Page 2 of 16
2 Catalyst
In This Issue...
1 In Honour of Judy Neal, Ingram
2 Easter Bonnets , Jin and Friends
3 Worship and Walk with the Moderator, Faris
4 St. Andrew’s Heritage Trust, Hepburn
5 A New Dawn, Brown
6 The Foundation, Ingram
7 Heartfelt Words of Gratitude, Neal
8. In Memoriam: Douglas Bodle, Ingram
8 Milestones, Neal
9 In Memory of Pat Reynolds, Pigott
10 Better English Café, Lever
11 Presbyterian Mercy Flights, Stewart
13 “Real-World” Christianity, Ushiroguchi-Pigott
14 The Lord’s Prayer, Diltz
15 On Reading of the Holy Scriptures, Bauer
16 You Are Welcome Here
CO-EDITORS: Yvonne Pigott (ypigott@yahoo.com) and Jane Martin (janemartin@pagemartin.com)
EDITORIAL PRODUCTION: Judy Neal
PHOTOGRAPHY AND ART: St. Andrew’s archives, Yaping Jin, Shari Liu, Judy Neal, Bob Faris, Will Ingram, Toshio Ushiroguchi-Pigott, Julie Jordan
Scott, Wikimedia, Wikipedia
OUR MINISTERS: The Rev. Dr. William G. Ingram, Senior Minister, and The Rev. Dr. Robert N. Faris, Associate Minister
CONTACT US: Email: info@standrewstoronto.org Telephone: 416-593-5600 ext. 220
Website: https://standrewstoronto.org
Subscribe: To receive an electronic copy of The Catalyst, please contact Judy Neal at jneal@standrewstoronto.org. For
editorial inquiries contact co-editors Yvonne Pigott and Jane Martin (emails shown above)
Catalyst is published four times annually for members and friends of St. Andrew’s Church.
Contributions on the life and work of St. Andrew’s Church are welcome.
COVID-19 could not repress the Easter bonnet tradition at St. Andrew’s, which emerged both online at
virtual coffee hour and in person at the Easter Sunday service. Sporting their brilliant Easter creations:
Yaping Jin, Leslyn Henry, Susan Goodwin and Robert Sheng.
Page 3 of 16
Catalyst 3
It’s time to come out and celebrate.
A
t the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
in Canada held last year, the passage of two
amendments, or remits, made it possible for marriage to
be celebrated between people of the same sex in our
Presbyterian congregations, and for LGBTQI people,
whether married or single, to be ordained as Elders and
as Ministers of Word and Sacraments in our
denomination. In addition, the Assembly’s Rainbow
Communion, the special listening committee formed to
hear stories of harm due to homophobia, transphobia,
heterosexism and hypocrisy, put forward
recommendations to address and stop this harm, all of
which were passed. This was a huge step on the road to
healing and inclusion in our church.
It has been hard to celebrate. The 2021 Assembly was
held online and that made it difficult to organize a party.
And there were compromises that muted the joy of those
who believe that God’s love includes everyone. And, of
course, there was COVID. We have been shut into a huge
closet for over two years, and, as
LGBTQI people know so well, it is
very hard to celebrate in a closet.
Now the COVID closet door is
opening, and we are ready to
celebrate. The gifts and talents of
people who, like me, identify as LGBTQI, can now be
celebrated and offered openly in the church. We can be
involved in all levels of the leadership of the church –
including being Moderator of the General Assembly. We
do not need to hide, lie, or bury our LGBTQI identity
anymore. We can be just as human, with all our gifts and
all our faults, as our straight and cisgender siblings. We
don’t have to be careful about how we talk about the
ones we love.
So this is an invitation to celebrate, to “Worship and Walk
with the Moderator.” Throughout the month of June
there are many ways to recognize and celebrate the full
inclusion of LGBTQI people.
Join the live stream of the General Assembly’s
Confession for Harm done to LGBTQI people, to be
offered in a service of worship scheduled for Tuesday,
June 7, at 2:00 p.m.
Come to the Ecumenical Chaplaincy at the University
of Toronto’s Pride Garden Party from 6–8 p.m. on
June 16. I will be the speaker. RSVP via www.bit.ly/
ECUTPGP2022
Come to worship at St. Andrew’s on June 26 at
10:30 a.m. The service will have a focus on
celebrating inclusion. We will be joined by many
other Presbyterians who will be marching in the Pride
Parade.
And finally, as you are able, join me and others in the
Toronto Pride Parade in a group of Presbyterians for
LGBTQI+ Equality, Dignity and Justice. We gather at
250 Bloor Street East in the early afternoon (exact
time to be confirmed). You are also invited to gather
for refreshments at St. Andrew’s after the Parade. To
register contact Sue Senior at
sue.includeall@gmail.com. You must register to
participate.
I look forward to worshiping and walking with you. Happy
Pride.
Rev. Bob Faris
Worship and Walk with the Moderator!