The post Clergy news — June 2026 appeared first on Perspective.

There’s More Here Than You Think There Is!  Artist Mary Pratt was renowned for her paintings whose subject matter focused on women’s work. In an interview, when asked about one painting of empty eggshells, she responded enigmatically, “Love me!  Love Me! There’s more here than you think there is!” In other words, look carefully.

We could say much the same about Saint Bede’s Church, Nolan’s Corners. It is shown here early in the 21st century, long after an addition was made a generation ago. At first glance, Saint Bede’s doesn’t seem to amount to much. It seems to be a very simple building. It certainly was small when built, being no larger than the red brick one room school nearby. Like it, it was built unassumingly of red brick. It was aligned with the forced road that ran past the front door, with no attempt at having its congregation face toward Jerusalem during their devotions.

There isn’t even any mystery as to the age of Saint Bede’s Church, as shown by the year 1886 on the date stone at the top of the narthex gable—a most unusual location, suggesting that it was altogether a last-minute notion to incorporate it. The side windows of Saint Bede’s Church did not have so much as a trace of stained glass in them when this photograph was taken, and the pews inside at that time were little more than benches with a back rail. Those who perceive that this is a very functional building indeed will not be surprised to see the very large, very practical burial ground extending out behind this small rural house of worship.

But once we understand the context in which Saint Bede’s was built, we see that something revolutionary was taking place with the building of this unpretentious house of worship. People from Nolan’s Corners went to Saint James’s Church, Franktown from the 1820s on. Saint James’s was a simple auditory box, with a Palladian window over the altar, and with a tower over the front door to proclaim that this was a church of the British establishment. When a church was built at nearby Smiths Falls in 1849, if larger, it too had the same temple form as the church at Franktown, albeit with pointed windows rather than round-headed ones, but still a tower over the entrance at the front to declare that it was a church of the British establishment.

Saint Bede’s was built 40 years after Saint John’s, Smiths Falls, and 60 years after Saint James’s, Franktown. It might as well have been 500 years. Unlike earlier churches, sharing a handful of traditional names—Christ Church, Saint James, Saint John and Saint Paul—Saint Bede’s stood out with the name of a major early English churchman. Whereas the earlier churches were built expensively in stone, Saint Bede’s was red brick in construction.

The towers signifying the British establishment had given way to a modest entrance porch, and the old temple form of earlier churches gave way here to steep gables and pointed windows proclaiming affinity with the mediaeval past. Where earlier churches featured a communion table on the same level as worshippers, there was a steep flight of steps up to the altar in Saint Bede’s, and the congregation looked up to a large chancel window high above the altar. The source for all this change was to be found in back issues of The Church Builder from 1866 to 1878 consulted by the local clergyman building Saint Bede’s.

The Diocesan Archives collects parish registers, vestry reports, service registers, minutes of groups and 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 Bede’s, Nolan’s Corners — Lanark Deanery appeared first on Perspective.

Depuis des années, j’anime un groupe de méditation chrétienne. Tout comme la prière centrée, qui lui est apparentée, la méditation chrétienne nous invite à laisser de côté les images et les pensées concernant Dieu pour lui accorder toute notre attention dans le silence. On me demande parfois comment on peut justifier cette façon d’utiliser – ou de ne pas utiliser – son temps. Avec tant de besoins dans le monde, ne devrions-nous pas nous affairer à y répondre ? Une version humoristique de cette question, sous forme d’autocollant, dit : « Le Christ revient. Fais semblant d’être occupé ! »

Notre tradition religieuse propose quelque chose de tout à fait différent. Le but de l’activité, c’est le repos. Difficile d’imaginer quelque chose de plus à contre-courant, même au sein de l’Église, que ça. Toute forme d’activité qui n’est pas nuisible est considérée comme justifiée en soi et authentique. Y a-t-il déjà eu une époque où il y avait autant d’activité pure et simple qu’aujourd’hui, mais avec si peu de coordination réelle et d’unité dans les objectifs ?

