The post In Pictures: Dialogue takes a look back at Bishop Michael’s 12 years of Episcopal Ministry in the Anglican Diocese of Ontario appeared first on Dialogue.

I remember speaking about the trepidation that came with being elected, using an image from my childhood as a member of my grade one rhythm band. I was in the “wood” section, which I recall as being charged with banging two sticks together when the conductor pointed at our section. I could hardly wait for my turn with the baton, but when I finally got my big chance, I couldn’t decide where to point, and rhythm was replaced with cacophony! 

The past twelve years have flown by and when I think about the changes that have happened over that time, the remarkable people I have come to know both within our diocese and beyond it, my first thought is the deep thanks and appreciation I feel for having the privilege of ministering among the people of this diocese. God is good, Jesus walks with us, the Spirit strengthens us for the journey and the Law of Love undergirds it all.

There is not enough space within an article such as this to adequately distill the experiences of my time as bishop. We faced many challenges together, including significant diocesan restructuring which included a complete overhaul of our communications strategy, the sad period of bidding farewell to our beloved Camp Hyanto, moving on from 90 Johnson St. into our new offices at 165 Ontario St. and then having to wind up the Church Book Room operation. 

I had the great blessing of joining the Consultation of Anglican Bishops in Dialogue with its strong focus on reconciliation. I joined meetings in Cape Town, Coventry, Richmond Virginia and Liverpool. The Friday offering of the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation since 2014 has been an anchor in my weekly routine.

The other anchor throughout the weeks of my episcopacy are the hundreds of visits I have made to the parishes of our diocese, joining in worship with the faithful lay people and clergy whose Christian witness is nurtured in those congregations, strengthened for service to the communities where they are planted. The memories and many photos of those visits bring an easy smile to my face.

Just a snippet from twelve years, but the last thought I want to leave you with comes from deep within my heart. Looking at the photo from the day of my consecration, my family standing with me, Jeanie, Thomas, Sarah and Charles. You walked with us through Jeanie’s long illness and death and were a blanket of support to us all. You rejoiced when I had the blessing of finding love once more with Sophie and as we began our married life together. You are family to me and will always remain close to my soul. 

I prepare to move through the final weeks of my time in office focused on preparing for my successor to take over.  There is no doubt that there will be challenges aplenty in the years ahead, but this fact is true of the church in every time and place. People of faith embrace challenge as opportunity. The work we will undertake in the weeks ahead, engaging with the challenge of the call to be more fully a mission shaped diocese, will set the sails for that exciting new work. 

You will be in my prayers and may the Spirit bless you for the years ahead.

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While we primarily put our ‘faith in action’ through the local parish, our church also has a dynamic life which spans the globe. The Anglican Communion, of which we are a part, is found in over 165 countries throughout the world. It is comprised of a beautiful tapestry of cultures, languages, traditions and civil societies. We are churches in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Anglican Consultative Council assists us to live the same Great Commandment and Great Commission of Jesus Christ on a global level

Sometimes, our greatest challenge of living in Communion on a global scale is to experience the gift of diversity and rejoice in that gift as opposed to focussing upon the challenges that same diversity sometimes brings. We are the third largest Christian denomination in the world, meaning that we have a strong voice on the international stage. The Marks of Mission created in 1984 by the Anglican Consultative Council have become more and more grafted into the local mission and ministry of our Churches, serving as guideposts for our Churches’ mission from the Village Parish to the voice of our Communion at the United Nations

The recent Lambeth Conference of Bishops inaugurated the Anglican Communion Forest Project in response to the Fifth Mark of Mission. You will recall that the fifth mark of mission calls upon us to “safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.” The Forest Project achieves two significant goals in my view. First, it visually and tangibly raises awareness surrounding our need to be faithful stewards of creation in the midst of the climate crisis. Secondly, this initiative is yet another vehicle through which our Church can work in concert with others to raise awareness both locally and globally of our call to be good stewards of the earth.

