The roots of Saint John the Evangelist parish go much further back than that.  In 1860, when there was still only one parish in the City of Ottawa, Christ Church was still located at the western limits of the city, whereas the larger population resided in Lower Town, and there was promise of the Sandy Hill area being developed once parliament moved to Ottawa from Québec.  The congregation of Christ Church (later the cathedral) built a stone ‘chapel of ease’ on Sussex Street at the corner of George Street which it also used as a school room.

Bishop John Travers Lewis by 1871 perceived that Ottawa as capital would soon outdistance Kingston, and began working to have a Diocese of Ottawa created out of the northern and eastern sections of the Diocese of Ontario.  Coming to prefer residing in Ottawa as opposed to Kingston, Bishop Lewis officiated at services in the chapel of ease, causing it to be called ‘The Bishop’s Chapel.’  The worthy bishop hoped to build a national cathedral on the spot, but when he was called away to reside in his true see city, instead the stone chapel came to be known as Saint John’s Church.

In the early 1900s the federal government prepared to expropriate Saint John’s in preparation for building the Connaught Building, when the stone church happened to burn down.  As the congregation had no hope of rebuilding on their existing site, they chose to amalgamate with Grace Church—the structure we view here—which had been built in 1890 at the intersection of Elgin and Somerset streets.  The amalgamated congregation came to be known by the name of the older parish.

By whichever name it was known—Grace or Saint John’s—the church at the corner of Elgin Street and Somerset was distinguished by a number of features.  It was built of red brick on a foundation of cut grey Gloucester limestone.  Its features included a landmark tower with battlements, and angled buttresses on the upper tower.  All buttresses and pointed windows were capped or distinguished by Ohio freestone, there were vents in dormer gables on the roof and transepts.  This church was distinguished by four features it possessed and one it did not.  First, it was one of only two Anglican churches in the diocese built with a baptistery (the square structure to the right of the main entrance).  Second, it may well have been built with the earliest purpose-built parish hall in a parish church (on the far right).  Third, the large west and chancel windows featured double-layered stained glass in order to add to the realism of the scenes portrayed in them.  Fourth, the very narrow side windows lining the nave together with the dark wood paneling made for a very dark church interior.  If there were bats in the large belfry, they remained undisturbed for over a century, as a bell was not installed until 2001.           

Documents the Archives collects for parishes include 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.

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Regularity and Accountability

In today’s culture, the busyness of life, instant communications, constant interruptions, and seemingly endless choices, make it difficult to establish any sort of routine.  While we can’t control the world around us, we can control our reaction to it.  For our spiritual sanity and growth, we can put some regularity into our prayer life, our way of learning, our fellowship life, and our worship life.  Regularity and self-discipline do not mean rigidity. We need to be accountable to God, to ourselves, to others we know, to the Church, and to the world we live in.

The Way of Prayer

A Christian Way of Life includes a regular time for quiet prayer.  We are all unique; consequently, the ways in which we regularly practise prayer will be different.  Regular times of prayer and meditation are an essential ingredient in a Way of Life.

The Way of Study and Reflection

St. Paul said, “Have this mind in you which is in Christ Jesus.”  A Christian Way of Life involves nurturing our mind, seeking the truth through study and reflection.  Prayerful studying Scripture, and the writings of others, is essential to spiritual growth.  There are many resources available these days, but discipline and care are needed to choose those things that are useful for our inner growth. 

The Way of Fellowship

The Way of the Christian Life is not a solitary endeavour.  It involves the fellowship, encouragement, and companionship of others.  Probably the best way to practise the Way of Fellowship is to be part of a small Christian fellowship group.  Such things as participating in a regular Bible Study, being part of a Prayer Group, belonging to what the Cursillo Community calls a Group Reunion, are good ways of regularly praying, learning from each other and encouraging each other.

The Way of Worship 

The Christian life leads into the whole experience of the Body of Christ; a Way of Life always includes the corporate worship of the Church.  The Christian who establishes a Way of Life comes to the liturgical acts of the Church (worship) with the fervour that makes them spiritually alive and also ignites the faith of others. 

