Bishop Shane Parker led the Holy Eucharist and was assisted by the Rev. Canon Catherine Ascah. Sterling Bennett provided the music for the service. 

The bishop’s homily began with thanks to St. John’s and the Diocesan Altar Guild. He reflected on the Queen’s death and how that was going to affect churches in the Diocese, including the Cathedral as they prepared for a memorial service for Her Majesty. He remarked on her strong witness of faith in Christ. 

Bishop Shane spoke of St. John’s celebration of the life and ministry of Edmund James Jack, priest and missionary to the Inuit. He mentioned the Diocese has the largest population of Inuit outside of the North. He also expressed his gratitude to all members of Altar Guilds in the diocese for our service.

 A short business meeting was held after the service. All vestments that the executive and Leslie Worden had on hand have found new homes. Sandra Clark, treasurer, presented her report.  When she asked for suggestions  for distribution of the free will offering, Altar Guild members voted to donate to the Carebridge Community Support, specifically for the affordable housing unit being built in Smiths Falls). 

Guest speaker Paul Bylington, a member of St. John’s Altar Guild, spoke on the theme of “In the Cross of Christ.” Paul had on display and spoke about the large collection of crosses that he had acquired from various countries. 

Following the meeting, members were treated to a wonderful lunch put on by St. John’s ACW.  We look forward to getting together again in 2023 when Christ Church Bells Corners will be our host.

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For many of us bells figure on Christmas cards.  Some of us may think of the familiar carol, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”  Indeed the first published piece of sheet music in Canada was an 1840 composition by the organist at Christ Church, Bytown, one F.H. Lehmann, entitled “The Merry Bells of England,” which alluded to the new bell then being installed in the tower newly built at the front of that house of worship.  Never mind that upriver one Hamnett Pinhey parodied this joyous winter piece of sheet music with a composition (to the same tune) entitled “the Merry Belles England.”  Be that as it may, our theme here is bells.

We cannot proceed before correcting an error in the March 2020 Crosstalk photo-feature.  There we stated this to be “the only Anglican church in the City of Ottawa with a carillon of eight bells in the upper tower on which hymns could be played.”  We went on to wonder if prime minister “Mackenzie King’s (who lived across the street) insistence on a carillon on Parliament Hill may well have been inspired by the one he heard playing at All Saints.”

That article caused a reader to come by and explain that a carillon is defined by the number of bells.  The Peace Tower carillon on Parliament Hill has 53 bells.  However, we were assured, the eight bells at All Saints are not a large enough number to comprise a carillon.  Instead they are known to those in the know as a chime.  What excuse could the Archivist offer for this oversight?  Was he perhaps spooked by learning from Bishop John Chapman that the ghost of Bishop Strachan is reputed to play the chimes in the tower of Trinity Church, Cornwall?

How do we excuse our ignorance?  Dictionaries are of no help in sorting things out.  

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines a carillon as: 

1.  A set of bells so hung and arranged as to be played upon either by hand or by machinery 

2. A melody played on the bells  

3.  An instrument imitating a peal of bells.

A chime is: 

2.  An apparatus for striking a set of bells so as to make them chime  

3.  Hence, a set of bells, so attuned as to chime when thus struck, or when slightly swung  

4.  The series of musical sounds thus produced.  

A peal is 

1.  The ringing of a bell as a call or summons  

2.  The ringing of a bell, or a set of bells; spec. a series of changes rung on a set of bells  

3.  A set of bells tuned to one another, a ring of bells. 

And finally, a ring is 

1.  A set or peal of (church) bells  

2.  A ringing sound or noise” but gives a helpful quote from Samuel Pepys’s diary: “Here is also a very find ring of six bells, and they mighty tuneable.

All Saints Church was built in 1899, financed by Sir Henry Newell Bate.  The original ring of five bells in its tower, as the inscription on this bell informs us, was made in memory of Catherine Bate who died soon after the church was finished.  A few years later three more bells were added to mark the anniversary of her wedding day.  As Sir Henry Newell Bate came the first chairman of the Federal District Commission (forerunner of today’s NCC) he would be pleased that All Saints after closing in 2015 is now a visitors centre for Prime Ministers’ Row.

