Mr. Stephenson thought to invite Mr. Hamilton after reading his book, The Secret Race, in which he shares details about the mental health challenges he overcame as a professional cyclist.

“Tyler struggled with depression through his career, and we knew he’d be able to connect with many of our clients’ stories,” said Mr. Stephenson. “He also volunteers with his local homeless shelter and understands the work All Saints is doing.”

While organizing the ride is a big undertaking, Mr. Stephenson hopes to do it again in another two years.

“All Saints is near and dear to my heart,” he said. “This is a way for us to say that these issues are still important. And there are enough people willing to ride across the province to make that known.”

To learn more about the programs offered by All Saints, Sherbourne St., including Take This Bread, visit www.allsaintstoronto.com.

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The name FaithWorks was originally suggested by Ward McCance, a parishioner at St. Peter, Cobourg, and a long-time supporter of diocesan outreach. FaithWorks was created in response to shrinking budgets – at the diocesan and provincial levels – at a time when the fabric of Ontario’s social safety net was becoming frayed. Within three years, FaithWorks came to be embraced by 85 per cent of parishes as our shared diocesan appeal for outreach ministry.

In 2014, FaithWorks raised $1.44 million, of which $1,067,892 was distributed to partner ministries; $84,927 was retained by parishes for their own outreach ministries; and $39,518 supported area ministry grants.

Parishes continue to provide the largest percentage of FaithWorks funds raised each year. Parish commitment remains strong; however, it would be unwise to rely solely on our parishes for support. This is why, in 2004, the FaithWorks Corporate appeal was launched. Since then, the corporate community has contributed more than $3 million. Other sources of support now include foundations, individual major donors, online giving, and two direct mail campaigns each year. We are redoubling our efforts to seek a broader base of financial support to ensure that FaithWorks will have the resources it requires for many years to come.

Much has changed over the past two decades. Long-time ministry partners are experiencing higher demand for services than ever before. New ministry opportunities have emerged in communities where there is no FaithWorks presence. All the while, the challenges faced by the most marginalized members of our communities have increased, as cutbacks increasingly force non-profit organizations to shoulder an ever-larger share of the burden for meeting their needs.

As a result, the competition for charitable dollars has grown fierce. Donors have many options for “doing good,” and they expect a greater level of accountability from the organizations that they choose to support. They want to know just exactly how their financial support is making an impact in the community.

Last fall, the FaithWorks Allocations Committee began a strategic review process through which it seeks to ensure the sustainability of FaithWorks well into the future. This will require an adequate level of support for existing ministries, but also will create the potential to assist ministries in parts of the diocese not currently served by FaithWorks. The committee believes that an important focus of this review is to ensure that FaithWorks is more intentionally aligned with diocesan missional priorities. The process has included dialogue with the College of Bishops and key diocesan staff members.

The committee’s work is ongoing, but two messages have clearly emerged. The first is that FaithWorks will continue to support the work of ministries that understand that the funding they receive from the church is helping to further the diocesan mission, which is “to serve Jesus Christ through intelligent faith, godly worship, and compassionate service.” The second message is that organizations receiving funding from FaithWorks must be committed to investing in the ongoing development of their board, staff and volunteers, their governance and management structures, and their own fundraising to support their ministry.

Allocations Committee Chair Shelagh McPherson, a parishioner of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Toronto, is excited about emerging opportunities for FaithWorks. “The committee members believe that there are many ways that we can support our partners; some are financial and some are not. We believe that creating strategic partnerships is one way that we might be able to offer a variety of resources to help our partner ministries build their capacity to serve their communities, and help each ministry achieve a greater level of sustainability.”

For example, a newly-established partnership with World Vision’s Child Well-Being Network will provide training and networking opportunities in areas such as volunteer management, fundraising events, grant writing and project sustainability. W. Clayton Rowe, director of World Vision’s Canadian Programs, is enthusiastic about the partnership. “We appreciate FaithWorks’ commitment to churches and local ministries,” he says. “Through a spirit of partnership, FaithWorks seeks to steward resources to transform the lives of those hidden by injustice. World Vision Canadian Programs anticipates great results through our work together.”

