According to Dr. Scott Brubacher, Executive Director of the Anglican Foundation of Canada (AFC), “There has never been a swifter or more generous response to the establishment of a new fund than the ACW Council of the North Retired Clergy Fund to provide financial support for housing and living expenses to retired non-stipendiary clergy in the Council of the North.” 

As of the end of December, more than $257,000 had been donated, with $250,000 having come from two donors. “The Diocese of New Westminster ACW provided $100,000 this past spring to launch the fund. Other ACWs across Canada then took up the challenge to do their part to support it as well. And then an incredible $150,000 arrived in early December as a memorial gift, from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous,” says Brubacher. 

Brubacher says the speed with which this fund was established and the subsequent momentum to build it up has shown the power and potential of AFC to connect generous people to the philanthropic goals that are important to them. “In 2023 we will continue to work through the granting and disbursement process in partnership with the Council of the North. We expect to receive requests from retired clergy in need of assistance through the Council, and our goal is to begin to disburse funds to beneficiaries this year.” 

It was in December 2020, in the wake of an article published in the Anglican Journal entitled “No Room in the Inn,” when Canadian Anglicans began to learn more about the plight of northern clergy through the homelessness experienced by Rev’d Jonas Allooloo, former dean of St. Jude’s Cathedral in Iqaluit, Nunavut. Widespread concern about this systemic issue prompted the Anglican Church Women in the Diocese of New Westminster to act. 

“Non-stipendiary clergy have made the church in the North viable and yet they will not receive a pension from the Anglican Church,” says Gail Revitt, Past President, New Westminster ACW. “They have served all these years and have asked very little of the broader church. Our members felt called to respond to this housing crisis in a meaningful and tangible way.” 

Proceeds from the sale of a property have put the ACW in New Westminster in the unique position of being philanthropic leaders in the church. In 2022, after consultations with Bishop David Lehman—Bishop of Caledonia and Chair of the Council of the North—the women voted unanimously to champion this cause. “We are greatly encouraged by the leadership gifts in support of this new fund, and we looked forward to working with ACW groups and others to strengthen the financial support network for retired clergy in the North,” says Brubacher. 

“The council is very thankful to the New West ACW and the other visionary benefactors who have helped to launch and grow this fund so quickly,” says Bishop Lehman. “The response to date has given so much hope that we may look to a future where those who have served the church are well-served in their retirement.” 

To make a gift to the ACW Council of the North Retired Clergy Fund please contact Michelle Hauser, AFC’s Development & Communications Officer at mhauser@anglicanfoundation.org or visit anglicanfoundation.org/donate. 

Major changes to Anglican Foundation Grants Program

The Anglican Foundation of Canada’s (AFC) grants program will look substantially different in 2023 thanks to some important changes approved by the AFC Board of Directors in 2022. Effective January 1st, 2023, AFC moved from a semi-annual grant cycle to a quarterly one, with application windows open on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 each year. According to Dr. Scott Brubacher, AFC’s Executive Director, “This rolling entry to the grants program will give potential applicants increased accessibility and flexibility, which is intended to result in timelier decisions.”

The Board also approved the introduction of Category A grants of up to $5,000 with no matching local funds required. “These category A grants were introduced for AFC’s 2021 Say Yes! to Kids Request for Proposal and proved very effective,” explains Rob Dickson, Chair, Grants Policy Working Group. “That experience demonstrated how the infusion of a few thousand dollars can have an enormously positive impact on ministry.” 

The long-established traditional AFC grants—up to $15,000 and no more than 50% of the project budget—will become the new Category B grant. 

Lastly, the Board approved the introduction of Category C grants of up to $50,000. “This new third category will allow the Board greater discretion in approving larger grants where the impact will be most beneficial,” explains Brubacher. “It will also allow AFC to be a more flexible funding partner in dioceses where a cornerstone project needs a major boost.” 

Rob Dickson says the new and much larger Category C grants have the potential to be a game-changer for smaller dioceses. “The opportunity to submit a $50,000 grant request is well-suited to a diocese that may have the capacity to bring only one project per year, but a transformational project the entire diocese can rally around.” 