The Archives collects parish registers, vestry reports, service registers, minutes of groups & committees, financial documents, property records (including cemeteries and architectural plans), insurance policies, letters, pew bulletins, photographs, paintings, scrapbooks, musical compositions, parish newsletters and unusual documents.

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Kissing ‘neath the mistletoe,

Out in the barn the cattle low,

It’s Christmas in the Valley.”

“Christmas in the Valley,” by Wayne Rostad.

Growing up as a child in West Quebec – back in the bygone days before emails and texting, when the telephone was still attached to the wall next to the fridge in our family kitchen – I have fond memories of watching my mother telephone my grandmother each week to remind her to tune her TV to channel 4 (CBC Ottawa) to watch Wayne Rostad’s, On the Road Again. The program was a folksy half-hour featuring portraits of quirky Canadians from across the country, hosted by Rostad, and my grandmother loved it! And, in the days before VCRs, let alone PVRs or streaming services, she would get very annoyed if we didn’t call her to remind her to change the channel to “watch Wayne” after she had finished watching Jeopardy!

I hadn’t thought about Wayne Rostad or that 1980s childhood memory of my mother standing in the kitchen telephoning my grandmother for years, until I arrived in Pembroke in 2018. Driving to my office one day that November, I noticed a sign: “Christmas in the Valley, with Wayne Rostad and Friends.” As it turns out, Wayne still comes up to Pembroke almost every year and plays to a sold-out Christmas concert at Festival Hall, raising thousands of dollars to support CHEO along the way. During the pandemic, the concert went virtual, proving that not even plague and pestilence can stop Ottawa Valley folks from singing about sleighbells, cattle barns, and mistletoe around the holidays. Rostad’s twangy Christmas anthem, which I’ve now sung with great affection more times than I can count, holds it all together.

The passage of time, at least for me, somehow seems to move just a little bit more slowly in the Ottawa Valley or perhaps in rural Canada in general. Either way, I’m ok with that, especially around the holidays. In fact, I’m more than ok with it; I need it. My soul needs life to slow down.

As a child I also remember the “rush” of going Christmas shopping at various malls in Ottawa, scurrying about from store to store with my mother, father, and sister as we tried to purchase gifts to put around the tree. This year, if I’m not careful, most of my Christmas shopping will be done from my iPhone and delivered straight to my door. Of course, as someone who lives two hours away from a major urban centre, it’s nice to now have access to products that I potentially can’t purchase locally, without the cost of having to burn fossil fuels to get to a department store. 

But I wonder: when my two children grow up, what will their memories of Christmas shopping look like? Will they remember intentionally taking time to get ready for Christmas with their family? Will they remember their parents taking time away from their paid work to buy a tree, some presents, and a turkey? Or will they remember their parents buying all those things on their smartphones and laptops, and setting up the traditional Christmas decorations in a hurry, in between sending the latest email and text message? 

Many a sermon has been preached on the need to “Keep Christ in Christmas.” Perhaps we need a sermon or two more to encourage us to, “Leave time for Christmas.” Amidst the hyperconnectivity of this postmodern world, where productivity has become an unholy idol, and wherein we are more tied to screens and devices in our pockets than ever before, we need to allow time and space to experience the beauty and mystery of the incarnation in all its grace and wonder. We need to intentionally allow time to connect with those whom we love and to hold them close, as Mary and Joseph hold the newborn Christ child close to their hearts. We need to experience the blessing of life slowing down.

Our very first Christmas in the Valley, my parents gave me the plastic illuminated Santa that sat on my family’s front porch when I was a boy. They had saved it in their basement for almost thirty years: a treasured memory of family Christmases gone by. This December, Santa will again greet me each night at my front door, reminding me as I enter to slow down and to cherish what lies within. May you too be blessed with moments that remind you to slow down and just enjoy. 