The Way of Christian Action 

The Christian Way of Life is not solely one of belief and trust in God; it is the way of getting beyond ourselves and serving others.  It is a Way of responding to the needs of others and showing the world what the Christian response is to the troubles and needs of those less fortunate than ourselves.  Our Mission is to help others and to bring the Christian message of love, reconciliation, and peace to those whom we encounter. 

One can find a more extensive discussion of “The Way of Life” on the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer website at: https://anglicanprayer.org/index.

A Prayer for Diocesan Synod

Holy God,

the navigator of our souls,

hear us as we hold up before you

the Synod of our Diocese.

Be with us in our yearning

to chart a new course together,

inspired by the presence of your Spirit.

Give courage to our Bishop,

all of our leaders, and each of us,

as we move forward

with your blessing.

For all we do, we do to your glory,

in Jesus’ name.

Paul Dumbrille is diocesan representative to the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer.

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Their Arts for Seniors project began at the Believe Leadership Club at Katary’s school Earl of March. “In this club, students are meant to create a project which involves a passion that they have and a problem that they would like to solve,” she told Crosstalk.  A year into the pandemic, Katary and Guo thought about how isolated seniors were. “We decided that it would be a nice idea to host virtual concerts for these seniors to enjoy from the comfort of their [own] home.”

Katary said one of the most difficult parts of the project was connecting with seniors’ care centres and residences. The first 20 she contacted didn’t respond or said no. “I then reached out to my organ teacher, and she helped me to get in touch with a few facilities that might be interested, and after [that], we were able to get a little momentum. 

“After finding the retirement homes, we had to find students who were willing to participate in our concerts. We advertised online, in our school, and obtained 10 to15 performances in the first concert!” The concerts continued on a monthly basis and are archived on YouTube.

The project also provides an opportunity for the high school students to accumulate the 40 hours of volunteer time they need as a requirement to graduate. The chance to do online concerts was especially valuable during the pandemic when many other opportunities to do volunteer hours were shut down or limited.

Response to the concerts has been very positive, Katary says. In addition to sending the concerts to retirement homes, “We’ve sent these concerts to teachers (to share with their elderly relatives), family members, and any other seniors that we know of. One of our teachers reached out to us and gave us a lot of support; explaining that our concerts really cheer up her mother.”

CBC Radio also heard about the project and interviewed the girls on air. 

“When we send our concerts to the retirement homes, we get a note of thanks from them each month, which really gives us the motivation to keep going with this.”

Katary and Guo took a break from the monthly concerts over the summer, but Katary says they will be starting up again in October, and this year, they hope to do a live in-person concert in the holiday season. 

Find Arts for Seniors at:

https://allyaleeshapassion.wixsite.com/artsforseniors

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This year, however, Seguin said he and the staff wanted to find another way. They decided to collect and distribute reusable water bottles and to find a way to provide water to refill them.

They had previously approached the City of Cornwall to see if their location at Trinity Anglican Church could be the site for an outdoor water station. The City has installed a few along the waterfront and bike path in Cornwall to provide accessible drinking water. “We reached out to the City again and asked if there was any possibility. They got back to us and said it’s just financially not possible. It’s a huge project, and it has to connect with a water main.”

Seguin was excited, however, to get a call the following week from a City official who said that the mayor would like to come for a visit to Centre 105. “He came and said ‘We love the project. We love the idea of trying to reduce waste. What about an indoor water station? That’s something we can do.’ And I thought, “Wow, what a surprise. I thought this was going to be totally dead.”

Installing an indoor water station is still a big project, so Seguin is grateful the City is spearheading it and providing the funding. “We just get to enjoy it when it is done,” he said. 

Centre 105 collected about 600 reusable water bottles. Various businesses and agencies donated blocks of 50 or 100 and individual people donated them one or two at a time. “It all adds up,” says Seguin. 

Centre 105 has about 150 regular participants, so they gave everyone two reusable bottles to start with. During the summer while waiting for the water station to be installed, the staff provided water to participants in the program from big camping jugs of ice water at the Centre.

