The post CMP visits Waswanapi appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

The post All Saints by the Lake has a new kitchen! appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

The post CMP welcomes refugees & newcomers appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

By Jeff Alexander, Coordinator, All Saints Church, and Crosstalk Ministries Day Camp Committee member

This year marks the second in-person Bible Day Camp we have held post-COVID. Our attendance was up modestly to eight from last year’s six; however, beyond the quantity, we were very pleased by the quality of our interaction and of the youth helpers.
We followed this year’s theme Signposts, adapting the curriculum slightly for our small and young (primarily kindergarten age) group of campers.
The music was expertly chosen for the week by our friends at the First Filipino Baptist Church of Montreal.
It was very rewarding to have four ex-campers – ranging in age from 12 to 20 – return as helpers, and their levels of vigilance, energy, encouragement, and kindness were incredible.
They were particularly attentive to two campers on the autism spectrum and our youngest camper who is being fostered by one of our church families; she started the week with her hoodie drawn closely around her face and gripping her stuffed bear, but brightened during the week and was eventually as energetic and expressive as the others.
We were also blessed with the attendance of some of the campers and their families at our closing service. We interspersed elements from Bible Day Camp throughout the liturgy, including a beautiful liturgical dance.
It was truly a blessing to our community to have hosted this wonderful week.

St. Joseph of Nazareth Church, Brossard

By Rev’d Christopher Belle
Priest-in-charge, St Joseph of Nazareth Church, Brossard

The Crosstalk Ministries Day Camps compact Backyard Program is a near-perfect fit for our church. We began in the evening with a meal prepared and served by members of the church. We then proceeded with the program, consisting of a main presentation, devotions, Creative Connection and games.
The children had a wonderful time. Our smaller numbers made for a more intimate setting, and it did not take long for some of the quieter ones’ initial shyness to wear off.
A strong indicator of its success was the enthusiastic singing following the day camps. Children were still singing the songs on the way home.
I was also encouraged by how well children recalled what they had learned the evening before. The quiz was an exciting showdown every time. It is clear that they understood what we tried to pass on to them.
I am always impressed by the many ways day camps allow children to express themselves. There is something for everyone; singing, liturgical dance, arts and crafts, crazy games, devotions. Children usually find their niche.
I find that the supper at the beginning is a key element in building a sense of community; a time for campers to share and learn about each other. And having parishioners who are enthusiastic about child ministry, and happen to be good cooks, is an absolute blessing.
Thank you, Crosstalk Ministries. God bless you.

The post Crosstalk Ministries Day Camps 2024 appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