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The Rev. Tim Kehoe, a member of the SPMC team, began the discussion on Oct. 21, the first day of the Synod meeting, by describing the aims of the whole consultative process. “We set out together to address two urgent questions: What are the shapes of parish ministry that God is calling us to explore? And where is God calling us to be and where, or perhaps how, are we called to invest the resources that we have been entrusted with? 

“We are all stewards of those resources,” Kehoe reminded Synod members. “And the point is not simply that our parish ministry can survive. It’s that we’re called to take risks, to be creative, so that we can be shaping, under the influence of the Spirit, new things so that we might thrive. So the result is the three SPM proposals before the Synod, which are intended to strengthen, nurture and inspire our parish ministries on the ground, across every part of the diocese.”

Proposal 1

The Rev. Tim Kehoe and Barbara Gagné opened up the discussion of the first proposal. 

During the consultations, “We heard concerns about lack of clarity about what parish models are actually on the table and how they work. We heard concerns about long-term sustainability, volunteer fatigue, rising costs, but as well about the desire to collaborate better as a diocesan church in order to consolidate our energies and resources to be more effective, efficient and better stewards.”

They presented Proposal 1 in three parts based on the three types of action they involve: clarifying, consolidating; and collaboration and interdependence.

Clarifying the structures of parish ministry 

Proposal 1A asked:

That [before Synod 2023] diocesan bodies and staff, under the direction of the bishop, develop a guide to be approved by Diocesan Council, defining and confirming the structures of parish ministry and expectations related to their implementation: such as clergy deployment, scope of ministry, governance, administration, property management and finances 

Proposal 1B asked that Synod 

a) request a guide, authorized by the bishop, for leaders of parishes to help discern when the time is right to move into a different parish structure; and 

b) urge parish leaders who have discerned that the time is right to begin active conversations with the bishop and their territorial archdeacons, in consultation with parish members, with a view to effecting the desired changes as soon as possible; and that a report on concrete actions taken be presented to Synod in 2023.

Consolidating

“The idea of parish structures is not static. We don’t all remain in the same form forever. We heard that some parishes are actively on the path of discerning where their future structure lies. And others are asking themselves is now the time to start asking those questions,” Gagné explained. “Our conversations within our diocese identified a benefit of having tools and support to embark on those periods of change. There were also opportunities identified to learn from each other and incorporate those experiences from neighbouring parishes or others involved in like ministry.” 

Proposal 1C asks that staff and relevant diocesan bodies, under the guidance of the bishop, take action to stimulate innovation and collaboration between parishes, including a forum of clergy and lay leaders in order to share experiences and offer recommendations to the bishop and to Diocesan Council.

Collaboration and Interdependence

“We heard most emphatically about financial pressures, volunteer fatigue, and capacity issues. We heard as well of the desire to work collaboratively and to work smartly, doing what we need to do and making the most of our tools and resources,” said Gagné.

“These themes led to the recommendations which follow that focus on re-examining our sources of income and budgetary allocations. The need to examine processes was also fundamental to ensuring that we move forward organized with thought and purpose.  The motions which follow highlight the request for a review of financial processes like Parish Fair Share. It is also being recommended to reduce duplicated activity, take advantage of economies of scale where possible, take advantage of those who are best positioned to take on a function or an area of responsibility. Data collected should be that which drives our decision-making processes, be accurate, be easily identified and easy to report.

Proposal 1D asked that Diocesan Council strike a task force as soon as possible, with membership approved by the bishop, to conduct a review, involving input from parish leaders, of the current method of calculating Parish Fair Share, and that any recommended changes be brought to Synod 2023 for approval.

Proposal 1E asked that Synod approve the use of dividends from undesignated and bishop’s discretionary trusts held by our Diocese in the Consolidated Trust Fund for the purpose of contributing to the overall, shared costs of parish ministry.

The last part of Proposal 1, Gagné explained, looks at “where should functional responsibility lay for a particular program. Is it best placed with Ascension House, at a regional level, [or] within parishes? Should they be optional to parishes? How do we get the most out of our money? [Possibly with] Bulk purchases, vendor agreements for common services like landscaping or snow clearing. But,” she cautioned, “we always have to be cognizant as well that one size does not fit all. We are a very diverse type of diocese. We have urban centres and rural centres, and so some of these solutions may not work for everyone, but we need to look for them.