I am pleased that the Diocesan Green Group has accepted my invitation to help us begin to find our place within the Anglican Communion Forest Project. I am also thrilled that a number of parishes have begun to consider ways in which the Forest Project can be taken up within our communities. Will the Anglican Communion Forest Project solve the climate crisis? No, it won’t by itself, but as we continue to take steps in faith, together with our partners around the world, we will move toward the goal of climate health that we all desire. Remember the parable of the mustard seed in Matthew’s Gospel? It reminds us that from the tiniest of seeds comes the mightiest of trees and in itself is an image of the Kingdom of God. The tiniest first step in faith can yield the mightiest of results.

I would like to encourage you to read more about the Anglican Communion Forest Project at www.communionforest.org. The opening statements on that page “To plant is to hope, to restore is to heal and to protect is to love” resonate so deeply with the simplicity and depth of the Great Commandment to Love God, neighbour and self in equal measure. I look forward to seeing how we will seize the opportunities afforded us through participation in this project, taking our place in the global conversation around climate stewardship. The life of the world and the legacy we leave will depend on it.

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Launched in early August at Lambeth this year, the Anglican Communion Forest project is a shared vision for the Anglican Communion to restore and renew forests across the Communion by committing to a wide range of creation care activities. One of these activities is to plant new trees. Bishop Michael, in a letter to our diocese at the end of August following Lambeth, invited each parish to commit to planting 160 trees—marking the Diocese of Ontario’s 160^th anniversary). 

Philip Bury, a warden at St. Paul’s, considered the bishop’s invitation and thought it would be a great initiative for their 150^th celebration. “We only distributed 50, I’m afraid, because we knew that our tiny congregation couldn’t absorb 160, but it was definitely in response to the bishop’s request” says Philip.  

Purchased from Ferguson Forest Nursey in Kemptville, the Parish paid $1.60 for each seedling, a fast growing Norway Spruce. “Lots of happy children and serious grown ups took them away” says Philip. 

Conifers like the Norway Spruce are best planted in Spring just as the ground thaws, when soil moisture is high and the cooler conditions help keep seedlings from drying out. Until then they can be planted in a container and transplanted in the Spring. 

Hailing from Europe, the Norway Spruce did not actually originate in Norway. The tree grew in the Black Forest and other parts of the continent long before making its way to Norway around 500 B.C. 

Philip will plant his on his property. “It isn’t easy for everyone to absorb a tree, I am lucky to live in a home that has a good sized yard” he says. For the seedlings that were not taken home that Sunday, Philip hopes to encourage his local municipality to find space for the remaining trees.

Bishop Michael took his own seedling from St. John’s that Sunday, planting it in his backyard. Through next Spring and Summer he hopes that all the parishes of the Diocese of Ontario will take up this challenge and inspire their parishioners to pick up a shovel and plant a tree. The bishop, in reflecting on the tree that the Archbishop of Canterbury planted at Lambeth this Summer to begin the project: “May the seeds planted at Lambeth find good soil here at home, taking root as we continue our ministry together in the name of Christ.” 

The congregation at St. Paul’s, Cardinal, has no doubt that like the trees they plant, Christian ministry will continue to grow in their community for another 150 years.

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Lewis’ mitre and other personal artifacts are on display in a new museum style Archives exhibit located at the Diocese of Ontario Synod Office titled: ‘The Boy Bishop’—as Lewis was known. He was consecrated bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Ontario at just age 37.

This new exhibit is just one part of ‘The Archives Project’—a sequence of steps the diocese has taken over the last number of years to rejuvenate the Diocese of Ontario Archives and bring it up to speed with modern archival practices. Beginning with the move from 90 Johnson Street to its current home beside the Synod Office at 165 Ontario Street.

Kelly, who is entering into her Master’s degree at Queen’s University and specializes in the Early Modern Period exploring the Arminian Controversy of the Dutch Republic, explains that the project has moved the Archives towards the digitization of records and the creation of digital directories using Microsoft SharePoint.