The water station will be just by the Centre 105’s side entrance. It will keep a running total of the amount of water dispensed and how many plastic bottles it has replaced. “One at city hall that’s been there for a few years had saved 20,000 water bottles,” Seguin said. “This is busy building. There’s so many different groups in here, not to mention the church itself. It’s going to be pretty wild. I think we are going to be shocked.”

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Two Afghan families, sponsored by the Community Alliance of Refugee Settlement (CARS) in Perth, a partnering group of the ministry, arrived in Perth in August. Another two families are on track for settlement to Ottawa. They include a prominent Afghan television news anchor who is among the most vulnerable to persecution.

These families are being settled under the special Operation Afghan Safety Program that is making about 3,000 cases available to Sponsorship Agreement Holders of which the Diocese’s Refugee Ministry is one. The program will be open to applications at least until next year.

At the same time, the Blended Visa Office Referral (BVOR) program has become more active. Under the program Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) provides lists of candidates for settlement to Sponsorship Agreement Holders, inviting them to participate. 

“I hope we’ll be busy from now on,” Ishita Ghose, case manager at the Refugee Ministry, says. The ministry has filed two applications under the BVOR program and expects to do more.

One of the applications is partnered with the Interchurch Refugee Group (IRG), an independent charity supported by five churches, including Epiphany Anglican in Gloucester.

Ghose, who works with Safiyah Rochelle as a team in the ministry, encourages parishes to contact the ministry office if they are interested or want more information. The big advantage for BVOR sponsorship now is that the government is providing up to six months’ worth of cost-sharing funding based on rates of the province’s Resettlement Assistance Program.  Sponsors can choose to support a family or a single person from the lists provided by IRCC.

The government recently announced an additional $800,000 to expand resettlement services in eastern Ontario. The Refugee Ministry is a member of the Refugee Network of the Eastern Ontario and Outaouais Region of the United Church of Canada.

The diocese partners with “constituent groups” like CARS and IRG to sponsor refugee families.  The groups may be parishes and community groups and may include family members of refugees. They raise funds to support the refugee families financially for their first year and also provide settlement activities.

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The parish stewardship committee had been including an insert about legacy giving in the church’s annual stewardship campaign each fall, but “rather than just reminding people once a year, we decided we would try to do something a bit more visible,” Derwyn Sangster, chair of the stewardship committee, explained.

St. Thomas had the names of parishioners who had remembered the church in their wills going back to 1960. With approval from parish council, they asked a parishioner who is a skilled woodworker (but who prefers not to be named) to create a plaque that would feature all of the names and the year of their gifts. A small name plate is commercially produced for each person.

Once the plaque was hung on the wall, the parish found there was an additional benefit. “One or two people have since died and remembered the church in their will, so we have had a little mini-ceremony during the service where the name of the individual was read out and remembered and that person’s name was symbolically put up on a new little plate on the plaque,” said Sangster. “It was an opportunity for the priest to draw attention to legacy giving, this particular person’s gift and to talk a little bit about the value of legacy giving as an ongoing component of people’s giving.”

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The congregation came together to organize a barbecue that raised $6,000 to support Ukrainians fleeing the war in their country. 

They didn’t have a venue for a sit-down event. Complying with health regulations they made it a take-out over two evenings based at the location of the Alice General Store.

St George’s, a member church of the Parish of the Valley, serves a rural area west of Pembroke. “The community here was very generous,” says Wanda Hilts, lead volunteer for the event. “It was just wonderful.” The fundraiser benefitted from a single donation of $1,500 and a total of about 1,900 small cash donations. 

Nine volunteers did the cooking and serving of made-to-order dinners. Hilts and her husband saw television news coverage of the efforts by St James Carleton Place to support a local charity, Ukrainian Diaspora Support Canada (UADSC), in bringing Ukrainians to Canada. They decided to lend a hand.

Meanwhile, Anglican Church Women (ACW) at Holy Trinity Pembroke, held coffee hours and lunches to raise $2,147.75, bringing the total contribution from the Area Parish of the Valley to $8,147.75.

It’s part of more than $30,000 that has been raised by rural parishes in the diocese to support the displaced Ukrainians. 

