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Leslie was the beloved wife of the late Ven. Gordon Worden, and loving mother of Rebecca Worden (Peter McCracken), Emily Worden-Kwok (Jeffrey Kwok), and Jessica Worden (former spouse Eric-Vance Bolling). She was adored by her grandchildren Zachary, Kaella, Sarah, Liam, and Kyle.

She had an adventurous life traveling and living in many places while she was growing up because her father was in the military and as an adult with her husband, who was an Anglican priest.

She was a talented musican from a very young age, and she played the piano, autoharp, accordion, and sang. She was a member of several different music groups and choirs. According to her family, “For Leslie, there was never a moment that didn’t call for a familiar or improvised tune.”

Her friend, the Rev. Canon Rhondda MacKay offered the homily at her celebration of life service, and recalled that “for many years, in parishes up and down the valley, Leslie’s ministry had been in church schools with her trusty accordion—eye to eye with the children.”

Leslie studied computer technology at Western University in London, Ont. Her training served her well later in her role as information technologist at Ascension House and the Archives, and while she patiently and generously helped many people sort out computer problems.

She was a dedicated volunteer for many causes including the Girl Guides of Canada, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Ottawa Anglican Cursillo Movement. She was co-coordinator for the Anglican Church Women with her friend Marni Crossley.

Canon Rhondda MacKay said, “Her creative energy flowed in caring for others — in her work, in the guiding movement, and her advocacy for women in the church and beyond; as a warden, member of the altar guild and more in this church; in sharing her technical skills wherever they were needed; recycling for a good cause, but most of all through music.

Canon MacKay said, “People have remarked to me how Leslie sparkled. Leslie’s light sparkled for us as humble and caring service in all sorts of ways:

• in her devotion to her beloved family
• in the way she faced challenges with a positive spirit and hopefulness
• in her openness to learning new things
• in her gifts for and appreciation of music.

Her faith was important to her. “Leslie was a light on a hill — a positive presence,” MacKay said. “She constantly shared her light. That is what we celebrate today and hold onto as a life lesson.”

The family welcomes memorial contributions to The Hearts of Compassion Fund (that includes Belong Ottawa, Centre 105, Cornerstone Housing for Women, Ottawa Pastoral Counselling Centre, and the Refugee Ministry Office).

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Knowing this, the diocesan Stewardship Committee has been planning for some time to produce a video, interviewing members of a parish that has made important strides forward in terms of their approach to financial stewardship to help inspire and offer practical advice and ideas for other parishes.

This spring, those plans were realized. The Learning Commons has now posted a video in which Anglicans from the Parish of the Valley, particularly Holy Trinity Pembroke, share what they have learned in their efforts to deal with financial challenges and to build a healthy and effective approach to stewardship.

In April, Carole Breton, diocesan director of Communications and Development, travelled to Pembroke with a small team, including videographer Karl Chatel, to interview one of the Parish of the Valley’s associate incumbent, the Rev. Gillian Hoyer, and Marie Cheesman, member of diocesan council and former chair of Holy Trinity’s Ministry and Money Working Group, about their successful approaches to stewardship and the important lessons they have learned along the way.

“Jesus talked about money more than he talked about just about anything else in the recorded words that we have in the Gospels,” said Hoyer. “And so, I think that how we steward our money, how we steward our time, our gifts, are such an important part of what it means to be a holistic and healthy Christian and healthy Christian community….Stewardship is a part of our life together.”

Cheesman explained that the challenges Holy Trinity faced are likely very similar to those faced by many congregations.

They found that the pattern of financial offerings were very heavily weighted at the end of each year, but such uneven givings made it difficult for the church to pay its bills and expenses through the rest of the year.

The number of parishioners using pre-authorized remittance (PAR) to give regularly was dwindling as parishioners aged and new parishioners were not signing up to replace that.

A historic church building and other needs required funds to maintain and invest in the life of the congregation.

