This is what books on architecture describe as a worm’s eye view of a building, meaning literally a view taken from the level that a worm inching its way along the floor could expect to see things. Hence we can readily see the seam in the battleship linoleum. We leave to another day any discussion as to whether or not worms are interested in architecture.

Ostensibly, what we see here is a photograph of a wedding taking place in the new All Saints Church, Westboro soon after that parish built a large new house of worship in 1953.  Up until 1950, everyone referred to this parish as All Saints, Nepean.  But once Westboro was expropriated that year by an expanding City of Ottawa, it became necessary to refer to All Saints (Westboro) in Ottawa, as opposed to All Saints (Sandy Hill) which up until that time had been the only church of that name in the city of Ottawa proper.

All Saints (Westboro) was one of a dozen large new churches built in suburban Ottawa-Carleton in the generation from the late 1940s to the late 1960s.  The perspective from a worm’s eye view can sometimes be distorted, and so it appears to be the case here, as the triangles of the beams in the ceiling appear somewhat flatter than the equilateral triangles that were planned to represent the Trinity.

This photograph was taken amid a baby boom, with the wedding shown here promising to add to the record numbers of births taking place in this generation. This bold and dramatic photograph, if intended to document a particular marriage, appears also to have been used in a professional brochure used to raise funds to pay for this large new house of worship.

Ninety years after Thomas Fuller designed the first All Saints, Nepean, the Gothic Revival had gone from strength to strength. Much of this large church was illusory, with stones in the exterior drawn in concrete, the stone arches of the chancel arch and the chancel window we see here simply being trompe l’oeil effect done in plaster, and the ceiling beams simply being a wood veneer to mask the structural iron I-beams beneath.  The stained glass in the chancel window was real enough, manufactured by Leonard Pike at Colonial Art Glass.  Although the liturgical layout was designed to accommodate the high church liturgy of traditional Anglican worship, the design of the pew ends indicated that modern ideas were on the way.  

There are various indicators of just when this was. The Union Jack at the front reminds us it was some time before a distinctive Canadian flag appeared. The Saint George’s flag reminds us that this photograph is documenting a parish of the Church of England in Canada, at a time when the ranks of Anglicans in the Diocese of Ottawa were being added to by a huge postwar immigration from England. The Anglican Church of Canada with its own flag was still a few years off.  That every woman visible in the congregation was wearing a hat is a further reminder that even the recent “past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.”     

If you would like to help the Archives preserve the records of the Diocese and its parishes, why not become a Friend of the Archives?  Your $20 membership brings you three issues of the lively, informative Newsletter, and you will receive a tax receipt for further donations above that amount. 

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“Comfort, O Lord, we pray thee, all who mourn the loss of those near and dear to them… Give them faith to look beyond the troubles of this present time, and to know that neither life nor death can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”

– Concluding Prayer from the service unveiling the Regimental Memorial Tablet dedicated to the Officers and Men of the Queen’s Own Rifles, 1921

Most Anglican parishes possess some form of memorial object, work of art, or architectural detail in their buildings commemorating the First World War – perhaps several. But for Anglicans, these visible, tangible items have not necessarily existed side-by-side with a great deal of theological or psychological analysis of our response to such wars.

In the century since the end of the Great War, there has been a great deal of discomfort with the roles which the Anglican Church played in the conflict – roles such as the sometimes-enthusiastic support of the war effort, or the statistical fact that more Anglicans volunteered for the Canadian Expeditionary Force than any other denomination. This discomfort has continued to exist throughout the twentieth century and its subsequent wars and conflicts, and beyond, as the hundred-year commemorations have come and gone.

How individual parishes have chosen to commemorate the First World War, any other war specifically, or the time of national remembrance in early November has varied – unsurprising in a denomination which revels in its liturgical multiplicity. And so, there are parishes which observe Remembrance Day with solemn and elaborate ceremonies, parishes which have chosen to ignore it entirely, and everything in between. In Anglican congregations, veterans and the descendants of veterans coexist with ardent pacifists, and more recently, with refugees who have fled war and persecution. How is each individual parish supposed to respond to such diversity?