Dickson says the Category C grant will be the one application a diocese is allowed to submit in a calendar year. In terms of the matching funding requirement for such a project, that will be left to the discretion of the AFC Board. Dioceses will need to articulate a strong case for merit, and the Board will have to evaluate these applications very carefully. 

The Board also approved removing the requirement that grant applicants be current members of AFC. Dickson says, “It is more consistent with our value of generosity to invite applicants to donate out of a spirit of generosity to ‘pay it forward’.”

These changes mark the conclusion of AFC’s Grants Policy Working Group’s year-long review. “The Foundation’s role in resourcing a change-minded church in the wake of a global pandemic is only beginning to be defined,” says Brubacher. “We hope our members and friends across the Canadian church will see in these changes to our grant program a deep and genuine desire to resource the church as faithfully and abundantly as possible, so that we may drive change, together, with hope, courage, and vision.” 

For more information on AFC’s new grant categories or to apply for an AFC grant, visit anglicanfoundation.org/apply. 

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Canon Jotie, Deacon Lisa, and members of the altar guild diligently prepared the elements for the ceremony of anointing with ashes as a prerequisite of our duties which would be maintained during the next forty days, leading up to Good Friday and Easter Week. Unfortunately, not unlike neighbouring churches, a severe winter storm caused a postponement of this special ritual until March first.

But there’s an old adage that something good comes out of every disappointing incident, and this imposed replan was no exception.

Because of the gift of modern technology, Canon Jotie had the capacity to grace us with a special Compline sermon—live streamed from his home to ours—while one hundred kilometre winds bolted down our chimneys, and with blinding snow and ice pellets rattling every window pane. 

His text for the sermon concentrated on the book of Matthew—particularly on chapter 25: 14–“Farewells and Food.” 

It was delivered in a context appropriately permeating both the spiritual and temporal realms. 

When referring to the secular world, farewells can be measured with a very modest yardstick, like maybe graduation from high school, retirement from a lifetime career, or moving to a new location. Then, in a more elaborate context, measured by the accomplishments of some of the world’s greatest artists, writers, musicians, scientists, etc. But regardless of one’s position on the continuum, all milestones deserve equal recognition. 

Most importantly, and in the context of spirituality, the Gospel of Matthew exquisitely reveals the many farewell stories of Jesus: 

(a) The final words of Jesus to his disciples: Behold the hour is at hand.
(b) The kingdom of heaven is like a man travelling to a foreign country. Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.
(c) When Jesus finished commanding the twelve, he departed from them to teach and preach.
(d) The eleven disciples went to the mountains in Galilee, which Jesus had appointed for them. 

There is one particular period In our twelve month calendar where food is probably emphasized the most: the forty days of Lent. 

So wrapping up the pronounced features of Canon Jotie’s discourse, I believe the topic certainly deserves the elaboration he duly bestowed—no matter on which rung of society’s ladder one is fortunately or unfortunately placed, everyone is entitled to adequate food. 

For most Christian people, fasting in Lent has been an established custom—like giving up something important for the sake of something more worthy. 

Personally, despite the fact that I have a very long sweet tooth, I have resisted for eighteen days as of writing this. Although, I must confess that if it weren’t for that special service on February 23rd, I was almost ready to relent. 

With so many millions of people in the world hungry, and most of us know very little of that deprivation, Canon Jotie reiterated that we should consider fasting as a gift of Lent. 

In our community and Church, helping to maintain and support food bank demands is a top priority. 

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.”

-Matthew 25:35. 

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For a long, long time this pale blue dot on which we live was believed to be flat and was considered to be the centre of our universe. There emerged a concept known as the chain of being, a comparative mindset envisioning the world order of things as a vertical chain, having the Almighty right up there at the top, and every other recognizable form of life in descending order of importance. God in heaven was followed by angels and the like, and at the bottom of the chain was the lowest of invertebrates. In this scheme of things mankind was deemed to be at the centre of this great chain of being—a huge pecking order of who’s who in the universe. Then, a couple of guys by the name of Galileo (who said that the sun is the centre of our universe and that our planet earth revolves around it) and later on Darwin (who said that all living things, including man, developed from a few extremely simple forms by a gradual process of descent with modification) came along. Their findings, along with those of others, who were eagerly comparing emerging differences between science and religion, caused upset in religious and spiritual values of the day. Many found themselves seriously questioning their faith. 