Some of the ways they addressed these challenges were:

• Creating a Pentecost stewardship campaign to encourage giving at an earlier point in the year
• A creative person in the parish made low-cost video vignettes asking parishioners what Holy Trinity meant to them, which spurred everyone to reflect on what they love about their community.
• Using ready-made stewardship campaign resources available through the diocesan church’s membership in The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) and tailoring them to suit the congregation
• Applying for government grants, which added up to $100,000 in additional funds that have helped with renovations and purchases such as much-needed new tables and chairs for the parish hall.

Both Hoyer and Cheesman offer practical and kind advice to other parishes who may be feeling daunted and wondering where to begin to address financial needs in their congregations or parishes. Start small, they said. Hoyer said the first step for the clergy team in the Parish of the Valley was writing just one letter that went out to everyone in the parish. But the essential take-away was not to be afraid and just start.

Watching and discussing the 10-minute video posted as a resource on the Learning Commons page of the diocesan website will now provide another way for congregations or parishes to begin their own stewardship journeys.

The video is part of a series of way to engage called “Stewardship in Action — Voices from Across the Diocese”  video, social media, Learning Commons content, stories in Perspective. This stewardship video marks the first of the new series of content.

Videographer Karl Chatel filmed and edited the interviews with Marie Cheesman and the Rev. Gillian Hoyer to produce a stewardship resource for the Learning Commons page of the diocesan website.

Learning Commons: Helping Parishes Thrive

Resources from The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) are available to all parishes and congregations at no cost through the diocesan membership.

TENS Annual Pledge Campaign Materials

Each pledge campaign Zip file has complete resources a fall pledge campaign for the Liturgical Year and includes:

Logos and artwork

Seasonal Meditations on Generosity

Sample Letters from Clergy, Wardens, Committee, and Thank-you notes

Pledge Cards

Formation Resources for adults and families

Weekly Meditations to use during the campaign season

Liturgical Resources and Prayers of the People for your campaign season

Past years’ resources are also available, so parishes can choose a theme that best speaks to their community.

The password for this year is Matthew22:4 . Please note that there are no spaces, and the password is case sensitive. You are invited to share this password widely through newsletters, websites, and social media to help your community access these tools. The password will remain active until February 2027, when the renewal period concludes.

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Hobin Architecture will match donations from new donors made before July 1, 2026, up to a total of $45,000. Belong Ottawa will share donations received through the program with two other charities — the Youville Centre, which supports young mothers and their children, and the Ottawa Humane Society.

Belong Ottawa operates day programs in three locations in downtown Ottawa —Centre 454, St. Luke’s Table and The Well — serving vulnerable people who may be experiencing poverty, homelessness, mental illness and addictions. The day programs address basic needs such as food, laundry and shower facilities as well as offering other supports that foster dignity, wellness and hope.

“At Belong Ottawa, we are honoured our organization has been featured in this year’s campaign,” said executive director Shauna-marie Young. “This spotlight gives new supporters the chance to discover our essential, lifesaving work, and it reinforces how powerful it is when charities and socially responsible companies come together. Partnerships like these strengthen our communities and create lasting, positive impact. Thank you for this meaningful recognition.”

Steve Clifford, Hobin’s director of marketing and communications, explained that the company started the You Give, We Give program in 2021 in response to the hard times the community was going through during COVID. “We’ve always had a strong philanthropic mandate here, giving a portion of our own revenues, but we wanted to leverage our peers. So that’s what kind of drove this new matching program.”

Architect Barry Hobin founded the Ottawa-based firm in 1979 as a two-person office that has now grown to a team of more than 40 designers, technologists and administrators. It is now the longest operating architecture firm in Ottawa. Woven into the firm’s DNA is a strong belief in and commitment to giving back to the community.

In an interview with Perspective, Hobin explained, “We hold ourselves accountable…. We don’t come to the end of the year and ask ‘Have we got some money left over that we can throw into charitable giving?’ Our regular accounting and profit and loss sheet has built into it an expectation of charitable giving.” He added, “We philosophically want to give to agencies that are small, who are grassroots…. Our first major gifts were to things like the Ottawa Mission and around social justice and compassion. As causes, those things ring true to us.”