Meanwhile, there still exist those memorial objects, works of art, or architectural details, which, like all such things, are continuously subject to interpretation. The iconography of war has changed and evolved, been (sometimes unjustly) criticized, and (sometimes rightly) critiqued. We can lose the ability to recognize the original meaning behind these memorials, but we can also fail to perceive the ways in which they might be interpreted now. 

The relatively simple Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa depicts the familiar trench helmet, maple leaves (symbolizing Canada), and laurel leaves (symbolizing both death and victory). The Tomb also depicts a sword – a Crusader’s sword. The sword itself, a sword at rest, becomes a weapon ready to be beaten into a plowshare. Yet it is still a Crusader’s sword, the weapon carried in those bloody, centuries-long struggles for dominance in the name of religion. It is a depiction which echoes the choice to bury the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey in 1920 with an actual Crusader’s sword from the King’s own collection. It encompasses multiple meanings.

What are we to do with our discomfort in reconciling the multiple meanings behind the commemoration of wars and conflicts, and the roles which Anglicans have played in them throughout history? If the wisest among us cannot fully define how a Christian is supposed to act in times of war, how can we know how to respond to it, even in times of peace?

First World War chaplains were, on the whole, horrified and outraged by what they witnessed. But almost all of them decided that their duty lay not in condemnation, but in care. 

They chose to believe in both the inherent sinfulness of war, and the inherent goodness of the people caught up in it. They looked at soldiers and saw human beings, and not cogs in the political machine. 

As human beings, and as Christians, we should continuously examine and re-examine our roles in past and current conflicts, but at the same time we can continue to follow the example of those First World War chaplains who offered comfort outside of the troubles of their present time, knowing that every victim of war deserves our care, deserves to be remembered.

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This year, as the summer wore on, Parish Council was faced with deciding how to proceed. Returning to the Civitan felt too risky. Not only did we not know if there would be another snap lockdown but our dwindling number volunteers were still very cautious about large gatherings. We were on the verge of cancelling the supper when I thought of the Mississippi Mills Youth Centre (MMYC) who had put together a cooking program during Covid, preparing and distributing around 20,000 meals. 

Fast forward through hours of planning and meetings and more meetings along with the occasional gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair, and the sunny Saturday of the Harvest Supper rolled around on Sept. 17. There had been challenges we had not thought of, less equipment and working in two separate locations for example, but the amazing kids at the MMYC, under Lilli’s guiding hands (boy is she amazing at managed chaos!) were invaluable. They cooked turkeys, did hours and hours of prep work, assembled ingredients, cut pies, made bean salad and stuffing, washed and chopped 120lbs of potatoes and packed over 100 takeout meals in 345 containers! They were ever so patient with my fine tuning the recipes that I have had in my head for years. A little bit of this and a bit more of that can be confusing. And when they needed a hand, St. Paul’s came through with

 an intrepid team of potato peelers (thank you Anne, Deane, Jane and Dan!) who spent hours joyfully working at a table outside in the sun.

Now, as the memory of tired feet and sore backs is fading, the heartwarmingly positive feedback is still ringing in our ears. “The food was so delicious…”, “the turkey was so juicy…”, “the mashed potatoes were the best ever, so buttery!”, “we loved the atmosphere in the church hall, so much nicer than the Civitan”, “it was so nice to see the youngsters helping out…”.

Having so much youthful energy in the church was truly a blessing all around. Whether serving pies, clearing tables, hosting guests upstairs or bringing them down our steep stairs to the hall, they quickly adapted, learning new skills along with a broader understanding of who we were and what a church event actually entailed. 