L’activité pure – l’activité pour l’activité – est tout simplement diabolique : du bruit pour le bruit, de l’agitation pour l’agitation. La traduction de la Vulgate du psaume 91,6 décrit le diable comme negotium perambulans in tenebris, « l’activité qui rôde dans l’ombre », une pure malice à la recherche d’une faille par laquelle elle pourrait s’introduire. Dorothy L. Sayers a écrit que « la damnation est sans direction ni but. Pourquoi pas ? Elle n’a rien à faire, et toute l’éternité pour le faire. » (Dante, Divine Comedy. Purgatory. Introduction, p. 61). George Macdonald, en revanche, a décrit le paradis comme « les régions où il n’y a que la vie et où, par conséquent, tout ce qui n’est pas musique est silence. »(« The Hands of the Father », Unspoken Sermons, First Series, 1867)

C’est une triste caractéristique de notre culture que tant d’entre nous aient si peu d’occasions de connaître un véritable repos intérieur et le calme, et soient réticents à en profiter quand ça se présente. Peut-être craignons-nous que, privés des distractions, du bruit, tant littéral que métaphorique, qui est la condition de la vie ordinaire, nous devions commencer à prêter attention au soupçon inquiétant que l’activité même qui domine tant la vie est en grande partie inutile et frustrante. Le bruit peut en effet s’amplifier de plus en plus pour masquer sa propre futilité.

Le livre de la Genèse nous donne le modèle du repos. On nous dit que Dieu a béni et sanctifié le septième jour, car Dieu s’est reposé de toute l’œuvre de la création. Bien sûr, dans un sens bien réel, l’activité de Dieu ne cesse jamais, puisque son acte créateur soutient et anime l’univers en permanence. L’être intérieur de Dieu n’est pas non plus inerte ou statique. C’est cette énergie insondable de vie et d’amour qui est la Sainte Trinité. Mais tout cela n’implique aucun changement en Dieu, aucune altération ni hésitation dans ses actions. Dieu est le fondement immuable de l’univers changeant. En Dieu, le repos et l’activité sont réconciliés.

Néanmoins, la vérité que le langage anthropomorphique de la Genèse exprime, c’est que Dieu ne se détourne pas, pour ainsi dire, du monde créé avec soulagement. Dieu le contemple et s’en réjouit. Dieu n’est pas comme l’esclave salarié qui essaie d’oublier le travail pendant le week-end. Dieu ressemble davantage à l’amateur qui fabrique des objets puis prend plaisir à les utiliser, ou au peintre qui peut apprécier de regarder un tableau qu’elle a réalisé.

Dans le récit de la Genèse, l’histoire de la première création, c’est le sixième jour de la semaine que Dieu a créé l’homme à son image et lui a donné la domination sur les créatures inférieures. Dans le récit de l’Évangile, l’histoire de la nouvelle création, l’humanité a été refaite par Dieu le sixième jour de la semaine, le premier Vendredi saint, lorsque le Christ, l’homme parfait, est mort sur la croix. Et le Christ s’est reposé dans le tombeau le Samedi Saint – le Grand Sabbat – en jouissant de l’œuvre de la nouvelle création. Il a vu ce qu’il avait fait et voici, cela était très bon. L’achèvement de la nouvelle création survient lorsque le Christ repose dans le tombeau, heureux de l’accomplissement de son œuvre et attendant sa résurrection.

En Christ, nous sommes entrés dans le repos de Dieu (voir Hébreux 4, 1-11), un repos qui n’est ni stagnation, ni inertie, ni ennui, mais une vie parfaite et sereine. La pleine possession de ce repos nous attend après la mort, mais on nous en donne un avant-goût ici-bas. Nous avons déjà été rendus « participants de la nature divine » (2 Pierre 1, 4). Notre vie est cachée avec le Christ en Dieu (Colossiens 3, 3).

Alors, qu’en est-il de la méditation et des autres pratiques contemplatives ? Dans la prière contemplative, on n’est pas à proprement parler passif mais réceptif. On est réceptif à la contemplation que Dieu fait de lui-même, transporté dans la vie même de Dieu et animé par Dieu. Ainsi, la contemplation est la source et le fondement de toute activité véritablement chrétienne. Beaucoup de grands saints contemplatifs, en dehors de leurs moments de prière, ont été de véritables volcans d’activité. Mais cette activité était unifiée, cohérente, vitale et totalement concentrée sur un seul objectif : l’accomplissement de la volonté de Dieu.

