Social Justice Endowment Fund Created
Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. – James 1.17 (RSV)
The Rector and Churchwardens were pleased to announce in August 2021 the receipt of a $250,000 gift from a family at St. Thomas’s to create a new Social Justice Endowment Fund. The donors themselves wish to remain anonymous.
The endowment fund will be a perpetual capital endowment, the net annual investment income of which will be used to support current and future social justice ministries at St. Thomas’s.
St. Thomas’s has a long history of involvement in social justice ministries, with the Friday Food Ministry and Refugee Sponsorship Program (see details on this page) being two of the most recent examples. For the first time, these ministries will now have a portion of their costs supported by investment income from a perpetual capital endowment – one that other people, neighbours, and friends of St. Thomas’s can add to at any time through gifts and bequests.
In response, Fr. Humphrey stated, “We are very thankful for this endowed gift and know that it will benefit people in need for many years to come. From the very beginning of the Anglo-Catholic revival in the nineteenth century, concern for the poor and those in any need or trouble has been at the heart of our witness to the power of God to transform individual lives and the world around us. With this gift, we are now better equipped to serve all people in Jesus’ name, as together this parish continues to worship God in the beauty of holiness, combined with the bold proclamation of Nicene orthodoxy as the foundation of all our efforts to cooperate with God in the redemptive work of justice, peace, and reconciliation in Toronto and throughout the world.”
We look forward to announcing a launch event soon for people to learn more about our social justice ministries, share ideas on how we could augment our existing efforts, and outline opportunities for parishioners, friends, and neighbours to get involved in all aspects of our mission.
Thanks be to God for the blessing of this gift to St. Thomas’s.
If you are interested in contributing toward the Social Justice Endowment Fund, please be in touch with parish treasurer Tim Wright at treasurer@stthomas.on.ca.
The Rector encourages parishioners, neighbours, and friends to start a conversation with him at any time about supporting those programs and initiatives closest to their hearts, in any way they feel able. No gift of time, talent, or treasure is too small (or too big!) to contribute more effectively toward our mission as an Anglo-Catholic parish in the heart of the city of Toronto. Fr. Humphrey may be reached at 647-947-6442 or via frhumphrey@stthomas.on.ca.
Friday Food Ministry
Every Friday evening throughout the year, St. Thomas's operates a meal program for the homeless and marginally housed. We feed about 100 guests each week, working in partnership with the church of St. Mary Magdalene, Trinity College, Royal St. George's College, and Massey College. In the winter, hot food is served, and from May through September we give out sandwiches.
Interested in getting involved? We would love to have your help!
You can find the latest update on the program and our needs and for a list of upcoming dates using this link http://bit.ly/XWQQrB
You can also sign up for our mailing list here. Our email list is the main way that we co-ordinate volunteer efforts and donations. It is a low-volume list (4–6 messages monthly).
For answers to specific questions, please contact the program co-ordinator, Wendy Kirschner, at
fridayfoodministry@gmail.com
Thank you for your interest in this ministry!
St. Thomas’s Refugee Sponsorship
St. Thomas’s has a long history of welcoming the stranger through involvement in Canada’s private refugee sponsorship program, a program that allows private citizens, in churches or neighbourhoods, or as friends, to offer financial and personal support to refugees when they arrive as newcomers in Canada. This work began in the late 1970s and continued for many years during several waves of refugee crises.
In 2015, St. Thomas’s re-established its Refugee Committee, and we have constantly been supporting newcomers that come to Canada escaping persecution and displacement in their home countries.
In mid-2016, the first newcomer supported by the current Refugee Committee arrived from Iran via Turkey, fleeing persecution based on their sexuality.
They were followed in mid-2017 by a mother and daughter family, Eritrean newcomers who came to Canada from Sudan.
In 2020, St. Thomas’s supported two groups of newcomers. The first group, two Eritrean cousins, came to Canada from Israel. They settled into their apartment just before the first pandemic lockdown. Despite that setback, they have persisted in English-language lessons, meeting other Torontonians, and finding work now enabling them to support themselves after the year’s support St. Thomas’s provided.
In September 2020, mid-pandemic, a Syrian family of five arrived in Canada. These newcomers spent several months living in the rectory before moving into a midtown apartment supplied at no cost by a public-spirited and generous landlord. School enrolment (twice), ESL, and a driving licence and are some of their Canadian accomplishments.
In our refugee sponsorship work, St. Thomas’s has been supported by AURA, the organization that facilitates sponsorship opportunities for the Diocese of Toronto; by the Diocese itself; in our 2016 sponsorship by the University of Toronto and individual neighbours within the parish boundaries; and by many volunteers from within and outside the parish.
Refugee sponsorship is a core aspect of St. Thomas’s commitment to the catholic tradition of social justice. We aim, as Leviticus says, to welcome the stranger and accompany them as they settle into life in Canada: “The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself.” We strive to give effect to the encouraging words of Pope Francis: “We are called to reach out to those who find themselves at the existential peripheries of our societies to show particular solidarity with the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters.”
For more information or to help, please contact Andrew Gray at agray6360@gmail.com.