(Photos: LA Williams)

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Front row: Carole Breton, diocesan director of Communications and Development;  George Cribbs, editor, Anglican Diocese of Moosonee; Jason Antonio, Saskatchewan editor; Janice Biehn, Alongside Hope; Gisele McKnight, editor, Diocese of New Brunswick; Bishop Kathryn Otley; Archbishop Shane Parker; the Rev. Victoria Scott, director general of Anglican Community Ministries; Emily Rowe, editor, Diocese of Newfoundland; Leigh Anne Williams, editor Perspective.

Editors of diocesan newspapers from across Canada as well as staff from the Anglican Journal met for their annual conference at the end of May in Ottawa this year. In addition to professional development workshops, they heard presentations on affordable housing projects in the diocese, Community Ministries, Alongside Hope, the Anglican Foundation of Canada and the Companions of Jerusalem. Archbishop Shane Parker, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, was the guest speaker on the final evening of the conference.

The idea of expanding the Anglican Editors’ Association to include other communicators working for the church was discussed, and the editors voted to broaden the organization to include anyone working in a communications role throughout the Anglican Church of Canada.

The editors expressed their appreciation for being able to meet in the beautiful space of the Great Hall of Christ Church Cathedral Ottawa and thanked the Rev. Canon Doug Richards for leading our concluding Eucharist service.

Special thanks to Dean Beth Bretzlaff, the Rev. Canon Doug Richards and Nicholas Galambos at the Cathedral and Carole Breton and Marcela Hurtado at Ascension House for all their help organizing the conference and to our guest presenters.  — Leigh Anne Williams

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Here we are inside Saint John’s Church, Ottawa, built in 1860 as a chapel of ease for the parish of Christ Church, Ottawa at the corner of Sussex and George streets, facing north. It was taken over by Bishop John Travers Lewis in the 1870s and later enlarged as the Bishop’s Chapel in the late Victorian period.

Its site was expropriated by the federal government, but the church happened to burn down in 1912. Consequently, the congregation of Saint John’s Church amalgamated and moved in with Grace Church at the corner of Elgin and Somerset streets, where they have been ever since.

We see the interior of the Bishop’s Chapel here as photographed by William James Topley in the 1890s. The Diocesan Archives acquired a copy of this image from the Topley collection at Library and Archives Canada years ago, but in 2019 as preparations began to renovate and restore 71 Bronson Avenue, an original sepia print of this photograph was discovered in a basement safe and brought by Sanjay Grover to the Archives for safekeeping.

Alas, no photograph seems to survive of the interior of this house of worship as originally built in 1860. We are standing in a later section built circa the 1890s looking north into the original part of the church. We can only guess as to the original 1860 layout. All pews in 1860, as here, may have faced north, with the altar and liturgical centre on the north wall, with the huge pointed window in the east wall bathing the interior with light. Sound confusing?  Yes, but at the mother church on Sparks Street, after all, the altar was on the south wall, and the liturgical west window was on the north wall.

Or maybe not. Perhaps the Chapel of Ease already was following Tractarian ideas by placing the chancel and sanctuary on the east wall, forcing members during the service to face the blinding light coming in the huge east window. Evidence that Tractarian notions were beginning to take hold here is evident in all the exposed beams and boards of the timber ceiling.

What is remarkable about this photograph is how visually striking everything appears, aided perhaps by the photographer’s flash and numerous electric lights. Our initial impression is one of bold contrasts, an impression created by the bold diagonals of the ceiling beams, the arrangement of boards in the ceiling in diamond formation, the striking band of trefoils on the upper walls, the bold band of stencils both below the band of trefoils and above the wainscotting, and the gilded words above the chancel window “Praise God in His Holiness.”

There is more than that to take in here. The eye goes on to note the pointed arches of the pew ends, the gleaming altar rail, the windows with a combination of stained and leaded glass to permit a maximum amount of light to enter the house of worship, the carved wooden panels on three sides in the chancel with painted insert panels, the prominent pulpit on the left side with the font in front of it across from the lectern on the right in front of the choir pews, with a large organ behind them, and perhaps a small choir vestry tucked in behind the large organ pipes. The hymn boards on each side echo the main reredos of the altar. The placing of the altar as we see it here may have been due to there being two entrances to the church on the west wall, one for people coming in from Mackenzie Avenue, and the other leading in from Sussex Street.

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 and paintings, scrapbooks, parish newsletters and unusual documents.