La contemplation est donc la source et la fin de l’action chrétienne. C’est la fin, car notre destin ultime est de contempler Dieu au ciel. C’est la source, car l’action chrétienne n’est que le débordement de la contemplation.

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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).

The post Remembering Leslie Worden: 1949 – 2026 appeared first on Perspective.

The Anglican Diocese of Ottawa (ADO) has a long history of helping refugees from around the world and all faiths come to Canada. As a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) under the Canadian government’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees program, the Refugee Ministry Office partners with constituent groups who want to sponsor refugees. Those constituent groups include Anglican parishes and groups of other faith-based or community-based groups and can include people seeking to sponsor their family members.

As we mark World Refugee Day in 2026, Perspective shares one family’s story.

Murtaza Ishraq was a well-known television broadcaster and commentator in Afghanistan. He was also a key spokesperson for a stability and convergence team in the 2019 presidential election. His wife, Masuma, was a law professor and writer on women’s rights.

So, when the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August of 2021, their lives changed overnight. Masuma had to leave the university and stay home, and they were immediately threatened. An American non-governmental organization (NGO) helped them escape to Pakistan.

That got them out of immediate danger, but their situation in Pakistan was not good. Overwhelmed with people coming across the border from Afghanistan, the Pakistani government was not issuing work permits or documents that would allow the refugees to stay in the country. That meant that the couple had to pay high-priced rent for a place to stay in Islamabad out of the money they brought with them with no way to earn money. The water was bad, and their baby couldn’t drink it, so they eventually moved to a smaller city where the rent was less expensive, but they were still stuck in a bad situation with nowhere to go and no way to make a living.

Fortunately, that’s where Patricia Wilson and the non-profit Ottawa Centre Refugee Action (OCRA), came in. OCRA was founded in 2015 to help bring Syrian refugees to Canada and had begun to focus on Afghan people. “I was reaching out to sponsorship agreement holders in Ontario, particularly in Ottawa in 2021 and 2022,” Wilson said. “We had been contacted by people trying to bring various Afghans out. Most of them had fled to Pakistan, and we were looking for help at the sponsorship agreement, holder level.

“I remember sitting here in the summer of 2022. I didn’t think anyone would get back to us,” Wilson said. And then she got a call from the Refugee Ministry Office, letting her know that the Diocese had accepted OCRA as a constituent group, allowing them to sponsor refugees.

Since then, ORCA has bought eight groups — 37 people, including sponsoring Murtaza and Masuma and their son, who arrived in 2023.

It’s not easy starting over in a new country, but Masuma told Perspective that  she is happy to be safe in Canada and to be able to work. Murtaza is working as an Uber Eats driver in afternoons and evenings, so that he can take an English course during the day. Masuma was working as an early childhood educator until their second child was born nine months ago. Later, she hopes to return to university and study Canadian law.

After sharing their story with Perspective, Masuma wrote to says she would “like to sincerely thank the Anglican Church for helping our family reach Canada and find a safe place to live. We will certainly never forget their kindness and support.”

Special thanks to the Refugee Ministry Office’s devoted case managers Reem Abu-Afieh and Ishita Ghose for all of the work they do to make stories like this happen.

The post World Refugee Day: One family’s journey to Canada appeared first on Perspective.

It all needed to be fixed before the newly hired incumbent, the Rev. Robert Camara, who was moving to Perth from Montreal with his partner in December, could live in the house.

The parish considered selling or demolishing the house, but it had a heritage designation, so that limited their choices. They decided to do the renovations, which were expected to cost $100,000.

Fortunately, parishioners Ray and Elaine Hook stepped up to the challenge of raising funds as a labour of love and a way of thanking the people in the parish who cared for them when Elaine was seriously injured in a car accident. They donated $10,000 to get the fund started and used $5,000 to match donations over $100.

Parishioner Christine Erdos is a designer who offered to redesign the kitchen as a donation to the church.

At first, the Hooks hoped to raise $25,000, but as Ray kept the congregation updated on their efforts, donations kept coming, and they set new targets of $50,000 amd then $75,000. Eventually, they had raised $102,500 through donations that mostly came from within the congregation. “Our donors collectively from the church family. have just amazed us with their generosity and their support,” said Ray, adding that they are working on creating plaque with all of the donor names (aside from those who want to remain anonymous) that will be placed on a wall in the rectory.