With God’s grace and a lot of hard work we served 275 meals, including 20 donated for Food Bank clients. St. Paul’s parishioners stepped up with their time and much of the food that was needed. A special thanks to Sandra who worked tirelessly on all the admin, sales and front of house details, to Wendy, Deane, Cathy, Karen M, Roger and Christy who all went above and beyond, and to Dan for all his support before, during and after. 

At the end of the day, once all the tickets were counted and bills paid, there was a bit over $ 5,000 left. We had decided to share any profits with the MMYC and the Food Bank so about $2,000 went to the former and $1,000 to the latter. We also support Interval House, an emergency shelter for women and children. We gave them 40 meals, extra cooked turkey and groceries. Though finances are challenging for all churches post-Covid, at St. Paul’s we are feeling the pull more and more to share what we can with the most vulnerable in our community. For it is in giving that we receive…

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Registration is required for all participants by Nov. 6. We will provide snacks, drinks and lunch.

We must have at least 15 youth or young adults registered to participate and up to a maximum of 50.

A bit of background from Kairos:

Developed in collaboration with Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers and educators, the KAIROS Blanket Exercise (KBE) is an interactive and experiential teaching tool that explores the historic and contemporary relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the land we now know as Canada.

During this two to three-hour workshop, participants step on blankets representing the land and into the role of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. They are guided by trained facilitators, including Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, who work from a script that covers pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization, resistance and much more. Participants read scrolls and respond to cues in the script. The KBE concludes with a debriefing, conducted as a talking circle, during which participants discuss the learning experience, process their feelings, ask questions, share insights, and deepen their understanding.

For more information and to register for this event, please email Donna at donna-rourke@ottawa.anglican.ca

For more information about the KAIROS Blanket Exercise 

https://www.kairoscanada.org/what-we-do/indigenous-rights/blanket-exercise

https://www.kairosblanketexercise.org/who-should-do-the-kbe/

We are so thankful to the ‘Say Yes to Kids’ campaign of the Anglican Foundation of Canada for their generous funding of this event.

Youth Internship Program (YIP)

Watch this space next month to be introduced to our 12 new interns and  for some pictures of the ‘Welcome to YIP” gathering held Saturday Oct. 1 when our 12 new interns met each other, the Faith Formation Team and some of our amazing Leadership session facilitators.   

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“I am Indigenous, but I walk in two worlds because I have a European mother and a Cherokee father,” she explained. “I was raised by my Cherokee grandparents and my uncles on that side. And I have a baby sister who has dark hair, dark skin, brown eyes… She has been discriminated against, [has had experiences] where she has not gotten services, medically and in other forms. And I can be standing right beside her and because I am light-skinned, I have a certain amount of privilege she doesn’t hold, but we are sisters with the same parents.”

The first step in becoming an ally is to listen and to educate yourself, Johnson-Breen said, noting that she has often heard people proclaim themselves as good allies before they have taken the time to educate themselves and recognize their own privilege. “I’ve gone through ally programs for LGBTQ and two-spirit marginalized people because my daughter belongs to that [community]. And I wanted to do it…. I did not ask them to educate me in that way. I educated myself, but as far as me saying ‘Okay now I’m trained, and I can be a good ally,’ that part’s not up to me,” she said. “You’re not the one who gets to stamp you as an ally. They are, those marginalized persons, those Indigenous people,” she said.

It is good to be willing to speak up and get involved if you see racism and injustice, but she advised that it is best to listen and to ask the Indigenous person involved “How can I come along beside you? What is it that you need?”

She added: “We know the basics. They need a place at the table. They need to be in those leadership positions….You can [look for ways to] use your privilege, so that you can be that placeholder in a way.”  

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The sign for the name of the parkway was covered with an orange Every Child Matters banner and hundreds of protestors joined Dumont walking down one lane of the parkway as it follows the Ottawa river from the War Museum to Parkdale. On the other side of the sign was the suggestion for a new name Kichi Zibi Parkway/Promenade, the Algonquin Anishnaabe name for the Ottawa River, which the parkway follows.

