A Presbyterian minister at Perth, the Rev. William Bell, in his 1824 book Hints to Emigrants stated: “The church of England claims an establishment here and meets with a decided preference from the members of government.” While this was certainly the aim of Archdeacon John Strachan at York (Toronto), and although Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Colborne endowed a number of rectories in the 1830s (local examples being at Franktown and Carleton Place), by and large the number of Anglican clergy and churches fell behind various other denominations during the first half of the nineteenth century.

So, although the Westmeath area was visited as early as the 1820s by Governor General Dalhousie (who favoured the Church of Scotland) and his retinue, it was not until the end of the century that Anglicans managed to build a house of worship on this remote frontier across the Ottawa River from the Province of Quebec. As early as 1855, Henry Bromley of Westmeath was enlisted as a pillar of the church by the Rev. E.H.M. Baker in the larger Pembroke vicinity.

Westmeath is first mentioned as an outstation of the Mission of Beachburg in 1869, but the going proved tough on the Calumet Island frontier in that generation, and it was removed from the list of stations in that mission from 1877 to 1879. In 1881, the Mission of Beachburg was dissolved, and Westmeath seems not to have received any services from an Anglican clergyman until 1884 when the Mission of Beachburg was recreated. Hope for a new beginning was planted in 1897 when Thomas Monsel donated the site for an Anglican house of worship.

A church of faultless lines was built of local grey limestone at Westmeath in 1898, doubtless partly subsidized by the still-new Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, and Saint Mary’s Church was duly consecrated by Bishop Charles Hamilton on 8 January 1899. Had the church been built half a century earlier, it seems likely that its name would have been selected from eight or so favoured Anglican choices: Christ Church, Saint James, Saint John’s, Saint Paul’s, Saint George’s, Saint Thomas’s, Trinity and Holy Trinity.

If the choice of the name of Saint Mary’s was chosen by the bishop over the objections of the church, at the time it was said to be a scandal that one week after the new house of worship was consecrated, it was practically deserted because parishioners refused to attend services. That did not last, but the years of struggle were by no means over. Half a century later, from 1944 to 1946 the Mission of Beachburg was an outstation of the Parish of Cobden. By 1968, Westmeath was an outstation of the Parish of Beachburg-Cobden. Saint Mary’s Church, Westmeath celebrated a century of worship on 13 December 1998. In the 2010s, Bishop John H. Chapman secularized this house of worship.

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

The post Saint Mary’s Church, Westmeath — Deanery of the Northwest appeared first on Perspective.

“It’s important for you to know, and for those who are listening online across our country, that our cathedral in the nation’s capital has one of the strongest youth ministries in the Anglican Church of Canada between its two choirs. Upwards of 40 and sometimes 50 kids weekly gather to sing together, to sing scripture, to grow in their stature as the children of God.” It’s a wonderful ministry, he added.

The choirs have plans to travel to the U.K. next year and to sing at Westminster Abbey in London in 2027.

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Editor’s Note: Bishop Andrew Asbil of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto led a Canadian group on a pilgrimage with the Friends of Sabeel Liberation Theology Centre in East Jerusalem in late November. The Friends of Sabeel is an international and ecumenical response to the call of Palestinian Christians for solidarity.  “Happening Now in Palestine” gathers daily reflections by some members of the group – “stories, moments and insights that invite us to listen, learn and pray alongside those who travelled.”

The Rev. Dr. Christopher Brittain, Dean of Divinity at Trinity College in Toronto, was appointed in 2025 as Canon Theologian for the Anglican Diocese in Ottawa. After taking part in the pilgrimage, he shared this reflection, and he and the diocese graciously granted Perspective permission to reprint it.

The entire series can be accessed on the Anglican Diocese of Toronto website: https://www.toronto.anglican.ca/happening-now-in-palestine/

The first full day of the [Toronto] diocesan delegation’s visit to the Holy Land began, fittingly, on the Mount of Olives, where we visited the Princess Basma Centre for Disabled Children. Run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, this amazing institution is dedicated to treating Palestinian children with disabilities. It also works intentionally to teach and empower parents to understand and better support such children. I was deeply moved and inspired by the experience.