The Rev. Robert Camara added that he and his partner were very grateful for the beautiful renovation work that has made the rectory so much more comfortable and for the warm welcome from the parish.

The post St. James, Perth celebrates rectory renovation and fundraising goal achieved appeared first on Perspective.

He and parishioners at St. Albans, where he is the incumbent priest, were inspired to create some pilot projects on campus serving meals to students over the last few years. They began by serving meals at one of the student residences where students who didn’t have meal plans lived.

Throughout this past academic year, St. Albans teamed up with the student union, which has its own food insecurity initiative “Fed up.” They moved their program to a central hub area on the main campus and served three lunches and a dinner each semester. The meals were cooked by St. Albans’ parishioners with student volunteers on campus, and to encourage students to cook nutritious and low-cost meals for themselves, the team handed out recipes for the dishes they were serving.

Not surprisingly, the free meals have been a big hit with the students. Garner reports that they served a burrito dinner for their last meal of the semester in mid-April to 385 students. The students are grateful, and Garner says the volunteers often hear that the meal is the only one some students will eat that day.

Students have enjoyed the opportunities for social connections the meals create. Encouraged to sit down and eat and talk together, students offered feedback that the project has had a positive effect on their health. Aside from the food, they benefited from the social connections and a greater sense of belonging.

St. Albans volunteers also made efforts to take a break and sit down to eat and talk with students. Garner was pleased to hear that the students appreciated the opportunities to connect with the adults from the parish. Although, he expected that it would be most appealing to have student peers serving the food, feedback from the student union included comments that the students valued opportunities to have conversations with the adult volunteers from the parish. They appreciated having an adult ask how they were doing, how their day or semester was going, and the sense that these adults cared about them.

The St. Albans group has sought and welcomed partners from other parishes, denominations and faith groups to bolster their efforts in whatever capacity they can contribute. Even if a group can’t take on providing a whole meal, contributing to part of a meal is a valuable way to get involved and support the project. For example, Garner said, a number of United Churches got together and offered to donate dessert for the final meal of the term in April. Initially, they estimated they could provide about 150 servings. However, their bakers participated enthusiastically, and they ended up bringing more than 500 servings. “It was this overwhelming amount of food. That just created such joy…. It was great,” he recalled.

“My hope is next year to continue to cultivate relationships with churches and other groups who can provide supplemental things, like baking biscuits when we were doing soup and that sort of thing. I’m looking for all sorts of ways to lower the barrier to entry to churches and other groups,” he said, suggesting that sometimes people feel overwhelmed by a big problem like student food insecurity and feel that they can’t do anything. “I think the real power of this is that there are smaller ways to …come and be involved.”

Garner acknowledges that the meals can’t solve the problem of food insecurity on campus, but he was pleased to see that highlighting the problem and advocacy work seems to be spurring some action on the issue. The president of the university created an initiative to write an action plan for food security for the whole campus. Garner served on the committee with one of the deans in medicine and St. Albans was included as an external partner.

Pilot project aims to counter students’ social isolation

The Rev. Michael Garner has seen that students at the University of Ottawa, like many people in the broader society, have more communication tools at their fingertips than humans have ever had, but many are socially isolated. He says that loneliness is sometimes described as an epidemic in our digitally connected society where people need more time and real connection with other people in person.

Garner has worked closely with the U of O Student Union on issues of food insecurity, and one day ran into Meredith Kerr, the executive director, in Costco. “What are we going to do about loneliness on campus?” she asked him.

He says his first thought was “I have no idea.” But it was immediately followed by, “I know exactly what we are going to do.” Peg Herbert, a parishioner at St. Albans had come to mind.

“She’s a remarkable woman,” he said. Among the many cool things she has done is starting an organization called Chosen Grandma, which pairs retired women who don’t have grandchildren, or don’t have grandchildren in the city, with single moms, single parent families, creating this connectedness. The idea has caught on and Chosen Grandma has been featured on the CBC news. Garner noted that Herbert is developing this charity even though there are additional legal challenges because there are minors involved, but the point is to give children a “chosen grandma.” He realized that Herbert had all that valuable experience creating connections in a safe way.

