When I arrived in this parish in January of 2014, I was excited to be a part of a parish which had such a rich history of ministry, and with which I had a personal connection through my family history. I was honoured to be appointed your incumbent and joined you in ministry knowing there were challenges ahead, but excited by the adventure we were undertaking together.
The first step after arriving, and getting to know the parish, was to look for tools from around the church, and from my experience, which might help us to assess our situation and look for possibilities moving forward. I met with PJ Hobbs, our diocesan Director of Mission and we talked about some of the options together. Out of this conversation, and in the light of the projected deficit for that year, I felt that the Ministry Assessment Process (MAP) was the most comprehensive tool for our situation. We were not facing a modest readjustment of our ministry, but a need for deep reflection and the changes that follow from such deep work. MAP, from the Diocese of New Westminster, was designed for just such a task. At Vestry of 2014 we chose MAP as the best tool for the job.
What followed has been two years of hectic, and at times, frenetic work. Much of this work has been highlighted in past reports and the Wardens' report gives a more comprehensive look at the work and the time lines. In brief, we looked at demographic realities. We considered community needs both in the parish and the wider community. We were fortunate to have the assistance of students from Carleton University's social work school. We took part in Appreciative Inquiry to name what was/is valuable about our common life and to consider new dreams and visions. We took a very comprehensive look at our building and its needs and realities. In looking at the building we considered how to take more income from the physical asset by finding renters, remodeling or even rebuilding to meet the needs of our wider community and still remain a viable worship space. During this time we met fairly constantly with outside groups to explore rentals, and with possible partners for the use of the building and/or its redevelopment. We met several times with Architect Rob Froom, and came up with an exciting vision of what a future redevelopment might look like.
Unfortunately each time we thought we might have a path forward we found that the finances, the age of the building, the time commitments and/or duration worked against us. We also became increasingly aware of the growing fatigue within our diminishing volunteer base. As we moved toward the completion of MAP it became apparent that we were quickly running out of possibilities. What we were left with were four options: live upstairs and renovate (to make that possible), redevelop the property, disband as a parish, or amalgamate with another Anglican parish. In May we met in a parish workshop to consider these options. The weight of opinion from that meeting pointed toward amalgamation, and after investigating this in the deanery and the diocese a motion was put to a Special Vestry meeting on June 7, 2015, that we pursue talks on amalgamation with All Saints' Westboro.
What followed was a very busy summer of meetings to flesh out what an amalgamation might look like. We reported to the parish after each meeting through the "Amalgamation Conversations" which were published on the St. Matthias website. It is also important to note that all of this
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discernment work was carried in prayer, in our personal prayers, in our corporate worship, and in special discernment vespers held each month throughout this time.
The final amalgamation motion was approved at a Special Vestry on October 25, 2015, and with the
Bishop's approval, made the amalgamation with All Saints' Westboro official as of January 1, 2016. I am deeply grateful to the many people who worked tirelessly on MAP and then the amalgamation process. Deeply painful as this has been, we have followed this through in compassion with one another when it could have been divisive and destructive. This speaks well of the spirit of caring which lives in this parish. Thank you to Mollie Stokes for moving forward the Appreciative Inquiry part of MAP, to Elizabeth Reicker, Ted Cherrett, and Marolynne Capstick for their leadership in the MAP steering committee, to David Tipple for a superb Demographic report, to Innogen Henderson for the production of the cost benefit analysis of the possible redevelopment, and to the wardens for their commitment and support throughout this journey.
In the midst of all this activity we still conducted ourselves as a parish church, carrying on our pastoral care, teaching through various studies, singing God's praises, preaching the word, considering current issues, furthering the work of the stewardship of our resources, and welcoming newcomers. Thank you to all who helped to keep these essential ministries moving in the midst of what has often felt like a marathon. Not only this, but we further demonstrated our courage by taking on, in the midst of our own financial realities and volunteer fatigue, the sponsorship of a refugee family. This is a wonderful demonstration of our commitment to Christ's ministry of hospitality and a true witness to who we really are as a community.
Our ministry in this community is not finished when we close our doors here at St. Matthias. Through MAP one of the themes we heard several times is that there is, in this community, a need to work at overcoming the social isolation felt by the many poor who live within the geographical boundaries of this parish. To answer this we have responded by planning to open a "Hintonburg mission" in conjunction with the work of the Parkdale Food Centre. This ministry will be an opportunity to answer a real need in our own backyard by sharing fellowship around a meal. We hope to have the first such dinner toward the end of March. We have approval of the plan from parish council, and we are just waiting for the board of the food centre to give final approval. In addition I hope that we will be able to worship there from time to time so that our spiritual presence remains rooted here in this community. It is important to remember that while we are closing our building, the parish boundary of All Saints' has expanded to include our geographical region and the concerns of our neighbourhoods continue to be our concern.
Finally, thank you for the privilege of these past two years. The outcome of them is not what I had expected or hoped for in coming here, but I do believe we have listened deeply and practiced the best of Christian discernment and stewardship of resources. Thank you for the support, and care through this time. I look forward to our years ahead in our new home among our sisters and brothers in Christ at All Saints'.