F A I T H L I N E S
8 December 2020
Second Week of Advent
Wishing you a Blessed Advent
In this issue:
Holy Trinity, Guildwood hosts a Christmas Concert
Anglican United Refugee Alliance - AURA - Wisam's story
Greetings from the Board Chair of AURA
$15,000 raised online for FaithWorks on Giving Tuesday
Virtual & Video sermons available
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If you wish to highlight your Parish's events in support of FaithWorks, please forward the details to [email protected]
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Anglican United Refugee Alliance
( AURA )

Wisam’s story

Wisam was warned before she arrived in Canada that although people here are welcoming, the country is VERY cold. Her sister had arrived in Canada a couple years earlier and told Wisam what to expect. When Wisam arrived in August 2019 she was completely surprised by the weather: “I never thought I would feel such heat in Canada.” She had assumed she would never again feel the hotness of the Middle East she was accustomed to experiencing.

Wisam’s understanding of Canada is typical of that of many refugees fleeing war and persecution. They know Canada is safe compared to where they were, but everything else is a mystery. With the support of FaithWorks, AURA is able to complete our mission of providing support and expertise to refugee sponsors as they guide refugee newcomers like Wisam through the first steps of their new lives in Canada.

Wisam was in for many surprises in Canada: traveling around her new city using a “perfect” transportation system, being able to use the internet to do almost everything, and finding out people can communicate easily with email and text instead of only over a phone. Throughout her new experiences she had the help of members of her refugee sponsoring group: arranging housing, getting her kids into the school, helping apply for health cards, and finding a dentist and family doctor. Wisam says that the support of people who understand Canadian life decreased the hardship she faced as a newcomer by at least half.

That first year living in Canada is critical for refugee newcomers. As Wisam says: “It's shaping a whole new life for newcomers who feel fragile and terrified as they leave their lives and their stories behind to pursue new ones.” She is working towards becoming a Canadian citizen and would love to be part of a future sponsoring group to help someone else begin a next chapter of their lives, safely, in Canada.

AURA is a Canadian charitable organization assisting in the sponsorship and resettlement of refugees. It is only though the generous support of FaithWorks that stories like Wisam's are possible.
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Greetings from the Board Chair of AURA

AURA - the Anglican United Refugee Alliance is a ministry partner of FaithWorks. Our job is to help Anglican Parishes welcome the stranger by welcoming refugees to Canada through sponsorship.
 
As of the end of 2019, there were 79.5 million displaced people in our world. That number is so big that it can be easy to feel like we cannot make a difference. But we can! Many parishes are doing incredible work to resettle refugees!

If you’re not already among our network of 500 sponsorship volunteers throughout the Diocese, or among our generous donors who ensure this important missional work can be done, we encourage you and your parish to get involved. Sponsorship is a life-changer, and often also a life-saver for refugees. When you get involved, you’ll find that it transforms your life, too.

Please visit us at
or reach out to Marin on our team at (416) 588-1612 or

Thank you for your support of AURA, and your support of FaithWorks. Both are vital to supporting refugees. It can’t be done without you!

Nadia Heyd,
Board Chair, AURA.
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$15,000 was raised online for FaithWorks
on Giving Tuesday.
$10,000 is eligible for the Matching Grant.
Praise God!

We're at $80,000
of the
$100,000
Matching Challenge Grant
For PARISHES !!!

Help FaithWorks reach our goal

We are excited to have been offered a Matching Challenge Grant of $100,000 for new or increased donations. The challenge is only for parishes. In other words, for every increased dollar a parish contributes this year to FaithWorks over last years amount, this generous donor will match it with another dollar up to $100,000.
 
If a parish increases it's contribution to FaithWorks this year over 2019 by $1,000, it becomes $2,000. If a parish's increase is $5,000, it becomes $10,000. If a parish's increase is $10,000, it becomes $20,000, for those most vulnerable and struggling every day.

There are two ways for individuals to participate in this challenge and contribute to their parish's total.

1) An individual can make a donation directly to their parish designated for FaithWorks, as in the past.

2) To make online contributions easier the FaithWorks website has been modified to give credit to a parish for an individual's donation. Simply go to faithworks.ca and follow the instructions to put the parish's name in the Comments section when making a donation.

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Virtual and Video Sermons available
We are only gathering virtually. The Director of Stewardship, Peter Misiaszek, and I would normally be visiting parishes in person to speak of FaithWorks. Why not virtually!!! If you would like one of us to speak to your parish during your online Sunday worship please contact FaithWork Speakers Bureau at [email protected]

If you would like the pre-recorded video of my sermon promoting FaithWorks (11 minutes) or the 20th Anniversary of FaithWorks video
(2 minutes) for your Sunday morning services, please email me so that I can make them available to you.
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Peter Mentis (he/him)
FaithWorks Campaign Manager

135 Adelaide St. E.
Toronto, ON M5C 1L8
416-363-6021 ext. 242
1-800-668-8932 ext.242
We build healthy, missional Anglican communities that engage faithfully with the world and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. I acknowledge that my office resides on the territory of sovereign Indigenous Nations, the Anishinaabe, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat. I acknowledge especially the Mississaugas of the Credit and the Toronto Treaties.