Janet Hope, a warden at St. Mary the Virgin at the time, explained that the pump was able to be shut off entirely during the pandemic so there were no costs and then when the church reopened, a technician brought it back online for a minimal fee of about $75. 

Now when the church is not in use, the thermostat can be turned down very low to 12 to 15 degrees, which also reduces costs compared to the old system which had to be kept at a higher temperature. 

Necessity has led to other green innovations at SMTV too. They have had a composting toilet for years, and although they have to buy drinking water, the church has used water from a rain barrel for other purposes such as watering the plants.

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Wright as a centre of Anglican worship first emerged as an outstation of the Mission of Aylwin. We are told that Anglican services were first held here in 1874 in a settler’s house.  Construction of a church in Wright Township began in 1884, and the house of worship we see here was opened for Divine Service in 1885. Saint James’s Church, Wright was consecrated by Bishop William Bennett Bond of Montreal on 23 August 1885.  

At first glance, Saint James’s Church is an auditory box reminiscent of the earliest churches in the Diocese built before 1850. We do not see the separate chancel wing at the back. Details of this house of worship are congruent with most early churches: the church was placed square with the road passing by its front door, it was located in the middle of a burial ground, and its main entrance was placed symmetrically front and centre beneath a gable wall.

Members of Saint James’s Church, it must be pointed out, were not deliberately attempting to resurrect the design of early churches. They had very practical needs in their house of worship and built accordingly. It was not the stress of agriculture on the Laurentian Hills frontier that produced the only cumbered entrance in the entire Diocese, but rather a local planing mill. The sizeable entryway allowed worshippers to remove winter coats before proceeding into the church proper. The lancet side windows both in the church proper and in the porch together with the steep gables and chancel wing tell us the builders were not adverse to the inroads of the Gothic Revival, but they saw no necessity to slavishly follow its precepts.

It is the tower (or non-tower) atop the front of Saint James’s Church that looks so familiar. Why? We have seen a comparable composition on Holy Trinity Church, Danford Lake, albeit constructed some fifteen years after Saint James’s. Was Holy Trinity copying the design of Saint James’s, or had the clergymen responsible for building both churches in the Deanery of Clarendon influenced the builders of both houses of worship to echo the gables on the earlier Saint Paul’s Church, Shawville that faced the four points of the compass?   

So much for design questions. In 1919, Saint James’s was transferred to the six-point parish of River Desert. In 1966, after being transferred from the Diocese of Montreal to the Diocese of Ottawa, the Parish of Aylwin was reorganized, becoming part of a five-point parish comprising Danford Lake, Joseph Farm, Kazabazua, Maniwaki (River Desert) and Wright. In 2001, Saint James’s, Wright was designated a memorial church, meaning it met less frequently as a worshipping congregation.

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.

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In this article, we explore the use of our sense of sight and prayer. Severing a major link with the physical world by closing our eyes is not a precondition of prayer. Reading words is the most obvious and common use of the sense of sight in prayer. Reading scripture, spiritual classics, and articles by Christian authors often leads us into prayer. Many people begin their meditation sessions by reading a written selection before meditating in silence.

Another way of using our sense of sight is the use of visible images to serve as invitations to prayer. Many of us feel the presence of God powerfully when we are in nature with our eyes seeing the wonder of creation. We decorate our churches with objects that should be invitations to prayer. Another form of using our sense of sight in prayer is the use of icons. Sacred icons serve as bridges to Christ. The Eastern Christian churches are noted for their extensive use of icons. When praying with icons it is not the image itself that is important, it is letting the image be the bridge between us and God. It is the vehicle for God to speak to us. Praying with icons is a receiving form of prayer. Most often praying with icons is done in a quiet place, letting God’s spirit connect directly with our spirit.

As we go about our daily lives, we see evidence of God’s work everywhere. We revel in the created works of nature. We see evidence of God working through people to create great works of art and constructed homes and buildings, to name a few.

We are encouraged to see God in everything we see.