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The thing is, we understand power and strength; some people or organizations have the ability to control what is done, they are able to make things happen; that is power. And we quite understand how one’s followers would fight to prevent their leader, the symbol of their power, from being handed over to his enemies.

But we don’t understand power that refuses to act. We don’t understand a leader who has the power to destroy his enemies and yet forbids his followers to protect him and allows himself to be handed over to his enemies and killed. This doesn’t look like power to us, it looks like weakness. It looks like losing, making yourself a doormat for others to just walk right over! We miss the point.

There is a story told of an Emperor of Japan who was growing old. And it happened that there was a young ambitious prince who was sure that he could do a better job of ruling the empire, so he was plotting to assassinate the Emperor and take his place. Then, one day, the prince was summoned to meet with the Emperor in his private garden. The prince had to surrender his swords to the emperor’s guards as he entered the garden for his private meeting with the Emperor and he was filled with fear. Had his plot been discovered? Was the Emperor planning to execute him in the garden? But, as he entered, the Emperor greeted him warmly and suggested that they walk together. “But I am an old man,” he said, “and grow tired easily. Would you carry my swords for me as we walk?” So, they walked together, through the beauty and peace of the garden, talking as the young man carried the Emperor’s swords. And from then on, the prince became the Emperor’s most faithful supporter. Amazingly, as the Emperor used his power to put himself completely into the power of his enemy, he transformed the enemy into friend.

And that is Jesus’s point; not to crush opposition, nor to destroy those who opposed him, nor even to force compliance but simply to change hearts, to transform enemies into friends.  That should not be any surprise to us since Jesus is the incarnation of the God who said, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live!” (Ezekiel 33: 11)

Therefore, that is our point also, we who follow Jesus as our King. We simply do not get to use power in the ways that we have always considered normal and proper. Our point cannot be to destroy, not even to destroy those we consider evil in this world. Our point cannot be to force compliance, to make people be good. Who are we to do what God has refused to do?

Our point is to transform hearts, to love our enemies until they become our friends. And it will certainly take all our power and more to accomplish that. It is much harder than our normal use of power; after all, it’s not actually that difficult to compel obedience, or to destroy, is it?  But to change someone’s heart, to transform enemies into friends, that is hugely more difficult and takes immense strength, courage, imagination, and love; far more of all of those than we actually have, in fact.

So, we have to turn to Jesus, our King (which is really the central point in all of this!) and ask for his help. Then we find that we have all of his strength, patience, courage, and love, available to us, and what was impossible moments before becomes now not only quite possible but even huge fun. We find, often to our surprise, that we are able to trust even the untrustworthy, able to love even the unlovable, able to follow Jesus even into the most difficult places of our lives.  And, by the grace of God, sometimes we even see hearts changed, we see the love grow, and we see the Kingdom spread.

The Ven. Rob Davis is a retired priest of the diocese

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The box was empty.  More than 300 visitors had come into the church to look around during Doors Open Ottawa (DOO), but by the end of the afternoon not a single can of beans had landed in the box by the door.  There was nothing to give to the local food bank. While disappointing, this should perhaps not have been unexpected. When it is 22 degrees Celsius at 10 a.m. and you plan to visit the French Embassy, Rideau Hall and other nearby buildings on foot, who wants to carry around a can of beans or two, let alone a bag of flour or 2 kilos of sugar to drop off at St. Bartholomew’s Church? This was in 2023. That year, DOO had determined “Food” to be the event’s theme; participating buildings had been encouraged to incorporate this into their planning, if possible, with DOO offering to promote this in their media materials in return.

Little did we realize at that time that this initial disappointment would evolve into an established partnership with the Rideau Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre (RRCRC) over the next few years.  Soon after the Doors Open weekend in early June 2023, St. Bartholomew’s reached out to the RRCRC to determine how we might be able to support the needs of the Community Food Bank in our city ward. Located in the former Rideau High School on St. Laurent Boulevard, the centre provides many and varied services for those most in need in Ward 13 (www.crcrr.org).  From monthly and special food drives initially, two tote boxes are now permanently left out at the church for drop-off of non-perishable items any day of the week.  And it is rare that they are empty!

The relationship with the RRCRC has grown and expanded in different ways.  Once a year, the church now helps the centre provide back-to-school backpacks for high school students. It is a mad dash along the aisles in early August as volunteers fill their shopping carts with school supplies and then stuff the backpacks in the parish hall. The packs are blessed a few days later in the main Sunday liturgy before being distributed to the youth by the RRCRC in mid-August.  Some staff members from the centre always join us for the filling of the back packs and bring their van to take them away following the blessing.