Hobin noted that the firm is a secular company, so its charitable giving is described in terms of recognizing “that we exist because of the strength of community, and we want to make our community stronger.

However, he added that the firm “ascribes to the Judeo Christian framework of tithing…. we’re in a time when talking about personal faith is challenging. Demonstrating your beliefs through action resonates with your community.”

You Give, We Give 2026

Ottawa architect Barry Hobin and his firm believe in giving back to the community year in and year out.

photo: metropolis studio

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It is much like lighting a votive candle — choose a ribbon and as you tie it on, hold in your heart an intention, a person or a situation; as the ribbons cover the net, our prayers become contemplative art.

The Cathedral is open from 9 am to 3 pm, Monday to Thursday, and 9 am to noon on Friday, and all are most welcome to come in and spend time in the sacred space.

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Archdeacon Linda Hill has been appointed as Archdeacon of the Deanery of West Quebec.

The Venerable Linda Hill presided at the Celebration of New Ministry for the Parish of the Holy Spirit/ Paroisse du Saint-Esprit that took place on April 12, 2026 at St Mary Magdalene Church in Chelsea on the occasion of three former parishes in West Quebec joining together as one new parish. The Rev. Canon Catherine Ascah preached the sermon. The Rev. Dr. Caz Ducros as the Incumbent and Rev. Dr. Sony Jabouin, as the Associate Incumbent will serve the new parish. 

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In honour of the occasion and the contributions Anglican parishes and Community Ministries make to the City of Ottawa, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe officially proclaimed April 7, 2026, Anglican Diocese of Ottawa Historical Day.

The mayor unfortunately had to cancel plans to visit Ascension House to present the framed proclamation as well as plans to meet Bishop-elect Kathryn Otley at his City Hall office to present the proclamation, but members of his staff presented it to her.

It reads:

WHEREAS, the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa marks its 130th anniversary on April 7, 2026, having been established in 1896, and

WHEREAS, the Diocese supports local churches, nurtures faith and, through its community ministries, serves the people in need throughout Ottawa and the surrounding region, and

WHEREAS, the Diocese contributes to the social, spiritual, and civic life of the City of Ottawa, strengthening communities and fostering inclusion, and

WHEREAS, the Diocese celebrates the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women in the Anglican Church of Canada and gives thanks for the election of its first female bishop, Kathryn Otley,

THEREFORE, I, Mark Sutcliffe, Mayor of the City of Ottawa, do hereby proclaim April 7, 2026 as the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa Historical Day in Ottawa.

Staff gathered with the bishop-elect for a brief celebration and cake at Ascension House that afternoon.

Ascension House and Cathedral staff:

Front row (left to right): Carole Breton, director of Communications and Development; Executive Archdeacon Linda Hill; Bishop-elect Kathryn Otley (standing centre); Emily Dobson, Human Resources officer; Shaylene Tompkins, administrative assistant

Second row: Marcela Hurtado, development officer; Elizabeth Taylor, Archives newsletter editor; Ishita Ghose, case manager Refugee Ministry Office; Heidi Pizzuto, executive assistant to the bishop; Sandra Purdy, accountant; Meg Stewart, digital records archivist; Reem Abu-Afieh, case manager Refugee Ministry Office; Amy Elliott, administrative assistant, Property and Asset Management

Back row: Glenn Lockwood, Diocesan archivist; Nicholas Galambos, Cathedral director of operations; the Rev. Canon Doug Richards, rector at Christ Church Cathedral; James Calkin, Cathedral music director; Wanita Jerusalimeic, Cathedral office coordinator; Bill Gilbert, accountant; Joel Prentice, Property and Asset Management director; Dean Beth Bretzlaff; the Rev. Victoria Scott, director general of Community Ministries; Paul Lex director of Human Resources

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