“We also need to address the tools. Do we have the tools for a 21st Century office? Like templates, have we accessed all of the technology that will best suit us?” Gagné mentioned  diocesan-wide, web-based financial systems, as an example. And do we know who has the skills that you may be looking for? That could be found in an enhancement of the human resource information system. These are just to name a few.”

Proposal 1F asked that staff, under the direction of the bishop and in consultation with relevant diocesan bodies, be tasked to develop plans to improve services and processes, including those identified below and that the plans include associated costing, implementation, and evaluation considerations, to be approved by Diocesan Council.

Property and asset management

• Standardization of rental licenses or leases
• Establishment of vendor lists and agreements for common services such as snow removal, landscaping and tradespeople.
• Central lists of all building inventory and maintenance and inspection reports
• Subject expertise to support development projects

Finance

• Diocesan-wide web-based financial system with better reporting
• Streamlined statistical returns process that reflects decision-based data requirements
• Accounting support
• Human resources
• Subject expertise and support in all search and recruitment processes as well as engagement contracts
• Enhance the Human Resources Information System to create a database of talent

General administration

• Maintain central lists of members of the diocese and other key data
• Arrange purchase agreements with major vendors at discounted rates, so parishes don’t have to find vendors or negotiate prices
• Identify other common functions that could be centralized or regionalized.

Before the vote, Archdeacon Brian Kauk encouraged members to approve the motion. “Please, I urge members of Synod to not only to vote for this but when it comes time to make this and all the other things… that we put not just staff time from Ascension House on to this, but that we embrace that we are the diocesan bodies that will make this happen and that this is a collective effort. If we do that and we have some clarity on structures, I think that would really kick some of these models into high gear.”

The motion carried.

Proposal 2

Introducing Proposal 2, Archdeacon Rhonda Waters said during the SPM consultations, two of the themes that emerged were the “twin challenges of volunteer burnout and a great desire to grow in ministry, to serve the communities around us, to nurture the faith of our own members and to strengthen our parishes in this time of change.”  There’s no way to magically “summon new volunteers into existence to run all of the ministries that we are dreaming about,” she acknowledged.  But she said, “We can ease that sense of being alone and under equipped by drawing on the strength of our diocesan church to connect people and parishes to the resources and experiences that are actually already at our disposal.”

Proposal 2 A – Parish Advancement

The Rev. Dr. Jon Martin introduced the second motion calling for the creation of a Parish Advancement program. “Drawing on our experience in the School for Parish Development Program and adapting those materials as well as others to be relevant and accessible to our diocesan context, we can begin to build a Parish Advancement program that will help parishes assess their current and contextual realities and adapt in ways that allow them to respond to the changing needs, he said, “Our Parish Advancement program would include several modules that address key areas such building trust and community; thinking strategically; assessing needs; managing change; and effective stewardship.” 

Motion 2A asked that a working group, appointed and guided by the bishop and accountable to Diocesan Council, be tasked to develop and implement a parish advancement program for consideration by Synod 2023, including provisions for how it will be evaluated.

Proposal 2B – Leadership Training

“Our ministry depends on strong lay leadership,” said Waters. “Over and over again, we heard requests for things like handbooks, resource manuals and training sessions to support those critical roles of warden, treasurer, administrator, parish councillor, head server… This motion seeks to develop useful, up-to-date, accessible training materials so that we all have all the information we need to do the work to which we are called. 

Motion 2B asked that the preparation of up-to-date resources and regular training sessions (using technology where possible) for parish leadership roles be undertaken by staff and relevant diocesan bodies, under the direction of the executive archdeacon, prior to Synod 2023.

Proposal 2C – Resource Pods

“There are many resources out there for us to find and to use whether you are developing a children’s ministry or adult education, supporting the particularities of rural ministry or inner city ministry, addressing food security or affordable housing in our communities, nurturing pastoral care of seniors or of teenagers,” said Martin. “We also know that it can feel like you are the only one doing this work in your neck of the woods, which is a recipe for burnout. 

