Lambeth Conferences have been convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury about every 10 years since 1867, to discuss church and world affairs and the global mission of the Anglican Communion for the decade ahead. The Conference is one of the four Instruments of Communion (Unity) along with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primate’s Meeting, and the Anglican Consultative Council. Each province of the Anglican Communion is autonomous but are held in unity through these instruments—which maintain relationships of affection, support, and shared mission in the world.  

Lambeth 2022 was very much about relationships: with God, with one another as bishops and dioceses, and with the world—globally and in each diocesan context. Amidst the renewing and building of numerous interpersonal relationships between bishops, the conference explored how the Anglican Communion will be responsive to the needs of a 21st Century world.

The theme for the Conference was “God’s Church for God’s World—walking, listening and witnessing together.” For over a year prior to meeting together in person, bishops joined in online conversations involving Bible study and an exploration of some of the key themes that will become “Lambeth Calls” from the Conference to the Anglican Communion—calls concerning Anglican Identity, Safe Church, Mission and Evangelism, Reconciliation, Human Dignity, Interfaith Relations, Christian Unity, Discipleship, Science and Faith, and Environment and Sustainable Development.

The Anglican Communion is one of the largest Christian denominations in the world and has a substantial presence on most continents. With such scale and reach, the Communion can have a significant influence in responding to world issues, both locally and globally, and the Lambeth Calls are intended to exercise that influence.

The text chosen for Bible study was the 1st Letter of Peter. Archbishop Welby said “It’s a book that raises an utterly compelling and inspiring vision of God’s kingdom. It raises our eyes beyond the immediacy of our struggles and differences. It urges us to hear a far deeper call. Through our faith in Jesus Christ, Peter encourages us to live lives of witness, hope and holiness as God’s chosen people.”

A critical moment in the Conference occurred when internal differences on the matter of same-sex marriage threatened to derail important discussions of the Lambeth Call concerning Human Dignity, and to threaten unity of the Communion as a whole. Then, in a profound and historic address to the Conference, Archbishop Welby drew upon the genius of Anglicanism, and clearly articulated a “middle way” on this divisive issue. 

He laid out a balanced and truthful perspective on the integrity, challenges, and realities of those on either side of the dispute and said “let us not treat each other lightly or carelessly. We are deeply divided. That will not end soon. We are called by Christ himself both to truth and unity.” He reminded us that our focus must be outward, and that the Conference would be “gravely judged” if we let our internal differences dominate instead of speaking to the pain, suffering and fear in the world around us. The sustained standing ovation that followed his remarks made it clear that we would not let this happen—we would accept that we are in different places, and we would walk together for the sake of the world God loves.

The Calls that will emerge from Lambeth 2022 are an appeal to every Anglican in the world to visibly show that we belong to God in our worship, in our words and in our actions. It is a reminder to each of us as followers of Jesus to show that our daily lives are shaped by him, and that we are here, as individuals and as a church, to love God and to love people.

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Ontario municipalities go the polls to elect mayors and councils on Oct. 24. Quebec voters have a provincial election on Oct. 3.

Research shows that homelessness and the need for unavailable affordable housing have increased during the pandemic. The situation is even more acute in areas of the diocese outside Ottawa than in the city.

HAHWG Chair Sue Garvey says the elections will be critically important. “A safe, affordable home is becoming further and further out of reach for people across our diocese,” she says. “We need to elect leaders in our urban, suburban and rural communities who have a commitment and a plan to promote housing affordability as a top priority.”

An information package will be made available to parishes during September, and it will be posted on the Diocese’s website. It will include suggested questions for candidates.  

HAHWG’s appeal is in line with the commitment of the church in 2013 to encourage members to pray, learn, advocate and act on behalf of homelessness and affordable housing.

The Diocese has endorsed the non-partisan “Starts With Home” campaign by the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa and expects to support advocacy by other groups, including the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association. More than 12,500 people are on the waiting list for subsidized housing in the city. The alliance says the need has grown since city council declared a housing emergency in January 2020.

The situation is worse across the diocese outside Ottawa. There are more than 25,000 on the combined waiting lists of the four counties in Ontario and the Outaouais region of Quebec.

The county of Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry including the City of Cornwall with a total population of 119,000 has more than 22,000 on its waiting list, up sharply from 9,000 before the pandemic. “It’s a frightening number that often makes people feel overwhelmed and out of reach,” says Taylor Seguin, executive director of the Diocese’s Community Ministry, Centre 105 in Cornwall. 

There are more than 900 on the waiting list for the United Counties of Prescott and Russell; 964 in Renfrew County and 745 in Lanark County where wait time is up to eight years.

The Rev. Canon Catherine Ascah, rector of St John the Evangelist parish in Smith Falls, points out that rural homelessness isn’t as visible in rural areas. 

There are usually no shelters.  People are not seen sleeping on the streets. But they are precariously housed, couch surfing or staying with friends.

In Cornwall, Centre 105’s Seguin says, there has been a shift from “hidden homelessness” to very visible as people are seen sleeping at bus stops, park benches and in unlocked ATM locations.

In Quebec, the Popular Action Front in Urban Redevelopment (FRAPRU) is calling on all candidates in the Oct. 3 provincial election to commit to creating 500,000 new social housing units across the province over five years. Many in the Outaouais are living in temporary accommodation and are relying on help from community organizations, FRAPRU says.

The social development organization TDSCO (la Table de developpement social des Collines-de-l’Outaouais) conducted a study last year on housing in the regional municipality MRC les Collines-de-l’Outaouais (Chelsea, Wakefield, Pontiac).

The study found a lack of affordable and social housing, particularly for seniors and those living alone. The MRC is acting on its recommendation to hire a housing specialist to work with all the MRC’s local municipalities and interest groups and create an action plan.

The TDSCO’s report concluded: “As a result of stagnation of public affordable housing and municipal actors’ lack of means to deal with unaffordability the responsibility seems to have fallen on citizen groups who are the only ones developing social housing projects.”

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A group from St John the Evangelist in Ottawa and All My Relations attended the Pow Wow at Kitigan Zibi on June 4.  

The Rev. Canon Gary van der Meer, Incumbent of St. John’s, wrote about the experience on the parish website: The long drive was totally worth it: A rich feast of music, solemn and sacred moments, lighthearted humour, beautiful dances – and photographs when appropriate/encouraged. It was also a rich feast of actual food with long lines for the buffalo burger (delicious) and shorter lines for the fun fusion drink—blueberry bubble tea (also delicious). Go tomorrow if you can—what a beautiful day!

On the evening of June 22, the All My Relations circle, Cathedral Labyrinth Guild, and All Saints Westboro partnered to host a musical labyrinth experience.

Barbara Brown read the poem “Remember” by Joy Harjo, Muscogee Creek Nation, serving her second term as poet laureate of the United States.

Remember

By Joy Harjo

Remember the sky you were born under,  know each of the star’s stories.

Remember the moon, know who she is.

Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the strongest point of time.

Remember sundown and the giving away to night.

Remember your birth, how your mother struggled to give you form and breath.

You are evidence of her life, and her mother’s and hers.

Remember you father. He is your life, also.

Member the earth whose skin you are: red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth, brown earth, we are earth.

Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their tribes, their families, their histories, too.

Talk to them, listen to them.

They are alive poems.

Remember the wind. Remember her voice.

She knows the origin of the universe.

Remember you are all people and all people are you.

Remember you are this universe and this universe is you.

Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.

Remember language come from this.

Remember the dance language is, that life is.

Remember.

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