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The church had to close entirely during the pandemic and had to wait longer to reopen because its small size didn’t accommodate social distancing.

When health conditions allowed, St. Mary the Virgin (SMTV) reopened and parishioners came back, but their numbers had dropped, Janet Hope, one of two rector’s wardens, told Crosstalk. They made attempts to attract new people, but the historic building has some limitations that probably didn’t help. It doesn’t have running water or Wi-fi.

 “We all started talking about it and weighed the pros and cons, did a lot of soul searching about it, and just decided we had to do something,” said Hope. “People still needed a [parish] home to go to…. There was good solid 35 still on our parish list, so we looked at our options,” she said, mentioning that they considered going to several churches. “We looked into joining with St. Mary’s [Navan] and Trinity [Bearbrook] and closing up our church.” But she added that they hoped to find a way to keep the building that meant so much to people, some of whom had been going there for 40 years, open.

Fortunately, SMTV was in a good financial situation. “We had a solid budget….We have a rectory that is self-sufficient…It’s rented out and tenant occupied,” said Hope.

They found a warm welcome at St. Helen’s. “We met with [Archdeacon] Rhonda [Waters], and after much deliberation, we thought St. Helen’s might be a fit,” Hope said. “Our council met with their council and reiterated again that …there was no debt coming with us. Even if there was debt, they would have taken us. They were just so happy to have St. Mary’s.”

The votes on both sides were unanimous (minus one person at SMTV). The parish had its final service last fall and then joined St. Helen’s for Advent. 

Amalgamating as one congregation with two properties allowed St. Mary the Virgin to keep its building open and to use it for occasional services throughout the year.

“It was easy for us to say yes because of size and proximity, a shared interest in being very community-facing,” Waters told Crosstalk. “The St. Helen’s Parish Council was very excited and continues to be committed to understanding ourselves as now being a parish that includes Blackburn Hamlet. We’re still figuring out what that means…. I think that makes the St. Mary the Virgin folks feel good because they were really committed to ministry in Blackburn Hamlet. We picked up their outreach and fundraising activities.”

St. Mary the Virgin used to do an annual fundraiser, selling simnel cakes at Easter and donating the proceeds to the Norman Johnson Secondary Alternate Program. “We did the same fundraiser, but instead of selling cakes to a congregation of 20 people, we were selling to a congregation of 120 people,” said Waters, adding that the outreach committee has visited the school and is interested in building on the relationship.

“St. Mary the Virgin had reached a point where they no longer had the numeric capacity to do the work they wanted to do,” Waters said. “And by joining St. Helens, they weren’t going to have to abandon that work, but they were going to have new partners in that work. And I think that we have been able to really live up to that.” 

She added that SMTV parishioners have offered an example “in their capacity to understand that they have a ministry, not a parish, and that they wanted a faithful way to sustain the ministry that God had given them and were aware that sustaining the parish was not allowing them to sustain their ministry anymore.”

Waters said they are still figuring out “how to make good and faithful use of the St. Mary the Virgin church site, other than, of course, the cemetery, which continues to be an important ministry.” 

Hope said that they planned to meet with the council for our area to see how the building might be used to benefit Blackburn Hamlet. “It’s a beautiful building and it has valuable space that might be able to be used for meetings or a food bank location.” 

Waters added that a number people from St. Helen’s “have really fallen in love with the intimacy and the beauty of St. Mary the Virgin Church.”

Lorna Ponting was one of the St. Helen’s parishioners who helped SMTV parishioners settle in. “We certainly welcomed them with open arms because we all understood what a huge decision this was for St. Mary’s,” she said, adding that their “sweet little church” becoming a part of the parish was a bonus. “We had an Epiphany service there in January … and then we all came back to St. Helen’s and had a potluck dinner. It was a perfect way to start the year officially with St. Mary the Virgin joining us….       Then the first service of Holy Week was held at St. Mary the Virgin.”