“Resource pods aim to change that by gathering people together to learn from and support one another and to share what they have discovered with the rest of our diocese. For resource pods to be effective, they need to have a clear framework for how they will be formed, how they will function and how they will report back.”

Proposal 2C asked that a working group, appointed by the bishop and collaborating with staff and relevant diocesan bodies be tasked with the following responsibilities and presented to Diocesan Council by March 2023:

• Establish the process by which a resource pod is to be formed
• Create a template for the terms of reference to be used, including how they will be lead, supervised and monitored.
• Create an initial set of resource pods to test and refine the concept.
• Identify or create an ongoing structure of support for the development, maintenance, evaluation, and accountability of resource pods.
• Work with the Communications Panel and staff to develop a means for sharing materials or key findings developed by resource pods with the wider diocese.

All of the motions passed with broad support.

Proposal 3

Engagement with the world, new worshipping communities and contextual mission

“How is God calling us to proclaim the good news in our time and in our places?” This is the critical question which motivates our Shape of Parish Ministry proposal 3,” Archdeacon Mark Whittall said as he started the Synod discussions of the last proposal. “It’s a question that many of you asked during the SPM consultations. How do we engage with our neigbours?

“New communities can come together to express our faith in a whole variety of ways. These can range from the Messy Church services that are intended to engage children and their families, to the launch of new congregations such Epiphany as the result of an amalgamation in 1997 or the new congregation at St. Albans launched in 2011, pub churches, dinner churches, intentional communities…. This is a mission that invites innovation, creativity and risk-taking. 

“Why create new worshipping communities? There are good reasons to believe that creating these communities is an excellent way to foster the renewal of our diocese and our parishes, and to engage with people beyond our core membership, Here’s what the research says. New worshipping communities are better at reaching new generations, new residents and new demographics. Second: new worshipping communities will bring new ideas to our existing parish communities. They will serve as our R&D department in the diocese and act as agents of cultural change. New worshipping communities can be responsive and intentional about engaging with our regions’ changing demographics and increasing ethnic diversity. We need to engage with new people in new ways.”

In response to a question about whether these new initiatives could happen in rural parishes as well as urban ones, Bishop Shane Parker explained that “Contextual mission know no particular geographic location. We live in a multicultural country and every part of our diocese is diverse in its own way. … Contextual mission involves listening to a local story, wherever that is, and seeing the situations of people who are not part of our church. It involves learning how to listen to God as we listen to and see what is happening around us.”

Proposal 3A asked that Synod declare its commitment to the strategic priority of engagement with the world through developing new worshipping communities and contextual mission, and that a working group appointed by the bishop conduct one or two pilot projects in 2022 and prepare a detailed plan of action, including a time of intentional prayer and discernment, to be presented for adoption at Synod 2023. 

Proposal 3B asked that resource pods (as defined in Proposal 2) concerning new worshipping communities and contextual mission be created in April 2023, with the purpose of gathering and sharing knowledge in these areas.

Whittall introduced the last of the three motions acknowledging that some of these new initiatives would require funding, but that the Diocese has an existing fund which is currently not being drawn on.

Proposal 3C asked that the existing “Second Century Fund” held by the Diocese in the Consolidated Trust Fund be renamed the “Future Fund” and be dedicated to the funding of new worshipping communities and contextual mission, and that a proposal for how this fund is to be used and further developed be brought to Synod 2023. 

This third proposal generated the most excitement among Synod members. One speaker who expressed concern that these new initiatives would replace beloved traditional styles of worship was reassured that both new and old could co-exist. Most others spoke in favour of the motion. The Rev. Jonathan Askwith quoted someone in the June meetings who reviewed this proposal and recommended “putting a jet pack on it.” 