Another exciting development happened earlier this summer.  While helping with meal preparation for the Community Fridge at the RRCRC one afternoon, I was shown the centre’s 40 recently-installed cedar raised planters and was offered two for the church.  Being able to accept them required a quick check with the rector and wardens after our 10.30 service two days later.  Within the week, volunteers from the RRCRC had not only brought over the locally milled cedar but also assembled the two 8’ x 4’ planters on the front lawn of the church for us.  This generous gift had coincided with a recently expressed desire at the church to plant a Three Sisters Garden.  This companion planting method originates from Indigenous agricultural traditions, where corn, beans and squash are grown together in a symbiotic relationship.  The crops support each other, enrich the soil, deter weeds and provide shade for the roots of the other plants. At St. Bartholomew’s, one raised bed has now become a Three Sisters Garden, serving as a reminder to the community that we live on the ancestral territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin, who have acted as stewards and guardians of this land. The other raised bed is being used to grow vegetables that will go to the RRCRC Community Food Bank — assuming we can stay ahead of the squirrels. The planters were blessed by the Rev. Canon Catherine Ascah on June 21, National Indigenous Day of Prayer.

We cannot help but be reminded of the parable of the mustard seed as we look back over the past three years.  We trust that God will continue to guide, develop and strengthen the partnership between St. Bartholomew’s Church and the RRCRC in the years ahead so that together we may support those in greatest need in our community.

Judy Wiesinger is a parishioner at St. Bartholomew’s Church, Ottawa.

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Together for Nature tour — Sept. 15

The All My Relations Episcopal Panel wants to draw attention to the Together for Nature tour, which will have an event in Ottawa on Sept. 15, as an opportunity to listen and learn from Indigenous artists, musicians and land protectors. There will be musical performances by renowned Inuit singer Susan Aglukark at each of the four events (Ottawa, Toronto, Kitchener and London, Ont.) In Ottawa, Juno-nominate singer-songwriter Terra Lightfoot will also perform.

There will be keynote addresses from Indigenous youth-led movements  Okiniwak and Here We Stand, as well as Friends of the Attawapiskat River. There will also be a screening of the short film, Here We Stand.

“This is just the kind of collaboration that we need to encourage,” AMR co-chair Kathryn Fournier told Perspective. “We can think of reconciliation as a goal that is somehow happening at some distance from our own lives….  I am more and more convinced that deep and lasting change comes when we hear stories, share in song and performance and use our creative spirits to build relationships.  I hope this event will be part of that process.”

The Ottawa event will be held at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church at 7 pm. Tickets are $30, but some aid may be available if cost is a barrier.

ontarionature.org/events/together-for-nature-tour/

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — Sept. 30

A public commemoration is planned for noon on Parliament Hill to honour residential school survivors, families, and children lost. Contact your local parish to ask about the ways they may be planning to mark the day locally.

Journeying with Allies discusses Aglukark memoir — Oct. 18 

The diocesan All My Relations book group warmly invites you to read and join in Sunday afternoon discussions of books by Indigenous authors. The 2026-2027 season starts up with Kihiani: A Memoir of Healing by award winning Inuk musician Susan Aglukark (with Andrea Warner). Paper and audio copies are available through the public library and local bookstores; Try to read at least the first five chapters in advance. All welcome! St. Margaret’s Vanier (205 Montreal Road) 2 pm to 4 pm.

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St. Margaret’s was full for her final service on June 28 with extra chairs brought in and standing room only at the back of the church. Parishioners from both the Inuit and non-Inuit congregations as well as family and friends wanted to honour and thank her, not only for her work, care and leadership in the church, but also in the Inuit community in Ottawa.

Ottawa has the largest population of Inuit people outside of the Arctic. People often come to Ottawa for medical care, education and employment. Attagutsiak has been an important support for Inuit who often have not travelled outside the Arctic before. She visits Inuit in hospital. She helped establish an Inuit sewing group and is one of the key organizers of a large annual Inuit gathering and celebration at Christmas time when people enjoy traditional foods such as Arctic char and caribou. St. Margaret’s also hosts a community meal after Sunday services.