After overwhelming support in the spring for a local couple who set up the UADSC charity, St James Carleton Place became a distribution centre for clothing and supplies for arriving Ukrainians.

By the fall, St James was able to sell some of the excess stock while still maintaining enough for continuing arrivals. This raised about $7,000 that was donated to the UADSC cause.

St Paul’s Almonte raised $1,700 through two Ukrainian Easter Egg decorating workshops. Partnering with the Centre for Creative Living (CFCL), St Paul’s provided the space and three instructors donated their time. The 48 participants were asked to make a donation through Carebridge Community Support which at the time was handling donations for the UADSC group.

“This was an excellent opportunity for us to engage with our community, introduce people to our church and work together to support Ukrainian refugees,” Rev. Jonathon Kouri says.

As reported in June Crosstalk the Parish of Huntley in Carp raised $13,460 that was directed for aid to Ukraine through the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF).

Ukrainians fleeing the war are eligible under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) for a one-time non-taxable benefit payment of $3,000 per adult and $1,500 per child (age 17 and under). They do not qualify for refugee settlement programs.

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This past summer was the second year the church hosted a community garden on its property. About half the plots are tended by St. Thomas parishioners who volunteer their time to grow fresh produce for the food bank. The other half of the plots are privately held by people in the neighbourhood. “We don’t charge them for the plots, but we require that they give 10% of what they grow to the food bank,” explains Derwyn Sangster, chair of the parish stewardship committee. “They are quite happy to do it. Some of them give a lot more than 10% because they find they are growing more than their family can eat.”

The food bank loves it when we turn up, he adds. “We have had a long-standing association with the food bank, so moving to the community garden last year was a natural extension of our interest in the food bank. ….It’s fun, and we’ve made some good friends.”

They added new friends again this year. The community garden caught the eye of people who were looking for a location for an Alta Vista Community Farmers Market. “They got in touch with us, and we now have had a farmer’s market operating every Saturday since the end of June, right on the front lawn of the church beside the community garden.”

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It will begin with an opening Eucharist at Christ Church Cathedral (which will also be live streamed) on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. Synod will convene on Friday Oct. 21 until noon on Sat. Oct. 22 at the St. Elias Centre (750 Ridgewood Ave., Ottawa).

A key focus of the Synod will be consideration of three proposals that have resulted from the Shape of Parish Ministry consultations (SPMC) that began in 2021 with the creation of parish profiles. Customized toolkits for each parish were designed to help parish clergy and leaders explore their individual situations and share thoughts and ideas about the shape of parish ministry across the diocese. Throughout the consultations, the SPMC team heard that parishes are challenged by volunteer fatigue, property and administrative responsibilities, finances, aging congregations, and evangelism. But it also reported that “parish clergy and lay leaders are inspired to work together more, reach more people, enrich their discipleship, clarify and support shared lay and clergy leadership. They are ready to change in order to grow and serve.” 

From these discussions, the SPMC team developed three proposals (as reported in the September issue of Crosstalk). Following online and in-person meetings to discuss them at the end of June, the proposals were further revised over the summer and presented to Diocesan Council in September. 

Here are some excerpted highlights of proposals, revised to incorporate feedback, that Synod will consider.

Proposal One 

Strengthening for the future

This proposal seeks to clarify understanding of different models of parishes; to consolidate activities wherever possible to strengthen overall parish ministry; and to promote collaboration and use of collective resources in ways that support and enable parishes.

Clarifying the different types of parish structures (single point, multi-point, area, pastoral and chapel) and various “life-cycle” processes parishes may go through (creation, disestablishment, amalgamation, chapel designation). 

Consolidating parish ministry The consultations revealed a significant number of parishes and congregations who believe they are in a time of transition and are open to moving into a different kind of parish structure. Many others are wondering about the possibility of being in transition sometime in the future. About a dozen parishes appear to be in a place where immediate action can be taken to consolidate, and Bishop Shane has already begun conversations, in consultation with parish leaders and territorial archdeacons, with a number of those parishes.

Motion P1A requests that a guide be created to help parishes discern when the time is right to move to a different parish structure and urges parish leaders who have discerned that the time is right to begin active conversations with the bishop and their territorial archdeacon to make changes as soon as possible.

