That is the basis of a one-week summer camp held at Stone Church in Saint John, New Brunswick called Kids Lead.

It was seven years ago that the Rev. Jasmine Chandra began a small group called Kids Lead. They met through the school year and learned about the good and the bad in their city.

“The idea was to expose kids to the needs in the city and the organizations that helped fill those needs,” she said.

Kids visited non-profits and learned how they could help through advocacy, fundraising and volunteering. But meetings held after school did not easily allow visits to the non-profits, so three years ago, they made the switch to a week-long summer camp. Parents were happy to have something for their kids to do, and the summer event has worked much better for all.

This year’s camp had 29 kids from ages 7 to 14, all interested in making their community a better place by doing what they could to ease the burdens of others.

“This year we had quite a few newcomer kids,” said Ms. Chandra. “They’ve gotten to see more of their city and the problems here.”

Ms. Chandra and her husband, the Rev. Terence Chandra, are priests-in-charge at Stone Church. Mr. Chandra and a host of volunteers run ESL summer camps for newcomer kids, which have grown since they began several years ago.

This past summer, the Kids Lead camp had tours of community advocacy groups in action and had guest speakers in as well. They learned about the Saint John Community Coalition, Boys & Girls Club, the Salvation Army Family Services, and Inner City Youth Ministry, which partners with PULSE each summer to hold a weekly barbecue and family drop-in.

But the camp wasn’t only about advocacy and volunteering, guest speakers and tours. There was lots of recreation built into the program, and the highlight of the week was the group projects. Kids formed groups and chose a cause, made a plan to help and then implemented it. On the final afternoon of the camp, each group presented their project, with their parents and loved ones on hand to see their hard work.

New Brunswick Anglican

The post Summer camp helps kids to care appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

The post Outreach conference coming up appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

The post Conference explores children’s ministry appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

• Oct. 1, 5-7 p.m. at St. Cuthbert, Leaside
• Oct. 7, 7-9 p.m. at St. Paul, Bloor Street
• Oct. 29, 5-7 p.m. at Redeemer, Bloor St.
• Nov. 13, 5-7 p.m. at St. John the Baptist, Norway

To learn more, contact Mary Lynne Stewart at adtf@toronto.anglican.ca.

The post Fall events consider legacy giving appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

The post Bishop’s Company Dinner coming up appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

The post Archives to close for October appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

Not only do the livestreams allow parishioners to stay connected when they can’t make it to worship services in person due to mobility issues, work or other obstacles, but they’ve attracted followers from around the world. One woman in Costa Rica, who has never been to Peterborough, is a regular viewer and has e-transferred donations twice. Previously, it would have been almost impossible to support any church except those that were nearby, but now a parish can have dedicated worshippers from around the globe. Not only can each church have a broader reach, but online attendees have an expanse of options to find their favourite parish.

All Saints, Peterborough has the financial resources to go to the top of the game. Its hybrid motto is “don’t piecemeal it.” Go for the gold, or, barring that, get the help of someone who’s really good and put it together over time. Decide on an end goal and phase it in. The church recommends that other parishes reach out to companies, such as Maars Music, if necessary for assistance. As a result of doing that, All Saints has a rather complex and sophisticated setup, with three cameras for optimal angles and software that can handle both the livestream and PowerPoint.

The livestreams are run by the church’s tech “scholars.” Similar to the parish’s choral scholars – high school and university students in musical education and sometimes interested in learning another language – the tech scholars are paid an honorarium for their work. Each livestream is managed by two of the five rotating scholars, one running the livestream and the other handling the PowerPoint. Although presets and fade-ins are already programmed to make tasks such as switching to the right camera at the right time easier, the skills of the two scholars at the back of the church are what makes the livestream run smoothly.

Or as smoothly as it can, anyway. Despite the church’s professional setup and talented scholars, there will always be a bit of what the Rev. Samantha Caravan, incumbent, calls “holy chaos” – the interruptions of restless children or a parishioner’s coughing fit… the little exclamations of life that no gathering is without. Mistakes are part of everyone’s experience, in-person or hybrid. While having cameras on you can give you a sense of pressure to perform, she says, holy chaos forces everyone to just roll with it; as a result, hosting the livestreams isn’t stressful.

Rev. Caravan, who has been at All Saints for six years, has been changing the language used in the church to be more inclusive, such as no gendered language for God. This is appealing to a lot of newcomers to the church, who feel more comfortable and at home with language that better includes them. Beyond the worship services, the church hosts all-candidates meetings and political debates, as well as Truth and Reconciliation opportunities; people outside the parish can tune in for one of these events. They can also choose to leave their name and contact info if they wish or join an upcoming in-person event.