We are also optimistic about the potential for partnering with the Toronto Halo Project to understand the economic impact of FaithWorks ministries on the communities they serve. Dr. Mike Wood Daly, Toronto Halo Project’s executive director, explains: “The Toronto Halo Project is designed to assess the tangible as well as intangible services and resources that communities of faith provide to their surrounding neighbourhoods. The simplest way of thinking about this is as follows: If a community of faith were to cease to exist, what would it cost the City of Toronto to replace the services and resources they provided to their surrounding neighbourhood?”

In addition to the powerful stories of lives transformed that have always touched the hearts of donors and inspired them to generosity, these impact assessments will enable FaithWorks ministries to share their stories in new ways, appealing to a new generation of donors who want to understand how their gift to FaithWorks is making a real difference in addressing the root causes of poverty. Visit www.faithworks.ca to make a secure online donation.

The post FaithWorks turns 20 next year appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Home to 40 per cent of Ontario’s petrochemical industry, with more than 60 major industrial facilities concentrated in one small area, Chemical Valley, near Sarnia, is also situated directly beside the Aamjiwnaang First Nation Reserve, and it is the youth of Aamjiwnaang who have taken the lead in organizing today’s Toxic Tour. Lindsay Beze Gray, an extraordinary young activist, tell us what it is like to live in a community where chemical spills and the blare of warning sirens are part of everyday life, where whole classes of children are sent home from daycare with rashes and burning eyes, and where rare cancers are frequent causes of death.

There are few more obvious examples of what Bishop Mark MacDonald, writing in the Anglican Journal, has called the “second phase of colonization … vast economic, cultural and environmental control.” Aamjiwnaang residents have had no choice about the industries eating up the land all around them; but they are acting now to protect their people, their culture and their land, and part of the responsibility of the church in restoring right relationship is to walk with them. So we have come today to do that, for a very short time, in the literal sense; nearly 500 people, we estimate, have journeyed from Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Montreal, Kitchener-Waterloo and elsewhere. Most of them are young activists, but there are also families with small children, some older people, some walking with difficulty. Anglican, United, Mennonite and Roman Catholic congregations are represented. “We were driving along the river on our way here,” says Alicia Good, a Mennonite pastor in North Leamington, “and we got to those industrial plants, discharging into the river, and we realized that river flows into our lake. This is our water, too.”

Through smothering humidity and scorching sun, during the world’s hottest summer ever recorded, we pass facilities belonging to Suncor, Hydro One, Dow Chemicals; we pass huge gravel pits and towering chimneys. Lindsay tells us that Aamjiwnaang residents are used to constant flares from these chimneys, and that they hardly pay attention to the sirens any more.

Between the Styrolution facility and the Cyeco facility, near where the village of Blue Water used to be, where a historical plaque commemorates its now-erased existence, Kelly Kiyoshk of the Aamjiwnaang community gets onto the back of a flatbed truck to speak. “I wasn’t expecting to say anything today,” he tells us, but then delivers one of the most eloquent speeches of the day.  “These plants, these animals – they’re still carrying on the way we’re meant to carry on. The laws of creation haven’t changed.” It is still possible to see that this could have been a beautiful area, and that it could be again. “I feel sorry for white people,” Kelly goes on. “I mean, what can you do with your lives? The economy controls everything. You have to pay to live on the Earth. Think about that. We’re the only species that has to pay to live on the Earth. We have a very big crisis, we have a very big change to make. I don’t know what’s going to happen for these kids if we don’t. And what it’s going to take is us here, all of us. We not only have to learn to stand up, we have to learn to be kind to each other, to share with each other. That’s what the Creator gave us. If we do that, we can do more than build a movement. We can create a life.”

The Toxic Tour is neither the beginning nor the end of the work in Aamjiwnaang. Lindsay and her sister Vanessa, with assistance from some settler activists in Sarnia and elsewhere, are spearheading a project of comprehensive soil and water testing, something no company or government has yet been willing to do; they and others are involved in the campaign against the reversal of Enbridge’s Line 9, which runs by their community and will, if Enbridge has its way, soon carry highly toxic and corrosive diluted bitumen from the tar sands. This February, a group of Aamjiwnaang residents filed a suit against Shell for a documented 2013 spill which released mercaptan, benzene and hydrogen sulfide, making many of the children in the daycare ill and potentially causing long-term effects that won’t be visible for years.