The parkway was renamed to honour Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, in 2012. 

Dumont and the protestors want that honour revoked because Macdonald’s government established the system of Indian Residential Schools with the intent to assimilate all of the children into white, European culture. Children were forcibly removed from their families and communities and forced to attend schools where they were forbidden to speak their own languages, often suffered from malnutrition, and many suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse. In the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission the system was deemed to be cultural genocide. 

“Imagine living in a world where your children were taken from you by force and taken far away from you. Imagine what would be going on in your mind and in your heart. ‘Is my child safe? What’s happening to my child?’ Imagine the tears. You couldn’t count the tears,” Dumont said during the walk. “When I think of my grandchildren, only over my dead body would I allow anyone to take them from me. And more and more Canadians are understanding about the cruelty and viciousness of the architect of genocide, John A. Macdonald.”

Macdonald’s government ignored a 1907 report from Dr. Peter Bryce, who was the chief medical health inspector for the department of Indian Affairs, that said that underfunding, inadequate sanitation, poor ventilation and overcrowding in the schools was leading to outbreaks of disease and a death rate of 50 percent. Bryce finally published the report he titled “A National Crime” himself in 1922.

In his book Clearing the Plains, historian James Daschuk has also detailed how the Macdonald government withheld food during a famine in order to force Indigenous people on to reserves. 

Macdonald’s government also introduced a pass system that meant that Indigenous people had to obtain a written pass from the local Indian agent in order to leave the reserve.

“The National Capital Commission didn’t want to give us a permit to walk today,” Dumont told those in the march. “The pass system ended in the 1950s when Indigenous people needed a pass to walk. John A Macdonald the policies and laws that he created pretty much paralyzed the Indigenous people of those times, but our muscles are coming back. We are able to walk and to stand up for our rights.”

Dumont added, “We are a people of peace, and we will do things peacefully…. It’s good to be in solidarity with you and to be in solidarity with these trees and with this river, the energy of the sun, the wind, the human heart, the human spirit.” He pointed to a hawk perched in a tree not far from where the walk paused by the covered parkway sign. “That means so much to me,” he said. 

Bishop Shane Parker and several members of the clergy in Anglican diocese of Ottawa were with walking with Dumont, who is also Algonquin advisor to the bishop. Dumont asked the bishop if he would share his thoughts with those on the walk.

“Peace be with you all. My voice doesn’t matter today. I’m part of a church, which was part of the egregious colonial engine that participated in residential schools,” Bishop Parker began.  “Everything changed for the Anglican Church of Canada when it began to listen. It became silent and began to listen to the voices of those who suffered horrific abuse, from the instruments of genocide in schools and we listened to those voices.”

He recounted how Archbishop Michael Peers issued the first of the Anglican Church’s two official apologies to Indigenous peoples about 30 years ago. “The first apology was for the incredible harm caused by residential schools. The archbishop said we tried to remake you in our own image. That is a crime, that is theft. My church was arrogant enough to think that Creator was not on this land before Europeans came here. That is blasphemous,” Bishop Parker said. “And so my church went from being a perpetrator to being a reconciler, and that’s a journey many non-Indigenous people have to take and to own,” said the bishop. “And so today, the only voices that matter, especially on this place, are the voices of the Anishnaabe Algonquin, … and the voices of the children who were taken forcibly, without the consent of their parents, and stripped of their identity, their fundamental core identity. Those are the voices we must listen to, especially those that cannot be spoken to us on this earth at this time but cry to us from the Spirit World.” At this, the walkers observed a moment of silence for the children.

Dumont also asked his granddaughter, Kyrstin Dumont, to address the crowd. 

“There should be no pride in genocide, no pride in the name John A. Macdonald,” she began. 

Although Macdonald and the residential schools caused intergenerational trauma, she pointed to the intergenerational strength and love that is evident among Indigenous peoples. 