In her sermon, Attagutisak reflected on her faith journey. She grew up in Arctic Bay in a family of 14. They lived on the land in traditional Inuit way, hunting and fishing. She previously told Perspective that her mother loved going to church and all 14 children studied the Bible at Sunday School. Her older brother was a priest in Arctic Bay.

She told those gathered how others saw that God was calling her to be a priest before she did. After she moved to Ottawa in 1998, she began attending services at St. Margaret’s where the Very Rev. Roger Briggs, who had served in the Diocese of the Arctic, presided at St. Margaret’s Inuktitut-language service. She became a lay reader, and Briggs asked if she would like to train for the ministry. So did the Rev. Jason Pollick when he served at St. Margaret’s.

And when Bishop Andrew Atagotaaluk visited St. Margaret’s, he too told her he felt that she would one day become a priest. She again said no, she couldn’t.  He asked why.  “I thought all about the ways that I have made mistakes, so I told him, ‘I’m a sinner. You’re too late to choose me.’” But the bishop answered her, “The more you talk about yourself, about how you’re a sinner, the more I like you.”

Eventually, she came to believe that it was not the other priests calling her, it was God.

After studying with Briggs, attending annual courses at Wycliffe College in Toronto, she was ordained as a deacon in 2014 and as a priest in 2015, but even then, she struggled. When she first was appointed as a full-time priest at St. Margaret’s, the Rev. Canon Rhondda MacKay asked her if she wanted to preach the sermon on the National Indigenous Day of Prayer on June 21. She reluctantly agreed but recounted how she ended up crying in the bathroom before the service.

“I was talking to God. ‘You chose the wrong person. Why don’t you choose one of those people who know everything, who are not afraid to speak, who have wisdom about the Bible? I know nothing, Lord. Nothing. I don’t know how to speak English.’”

But she knew everyone was waiting for her, so she washed her face to hide her tears and went into the church. To her surprise, a parishioner named Derek Hamilton came and sat beside her. “He said, ‘I’m here to say, ‘Aigah, you’re in the Holy Spirit. You are with the Holy Spirit.’”

“That shocked me a little bit,” she said. “I thought to myself, ‘He doesn’t know me. I was telling God that he chose the wrong person.’” And I said, ‘Even when I try to argue, am I still in the Holy Spirit?’

“He said, ‘Yes, the first day I saw you, I saw that you were in the Holy Spirit. You’re with the Holy Spirit…. That’s all I have to say.” And he left.

Attagutsiak said she wondered about that many times later and questioned herself, “What does that mean?” Later, the answer came to her. “I’m with God. If you don’t know anything, ask God. It says in the Bible, whenever you ask, God will give it to you.”

And indeed, Attagutsiak went on to serve God and the community faithfully and with great devotion. In 2022, then-Bishop Shane Parker appointed her to the Cathedral Canonry of Saint Mary Magdalene.

“So,” she said to everyone in the church at her retirement service, “I’m giving those words to you. … God used Derek to speak to me, and I pass it on to you. The more we can be in the Holy Spirit to help people, to help one another… Jesus will come again.”

The emotional service included drumming by Timothy Erkloo, and ‘Amazing Grace’ sung in Inuktitut. After the Eucharist, the service ended with many tears and hugs and gifts of appreciation for Attagutsiak. Then everyone was invited into the parish hall to enjoy lunch with delicious caribou stew and cake.

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Heidi Pizzuto

“During my 14 years at 71 Bronson, I met so many wonderful people and made many lifelong friends,” she said. “My work for the church was a ministry, a calling, and my gifts seemed well-suited to my responsibilities. It was my pleasure and my privilege to serve our Diocese in the way I have.” Diocesan staff honoured and thanked her at a farewell lunch at Ascension House wishing her joy in her retirement.

Benjamin Ralph joined the diocesan Communications and Development team as communications officer in July.

Having graduated from Carleton University in 2025 with a Bachelor of Journalism, Ben will contribute to a wide range of diocesan communications initiatives, including strategic communications, website, social media, video production, Synod and event communications and storytelling. He will work closely with parishes, congregations, Community Ministries, and diocesan partners.

Ben has a special interest in videography and enjoys finding innovative ways to tell stories. Growing up in an active Anglican family, he developed a passion for purpose and community. He volunteers annually with Ontario Youth Parliament, an organization dedicated to bringing young people together to explore faith and friendship through spirited debate.

Outside of work, Ben can be found playing on one of his three weekly soccer teams, covering first base for his softball team or taking (beginner) salsa classes.

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