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.

Now that the Diocese of Ontario is funding Reach and Stretch Grants for parish ministries. So then what makes the Foundation distinct from these diocesan programs? 

The distinction is that the Foundation pivots further out into the communities that make up the Diocese of Ontario. In 2022 we will build on the relationships we have established to assist at the very margins of those communities. To go, and be with agencies and programs that serve people, who may never have thought of either reaching out to a church community or would have expected help from said community. Is there a precedent? 

I reflect upon the famous parable of the Good Samaritan. Has anyone ever given thought as to how the victim of the story, a Jew, feel about his rescuer, his enemy, a Samaritan? Did he see or realize who it was who washed and bandaged his wounds? Did he resent or dismiss the innkeepers account of who had so generously provided for him as so much drivel or fanciful tale – “no Samaritan would ever have helped a Jew”. Or, just perhaps, did his heart and mind open to the possibility that what he had believed about those people all his life had been wrong? Did some, if not all, of his prejudice fall away from his heart like the scales did from Saul’s eyes.

We can be like that Samaritan, we Anglican Christians, and help others by binding their wounds, helping where least expected, and so bring God’s love where it was not experienced before. If you are excited by that possibility than prayerfully consider a monthly, or one time donation to the Anglican Foundation of Ontario and become a member of a part of our Church going out into the world to proclaim by action and word the love of God. 

The post Anglican Diocese of Ontario Foundation pivots appeared first on Dialogue.

“In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.”

The words above are two lines out of the hymn ‘Abide with Me,’ often sung at funerals and remembrance ceremonies. The hymn asks God to remain with them throughout life and death. It was written by Anglican priest, Henry Francis Lyte, in 1820, and first sung at his funeral in 1847. All the words are meaningful and thought provoking–especially now. Take a few minutes to read through the whole hymn. If you don’t have a hymnal and have a computer, the words are available on Google. There were, originally, eight stanzas to this hymn. Usually only five verses are sung these days. The others also have powerful words.

I have recently been saddened by the deaths of a number of special people in my life. The COVID-19 pandemic has made life very difficult for those left behind to mourn loved ones. Often funerals and celebration of life ceremonies have been unable to be held. Sometimes the rules allow for very limited attendance. It used to be a time when family and friends shared together, hugged, cried, ate comfort foods and reached out. Now, sadly, telephone calls or cards are the best way of connecting. I feel it is not really a closure for those suffering. Nothing beats a heartfelt hug. I well remember how much that helped when my father died in 1996, and my husband, George, died in 1999. Touch really counted. “I need Thy presence every passing hour. …Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.”

While everything appears to have changed in our present world, the one thing that has not is God. That is well expressed in this hymn. “O Thou who changest not, abide with me.”

We are about to begin Lent with Ash Wednesday falling on the 2nd of March. During the 40 days of Lent, we are given a time of preparation, and an opportunity to go deeper with God. This means that it’s a time for personal reflection. It prepares our hearts and minds for Good Friday and Easter. The three main things we should focus on during Lent are:

Prayer (considering our need for God’s forgiveness, and receiving God’s mercy and love); Fasting (giving up something that is a regular part of our lives – e.g. not eating desserts, or limiting our computer time – as a reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice. This gives us an opportunity to use that time connecting with God); Giving (responding to God’s grace by giving of our time, generosity, or love to others – e.g. perhaps by using the money, normally used on oneself for coffee or a treat, instead on others, or by calling someone who is alone and lonely, and needs to hear someone really cares).

For forty days we are given this opportunity to make Jesus’ sacrifice on Good Friday, and resurrection on Easter, even more meaningful. Use this time wisely. “I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;  …I triumph still, if Thou abides with me.”

One past Lent, I wrote forty personal letters to family and friends. It was much appreciated. Perhaps this is something you might consider? A friend took forty photographs showing our beautiful world and added Scripture verses to accompany them. I think that you can come up with your own gift.

Thanks be to God!

dduncanfletcher2@gmail.com

The post Abide with me appeared first on Dialogue.

Members continue to contribute articles for Dialogue for each issue and items are regularly submitted to eNews.

In September we presented a six week creation care webinar series to  coincide with the Season of Creation. Topics included: a Biblical case for climate care, climate justice, spiritual care in a time of climate crisis, working faithfully with government, and climate change and sacred spaces. The series concluded with Bishop Michael’s presentation: The Earth is the Lord’s and the Fullness Thereof. All sessions are still available on the Diocese of Ontario Green Group YouTube channel. We are grateful to Rev. Dr. Ian Ritchie for setting up and maintaining our channel and for keeping our Facebook page up to date. Ian has also produced webinars on electric cars and cold weather heat pumps which are available for viewing.

Last summer we launched a creation care survey for parishes in our diocese. The survey remains available on our website and offers many ideas that may be used by churches considering creation care.

