The first Anglican services were held in Clarendon by the Rev. Amos Ansley of Hull from 1827 to 1832. In 1839, the Reverend Samuel Strong of Bytown-Hull visited Clarendon and in 1840 construction began on the first Anglican house of worship. Began is the key word.

In late 1841, the Rev. Daniel Falloon came to reside here, holding services in a school until the first Saint Paul’s Church at Shawville opened for Divine Service in 1842. It was not yet completed. From such reticent acorns do mighty oaks grow. In 1843, the Reverend F.S. Neve of Clarendon opened mission stations in Bristol and Onslow townships, and travelled to Fort Coulonge, Havelock (Bryson), Portage du Fort and Quyon. Neve had reason to travel, as it was not until 1855 that the first Saint Paul’s house of worship was completed. Although consecrated by Bishop Fulford on 26 August 1855, from 1857 until 1859 Clarendon had no resident clergyman. Services were supplied fortnightly by the Rev. John Gribble of Portage du Fort.

In 1861, Clarendon mission, including Shawville, Thorne and Leslie townships, had services at ten places. By 1864, the mission was whittled down to Saint Paul’s, Shawville, James Caldwell’s house in Bristol, Clarke’s Schoolhouse, and the odd service at Bristol Corners. By 1870, services were held in Clarendon, Clarendon Front, Starke’s Corners and Bristol Corners.

On 15 July 1874, the cornerstone of the new stone Saint Paul’s Church was laid across the street from the first house of worship. The following year Clarendon (as it was known) was accorded parish status, with services by 1876 being held at Shawville; the Clarendon Front schoolhouse, the 9th Line schoolhouse; the Starke’s schoolhouse and the 8th Line schoolhouse.

The new church, like its predecessor, was not built in a day.  It was not until 20 January 1878 that the old church was used for the last time, then dismantled, with its site being converted into the handy burial ground we see here in the foreground. On 11 June 1880, the large stone Saint Paul’s Church was consecrated by the Bishop of Montreal. It was not until 1895 that Clarendon, as it was called, became completely self-supporting and was awarded Rectory status.

This photograph, believed taken circa 1910, is historic. In the foreground, we see the burial ground site of the first church, and it in turn would be relocated to a new site. The driveshed behind the church was soon made redundant by the automobile and eventually torn down. The ornate spire came to be regarded as old-fashioned and was removed, with a clock placed in the top of the sheered-off tower. The wooden portal to the vestry at the base of the tower was removed, as was the main porch. The bands of diamond shingles in the roof would eventually go. The ornate iron fence around the church fell victim to a war drive for scrap iron.

The main structure survived unscathed until funding from the Province of Québec restored the spire in 2015. Notable features of the main structure were the dark stone quoins that contrasted with the rubble walls, a triple-arched west window, and a large chancel wing.

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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In this article we explore the use of our Sense of Smell and Taste in prayer.

We might not immediately identify the sense of smell with prayer. However, incense, which has distinctive aroma, has been employed in worship by Christians since antiquity. The practice is rooted in the earlier traditions of Judaism. The smoke of burning incense is interpreted by both the Western Catholic and Eastern Christian churches as a symbol of the prayer of the faithful rising to heaven, as in Psalm 141, v2: “Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight: the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.” For many the smell of incense is an invitation to prayer.

Connecting with God through smell is not restricted to worship practices. As we go through our day we smell may things. When we are outside in nature, we are constantly smelling many things: flowers; vegetation; earth; and trees (I love the smell of pine trees). Sometimes we can smell the presence of animals and birds, although sometimes those smells are not particularly pleasant. Triggered by smells of nature, we can offer prayers in prayer to God, the Creator.

Our sense of taste is connected with our sense of smell. One of my favourite smells is the aroma of food that is being cooked and served as meal, as I anticipate the taste of it. I try and say a prayer of thanksgiving (“Grace”) at least once a day before a meal. But we can also be thankful silently during and after a meal. Triggered by the smell and taste of food, we thank God for the many blessings we have been given. Every time we eat or drink there is an opportunity to offer prayers of thanksgiving.

Eating the bread and drinking the wine in a Eucharist celebration is, in itself, an act of prayer invoking out sense of taste. In some Eucharistic liturgies we are invited to “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” invoking the sense of taste. A useful practice might be to thank God for the bounty of creation or offer thanks for the gift of Jesus, as the bread touches our lips. As we swallow the wine, we might thank God for the sacrifice of Jesus and God’s forgiveness.

Smell and taste can be powerful ways for us to realize that God is in everything and loves us unconditionally.