But we cannot leave this struggle to the community alone. As Bishop Mark MacDonald reminds us, “We now see human culture organized toward a new Tower of Babel, a denial not only of God’s design, but in its moral presumption – that economic life rules all other life – a denial of the sovereignty of God. We cannot tolerate a faith that calls itself Christian and separates our salvation, our morality and our world, a faith that is silent in the face of such injustice.” The Toxic Tour was one small act of solidarity, one small way of recalling ourselves to our responsibilities. There must be many more.

The post This tour is not a pretty sight appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Every week is different, but this week I will be planning a campaign with some agencies in town to make homelessness and housing an issue in Peterborough during the upcoming election. I will help plan an all-candidates meeting on social issues for Peterborough. I will plan a service for Peterborough Pride Week. I will hang out with some of my homeless friends and do some pastoral care with some great 20-somethings. I will write a sermon for Sunday. I will work with the program manager of the Warming Room, Katelyn James, to make sure we are ready to open beginning in November. I will recruit some people for the Youth Ministry Apprenticeship Program and finally respond to a lot of emails.

The Warming Room, an emergency shelter for those who can’t or won’t use the current shelter system, is probably what I am most proud of recently. The reason is that we have been able to bring people together who haven’t normally worked together to make something awesome happen. We have created a place where our guests and our over 150 volunteers are building real, community-changing relationships. We are breaking down barriers between churches as we work closely with a Baptist Church (where we are located), a Brethren Church (that looks after our food) and many other churches that have supported us financially and with volunteers. We work with the City of Peterborough and many other agencies as well as anti- poverty advocates in the city. Through these relationships, we have been able to encourage people who haven’t done so before to ask questions about what the systemic issues are that allow for homelessness in our city and country to grow and inspire them to get involved in trying to make our city a place where all can live in peace.

The best part of my job is building relationships. I love that I get to hang out with such a diverse group of people, homeless friends, community advocates, questioning teenagers, questioning young adults, questioning old adults, city officials, and all in between. So much of my job is being in the community and talking to people, I love that. The worst part is dealing with bureaucracy and keeping up with emails! I am pretty sure that the devil created emails.

We moved around a lot as a child but I moved to Peterborough when I was 13 and have been here ever since, mostly because it is the best city in the world. I grew up in the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada at various churches. I am grateful for the passion for faith and knowledge of scripture that growing up Pentecostal afforded me, but as I grew I knew I was searching for a place where I could ask the questions I needed to ask. After losing my job as a youth minister at a Pentecostal church, I knew I needed to go somewhere else. I was approached by a man I greatly respected, the Rev. John Stephenson, who asked if I had ever thought of becoming Anglican because he was looking to hire a youth worker at St. John’s. I said I would consider anything if they were willing to hire me, and that is how it started. I soon fell in love with Anglican Church because of its diversity of ideas and its commitment to justice. I loved that within St. John’s there were people who were very theologically liberal and conservative and they could argue and then still worship together. This had a huge impact on me. I also loved that people were involved in more than just one-time mission trips but to long-term commitments to challenging systemic roots of poverty. I was also incredibly lucky to be mentored for the last 13 years by the Ven. Gordon Finney.

My journey to the diaconate was long. I had always felt called to work in the church, whichever church it was I was in. I kept going to start the process towards the priesthood, but it just never felt right. Then I read what the diaconate was, and I thought to myself that is me! I feel very strongly that as we pursue being more missional we need to rediscover the diaconate. I honestly think that it is one of the keys to the future of the church. Often when I talk to young adults working in the church and I explain to them that a deacon is a minister who works as a bridge between the community and the church, they get really excited about it. They feel that is what they are called to as well, but often they are discouraged by the impression they get from many that a deacon is “not quite a priest.” I want to be a part of changing that.

