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Fasts focus on creation
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Priest remembers the River Jordan
Church garden brings joy
TheAnglican THE NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF TORONTO
A SECTION OF THE ANGLICAN JOURNAL
www.toronto.anglican.ca
FaithWorks surpasses goal Anglicans give generously during pandemic BY STUART MANN
LET it never be said that Anglicans in the diocese don’t rise to a challenge. In 2020, one of the most difficult years in living memory, Anglicans and corporate donors gave $1.6 million to FaithWorks, the diocese’s annual outreach campaign. The amount not only surpassed the goal of $1.5 million but was the second-highest total in the appeal’s 25-year history. Despite lockdowns and other COVID-19 restrictions, donors gave $300,000 more to the campaign than they did in 2019. Shelagh McPherson, the chair of FaithWorks and a member of St. Martin in-the-Fields in Toronto, says she is “blown away” by the response. “It’s about loving your neighbour, and in the midst of their own problems, people have kept their neighbours in the forefront of their minds,” she says. FaithWorks provides financial support to 15 agencies and ministries, all based in the diocese, that serve the needs of people who are Indigenous, homeless, hungry, at-risk women, children or youth, immigrants or refugees, or struggling with HIV/AIDS. Since it was founded in 1996, it has raised $35 million. Peter Misiaszek, the diocese’s director of Stewardship Development, says there were several reasons for the 2020 campaign’s success. It included two “challenge grants” in which donations were matched, dollar for dollar, up to $100,000 each. The grants, which were made possible by two generous donors, raised more than $200,000. In March, FaithWorks started to publish FaithLines, a bi-weekly electronic newsletter that featured stories and testimonials about the work of the agencies and ministries. The newsletter, edited by FaithWorks campaign manager Peter
FaithWorks’ ministry partners North House Shelter in North Durham (above) and Flemingdon Park Ministry in Toronto (above right) provide food for local residents. The Rev. Phil Gearing (bottom right) walks for FaithWorks while members of All Saints ChurchCommunity Centre in Toronto provide Christmas cheer to those in need. PHOTOS COURTESY OF FAITHWORKS, THE REV. PHIL GEARING AND ERIKA WAR
Mentis, kept clergy and laity in the diocese informed and substantially increased online givings. The campaign included successful direct mail appeals in Pentecost and Advent, and the diocese held its first FaithWorks Sunday in late November, which provided an opportunity for parishes to focus on the appeal. Mr. Misiaszek says he was expecting a dip in parish givings due to the pandemic, but instead there was a 15 per cent increase. Parishes and individuals found new and inventive ways to give. St. Christopher, Richmond Hill held an online table tennis tournament, raising $24,000. The annual Schomberg Country Run, held online and in person, raised $22,000. The Rev. Phil Gearing walked 10 km a day for 100 days, raising several thousand dollars. A new feature of the campaign was that if donors indicated their parish with their donation, the parish would be credited with the amount and would receive 15 per cent of the donation, paid in the early part of 2021. This is similar to the longstanding practice of parishes receiving 15 per cent of their parish contribution.
Mr. Misiaszek says the additional money raised in 2020 could be used to establish a fund that would help FaithWorks’ recipients with immediate, pressing needs. Currently, the money is allocated at the beginning of the year. “We want to be nimble enough to respond when some immediate needs become apparent,” he says. “In 2020, there were some needs and we would have wanted to respond in that way.” Eighty-five per cent of parishes in the diocese participated in the 2020 campaign, and he hopes that will jump to 100 per cent this year, the appeal’s 25th anniversary. “We want to get every parish on board, and I think we can do that,” he says. The goal is $1.5 million and another challenge grant is already lined up. Carol Reist, executive director of The Dam, an agency that works with at-risk youth in Mississauga, praised FaithWorks for its achievement. “It is amazing that they’ve Continued on Page 2
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MARCH 2021