But first, let us appreciate the troubled early years of Saint Augustine’s Church, Beachburg. In 1863, an Anglican missionary meeting was held in Beachburg. Five years later, in 1868, the Mission of Beachburg was established, and the following year that mission was listed as consisting of stations at Beachburg, Cobden, Forester’s Falls, Stafford No. 1 (Saint Stephen’s, Micksburg) and Westmeath.

We are told that nothing succeeds like success. Or does it? From 1869 to 1876, Beachburg changed from a mission with five points to seven: Wilberforce was added in 1874, and Saint Patrick’s Stafford in 1876. In 1881, the Mission of Beachburg was dissolved, and we are left clutching a mystery. Beachburg, Forester’s Falls, Westmeath and Wilberforce were not listed in the Synod Journal. In 1882, the Beachburg mission was re-created, with services held at Beachburg and Cobden. Such was the state of things that the Beachburg services were held in an Orange Hall, but already the house of worship we see here was a-building. On 26 May 1883, Saint Augustine’s, Beachburg was opened by Bishop John Travers Lewis of Ontario.

Clearly this house of worship was built in the flood tide of building Gothic Revival churches across the Diocese of Ottawa. In the 1880s, some 27 churches were built. Saint Augustine’s was not among the more lavish examples of this style, which may partly account for its charm and for its durability. Its solid red brick construction, its lack of excess, the steep roof beams supported by sturdy angled buttresses at the corners all combined for a picturesque yet enduring country house of worship.

What is important is what you don’t see in this photograph. When Brian Glenn clicked the shutter to take this view, the resulting image included numerous hydro lines that made for an unlovely picture.  It was only after patiently photo-shopping (a process by which undesirable elements are removed from a photograph) that he was able to produce the attractive photograph you behold here.

You’d think that would be an end of it. Not quite. While Brian Glenn worked away at removing hydro wires from this photograph, he doubtless thought of the then archivist’s bugbear about this being a form of lying. What the Archivist was saying, controversially, is that photo-shopping works against the truthfulness of a photograph, by removing elements from it. For Brian Glenn, it simply came down to making the picture look better by removing distractions that that get in the way visually. Those distractions prevent us seeing the church.

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 (photo-shopped or not), paintings, scrapbooks, parish newsletters, and unusual records. 

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November begins with All Saints Day, a time to think about and pray for loved ones who have died. Lorrie (Margaret) Beaton specializes in grief, loss, anxiety, depression, conflict resolution, personal growth, and personal transformation. She previously worked extensively with the Bereaved Families of Ontario, so we asked for her insight.

Grieving can be a long process. Is that out of sync with a culture that generally wants everything to be done quickly?

At first, people ask ‘Is there anything I can do? Can I help in any way?’ And what I find is that might last a couple of weeks or may be a month, where people can understand that you are going to be emotional around this loss, but then their lives go on and they’re not really thinking about what you are experiencing because they haven’t had that loss, so it’s a mystery. …Something as simple as the music in a restaurant or a smell… it is very sense-oriented, might cause … a grief burst or a grief bomb, I might call it, and that makes it hard. Because people may say, ‘Oh my gosh, what’s wrong with you?’ [The answer is] ‘I’m grieving. … I’m going to have waves of grief that show up.’ That can really create a discomfort, seeing a friend who looks like they are in distress. But grief really goes against everything that we’ve been taught…

People often say that someone at a funeral was very strong, meaning they didn’t shed a tear, but I say that’s not strong. …We have this fear that someone is going to cry…but that’s what you have to do when you’re grieving. You have to let it come when it comes in those waves and just let it flow and not judge it for being there because this is your body’s way of trying to understand what is something that seems unimaginable.”

How can therapy help?

It gives someone a neutral place where they they won’t feel judged. …Sometimes it takes a few sessions for people to understand that because they’re used to saying ‘Oh, it’s fine, because I walk with my best friend every day and we talk about this.’ But usually a friend will jump into fix-it mode. “You’ve got to get out there….You’ve got to start living again,” that kind of thing.

With therapy, or counselling for grief, often we’re just sitting with what’s there. And we’re not trying to shift it in any way. It’s just allowing it to be there and not judging it…. It’s more of just accepting  [emotions.] “Okay, so you’re really angry right now. Let’s talk about that. Where is that coming from?  And why would why would the anger be showing up now?” And really understanding that it doesn’t mean that anger is going to be there forever. It’s just this is what you have to process right now. Next week, it’s probably going to be something different.” And then having the guidelines and the resources to offer someone. … I’ve an article that I share that says “No, you’re not going crazy. You’re grieving.” Because it can feel very crazy making when you can’t concentrate, you have no energy, you’re not sleeping, you’re not eating, or you’re eating too much… You can’t get back into your daily routine. That’s grief. You’ve just got to let that be there for now. “

[Grief counselling is] compassionate inquiry and the neutral stance…. We’re not trying to take that pain away from someone. We’re just helping them process the pain of where they’re at right now, without judging. So, compassion, that’s it.

