This year, we were profoundly blessed by the erudition and teaching of Canon Dr. Paula Gooder, who spoke on the topic, “Preaching Luke: Hope for our Times.” Dr. Gooder is the theologian-in-residence for the Bible Society (UK), the canon theologian of Birmingham and Guildford cathedrals, and a lay canon of Salisbury Cathedral. She is also the author of several books.

While an expert in the writings of St. Paul, Dr. Gooder writes and speaks on a variety of New Testament topics, both to clergy and lay people. At this year’s clergy conference, she spoke on “the parables of the lost and found” in Luke 15 – the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. In her excellent lectures, which invited much audience participation, she exploded our notion of parables in general, and, in particular, challenged some conventional readings of Luke 15. Parishioners around the diocese will likely hear some refreshing interpretations of these and others parables from the pulpit in the coming months. It was widely acknowledged that Dr. Gooder’s presentation was one of the best in recent memory. It was refreshing to be able to examine scripture together as clergy and to reconsider many of our assumptions around a very familiar set of biblical texts.

One afternoon of every conference is given over to rest and relaxation. Several activities were available, the most popular being the wine tour. Other opportunities included fencing, golf, walking, biking, jogging the local trails or simply browsing the excellent displays provided by suppliers of church goods.

The event is always shaped by worship and prayer, and concludes with a celebration of the Eucharist. This year, in place of a homily, Archbishop Colin Johnson moderated a panel with Dr. Gooder, Bishop Philip Poole, and the Rev. Dr. Catherine Sider-Hamilton, in which we were given the opportunity to reflect on Dr. Gooder’s lectures.

This year’s conference was organized by Bishop Peter Fenty and the York-Simcoe Episcopal Area. Many thanks to the members of the committee and especially Jennipher Kean and Swan Li for their support.

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Once again, grants will be given to parishes in all four episcopal areas, reflecting the widespread engagement with refugee sponsorship throughout the diocese. Funds will be provided to two parishes in Toronto, as well as parishes in King City, Ida, Markham, Mississauga and Bowmanville. Five of the applications were connected to multi-parish or ecumenical sponsorship initiatives and all involved significant outreach to the wider community for financial and practical support. The proposed sponsorships from this most recent round of applications would welcome as many as 35 individuals to Canada from a variety of countries of origin with vitally important financial and community supports to help them transition to their new home.

Grants will be released to parishes once they have raised 80 per cent of the committed parish contribution to the sponsorship costs and they have been matched with a refugee case through the Anglican United Refugee Alliance (AURA), a FaithWorks ministry that administers the sponsorship agreement on behalf of the diocese.

An initial round of applications in March awarded an additional $373,000 in grants to 23 parishes. These grants continue to represent only a portion of the total sponsorships being undertaken by parishes in the diocese. More than 100 refugees have already been welcomed since the fall of 2015 by parishes from Toronto to Collingwood to Orono, while dozens of other parishes have raised millions of dollars, combined, in anticipation of being matched with a case in the coming months.

The number of refugee cases available for private sponsorship in Canada has been reduced significantly in recent months, leaving many sponsoring groups waiting with uncertainty as to when they can expect to be matched with a case. Archbishop Colin Johnson wrote to John McCallum, the minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, in April to ask him to increase the number of blended visa office referred (BVOR) cases available for sponsorship.

“Such an increase,” he wrote, “would help protect thousands of vulnerable people suffering war or persecution in their homelands while also engaging Canadians directly in the important work of welcoming refugees and developing a strong understanding of the realities of this global crisis.”

Advocacy efforts to increase the availability of BVOR cases continues through the efforts of parishes across the diocese.

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Clement, the Bishop of Rome, wrote about Paul’s visit to Spain in his letter to the Corinthians. As this is a source very close to the time, I think Paul did make that trip.

Did Paul visit Spain? According to the Epistle to the Romans, written several years earlier, this was his plan. What happened to Paul during this time also brings to mind the authorship of the pastoral epistles 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. Most scholars would suggest that these letters are pseudonymous; that is, they were not written by Paul but by later authors who used Paul’s name to ensure that they would be acceptable to the local churches. This was a fairly common practice in that era.

I am going to suggest that these pastoral letters were indeed written by Paul. They may have had extensive editing by scribes at a later time, as they were copied and passed from church to church.

Assuming that Paul wrote these letters, it would appear that Paul took Timothy and Titus to their respective missions – Timothy to Ephesus and Titus to the island of Crete. Paul then wrote the letters to his two disciples as he made his way to Spain, giving Timothy and Titus their orders for their respective missions.