On Saturday, July 20th, 2024, 235 people came out to enjoy a bowl of delicious Coaticook ice cream at the second annual ice cream social, held in the church hall of St. James the Apostle in Stanbridge East.
The event was organised by the parish’s Youth Council, a dedicated group of young people who are committed to bringing about positive social change in our region, with a particular focus on supporting initiatives that help young people and families.
The Youth Council meets to learn together and share skills (including fundraising techniques, event planning, marketing and publicity, and financial management), all while giving back to the community — and having fun too. As a priest, it is so rewarding to be able to empower and equip the younger generation for leadership in the Church and in the world!
Since its inception in 2023, the Youth Council has raised over $6,000 to give back to the community. That is tremendous generosity on behalf of the parish!
Maddison Ingalls, a member of the Youth Council who recently completed CEGEP at John Abbott College and who will begin studying psychology at Concordia this fall, said “Events like the ice cream social are so important to me because my grandmother used to be heavily involved in the community, and this way I feel I can follow in her footsteps and help out the community that raised me. I am so proud to be part of the St. James the Apostle Youth Council!”
Similarly, Gennevieve Baker, the organising chair for this year’s ice cream social and a mother of two young children, reflects that, “I grew up in the Church, but it was only after I had my own kids that I realized how important it was for me, and I wanted to get more involved. As a church it is important for us to be involved in the life of the community; the work of the Youth Council is one way of fulfilling that.”
Bedford Pizzeria (a local restaurant whose unfailing support for the community is outstanding), the well-known Laiterie de Coaticook, and Maison de la Pomme (a local apple processing company) all made donations for the event, and sheet cakes were baked by a team of eager volunteers. All of this helped to ensure that the event had zero organising costs, maximising the event’s fundraising potential.
St. James the Apostle hosted the ice cream social, but several other organisations helped with ticket sales and publicity, including; the Order of the Eastern Star, the Stanbridge East firefighters, the Missisquoi Historical Society, the Royal Canadian Legion, the Town Hall of Stanbridge East, and the United Church in Stanbridge East. The ice cream social is a real community event! It is gratifying to see the wider community getting so involved in the life and outreach of the parish.
The doors of the church were open during the event, allowing the public to take in the beauty of the church’s religious architecture. The red brick building is a unique architectural gem amongst Anglican churches in the Eastern Townships — and, indeed, the rest of Quebec. It is built in the carpenter gothic style: identifying features of this style include steeply pitched roofs and gables, gingerbread ornamentation, and strong vertical design elements.
Fundraising from the Youth Council has benefited several local elementary school breakfast programs; Girl Guides of Canada; the Graham Neil Winter Classic, which provides winter sports equipment to children whose families cannot afford it; le Tremplin, a home for at-risk youth; and Reilly House, a not-for-profit organisation that supports families throughout the Eastern Townships.
There is an old expression attributed to Theodore Roosevelt: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. The Church cannot simply talk about loving our neighbour, it has to manifest that love to the world. As a priest, I am proud to be connected to a church that has such a big heart for the community around us!

The post The Inside Scoop on the St. James the Apostle Youth Council appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

Our most recent Regional Ministry joint services was held at St. James the Apostle Church in Stanbridge East on Sunday, June 30th. It was great to have Bishop Mary with us.
One of the hardest things about rural ministry across such a vast geography is building a feeling of unity between the many rural points.
As such, we designate fifth Sundays as special times of worshipping together from across our entire region. There are no other services sceduled in the region on those Sundays. These are important opportunities for fostering community, fellowship, and teamwork as our Regional Ministry continues to develop.
Regional services are always followed by a potluck lunch.
For small, rural congregations that normally get less than a dozen people on a Sunday morning, these regional services have explosive energy and provide a tremendous sense of hope for the future.
God is not done with rural ministry!

The post Regional Ministry joint service draws over 100 people appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

Decline was seen in decreased participation at worship, and in decreased giving; and in the lack of weddings, baptism, and confirmations. Christ Church had maintained the appearance that things were OK even as some repairs were delayed and as they went from a full time to a half-time cleric.

Bishop Mary, after discussion and concurrence with the wardens of Christ Church, licenced the Rev. Rodney Clark in the fall of 2021 as part-time priest in charge of Rawdon.

It had been more than 15 years since Fr. Clark had served in a parish; and though he is a priest with more than 30 year’s experience, he had not previously lived in a rectory, nor served a single-point charge.

When Fr. Clark was ordained in 1993 his first parish was in the Appalachian highlands of Quebec where he served as half-time incumbent responsible for six congregations. The other half of his job was as a community animator funded by a Quebec City non-profit corporation, where he worked for five years, expanding minority language community and social service delivery.
While there, he learned how to identify a mission field; how to geolocate people for ease of community engagement across a large territory, how to participate in on-the-ground social service animation, how to discern and reinforce the threads of a worn-thin social fabric.

From this work came the Megantic Community Development Corporation and with it a template which was picked up by the Network Programme Initiative of the QCGN. The QCGN NPI assisted with the creation and funding of social service agencies across much of Quebec – agencies such as ECOL in the Lanaudière where Fr. Clark now serves.

The work to encourage growth at Christ Church Rawdon started in 2021 with the identification of the mission field and the work to discern paths to growth. In the last two years, Christ Church has increased the parish from a roll of 70 to a roll of 270 households.
This has been due to the hard work of wardens, ACW members and its 168 volunteers [Rawdon knows the actual number of its volunteers as they are named and their hours are tracked for inclusion in the annual report], and many others.