“Basma” means “smile” in Arabic, and this facility was full of displays of joy: smiling children, smiling hospital staff and teachers, and smiling parents. While there, the delegation watched a video of a satellite program in Gaza that is run by the centre. In a small cardboard hut, a nurse and a therapist treat children with various disabilities in the context of what continues to be a war zone.

Watching this video, and hearing stories of how difficult it was for Palestinians living in the West Bank to access this care facility due to being denied the necessary entry pass for Jerusalem or due to checkpoints being closed, brought to my mind these words from the prophet Isaiah: “The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain” (Isaiah 11:8). The Princess Basma Centre offers one example of this image being lived out faithfully in a perilous context.

Later that afternoon, we travelled to West Jerusalem to meet with the biblical scholar and Jesuit priest David Neuhaus. Born in South Africa to a Jewish family, at the age of 15 Dr. Neuhaus was sent by his parents to a school in Jerusalem. He told us that, upon arrival, he saw that apartheid South Africa and Israeli society shared much in the way that significant portions of the population were treated as second-class citizens. Despite this impression, he became so attached to the region that he made it his home. After converting to Christianity and joining the Jesuits, he eventually settled at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem.

Our conversation with Dr. Neuhaus was challenging—not only due to his blunt description of the injustices imposed on Palestinians, but also because he highlighted ways Christianity is sometimes used to reinforce such acts. More than one of us sat up straight when he declared, “The Bible can be vicious poison.” His point was to emphasize the ways in which scripture is frequently used in narrow and self-serving ways to justify injustice and violence. His concern was particularly with how the Bible is employed as a weapon by some in the State of Israel to justify the displacement of Palestinians from their land.

Yet, even as Dr. Neuhaus criticized the treatment of Palestinians by the State of Israel and by the aggressive settler movement in the West Bank, he also acknowledged that “anti-Semitism is real.” That this terrible reality continues to fuel the crisis situation in Palestine is tragically poignant in the wake of the news of the [Dec. 14] attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia.

When asked where he sees signs of hope, Dr. Neuhaus soberly suggested there were few positive signs for the future in the Holy Land. Instead, he finds encouragement by looking to the past: “It’s not always been like this.” He reminded us that until around 1936, Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land lived as neighbours and in peace. Remembering that the present conflicts and atrocities don’t define what is possible in Palestine and Israel, he suggested, can nurture a prophetic imagination.

These words echoed what one of the leaders of Sabeel, the organization hosting our visit, shared with us. He suggested that faith in the empty tomb is not something that encourages us to pray, “Lord, Lord, great are my problems!” Instead, we are called to pray, “Problems, problems, great is our God.”

Although this was only the delegation’s first day of encountering the struggles of Palestinians in the region, it was already clear to everyone in our group that we were going to be deeply impacted by what we were witnessing. Later that evening, this realization began to sink in as we were walking through the Christian Quarter of the Old City. Some in the group decided to get a small tattoo on their arm to mark this profound moment in our lives. Whether it was visible or not, we had already recognized that this trip was going to change us permanently.

The post Looking to the past for a vision of peace in the Holy Land appeared first on Perspective.

The legacy of slavery haunted Blacks in Canada, as their immigration here was proscribed in the early 20th century, and “science” harnessed to prove that hierarchical relationships were natural and right. This led to widespread segregating of Black citizens, whether in theatres or hotels into the 1940s. As late as the inter-war period, Blacks were concentrated in low wage corners of the economy: men as waiters, janitors, barbers and labourers, and women as domestic servants, laundresses and waitresses. The federal government permitted racial restriction in its hiring and promotion policies.

By 1940, most Blacks were born here. Elsewhere in Canada, Blacks were organizing, protesting limitations on employment and where they could socialize. The revelation of Nazi atrocities at the end of the Second World War produced a major shift in attitude. This led to new expressions of international opinion through the United Nations charters to create a more liberal intellectual climate. Researchers were discrediting the claims of “scientific” racism. The federal Bill of Rights in 1960 refuted personal limitations by reason of race, religion or sex.