With provincial COVID-19 restrictions lifted, the Archives is now ready to move forward in offering limited public accessibility. Kelly’s work has been to assist the Archives reach that milestone. “What we want is to have some way of showcasing the archives and bringing exhibits out for the parishioners and the general public” she says, “We have a massive collection of a variety of things, we want that to be well known and available for people to enjoy whether they are researchers or just history enthusiasts.”

In launching the new exhibit, the first decision was what of the Archives collection made sense to profile for the public. Says Kelly: “We produced a total of eight different exhibit possibilities ranging from the history of music in the diocese to architecture to looking at parish documents as a means of tracing social history.” The choice ended up being a profile of John Travers Lewis as a homage to our general history and ties in with the celebration of the dioceses 160th anniversary this year.

The exhibit features a collection of Lewis’ books and personal effects belonging to both he and his second wife, Ada Leigh, along with photos and a biography of Lewis’ 40-year career with the diocese.

Kelly reflects on the need for people to engage with history at a personal level with the items themselves. “History is just like everything else in the present day, it is tactile and multifaceted in every single sensory way. It’s musical, is oral, is through patina, through texture…while you can digitize as much as you can, you can produce images, recordings, documentaries, you are still not getting the fullness of the items themselves. The only way to truly appreciate them is in the physical format.”

Along with producing the John Travers Lewis exhibit this Summer, Kelly worked with Diocesan Communications Officer Mark Hauser to record a series of videos showcasing the more notable items from the Archives collection—rare botanical engravings from the 1700’s to a book titled ‘The Sermons of John Calvin’ published in 1581 to a mystery relic belonging to Ada Leigh Lewis purported to be connected to the doomed Frank Expedition of 1845. These Archives Showcase videos can be viewed on the Diocese of Ontario YouTube Channel and provide greater insight and profile into the unique historical gems contained within the Diocese of Ontario Archives.

Kelly’s hope is that the public and parishioners alike will visit the Diocese of Ontario Synod Office and engage with ‘The Boy Bishop’ exhibit and the living history within our diocese that it represents, exploring the life and legacy of our first bishop, John Travers Lewis. “This exhibit,” she states, “provides insight into Lewis not only as a bishop and religious figurehead, but as a son, a father, a husband and a scholar.” It’s a great introduction to our Archives and will be followed by other future exhibits displaying our rich Anglican history in Eastern Ontario.

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DOORS Refugee Settlement Co-ordinator Mimi Merrill reflects on 2020 as the start of what was already a difficult journey for refugees around the world. COVID-19 only made things worse. “Expectations we had when people would arrive changed dramatically. In 2020 there were very few arrivals. We would expect to see about 40 or so people arrive in a year, we were seeing less than 20” says Mimi. 

2021 Was not much better. Travel restrictions continued here in Canada, compounded by the challenges of Visa offices closed in countries where refugees were travelling from. Mimi explains that in some cases, finding successful travel routes were hard to find. “Even when the Canadian government was ready to process or to put someone on a plane, if there was a country that was not allowing anyone to travel out of that country, that prevented a refugee from being able to come to Canada.” 

The longer refugees stayed in a country of asylum, the more difficult their situation became. “Because of COVID-19, refugees did not have access to limited employment opportunities and resources were being used to help citizens of the country they were in” says Mimi. A lot of suffering and difficulties were the result, both for the refugees themselves and the sponsors waiting for them to arrive.

And it has not just been the pandemic causing problems over the last two years. We have seen an increase in global conflict in countries such as Yemen, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and now Ukraine. There are now more than 82 million men, women and children displaced worldwide. “We have this increasing demand that is happening. We can only do so much. We can’t sponsor every single person” says Mimi. 

This year, as travel restrictions begin to ease, DOORS is doing everything they can to work with Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada to bring refugees to Canada. “We are starting to see more arrivals. I would not say it’s back to normal, but IRCC and everyone is trying to find a way to cope with the way things are now. We are starting to see a bit more speed in the processing. Starting to see more refugees being called in for their interviews” says Mimi. This is a positive step going forward. 