Irene Barbeau encouraged everyone  not to get “hung up on process or details,’ but to be open-minded and have faith in where the Spirit leads.“

In closing, the bishop said: “I am completely committed and determined to seeing the full implementation of everything we have declared we are going to do. And I am determined to do so in a manner that is consultative, that is respectful and that is attentive both to the Holy Spirit and to one another, and importantly, to the world around us where God already dwells and where we are called to serve.” 

The motion passed with broad support. 

Primate offers encouragement

Archbishop Linda Nicholls, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, was the invited guest speaker and offered four reflections over the two-day Synod.

She began her final remarks by recalling what it was like at the beginning of the pandemic. Here are some small excerpts: “We had established ways of being the church. We had ways of living in parishes…. COVID brought it to a crashing halt. And there were many at the time that COVID put us into lockdown who asked ‘Could the church survive?’… Because we were so used to gathering in-person that we couldn’t imagine anything else. And there lots of anxiety and fear…

“We had to go back to prayer…. We had to change how we did things… We had to listen to the voice of Jesus calling us to read the scriptures and discover that it says nothing in there about meeting on Sunday mornings. It says nothing about having to meet in particular buildings, at a particular place… And we had to discover afresh that we could be with God in new ways. It could be life-giving even as we mourned and grieved what we had lost….

“My sense of what you have done in these last two days is that you are at that moment …You have begun to discern this new life that is possible, that change is possible. You are willing to take a risk.

“I did still hear some of the anxiety that has been expressed. There’s still some fears. What will be lost? What might we have to let go of?…That can and may bring conflict, … but I also heard trust, deep trust in the discernment that has gone on already through prayer, through consultation, through study, through listening to one another deeply … I hope and pray that you will hang on to that consultative process and that trust will allow you to be vulnerable with one another about the things you are afraid of. We often tend to hide those things but it is in sharing them that we discover that we can support and care and grieve together.”    

— Leigh Anne Williams

Read reflections from young adult observers at Synod in January’s Crosstalk.

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Eight paintings were on offer, each one donated by a local artist, all of whom lived in Stittsville except for one person from Ottawa. The auction was open to the general public, not just the  parishioners of St. Thomas.  All the themes were nature-inspired with the idea of supporting Indigenous people’s connection to the land.

When Robin Tilgner, one of the bidders, was asked why she wanted to take part in the auction, she replied that she “was delighted to see what the money was going to and getting a lovely thing in return was wonderful!”

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St. Thomas Silver Creek has served the small rural community of Anglicans for almost 150 years. Services are held twice a year, at Christmas and at Easter, as well as on occasions when clergy can be found to conduct a service. The most recent service was held on August 24, 2022, and was well attended as worshippers could finally gather in person.  

Local support for the chapel has helped ensure its continued existence. Mr. Dan Berndt has been tending the charming chapel garden and Mr. Royden Brown is the chapel steward. Royden wished “to thank the Diocese of Ottawa for the support navigating through this process [the erection of the plaques] and look[s] forward to a renewed relationship with the municipality….especially [as this is] the only church within their boundaries”.   

The unveiling was attended by representatives of the municipality, local residents, as well as the Ven. Eric Morin, Archdeacon of West Quebec; M. Michel Prévost, president of the Société d’histoire de l’Outaouais; Mme Marie-France Bertrand, cultural development officer for the MRC of Papineau; Meriel Beament Bradford, diocesan representative on the Outaouais advisory table for the Conseil du patrimoine religieux du Québec (CPRQ). The mayor, M. Pierre Renaud, the municipal Heritage Committee and its chair, councillor Guylaine Ouellet, helped spearhead the effort to recognise this local historical jewel.

The CPRQ is a Quebec government agency which promotes the preservation and transformation of religious heritage buildings and cemeteries, through funding, information sessions and special events such as les Journées du patrimoine religieux, held each September. Several churches in the Deanery of West Quebec, including Christ Church Aylmer and St Paul’s Shawville, have benefitted from the CPRQ funding programs. 

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In Perth, the St James the Apostle outreach team got a commitment from the winning candidate for mayor to sell a parcel of land for one dollar to build affordable housing.