Ponting added that the SMTV parishioners who have started attending St. Helen’s have been very enthusiastic about getting involved. “They want to be readers, they want to be lay admin people, they want to help making a coffee… they’ve really come in keenly.”

Linda Dacre, who shared Rector’s Warden duties with Janet Hope and was also the organist, says she likes change and is adjusting well, but she still misses St. Mary the Virgin. “I loved my little church…. I miss its windows, I miss its ambience, I miss the acoustics. …. It’s such a small church. St. Helen’s is a different proposition. It’s a very professional layout and excellently laid out for music… It doesn’t have the same feel because it’s bigger, but it takes time to get to know people. …And the only way you do that is to get involved with groups within the church,  so many of us are doing that. And I think over time, that’s what it takes to do a successful merger.” She added that everybody’s been very kind, introducing themselves and asking questions about SMTV and how we’d like to be involved in St. Helens.

Waters sees a rich exchange in the blending of these two worshipping communities. The people who came from St. Mary the Virgin, she said, “were so brave and so truthful and so faithful, and I think the St. Helen’s people who are paying attention, have really seen that. And it’s contributed to a renewal, I think, here at St. Helen’s of really kind of missional orientations, so it’s been a real gift.”

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That is only one of the challenges facing a staff working hard to maintain services as they deal with steep food inflation, steadily increasing demand for their services and a shortage of properly trained staff.

Amber Bramer, director of development and communications, says Cornerstone has no choice but to appeal to the community in two ways—asking for financial donations and lobbying governments for more funding. “We’re trying really hard to get more corporate giving,” she says. “Government funding is just not what it used to be.”

Even the good news of a new supportive housing residence at 44 Eccles Street comes with a challenge. The new residence building has been undergoing renovations and is on track to open late this year or early next.

Four more chefs will be needed to provide food—three meals a day—to the 46 residents at Eccles Street as well as the emergency shelter, Booth Street and Princeton Avenue locations. The number of women served will go up from 100 to 150.

Food costs increased by 18 per cent last year, and they are on track for a similar or even larger increase this year. To meet the increased cost, a special campaign to raise $40,000 through the Giving Tuesday program has been under way.

Food service is efficiently supplied out of one location—the Booth Street Residence where there is a commercial kitchen—to the shelter and other locations, including Eccles Street when it opens.

“We see a whole new landscape of people needing support,” Bramer says. “We see more people suffering from abuse and disorders, more not being able to access the right support [to prevent] them from going back into homelessness. It’s why our supportive housing model is so important. And 44 Eccles Street is a tangible way we can make a real difference.”

Unfortunately, providing the right support is another challenge. “People aren’t getting the right training for dealing with the mental illness and health issues that are in our sector,” Bramer says.  She calls for more government funding to train front-line social services specialists. 

The emergency shelter has seen a huge increase in refugee claimants. Its 60 beds are occupied every night and frequently the shelter has to try to find alternative accommodation in City of Ottawa overflow facilities.  Adding extra sleeping units is not feasible.

Cornerstone’s McPhail Residence is specifically designed to support refugees, but its capacity of six rooms means finding help elsewhere.

Cornerstone, along with other agencies, has struggled since April when the loss of $1 million in federal pandemic funding coincided with a reduction in new budget funding from the Ontario government. Queen’s Park allocated only 0.4 per cent of new homelessness funding to Ottawa. Toronto got 60 times more, while being three times larger than Ottawa.

Since then, agencies including Cornerstone have worked through Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa to ask the Ford government to reconsider. The alliance has launched an “Ottawa Needs More Campaign” on its website, urging residents to write to the premier and housing minister.

In her own letter to the premier and housing minister, Kaite Burkholder Harris, executive director of the Alliance, says the funding levels are deeply inequitable and unless changed they will result in a reduction or even closing of some services across the city.

Cornerstone Housing for Women is a Community Ministry of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa.