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This fall, we stepped up our game by hosting a two-day e-waste, scrap metal, battery, and milk bag collection event with the assistance of local company Metro Scrap Metal (MSM). It also served as a fundraising event for us as well. MSM provided 3 large rolloff bins for Saturday, Sept. 16 and Sunday, Sept 17 in the parking lot of the Greely Community Centre. From 9 am to 5 pm both days, we invited and welcomed the public to drive in and drop off old electronics, large and small appliances, scrap metal, batteries of all sizes, as well as milk bags. Drop offs included items as small as a cell phone to freezers and fridges, fencing, to car hoods and doors. By the end of the weekend, we had one bin full to overflowing of e-waste, a second larger bin full to overflowing with scrap metal, and a third bin full of a combination of both, plus a large number of batteries of all sizes, and almost 700 milk bags. On Monday, MSM picked up the larger car and lawn tractor type batteries and the three bins and took care of the recycling. In return, they will provide All Saints Greely a cheque when the weight calculations have been determined. The smaller regular sized batteries were delivered to Home Hardware filling two shopping carts and used printer cartridges were returned to Staples. A weekend event which cost us nothing but time, manpower, and muscle was very much appreciated by the community. 

In the end it will help fund our outreach initiatives and operating expenses but more importantly will help protect our environment by keeping so many numerous items from going to the curb and into our landfills.

In the January 2023 Crosstalk, we told you about our “making a difference one bag at a time” milk bag weaving initiative on Tuesday evenings which started in conjunction with Earthub. To date, 129 sleeping mats, 152 sit-upons, and 2 mid-sized mats have been distributed to local outreach organizations and initiatives. This equates to approximately 66,500 milk bags kept out of the landfill. With about 1,000 milk bags a week being used and keeping up our supply becoming a challenge we do welcome donations. The outer 3 litre milk bags, clean, dry, and flat if possible but not necessary are greatly appreciated. 

Every act of kindness and little bit each of us can do to help protect our environment benefits everyone. 

Please share stories of actions in your own family, parish or community, so we can inspire, learn from and encourage one another.

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Audrey Lawrence and Karen Luyendyk from the diocesan All My Relations Circle facilitated. “We all benefited by Austin Ward’s participation as our Indigenous witness,” Luyendyk told Crosstalk. Ward started the day with a Smudge and teaching about smudging. He also spoke about his experience in a residential school. “Austin is in his early forties which truly brought home the legacy of discrimination and how recently the institutions were in operation,” she said. “We also benefitted from Austin’s young son Jaylen’s enthusiastic participation. When we went round the circle at the end, Jaylen expressed with great energy and a huge smile his pride in his Indigenous heritage and his excitement that all of us were there and that we are all learning about his heritage. I for one had tears when he shared, and I’m sure others did too.”

Reflecting on the exercise Eleonore Brunelle, commented: “I don’t think it’s necessarily true that the stories of Indigenous people are excluded in the academic curriculum many high school students are learning from textbooks, but they are definitely…filtered.”

Sydney Sharpe said the mapping exercise “gave me new information about the First Nations people and taught me some history that I didn’t know, like the Doctrine of Discovery and the population of Canada before colonization. I feel like it was beneficial to have this experience, so I have a better understanding of some of the struggles of Indigenous peoples.”

—Staff with files from Donna Rourke

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The quilting group usually meets two mornings a week during the winter months. People who like their quilts to be hand-stitched can bring their quilts to the group. “We track the hours that it takes to quilt a quilt …and then we use that as a fundraiser for the church. It ends up costing whoever has the quilt a couple of hundred dollars,” quilter Marie Cheesman told Crosstalk.

When she learned about the group Quilts for Survivors, she brought the idea to the other quilters who were enthusiastic about the idea. The Rev. Matthew Brown suggested they approach the ACW to help fundraise for the costs of shipping the quilts to the Quilts for Survivors office in Timmins, Ont., and the idea was keenly received.

“I think we started the fundraising for that in May and by the end of June we had the $700. And all that is freewill offerings that people give during coffee hour after the 10 o’clock service,” Cheesman said. The quilters would drape a quilt over an easel to show their work with a flyer about the project as a reconciliation initiative. It was a good opportunity for more of the community to be involved and to support the project, she said.

Brown blessed the quilts at the Sunday service, following National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

In October, a couple from the church planned to deliver their package including 10 completed quilts, 26 quilt tops, 20 quilt blocks, a selection of bindings and backings, and 12 handmade cards created to accompany the quilts to the Quilts for Survivors studio in Timmins.