Canada has been increasing targets for how many people can enter our county. Not just for refugees but for people who come to Canada on work permits, study permits or spousal sponsorships. With DOORS and the Diocese of Ontario as Sponsorship Agreement Holders, the diocese is only allowed so many applications to bring refugees into Canada. “For the past couple of years we have requested just 50 spaces. There is always opportunity to request more” she says.

Mimi also indicates the challenges now of finding sponsors here in our diocese. There was huge momentum in 2015 with the Syrian crisis with sponsorship groups in Canada. Many will remember the viral photo of the body of two year old Alan Kurdi who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. The picture created a dramatic worldwide concern over the refugee crisis. Mimi says that less and less parishes and people from our diocese are currently involved in sponsorship. In many cases people who were sponsors before have moved on and there are now new people who may not have considered sponsorship.    

DOORS is actively looking for more parishes to pursue sponsorship and have begun creating profiles of refugees as a way for potential sponsors to connect and see that this is a real person that is actually waiting and needs sponsorship. “We have some people who have been on the list for three or four years and no one has stepped up to sponsor them” says Mimi. DOORS is also creating a new information package and organizing parish visits to educate people on the benefits of refugee sponsorship. “We will always help refugees no matter who is sponsoring them. The reason the program was created was to help parishes be able to participate and these sponsorships have been highly successful” Says Mimi.

To find out how your group or parish can become sponsors or to arrange a parish visit contact Refugee Settlement Co-ordinator Mimi Merrill at doorsref@gmail.com or visit the DOORS webpage on the Diocese of Ontario website: www.ontario.anglican.ca.

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Our Scriptures witness to the reality that human relationships are often subject to intractable division brought about by the sin of the world, rendering us blind to injustice or complicit in its foment. But Scripture does not simply leave us with problems that are easily identified, clearly articulated and bereft of solution. Scripture always goes on to provide us the light to illumine our path and to guide our feet on the way as the Psalmist writes.

Jesus provides us with ample direction that is underpinned by the Great Commandment to love one another. When Christian love is at the core of our being and we find ourselves in the midst of conflict, it is clear to me that we have to go over, above and beyond the usual paths to forgiveness. 

Jesus instructs us that If we have sinned against another, we are told to “leave our gift at the altar and go and be reconciled and then return to offer our gift.” Jesus is telling us here that deep self examination and action go hand in hand in order to face our own sin and its effect. It is so important in his teaching, that the central act of our faith, offering ourselves as a reasonable, holy and sufficient sacrifice through our worship of God, needs to be set aside against the imperative of being reconciled with our neighbour.

Jesus also reiterates this “over and above” importance of reconciliation in those times when we have been wronged. Peter comes to him with the question: “How often shall I forgive one who has sinned against me, seven times?” Jesus’ reply is quick and clear: “Not seven times but seventy-seven times.” The hyperbole in this directive again underscores the central importance of reconciliation for the disciple of Christ.

Jesus even provides us with a framework for achieving reconciliation when, just before Peter’s question in Matthew’s Gospel chapter 15, he lays out a step by step process for reconciliation. Go to the person one on one, if that doesn’t work, take a friend with you, if still no result, come before the assembly and finally, treat the person like a tax collector and Gentile. We all know what Jesus did with tax collectors and Gentile’s don’t we? He ate with them, called them and never ceased in reaching out to them.

We are following the one who looked down from the cross, the sinless one dying for the sins of all, who endured the hurled accusations of the crowds and the violence of the Roman authorities. From the cross, Jesus uttered the words: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” If anyone doubts the centrality of reconciliation to the Christian message, the words of our Saviour, “who came into the world to reconcile the world to God, not counting their trespasses against them”, remove any doubt at all.

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Douglas was ordained as deacon in 1999 in St Mary’s Cathedral, Johannesburg and was ordained to the priesthood in 2000. After serving in churches of the Diocese of Grahamstown and the Diocese of Johannesburg, he moved to the Diocese of Toronto in 2013.  He has been incumbent of the Parish of All Saints’, Collingwood, Ontario since 2013. Doug has served on the Diocese of Toronto Executive Board and as the regional dean of Nottawasaga. He is committed to a ministry of teaching, pastoral care, outreach, and social justice.