At Christ Church Bells Corners, where the Hollyer House project is in the final stages of construction, a working relationship was established with a winning candidate for city council, auguring well for community relations in the future.

St George’s church South Alice in the Parish of the Valley was able to bring 50 residents of the rural community together with its “Election Café” that provided one-on-one opportunities for voters to discuss issues with candidates for mayor and reeve of Laurentian Valley municipality.

In Perth, the availability of town land has been a stumbling block in Caring Community Housing Initiative Perth’s (CCHIP) drive to develop affordable housing. St James had previously established a steering committee to guide the project.

St James circulated the Diocese’s call to action throughout the parish and encouraged attendance at an all-candidates meeting. 

St James rector, the Rev. Canon Kenneth Davis, met with mayoralty candidate Judy Brown who identified a piece of serviced town land, zoned for multi-unit housing that had a hold on it. She undertook to introduce a motion to council to lift the restriction and make the land available to the CCHIP project without development charges for a dollar.

As a result, the project is moving ahead with the launch of a website to support a fundraising campaign. The St James team is working with the new mayor and council, confident of success.

Besides distributing questions for candidates in a weekly e-mailout the parishioners Christ Church Bells Corners reached out to candidates for election in College Ward, including winner Laine Johnson who has a strong background in affordable housing. Having an informed and supportive city councillor can only be advantageous as the project moves through final stages of construction. 

Supply and labour issues have delayed opening of the building that will have 35 housing units and community services from December until next spring. The diocesan fundraising is closing in on $1million towards its goal of $1.6 million.

The mission statement of St George’s South Alice, a small but active part of the Parish of the Valley, is “Building Community through Food, Friendship and Faith.” 

Volunteer Wanda Hilts says the parish saw an opportunity during the election campaign to give meaning to its mission statement with the all-candidates election café at the Alice and Fraser Recreation Centre.

The biggest issue appeared to be municipal regulations that prevent severing land for sale that is zoned residential. Older landowners may look to sell a portion of land to help support them in retirement. When land is sold it is usually used for housing purposes. In this rural context, Official Plan regulations prevent additional housing from being built.

Feedback from both candidates and voters was positive. Candidates said it was a good opportunity to explore real concerns of voters. Voters similarly found the café provided a means to get to know the candidates.  By all accounts, it was better attended than a Chamber of Commerce all-candidates meeting.  Perhaps this is a format that could be applied more broadly.

While these examples of Anglican outreach differ in scope they have in common that they all made an impact and a difference in their communities. And they illustrate the value of the maxim that it is always better to get to know your elected representatives before they are elected and before you may need their attention and their help.

David Humphreys is a member of the diocesan Homelessness and Affordable Housing Working Group

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To encourage more people to leave bequests in their wills, Cornerstone is sponsoring workshops to raise awareness of their value and the means to implement them. Archdeacon Chris Dunn, whose parish of All Saints Westboro was also a recent beneficiary, says there is a take-away for Anglicans: There are many worthwhile charities out there, but as Anglicans let’s remember the work of our own charities and their need for support. 

Here’s how bequests from Shirley and Frank Taylor and Janet McInnes are continuing their legacies of caring.

Shirley and Frank Taylor

Shirley and Frank Taylor made the parish of All Saints Westboro their family for more than 20 years until their deaths in 2016 and 2020.

In their wills, Shirley and Frank left a bequest of $50,000 to Cornerstone Housing for Women and another of the same amount to the day program at Centre 454. 

Archdeacon Chris Dunn, rector of All Saints at the time, says the Taylors were always very engaged and concerned parishioners. They also left a bequest to the parish which will help support its ministries, including the Westboro Region Food Bank, as well as infrastructure.

Many of their friends were fellow parishioners, including Peter Nicoll and his wife, Marci Taylor (no relation). Before coming to Canada to work with L’Arche, the charity for people with intellectual disabilities, Marci Taylor had been advisor to the Governor of Indiana on homelessness. 

She and Shirley became close friends and talked often about homelessness and women’s concerns. Shirley and Frank became ardent supporters of Cornerstone and Centre 454.   