Quilters and anyone interested in supporting this work in other ways can find more information at https://www.quiltsforsurvivors.ca/.

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Kichi Zībī means great river and is the Algonquin name for what would later be called the Ottawa River.

Mīkan is an Algonquin word meaning road or path, and it is the name many Algonquin groups called for and that Dumont said would be appropriate when he spoke to the crowd at the march on the parkway last year.

“Changing the name of the parkway was the right thing to do,” Dumont told Crosstalk. “To me, the parkway is as a trail running parallel to the Kichi Zibi. No other name is more suitable. Long live the Kichi Zibi Mikan!”

The name of the road was changed from the Ottawa River Parkway to the Sir John. A. Macdonald Parkway in 2012. Macdonald was the first prime minister of Canada and his government was largely responsible for creating the system of residential schools for Indigenous children.

Dumont is Algonquin advisor to Bishop Shane Parker of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, who also spoke at last year’s march, and commented this year that “Our march together helped to produce the right result.”

— LA Williams

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University of Ottawa Chancellor Claudette Commanda put out a call for participants in the Indigenous Memory Mural walk on Saturday’s NTR ceremony on Parliament Hill. It was an emotional experience to say the least, seeing First Nations people look for names they knew, often in tears. The atmosphere in the moment was one of great respect and reflection. As we left the stage, we were able to look back at the remaining mural and realize how incredibly long it was! We were honoured to be able to help carry the weight (physical, emotional and spiritual) of the mural.

We are both settlers, though arriving here at very different times in history. Our public school education told us nothing of the Indigenous cultures that had been injured as a result of the forming of the nation of Canada. We learned that from friends and volunteer organizations. By then, we both had a number of learned prejudices to overcome.

My parents emigrated from Europe when I was four after the Second World War. Our education in Quebec did not address any of the First Nations issues we have today, rather the culture promoted racism between English, French, Protestants, Catholics and “Indians.” Subsequently my university days never introduced us to any of this. We learned of that “great” Canadian poet, Duncan Campbell Scott but never heard about his desire to get rid of the Indian problem [as the Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs in the 1920s].

I am thankful that my children were able roam about St. Thomas Anglican Church in their childhood: accepted, loved and encouraged. Our grandchildren do the same in the Parish of the Valley. As we walked this mural with all the names on it up the stage on Truth and Reconciliation Day in Ottawa, we could only wonder what life would have been like had we been taken from our homes, stripped of our identity, forced to learn a new language or never come home again. We are humbled by the thought and acknowledge that our placement in life is a gift given to us, not something we earn. We hope to be sensitive caretakers of what has been freely given to us.

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In a letter to the parish, Bishop Shane Parker said that he had met with parish leaders several times in the last couple of years as they considered various options for their future. “While the path eventually chosen is bittersweet, to say the least, I believe your leaders were at all times faithful, thorough and diligent. In particular, Andrew Gibb and Norma Wheeler, your stalwart church wardens, conscientiously reached out to everyone in the parish, ensuring that each of you were consulted before final options were considered.”

The congregation has been through several changes since as St. John the Divine, it left its building on Slack Road in 2002. They worshipped in a school gymnasium, became a joint Anglican-Lutheran congregation, worshipped in a shopping mall, and most recently in the United Church space as an Anglican congregation again.

The Rev. Margo Whittaker, who has been with the congregation for the last four years, told Crosstalk that parishioner Sandy Holmes aptly described Good Shepherd Barrhaven as a pilgrimage community that has not been tied to a particular building since the move from Slack Road.

“You have to want to worship when you are in a gymnasium because there aren’t the pretty windows,” parishioner Kathy Gibb added. “You are coming for the people. That was a lesson we learned.”

But they did lose some people along the way through the moves, and then the pandemic hit. “We had great plans for when the pandemic would be over and everybody came back, but a lot of people didn’t come back,” said Whittaker.

Parish leaders sought different solutions, such as an amalgamation with St. James Manotick and the possibility of creating a worship space in a building a local Legion was going to build, but those didn’t work out.

So as parishioners came to say goodbye and considered which of the nearby parishes they might join, Whittaker’s homily focused on the Biblical account of disciples gathered and fearful after Jesus’s death. “Jesus joined them and surprised them and shocked them in the room where they were locked with fear to give them the gift of the Holy Spirit and to send them to continue His mission as we are sent to continue His mission.” And she echoed the reassurance that the bishop offered in his letter:

“Remember that we are people of the Resurrection, and with every ending we know that Christ has laid a new and hope-filled pathway for us. May the indestructible hope of the risen Christ be with each of you as you gather to say goodbye to a beloved parish home, trusting that the inextinguishable light of Christ is guiding your way forward.”