About 25 years ago, I was asked by the Bishop of Toronto to lead an ordination retreat, as five young people were being prepared for ordination as deacons in the Church of Jesus Christ. As we gathered at St. John’s Convent in Willowdale, we used 2 Timothy as our retreat text, which talks about the ministry in the church and what is required to be an ordained minister.

If this letter was written by Paul, it would be his last epistle. He was in prison in Rome, awaiting execution. Compare this description of his imprisonment to that in the Acts of the Apostles. They are very different. In the Acts, Paul is under house arrest, and he has visitors who seem to come and go at random. In 2 Timothy, he is in a dungeon, with few visitors, no communications and little freedom. Only Luke is with him (4:11). I have often wondered why Luke didn’t continue this part of Paul’s life in the Acts. For some reason, he ended the Acts rather abruptly at Paul’s imprisonment in Rome. There seems to have been much more to Paul’s life journey.

Timothy is listed as the first Bishop of Ephesus. He died about 97 CE. He was like a son to Paul and is mentioned often in the epistles and the Acts. This second letter to Timothy is Paul’s final word to his “son,” with exhortations about his need for endurance and faith in the midst of adversity. It was Paul who laid hands on Timothy for this work and mission (2 Tim 1:6). God’s gifts to Timothy through the laying-on of Paul’s hands were the gifts of power, love and self-discipline. (1:7.)

All of us are called to be ministers in God’s church. May I suggest you read these three pastoral epistles to help us understand what it means to be a minister in God’s church. Those of you who are ordained, I beseech you to read these letters once a year, to be reminded of your call to ordained ministry. To those five deacons who were with me 25 years ago, congratulations on reaching your 25th anniversary of your ordination! I pray your ministry has been rewarding and full of His presence as you have walked with Him along this road of life. May this life be a continuous search for what it means to be ordained in His church and committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe. And may we continue to dialogue with His holy word.

As you read these pastoral letters, there are three questions I suggest you keep in mind: what does it mean to be a minister today (both lay and ordained)?; how do I listen to that still, small voice of Jesus in the midst of a very noisy world?; and what do the scriptures tell us about living in faith for today?

Enjoy the dialogue.

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The history of St. John’s began around 1800 when Seneca Ketchum of north Toronto grew tired of walking down Yonge Street every Sunday to St. James Church (later cathedral) on King Street to attend morning services. He began conducting evening prayer services in his home for friends and neighbours.

After Mr. Ketchum’s congregation grew too large for his little log house, they decided they could support a proper church. Joseph and Catherine Shepard donated about three acres of land for a church and churchyard. Mr. Ketchum donated time and money for a building. On Sept. 17, 1816, a cornerstone was laid and by Dec. 30 the church was ready to welcome its first worshippers.

Once a month, the Rev. John Strachan of St. James Church (later Bishop John Strachan, the first Bishop of Toronto) came north to conduct a service. On other Sundays, divinity students like Derwyn Trevor Owen delivered sermons and prayers written by Mr. Strachan.

By 1840, the congregation needed a larger, more permanent church. Adjacent land was donated by William and Dinah Marsh and architect John George Howard, who had also designed Christ Church in Holland Landing. In 1843, the church was officially dedicated and named St. John’s, York Mills.

Over the years, St. John’s has seen many changes and has been served by prominent clergy who have become bishops and archbishops. The Canon Rev. Lewis Garnsworthy served at St. John’s until he was elected a bishop. Derwyn Trevor Owen, who also became a bishop, enjoyed his time at St. John’s so much that even though he was not a rector there, he asked to be buried in the churchyard. His wish was granted.

Two women who served as Sunday School superintendents are also well remembered for their contributions to St. John’s. After each Sunday School class, Kathleen Sladen drove down Yonge Street to conduct more classes and comfort children at the Hospital for Sick Children. When she retired in 1955, Margery Pezzack took over the role, serving as a deacon and assistant preacher until she was ordained a priest on May 22, 1977.

St. John’s is located at 19 Don Ridge Dr., Toronto. For more information on the anniversary celebration, visit the church’s website at www.sjym.ca.

Submitted by Jeanne Hopkins.

