In a largely secular, information-overloaded culture, many Anglican parishes are engaged in compassionate outreach work, helping their neighbours or those in need, but that work remains almost unknown in the broader community. That’s okay because making a difference in someone else’s life and expressing God’s love in the world is what it is all about.
But a little positive press can add momentum to the work and raise the profile of the parish and the church. So, Perspective is sharing some good news that both All Saints Greely and All Saints’ Westboro have both been in the media spotlights for very good reasons recently.
All Saints Greely
CTV sent reporter Katelyn Wilson to All Saints Greely on a Tuesday evening in September to report on a community effort that weaves milk bags into mats that people who are living on the streets can use to sleep or sit on. The project also has an environmental benefit of diverting the plastic bags so that they don’t go directly to landfill.
Wilson interviewed Grace Jones, a parishioner and church warden who got the project at All Saints started in 2022. Most of the volunteers are people from the community who meet in the church hall every Tuesday, and in CTV’s news clip they are busily working and weaving. They demonstrated how the donated milk bags are cut, tied and then woven into mats. and Jones said the reporter tried her hand at the weaving.
Jones told Perspective later that she heard the segment aired not only on the evening television news broadcast but also the next morning on CFRA radio, and also aired in London and North Bay. “I have had a number of emails with one this morning from north of Windsor wanting to compare notes. I must say I am a little overwhelmed, but it is all good. I didn’t imagine such an outpouring of support,” she said.
But how did the milk bag mats first come to CTV’s attention? It happened through All Saints’ partnership with the environmental group Earthub, which collects the milk bags to keep the plastic out of the landfill and was seeking an end user for the bags when Jones got involved in 2022.
“Brittanny [Belanger], the founder of Earthub, came to visit weaving one Tuesday evening,” Jones explained. “She took some pictures and videos as she was trying to increase the number of milk bags coming in. On the night of Sept 4, she reposted a 21 second sped up video of the process on a whim because her social media had been lacking and messaged me the next morning that it had had 50,000 views so far. Last week, CTV reached out to her because of the emails they were receiving as to where they could donate milk bags and wanted to do an interview during the day.” She believed the whole story needed to be told and so worked with [CTV] to arrange for them to come on a Tuesday evening.”
“It is just providing a little bit of comfort, one bag at a time,” Jones told the reporter.
Each mat comes with a tag that says, “Made with caring hands by All Saints Anglican Church Greeley and friends.” The mats are distributed through outreach organizations, who report that people gratefully received the mats, and that they are well-used. Shawna from Shawna’s Outreach told Jones that she met a man who was carrying a mat and asked how he liked it. “He said it was the reason he’s still alive. He told me he has carried to Montreal and back and can’t imagine being without it. He pointed out how the colours of the companies were worn off and that it was still strong and together. Thought you should know,” she said.
So far, the All Saints group has mad about 400 sitting mats and about 420 sleeping mats. Jones says the group will keep on making the mats as long as there is a need for them.
All Saints’ Westboro
All Saints’ Westboro was also featured in a CTV news segment and on the local CBC radio show All in a Day and on Rogers TV.
Whispers was a popular neighbourhood pub for many years, but it closed down in 2022. Its walls were covered with an eclectic mix of memorabilia — antiques, sports equipment, musical instruments and much more — and the developer who bought the building wanted to clear it out.
Judy Lincoln, executive director of the Westboro Business Improvement Association (BIA) suggested donating the items to All Saints’ Westboro, which has operated the Westboro Food Bank for more than 40 years, to auction off and use the proceeds to support the food bank.
In the spring, All Saints’ volunteers moved items out of the pub, cleaning and preparing them for the auction on Sept. 20.
That week, All Saints’ associate incumbent the Rev. Chung Yan Lam told Perspective that they had raised $3,700 in a combination between the online auction, online shop, and also the community meal on the day of the event. “People were very generous with their offers for the items, and we still have many historical items taken from Whispers Pub that could still find a good home. We will continue to sell them on Facebook Marketplace to hopefully keep things out of the landfill,” she said. “At the community meal, we also prepared 40 portions of food that were delivered to our neighbours at Cornerstone Princeton location.”
Lam added that the partnership between All Saints’ Westboro Anglican Church, Westboro Region Food Bank, and the Westboro BIA has been wonderful, especially in providing support to the neighbours who are experiencing food insecurity. “The Westboro BIA has organized two separate fundraisers this past year that allowed the food bank to hold a total of four free community meals. At each of the meals, we cooked more than 200 portions of food. We look forward to other partners who are interested in sponsoring and partnering to prepare community meals for our neighbours. It’s not just about feeding the hungry,’ she said. “We hope that All Saints’ Westboro can provide a friendly face and a community where everyone is welcome.”
Peace Pole installed at All Saints’ Westboro
On Sept. 21, the congregations from All Saints’ Westboro and First United, which share their building, gathered outside the church in between their two Sunday worship services along with members of the Rotary Club of West Ottawa for a ceremony to bless a Peace Pole.
Peace Poles are a global initiative that began in Japan after World War II and have the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written in multiple languages on all four sides. The Rotary Club of West Ottawa sponsored and funded the pole installed near the church’s healing garden and its outdoor labyrinth after consulting with the parishes and the Indigenous community.
Rev. Dr. Dorcas Kanana Muketha of First United, the Rev. Chung Yan Lam, and Larry Chop of All Saints’ Westboro and the Rotary Club at the blessing of the Peace Pole.
Listening for God’s voice in a time of change