Anti Racism Task Force Needs All Hands to Achieve Ambitious Goals

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The Anti-Racism Task Force of the Diocese of Montreal invites you to be a part of an important morning of fellowship, inquiry and collaboration that leads to action.

Join us in person to support of anti-racism.

We need ALL HANDS to achieve our ambitious goals.

email antiracism@montreal.anglican.ca to learn more

Join the Facebook Event HERE

A word from the co-chair about the event:

"The point is to see if we can get more people talking to each other. There's a lot of good work being done individually that's not being shared with the rest of us. So this is an opportunity for people to network, collaborate and encourage others to get involved! We need to get more heads together, share ideas and brainstorm. The goal is to help one another, offer support and get things done.

We all have to listen to each other and figure out a way to go forward into action. The Task Force wants to make it easier for that to happen.

We're at that stage where we have to think outside the box to get more things done in the church and the broader society and explore how the diocese can support those efforts. We want to get more people involved.

We know that anti Racism work matters, we have heard this sentiment from so many Anglicans in Montreal. This event is a tangible opportunity for you to take action.

Thank you for your support "

-Dion Lewis (co-chair of Diocesan Anti Racism Task Force)

What Next for the Church? Congregational Ministry in a Pandemic-Shaped World.

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What Next for the Church? Congregational Ministry in a Pandemic-Shaped World.

An Invitation / reminder from Jesse Zink

What Next for the Church? Taking place on Saturday, October 29 at the Church of St. Mark and St. Peter in St. Laurent (metro: du Collège) with the Rev. Dr. Tim Dickau. We’ve got a great keynote speaker/facilitator joining us for an interactive and engaging event in this moment of ongoing change for the church.

Lunch included, childcare available and more details/registration at www.montrealdio.ca/whatnext

-The Rev. Canon Jesse Zink, PhD

Principal

Bishops Action Appeal 2022 / L'appel à L'action des Evêques 2022

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Dear friend,

Your participation in the Bishop’s Action Appeal is such a blessing to me and to our recipients!

Thanks to your generous response to last year’s appeal, the Rev Linus Buriani is now attending the Montreal Diocesan Theological College to obtain his Bachelor’s degree in Theology. Following his studies, Rev Buriani will return to Masasi to teach at the local Theological College. We were also able to support our local missions, in turn helping hundreds of people in our area during an increased time of need.

This year we are again asking you to help us fulfill our commitment to these three much-loved missions, each of whom provided a brief update on how they are helping their communities:

The Mile End Community Mission: With members having returned to the Mission for snacks, BBQ’s and fun at our new outdoor café (pictured at left), we are optimistically planning a gradual reopening of indoor services for the fall and winter. Without missing a beat during the pandemic, we are now offering both indoor and take-out hot meals four times per week, a weekly food bank and grocery delivery service for 20 of our most vulnerable members.

Tyndale-St Georges Community Centre: Our Centre has been in full swing with services offered in person since the start of September 2021. Our teams have been working hard to deliver programs that provide educational, social and emotional support to our participants and the residents of Little Burgundy. We are all looking forward to the future and what the upcoming year has in store for the Centre.

Action Réfugiés Montréal: The strength and vitality of our programs, led by our dedicated employees, has carried us through the changes we have faced and continue to face. Our impact is best described by Ahmed, a member of our Men’s Group. "If I could picture the group, I would draw it as intertwined fingers where the fingers of the first hand represent the long-time members and those of the other, the newcomers… Action Réfugiés acts as a tool for inclusion and adaptation." The Men's Group is like a microcosm of the role we each play in the wider society of Quebec. Information on these ministries can be found at www.montreal.anglican.ca; click on the Social Justice button.

Unless you specify otherwise, half of your donation will go to Giving with Grace which funds projects at the national church level, including The Healing Fund, military chaplaincies, indigenous ministries and more. For more information on Giving with Grace visit www.anglican.ca/giving/.

With my thanks and every blessing,

The Rt. Rev. Mary Irwin-Gibson


P.S. Gifts of $25 or more are eligible for a tax receipt, which will be issued in February 2023.


Cher Ami,   

Votre participation à l'appel à l'action des évêques est une telle bénédiction pour moi et pour nos bénéficiaires !

Grâce à votre généreuse réponse à l'appel de l'année dernière, le révérend Linus Buriani est maintenant inscrit au Collège théologique diocésain de Montréal pour obtenir son baccalauréat en théologie. Après ses études, le révérend Buriani retournera à Masasi pour enseigner au collège théologique local. Nous avons également été en mesure de soutenir nos missions locales, aidant ainsi des centaines de personnes dans notre région pendant une période de besoin accru. 