To say that God’s will, alone, is sufficient to account for things being where and what they are may be accepted by many believers, but for those of us who find ourselves thinking and searching for more—be it some elusive proof, or simply more reason to believe—the struggle is ongoing. There is a collective acceptance and acknowledgement of all those physical forces that can be measured scientifically, such as the speed of light, gravity and so on, but with only limited progress being made to understand the cause—the why? We know that each one of us is but a temporary guest on this planet; however, as to the why of it all, one could argue it’s an ongoing miracle. 

Theists, atheists, agnostics, and those in between make up a mix of believers and non-believers. Many of those folks who reject the common concept of God, adopt beliefs that appear to believers as being strange and outlandish. Faith-based living is rejected for some form of secular belief, such as humanism, rationalism, positivism, materialism, or whatever. And then there is a more pronounced belief, referred to as philosophical anarchism, that those who obey their natural inner light need no authority over what they already have. 

While our levels of communications have grown in leaps and bounds, our levels of ignorance over life’s basic questions are still very much in evidence. For example, out in the wilderness on a clear and dark night, you can experience one of the greatest shows on earth by simply looking up into the starry sky. No matter how often we do it, this continues to be an awesome experience. And, as we stand and stare, we realize over and over just how little we know about the great beyond. 

A lifespan, in the eons of time, does not even have as big an impact as the proverbial drop in a bucket. Whether young or old we are aware of time, and that we all grow older at the same pace. The extreme urgency of now is of little concern, yet our lives will be over sooner rather than later, and as Shakespeare wrote, “as the waves make toward the pebbled shore / so do our minutes hasten to their end.”

On coping with our own spirituality, we are often riddled with anxiety over the need to know and the fear of knowing. Can such a state cause us to sometimes strike out defensively against the notion of a divine power? Our faith has, and can continue to help us grapple with such uncertainties. There is a strange irony surrounding faith: while it can lift us up and give us meaning and purpose, it can also saddle us with increased responsibility, as in fighting the good fight of life. 

An unbeliever who struggles to understand the merits and values of faith-based living often comes up empty handed. The futility of trying to examine and assess the meaning of our spirituality, without believing in a greater power, can perhaps be likened to someone who is tone deaf and just not hearing the music of faith. It would simply be futile, without having faith, to try and understand anything of a supernatural source. St. Augustine sums it up well: “Believe in order that you may understand; unless you believe you shall not understand.”

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But, it was in her own parish, St. Michael and All Angels, while serving coffee “to a number of priests who were there for a meeting and meal [that] Dean Michael Rice, whom [she] had never met, called [her] over.” 

She says, “He held out his coffee mug and at the same time, asked me how come I hadn’t applied for the job. I asked, “What job?” and he said, “The Cathedral office.” Despite telling him she wasn’t looking for a job, he persuaded her to come for an interview. 

Returning home from the interview, she told her husband, “I have a job.” and he said, “You just came from church,” and she replied, “It’s at a church.”  

Working in a church environment was one of the highlights Patty mentioned in her farewell speech to parishioners at the Cathedral’s AGM on March 19th, 2023.
In fact, she says, “It filled my soul.” Other valued aspects of her work included listening to and assisting those who called or visited the office, clerical/computer work, listening to the choral scholars, and encouraging people to honour loved ones with memorial gifts to church ministries.

Lastly, Patty expressed her appreciation for those with whom she had worked most closely. She mentioned the Cathedral’s three Deans (Michael Rice, Baxter Park, and Catherine Short), the Wardens, the head of worship (Valerie Pretty), and several Cathedral musicians, noting that there are both joys and challenges when people work together.

Reflecting on Dean Michael’s insistence that Patty come for an interview, one realizes that discipleship often happens that way. Someone sees certain skills and gifts in another, identifies them, and invites them to specific ministries. As a cathedral, we are grateful that Dean Michael sensed not only Patty’s clerical expertise but also her commitment to discipleship and parish ministries as Cathedral Office Manager. We wish her a joyful retirement.

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