I had a really great youth pastor who inspired me in so many ways and invested a lot in me, and I think I got involved in youth ministry because I wanted to do what he did. But as the years have gone on, I love the joy and fun that youth bring to faith. I love that youth make me look at every theological concept that I learn and ask, “Does this matter to my 15-year-old friend? How can I explain this in a way that they will understand?” I won’t leave a concept until I can do that.

I came to be passionate about justice through Jesus, as I was introduced to him by figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Desmond Tutu. They introduced me to a Jesus that I wanted to give my life too – not because if I didn’t I would go to hell, but because he was showing a way of life that was life, that was truth! When I hang out with my homeless friends, when I engage in social action, to me it is like a spiritual practice, I feel closer to Jesus.

I would love the Anglican Church to be on the forefront of challenging income inequality in our country and in our world. We don’t just have a poverty problem in our country – we have a wealth problem. As the gap between rich and poor continues to grow, our country will be less and less at peace. We as a church are exceedingly rich; how do we as an institution respond to Jesus’ commands to “sell all we have and give it to the poor” to “take up our cross” and follow Jesus? How do we respond to the early church model of holding “everything in common”? In regards to youth ministry, I think we need to allow youth to have a voice in reforming the church. Currently we call for youth to join us, but on our terms. We want them to come and fit into the spaces we have made for them. What if we trusted them to actually transform our church? That would be exciting.

Five years from now, I hope I will be faithful to my call of connecting the community with the church and the church with the community, so that together we can make a better neighbourhood, a better Peterborough, a better Canada and a better world.

My favourite passage of Scripture is Matt. 25:31-46. It motivates me and haunts me; it empowers me and calls me to repentance. This passage reminds me that if I want to know where Jesus is, if I want to meet him, I need to be among the marginalized, I need to listen to them, learn from them and remember that my salvation is wrapped up with them.

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Milk came in the old-style metal containers or the somewhat newer glass version. It was placed in a small exterior unlocked cupboard, common to houses of the era, which also enclosed an envelope for payment. Milk did not have a long shelf life in those days and just writing this article brings back the terrible taste of sour milk – fortunately not something I have endured in the past few decades. That milk wagon was the last.

The mail was also hand-delivered to each home by the postman twice a day. Those were the days when I waited not so patiently (sadly, still a trait I have from my childhood!) for the mailman to deliver the black and white photos of NHL hockey players sent to me in exchange for the bottle collars on cans of Bee Hive corn syrup. Of course, part of the thrill for a young person then was receiving a letter in the mail with your own name on it. I am certain we never consumed all the corn syrup my parents purchased so that I might collect those photos.

Well, times have changed. Bottled milk is no longer delivered to our doors and, for most, mail is not either. But we still have milk and we still receive mail.

The church in those days was very different from what it is today. It was the center of social life for many in our town. My friends joined me in the 65-voice men and boys choir that practiced Tuesday and Thursday nights and sang Morning Prayer and Evensong most Sundays at All Saints. The Diocese of Toronto was not yet the primarily Eucharistic community it is today. Those same friends also were members of the All Saints Cub Pack and played both church league hockey and church league softball for All Saints. Not much that we did socially, aside from piano lessons, took place outside the church.

Sunday sports for children were banned during the “Divine hour of worship,” the Lord’s Prayer opened the school day, and one drugstore and one gas station opened in rota on Sunday. Sunday was a quiet day; there was a different feel to it. It did not have the busy, frenetic pace that Sundays have today.

The church is no longer the social centre of many communities and certainly not the social center for youth.

Some look back to those days with great nostalgia, longing for “the good old days,” which in fact were formerly known as “these trying times.” This was post-war Canada. Many lived a transient life seeking work. Men would show up at the rectory door looking for an always offered sandwich or drink of milk. Affluence was not so obvious and certainly nowhere near reflective of the overall wealth of our society today.

Archbishop Johnson is fond of reading the diaries of former Bishops of Toronto. He will read aloud a description of a church that was facing declining attendance, whose level of stewardship was not what it could be, that was not attracting youth, that could not find capable Sunday school leaders, that was resistant to change. Listening, you could believe that the passage was written last month, but it was actually written at the turn of the 19th century!