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A parishioner of All Saints, King City considered those possibilities when it was found that Sharp Electronics had a large number of scientific calculators that had been returned as a result of a packaging problem. The problem was soon fixed, but there were 2,500 calculators that needed to be repackaged. Sharp Electronics generously donated those 2,500 calculators, and an equal number of clear plastic bags and new labels, to All Saints, with the proviso that the calculators were to be distributed to students and schools in need – not to be sold or used for fundraising.

The calculators arrived by the skid-load in mid-April. A crew of dedicated volunteers moved the boxes from the front entrance of the church to a room under the chapel, where they could be stored and repackaged. For three mornings, volunteers stuck labels on bags, put calculators into the bags and re-boxed them in units of 10, ready to be picked up or mailed. A seemingly daunting task went much faster than expected.

With the help of the King Township Food Bank, an organization called Life Corp, which coordinates food and surplus commodities for the food banks and shelters in York Region, were contacted. Life Corp sent out a message to all of its organizations regarding the donated calculators and All Saints received numerous requests. By May, 556 calculators had been distributed to local food banks, shelters and co-ops for their back-to-school programs. As well, churches assisting Syrian refugees received 158 calculators. Other charities that church members support have received 451 calculators, and they are now on their way to Jamaica, Guatemala and Burundi.

An All Saints parishioners involved in First Nations communities provided contact information for secondary schools in northern Ontario that could benefit; so far, 446 calculators have been transported to those schools. Discussions are underway with First Nation education authorities in Ontario’s far north to determine the possibility of distributing the remainder of the calculators to secondary schools there.

Submitted by Diana Armitage, a member of All Saints, King City.

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St. George’s is a hub of the community. An internet cafe is available for those without internet access. People who want to learn about computers will be assisted by senior high school students completing their community service hours. Gourmet Soup days, quilting, men’s breakfasts, Circle of Prayer and other regular events now have a comfortable, modern meeting place.

The hall will also be available for conferences, celebratory dinners, banquets, weddings – all of which will create an income stream to support on-going community projects. John Wimberly, author of Mobilizing Congregations, was correct when he wrote, “The uncomfortable truth [is] that faithful ministry requires effective management.” St. George’s has already hosted three large dinners and is booking its first “Destination Wedding” for a couple who want to enjoy the pastoral surroundings at the foot of the Northumberland Hills.

St. George’s renovation project has been a success, beginning with a detailed plan going to the diocese, which generously supplied an Our Faith-Our Hope grant for the work. The project was brought to completion on budget, with spectacular results.

Submitted by Robert Deane, a member of St. George, Grafton.

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However, a liturgy for that purpose doesn’t exist in the Anglican Church, so the parish created one. “We understood that this wasn’t a re-baptism,” said the Rev. Maggie Helwig, incumbent. “God always knew who Beck was in his fullness, and received him as himself from the beginning. But we also knew that this was a moment closely tied to the baptismal covenant, and Beck’s growth as a disciple.” The liturgy was modelled on the Anglican Church’s reaffirmation of baptismal vows, but also included an acknowledgement of Beck’s new name and gender identity as a part of his baptismal vocation.

“God created me transgender, and calls me to live openly and authentically,” said Beck at the service. “This is not a solitary path but rather a call that I am to live out in relation to others and as a member of the body of Christ.”

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The theme will be integrated throughout the conference, making connections between, for example, the recent unprecedented support of refugees in parishes across the diocese, issues of displacement and neglect experienced by Indigenous communities, and the Christian call to be a place of welcome and refuge for all those who suffer.

The keynote speaker for this year’s conference will be the Rev. Jeffrey Metcalfe, a priest, scholar and refugee advocate who will provide a theological foundation to the theme and help set the tone for the rest of the day’s activities. Mr. Metcalfe is a regular contributor to the Anglican Journal and is working towards a Ph.D. in Theological Studies at Trinity College.

Following the keynote address, morning and afternoon workshop sessions will be offered, focusing on a deeper examination of key social justice issues and how they relate to the conference theme. Workshops cover topics ranging from mapping the history of colonialism in Canada, to taking action on climate change, to exploring issues related to the experience of trans persons in the church. Practical workshops on tools for advocacy, or creating inclusive worship opportunities that celebrate the gifts of all parishioners, will allow attendees to build skills to engage more fully with the outreach and advocacy work of their parishes and communities. Time for common worship will also be included.

Several FaithWorks ministries will be present to share about their work, answer questions, and build their networks across the diocese.

Cost for the conference is $30 per person ($15 for students or those with low incomes) and includes lunch and refreshments. For more information and to register, visit toronto.anglican.ca/outreachconference.

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