Are your clients themselves are sometimes impatient with the grieving process?

[Yes] someone will ask, ‘So how long is this going to take?… I’m really uncomfortable with these feelings that keep coming up and messing up my life.’ And I always ask them, ‘Well, how did, how long did you know that person?’ Sometimes people say, “Well, it was my mom.” And I say, “Okay, so you’ve known this person even months before you were born. It’s a part of you, so it’s going to take however long it takes to unravel that relationship and for you to make sense of this and adapt to this new relationship. It’s not a switch. People think after a year they are supposed to turn that grief switch off and not have to feel this anymore.

“The first year is really just making sense of the absence of that person and really understanding that relationship. Where and how do they fit now? … I used to support a lot of more children, and [many years ago] one of my little guys said, ‘You know what? This is great.’ And I said, ‘Really? Grief is great?  What do you mean?’  And he said, ‘Well, before I used to always have to call my loved one, and they’d have to call me back. And we’d have to make time for each other. But now I can talk to them anytime.’ ”

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In retirement, or perhaps I should say semi-retirement, I have had more time these days to sit and reflect upon my 41 years of ordained ministry, and I have thought a great deal about the times when I have endeavoured to discern God’s call to the best of my ability and the times when the busyness and the distractions of my life and work have prevented me from listening carefully for the leading of the Holy Spirit. The work of Christian discernment involves the intentional carving out of time in our schedules for prayer, meditation, the reading of scripture, and listening for God’s voice in the voices and conversations we have with trusted colleagues, spiritual directors, mentors, loved ones and friends. We also must be prepared at times to hear such a call in the life or voice of a stranger or someone we disagree with. I pray that we will do all these things to discern who will offer leadership as the 11th Bishop of Ottawa.

As I write this article, news has just been released that Bishop Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London in England, is to become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, and her appointment is yet another sign of the transforming and restoring work of our God who is so often full of wonderful surprises! In welcoming Bishop Mullally to this new ministry, Bishop Anthony Poggo, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion invited the churches of the global Anglican Communion to pray for the archbishop-designate that God might grant her wisdom and discernment, as she seeks to listen to member churches, encourage mutual support and foster unity. May we in the Diocese of Ottawa also be granted this gift of discernment in the days ahead.

We are putting together some prayers and liturgical resources to offer the members of our Diocese in preparation for the episcopal election and we will put them on the website under the “Episcopal Election 2026” heading.

In the meantime, I offer one of my favourite prayers for the church from the BAS [Book of Alternative Services:]

O God of unchangeable power and eternal light,

look favourably upon your whole Church,

that wonderful and sacred mystery.

By the effectual working of your providence,

carry out in tranquillity the plan of salvation.

Let the whole world see and know

that things which were cast down are being raised up,

and things which had grown old are being made new,

and that all things are being brought to their perfection

By him through whom all things were made,

Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.    Amen.

The Right Reverend Michael A. Bird brings over four decades of pastoral and episcopal leadership to the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa. Since completing his tenure as the eleventh Bishop of Niagara, Bishop Bird has served in the Diocese of Ottawa in a variety of roles that reflect his steady and thoughtful approach to ministry.

In 2018, at the invitation of Bishop John Chapman, Bishop Bird became the Incumbent of the newly formed Parish of the Valley—a regional ministry spanning multiple congregations across the Upper Ottawa Valley. He also served as Archdeacon of Pembroke and, during a period of medical leave, was appointed Bishop’s Commissary, providing oversight and continuity at the diocesan level.

These experiences have given Bishop Bird a strong familiarity with the Diocese’s clergy, congregations, and administrative structures. He understands the regional and pastoral dynamics of ADO and has earned the respect of both lay and ordained leaders through his collaborative and steady presence.

Currently residing within the diocese and engaged in part-time ministry, Bishop Bird is well positioned to serve as administrator during the episcopal transition. His prior leadership within ADO, combined with his episcopal experience and understanding of diocesan governance, provide a solid foundation for this interim role until a new bishop is elected and installed.