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The sessions will consider grief; grief as it pertains to the climate; how grief is experienced as “the other” and finally, looking at grief through hope.  We recommend you follow the presentations in order as they will correspond to the movements of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus with the final session preparing us for the hope of the Resurrection.  

The Commission is grateful for the contributions of each speaker at Reid’s Funeral Home, Green Group, Islamic Society, Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul and to Mark Hauser for overall assistance and recordings of the speakers.

The Commission looks forward to welcoming you in Lent!  May the blessings of the season bring you to new life in Christ.

The post Lenten Series: From Grief Toward Healing, Responding to the Crises of Our Times appeared first on Dialogue.

The challenges of the global pandemic have been unique in that they have affected every aspect of life from our households to global international relationships. Added to this mess, are the growing international tensions between the NATO states and Russia over Ukraine, coupled with the increasing global influence of China while domestic human rights in that country and Hong Kong are swept aside. I continually pray for all those who are bending every ounce of their energy to achieving peaceful, diplomatic and enduring solutions for all of these issues. 

I remember a Facebook post that I saw during the first Lenten season of the global pandemic. As we finally emerged from Lent and began the journey through Holy Week, the writer declared: “This was the Lentiest, Lent I have ever Lented!” It spoke to the temper of the times which has only grown more intemperate as the months have dragged into years.

My belief though is that the Lenten observance and the journey through Holy Week is exactly what we need as followers of Jesus Christ in these times. We can confront the lack of light, ever growing storm clouds and angry voices with the Good News of the Gospel. It puts me in mind of a few words found in Mark’s Gospel chapter 4, the story of Jesus calming the sea. After Jesus had taught the crowds on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he declared that they would now cross over to the other side of the sea. 

The other side was the place of the unknown, the land of the Garasenes, people who were not part of the Covenant. Foreshadowing the confrontation Jesus would have with the demon possessed man in that land, a great tempest suddenly arose. Jesus was asleep in the stern while the disciples struggled to keep the boat afloat and to make matters worse it was during the pitch black of night. We know the story, how Jesus rebuked the winds with the words: “Peace, be still”. The disciples were astounded by what they saw.

But these are not the few words which are in sharp focus for me today. They are found in a brief, seemingly insignificant sentence of nine words: “And there were also with him, other little ships.” This is where you and I find ourselves, sailing toward an unknown land, with the tempest raging, struggling to keep our little boat afloat. Jesus is somewhere at the head of this threatened flotilla. What was he doing in that lead boat? We might assume he was struggling along with the disciples who accompanied him. I would wager that the last thing we would surmise, as we struggled to keep our own boat from swamping, was that he was fast asleep in the stern!

Suddenly, the storm is stilled, the struggles cease and the welcome stillness of the night was adorned with a starlit sky spread above them. I can imagine that as word spread through the flotilla, so to did the amazement that seized the disciples in the lead boat with Jesus. “Who is this that even the wind and waves obey him?” 

The answer can be found in the story that began our Lenten observance. Jesus had faced a tempest of a different sort in that story, when at his weakest point, he was confronted with the temptations of the devil. Encouraged to attend to his own survival through the divine provision of sustenance, security and power, Jesus chose the path of faith and trust after which angels came and ministered to him. What was a tempest on the sea compared to that? More a tempest in a teapot given Jesus’ trust in divine deliverance.

We can face the turbulent times around us with confidence, hope and certainty for Christ is in our midst. This is the hope that attends me as I sail along in my own little boat, trying to navigate the turmoil of the times. Better still, we are not sailing toward an unknown land but toward that which is fully known, the entrance of which is illuminated through an empty tomb occupied only with folded grave clothes and an angel who declares: “He is not here!” “He is risen!” 

May that trust and certainty be with you through Lent, Holy Week and Easter as we sail along into the future that is known, certain and secured in Christ. Tempest indeed! I guess this article was not as difficult to write as I thought!

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