Currently we are working on adding information to our website which can be found on our diocesan website under mission @ https://www.ontario.anglican.ca/mission/diocese-of-ontario-green-group. Access to the creation care survey, the YouTube channel, and our previous Dialogue articles can be found there. We are adding resources that may be useful to churches as we respond to our call to care for creation. 

It is our hope and prayer that these resources may be helpful, as we face the challenges of global warming. Your diocesan Green Group would like to hear from you. We can all be inspired by hearing what each church is doing. You can contact us anytime at greengroup@ontario.anglican.ca.

At our diocesan Synod in October, 2021, The Green Group presented a seven part resolution pertaining to climate change. 

This resolution was passed and now begins the work of implementing it!

Be it resolved that this Synod of the Diocese of Ontario:

1. Recognizes, on behalf of the parishes of the Diocese of Ontario, that there is a growing global climate emergency.

2. Encourages the diocese and its parishes to continue making the Baptismal Covenant and the fifth Mark of Mission a priority in our stewardship.

3. Urges every Anglican in the diocese to reduce their personal carbon footprint.

4. Requests parishes to continue the development and implementation of action plans including reducing their carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 over 2018 levels and to report annually to Synod Council on progress being made.

5. Directs Synod Council to recognize the climate emergency as a strategic priority in program development and budgeting

6. Seeks to collaborate with other partners to strengthen our voice on the climate emergency.

7. Requests the Green Group to organize education opportunities about the climate emergency throughout the Diocese.

The Synod resolution reflects our baptismal promise to “strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and respect, sustain and renew the life of the Earth.”

The post Diocese of Ontario Green Group Seeks help with Creation Care efforts appeared first on Dialogue.

At its November meeting, the AFC Board approved a campaign plan for Say Yes! to Kids 2022, setting a $500,000 goal and introducing an innovative partnership model of fundraising. “Our hope is that this campaign will be both empowering and energizing,” says Dr. Scott Brubacher, Executive Director, “enabling our churches to harness the power of peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising to grow sustainable revenue streams for youth programs, while connecting them with other churches across Canada, as well as diocesan and national ministries, that are growing a brighter future for young people, today.”

Brubacher says that the 2021 campaign and Request for Proposals (RFPs)—where 79 projects received a total of $470,000 in funding—was a valuable learning experience for AFC. “Grant recipients demonstrated a stunning combination of compassion and creative thinking. They also showed us the depth of relationships that exist between churches and their communities.” Brubacher says Say Yes! to Kids will help to provide the resources needed to strengthen these connections and partnerships so the church can “continue to be a catalyst for re-engaging with children and families in a time of pandemic recovery.”

The Very Rev. Peter Wall, AFC’s Gift Consultant, is excited about this campaign’s potential to attract leadership gifts. “There was, and is, a real appetite among donors to support a community-based movement for youth. We believe a national campaign that is strong in its numbers and coordinated in its approach can connect money to mission in a truly transformational way.” 

Michelle Hauser, AFC’s Development and Communications Consultant says, “Any Anglican parish in Canada with a vision for outreach to young people is eligible to apply to form a fundraising team and campaign alongside like-minded parishes nationwide from April 1 to June 30.” Hauser says teams will be able to set their own fundraising goals, and they will receive support with communications, case development, and training from AFC throughout the campaign. “Teams will also benefit from an AFC-led leadership giving campaign that will boost their efforts, including matching gifts.” 

Those who wish to learn more about Say Yes! to Kids should visit anglicanfoundation.org/say-yes-to-kids to register for an upcoming webinar and download AFC’s campaign FAQs sheet. “I also encourage anyone who has questions to reach out to me directly,” says Hauser, who can be reached at mhauser@anglicanfoundation.org. 

The post AFC: Say Yes! to Kids 2022 appeared first on Dialogue.

What are some of the benefits of shared clergy leadership? At its heart it is relational – a kinship that reflects the image of our relational Triune God as a model for our parish leaders. Especially during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been a blessing to be in this clergy kinship to lessen feelings of isolation and to share the burdens of ministry. Shared clergy leadership also offers a fertile ground for creative collaboration. We learn from each other and can interactively build on ideas to resolve problems or develop new ministry initiatives. That collaborative nature extends to all parish teams leading to new, vibrant expressions of the gospel in our part of the vineyard. 

Sounds great, right?! Spoiler alert: shared clergy leadership won’t work in every context. What makes LAM work isn’t the sheer will of the clergy to make it work. Rather, the parishes entered into this area ministry covenant through prayerful discernment and continue to develop their relationships with one another as they live out their calling in this ministry. It also helps to have clergy who bring different gifts and experiences but have a shared commitment to the ministry as servant leaders. And of course, communication is critical – both in expressing thoughts and ideas as well as intentional listening. 

LAM is grateful to Bishop Michael for his leadership and in trusting the Spirit to lead us through this emerging model of area ministry. And as clergy in LAM we give thanks for the inspiring gifts our lay leaders share in bringing good news of God’s Kin-dom to our communities and beyond.

The post Shared Leadership 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!

The post Other little ships appeared first on Dialogue.