“They were wonderful people,” Archdeacon Dunn says. ‘They saw the parish as a family and the family gathered around them when they died.” 

Both Rachel Robinson, executive director of Centre 454 and the other day programs, and Amber Bramer, director of communications and fundraising for Cornerstone, agree that the respective bequests will have a significant impact. 

They cite escalating costs for food and supplies and the increased demand for their services coming out of the pandemic. Bramer says the Cornerstone shelter is full and has been forced to turn away as many 40 women a day.

Janet McInnes

Janet McInnes had personal experience with overcoming adversity, experience that she practised in the service of others as executive director of The Well. 

When she joined The Well in the mid-‘90s she had faced a difficult childhood and the loss of her husband at a tragically young age. 

“The tenacity she had in her life was to turn it around,” her daughter Shawna-Rose says. “You can be faced with adversity and fear and you can turn it around with the right community support.”

Patricia Connolly, who shared executive director duties with Janet for three years before Patricia retired and Janet took over, says Janet “was one of the most generous women I’ve ever met.”

Her spirit and her generosity live on at The Well through a bequest of $50,000, the largest The Well has received.

“Janet’s commitment and devotion to social justice, and in particular to the women of The Well, was remarkable,” the Rev. Canon Dr. PJ Hobbs, director general of Community Ministries, says.  “It is a testament to her that she thought to remember The Well in her will.”

Shawna-Rose says her mother was always committed to helping others. “It encompassed not just her work but all of us, her family.  I hope this will encourage others to give back as well for those who need it.”

Patricia Connolly says Janet’s compassion and strong desire for social justice embraced the word, ministry. “She worked diligently for and with a community of women who trusted her enough to share their life journeys with her. Many lived on the edge of homelessness and helplessness and Janet strived to help them overcome the barriers that kept them from reaching their true potential…”

Darlene Carew, senior program support worker and long-time friend, was part of the team that took over the direction after Janet, diagnosed with cancer, was forced to retire.  “She absolutely loved The Well and she was a really good leader.”

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“Kudos to our community,” Cornerstone’s executive director Sarah Davis told Crosstalk, explaining that the call to help cover the expenses of restoring the Booth Street building after the fire was received with broad support from the community. “We were promoted by a number of radio shows. Sam Laprade has always been a really great supporter of Cornerstone, and she had us on her show. I had the opportunity to speak about the great news [that renovations were done] a couple of times, including on CTV,” Davis said. “Some of our long-time donors really stepped up yet again. It’s just Ottawa, our Cornerstone community, the diocese, everyone has really supported us to get the women home.”

It’s a happy ending to an incident that was a blow to Cornerstone during a difficult year when its emergency shelter had to be relocated during renovations and when women in its shelter suffered through the “Freedom Convoy” occupation of downtown Ottawa.

The Booth Street Housing Residence is home to 42 women and gender-diverse people. The residence provides a permanent, affordable home with 24-hour staff support to women over the age of 50 and to women who have complex mental health, mobility challenges, trauma, or substance use disorders. During the summer, residents were unexpectedly uprooted after a fire in one of the rooms and the effort to put it out led to extensive water and mold damage throughout the building.

“Honestly, it was shocking when we were told we had to move out,” said Ashley Jordan, senior program manager of the Booth Residence explained in a statement about the impact of the fire.. “The residents have been through so much over the last few years. For a lot of them this is the first time they’ve ever had a home. Knowing they were being ripped away from that was really difficult.”

They spent two and a half months in a sports facility while their residence was restored. “It was far from ideal,” said the Rev. Canon Dr. Peter John Hobbs, the director general of the Community Ministries told the annual Synod gathering of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa on Oct. 21. He added that he was pleased to announce that the women were moving back home that very afternoon. 

Cornerstone staff turned the moving day into a welcome home party. “We had balloons, decorations. We really wanted to celebrate it, and not to be in the continued feeling of loss that we’ve had through COVID and through all of the different moves that our organization has gone through,” said Davis. “Really, it was a celebration of coming home and being all together again.

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