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Finance

Financial pressures on parishes continue to be a key issue, particularly in the wake of the pandemic. The goal of reducing reliance on parish revenues to fund the diocesan operating budget is set to be realized in the three-year budget presented to Synod delegates. “The amount [our diocese is seeking] would stay the same, but our diocese would provide support from our restricted trust funds to reduce the amount of Parish Fair Share by a substantial amount,” Sanjay Grover, director of the financial ministry told the Diocesan Council in June. “I am hoping that will be accepted gladly because every time I meet with parish priests or wardens, that’s the number one issue. …Our diocese is committed to providing support and it will be a substantial amount,” he said. “The monies that will be used to provide that support will be through our trust funds, restricted trust funds and dividend funding and some support from the sale of properties,” adding that some property sales were expected in the next year or so. 

Guidance for change

Part of the Shape of Parish Ministry Consultations (SPMC) were discussions about whether parish structures still suited and served the needs of their communities. Some described volunteer fatigue and financial challenges in parishes that had smaller numbers of people attending and supporting the church. Parish profiles were shared, and everyone was encouraged to look for opportunities for collaboration and ways to support each other. 

A guide to help parishes considering major changes to their structure is now published and ready to be put in use. “It outlines a number of steps that you would normally see when a parish approaches a major change, considering the facts of the situation, considering the feelings that are in the parish, taking time to pray, and then bring in the bishop,” Bishop Shane Parker stated at Diocesan Council. “A lot has already happened, and I was involved in every case.” He added that an important part of the guide is pastoral care. “At all times when there is a major change, especially one that will result in people no longer being in their building, it’s really, really important to communicate effectively and help people understand and to enable people to find a parish home, either a new one or to move nearby, so that’s a very important part of major change.”

Structures and governance

Chancellor Henry Schultz and executive archdeacon Linda Hill have been leading work to clarify parish structures and governance and expected to bring a document to Diocesan Council for approval at its September meeting. “The purpose of it is to bring clarity to the rules that exist in our diocese around three worshipping communities that are mentioned in the Canons, Bylaws and Regulations (CBRs)—parishes, congregations and chapels,” Schultz told the council in June. “I see this as being useful as a forward-looking document in that it gives guidance to those worshipping communities that are trying to figure out what is the appropriate governance for them to adopt,” he said, adding that he thought it would be particularly relevant for multi-point parishes or area parishes. “We set up the idea of area parishes over a decade ago, and we said the CBRs will catch up later. Area parishes are working, but the CBRs really haven’t caught up….

“What we are trying to do is clarify what the current rules are, suggest some changes to those rules to make those concepts work better, and eventually to encourage processes to make sure that our worshipping communities are properly organized.”

Education and Resources

Parishes also told the SPMC team that there was a need for more training and educational resources for parish leaders. Work is underway to produce and make these resources available. 

“The first intent here is to train people to run church councils, and the modules will be on things that we know are essential for parish leaders and parish councils to know with respect to how you make a parish thrive,” Bishop Shane told council, mentioning stewardship and attention to liturgy and worship as examples. 

Executive archdeacon Linda Hill is leading this work and recounted that as she was putting training together for wardens and council members, she was struck by the thought it could be overwhelming for new church wardens to take the Governance 101 course, which includes so much, and she began to create a simple introduction to the ministry of being a church warden. “So that someone who otherwise might say no to being invited into that ministry would still get a sense of orientation and where to go for [the information] they need.”

In April 2023, Diocesan Council also approved the creation of the Learning Commons, which will be a collaborative space to share existing and emerging knowledge, predominantly using online tools, in Knowledge Networks and Resource Hubs.

Knowledge Networks will be made up of groups of volunteers—lay and ordained— who share an interest in a particular issue, practice, or vocation who commit to supporting one another and sharing their knowledge with others across our diocese.