Meetings were held with neighbours and family. Much time has been spent speaking with and listening to ACW members and aged parishioners. Phones were used – a lot. Data bases built. A parish-needs assessments completed.

The most important activity has been time spent BEING VISIBLE in the community as a whole: knocking on doors to say ‘Hi’, marching as a parish in parades, inviting up to 90 people to share in lawn games at the Rectory in the summer months, working with local non-profits to strengthen ties and relationships; becoming known by municipal councillors, the firemen and local SQ, and diving into community activities.

Fr. Clark and members of the parish are seen at AA, NA, & CA meetings; at the Legion, the Quilt Guild, the Multi-Ethnic Center, the ACW, at Friday Friends, and at ECOL events; and at almost all community concerts and meals and fundraisers in Greater Rawdon.
With an identified mission field, coupled with intentional listening to learn why people stepped back, and a focus on making the parish central to the life of the community once again; average attendance at worship on Sunday Mornings has more than doubled from what it had been pre-covid.

On Saturday July 13th Christ Church Rawdon had its annual Auction and FunFair. The day started before 7am and ended after 9pm – and then 45 were in Church @ 10:30 the next morning!

Christ Church had had no confirmations for a decade. The Bishop confirmed six in Rawdon in 2024 and will confirm another six in 2025.

Christ Church has youth and young families worshipping with them because the congregation is listening, hearing and responding to their needs and program and animation requests.

Music has become an opportunity for growth, and people gather as a community to sing 60-strong twice a month. Christ Church has 40 voices in the choir singing at special events [there had not been a choir for several years, and no one dreamed of a 40-voice choir].
Christ Church has built in partnership with the municipality a concert series [15 concerts have been booked for 2024-25] to open the doors of our church to newcomers, so they SEE who we are – and we have a dressed altar and lit tabernacle lamp to telegraph our theology to those coming for concerts; and a few moments are spent at each concert telling people what an Anglican Church / what the Anglican tradition is.

Attendance is up. The numbers on the parish roll are up. Average worshipper age is down. The average parishioners age is down. Christ Church has found vectors for growth.

This fall Christ Church will host two 1-day workshops called the Rawdon Youth Initiative in an effort to respond to the needs which we have learned of through our 18-month SWOT analysis process [SWOT = Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat: it is a business tool which charities and non-profits use to aid them to see themselves more clearly and to discern paths for growth and renewal].
There is MUCH work to do to see Rawdon become a long-term sustainable parish; but the greatest impediment to growth was overcoming the inertia of being a shrinking parish. Christ Church Rawdon has overcome that inertia.

The journey from here to sustainable and self-supporting ministry needs love and work and continued consultation and a willingness to listen.

One of the important things which Christ Church Rawdon has done is pray for each other. The entire parish roll is prayed for each week by our ACW. The roll has been divided into 52, and each parishioner is remembered in intercessions at least once a year. These are small things to do; but the trust and the conversations which this simple discipline fosters is not small – it is parish changing.
There will soon be another English school in the parish, bringing the total number of students in English school in the parish to more than 1000.

The population is growing and becoming more diverse. The parish is growing and becoming more diverse. Christ Church Rawdon has legs and a promising future.

Together the incumbent and wardens and volunteers along with the many who look to this parish for care and support – are taking steps to ensure the long-term sustainability of the parish and are working to cultivate new avenues for outreach.