In 1962, Ontario consolidated its anti-discrimination legislation in a code, to be implemented by a Human Rights Commission with a mandate to promote equal opportunity as well as to administer existing laws accordingly. In 1962, new Canadian immigration regulations made individual skills the chief criterion for admission and ended race or national origin as reasons for exclusion. Further regulations in 1967 established a “points” system, whereby all who accumulated sufficient points were automatically admitted to Canada.

The effect was immediate in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa. With artificial barriers removed, highly qualified applicants from Asia, Africa and the Caribbean flocked to Canada. West Indians so swelled Ottawa’s Anglican population that in 1985 Christ Church Cathedral was twinned with Saint George’s Cathedral in Georgetown, Guyana. A significant number of Anglicans among the new arrivals led to pressure for more Blacks to be ordained. Twenty years after Blair Dixon became a priest, (the year the cathedrals were twinned), The Rev. Frederick December (1912-2004), originally from Agricola, Guyana, came to serve in the Diocese of Ottawa.

The struggle over race relations in the United States from mid-century, including the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Junior in 1968, rivetted attention north of the border. Violence visited on peaceful non-violent Blacks demanding American civil rights was one side of the news reports, while Black achievements in sports, music and various mainstream fields of endeavour spoke of hard-won achievements.

The improving climate for Blacks in Canada contrasted with the apartheid policies of the government of South Africa, another country in the British Commonwealth.  The attention of Anglicans in the Diocese of Ottawa was drawn to the words of a Black cleric—and eventual Nobel laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In his polemics, he wrote against the racist regime:

No matter how long and how repressive this unjust and undemocratic rule turns out to be, the urge for freedom remains as a subversive element threatening the overthrow of rigid repression. The tyrant is on a road to nowhere even though he may survive for an unconscionably long time and even though he may turn his country into a huge prison riddled with informers.

These words of hope eventually brought South African apartheid to an end, and it did so by encompassing the goal of “Truth and Reconciliation”—a phrase that eventually moved Canadians to confront their sordid history with Indigenous inhabitants.

Another 20 years would pass by after the reception of the Rev. Fred December before a number of Blacks were ordained Anglican clergy in the Diocese of Ottawa. They included receiving the Rev. Manassé Maniragaba (2007), the Rev. Naomi Kabugi (2008), the Rev. George Kwari (2008), ordaining the Rev. Hilary Murray (2012), receiving the Rev. Nash Smith (2014), ordaining Deacon Elizabeth December (2015), receiving the Rev. E. Julian Campbell (2019), the Rev. Felix Longdon (2023), and the Rev. Dr. Sony Jabouin (2025).

Despite growing numbers of Black clergy, the Rev. Julian Campbell in 2022 wrote about the longstanding negative impact of colonialism. Although slavery was abolished in his native Bahamas in 1838, Campbell noted how Blacks affected a British accent, and they were not allowed to serve at royal functions until the late 1960s. Plantation owners became dominant, possessed land, and owned Black bodies. Blacks suffered from misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia and colouration long after. Under slavery, British people saw money flowing into their coffers without witnessing the price in blood paid by Blacks in the West Indies.

Forgiveness, concluded Campbell, doesn’t mean forgetting the past. Today, as anti-Black bigotry again is stoked in the United States, note William Faulkner’s warning: “The past isn’t dead.  It isn’t even past.”

Based on the writing of James W. St.G. Walker and The Rev. E. Julian Campbell

The post Black Anglicans in the Diocese of Ottawa, 1978-2026 appeared first on Perspective.

Ron Brophy, co-chair of the Contextual Mission sub-committee, outlined the application process at Synod last fall. “You may have great ideas for launching new ministry or building new worshipping communities, but they’re beyond your parish budget, or your parish’s context has changed over time. Your parish council has identified a great way to reconnect or re-engage with your local neighbourhood, but you just don’t have the means to do that. If this describes your situation, then you should think about a Future Fund grant. You can apply for up to $10,000, and you don’t have to match any portion of those funds.”

