REACHING OUT… as an act of Thanksgiving
By Lindsay Morgan

Locally
You’ll have noticed we keep popping up in church to say how well things have been going in the Garden of Eatin’, in spite of our crazy summer. We’ve made nineteen deliveries (large and small) to the Salvation Army’s Mission as of September 10, from our own and others’ gardens. And it ain’t over yet, as Mr. Berra is reputed to have said: our large tomatoes are just beginning to ripen. We expect the season’s finale will be the apples,
squash and other vegetables with which we decorate the church at Thanksgiving.

We fully expect to be involved again with Barrie’s Out of the Cold program. That means that one Sunday a month, from November through April, we will be preparing and delivering dinner to the Collier Street United Church location, for approximately thirty people. Each of the six meals last year was prepared and delivered by a different team within the congregation, and that seemed to work well. I know a number of people
involved last year will want to do it again, but I also know there is always room for more! Let me know if this is one of the ways you’d like to reach out this year. It is very simple, very satisfying, and very deeply appreciated.

Internationally
We’re not so strong on this front. Although as individuals we probably all donate to agencies addressing the needs of people in the developing world, as a congregation we have not done so in any collective, focused and intentional way. We want to see that change. This October, in the month when we traditionally give thanks for our many blessings, we will make a significant start.

At our 10:30 service on Sunday October 25 we will have a guest preacher, the Reverend Cathy Miller. Not only is Cathy a friend of Janet’s and an organic farmer (already recommendation enough), she is the incumbent of the Parish of Creemore, and associate priest at All Saints in Collingwood. Most significant for our purposes, Cathy represents the Diocese of Toronto on the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund
(PWRDF).
The PWRDF was formed in 1959, after 167 miners died in the Springhill coal mine disaster in Nova Scotia, and Anglicans realized the need for an efficient way to respond quickly to emergencies and disasters. Ten years later, in recognition of the importance of on-going support as well as crisis-response, the PWRDF became the means for the Anglican Church of Canada to respond to long-term development needs in Canada and throughout the developing world, or, in the words of its mission statement, ‘to bear witness to God’s love in a broken world.’ Significantly, in terms of both local effectiveness and reduced costs, the PWRDF does not set up it’s own offices, but works in partnership with local communities and organizations.
At its June meeting, the members of the St. Thomas’ Advisory Board agreed to commit $500 to the PWRDF, to be taken from the equity fund made up of past donations designated specifically for outreach. As such this donation will have no effect on the operating budget for this year, although we would hope that future operating budgets will include a line item for this purpose, thereby expressing our belief that outreach is an
entirely integral and essential part of our church’s ‘daily business’. During the month of October we hope to match this gift of $500 of ‘previously-donated money’ with
current donations from the congregation, making possible a total donation to the PWRDF for this year of $1,000.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could assure Cathy Miller of that when she speaks to us on October 25