The church does everything it can to ensure that the hybrid attendees receive the same care and availability as the in-person ones – short of mailing out Communion wafers, as one hybrid attendee had hoped might be possible. Even something as simple as speaking to the camera can make those at home feel as though they are there. This is especially important during life events such as funerals or weddings, which the church will sometimes livestream so that family members who can’t attend in person aren’t left out. Services like this are an important addition to what the church provides, and it’s all made possible by the inclusion of this new hybrid technology.

For more information, visit www.toronto.anglican.ca/parish-resources/hybrid-ministry.

The post Hybrid ministry opens doors wider appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

• Oct. 26 – The Ven. Cheryl Palmer – “A Renewed Church: What happens when we ‘Proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom'”
• Nov. 2 – The Rev. Canon Kristen Pitts – “A Renewed Church: What happens when we ‘Teach, Baptize, and Nurture New Believers'”
• Nov. 9 – The Ven. Steven Mackison – “A Renewed Church: What happens when we ‘Respond to Human Need by Loving Service’
• Nov. 16 – The Ven. Theadore Hunt – “A Renewed Church: What happens when we ‘Seek to Transform Unjust Structures of Society'”
• Nov. 23 – The Rev. Canon Andrew Federle – “A Renewed Church: What happens when we ‘Strive to Safeguard the Integrity of Creation and Sustain and Renew the Life of the Earth’”

“In a renewed Church, proclaiming the gospel is not about reclaiming lost cultural ground, but offering a living, liberating hope. Renewal means we do not just attract people; we seek to grow people,” says the Rev. Canon Dr. Stephen Fields, sub-dean and vicar of the cathedral. “A renewed Church sees Christ in the hungry, the sick and the stranger and cannot be silent in the face of injustice. Renewal includes the earth itself.”

Canon Fields says he believes that any church that seeks renewal and to be renewed must, of necessity, ask the following questions: How do we tell good news that sounds like good news to those who have stopped listening? What does it mean to form disciples in today’s world, across generations and cultures? What happens when service becomes central, not peripheral? How do we become agents of God’s justice in a polarized and broken world? How do we live faithfully and hopefully in the midst of an ecological crisis?

The cathedral’s Evensong services start at 4:30 p.m. on Sundays, and all are invited.

The post Guest preachers to focus on renewed Church appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

But as with most charitable organizations, COVID-19 decimated the ranks of our volunteers; since the pandemic, only five have returned across our four stations. Having to isolate for nearly two years took its toll, and yet our work ramped up five-fold as seafarers were confined to their ships and all the land-based activities, such as shopping (for food, medical supplies, exercise equipment, Christmas gifts, etc.) had to be – and were – covered by staff and the remaining volunteers.

Remember COVID-19 shopping? Order online, then face long lineups to pick up purchases, especially in the cold weather during those two awful winters. We received between 22 and 25 emails with lists from each ship in port – and there could be up to seven ships in a port. It was a logistical nightmare, but it had to be attended to because these were important shopping lists to fulfil.

At the end of this season – December 2025 – we will lose two of our original eight-year veteran volunteers in Oshawa, Jill and Captain David, both of whom joined before the station was opened and who stayed throughout the pandemic, working with patience, dedication and determination. We are honoured and blessed to have had the privilege of working with them. But with their departure, we are without any volunteers for our station in Oshawa, the Terry Finlay Seafarers Centre.

We need your help. The Terry Finlay Seafarers Centre is a tiny station with a big heart, just like its namesake. It has offered shelter and comfort to hundreds of seafarers since it opened in 2017. The seafarers will deeply miss Jill, the grandmother of the station, and Captain David, himself a former “Salty” seafarer, so we are asking you to think about whether you are willing and able to fill the shoes of two stalwarts who let very little get in their way when it came to helping the seafarers that come to Oshawa.

Age is not a barrier; even teenagers are welcome as station hosts and ship visitors. Climbing a gangway is the physical test, and mission training is offered. There is no set schedule for cargo ship arrivals – unlike cruise ships, which tend to stick to a very tight schedule – so while we have a few days’ notice, that can change from day to day. We can’t promise a set time every week when a ship will be in port. But what we can promise is the satisfaction of knowing that for a few hours a week you are helping to take care of the people who take care of us, who bring us all the things we need, from the coffee in our cups to the food on our table and the tables themselves, the gas in our cars and the clothes we wear. And to know how grateful the seafarers are that you care, that by your presence you remind them that they are not invisible. They do the most difficult work in the world, so a few hours (two to three) of your time each week to help us help them is priceless.

Are you ready for a new challenge? MTSSO needs your help. Can we count on you? Contact getinvolved@mtsso.org or visit www.mtsso.org/volunteering and let us know if you’re ready to get involved!