Information is available on the diocesan website.

Click on:

► Resources for Parishes

► Contextual Mission

► Future Fund

Applications are accepted twice per year.

Application deadlines are March 15 and November 1.

Archdeacon Mark Whittall, co-chair of the subcommittee, also encouraged parishes to apply, noting that the application process is logical and easy to follow, and responses from the review committee are quick. Reports on projects are required as follow-up.

Check the Future Fund page on the diocesan website for more detail.

The post March 2026 Future Fund deadline coming soon…. appeared first on Perspective.

“Back in 2018, prior to the COVID pandemic, people became aware of a different epidemic of loneliness. And the members of our congregation, working in partnership with Canon Catherine Ascah and with many in the neighbourhood, worked on the question of ‘how do we answer the epidemic of loneliness?’ And Games Night was born.”

He described the atmosphere of hearing the tick-tack sound of discs hitting pegs and landing in the holes on wooden crockinole boards and interspersed with the flip-flop sounds of cards being played and shuffled, and the sounds of people having fun together.

“On the first Friday of each month, the parish hall is available to parishioners and guests to participate in any number of games. Games that they might bring with them, card games, board games, table games, even shuffleboard if they can draw it on a floor themselves. There’s even food provided and refreshments. Nobody has to leave because they’re hungry,” Brauer said.

“Over time, it was observed that these events were achieving the initial goal of connection and relationship with community building among congregants. It was also observed that community and relationships were being built with non-congregants. The guests of church members who were accepting invitations to join in. The parish leadership, the council and corporation, and the congregation as a whole have been encouraged by the positive impacts of Games Night. And so, we sought support from the Future Fund Grant, and we were honoured to receive that support.”

Play is widely known to be essential to human development and well -being, Brauer said, but “it is often overlooked by churches and social organizations that seek to serve those who experience deprivation and poverty.” While the church might overlook it, God does not, he said, quoting a few passages from Scripture. “Zechariah 8: The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. Ecclesiastes 3, “For everything there is a season, including a time to laugh and a time to dance. Matthew, “Jesus says, let the little children come to me for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

“Play is central to who we are,” Brauer said. “So, this fund isn’t just a fund to get us working harder. It’s not just a fund to get us to do the right things. It is a fund to let us play. But not just us. To be able to play with those who may not have the chance to play on their own. For those whose situations in life are so awkward and so complex that the idea of even having access to play is unthinkable. And so, with this grant from the Future Fund, we are able not only to continue that tick tack of fellowship and the shuffle sound of friendship and fun and communion, but also to extend and expand the soundtrack of godly playfulness in a context of isolation, loneliness and deprivation.”

Brauer noted that Smiths Falls is a town that is counted by many as one of the poorest in Ontario with reports of 25 % food insecurity, 20 % social assistance, making the week possible. “With this grant, Games Night can grow to include movie night, as we are able to purchase better equipment and pay for film licenses. With this grant, Games Night can grow by printing invitations that can reach our friends and neighbors further beyond our pews. With this grant, Games Night can grow by making available new games, games we wouldn’t have ever thought possible as new friends join us and bring with them their desires for hope and play in community with us.”

The grant will also make it possible for the parish to buy coffee makers, he said. “Coffee makers would be now a gift to add caffeine to our communion,” he said wryly. It would also make it possible to expand the program to happen every week, not just once a month “so that new expressions of playfulness and fellowship can be enjoyed by so many,” he added, thanking the diocese once again for its support.

The post Let more games begin … at St. John’s in Smiths Falls appeared first on Perspective.

Sharing the story of The Gathering, as it has come to be known, with members of Synod last fall, the Rev. John Holgate, incumbent of St. James, said that contextual mission involves asking the question: “How is God calling us to proclaim the good news in a way that is shaped by the realities and concerns of our current context, our time and our place?” He described Manotick as a former village that has become a sort of far suburb of Ottawa. In 2023, in the wake of the pandemic, people were still nervous about public gatherings, sometimes still wearing masks.