The post Christ Church Rawdon – a growing parish community appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

Our Saving Grace Campaigns purpose is to repair, restore and preserve the fabric of Grace Church to fulfill its evolving mission and maintain its historic significance.Grace Church has served Sutton’s Anglican community throughout most of the town‘s existence. It all began with the construction of the present stone structure and the onsite visit on 1 August 1846 by Bishop Mountain from Quebec. Since then, 14 beautiful stained glass biblical images have been installed, filling every window and becoming a valued part of Sutton’s cultural legacy. Services can now be experienced on Zoom and its faith community is open and welcoming.
Inevitably, significant parts of the structure have needed attention: the organ was replaced in 2021, the steeple rebuilt in 2022, the oil-burning furnaces were replaced with heat pumps in 2023 and the community-active church hall has been redecorated. But the work continues: a new roof, more thermal insulation, drainage control, access improvements and internal upgrades remain.
While the completed work has been paid from available funds, Grace Church must now rely on a fund-raising campaign that reaches out to the wider Sutton community and beyond. A very successful launch event was held in the church hall on April 13 with noted author, Louise Penny, as Honorary Chairwoman. Attendance reached 70 and Bishop Mary spoke in support of the campaign.
Grace Church has a vital role to fulfil in the ongoing development of its Christian mission and of the community of Sutton. As such, we appeal to everyone who agrees that maintaining its fabric is necessary to continue and expand this role. All donations will receive a tax receipt.

The post Saving Grace Campaign Launch April 13, 2024 appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

The post Around the Diocese appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

It has been interesting to learn about the ways that the Bible Story Walk has impacted communities and encouraged engagement.

Here is some of the feedback I’ve received:

“We had it here (St Paul’s Greenfield Park) for a month and I got to see all sorts of different people coming and taking advantage of it. There were young people, high school students walking by and reading it and older people and families. All sorts of different people came to take advantage of the space and just see what it is that has been installed in the front lawn of the church.

One gentleman came and knocked on the door and said what’s the story with this? How come I wasn’t notified that this was here earlier? I love this. I want to go and tell all my neighbors.

Another lady that was making her way to the library stopped and even came to tears she was we later found out that she was going through these and pondering the wondering questions and she told us I’m going to go to the library I want to invite everybody who’s at the library down the road to come and enjoy this as well. That lady has since started attending the 8AM service that is here at St Paul’s.

The only downside is that we couldn’t keep it all summer and we wish we could have. We wish it could still be here but we understand it’s going to be at other churches so others in the area can enjoy all for the glory of God and for his kingdom.
I just want to say thank you to the diocese and to Lee-Ann and Bishop Mary and everybody who is involved in this for making this available to us and allowing us to participate in it. Thank you.”

-The Rev Trevor Potter
(May 2023)

“Everyone enjoyed the story – there was engagement from the kids answering Neil’s questions and even the adults answered. Several people commented on how lovely the posts were and this was a great idea. Neil Mancor did an excellent job at reading – and talking with the kids.

It was great, it was very good for St. Barnabas. It showed that we are more than just a church building – and that there are fun things going on so check us out.

… it introduces the kids in an easy, simple and fun way to hear about God and His existence; to see what He is like and how He made all things.

New families and people showed up… the Bible Story was a bonus. We got to meet and chat with them. They know we are inviting them. It’s about mission; Jesus sends us out and this was a good way.

I noticed a couple of times during the Sunday service, when I was at the altar and the main doors are open to let air circulate (I can see straight outside the front to the display) I’ve noticed people walking by and reading the posts.”

– Deacon Debbie Galt-Shane (June 2023)

As this is something we haven’t done before, we are in an experimental phase, adapting as we go. Each church has been encouraged to invite neighbours to their lawn for an event to celebrate the Story Walk, serve lemonade etc. This has proven to be fruitful and has provided opportunities to connect with families and the spiritually curious of all ages and stages of life.
The project broke ground at its first stop at St. Paul’s Greenfield Park in May then to St Barnabas Pierrefonds, followed by All Saints by The Lake, Dorval, St Thomas Church in NDG and St Philips Montreal West. Its final destination for the season will be Christ Church Beaurepaire in October 2023.

If you are interested in hosting the project in 2024 or are inspired by this project and have other ideas you wish to share, get in touch with Lee-Ann Matthews: lmatthews@montreal.anglican.ca

The post The Bible Story Walk; connecting parishes with their neighbors appeared first on Montreal Anglican.