Resource Hubs will also be made up of groups of volunteers lay and ordained—with relevant experience, expertise, and interest and who commit to develop diocesan capacity in a specific area of ministry, proactively fostering growth in a priority area of ministry area across the diocese, using some or all of these approaches: 

• Curating and/or creating materials for common use

• Identifying and/or creating training opportunities

• Gathering and disseminating best practices

• Testing/piloting related initiatives

• Organizing information sessions

• Identifying opportunities for collaboration

• Building relationships within our Diocese, across ministry areas, and/or with partner organizations.

The Rev. Gillian Hoyer has been appointed as the Learning Commons Co-ordinator.

Archdeacon Patrick Stephens is assembling an episcopal panel on innovation and collaboration, and a Parish Advancement Program will also be rolled out at a later stage. 

As a part of training and support for parish leaders and diocesan anti-racism training, a new pilot project is beginning this fall at All Saints Westboro. Led by the Reverends Chung Yan Lam, John Holgate and Simone Hurkmans, Community Conversations is a parish-based initiative that is hoped will be ongoing and taken up in many other parishes.

Contextual Mission

At last year’s Synod, there was a lot of excitement and energy as delegates discussed new ways for the church to engage with the world. Archdeacon Mark Whittall, who has been leading this forward-looking work, told Crosstalk that the central question is “How is God calling us to proclaim the good news in our time and place? And the response that we give to that is contextual mission…. It involves learning how to share the love of God in ways that are meaningful to our neighbours…,” he said. “We live in a multicultural diverse city, diocese, region, which is really different than the way it was 50 years ago.” That’s why all parishes need to be doing contextual mission, Whittall said, adding that in some cases, they will discern that that requires starting a new worshipping community. 

Two pilot projects on new worshipping communities are underway. 

The first is based in the parish of Trinity Church in downtown Ottawa, where Whittall is the incumbent. Trinity House began with the idea of creating an intentional community for students and young adults living in a house owned by and adjacent to the church. 

“Looking at our context as a parish, we said, ‘We’ve got Carleton University right here. And we’ve got students who have been in isolation during the pandemic, and the effects of isolation are really devastating. There’s so many students who are coming to the neighborhood, but often they rent a room in a house and they’re not forming communities…. And there’s not that many places in society where Christians can actually practice their faith together in a residential and living context.” The parish discerned that creating an intentional community could be an expression of contextual mission and established Trinity House last year. This fall, they plan to begin weekly worship services.

The second pilot project is St. Jimmy’s Table, a mission of St. James’ Carleton Place that began in its current format in February 2018. It consists of a monthly event for families, with crafts and other activities, a meal, and child-friendly faith formation. Some of the families who attend St. Jimmy’s Table are parishioners at St. James, and some are not. St. Jimmy’s Table aims to create a community for families for whom attending Sunday morning worship is not always feasible. The program continues to evolve, with the recent start of a youth component, “Young Leaders’ Connection,” tailored for youth ages 12-17. The parish’s hope is that St. Jimmy’s Table will continue to grow, to evolve and to offer a place for families to find community. 

The Rev. Thomas Brauer told Crosstalk that the diocesan working group is excited to see the learning opportunities that will inevitably arise from St. Jimmy’s Table. “This is an excellent example of the kind of creative and flexible thinking that can often be found in small-town and rural congregations. This is also an example of how to imagine a ministry that meets the needs of the participants first and responds to the congregation’s own practices and desires second,” he said.

 Looking ahead

Bishop Shane offered Diocesan Council a view of where the diocesan church is on the map of its new strategic plan. 

“Right now, there are Eleven Actions which seem very separate and discreet, but in fact, there is one major change process happening. It has momentum and direction, and it continues to take shape as we get into the work,” he said, adding that there is overlap between the actions. “You are going to see concrete training programs and services being defined and offered in an intentional way, … we have training, we have contextual mission and reaching out…. Next year, we ought to look back and say, ‘Right, we’ve put in place a solid foundation, a bunch of building blocks, and we are now are operating from these new structures and new ways of being,’ ” said Bishop Shane. “…We equip ourselves, we train ourselves, we resource ourselves. Why? So we can be a resource to the world around us.”

