From The Bishop’s Office: March 1, 2012

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I trust you are having a blessed Lent and taking the opportunity to be part of a Lenten Study, reflection group or engaging in private prayer and study as we prepare for the great celebrations during Holy Week and Easter. I am writing to you to share some news from my office related to events in the life of our diocese and wider Church.

I also want you to know that your parishes are in my prayers as annual meetings continue to be conducted throughout the Diocese. These prayers also include my thanks to those who have exercised faithful leadership ministries on the councils and organizations of our parishes, continue to do so or are coming onto Parish Councils for the first time. In the midst of challenging times we are blessed with folk who know that the strengthening and inspiring power of the Spirit will provide the lamp and light for our path as we continue in the Mission of Jesus Christ.

The 150^th Anniversary of the Diocese of Ontario 1862-2012

                We continue through our anniversary year giving thanks to God for the faithful ministries of so many over the course of the past 150 years since the founding of our diocese. The committee that is planning the events and celebrations this year continues to be hard at work on the major celebration planned for Trinity Sunday, June 3^rd at the K-Rock Center in Kingston which is now just over three months away.

I am thrilled that we will be welcoming Dr. Naomi Tutu as our guest speaker at the June 3^rd event. She is the third daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and a powerful advocate for human rights. An excerpt from her speaker’s profile notes that “growing up as the daughter of Desmond Tutu has offered her many challenges and opportunities in her life... She has taken up the challenge and channelled the opportunities she has been given to raise her voice as a champion for the dignity of all.”

                I am deeply thankful and appreciative to the donors who have contributed toward the cost of our gathering on June 3rd. I am sure that the day will be a time of great celebration along with a rededication and commitment to the future mission and ministry of faithful Anglican Christians as we live our anniversary theme “Into the World”.

                A letter was recently sent to wardens and Incumbents asking that a volunteer be identified within each parish as a contact person for the Events Committee so that information can be passed on to the parishes regarding the plans leading up to June 3^rd. Please identify this person as soon as possible and notify Anne Patterson at

New Incumbencies, Appointments and Search Processes

                We will soon be welcoming new clergy to the diocese as they take up the Incumbencies of several parishes. The Parish of Christ Church Belleville will welcome Rev. Michael Rice on March 12 as he relocates from his current posting as Dean of the Diocese of Western Newfoundland. The Pastoral Unit comprising the Church of the Redeemer Rockport and Christ Church, Gananoque will welcome Rev. Christine Downey on May 1^st as she relocates from the Diocese of Huron. The Parish of St. Mark’s, Barriefield will welcome the Rev. Haynes Hubbard on July 1^st as he relocates from his current post as Senior Chaplain of St. Vincent’s Anglican Chaplaincy in the Algarve, Portugal. My thanks continue to the people of these parishes and their interim clergy for their faithfulness and care during these times of transition.

Several parishes are welcoming some new clergy into their ministries. The Parish of St. Lawrence, Brockville will welcome The Ven. George Lambert as priest associate on a part time basis commencing March 1^st. The Rev. Douglas Fox will assume the interim ministry at The Church of the Redeemer, Rockport until the arrival of their new Incumbent.

A new pastoral unit has been created comprising the Parish of St. Luke’s, Kingston and the newly designated Good Shepherd Mission on 46 Cowdy St. This new ministry entitled “Kingston North Anglican Ministries” began on February 1^st with the re-designation of The Church of the Good Shepherd as a Mission of the Diocese under my oversight. This is a “Back to the Future” venture for Good Shepherd as they began as a mission of the Cathedral in the 1950’s under the leadership of the late Rev. Harry Robinson. The Ven. Reg Gilbert will assume the administration of this ministry on my behalf and has recently been joined by Rev. Christine Williams as Priest Associate following the conclusion of her posting as Assistant Curate at St. George’s Cathedral. Please hold the clergy and people of this Unit in your prayers as they live into this new ministry and provide faithful Anglican Christian ministry to the people of Kingston North.

The Pastoral Unit comprising the Anglican Churches of Quinte West (Trenton, Frankford and Glen Miller) are in the process of receiving expressions of interest until March 15 for the Incumbency of that unit at which time they will move to interviews. They continue to be served in the interim on a full time basis by Rev. Richard Pitcher assisted by their Priest Associate, Rev. Mel Talan. The Parish of Kitley has recently constituted their Parish Advisory Committee and begun work on their Parish Profile. They are being served in the Interim on a full time basis by Rev. Douglas Richards.