Cette année, nous vous demandons à nouveau de nous aider à respecter notre engagement envers ces trois missions très appréciées, qui ont chacune présenté une brève mise à jour sur la façon dont elles aident leurs communautés :


La Mission communautaire du Mile End : Les membres étant revenus à la Mission pour des collations, des barbecues et des divertissements à notre nouveau café extérieur (photo de gauche), nous prévoyons avec optimisme une réouverture progressive des services intérieurs pour l'automne et l'hiver. Sans perdre un instant pendant la pandémie, nous offrons maintenant des repas chauds à l'intérieur et à emporter quatre fois par semaine, une banque alimentaire hebdomadaire et un service de livraison d'épicerie pour 20 de nos membres les plus vulnérables. 

Centre communautaire Tyndale-St Georges : Notre Centre est en pleine activité avec des services offerts en personne depuis la rentrée de septembre 2021. Nos équipes ont travaillé dur pour offrir des programmes qui fournissent un soutien éducatif, social et émotionnel à nos participants et aux résidents de la Petite Bourgogne. Nous nous réjouissons tous de l'avenir et de ce que l'année à venir réserve au Centre.

Action Réfugiés Montréal : La force et la vitalité de nos programmes, dirigés par nos employés dévoués, nous ont permis de traverser les changements auxquels nous avons été et sommes toujours confrontés. C'est Ahmed, membre de notre groupe d'hommes, qui décrit le mieux notre impact. "Si je pouvais me représenter le groupe, je le dessinerais comme des doigts entrelacés où les doigts de la première main représentent les membres de longue date et ceux de l'autre, les nouveaux arrivants... Action Réfugiés agit comme un outil d'inclusion et d'adaptation." Le groupe des hommes est comme un microcosme du rôle que nous jouons chacun dans la société québécoise au sens large. 

Vous trouverez des renseignements sur ces ministères à l'adresse www.montreal.anglican.ca ; cliquez sur le bouton Justice sociale.


Sauf indication contraire de votre part, la moitié de votre don sera versée à Giving with Grace, qui finance des projets au niveau de l'Église nationale, notamment le Fonds de guérison, les aumôneries militaires, les ministères autochtones, etc. Pour plus d'informations sur Giving with Grace, visitez le site www.anglican.ca/giving/.


Avec mes remerciements et toutes mes bénédictions,

 La Très Révérende Mary Irwin-Gibson 


P.S. Les dons de 25 dollars ou plus donnent droit à un reçu fiscal, qui sera émis en février 2023.

Celebrating Bishop Mary's Seventh Anniversary as Diocesan Bishop / Sabbatical Announcement (photos by Janet Best)

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photos by Janet Best

On my seventh anniversary of being your bishop, I am filled with gratitude and love. It is such an honour and a joy to be on this incredible journey with you. To share wonderful celebrations together - confirmations, baptisms, ordinations, Synods, anniversaries, inductions, events like the Family Day, and Bishop's Confirmation Day, times of learning and repenting, endings and beginnings - as we seek to serve Christ where we are and look to follow where Christ leads.

Together we are walking in faith and hope and working hard. Thank you for your passion for social justice, your commitment to reaching out to the poor, your desire to learn and grow as disciples, your hospitality, and your prayers. Thank you for your courage and perseverance as we have weathered the pandemic and as we continue to find our way in the kingdom of God.

This fall, I will be on sabbatical, using the time for prayer, reflection, and rest. I want to spend some time thinking about the work that was begun at Lambeth, the work we have done together in these 7 years, the way faithful ministry in Québec and Canada has evolved, and what I have observed in my over 60 years praying and growing and serving in the Diocese of Montreal.

Please pray for me, pray for your congregations and clergy and leaders, pray for yourselves, as I take time to prepare my heart for the next years of ministry together. God is calling us, continues to call us, and God is faithful to his call. He can and will use us, even us, to further his purposes of love and transformation.

While I am on sabbatical, the diocese will be in capable hands.

The vicar general, archdeacon Robert Camara and the territorial archdeacons will be there, along with the wonderful team of staff at Synod office which continues to work for you and the good of our diocese.

You will be in my prayers, with love.

À l'occasion de mon septième anniversaire en tant que votre évêque, je suis rempli de reconnaissance et d'amour. C'est un grand honneur et une telle joie de faire ce voyage incroyable avec vous.

Nous partageons ensemble de merveilleuses célébrations - confirmations, baptêmes, ordinations, synodes, anniversaires, intronisations, événements tels que la Journée de la famille et la Journée de confirmation de l'évêque, moments d'apprentissage et de repentir, fins et commencements - alors que nous cherchons à servir le Christ là où nous sommes et à suivre là où le Christ nous conduit.

