Snowstorms made it impossible for Watson to travel to Ottawa as planned, so St. Bart’s parishioners and others in attendance gathered in the church hall to listen online.

Watson’s morning session was on historical friendships that have advanced ecumenism.

He began by mentioning some famous friendships such as the ones between St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare; St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross; and Trappist priest Thomas Merton and social justice and anti-war activist Dorothy Day.

Watson then shared the inspiring story of how a friendship helped heal a deep schism between the Eastern and Western Churches (later known as the Orthodox and Catholic churches). A dispute led to the leaders of the two branches of the church excommunicating one another in 1054 and a “deep freeze” of alienation that lasted for 900 years.

A shift happened when Pope Paul VI was elected in 1963 in the midst of the Second Vatican Council (which included a goal of fostering greater Christian unity.)  In the Orthodox Church, Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople was aware of the beginning of a “thaw” in Catholic attitudes towards other churches. He began a correspondence with Vatican leaders and eventually with Pope Paul himself.

In 1964, Pope Paul made a surprising pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He and Patriarch Athenagoras met, embraced and prayed together on the Mount of Olives in January 1964.

Later that year, Pope Paul returned a relic — the skull of St. Andrew — that had been in Rome to the Orthodox Church. (Andrew is the traditional patron of the Eastern Orthodox).

In December 1965, the Pope and Patriarch made an announcement that they were lifting and cancelling the excommunications imposed by their predecessors in 1054.

Patriarch Athenagoras commissioned this icon which depicts the embrace of the holy brothers — Andrew and Peter — as a gift for the Pope.

In 1975, Pope Paul met with Orthodox Archbishop Meliton. The pope knelt and kissed the Archbishop’s feet, in a gesture that was inspired by Christ washing the feet of his disciples.

Watson noted Jesus’s words to the apostle in John 15:14-15

“You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends.”

He concluded: “With friendship, ecumenism becomes something we long for and desire.”

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Those who came to St. Margaret’s on this September 30 listened to and watched a recorded message from National Indigenous Archbishop Chris Harper to Anglicans across Canada as the homily.

“It is a day that many churches across this land will pause and have special services. It is a day when many [at]… municipal gatherings will reflect and tell stories and will share the history that all of us have inherited in the residential experience. But that experience is felt in different ways, especially for the Indigenous people — how many were traumatized…. And it is them that we also need to uphold in prayer and honor their stories….”

He said he likes the new variation of the word reconciliation that has emerged: reconciliaction. “It’s something that we do together.” … September 30th is a day “for all of us to first listen to the truth of the other and the Indigenous experience and what they live in every day. I ask that you listen with an open heart and a prayer that we together may seek reconciliation together. Check your hearts for the fences and the gates of defense that may hinder you from the shared journey of healing and hope.”

Individual Anglicans and parish groups honoured the day in various ways, including wearing orange and reflecting on the history of Indian Residential Schools and colonialism in Canada during worship services on Sunday, Sept. 29.

A group of parishioners from St. Bartholomew’s in Ottawa accompanied Incumbent the Rev. Canon Catherine Ascah on a reconciliation walking pilgrimage through Beechwood Cemetery, reflecting on the history of residential schools as they visited the graves of Nicholas Flood Davin, an architect of the residential school system, and Duncan Campbell Scott, the superintendent of the Department of Indian Affairs from 1913-1922. They also visited the grave of Dr. Peter Bryce, who was hired by the department to report on health conditions in the residential schools. His highly critical report called for major changes at the schools but was buried by the government at the time. He was forced to retire but later self-published his report. So many people leave messages of thanks at his grave that a mailbox has been placed there. They also paused at a plaque dedicated to Métis historian, journalist and author Olive Dickason, a key figure the study of Indigenous history in Canada. Other Anglicans took part in historical tours offered by Beechwood Cemetery and attended its screening of the film Spirit Bear: Echoes of the Past.

In Almonte, the Rev. Jonathan Kouri and parishioners from St. Paul’s attended and helped out as volunteers at a community event Reconciliation Through Art, which included an exhibit of works from Indigenous artists.

Kathryn Fournier, an Indigenous member of the diocesan All My Relations Circle (AMRC) led 15 people from her hiking group and AMRC co-chair Gwynneth Evans on a walk on the Chief Pinesi Portage Trail, which offers historical information about the Algonquin chief whose traditional hunting area surrounds the trail near the confluence of the Ottawa, Gatineau and Rideau rivers.

Fournier told Crosstalk the broad interest in September 30 is encouraging, but she thinks it is important for Canadians to know that residential schools were only one of the tools in the toolkit created to “eliminate the ‘Indian problem,’ which was seen as an impediment to the creation of Canada.” She mentioned The Indian Act as an example. “I hope that we use September 30, as well as June, Indigenous People’s History Month,… as times to better inform ourselves about the whole picture that goes way, way beyond residential schools.”

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You will enjoy great shopping knowing that you are helping many important causes.

The event not only supports the work of the church, but also the food bank at the Rideau Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre, Cornerstone Housing for Women and Belong Ottawa at Centre 454 and at The Well/La Source (day programs which provide food, social supports as well as showers and laundry facilities).

In the past, our bazaar has always been a success, and it is mainly due to YOU!   We are only as good as the donations we receive!  So, we respectfully ask that should you be downsizing or wanting to dispose of items in your home, please consider donating to our bazaar.  We always need unique souvenirs, classic tea sets, glass, costume jewellery, books, attic treasures, toys, games and any special hand-made items.  Closer to the date we would also appreciate home baking and preserves!

If you have any questions at all, please call either Liz 613-745-4677 or Linda 613-298-9980.  We would be happy to pick up boxes from you and thank you in advance for considering St Bart’s.

Looking forward to seeing you on Nov. 2 at 125 MacKay Street, 12 p.m. to  4 p.m.

— Linda Assad-Butcher and Liz Heatherington are co-conveners of the annual bazaar at the Church of St Bartholomew, Ottawa.

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