Update on Decisions and Actions following upon “Budget 2012”

                I recently shared information with you concerning the request of the Camp Hyanto Committee to the Synod Council to lift the state of suspension on this ministry in 2012. The Synod Council agreed to the suspension being lifted with the proviso that sufficient funds be raised outside of the Diocesan budget to operate the camp. In addition, a long term ministry and business plan must be prepared for the ongoing operation of the Camp beyond 2012 including Incorporation with a board of directors and a full time Camp Director. This plan will be presented to the November meeting of Synod. The Council also extended permission pursuant to Canon C9 to allow the Camp Committee to launch a fund raising initiative to parishes and other interested parties.

                Fund raising for Hyanto 2012 has quickly reached the two thirds mark toward the $65,000 needed to be raised. To date, $42,000 has been received for the Hyanto Camping ministry in 2012 and the plans and preparations for the camping season are now underway. Please allow me to reiterate the words of my letter to you last month in that we need to identify young people and support them in attending Camp in order to bring enrollment up from the 64% capacity of last year. Please continue to hold the members of the Camp Committee and their supporters in prayer as they develop the plan for Camp ministry that addresses the challenges of maintaining this ministry into the future.    

                The decision to suspend publication of the Dialogue newspaper has led to the formation of a committee to examine print and electronic communications possibilities. This committee is headed by Rev. Steve Timpson and will meet for the first time on March 9. They will also be supported with advice from those engaged with electronic communications at the National Church level. Steve reported to us at our Tuesday staff meeting a couple of weeks ago that the number of “page accesses” on our web site went from 8000 in November (which I thought impressive) to 67,000 in December and 169,000 in January. The previous high had been 24,000. This shows me that people in our diocese are engaged with the issues being dealt with and seeking out information.

                The Stewardship and Congregational Development Committee under the leadership of Mr. Doug Cowley, has taken on the task of developing a process to engage our diocese broadly in a prioritization exercise aimed at determining priorities in ministry at the diocesan level to consider in future planning. They are assisted in this work by Suzanne Lawson of the National Church and have been joined by three members of Synod Council in order to involve that body in the effort.

The Finance Committee had previously taken Council members through a prioritization exercise in seeking direction for the preparation of Budget 2012. They also utilized information from the reports and conferences following from Synod 2010, but it is important for Anglicans across the diocese to respond to the decisions, challenges and opportunities as we focus our vision forward.

 The Bishop’s Dinner, May 22

                 The Bishop’s Dinner is a fund raising event that has been held the past number of years to support the Bishop’s Discretionary Fund. This year the dinner will be held at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Kingston and our guest speaker will be The Most Rev’d. Colin Johnson, Archbishop of Toronto and Metropolitan of Ontario. The organizing committee for the dinner is also planning a silent auction to be held during the dinner this year. Please mark this date in your calendar and stay tuned for further details from the organizers.

 Bishop’s Principal Engagements

March 4^th Sunday Worship at Good Shepherd Mission, Kingston

March 7^th Training and Development Committee

March 8^th Stewardship and Congregational Development Committee

March 9^th Synod Agenda Committee and Events Committee

March 13^th Peace and Justice Commission

March 15^th Cathedral Noon Hour Lenten Series

March 25-27^th Provincial House of Bishops and Provincial Council

March 27^th Synod Council

April 1^st Palm Sunday Service with the Anglican Churches of Quinte West at Glen Miller and Frankford

April 3^rd Renewal of Vows and Blessing of Holy Oils at St. George’s Cathedral

April 5^th Easter Eucharist at The Regional Treatment Center, Kingston Correctional     Institution

               Maundy Thursday Service at St. George’s Cathedral

April 6^th Good Friday Liturgy at St. George’s Cathedral

 April 7^th Great Vigil of Easter at St. George’s Cathedral

 April 8^th The Sunday of the Resurrection, Easter Day at St. George’s Cathedral

                 May the peace and blessing of Christ be with you throughout the remainder of your Lenten pilgrimage toward the joy of Easter.

 In The Service of Christ,

 Bishop Michael