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The fortress was ideally suited to fending off an attack and surviving a siege—for a time, at least. The Hebrew defenders of the fortress fell to the Romans in 73AD, and it remained unoccupied until some time in the 6th century when a group of Christian monks lived there and built a small chapel. Today, Masada is the most popular tourist attraction in Israel, where history and legend combine to offer a narrative of Jewish pride and resilience.  

One of the most compelling features of Masada is an unparalleled view of the Dead Sea and the border mountains of Jordan, which extend up to the north beyond the ancient city of Jericho. You can see the landscape where Moses and his people concluded their 40-year long journey through the wilderness before entering the promised land. In contrast to the bunker-like feel of the fortified plateau, the vista is alluring and awakens a sense of perspective and hope.

The people and clergy of our diocesan church have joined me in a three-year long journey of honestly assessing where we are at and of carefully and collaboratively discerning what God is calling us to do. In 2020, the Shape of Parish Ministry Consultation (SPMC) was initiated, and during 2021 we heard that our parishes are challenged by volunteer fatigue, property and administrative responsibilities, finances, aging congregations, and evangelism. We also heard that our 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, and to change in order to grow and serve. 

In 2022, we crafted three SPMC Proposals which were resoundingly approved by Synod last October. Since then, we have focused on operationalizing the Eleven Actions called for in those proposals. At this October’s Synod, we will see how each one of the Eleven Actions has been addressed, and how they combine together to bring about tangible changes to how we operate and support our parish ministries—for long-term sustainability and so they can thrive.

Here is a synopsis of the results we hope to see as we make the changes called for a year ago: 1) there will be less reliance on parish revenues to fund the operating budget of our diocese; 2) diocesan staff will provide increased assistance and support to parish leaders as they manage parish finances, properties, stewardship, communications, human resources, and administration; 3) our bishop will provide guidance to parishes facing major changes, and will promote and enable innovation and collaboration; 4) parish leaders will receive more training and learning opportunities, and there will be a clear understanding of how parishes operate; 5) a Learning Commons and a Program for Parish Advancement will provide resources, knowledge, and practical instruction on all essential aspects of parish ministry; 6) we will learn how to practice contextual mission as we engage with the world and establish new worshipping communities. Through these ongoing efforts we will be well-positioned to guide change and thrive rather than be changed by external factors.

We have been surrounded by structures and ways of being that have served us for many years, and it may be hard to imagine making the changes needed for these results to come about. However, like the people of Moses, we know our future lies in moving toward a different kind of future, with a different perspective on who we are and what we need to do to thrive. We need to gaze out across the alluring vista God is calling us into, confident that we have worked faithfully together, and to the best of our ability, to discern what we must do to be God’s church in our diocese at this time. I believe there is every reason for hope.

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The parish donated $500,000 last year, part of a generous bequest, to kick-start the project that will provide 34 badly needed units in the town. “It was more than just the money,” said Robert Eves, chief executive officer of Carebridge Community Support, the project developer.

Eves points to the extensive consultations that St. John’s conducted. “It showed that the community really believes in the project and is 100 per cent behind it.”

Smiths Falls Mayor Shawn Pankow who brought St. John’s together with Carebridge in 2019 said, “I can’t tell you how important it was.”  He knew that St. John’s was interested in affordable housing and that Carebridge was looking for significant community support.

St. John’s built the support through a series of consultations to determine a consensus about the town’s most pressing needs. Meetings were held with social services, youth groups, town council, other churches. Affordable housing along with abuse came out on top.

Eves says St. John’s initiative was important in demonstrating to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) that the wider community was behind the project. The parish enlisted the help of Bishop Shane Parker who wrote a letter that was also used in the application for CMHC funding.

Eves says the other mission critical factor is the dedication and expertise of the Saumure Group, the Smiths Falls-based contractor with extensive experience in building rentals in small towns. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Chris Saumure, the president and Chris Haines, vice president, donated “thousands of hours in-kind” even before the project had any certainty of going ahead. They wanted to play a part in providing affordable housing to the town.

