We wanted to reach out to you in solidarity during this time of COVID-19.

Since the start of the year, we have watched, along with the world, the increasingly frightening drama of the virus unfolding, domino effect, from the community to community.

And yet, in the fear, there is an abundance of good.

Article written by Iseult Hayden and Marilyn Grace on behalf of EcoAnselm

EcoAnselm is a fourteen-member ministry of ecology within St. Anselm’s Roman Catholic Church in Toronto.

This past October, following the Season of Creation, EcoAnselm hosted our first “All-Ministry Eco-Evening: Dialogue on Caring for Creation”. In response to the urgent appeal of Pope Francis, representatives from each area of ministry at St. Anselm’s joined in dialogue about how we, as a parish community, can proactively participate in shaping the future of our planet.

An estimated 9,000 faith buildings will close in Canada in the next ten years. What will the impact be on rural Ontario in general and Huron County specifically?

Register for the Rural Conference to be a part of the conversation on Rural Faith Places and

When: April 24^th 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Where: St. Joseph's Kingsbridge Centre (84675A Bluewater Hwy, north of Goderich, Ontario)

Tickets are $20 Lunch provided

Working as the General Manager of Trinity-St. Paul’s the past six years, I have seen many non-profit and community groups create gorgeous works of art, major events, life-changing exercise, and learning classes, and meals galore.  It’s been a wonderful, messy melange of community and a great deal of fun.

You know what hasn’t been fun? Ensuring all those groups were insured (ensuring insured, there’s a tongue twister). I get it.  It’s annoying, hard to understand, expensive and takes time. 

Greetings from our new Executive Director, Rev. Michelle Singh

Thank you for your continued support of Faith & the Common Good (FCG). Your contributions, whether monetary or acts of service, allow us to continue delivering programs through our multi-faith network that contribute to building a more equitable, greener Canada.

Image: Rev. Michelle Singh and new Board Chair Tom Urbaniak

What can a faith community do on its own to conserve energy? 

On September 9th, 2019 through Faith and the Common Good’s Energy Benchmarking program, our Hamilton implementer, Environment Hamilton co-organized a “DIY Energy Audit for Places of Worship” in partnership with St John the Evangelist in Hamilton, Ontario. The goal was to start a conversation about potential energy retrofit ideas and plant some seeds of what could be accomplished. 

ClimateWise Business Network is excited to be in Year 3 of a partnership with Faith & the Common Good to deliver the energy benchmarking program to the York Region community. I wanted to share our journey to date.

Across the country, United Churches are doing their part to address the climate crisis by getting their houses in order and reducing their own carbon emissions. Through a partnership with Faith & the Common Good, the United Church of Canada is offering grants and support for churches to measure their energy use and reduce their climate pollution, in ways that save money and strengthen congregational renewal. The initiative, called Faithful Footprints is about living climate commitments, for future generations, and for all of creation. To inspire your congregation to get involved, we have stories lined up from three participating congregations from across the country. Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, in Winnipeg, Manitoba is the first. 

As well, stay tuned for a full feature of Faithful Footprints in the February 2020 edition of the United Church of Canada’s Mandate Magazine.

Check out more inspiring stories from United Churches across Canada at Faithful Footprints Inspiration Stories.