The post We need your help appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

We were treated as family when we arrived. We ate local food: meat, watermelon and egg fries (chips mayai), our favourite. We developed authentic, lasting relationships with clergy and laity, young and old. There were deep discussions, jokes and laughter. We took two suitcases of school and medical supplies to give to our host, courtesy of so many of our sponsors, family and friends.

During our time in Tanzania, we participated in the Diocese of Biharamulo’s Mothers’ Union conference with 650 attendees, and we coordinated and led the Buseresere Deanery youth conference with 300 attendees.

We were blessed to witness the presence of the Holy Spirit at the Mothers’ Union conference. There was a joy, energy and vibrancy that we do not always see in our Canadian churches. There was a lot of music and dancing. Women’s ministry in the Diocese of Biharamulo is vibrant, with lay canons and evangelists. They were inspirational and passionate, and they preached from the heart. We saw the Holy Spirit moving like wildfire in the hearts and lives of the people there. During my curacy, I hope to improve my skills as a preacher so I can feel free to share the Word as passionately as they do.

We attended a presentation about church entrepreneur ministry initiated by the mothers and bank partnerships, and we listened to some great choirs. We taught them an English contemporary chorus, and our new friends translated it into Kiswahili for the group to sing together. An Australian missionary assisted with our presentation and helped to adapt it to the local culture.

At the youth conference, people came to encounter God’s love and experience His transformative power in leading and helping the community place Christ at the centre of their lives. One of the diocese’s goals for the next three years is to establish vocational training centres for youth and children. The focus scripture was 1 Peter 5:5-11. There were prayers, games, discussions, music, dancing, storytelling and a sermon. The conference ended with Jesus’ example of humility: foot washing. Everyone washed and had their foot washed in groups of 12. It was a powerful experience of the movement of the Spirit.

During both conferences, I encouraged my mom’s vocation of storytelling and sharing. My mom presented “The Essentials of the Gospel,” which was well received by youth and adults.

We were also present for the diocese’s eighth anniversary service, where we gave a small token of a Cast the Net ceramic tile from the Diocese of Toronto. The outstanding part of the service was when the bishop asked a few of the young people to pray for him. I was surprised to feel and experience the tenacity, determination and creativity as the Spirit moves in the Diocese of Biharamulo, which has doubled in size and grown to 150 churches, 30 parishes and eight deaneries in eight years. It is one of the fastest growing dioceses in the Anglican Communion. Its goal for the next three years is to plant 20 new parishes and three new deaneries. Imagine if the Diocese of Toronto could realize even half of that goal!

We celebrated our national holiday by sharing chocolate, notebooks, pencils, flags and pins with students at a school in Chato district, and they shared their school history, mandate, dances and a skit. I preached at an evening service and was gifted with handmade fabric and dinner. The believers give generously out of their limited capacity.

Throughout our visit, we saw an incredible dedication and passion for ministry. The secretary general, who assists the bishop and was our host, is currently unpaid. During our time there, he worked tirelessly for the diocese and deanery and in supporting us in ministry. We celebrated his birthday and had a drink to praise God for working in him and through him in bringing the kingdom of God to the Diocese of Biharamulo. He said that we left a lasting impact with our questions, presentations and sermons.

The believers in the Anglican Church in Tanzania have an amazing love for the Lord, yet they lack many of the resources we take for granted. Water infrastructure is vital. Lifespans are short due to poverty, hard lives and a lack of medicine and vaccines. Seventy per cent of the population is under the age of 30. One of the pastors who hosted us contracted malaria the week we left. My mom and I had the privilege of taking a daily antiviral medication so that we didn’t contract any major illnesses, but that is not their reality.

This trip taught me to trust God and depend on Him. God granted us safety, strengthened us for ministry and gave us the grace and anointing to do what we were called to do. The whole experience was a learning opportunity from start to finish – planning, preparation, logistics, schedules, accommodations, transportation, expectations, risk, patience and purpose. It opened our eyes to a whole different world. It was a great occasion to see how God is moving in the newest diocese in the Communion, especially through women and young people. My mom and I both returned with a renewed sense of mission. Living missionally is about discerning and joining God’s work in the world to be a witness to God’s kingdom on earth. This trip confirmed that as a child of God, my calling is to inspire people to become closer to God as an eyewitness and representative of the endless, impactful and active Good News.

We also gained a deeper understanding of global needs and an appreciation of God’s mission in Tanzania as we encouraged and supported diocesan and lay leaders. We continue to communicate with the leaders in the Diocese of Biharamulo. My mom and I meet weekly online with a few of the leaders to pray for our dioceses. They have a wish list of what they hope and pray for their diocese. There are many practical ways to help and encourage them – please let me know if you would like more information or to join us in prayer for this diocese. We look forward to seeing how and where the Lord will lead.

The post This trip taught me to trust God and depend on Him appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.