The idea for encouraging people to start getting together again began with the Rev. Bill Byers, a retired priest of the diocese, who is the honorary assistant at St. James. “It really struck me about how many people felt isolated and were not coming out to things… We had been a community that got together, often several times in the week, and we weren’t doing that anymore. I was also widowed, and as a result I was feeling the same sort of thing,” he told Perspective. “I thought if we could get together for the whole purpose of just being together for food and fun and fellowship … and have no other ulterior motive than just simply to be hospitable and enjoy each other’s presence.”

Byers suggested it and the parish liked the idea. He led the way to create a monthly gathering with a meal, entertainment and fellowship.  The parish agreed to underwrite the costs and to treat the event as an outreach effort. They spread the word primarily through the church’s channels and hoped for 40 people to attend. Seventy-five registered.

The Gathering is now in its third year with steady attendance of 85 to 100 people, about 35% of whom are non-parishioners. It not only draws the neighbours, but some people drive from Barrhaven and Bells Corners. “Apparently some sort of need is being met,” Holgate said. “We have a lot of fun themes… We celebrate fall, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day and Easter. We have a summer picnic. Interestingly, I sometimes hear that our themed events are the only opportunity that some attendees have to observe those holidays or those seasons.”

The Gathering continues to grow. Holgate said that the Christmas event in December was their largest attendance yet, and the parish hall was filled to capacity.

It’s a simple formula, Holgate said. “You get a hearty lunch, you get entertainment, which is usually musical, Eastern Ontario talent. We pay the talent. It’s free to attend. We do accept free will donations. And it happens every month on a consistent day.

“During the meal, I eat on the fly, wandering around the tables, just saying hello to people. We don’t do any sort of overt evangelization. The only church-related things we ever do are saying grace before the meal and occasionally pushing baked goods from the ACW. But at nearly every event, … at least one person brings up some kind of pastoral ministry-related concern. As I wander, I hear … about the people who come for respite care away from looking after their spouse at home, or the people who bring their unwell spouse with them for what is sometimes a once-monthly outing for that person. People who are lonely while living alone, even those who are living in a retirement home. They’re alone in a community of 150 people in the same building, people who are fresh out of hospital or who are about to go in….Some become new parishioners,” he said.

It’s a self-sustaining ministry, Holgate added. Byers organized three teams do the cooking, as well as set up and tear down teams. “We have the entertainment finding person or the impresario… who actually … belongs to the Catholic church in town. Only one event ever has lost money … and that was during an ice storm….We have the rarest of programs, an outreach ministry that makes money, even though that isn’t the goal,” Holgate said.

“How can we tell that we’re building community? …The noise level is incredible. The feeling is great. People moving from table to table to say hello to people they haven’t seen in a month, sometimes in a year. We surveyed people a year ago to ask what they would like to change about the gathering. The overwhelming response was to change nothing, leave it alone, because it’s so simple — food, fun, fellowship.”

Building new worshipping communities: the challenge

At diocesan Synod last fall, Archdeacon Mark Whittall reminded everyone of “the vision that we set out for ourselves at Synod 2023: We will be a spirit-led church equipped for contextual mission. And at that time, we gave ourselves two goals. First, that by 2028, every parish in our diocese will be engaged in a new or renewed contextual mission initiative. And second, that by the 135th anniversary of our Diocese, which is in 2032, we will have created 35 new worshipping communities.”

The Contextual Mission Subcommittee, which Whittall co-chairs, provides parishes with resources to support contextual mission. “We offer you resources for prayer, courses for both leaders, individuals, and for parishes, parish groups, facilitation and coaching, a guide to help you with your discernment, and even cold, hard cash — Future Fund grants to fund your initiatives.”

Although the goals might seem challenging or even daunting, Anglicans have a deep history of serving their communities, and Whittall noted that the diocesan church was well on its way to meeting those goals. “We have initiated intentional communities, innovative worship services, forest church, meal programs, jazz vespers, playgroups, wish lists, milk bag mats, and the list goes on.”