Ensemble, nous marchons dans la foi et l'espoir et nous travaillons fort. Merci pour votre passion pour la justice sociale, votre engagement à tendre la main aux pauvres, votre désir d'apprendre et de grandir en tant que disciples, votre fidelité, votre hospitalité, votre générosité, et vos prières. Merci pour votre courage et votre persévérance alors que nous avons surmonté la pandémie et que nous continuons à trouver notre chemin dans le royaume de Dieu.

Cet automne, je serai en congé sabbatique et je profiterai de ce temps pour prier, réfléchir et me reposer. Je veux prendre le temps de réfléchir au travail qui a été entrepris à Conference d’Évêques à Lambeth, au travail que nous avons fait ensemble au cours de ces 7 années, à la façon dont le ministère fidèle au Québec et au Canada a évolué,

et à ce que j'ai observé au cours de mes plus que 60 années de prière, de croissance et de service dans le diocèse de Montréal.

Veuillez prier pour moi, prier pour vos communautés chretiennes, votre clergé et vos dirigeants, prier pour vous-mêmes, alors que je prends le temps de préparer mon cœur pour les prochaines années de ministère ensemble. Dieu nous appelle, continue de nous appeler, et Dieu est fidèle à son appel. Il peut et veut nous utiliser, même nous, pour faire avancer ses objectifs d'amour et de transformation.

Pendant mon congé sabbatique, le diocèse sera entre de bonnes mains.

Le vicaire général, l'archidiacre Robert Camara et les archidiacres territoriaux seront là, ainsi que la merveilleuse équipe du bureau du Synode qui continue à travailler pour vous et pour le bien de notre diocèse.

Vous serez dans mes prières, avec amour.

Introducing the Net Zero Churches Project from the Chair of the Stewardship of the Environment Committee

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We are dedicated
to taking action
to reduce greenhouse gases
church buildings emit.

Together, we can make a difference!
Together, we can be good stewards of God’s creation.

Learn More https://www.netzerochurches.ca/

Stewardship of the Environment

Bishop Mary Portrait

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ABOUT THE PORTRAIT PAINTING OF BISHOP MARY

Sandra Koukou has been the Assistant Archivist in the Diocese since April of 2014. She is a mother and grandmother and a late bloomer in the art of painting with oils. She is also a co-author, with her late father, of THE BOOK: A Humble Quest Into The Hebrew Scriptures.

How did the idea of a painting a portrait of Bishop Mary emerge?

Bishop Mary has forever struck me as ‘the hands-on Bishop!’ It seemed timely to honour her along with previous bishops of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal. As assistant archivist—and Sunday painter —I wanted to add to the existing collection of portraits, the first of which is the Right Reverend Francis Fulford, who was installed first bishop of this diocese in 1850.

Buoyed by a comment from a prominent member of my own congregation about the portrait I painted of Naïm Kattan (O.C., O.Q., Arts et lettres de la France) that my painting resembled the subject even more than the photo from which the work was drawn, I ventured to approach the bishop.

How did she react when you approached her?

Originally, she was reluctant. While chatting over lunch before the pandemic, I asked if she wanted a portrait done of her and she showed no interest in the idea. Then, when I pulled out a picture of the one I had done for Mr. Kattan she called me a Rembrandt. Of course, I was delighted by her compliment! Eventually, when I approached her again she agreed.

I’m sure she was too busy to sit for you. How were you able to capture her likeness?

I picked a photo which Janet Best had taken in the cathedral. The face was a big challenge since the lighting wasn’t ideal for what I had in mind. Finally, when the Church Home closed and the photographed portraits of the bishops of Montreal came to their final home at the diocese, I found the perfect picture to work from.

And, as fate would have it, I soon found that working from home during the pandemic was the only way this ambitious project could be completed alongside my full time day job.

What did you intend to portray in this portrait?

In essence, it was intended to tell a story…that of a leader placed in the difficult position to navigate the uncertainties faced by all of us, since March of 2020, when the pandemic gripped the world.

Her kindness has manifested not only as a superior, but also as a mentor, through many practical tips offered through the years; her helpful ideas and advice have in turn, enhanced my own craft as assistant archivist of the Diocese.

The oil on canvas portrait of Bishop Mary Catherine Irwin-Gibson is my way of thanking the Diocese and our wonderful colleagues at the Synod office for their warm embrace since joining the team in 2014.

How did she react to the finished piece?

It was gratifying to receive the bishop’s reaction, insisting that it is truly a “work of love.” I am also grateful for the fact that this portrait allowed me to push my limits in the art of portraiture.

Come see for yourself! The portrait hangs above the reception desk of the Synod Office.