As parishioners gathered in the hall after the service, Rosemary Balharrie, who had attended church in the parish’s original building on Merivale Road, said she was not sure where she would worship next because she doesn’t drive.

Jacki Hopper’s family donated the land for the church on Merivale Road (which is no longer there). She was baptized at the church on Slack Road and grew up in a house across the road. “I’ve had this ongoing life connection with the church,” she said. She was planning to attend Julian of Norwich “because I already know people there, and it’s close to me, so it makes sense,” she said. I’m still sad about this ending, being a living connection [to the church’s history]. I’ve seen all the ups and downs.”

Lisbeth Mousseau, who first began attending St. John the Divine in 1969 and has always been involved in social justice work, was also planning to go to Julian of Norwich, drawn by the exciting initiatives happening there.

Warden Andrew Gibb said that a number of parishioners come from the Brittania area and were planning to attend St. Stephen’s.

“We really did become family, and now that we’re all kind of searching and going in separate directions, it will be different,” said longtime parishioner Milo Cruikshank. “As we go to the different churches, no matter where you go to check out, there will be someone you know.”

She added that it had been very nice to have some of our former ministers, including the Rev. Canon Stephen Silverthorne and the Ven. David Selzer, join them for the final service.

A history of Good Shepherd Barrhaven 

 1841 – one acre of land was donated by Arthur Hopper to be used jointly by the Church of England (Anglican) and the Church of Scotland (Presbyterians)

1849 – a log meeting house was erected, shared and used until 1875

1872 –  the start of St. John’s Anglican, Merivale (Village) on land donated by the William Hopper family

– the building was consecrated May 1874 as part of the Mission of Nepean (also including St. Luke’s, and All Saints’ Westboro)

1876 – On May 10, 1876, William and Jane Hopper officially deeded 3/4 of an acre to St. John’s Anglican Church and Burial Ground to the Corporate Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Ontario.

1902 – closed for repairs and reopened in 1903. Services were held at George B. Hopper’s home. Further renovations were completed in 1905, 1926, 1930’s, 1940’s and 1952.

1964 – rectory built on Slack Road (National Capital Commission leased three acres of land to the parish, and was managed by Minto Properties Ltd.)

1966 – St. John the Divine Church dedicated, annual rental fee $300, 40-year lease

In the City of Ottawa plans, Slack Road was to become the main east-west road in the region.  Instead, Hunt Club Road was developed as the main east-west road.

[current parishioners, Rosemary Balharrie, Doreen Slingerland, and Nan McCuaig attended St. John’s, Merivale.]

1968 – St. John’s Merivale church demolished

1991 – 150th Anniversary of the church and 25th Anniversary of Slack Road location

2000  – received a property tax bill for $47,000 for the year 2000; new annual lease $70,000 (10% of land value), as the zoning had changed to be Commercial. If the parish broke the lease agreement, the parish would have to return the land to its original state.

2001 – the Waterloo Declaration that Anglican and Lutheran faiths are in full communion

2002 – moved to Pierre Elliot Trudeau elementary school gymnasium for Sunday services only

2008 – became a joint Anglican-Lutheran Ministry; the first nationally joined parish

2009 –  the parish name changed to Good Shepherd Barrhaven, Anglican Lutheran ministry

2009 – Ottawa City Council approved the sale of land (Claridge and Beatrice) to the church

2011 – land deal was cancelled by the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, in consultation with the parish

2013 – moved to storefront location on Fallowfield Road

2014 – adopted Earl Mulligan Park for Spring and Fall clean up

2021 – moved to Barrhaven United Church for afternoon services; reverted to Anglican status.

2023 – June Special Vestry – June 11, 2023. Vestry vote to disestablish. Services to continue to end of summer

September 10, 2023. Final Service at Good Shepherd Barrhaven.

 —Brief history by Kathy Gibb with notes from the Reverend Margo Whittaker

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Speaking on behalf of the Mississippi Mills All My Relations Group, John Coderre told the more than 200 people gathered that the circle of seven stones and animal carvings represents “the work of a creative team that included both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people working together— true model of what truth and reconciliation can be,” he said. “The installation is a reminder that although Mississippi Mills is only 200 years old, the Algonquin have used this land and that waterway for thousands of years. The Seven Gifts is not only a great work of art, but it provides a sacred space in our community and a continuing opportunity for everyone to learn and seek healing with one another and with the land.”