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As Bishop of Ottawa at the time, Parker noted “Canon Brittain is a respected scholar of our Church, with published research and expertise concerning relations within the global Anglican Communion, theological responses to crises, political theology, and ethics. He is resident in the Diocese of Toronto and has graciously consented to share his wisdom with our diocesan church when we require learned counsel on complex theological matters.”

One of the most complex issues clergy and lay people are wrestling with is the matter of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). Canon Brittain contributed an article to a book published in 2024 by the Anglican Church of Canada Faith Seeking Understanding: Medical Assistance in Dying — Reflections by Canadian Anglicans. In an interview with Perspective this past summer, he shared some of what was discussed when he was asked to speak on the subject at a clergy conference in another diocese.

“In the conversations I had with the diocesan leadership, they really wanted me to know that their clergy were pretty divided on this issue, which I certainly took to heart. And so, the conversation we had was not about whether clergy should be for or against MAiD… particularly since this was not the conversation I was asked to have. Instead, we talked about how difficult it is for clergy to inhabit situations where people are approaching them for advice about MAiD or possibly asking them to accompany them during the procedure, and how bewildering it can be. We talked about the challenges of being a pastoral leader in this situation and then how to help members of the church think about MAiD in a pastoral way as opposed to sort of an ideological way.”

For clergy who are comfortable accompanying people who choose MAiD, they discussed what challenges and concerns that they need to keep in mind, Brittain said.

For clergy who are less comfortable, they discussed the fact that priests and deacons are not obliged to accompany someone choosing MAiD, but they are still obliged to care for them pastorally. “Can you help them find someone who can support them or their family and talk about a range of alternatives rather than only MAiD?” he suggested.

Brittain noted that in discussing alternatives, such as hospice and palliative care, it is important to ask if those services are available and accessible in that area. If not, “and if we think there should be other options for people, which I hope the church does believe, we need to lobby to make sure these options are available,” he said.

“The church must respond pastorally to those who are dying or who have family who are dying and be the best support we can be…. [MAiD is] a legal option. Some people take it for very good reasons even if they might not be our reasons. And so, we need to try to help people navigate the situation they’re in.”

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The placing of the plaque was the result of a collaboration between members of the St. John’s Anglican Cemetery Board and members of the St. Lawrence Branch, United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada. The plaque was installed by SLB member Michael Eamer, U.E. with assistance from Lorna Armstrong.

This historic cemetery is the burial site of Colonel John Crysler, UEL who served during the Revolutionary War with Butler’s Rangers. Following the cessation of hostilities and the defeat of the British, Crysler became a loyalist refugee eventually settling along the St. Lawrence front and then in the village of Crysler that now bears his name. He and other members of his family were very involved in the social, cultural, political and religious life of their new home communities.

Lorna Armstrong, a member of the cemetery committee, gave a short but informative address on the role played by the Crysler family, noting the land for Saint John’s Anglican Church and cemetery was purchased from one of Colonel Crysler’s sons.  Another son John Pliny Crysler donated the land for the construction of Holy Trinity Anglican in nearby Chesterville.

A beautiful stained-glass window, now located in the Crysler Hall in Upper Canada Village, had been donated to Saint John’s Anglican Church in his memory by his wife following his death 1852.  Darlene Fawcett-Montgomer, U.E, gave a brief outline of the loyalist burial site program noting this was the sixth plaque to be dedicated in Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry including one at Trinity Anglican Church in Cornwall.

Askwith then dedicated and blessed the installation of the plaque by these words: “Gracious God, we remember before you those who were loyal to the Crown in times of conflict, and whose earthly remains rest in this hallowed place. We ask that their life and witness may be to us an example of steadfastness and loyalty, and we dedicate this plaque to their memory, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Amen.

Those in attendance were able to gather afterwards to socialize and learn about Saint John’s Anglican Church and the cemetery where burials date from the early 1800s. People learned of vandalism that desecrated the church and of its subsequent demolition. They visited the memorial to its memory near where the church had proudly stood and served its community for decades.

The post Remembering Loyalist history appeared first on Perspective.

The catalogue will include paintings by important Canadian artists such as Georges Chavignaud, Langley Donges, Bruce le Dain, Hortense Gordon and Sidney Charles Mooney. International art includes works by English watercolourist George Stanfield Walters, Scottish landscape painter Robert McGowan Coventry, Japanese artist Nisabura Ito as well as British bronze/spelter dogs, and an Australian bark painting by England Bangala.