So, while standing there in Costco, he thought, “‘We’ll just take Peg’s idea and apply it on campus.’ And that’s what we’re doing,” he told Perspective.

Room Enough is a pilot project will match 10 students with 10 families or households in the next academic year. “It’s really about facilitating the need of students, the desire of these households to connect … and support each other and learn from each other,’ he said. The pilot for this academic year will be a test run to see how this works, see what doesn’t work. They will track participants’ feedback on their mental health, the connection between the students and their matched households. “If we have a positive outcome and we have some data, we’ll go to the university to look at scaling it up for more people to participate in the next year.

The diocesan Future Fund awarded the project a grant of $10,000, which Garner says will help hire a student to be a part-time co-ordinator for the program.

The post University of Ottawa students love St. Albans’ meals on campus appeared first on Perspective.

This year’s campaign — Watt’s Possible — builds on the spirit of the 2025 Wild Ride, which raised more than $60,000 to provide Solar Suitcases in health clinics in Mozambique and Madagascar. In 2026, we’re shifting the focus to St. Luke’s Hospital and its transition to a reliable source of energy – solar power. This will help ensure quality health care can continue despite frequent power outages and expensive diesel fuel.

Riaz Diab is a nurse in the emergency department at St. Luke’s Hospital. He describes the challenges of caring for patients during the power outages. “I remember one time I was working in the ER, we had multiple patients connected to monitors and other patients needed suturing. The electricity suddenly went out. We had to use flashlights and manual equipment.”

The Wild Ride fundraising goal is $60,000, enough to purchase and install 70 of the 407 solar panels that are part of this project. Each panel will cost roughly $865, which includes delivery, installation and training. Every gift will be matched by a generous donor, doubling the impact!

As a supporter of Alongside Hope, you can contribute directly to the Light for St. Luke’s campaign, or you can take on a personal challenge as a part of the Wild Ride. Every participant chooses an activity that is meaningful to them and uses it to raise funds and awareness for the campaign. There’s no single way to participate. Some participants may take on physical challenges, while others may choose to be creative. The Wild Ride is designed to be a flexible way to fundraise that’s accessible to everyone. Activities could include:

• Walking or running challenges
• Cycling or rollerblading
• Swimming laps
• Kayaking or canoeing
• Dancing challenges
• Reading goals
• Baking or cooking projects
• Knitting or crocheting
• Fitness challenges
• Hiking
• Photography projects
• Hosting a community event
• Creating music or art

By registering on our Wild Ride page on the secure Canada Helps platform, participants are encouraged to collect pledges from family, friends and their community members as they work towards their goal. Learn more about how to participate at our online info session on Thursday, June 4 at 1 p.m. ET.

Register for the Wild Ride info session

At its heart, the Wild Ride is about so much more than fundraising. It’s about people coming together to support a hospital that is providing care in incredibly difficult circumstances. Funds raised through supporters will help keep operating rooms functioning during power outages, reduce dependence on costly diesel generators, and most importantly, provide stability to a community that has felt unstable for years.

When the world is hurting it can be hard to know how to make a difference. But every act of compassion can bring hope. Join us this year in discovering Watt’s Possible by being a part of the Wild Ride.

The post Alongside Hope’s Wild Ride to provide solar panels for hospital in the West Bank appeared first on Perspective.

Our Creation Matters Working Group organized a service focused on environmental issues and a celebration of Earth Day at our 10:30 Sunday service on April 26. Everyone was encouraged to use their non-fossil fuel mode of transport to get to church—bicycles, tricycles, scooters, walking shoes, and bus passes.

We have installed new bike racks to keep parishioners’ bicycles and other vehicles safe while at the church.

Others have participated in the Salad Garden Project, the Cycle Fitness morning, or made crab apple jelly from foraged fruit.

There is also ongoing work to make the church building itself greener.

Lights have been changed;

More vegetarian meals are being served at parish events

The parish has provided financial support to Water First, a non-profit group that helps with water issues in First Nations communities.

During the season of Advent, we had a gifting ceremony to honour and better understand our Indigenous neighbours and their cultures. Our gifting ceremony was for books. Debora and Marc Fleming, members of St. Matthew’s, gave several books to the parishioners. The object of the giving was that people would read the books and pass them on to others and discuss the contents.

Our belief is that many small steps will add up to a big effect.

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