Seven large stones donated by the Tatlock Quarry are arranged in a circle in Almonte’s Riverfront Park. Artist Deborah Arnold was commissioned to carve the stones and provide a place on each for a spirit animal carving. Algonquin artist Nish Nabie was commissioned to carve seven spirit animals. The eagle represents love; the beaver, wisdom; the turtle, truth; the buffalo, respect; the wolf, humility; the raven, honesty; and the bear, bravery. His carvings were then cast in wax by Darlene McLeod and then into bronze by Almonte sculptor Dale Dunning.

Together, the stones and animals, “celebrate the Seven Teachings brought to a child from the Seven Grandfathers of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg,” a sign at the circle explains, encouraging visitors to “Come, with hearts open and full of child-like wonder” and contemplate the meaning of each gift.

Anglicans were key supporters of the project. The Anglican Diocese of Ottawa provided a grant of $10,000 through its All My Relations Circle, and the Anglican Foundation of Canada provided another grant of $15,000.

Sue Evans, co-chair of the Mississippi Mills All My Relations group, offered a land acknowledgment that also acknowledged injustices in local history as Mississippi Mills marks its bicentennial year. “For the past several hundred years, we, as a society, have been oblivious to the harm our people have caused to both your people and to this land. Two hundred years ago, not long after the War of 1812, with your people’s help, we were able to prevent the takeover of this land by the Americans. Then we moved into this territory, forgetful of your tremendous contribution, and took it over to make it our own. We pushed you either onto a reserve, or if you chose not to go, deeper into the woods to try to survive however you could,” she said. “We know from the graves we’ve discovered on a hill in Pakenham that many of you died from diseases we had brought with us from our homeland. We confess that we have destroyed the original trust that once existed between us. We seek then to do what we can to grow in our understanding of these truths, to revise the history we tell ourselves, and to renew friendships with you if you are willing.”

Nish Nabie sang an Algonquin song at the ceremony, and he spoke about his mother’s suffering as a survivor of residential school and losing him as an infant in the Sixties Scoop when many Indigenous children were taken away from their families. Nabie spent 20 years as a First Nations police officer and only began carving after he was injured on the job and had to stop working as an officer. He thanked the Mississippi Mills All My Relations Group for recognizing him as an artist.

He thanked his wife Lona for her encouragement as he worked on the carvings. “I had to give it everything I have, all my soul, my spirit, in those carvings, so that when you go and look at that, you would know that my carvings come from love. I’m very honoured that they’ll be here,” he said. “It’s so important that we all understand what those those animals, those totems are all about. Reconciliation. Reconciliation stands for so much for us as human beings.”

Nabie remarked on his surprise that during the process of creating the installation, he became friends with the Rev. Jonathon Kouri. Priests had always been a reminder of his mother’s suffering in a residential school, and Kouri is the Incumbent at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Almonte. He is also a member of the Mississippi Mills All My Relations Group and shared this reflection with those gathered:

“In 1993,… Archbishop Michael Peers, who was the leader of the entire National Church of Canada, offered a public apology for the church’s role in the residential school system….When the apology was given, there was a recognition that the apology was just a beginning. It was something that needed to be lived into because anyone can get up and offer words, but those words need to be backed up with concrete actions. For 30 years now, the Anglican Church … has been living into that apology in various ways. Archbishop Peers passed away this past summer, but the work that he inaugurated through that apology carries on. It carries on here in Almonte.”

Kouri added, “This is but one step on the wider journey of healing and reconciliation…. The Seven Gifts’ opening doesn’t mean we can be complacent and sit down and forget about this, because the injustices that Indigenous people have faced are ongoing…. It’s incumbent upon all of us to stand together with our Indigenous brothers and sisters and to work for a better future for all people.”

He also read a letter from Bishop Shane Parker:

“The land you stand upon is ancient, and the first voices to speak on this land were those of Algonquin Anishinaabe people. An important part of reconciliation is to hear and respect the wisdom that creator gave to those who first spoke on this land. A wisdom that continued to flow through generations of Algonquin Anishinaabe, despite egregious attempts by non-Indigenous people to erase them. The Seven Gifts provides a place to lift up the ancient wisdom Creator gave to the first human beings who lived on this land. And it is a place to strive for right relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, so that we can celebrate our common humanity as creatures made in the image of our Creator. We are made from love, and we are made to love. I offer warm congratulations to your community for bringing this sacred place into being.”

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