The above quote is a great one, but hard to accomplish! We all know people we admire who are full of light which radiates into our world. Their charismatic attitude cannot help but draw us to them. It helps our desire to be like them and pass along their motivation. But in my case, at least, my good intentions are there, but are often short lived, which frustrates me. I know my abilities to reach out are part of my human nature, and rather than beating myself up over my shortcomings, I do allow myself to fail. That is the hard part, but I forgive myself, and start over.

During our COVID-19 pandemic, many good friends of ours have died. The fact that we were often unable to be helpful to them or their families due to isolation, was a source of extreme sadness. I wanted to be able to share my faith beliefs with them, but eye contact and a gentle hugs don’t happen over the telephone or online or livestream. In each case I prayed for them, their families, friends, and those who grieved. My father told me that during  World War 2, when members of the Armed Forces died, the worst thing their families had to deal with was not being there to say goodbye and hold them close. This, of course, applies to all wars and conflicts. I feel this pandemic could be considered its own form of hellish combat. Not being with a loved one when they are dying prevents closure and acceptance. I decided that one positive thing I could do to honour each person was to do a random act of kindness to someone else in need. Something you might consider doing too.

Many years ago I was a member of Saint John’s Anglican Church in Port Dalhousie (St. Catharines). One Easter, during a Confirmation Service, the late Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Niagara, Clarence Mitchell, preached an excellent sermon to the confirmands. To paraphrase, he said: “True faith is within you. It is yours to share with those who waver and are not convinced that there is a God. Give whatever you can to give them hope and courage to believe. Don’t be wish washy. Place your own faith on the line. We all know what happens if you put one foot into one rowboat, and the other into another. When the boats move you will end up in the water needing to be pulled out. Be firm in which boat you belong.  Decide where you should be and reach out to others to give them what has been given to you. Do what you can, and don’t be discouraged if they at first reject your ideas. One day they may remember that conversation and it will make a difference in their lives.” When Bishop Mitchell died in December 2019, he was remembered fondly for his honourable, quiet, gentle way, and his great sense of humour. He touched many peoples’ lives, and I was one of them.

Thanks be to God!

The post Share the light and Be firm in your faith appeared first on Dialogue.

Clothing Coordinator for the OSGK Clothing Depot, Debbie Docherty had the following to say: “We have been happily overwhelmed by the generosity of the many parishes who made donations to Lunch by George. The clothing and food donations are very much appreciated by the guests who come to Lunch by George. Many, many thanks!”

OSGK – Lunch by George relies on donations such as these to continue providing hot, nutritious meals, as well as warm winter clothing to the marginalized citizens of Kingston. Since 1997, LbG has been caring for these citizens for 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year. 2022 was by far our busiest year, serving over 23,000 meals, and providing clothing, boots, coats, toiletries, and other items to many people “living rough” on the streets of Kingston, who otherwise would have no access to warm winter clothing.

On behalf of all of the staff, volunteers, and the Board of OSGK, we wish to express our gratitude for the generous donations provided by the staff of the Diocese.

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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.

The post Bishop Oulton has ‘left the buliding’ (almost) appeared first on Dialogue.

“Gift-planning, planned giving, legacy gifts are all part of a growing emphasis on annual financial support for churches, hospitals, universities, and thousands of not-for-profit charitable organizations in Canada.”

For example, Mary has decided it is high time she made an appointment to consult a lawyer about having a will drawn up which would reflect her interests and priorities in life…a document which reflects her experiences and hopes for the future through her active church, the local community foundation, and her happy years at university. She is considering a fairly substantial portion of her estate, perhaps 40%, to be shared equally with her local church and the Diocese of Ontario Foundation. She also wishes to assist her two grandchildren as they prepare for university, just like her grandparents helped her, perhaps 40% as well, with the balance being a gift to a younger sister who has had some health challenges. She is certain a lawyer will help her to achieve these goals  and provide her with information about powers of attorney and the whole matter of who will be the Executor or Estate Trustee.

Mary knows how important it is to have a valid will, one which if circumstances change, she can review and change. She knows of a neighbour who suddenly died in a car accident at an early age and did not have a will, apparently thinking he would organize one someday. The resulting legal and emotional problems only compounded the loss of a fine friend.

The incumbent of Mary’s church recently quoted a passage from Luke 12, which certainly made her think about the responsibility (and opportunity) of taking legacy giving seriously…now.

“[Jesus] told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger one, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Wills are very important. Every adult should have one, hopefully prepared by legal counsel. It is, frankly, thoughtless and irresponsible not to take this seriously.

Gift planning also includes many other ways of being generous. Bequests are the most important way of making a thoughtful gift…generally today, 85% of gifts come by way of a bequest.

We are grateful to Roy Conacher, QC, a director of the Foundation, for inviting his colleague, Alexandra Manthorpe, a Wills & Estate lawyer at Cunningham, Swan, Carty, Little & Bonham LLP in Kingston, for preparing a series of three articles (to date) on gift planning in some very helpful detail, as legal information and not legal advice. Please check the Foundation website, or contact Archdeacon John Robertson for print copies of the articles, available at no cost and designed for wide distribution throughout our diocese. 

The post Gift Planning 102: appeared first on Dialogue.

Such a walk is the Portuguese Camino de Santiago. It is over 600 kilometres when walking from Lisbon to Santiago de Compostela. Sadly, along with the beauty of creation, there is a lot of litter. Much of it appears to be left by pilgrims walking to Santiago. There are things such as granola bar wrappers, empty single use plastic water bottles, used yogurt containers—which are things pilgrims might have.

One morning when walking through a village we noticed someone had left an empty water bottle at the foot of a beautiful old stone cross. It was sad to see a symbol of our wasteful society so deliberately set at the symbol of our salvation. Someone had made the choice to carefully set that bottle there. What were they thinking? Was someone else supposed to clean up after them? Why is it ok to carry a full bottle but not an empty one?

As Christians we know that Creation is a gift from God and that the Creator asked us to take care of it. God gave us the freedom to choose how we do that.

Every day we make decisions that create the lifestyle we live. Today it is easier than ever to make the choices that will allow us to take good care of the environment. Products from reusable storage containers (including water bottles!) to electric cars, heat pumps and renewable energy give us earth friendly choices. Information is everywhere. Labels inform us as to the treatment of the animals on the meat we eat and we can choose to eat less meat. We can find clothing made of organic cotton, hemp, recycled materials and bamboo. As consumers we are contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and as consumers we can all do our part to help our society make the changes we need to fight climate change.

If you would like to see how your lifestyle choices are affecting creation try using an ecofootprint calculator. There are several online to choose from. One can be found at https://climate.calculator.climatehero.me/.  The Green Group’s Creation Care website at https://www.ontario.anglican.ca/creation-care also provides information that will help with making decisions of how to take better care of our planet. One suggested site to visit was given to us by students from an elementary school who used our site for a science project. It is The Money-Saving Guide to Going Green. You can find it under the Climate Change section of the Green Group’s Creation Care.

There are plenty of books to choose from that offer help as well. One is called “Don’t Be Trashy” by Queen’s University author, Tara McKenna. It will help you to gradually move toward a zero-waste lifestyle. And the title is a creation-friendly motto to live by!

We all know, now more than ever, that we need to take better care of the world and all who inhabit it. Let us make lifestyle choices that will show others we do.

If you have questions, suggestions or comments to share please contact us at: greengroup@anglican.ca.

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