St. Matthew’s recently received the donation of seven stunning stonecuts from Povungnituk, which is located along the eastern shores of Hudson Bay in Nunavik (Arctic Quebec). Printmaking started there in 1961 as a project of the Povungnituk Cooperative, and annual print collections were shown from 1962 until 1989 when the print shop closed after the death of several prominent graphic artists.

Several of the stonecuts are by Davidialuk (1910-1976), known as one of the best stone-cutting artists from the community. Unlike the print artists of Cape Dorset who used print assistants to transfer the image onto the print block, Povungnituk artists carved the design onto the print block themselves. The distinctive style of these prints comes through the rough texture and uneven harsh edges of the stone blocks.

Once again, we have certificates for vacation properties in the Caribbean and Panama which provide reduced per diem rates (airfare not included). Christmas baked goods and meals will be offered again.

And look for unusual books, Waterford crystal, fine china, fashion items, small pieces of furniture, jewellery and antique silver.

Capital Home Hardware in the Glebe and Amica The Glebe are supporting us again. These sponsorships help defray auction costs such as the website, graphic design and promotion. We have also received extremely important assistance from Antique Silver and Davidson’s Jeweller’s.

This year, the church’s outreach beneficiary will be the Youth Services Bureau in Ottawa. St. Matthew’s will sponsor a shelter room at the centre. Founded in 1960, the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa is one of the largest and most comprehensive nonprofit agencies serving youth in this community.

To register, please visit: auctria.events/StMattsAuction2025

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On Sept. 11, CCC partnered with the New Horizons program for seniors that is under the Nepean, Rideau, Osgoode Community Resource Centre’s (NROCRC) umbrella of services for the wider community.  As two groups providing morning programs for older people, we collaborated to hold a cultural event at St. Mark’s on the first morning of CCC’s fall program.  New Horizons, as a government sponsored activity under NROCRC, has been funded so that they might have events highlighting different cultures. One of the people who attends both programs suggested that the two groups combine to have/host an Irish cultural event at St. Mark’s.

The result was a very special gathering of more than 88 people from both morning programs, as well as guests. Brian Armstrong, who suggested the idea, created a lovely program, an ode to the Irish culture and country. A power point presentation highlighted the history and beautiful scenery of Ireland. Then the Ottawa Celtic Choir entertained. Ten singers brought the beautiful music of this culture in Gaelic to the event. To end this journey to the Emerald Isle, seven Irish dancers performed and then led those brave enough to join them in Irish line dancing. It was delightful!

As always, to start the morning, CCC’s talented bakers provided goodies to go with tea and coffee. For this occasion, they outdid themselves by adhering to the Irish theme. Guinness cake, Bailey’s coffee cake, Bram Brack and shamrock shortbreads were accompanied by Irish cheeses and fruit.

After the program, New Horizons (NROCRC’s program) provided an Irish lunch of lamb shepherd’s pie and halibut fish pie catered by Tulips and Maple. The CCC volunteer bakers from St. Mark’s made delicious Irish apple cake for dessert.

The two outreach program teams, with a lot of help from volunteers on both sides, created this first joint event, which brought the two groups together and offered a fun opportunity to meet new people. People have asked that we do it again — a major success!

The CCC volunteer team at St. Mark’s church shared their space with a group who needed one to hold a larger event.  Setting up, proving coffee, serving food and doing the clean-up afterwards was CCC’s contribution to an unforgettable morning for both groups. It was a great way to kick off our 2025-2026 seasons!

November Coffee, Company & Conversation Events

Thursdays at 10 am

St. Mark the Evangelist (1606 Fisher Ave., Ottawa)

November 6 — Bridge & Games – or – “Koffee Klatsch”

November 13 — Post Remembrance Morning

November 20 —Guest: Mike Martin, noted Ottawa writer and author of the “Sgt. Wildflower Murder Mysteries” – set in Newfoundland

November 27 — Creative Writing Group – or – “Koffee Klatsch” for non-writers

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The Rev. Dr. Caroline Ducros has been appointed Regional Dean of West Quebec.

The Rev. Dr. Thomas Brauer has been appointed Regional Dean of the Southwest.

The post Clergy news — November 2025 appeared first on Perspective.

But a little positive press can add momentum to the work and raise the profile of the parish and the church. So, Perspective is sharing some good news that both All Saints Greely and All Saints’ Westboro have both been in the media spotlights for very good reasons recently.

All Saints Greely

CTV sent reporter Katelyn Wilson to All Saints Greely on a Tuesday evening in September to report on a community effort that weaves milk bags into mats that people who are living on the streets can use to sleep or sit on. The project also has an environmental benefit of diverting the plastic bags so that they don’t go directly to landfill.