The post St. James’ monthly Gathering is a hit in Manotick appeared first on Perspective.

Charged by two durable solar panels installed on the roof of a clinic, the hardy and portable solar suitcase unit opens to reveal a high-capacity lithium battery, four high powered medical LED lights, two chargeable head lamps, a foetal doppler, USB and 12V charging ports, and rechargeable batteries with charger. These provide medical attendants with the tools they need to ensure every birth is illuminated, and phones are charged to make emergency referrals, especially at night.

Solar suitcases were the subject of a presentation at St. Bartholomew, Rockcliffe by Alongside Hope Board member, Bob Orr, at a “soup supper” followed by choral Evensong. Visitors to St. Bartholomew’s Christmas bazaar in November were able to see a solar suitcase and hear accounts of how it had improved maternal health care.

In October, Will Postma, executive director of Alongside Hope, visited parishes in Ottawa with a solar suitcase to demonstrate how they work.  At St. Helen’s, Orleans, he explained how they include training materials for local practitioners and information to install and maintain the equipment.  He described the immense difference the suitcases make in rural communities. Expectant mothers now know they can safely give birth in the dark and are more likely to seek health care.

Bart Dickinson, Alongside Hope’s planning, monitoring & evaluation coordinator, attended an event at St. James, Carleton Place, to explain how midwives could attend mothers and provide safe deliveries at all hours using the equipment each suitcase contains. Felice Parthun, a previous practicing Canadian midwife who attended the presentation, commented on how useful such an innovation could be.

Other local parishes chose to support this project through their outreach budgets.  Alongside Hope’s Wild Ride campaign also benefitted the Solar Suitcase project. This saw 23 teams and 56 people across Canada cycle, walk, swim, make blankets, or bake muffins. Their combined efforts nationwide raised $61,440 towards the total.

Across Canada, more than $321,000 was raised, including $150,000 in matching funds donated by a generous anonymous donor. As a result of efforts in Ottawa and across Canada, 49 nursing stations in Mozambique and Madagascar are now able to provide round the clock maternal health care to their community members.

The post Alongside Hope’s solar suitcase campaign brings light to mothers and babies appeared first on Perspective.

Tens of thousands of Canadians will take to the streets for CNOY with events taking place in 200 cities, towns, and communities across the country. By walking together in the chill of the night, participants will better understand the experience of being on the streets during a cold Canadian winter, while raising funds to aid the work of Cornerstone Housing for Women in providing much-needed support.

The family-friendly Westboro Village walk begins and ends at All Saints Anglican Church, located at 347 Richmond Road. Participants will walk a 2km or 5km route, can warm up with hot drinks at rest stops along the way, and will be able to celebrate their efforts together at the finish line. All those who raise over $150 (or $75 for youth) will also don CNOY toques as they face the cold night.

This is Cornerstone Housing for Women’s seventh year taking part in the Coldest Night of the Year, and they’re aiming to raise $100,000 for their work with people experiencing hunger, hurt, and homelessness in Ottawa. Organizers are expecting about 250 walkers from 50 teams.

“With the frigid temperatures we’ve had, this walk really brings home the importance of shelter and safe housing for women in our city,” said Cornerstone’s new executive director Anne Marie Hopkins. “This will be my first year walking in the Coldest Night of the Year, and one month out I can already feel the community spirit of our neighbours, friends, donors who want to make a difference in women’s lives. It always feels so incredible to see the way Cornerstone’s supporters show up for us. I’m ready to bundle up and make a difference on February 28th.”

Cornerstone Housing for Women has been serving Ottawa for 43 years, and the funds raised in the Coldest Night of the Year will benefit their clients in a time of the year known historically for low levels of giving.

For more information or to join the walk: https://en.cnoy.org/location/ottawawestboro

The post Coldest Night of the Year walk raises funds for Cornerstone Housing for Women appeared first on Perspective.