Motion P1C urges staff and relevant diocesan bodies, under the guidance of the bishop, to take action to stimulate innovation and collaboration between parishes.

Collaboration and interdependence

Participants in the consultations expressed a strong desire to become more collaborative and interdependent by uploading some responsibilities to Ascension House and to centralize or regionalize some other functions. 

Mitigating financial demands on parishes

Motion P1D asks Diocesan Council to strike a task force to conduct a review of Parish Fair Share. Any recommended changes would be brought to Synod 2023 for approval.

Based on a review of untapped sources of financial relief, Motion P1E asks that Synod approve the use of dividends from undesignated and bishop’s discretionary trusts held in the diocesan Consolidated Trust Fund to contribute to the overall, shared costs of parish ministry.

Areas for improvement

Many functions are duplicated across the diocese without added benefit, while opportunities to share resources and take advantage of bulk buying are missed. 

The bishop and staff at Ascension House have identified several areas where improved support or options for relief can happen: property and asset management, financial and administrative services and human resource management (including some support for volunteer recruitment and management).

Proposal Two 

Lifelong formation —nurturing parish ministry 

This proposal focuses on building capacity to equip parishes for ministry by establishing a program of modules for parish advancement; providing guides and regular training for people in parish leadership positions; and establishing resource pods of people with interest and expertise in various areas who will share information with the diocese as a whole.

Parish advancement

Knowledge and resources gained from participating in the School for Parish Development for several years can be built on and expanded into a diocesan parish advancement program, designed for parish teams of clergy and lay leaders. The parish advancement program would include several modules that address key areas such as building trust and community; thinking strategically; assessing needs; managing change; and effective stewardship.

Parish leadership training 

Consultations revealed a desire for increased training and support for parish leadership, to ensure people have the technical skills and knowledge needed to fulfil their responsibilities.  There was particular concern with regard to the work and responsibilities of treasurers, wardens, head servers, parish administrators, music directors and parish council members.

Motion P2B asks staff and relevant diocesan bodies to prepare up-to-date resources and regular training sessions for parish leadership roles. 

Resource pods

Intentionally creating “resource pods,” which gather people (lay and ordained) around areas of common interest and expertise, can offer a means to provide mutual learning and support to all members of the diocese. The Shape of Parish Ministry consultations identified many areas that would benefit from resource pods, such as children and youth, adult education, rural ministry, pastoral visiting, evangelism, food security, and mental health advocacy.  

Resource pods would share best practices and failed experiments, discover opportunities for collaboration (especially on issues that cut across different pods), and offer the gift of collegiality. Motion P2C asks that a working group be tasked with responsibilities related to creating resource pods to be completed and presented to Diocesan Council in March 2023.

Proposal Three

Engagement with the world: new worshipping communities and contextual mission 

This proposal looks forward to engaging with the world by establishing new worshipping communities tailored to include people the church is not currently reaching and by doing contextual mission (learning how to share the love of God in an age where many have given up on religion, where there are many kinds of religions, and where many are wary of religion.) 

New worshipping communities

Three groups are identified as people who might respond to new worshipping communities in some parts of the diocese: young adults, global Christians, seekers and those who have left the Anglican church or other churches. There is good reason to believe that creating new worshipping communities is a good way to foster renewal in many parishes.

Motion P3A asks that Synod declare its commitment to the strategic priority of engagement with the world through developing new worshipping communities and contextual mission, and that a working group appointed by the bishop conduct one or two pilot projects in 2022 and prepare a detailed plan of action, including a time of intentional prayer and discernment, to be presented for adoption at Synod 2023.

Funding

The “Second Century Fund” is an existing trust held by the diocese of approximately $1.5 million. Its original goal was to help to expand parish ministry in the new millennium. It could be dedicated to creating new worshipping communities.

Motion P3C proposes that the existing “Second Century Fund” held by the diocese in the Consolidated Trust Fund be renamed the “Future Fund” and be dedicated to the funding of new worshipping communities and contextual mission, and that a proposal for how this fund is to be used and further developed be brought to Synod 2023.

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