“For the survivors to be here today, for the youth, knowledge keepers, to be here to walk on this parkway in solidarity, in resilience, that is intergenerational strength, the same intergenerational strength that my grandfather has passed down to me, and that I hope to pass down to my future children. Because if we don’t acknowledge the strength that we hold within us, how can we still be thriving and striving as Indigenous people within a colonial society that we still live in today?” she asked.

“When I woke up this morning, I wasn’t sure what to expect here today. I just came to support my grandfather, came to stand in solidarity with all of you. Arriving at LeBreton Flats and seeing hundreds of incredible faces, warming souls and magnifying attitudes, struck me in a way that I could never have imagined. Today is filled with commemoration, with celebration that we will no longer allow the continuous genocides to happen…. This is the end of genocide and this is the start of intergenerational strength. Megwetch.”

According to a report from the CBC, the National Capital Commission said in September that “a proposed review of the name of the SJAM Parkway is ongoing.”

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As might be expected with an elderly monarch, Dean Bretzlaff said that planning for such a ceremony had been in the works for about 10 years as a collaboration between the department of Canadian Heritage and Christ Church Cathedral. Nevertheless, the death of the Queen launched the partners into an intense time of working together. 

“It was an amazing team from Canadian Heritage,” said Bretzlaff, “and they just kind of seamlessly moved into the Cathedral, and we worked together. Every little bit was negotiated, from where people stood to where lights went, to who said what and all that kind of stuff. It was an amazing experience and great privilege to do it,” she said. “That’s our role as the cathedral in the nation’s capital, that’s what we do,” she said. A similar service was held in the cathedral for His Royal Highness Prince Philip just last year. 

“In my first two years as Dean, did I ever imagine doing those two services? No,” she said with a laugh. “But what a great way to get to know the diplomatic world. I met all kinds of people, and a great way to marshal the cathedral forces to serve our country. Just a fabulous experience, I was in my element, really.”

Many others were also in their element, it seems. “That was the cathedral choir. We didn’t bring any ringers,” said the Dean. “Our cathedral flower guild did the flowers. The cathedral servers were there obviously. The cathedral sidespeople were on duty that day. We had about 100 people involved.”

James Calkin, director of music added his reflection on the experience. “I was so very proud of the entire team which confidently represented our tradition of sacred music within the context of the National Commemorative Service: conductor and associate director of music Andrew McAnerney, newly appointed assistant organist Maria Gajraj, our lay clerks and, of course, our unique and cherished line of trebles. 

“Our designated elements (organ voluntaries, introit, hymns, psalm and motet) were carefully selected to lift up the works of Canadian composers (women and men), both official languages, and (not least) the transcending beauty of uniquely Anglican forms of sung worship. That we were able to step to the plate at this important moment and execute our role so professionally after two and a half years of pandemic disruptions and less than two weeks into a fresh season is a credit to the support for our Cathedral’s music ministry rendered by clergy leadership, parishioners and the wider community as well as the dedication and hard work of our musicians themselves.”

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The Rev. Canon Dr. Peter John Hobbs, Director General of Community Ministries, says it’s major step forward for the day programs. “Belong Ottawa reflects a new era for the Community Ministries, which are so cherished by the Diocese and by the community.”  

Belong Ottawa’s executive director Rachel Robinson says the experience of the pandemic demonstrated the power of the three programs pooling resources.  They initiated outreach, delivering food to rooming houses and people on the street as well as helping them stay connected and offering showers, laundry, washrooms and social support.

As work progressed on a strategic plan, she says, it became clear that the programs needed an umbrella name and an identity. “We began to see ourselves as one organization operating out of three sites. The intention of the rebranding is to bring clarity for funders, donors, staff and participants alike.” 

At the same time, it was important to retain the strong identities that had developed in each of the three programs. Belong Ottawa will continue to operate at the three sites of Centre 454, The Well and St. Luke’s Table.