You would have to be from another planet not to be aware that being church today in our anti-institutional, anti-religion, secular and humanistic society is flat-out hard work. It is not easy to be church today, if indeed it ever was.

Like the milk company and the post office in Peterborough, the church today is seeking to reimagine itself, reclaim its missional ministry, seeking to try out new things in an effort to faithfully proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in this society and to better serve the marginalized. We are making progress.  Horse drawn milk wagons and milk trucks no longer exist, and milk is not delivered to homes anymore, but milk still exists.

Change is underway as we seek to adapt to our new circumstances. Going forward, our buildings may not look the same, our liturgies and music may change, parishes may amalgamate, parishes may close –  but faithful Christians will continue to do the hard work of being church in a society longing for Good News. That’s what disciples of Jesus do, and that’s what they have always done.

I am proud of the work we are doing together throughout our diocese. We are making a difference for good in the name of Jesus Christ as the church of each era is called to do, and for that I say thanks be to God. The journey ahead may not always be smooth, but it is a journey worth taking.

(End note: in a few days from now you will be asked to vote. Do not fall prey to the apathetic temptation not to vote. Make your voice and your vote count.)

The post I’m proud of the work we’re doing appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

The Associated Press photograph of the lifeless body of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, washed up on a Turkish beach, is another such disturbing image. He and his family, along with at least 10 more Syrian refugees, tried to escape by flimsy boat in search of safety and security as they fled the entrenched, violent war which has decimated their country for the last four years.

Sadly, young Alan, his brother Galip, and their mother Rehan, are only the latest victims. More than 2,500 refugees and migrants have died or disappeared this year alone while attempting to cross the Mediterranean from war-ravaged countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Many of their names are known only to their families and to God alone.

Alan’s death has focused our attention on the ongoing plight of Syrian refugees and the need for concerted action, internationally and in Canada, to better address this crisis. Considerable attention has been given to the challenges faced by European nations in dealing with the largest wave of migration since the Second World War. This is not their problem alone. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye, hoping other countries will deal with the fallout. It is a moral as well as political issue. Our policies enact our values. Canada must take a greater leadership role in dealing with this massive migration so that fewer children and their families face the same tragic fate as Alan Kurdi. We Anglicans must do our part.

Canadians have rallied together in the past to respond to a global humanitarian crisis. We must do so again if we hope to stem the tide of suffering so many families are experiencing today.

In 1979, while serving the parish of Georgina, my wife and I joined four other couples in the parish to sponsor a refugee family from Vietnam who had fled their homeland along with millions of others because of ongoing conflict. Our small town group was just one of thousands across the country who had organized to make use of provisions within Canadian law that allowed private citizens, faith groups, and others to sponsor refugees seeking to come to Canada. While the Canadian government had initially committed to allowing 8,000 from Southeast Asia, through the efforts of these private sponsor groups, 60,000 refugees arrived between 1979 and 1980. In coming together and saying that we can do better as a country to respond to the needs of some of the world’s most vulnerable, Canadians were galvanized to do everything they could to help stem the loss of life we were witnessing in another part of the world.

The Syrian refugee crisis calls for just such a response from Canadians now. Anglicans have a role.  Both the Five Marks of Mission and the vows we make in Baptism require our faithful action.

We must not stand idly by as bodies wash ashore in the Mediterranean, as families are torn apart by conflict, and as our fellow humans suffer. We need to pray and then act for the safety and security we all deserve.

Yes, ending the war is necessary, but in the meantime millions are displaced and thousands are dying. The Government of Canada has committed to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2017, relying on private sponsorships for many of these. We must advocate to accelerate this timeline. Remove barriers which hinder the approval process. Develop a special process for Syrian refugee applicants: put more resources – including visa officers – into overseas offices dealing with high volumes of Syrian applicants, and remove onerous proof of refugee status documentation for community sponsorships.

I hope that all political parties, during this election, will present Canadians with concrete plans that they would implement to deal with this crisis.