During the formative stage, back in 2019, Carebridge enlisted Cahdco, the Ottawa non-profit affordable housing developer, as project co-ordinator to help navigate the application process with Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC). 

That paid off in July when Carebridge got $430,000 from the CMHC National Housing Co-Investment Fund. By July, construction was already more than half completed based on funding from Lanark County, Smiths Falls, St. John’s and a fundraising campaign.

Also early on, Carebridge set up a project team that streamlines communication among all the players thus expediting construction. 

The team meets regularly. From the outset, St. John’s has been represented, first by the Rev. Canon Catherine Ascah and more recently by parishioner Tammy Mulrooney.

Mulrooney says the meetings keep her informed about construction and funding details and are very beneficial. She reports back to the congregation from time to time in bulletins and reports to parish council.

A dedicated contractor, good communications, community support— these are the elements that have contributed to construction on track for completion in record time, one year from shovels in the ground. But like most projects, it will have been four years from initial inception.

There were setbacks. Initial plans to house a food bank on the ground floor had to be scrapped due to building code restrictions. The redrawing of the ground floor, adding six housing units and revising an application to CMHC, took less than a month thanks in part to the project team approach.

The residence at 44 Chambers Street will soon be home for 34 names on the Lanark County wait list of more than 800. Many have been waiting for seven years.  Eves says the wait list is growing at an unprecedented rate. “The pressures are everywhere.”

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Marchers carrying a banner from the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa led the group and were followed by people carrying banners and signs from Church of the Ascension, Trinity Anglican Church, St. Albans and St. John’s Richmond. There was also a sizeable group from St. John the Evangelist, which rang its bell as the march passed its building at the corner of Somerset and Elgin streets. 

Participating was a concrete way for Anglicans to support the 2SLGBTQI+ community, which Anglican Diocese of Ottawa Bishop Shane Parker pointed out in a June pastoral letter has recently faced “an alarming increase of offensive or hateful words, actions, and political posturing,” both in Canada and abroad. The bishop noted that “as followers of Jesus, we are rightfully concerned and vigilant when we see any individual or group being unjustly targeted. In the Baptismal Covenant of our Church, we vow ‘to seek and serve Christ in all persons; to strive for justice and peace among people, and to respect the dignity of every human being.”

Gillian Wallace was one of the people who spearheaded Anglican participation in the March 29 years ago, and she told Crosstalk what the march was like in those days. “It started as a protest. In the early days of the Pride parade, there was nobody here but gay people and their allies. There were no police, no firemen, no school boards. There were no banks, no community groups. There was nobody here. And it was a small thing. There were a couple of Christians carrying hateful signs.”

That was the how the Anglicans first started in the march, she said. “Alex Munter, who was then a city councillor, asked Ron Chaplin if he knew anybody, any Christian, who would be willing to take on those nasty signs. And he said, ‘Oh yes, I know someone.’”  He called Wallace.

“Alex paid for all the sign materials, and we made up a bunch of signs, and I actually sat at the marching point and asked people if they’d help carry them. And we stood beside the ‘anti’ Christian signs with our own positive Christian signs,” she said. “And at first people would boo us and then their faces would light up. And it was the most beautiful thing.”

In the following years, when the march went down Elgin Street, parishioners at St. John the Evangelist started providing cookies and lemonade in front of the church. Gradually Anglican participation grew. Wallace recalls that the United Church joined in the effort and more churches began to get involved.

“The thing that has struck me the most [is that] over the first few years we were greeted with tears and hugs. People were overwhelmed to get a message that God loved them because all they had ever heard was hatred,” she said. “So over the first few years it was love and cheering and tears. So I assumed that as the [decades passed] that would die down. It never has. The religious right has done so much damage that people still greet us with tears, with cheers. They are still overwhelmed to see us here. And it is still powerfully important for Christians to be here sharing God’s message of love.”

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