The decision to merge was driven by three considerations: 

Having one instead of two executive directors allowed more resources to be channelled to support workers.

The desire to maintain the flexibility around food production that had been achieved during the pandemic. 

Staff appreciated being able to experience and learn from different sites, colleagues and communities.

Belong Ottawa’s professionally designed logo is intended to convey a sense of connection, safety and inclusiveness. The symbol shows different paths connecting on a journey to wellness. It’s a visual projection of the agency’s mission.

The strategic plan, to be implemented over three years, covers five basic goals, to:

• work in partnership with participants to meet their needs;  
• be a desirable employer that values and supports staff; 
• support volunteers to contribute to the community; 
• ensure financial health with adequate resources to adapt to changing need, and
• create neighbourhood partnerships.

One of the first initiatives, to identify the appropriate staff complement to support operations effectively, has been completed with an agreed total of 30. 

In addition, Belong Ottawa will be counting on more than 100 volunteer hours a week. “Volunteers and participation from the people who use our services are essential,” Robinson says. “We could not run our programs without these additional workers.”

The strategic plan also calls for the creation this year of a full-time position of fundraising and communications manager. That role is linked to developing a new fundraising strategy, including reaching out to enlist new donors.

The merger extends to streamlined governance. Instead of three separate management boards Belong Ottawa will be reporting to one board composed of about nine individuals both from the Diocese and the community at large. The board, in turn, is appointed by the Community Ministries Committee of the Diocese.

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The church owned Mabel Gordon House, which has served as a centre for student ministry in the past, but it had become merely rented student accommodation.

The Anglican Foundation of Canada provided a $15,000 grant to help renovate the house, and it was rechristened Trinity House with a new purpose to be home to an intentional community for young people. Foundation director Ron Brophy helped cut the ribbon on the front door.

Archdeacon Mark Whittall, Incumbent of Trinity Church, explained the concept of an intentional community. “The idea is that we have a group of people that come from all sorts of places, students and young adults, …who will support one another in their academic life in their work life, in their spiritual lives. And what that will look like, we are going to figure out together,” he said, noting that he would be taking all five residents on a day retreat the following Saturday, “That’s when we will develop what we call a rule of life, which is a monastic term, but it’s really just a rhythm of living, for each of them individually and for the house as a whole,” he said. 

The program will encourage them to explore their spirituality. “It has to come from them, but I would hope as part of the rule of life there would be regular prayer and worship and some time spent together,” he said. “They have chosen Mondays as they day they are going to eat together. It’s a great age to be engaging with your faith as an adult for the first time, to be exploring questions of spirituality, values. And the friends you make and the people you live with can be really important.”

The house is now home to five students. Simi Folarin, who is studying economics through an online program at the University of British Columbia, had just moved in the previous week. “It’s nice to be with community,” she said. I think that’s the most important thing. It’s been great meeting everyone.”

Rebecca Cowal is beginning a two-year Masters of Art program at Carleton. An Pham is in her third year of an industrial design program at Carleton. Alex Price is studying international development at the University of Ottawa, and Nischal Shrestha is in his first year of software engineering at Carleton.

Parishioner Judy Richardson, who has been closely involved with the project, said “It’s an old building with so much charm and so much love and so many years of Trinity in it…There are so many people at Trinity who have supported this project with love, I hope the residents feel 140 years of love in this building.”

Heather Maclachlan offered a special thank you to parishioner Myrna Rootham for all her work on the project. “You have exercised your knowledge and skills as site manager, the ultra trades negotiator, co-ordinator, employer, re-creator of plans that became too expensive, painter, carpenter, tiler, colour chooser, art hanger, furniture acquirer,” she said. “You have found extraordinary deals, you have adjusted the path for a 90-degree or even 360-degree turn has saved money, sheltered the budget and kept us on track. You have cared deeply about Trinity House and its incoming residents. Your care has brought a safe place, a safe space, a beautiful space. … Congratulations on a job well done.”

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