The Canadian public must also step up and reaffirm our commitment to offer assistance to those suffering in this conflict. Remember that it was only after private citizens organized and advocated for a more compassionate response that the government’s approach to the Southeast Asian refugee crisis of the 1970s and 1980s shifted. As Anglicans, we can come together with fellow parishioners and our neighbours to create networks which offer direct support to Syrian refugees through private sponsorship. We need to advocate with our communities and with our government for action and compassion, both federally and internationally, in the face of a complex, dynamic situation. And we need to commit to welcome those who will begin to build new lives in communities across the country, far from the homeland and the lives they have known. This was how Canada was built.

This is at the heart of our faith story: Abraham and Sarah, Passover and the Exodus, the Exile in Babylon, the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt, the pilgrimage to citizenship in the new Kingdom of God.

In 1939, Canadian authorities refused permission to land to a ship carrying 937 Jews. A third of them subsequently died in the Holocaust. As a nation, that decision should weigh heavily on our conscience and continue to inform our commitment to be a more compassionate, welcoming place for those who seek safety from the very real threats they face in their homelands.

There is still time for action by Canadians. I ask people in the Diocese to sponsor a family, if possible, or to contribute to a group that can; to advocate for better policies; to welcome the stranger in our midst; to pray for justice and peace. Visit the PWRDF’s website, www.pwrdf.org, for ways to help.

Cut out the picture of the boy face down on the beach. Post it on your fridge. Look and ask yourself if our refugee response is adequate. If you answer “yes”, look at the photo again.

The post We must not stand idly by appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Working with St. Paul’s incumbent and a faithful group of parishioners, Ms. Yeung has started a chapel ministry at Silver Springs Park, a large housing complex about a block away from the church, which is located at Finch Street and Warden Avenue.

The ministry is housed in a room on the ground floor of an apartment building in the complex. A service of Evening Prayer is held every Sunday at 5:15 p.m., followed by refreshments. About 15 people take part, with the number swelling to 25 for special occasions.

In addition to worship services, the ministry organizes events and workshops for the local community, which is comprised of about 1,000 people living in three apartment buildings and eight townhouses. Most of the residents are immigrants from South Asia, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Kenya and mainland China.

St. Paul’s has received a $60,000 grant from the diocese’s Our Faith-Our Hope campaign to fund Ms. Yeung’s work over the next three years.

The ministry provides a vital link between St. Paul’s and the housing complex. The church is one of the most multicultural parishes in the diocese, so its members are able to welcome people of similar backgrounds and provide important assistance such as translation. Residents also have access to St. Paul L’Amoreaux Centre, one of the largest providers of care for senior citizens in Scarborough.

The ministry also focuses on youth. It held a basketball program in the summer and plans to start a homework club in October.

The Rev. Canon Dr. Dean Mercer, incumbent of St. Paul’s, says he is delighted with how quickly the ministry has taken root.  “On something like this we can never see much more than three months down the road, but we’ve had enough encouragement that we’re full of optimism and hope and really quite excited about what has happened.”

He credits not only Ms. Yeung but the parishioners who have helped her get the ministry up and running. “They’ve given their hearts to this,” he says.

The church is already thinking about planting similar chapel ministries in other nearby locations. “We’re hoping that it can occur elsewhere because it doesn’t cost much and it can be led by laity,” says Canon Mercer. “If it’s on the main transportation lines, the central campus remains the church and people are encouraged to become involved in the church as much as they see fit. My joke is that I want everyone at St. Paul’s going to evening prayer all over Scarborough.”

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“I never tell people who to vote for,” says Archbishop Colin Johnson, “but I do remind them that we have a duty, as Christians, to vote. In Jeremiah, the prophet calls us to pray for the cities in which we live and to participate in their wellbeing.”

The Baptismal Covenant and the Five Marks of Mission similarly “indicate that we have a responsibility to work for justice, peace, and the dignity of all,” he says. “This includes taking an essential part in the democratic process in Canada.”

Anglicans can make their priorities clear not only at the ballot box, but also through participation in all-candidates meetings and in conversations with political candidates.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, wrote to the leaders of the five main political parties in August, asking that their ears and hearts “be open to the call of Canadians for compassion, justice, and reason,” a call which he hears “echoed by so many who aspire to build upon the firm foundations of a democracy that we value dearly and who are committed to love and serve others.”