Wilson interviewed Grace Jones, a parishioner and church warden who got the project at All Saints started in 2022. Most of the volunteers are people from the community who meet in the church hall every Tuesday, and in CTV’s news clip they are busily working and weaving. They demonstrated how the donated milk bags are cut, tied and then woven into mats. and Jones said the reporter tried her hand at the weaving.

Jones told Perspective later that she heard the segment aired not only on the evening television news broadcast but also the next morning on CFRA radio, and also aired in London and North Bay. “I have had a number of emails with one this morning from north of Windsor wanting to compare notes. I must say I am a little overwhelmed, but it is all good.  I didn’t imagine such an outpouring of support,” she said.

But how did the milk bag mats first come to CTV’s attention? It happened through All Saints’ partnership with the environmental group Earthub, which collects the milk bags to keep the plastic out of the landfill and was seeking an end user for the bags when Jones got involved in 2022.

“Brittanny [Belanger], the founder of Earthub, came to visit weaving one Tuesday evening,” Jones explained. “She took some pictures and videos as she was trying to increase the number of milk bags coming in.  On the night of Sept 4, she reposted a 21 second sped up video of the process and messaged me the next morning that it had had 50,000 views so far.  Last week, CTV reached out to her because of the emails they were receiving as to where they could donate milk bags and wanted to do an interview during the day.” She believed the whole story needed to be told and so worked with [CTV] to arrange for them to come on a Tuesday evening.”

“It is just providing a little bit of comfort, one bag at a time,” Jones told the reporter.

Each mat comes with a tag that says, “Made with caring hands by All Saints Anglican Church Greely and friends.” The mats are distributed through outreach organizations, who report that people gratefully received the mats, and that they are well-used. Shawna from Shawna’s Outreach told Jones that she met a man who was carrying a mat and asked how he liked it. “He said it was the reason he’s still alive. He told me he has carried to Montreal and back and can’t imagine being without it. He pointed out how the colours of the companies were worn off and that it was still strong and together. Thought you should know,” she said.

So far, the All Saints group has made about 400 sitting mats and about 420 sleeping mats. Jones says the group will keep on making the mats as long as there is a need for them.

All Saints’ Westboro

All Saints’ Westboro was also featured in a CTV news segment and on the local CBC radio show All in a Day and on Rogers TV.

Whispers was a popular neighbourhood pub for many years, but it closed down in 2022. Its walls were covered with an eclectic mix of memorabilia — antiques, sports equipment, musical instruments and much more — and the developer who bought the building wanted to clear it out.

Judy Lincoln, executive director of the Westboro Business Improvement Association (BIA) suggested donating the items to All Saints’ Westboro, which has operated the Westboro Food Bank for more than 40 years, to auction off and use the proceeds to support the food bank.

In the spring, All Saints’ volunteers moved items out of the pub, cleaning and preparing them for the auction on Sept. 20.

That week, All Saints’ associate incumbent the Rev. Chung Yan Lam told Perspective that they had raised $3,700 in a combination between the online auction, online shop, and also the community meal on the day of the event. “People were very generous with their offers for the items, and we still have many historical items taken from Whispers Pub that could still find a good home. We will continue to sell them on Facebook Marketplace to hopefully keep things out of the landfill,” she said. “At the community meal, we also prepared 40 portions of food that were delivered to our neighbours at Cornerstone’s Princeton location.”

Lam added that the partnership between All Saints’ Westboro Anglican Church, Westboro Region Food Bank, and the Westboro BIA has been wonderful, especially in providing support to the neighbours who are experiencing food insecurity. “The Westboro BIA has organized two separate fundraisers this past year that allowed the food bank to hold a total of four free community meals. At each of the meals, we cooked more than 200 portions of food. We look forward to other partners who are interested in sponsoring and partnering to prepare community meals for our neighbours. It’s not just about feeding the hungry,’ she said. “We hope that All Saints’ Westboro can provide a friendly face and a community where everyone is welcome.”

Peace Pole installed at All Saints’ Westboro

On Sept. 21, the congregations from All Saints’ Westboro and First United, which share their building, gathered outside the church in between their two Sunday worship services along with members of the Rotary Club of West Ottawa for a ceremony to bless a Peace Pole.

Peace Poles are a global initiative that began in Japan after World War II and have the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written in multiple languages on all four sides. The Rotary Club of West Ottawa sponsored and funded the pole installed near the church’s healing garden and its outdoor labyrinth after consulting with the parishes and the Indigenous community.

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