Bishop Shaw's Letter

The Right Reverend Riscylla Shaw

Bishop Suffragan, Diocese of Toronto

November 7, 2021 ~ All Saints Sunday

To: the Good People of the Parishes of Trinity Barrie, St Margaret, Barrie, and Good Shepherd, Stayner

From: Bishop Riscylla Shaw

Dear Friends in Christ, grace to you and peace this day.

I have been holding you all in prayer with gratitude to God for your faithful ministry, for your prayers, and for your partnership in the Gospel. As St Paul says in his letter to the Philippians, 1:6 & 7 “And I am sure of this, that the Holy One of Blessing who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace…” As St Paul continues in 3:13 & 14, “…straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ.” It is a blessing to be with you in this journey towards the call of Jesus, to be the hands and feel of Christ in our neighbourhoods, our communities, our daily lives. We are being called to walk in partnership together in a good way, each thriving in place and sharing resources so that collectively we are stronger.

As background context, for a long time the Diocese of Toronto has been considering the concepts of Regional Ministry, Area Ministry, Hub Ministry or Team Ministry, with the goal of strengthening parishes and reducing isolation of clergy and lay leaders.

The objective of regional ministry is to intentionally foster congregations and individuals working together across what used to be well-defined parish boundaries. This is particularly relevant to areas currently facing significant demographic and societal shifts, possibly lower revenue, fewer parishioners, and reduced energy to sustain valued ministries undertaken in parishes over many years. Through these changes, including the emerging impacts of this global pandemic, we recognize that the people in our parishes are responding to the call to be missional and many are filled with enthusiasm for what could happen if only there were more people, time, energy, or financial resources.

We hunger for the joy of relationships in faith communities large enough to accomplish that to which God lovingly calls us. The experience of COVID-19 has shown us that we can adapt quickly to change and can find much good. Out of a world tragedy, God gives us the opportunity to re-form – to be God’s people in a new way. It is a kairos moment for us when we can participate in a significant societal shift and co-create this part of God’s world anew. God beckons us to pray for and take the courage to experiment, to create our own models of collaboration, and to live them out locally where there is capacity.

After careful deliberation, consultation and prayer, we have decided to create the opportunity for Good Shepherd, Stayer, St Margaret, Barrie and Trinity, Barrie to work together to form a regional ministry with the intention of exploring the development of a shared vision, common purpose, and commitment to work together for ministry and mission for north Barrie and the Highway 26/27 corridors covered by the deanery.

It is hoped that this will allow for:

✓ better stewardship of resources and an intentionality about how those resources are allocated;

✓ priestly ministry when needed and an increase in supported lay ministry;

✓ added capacity to provide specialized ministries in the area;

✓ reduction of isolation for our clergy and parishes

✓ a context for our leadership and ministry team members to nurture and develop each other’s skills in ways that open the possibility of multiple kinds of growth;

✓ fostering creativity in the ministry of lay and clergy leaders and expansive opportunities for growth; drawing together what we’ve learned through the many threads of our past and current work in congregational development and missional theology;

✓ and consolidation of the administration in parishes with the goal of freeing energy for mission.

This regional ministry will fall under the clerical leadership of the Reverend Simon Bell who will serve as the Priest-in-Charge of Trinity, Barrie and continue as Incumbent of St Margaret, Barrie; the Reverend Susan Snelling as the Priest-in-Charge of Good Shepherd, Stayner and Associate Priest at St Margaret’s. Good Shepherd, Stayner and St Margaret, Barrie will continue under their present corporate structures.

Trinity, Barrie will be run by a Board of Management with the following appointments:

❖ Bill Sergeant, Trinity

❖ Joan Hill, Trinity

❖ Judy Craig, Trinity

❖ Jane Robinson, St Margaret, Barrie

❖ Lynn Dryla, Diocesan Volunteer

❖ Bishop Philip Poole and the Rev Simon Bell, Co Chairs for November

❖ Advent 1, 2021 the Rev Simon Bell, Chair

It is my hope and desire that all three parishes will flourish in place, through the sharing of resources and mutual collaboration, and that they will all provide a strong ministering presence in each of their unique contexts by seeking a common over-arching vision of the Gospel in action.

May God bless us all in this work together,

The Right Reverend Riscylla Shaw

Bishop Suffragan, Diocese of Toronto