The Anglican Church has been actively engaged with the government on several justice issues over the years and an election campaign is the ideal time to put discussion of these priorities front and centre. In order to facilitate these conversations, the Anglican Church of Canada has developed a package of election resources to educate and empower Anglicans across the country as they prepare to go to the polls. Titled “Compassion, Justice, and Reason: An Anglican Approach for Election 2015,” the document provides background information and suggested questions for candidates on key social justice issues, ranging from housing and homelessness to reconciliation with First Nations to promoting peace and stability internationally. This guide provides a sense of current Anglican engagement on these issues and offers tips on effective strategies for engaging candidates. The resources can be downloaded directly from the national church’s website, www.anglican.ca. Additional election resources are available from various Canadian ecumenical networks such as the Canadian Council of Churches, KAIROS, and Citizens for Public Justice.

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Mr. Himelfarb was the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary of the Cabinet for three prime ministers. He is the director of the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs and the Centre for Global Challenges at York University. He is the co-editor of the book, Tax is Not a Four Letter Word.

“What concerns me most is that our collective-action problems – those problems we can only solve together such as climate change and inequality – are probably more challenging than they have ever been, but our collective tool kit has probably never been weaker,” he says.

He says years of tax cuts from all levels of government and every political stripe have taken too much money out of the public coffers, undermining the country’s ability to maintain services and make investments for future generations.

For example, reductions in the GST have taken $14 billion annually out of the national treasury since the cuts were made in 2006 and 2007. Estimates have put the total amount of all tax cuts made at the federal level over the past decade at about $300 billion.

Mr. Himelfarb says Canadians have accepted the cuts without asking what they have to give up in return. “If we decide we don’t want to pay taxes, then we better be clear about what we’re giving up. We better stop pretending tax cuts are free.”

He says tax cuts have resulted in higher personal expenses on everything from home insurance to health care. For example, Canadians now pay more out-of-pocket health care costs than at any time since the universal health care system was created.

Tax cuts have also hobbled government’s ability to pay for new and existing infrastructure. “We haven’t invested in infrastructure and we’re paying the price now,” he says. “We’re standing on the shoulders of previous generations who were more than willing to pay taxes. They made the investments from which we benefit today. What are we paying forward?”

Shrinking treasuries are leading to policies of austerity, he says, the consequences of which are falling hardest on the most vulnerable. “So we justify cutting out essential health services for refugee claims; we shortchange rehab programs for prisoners; we don’t let migrant workers pull out benefits, even though they pay into our system; we don’t come near to reducing child poverty, even though we’ve made a commitment to end it; fewer unemployed Canadians have access to employment insurance than ever before since the development of the system.”

He says Canadians need to “change the conversation” on taxes and the meaning of poverty. “We’ve got to challenge the poor-people-blaming that has somehow infected our culture. We’ve got to call some of that out. We’ve got to change the poetry.”

He says that can happen with a top-down and bottom-up approach. At the top, political, religious and community leaders can challenge the status quo. He lauded the Pope’s recent statements on climate change and the economy and also President Barak Obama and Warren Buffet’s comments on tax reform.

Working from the bottom up, local community groups can also change the conversation about taxes. “What we’ve discovered is that when people engage in making their community stronger, two things happen: they build solidarity and come to a stronger sense of their power collectively; and they also understand the limits of what they can do in the community and they start pushing and demanding more. I think both of those things are worth exploring.”

He says Anglicans and other faith groups understand the issues and are already playing a role in bringing about change. “I have spoken to groups of Anglicans and find that the kind of big picture policy discourse with a strong moral centre is happening in faith groups, often when it’s not happening elsewhere.”

The Outreach & Advocacy Conference will be held on Oct. 17 at Holy Trinity School in Richmond Hill. In addition to Mr. Himelfarb’s keynote speech, conference attendees will be able to attend interactive workshops on a number of key social justice issues such as reconciliation with First Nations, environmental responsibility, and a missional approach to social justice. The day will close with a time of worship and fellowship.

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